Gold, dollars and euros

Never ever before has gold been so expensive.
1 ounce, just a little bit more than 31 grams, was sold today for more than 1040 dollars.

For quite some time now investers have been selling their dollars; buying gold, because gold is considered relatively stable. They are afraid of inflation of the dollar...and by their behaviour they're making it a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Today some newspaper reported that the Golfstates are considering to stop using dollars for the oiltrade, and using euros and yens instead.
Even though there were as many articles denying this step, this couldn't prevent a further fall in the dollar.

Right now a euro is about 1.47 dollar, which is almost the topvalue

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which laundry machine

Astrid asked which laundry machine is best for a large family.

Well, that depends.
When you dry your clothes in a dryer, it's best to have equal heavy loads.
That way your wet laundry won't stay in the machine too long, causing smell.

When you dry on the line I prefer a washing machine with as large a load as possible.
I can't afford an industrial machine, because it requires large wardrobes, so I opt for a 7 kilo one.

I don't care for many buttons.
Just the temperatures, full and half load and the possibility of centrifuge only.

It needs to give a good balance between clean clothes and saving energy.

For me a front loader is best, because I can put the basket under it and just pull the laundry out.

The filter needs to be at a level that I can put a small bowl underneath it to let the water out.
A filter that's too low is a problem, because it means using towels or stuff to catch the water.

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ShopWiki, not only for your best buys, but also to silence the guys

My autistic boy is all over the place, because his MP3 gave up.

Sometimes I get stressed because of his persistent requests for new items, but this time I told him I would look for one online. I have no plans at all to go shopping this afternoon.

The kids here wonder why mom is able to "organize" things in no time, especially when it comes to products they use and we have to pay for.

While they are visiting online stores they find with the usual search engines, I just visit my own secret place, and come up with the best prizes and the most advanced items.

Unlike other mothers they know, I suddenly speak their iPod language, so I've already used USB connection, Gig, and I even know that the red iPod shuffle contributes to helping AID's victims in Africa.

I'll share my secret with you as long as you don't tell the kids.
I use ShopWiki.com.

It's as easy to use as Google and at least as fast and certainly more targetted to what is needed when one searches for a special product.

Just enter the name of the product, click, and you'll get a list of information, which includes:

• photos for fast browsing,
• name and short description
• 5 stars rating system (with reviews one click away)
• best prize
• number of stores
• and a pop-up with the list of stores and prizes, clickable, so you'll land on the right store in internet.
  

To get additional informations you can find at the right side a list of Wiki Buying Guides.
The one I used today was highly informative about the iPod and all related products including the MyVu Media Viewer, which might be something to keep my son busy for a longer time.

I love ShopWiki, because I feel like I'm taken serious as a customer.
Over an over I'm guided to the best buy and I'm even warned when I'm prepared to make big mistakes, something I don't often experience in normal shops.
Take for instance the compatibility between iPods and speakers.
Not all iPod speakers dock at the same speakers. ShopWiki made me aware of this and guided me to the right choice.

At the bottom of the products you can find "related searches".
I was ready with my choice, but clicked some of the links to know more about what young people talk about.
Which came in handy.

I was in the garden, talking with one of my other sons about the iPod when the neigbour asked how he could use his iPod in the car. While my son took a breath to answer, I already said: "Just use iTrip".
The silence that followed was a consequence of their amazement.

They both looked at me and I smiled back.
"Use ShopWiki guys", I said and went inside.

To write this post for you.

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endtimes?

Are the endtimes coming?
See for yourself.

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Take the Chance to Win a Nintendo® Wii™ and bid for Charter High-Speed® Internet for Life

Last year Charter was Cable Operator of the Year 2007!

How I know that?

Because they are the providers of the Worldwide 250 Calling Plan. A plan that enables people to save on national and international calls.

Charter is a dynamic company bubbling with new ideas.

Now they're offering you the chance to preregister and bid at an auction.

Uhuh, don't run away.

There are huge prizes involved!


Preregistering is free. No need to bid or purchase anything.
It's wise to preregister for the auction because only people who live in the areas where charter services can be used can win the prize.
When it's time for the auction you don't want to loose time assessing the serviceability. So you can do it right now. It's free and easy. All you need is your zip-code.

Not only does preregistering means you have easy access to the auction at march 12 and later, but you'll also have the chance to win a Nintendo® Wii™.

Wow!

This includes:

• a Nintendo Wii Console,
• Wii Stand,
• 5 Sports games ( Boxing, Baseball, Tennis, Golf and bowling),
• 1 Remote Controller,
• 1 Nunchuk Controller,
• 1 Sensor Bar,
• 1 Wii AC Adapter,
• 1 Wii AV Cable.

That's all you need to start to play immediately.

Isn't that great?

At March 12 the auction starts for all who live in the Charter serviced areas.
Bidding starts at $10. No reserve.
The hightest bidder will get Charter High-Speed® Internet for Life.
That means the best internet speed which is available in the area, a cable modem and wireless router, and free professional installation.

The auction starts as low as $10!!

They haven't put a reserve on the auction, so when no one else would bid you might end up with a very cheap life time internetconnection.

Charter provides two internet plans:
Charter High-Speed® - Speeds up to 5Mbps
Charter High-Speed® Plus - Speeds up to 10Mbps
Both come with additional services like anti-virus, firewall, and spam-filtering software and parental controls, 10 e-mail addresses per account, extra online storage, personal Web space and a helpdesk which is available 24/7.

Isn't that amazing?

I wish you all the luck of the world.

So go to the site now: click here!

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the big GR again

G-rank is like a candle light.
The site hops from 0 to 3 and from 3 to 0 without even a change of content.

It's like an infant is playing with the buttons at a machine it doesn't know how to handle.

To me it means I write a post at rank 3, with full flair and enthousiasm, and when it's time to have it rewarded, I won't get nothing, just because the big G has hit the button again.

It's annoying, because the people who ask me to write have their gain of exposure, and I have invested time and effort with no return at all.

I think the system stinks.

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Better Caring - informs at a difficult time in our lives.

Deciding that your parents have to move to a nursing home is very difficult.

There are so many emotions involved.
You want the best for your parents, but sometimes it feels like you break their roots.
leaving the place where they lived so many years with their family can be very painfull for the parents, but also to the children.
Witnessing the emotions and feeling your own guilt and worries isn't easy.

The site of BetterCaring can be very comforting.

Information and recourses are given to make well informed choices, true stories tell you about other people's lives and there's news to the subject.
When you need to discuss atters with others there's no need to search long.
At the forum you can ask and learn.
I can tell you a lot, but it's best to go to the site and see it yourself.

I've never been at a site with so mich honest compassion with a difficult time in our lives.
You'll experience too that they know what they're talking about and that they go for the best.

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Wedding Lane

Organising a wedding is a time of stress and anticipation.
Sometimes the stress to get a dream fullfilles is so great that the bride forgets that she's creating the day of her life.
To get things done the right way can be the main goal, and I've seen quite some brides and assistants forget that millions of pairs went before them and that they have left us with a large amount of knowledge about what works and what not.

Wedding Lane is a site that offers a simple business directory of mainly small shops.
There are no banners, nor wonderful pictures that divert the attention.

It's a place where you can find advice about everything that has to do with organising a wedding.

Take for instance the subject of wedding invitations.

The way people usually mke a choice is by visiting all sorts of shops and businesses, look through the books with samples, or take them home. And then a time of endless decision making starts.

Why not take some good advice on invitations, and grant the printing to a local store. They know what's in fashion, they know what's appreciated, and their experience can make a world of difference.

When we had to make the decision we wanted elegant wedding invites.
So we asked for the book at one of the local printshops. The man smiled.
He asked my fiancee to leave the building and buy me a bouquet of roses and invited me for a cup of coffee.
Then he started to ask questions. About my dress, the flowers, the church, the date, if I loved gold or silver, which jewelry I would wear. He commented on my blue eyes, etc etc.

Then he took a book, opened it and showed me what he thought would be a perfect match to the complete day.
To my surprise I really liked the invites he showed.

They would present our guests with the right feel about the wedding.

So I made a choice without all the fuzz many other brides to be experience.

We took another cup of coffee and then he asked me if I knew why he asked my fiancee to get roses.
Because he knew I would go for the classical, traditional style of wedding invitations.
Not because I'm old fashioned. Oh no!! Because they have proven to be the best.

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Eurovision Song Contest

Laane, I heard there are mayor changes in the ranking at the Eurovision Songcontest.
Why? Can you tell something about it?

In the past neighbouring countries tended to vote on each other.
That wasn't a real problem, because the winner was from another country about each year and all participants could find themselves more or a bit less in the choice of the winner.

When the eastern european countries and former Balkan countries joined, there were more clusters formed, and the winner wasn't always the best participant.

Now the contest will de completely different.
There will be 6 pots to start with, thus preventing returning voting.
That way the best participant will have the chance to win, instead of the country with the most friends.

You can read all at the site of the Eurovision Song Contest.

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