PREGUNTAVER

A columnist for a Philippine newspaper talks about the costs and massive preparations required by the US Secret Service whenever President Bush and other (US Presidents) travel outside of Washington DC. I remember watching a CNN report that showed how big a US presidential convoy is, compared to the two vehicle transport being used by Prime Minister Tony Blair of the UK.

A female friend told me that the consumer market for crotchless panty and other types of“very sexy” underwear seems to have grown so big already. These items, which used to be discretely sold a few years ago, are now being displayed openly. Well, its either the market those items have really grown or the consumers have matured and started treating those items without any shame.

In line with my dream of becoming a real estate mogul (kidding), I intend to conduct a more thorough market research and determine the most suitable approach for me. The needed capital to be able to invest in real estate is not loose change and a reckless approach can be so costly, and even result to bankruptcy. In any business, market information is the key.

The Scottsdale real estate market seems to be a promising area for investments. The place seems to hold a lot of potential and I have a good feel about it. Well, let's see what my brokers will tell me. These people have been in the industry for a long time and they have experienced the different ups and downs of the market. For sure, they will have sensible advice for me.

Oh my.. Early today, I woke up to sounds coming from our backyard. I silently tiptoed to the light switches and turned on our landscape lighting . The backyard was flooded with lights and lo and behold, it was just our dogs playing with a piece of bone. I tried to get back to sleep but was unable to. As a result, I am sooo groggy today and can't seem to accomplish anything.. Somebody please buy me a tumbler of coffee...

"Please note that "government incentives" are also costs. The opportunity costs in Europe are not lower than in the U.S. due to these subsidies. The costs are simply shifted from the electric power industry and consumers to the general public." The above quote was a criticism of an article quoted in this link . What do you think?

The Land Down under is one of the best tourism destinations for everyone. It has a mix of urban and natural structures that will surely amaze the vacationer. In the cities, marvelous skyscrapers and architectural masterpieces will make people wish that they have something similar. For instance, Wikipedia refer to Sydney's Opera House as one of the most distinctive and famous 20th century buildings and one of the most famous performing arts venues in the world. The Harbour bridge is the widest long-span bridge in the world and is the highest steel arch bridge. As for accommodations, Australia's hotels are rarities. Good hotels can be booked at short notice and cheap rates. It even offers some extras such as free breakfast, meals and use of amenities. For bookings and inquiries, the following links are good web resources: Sydney Hotels , Melbourne Hotels , Brisbane Hotels .

Great Wars are being fought in the name of God. Let us examine those who fight in his name.

Further to Florida, I have just found out that a friend is inviting us to share a rented a vacation home Orlando next summer. Hmmn.. I think that is good idea. Working for most of the year certainly gives us the right to enjoy a good vacation. Orlando should be fine with its year long sunshine, beautiful theme parks and old oak tress among others. Got to meet my deadlines early this year.

As an old saying goes, “All great wealth comes from real estate”. Well, a lot of things have happened and a look at the top five of Forbes magazine's list of the wealthiest people will show that most of the income aren't from real estate earnings. However, there is still no doubt that amassing real property is one good way of creating, preserving and growing wealth. In my mind Miami real estate is one good investment area. The state is popular for both domestic and international tourism and it has something that most Americans love-- the beaches.

In regard to our house plans, the family determined that replacing some of the heavy wooden chairs with bar stools will be a good idea. The lounge will be able seat more people during parties and the atmosphere created should be a little informal compared to our existing design. Furthermore, there are no more toddlers in the house and that eliminates the possibility of kids falling from the tall chairs. Good!

A few years ago, I became a little observant of the people that I see on television. Whenever somebody is interviewed, I try to scrutinize the surrounding and identify the location and specific objects. Yesterday, I was looking at photos and video clips of politicians boarding and disembarking from planes and I have noticed that none of them are pulling luggage sets . Do they have assistants to take care of those things even when they go overseas?

"...I bear witness there is no God but Allah and Prophet Mohammad. Unto Allah I belong unto Allah I return." Those are the last words of the death row inmate who became the 21st person to be executed by the state of Texas this year. He also happens to be the 400th convict to die in the said state. The compete story can be found at CNN.com . For the meantime, the debates continue...

All this fluctuations are believed to be lacking for it does not reflect the true price of oil. Let's talk about this later, as well.

This is something that has been very clear. the US is close to becoming a protectionist state despite its free trade advocacies. Let me sleep for a few hours and talk about this in detail. For the meantime, please read the article .

One thing that I have always wanted to do and feel quite easy to accomplish is to be able to find develop renewable energy for my house. Excluding the air conditioning and electric ovens, I feel that it is quite easy to generate enough power for my quoizel lighting ,washing machine and radio. Its just that I am always short of time. The need to meet deadlines seems to be never ending. Ahh, soon!

An old jigsaw puzzle reminds me of the recall order on the 19 million Chinese-made toys. My Jigsaw puzzle, a remembrance of my not so long ago youth, is framed and hangs by the bedroom wall. It is still beautiful, not having lost its glossy finish despite the years of exposure to the surroundings and countless passes of cleaning cloths. That precisely reminds me of the toy recall. Lead paint is cheap and very reliable. The only problem is its toxicity even in small quantities. Kids and pets who lick lead painted toys are in danger of getting sick. There's still a good deal of lead paint in the market. It is still a popular ingredient for applications that are less likely to get into contact with human skin such as roads and bridges. Being made in China, my Jigsaw Puzzle and other toys are probably lead painted. I'll probably throw it out but maybe not. Its too beautiful to dispose. Gotta frame it in glass to keep kids off it.

Woke up feeling quite tired. It seems that my late Saturday night web surfing is the culprit. Acting on an instinct not to let a day pass without being productive, I got up for my Sunday exercise. How I wish to have a new Air Jordan for my weekend basketball and mall walks. It not only makes me look like a serious athlete. It matches my walking shorts well.

Well, if people are now naming their babies " @ ", they should allow me to name my future son " Dot Com ". Will my wife like it? That's another story. By the way, I've been watching a TV feature where a man in his eighties said; "The secret to longevity is to live a stress free life and the wife is always right" Will I still want to marry?

One good thing about blogging is that writers (both novice and professional) are able to express their thoughts, practice their craft and even get paid for it. Several years ago, I recognized the fact that life can suddenly rear its ugly side and you may happen to be on the receiving end of that ugly presentation. Because of that, I took the services of the first insurance agent that came to me and diligently paid the quarterly premiums for what I thought was a good insurance policy. Needless to say, years after I took the policy, Life indeed became ugly and matters turned from bad to worse. I found out way too late that behind the jargon and technical talk, I was actually paying for something that I will not be able to avail of in this lifetime. Of course, I was partly to blame. I was too trusting and downright stupid. I should have throughly reviewed the documents and asked for second, third and even 4th opinions before parting away with my hard earned money. Had I done it that way...

I have been watching shows about fast cars and its drivers drivers and realized that indeed, one can drive really fast and test the limits of their engines in our highways. Those drivers must be reading a lot about radar detector reviews to be able to drive fast very confidently. In regard to these tests, I have just found out that various evaluators can actually come out with reviews that are so different from one another. The reason, which I've just found out, are the different parameters used in the tests. Some are focused on the detectors range while others evaluate specific features. At any rate, those interested in acquiring radar detectors should read a lot about the product before deciding whether to buy or what model to purchase.

During these rainy days, it feels good to lie down and dream of nice vacation destinations. My friends and I have been talking about taking a group vacation someday. And being a group whose members have diverse interests, finding a destination that will be fully enjoyable for everyone is not a very easy task. Somebody suggested Branson Missouri and everybody seems to be fine with it. Well, for starts, the place is called "Live Music Capital of the World" and all of us seem to love this kind of entertainment. I hope to be able to successfully organize this vacation. It will surely be good for our group.

One of things that hinder the start and growth of an e commerce web site is the difficulty of integrating a shopping cart software into it. An online shopping cart software is difficult and expensive program to write and integrate with the available online payment/card companies like Visa, Mastercard and Paypal. And even if an ecommerce site is able able to come up with a good shopping cart, getting a merchant account and a payment gateway from the card companies can be very tedious. In some countries, such a task is even next to impossible. Ashop commerce is one of the leaders in this industry. It offers hosted shopping cart software that is secured, affordable, web based, reliable and very user friendly. Its software is the complete solution for businesses wanting to sell online. Furthermore, the site has tips to assist the client obtain the merchant and payment gateways from the banks. Its shopping carts can easily be fully customized by the clients and be ready to start operati...

One reputable website wrote something like, “We all have digitally challenged relatives. We can email our photos or post it in our own websites but still, they will not be able to view it on their own”. That is absolutely correct. Just because this is the digital age doesn’t mean that all of the inhabitants of this planet know how to use the latest gadgets. To tell you the truth, you see my numerous posts in this blog, together with its template which is consistently upgraded and redesigned and yet, I myself, still finds a lot of new gadgets quite challenging to use. Digital Framez offers everybody the chance to enjoy, together with their loved ones, the fine features of its new digital picture frame . It comes in sizes 7~10” and its LCD screens are of fine quality. All its frames are compatible with JPEG, MP4, DivX, AVI, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, MP3, WMA and WAV formats. That means, not only does it accept photos, it also plays video clips. Please visit the company’s website for more deta...

This is a paid post that need not be one for I personally vouch to the sponsor’s credibility and their products reliability. SMORTY is a “Get Paid to Blog” program wherein bloggers are paid to write a short opinion about a campaign or promotion specified by the advertiser. The opinion requires a minimum of One Hundred and Fifty (150) words and should be linked to the advertisers specified web address which is anchored on a given text. One of the characteristics that put Smorty above most of the popular programs characterized as “Get Paid For Blogging, Blog Advertising, Advertise On Blogs and Blog For Money” is its short waiting period before payment is released. Yes, Smorty gives itself and the advertisers only five days to approve the bloggers’ opinion. The day after that, payment is transferred to the bloggers’ Paypal account. I know that it’s true for I receive payment from Smorty on time, all the time. For those who need to advertise on blogs , Smorty’s reliability is for me, beyo...

Walking around the mall this afternoon, I saw a number of wood blinds that will probably look good in my house. It is so amazing what these manufacturers are coming out with nowadays. A number of household furnishings that were very expensive ten years ago can now be bought at much affordable prices. Let us not forget that a number of new designs have come out and the houses in general have become easier and faster to build. They’re a lot beautiful too, if I may add.

Its only been a few weeks ago when Paris Hilton walked out of prison. Not long prior to that, Lindsay was reported to have gone into a drug rehab clinic. Britney's also been to one (where some tabloids reported her to immediately have become extra close with a counselor). Nicole Richey was also arrested and ordered to undergo drug and alcohol rehab. Now, it seems that Nothing happened with Lindsay's treatment (she was recently arrested and found to be in possession of cocaine). What is happening with this people? They are supposed to be the role model of today's youth. The world is getting mad...

Back to my days in the construction industry, one of the difficult phases in a project is the "Day with the realtor ". On that day, somebody from the sales department comes in and inspects the quality of the houses that they will be selling. The first thing that the realtor normally does is take off his shoes and walk around the house. He normally slides his feet, feeling the flatness of floor. Any bump or uneven surface is normally enough to order the contractors to redo the floor finish. Now that you know how the floors are checked, imagine how difficult the entire inspection process is.

B ack to the issue on fuel consumption, I did a few searches on the world's most fuel efficient vehicles and found out that the Toyota Prius tops the list. T he first two photos link back to the car manufacturer's website while the third attachment leads to where I found the ratings. H ere is the link to the article that features the top ten best and worst cars in terms of fuel efficiency (in various categories). I hope that all cars will seriously compete to be listed at the top of next years' article. This is NOT a sponsored post . To all manufacturers of any product. Do something good (for mankind) and let us know. We will GLADLY proclaim your greatness to the whole wide world (through this blog).

Twenty years ago, I was rocking to Def Leppard's “Hysteria”. It was reported to be the bands most successful album, selling 18 million copies (12 million in the US) worldwide. The band is once again hitting the concert scene with a tour and it looks like, Def Leppard will once again be rocking the music world. I'm almost sure that I will be scrambling to get my hands into some def leppard tickets . I hope it will not be so expensive.

I remembered the days when I took up a short course by the Alps. During the cold months I felt like a female fashion model, having to stack up on skin care products to keep my skin moisturized. At that time, I remembered buying a small bottle of Estee Lauder for $50 only to find out that an Oil of Olaz was available for $4.. Grrr!! Of course, there are plenty of products now in the market that are as effective and less costly. Those were the days...