Clipmarks | BobbyDelray's clips

Can Jerry Seinfeld Save Vista?

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:31:34 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Microsoft is turning to a new spokesman to drum up interest in its Windows Vista operating system: Jerry Seinfeld.

The comedian will star alongside Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates in a series of ads meant to counter the popular notion that Vista is a failure, the Journal reports.

What’s the deal with Vista?

Rule Will Make It Harder for Women-Owned Businesses to Win Federal Contracts

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:37:24 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

A Small Business Administration proposed rule, which was first published in the Federal Register last December, would limit the number of federal contracts set aside for women-owned businesses to four industries that are shown to be underrepresented by women. The four are: national security and international affairs; coating, engraving, heat treating and allied activities; household and institutional furniture and kitchen cabinet manufacturing; and motor vehicle dealers.

Federal agencies are supposed to give 5% of all federal contracts to women-owned businesses, but have not yet come close to meeting that goal, according to a news release from the National Association of Women Business Owners.

Readers, do you think all women-owned businesses should be eligible for federal contract set-asides? Why or why not?

4 Ways to Save on Your Medical Bills

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:44:30 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.usnews.com

The report, "Losing Ground: How the Loss of Adequate Health Insurance Is Burdening Working Families," paints a pretty bleak picture of how high healthcare costs are not only causing people to avoid getting the medical care they need but also straining their ability to pay for basic necessities like housing and food.

Make your health plan pay its share. This sounds obvious, but too often people don't demand their due. When they get a notice saying their claim has been rejected, or that the insurer will cover only a portion of the cost, they simply pay up instead of questioning the charge. Don't do that.

Check out government programs

Negotiate with your providers.

Consider prompt payment discounts carefully

Need some help? The Access Project offers free assistance to help consumers deal with medical debt.

Obama Says Single-Payer Health Care Makes Sense

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:38:54 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

Barack Obama said he would consider embracing a single-payer health-care system sometime in the future as his plan for broader health coverage evolves, the WSJ’s Amy Chozick reports from the campaign trail.

“If I were designing a system from scratch, I would probably go ahead with a single-payer system,” Obama told some 1,800 people at a town-hall meeting on the economy in
Albuquerque, New Mexico.

But critics, including every Republican we can think of, cringe at the elimination of competition and deep government involvement in the private sector.

“People don’t have time to wait,” Obama said. “They need relief now. So my attitude is let’s build up the system we got, let’s make it more efficient, we may be over time—as we make the system more efficient and everybody’s covered—decide that there are other ways for us to provide care more effectively.”

Number of Insured Continues to Grow in Massachusetts

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:32:51 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

The number of people with health insurance continues to grow in Massachusetts, home of a closely watched universal health insurance plan.

Some 439,000 people have signed up for insurance since the plan went into effect in 2006, state officials said in a report released yesterday. (The figures exclude Medicare.) That’s more than two-thirds of the estimated 600,000 who were uninsured in the state two years ago, the Boston Globe reports.

Indeed, so many people have signed up for insurance that the program is costing far more than expected, and there’s currently a fight in the state over how to pay for it.

Still, there’s a financial upside. The number of people showing up at emergency rooms for routine care — an inefficient, high-cost way to get such care — has fallen 37% since the plan went into effect, the Globe says. That decline has saved the state an estimated $68 million.

The report is online here; a Washington Post story on the report is here.

Better to Be Fat and Fit Than Skinny and Unfit

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:01:22 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: Since this article describes my current of state of affairs with my weight I decided to clip it.

Lots of good information by following the links in the clip and the original article.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Increasingly, medical research is showing that it isn’t. Despite concerns about an obesity epidemic, there is growing evidence that our obsession about weight as a primary measure of health may be misguided.

Last week a report in The Archives of Internal Medicine compared weight and cardiovascular risk factors among a representative sample of more than 5,400 adults. The data suggest that half of overweight people and one-third of obese people are “metabolically healthy.” That means that despite their excess pounds, many overweight and obese adults have healthy levels of “good” cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose and other risks for heart disease.

The data follow a report last fall from researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute showing that overweight people appear to have longer life expectancies than so-called normal weight adults.

Wanted: ‘Young Eco-Geniuses’

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 01:46:25 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com

A few months ago, I encouraged Dot Earth contributors who wanted to eschew anonymity and the grayness of text comments to post video greetings. As a result, you’ve had a chance to “meet” Wang Suya, Jeff Huggins and others face to face. Some here think this may help sustain a civil, productive environment on the blog by reminding people that there are human beings out there amid the streams of electrons. Now you get to meet Paul Horan. Sitting amid lemon trees near Malibu, Calif., he offers up a reward to “deserving young eco-geniuses” who are willing to tell today’s ruling class how they define “what’s sustainable and what’s not.”

[Video]

An Olympic Stadium Worth Remembering

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:51:50 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: More than 90,000 spectators will stream through its gates on Friday for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games; billions are expected to watch the fireworks on television. At the center of it all is this dazzling stadium, which is said to embody everything from China’s muscle-flexing nationalism to a newfound cultural sophistication.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Income vs. Gas Prices, an Update

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 01:36:02 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: It seems that some Americans are now spending twice as much of their household income for gasoline as they were in 1999. That is a serious number.

I believe that median household income is around $48,000 right now. So those Americans are spending about $5500 a year on gasoline. To me that is a scary number.

This also explains why you can no longer get a parking spot at the Tri-Rail parking lot in Delray Beach. Well if you get there before 6:30 AM I suppose you can.

This does not bode well for the economy. Let's see: drive, ride the bike or give up beer?

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

Edmunds.com, which released an analysis saying that about 60 vehicles in the new-vehicle market now cost over $100 to fill up, also gave an update on how gas prices are grabbing more of consumers’ incomes. Edmunds says the median household is spending 11.5% of its income on gasoline, up from 4.6% of its income five years ago. Here’s a look at how that progressed:

Date*	Price Per Gallon (1)	Median Income (2)	Income spend on fuel (3)
1991	$1.09	$30,126	4.9%
1995	$1.14	$34,076	4.6%
1999	$1.19	$40,696	4.0%
2003	$1.51	$43,318	4.8%
2007	$2.96	$48,201	8.4%
2008	$4.06	$48,201	11.5%

Source: Edmunds.com

Calculate your Economic Stimulus Payment

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:01:17 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.irs.gov

Economic Stimulus Payment Calculator

Welcome to the Economic Stimulus Payment Calculator

In order to determine whether you qualify for a stimulus payment, we will ask you a series of questions.

Before You Start

Have your 2007 Form 1040, Form 1040EZ, or Form 1040A available. You will be entering information from one of these forms.
The result from this tool is just an estimate.
Allow approximately 5-10 minutes to complete this tool.
Please answer all questions on each page.

Remember the answer you get is only as accurate as the data you enter!

'World's greatest dad' charged in online child-sex sting

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:00:53 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.usatoday.com

A Michigan man wore a T-shirt that said "World's Greatest Dad" when he went to have sex with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl, officials tell the Detroit Free Press.

Daniel Allen Everett "allegedly engaged in graphic sexual conversation with an undercover agent and propositioned the agent, who was posing as a 14-year-old girl, to meet him for sex," prosecutors say in a statement issued Tuesday. "This afternoon, Everett was arrested in Novi where he is alleged to have appeared to meet the minor for sex. He was arrested wearing a T-shirt with the words, 'Worlds Greatest Dad' on the front, a sad reminder that Internet predators come from all walks of life."

Everett, a 33-year-old who chatted online as "danmichelle2004," was charged yesterday with child sexual abuse and using the Internet to attempt sexual abuse.

Ants swarm over Houston

Wed, 14 May 2008 22:09:48 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: When you kill these ants, the survivors turn it to their advantage: They pile up the dead, sometimes using them as a bridge to cross safely over surfaces treated with pesticide.

Clip Source: www.breitbart.com

In what sounds like a really low-budget horror film, voracious swarming ants that apparently arrived in Texas aboard a cargo ship are invading homes and yards across the Houston area, shorting out electrical boxes and messing up computers.

formally known as "paratrenicha species near pubens

Sex gets better with age, study says

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:44:08 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: It will be a while before I can comment on this first hand. It is interesting thought.

I wonder if I am going to need to move to Sweden?

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

70-year-olds said they get it on now more than they did 30 years ago

More 70-year-olds are having good sex more often, Swedish researchers said on Tuesday in a finding bound to bring a smile to many an aging baby boomer.

They found 70-year-olds of both sexes are having more sex than they did 30 years ago, and many more women report being satisfied with their sex lives.

Vote: Does sex gets better as you get older?
Sexed-up seniors do it more than you think
Sexploration: Grams and Gramps are getting it on

Tags: sex

Use a Machete and Shower Less: Five ‘Manly’ Ways to Go Green

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:59:13 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: Funny, entertaining and thought provoking.

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

Q: What are five going green tips for life you’d give guys who think eco-stuff is for wimps?

A: First, make friends with a guy who tears down buildings. My Dad is friends with a guy who does that in Akron; he’ll be tearing down a school with gargoyles and stuff and thinks it’s all garbage. My Dad takes a gargoyle home and makes an incredibly gorgeous sculpture out of it.

Second, learn how to landscape with a machete. Instead of firing up the chainsaw and using gas to trim the branches, use the machete to hack a path. Plus, you’ll look so cool sharpening it with a stone. Sit on the front stoop with a toothpick and sharpen your machete and you’ll never be f—– with.

Three, shower less frequently. You can tell your wife that you’re saving the earth.

Four, ride a motorcycle. It saves gas. My wife has always been anti-motorcycle, but she brought it up recently. If you ever wanted a motorcycle, now you can do it with a moral imperative.

Five, conserve water by drinking your whiskey straight.

Hundreds swept up in mortgage fraud arrests

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:04:08 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: This should lead to the sequel to Dumb and Dumber.

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

More than 400 real estate industry players have been indicted since March — including dozens over the last two days — in a Justice Department crackdown on incidents of mortgage fraud nationwide that have contributed to the country's housing crisis.

Since March 1, 406 people have been arrested in the sting dubbed "Operation Malicious Mortgage" that saw 144 cases across the country. Sixty people were arrested on Wednesday alone, including in Chicago, Miami, Houston and a dozen other regions policed by the FBI.

"Mortgage fraud and related securities fraud pose a significant threat to our economy, to the stability of our nation's housing market and to the peace of mind to millions of Americans," Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip said in a statement Thursday. The Justice Department and FBI planed to announce the cases at an afternoon news conference in Washington.