Updates Blog

A couple hints:

1. You can click the picture under any quote to double-size it.
2. Later this year, I’ll post a “Magic Mirror” page where you can explore all these great quotes.

~ Self ~“This above all: to thine own self be true.” — William Shakespeare “Dancing the Night Away” by Yuri Arcurs • Aarhus Centrum, Denmark   William Shakespeare William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist.

An article at Bankrate.com Life Stages Of Identity Theft reveals some astonishing facts about identity theft, which can victimize Children, Teens, Young Families, Middle-Aged and 50-Plus demographic groups.

Children are often victims of their parents or foster caregivers. One young man about 10 or 11 years old “discovered his father had stolen his identity and had run up a $5,000 debt.”

Young adults tend to be vulnerable because they leave their personal information vulnerable to file-sharing software, cell phone snooping, people walking through unlocked doors, accessing their unsecured computers and credit card bills laying around.

Middle-aged people tend to be victimized less, mainly becaues they are more likely to protect their computers and shred documents.

You might think that seniors are the most vulnerable people, but they are actually the least victimized demographic because they have become increasingly vigilant about fraud. Still, after they enter assisted living facilities or lose mental focus they are often targeted by impostors, family members, or even assisted-living personnel.

A Money.CNN article Is $130 oil a bubble? found a variety of opinions: “Some say no. They say unlike the tech and real estate bubbles, there’s no overabundance of supply. Others say these high prices are not sustainable.”

I personally think that in time, people will start using alternative energy sources that were once unthinkable because their cost is equivalent to oil prices of $50 to $100. That should drive oil prices back down to a little under $100.

A SmartMoney.com article by Kelli Grant Deal of the Day 9 Ways to Save on Gas This Summer actually puts some dollar figures on ways to save. She says you could save $733 from now until Labor Day, although this estimate is probably on the high side for most people:

1. Check your tires: $29
2. Forgo premium fuel: $86
3. Get a tune-up: $129
4. Slow down: $95
5. Combine errands: $107
6. Accelerate and brake slowly: $95
7. Pack light: $17
8. Use your more fuel-efficient car: $25 (assuming you have two cars)
9. Gas incentives from hotels: $150

And let’s add these tips from our tipsheet How To Save On Energy Costs, which estimates your five-year savings:

Lao Tzu Lao Tzu was a philosopher of ancient China who wrote the Tao Te Ching, a natural philosophy of well-being through simple and authentic living. It was the foundation for a flowering of Taoist philosophy and religion.     ~ Growth ~“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” — Lao Tzu “Freedom” by Kristian Peetz • Hamburg, Germany

After adding two more luminaries, we’re up to 70 from 64 quotes now. Although ancient Chinese philosophers are well-represented, we still need some more quotes from modern Asians. So maybe I’ll add a Japanese and an Australian.

To represent Australia, Olivia Newton-John is the front-runner. We’re still lacking a female artist, and she’s both a movie star and one of the greatest female vocalists ever. Her quotes are insightful with a fresh modern perspective. She is also known for her humanitarian interest in health issues.

To represent Japan, perhaps one of their traditional writers would be best. Which respected Japanese historical figure do Japanese people most like to quote? Whose inspirational quotes would inspire the world too? If anyone has a suggestion about who to include, drop me a line using the Contact Form.

REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft Corp. will pay cash rebates when people make purchases after using its search engine at Live.com. You sign up for an account and buy items found using Microsoft’s Live Search, then receive a percentage of the purchase price deposited into your account. When the total reaches $5, you can redeem your cold, hard cash using PayPal. Your rebates are funded with a portion of the money Microsoft collects from advertisers. More than 700 merchants, including Home Depot and Zappos.com, are listed.

Funny thing — Danny Sullivan, editor of SearchEngineLand.com, recently recommended that Microsoft pay people to use Live Search — as an April Fool’s joke! Sullivan’s cohort Barry Schwartz writes about using the cashback service to search for an umbrella:

“Microsoft is telling me that I will be getting back $4.45 on my purchase of this umbrella. Interesting. I continue on with my purchase to inquire.

The next screen I click on tells me to enter my email address and to expect an email from Microsoft on how I can claim my cashback reward. It specifically explains I will not see my discount on the store, but that I will get an email from Microsoft with the discount information…

Overall, the process is fairly easy for me personally. I totally can see an average person having a lot of difficulty in trusting they will get back the money and also in setting up their cashback account with Windows Live. Other than that, I personally feel this won’t do much, in the long term, to improve Microsoft’s search share.”

In my opinion, it’s a good idea — but a better idea is buying cheap or used at eBay, or using price-comparison agents such as Froogle, PriceGrabber and MySimon.

Today, I begin a series of posts over the next five months into the profound thoughts of some of the greatest minds of history. Starting with Confucius, come along with me on a journey of historical and philosophical wanderlust.

Confucius Confucius (551 BCE – 479 BCE) was a Chinese philosopher who deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese thought and life. His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correct social relationships, justice, and sincerity.     ~ Wisdom ~“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” — Confucius “The Combat of Mars and Minerva” Footnote: Minerva (goddess of wisdom and defender of Rome) defeats Mars, the god of war and battle-lust. by Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) • Oil on canvas, 1771, Musée du Petit Palais, Paris

Today also marks the official resumption of daily posts to this blog, after about half a year of neglect. I’ve been extremely busy on a number of projects related to consumer affairs, and still am really, but these days blogging is just too important to ignore.