| Curious About A New Super Fuel? By Susan Farmer Home Curious about the newest technology in fuels? Well here is a bit of fascinating information on one of the newest ways to create a new biodiesel fuel. This fuel uses a nasty human irritant and turns it into a surprising alli. What is it? Well, scientists in San Francisco, California have taken the nasty bug, E.Coli, and genetically engineered it to excrete biodiesel fuel! How? The scientists mix sugar cane with modified E. Coli in huge vats of water. The E.Coli metabolize the sugars and then excrete the fatty acids. Here is one of the cool things though. These fatty acids have the same hydrocarbon configuration as petroleum! And here is the other really cool part! This biodieisel fuel is easy to collect because it just rises to the top and it is skimmed off the top, just like cream is skimmed of the top of milk. And then it can go straight into your gas tank! How cool is that? Also the cost is reasonable, about $50 a barrel! And the scientists say they can further drop costs by feeding the bacteria woodchips and other biowaste. The plant, L59, that has created the new biofuel wants to have a large scale facility to be up and running by 2011. My suggestion is start writing to congress and don't let this technology be side lined in any way. Sometimes, these discoveries just up and disappear before they actually get put to use. Don't let that happen to this one. I Want To Drive The New Chevy Volt! Vroom Vroom! By Susan Farmer I can just imagine zooming down the highway and I am not burning any gas! How is that possible? Because the new Chevy Volt doesn't burn any gas for the first 40 miles. For the first 40 miles the car runs on electric After that the gas engine kicks in. The thing is, On a normal day, I don't drive more that 40 miles. So that would save me a ton of gas money. Although, you have to ask, how much is the car going to be? Word is about $35,000. A little pricey. But then again $5 a gallon gasoline is downright frightening. And there are other cars on the horizon that promise to be plug in electric hybrids as well. The Saturn Vue Plug in is suppose to be out in 2011. Toyota has a plug in Prius in the works. And of course the all electric Telsa Roadster can go 125 mph and has started shipping this year. Well these cars all hold promise. And all hope is in the Lithium-ion battery. It weighs a hefty 400 lbs. The requirements are strict for the Chevy Volt. They are: It must be able to launch the car from 0 to 60 in eight seconds. It must run at least ten years. It must withstand 5000 full discharges. The battery must fit in a concentional driveshaft. It must not wight more than 400 pounds. It must of course be safe. The old technology was more costly and the batteries much heavier. The cost of one of the old batteries could be $50,000. So this type of large nickle-metal hydride battery is no longer being pursued by most car manufacturers. Well, bottom line is, yes we will see these cars and in the near future. And just in time, because even as I write this article gasoline prices are already creeping steadily up...... again. Warm wishes, Susan Farmer |
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| Feeling A Little Off After You Eat? As I watched Bill Maher's interview on Larry King Live I noticed that he said he never shopped at the grocery store. Well, I thought he can afford not to. Heck, he probably just has everything delivered so no need to shop! But still like radar I honed in on how healthy he looked. A nagging feeling about feeling just a little sick after I ate one of those T.V. Dinners stayed with me. And how about all the gas, bloating, and feeling like my stomach was about to explode when I ate well anything with carbohydrates. But then I realized I'd been eating carbohydrates out of a box. I looked again at Bill Maher. He looked healthier than I felt. So, reluctantly, I decided to go downstairs and look at some labels on all those boxes I'd bought. I looked at my T.V. dinners first. Wow. There was way more than the four ingredients I saw in the dinner. Upon looking closer I noticed it had soybean products and corn syrup. Why did I have corn syrup and soybeans in my dinner? Then I looked closer and saw a bunch of chemicals I did not recognize. Ugh! So I started looking through my cupboards. Nearly every packaged box from cake mix to pancake mix to T.V. dinners to cheesecake to chips and dip to cerel to rice to syrup to mayo to salad dressing to bread to margarine to honey had soybean products (mostly oil) and corn syrup and lots of chemicals! No wonder I felt sick a lot of the time. My body was loaded down with crap. As I realized how much soybean oil and corn syrup I was unknowingly consuming, I felt a little queasy just thinking about it. So, right then there I vowed to replace all the garbage in my house with pure ingredients. Of course, I coudn't do it all at once, but I vowed once I used up a product, I would replace it with a pure ingredient. I made my first ever cheesecake without grahm crackers which is loaded down with soybean oil and corn syrup. I checked the backs of every ingredient I used, buying the most pure I could find. When I tried some of my cheese cake, I noticed immediately that my body didn't feel odd and rebel. I actually felt good compared to eating the packaged stuff. Wow, pretty convincing. So, I did the same thing with rice. I threw out the packaged stuff, made some pure rice, put some Mrs. Dash (no msg) on for seasoning, a bit of cheese on top and I had a tasty rice dish. And my stomach didn't feel like it was an atom bomb about to explode. I discovered that cool whip is loaded with soybean oil and corn syrup as well. So I bought whip creme and half and half. But when I read the backs I discovered much to my amazement that there were additives in my half and half and whipping creme! So back I went, this time more carefully checking the labels. I did find a brand with no additives, Clover brand half and half and whipping creme. No Additives! Thank goodness. And yes when I tried it, it was wonderful. So what I discovered is that nearly everthing in a box or package has soybean oil, or a soybean product and corn syrup! Plus lots of other chemicals. So consumer beware if you are feeling a little off after you eat, check out what you are eating! I am changing over to pure ingredients. And I am starting to feel a lot better. Warm regards, Susan Farmer |
| OUCH! Jason Lee Miller recently did a story on people who had blogs and why they are quitting. Here is some of what he said: "Those heralded A-listers we all looked to over the past few years? Many of them are hanging it up. Mike Arrington: handed over the TechCrunch reins to hired staff. Jason Calacanis: moved to email. Their chief complaints: fame. Too many haters, too much spit in the face. Blogging Hits Crossroads: A-Listers Giving Up Dan Lyons This week’s quitter is Dan Lyons, the Newsweek writer who rocketed to blogsopheric recognition because of his satirical blog, The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs, now soured on "another high-tech fairy tale." His reason: there’s no money in blogging. The day the New York Times blew his Fake Steve Jobs cover, Lyons says, “more than 500,000 people hit my site—by far the biggest day I'd ever had—and through Google's AdSense program I earned about a hundred bucks. Over the course of that entire month, in which my site was visited by 1.5 million people, I earned a whopping total of $1,039.81. Soon after this I struck an advertising deal that paid better wages. But I never made enough to quit my day job.” " So we get the real scoop on just what it takes to make money with google. Jason goes on to say "True, the average blogger pulls in a mere $5,000-$6,000 per year, and that average is obscenely skewed by the top one percent of bloggers pulling more than $200,000.". So a few do well and a few make some pin money. But it doesn't sound like they are doing it with google, unless they have a thousand sites that are doing well. Ouch! Here is a link to Jason's website: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/02/11/blogging-hits-crossroads-a-listers-giving-up |
| Wonderful places online to help us (you and me) with doing nice things for others. http://doonenicething.com/ http://www.modestneeds.org/ |
| 1-2-3- Those Cheetos Are Sold! I am always looking for a new and interesting idea for people to earn money to put on this website. And here's a new one! Auctioning Food! Yes that's right. All across the country consumers are trading the grocery isle for grocery auctions. Recently, Kirk Williams held his very first grocery auction in Pennslyvania and almost 300 people showed up. Astounded at the turnout Kirk is scheduling more auctions in north-eastern Pennsylvania even as I write this article. With gas prices going up again (here they are $2.35 a gallon) on this day March 28, 2009, you can bet the oil guys are going to push that up to $3.00 a gallon by Memorial Day. At least that is my guess and if it does grocery prices will also be on the rise again. So maybe grocery auctions are starting to make sense. So what do the auctions offer? Bidders vye for dry goods and frozen goods, and allso household supplies. also some of the goods maybe left over from restaurants, grocery stores, distribution centers and and other retailers in distress. Steve Schleeter's grocery auction has seen attendance swell, says that consumers can knock as much as 50% off their grocery bill if they are savvy. Well, what are the auctioners making as far as profit? About $12,000 dollars in sales can average about $1,000 profit. If you are interested in becoming an auction organizer for food here is a place to start. Banana Box Wholesale Grocery in Kutztown, PA is a food brokerage that supplies salvage grocery stores around the country. They also have seen a big increase from auctioneers. So, if you have an inklling, could be interesting. Remember, as an auction organizer, be flexible. Identify the current need and you'll do a lot better. Cheers, Susan Farmer Oh yes, people are paying with cash, credit cards and food stamps. |
| My Dog is Eating Those chemicals Too! I just discovered that my dog is eating all of the same nasty stuff I was. Dog food is loaded with Soybean and Corn gluten and corn products and additives. So, I decided my pets would do better if I fed them pure ingredients as well. I decided to try making some dog food of my own. My dog's name is Lady and she is an older Golden Retriever. So I bought some lean beef on sale, cooked it, drained off the grease, and added yams (cooked), avacodo, potato, and tomato. I let all that simmer a while, added a little salt, and fed her that for about a week. She also liked it a little better if I added a little catsup on top. Within a week she had lost weight, had a lot more energy and was a ton more alert. Oh and I quit giving her both the dry and canned dog food. For breakfast I give her a little Wheaties with milk and she likes it just fine. So the cerel is her whole grains that she needs. My dog is definately feeling better and seems a lot happier. And that makes me feel better too. So I decided to start cooking for the cat too. He mailnly likes chicken, steak and fish, fresh catnip and fresh peas. Also I discovered he likes spaghetti sauce with lean beef. Well, warm wishes for you and your pet! Susan Farmer |
| Demolition Auctioneer. Wow! Wait Until You Hear This Story. It Is Way Cool! It begins in Chicago. There an enterprising woman, with fiesty red hair and an engaging personality seeks out homes in Chicago that are slated for demolition. She makes a deal with the home owner to salvage the home's materials. Some of the materials being salvaged that I saw were worth hundreds of thousands of dallars. Here are some examples. A drop dead gorgeous kitchen worth a whopping $85,000 in retail value sold for $14,000! But, this kitchen included granite counter tops, beautiful wood cabinets (hardwood), fabulous stainless steel appliances, and even the wood flooring. There dozens and dozens of examples, all very valuable, and sold for a song compared to the retail valuable. But the lady auctioneer made a bundle. But she has a lot riding on every auction. She is supporting her entire family. Now here is where it gets really interesting. What kind of people do you think show up at her auction and where do you think the auction is held? Maybe you are thinking, well she comes in with a crew, removes everything and then has everything moved to a convention room where hundreds of people flock in for her finds. Well,that is what I thought too. But no! Here is how it works. The prospective buyers gather at the house! She gives her prospective buyers one hour to inspect the prospective pieces, which are still intact in the house. Also, items outside the house are up for grabs as well, such as brick, fencing, the door to the house, etc. Basically anthing that is salvagable and sombody wants. So, from what I saw about 30 people show up for the auction. there are everyday folks looking for a good buy to redo their kitchens to salvage buyers who are in constant contact with their clients via cell phone. I even saw unemployed folks show up looking for a bargain. Now, here is where things get really interesting. She doesn't have an auctioneers voice, just a regular speaking one like you and me. and she starts the bidding. Alright folks, we're going to start the bidding on the door at $100. Anybody want it? Some one raises a hand. Our auctioneer is playful, and leads them along into bidding agianst each other in a friendly way. No one seems to get mad at her or question her. As the bidding closes on that item, they move to a different part of the house, to maybe start on cabinets, or applinaces, or furniture, or antiques, or wood flooring, lighting fixtures, fireplace mantels, and just about anything else you can think of. Now this part is ingenius. As each item closes and the buyers move through the house, the buyers themselves remove all of the items they have bought. Some have a small crew to help come in and do the removals. And they have to be fast. They have to be able to remove it in a single day. Our auctioneer performs none of the actual labor. And the terms of the sale? Cash, cash or cash. Here are the parts I don't know. But if I find out I will be sure and post them. I don't know how the appraisal of the items are done ( she knows the retail value of everything she sells). She may have someone come in or she is in the know and does the research herself. I also do not know if she receives permission of the owner and is just given the opportunity to have them for free or gives the owner a percentage of the sale. I would guess that she works out a percentage deal with the owner. Why are the houses being demolished? Well in certain areas where the area is prime and little land for sale, the only way to get a home you like is to buy the home, demolish it and then rebuild the way you want it. Many million dollar homes are demolished in her area. I hope you find this article interesting and helpful! As ever, warm wishes, Susan Farmer |
| Sagging Income? Create your own Stimulus! Sell Hot Dogs! That is what some people like Andrea and Ben Guajardo are doing. They began selling hot dogs from a pushcart back in November. Andrea is a grant administrator for a health-care system and her husband is a pipeline operator. Their town has a population of only 957 people. And guess what? The town can't even remember the last time someone had a hot dog stand in their town. . Both still work full time, but aren't waiting to get laid off and have to scrounge for a minimum wage job. And so are a lot of other Americans. Working professionals like real estate agent s and train operators to you name it. And guess what? Hot dog cart stand sales are heating up. Where can you actually buy a hot dog stand? Well, Joel Goetz, owner of American Hot dog Carts, Inc. sells them and he says just about every model is taking off. You can also lease a cart from Leasing Services in Newbury Park, California. Dan Jackson, who is the a division manager for the company says leasing the carts is excellent business right now. Now you have to ask yourself why hot dogs? Well the reason is because frankfurters or hot dogs are sold precooked and so underergo less scrutiny from health inspectors. One couple in florida says their sales have increased 20% per year and they plan to open more stands. They pay their employees $8 and hour. I personally think if you are going to hire someone pay them $10 per hour or more because in this economy it is the right thing to do. And you want people who are going to do a good job, so give them some motivation! So how much can you actually make at this hot dog selling idea? Well, according to The Wall Street Journal a skilled vendor (remember you have to be nice to people) can make around $400 a day in a heavy pedestrian area. Sellers in locations with less poeple might make one half to one third of that. But here's something real interesting. The first couple I told you about, Andrea and Ben, in their little town they make a good amount. Here is what they do. The set up on weekends from 11-2 downtown. Then again on Saturday nights outside their local honkytonk. How much do you think they average? An amazing $1,150 in take home earnings. In order to do that they sell about 400 hot dogs, drinks, chips, and pickles. Keep in mind though, their is a lot of cleaning and preparation that goes with the idea. And right now competetion may be growing, but I just bet right now their is plenty of room for you! Oh of course, you might want to know the cost of a hot dog stand. Plan on about $2000-$3000 dollars. Kind regards, Susan Farmer |
| Out of Butter? Make Your Own In Three-Five Minutes! You know how I am on the health kick about eating pure foods. My body feels like it is healing. One of the ingredients I was looking for was pure butter. Much to my disgust Most margarines, even those that claim they are heart healthy are made up of almost entirely, yep you guessed it, soybean oil! So, one day I was cutting up some strawberries and I decided I need some lucious whip creme to put on top. So I got out my heavy whipping creme, which is pure creme, no additives, and got our my beaters, which I have to say has given me endless uses. I just went down to Walmart and to my surprise, the old fashioned beaters like what we used as a kid to whip cakes up, you could now buy for about $7.00! So I bought one and I have used it for all kinds of things, including making butter! Well,back to my story. One day, I was making whip creme and it only takes about one minute with my beaters, but something distracted me and I went a couple of minutes more without realizing it. When I looked down, my whip creme was very stiff and had a yellow tint to it. Upon closer examination I realized I had just made butter! And that is all there is to it! Just beat your whip creme for about three minutes. You can add a touch of salt or sugar or leave it the way it is. That is what I do! And it is delicious! And being a pure ingredient, in my opinion, it is way healthier than margarine. Well, as ever, Warm regards, Susan |