Friday, May 23, 2008

Woman Loses Home Over $68 Dental Bill | Weird Facts

Link of the day - Al Pacino's Awesome Inspirational Speech

weird facts
Can you imagine losing your home over a $68 dental bill? That's what happened to one Utah woman.


Sonya Capri Ramos (center) and her four children.
(Courtesy of Sonya Capri Ramos)


Sonya Capri Ramos says her Salt Lake City home was sold out from under her in 1996 to pay a collections agency seeking payment for dental work performed on one of Ramos's daughters. And despite the fact that she had made three years of payments on a $51,000 mortgage, the title changed hands for just $1,550 at a sheriff's auction.

But the story doesn't end there: Ramos, 41, said she didn't find out that her home no longer belonged to her until two years after the sale. To date, she hasn't moved out.

Instead, she said she continues to make mortgage payments on the home and is fighting what has become a decade-long legal battle to reclaim ownership.

[Via - ABCNews.Com]

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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

5 Coolest Beer Records | Weird Facts

weird facts beer

1. Biggest Beer Selection

weird facts beer

In 2002, Dave Alexander of the Brickskeller, Washington, DC, received a Guinness World Record certificate for having the largest selection of beer in the world, a total of 1,072 different beers.

2. Most Beers In One Setting

Since the Guinness Book of World Records no longer tracks drinking records, we're not positive this is the record. But Andre the Giant drank 119 beers (standard 12-ounce) in a 6 hour stretch. For those keeping track, that's one every 3 minutes. Afterwards he passed out in a hotel hallway and for some reason no one could move the big man.

3. Biggest Beer Collection

Ron Werner of the USA was bestowed a certificate in 2002 for his collection of 11,644 different beer bottles accumulated since 1982, including 7,128 that remain unopened. Among this collection are 1,704 brands. He has sampled almost every one of these brands.

4. Fastest Liter

On June 22, 1977, Steven Petrosino broke the World Record for drinking 1 liter of beer in 1.3 seconds at the Gingerbreadman in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, USA. The previous record was held by Peter Dowdeswell of the United Kingdom, who drank 1 liter in 2.3 seconds.

5. Fastest Beer Mile

Jim Finlayson of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada holds the record time of 5 minutes, 09 seconds, set on 08 December, 2007 for completing the fastest Beer Mile. Competitors must consume a 355 ml can of beer before running each lap, for a total of 4 laps, or 400 meters. The fastest time wins. A penalty lap must be run if the competitor vomits before completing the 4-lap requirement.


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Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Weird Facts: Toilet Signs Across the World

weird facts - Male and females are represented differently all across the world. One of the proofs for this statement is the diverse representations of toilet signs in different corners of the globe. While some tried to make the signs as obvious as they can get, others went out of their way to be creative. Here are some of the wackiest, funniest or oddest men and women toilet signs.

weird facts toilets

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m_vs_w_011.jpgweird facts photos

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How to Trade Forex Online

Below you'll find some useful tips from a Currency Trading site. This article goes through what you need to do to trade on the forex markets online.

Steps

  1. Research the best ways to invest. Forex is supposedly the biggest market in the world. It's bigger than the US stock market, because the daily turnover is in the trillions. First understand that you, the retail investor is not going to move the market, the banks trade in multimillions, you won't be doing so.

  2. Consult a trusted broker. You need to trade through a margin broker who will give you 100:1 leverage on your trades. That means if you have a $1000 margin depositi with the broker, you can control 100,000 units of base currency

  3. Understand world currency and its fluctuations.Currencies are traded in pairs. Choose a single pair to learn how to trade and stick to it until you get to know the personality of the pair.

  4. Get a charting package which allows you to see the current price as it happens and make technical analysis

  5. Learn a system which gives you an indication of when to enter and when to exit trades

  6. Start using a demo account and not real money. When you are confident and consistently making good trades, and only then, go live. Start with a micro (1k lot size) or mini account (10k lot size).

  7. Enroll in a financial education course. Get a course which gives you an education, a strategy and a way to carry out all the above steps successfully and affordably, from a reputable dealer. Good luck!

Tips
  1. Get a course first.

  2. Use a 100:1 leverage, such as taught in the above course, that way it's more profitable when you trade and you can control more currency than you actually have in capital

  3. Stick to just one pair. If it's good enough for the banks, it's good enough for you.

  4. If you are just starting out to trade in Forex, consider opening a dummy account to help you practice trading Forex without risking your own money.

For more information visit Currency Trading

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Monday, May 19, 2008

10 Fines That Will Blow Your Mind | Weird Facts

weird facts
ITV was fined a record £5.7 million for misleading viewers over the conduct of phone-ins on its flagship programmes this week. But it is not just big companies that have to stump up cash in fine-happy Britain.

With an army of pettifogging bureaucrats policing your every move, you better think twice before you eat, talk, drive and even relax… the list is almost endless. Here we list ten ridiculous but true stories where the authorities have demonstrated their limited grasp of common sense…

1. Sausage rolls

A picnic in the park turned into an expensive event for Mum Sarah Davies, from Hull. While feeding her four-year-old daughter a piece of sausage roll fell to the ground. The missed-mouth incident was spotted by council wardens and Ms Davies was fined £75, even though pigeons immediately ate the evidence.

2. What a load of rubbish

With photographic evidence and stab-proof vests, Cumbria council’s bin police confronted Gareth Corkhill with the terrible crime of … putting too much rubbish in his bin. The father of four was given a whopping £210 fine, plus a £15 victim surcharge and he now has a criminal record.

3. Oops…

Litter lout Christopher Murphy dropped a single crisp packet on Irish soil and ended up in court with a 600 Euro (£480) fine. While the term litterbug is no doubt a bona fide insult, this is an example of where the fine perhaps doesn’t match the crime.

4. Trying to be creative

Pretty hearts and rainbows may seem innocent enough, except if you work for north Wales police. Two teenage girls from Bangor were charged £80 for “graffiti” after drawing chalk pictures on a pavement, Mary Poppins style, which were completely washed away by the rain soon after.

5. Keeping the kitchen tidy

Nowadays using a public bin can get you into trouble. Detectives hunted down pensioner John Richards from Lincolnshire after he carefully placed some household rubbish into a bin on a lamp post. They traced Mr Richards from an addressed envelope that was in with the kitchen scraps and accused him of fly-tipping, which attracts a fixed penalty of £75.

6. Putting your feet up

Getting comfy on a Chester-bound train can get you a criminal record. Babiker Fadol put his feet on a train seat and was arrested for anti-social behaviour, despite taking his feet down as soon as he was asked. After appearing at court charged under the 1889 Railway Regulations Act, he was forced to pay £50 and was given a criminal record.

7. Keen to help the environment?

You still won’t escape the wrath of Swansea’s eagle-eyed council officials. Michael Reeves made a grave mistake when he accidently left a piece of paper in a recycling bag reserved for glass. He was promptly taken to court and fined £200 and swears he’ll never recycle again.

8. A quick fag

Fancy a quick ciggie in your break? Think again if you’re in the taxi trade. A lone fag cost cab driver Alan Cross £715. Mr Cross was spotted smoking a cigarette in his taxi by a Thurrock Council Enforcement Officer. The matter went to court and he was slapped with £300 of fines, £400 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

9. Defrosting the car on a winter morning

One cold winter morning Ken Hardman from Lancashire nipped outside to his car, turned the engine on to defrost the windscreen and then returned inside to wait. A local police officer charged him with “quitting” (leaving a car unattended with the engine on) and fined him £30.

10. Answering a phone call safely

Unlucky Nick Tubbs was fined £120 for the crime of … speaking to his mum on the phone. He was driving in Westminster when his mother rang so he diligently pulled over to the side of the road to take the call. He spoke for one minute and 23 seconds then immediately drove away. Sadly for Mr Tubbs, Westminster council tracked him down from CCTV footage and accused him of “parking” on a single yellow line.

[Via - 10SitesToSee.Com]

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Saturday, May 17, 2008

Weird Facts: Bentleys, Porsches And Other Top Line Cars Repo'd In Record Numbers

weird facts - In his 40-some-year career, recovery agent Hank Leleu has witnessed enough economic downturns to know how they'll play out. Once people start missing payments on their "toys," a storm starts brewing. He knows that just from experience.

The country has fallen on hard times once during each of the decades of Leleu's career, and he says it's always the same story.

When times are good, people buy, often beyond their means. When times are bad, as is now the case in the U.S., debt collectors and recovery agents come calling. In a sense, they're profiting from other people's misery, and there's usually plenty to go around.

There's something different about this one though, Leleu says, particularly about the people who are receiving these calls.

"It seems like no one is really exempt from this cycle," says Leleu, who operates ARB Las Vegas.

From November 2006 to March 2007, ARB was averaging a recovery of 43 high-line cars a month. For the same period a year later, ARB averaged 55 high-line cars a month. These figures include brand names such as Mercedes, Porsche and Bentley.

Leleu says that a year ago, approximately 75% of the cars recovered were C- and E-class Mercedes Benz, carrying sticker prices of $35,000 to $80,000. A year later, the numbers are up by 28% or so, but the true picture here is that now 75% of the high-line cars ARB is recovering are valued in the range of $100,000 to $500,000.

We're pulling cars from mortgage bankers, real-estate firms," Leleu says. "We're talking about upper-echelon people. It's like nobody seems to have that savings or extra borrowing ability to get them over the hump."

There has been no clear forecast on the size of this hump. Until we're on the other side, people who profit from others' financial losses, whether they operate pawnshops or run bankruptcy law firms, will thrive. It's nothing personal; it's just business, and a countercyclical one at that. These are industries that see a spike in demand during the economic downside.

[Via - Moneycentral]

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How To Create Your Own Blog

One thing about blogs that is so fascinating is the interlinking. There are millions of people keeping active blogs, and bloggers often tend to look at other people's blogs. When they see something they like in their favorite blogs, bloggers will often link to and comment on it.

All of this tight interlinking has created a phenomenon known as the blogosphere. The blogosphere consists of all the cross-linked blogs. Once you arrive at one blog in the blogosphere, it will often have links that connect you to many of the other sites in the blogosphere. You can bounce around in the blogosphere for years if you like that sort of thing.

Many blog readers enter the blogosphere and find one (or a few) bloggers they really like. For example, you might have a blog you use to keep up to date on the latest technology, and another to keep up to date on the latest news. The blogger is acting a lot like a DJ on a radio show, choosing stories, links and/or snippets just like the DJ chooses songs. People who like what the blogger focuses on each day come back and read that blogger every day or so. Celebrities have also gotten into the act, creating blogs as a way to interact with their fans.

Creating your own blog
Creating your own blog is now easy because there are Web-based toolsets that make the management of your blog incredibly simple -- and here is one of them, which I can personally recomend, try creating Free Blog at Thoughts.com. You can create basic blogs for free, and most of these toolsets have additional features available for a price. There is also software (such as Movable Type) to help you create and self-publish your blog with even more customization.

I created this blog using Blogger. Creating a simple blog is free and only takes about five minutes. You enter your name, e-mail address and a few other pieces of information. You select "the look" (template) for your blog from a set of standard templates. Click a few buttons and you're done.

Now you can add new entries to your blog. Basically, all you do is type in the entry and push the "post" button to post it. You can edit the entry as much as you like by clicking the "edit" button. When you are happy with the new entry, you push the "publish" button to make your new entry visible on your public blog.

That's it. A blog entry can be that simple. Or it can be an entire story. It's all up to you.

The incredible simplicity of blogging is one of the things that makes blogging so popular. But if text isn't enough for you, many blogging toolsets also allow you to post photos, video, and audio files. You can even post via your cell phone.

If you would like to learn more about blogs and blogging, take a look at the links below.
Free Blog

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