Get Your Car Loan Before Car Shopping

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Eventually the only cure for a bucket of bolts is to retire the old Nelly and get a new car. The problem with getting a new car is figuring out how to pay for it. After all these years, I have figured out some of the better ways to do that.

When I have a good idea what type of vehicle I want to get and what the ballpark purchase price might be, I shop around for the car loan before I ever step foot on the dealer’s lot. It strengthens your negotiating position to have your financing arranged before haggling with the dealership. I used to go to my bank and the big finance companies to shop for a new car loan, but they have gotten harder and harder to deal with over the years.

The Pledge

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Haven’t heard a peep out of the TV or any ads or buzz anywhere about this movie called, “The Pledge.” It stars the kids from Beverly Hills 90210, Luke Perry, all grown up and weathered-looking, as a cowboy and sheriff out for revenge. The bad guys killed his wife and son and he tracks him down. There are some turns of events and he ends up in a small town helping a beautiful woman and her son against the land grabbing town’s bigshot, who hires – surprise! – the same bad guy that the sheriff conveniently happens to be hunting.

It was a small budget film that felt like it might have been made for TV. The acting was good although everyone but Luke Perry was small time, and Luke isn’t a big attraction anymore – it was hard to get past the Beverly Hills association. But there was no sex, limited violence, and a fresh take on western cowboy shoot em ups that today’s kids just might embrace.

Family Photos

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The kids came home from their first day of school full of chatter and excitement about their new classes, their new teachers, and all the friends they haven’t seen over the summer. They brought a pile of paperwork that needs to be filled out and signed and sent back in, often with a check attached. One of the things I wanted to see right away was the school calendar with all the holidays and vacation dates. Sorry to say, here it is August and I’m already thinking about December and Christmas vacation.

Wind Farms for Energy

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Years ago as we drove through Nevada and Southern California I was impressed by the lines of wind turbines along the ridges of the hills. The massive towers and slowly swirling blades are silent sentries generating electricity for homes and businesses without polluting the environment. The land around the base of the towers can still be planted and farmed, and livestock can still graze safely. Although some people have called them ugly, I think they are majestic.

With a little research on the internet I found that not all areas of the U. S. are suitable for making use of the wind turbines. You must have a sustained wind of so many mph to be able to harvest enough wind to generate electricity. There are wind maps that show zones of the different levels of sustained wind, and in my area there is not enough natural wind to take advantage of the turbines.

Recently there were news stories about T. Boone Pickens and his energy plan to involves erecting hundreds of thousands of wind turbines throughout the midwest and western states. He has a web site with compelling videos and energy facts supporting the plan. I see he will be on CNN today and talking about the status of his plan. It’s worth taking a listen and getting involved if you agree with the strategy and want to help solve our Country’s energy crisis.

Good Bye Bernie Mac

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Last week I saw a blip on the news that comedian Bernie Mac was hospitalized with pneumonia. They didn’t go into any detail and a couple days ago in the scrolling headline news I read that Bernie Mac was improving and expected to recover. So I don’t know what the heck happened over the last couple of days but I was shocked and saddened to read the headline on Yahoo this morning that announced his death due to complications from pneumonia.

I loved Bernie Mac and his stand up routines. He was able to be funny about racial issues, poverty, and contemporary life without being a smart aleck and without being completely nasty like some of the other popular black comics. Sure, he cussed and talked about politically incorrect topics, but his take on those subjects was what made him funny.

The Bernie Mac show was really funny and although I never watched the show’s original airings, I caught many reruns on late night TV. From reading his biography, the Bernie Mac show ran 5 years and was Fox’s biggest hit comedy of the time. Plus, Bernie had a long string of movie titles, including Oceans Eleven, Oceans Twelve and Oceans Thirteen.

Bernie Mac was born Bernard McCullough on October 5, 1957 – just a few days before my baby sister was born. He died this morning in Chicago at age 50. Bernie – you will be missed.