One of my students has told me he is going to be traveling in Europe this summer with his college-aged brother Their plan is to stay in the network of youth hostels there. I wonder if they are familiar with this Student Travelsite, with its listing of over 8000 places to stay in 2000 destinations?

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Posted by: Greg at 06:10 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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My wife watches a lot of HGTV -- and so I watch it with her in order to spend a little quality time with her. One of the companies whose products have been featured on some of the shows like "Mission Organization" has been Home Reserve, makers of some really good ready-to-assemble furniture. well, the company is adding a whole new line of products -- sectionals. Yes, that's right -- now you can got to Home Reserve for sofas, loveseats, chairs and sectionals at reasonable prices.

Now some folks might be a little bit wary of buying furniture off the internet. But think about it -- we buy all sorts of products online, so why not furniture, especially when you are dealing with a company that offers 95 different fabric options to choose from. And the nice thing is that items ship to you within ten days via UPS -- how many times have you found it necessary to wait for something on back-order for much longer with your local furniture store? In addition, all Home Reserve sofas , loveseats, sectionals, chairs and ottomans include built-in storage, changeable covers, and a five year frame warranty that compares favorably to what you would get at local furniture stores.

Now the nice thing about the sectionals is that they are reasonably priced. Sections start at $99 and a nice looking sectional can be completed for under $1000 -- again, a great deal compared to what happens when you go to your local furniture store. Indeed, the prices at Home Reserve on sofas, loveseats, chairs and sectionals are all good compared to what you'll find in a brick-and-mortar establishment.

My darling wife and I have been talking about new living room furniture for a while now, and will probably be making a move once we deal with some remaining medical bills (ICU can be expensive, even with insurance). When we do, Home Reserve will be one of the places we consider seriously -- and if they add a chaise to their sectional line, I can virtually guarantee that they will be our selection.

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I've mentioned a time or two that my wife and I are talking about some changes in our home decor. Well, this is likely to include wrought iron -- we've got a wrought iron cross that we love, and an iron candelabra over the dining table. I foresee some candle sconces and maybe even a wall vase or two placed on the patio. I suspect that my input will be limited to nodding my head and writing checks, though.

Where I may have some input, though, is in where we make the purchases -- and I think that the Wrought Iron Decor Store would be a great place for us to start looking. Indeed, just looking at the site I see some great bath fixtures that would go well with the plans my wife has talked about. Best of all, the products there are priced at a level we can afford -- meaning that the redecorating plans will not bust the budget.

And even better, there is free shipping for orders over $50!

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Prayer at Rumayla by Charles Sheehan-Miles was published in 2001. It was Sheehan-Miles’ first novel, and drew on his experiences as a veteran of the Gulf War following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait.

Sheehan-Miles has recently taken the novel and made it into an audio book in the form of nine podcasts available through his website. Currently, the first two chapters are available there, with the remaining seven to follow.

The protagonist of the novel is a nineteen-year-old veteran of the war who is struggling to deal with his experiences in the Middle East, in particular with the accidental killing of civilians. Upon his return home, he has to deal with events that have turned his life upside-down. Reviewers at Amazon praise Charles Sheehan-Miles for his realism in presenting the difficulties faced by veterans of this war upon their return to America. His podcast version is beautifully read by the author, and full of a resonant emotion of one who has shared in the changes wrought by the experience of war.

I’ll be honest – I liked what I heard. If you enjoy literary works dealing with the realities of warfare, this is a good book for you. For that matter, if you enjoy a taut storyline about a character you care about, this is a good choice for you. I listened to the first episode of the podcast, and will be back for the rest – and ready to read Sheehan-Miles’ next book when it comes out.

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Legal trouble happens. When it does, you are going to need a lawyer – and it had better be the right one. After all, attorneys specialize, just like doctors do, and you want the right sort of specialist.

That is where TopUSAttorneys.com comes into play. It is a directory of attorneys and law firms in the U.S., searchable by city, state, zip code, or specialty. Think about it – you can get the right kind of attorney right in your own backyard! Whether you need someone o handle a DUI case or a civil suit following an accident, the right sort of attorney is listed at TopUSAttorneys.com so that you can get the legal representative you need when you need it without spending hours using general search engines and clicking dozens of pointless links. What more can you ask – other than for your legal trouble to go away.

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Posted by: Greg at 05:28 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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You guys know that I am eagerly anticipating the NFL Draft this year as my Houston Texans continue to try to build a winning tradition. Well, Robert Ferringo has a great site devoted to what he views as the Top 60 NFL Draft Prospects for 2007. It seems quite likely that my team is going to end up with two of these guys on draft day, so I’ve been looking closely at what he has to say about them. Who does he pick for YOUR favorite team?

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Bad things happen to good people through no fault of their own. That is a truism -- as is the related notion that there often is someone who is at fault in such situations. That is why personal injury lawyers serve an important role in our legal system.

I recently was directed to the website of the Seattle personal injury lawyers at Paglialunga & Harris, PS. Their site is well-organized and includes a great deal of information about serious accident and injury cases and wrongful death cases. These are areas of law that you hope you never have to deal with, but when confronted with such situations it is important to know where to turn.

The website is particularly good about telling folks what to do in cases of serious accidents where there may be a claim for damages against another party. As I've been told by the legal professionals I work with as part of my evening teaching job, one of the biggest problems they encounter is the fact that clients don't get names of witnesses or sign statements at the request of the other party's insurance company that have the effect of undermining their right to be compensated. The website of these Seattle personal injury lawyers offers tips on how to avoid making such mistakes, and therefore seems to be useful to those without legal training who are facing issues following a personal injury accident.

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Posted by: Greg at 06:10 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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As I've been teaching about World War I, I've been reminded of the role that Bulgaria played as a part of the Central powers allied with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Seeking to avoid Russian hegemony in the region and to recover traditional Bulgarian territories in the hands of Greece, Serbia, and Romania, the Bulgarians fought successfully against their neighbors until the failure of their german and Austrian-Hungarian allies brought an end to the war.

Bulgaria itself is a beautiful country located on the Black Sea, and has become a popular vacation destination for Europeans. The areas around the capital of Sofia are known for skiing, and there are are great deals to be had on Pamporovo, Borovets and Bansko properties.

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Do you need a Philadelphia flower delivery? Want flowers for someone special in Houston? Well, wherever you are sending your love with flowers, DigitalFlowers.com will get them there. I know -- I've used them in the past to send flowers to family members for special occasions, so I can recommend them without hesitation. You will not be disappointed -- and they will go to great lengths to make sure you and the recipient are happy.

Remember -- fresh flowers are just a click away!

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Posted by: Greg at 06:15 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Let me offer a full disclosure here -- I am a Cingular Wireless subscriber, and a reasonably happy one at that. However, I am getting really annoyed by the whole "Cingular Wireless is the new AT&T" advertising campaign.

I believe that the whole name change is a bad idea, if only because Cingular is a well-recognized name in the wireless industry. Yes, I know that AT&T is. . . well. . . AT&T, but in many parts of the country they have taken a backseat to the Cingular brand name. A better strategy, from my point of view, would have been to re-brand as AT&T/Cingular, thereby preserving both recognizable identities in one -- sort of a Daimler/Chrysler arrangement, as it were. Some marketing genius, though, told them to kill off the Cingular name, and so AT&T has done it with a vengeance. There is just no turning back.

However, if AT&T wants to make it work, there need to be some concrete steps taken to make the re-branding go smoothly.

First, make the chance. Enough of Ryan Seacrest repeating the stock phrase "Cingular Wireless is the new AT&T” on American Idol. Just do it – start calling it AT&T wireless as soon as the new
new AT& T phones (likely the new Apple iPhone) roll out. Slap AT&T on all the new phones.

Secondly, start marketing the change of brand to those of us who have been Cingular customers for some time, because that has not been done in any effective way yet. Cut us a deal on the new Apple iPhone with its fresh new AT&T logo. Cut us a deal on Razr phones branded with the blue glove and not the orange “X man".

But most importantly is going to be getting the latest phones out with the new brands on them. Verizon has done a superb job of marketing their phones and making them the hot phone to have. AT&T wireless needs to do the same. it is therefore critical that the Cingular name disappear quickly from stores and websites, to be replaced with the new name and logo. Make sure that Wirefly and other authorized dealers get the new merchandise and logo quickly as well.Start advertising phones and making them the big selling point (think Chocolate) -- the AT&T brand name will take care of itself and prosper among consumers.

After all, AT&T is AT&T.

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Over the last few years, I've become really sensitive to the issue of drug prices. I have to be, my darling wife suffers from chronic medical issues that cost us dearly at the pharmacy each month. And I'm one of the lucky ones with prescription benefits, even though each school year they seem to get a little bit worse. That's why I'm always interested in taking a look at sites like YourRXCard.com.

YourRXCard.com provides consumers with a way to get discount drugs at up to a 75% savings at over 56.000 pharmacies nationwide, even without health insurance. Some medications are still going to be high, but not nearly so high as they would be without the discount that YourRXCard.com provides.

And I'll be very honest about it -- while I saw a number of my wife's name-brand medications listed at a price that would keep us from buying them, I also saw several of the generics that match up well with what our insurance pays. And in the end, there are choices on which medications are most efficacious in treating a condition, and appropriate decisions to be made based upon a rational cost/benefit analysis. As such, I think that YourRXCard.com a valuable resource for many uninsured or under-insured patients.

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