Bob Meets World

So image you’ve taken a flight from France to Chicago, not to holiday, but to get some medical treatment. Then image turning up to the airport to board your return flight with the same airline but instead of being given your ticket and told to have a nice flight home, you get told your too fat to get on the plane.

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There’s plenty of information and speculation around the internet about how the super rich people of the world use offshore entities to save themselves a small fortune in taxes. I’ve noticed there has been some buzz around the small time entrepreneur circuit also about how almost anyone with a business based largely on the internet can do the same. I must admit, I’ve never seriously thought about creating offshore entities to hide from taxes but a few years back I did have a conversation with my accountant about how changing my residency could have a substantial financial benefit for me.

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I’ve done a lot of traveling over the years and my favorite way to travel is defiantly to just strap on my backpack and get on a plane to a cheap country I know very little about. While most people simply can’t bring themselves do this I find that by not planning too much I feel much freer once I get to my destination.

The last long trip I did was a three month backpacking trip through South East Asia that took my girlfriend and I from the north of Vietnam, down to the Mekong Delta across into Cambodia, up into Laos and then across and down through Thailand, all by land or river.

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Matt is a good friend but the problem is that he owes everybody money. Last week, he called me to ask for a loan and I must admit I was tempted to turn down him down because he already owed me quite a sum. Nonetheless, when he said that it was to buy his mom a gift for her 88^th birthday, my heart softened and I promised to avail the money the next day.

Come next day, Matt came around and as promised, I handed him quite a sum, I simply adored his mum and I wanted her to have the best gift ever. When he mentioned that he wanted to get her a floor mop that would be easy on her back pain, I suggested he visit www.thesteammopguy.com  where I was sure he would find the best steam mop for her condition.

After a long talk with Matt later that day, it turned out that the reason he kept borrowing money from everyone was that he had bad credit and was sure that no financial institution would be willing to loan him any.

“But you can still access short term loans even as you rebuild your credit Matt!” I exclaimed.

“Oh, I know that, but I really fear such loans, I really don’t want to sink deeper into debt through them like some people I know,” he replied.

Just like Matt, there are so many people out there who have been shying away from short term loans for the fear of sinking deeper into debt. The truth of the matter is that short term loans, when approached very carefully are a good option for borrowers who require fast cash, especially when they happen to have bad credit.

The best way to approach a short term loan is through the following:

• Appraise all options before opting for a short term loan- do you really have no other option? If you truly have no other option, shop for short term loan lenders with the lowest interest rates. The reality is that you will have a hard time finding reasonable rates if you have bad credit, so you will have to settle for the best rates you can find. Remember that these loans come with very high interest rates and you are better off without them in the first place, unless of course, you have no other option.
• Review the fees thoroughly – while it is true that short term loans attract hefty fees, you must review the agreement thoroughly to look out for any hidden fees. Some of these loans are a bit more expensive than they appear.
• Understand eligibility issues – short term loans also come with eligibility rules that could involve age, income and other issues. Make sure you understand such rules before signing those papers.
• Establish what your next paycheck is worth - as expected, short term loans revolve around the next short term or pay check. This means that your lenders will first consider your overall expenses before limiting the loan to a certain percentage of your paycheck. Make sure to discuss all these with your lenders beforehand so as to avoid future confrontations.

Armed with these tips, Matt actually gathered some courage and acquired a short term loan and after some days he was back again, this time to refund my money. I am so happy for him but I am happier about the money he refunded because my own mother’s birthday is just around the corner and I intend to get her the best steam mop for wood floors as her floor contains a heap of hardwood surfaces.

The HCG diet plan has taken the world by storm with its crazy testimonials of people losing a pound of fat per day! Dr. Oz helped to boost the diets popularity and since then there have been numerous suppliers and methods to getting the HCG into your system. Some ways to accomplish the consumption are through food, injections, and drops.

Okay, well food maybe a bit of a stretch. This category is only here because people have started to add HCG into their food. There are recipes that are very low calorie and require an extra ingredient: love. No, not love, HCG! The only downfall here would be if someone decided to add the HCG into hot food, thereby altering the integrity of the drug.

The second way we mentioned is through injection. This is the most direct and fast approach to get HCG into your blood stream. It is quite unattractive as you will have to stick yourself with a needle every day. It seems a bit unsavory and most people would not opt for this method of consumption simply because they do not like needles. It is interesting to learn how many people are deathly afraid of needles. So much that they will pass out at the sight of it, or their own blood.

Probably the most popular way of consuming HCG is orally. A person will put the HCG drops under their tongue and it would be absorbed by their system. This method has been proved by the FDA to contain the least amount of HCG, however thousands of people report that it works just as well as the injections.

So how do you choose which method would be best for you? Well it would take a bit of soul searching. If you can stomach the pretty point of a needle and don’t mind a prick every day, it might be best to use the injection method as you would be consuming the most HCG. However if you are like most people, there will be a multi-purpose aspect of the drops: you can use them in your food, or take them as drops under your tongue. It’s a very personal decision.

I’ve always wondered if there was a way to fast track your educational in a high level profession and it seems that this week I’ve found a way to do a course on dental implants that involves real patients and not just theory. Of course you have to actually be a dentist to do the course but just being a dentist does not guarantee that you be able to master the specific art of dental implants.

Now this particular course help average dentists to get specific targeted training on the art of implants so they can ad another string to their bow. This is basically the way that any normal person would further their education and their skill set in order to climb up the professional ladder and ultimately, earn more money.

I’m a big fan of doing specific training like this in a tight targeted field. Imagine if your an average dentist and you are able to do one or two of these specific type courses each year? If you could actually take what you learn in these courses and apply it, after a few years you would be a dental superstar! Now I don’t know a great deal about the ins and outs of the dental industry but I imaging if you move away from basic teeth cleaning and filling type stuff and into cosmetic dentistry you would earn a heap more cash and be able to serve less patients to boot.

I think if I was a dentist I would be looking for opportunities exactly like this one to further my skills and make the most of more targeting training so I could become an expert in a number of smaller fields. That’s just me though, so maybe most local dentists are happy to just run a small general dental practice and collect their regular paychecks week to week and be content with what they have.

For those who searching for affordable dental care abroad, Sani Dental Group, and their highly trained Algodones dentists, has become a mecca for like-minded Americans. Located in Los Algodones, Mexico in the heart of Baja California peninsula, this dental clinic was first founded in 1985 by D.D.S. Enrique Jimenez in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. With two different offices in Los Algodones, the clinic now employs 27 highly trained dentists from both Mexico and the United States. The majority of their clientele consists of patients from Canada and the United States.

Over the years, Sani Dental Group has become a proud member of the American Dental Association. They are the only dental clinic in Los Algodones to have earned the prestigious MTA “International Patient Services Certification”. Furthermore, the dentists they employ have collectively accumulated more years of service and experience that any other Algodones clinic.

There are more than 300 dental clinics in Los Algodones, so what is it that sets Sani Dental Group apart from their competition?

• First and foremost, they offer a full, two year warranty on all dental work performed, including crowns and implants.

• Secondly, unlike other private practices or clinics, their offices maintain on site laboratories. Having the on site laboratories offers a great advantage to patients, because the lab technicians and a patient’s dentist are in the same location, enabling them to work closely together to determine the most appropriate course of treatment for a patient.

• Finally, and most importantly, Sani does not consist of a single dentist who professes to be a “jack of all trades”. A patient’s dental work and treatment may be performed by two, three, or four different dentists. Patients are seen by a highly trained specialist for each type of dental service they require.

Regardless of what type of dental procedures a patient may require, Sani Dental Group offers a comprehensive range of dental work in Mexico. Unlike other dental clinics, their prices are listed clearly on their website, and a patient does not have to worry about hidden fees. They even offer free quotes on the cost of a patient’s dental work. The list of basic dental services that Sani offers includes:

• Regular cleanings
• Deep Cleaning, Scaling & Root Planning
• Laser Cleaning
• Laser Teeth Whitening
• Teeth Whitening, in office
• Teeth Whitening, take home kit               
• Composite Filling
• Extraction (simple, surgical, and impacted)

However, this list does not begin to cover the advanced diagnostics, root canal treatments, implant procedures, dentures, and veneers/crowns that they offer.

The rising cost of dental care in the United States has forced many Americans to seek out inexpensive dental care in other countries. If you have found yourself in a similar situation, contact Sani Dental Group today. A lack of preventative care can lead to a number of dangerous health complications, but preventative care shouldn’t cost a proverbial arm and a leg. This is where Sani Dental Group can step in to offer their assistance.

The Danby DFF-261-BSLDB is one of the best apartment size refrigerators as it is a very reliable fridge, particularly for average and little homes. Firstly, we should have a look at its essential components:

• Conserves power approximately 20 percent
• Ability 9.2 Cu. ft. which amounts 261 litre.
• Recessed Handles with Pocket Style
• Glass Shelves (Adjustable)with improved storage space capability
• Double Vegetable Crisper along with a Glass-Cover
• A Storage Box basically
• Three Door Shelves
• LED Light to illuminate the Interior
• Joints (Reversible) for both left in addition to right-hand man openings

Due to the fact that of its Frost-Free functions which additionally improves meals conservation, its upkeep is entirely problem free of charge

The external is made up of enameled gloss black steel with stainless steel doors and white inside provides the beautiful desirable appearance of fridge. You will certainly like to have this fridge since it has ability to lower your power costs as contrast to any sort of various other fridge. Danby DFF-261-BSLDB provides you dual thermostat control device which is repaired versus the back wall surface of the fridge.

On the leading section of the fridge, there are little devices developed to keep a number of kinds of points. It is virtually muffled and there would certainly not be any kind of disruption at your location since of the fridge. If you take treatment of these points, there is no factor that your fridge will certainly not have a lengthy life.

The veggie crispers of this fridge are extremely inexpensive, much better if they might be made a little bit bigger. Doors of the fridge cannot be open much sufficient while you attempt taking out the racks of the fridge or fridge. The flooring of the area have to be sensibly degree to make the fridge’s position services.

The external is made up of enameled gloss black steel with stainless steel doors and white inside provides the lovely desirable appearance of fridge. You will certainly enjoy to have this fridge since it has capacity to decrease your electric power expense as contrast to any type of various other fridge. Danby DFF-261-BSLDB provides you dual thermostat control device which is taken care of versus the back wall surface of the fridge. The veggie crispers of this fridge are extremely affordable, much better if they might be made a little bigger. Doors of the fridge can not be open much sufficient while you attempt eliminating the racks of the fridge or fridge.

There are millions or fad diets out there right now and it seems to me like there’s a new popping up every day with a large cult following but one group I keep seeing around the internet are the Paleo Diet grocery list diet people.

I’d heard the name bandied about over the past few years but I never really took any notice as I’m the type of person that couldn’t care less about crazy people that push a diet every other week. It wasn’t until I made the connection between the names “The Paleo Diet” and “The Cavemen Diet” that I started to take notice. I was really curious as to what kind of cavemen went on when they wanted to trim a few pounds.

It turns out that cavemen didn’t need to lose weight and according to this diet cult, cavemen were all super healthy and never had any diseases so we should stop doing what we’re doing and go back to eating like they did. Some of the principals these guys follow do make sense to me though and I have to say I like the idea of cutting out processed foods.

If you want to eat like a caveman, you basically have to stop eating anything that’s been processed and go back to natural free range foods. This even includes not eating chickens that have been pumped full of steroids. The idea is that obesity and most modern day diseases like cancer, diabetes etc…. only came into existence when we started to mess with what we ate and began pumping all sorts of random crap into our food.

While this makes sense to me I can’t help but look at it from a sceptical point of view. I think that back 10,000 years ago if you had cancer or diabetes you would just die, and everyone would put down to bad luck or some kind of spiritual curse. We a race of people tend to think up the most random things and part of me feels like eating like a caveman in order to dodge modern day diseases may be yet another random thing that we will look back at and laugh about in a few years time.

Maybe instead of justifying a heap of reasons that cavemen were all really healthy and trying to link it to the food they ate we should just accept that fact they did not eat crap like KFC at all and they had to chase their food down instead of picking up the phone and ordering pizza. So I tend to think that the whole basis of The Paleo Diet is that we should eat less crap and be more active…… Surprise surprise, another diet that is exactly that same as every other diet but with a new spin so it can be marketed as something entirely different, packaged and resold to the exact same people that have been sold on the last four different diet methods.

I guess you just have to do your own research into these things and not be so naive to believe everything you read, especially regarding the caveman diet meal plan.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting a very unique person traveling through my local city. I met a guy called Ron from Chicago that runs a small Naperville carpet cleaning business called Carpet Cleaning Pros. While the subject of carpet cleaning in not that interesting, Ron was still running his business whilst he was sipping on beers talking to me in a Dublin bar.

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So I’m browsing the news this morning and I see the typical headlines like earthquake here, famine there, disaster over there…. you know what I mean, but one thing in particular catches my eye. I see a story about a gardening world cup. Now I don’t know about you guys but the last thing I can imagine turning into a competitive sport is gardening.

The guy that won the gardening world cup of 2013, held in Japan, is 33 year old landscape designer Leon Kluge from Johannesburg, South Africa. This guy seems to be a superstar in the garden design arena and he’s designed custom gardens for celebs like Brad Pitt. I guess the thing that struck me most about this whole story is that when I think of a “world cup” I’m thinking about football, cricket or hockey, or some kind of high tempo sport, certainly not gardening…. I mean, do these guys televise this and do they have some sort of commentary? I bet there’s a TV channel out there somewhere dedicated to this.

Ok so a quick search tells me there is no TV channel but there is an official website.

I took a look through some of the pics of what this guy had done and I guess I can see why people get so excited about this kind of stuff. It’s certainly impressive but I think it’s the same deal with art in a museum. I see some things that impress me, but I can’t help but wonder how some of that stuff even qualifies as “art”. My girlfriend calls me ignorant with some of this stuff but I can never understand how some guy can splatter coloured paint all over a canvas and then sell it to a museum. No joke, the last museum I went to was in Montreal, Canada and there were three plain white painted squares hanging on the wall. I have no idea what the deal is with that type of art.

I took a look at Kluge’s website and I have to say that looking at the garden he created to win the gardening world cup I can’t help but feel it was a little crap compared to some of his other stuff. I know there was whole story behind the garden, and South Africa, and Nelson Mandela, and maybe it was just that the pics I saw didn’t really do the world cup winning garden justice, but I would pick one of his other gardens over this one anyway. But like I said, I guess it was just the pics I saw because to be judged the best garden in the world, it must have been impressive.

I also discovered that once Kluge finishes a garden he actually stays “employed” by the garden owner as a consultant to keep an eye on his masterpiece and to make sure everything stays perfect. So it seems to me like this guy is being flown around the world to look at gardens…. I even read that sometimes he will get on Skype and look at the garden live so he can advise the local garden maintenance guys on what to do. I want that job…. Give me a round the world ticket and watering can and I’ll see you in six months!

Gardening World Cup

So I’m browsing the news this morning and I see the typical headlines like earthquake here, famine there, disaster over there…. you know what I mean, but one thing in particular catches my eye. I see a story about a gardening world cup. Now I don’t know about you guys but the last thing I can imagine turning into a competitive sport is gardening.

The guy that won the gardening world cup of 2013, held in Japan, is 33 year old landscape designer Leon Kluge from Johannesburg, South Africa. This guy seems to be a superstar in the garden design arena and he’s designed custom gardens for celebs like Brad Pitt. I guess the thing that struck me most about this whole story is that when I think of a “world cup” I’m thinking about football, cricket or hockey, or some kind of high tempo sport, certainly not gardening…. I mean, do these guys televise this and do they have some sort of commentary? I bet there’s a TV channel out there somewhere dedicated to this.

Ok so a quick search tells me there is no TV channel but there is an official website.

I took a look through some of the pics of what this guy had done and I guess I can see why people get so excited about this kind of stuff. It’s certainly impressive but I think it’s the same deal with art in a museum. I see some things that impress me, but I can’t help but wonder how some of that stuff even qualifies as “art”. My girlfriend calls me ignorant with some of this stuff but I can never understand how some guy can splatter coloured paint all over a canvas and then sell it to a museum. No joke, the last museum I went to was in Montreal, Canada and there were three plain white painted squares hanging on the wall. I have no idea what the deal is with that type of art.

I took a look at Kluge’s website and I have to say that looking at the garden he created to win the gardening world cup I can’t help but feel it was a little crap compared to some of his other stuff. I know there was whole story behind the garden, and South Africa, and Nelson Mandela, and maybe it was just that the pics I saw didn’t really do the world cup winning garden justice, but I would pick one of his other gardens over this one anyway. But like I said, I guess it was just the pics I saw because to be judged the best garden in the world, it must have been impressive.

I also discovered that once Kluge finishes a garden he actually stays “employed” by the garden owner as a consultant to keep an eye on his masterpiece and to make sure everything stays perfect. So it seems to me like this guy is being flown around the world to look at gardens…. I even read that sometimes he will get on Skype and look at the garden live so he can advise the local garden maintenance guys on what to do. I want that job…. Give me a round the world ticket and watering can and I’ll see you in six months!

While most of us in first world countries would scoff at the thought of living in some sort of temporary shelter, there are millions of people out there in the world that don’t really have a choice. I image everyone reading this blog will live in a modern house with all the creature comforts of first world society, maybe you have a pretty little garden out the back which you look at through the window from your couch and think “ah life is peaceful” whilst sipping on a steaming hot coffee.

Imagine for a minute though that all of that was taken away. No more couch, no more nice garden, no more roof over your head and certainly no more steaming hot coffee! This is the exact situation that has faced millions of people in third world countries, sometimes more than once in their lifetime. There are however, some people out there looking for ways to help restore some sort of balance to the lives of people from less developed countries that lose their homes through natural disasters, and one of these guys is Dutch designer Pieter Stoutjesdijk, and let me tell you, for a guy with such complicated name, he has developed some very simple solutions for getting people from less developed countries back into their homes fast when they’ve been hit with some sort of disaster.

Stoutjesdijk has come up with an emergency shelter that can be fully erected and functional in just five hours. If your thinking about some kind of tin shack then think again, this shelter / home is amazing. It has a large fluted roof for collecting rain water, a porch, high ceilings and he has even came up with a system that uses mirrors, sunlight and water to create steam. While it doesn’t come with furniture, it’s a fairly amazing house which can be thrown up extremely fast.

After the last earthquake in Haiti destroyed thousands of homes and as a result made 1.5 million people homeless, Stoutjesdijk started work to create this masterpiece in a camp southeast of Port-Au-Prince called Villa Rosa.

This entire house can be made from fiber board and the manufacturing process has been simplified by using some complex machinery to cut the boards to the exact sizes straight from a CAD design file which means no manual cutting. This home also requires no bolts, nails, nuts or any other fasteners as it just fits together like an interlocked puzzle. Currently this design is being used to create some homes for people in Rwanda with some great success.

This type of story is a great example of what we can do when we really get creative and try to help out other people. I can image these things being flat packed and shipped in by the thousands to places all over the world to help rebuild societies that have been hammered by natural disasters. I may be way off here, but when I think of some of the slums around the world, I would think that this type of design could almost be the first choice for building permanent housing for less developed countries. I’m very certain that your typical third world slump city does not have homes with a porch and a way to collect rainwater.