It wasn’t very long ago that I heard that asbestos is still actively mined in some countries. I think I was told that Canada is one of those countries. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but I was certainly surprised to hear that because asbestos is so closely linked to Mesothelioma Cancer. When my wife was working for the phone company, one year her boss put her in charge of an OSHA inspection that included inspecting the building that she worked in for asbestos. That was when she learned that exposure to asbestos could cause Mesothelioma.
Since then we’ve learned a lot about how millions of people suffer, and die from that horrible cancer. I just can’t imagine that any country would allow mining of asbestos to continue! But apparently asbestos is found in lots of things – from insulation to car brakes! I would think that the scientists could come up with a different product that works as well with fewer health hazards!
I’m thinking about taking some courses at the local community college. I’d like to learn more about the technology of the Internet. I’ve noticed that I feel rather out-of-place among many of the folks around here lately. I need to learn how to geek-speak! Apparently more and more geeks are moving out here because their jobs do not require that they live in a specific city. So they move out to a rural area where they can live a really nice quiet life and yet make enough money to do it in style.
I noticed a few weeks ago when I attended a dinner party at one of my customer’s houses that a lot of people were talking about computers. They were using terms like dedicated hosting and network servers and bots and I realized that I was falling behind on my knowledge of the technology that is running the world. I think I’d like to keep up with it all, so as not to fall behind and feel totally technologically challenged!
Part of growing up includes buying a car. What an irritating process buying a car is! Especially buying from a dealer. When you go into a dealership and the salesman asks you if you have a trade-in, the smart thing to do is to say no, that you are paying cash! If you say you have a trade-in, and say that you brought it with you they are going to ask for your keys so they can give you a trade-in value estimate. Well, once you hand over your keys, you are at their mercy until they agree to give your keys back to you! The last time that happened to us, my wife got irate that they weren’t forthcoming with the keys so she told the salesman that he had five minutes to return the keys or we were leaving anyway, since she brought another set of keys with her! She got her keys pretty fast then!
Another important part about buying a new car is getting car insurance. One should have a good idea how much the auto insurance is going to cost! Take some time to shop around for cheap car insurance. I can remember the last time I bought a new car that the cost of the insurance went sky high! That was an unpleasant surprise and now I’m careful to shop for that before I commit to buying the car!
I’m quite annoyed that several businesses that I’ve worked for over the past year have not yet sent out the 1099s to me. I’ve called them and asked for them, and they tell me that the information has been sent to their accountant and all I can do is wait. Well, I called the IRS to ask them what I should do, and the IRS told me that the deadline for 1099s to be mailed out is actually March 3, so I guess I shouldn’t panic until about March 10. I’m just discouraged because my business is a corporation and I have to file my taxes by March 15th! That does not give me much time to get my taxes done!
I’ve never really gotten into the different artists through out the years and all of their various works and pieces. I’ve been to a few galleries in my lifetime but it isn’t something that I claim to know much about although I do know some folks that are quite knowledgeable about particular artists and their work. One friend (actually a co worker) of mine just recently found some shepard fairey prints online that he is excited about and was showing off at work today. It’s been pretty slow at work because of the extreme weather conditions so we’ve had some time to just kick back and surf the Internet and talk amongst ourselves.
I wasn’t really aware of this shepard fairey art, but when he showed us the HOPE Poster with President Obama I realized who this street artist was that he was so excited to find at shepardfaireyprints.com. There is a ton of authentic shepard fairey artwork there to enjoy and purchase. A good selection of their out of print materials can be found there as well. An interesting artist who has come along way in recent years. Check him out some time there, it’s all good!