Obama launches new push for healthcare overhaul (Reuters)

Reuters - President Barack Obama on Saturday renewed his pitch for final congressional passage of a U.S. healthcare overhaul and promised Americans they will begin reaping the benefits soon after he signs a bill into law.

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Finding Good Value in a Used Car

Great deals await savvy buyers

If you appreciate quality and dependability in a car but don’t want the stress of a huge car payment every month for years on end, a used car may be the answer. New cars are fun and exciting to own and drive, but plenty of people have other priorities and don’t want to make such a huge financial commitment. With so many late-model, certified pre-owned cars on the market today, and with used auto loans so easy to get at Car Deal Expert, it makes good sense to buy a used car.

Top ten choices according to Cars.com

The following list of used cars compiled by Cars.com may help you in your search for a late- model used car. Cars.com reviewed the retail values, reliability ratings, safety features, and crash-test scores of 215 used-car models. Narrowing a list of 40 finalists, Cars.com then selected these top 10 vehicles based on gas mileage ratings and expert opinions on such features as cabin comfort and driving refinement.

1. 2005 Ford Focus. The restyled 2005 Focus offers precision handling and decent highway gas mileage (in the 30s for manual transmission and in the 20s for automatic). In terms of crash-worthiness, Cars.com recommended only the sedan, not the ZXW wagon (which hadn’t been tested) or the ZX3 hatchback (with questionable side-impact scores). Prices for manual-transmission, entry-level ZX4 sedans with 40,000 are in the $10,000 to $11,000 range.
2. 2003 Ford Taurus. The Taurus may not be a terribly stylish choice, but Cars.com rates it a sound and sensible one. The wagon and sedan are both roomy and have top-notch reliability and crash-test ratings. A sedan with 60,000 miles is in the $8,000 to $12,000 range, and wagons range from $10,500 to $12,000.
3. 2003 Mazda Protegé. Cars.com recommended the Protegé for its superior handling performance and driver-friendly styling, and found that it also offers plenty of zip, highway gas-mileage in the high 20s, and “respectable” safety and reliability scores, (except the Protegé5 hatchback, which hadn’t been crash-tested). A trimmed-down, manual transmission version with 60,000 miles should be priced in the range of $8,500. Feature-packed LX and ES models run $1,000 to $2,000 more and the turbocharged Mazdaspeed is close to $15,000.
4. 2003 Mercury Sable. The Sable offers the solid crash-worthiness ratings of its lower-class relative, the Taurus, plus slightly better reliability ratings. Cars.com recommended this model as a sold commuter vehicle, and added that the more powerful Duratec V-6 is a worthwhile upgrade in both the Sable and the Taurus. At 60,000 miles, prices for used 2003 Sables range from in the $9,000 to $11,500 for the sedan and $10,000 to $13,000 for the wagon.
5. 2002 Buick LeSabre. The comfortable 2002 LeSabre offers impeccable reliability and crash-test scores. Safety features include antilock brakes, side air bags, active head restraints, and an optional electronic stability system, (a rare safety feature five years ago). Models with a front bench seats fit six persons. At 70,000 miles, a used LeSabre Custom runs around $9,000, with optional feature-packed models priced around $12,000.
6. 2002 Chevrolet Impala. The Impala is Chevy’s workaday sedan, and the 2000-05 iteration arguably boasted sharper styling than its anonymous successor. There’s no four-cylinder, so overall gas mileage maxes out in the low-20s. The roomy cabin, good reliability ratings and even better crash-test scores make the Impala a sound choice for budget-minded families. Expect to pay around $9,000 for a base Impala with 70,000 miles, antilock brakes and the driver’s side air bag. A fully loaded Impala LS is about $11,500.
7. 2002 Ford Windstar. The Windstar seats seven, and has plenty of perks — power-sliding doors, parking sensors, power front seats, and even heated leather upholstery. A basic Windstar LX with 70,000 miles sells for around $7,500. Fully equipped SE and SEL models cost anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000.
8. 2002 Honda Accord. The sixth generation Accord, manufactured from 1998 through 2002, delivered excellent reliability and respectable crash-test ratings. Combine the stick shift and four-cylinder for highway gas mileage in the high 20s; it drops to the mid-20s with the V-6 and automatic. A base DX sedan with 70,000 miles, a manual transmission, ABS, and side air bags should run just under $10,000; better-equipped LX and EX models will cost between $11,500 and $13,000. Cars with an automatic go for an extra $700 or so, and the V-6 can add $850 to $1,500.
9. 2002 Honda Civic. The four-cylinder Civic gets highway gas mileage in the mid-30s and has good crash test scores, although its reliability rating is not as impressive was the Accord’s. A basic, used 2002 Civic with a standard transmissions and 70,000 miles sells for around $10,000, with more fully equipped models ranging from $11,000 to $12,000.
10. 2002 Oldsmobile Aurora. This restyled luxury car scores high on the crash-worthiness and reliability charts. Luxury features include leather upholstery and a power driver’s seat. Standard features include automatic climate control, antilock brakes, and side airbags. Well-equipped V-6 models with 70,000 miles sell for under $11,000.

Netflix Gets Sudden Popularity Boost

Why Netflix? Why now?

Netflix still pushing the enevelope. Image from Flickr.

Netflix has been around long enough that everyone has heard of it, right? However, there has been a sudden surge in online interest in Netflix. It seems odd to me that this service, which by now is as well-known as postal mail itself, would suddenly start generating more interest, but I have a couple of theories on what’s causing it: economy and technology.

Economy

People are still pinching pennies, taking out short term loans and analyzing budgets, even though economic indicators say things are getting better. The recession is still very evident in most households, as the unemployment rate has not improved much.

In every “tips to save money” list that has ever been compiled, one of the items is to reduce or cancel your cable service. Because Netflix is so much less expensive than cable, and because you can order the DVD sets of most television shows off the service, people might be shutting off their cable and turning to Netflix DVDs for their entertainment instead.

Technology

The amount of television shows and movies you can watch online, instantly, has greatly increased. This big jump in readily available stuff to watch paired is with more television-like computer monitors. Plus, there are more devices now that make it easier to show plug your computer into your TV to watch it.

Netflix now lets you have a specific number of DVDs at a time, depending on the plan you choose, but there is no limit to how much stuff you can watch online. Not everything is available to watch online, hence the DVDs, but there is a whole lot available now. Such inexpensive entertainment available instantly has got to have a lot of people considering whether their cable packages are worth the price. … click here to read the rest of the article titled “Netflix Gets Sudden Popularity Boost“

Rush, ahhh it is finally over

Ahhh! Now the rush is over. The best time of the year comes at the beginning, in January, starting January first in fact. It is unfortunate that it comes so early. Two or three months later would be nice. But the beginning it is. The Holiday rush is over. The world can take a deep breath and relax a little. The credit card bill will not arrive for a few days at least. The house might be a little bit of a mess and the Christmas, Thanksgiving and other decorations might need to be put away still. There are no deadlines, though. The media is not screaming at us from all corners to buy, buy, and buy. The almost impossible to do list is not constantly staring us in the face. The obligatory parties and other functions, which should be fun times, are not stopping us from getting to our holiday! chores. With a little luck, leftovers from New Year’s Eve will tide appetites over for a couple of days, so chores can be minimized and, for those who are interested, football can be indulged in all day long.

Statistics probably even lend actual empirical data to this being the best time of year. It would not be surprising if violent crime drops for the first two weeks of January. Possibly terrorist attacks are fewer, since the New Year is celebrated by so much of the world. Even terrorists and would-be terrorists have to rest up after a night of hard partying. Activity on the fronts of battle fields are probably minimized for the same reasons.

Of course, it is now that taxes start to loom over us again. Even getting a refund does not ease the burden of filling out the forms. Other than the mental blocks we put on those tax forms, though, they really are a fairly simple matter for most of us. Those who have more complex taxes should count their blessings that they have the income that generally comes with more complicated taxes.

This year a blue moon arose to greet the New Year. What a pleasant rarity. With partially overcast skies, a blue moon can actually look blue. The idea of such a thing though, especially at the beginning of the year, just adds to the rarefied air of the time.

This time of year brings with it an energy. The energy to make resolutions. The energy to forge positive outlooks. The energy that gives courage to review the previous year and promise ourselves to do more with the next 365 days. If only we could conjure up the same feelings every three months or so, so we could persevere with our resolutions. For now, though, revel in the New Year, take life at face value and look forward to what is to come.

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Sparkfun Free Day Lasts Less Than Two Hours

Sparkfun Free Day; that’s all folks!

Sparkfun Electronics has been pimpin’ Free Day for about six weeks, and after all is said and done, the whole event lasted about an hour and 45 minutes. Sparkfun Free Day was supposed to go from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. or until $100,000 worth of stuff was given away. But Sparkfun Free Day didn’t even make it to 11 a.m. And you should see what people wrote about Sparkfun on Twitter.

Even when a company like Sparkfun is doing something nice like giving away free stuff, people will always complain and become outraged if they don’t get what they want. Sparkfun warned people for weeks that the server would likely crash because of the spike in traffic on Sparkfun Free Day, but nevertheless, a hailstorm of angry tweets was released.

Crazy for free stuff

If we could generate as much excitement about online loans as Sparkfun did about Free Day, we’d be millionaires. Of course, the key to creating craziness is to give away free stuff. Unlike when Oprah gave out coupons for free chicken or when Starbucks gives away free coffee at a grand opening, people could get up to $100 worth of merchandise for free.

So it is understandable that people were substantially pumped, and when these pumped up people found that they couldn’t get in on the goods because too many other pumped people were getting in on the goods, they freaked. Sparkfun’s favorite Free Day Twitter entry was by lukeweston who said “This is a bizarre form of nerd torture.” … click here to read the rest of the article titled “Sparkfun Free Day Lasts Less Than Two Hours“

Change Your Personality By Controlling Self-Talk

Be who you “want” to be and not who you “think” you are!

David Johnston of Spokane Washington

I have one daughter, two step sons and a beautiful wife. I do my best to live life with an open mind and a positive attitude. Reality is perception, some say, and I tend to agree.

In the past I have had to rely on installment loans and short term loans to get my family through rough times financially. I grew up rough and went through a very trying childhood and young adulthood. I was able to completely change who I am and you may want to know how, so here goes.

My Philosophy

I have a philosophy I would like to share with everyone. It is something true to me because I put it in action and changed my personality. Anyone can use it. It’s easy to do as long as you are consistent.

So many people in this world are miserable because they feel “that is just who I am.” They observe themselves and come to a conclusion that they can’t “help it,” that they are the way they are. That is simply not true.

Personality Formula

Who you are is made up of experiences over time but mainly your personality is comprised of a pattern of self talk. Here is a list of factors that determine who you are:

• Your thoughts become self-talk habits.
• What you normally tell yourself about something becomes how you feel about that something.
• How you feel about something determines what you do about something or how you behave.
• Then you observe yourself and average it all out and come to conclusions about who you are.
• Who you think you are usually determines who you will be in the future.

The Key To Self Alteration

So the key to altering your own personality is to control your self-talk. It won’t be easy at first because all the other factors will fight you because they are ingrained patterns stored in your subconscious mind. Keep the positive self talk up and make it a habit and you will slowly start changing how you feel about things and of course that will change how you act. Once you do this for a long enough period of time, your observation of yourself will reveal that you have become a different person. … click here to read the rest of the article titled “Change Your Personality By Controlling Self-Talk“

Mayweather-Pacquiao superfight off

The planned March 13 megafight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao is off.

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