- walmart: Compaq presario CQ60-419WM laptop,15.6”,3g/160g: $298(Note: you can also order it or other Walmart laptops/pcs online here if your local walmart is out of stock, S&H is very affordable) ; many school supplies 25 cents. eMachines pc 1G/160g,CD/DVD burners: $398. They have “match any local competitor’s advertised price” guarantee.
- Staples: compaq desktop pc, amd athlon X2 dual-core 7550, 3g/320g $299.98,- free HP DJ4360 inkjet printer ($69.98) with the purchase after “easy rebate”. Lots of 25 cents deals for school suppiles. vanga fabric task chair – $9.99. On top of the above: $5 off any in-store purchase of $30 or more.
- AMC movies: before noon at AMC Theatres – $6.00 http://AMCEntertainment.com/AMCinema for more details.
- Big lots: Coby 4gb mp3/video player: 16 hrs video,2000 songs,4000 photos,FM tuner,2.4” screen-$45
- OfficeMax: Portable USB HD, 320g $89.99, 500g $119.99; Acer Aspire One Netbook, 1g/160g, 802.11b/g wifi. Also available online;Epson MM Projector Ex30 SVGA, $499.99, get an 80″ pull-down screen for 1 cent with the purchase of the projector (Ex70: $699.99)
- BestBuy: Portable WD USB HD: 500g-$109.99; Virgin Mobile USB Broadband Adapter $149.99, $20 refill 2go card (pay as you go Internet broadband connection)
- Frys: SimpleTech 500GB portable Hard Drive – $89.99 – Prices good 7/26 – 7/30
- Newegg: Recertified: EVEREX gPC2-R VIA C7-D 1.5GHz 512MB(max 2X1gb) DDR2 80GB VIA UniChrome Pro Linux Ubuntu – $99. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883118010
Technologies, finance, life, you name it
Monthly Archives: July 2009
Online Chartered School in Georgia
Per AJC Friday July 10, 2009 B5 ” Odyssey School’s Charter Renewed”:
- School: K-8 charter school Odyssey School of Coweta County; its cyber partner: Georgia Virtual Academy(GVA)
- It offers online public education for kids from 163 GA districts
- 44% of GVA’s inaugural classes were composed of home schoolers
- Odyssey receives about $3,100 per pupil as a state-chartered school
- As a Georgia Charter Schools Commission-chartered school, it also would qualify for matching local funds carved from state allocations paid to the 163 districts the school draws from
- It opened on a Coweta campus in 2004, will move to become a commision school next so it can expand its offerings.
- Meanwhile, the school will receive federal funds for the first time this fall. The state board agreed to grant it more than 572,000 for the education of the the poor. about half of the school’s enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
- GVA will have a total of 100 instructots working from their homes in August.
AJC July 11 2009 Reading Notes
- Historic documents on display (A8) The free exbit is part of a national celebration of the 75th anniversary of the National Archives. Southeast region office (the largest regional archive in the nation) in Morrow; It will run until Feb. 23, at the national Archives, 5780 Johnsboro Road in Morrow. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 8:30am until 5 pm. To view exibit online, log on to http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/documented-rights
- Dekalb Book Festival – Event Preview: Festival adds book bashes (Living, D); Decatur Book Festival: Sept 4-6. Decatur Square and points nearby. Most events free.
AJC Reading Notes – bizzar and others
- Doggy was included in a wedding; bride and broom kiss their dog in between instead of each other. (July 4, 2009, Living, D: “”I do”, with pooch there, too, by Linda Lombardi, Associated Press) I recalled from recent TV news that there will be an airline which is exclusively used to transport pets. What a pet friendly world we are while we are in a recession.
- Wendy’s fries No. 1, and no trans fats (the same page) – Consumer reports say.
- Tucker stays steady with changing times (July 11, 2009, Opinion, A13) This is my favorite article in recent months at AJC. “If at some time you get tired of today’s fast pace and the glitz of a commercialized world in megamalls, drive to Tucker, part at an angle, then go back in time. You’ll use fewer nerve pills. even the store windows aren’y washed everyday. That’s nice, too.” The similar article “To move would cost little things” about sandy Spring appears in the same page.
- Governor calls out city’s schools chief (July 11, Living.) Sonny Perdue is outrageous that three of Atlanta public school still denies altering CRCT answers despite evidences. The same page also reveals that the secret votes are common in Cobb school board.
AJC Reading Notes – parenting tips
- John Rosemond wrote about parenting: “Ticket” shows benefit of feedback(July 11, 2009, Living D5)
A mother developed a method to help potty train her kid: She used a marker to divide a notecard into 4 sections. Use a timer set to 30 minutes. If the kid’s pant is dry when the timer bell rings, she gives a ticket (a sticker) in a section. If all 4 sections are filled up in the card hung in the door, the kid can go out of the bathroom. As a result, his son’s underwear is staying dry and the potty is filling up. A small change in the method can turn a headache in training to becoming a great success.
Good idea indeed. You can apply the same technique to other things.
- In the same page, Betsy Flagler answered a question about how to establish baby’s sleep habbits early. She recommended two books which provides most valuable tips: 1.
Sleeping Through the Night, Revised Edition: How Infants, Toddlers, and Their Parents Can Get a Good Night’s Sleep by Jodi A. Mindell; 2. 
Rock-a-Bye Baby: 200 Ways to Help Baby (and You!) Sleep Better by Penny Warner
The advice in her anser is, “trust in your instincts, believing in yourself that you have the ability to raise your child”, quoting from the forward in the second book.
I wish I had read the books she recommended when our kids were little.
Georgia 2009 SALES TAX HOLIDAY
Excerpts from: https://etax.dor.ga.gov/salestax/holiday/2009/faq.aspx#stholiday
Q. What is a sales tax holiday?
A. It is a period of time when certain merchandise is exempted from all sales tax (state and local).
Q. When will Georgia have a sales tax holiday?
A. One 4-day sales tax holiday period will begin at 12:01 am on July 30, 2009 and end at midnight August 2, 2009.
Q. What merchandise qualifies for the exemption?
A. The sales tax exemption pertains to items in three categories:
Articles of Clothing. The exemption applies to articles of clothing and footwear with a sales price at time of purchase of $100 or less per item. There is no monetary limit on a purchase as long as the price of a single item does not exceed $100. Clothing accessories such as handbags, umbrellas, etc. are not exempt. See the lists of exempt and taxable items for more information.
Personal Computers. A single $1,500 or less purchase of a personal computer (PC) and/or related accessories is exempt. The exemption does not require the purchase of a “personal computer base unit” (tower, desktop, laptop) and is extended to peripheral devices such as modems, printers, speakers, non-recreational software, etc. If a single purchase exceeds the $1,500 maximum the entire purchase is taxable. A single purchase is considered the total of all sales made to a customer in one visit to a store. See the lists of exempt and taxable items for more information.
General School Supplies. The exemption applies to the purchase of general school supplies with a sales price at the time of purchase of $20 or less per item. There is no monetary limit on the purchase as long as the price of a single item does not exceed $20. See the lists of exempt and taxable items for more information.
Q. Is there a list of items that qualifies for the exemption?
A. Yes. Lists of taxable and exempt items can be obtained from the Department of Revenue website or a DOR Regional Office. Copies may also be obtained by calling the DOR at 404-417-6601.
Q. Are there any differences in this Holiday (2009) from the one in 2008?
A. Yes.The lists of exempt and taxable items are the same; however, the holiday for energy and water efficient products will be October 1 – 4, 2009.
…
Q. Do the sales tax exemptions apply to catalog sales, Internet sales and other similar sales?
A. Yes, provided the sale is completed during the four-day holiday period. A completed sale means the retailer has taken an action to immediately fill the order and the consumer has paid for the product during the holiday period.
Q. Are delivery charges subject to tax during the holiday period?
A. The taxation of shipping charges depends upon the taxability of the item being sold. On transactions that include exempt and taxable purchases, the shipping charges will be presumed to apply to the exempt item. For example, two articles of clothing are purchased for $110 and $60 with a shipping charge of $5. Since one of the articles of clothing qualifies for theexemption, the shipping charge will not be taxable.
In my wishlist: Havahart 5265 Spray Away Motion Activated Water Repellent
Consider buying Havahart 5265 Spray Away Motion Activated Water Repellent. It has pretty good reviews there.
I love gardening but the rabbits are everywhere and unafraid of us. I don’t care if they eat stuff I grow but most of the time they just “ate” the root and left everything there, even peppers 10 times hotter than jelapeno! (before it is mature, of course).
This is a great way to deter rabbits, squirrels, birds and the like. Less than $50 bucks. But it looks like it is worth every penny.
Wachovia Way2save account
Highlights:
- 5% yearly bonus for the first year; 2% second and third year
- You can get maxmum bonus at $300 per year
- Posted to your way2save account as interest income; subject to tax
- You can not deposir into it; only way to add fast/more money is to set up auto transfer from checking to it. Monthly limit 100/month, yearly $1,200.
- To maximize your earnings, you need $6,000 to max it out at $300. You can only do $1,200 auto tranfer; you have to make 4,800 qualified transactions using checkcard or online billpay.
- It’s almost impossible to max out earnings at $300.
Official FAQ from Wachovia/WellsFargo:
https://www.wachovia.com/foundation/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=f1f35105f560b110VgnVCM1000004b0d1872RCRD&vgnextchannel=653efbfaba0aa110VgnVCM1000004b0d1872RCRD&vgnextfmt=default#faqid10
One dollar (or two) theatre
5 Reinhardt College Pkwy, Canton, GA – (770) 720-9520
Theater Pricing:
Matinee, Adult $7.50
Matinee, Child $6.75
Evening, Adult $9.50
Evening, Child $6.75
Additional 3D Surcharge $3.00
GTC Town Center Value Cinemas (cleaner) Regular Adult: $0.99
700 Gwinnett Drive, Lawrenceville, GA 30045
(Per Yahoo Movies)
To buy a GM car or not to buy, that’s a question
To buy –
- You may find best deals through fall at dealers that are going out of business.
- Bargains are better as the closing dates get closer, but you may limit your choices.
- New GM will still honor its warranties; also backed up bu Uncle Sam if GM goes bankrupt.
- Research incentives. Watch deals from different dealerships AND at diffrent times by fall.
Not to buy –
- Some brands like Pontiac, Hummer and Saab are discontinued; resale values may drop.
- Any other reasons not to buy?
Tip –
- Find a closing GM dealer is the key. The best deals are from closing-out GM dealerships. Where to find it: EdMunds.com maintains a list of all GM dealerships that are soon going out of business.