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Check out some of the latest MakeUseOf discoveries. All listed websites are FREE (or come with a decent free account option). No trials or buy-to-use craplets. For more cool websites and web app reviews subscribe to MakeUseOf Directory.

I haven't posted anything technical in quite a while so when I ran across this MakeUseOfDirectory sight I decided to Boomer it. As a matter of fact it has so many great web entries I bookmarked the site for my own use. You'll need some quiet time to browse through the whole directory, but it will be worth it.

I still have to do more research on how to encorporate the FeedBurner feature into this blog, but hey, it'll keep me out of trouble and it looks like fun.

Honda Cub Electric

Greatest Motorcycle In History Goes Electric :
"The world’s greatest motorcycle isn’t a work of art, nor is it a speed demon of any sort. But the 50cc kick-star Honda Super Cub — with just four horsepower and a top speed of 50 mph — is the single most successful vehicle in the history of internal combustion. Honda’s sold more than 60 million of them, and after all that time the Cub is going electric."

Tired of driving that stodgy old golf cart around your Gated Active Adult Community? Well here's the next best thing to buying a Harley Hog and joining Marlon Brando's motorcycle pack, the Honda Cub ;-)

Soaking Cleans Overnight The Easy Way

Dishwasher Detergent Soak Cleans Dishes Overnight - Cleaning - Lifehacker:
"Hell hath no fury like the staying power of baked on food on your pots and pans. Sometimes a soak overnight is required, but to guarantee things will come clean by morning, try turning to your dishwasher detergent instead."

Another great hint from LifeHacker. With only one mouth to feed doing dishes in a dishwasher isn't always the best solution, this tip comes in handy.

Freezer Tricks to Save You Time and Money

10 Simple Freezer Tricks to Save You Time and Money - Winter - Lifehacker: 
"It's that time of year again, when our freezers are filled with the summer's bounty in preparation for the long winter months ahead. Get the most out of your freezer, and learn a few of its other uses, with these great tricks."

Some great tips from one of my favorite sites, LifeHacker. This one is especially good for us singles.

Is saving really for suckers?

The Mess That Greenspan Made:
"It's hard to disagree with the basic premise of Jon Markman's commentary today over at MSN Money, one that casts a rather dim view on those who are content to settle for paltry returns on their savings accounts while enriching the banking sector in the process."
Naturally, the proposed solution to no longer being a sucker is to buy a stock fund, preferably one that has low expenses.
That strategy would have worked quite well this year. Last year - not so much.

My take is, Next year - "Forgedaboudit".

F Troop Bloopers

Don't ask me where I came across this. While it's not outrageously funny, it is mildly amusing and brings back some good memories too.

Habits That Cost You Big Time

Yahoo! Personal Finance: Calculators,Money Advice,Guides:
"What dark corruption might be lurking behind your daily money routines, imperiling your road to wealth? What every day activities may be threatening your financial health? Here are seven:"

This is an eye-opening article that can save you some real money without cramping your style. Bank fees are real killers, $35 doesn't seem like much but if you calculate how much money you would have to have in a money market account to generate enough interest to cover it, you'd choke.

Unlimited Free Cellphone Calling

Make Unlimited Free Calling on Your Cellphone with Google Voice : "The idea is that if you only use Google Voice to send and receive calls—and you set Google Voice so that it only displays your Google Voice number when it rings, all of your calls will be free, and you may never need to use another minute again. Each carrier is different, so we're looking at what each plan looks like, and how to use it with Google Voice to get free calls."

I've been a land line user of Google Voice for about a month now and it works out great. I plan on getting a cellphone as soon as I place the house on the market to facilitate the sale and move. Because of that, this article in LifeHacker caught my eye and I thought I'd share it with you. The trick is to get a Google Voice account, they are a little scarce these days but if you have a friend who has one you can get a referral from them.
Good Luck!

Ending The Happy Hour

From Sudden Debt Blog - Ending The Happy Hour: "Regular readers know that I am a 'deflationist', i.e. I believe that the current Great Recession is already characterized by asset and credit deflation, which will likely deepen and widen further before the global economy rebounds.
Needless to say, this view is not shared by several academic analysts and gold-standard theorists - and most definitely not by commodity speculators who, however, are mostly talking their 'book'. Some even mention the possibility of hyper-inflation, a la Weimar Republic."

I've been waffling on this issue of  Inflation vs. Deflation for quite some time.
My first reaction was that with all the money being printed it would certainly cause hyper-inflation. No one has said this but you could consider the housing bubble as an example of hyper-inflation. It's global and has effected the economies of Europe, Asia, and of course the good old USA.
On the other hand, a lot of the financial arguments made for deflation are logical and well put together. The trouble with that theory is that it's biggest fans are Bernanke and the gaggle of dolts we call our elected officials.
The one thing that bothers me about both positions, Inflation and Deflation, is that it is based on a model that doesn't apply today. During the Great Depression all of the monetary systems were based on Gold, while today they are based on "fiat" currency. I find myself agreeing more and more with a fellow blogger who aptly observed "I fear that Mr. Bernanke, a Great Depression theorist, is a general trying to fight today's war with yesterday's tactics and weapons. It reminds me of the French wasting enormous resources to build the Maginot Line before WWII, only to see it immediately by-passed by Guderian's blitzkrieg panzers in 1940. I hope Bernanke and friends are not as  short-sighted."

Note to myself: Get off of this economic theme, too much gloom and doom.

Phoenix Foreclosures

Flood of foreclosure resales overshadow housing data:
"The ZIP code 85007 in central Phoenix, which houses more than its share of Arizona blue bloods and political insiders, was largely unaffected by area foreclosure activity in 2008, even as neighboring ZIP codes saw home values lopped in half. But this year, the median home price in 85007 collapsed, falling 76.5 percent in the first eight months, according to analysis by The Arizona Republic."

Since I'm planning to move to Arizona next year, I've been constantly checking the Real Estate market out there. I ran across this article in the Arizona Republic today and thought I'd post it so that you too could see whats happening to the real estate market in "fly over country". To the uninitiated a 76% drop seems mind boggling at first, however as fast as the prices are dropping now, at the peak of the frenzy they were rising 5% per month. Funny, nobody complained when prices were on the way up, it's only now that they've started dropping down to earth that you hear the outrage. I have friends in the area so I started looking at two very large and very nice Active Adult Communities, Arizona Traditions and Sun City Grand, about five years ago. Unfortunately  the prices were rising to fast I was priced out of the market and had to put my plans on hold until now.
The reason for moving is that since I've officially retired, all of my friend and business contacts in Durham have left the area and I decided that an adult community was the best way to meet new people and start a new life. There are some adult communities in the Durham/Chapel Hill area, but they are more like semi-assisted living facilities, and at 65 I'm not quite ready for that. A lot of people have told me that I shouldn't leave the "City Of Medicine" at my age, but the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix like Duke is expanding its facilities because of anticipated rising demands in the area (read More Boomers retiring). My logic is that I can draw equity out of my current house by buying down, I'll live in a neighborhood that is conducive to meeting people, and like Durham, I'll have top-notch medical facilities close by.