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The Wheels of U.S. Government

Direct Loans — Educational Loans Consolidation

Back in November 2009 I applied for a loan consolidation through the U.S. Department of Education's Direct Loans Program. Today — June 2010 — I received notice that my application had been cancelled. There are three reasons for which a loan application might be cancelled. After speaking with my current loan underwriter and the peeps at Direct Loans, none of these reasons seem to exist in my case.

The Direct Loan people will now re-contact my current underwriter, ACS. As well, my case has been referred to a Supervisor at Direct Loans. I am instructed to call back in three weeks to check on the status of my loan.

I pay just under $250 monthly on two school loans. A consolidation will reduce that monthly amount, lock in a low interest rate (presently have an adjustable rate); yet, will extend the term of my loan.

I can live with that. Or even die with that and then owe nothing more. [evil grin] My monthly Social Security benefit is from where I draw my school loan payments. It would be nice to have a bit more discretionary spending funds from that monthly stipend.

Kindle Kindness

One expert predicts that the price of e-readers will fall below $100 within the next twelve months. The iPad from Apple is reported to have put strong pressure on the pricing strategies. Kindle just dropped its $250 model to around $190.

Yes, I would love to have an iPad. Yet, an affordable Kindle would support my bedtime reading. When I do decide to spring for an e-reader it is likely that Barnes & Noble's Nook will be competing with Amazon's Kindle for my purchasing attention.

Latest Sleep System Arrives Soon

Click To Enlarge Elements Above

Our Kingsdown system fell short of our expectations. Although a replacement mattress had been authorized under the warranty, we felt that the quality was not good enough for the price we paid. Shirley and I upgraded to a Tempur-Pedic bed. That seemed to be the smart move to make.

The Kingsdown would have been paid off after a couple $200 payments. We did avoid any interest charges. Now we will pay for another year and hopefully have no further sleep issues.

The Kingsdown mattress eventually sloped downward from the center on each side. This was not comfortable by any stretch of the imagination.

We like the massage unit in the base and the adjustability feature. By this time in July we should be sleeping on our new bed.

Competing With Old Bisbee Specialty Coffee

A co-worker had tried Old Bisbee's specialty coffees and truly enjoyed them. Then he brought home Sam's Club Organic Medium Roast coffee beans and was pleased with the taste. He brought some beans to work for me to try at home that evening.

I was surprised by the good flavor of this brewed coffee. For a few pennies less than the cost of one pound of Old Bisbee beans I got two and one-half pounds of Member's Mark brand. I still will want Old Bisbee's Guatemalan Huehuetenango and Los Volcanes coffees. Bali Blue Krishna and Pulp Natural CoopePalmares are also on my reorder list from them.

One Good Pair Deserves Another

Replacement for my current athletic shoe.

It was time to step up to a better athletic shoe. I just knew I needed to stay with the Skechers Shape-Ups for that. After all, walking to stay in shape gets the best support when using the Shape-Ups. I truly feel pressure in my hip joints and a little similar pressure in my knees and ankles when walking. These shoes require the wearer to walk correctly.

Another characterization of how the shoe feels is that it is like walking in sand or on soft ground. The distribution of body weight from heel to toe for each foot is natural and correct. The insole to outsole construction is brilliant.

And what do I think of them after my evening walk? I am so happy with them. My work shoes give me the benefits I need while at work. The evening walk or running an errand while wearing the same support is the most I can hope for.

Yes, I am thrilled.

Skechers Shape-Up Slip-Resistant Work Shoe

Today Is First Wearing — The Test

Click Any Image To Enlarge

These were recommended by a Wound Care expert at work. (I do have developing peripheral neuropathy.) He has seen many 'diabetic feet' and had recently identified a healing blister on bottom of my big toe. The pair of shoes set me back $125. Hopefully they will be worth the cost.

Natural Selection

Putting Darwin to the test.

Those fish that survive their new oil environment and go on to breed offspring that can as well will prove Darwin's theory of natural selection. Now what will the Creationists say?

People to Blame for the Oil Spill

As I'm sure we're all aware by now, in the year 2000, George W. Bush hatched a scheme with Karl Rove and Dick Cheney to take over the world. It involved stealing an election, faking a terrorist attack, invading Iraq, and then completely destroying the world economy. What most of us don't fully appreciate is that they also found ways to affect nature, reality, acts of God, and the Matrix. Therefore, this oil disaster makes perfect sense, because it's all part of Bush's plan to make President Obama look bad so that the Republicans can win back full control of the government and elect Bush supreme chancellor of the American Empire. Besides, Bush knows we don't actually need any more oil, because of all those huge stockpiles of oil we stole from Iraq.

Now, some truly nutty people believe that ex-President Bush is not some sort of evil mastermind, but actually an incompetent boob who wouldn't know how to "embetterfy" an unglazed donut. I know, it doesn't make sense, right? Anyway, these people can blame Bush too, because as we all know, it was his complete fuck-all idiocy that allowed safeguards to be dropped in the gulf, not to mention the Federal regulations he wrote that force all companies to put bombs on their oil rigs that could go at any time. Perhaps Bush actually believed it would be in the best interest of the country to install grenade-tipped drill bits in all the rigs, or maybe he was just duped into thinking so by that most evil of masterminds, Rush Limbaugh.

Barack Obama, upon taking office, has thus far succeeded in his plot to destroy America and install socialism in every nook and cranny of this great land. This oil spill "accident" is just another in a series of well-timed events that he is using to thwart the will of the people. The fact that he was talking about doing some more drilling in the gulf just before that rig exploded is awfully convenient, is it not? Now he can stop all drilling everywhere and claim that he does it only reluctantly, thereby ensuring that American energy be driven by his new, environmentally-safe fuel cells that run on mind control and anti-capitalist rhetoric.

And what about Obama's slow, seemingly incompetent response to the crisis that threatens several impoverished cities along the coast? Well, he's doing that for the same reason President Bush created Hurricane Katrina and steered it directly for New Orleans: he hates black people. Plus, this whole crisis keeps the press busy while the administration quietly handles other scandals. For example, there's this Sestak thing (for those who don't know, the president has admitted to sort-of offering an unpaid job to Mr. Sestak if he should choose to drop out of an election), which if you check the lawbooks, should be punishable by castration and firing squad. As we all know, offering political favors to people in your own party is right up there with child molestation, so you can see why it would be advantageous for there to be something else going on in the world. He's a clever one, that Obama.