Crikey? Strewth mate. Haven't you heard the late Crocodile Hunter say it? It's a bit like "golly" and is kind of twee, which is why I like it I guess....I was born in Ontario but have lived in Australia and New Zealand since 1974, moving back to Canada only last year....so I kind of picked up a lot of sayings.... If you want mad and eccentric, you can't go past a kiwi- NZ'er.... Take this for example: http://www.asciimation.co.nz/beer/ Or this guy: http://www.interestingprojects.com/cruisemissile/ Aussies have their mad inventors too, but they're not half a patch on the Kiwis, who have produced some brilliant export earners with their innovation. Personally, I think it's the Scottish Engineer influence (lots of the early European settlers in NZ were Scots) Here is a link that might be useful: THE JET POWERED BEER COOLER

Kathy, Suggestion 1: Drive the darn thing back to CA (on this occasion, "CAlifornia", rather than "CAnada", to turn it in. Or ask them how they'd like it if he drove it to CAnada. Or wait to find out what the charge would be when their "credit" card report arrived. *Credit" card is a misnomer (read "lie"): it's really a *debt* card - the moment that you use it, you're in debt. Suggestion 2: Get a friend to drive it back to CA next weekend. Or get a retired friend (who doesn't have to go to work for the next week) to drive it back. Suggestion 3: Advertise for someone to drive it back. Check the person's driving record for accidents, speeding, etc. - your insurance company can get that info for you. And hope that s/he doesn't abscond with it. Suggestion 4: Get one of those drive-a-way services to ferry it back. A number of local people (north of Great Lakes) fly to Florida for the winter and hire a drive-a-way service to drive their car down in the fall - and back in the spring. The drive-a-way services advertise frequently for people travelling to various distant areas to drive a car there for them. They allow only a small margin of time to visit friends along the route. Safe journey. HTH. ole joyful

Hi you guys who are putting your spare change, plus adding a bit, or whatever, into a piggy bank, a big jug, a serving dish, bedside table or some other receptacle ... ... that's the same as putting it under the mattress. Can't grow (each dollar, coin, etc., that is) by even a smidgeon. If you put it into a savings account, it earns at least a little - even though it's even less after income tax. But - when you put it into a bottle, jug, under the mattress, or wherever ... ... are you aware that part of the money that you put in evaporates, flies away, is stolen by the Grinch, or whatever? In any case - as far as you're concerned, it disappears. You tell me that I'm crazy - that you put in $2.00 once, $1.00 later, and $5.00 still later. That each dollar that you put in is still there (unless you have larcenous kids, visiting friends, whatever). Yes - each dollar that you put in is still there. But ... ... remember how much $10,000. would buy, 10 years ago? Will $10,000. buy the same amount now? As you know, it will not. Inflation erodes the value of every dollar that we own as a dollar, every year. If we own it as a house, its value may increase. If as a table, its value will decrease, especially just after we buy it - though if we wait long enough and it becomes an antique, it may be worth quite a bit. Even then, will it be greater value (even if the dollar amount is higher) than when we bought it? If we own it as a car - well, if you buy a new car, be sure to leave the window down with a few hundred dollars lying on the passenger seat to fly out the window, so to speak, as you drive home, for its value will have decreased by a couple of thousand, at least, during that drive. There are two rats that eat our cheese - the income tax people want to talk to us about every dollar of our annual income, annually. And they want part of it. If we invest in systems where the amount of the basic asset can't shrink, in almost every case, it can't grow, either. So - we must take part of the annual earnings to add to the basic asset itself, so that after ten years that $10,000. won't have lost some of its purchasing power. Hope you all have had a great week - and that the U.S.ers had a fine Thanksgiving. ole joyful

There are no really bad neighborhoods in B'ham. Depending on when you drop your car, you might get one of the agencies to meet you to pick it up at the train station (like they do to deliver you and your car at your home). And B'ham is small enough that you could take a taxi to the train station for not too much $. You could also take your car to Seattle airport and then take the rapid transit/light rail downtown to the train station pretty easily. I haven't done it, but I think it's possible. I just did a search for Budget in B'ham and from there to the train station is 12 min/5 miles. Don't deal with a rental from the B'ham airport, I think it's too far out, unless they'll come to the station to get it. Here is a map from Budget to train station, hopefully it will show up. It would be an easy/cheap taxi ride. Car rental Bellingham Wa