We had a Visa card through our credit union for years that had a really lame bonus program; we spent over $20,000 on the thing (over several years) before we were eligible for a gift, and all we got was a $300 camera. It was a no fee account that we paid off every month, so it was no big deal.

Late last year we opened a new Visa account through our mortgage lender (Countrywide) that gives us $50 towards our mortgage principal for every $2,500 we spend, with no fees. We've been putting most everything on that card and paying it off every month; we figure we can knock at least an extra payment off the principal every year. Not to mention the added bonus with paying less interest in the end.

Not for everyone, but it works well for us.

Part of him was buried in a Pringles can? I sure hope he was cremated first. ;o)

Agreed that Pringles are tasty, but since they switched to using sunflower oil in their cooking process (as has most every other chip producer) I can't eat them without getting a miserable headache. Stupid allergies. Probably shouldn't eat chips anyway!

A couple of factors that Fumbata forgot to mention in regard to the popularity of bikes in the Netherlands; the climate is relatively temperate, and the terrain in much of the country is very flat. If I lived in a place where the roads weren't covered in ice three months of the year, didn't have to deal with hilly terrain, and was able to get to work without smelling like a horse in the summer, I'd definitely ride a bike most of the time.

As it is, I can accomplish bike commutes about half the time total, but the weather & terrain in the upper midwest just don't work in your favor. I'm guessing that's also the case in much of the rest of the US, although having an infrastructure built around a biking mindset would certainly help.

Definitely NOT art.

@ Neatoramawontsendmeapassword: Yeah. Just let them die from dysentery, malaria, minor fevers and infections, like they've done for generations. They don't know any better, so they won't be missing a thing.

Talk about condescending attitudes...

Yeah, Mel; why bring modern medicine to those people. They've been living in that state for generations and are totally accustomed to having three out of five babies die before the first birthday, and feeling very fortunate to live past 30 years. Why mess that up for them?

You're welcome, OL.

Gee, I wonder if munky has ever worn a military uniform. I'd guess, no. Which explains why he has no appreciation for those who have.

And that's ok. Those of us who have did so in order that fools like you can shoot your mouths off with impunity. Disagree with the war all you like. Disparage the troops all you like. But at least be a little grateful that you haven't been a firsthand witness to the hell that is war. There is a reason you haven't seen open warfare within our borders, and there have been so few terrorist attacks.

Would it really hurt to show a little gratitude to the next "rockjawed uniformed prop" you see on the street? Even a half-hearted "Hey! Thanks!" would go a long way.

Nice idea. His buddies probably hit him up for a batch to play a prank, turning them loose inside the principal's car.

Hey; a whole new market for these bugs!

And the final images transmitted by the lander will show Optimus Prime squishing it like a bug.

"... and might not be all that safe."

USOTD (UnderStatement Of The Day)

Run, Forrest! Run!

Sorry; somebody was bound to say it.

Thomas: Actually, the whole point of global warming — or rather, global climate change because the climate isn't warming as fast as Algore thought it was — is the co2 levels aren't what's causing the changes that have been noted, and that the climate has been its thing for just as long with no human intervention. We have as much ability to alter global climate trends as we have of stopping a volcano.

http://www.worldclimatereport.com

Dang; that code tag didn't work; anyway the code would be the ampersand sign followed by "amp" followed by a semicolon.

http://www.yourhtmlsource.com/text/specialcharacters.html

& I've always liked the &mpersand too!

One thing that most people don't know is that using a keyboard-typed ampersand character in a blog post or comment can sometimes hose things up (or so I've been told by my blogging mentor. The proper way to insert an ampersand is with the html code for it, which is &

Not that I'm a coding wizard or anything, but...