Ed Icionsub

The economy is still a mess, but it seems that we aren’t hearing as much about big swings in the stock market lately. I hope that is a good sign. I was just about to get started in the stock market a couple years ago when the banking crisis hit and I decided to wait.

Now I am looking for an online broker to get my start with investing. I don’t really want to call a local brokerage office and hear a lot of sales pitches. I think I know which stocks I want to buy and I would rather try online trading and see how I do on my own. If I mess up, it will be my own fault and I am OK with that.

Stock Trading is still the basis for a lot of people’s retirement plans. I don’t want to be retired and start learning about the market. I want to learn now and get the learning curve behind me before it is critical to my financial health.

My wife reads a blog written each week by a young lady here in Nashville. She gets published by one of the local newspapers and also has a following online. She writes about being a mom in the suburbs. A mommy blogger.

She is a good writer. I’ll give her that. But I think she sucks at mothering and usually disagree with just about every opinion that she ventures. I only read it when the wife brings it up and makes me read it so we can discuss the topic of the week.

This week’s blog is about being a step mother and how difficult it can be dealing with the birthmother. She wrote it in retaliation for a blog written by a birth mother on another site who voiced many legitimate concerns about a step mother. They both tried to be politically correct but it was obvious that both are irked with their own situations.

The odd part is that both bloggers referred to the birth father as the “biodad.” I have heard the term “baby daddy,” but the term biodad was a new one to me. It sounds kinda creepy. Like something created in a science lab.

I bought the Epson® Stylus® NX305 Color, All-In-One Printer

This printer was on sale for $39 and the box had a bonus of the serial cable included. This machine is a Copier, Scanner, and Fax, and does a good job on photos. It even has a preset button to print on 4 x 6 photo paper, which is what I prefer to use.

I’m looking forward to hooking up this baby and giving her a test run tonight!

Just got back from Office Depot. They are the only big box store that had any decent prices on printers. I read the entire Sunday newspaper looking for any mention of good deals on printers. I guess the printers are just not as sexy as the flat screen HD TVs that everyone is pushing.

Before heading out to Office Deport I checked the web sites for HP and Epsen printers, and compared some of the different models in the $100 and under range. I know these are cheap printers, but that’s all I want for casual use at home.

I decided to go with Epsen because the ink cartridges are each one color and you only replace the one color at a time as it runs out. With the HP, the cartridges are all three colors in one container, and when one color runs out, then you have to replace the entire cartridge. So you are throwing away good ink and wasting money.

Almost canceled the newspaper on Friday, but i decided I wanted to get one last Sunday paper delivered before I cancel it.

The main think I’m looking for this weekend is a cheap printer on sale somewhere. The Sunday newspaper always has ads from Staple, Office Depot, Office Mac, Best Buy, etc. Surely I can find something good in the sales flyers and go get a new printer later today or tomorrow.

If not, I’ll check the internet for HP and Epsen, and see if they have any online specials that I can take advantage of. The only drawback to ordering online is that I will have to pay for shipping or wait several days for the order to arrive. I would rather find something locally and be able to carry it home with me so I can be printing again by tomorrow night.

The HP color printer was a bargain price and it has worked fine for a long time. But now that I want to print out a few things, the damn thing has decided to jam the paper and just sit there blinking an error code at me.

I cleared the jam and have pressed every reset button, combination of buttons and on/off switch that I can find. It won’t reset off the error code and print.

Most of todays printers are cheap enough to be disposable after a year’s use. There doesn’t even seem to be much difference in the length of time you get to use it between the price points. I have gotten good use out of a $39 printer and I have gotten good use out of a $400 printer. But neither one lasted more than a year and had to be replaced.

One of the ladies in our office has been facing some health issues and today we found out what is going on. This lady has been with the company for over 4 years and we all love her dearly, so we have been very concerned. Unfortunately, the news is not very good.

She told our HR manaager today that she has been experiencing Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms, although she did not realize it until the doctor told her the diagnosis. The symptoms can easily confused with other things. There are many health conditions that cause, among other things:

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Bladder/UT dysfunction
• Spasms
• Depression

So for a few months is was a huge medical guessing game. thankfully, her doctor was persistent and found out the cause. Of course, no one wants to hear the diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, but at the very least it is a relief to have a name to put on it and then get the right treatment for it.

To be honest, this is my first encounter with the disease, so I need to get educated pretty quickly. I want to do what I can to support this woman and not sound like an idiot if she chooses to talk about it with me. So I’ll be online searching out Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms, Diet & Exercise tonight.

Came across a website to help hook up a beach resort and golfing at the famous Myrtle Beach resorts: http://www.grandeshores.com for a late summer getaway. I keep hearing from friends and coworkers about their fabulous vacations this year in Myrtle Beach. I’m really motivated to go there at least once  this summer, and I have a bad feeling that summer is evaporating with every day that goes by.

Finding a great Myrtle Beach hotel online is fast and easy. You can see photos of the hotel, the guest rooms and all the amenities of the property. Then you can shop for room rates and package deals that might include a game of golf – or two.

While looking for Myrtle Beach vacation deals, I found the Grand Shores resort. This is the place that is at the top of my list for my South Carolina vacation.

As Construction Manager, I try to keep on top of new styles and trends that can be incorporated into our stores. I like walking through new buildings and model homes to see what is new in the building materials and design worlds, and glass tiles are starting to show up everywhere. Tiles are a great way to add architectural interest to a home or commercial property by using shapes, colors and textures.

Bathroom tiles can be used in a variety of ways, with different sizes, borders and patterns. But they can be used in just about any room, and I have even started seeing glass tiles inlaid with brick or stone on walkways and patios. There was an article in a major magazine about their dream homes that featured glass tiles in a garden pathway. That was inspiring!

The biggest new fad for kitchens is the use of Subway tiles on walls that surround countertop work areas, sinks and cooktops. These make a nice nostalgic reference for anyone who has lived or worked in New York City. Other cities have subways, too, of course. But we have a lot of people in Nashville who moved here from NYC because of the entertainment industry, and I know they are especially interested in finding small touches that remind them of home.