ME AND MY HUFFY

OLD BICYCLES CAN FETCH BIG BUCKS

 

I remember having so much fun as a youth riding my bicycle. I had a HUFFY racing bike. My great aunt brought it for me from Sears as a Christmas gift. It didn't have any fancy reflectors or racks, it was the plain vanilla type. I was so proud of "THAT BIKE!!!" The one to have in those days was the one pictured above "The HUFFY RADIOBIKE". While riding and enjoying my day as usual ... It never failed to happen ... One of my spoiled rot friends would spin along side me and show off their Schwinn bike. They were so cool. They had the smoothest lines, fancy lights, reflectors and racks. They all seemed to have a ton of accessories too. I was so envious.

Turns out there may have been good reason to be envious. Below are photos of Schwinn and other bikes from the 40's - 60's. $100 was a lot of money to spend on a bike back then. Today on eBay these bikes are selling for $2,000.00 or more, right now! Some have been restored and some have not been touched. Schwinn is not the only model that commands these prices. Others include: Montgomery Ward, Henderson, Monarch and Columbia to name a few. Makes me want to ask all the grand dads in my neighborhood if they still have their old bicycles and if they want to sell them ... lol.

1940's Excelsior Motorbike (Current bid at $2650.00)

1940's La Salle $3700.00

1939 Montgomery Wards Hawthorne ZEP $5400.00

1956 Western Flyer $4800.00

1960 Jaguar $2,000.00

1935 Columbia $4,000.00

Bikes that predate the war can always bring the higher prices and as you can see they don't have to be in pristine condition. The most wonderful thing of all about these old bicycles are the mechanics. A fifteen year old can build them ... literally!

The Corporation - The Whole Truth

Followup To The Weasel

A few posts back I wrote a small article regarding how Corporate America has seemingly weaseled its way into every aspect of our lives (see The Weasel), and its hardly far from over. Some major corporations are actually getting ownership rights and privileges to govern the essence of life itself, all forms of life including the human Geno double helix (human gene sequence) and parts thereof. Please forgive me if I have misspoken or given incorrect information, it is quite a complex subject. This three part documentary exposes all of the lies and dangers of the course of Corporate America. To put the icing on the cake, sort of speak, some of these corporations have become what is said to be too big to fail. Take a look at all of the problems that exist today and the source of those problems. To name a few, pollution, excess waste, global warming, the dying off of animal species, etc... Most can be directly attributed to corporate entities usurping of raw materials/minerals and the irresponsible dumping of waste. Legally the corporation is defined as an artificial person with most of the rights and privileges of a real person, but it's political power and deep pockets shadows the rights of any ordinary citizen. This documentary defines (personifies) the corporation as a pathological (crazy) beast. To conclude the documentary tries to examine some the answers that may help the situation and define the true roles of business, government and citizens.

 

WATCH THIS !!!

 

 

If You're Going To Buy A New Car

10 Things Every Car Buyer Must Know

Buying a car is not just investment, some amount of thought should go into the purchase. The market is overflowing with choices and temptations. Buyers need to think, what kind of car and can I afford it?

Think, what do I need transportation for right now and what will I need two years from now? Do I want a car as a status symbol or as something that makes my life easier? Will the car be a commuter vehicle, or to transport children? Would a van with cargo space and high clearance be more suitable for a growing family? Should the car be a two-wheel or four-wheel drive? What kind of terrain will I be driving in most of the time? Go through auto magazines as well as consumer reports to get a clear picture of the world of cars.

1.    Work on your finances and determine what you need to spend each month on transportation. A car should not cost more than 10% of your net pay per month. If it is more, then consider leasing a car instead of buying one.

2.    Before you finalize anything, find out what the target price is. Four figure discounts are available with almost every make.

3.    Never sign an arbitration clause or blank financial forms. Try and get the financing from a separate source, a bank or financial institution.

4.    Haggling will get you a good deal apart from shopping around for finance. The market is competitive so be sure to check dealer financing, high street, internet lenders, as well as other options.

5.    Try to make a larger down payment thereby reducing the loan to be paid and the monthly payment amount. Work out your finances and choice of car such that the term of loan is for the shortest period.

6.    Find out what buying incentives are offered. These vary from audio systems to cash back offers, and 0% financing. Ask what extras and add-ons will cost in addition to the price of the car. 

7.    Be sure to evaluate your old car independently if you are considering a trade in. Pay attention to the "cost to change", the difference between what the new car costs and what the old one is worth.

8.    Find out about warranties, taxes, and insurance. These can eat into your budget.

9.    Vet the contract well. Read the fine print. Make sure that paying off the loan before time will not carry any penalty. 

10.  Check out at least 3-4 dealers to gauge what the best offer is.

Test drive the vehicle before you finalize the deal and go through the car booklet page by page to understand all that the manufacturer needs to tell you. Be clear what is under warranty and what is not.

Never choose vehicle based on a picture or dream.  It is not how you look in the car that’s important but how well the car will fulfill your needs. Be practical and sensible; do not buy a model because the dealership is offering a holiday for two or a low interest scheme. Identify a vehicle that suits your needs before subjecting yourself to an onslaught of marketing.

Amazingly Simple Audio Editor

EXP STUDIO

I have been using this software for quite some time to construct my spoken word audio files. I've downloaded music loops and instrument solos adding vocals to create an entire music composition. It is not so intuitive but once you become familiar, its use is not much more difficult than using a full featured word processor like MS Word. Most of it's functions are simple cut, copy and paste. I've included a sample of my work for you to listen to. I created the music and all with this simple program.

Above is the dashboard of the program. Included in the program are a host of sound effects like: echo, male/female voice alterations, tempo adjustments and much much more. You can layer audio tracks/clips indefinitely. This makes a 16 or 32 track recorder somewhat obsolete. I highly recommend this for those interested in making custom mixes and recordings. It doesn't have as much flexibility and recording studio likeness as FL Studio (formally Fruity Loops), but it no where near as complicated. I became proficient in it's use within a couple of hours. If you are not computer savvy it shouldn't take too much longer. As promised here is a spoken word piece I created with the program. I used an audio loop with sound effects downloaded from freesound.org. The female voice is a friend. It is called "If I Had Your Love." One drawback, once a file is created using many different pieces it cannot be separated. The individual pieces cannot be removed. A very small drawback in my opinion.

If I Had Your Love ~~> https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9399584/If%20I%20Had%20Your%20Love.wav

The Weasel

The Weasel

 

Corporate America has weaseled it's way into every aspect of our lives. Almost everything we do directly or indirectly profits corporate America. Here are a few examples: To get "both" good programming and a good high definition image on your television, you have to pay a Fortune 500 company be it cable, DSL, satellite or the dish. Look in your refrigerator, there are at least 20 - 30 corporations that supply those items (milk, bread, butter, eggs, etc...) and they all have their logos. To go from point A to point B, you're paying some billion dollar oil company if you're not walking. If you are a smoker, chances are you use a BIC lighter (the same corporation that makes the ink pens to write articles with, "TOOT TOOT") to light your cigarettes. We talk on cellular phones more than we talk face to face, some high end cellular phones cost $500 and up, not to mention the monthly bill. When you go to the bathroom, the soap and toilet paper are both made by corporations. When you think about it, there's hundreds of billions of dollars being spent on a lot of things and conveniences that should or could cost next to nothing or be absolutely free. To complete the picture, most of these products and services are used or needed continuously. That makes for recurring payments, month after month after month. Those payments are steadily increasing, and the paychecks from work aren't keeping up. If this continues, the average American family will have to put in 24 work hours a day just to do ordinary things like eat, go to the bathroom and watch TV. Everybody in the household would need the equivalent income of 2 full time jobs in order for the family to get by.

Compare and contrast the life of the original (Native) American to the modern day (so called) American. When the Indian needed travel he'd go catch a Mustang horse. A little hay and grass and you were good to go. Today it's the horse power in a "Ford" Mustang, and it drinks gasoline. A lot of corporations under one name there. To eat they grew their own vegetables and hunted for their meats and fish. Today it's a big icebox made by the Kenmore corporation filled with dozens of corporate logos and labels. For entertainment they told amazing stories. Today we have flat screen entertainment systems by Sony along with cable or Dish subscriptions. To clothe themselves they used skins and pelts of animals. Nike, Levi, Arrow and Haines are but a few of the corporations that clothe us today. There were no big corporations adding pressure for the common working man to compete with the common working man. Truth is that today's technology is advanced enough to eliminate at least 60% - 80% of the jobs we have today. However, if that technology is used, there would be no need to pay so many  people, and therefore not many to make those recurring payments to the corporations. There was no huge elaborate government. The government is/acts just like a corporation in disguise. Today's government does nothing more than play ball with the corporations to maintain the status quo. If a community leader convinced 40 or 50 people to skip a payment on their cell phone bills and buy seed to plant gardens on their properties, it wouldn't be long before the government steps in to end it. Supermarkets (corporations) would lose money and would go to their their political cronies to enact new laws or use current laws to make it illegal to plant those gardens if they became too widespread. The government is building new prisons to help enforce these laws and many others that seem to give corporate profits value above citizens rights. We already imprison more of our citizens than any other industrialized country on the planet.

America ... The land of the free. Seems to be a bit lofty when we are all slaves to corporate debt and we can barely speak without it costing something ... one way or another. If I had written this document as a scathing expose of a corporate CEO or government official/department and unknowing to me some of the things written were not true ... I would not be free for long.

I Have Returned

Greetings all, I have returned. I've had plenty of rest and am ready to forge ahead. My mom is as well as to be expected and I've structured a regiment where I can keep tabs and provide the assistance she needs on a regular basis. The first order of business is to clean up the worthless time consuming projects and focus more on the projects that are earning for me. This includes Fiverr and ASN. Obviously I've spread myself too thin. Additionally, there are a couple of projects that have completed that have to be addressed. Thought these projects earned little if anything at all, they were valuable teaching tools and experiences that revealed the work involved and the difficulties that have to be addressed for an ongoing campaign. When you think things are going smoothly, the bumps in the road are just ahead. There is always the possibility that some of the projects may be revisited with new marketing strategies.

Future Posts Postponed

I NEED A BREAK, VACATION, AND A REST!!!

Due to my mother's struggle with diabetes, her aging, and seemingly continuous need for my assistance ... Future posts will be postponed for an indefinite period of time. Fortunately she lives right next door in the neighboring apartment and it's no problem for me to check on her 4 or 5 times a day. In addition to the other errands I must run for her however, it is beginning to take it's toll on me in regards to the energy that I have reserved for my personal endeavors and health concerns. Until next time ...

Hopefully not too long.
P E A C E

Android Devices And TV Unite

MOTOROLA RZ100 BLUETOOTH SMART CONTROLLER

 

Control the action from the comfort of your couch. Connect your Android powered devices to an HDTV. When your phone or tablet is connected to an HDTV or monitor, the wireless Smart Controller lets you navigate through your phone's screens, select your apps, play movies, and share photos remotely. With the controller's integrated multi-touchpad, you have full gesture control over your content. Use two fingers to scroll through your screens or within web pages or apps. When looking at pictures or maps, you can pinch, zoom, and rotate your content just like a touchscreen.

No more running for the phone when your phone is docked across the room, the Smart Controller lets you make and take calls remotely from Android devices that support the Bluetooth HSP (headset profile) or HFP (handsfree profile). When a call comes in, just hit the call button on the back of the remote to answer it. To make calls, navigate to the dialer screen of your phone, or click on a number in your contacts, or on the web.

With voice commands through the controller, you can use your voice to perform a variety of actions on your phone or tablet. Send texts and emails, search for destinations, show maps, or play music all with the sound of your voice. For the best voice recognition performance, download Vlingo, a free app in the Android Marketplace to your phone or tablet.

Dedicated Android keys make navigating through your phone or tablet's content a snap. Menu, Home, Back and Search buttons get you where you need to go right away. With this and a standard HD dock (one that has HDMI ports) you are ready to do everything that you do on your phone or pad directly from your TV screen.

Tell Grandma To Save That Old Aluminum Christmas Tree

THOSE OLD TIN FOIL TREES

 

 

Remember those tacky old aluminum Christmas trees from the late 50's and early 60's? Some of us even make jokes about them to this very day. Each branch had enough aluminum on it to wrap a couple of sandwiches ... LOL. They are no laughing matter today. They are considered Art Deco and can fetch hundreds of dollars. A six foot tree in excellent condition with all the trimmings (like the one above) can fetch as much as $600.00 now a days. The 7 foot specialty tree (like the one below in green aluminum) is going for big bucks at nearly $1,400.00. These trees can still be found online at sites like eBay at a selling price between $50.00 to 1,500.00. There's no guarantee that any will resell for hundreds of dollars. However, paying attention to certain details almost make a high resell value a definite possibility. Those details are: Original package in excellent condition, Very little signs of wear (removing and inserting of branches in sleeves), Original matching tree stand, Accessories such as genuine glass bulbs, etc... The most wonderful thing of all regarding these older artificial trees is, most of them were made right here in America whereas almost all of the newer artificial trees today are made in China.

Travel Around The World ... Kinda Sorta

Microsoft Flight Simulator X

 

One of the greatest PC Gaming values there ever was and arguably still is ... remains to be the classic Microsoft Flight Simulator. Version X (10) in 2006 is where unfortunately it's popularity began to decline. It is now discontinued but by the grace of "The Gamer GODS" it is still widely available. You can find it almost anywhere online and even at many software stores. You can find many forums online with group discussions regarding this challenging game of skill and precision. Coming in at an average whopping $20 complete and the highest level of "Gamer's Punmanship" I can contrive: You can't beat that with a stick!

There is an accelerator expansion pack. Many other plugins can be found online. These plugins include things such as: Famous Airports, Worldwide Attractions, NASA Aircraft, War Aircraft, and a plethora of special missions. There are a host of beginner, intermediate, and expert flying lessons. The cockpit and scenery can be fine tuned to a HD format giving a very realistic appearance. Though not required it is best to use a joystick with this software. The model that I use is the Microsoft Sidewinder Joystick.

Cockpit Dash

City Of London

Visit places like Cairo Egypt, JFK Airport, or fly helicopters and passenger aircraft such as 747 and 757 jumbo jets. I could go on and on about the aircraft and designated arrival locations but let me assure you that there are plenty and they are quite varied. Additionally there are skill levels where you are required to complete increasingly more difficult flight patterns/missions. The difficulties include anything from turbulent weather to poor visibility. Unlike games that require speed and agility, this game requires patience and a steady hand. It will definitely bring out the "COOL" in you. You can adjust to several different views while flying. As you take the flying lessons to increase your skill level, awards, metals, and wings are earned. 3rd party hardware accessories such as a flight yoke, 3 lever throttle, and flight rudder pedals are available to give an even more realistic feel to the game. One of the best things about this game is, you don't need a $3500.00 computer to get the best out of it. It will run absolutely fine on a simple dual core machine with a plain vanilla graphics card right out of the box.

My final twisted thought, you should have known it was coming ... HA! A good friend of mine asked me if Flight Simulator is a "GAME"? My opinion of that straddles the fence. There has been a recent national news broadcast, and a few in the past years regarding terrorist using this "GAME" to learn how to fly aircraft and to learn specific flight patterns/maneuvers (it is quite accurate). This is indicative to me of raising the bar a little bit above "just a game".