According to car site, MonsterAuto.ca, vehicle cloning is all the rage: “Here is how it works. Thieves steal a car, usually a high-end “desirable” car or SUV. Then they take the vehicle identification number or VIN from a similar vehicle and slap it on the stolen car. Because each VIN is unique like a fingerprint, the stolen vehicle become a clone of a legitimate vehicle. Add some fake papers, and the thieves are ready to sell you a vehicle that looks perfectly legal.”

When the police come knocking on your door, you have no legal recourse – you have to hand over the stolen property. Statistics show that this horror story is happening to more and more people ever year. In 2007 there were over 1.3 million cars stolen cars in the US, with over 250,000 or 1 in 5 of these stolen vehicles sold to unsuspecting victims. In the UK, this is being called that fastest growing car crime. And Canadians are being hit just as hard.

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1. Collect everything in one place.
Take out everything and put it in a pile. Empty the entire drawer, and pile it all on a counter or a table. Take everything out, down to the last paper clip.

2. Choose the essential.
Pick out only the few things you love and use and that are important to you. Just sort through the pile, picking out the really essential stuff. Be very selective. Put the important stuff you pick out into a separate, smaller pile. Read the rest of this entry »

One of my all-time favorite blogs is GetRichSlowly. More than just a simple blog, GetRichSlowly is a comprehensive and full-fledged resource for learning about and managing personal finances. Today they have a great post on getting 2008 off on the right financial foot:

Develop a budget
After you’ve tracked your spending for a few weeks (or months), use the data you’ve collected to develop a budget. According to The Millionaire Next Door, budgeting is one thing that sets the wealthy apart from the rest of us — 55% of millionaires keep a budget. (…)

Start an emergency fund
For years I lived paycheck-to-paycheck. I spent everything I earned. This worked well until something went wrong. And something always went wrong. Suddenly I’d find myself without money to pay for a car repair, or facing an expensive doctor’s bill. I financed emergencies with credit cards. After years of carrying debt, I finally paid off all these emergencies last month. (…) Read the rest of this entry »

HT Perez

According to the Left-Handers Club:

• Left-handed persons are called sinistral.
• Most left-handers draw figures facing to the right.
• There is a high tendency in twins for one to be left-handed.
• Research from the US National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that among graduates the earning power of left-handed men is 15% greater than that of men who are right-handed.
• Stuttering and dyslexia occur more often in left-handers (particularly if they are forced to change their writing hand as a child).
• 4 out of the last 6 presidents have been left-handed (Ford, Reagan, H.W. Bush, Clinton). Read the rest of this entry »

Here are the words chosen by the American Dialect Society as 2007’s best words or phrases:

• Word of the Year: Subprime, an adjective used to describe a risky or less than ideal loan, mortgage or investment.
• Most Useful: Green, designates environmental concern.
• Most Creative: Googleganger, person with your name who shows up when you Google yourself.
• Most Unnecessary: Happy Kwanhanamas, Happy Holidays. Kwanza + Hanukkah + Christmas.
• Most Outrageous: Toe-tapper, a homosexual. Sen. Larry Craig, an Idaho Republican, was arrested in June for an encounter in a Minneapolis airport bathroom in which toe-tapping as said to have been used as a sexual come-on.

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Apparently, a lot of people are thinking that Brit Brit is bipolar. But what is Bipolar anyway?

According to the National Institute of Mental Health,

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function. Different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. But there is good news: bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives.

About 5.7 million American adults or about 2.6 percent of the population, have bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood. The periods of highs and lows are called episodes of mania and depression.

The symptoms are as follows:

Signs and symptoms of mania (or a manic episode) include:

• Increased energy, activity, and restlessness
• Excessively “high,” overly good, euphoric mood
• Extreme irritability
• Racing thoughts and talking very fast, jumping from one idea to another
• Distractibility, can’t concentrate well
• Little sleep needed
• Unrealistic beliefs in one’s abilities and powers
• Poor judgment
• Spending sprees Read the rest of this entry »

Reduced risk of death from nearly all causes: European researchers suggest that moderate daily intake of red wine (22-32 g of alcohol) has a protective effect on all-cause mortality. According to studies from France, UK, Finland and Denmark, moderate consumption of wine is more beneficial than that of beer or spirits.

Smoking: Acute smoking significantly impairs vessels’ natural ability to relax, or vasodilate. Red wine, with or without alcohol, decreases the harmful effect of smoking on the endothelium - layer of cells that provide a friction-reducing lining in lymph vessels, blood vessels, and the heart. Read the rest of this entry »