Living In the World, Not on It

Here’s another set of six questions just in time for your weekend. There’s no real theme to this week’s set, so get ready for a little of everything. Thanks for dropping by! Be sure to check back this week and click on the links of bloggers who play along in the comments below! It’s a great way to find blogs you may not have visited and keep the conversation going! Here are this week’s “Saturday Six” questions. Either answer the questions in a comment here, or put the answers in an entry on your blog… But don’t forget to leave a link to your blog so that everyone else can visit! Permission is not granted to copy the questions to message boards for the purpose of having members answer and play along there. Enjoy! 1. What color are you least likely to wear? Bright yellow or orange. People with my colouring can't wear colours like that. (Sort of like this font...) 2. What color do you tend to wear the most? Black first and foremost, burgun...

For the longest time, the Gulf Station on Route 46 West in Parsippany, just after the turn for Edwards Road, had the same price for cash or credit transactions. Now, suddenly, they have done the sleazy thing and raised the price per gallon $0.08! I'm hacked. I know a lot of other fuel suppliers were doing that but I could go to this station and not have to deal with it. Now I can only go to the Hess Station... and who knows how long that will last? I really hate the fuel industry. It's bad enough that BP has this huge oil spill. Now we can get screwed for this by everyone.

From the book Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges into the Presidency : "Guess who's the highest paid president. You might be surprised. Congress has been given the president a raise only five times in history, but some presidents have made a lot more than others--thanks to inflation. We've done the math to find out what their yearly salaries would be worth, on average, in twenty-first century dollars. Here's the list of the well paid and the not-so-well paid presidents. THE TEN HIGHEST PAID President Salary in His Day What's It Worth Now? 1. William Taft $75,000 $1,445,454 2. William McKinley $50,000 $1,106,719 3. Richard Nixon $200,000 $1,084,831 ...

LONDON (Reuters) – In a pinstripe suit, silk tie and polished shoes, David Rowe has all the trappings of a successful London city worker, except for one stark difference -- he is wearing a sandwich board that says "JOB WANTED." As he walked down Fleet Stre et, home to legal firms and investment banks, the 24-year-old history graduate showed the human face behind the "lay-offs" and "recession" headlines. "The first 20 paces are the hardest, you feel very conspicuous, but you just steel yourself to get on with it," he said, starting a slow trudge toward the Law Courts before turning toward St Paul's Cathedral. In previous economic downturns it was manufacturing and heavy industry that were worst hit. Now in Britain, and much of the West, white collar jobs have been culled in the financial crisis -- marketing directors on six figure salaries, IT specialists with 20 years experience. That makes it especially hard for young men and women like Rowe...

I knew this was a bad idea... WASHINGTON (AP) -- Millions of Americans enjoying their small windfall from President Barack Obama's "Making Work Pay" tax credit are in for an unpleasant surprise next spring. The government is going to want some of that money back. The tax credit is supposed to provide up to $400 to individuals and $800 to married couples as part of the massive economic recovery package enacted in February. Most workers started receiving the credit through small increases in their paychecks in the past month. But new tax withholding tables issued by the IRS could cause millions of taxpayers to get hundreds of dollars more than they are entitled to under the credit, money that will have to be repaid at tax time. At-risk taxpayers include a broad swath of the public: married couples in which both spouses work; workers with more than one job; retirees who have federal income taxes withheld from their pension payments and Social Security recipients with jobs th...

Monday, 23 February Week Number 157 1) If you could eliminate (or lessen the effect of) one emotion from your life, which would you choose? I'm pretty sure this is the same as the prior week's first question, but the answer is unchanged. I need to have all of my emotions, all at the same strength. 2) What is the nicest imperfection in your Significant Other? Number 1, I hate the term "significant other" as it implies that one of us is insignificant. That is just wrong. As for a quality that is considered an imperfection that I like... I don't know. His imperfections are, by nature, annoying. I love the whole package - the whole Luis Gomez, perfections, imperfections, and everything in between. He would not be Luis without those things. 3) If one thing you own were to become a religious relic, what would you pick? Oooo, fun question! Does this mean just one thing, or can it be a collection? Hmmm. I know. I'm going to make my mondo-cheep be the religious icon. ...

Week Number 155 1) What is the cause that you believe is the most worthy of all? World peace? Oh, wait, wrong thing... I don't know. Many of them are very worthy, and who am I to say that one is more so over another? 2) How would you change the way you were disciplined as a child? I wouldn't. My parents never struck me and I didn't grow up to knock over a bank or pick up a drug habit. I also was never told, "If you do this, you will have to leave" or anything like that. My parents also told me that when I was ready to have sex to bring the man home, so that things could not get out of hand, I could just yell for them. I tell you now I had the best parents I could ask for. 3) What is your greatest virtue? Vice? I am not sure that I have any... certainly not patience... Um, honesty. I may keep to myself what I need to but I never sugarcoat or lie to the employees, the patients, my family and/or friends. I think being up front is a good quality. Vice... whew. How muc...

WASHINGTON – The post office will get an extra 2-cents worth when you mail a letter starting in May. The U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday that the price of a first-class stamp will rise to 44 cents on May 11. That gives plenty of time to stock up on Forever Stamps, which will continue to sell at the current 42-cent rate until the increase occurs. They will remain valid in the future regardless of rate hikes. "The Postal Service is not immune to rising costs which are affecting homes and businesses across America today," said Postmaster General John Potter. "Even with the increases, the Postal Service continues to offer some of the lowest postage prices in the world." Postage rates go up annually in May, with the new prices announced in February. The overall change is tied to the rate of inflation in the year before. While the new 44-cent rate covers the first ounce of first-class mail, the price for each additional ounce will remain unchanged at 17-cents. Posta...

Oh, I do love this... If $4 gas didn't convince you to trade in that big H2 for a Mini Cooper , perhaps your friendly neighborhood police officer will. It seems that Hummer drivers get more traffic tickets than drivers of any other make of car. The data come from a survey conducted by ISO Quality Planning. The company helps insurers spot risks; or in other words, it helps insurance companies spot you, Mr. Bright Yellow Hummer. Not sure if your car attracts more cops than a donut shop? Check out the list to see if your ride is getting you unwanted attention. 10 Most Ticketed Cars 1. Hummer H2 People who love the Hummer H2 probably love its bold, imposing looks. Apparently, cops love the H2 because it helps them meet their ticket quotas. Here's a tip: If you have an H2, maybe you shouldn't drive it near then end of the month when traffic cops are scrambling to make their numbers. 2. Scion tC Seeing the tC on the most-ticketed list makes sense, given its popularity with young ...

Four For Friday Q1: - Drugs: Fueled primarily by Internet sales, the International Journal of Clinical Practice recently reported that the counterfeit pharmaceutical market could reach $70 billion dollars by 2010. Alarmingly, the Journal reports, these include fake drugs that could have devastating consequences, like counterfeit medication for potentially fatal conditions like cancer and high blood pressure. Have you ever--or would you consider--purchasing pharmaceutical drugs online from a foreign-based provider or company? No. Gods know, I get tons of e-mails and such from these online out-of-the-country "pharmacies", but I don't even open them up. And this will only make my life harder as an emergency medical technician. We encounter a great many pharmaceuticals out there and sometimes they may be through questionable sources, but how do we treat for a drug that may not be what it reads? We don't administer drugs other than oxygen or epinephrine, but the medics d...

25 December 2008 3x Thursday: 12/25/y2k+8: Merry Platypus, One And All! 1. What are you doing for Xmas this year? The usual: my mother's family on Long Island on Christmas Eve, my parents' house on Christmas Day, and then we exchanged gifts and had dinner with Tom, Alayna and Matthew last night. I have a couple of gifts to send out this week. Otherwise, I'm pretty much done. 2. What items are on your wishlist this year? The shorter list is what isn't on my list... My Amazon Wish List is usually 4 pages long. I want candles all of the time but no one wants to fund that. I got a lot of nice things, and I am not unhappy. I did regift something from Luis' father and the recepient loves it. I don't use hand lotions; my skin is never dry. 3. What do you think about the idea of gift giving in general. Do you think it's necessary? Why/why not? There are a great many things that humans do that has nothing or little to do with necessity; but it is fun and enjoyable an...

It's my worst nightmare! 'ROGERS, Ark. – An Arkansas woman has given birth to her 18th child. Michelle Duggar delivered the baby girl by Caesarean section Thursday at Mercy Medical Center in Rogers. The baby, named Jordyn-Grace Makiya Duggar, weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces and was 20 inches long. "The ultimate Christmas gift from God," said Jim Bob Duggar, the father of the 18 children. "She's just absolutely beautiful, like her mom and her sisters." The Duggars now have 10 sons and eight daughters. Jim Bob Duggar said Michelle started having contractions Wednesday night. She needed the C-section, her third, because the baby was lying sideways. Jim Bob said both baby and mother were doing well Thursday night. "We both would love to have more," he said. The cable network TLC broadcasts a weekly show about the Duggars, called "17 Kids and Counting." Chris Finnegan of TLC — which handles public relations for the Duggar family — said the show...

Facts about NJ... (If you've ever lived in Jersey... you'll appreciate this!) New Jersey is a peninsula.Highlands,New Jersey has the highest elevation along the entire eastern seaboard, from Maine to Florida. New Jersey is the only state where all of its counties are classified as metropolitan areas. New Jersey has more race horses than Kentucky. New Jersey has more Cubans in Union City (1 sq mi.) than Havana, Cuba. New Jersey has the densest system of highways and railroads in the US. New Jersey has the highest cost of living, the highest cost of auto insurance and also has the highest property taxes in the nation. New Jersey has the most diners in the world and is sometimes referred to as the "Diner Capital of the World." New Jersey is home to the original Mystery Pork Parts Club (no, not Spam): Taylor Ham or Pork Roll. Home to the less mysterious but the best Italian hot dogs and Italian sausage w/peppers and onions. North Jersey has the most shopping malls in one ...