We Will, We Will, Barack You!

Well, ladies and gentleman, the magic number is now 35. 35 days until election day. Where do you stand? Where should you stand? Well, I'll tell you one thing. Anyone who votes for McCain might as well jump on the first ship, plane, train, helicopter, pigeon, or anything else that moves out of the country. Now, don't get me wrong. Bush III, err...McCain is a solid guy. A war veteran, former POW - we all know his resume; but the shear fact that his running mate is a nonsensical, Oprah-watching, I-can't-answer-one-question-with-an-intelligent-answer soccer mom scares the ever-loving crap out of me. Can you imagine if, God forbid, something happened to McCain (72 years old and not in the best condition), then our Commander in-chief would be....gulp...Sarah Palin. Wow. I just started convulsing at the thought of the Lifetime Channel taking over the television airwaves. OK, now I'm just terrified - and I think I just threw up a little. That woman has no business in office, and McCain would be wise to change his running mate (if that's possible). Now, for all you reading this that are currently flipping through a thesaurus to come up with every synonym of chauvinist, let me make this perfectly clear. I voted for Hilary Clinton in the primaries because of her experience, intellect, and proven past of the Clinton family. This is not a 'I am man, hear me roar' rant. I don't care if there's a woman in office, as long as it's the right one.
Okay, I better change course a bit, because I'm getting fired up. I suppose it's obvious that I am a democrat and a strong Obama supporter. Now, who reading this saw the debate? And of you who did, who was for McCain, but after seing the debate, feels like Obama may be the better man? I thought so. McCain was flustered, not confident, and was caught multiple times spewing false statistics, to which Sen. Obama called him out ever time.
So, I ask you, Mr. John McCain, what is your master plan? This 'plan' we have heard about, but yet know nothing about. McCain/Palin are in short, a deadly combo... and I don't mean that as a compliment. He can't back up anything, she can't answer a question, and all they do is waste their time bashing Obama and his crew, in hopes that the retarded voters who elected Bush not once, but twice, will vote for them. They hope that the bon-bon popping Oprah fanatics will 'relate' to the stultifying nature that is Sarah Palin. I mean, if McCain must use Palin, perhaps he could consider swapping her out with Tina Fey (comedienne from Saturday Night Live); with the uncanny ability to do a spot-on impersonation of Palin, Tina Fey has more substance and actually has the ability to answer questions.
The choice is simple. The choice is ours...and yours. But as for this man, I say the answer is clear....OBAMA or bust.
I'm getting Virgin Atlantic on standby in case McCain/Palin win - I'll be on the first flight to Prague.
Need any more help? Not sure which way to go? Well, at least there's one easy choice. Log on to 104Vote.com for related articles on the upcoming election, as well as simple and easy ways to accommodate all your needs!

How in the world does oil spike up so quickly?

The beauty of the market, whether it’s commodities, mutual funds, or just plain ‘ol stocks, is that they never fail to surprise me. Only a month ago, I wrote an article about oil and why (based on analyst’s opinions) the price has increased so much, going up to $147 per barrel back in July. Well, just four short weeks later, oil has come down to under $108 per barrel. How in the world does oil spike up so quickly? More importantly, how does it plummet so drastically? Oil prices have decreased over 25% in the last four weeks, which makes me laugh when I think about all of those big shots from Goldman Sachs and such who predicted that oil will hit $200 by the end of summer.

Of course, there are a number of reasons (based on analyst’s opinions) as to why the price of oil has decreased so much. The economy of “powerful” countries, such as China, is weak and in jeopardy of a recession. Demand for products has decreased due to these countries having weak economies. Furthermore, specifically with China, the currency there has increased in value, which obviously makes exports less desirable, hence, causing a decrease in the output of goods. Yet, the average person would conclude that if a county’s currency appreciates in value, why would it be having economical problems? For that, stay tuned for another article…we’re talking about oil here.

The demand for gasoline is weak, which makes oil less appealing to investors. This further drives prices down, considering consumers of gasoline are finding other means of transportation, a phenomenon that is not all that phenomenal. It was only a matter of time for people to start getting sick of paying over $4.50 at the pump for a gallon of gas. Another reason why the price of oil has decreased is because of a stronger dollar in the last few weeks. Our currency is on the rise (yippie!), and this is causing investors to pull out of commodities (such as oil). Investors usually purchase commodities in order to hedge against inflation, and if the dollar is increasing in value, well, there isn’t as much hedging necessary.

There are many other factors involved, including hurricane Gustav not having the impact investors had anticipated for it to have. Also, refineries are starting to slowly come back online after being shut down for various reasons. So then, is it safe to say that the oil bubble has finally burst? Or is it just leaking for now but getting ready to grow larger again? Some analysts believe that prices can spike again due to unforeseen geopolitical events (could they be any more vague?) or OPEC deciding to cut back production (basically them saying,” We need to drive demand up, so we should decrease supply and drive prices up because this year I want to make $2 Billion instead of only $1 Billion”).

Whatever the reason is for oil prices decreasing, I really don’t care. As long as gas prices are decreasing, which they have gone down in the past month from a national average of $4.11 to $3.67 according to AAA, and then I’m a happy camper. Might I add that just because prices have gone down about $0.45 doesn’t mean I’m satisfied? It wasn’t too long ago that I could fill up the gas tank of a gas guzzling Camaro for no more than $35.00. I’d like to see those times again, very soon, so I can drive more like Jeff Gordon rather than Ms. Daisy.

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Do You Have The Need for Metabo-speed?

OK, so you need to lose weight, but where do you start? Well, the key isn't simple. It isn't easy. But it is extremely effective! The solution: eat more...often that is. Let me put it to you like this. If you didn't eat breakfast this morning, you're not losing any weight today, plain and simple. Your body is a machine, and it’s time to put the pedal to the metal! You could put the cheapest gas in your car, and it will run, but it won't nearly as smoothly as a higher-end, premium gasoline designed to clean your system, right? Same concept here. You need to modify your lifestyle and train your body.

Here's what you do. Instead of eating 1-2 (or 3) big meals a day, break them down into 5-6 small meals, eating approximately every 2-3 hours. I know this sounds like a lot, and at first it may be difficult, but after no time you'll be loving it! Look at the simple mechanics of it all. When you eat, your body digests the food, breaking it down. The speed in which it digests is dependent on how fast your metabolism is. The faster your metabolism, the quicker you digest, the less fat can sit and build up. So when you eat a big breakfast, your body begins breaking the food down, slowly building your metabolism for the day.

If you don't eat for 8-10 hours, your metabolism has become stagnant, at a stand still, and will need time to rebuild speed; but if you eat every 2-3 hours, you don't give your metabolism the chance to slow down, methodically building its speed.
Stay tuned for next week’s installment, when I discuss combining this metabo-speed technique with a low-carb diet. Until then, eat well, live well, and log on to 104Diet.com for all your diet needs!