Filed under SERVICES - Financial, GENERAL - Products and Services
It’s great to have your vehicle paid off — except when that vehicle is so old that you’re nervous about driving it.
For awhile, I refused to get a new car until it dawned on me when working my budget that the monthly repairs on my existing vehicle were costing more than a car payment would cost. The financial issues were not as bad as the general “nervous” feeling I had whenever I had to take a trip. I didn’t know if my jeep would stall in the middle of traffic, would break down in the middle of nowhere, or would even start in the morning so I could get to work on time.
These days, no matter what your credit rating, it is pretty easy to get auto loans. The best part is that you can get the loan online and then walk into the dealership with confidence because you know you are already approved for vehicle financing. The days of choosing a great car and then waiting nervously while the dealer tries to get you approved for a loan are over. Nowadays, you can get an auto loan online and simply walk into the dealership with check in hand.

When I decided it was time to finally get a new car, I applied for auto loans on the Internet and qualified for financing immediately, with a fantastic interest rate. I had a choice of a 5-year loan or a 7-year loan when I made the application. The application process was easy and took maybe three minutes at the most. Once I had my loan, the financing company that I chose to go with mailed me a check right away that I presented at the dealership. This made buying a new vehicle fast, fun and easy because I knew upfront that I could pay for the car. As a mater of fact, buying a new vehicle took about four hours. First, I test drove a few models and then, after figuring out what fit my budget, gave the dealership the check and drove away. The longest part of the process was test-driving!
If you’re ready to take the plunge and buy a new car, go online and apply for an auto loan first. At Apex Auto Loan, you can obtain your financing in the next three minutes. Auto loan approvals are fast and easy through Apex Auto Loan. You don’t have to get a new car — the loan will also cover used vehicle purchases.
Whether you have perfect credit, bad credit, little credit, or even no credit, Apex Auto Loan will help you with your approval immediately. For those with little or poor credit, auto loans are a great way to establish a credit history, thus increasing your overall credit score.
Visit Apex Auto Loans and get your car financing right now. It’s free to apply.
Comments (0) Posted by Scout on Saturday, September 6th, 2008
Filed under SERVICES - Other, GENERAL - Products and Services
Comments (0) Posted by Site Poster on Saturday, September 6th, 2008
Filed under PRODUCTS - Health and Nutrition, PRODUCTS - Food and Related, GENERAL - Products and Services
Comments (0) Posted by Site Poster on Thursday, September 4th, 2008
Filed under PRODUCTS - General Merchandise, PRODUCTS - Home & Garden
Comments (0) Posted by Site Poster on Thursday, September 4th, 2008
Filed under SERVICES - Real Estate
If you’re looking for a home in the Orlando / Central Florida area then you should definitely check out the Celebration real estate market. Celebration is a unique community of residential villages connected by paths and sidewalks to a downtown area with restaurants, shops, a movie theater and numerous family orientated events. Located just outside of Walt Disney World, Celebration was initially conceived and developed by the Walt Disney Company.
In Celebration you will find the traditional values of American society and architecture in abundance. Indeed, Celebration is reminiscent of a small, pre-WW II eastern seaboard community. Celebration’s amenities include over 30 parks, numerous fountains, 4 community pools, miles of nature walks, tennis courts, a community center and an award-winning 4-star golf course. If you’re interested in Celebration real estate, then please contact me to arrange a viewing of Celebration homes for sale.
Comments (0) Posted by announcer on Thursday, September 4th, 2008
Filed under PRODUCTS - Health and Nutrition, PRODUCTS - Food and Related
Comments (0) Posted by Site Poster on Thursday, September 4th, 2008
Filed under PRODUCTS - Cars, Trucks & Vehicles, GENERAL - Products and Services
Carroll Shelby was a racing legend even before his entry into the history books as a Ford Mustang tuner. His victory at Le Mans and fame behind the wheel of Allards is what drove Ford to turn to him with the effort of turning the sports coupe Mustang into a true racing vehicle.
While the production numbers of Shelby Mustangs is low, the influence these cars had on the industry is impressive. They began a tradition of racing legends and auto manufacturers turning out special production vehicles in low numbers but with great appeal. While Shelby ended his relatonship in the early 70s with Ford, their paths would cross again when in 2005 Ford released the latest iteration of the Mustang legend.

1965 Early Mustang
The first Shelby version of the Mustang appeared in 1965. All 1965 Shelbys were painted Ford “Wimbledon White” with optional Guardsman Blue stripes. Although most of the 1965 Shelbys you see on the road today have Le Mans stripes, less than forty percent of the 1965 GT 350s came factory equipped with them. All GT 350s featured rocker panel stripes with the GT350 name. The engine was a modified K-code 289 cublic inch Windsor V8 with special “Cobra” valve covers, tri-Y headers, a special intake manifold and Holley carburetor increased power from 271 to 306 hp.
Approximately the first 300 GT 350s produced were “rear battery” cars, meaning the car’s batteries were trunk-mounted. Customer complaints of acid-fumes led to the creation of the Cobra Battery Caps, which vented the acid fumes outside of the car by way of hoses exiting through the trunk floor panels. An estimated 50 1965 GT 350s (around serial number 200) came equipped with the very rare Cobra battery caps. Vehicle production changed shortly thereafter, leaving the battery in the engine compartment. Today, the most desirable of the 1965 GT 350s are the units with factory installed rear batteries.
1966 Shelby Mustangs
The 1966 was different in body color (non-white versions were introduced - colors included blue, red, green and black, as well as the original white) and trim. The “Le Mans” stripes were continued as an option, as in 1965. It featured special quarter-panel windows and rear air scoops on each side and an optional automatic transmission. A fold-down rear seat was now standard as well. Where early 1965 cars had black engine blocks, 1966 and later cars had the 289 engine painted blue.
The first 252 GT-350s for 1966 were “carry-over” cars. They had the 1965 Ford Mustang Bodies and 1965 Ford Mustang serial numbers under their Shelby serial numbers. They had mostly 1965 features including standard Koni shock and Engines painted black. Blue engines did not occur in 1966 until after these 252 “carry-over” models were produced. 1966 production was 1373 fastbacks including (2) prototypes and (4) drag cars and (252) “carry-over” models with Ford Mustang 1965 bodies. 1001 Hertz fastbacks were produced including (2) prototypes. 4 convertibles were also produced for a total of 2378 units for 1966.
Shelby struck a deal with the Hertz Corporation to produce a special line of GT350s for rent which were subsequently sold to the public after their rental-car lives were finished. These GT350H cars are quite rare and sought-after today, with some examples selling for more than $420,000. Shelby produced 1,000 of these cars: 800 in Raven Black, and 50 each in Candy Apple Red, Wimbledon White, Sapphire Blue and Ivy Green. All Hertz cars featured gold LeMans stripes and rocker panel stripes. Early “Hertz” cars were available with 4 speed manual transmissions until so many cars were returned from rental with burned and broken clutch assemblies that all of the later cars shipped to Hertz were equipped with an automatic transmission. These cars tend to be abused in early life from hard usage in the rental car fleet. Good restored examples can be found.
1967 GT350s and GT500s
The new 1967 Mustang was followed with a new Shelby. It featured a 1967 Mercury Cougar tail light panel minus the chrome trim, a flip-up spoiler, and two sets of air scoops on each side. This was also the first American car to feature a factory roll bar. Surfaces such as the hood and trunk lid were made of fiberglass instead of steel for light weight and ease of manufacturering.
This year also saw the introduction of the GT500 alongside the continued GT350. The new GT500 featured a 428 cubic-inch big-block V8. This is also one of the most famous Shelby Mustangs.
A modified GT500 clone, known as “Eleanor”, was featured alongside Nicholas Cage in the 2000 remake of Gone in 60 Seconds. This modified GT500 body style is incredibly popular today, and is partially responsible for the resurgence of Shelby Mustang prices in recent years.
A convertible prototype of the GT500 was made in 1967, which was designated to be destroyed. Before Ford could destroy the prototype, it was stolen. The car was eventually recovered and sold as ‘68.
1968 GT350, GT500 and GT500-KR
The Shelby GT350 Mustangs were powered by a 302 cubic-inch V8 while the GT500 came equipped with the massive 428 cubic-inch Police Interceptor engine. In February of 1968, the GT500-KR became available and was considered the ultimate Shelby. Under the hood was a 428 cubic-inch Cobra-Jet V8 which produced 360 horsepower. The name ‘KR’ meaning ‘King of the Road’ was a quick marketing move by Carroll Shelby who had caught wind that Chevrolet was about to unleash a marketing campaign that featured the 1968 Corvette as the ‘King of the Road.’ After a quick copyright search, they found that the ‘KR’ and ‘King of the Road’ had not been copyrighted. Stickers, photos, and decals were quickly made by Shelby and his crew and placed on the new GT500.
1969 and 1970 GT350, GT500
Carroll Shelby terminated his agreement with Ford in the summer of 1969. The GT350 and GT500 for the 1969–70 model years received extensive facelifts, the body alone increasing in length by 4 inches. Ford was heavily involved with design and style decisions, with Shelby having very little input. Production of Shelby Mustangs ceased with the 1970 model year. The 1970 models were in fact left over 1969 models. VIN tags from 1969 Shelby’s were removed and replaced with 1970 Shelby VIN’s with careful supervision from FBI agents.
27/08/2008 - http://autobuynow.info
Comments (0) Posted by Site Poster on Thursday, August 28th, 2008
Filed under PRODUCTS - General Merchandise, SERVICES - Photography, PRODUCTS - Consumer Electronics, GENERAL - Products and Services
The way a subject is reproduced in a photograph can be very different from how it looked to you as you took the picture. When you cast your eye over a scene, everything in it seems more or less equally sharp, but sometimes in the finished shot only part of the subject appears acceptably sharp.
This zone of sharpness is called the depth-of-field, and it extends in front of and behind the point that you actually focused on. The size of the zone is determined by three key factors - the aperture of the lens, the focal length of the lens used, and the distance you are from the subject. Varying these three elements allows you almost complete control over the depth-of-field in a picture.
When most of the picture is sharp, we say there’s lots of depth-of-field. When only part is sharp, we say depth-of-field is limited. As we’ll see later, whether you go for extensive or limited depth-of-field depends upon the subject matter and how you want to depict it
Three main factors that can be used to control depth-of-field
The aperture.
There’s a simple, direct relationship between aperture and depth-of-field - the smaller the aperture, the more extensive the depth-of-field.
So if you want to keep as much as possible sharp, you should set as small an aperture as possible - preferably f/16, or even f/22 if your lens offers it.
Depending on lighting conditions and your film stock, you may need to use a tripod or some other form of support at such small apertures, as the resulting long shutter speeds create a risk of camera-shake.
If, however, you want to concentrate attention on just one part of the scene, and throw the rest out-of-focus, you should select a large aperture. Exactly how large this can be depends on the maximum aperture of the lens you’re using. On a 50mm standard lens it will be f/1.7, f/1.8 or f/2, but on a standard zoom it will typically be f/3.5 or f/4.5.
For general picture-taking, when you want most of the picture to be in focus, you might want to set a middling aperture of around f/8 to f/11.
This is what a program exposure mode sets when left to its own devices. Whenever possible you should take control of aperture selection and use either an aperture-priority or manual mode.
Four common techniques using depth-of-field
Use these four common approaches when planning a shot to ensure depth-of-field works for you
1 Everything sharp.
With subjects such as landscapes, groups, interiors and travel you’ll usually want to keep everything sharp. Using a wide-angle lens set to a small aperture will give you extensive depth-of-field, perhaps from around one meter through to infinity. But there will be times when foreground interest is closer than that. Here you need to resort to a neat little technique called hyperfocal focusing that allows you to increase the depth-of-field.
As a rule-of-thumb, there’s twice more depth-of-field behind the subject than in front of it. So if you photograph a distant subject such as a landscape and focus on infinity you waste lots of depth-of-field. By focusing a little closer, you’ll extend the depth-of-field at the front so it comes nearer to the camera, while still making sure that infinity falls within the depth-of-field behind the actual point of focus.
You can guess the hyperfocal focusing distance, but life is much easier if your lens is marked with a depth-of-field scale. This used to be regarded as an essential feature, but with the development of wide-ranging zooms many manufacturers now omit one. If you do have such a scale, simply line up the infinity mark against the mark for the aperture you’ve set and, although the image in the viewfinder will look out-of-focus, the finished image will be sharp from front to back.
2 Main subject sharp with background completely out-of-focus.
There are some subjects where you want the main subject to stand out strongly from an out-of-focus background. Portraiture, where the emphasis is on the person, rather than the location, is probably the most popular area. What you need here is a use a telephoto lens at its widest aperture. It’s also worth moving the subject as far away as possible from the background - in cramped studio situations this is often impossible but outside against a wall or foliage it’s usually easier. Take care, though, that you focus accurately, as the limited depth-of-field will be unforgiving of any focusing errors. For portraits focus on the eye for the best results.
3 Main subject sharp, with background out-of-focus but still recognisable.
Sometimes throwing the background completely out-of-focus is going too far. You want to show the subject in its natural environment, but with the background toned down to it doesn’t compete for attention. A person on the beach, for instance, an animal in the zoo, or a flower in a garden. Here a standard to short telephoto lens, somewhere from 50mm to 135mm, is ideal - especially if it’s coupled with a middle range aperture of around f/8.
4 Zone of sharpness deliberately limited.
Occasionally you may want to limit the depth-of-field to a very specific zone. Maybe in a portrait you want just the eyes in focus, and not even the ears or the tip of the nose. Here, once again, a depth-of-field scale on the lens helps, or, failing that a depth-of-field preview facility on the camera, This will give a visual indication of what will and won’t be in focus by manually stopping down the lens.
Summary
Overall, the practical use of depth-of-field can be summed up as follows:
- To maximise depth-of-field and have as much sharp as possible use a wide-angle lens, set a small aperture and stand back from your subject
- To minimise depth-of-field with only a small zone of the scene sharp use a telephoto lens, set a large aperture, and get closer to your subject.
27/08/2008 http://8×10cameras.com/
Comments (0) Posted by Site Poster on Thursday, August 28th, 2008
Filed under PRODUCTS - Health and Nutrition, GENERAL - Products and Services
In August, 1997, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an urgent press release:
FDA is taking measures to strengthen its recent warning that treatment of patients for obesity with a combination of fenfluramine and phentermine has been associated with the development of a serious heart valve disease.
Doctors had discovered an alarming trend where phentermine, once considered a short-term aid in fighting obesity, was being combined with fenfluramine for a long-term treatment.
Efficacy of Phentermine
Without combining it with another drug, phentermine is quite effective during the short term, particularly if it is taken just once a day during a 3-4 week period. It was not intended to be a long-term solution to obesity. Additionally, the drug is more effective when combined with a proper diet and exercise. Overall, when compared with a placebo in a double-bind study, phentermine produced a 10-15 % greater weight loss than the placebo. With these strong results, dieters are tempted to possibly “overdo it” when they take phentermine.
If used properly, phentermine can be helpful to the dieter. However, there are side effects. Common side effects include:
- An increased heart rate;
- Elevated blood pressure;
- Too much adrenaline.
What to Tell Your Doctor or Pharmasist Before Obtaining a Phentermine Prescription
Despite these effects, the FDA considers the phentermine to be safe. It has been approved since 1959 but, given the potential side effects, it can be obtained by prescription only. According to the U.S. National Instittute of Health, there are some things you need to let your doctor know before taking phentermine, such as:
- Whether you are allergic to phentermine or any other drugs.
- What prescription and nonprescription medications you are taking, especially fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine (Luvox), guanethidine, insulin, MAO inhibitors [phenelzine (Nardil) and tranylcypromine (Parnate)] even if you stopped taking them within the past 2 weeks, medications for weight loss and depression, paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft),and vitamins.
- If you have or have ever had heart disease, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries), hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid gland), diabetes, glaucoma, or a history of drug abuse.
- If you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding. If you become pregnant while taking phentermine, call your doctor.
- If you have diabetes, you may need a larger dose of insulin while taking phentermine. Call your doctor if you have questions or problems.
Real Life Reviews and Solutions
Consumer Price Watch has created an informative page called Phentermine Online, where you can read real life reviews from people who have taken phentermine (scroll to the bottom of the link). Additionally, you will find comparative diet pills that may be more effective and/or produce less side effects than phentermine.
Learn more about phentermine, and how it might affect your dieting, at Phentermine Online
Filed under PRODUCTS - Cars, Trucks & Vehicles, GENERAL - Products and Services
Just because school started again, it doesn’t mean that the summer heat is over. If you and you’re family are planning a road trip for Labor Day or some other event, there’s nothing worse than everyone jammed into a car when the air conditioning doesn’t work. The kids get irritable, you get agitated, and the fun you’d normally have on a holiday turns into aggravation.
Thanks to Discount AC Parts, your troubles are over … and you can save a lot of money to boot. Offering a wide selection of parts such as an ac compressor and other auto ac parts, the company will ship your order immediately. As a matter-of-fact, you get free shipping on any order over $50.
Discount AC Parts offers a user-friendly search interface where you can search for specific a/c compressor parts based on the year and model of your car. Parts are carried for 1961 to present-day models and all makes. You’ll find everything from your BMW or Mercedes AC compressor to an A/C expansion devise for the 1998 Chrysler.

Most of the air compressor units have the clutch included to avoid the trouble of installing a clutch. This is a huge time-saving feature.
What’s more, all auto ac parts come with a full warranty. Discount AC Parts offers a learning center on its website, plus a customer support feature. You also have the option of calling, toll-free, with any questions you might have about your automotive AC needs.
The heat is still on — don’t sweat your next road trip. Visit Discount AC Parts today.

Filed under SERVICES - Health Services
Augmentation of the breast consists of insertion of a silicone bag (prosthesis) under the breast (submammary) or under the breast and chest muscle (subpectoral) and then filling the bag with saline (salt water). A Los Angeles breast augmentation expands the breast area to give a fuller breast (increased cup size), give a better contour, and give more cleavage.
The incision (cut) may be placed at various locations such as: under the breast at the breast fold; periareolar which is at the edge of the areola (brown area consisting of nipple and areola); within the areola; in the armpit (axillary); or in the umbilical area.
The thinnest scar is usually in the areola. The umbilical incision approach is used with an endoscope (tube with a light for visualization and placement of the breast implant).
The smooth surface implant requires a large pocket and is associated with a 10% incidence of capsule contracture (tightening of the scar around the implant causing firmness or hardness). The smooth implant has only an occasional occurrence of rippling or wrinkling which gives the overlying skin a wavy appearance.
A textured (roughened surface) implant is associated with a 3% incidence of capsule contracture but has a 7-9% occurrence of rippling.
What are the choices of implant positions? The easiest surgical placement of the implant is under the breast tissue (submammary).
A slightly more difficult surgical placement is under the chest muscle (submuscular or subpectoral) but this position is associated with a lower incidence of capsule contracture and slightly less occurrence of rippling. There is more pain postoperatively than with a submammary placement.
The ultimate size of the breast is mainly a personal decision by the patient. Cup size is an inexact estimate of the final size since cup sizes vary with the bra manufacturer and how tight or loose the patient wears her bra as well as how much breast tissue is already present. Describing the preferred cup size does aid the surgeon, but it also helps to look at pictures or photos to show the California plastic surgeon the desired final look.
The most accurate method of estimating the implant size (in ounces) is to fill a plastic bag with measured amounts of water and place in a bra with the patient’s estimated cup size. One can see with the bra on and covered by a sweater what the final result will approximate.
Comments (0) Posted by Site Poster on Monday, August 25th, 2008
Filed under SERVICES - Real Estate, GENERAL - Products and Services
Comments Off Posted by Site Poster on Monday, August 25th, 2008
Filed under PRODUCTS - General Merchandise, PRODUCTS - Home & Garden, GENERAL - Products and Services
Here in Arizona’s White Mountains, we’ve had an incredible monsoon season. Beginning in about mid-July, it’s been raining every single day. The forests look healthy, the streams and reservoirs are full, gardens are green … and lawns need to be cut every single weekend.
I’m not sure why I had this mentality, but for some reason, I thought that the only way to cut grass was with a power-driven device like a gas lawnmower. I live in a small mountain community and huge, green lawns aren’t a big feature here. People pride themselves with their Ponderosa Pine and flowers, not green lawns.
Since my front yard is relatively small, I was using my “weed whacker” to cut the grass. I have a larger yard in the back that’s about twice the size as the front yard. Again, it’s not that big and I could weed whack it down in about half an hour.
The problem is that my cutting job hasn’t been very even. Depending on the volume of beer consumed on the job, some sections of the lawn were two inches tall; other sections an inch tall; and other sections of grass were four inches tall by the time I was done.
Deciding it was time to get a regular lawnmower so my cutting job would look better, I stopped by the local Home Depot to see what they had. For less than $100, there were some hand-driven push reel mower models. Of course, there were gas-powered models available as well.
I was tempted to get the gas powered model, but one of the problems I tend to have is that the gas mixture usually goes bad after a winter of non-use. Plus, the fumes are usually nasty. So I bit the bullet and thought I’d try one of the push mowers.
For around $80, I bought the Scott 16-inch push lawnmower. The only thing that had to be assembled was the handle unit, which then had to be attached to the mower unit.
The instructions were typical, with all kinds of pictures but little in the way to explain what to do. At first, I attached the handles backwards, so I had to remove them and reattach. Even with this mistake, it only took around 10 minutes to assemble the unit.
After that, in between thunderstorms, I took my new Scott push mower for a spin. It was amazingly easy to push … just as easy as my old gas-powered lawnmower that someone sold by mistake at a garage sale. The cutting job was very even and although the grass was wet, was smooth. The mower discharges the grass clippings directly into the yard, which makes for good mulching.
I was able to cut both the front yards and back yards in about the same amount of time as it would have taken if I had used a gas-powered mower, but without the choking gas fumes. It was actually much faster than using the weed whacker.
The only problem is that small pieces of sticks will jam the mower. I found that if you pull it backwards a rotation, the stick will fall out or it can be easily removed. When it rains, a bunch of pine cones tend to fall into the grass. The mower easily went over these — I didn’t have a single jam from them. The only other thing I would recommend is to get a unit that is wider than 16 inches.
Overall, I am very pleased with my manual lawnmower. The greenies will love me because I’m not consuming gasoline. The neighbors love it because there is no sound when I cut the grass. The unit takes very little maintenance, has a 2-year warranty, and works like a charm.

It’s been a week since I cut the front yard with the push reel mower, and a bunch of pine cones have fallen again. Nonetheless, you can see what a good job the manual lawnmower did.
Comments Off Posted by Scout on Thursday, August 21st, 2008
Filed under SERVICES - Financial, GENERAL - Products and Services
With the election season underway, we are constantly hammered with political promises to save the Social Security fund or to improve the economy.
Personally, I don’t have a lot of trust in politicians and prefer to control my own destiny, including my career goals and retirement. To see if I’m on track, I took Bills.com’s online test. My test results were as expected, with a “B” score:

The reason I knew in advance I’d have a “B” or lower score was because I have taken on some extra debt in the last year to buy property that I intend to retire on. My plan is to have everything paid off by the time I am 50 and to be completely debt-free at that point. However, the current level of debt is not where I should be.
Personally-Tailored Financial Products and Services
The BillsIQ test has some excellent pointers, such as how to improve your credit score, wealth planning tips and even information about your “life plan.” Usually, when you take these types of tests, the only questions have to do with your debt/credit ratio. I found the wealth and life planning sections a refreshing and practical segment of the Bills IQ quiz. Actually, I scored quite well in these areas because I am a big believer in the benefits of goal setting. Debt help, credit consolidation services, estate planning and other financial products and services are recommended after you take the BillsIQ test. These services are specially tailored to match your needs, based on the results of your test. What’s nice about this is that the site doesn’t overwhelm you with a lot of information or services that you don’t really need. All recommended services are fine-tuned and honed to your specific needs that are revealed in your test results.
Quite frankly, I honestly don’t know if we “Baby Boomers” can rely on Social Security payments when it’s time to retire. Taking the BillsIQ test is an intelligent way to deal with this dilemma and to be in a great financial position today and in the future. The test is free. It only takes about 3 or 4 minutes to complete, and the results provide you with an arsenal of profitable and practical recommendations.
–Urbain Beck

Comments Off Posted by Scout on Thursday, August 21st, 2008
Filed under PRODUCTS - General Merchandise, PRODUCTS - Home & Garden, PRODUCTS - Gifts, GENERAL - Products and Services
Comments Off Posted by Site Poster on Thursday, August 21st, 2008