Gary Stapp Weblog

***INTERESTING TID BITS***

To double your money, you would need to make 10% interest for 7.2 years .... or 7.2% interest for 10 years.

No matter where you are going and what you are doing fishing, hiking, skiing, camping, boating, etc., etc., always carry a small mirror on your person ..... the reflection could signal someone far away if you ever needed help.

Want to count your change fast? Pour that change (without pennies) into something light and put it on a scale. 5 pounds equals approximately $90.

Here's a couple of new internet addresses www.badsiding.com for siding and roofs that are failing (the synthetic stuff) and try www.fraud.org.

Stop frying bacon - lay it flat on a baking pan and bake it at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. It comes out perfect without all the splattering on top of the stove.

The Federal Government limits your liability on fraudulent credit card use to $50 per account as long as you notify the issuer within a few days that the card is lost or stolen. Most credit card companies will even waive the $50 if you let them know promptly so why do you carry credit card insurance?

Grocery store cards.....I hear the Federal Government is buying your information from the stores and categorizing ethnic groups by what they eat ...I also hear they are selling our information to others. Just think about what information we gave them to get those stupid cards and what information they can retrieve using the information we furnished. Name, address, phone #, SS#, Dr. Lic # and who knows what all. Add that with our checking account #'s and credit card #'s, and we're all putting everything out there. Personally I shop at Top Foods and Fred Meyer and when the time comes that they too make us apply for their card I'll shop somewhere else.

* Sea Tac has finally opened a free cell phone "waiting lot" on South 170th Street in front of Doug Fox Parking. Now drivers have a place to stop and call people they're picking up to see if they're ready. Now we can wait in peace and not have to hide from the cops out in front and then drive around, and around and around.

* How can you tell if strawberries are grown outside (which are sweeter) or in a "hot house". The last part of a "hot house" strawberry to ripen is the top ..... and with the regular grown strawberry, it's the bottom area. So if you see white tops where the stems are .... those are "hot house" strawberries, and I think you'll agree ..... just not as good as the others.

* I made that 15 minute call the other day to see if I could save 15% on my car insurance, you know, the one we've been seeing on T.V. ALMOST EVERY DAY ..... It was quite a disappointment after all that time on the phone to find out they were actually $500 A YEAR HIGHER than what I was currently paying (I currently have Pemco). So remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it's probably not. I'm just sorry I wasted 15 minutes .

* Free gun locks are being given away by the State to anyone that would like one. To get a free "cable style" gun lock (which might just save the life of one of your kids or grandkids) Enclose $2.00 for return postage and mail your request to : Free Gun Lock, WDFW Enforement Program, Hunter Education Division, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA 98501-1091.

* Don't walk on "frosty grass". You'll actually break the blades and kill the grass where you've walked.

*** Free Credit. Report.Net .... Surrre ..... YOU KNOW NOTHING IS FREE! All you're doing is updating their records for them. It'll take you 15 minutes to fill out their questionaire with all your personal information and for heaven's sake, don't check or say yes to letting them keep an eye on your credit or info for you ..... or you'll be paying through the nose to them EVERY MONTH from here on in. These are the same credit bureaus that notify your creditors and insurance companies when THEY think you're over extended or have too much credit, or because you use more than 50% of a credit card even though you have two or three others with 0 on them. Thus your car insurance will cost more and lenders will raise your rates. I'm telling you, they're not your friends, and definitely not on your side. KEEP QUIET, AND YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION PRIVATE.

**** The next time you fire up that Bar-B-Q with some "Kingsford" charcoal .... remember it wasn't always called "Kingsford" it use to be "Henry Ford Charcoal".

**** If your home is in King County, you can request a photo of it from the Puget Sound regional branch of the Washington State Archives. It contains at least one photo of almost every building of any kind standing between 1937 and 1972. The photos were taken by the County Assessor's office. They should also be able to furnish most of the latest years also, or refer you to who can. A great site that can zoom in on any place in the U.S. via satellite (and print you a photo) is www.mytopo.com/search.cfm. I zoomed in on several places and houses I lived years ago, and scoped out a couple of lakes I fish. It's really a neat site.