Lifestyle News
Cash for Clunkers 2009 Program Launched
The much anticipated Cash for Clunkers Program is officially in full swing. The U.S. Government is finally giving a chunk of the bailout back to the everyday person, offering between $3500 and $4000 for old vehicle trade-ins with the purchase of a new vehicle. Not too shabby if you’re in the market for a new car or have an old one laying around.
Clearly, the strategy here is two-fold: the first part of the plan is to cut back on fuel demand and greenhouse gases by getting rid of old clunkers and trading them for modern, fuel-efficient cars; the second part is to stimulate the economy by getting people to open up their wallets and spend some cash. Uncle Sam says he has a pool of around $1 billion to devote to the Cash for Clunkers Program. The program is slated to go until November 30th of this year, but will stop early if funds are depleted. So go and trade your clunker in while there’s still some loot left!
Continue ReadingBeer Bike Parades Streets in Amsterdam
Amsterdam has always been known for its liberal reputation, namely legal drugs and prostitution. I got to experience the liberal ways of Amsterdam back in 2004, when I visited for an extended weekend. It’s a fun city, but I probably would’ve lost my mind if I stayed there any longer!
Anyway, I wanted to let you all know about the Amsterdam Beer Bike. This is something I never saw while I was visiting, and hadn’t even heard about until recently. The beer bike is basically a mobile bar. Equipped with loads of booze and thirsty tourists, it roams around the streets of Amsterdam. The drinkers not only need to pay for a ride, they have to work for it. Everyone on the bike will be pedaling to propel it through the streets. Though, I suppose you could always take a break and the thing would still move, just a bit slower.
Check out a video of the beer bike in action in Amsterdam:
Continue ReadingGet Ready to Celebrate National Donut Day
National Donut Day takes place on the first Friday of June every year, which would make the celebration on schedule for tomorrow. The ‘holiday’ celebrates the donut – worshiping it, cherishing it, and eventually consuming it. Due to the conception that donuts are unhealthy, many people in recent years have modified the holiday to become ‘National Donut and Bagel Day. Like bagels are that much better.
National Donut Day started back in 1938 as a fundraiser for the Chicago Salvation Army. They wanted to raise money for the Great Depression and also to honor the ‘lassies’ who served donuts to solders in France behind the front lines in World War I.
There are many places you can get donuts to celebrate National Donut Day – the first place that comes to mind is Dunkin’ Donuts. But don’t forget about Krispy Kreme or your good ol’ local gas station. If you’re feeling brave, you can even bake your own donuts and feast in the comfort of your home!
Continue ReadingSonic Drive-In Giving Away Free Root Beer Floats!
The popular fast food chain, Sonic, is offering free root beer floats as part of a recent promotion. Sonic is the latest chain to hop on the trend of giving away freebies to get some press and spur some more business. It seems like there’s a new freebie hitting the press every day, so you won’t hear any complaints from me about it.
The promotion is only going on today from 8 PM until midnight, so if you want a free 10oz root beer float, you better get moving! Sonic estimates that they’ll be giving away about 3.5 million floats. Unfortunately for me, the nearest Sonic is at least a half hour away, so I won’t be enjoying any tasty root beer floats!
Click here to see all Sonic’s locations
Continue ReadingCoupon for Free Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs!
Who wouldn’t like a free hot dog up in their grill? Hopping onto the latest trend of giving away free products to spur some business, Kraft has decided to promote Oscar Meyer by offering coupons for some Oscar Meyer beef franks. Yum.
You can visit Kraft’s promotion page here. Supposedly, all you have to do is enter your information and they say they’ll send you a coupon within 4-6 weeks. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see if anybody actually receives these. Either way, it’s a great promotion for Kraft to capture some contact info. I’m sure they’ll add hundreds of thousands, if not millions of new names to their database. Considering the viral nature of these promotions on the ‘net and the fact that the down economy has people scrambling for freebies, I’d say the collection of a few million names for this promotion is not far off. Not a bad little promo, Kraft. Now give me my hot dogs!
Thanks to Business Pundit for the update on this story.
Continue ReadingPortrait of a President: George Washington
Sometimes I like to take a break from all the hype and not write about the most popular news out there. I find myself gravitating towards topics of an historical nature, mostly because I truly enjoy learning and writing about history. So, I’ve put together a brief portrait of America’s First President, George Washington! I hope you learn something from this brief history of a truly amazing man.
George Washington became the first president of the United States of America on April 30, 1789,helping the country take a giant leap into the democracy it is today. He is known best in modern times as the only president who never occupied the white house, but there is so much more to President Washington than many people realize!
Born on February 22, 1732 to a tobacco farmer and his second wife, President Washington spent his childhood from the age of six being home schooled by his father and his brother. They taught George the love for surveying and farming. At age 20, President Washington was appointed as a district adjutant general in the Virginia militia in 1752.
Continue ReadingCelebrate Wine in the Woods in Columbia, MD
Wine in the Woods is an annual wine festival that takes place at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. The event goes on all weekend and features an enormous amount of wine from all over. You pay a cover charge to get in, and then you can roam and taste all you want!
Aside from wine tasting, there’s also plenty of food, arts & crafts and many different live music acts. Merriweather, a popular outdoor concert venue is a great place to host Wine in the Woods. Aside from the outdoor amphitheater itself, the surrounding woods and open fields are serene and well-kept.
The even takes place from noon to 6 PM on both Saturday and Sunday and costs $25 to get in. If you’re under 21, it’s only going to cost you $5, but of course you won’t be privy to any wine tastings 
Biltmore Estate Featured on CBS
On of my favorite estates in America, the Biltmore Estate, was featured on the CBS Sunday Morning show this morning. For those of you who don’t know your history, the Biltmore is the largest privately-owned home in the U.S. It was originally built and owned by railroad tycoon George Washington Vanderbilt in the late 1800’s.
Located in Asheville, North Carolina, the 175,000 square foot home is truly a wonder. It’s surrounded by opulent gardens and sculptures on over 8,000 acres of prime real estate. The property also includes a winery, a hotel and several restaurants and shops. Because of it’s distinction as the largest private home in the United States and its opulent characteristics, it has become a popular tourist destination for travelers from all over the world.
I’ve found the Biltmore’s website to be particularly helpful in giving me little tidbits of information that I didn’t know about the estate. It also features some truly magnificent pictures of the estate. If you’d like to learn more about the Biltmore or even book a trip there, check out their website!
Continue ReadingSamsung Alias 2 Now On Sale in Stores
The long awaited Samsung Alias 2 is now for sale in stores near you!
Though pictures and videos were leaked back in March, we didn’t know all that much about the Samsung Alias 2 until we actually got to play with one. Definitely a cool phone. Does it beat the iPhone? Still not sure about that.
The Samsung Alias 2 is a clamshell-style “flip” phone with tons of awesome features.
Continue ReadingCDC H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) and you
CDC H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) and you
What is swine flu?
Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses that causes regular outbreaks in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen. Swine flu viruses have been reported to spread from person-to-person, but in the past, this transmission was limited and not sustained beyond three people.
Are there human infections with swine flu in the U.S.?
In late March and early April 2009, cases of human infection with swine influenza A (H1N1) viruses were first reported in Southern California and near Guadalupe County, Texas. Other U.S. states have reported cases of swine flu infection in humans and cases have been reported internationally as well. An updated case count of confirmed swine flu infections in the United States is kept at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/investigation.htm CDC and local and state health agencies are working together to investigate this situation.
Is this swine flu virus contagious?
CDC has determined that this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human. However, at this time, it is not known how easily the virus spreads between people.
