Probably one of the better investments these days are Cd’s. There is a lot of competition, so I went out to the Internet to find the best CD rates and found selectcdrates.com I found the best cd rates out there from across the nation. For example, the I learned the federal funds rate today is 2.87% and that six month cd rates are around 4.44%. This site allows you to look up by state and by how many years you are looking to invest, say a 3 or 5 year Cd. Plus, they have a great FAQ page for the banking and cd industry. They also have a wealth of tips on such things as cd ladders and check clearing times. You will get a good education here and begin to make good strategies on which cd to buy.

No matter the economy, paper will always be in high demand. I appreciate the idea of a paperless company, but in reality there will be paper needs regardless. A leading suppliers of used Pulp and Paper Equipment is www.surpluspaperequipment.com. This company is a world wide leader in the marketing and selling of surplus Paper Machines, Vacuum Pumps and hundreds of other pieces of equipment with a experienced staff to meet our current economic changes. They are more than company that sells they equipment, they also service the the paper industry in the dismantling and transportation of used or surplus Pulp Mill Equipment. Surpluspaperequipment.com provides an “Asset Recovery Program” along with another unit called Surplus Paper Inc who specializes in Plant and Equipment liquidations. Plus, they offer the opportunity not only to shop their inventory but you can also post your surplus equipment for sale. I love niche companies like this, that target a select industry and do their very best to service them. This company is well known in the industry and a firm you can trust when these type of matters arise. I was also impressed with the format of the website as well. It is easy to navigate and when looking at the items for sale, the pictures and images do a good job showing the current condition of the used equipment. I also like the idea of registration of new users to keep the integrity of the site solid.

One must take into account when building a gas powered power plant, the amount of water needed to create and steam and for cooling. Rebecca Smith had another great article in the WSJ today. She discovered that a megawatt of power generated by wind turbines can save 200-600 gallons of water as compared to gas fired power. This can be huge for dry areas in Washington, Colorado, Nevada and the article goes into state line issues where one could be taking a resource from another state. So in the last post that discussed the fact that gas fired is cheaper than clean coal and nuclear, it is because the water is so cheap or is it? Don’t forget that Nuclear power does demand more water than the gas fired plant too. Wind turbines and solar is the future of our country and we need to take into account the whole picture and not just dollars and cents. Perhaps we need a balance approach where we use all resources. I guess that is why I do not make the big bucks at the DOE! Perhaps we could all use a little less in our natural resources going forward, perhaps we could all make a difference and take notice of the power and water we use at home.

Does your Mom deserve something special on May 10th? Maybe a nice white gold chain or a pair of diamond earrings might make them smile on this special holiday coming up? I think jewelry is a great gift and it is also a gift that holds value. Many of you know I like to play in the stock market and buying something now that will be worth money later, is the way I like to roll. Jewelry fits into that thinking and its investment that can be worth more in the future. Not to mention, jewelry makes a great gift for all the ladies out there. I think they all like jewelry and with the right stones in them; they know just how much you think of them with a ring or bracelet on Mother’s  Day. So if you haven’t thought much about the perfect  gift this year; look to the jewelry department for your Mother’s Day answers!

More people are adding broadband to their homes which has increased the use of home PCs for more applications like downloading movies and watching TV over the internet. There are multiple providers and you should shop around as you will find different services that may be just right for your situation. For those that do not have cable service or are tired of the DSL land line service then you may want to consider HUGHES NET for your satellite provider. Sometimes your bandwidth can suffer due to poor performance of your PC and you may not be realizing the full potential of your high speed connection. For Windows XP users there is a little trick that you can do to help increase your broadband speed. PLease do not attempt this if you are not familiar with making changes to your system.

For a cheap broadband deal check out Hughes Net where you can get a cut your phone cord to the internet and see speeds up to 50X faster. As of this post the folks at Hughesnet were offering Free standard installation and $100 back by mail in rebate. This satellite service is backed by their 30 day money back guarantee as well to make sure that your purchase is what you need. You can find a list of FAQ’s on their site to answer most of your questions like “Can I use my existing Direct TV satellite to receive Hughes Internet service?” The answer is no because the signal that they each receive is different and contain different priorities. This has it’s advantages in that if your TV goes out you will still be able to have internet. This is something that we have heard some cable customers dislike that when their cable goes down they are left without internet as well.

Step right up with palm out and hat in hand. Now Daimler has had to seek foreign aide to shore up its bottom line. Abu Dhabi and now has a 9.1% stake in the renowned German Auto Maker. I guess even that segment of society has decided that luxury can wait and hence sales have fallen. I love the quote in today’s WSJ, “The best time to invest is when people panic” said the chairman of Aabar Investments. Wow, how would like to be sitting in Stuttgart and reading your largest stake holder basically you are in a panic. Oh, that must just ruffle the feathers a little! I should not be so harsh I guess. I am jealous of Mercedes, their innovation, their safety, their commitment to Formula 1. I’m hard pressed for words on the new economy because looking at the Daimler model, they are now 15 percent owned by the Middle East. Kuwait Firm IPIC has 6.9% too. How will that board meeting look like now because I would have to think that they would want some board seats. Interesting. What will American have to do now. Aabar said they do not want any American Auto makers but will they look at GE or other blue chips instead? I think back to my America For Sale post. Could I be right?

Have you ever wondered just how you would go about filing a home insurance claim and making sure that you had received the very best in settlement claim payouts? Probably not until the catastrophe happens, like a tree falling on the house or a fire etc. Step back and imagine for a moment trying to figure out just how much you lost, what items cost to replace, structures to be removed to waste and structures to be rebuild, the costs etc etc. The list goes on and on. I found mysmartclaims.com and I am very impressed. Their program is simply the finest and most professional out there. Their program is so comprehensive and developed to make sure the claim was accurate and that you received the right amount of money needed to replace your loss. Their Public Adjuster program is what you need to look into after you receive your settlement paperwork from your insurance agency. You have rights when buying home insurance and one of them is the right to re-open a claim within so many years depending on your State. In Florida you have 5 years, you will need to look into your state. You pay their $299 fee and begin to walk through their program. If you do not recover more than the cost of their fee, you get your money back. That is why I love these guys so much. This is what believing in your product should be all about! This is a very well made web site, along with informative graphs to show you the cost of their service and a lawyer plus some examples what other customers were able to recover after using their system. If you have an old claim you are still upset about, look into your state laws and if you are in the right time frame why not use this service because of the money back guarantee. It just makes good common sense.

Step right up with hat in hand and palm out. Dear Mr Government, so sorry that I loved the capitalist system and enjoyed its fruit for over 100 years, but now times are tough, brother could you spare a billion? Is this what we have come to. When the free market pushed back on government with the modern day dont tread on me lines, we now find ourselves at their mercy. The government I guess is now our insurance policy. Was Marx right all along, if so please feel that tremble under your feet because you do not want to swallow the Marx medicine anytime soon. I read now that automobile parts suppliers will need billions from the government but I do see that Ford wants nothing to do with it and good for them. Perhaps they will be the golden child in the new business textbooks to be written on how the weather the storm without a war to bail you out nor a government with their string-tied money.

Nothing like have the likes of our wonderful Senators at your board meeting. Then there is GM which said in the WSJ in re the billions for suppliers, “Wll help reduce the risk of vehicle production disruptions.” OK, the reason their is a disruption is because no one wants to buy your car. If they did, you would have good suppliers. Oversimplified you say? No, let the market forces do their work or do not get in the game. So now my next goal is to come up with a do dad government cozy item like you see around coke cans. What will they look like??

I have to admit that I am using more bill pay methods online but with my new business up and running, I am going to need personal and professional checks to buy. Another friend recommended carouselchecks.com where you can find Checks here for sale in variety of professional and personal style format. With the purchase of business checks, they are now offering a free Logo and a free free binder. I really like this professional format to pay my supply stores and employees. Our family loves all the Checks with sports themes, kittens and especially the American Pride line. For the businessmen out there, there are especially checks for payroll and accounts payable. They also have computer Voucher checks you must take a look at. Carouselchecks.com has live online help to walk you through the process and offers great security to stop fraud. This is the last thing you need in the new economy where desperate people do desperate things. They also offer return label stickers, Ink stamps, checkbook covers and laser jet starter kits. I really like this well made site. It is easy to navigate and find the information you need. Plus, the pictures they use are very professional and are made from classic scenes using great photographers and artists. I think you’ll enjoy your shopping experience here!

Well I am still scratching my head a bit and bringing back Griffey. He is the pride of Seattle and we will love him all the way to the Hall of Fame of course. I do not think that a few great swings at DH is going to bring them from worse to first status, but sure will bring in ticket revenue. Yes, the fans will now pay extra money to see the dominant player of all time, well at least he was before he left, bat homers off Safeco walls. In fact, they just may fill the stands. I still think that at the end of the day, Seattle still wants to make a playoff run and bring that 1995 season back to the fore. That is some serious dreaming and will need some serious rebuilding as well. Will Seattle be patient this year as Griffey will have to nurse multiple injuries over his amazing career? Yes, I think that they will. He is still Griffey and without him we would never had the new stadium and Seattle would be in Tampa Bay. Now look where they are and where are the Mariners? Are they chasing the magic of old, filling seats or putting together a playoff contender? We will have to see.

Boy does my family need a vacation. I have heard about so many people going to the Caribbean, I think it is about time my family get a chance.  What we found on the Internet was an all inclusive vacation package from breezes.com which includes a great location and accommodations, with great all you can eat food all the time, premium brand drinks and a ton of water sports. Did I mention the cool golf? What breezes.com has done is bring the finest in caribbean resorts and taking out all the stops to make sure you have an amazing vacation. They have got properties everywhere, including the Bahamas, Jamaica, Curacao, Brazil, Panama and the Dominican Republic. I love the fact that I can go to one place, who has properties throughout the Caribbean and has a special package with them all. With this economy, you want to make sure your dollar gets maximum impact. Further, these all inclusive caribbean vacations you will find special offers and customer testimonials. Plus there you will find maps to see what cities you can visit plus information on what makes each property different. It always seems that people have their individual needs and breezes.com understands that! They have really put together a well laid out website to that is very easy to use. I love the call anytime 800 number and the photographs of very happy vacationers. I am very jealous. This is a great time to travel and you have earned it.

Is it me or has the quality of children’s books diminished over the years. After reading books with my children, I like to look at the inside publications notes to find out when and where the book was published. If you look at the Curious George book written in the 1930′s you will see that you need to dedicate some time to reading it aloud. It is an older prose, without rhyme and needs time to develop plot, conflict and resolution. Today, its all fluff because, I at least I think, we have little to no time to read to our children. If we do, we want the book to get to the point fast and get out quick too. If you think about it, we are already setting up our kids to have short attention spans. Perhaps we are at fault for the dumbing down of our children. Now that we take work home at night or if we could just finish this project I could make time to ensure my child is reading at their level. Managers love this because once they see that you get big tasks done well and quick, more work will come your way while you make your way to the top. Hey, there is always trade offs I was told. Oops, now we are in a global recession and we have to lay you off, so sorry. We will be sure to give a great recommendation. Meanwhile, looking at your kids ask yourself, “do you know them?”

Well after 50 years of Fm comes a great new innovation, HD Radio. Now we can enjoy great music without the hiss and being dropped off when listening to our favorite local radio stations in HD. The reception is free and there is no subscription to pay. Many of work out of cars and the radio is what saves us from so much windshield time. This is not a satellite radio, rather its an antenna based system so we fully enjoy our listening experience. Now you can find the best equipment at hdradio.com who is selling the Jensen JiMS 525i which is a HD radio system with iPod and iPhone docking station. This is amazing product that gets you the HD clarity in radio and again, no subscription fees! Plus, you must start song tagging where you can tag songs over the radio where it is tagged on your ipod, then dowload it onto your playlist and buy it. Its just amazing where technology has taken us. Analog is on the way out and digital is in, hence reducing static and making a clear radio sound. I really like the hdradio.com site too, with tabs to educational pages to learn how the technology works, a buyers guide, a station guide and product reviews from Cnet and others. I cant wait to get my order in!

Well it is that time of year again where many a couple has gotten engaged during this spring and now wedding plans are to be made. One site I would suggest in buying engagement rings is bluenile.com. These guys are a publicaly traded company on the Nasdaq which brings great validity along with the fact they are the largest online retailer of certified diamonds and fine jewelry.  Further, when buying diamond rings you must also know just what kind of stone shape you want. Finally, Bluenile has been profiled both in Forbes and the New York Times hence you should have no worry buying diamond rings online. Your ring is shipped free on FedEx and they provide a 30 day no questions asked full refund if you do not like the ring you bought. It does not get any better than this!

How many times have we all been in the hospital to find the nurses and staff wearing some very cool scrubs? I know my kids love to see Scooby Doo, sponge bob and all those kid ideas and I love it to because it has helped to take the edge off and keep their minds off their injuries. I have a good friend at a hospital to buy for and so when I looked for some scrubs for her, I found scrubsandbeyond.com which is a great site that sells among other items, print scrub jackets Cherokee Betty Boop and Peaches Healing power styles just to name a few. I also found print scrub tops like Landau Happy Go Lucky and my favorite, the Cherokee Paul Frank Hospital Visit scrub top. Finally, I found landau medical scrubs that can be shopped either by Outlet, Basic, for him or her and pants tops whatever. Basically, these guys are your one stop shop for scrubs! I love it and I love the fact that my shopping will now be made so much easier with a site that has a great reputation for quality brands and great customer service. Further, their site is very easy to use and navigate. They use the models well so that I know just how these scrubs are going to look. I did not realize just how many scrubs are out there. Its kind of fun to tell you the truth! Finally, do not forget to look and see if your favorite university is on the site. My friend went to Tennessee which we all now has a huge pride in their colors. She will love the top and bottoms sporting the bright orange colors. I hope her staff does!