Ever seen the work therapist?
Originally posted on September 23, 2008 @ 10:57 pm
Five Compelling Reasons Obama Should NOT Be President
Enjoy.
Originally posted on September 19, 2008 @ 1:36 am
Why (Almost) Every House Should Have a Pet
Last week the Daily Minder house got a tiny new addition (pictured above). His name is Cino (pron. Chino) and he is an eight week old Ragdoll kitten with bright blue eyes.
Having him run around my feet while I cook dinner and attack my fingers while I clack away at the keyboard has been a true joy and it got me thinking about the value of having pets in your life.
In this post I want to tell you why I think almost every household should have some kind of pet.
The value of growing up with pets
I have always had pets in my life. Growing up I had an Old English Sheep Dog called Ralph that used to let me ride on his back. I had a fat old cat called Smudge that couldn’t stand to be away from human contact. I had a bunch of fish, a turtle and even some frogs! Now I have a two year old Beagle that has taken me close to the edge of insanity and the brand new Cino who I am just getting to know.
So what is the value of having these little creatures in your life? Do they do anything but add to your grocery bills, tear up your furniture and leave hair all over your carpets?
They sure do.
Company
A pet is a great source of company. If you spend a lot of time by yourself a pet can be a wonderful addition to your home. Most pets will love you unconditionally and it is a great feeling knowing that there is something in your house you can spend time with if you need to.
Compassion
One of the best reasons to have pets in your house is because they teach you compassion. If I ever have children I will always make sure they grow up around animals because they are a fantastic way to help them understand that other beings have feelings that need to be considered and respected.
Responsibility
When you have a pet you can’t just head off for the night or go on a weekend getaway. They need to be fed, given fresh water and so on. Having a pet in your life will teach you responsibility better than almost anything else because it is more than a normal responsibility – it is a living creature.
Laughter
I have done more laughing in this past week than I have done in the whole of last year. The kitten is hilarious – jumping around, climbing on things, sleeping on his head, etc. Laugher is something that shouldn’t be missing from anyone’s life and a loving pet is one of the best ways to get it.
So who shouldn’t have a pet?
In the title of this post I said that ALMOST everyone should have a pet. So who are the people that shouldn’t have a pet? Well, they are the people who aren’t in it for the long term or who are constantly lazy when it comes to others needs. Don’t buy a pet on a whim or as a present for someone. It is the same as buying a house or an investment – you need to carefully consider how you are going to pay for and look after that purchase.
Any of our readers have a pet? Is this a cat or a dog readership?
Originally posted on September 18, 2008 @ 8:51 am
Four Funny Videos For Wednesday
Republicans probably shouldn’t watch the first two. Just for laughs.
Originally posted on September 17, 2008 @ 8:36 am
11 Easy Ways to Save Money at Work
We go to work to make money but quite often we spend a lot of that hard earned money while we are working! We pay for transport, parking, lunches an more. In this post I am going to show you the best ways to save money at work.
1. Ride a bike
Riding a bike to work is one of the best ways to save money, keep fit and look good. If your office is under 30 minutes away from your home riding to and from work will save you a lot of money over the years. Gas prices are getting higher and higher but you must also consider the costs of health care that you might avoid by keeping fit.
2. Catch the bus
If you don’t want to ride to work the next best option is to catch the bus. This is a better option for a lot of people as it keeps you out of the weather and saves a bit of time. Again, catching the bus will save you money as well as having many other benefits such as helping to reduce green house gas emissions.
3. Get your car serviced and wheels aligned
If you really don’t want to ride or catch the bus it is important to keep your car well maintained. Having your wheels well aligned is particularly important. Poorly aligned wheels create a lot of resistance and make your car a lot less fuel efficient.
4. Fill up on fuel ahead of time
If you wait until your car is nearly empty to fill up you run the risk of paying more for petrol. Whatever the oil companies might say there are cheap days and expensive days. In Australia the petrol price goes up 10 to 15 cents on Wednesday morning for no good reason. If you leave it until then to fill up you are spending more than you need to. Watch your petrol stations price activity for a few weeks and ear mark the days that are more affordable.
5. Buy a yearly parking pass
If you pay for parking everyday you are losing a lot of cash. Almost every parking station in the world offer annual memberships which discount your parking by a massive percentage. If your closest car park doesn’t offer an annual fee service don’t be afraid to ask for one. You will be surprised how often you can strike a deal.
6. Ask a nearby building for a car park deal
Nearby office blocks with their own internal car parking are a sneaky way to save some parking dollars. Quite often these car parks are underutilized and the owners will jump at the opportunity to take a years worth of parking money from you. I know several people in my fathers office who have struck a deal with the building next door and are saving hundreds of dollars a year.
7. Experiment with different routes
The shortest route in terms of distance is not always the fastest. Traffic jams, long lasting red lights, multitudes of pedestrians, etc. can all slow a route down. Experiment with different routes because a long one might save you a lot of time and petrol.
8. Pack your lunch
I know a lot of people who are against packing their lunch and taking it to work because they are afraid of looking like a school kid. I can understand this but there are a few ways around it.
One way is to tell people you are on a doctor ordered health diet in an attempt to get your cholesterol down. Or you might be trying to lose some weight. For some reason these reasons seem more acceptable than telling people you need to save a bit of money.
Packing your lunch doesn’t have to be a sandwich in a lunch box. You can bring in some gourmet vegetable soup in a thermos or the leftovers of last night’s vegetable curry. A lot of this home cooked stuff is better than the local eateries anyway.
9. Make your lunch at work
Recently Mrs. Daily Minder has started making her lunch at work. She heads down to the local market and buys a bunch of fresh produce. Some days she has a tuna and chili salad and other days a salad and chicken wrap. And she has saved a lot of money. This method takes a lot of discipline though. If you are anything like me you will just end up eating at the restaurant next to the market!
10. Don’t buy coffee
I used to buy one of two coffees per day. A coffee costs about $3 so two coffees will set you back $6 per day. That is $2190 per year. Think of what you can do with $2190. Upgrade your car, pay for some medical bills, put away some savings, etc. Why not make your coffee instead of buying them? Over time you will get pretty good at it and it will save you a few dollars a year.
11. Explore your tax options
There are a quite a few work related expenses that you can get back at tax time. For example, you might be able to get back a certain amount for clothes washing, petrol expense, mobile phone bills, etc. Make sure you find a couple income tax calculators handy or even better, talk to your accountant about this when June comes along.
Anyone got any more tips?
Originally posted on September 17, 2008 @ 5:06 am
What Questions Would You Ask Sarah Palin?
Last night my best buddy and I stayed up until 2am watching different videos about Sarah Palin. I guess we were trying to find some answers to this whole saga – perhaps it is a joke after all!
Sadly, we didn’t find any answers.
Sarah Palin is not a big Republican office prank.
She is potentially the next Vice President of the most powerful country to have ever existed.
Are you sure its not a joke? I still can’t quite believe it.
I saw this video of Matt Damon talking about Sarah Palin. He is quite scared about it all. And to be honest, so am I. There is a supposed 1 in 3 chance that Mccain will die in his first term and Sarah will be President of the United States. Wow!
Matt has some pretty interesting questions that he’d like to ask Sarah Palin so it got me thinking about what I would ask her if I got the chance.
So let’s open up the floor for the weekend: what questions would you ask Sarah Palin if you had the chance knowing that there is a possibility that she could be the next President of the US of A?
Originally posted on September 13, 2008 @ 2:40 am
