AAA Westways: Connecting with Kin / Calico Ghost Town

I had an earlier post as part of my "Visit?" series about going to Calico Ghost town.

In the recent issue of Westways Magazine which is published by the Automobile Club of Southern California, there was a short feature on a family's annual reunion to Calico Ghost Town.

This family has been doing this for 30 years and they have some tips including the following:

• Begin planning early
• Discuss the budget
• Plan something for each age group
• Bring family photos
• Relax and enjoy yourself

For more details, click here to go to the article

AAA Westways: Ways to Gather (for family reunions and groups)

In a recent issue of Westways which is published by the Automobile Club of Southern California, there was a feature that claims "The best destination family reunions offer quality time together - and apart"

They offer these recommendations (and of course a AAA Travel Agent can help):

• Take a cruise (all-inclusive or nearly so)
• Stay at a Resort or Ranch
• Plan a Disney Vacation
• Go Camping

They also suggest some strategies for success:

• Schedule time together
• Enlist a travel agent
• Make family reunion t-shirts
• Take a group picture
• Make the memories last

To read more, click here to be taken to AAA's website.

ING Compare Me / Money: Seven Secrets to a Richer Retirement

If you have been reading my blog, you know that I have been getting Money Magazine for free (still).  In a recent issue, they were covering the retirement.  They had a couple things that were interesting including referencing ING's Compare Me website.  You can enter your age, your income, and how much you have saved.  It looks like more than 154,000 people have registered.

They also went through the Seven (7) Secrets to a Richer Retirement which include:

• Get a good picture of the future you
• Try to beat the other guy
• Use reminders and checklists
• Think bite-size pieces, not whole enchilada
• Make friends with an annuity
• Take losses in stride
• Protect the future you

Click here to go to INGCompareMe.com

To view the above in more detail, click here to go to their website.

To subscribe to Money Magazine, click here for 1-year auto-renewal

NFL Women's Merchandise

I guess the NFL has launched a website just for women.  Women account for 44 percent of their fan base.  They are targeting merchandise that can be purchased for use at games or at any other venue.

They have a fairly slick website, and on quick review all of it can still be purchased on the main NFL shopping site.

Support me by clicking on my Upromise link.  Click on the "See Deals and Shop" button and then type nfl.com on the search window.

Time.com: This really sucks

Recently I have been going on anywhere between two and four trips per year.  I have friends who easily do that in any given month.

If you have been reading my blog, I am still getting Time Magazine for free.  In a quick skim of the current issue, there is an article covering the recent conference in Chicago about bedbugs.  I have been lucky, but I probably need to be more careful.

Click here to read the article on Time.com

Click here to see pictures of the bedbugs

To subscribe to Time magazine, click here for 1 year with auto-renewal:

Fry's Lenovo H215 0893 1AU computer deal

Here is a pretty good deal until 9/30/10.  Fry's electronics has a special on the lenovo H215 0893 1AU system.  On Amazon, a similar system is going for $359.99 and on eBay, it is going for about $400.

Until 9/30/10 you can get a system for $299.99 after $30 in instant savings.  Here are the specs:

• AMD Athlon II x2  at 2.7
• 2 GB RAM
• 320 GB hard drive
• DVD-RW
• 16 in 1 media card reader
• 6 USB Drives
• Windows 7 Home Premium 32
• 1 year basic warranty

It is basic computing if you need it.  

Click here to go to Frys.com It says that you can only have one per customer.

The following is to buy from Amazon.com

Nice electricity storage solution: pump water up hill

In this Forbes article (which I still get the magazine for free) by Jonathan Fahey, he talks about the perennial problem of renewable energy sources.  The problem whether it be wind or solar is how do you store it and provide it on a regular, nearly continuous basis?

The solution in this article is to pump water 1,200 feet up when a lot of electricity is being produced and then when it is needed, the pump would become a generator that produces up to 400 megawatts.  This would require building two lakes that each could hold 1.5 billion gallons of water.

There is a 20 percent frictional loss because you spend 5 kilowatt-hours to get 4 kilowatt-hours back.

Click here to read more about this.

To subscribe to Forbes, click here for 1 year or 2 years

AAA: Keep your old car or trade it for a new one?

In this AAA article titled "Keep It or Dump It?" Peter Bohr tackles the mind battle all of us grapple with when deciding how much longer to keep our current cars.

Here are the common reasons rationalize buying a new car:

• Too much hassle (too many trips to the mechanic, etc...)
• Too unattractive
• Too few of the latest bells and whistles
• Too fuelish

To tread the whole article, click here

Time: Big Brother is Watching

Just going through the most recent Time magazine that I am still getting for free.

I guess government agents can plant a GPS device on your car while it is parked on your driveway.  If you had a gate or a no-trespassing sign, then maybe that can't....

Click here to read more on Yahoo! (article originally by Time)

Click here to subscribe to Time Magazine for 1 year with auto-renewal