Hobbies Tips

Birthdays are one thing you can count on. We all have them and I’m willing to bet, all of your family members and friends have them too. Sometimes birthdays seem to roll around quickly. You can’t believe it’s been a whole year since you found the perfect gift for your cousin Susie, and now it’s time to deliver again.

Whether the birthday boy or girl is a friend, lover or just an acquaintance, flowers can be ordered and designed to say just the right thing. Flowers have so much going for them, it’s a wonder you haven’t thought of this before!

Today I was given a whiff of nostalgia. No, not some bottled perfume from my youth (eg ‘Evening in Paris’, remember? On second thoughts perhaps you’d rather not!!), but the wonderful God-given smell of cowslips from a cottage garden. I was immediately whisked back to my childhood and to the wonderful sight of fields of yellow cowslips and of that never-to-be-forgotten smell of the untouched perfume of wild cowslips mixed with the clean country air. In retrospect, I do not know what use those flower-laden fields were to the farmers, but they certainly brought joy to us, and they would return each year along with the primroses. Alas, of course, they disappeared with the intensive farming and chemicals of the l950’s, but the delightful visual memory together with the perfume came back in a flash along with the gift.

The cowslips evoked another childhood memory. How many of you got up at dawn in order to go ‘mushrooming’. We only had to look for the ‘fairy rings’ as we called them (although to adults, they would have been just a different shade of grass), and then we picked mushrooms by the carrier bag full. Mother was waiting with the large family frying pan at the ready and after frying the mushrooms, a thick gravy was added, and then we all tucked in, the only addition to this luscious breakfast feast was the fresh crusty bread used to mop up the delicious gravy. What a flavour! Never to be tasted again and never likely to be. And who would add gravy to today’s mushrooms? It just isn’t done, and if it were, it would be tasteless, just like today’s cultivated mushrooms in comparison. Of course, now I rarely eat mushrooms as with knowledge acquired over the years (and, sometimes I wish that I hadn’t acquired this knowledge as it often spoils a favourite meal) I realise that mushrooms belong to the fungus family, and are to be avoided if you have a candida problem. However, we didn’t seem to suffer any ill effects from them in those halcyon days, but, of course, they were part of a very varied diet of wholesome food devoid of chemicals and preservatives. Nowadays, we are advised to read the small print on the back of mass produced food packets in order to decipher all the listed additives, e-numbers, preservatives, colourings, etc. The best advice I was given in order to avoid an excessive amount of additives was simply this – IF IT TAKES LONGER TO READ IT THAN EAT IT, THEN DON’T BUY IT.

Do you dream of making a big income in your own homebased business? Can’t wait to tell the boss you’re leaving on your terms?

If that’s you, then you sound like us. In order to do that, you need to find the business opportunity that allows you to do so as quickly and easily as possible.

Obtaining autographs from celebrities requires patience and a little luck. As well, purchasing autographs online requires knowledge of the hobby.

Question: I want to start sending requests to celebrities for autographs, what should I include in the letter?

Autograph collecting terminology and common sense are vital for the hobbyist in order to make informed purchase decisions.

Question: What advantages does autograph collecting offer as compared to other collectibles?

In the hours and days immediately following the tragic attacks on America of 9/11, there was much speculation about the effects on the general aviation industry. While the events of September 11, 2001 have had a significant impact on the economy as a whole, sales of personal aircraft in Michigan have experienced a surprising boost. Certainly, the convenience of personal transportation has played a major role in this increase as airport lines and security have become more time consuming. The reduction of flights resulting from the airline cost-cutting have limited flexibility for the business person and affected the productivity of companies relying on commercial transportation. These factors alone can’t explain surge of people joining the flying community for more than just pleasure. Rebates, low and 0% interest rates, training allowances, and yes, even the IRS played a role in creating an environment that has introduced more people to the benefits of aircraft ownership and had an effect similar to that seen after the passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1995.

The IRS is here to help you? Well, believe it or not, a new tax law passed earlier this year represents a renewed attempt by our nation’s leaders to jumpstart the economic recovery. The bill applies to new airplanes acquired after September 10, 2001, and before September 11, 2004, and provides tax savings from economic stimulus provisions included in the Internal Revenue Code designed to encourage investment in capital assets. Visit your local airport and you’re sure to see plenty of forty and fifty year old aircraft operating for both business and pleasure. Even prior to the new tax law, Congress recognized that capital investment is an important part of our economy, and therefore allowed a five year depreciation of these assets. To further encourage investments, they do not require the depreciation to be spread evenly over the five years, but through a concept know as “double declining balance,” greatly accelerate depreciation during the first two years of ownership. Now with the additional incentives of 30% bonus depreciation on new airplanes, tax deferral opportunities are greatly expanded.

Well, it looks like Hollywood keeps it continual pot of revenue filled with, guess what, comic book heroes. Batman Begins and The Fantastic Four are about to duke it out on Hollywood and Vine. An age-old comic book company rivalry is yet renewing the heat this year. I guess all of us comic book aficionados always wonder who would win the battle between such and such superheroes.

Well at least in the next few months one way to keep score is to watch the revenues generated between the recently released “Batman Begins” and the soon to be released “Fantastic Four”, which were both childhood fascinations of mine. Not only are there superhero “what ifs” going on here, but which comic book company will stand to gain the most economic substantiation? Batman punches the daily time clock at DC Comics and the Fantastic Four was the brainchild of Stan Lee and crew at Marvel Comics.

LET’S START WITH THE BODY . . .

H E A L T H

“How safe is it?” Along with “How much does it cost?” this is a question we often hear when someone is considering flight training as an option for depleting his or her discretionary income. Our industry has experienced a marked reduction in overall accidents and statistically, a 27.8% reduction in the most recent 7 years! During this same time period General Aviation fatal accidents dropped 32.6% to just over 1 fatality for every 100,000-flight hours. Of these accidents, 80% are either partially or completely pilot induced, with weather related accidents and controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accounting for the majority of fatalities.

So what is the industry doing to address the issue of pilot errors?

“Your mother is so lacking in poise, she can’t even play croquet in heels!”—Albert Einstein. A http://www.PlayCroquet.com /croquet_sets.php>croquet set consists of a wooden mallet, some wire wickets, and some heavy balls, each differing in color. Croquet, originally a social game for ladies and gentlemen, is played by lightly “putting” a ball through metal hoops, called wickets, in a simple course. This game, so lavishly celebrated in the late 1800’s, and played by the upper-crest, had such a profound lesson for me, not only in science, but in life.

It all starts with Newton’s Laws of Motion. Remember number 1? Every object persists in its state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless it is compelled to change by the forces impressed upon it. I learned that the hard way on my worst, yet best date.