Someone Else’s Kids

As a follow up to a previous Is It Worth It post about getting a portable dishwasher, I thought of another advantage that should be mentioned.

When I didn’t have a dishwasher, I washed the dishes by hand every day and usually immediately after each meal as I think filthy dishes piling up in a sink are unsightly. Now that I have a portable dishwasher, the dirty dishes can be easily put out of sight until later. (Of course that doesn’t mean that you should necessarily leave them around for days on end either!)

Many people think a dishwasher uses more water than washing by hand and that is entirely untrue since many people leave the water running while they wash and rinse a sink full of dishes.

I’ve previously written about things to do in Las Vegas and today I am turning to other coast to talk about things to do in Boston.

I have been to Boston several times and have lots of stories so it’s hard to pick just one. Perhaps the best was a whale watching tour that left from the wharf area next to the New England Aquarium. The first thing I noticed was how comfortable the boat was. I was impressed that there was a snack bar and mini-restaurant area. I didn’t actually get anything, but other people seemed to be enjoying it.

The whale watching tour company offers a guarantee that if you don’t see a whale, you get a free ticket to go back another time. The first time we went, we didn’t see any whales. The your guide had sad they were active in that same area in the tour earlier in the day, but we had no luck. Sure enough, as we exited, the tour company employees apologized for our bad luck and gave us free tickets!

We really weren’t really that disappointed since we got the nice boat ride and some amazing pictures of the Boston skyline from the water. The fact, that I knew we could go back again anytime for free was a big plus.

We went back the next summer and that time we ended up going farther north along the coast than originally planned because the whales weren’t where they thought they would be. The employees announced their guarantee of free tickets and some passengers said they didn’t believe them! I was able to assure them that I was traveling that day as a result of the guarantee.

The good news is when we went farther north, we found a group pf whales feeding in the waters. We saw several different kinds and learned a lot about them from the tour guides because they are also researchers keeping tabs on the whales feeding and migration habits. After the whale watching boat returned, we ended up having dinner at a semi-expensive Italian restaurant in the North End and then getting pastry at one of the famous bakeries there.

Will whale watching be on your agenda when you visit Boston?

Don’t forget that if you are looking for sightseeing tours in Boston or another major city, check out the Trusted Tours & Attractions site at that link. If you haven’t signed up for their newsletter yet, make sure to do that too since their current promotion through the end of May 2008 is a chance to win a $150 iTunes gift card from them.boston, sightseeing tours, whale watching

One thing I am loving about the new American Gladiators is the fact that the episodes are online at the NBC website.

In fact, I has missed the season premiere of the first season and probably never would have watched the show again if I hadn’t been able to see the episodes on the website. Even though I had been looking forward to the premiere, it wouldn’t have been the same to me to join the action already in progress. It’s fun to see the competition develop week to week.

I like the fact that I never have to feel tied to the TV or to the TV schedule if I want to enjoy a particular program. Take tonight, it was the second of the season for American Gladiators and I wasn’t home tonight because I went to the movie theater. I don’t need to worry, though, because I’ll be able to watch the show online and still write my blog entries about it when I have a chance.

I don’t know what criteria NBC is using to determine which shows get to have full episodes online instead of just clips, but I’m glad someone there decided that AG should have the whole thing available.

Have you missed the show this season so far? Get caught up now at NBC.com.american gladiators, American Gladiators episodes, NBC, remakes, TV, tv shows

I was just reading something today in which someone was complaining about not being able to afford her own website. I don’t know the person’s financial background information, but I suspect, she is out of touch with the reality of having a website these days. Having the time to properly devote to a blog or website is one thing, but the prices are within the reach of almost all budgets these days thanks to inexpensive web hosting which can be paid monthly and the low cost of domain name registrations.

In fact, I saw a registrar just the other day having a sale on certain domain extensions for $1.99 a year! With hosting fees as little as three or four dollars a month, I think anyone who wants a website can manage it.

Parents, have you thought of starting a website for your neighborhood association, child’s school activities, or organized sports teams? If you’ve wanted to create your own website, but didn’t know where to start, you need to do some basic research. This site has articles on web hosting basics and cPanel Tutorials, the latter being a type of user interface to help you manage your web hosting account.

If you are unfamiliar with any terms, don’t let that stop or intimidate you. Check out the articles on the site linked above and you will be a web hosting pro in no time! cheap web hosting, inexpensive web hosting, web hosting, webhostingrating.com

American Gladiators season 2 premiered last night. I have to say, that show delivers!

The promos promised that it would be even better and more intense this season. To back up that promise, the producers built an all new and larger gladiator arena, revamped several of the contender challenges to make them more difficult, and added several new challenges.

Unlike the original version years ago, this new one also kept its promise of making the first season champions new gladiators this season. It was awesome to see Monica Carlson (now going by the name Jet) and Evan Dollard (now called Rocket) back from last season in their new Gladiator outfits. Both also sported new looks hair wise and body wise too. In one of the promos, Evan, I mean Rocket, stated that he gained fifteen pounds – of muscle – since the end of the first season. That is all the more impressive considering the first season ended a mere three months ago!

I’ll write more about the show and the season as it progresses in other entries.american gladiators, NBC, remakes, TV, tv shows

With vacation season coming up, there are several reasons that you might want to rent a car besides the obvious reason of renting one after flying to your destination.

In fact, even if you are planning a vacation consisting solely of driving, car rental often makes sense. With the outrageous cost of gas as it is and still rising, you might want to get a car that is more efficient than your own if you are planning on taking a driving trip racking up thousands of miles. It might actually be more economical even considering the price of the rental. You will also be saving the wear and tear on your own car, which has a value that should be factored into the decision.

You may need a larger vehicle than your current one if you and your family will be spending more time than usual on the road together. You can even rent SUV’s if necessary. Advantage is one car rental company that has them. You can check them out at one of the links in the first two paragraphs.

I also had a friend who used to rent a sports car for his birthday week or weekend. He thought it was fun to rent a car he wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford. You could use that same idea when choosing your vacation rental – pick something that you wouldn’t normally be akle to drive and you’ll be adding another layer to your vacation.car rental, renting a car. advantage

Extended Warranties – Should You Get One

This is a hotly debated Is It Worth It topic. Should you buy an extended warranty when you make an appliance or electronic purchase?

Salesman love to push extended warranties on cars, appliances, and electronics because they make a sizable commission when you add the warranty to your base purchase.

Do you think the companies would sell those warranties if they weren’t so profitable for them?

What you are really buying is a type of an insurance policy. Most people are not going need to use the warranties, but for those that do, the warranty will be worth the money and then some. Yes, they can be worth it, depending on the breakdown rate of the item in question.

I think the sad commentary here is on the state of customer service and the fact that companies basically admit upfront that their items are of poor quality and that they expect the customer to pay upfront to “insure” against losses for repairing shoddy equipment.
consumer opinion, consumer reports, consumer testing, extended warranties, extended warranty, product testing, saving money

I wrote in a previous entry about making summer vacation plans and exploring destinations in your own backyard. That was a figurative term meaning to see what great attractions are in your local area.

An equally valid plan is to find a far-away destination and go for an extended period of time, at least a week. One of the best summer vacations I ever had was in Las Vegas. Admittedly, it was darn hot in Las Vegas in the summer, but most of the attractions are indoors and well air conditioned. Even the tram is air conditioned so you can get around to a large number of casinos and to the Las Vegas convention center via that method of transportation, thus avoiding the extreme heat. In fact, Las Vegas is one of the few destinations in the world that has an indoor amusement park (located in the Circus Circus) so you can actually experience an air-conditioned day on the rides.

If you want to be a little more adventurous, you can plan an overseas summer vacation. I was even reading a forum recently in which a participant was talking about his flights to Thailand and how he married his girlfriend and then honeymooned there. That would be a memorable vacation indeed! I don’t know how they booked their trip, but you can check rates and information on the DialAFlight.com website and then talk to someone to book your trip. What’s great about that is that you can do the research on your own and then speak to someone to confirm everything and get more advice or opinions on your vacation plans.

When the kids go back to school every year, the first writing assignment in English class is usually about what was done over summer vacation. What will your kids be writing about next September?
dialaflight, Las Vegas, summer vacation, thailand, vacation