I am NOT a spammer!

I recently read this post on Kevin Donahue's blog about ING Direct. Online savings account, easy to transfer in and out, and a great interest rate. I've been using them for years. He offered to refer people in, getting a referral bonus for himself as well as a bonus for the person referred in.

When I read the post, I added a comment mentioning Prosper.com. I discovered it via some weblog a few months ago. I can't remember which one - I wish I could. I tried to make it clear in my post that I wasn't spamming because I knew it'd appear that way. Well, the comment got deleted. Then I contacted him via the contact form on his website, trying to explain the situation. I got no response. This was several days ago.

So to follow the advice I've read on blogs that don't allow comments, I've posted this entry here - responding via my own blog.

So do yourselves a favor. If you need short term savings, easy access, need stuff to be somewhat liquid - a 3 day delay or so when you need to tap your savings - then go with ING Direct. I have nothing but good things to say about it. But if you have a little money you can put away for 3 years (as little as 50.00) check out Prosper.com. I guess you could sort of describe it as an Ebay for loans. Borrowers and lenders get matched up. Prosper manages the process. The loans can be funded by multiple lenders - for example, someone wants to borrow 5000. Multiple lenders can fund the loan with amounts as low as 50.00. The interest paid back goes to the lenders. All loans are for 3 years, so you need to use money you don't have to have back completely for 3 years. You get your piece of the payment paid monthly, but you won't get the full amount plus interest for 3 years.

Oh, I could refer you to ING if your interested, get my referral fee and you get your deposit bonus, but that's not what this is about. It's just about getting out info that may help people. If you want to get a deposit bonus, Kevin Donahue will be happy to refer you. Give him your business.

Traffic confusions

Bear with me. This is not going to be your typical "I hate traffic" or "big traffic jam" post. At least I hope not.

I live about 20 miles from my office. I can commute there either via 2 different freeways (going east/west and north/south), or I can use a couple of side streets. It is equal distance each way.

The freeway route can get me to and from work quickly. Or it can get me to and from work very slowly. Since it seems to be somewhat of a crap shoot, I tend to avoid the freeway route.

The side street route is a consistent 40 minute drive. The speed limit on most of the route is 40 miles per hour. I can set my cruise control and just cruise on in. Or home. Whichever. You know what I mean. It's a nice drive, especially at the times of the day I commute - slightly post rush hour. Using the cruise control saves me gasoline as well. I set it and cruise. A red traffic light in the distance? Why, just tap the break and coast to the light, saving even more gas. Light changes? Accelerate to 30, then click resume. Car accelerates for me and stops at the set speed. And I don't have to worry about tickets. Driving the speed limit has lowered my stress level.

The thing that is confusing are the people going slightly slower than the speed limit. Now most people, and by most I mean a realistic estimate of 97.5% of the cars around me, are going well over the speed limit. Somewhere between 5 and 10 miles an hour over the speed limit. And I don't have a problem with people going slightly below the speed limit. If they want to do that, fine. Unless there is no room to go around them, but that is another story.

What is confusing about the people going slightly below the speed limit is the fact that they don't seem to realize it until I pass them. Literally 20 to 30 cars may fly right past them and they go plodding along. But when I slowly come up behind them, change lanes and pass them they seem to suddenly realize they are going below the speed limit while everyone else (but me) is exceeding it and now it's time to GO! GO! GO!

If this just happened once every few days, then I probably wouldn't give it a second thought. But it happens several times (2-5) per trip. Not per day. Per trip.

What is it about me or my driving that suddenly makes them hit the turbo boosters on their '76 Pinto and take off?

Another example

This is another example of what I can't do but would someday like to be able to do. Tell stories. That's it. That's what I want to do. Wil phrases it so well in that entry I linked to. Tell stories and have people feel what I felt when it happened. Just tell stories.

I don't want to write Tom Clancy style novel. I wouldn't mind writing articles here and there to pay the bills. But I want to tell stories.

Now, how do I go about doing that? Or, rather, how do I go about learning to do that? How do I learn to observe a situation and then describe it so people feel like they are in it? As I was reading his entry I could actually see him on the patio picking yellow leaves off of his tomato plants. I could see the dog run out to the back fence after the lizard. Possibly because my dog does the same thing but with squirrels, but I could still see it.

How do I do that? Yes I know, practice. But before I can start to practice, don't I need to have some idea what I am doing?

What's happening this week?

God's Child asked that on the previous post. God's Child was a blogger I discovered via a comment she made on my blog quite a while back. I really enjoyed reading her blog, but unfortunately she decided to stop blogging recently. Thanks for the nudge, God's Child.

So, what's happening this week?

A good friend of mine has been very upset the last two days. He is from Lebanon, but has lived here since he was 19. His wife is also from Lebanon. Neither of them are citizens of the United States, though they are in the process and are very close to becoming citizens. They have two young children, both born here so they are both citizens of the United States. His wife and two young children are currently in Lebanon. They went back to visit for 2 months over the summer. He was supposed to go along, at least for a month, but decided to stay back in case information came in the mail about their citizenship. He has been wanting this for over 20 years.

Well, in case you haven't seen any news this week, the Israeli's are attacking Lebanon. Missles, air strikes, and naval blockades. Even the airport has been bombed and currently planes cannot take off and land. He's very concerned for his family, even though he hears from them several times a day telling him that they are o.k. and that the fighting is far away.

He's angry. He's upset. All understandable.

Today he said to me "I wish they would take these guys from both sides that want to do this fighting out into the desert in Saudi Arabia and let them have at it!"

I can't even imagine what it would be like to have my wife, much less children, in that kind of danger. Situations like these make me appreciate the life I have here in America. There is a somewhat constant threat of terror, but there is no army, navy, and air force attacking my country.

I think I'll go kiss my wife now.

Maybe someday...

Maybe someday, when I've written a million words, thrown them away, and written a million more, I can write like this (especially like this).

That is all.....

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.

...

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

The beginning and ending of the Declaration of Independence (emphasis mine). No matter what you may feel about the current management of this country, it will serve you well to read the entire thing on this anniversary of our independence.