How to save on your phone bill?

Posted on September 25th, 2008 by Sigurdur Nordal.
Categories: Uncategorized.

With the advent of the internet, the telephone will never be the same. Vonage advertises savings of up to 50% on the typical monthly phone bill over major players such as AT&T and Verizon. Vonage also provides free, unlimited long-distance as a voice over internet provider, also known as VOIP. One problem with Vonage, however, is that it requires broadband internet service. Without broadband, there is no service. Savings on the phone bill depends upon what services an individual needs. What constitutes savings for some may not for other clients. If a person seldom uses long distance, signing up for an “all-the-long-distance-you-want-for-one-low-monthly-price” plan makes no sense. For someone who calls out-of-state every day, the plan might be perfect. There are some obvious ways of saving that do not involve switching plans. For families who mostly call each other, there may not be a real need for a land line; a cell phone plan that lets you call everyone in your “network” for free might save a lot of money. If a chatty teenager goes over her plan minutes when calling her friends, though, the savings could evaporate. The best way to save money on your phone bill is to check out all the available options and see which one fits your lifestyle best.

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Piccadilly

Posted on September 15th, 2008 by Sigurdur Nordal.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Piccadilly Circus is a famous traffic intersection in the West End of London in the City of Westminster. Piccadilly actually refers to the name of the street. The area has been described as both “relentlessly futuristic” and “a carefully preserved fragment of 19th-century London” (Jacob). As such, Piccadilly connects London’s future and its past, making it an anomaly in Westminster, which is London’s most conservative borough. At the futuristic end of things, a “giant, curved, super-bright and super-smooth TV screen” has recently been installed; it “curves around the Regency architecture” of the past, lighting up the night sky in a modern way that the old neon it is replacing never could. Yet Piccadilly cannot escape its past either. It has been a very busy intersection since it was first constructed in 1819. “It’s like Piccadilly Circus” is a phrase commonly used in the United Kingdom to refer to a place which is bustling with people. In America we would say, “It’s like Grand Central Station.”

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How to travel the world in the most economical way?

Posted on August 9th, 2008 by Sigurdur Nordal.
Categories: Uncategorized.

The most economical way to globe-trot depends, in part, on where you want to go and how long you want to stay at each destination – and even how old you are. For instance, Freighter World Cruises (http://www.freighterworld.com) will take you to many ports across much of the world – provided you are under 80 years old. A “Round the World” trip lasting 102-104 days costs $11,750 per person. The ships are freighters or “tramp steamers” and outfitted to accommodate passengers with beds, closet space, TV/VCR and refrigerator, although meals can be taken in the officers’ dining room. There are few ways to see twenty or more port cities on a vacation lasting over three months for such a relatively low price. For a slightly less wide-ranging holiday, back-packing across Europe and staying in youth hostels is extremely economical – as little as $13 per night (Hostels.com). There are also many opportunities for working abroad either for room and board or as an English tutor, but this type of “holiday” involves being stuck in one place for several weeks or months at a time. While there are many cheap air-fare deals these days, it is difficult to traverse long distances and stop in many places without the charges piling up. Once there, the problem of where to sleep adds to the expense. For travel on one continent, backpacking and youth hostels are the way to go, but for a true globe-traveler, the sea, via tramp steamer, beckons.

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What are the best Hotels Chains to stay in the world to save money?

Posted on July 8th, 2008 by Sigurdur Nordal.
Categories: Uncategorized.

A recent study found that the cheapest hotel rates can be found on sites like Travelocity, but such third-party sites do a dismal job of accurately reporting room availability (Thompson). While not all chains have state-of-the-art websites, the ones that do keep their websites current and accurate generally provide the best combination of good prices and up-to-date availability. As far as particular chains that can be relied on to provide rates consistently lower than the competition, Super 8 is probably the lowest in the U.S., followed closely by Knights Inn (Lecko).

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Munich: Special places of interest?

Posted on May 5th, 2008 by Sigurdur Nordal.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Munich, or Muenchen, in German, is home to a wide variety of interesting sights, from the world’s most famous beer hall to a baroque palace nestled in a beautiful park (Portal München). It sports a futuristically designed football stadium, the Allianz-Arena, which is home to two football (soccer) teams. The “English Garden” is Munich’s largest urban public park with – what else? – a beer garden. But for major beer-tasting and delicious Bavarian dishes, that famous beer hall, Hofbräuhaus, is the place to go. Since 1644, it has been the place for oom-pah music, drunken revelry, Lederhosen and enough beer to make your head spin – and possibly the rest of your body as well. And as with all Bavarian restaurants, only “Stammtisch” [regulars] can sit at designated tables. For a quieter good time, the summer residence of the Bavarian monarchs, Nymphenburg Palace, can provide hours of stately viewing with many attractions within its grounds. Badenburg, for example, contains the first heated indoor pool since Roman times; it was built in 1719-1721. Amalienburg is a rococo pleasure pavilion with a circular hall of mirrors. Pagodenburg is a unique blend of Chinese styling and rococo flair. It is a garden pavilion with an octagonal ground floor and two hexagonal drawing rooms. And of course, Munich is the place to be for the annual Oktoberfest celebration.

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Are French cheeses good and why?

Posted on April 4th, 2008 by Sigurdur Nordal.
Categories: Uncategorized.

For centuries, the French have taken cheese-making seriously. Benedictine monasteries regarded cheese to be the ideal food and insisted on exact adherence to proper preparation procedures and hygiene regulations (“French monasteries”). But the real key to the quality of French cheese is the “Appellation d’Origine Controlee.” The history of this “controlled term of origin” goes back to the 15th century. Under the auspices of the AOC, cheese production is subject to strict guidelines that must be followed and supervised by a control commission. The production conditions influence the characteristics of a cheese dramatically. To ensure consistently high quality, the AOC-cheese is produced according to centuries-old methods. Only 40 of the over 500 French cheese varieties are allowed to label themselves with the AOC stamp of approval. All AOC-cheeses carry a seal on the rind, packaging or label, but true cheese connoisseurs can recognize them even without the seal.

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My Favorite Film: Warren Beatty and the movie REDS

Posted on March 3rd, 2008 by Sigurdur Nordal.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Warren Beatty’s 1981 movie,’ Reds’, is an epic story set during the Bolshevik Revolution of the early 20th century. Beatty won the Academy Award for Best Director; two of his supporting actors, Jack Nicholson and Maureen Stapleton, as well as the cinematographer, Vittorio Storaro, also won Oscars (Friedman). Beatty claims that when he showed his film to then-President Ronald Reagan at a White House screening in 1981, the president expressed admiration for the film, but wished it could have had a happy ending. Beatty’s character, John “Jack” Reed, a radical American journalist, dies at the end of the film. Many people feel it was Beatty’s finest role.

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What happens when you have been a victim of ID theft?

Posted on February 3rd, 2008 by Sigurdur Nordal.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes (United States). If you think your identity has been stolen, there are several steps you should take to minimize the risk of monetary loss or legal problems. First, you should contact the fraud department of any one of the three consumer reporting companies to place a fraud alert on your credit report. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion all have toll-free numbers and web sites where they can be reached to place the alert. Once you place the fraud alert in your file, you are entitled to order free copies of your credit report. With the credit report, look for inquiries from companies you have not contacted, accounts you did not open, and debts on your accounts that you cannot explain. Check that information such as your name, Social Security number, address, and employers are correct. If you find fraudulent or inaccurate information, advise the credit reporting company and ask to have it removed. If you have accounts of any kind that appear to have been tampered with, close them. File a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place. Then, get a copy of the police report in case you need to show it to creditors who need proof of the crime. You should also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. This can help law enforcement officials across the country track down identity thieves and stop them.

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What makes the hotdogs in Vienna so great?

Posted on January 31st, 2008 by Sigurdur Nordal.
Categories: Uncategorized.

In Austria there are many kinds of sausages. The one that is generally considered to be the equivalent of an American hot dog is the Bosner. It consists mainly of a sausage (Bratwurst), onions, and a blend of tomato ketchup, mustard, and curry powder. Bosner is made with white bread and is usually grilled briefly before serving (“Cuisine of Austria”). Sausage is a very popular food in Germany and Austria and they take great pride in producing good ones. The Viennese hot dog has more spices and flavorings than the typical American hot dog.

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How do Italians make pizza?

Posted on November 1st, 2007 by Sigurdur Nordal.
Categories: Uncategorized.

The most authentic Italian pizza is made from well-risen, well-turned dough; mozzarella di bufala, made from the milk of the water buffaloes that are raised around Naples; a good light tomato sauce; extra virgin olive oil; and fresh basil. Ideally it should be baked on the terracotta floor of a wood-fired oven. Nowadays, however, most Italian pizzerias substitute mozzarella fiordilatte made from cow’s milk for the water-buffalo cheese (Phillips).

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