Cheap car insurance for teens some tips and advice

One of the most important tips anyone can offer a teen driver about obtaining, and keeping, cheap car insurance, is the tip of driving safely and responsibly. This advice does not mean just buckling up and driving the speed limit. Driving safely and responsibly goes beyond those basics – especially for teen drivers.

Below are some tips and advice for teens to drive safely and responsibly.

Obey the law. Obeying the law means buckling your safety belt (wearing a safety belt is a legal requirement in most states); driving the speed limit (speed limits change in different parts of town, especially in school and work zones); knowing, and respecting, what the colors of traffic lights mean; not driving under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or any other controlled substance; placing at least the length of one vehicle between you and the car in front of you; always signaling your next move to the vehicles surrounding you; and driving only during the times drivers your age are legally allowed to drive.

Respect your surroundings. Respecting your surroundings means driving in accordance with everything around you. Drive slower than the speed limit when weather elements such as rain and snow require it. Keep watch of pedestrians, especially children who may be playing close to the road. Pay attention to all vehicles around you, especially in high traffic areas.

Avoid unnecessary distractions. Unnecessary distractions include things such as putting on make up, eating, chatting on your cell phone, blasting the radio, and cramming too many friends into your vehicle. Many states have laws regulating how many passengers teen drivers are allowed to have. Know, and follow, those laws. When in doubt, never allow more passengers than your vehicle has safety belts.

Car insurance companies already view teen drivers as high risk. By driving safely and responsibly, teen drivers can keep traffic violations and accidents to a minimum, thus helping them maintain cheap car insurance.

San antonio schools evaluate texas tomorrow plan

Students in San Antonio Schools in 2008 will have college savings options that haven’t existed since 2003. The Texas Tomorrow II plan is a revamped version of the original state savings program that many residents in San Antonio Schools blasted as useless before it was ended in 2003.

The problem with the original plan was that it didn’t account for inflation. So San Antonio Schools families who used it as their main vehicle for college savings found themselves no better off. Governor Rick Perry announced this newer version that is based on the purchase of units. Here’s how it works.

Imagine a student in the San Antonio Schools hope to attend a decent four year college. The parents would purchase the appropriate number of units that the family can currently afford. Unlike the old plan, families don’t have to pay for 2, 4 or 5 years, but whatever they want. The Texas Prepaid Higher Education Board will set prices annually. Currently a two-year college costs 23 units for a full year, and four-year colleges range from 57-81 units.

Proponents in San Antonio Schools and throughout Texas claim that this protects parents because any inflation increases will be paid by the colleges. However, some in the San Antonio Schools fear that the results might actually hurt those the plan was designed to help. A great concern for San Antonio Schools is closing the achievement gap that exists between white and minority students. There is a strong correlation between poverty and poor academic success. Some administrators in San Antonio Schools fear that the current set-up will put colleges in the position of raising tuition to make up for the inflation they are stuck paying. And who’s left with the higher tuition? Students who didn’t purchase prepaid programs - usually the lower income families.

That’s not to say that most residents of San Antonio Schools don’t like the program. Actually, most parents are pleased that the state has finally replaced the old model. Some features that parents in the San Antonio Schools like are that they can transfer funds from the old program, or from 529 plans, into the Texas Tomorrow II plan. It’s also more accessible because families can start paying even if they don’t have money to pay for a complete year.

But, some parents and educators in San Antonio Schools point out - it’s still not perfect. Funds can't be used for books, food or housing; all items that make up a significant portion of college tuition. And for the poorest students in Texas and in San Antonio, it may not do much to get them into college. Still, the overall attitude of most of San Antonio Schools families seems to be that they need all the help they can get. With college cost rising, and even upper middle class families struggling meet tuition, it’s not surprising that scores of San Antonio families are eagerly anticipating the new plan.

Unleash the horses with a performance exhaust system upgrade

Stock exhaust systems are designed simply to provide a conduit for spent gases to move from your engine to your tailpipe - no more, no less. On the other hand, performance exhaust systems are engineered to maximize your engine's exhaust flow, giving you:

- Serious horsepower and torque gains

- Distinctive, growling exhaust tone

- Improved fuel economy

Horsepower and torque

In case you skipped out on Auto Shop back in high school, I am here to give you a quick lesson on the mysterious inner-workings of your engine's cylinders. Without cylinders, your vehicle could not drive around, unless you could convince your friends to lend you their backs and push you all over town. That's because the majority of your horsepower is generated right there in your cylinders through a fairly straightforward process, called combustion.

First, the cylinder sucks a mixture of oxygen and fuel (gasoline or diesel) into its chamber, where it is then ignited by a spark plug or glow stick. These three ingredients create a controlled explosion, or combustion, which generates both energy and waste gases. That energy transforms into wheel-turning torque to propel you down the road, but the exhaust is a cloud of useless particles that would clog up your engine if left to linger in the piston chamber.

That's where the exhaust system comes into action. The spent gases are exhaled, traveling out of the engine through your exhaust manifold, and they eventually exit out the back of your vehicle. The faster the exhaust gets out of the way, the easier it is for your engine to breathe, which means more horsepower, torque and fun behind the wheel.

The problem with stock exhaust systems is that they are not optimized for the best possible flow. Auto manufacturers spend much more time thinking about the shape and placement of your air vents than they do planning your exhaust pipes. What's the result of their neglect? Your motor has to work harder during combustion, which robs you of valuable horsepower, torque and fuel economy. A performance exhaust system will harness the potential power that your engine is wasting because of its inefficient stock exhaust.

Quick-installing, bolt-on performance exhaust systems improve your power by:

- Drastically reducing restrictions in your pipes

- Increasing the puny diameter of stock pipes

- Improving engine scavenging

The Growl

With a performance exhaust system, you not only feel the power every time your foot hits the peddle, but you also hear it thundering and rolling around you. Nothing quite improves your vehicle's presence as a throaty, rumbling exhaust system. When you hear each and every piston firing in rapid succession, you truly comprehend the unbridled force lurking under your hood. Stock exhaust systems try to hold back your engine's naturally forceful tone with thick-walled exhaust manifolds and mufflers that stifle your vehicle's rich resonance, rather than enhance it.

When it comes to the sound of your vehicle, the muffler has the most impact. Of course, you can tell by its name that a muffler's job is to dampen the sounds pouring out of your tailpipes. Without a muffler, your vehicle would sound like a string of M80 firecrackers exploding in a metal trashcan. On the other hand, a stock muffler suppresses the naturally aggressive rumble of a strong engine to a spineless wimper. Take control of the tone of your vehicle with a performance exhaust system for the perfect balance of sound and suppression.

Fuel Economy

Unless you've got your own oil derrick churning out barrels of Texas Tea in your backyard, chances are you too are feeling the pinch at the pump due to the rising costs of gasoline. And while it might sound too good to be true that you can get better fuel economy along with serious performance boosts, we're not pulling your leg.

That's because the same overall improvements that lead to greater performance are improving your engine's overall efficiency. You see, when the exhaust is flowing unrestricted down wider pipes with the right amount of vacuum left behind to keep the cycle running smoothly, your cylinders empty themselves of more and more waste gases. And when there are fewer impurities in the cylinder, your mixture of gas and oxygen burns purer, giving you greater horsepower without having to have a serious lead foot. These straightforward improvements in efficiency can result in around a 1 or 2% overall increase in fuel economy, saving you big every time the fuel gauge in your vehicle starts creeping down towards "E."

I'm convinced and I hope your are as well that the exhaust system upgrade that you end up with will improve performance, looks, and maybe even set off your neighbor's car alarm!.......:)

12 tips on how not to get a loan

Here are a few tips on how _not_ to get a loan, and underneath each one, the smart thing to do instead.

1. Ignore borrowing costs.

Examples of these are insurance schemes and prepayment penalties. Make sure you understand and are willing to pay them all. Understand your agreement before you sign, including terms and conditions.

A loan may become too expensive, with variable interest rates and fees. The total cost of your loan will depend on the annualised percentage rate (APR). The annualised percentage rate takes into account the interest amount, and all other charges.

2. Pick the first lender you think of.

Deals vary enormously, from loansharks to credit unions. Consider fully mutual building societies and credit unions, then find companies that are dedicated to loans. The first were set up to help members, and the latter's earnings come exclusively from lending money. They can offer better deals.

3. Communicate by telephone only, and don't record the name of who you spoke to.

Make sure you get the full name of the person with whom you speak, if you call your loan company. Big offices are impersonal; your loan officer could leave at any time. Write letters to keep a record of important points.

4. Take on a loan thinking "Well, I can always go bankrupt".

This is stupid. You will find it very hard to get credit of any kind in the future, when you need it badly.

5. Avoid researching the lender.

Type the name of the lender into a search engine. See if there are any negative postings about them.

6. Who cares what it'll cost you!

Think about your budget; how much can you afford each month? Then leave a portion of your monthly income aside as coverage for emergencies and unexpected bills.

7. Take your time paying it off.

No matter how cheap a loan may be, pay it off as quickly as you can to avoid interest accumulating. Try to get a loan that allows early payments; the quicker you pay back, the less interest you pay. If you extend the duration of the loan, you will have to pay much more in interest.

8. Make lots of enquiries in a short space of time.

Any more than four credit checks in one month for a personal loan looks suspect, and may affect your credit rating. When shopping for a quote, ask them if they're going to check your credit-rating, to be on the safe side. They don't need to, to give you a rough estimate.

9. Have lots of credit available to you, then ask for more.

To ensure you get the best terms, keep your credit-line as small as possible. Loan officers tend to count the total line of credit available as a liability.

10. Default or make late payments on small debts.

Not paying off that hire-purchase agreement years ago will come back to haunt you. Pay off small debts before they're due. Cancel credit cards you are not using. IMPORTANT: Keep your oldest card, for the credit history attached to it. Otherwise, consider their interest rates and fees, when deciding which ones to hold on to.

11. Sign papers without reading them.

You're anxious. You want the money _now_. Cue major upset later when you realise what's in the small print.

12. Keep quiet about repayment problems.

If you have problems with repayment, write to your lender as soon as possible. The earlier you tell them, the more sympathetic they'll be. You can then make arrangements for under-repayments until you get back on your feet.

Early vintage computer buses have their influences on your computer today

The term “expansion bus “is a frequent term in vintage computer terminology which requires elaboration. Much of the legacy of vintage bus systems are in our current computer systems today.

To begin with the “expansion bus" is a data highway for computer data information to travel on: the bandwidth is in essence the number of lanes. The bigger the bandwidth the more data can be sent. As examples, an 8 megabyte bandwidth means that data can be sent in 8 bits chunks. Our current systems use between 32 bit and now 64 bit bandwidth.

An expansion bus is where cards connect to the computer; Cards have an expansion edge, which fits snugly into the bus much like an electrical plug fits into a wall socket.

When cards are plugged into the bus, they communicate with the system, sometimes through the BIOS and others not. (The BIOS is the basic input /output system that tells the computer how to move data from the different components.) The 8, 16 or 32 bit bandwidth is an important consideration due to communication time between the cards. For example you have a 16 bit vintage 286 PC and it is sending out data at 16 bits a: your video card is also 8 bits. If you have an older 8 bit bus, such as in early IBM PCs and clones, the bus will become a bottleneck in the system; it is like having a 4 lane highway connected to another 4 lane highway by way of a 1 lane road. At most times regardless of the faster 4 lane highway traffic will be slow – limited by the single lane connection road.

There were basically 3 types of expansion bus available in vintage computers: ISA, MCA, EISA systems.

Each early development in major ways paved the way for the later systems which indeed we take for granted today. This was both in terms of hardware and basic concepts in our computer systems and technology as well as computer marketing that we take for granted today as simple basic facts of life without any consideration due.

Basically the newer buses offered increased performance over the older technology buses.

The basic explanations of the buses are as follows:

The 3 bus standards to note were Industry Standard Architecture (ISA).Micro Channel Channel Architecture (MSA) and Extended Industry Standard (EISA) bus systems.

Industry Standard Architecture (ISA). This was the original AT bus also called an ISA bus. It was the original 8 bit IBM PC bus which was bumped up to 16 bits at some point in its later development. Fine for a 16 bit 286 or very early 386 computers

Micro Channel Architecture (MSA). This was an early 32 bit bus system which was not received well but set the stage for an industry consortium of the major non IBM computer manufacturers ( at the time referred to as “The Group of Nine) to develop the EISA standard bus.

Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA). The EISA bus standard was a standard of its own right which was 32 bit, included bus mastering and importantly remained compatible with previous older expansion cards. 32 bit systems were first to incorporate in later 386 systems. The 486 line solidified and standardized the 32 bit systems in the established software of the day.

Backward compatibility at the time was a novel new concept which has remained an important consideration in the computer industry.

EISA slots would accommodate both the ISA and EISA expansion slots to allow hardware upgrades, However the EISA expansion boards would be of little advantage and would seldom work in the older ISA expansion slots.

On the other hand the Micro Channel setup was not backward compatible. On the one hand the Micro Channel developers were free to initiate new radical changes in computer development and hardware which would have allowed for major new useful features in computer software. However owners of previous systems would have been left with then obsolete vintage useless hardware which would have been of no use and certainly little financial value.

Hence there was a lot of resistance to the Micro Channel bus setup.

It died a lingering death with its legacy living on in the aspirations of features offered in future developments and standards.

Thus the die was set for future hardware standards and software function as well as standard computer marketing concepts that we take for granted like mother’s milk today.

How to maintain your mental health

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In recent years people have realized the importance of proper diet and exercise, and recent surveys show that over the last 20 years people are eating better and working out more often, resulting in people living longer, but people are still lacking in their understanding that their mental well being is just as important as their physical health.

Today most people get on average 4 to 6 hours of exercise every day, and make sure that everything they put in their mouths is not filled with sugars or preservatives, but they pay no attention to their mental health, no vacations, not even the occasional long weekend, 60 hour weeks, taking work home with them and even working weekends. All of this for hopes of one day getting that big promotion. What good will it do you when your brain overloads and you have a breakdown in the office.

In the end your physical health will suffer no matter how well you eat and how often you exercise. You will wind up with high blood pressure, stress and tension all of which raises the chances of you having a stroke or heart attack.

In hopes of helping you avoid this I am providing you with the things I do to keep my mental health in tip top condition.

My absolute favorite thing to do to refocus myself is to go for a long ride on my Harley. Nothing brings the world back into focus like riding free like the wind, there is no better forms of therapy as far as I am concerned.

Another great way to relieve the stresses in your life and help put a sparkle in your mental health is a trip to the casinos. Most people go to the casinos and expect to go home a winner, I do not. I go to have a good time.

I enjoy the skill required in
blackjack or poker, or just like pressing my luck on the roulette wheel or slot machine. I also make sure not to take my credit cards with me to the casinos. Every week I put a few bucks on the side and when I have enough to go to the casino I go, and have a real good time. This way I can blow every penny I bring with me and know I am not hurting my self financially.

Sometime I just like to sit at a poker table, blackjack table or roulette table and just make small bets. This may not be as exciting as risking large sums of money, but in the end I play longer, and I probably win more often. The best part is because I do not expect to win I am not disappointed when I don’t win, and on those occasions that I do win beside going home with more money I have a supper big smile on my face because the night was all that much better.

Another reason why I love the casinos is how far they are from where I live so I can take my bike out in the morning have a good 3 hour drive to Atlantic City then at the end of the day I get to enjoy another 3 hours on my Harley, and if the weather is really bad I can either take my truck or just stay home and log on to one of the many online casinos available to choose from.

I also enjoy watching an hour or 2 of television every night, some light sitcoms are a great way to lighten your minds load, and laughing out loud for 30 seconds every day is a great way to release stress.

Video games are also great for stress release, if you are mad at your boss what better way to get it out of you then boxing, just imagine you are pounding on your boss and hope you don’t lose.

I hope you try some of these methods or think of some of your own to help keep the stress down in your life and keep your mental health in as good of condition as the rest of you.

Pimped out poker bling out the high rollers

With the global domination of Poker, it seems that everyone is getting in on the act. From movie stars to musicians, poker is increasingly filtering into everyday life. The ever mounting jackpot prizes, now averaging in the millions of dollars, and its lateral expansion into mainstream media such as the televised World Series of Poker on ESPN, Celebrity Poker on Bravo and the European Poker Tour on Eurosport, only prove the ability of gambling to constantly reinvent itself to appeal to Generation X. Today online poker seems to be the current guarantor of future growth within this industry. It will collude in bringing the world together in a way that has only been seen in one other industry (I’ll leave that to you imagination).

The front runners cashing in on this craze is within the world of hip-hop. Rappers such as Jay Z – a global empire unto himself – and Ja Rule are getting in on the game. Their access to the bling lifestyle has given them a unique edge on the hundreds of other online pokersites out there. You can now listen to your favorite hip-hop artist, as you play all the casino games, win bonuses like concert tickets and backstage passes, take advantage of exclusive sign-up bonuses and other unique promotions.

Rap artist Pony Boi, creator of MTV’s Sorority Life and Fraternity Life reality shows is also bringing a hip-hop poker show to the MTV generation. Called ‘Bring it to the Table’ in which members of famous rap collectives compete against each other in a poker game. In ‘Bring it to the Table’, two teams of famous rap collectives from different regions will compete in a poker game where the pot is a piece of their "Bling" (a watch, bracelet, or pendant). The winning bling will be auctioned off with all proceeds going to the winner's favourite charity.

More recently, Snoop Dogg has announced that he will be hosting a Rapper's Challenge Texas Holdem Tournament, a one-day poker tournament in the titillating city of Miami, onboard a Casino Ship at the Port. This no limit challenge is expected to draw celebrities and top poker players from across the globe. Twenty seats are reserved for pro poker champions and seats are still available for all challengers. A Celebrity VIP Charity Tournament will be going on at the same time with $50,000 going to the winner's selected charity.

Snoop Dogg will emcee, while his Uncle Reo cooks his famous BBQ on the top deck. There will be live entertainment throughout the day with famous rappers and other hip-hop artists. In the evening, the famed Monday Night FightKlub rap contestants will be competing for a $25,000 prize. The tournament, filmed for a future television airing, just highlights the opportunity for those with the vision to profit on this trend. The celebrity endorsement now gives a more holistic offering with sex appeal emulating from the wealth, jewels, fame, and fortune gained with each booty. Perhaps online casinos and the poker world in general should take note of the entrepreneurial spirit of hip hop stars and their ability to back a winner.