Ramblings........

WANT A DUI....THINK TWICE

2007-05-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

What a DUI Will Do to You?

As if the cost of a life and emotional devastation isn’t enough to serve as a deterrent for not drinking and driving, few drivers realize the financial impact they will endure if convicted of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence. Unfortunately, even the most "regular" people continue to take the calculated risk of driving after a few drinks with delusions of sobriety. If you’re a driver who tends to gamble in this situation, are you prepared to cough-up $10,828 in total costs?

Impacts to Car Insurance

All emotions aside: a DUI dramatically increases the degree of risk an insurance company assumes in order to underwrite your car insurance policy. After a DUI, you will be categorized as a high risk driver and can expect your current premiums to double—if your carrier doesn’t just simply non-renew your policy. MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) reports that the average first time DUI offender can expect his/her car insurance rates to range between $3,600 and $6,600 a year. Depending on how long a DUI remains on your state’s driving record, these rates are known to continue for up to 7 years. Furthermore, any additional accidents and tickets (past or future) can easily make the situation exponentially more difficult—tripled insurance costs!

Other DUI Mandatory Costs

Unless you live in a major city, there really is no substitute to driving. From the perspective of life’s real world priorities, being able to drive ranks just below air, water, food, and shelter. Salvaging this privilege after a DUI though involves more than just expensive car insurance rates. Depending on the state you live in, additional costs can include:

• Towing: $300 - $1,200
• Bail: $250 - $2,500
• Fines and Court Fees : $500 - $2,500
• Attorney Fees (average): $2,500
• Mandatory Education and Treatment: $350 - $2,000
• Electronic Home Monitoring: $150 - $2,250
• Ignition Lock: $730 - $2,800

What the above estimates fail to account for are the daylight hours it takes to satisfy all the corresponding obligations. Time spent in court, at classes and treatment, restitution services, and even jail time can turn a person’s world upside-down. Interestingly, states like Washington make matters more complicated by automatically suspending driving privileges for 90 days upon the first offence. Think of how you would even get to court? Furthermore, since a DUI is criminal offence, your driving record will be complemented by a criminal record. If your vocation values the integrity of such a mark (medical, transportation, finance, etc.) finding a new job can become as complicated as finding affordable car insurance.

Moving On After a DUI

Although a DUI is a mistake that ravishes a person’s finances, it is possible to bounce back after a conviction. Every day that passes after your DUI conviction can lower your rates, because older charges have less of an impact on your risk profile, especially if you were a teenager or young adult at the time of your conviction. More so than any other driver, you should shop around for lower rates. Although you won’t have as many options, don’t fall into the trap of signing on with the first company that approves your application. Conduct research, compare quotes, and make a careful decision. In the meantime, take a conservative approach to driving and don’t get any tickets or become involved in accidents. Unfortunately, organizations like MADD exist because people continue to take the risk of driving under the influence. Nearly 17,000 people died in DUI related car accidents in 2005 alone. If this doesn’t deter you, then maybe the $10,828 total out-of-pocket expenses for a first-time offender will?

THANK GOD FOR THE FRENCH

2007-05-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

MissileEryxquitombedetrespres.wmv (4.3 MB)

What a beautiful animal......

2007-05-10T14:11:00.000-07:00

2007-05-10T14:07:00.000-07:00

Tips for handling Telemarkerters

2007-05-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

Three Little Words That Work !!

(1)The three little words are: "Hold On, Please..."
Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead ofhanging-up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so muchmore time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt.

Then when you eventually hear the phone company's "beep-beep-beep"tone, you know it's time to go back and hang up your handset, whichhas efficiently completed its task.
These three little words will help eliminate telephone soliciting.

(2) Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end?
This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone callsand records the time of day when a person answers the phone.

This technique is used to determine the best time of day for a "real"sales person to call back and get someone at home. What you can do after answering, if you notice there is no one there,is to immediately start hitting your # button on the phone, 6 or 7times, as quickly as possible This confuses the machine that dialedthe call and it kicks your number out of their system. Gosh, what ashame not to have your name in their system any longer !!!

(3) Junk Mail Help:When you get "ads" enclosed with your phone or utility bill, returnthese "ads" with your payment. Let the sending companies throw theirown junk mail away.
When you get those "pre-approved" letters in the mail for everythingfrom credit cards to 2nd mortgages and similar type junk, do not throwaway the return envelope.

Most of these come with postage-paid return envelopes, right? It coststhem more than the regular 37 cents postage "IF" and when they receivethem back. It costs them nothing if you throw them away! The postage was around50 cents before the last increase and it is according to the weight.In that case, why not get rid of some of your other junk mail and putit in these cool little, postage-paid return envelopes.

Send an ad for your local chimney cleaner to American Express. Send apizza coupon to Citibank. If you didn't get anything else that day,then just send them their blank application back!If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name isn't on anything you send them.

You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to just to keepthem guessing! It still costs them 37 cents. The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a lot oftheir own junk back in the mail, but folks, we need to OVERWHELM them.Let's let them know what it's like to get lots of junk mail, and bestof all they're paying for it...Twice! Let's help keep our postal service busy since they are saying thate-mail is cutting into their business profits, and that's why theyneed to increase postage costs again. You get the idea !

If enough people follow these tips, it will work

HOW TO STEAL A CHILD.........

2007-05-09T17:33:00.000-07:00

EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ ALL OF THIS and HAVE YOUR CHILDREN/ GRANDCHILDREN READ IT TOO! All it takes is a few minutes and YOUR younger family member could not be as lucky as Shannon. I have seen this in my practices all too often. I don't want to see it again, please.

After tossing her books on the sofa, she decided to grab a snack and get online. She logged on under her screen name ByAngel213.

She checked her Buddy List and saw GoTo123 was on. She sent him an instant message:

ByAngel213:Hi. I'm glad you are on! I thought someone was following me home today. It was really weird!

GoTo123:LOL You watch too much TV. Why would someone be following you? Don't you live in a safe neighborhood?

ByAngel213:Of course I do. LOL I guess it was my imagination cuz' I didn't see anybody when I looked out.

GoTo123:Unless you gave your name out online. You haven't done that have you?

ByAngel213:Of course not. I'm not stupid you know.

GoTo123:Did you have a softball game after school today?

ByAngel213:Yes and we won!!

GoTo123:That's great! Who did you play?

ByAngel213:We played the Hornets. LOL. Their uniforms are so gross! They look like bees. LOL

GoTo123:What is your team called?

ByAngel213:We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws on our uniforms. They are really cool.

GoTo123: Did you pitch?

ByAngel213:No I play second base. I got to go. My homework has to be done before my parents get home. I don't want them mad at me. Bye!

GoTo123:Catch you later. Bye Meanwhile . . .

GoTo123 went to the member menu and began to search for her profile. When it came up, he highlighted it and printed it out. He took out a pen and began to write down what he knew about Angel so far. Her name: ShannonBirthday: Jan. 3, 1985Age: 13State where she lived: North CarolinaHobbies: softball, chorus, skating and going to the mall. Besides this information, he knew she lived in Canton because she had just told him. He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30 p.m. every afternoon until her parents came home from work. He knew she played softball on Thursday afternoons on the school team, and the team was named the Canton Cats. Her favorite number 7 was printed on her jersey. He knew she was in the eighth grade at the Canton Junior High School. She had told him all this in the conversations they had online. He had enough information to find her now.

Shannon didn't tell her parents about the incident on the way home from the ballpark that day. She didn't want them to make a scene and stop her from walking home from the softball games. Parents were always overreacting and hers were the worst. It made her wish she was not an only child. Maybe if she had brothers and sisters, her parents wouldn't be so overprotective.

By Thursday, Shannon had forgotten about the footsteps following her.Her game was in full swing when suddenly she felt someone staring at her. It was then that the memory came back. She glanced up from her second base position to see a man watching her closely. He was leaning against the fence behind first base and he smiled when she looked at him. He didn't look scary and she quickly dismissed the sudden fear she had felt.After the game, he sat on a bleacher while she talked to the coach. She noticed his smile once again as she walked past him. He nodded and she smiled back. He noticed her name on the back of her shirt. He knew he had found her. Quietly, he walked a safe distance behind her. It was only a few blocks to Shannon's home, and once he saw where she lived he quickly returned to the park to get his car.Now he had to wait. He decided to get a bite to eat until the time came to go to Shannon's house. He drove to a fast food restaurant and sat there until time to make his move.

Shannon was in her room later that evening when she heard voices in the living room."Shannon, come here," her father called. He sounded upset and she couldn't imagine why. She went into the room to see the man from the ballpark sitting on the sofa. "Sit down," her father began, "this man has just told us a most interesting story about you."Shannon sat back. How could he tell her parents anything? She had never seen him before today!"Do you know who I am, Shannon?" the an asked."No," Shannon answered."I am a police officer and your online friend, GoTo123." Shannon was stunned. "That's impossible! GoTo is a kid my age! He's 14. And he lives in Michigan!"

The man smiled. "I know I told you all that, but it wasn't true. You see, Shannon, there are people online who pretend to be kids; I was one of them. But while others do it to injure kids and hurt them, I belong to a group of parents who do it to protect kids from predators. I came here to find you to teach you how dangerous it is to talk to people online. You told me enough about yourself to make it easy for me to find you. You named the school you went to, the name of your ball team and the position you played. The number and name on your jersey just made finding you a breeze." Shannon was stunned. "You mean you don't live in Michigan?" He laughed. "No, I live in Raleigh. It made you feel safe to think I was so far away, didn't it?" She nodded."I had a friend whose daughter was like you. Only she wasn't as lucky. The guy found her and murdered her while she was home alone. Kids are taught not to tell anyone when they are alone, yet they do it all the time online.

The wrong people trick you into giving out information a little here and there online. Before you know it, you have told them enough for them to find you without even realizing you have done it. I hope you've learned a lesson from this and won't do it again. Tell others about this so they will be safe too?" "It's a promise!" That night Shannon and her Dad and Mom all knelt down together and thanked God for protecting Shannon from what could have been a tragic situation.