What Not To Use Your Credit Card On

I found this article on AOL and thought that I would share it.

20 Purchases to avoid making with your credit card
TOM BARLOW
Sep 8th 2009 at 2:30PM
American Public Media's Marketplace recently asked the author of “Credit Card Nation” to help put together a list of 10 purchases to avoid making with a credit card. It's no secret that our purchasing histories are carefully watched by credit card-issuing banks, not only for opportunities to inspire us to spend more, but for early warning signs that we might be in financial distress.
Marketplace's list of 10 things to not pay for on credit:
1. Retreading tires
2. Bargain binges
3. Sex toys
4. Marriage counseling
5. Lottery tickets
6. Cash advances
7. Spa treatments and other personal indulgences
8. Income taxes
9. Alcohol
10. Traffic Tickets
The reasons should be obvious. Some expenditures, such as retreading, show that your pocketbook is empty. Others demonstrate that your personal life is in flux, such as marriage counseling. Yet others suggest you're not making the best use of your money, by using credit for things such as spa treatments and mixed drinks.Of course, this list is hardly comprehensive.
I'm sure you could think of dozens more purchases that should not go on your credit card. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking you shouldn't use your credit card to pay for:
1. Medical marijuana bongs
2. Spray-on hair
3. "I ♥ my convict" T-shirts
4. NAMBLA fund raising auction bids
5. The "Free Bernie Madoff" fund
6. Three seats on a return flight from The Biggest Loser
7. A bankruptcy lawyer
8. Al Qaeda membership dues
9. Koala Bear steaks
10. The David Carradine suite at the Nai Lert Park Hotel in Bangkok
I guess that the inflatable doll...her name is Margheritta, that I bought using my American Express Titanium Card would get the thumbs down. It figures.

What You See Isn't What You Always Get

While cruising around AOL, I found these 2 sites that have optical illusions. There is nothing better than a good optical illusion to mess with someones head.
Optical Illusion Site #1

Optical Illusion Site #2

Is This A Sign Of Things To Come?

I have been neglecting my blog for several days. Been busy doing outside work. Clearing out the gardens, raking up dead grass in the yard in preparation for seeding, mowing the yard etc. Our future vacation plans have been made. We have decided to go back to Canada in May of 2010. We will be back on the NCL Pearl again. We had such a great time on our first cruise that we decided to do it all again but on a more reasonable level. No suite this time but we will have a balcony cabin. This time we will be departing out of Vancouver, BC instead of Seattle but our return will be to Seattle. We will fly into Seattle Tacoma International airport on the day prior to us boarding the ship and we will most likely take some type of shuttle to Vancouver. There is a hotel that is right there at the dock where the cruise ship will be. I believe that the set of buildings is called Canada Place. If I remember, the hotel is called the Pan Pacific Vancouver. We will try to get in early enough so that we will have a little time to explore Vancouver. We probably won't be taking as many excursions on this trip. We took so many last time that we never really got a chance to walk around any of the ports of call...Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. Here is our new count down ticker for this cruise.


Veronica and I will be going to Charlotte, NC in a couple of weeks. It will be just an overnight stay. Veronica is giving a presentation there and I am going to help her on the drive and to keep her company. Shortly after we return from this short journey, we are going to be headed to the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg TN area for a weeks vacation. We have rented a cabin there. A couple of weeks after we get back from that trip, Veronica and I will be flying to Vegas. Veronica has some sort of seminar/awards ceremony going on there for her work. We will be staying one extra night and we also have tickets to see KÀ by Cirque du Soleil
which will be shown at the MGM Grand. We are actually staying at the Venetian which looks like a pretty fancy hotel there. Our Vegas trip should be interesting. I do play the slots a little bit but I am really not much of a gambler...no table games for the most part. I should get plenty of great photos and videos of the many sights and sounds that Vegas has to offer. I will probably have to leave my camera behind, when Veronica and I return home. As you know...what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas so if I happen to get any self incriminating photos, the last things I will be doing is bringing my camera home and posting them on my blog. I will do my best to be a good boy while I am out there, so that I can share my photos with everyone.
We are also checking into the possibilities of going to Europe on a cruise later next year..maybe in September. More on that in the future.
With our upcoming trip to the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area just around the corner, I am keeping an eye on things so that we don't have a repeat performance like our most recent "vacation" to Canada...the vacation where everything went wrong from the start and continued right through even after the vacation ended. I got a call from Veronica who is at work. It seems that her Toyota RAV4 would not start at all. She had to call AAA Roadside Service to have it towed to our friendly car dealership. Not sure what is wrong nor how much this little adventure will cost us but one thing I know for sure...I sure hope that this is not an indication of things to come as far as our upcoming vacation goes. I almost forgot to mention...if anyone out there has been to Vegas recently, could you please let me know if there are any decent food places that won't cost me an arm and a leg. The thought of spending $20 for a buffet breakfast does not really appeal to neither myself nor my wallet. Any thoughts or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!!