It’s getting hotter and hotter every day now, which means I need to find a place that does auto air conditioning repair. Yes, the AC in my car went out at the tail end of last summer and of course I decided to put off the repairs until this year. I know that auto air conditioning repairs can be pretty expensive, so I wanted to give myself some extra time to save.

The weather has been tolerable up til now, so I’ve been getting by with just opening the windows. But I hate driving like that for extended periods of time because I end up breathing nothing but exhaust for however long I’m driving. Nasty stuff!! I just have to bite the bullet and hope I find an auto air conditioning repair shop that is above-board and won’t try to rip me off.

Do any of you out there have personal experience with fixing the AC in your cars? Are there any national auto air conditioning repair shops that you recommend dealing with?

I’m trying to be much more diligent about keeping good records of my income and expenses to make my quarterly and year-end tax reporting a lot easier. That means I’ve been printing out receipts and my PayPal history regularly, and I’m going through a ton of printer paper, inkjet cartridges, file folders, labels, and a bunch of other supplies.

It’s not quite time to stock up yet, but when I run out of all these things, you can bet I’ll be shopping at a place that offers a huge selection of discount office supplies. Just because I can write these expenses off at the end of the year doesn’t mean I’m not interested in saving money! After all, getting a tax write-off doesn’t make the products free, and I still have to pay for them out of my own pocket, so I definitely need the lowest prices possible.

My son is now old enough to be interested in decorating his room with his favorite things. Before, he was pretty much satisfied with bright colors or whatever, but now he’s becoming pickier about the things he wants in his room. For example, he doesn’t like his plain sheets anymore, but has been asking for Scooby Doo bedding instead. Scooby Doo is one of his favorite cartoons, so that makes sense.

Anyway, I’ve been looking for Scooby Doo bedding online and have found that it’s a very popular product. Some of the Scooby Doo bedding I saw featured a single character (like Scooby, Fred, Shaggy, or Scrappy), while other sets featured the entire gang — plus the Mystery Machine van. It all looks very cool, so I’m sure my son will like it. Heck, this was my favorite cartoon when I was a kid, so I would have loved to have had some Scooby Doo bedding back then!

While I was checking around, I also saw some race car bedding that I think my son would love. After all, he’ll need more than one set of sheets, right?

I can’t wait to buy this stuff for him!

On the PayPal Money Market Fund, that is. I just checked my account this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see that the yield is back up to 5.04% per year after having dipped to 5.02% for the last month or so. Good news! I hope the upward trend continues (or I hope that the rate at least holds steady).

I was talking to a friend earlier today and she told me that she caught her teenage son downloading MP3s from one of those popular file share sites. She was pretty upset, and asked me if I knew of any way that she could block her son’s computer from accessing those places. I don’t know if that kind of thing is possible without some kind of parental control software, so I couldn’t help her. But we got to talking more about file share sites and I told her that they don’t bother me all that much — depending on what’s being shared.

I know a lot of people are up in arms about file share sites such as MiniNova, FileSoup, and various Usenet groups, and want those places taken offline as soon as possible. But I think that those sites are actually okay — so long as people aren’t downloading movies. Here’s why.

Some of the most popular downloads on file share sites are TV shows, ebooks, and MP3s. All of those products are available free to the consumer in one form or another. Do you want to hear the latest Linkin Park song? Just turn on the radio and it’ll get played soon enough. Want to read the latest Stephen King novel? Go to your local library and check it out. Want to catch the latest episode of CSI? Turn on your television at 8pm on Thursday. Get what I’m saying? These things are available for free, so I don’t necessarily think it’s wrong for people to download them on file share sites.

Now movies are a bit different. While they do eventually make it to cable and free television, they take much longer to do it than TV shows, music, and books. So in this way, I can see how file share sites might take a bite out of a studio’s profits.

A lot of folks out there think that file share sites are just plain wrong because even TV shows, books, and music are subject to copyright laws, but I don’t buy into that point of view. I don’t think it’s stealing when people watch downloaded TV shows, read downloaded ebooks, or listen to downloaded music. As long as they’re not reselling the files for a profit, what’s the big deal? They’re just “timeshifting” their viewing, listening , or reading — just as they would with TiVo or whatever.

Any additional thoughts on this? I’d love to hear your opinion of file share sites!

One thing my husband and I have been working on this year is sprucing up our home, both inside and out. So we’ve committed ourselves to projects such as painting the exterior, installing blinds, redoing the floors, buying new furniture, and just generally redecorating. We haven’t completed all of these projects yet, but they’re definitely in the works. I can’t wait for us to get moving on these upgrades because our house is beginning to look run-down and feel a bit drab.

I have to say that I’m most excited about redecorating the interior, especially the walls. Right now our walls are either bare or they’ve got posters on them. The posters aren’t even framed, either — they’re just tacked on. Yes, our home is decorated like a college dorm room!

I would love to start purchasing fine art to hang on the walls. I’ve been checking around online for some nice galleries to buy from and came across one called the Park West Gallery. I really liked some of the works featured on the Park West Gallery website, and can definitely envision placing some of those paintings around my home. I haven’t inquired about pricing yet, but if I can afford this artwork, I’ll go ahead and buy some.

Even though the Park West Gallery is located in Michigan, they conduct art auctions all over the United States and Canada, so I’m sure I’ll be able to get my hands on one of their paintings either through the website or through an auction.

It will be so nice to have beautiful art on the walls for a change! I plan on checking into a couple of specific paintings at Park West Gallery sometime soon, so hopefully I’ll have real art in my home in the near future!

I haven’t been following the NHL playoffs very much this year, so I just found out today that the Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators will be facing off in the Stanley Cup Finals, beginning tonight. I’m not a fan of either of these franchises, but I do have to say that it’ll be nice to see a new team win the Cup for a change.

I don’t really care who wins, so I’ll just be watching for the highlights.

Oh, and how out of touch with the hockey scene am I? I saw a picture of Teemu Selanne in uniform — and didn’t recognize the new Ducks logo! When did they change that thing? And what is it supposed to be???

Edit: Oh, nevermind — it’s the “D” from the word Ducks. It looked weird all by itself, and I’d never seen the full logo before, so I didn’t realize what it was.

Since I have the day off today, I’m going to use this time to catch up on paying my bills and balancing my checkbook. I take care of some of my bills via electronic transfer from my bank account, but I still have to write (and mail) checks for a majority of them. I’ve already got all my stamps, envelopes, writing pens, and calculator laid out, so hopefully this won’t take me more than an hour. After I finish, I’m giving myself a break from blogging and will probably just kick back and watch movies all day long.

Okay, I’ve got to get started so I can enjoy this rare day off!

Unless you’ve been avoiding ESPN or other sports news outlets entirely, then you’ve probably heard all about the allegations that Atlanta Falcon’s starting QB Michael Vick has been involved in dog fighting since the year 2000. While no charges have been brought against Vick (as yet) and while he hasn’t been found guilty of anything, I think it’s safe to assume that there’s substantial evidence linking him to that illegal activity. Otherwise, ESPN wouldn’t move forward with these stories that specifically name Vick as a participant.

The article I read said that authorities found 66 dogs and dog-fighting equipment on some property that Vick owns in Georgia. Nice.

Let me just say that this whole thing makes me sick. How could anyone sanction, participate in, or derive excitement from getting animals to brutally attack (and maybe even kill) each other? What kind of human being does this?? It’s absolutely disgusting and inhumane.

Here’s a quote from an anonymous ESPN source:

The source said he consented to our interview to change people’s perceptions about dog fighting because they have “the wrong idea” about it and should see “just one” match for themselves before judging it. “They’ll let this other thing go — what is it called? UFC [Ultimate Fighting Championship]?” he asked. “That is every bit as bad — you know, that’s terrible. But then you have thousands of people that cheer, rah, rah, and they really love that. You see guys get their heads busted, you know, and they get their arms messed up, their legs twisted almost off. But then they fuss over this here, is wrong.”

Yeah, there’s a big difference there, buddy. Those ultimate fighters are in the ring by choice, you dumbass. What choice do those dogs have???

Again, this just makes me sick. Let’s hope this idiot (I’m talking about Vick here) does jail time if he’s found guilty.

When I was younger, my family owned a small cabin up in Lake Geneva, WI. The place was just a couple hours away, so we were able to take off for quick weekend retreats almost anytime we wanted. It was awesome to have a getaway home like that, and it’s something that I really miss.

Jerry and I have been talking about this recently and we both agree that we’d love to be able to purchase a vacation home someday. Orlando would be our first choice, but since we obviously wouldn’t be able to go there more than two or three times a year, we’d be better off trying to buy into a time share or something like that. I love the typical vacation home Orlando has to offer, so I’m excited about this whole idea.

Don’t get me wrong, we’re still years away from being able to afford a vacation home, but it sure is fun to dream about it!

A couple of years ago, I was inspired by a social worker friend of mine to become involved with a few charitable organizations. At first, I wanted to do volunteer work for these places, but because I spend so much time out of the country, I couldn’t make the kind of time commitment that most organizations required. So even though my relationship with these charitable organizations is primarily financial, I still get the feeling that I’m doing my part to help out.

There are obviously a lot of worthy charitable organizations out there, so it was extremely difficult to pick just a few to support. But since I don’t have a ton of money to give away, I have to limit myself here. I tend to favor charitable organizations that deal with women’s and children’s issues right now, but hope to be able to embrace other causes in the near future.

Anyway, here are my current favorite charitable organizations:

• St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
• Sarah’s Inn
• Lance Armstrong Foundation
• BreastCancer.org

Click through and make a donation if you can!!

Okay — I just have to say this: I can’t stand the whole replica throwback jersey trend that has taken hold with pro sports fans in the last couple years. I’ve seen replica throwback jerseys for all four of the major sports, but they seem to be most prevalent/popular among NFL and NBA fans.

Whichever sport we’re talking about, though, I HATE the old-style jerseys. Come on: can anyone seriously tell me that a Tampa Bay Buccaneers throwback jersey (for example) is better than the current one? Or the Minnesota Vikings? Are you going to say that a New England Patriots replica throwback jersey looks cooler than the gear Tom Brady wears every Sunday??

And yet, these things are selling like hotcakes. I don’t get it!

I hope all my friends and family read this so I don’t end up receiving any kind of replica throwback jerseys for my birthday or Christmas!!

If someone asked me to name a big industry in Florida, I would immediately think of tourism. That’s a natural response, given all the great theme parks, attractions, and other top travel destinations scattered across the Sunshine State. What I didn’t realize, however, is that agriculture is just as big and just as important to Florida’s economy.

I saw a video on YouTube that gives a brief glimpse into the importance of Florida agriculture. Take a moment to check it out — I think you’ll find it pretty interesting!

If you’re interested in genealogy, then you’ll want to hit up Ancestry.com before June 6. I just read that the site has digitized and published nearly 90 million war records spanning the last four centuries. Usually it costs like $150 or something to become an Ancestry.com member and get access to this stuff, but they’re offering everyone free access until June 6 — the anniversary of D-Day, of course.

I just tried looking up my father’s war records, but didn’t get a match. He served in Vietnam (relatively recent considering some of this stuff dates back to 1607) and his records shouldn’t be classified or anything, so I wonder why I couldn’t find them.

Oh, well — maybe some of you will have better luck!

I have been getting paid to blog through PayPerPost for more than 6 months now, and if there’s one thing I can say about that company it’s that they’re not content to remain static. PPP has made more tweaks, changes, overhauls, and improvements to their system in the past few months than any other PTB company out there.

The latest PPP release is called “Birdo,” and contains several new features — most of which will only make sense to bloggers who are already in the system. But the most prominent feature of the Birdo release can be understood by everyone. It’s called PPP Direct, and is a brand new way to connect bloggers and advertisers in the PPP system.

Bloggers can now put a PPP Direct badge on their sites that allow potential advertisers to hand-pick them for certain opportunities. The advertiser clicks on the badge, is taken to PPP to create the opp, and then an email is dispatched to the blogger to let him or her know that a special opp is waiting. The blogger and advertiser can then negotiate prices and hammer out other details while PPP serves as the middleman to ensure that advertisers pay up and that bloggers come out with a good post. You can view the PPP Direct video for a more detailed explanation of the system.

I have to admit that this sounds like a good way for bloggers to make money outside of the regular PPP marketplace. I had my reservations at first, but I think I’m ready to give PPP Direct a try. PPP Direct only charges an additional 10% of the blogger’s price, so that’s much better than similar services that charge 50% for the same thing.

I’m going to put the badges up on my sites over the weekend; we’ll see how this goes!