Getting involved in the environment isn’t exactly a new trend, but it’s been important for quite a few years now at the rate of global warming and many other environmental issues coming up. With this, there’s no surprise that the BP Solar Decathlon has sprouted up. BP has recently partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy and is sponsoring the Solar Decathlon. It’s an annual event where 20 university teams from around the world design, build and operate livable, every-efficient, and completely solar powered homes. It’s a week long competition in the National Mall, located in Washington DC. It’s from October 11th to October 19th.

They’re sponsoring this event as part of their commitment to discovering cost effective and clean energy solutions for everyday living. They’re currently one of the main corporate sponsors, and the only energy company to sponsor the 2007 Solar Decathlon. They’ve been involved since the first competition back in 2002. BP is investing $500 million into the Energy Biosciences Institute in which the company will partner with the University of California Berkeley, the University of Illinois and the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab to find bioscence solutions to reduce the impact of energy consumption on the environment.

Many people each year are spending quite a bit of money to upgrade their homes. Some of them put in new wiring, others install new piping for their main plumbing needs. What many people don’t do is consider looking into Solar Power. While it’s a bit pricey to install at first, its also more cost effective and you aren’t exhurting unnatural gasses back into the environment that could potentially harm you down the road. If you had an area of 200 square miles covered with solar panels, you could provide all the electricity that the world would ever need. BP’s jointly-owned Nerefco wind farm generates enough zero-carbon energy to power 13,000 average homes. wind can potentially provide around a 10th of the world’s power. That would then cut down dioxide emissions by a billion tons a year.

If you’re interested in learning more about this decathlon and are unable to make it to Washington D.C. then you can gladly check out their blog. BP has created this blog where all of the teams as well as on-site reporters will be posting throughout the competition.

I’m waiting rather patiently for the mail to show up. I hope to see a letter from HSBC in regards to the loan. We’ll have to take the car in to get fixed and then we’re heading up to New York for a few days so I can collect on the loan and visit family. I know my grandparents aren’t doing very well and I just recently found out that my father is having some heart and liver issues that have given me some cause for concern.

I didn’t want to take the route of loans in regards to us moving but sometimes you really have no choice in the matter. It’s a personal loan, because the place kind of is a junker that requires quite a bit of fixing up but this is going to be our starter home so finding cheap loans was just a requirement for us, looking into mortgages wasn’t really even worth it for us. I’m scared, I’ll admit that. I’ll be very far away from family and we’ll really be on our own. We won’t have the outside influence of his mother or my father when it comes to how we do things, or where we happen to do it. It’s going to be our place, our bills, our lives. I know that I can emotionally and financially handle it, it’s just a big step in our relationship.

I know it seems like I’ve been slacking a little bit here. I haven’t blogged as much as I used to in the past, and I didn’t even bother putting up a new template for October, but I do have a reason. I haven’t really had the time to do much lately. I’ve been going through emails, sending out bills, designing sites and I just recently won a bid on GAF for website optimization. I’m doing everything from bulking up keywords to code validation to help on the actual loading time of the page. The site now is coded without any kind of doctype and they’re looking for a new template, and I’ll also be submitting to lord knows how many other directories and paid-blogging sites so that they can get some more incoming links to help with Google rankings. I recommended that they setup some kind of a free directory so that users can submit links to their site and in turn get free backlinks to their own site because of this service. Minus all of the drama over on AGn before I moved to this domain, the PR5 still stands thanks to the backlinks for the directory and any other project I’ve done there over the years. I really do need to get my booty in gear on getting myself up to date on that stuff too. I’m sure there are a lot of pending members for all of the fanlistings but that doesn’t mean that I’ll have enough time to get through them with this upcoming move. There aren’t enough hours in the day anymore.

When you read the headline “Bored with the same old natural bath and body products?”, and you’re anything like me, you’re kind of drawn in to find out more information. So you continue to read and then you see “Looking for a little humor in your daily routine?” followed by “Trying to find the perfect gift for the biker-wanna-be?” you’re sucked in and basically can’t leave. There’s a site online that sells many different biker related health products. If you’re at all interested in the ability to Get in touch with your “Inner Biker” at Big Bad Mama Biker Body Works, then heading over to bikerbodyworks.com would be a great resource for you to bookmark. They have everything from Biker Body Wash to Biker Mojo Mist. There are even fragrances that are named “Beer”, “Herb”, “Weed” and “Born2BWild”.

I looked into the Biker Groove Lube Lotion because that kind of stood out for me. It’s made with rich organic macadamia nut oil, shea butter, extra virgin olive oil and other exotic ingredients. The cool thing about all of their products is it comes in a beer bottle with “Mama” designed on the cover in a tattoo fashion. The flavor that I thought was the most interesting to me was “JailBait”. It’s a wild cherry scent. The description is : “JAILBAIT” – wild cherry, of course. Bail, Bond, and Attorney not included.

Having road hogs in the family, I’ve always been drawn to the biker lifestyle. Now, I’m not sure if I’d ever trust myself to actually own a Harley but I’d like to think I already started most of the lifestyle with the fact that I’m a cigarette smoker who’s filled with tattoos. I’m not going to say that you should go out and invest in a Harley, a good one will run you quite a bit of money, but at least you know you can smell like one by using these products – heh.

For the digital scrapbook lovers, I came across a new program called Morpheus Photo-Morpher.  Using a point system you can morph images together and basically do with it what you please.  None of my images looked that great so taking their professional way of doing things, I published the example templates just so you can get an idea of exactly what this particular program does.

It’s pretty easy to use, and there are step by step directions included for the first-timers.¬† I figured this could be a good resource for digital scrap bookers because there are so many things that you can accomplish and it’ll really make your scrap booking images come to life.¬†¬† I found a digital scrapbook site the other day that was completely flash based, and using this program you can save the morphed image in many different formats – including flash.¬† So yea, if you already know how to do these things in flash this particular program may not spark your interest.¬† But for those of us without that savvy flash ability, this is definitely the route to take.

You aren’t limited to morphing personal images together, by any means.¬† I was thinking of it in regards to template creation for future clients.¬† You can take the images you’ve created and add some funky morphing effects to them so if you want something to morph from say gray to blue and then add some funky text effects without having to boot Animation Shop (for example) then this may be the easy route for you.¬† With the Animation Shop method you have to manually make each frame change.¬† With this program you can morph a certain section to do whatever you please, and that’s just nifty to me heh.

Memorial Bracelets was the first firm to begin selling engraved bracelets on the web to raise funds for families of September 11th victims and heroes of terrorism. They’re now offering this special bracelet just for the troops and their safe return home from the war in Iraq. If you’re someone who supports your troops, even if you don’t support the War, then this is something you may be interested in. It’s called the “Until They All Come Home” bracelet, and if you’re interested you can head over to the Until They All Come Home Bracelet Order Page. They’re available in small, medium, large and extra large sizes and they range from $12.99 to $18.99 in price depending on the material and type of engraving you choose. Two dollars from each bracelet sold are donated to a charity that supports the families of fallen and wounded U.S. Soldiers.

Press Release:

Novi, MI September 29, 2007 — In an earlier era, tying a ribbon around the old oak tree — as the lyrics of a 1970s pop-tune suggested — was a way to remember U.S. troops off at war. But a Michigan man has another idea. He’d like to see people demonstrate their support for our troops at war in Iraq by wearing a bracelet around their wrists engraved with “Until They All Come Home”, and he has begun offering the bracelets on a Web site in hopes of achieving that goal.

The site, www.untiltheyallcomehomebracelet.com offers colored aluminum, stainless steel or leather bracelets which are engraved, “Until They All Come Home, Operation Iraqi Freedom” or “Until They All Come Home” and the name of an active-duty soldier of the wearer’s choosing. The bracelets are personalized with the date ordered or with a “worn since” date to indicate the wearer’s dedication to the completion of U.S. troops’ mission in Iraq and their safe return home. Bracelets are also engraved with the wearer’s initials, making it uniquely their own.

“So, even if you are against the war and believe that we should withdrawal immediately, you can wear an Until They All Come Home bracelet to let the troops know that you want us to do it in a way that best protects their security.,” said Rob Tacy, the sites’s founder. “If you want us to continue fighting the war to show the terrorist that we will not back down and provide security for the Iraqi people, you can wear an Until They All Come Home bracelet to show our soldiers that you support their efforts until their mission is complete.,” Tacy added.

Until They All Come Home Bracelets‚Ñ¢ are available at www.untiltheyallcomehomebracelets.com in small, medium, large and extra large sizes and range in price from $12.99 – $18.99, depending on the material and type of engraving chosen. Two dollars from each bracelet sold will be donated to a charity that supports the families of fallen and wounded U.S. soldiers.

Catherine Knight Linsley of Tallahassee, FL has worn two of the bracelets since May 1. “I have two soldiers in Iraq that I have ‘adopted,’ and I wanted something to show everyone that the soldiers there are thought about, prayed for and wished a quick and safe return home,” said Linsley. “My guys do not know about the bracelets yet, but my plan is to wear them 24/7 until they come home, just like I did with my older Vietnam War bracelets.”

Linsely is among many bracelet owners who have posted their stories about their bracelets on the site’s blog page. To read other stories from people who wear Memorial Bracelets, visit their blog at http://memorialbracelet.blogspot.com/.

About Memorialbracelets.com
With the launch in October of 2001 of www.memorialbraclets.com], the idea of wearing a bracelet to support a cause was revitalized. The site was created to raise funds for September 11 heroes and victims of terrorism. Since its inception, Memorial Bracelets has donated over $60,000 to charities supporting these families and to those of Vietnam POWs and MIAs, and U.S. soldiers wounded or fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In response to customer requests, Memorial Bracelets also offers bracelets for U.S. soldiers who were listed as POW, MIA and KIA in the Vietnam War and for military personnel lost during the Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Visitors to the site may also create a personally engraved bracelet with a message of their choice, such as the name of an active-duty soldier or that of a lost friend or relative. Many of these bracelets are created as personal, meaningful gifts.

Show your support, order one today.

I like to look into more information on things, mainly because I consider my brain to be one big information sponge. While in search of information on financial security, I came across a bonding company that specializes in everything from getting a mortgage broker bond to even a Cigarette Tax Bond. As a smoker I kind of found myself reading more into this subject, and I then find out that there’s more than I really knew about them. Sure, brand and flavor are important to me (spoken as a true addict, right?) but the finances behind it kind of interest me as well.

The Cigarette Tax Bond is broken down pretty easily. This was taken directly from jwsuretybonds.com:

Description: Cigarette Tax Bonds are required to guarantee taxes are paid from a seller of tobacco to the government requiring the bond.

Current Market: Any type of financial guarantee surety bond is looked at with a close eye. Many larger bonding companies are still willing to write Cigarette Tax Bonds, but may be more conservative than they would be with a more traditional surety risk. Our agency is appointed with several bonding companies that write this particular class of business more freely than the rest of the industry.

Special Programs: Cigarette Tax Bonds are not required by many. The relatively small amount of requests does not allow for any bulk specialty programs.

I knew that having to pay taxes on cigarettes were a requirement state to state but I was unaware of everything that goes on behind it. I just recently found out that states are using the cigarette tax to put towards health care – something I completely agree with considering my tax dollars (on anything) up to this point have really only been lining the pockets of those who implement these taxes.

There are a few different options on the site that you can look through if you’re interested in a Security Bond for your company. The site is filled with step-by-step break downs of what each bond means and there’s also an application process as well if you decide to go through this specific branch.

I’ve been watching a lot of TV lately, mainly because I’ve been in the bedroom on the laptop thanks to my back acting up, and company in the house. While flipping through channels last night I came across Reba and figured “Okay, why not?” By the next commercial break I was climbing out of bed to get myself a drink and I saw the preview for a new series called Gossip Girl on The CW. I heard something about a blog, so being a blogger I was interested from the get go. I did some searching around the Internet to find out what the show was really about though, I came across the IMDB listing for it.

Welcome to New York’s Upper East side where the wealthy and connected mingle at benefits and try to deal with their always dramatic love lives, not to mention picking colleges. Blair Waldorf is the so-called toast of adolescence in her world; she and her friends, Kati Farkas and Isabel Coates, go to a prep school and fancy parties with their rich parents. Blair is envied by her adversaries because she is thought to have the perfect life, not just because of her gorgeous boyfriend, Nate Archibald, but because she’s also planning on getting into her dream college,Yale. With everyone worried about college(or procrastinating on worrying, which everyone seems to be doing), and senior year dragging along, her seemingly perfect life is interrupted by her ex-best friend, the beautiful Serena van der Woodsen, coming back into town after getting kicked out of boarding school. Serena comes back into her life, and into the eyes of Blair’s boy friend. When everything Blair knows starts to fall apart, everyone will realize that her life is far from perfect. Will life in the the Upper East Side redeem itself of what it’s really supposed to be? Or will the false facade reveal that the rich have the same problems as the not so rich (Jenny and Dan Humphrey), if not more. And just maybe Jenny and Dan are all the more happy with their simple, not so expectant lives.That was a plot summary submitted by an IMDB user, but it got the point across either way.

The series is narrated by “Gossip Girl” which is the voice of Kristen Bell, she runs a website where she blogs about her fellow Upper East Siders, stirring the pot and feeding potential rivalries in this supposed exclusive and vicious circle of “friends”. It premiers on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 on the CW if you’re interested.

I was going to paste in the special widget that the site offers, but it’s messing up the entire site. So just head to the site I linked above, you can see the previews there.