Twenty two things you should know...

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, "I love you," mean it.

FIVE. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson .

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.

TWENTY-TWO. A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.

Fannie Mae and Freedie Mac is rebounding

The vast government-backed lenders, which have their origins in Roosevelt's New Deal, have more than 40 per cent of the outstanding mortgages in America on their books, and there have been increasing concerns about their financial health. On Friday, after rumours emerged that Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson was considering a bailout, the shares of both plummeted, dragging down stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic. The anxiety over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, crucial to a recovery of the battered housing market and the economy as a whole, reached a fever pitch on Friday and took shares of the companies and the broader markets on a wild ride. The distress is alarming for two reasons. First, it demonstrates that as house prices have continued to decline, mortgage defaults have spread well beyond the sub-prime sector; secondly, as a slew of other lenders have shut up shop, government-backed Fannie and Freddie have been crucial in preventing the supply of mortgages from grinding to a complete halt.'They've played a key role in keeping the housing market afloat, filling the vacuum created by the collapse of the private securitisation market, which has all but disappeared,' says Richard Iley, US economist at BNP Paribas. 'The concern is, if they continue to pump cash into the market, it will increasingly undermine their financial health and leave them requiring more capital, which is probably getting harder and harder to acquire.' The wild day capped a brutal week for the shares of the two companies, as investors fled the two giants on worries they would need a bailout that would wipeout the value of their stock. An early selloff was fanned by speculation of a looming government bailout. The stocks recovered on assurances by a leading senator that no rescue is needed and a Reuters report that said the Federal Reserve is opening up its discount window to Fannie and Freddie. But after the market closed, Federal Reserve spokeswoman Michelle Smith told CNN that no discussions with Fannie or Freddie about access to the discount window have taken place. . Immediately after the markets opened Friday, shares of Fannie (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie (FRE, Fortune 500) fell more than 47% from their already battered closing price the day before. But the stocks made up much of their earlier losses. Fannie finished the day down 22% while Freddie's stock closed with a 3% loss. Friday's selloff left both shares down just over 45% for the week and about 75% for so far this year. Still, analysts say there is little doubt that the federal government would step in to rescue Fannie and Freddie should rising losses and plunging stock prices leave them without the capital they needed to continue to be the primary source of mortgage funding in the nation. Fannie and Freddie hold or back $5 trillion between them, or about half the mortgage debt in the country. They play a central role in the U.S. housing market, providing a crucial source of funding for banks and other home lenders, especially since a credit market crisis last summer left them the only major players in packaging pools of mortgage loans into securities for sale to investors. If they were unable to do so, it would significantly raise the cost and restrict the availability of mortgage loans, causing significantly more problems for already battered housing prices and sales. That in turn would be another significant problem for the overall U.S. economy, as well as global credit markets. Trying to restore a sense of calm The problems for Freddie and Fannie weighed on broader markets, causing a sell-off in U.S. stocks, especially hitting major banks, Wall Street firms and home builders. At one point during the day the Dow fell below the 11,000 mark for the first time in nearly two years. Fannie and Freddie both said in statements issued late Friday that they have the adequate capital they need to operate and to meet targets required by regulators. "In fact, we have more core capital, and a higher surplus over our regulatory requirement, than at any time in this company's history," said Fannie's statement. Freddie's statement said speculation in media reports about a government takeover of the firms through a process known as conservatorship was not accurate. "Freddie Mac is not on the threshold of conservatorship because we are adequately capitalized," said the statement. "The preliminary indications of our expected financial performance for the second quarter, while reflecting the challenges that face the industry, do not point to an immediate need to raise additional capital." Others also tried to reassure Wall Street that Fannie and Freddie were not in immediate danger of collapse. In fact, shares of both companies started their modest rebound shortly after 2 p.m. when Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, defended the strength of both firms. Dodd said his discussions with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the regulators who oversee the firms and the two companies' CEOs convinced him they have more than adequate capital and that there was no need to even discuss failure or a bailout. He also vowed quick passage of a long-debated housing bill to give greater oversight of the two companies. The bill passed the Senate Friday night and is expected to be taken up by the house next week. "There is a sort of a panic going on," he said. "The facts don't warrant that reaction in my view. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were never bottom feeders in the residential mortgage markets. People ought to feel confident about them." Talk about a bailout The New York Times reported Friday that senior Bush administration officials are considering a plan to have the government take over one or both of the companies if their problems worsen. But Paulson said Friday that the government's primary focus is making sure that Fannie and Freddie remain "in their current form." On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Paulson is adamant that a rescue of either company not benefit shareholders - for fear that a bailout would inure investors to risk. Even before the latest report on a possible rescue plan, investors fled the two stocks this week due to speculation about their future. The drop in their shares raised questions about how difficult and expensive it will be for them to raise needed capital in the future, which fueled further losses in their stock prices. "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have lost investor confidence evidenced by the rapid brutal sell-off in their stocks, which could dramatically hinder their ability to raise any additional capital going forward," wrote Richard Hofmann of research firm CreditSights in a note Friday. Hoffmann added that the firms' ability to function normally "remain at the core of government efforts to stabilize the mortgage markets." A number of scenarios were being discussed by bankers and analysts about what the government may do to deal with the crisis of confidence facing the firms. Jaret Seiberg, a financial services analyst for the Stanford Group, a Washington research firm, said Thursday that the Federal Reserve could purchase some of Freddie's and Fannie's debt or mortgage-backed securities. He also said the Treasury Department could make billions of dollars in loans to the companies or even buy the firm's stock. "Government officials are always planning for worst-case scenarios and our note is intended to highlight some options that may be available to policymakers," he wrote. "We suspect hybrid versions of these plans also are possible." Under current law, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), the regulator of Fannie and Freddie, could take control of the firms if their capital falls too far below required levels. It is unclear how the firms would operate in that situation, known as a conservatorship. OFHEO Director James Lockhart issued a statement late Thursday saying that his agency was closely monitoring the firms' credit and capital positions. But he pointed out that they had already raised $20 billion in capital and that they adequately capitalized, holding funds well in excess of his agency's requirements. Investor panic Still, investors were worried that continued problems in the housing market would cause more than the $12.7 billion losses the two firms have lost between them since last July. The decline in their stock value makes raising additional capital to cover those future losses that much more expensive and difficult. "Our primary concern about Freddie and Fannie is that credit losses are likely to be worse than the management's current judgment, which will further pressure the capital base, and we remain cautious until we are better able to quantify these risks," wrote UBS analyst Eric Wasserstrom in a note Thursday. Those concerns prompted him to raise his estimated loss for Freddie and to cut his price target for the stock, although, he retained his neutral rating on both firms, rather than urging clients to sell their holdings. But the biggest worry Fannie and Freddie shareholders faced Friday was what would happen if the government did have to step into rescue them. Certainly, the big selloff earlier in the day reflected some investors' fears that shares of Fannie and Freddie could become worthless in a bailout scenario.

This feeling

Never felt nothing like this... Thoughts trapped in a metropolis as I try to manuver through It's so unusual how it came like a THIEF... in the evening just took my heart away. It felt good for the most part. The moment was as beautiful as the sun setting upon a new horizon. INTEREST... is still rising, though it can't be acted on because the situation is not right. I FIGHT... to push the thought of you out, but you are like my rib. My Eve, I'm Adam. Intro form the past. Now WE LIVE... in the present in different states of minds, but our similarities connected and we are forced to rewind back to the ropes that are tangled up! Maybe they'll unwind. I opened up more than 1 DOOR FOR YOU... Now I'm wondering will you come through... If you don't, I understand because I'm not trying to step on no ones toes, but if FORCED... then I guess it just come with the territory. Either friendship or longevity...I'll take whatever and run right by your side due to us being on one accord,so I'll SIT BACK... and see what God has in store. Us hand in hand, or us living for what is already a given. As a man, I stand alone... you're already accompanied along with wealth buried within your belly which is soon to be revealed and I'm COOL... with that fact, Not trying to distract you from your future, but I'm demonstrating that I'll be more than willing to SHOW YOU little by little that I'm FEELING YOU... 2 b continued...

The worst dollar store bargins

No. 1: Toothpaste
Dollar Store Diva Says:
A 2.54 ounce tube of tartar control or cavity protection Crest or Colgate cost a buck, obviously, and that seems like a lot less than you'd pay for a full-sized tube in your local drugstore. But the same brands, in the same size, cost only 63 cents a tube at my local Wal-Mart store, so it still pays to shop around and read your local store flyers to find the sales and the best everyday prices for your favorite brand of toothpaste.
· A Word of Caution on Toothpaste ...


No. 2: Nestle Bottled Water
Dollar Store Diva Says:
I can get four 16.9 oz. bottles of water for $1 at the dollar store. That's great, but, if you use a lot of bottled water, it's better to buy it by the case. Wal-Mart often has sales on this brand, selling a case of 24 bottles for $2.65, which means you're only paying 11 cents a bottle, as opposed to 25 cents at the dollar store. Costco sells Nestle bottled water in a case of 35, 16.9 oz. bottles for $4.95 or 14 cents per bottle, a significant savings over the dollar store.

No. 3: 1-Ply Napkins Dollar Store Diva Says: At a penny a piece, getting 100 napkins for a buck is a pretty good deal. But, as with many things, the more you buy, the more you'll save. Buy a package of 350 napkins at Wal-Mart for $2.94 and you pay less than a penny per napkin. If you've got kids and go through a lot of paper products, the savings can really add up.

No. 4: Sandwich Bags
Dollar Store Diva Says: The dollar store sells Hefty zipper seal sandwich bags in a package of 13 for $1 or about 8 cents per bag but, again, it pays to buy in bulk. Costco sells Ziploc sandwich bags, four packages of 150 bags each, for $12.58. That means each sandwich bag costs only 2 cents each. And, if you pack lunches on a regular basis, you won't soon run out with 600 bags on hand.








No. 5: Sugar Substitute
Dollar Store Diva Says:
Sugar Twin comes in a box of 40 packets for $1 at the dollar store. Wal-Mart sells Sweet 'n Low in boxes of 100 packets for $2.25 and you can get 800 packets of Equal at Costco for $16.84. Compare the costs: .025 cents at the dollar store, .023 cents at Wal-Mart and .021 cents at Costco. Not huge savings but every little bit helps, and if you prefer one of the bigger name brands of sugar substitute, you may not find it at the dollar store.

No. 6: Foam Cups
Dollar Store Diva Says:
Stocking your office? Having a brunch party? If you stock up, you can save. At the dollar store, you can get a package of 45 7 oz. foam cups at the dollar store for $1 or .022 per cup or shop at Costco where you can go big and go home with 1,000 foam cups for $12.18 or .012 per cup.




No. 7: Foam Plates
Dollar Store Diva Says:
Also an essential on your party-planning list are disposable plates. At the dollar store, a stack of 20 foam plates (9-inch size) are 5 cents per plate. That equates to $4 for 80 plates at the dollar store, but a package of 75 plates at Wal-Mart costs only $2.75 -- or just under 4 cents a plate. So you'd save about a dollar after accounting for the five fewer plates in the Wal-Mart pack.




No. 8: Dishwashing Liquid
Dollar Store Diva Says:
In order to sell brand names for a $1, dollar stores are reduced to selling these products in the smaller bottles. Thus, a 10.99 oz. bottle of Sunlight dishinwashing liquid isn't as cost-effective as the larger bottle in most supermarkets. I saw a 32.123 oz. bottle of Sunlight for $1.97 in my neighborhood grocery store. That's more than 21 oz. more soap for an extra buck. No contest.



No. 9: Bag Candy
Dollar Store Diva Says:Got a sweet tooth? You're better off buying a 2 lb. tub of jujubes or gummy worms at Wal-Mart for $2.94. You'd be paying $4 for the same amount of candy at the dollar store because there, an 8 oz. bag costs a buck. So, if you want to buy enough to treat the family, leave those four 8 oz. bags on the shelf and save $1.06 by buying the 2 lb. tub. How sweet is that?




No. 10: Batteries
Dollar Store Diva Says:Dollar stores sell good quality AA or AAA batteries from Panasonic and Sunbeam for $1 for a package of four. That's 25 cents per battery. Wal-Mart sells Maxell batteries in the same sizes in bulk. So, for $9.88 you can have a supply of 48 batteries for only 21 cents each. With that many batteries on hand there'll be no more rooting around in the junk drawer looking for something to put the spin back in your Spin Brush.

Dust-Off-Truth

If you have children or grandchildren, PLEASE read this officer's story carefully. You can also verify the story at http://www.snopes.com/toxins/dustoff.asp Dust Off (or a variant of the product) is available everywhere there's a computer. Kyle, the 14-year-old who died inhaling Dust-Off-Truth! Kyle, the 14-year-old who died inhaling Dust-Off-Truth! First I'm going to tell you a little about me and my family. My name is Jeff Williams. I am a Police Officer for Cleveland which is known nationwide for its crime rate. We have a lot of gangs and drugs. At one point we were # 2 in the nation in homicides per capita. I also have a police K-9 named Thor. He was certified in drugs and general duty. He retired at 3 years old because he was shot in the line of duty. He lives with us now and Istill train with him because he likes it. I always liked the fact that therewas no way to bring drugs into my house. Thor wouldn't allow it. He wouldtell on you. The reason I say this is so you understand that I know about drugs. I have taught in schools about drugs. My wife asks all our kids atleast once a week if they used any drugs. Makes them promise they wont. I like building computers occasionally and started building a new one in February 2005. I also was working on some of my older computers. Theywere full of dust so on one of my trips to the computer store I bought a 3 pack of DUST OFF. Dust Off is a can of compressed air to blow dust off a computer. A few weeks later when I went to use one of them they wereall used. I talked to my kids and my two sons both said they had used themon their computer and messing around with them. I yelled at them forwasting the 10 dollars I paid for them. On February 28 I went back to thecomputer store. They didn't have the 3 pack which I had bought on sale so Ibought a single jumbo can of Dust Off. I went home and set it down beside my computer. On March 1st, I left for work at 10 PM. Just before midnight my wife went down and kissed Kyle goodnight. At 5:30 am the next morning Kathy went downstairs to wake Kyle up for school, before she left for work. He was propped up in bed with his legs crossed and his head leaning over. She called to him a few times to get up. He didn't move. He would sometimes tease her like this and pretend he fell back asleep. He was never easy to get up. She went in and shook his arm. He fell over. He was pale white and had the straw from the Dust Off can coming out of his mouth. He had the new can of Dust Off in his hands. Kyle was dead. I am a police officer and I had never heard of this. My wife is a nurse and she had never heard of this. We later found out from the coroner, after the autopsy, that only the propellant from the can of Dust off was in his system. No other drugs. Kyle had died between midnight and 1 AM. I found out that using Dust Off is being done mostly by kids ages 9through 15. They even have a name for it. It's called dusting. A take off fromthe Dust Off name. It gives them a slight high for about 10 seconds. Itmakes them dizzy. A boy who lives down the street from us showed Kyle how todo this about a month before. Kyle showed his best friend. Told him it was cool and it couldn't hurt you. Its just compressed air. It can't hurtyou. His best friend said no. Kyle was wrong. It's not just compressed air. It also contains apropellant called R2. Its a refrigerant like what is used in your refrigerator. Itis a heavy gas. Heavier than air. When you inhale it, it fills your lungsand >keeps the good air, with oxygen out. That's why you feel dizzy, buzzed. It decreases the oxygen to your brain, to your heart. Kyle was right.It can't hurt you. IT KILLS YOU. The horrible part about this is there isno warning. There is no level that kills you. It's not cumulative or an overdose; it can just go randomly, terribly wrong. Roll the dice and if your number comes up you die. IT'S NOT AN OVERDOSE. It's Russian Roulette. You don't die later. Ornot feel good and say I've had too much. You usually die as you'rebreathing it in. If not, you die within 2 seconds of finishing "the hit." That's why the straw was still in Kyle's mouth when he died. Why his eyes were still open. The experts want to call this huffing. The kids don't believe it'shuffing. As adults we tend to lump many things together. But it doesn't fithere. And that's why it's more accepted. There is no chemical reaction. nostrong odor. It doesn't follow the huffing signals. Kyle complained a few days before he died of his tongue hurting. It probably did. The propellant causes frostbite. If I had only known. It's easy to say hey, it's my life and I'll do what I want. But itisn't. Others are always effected. This has forever changed our family's life. I have a hole in my heart and soul that can never be fixed. The pain is so immense I can't describe it. There's nowhere to run from it. I cry all the time and I don't ever cry. I do what I'm supposed to do but I don't really care. My kids are messed up. One won't talk about it. The other will only sleep in our room at night. And my wife, I can't even describe how bad she is taking this. I thought we were safe because of Thor. I thought we were safe because we knew about drugs and talked to our kids about them. After Kyle died another story came out. A Probation Officer went to the school system next to ours to speak with a student. While there he found a student using Dust Off in the bathroom. This student told him aboutanother student who also had some in his locker. This is a rather affluent school system. They will tell you they don't have a drug problem there. They don't even have a dare or plus program there. So rather than tell everyone about this "new" way of getting high they found, they hid it. The probation officer told the media after Kyle's death and they, the school, then admitted to it. I know that if they would have told the media and I had heard, it wouldn't have been in my house. We need to get this out of our homes and school computer labs. UsingDust Off isn't new and some "professionals" do know about. It just isn't talked about much, except by the kids. They all seem to know about it. April 2nd was 1 month since Kyle died. April 5th would have been his 15th birthday. And every weekday I catch myself sitting on the livingroom couch at 2:30 in the afternoon and waiting to see him get off the bus.I know Kyle is in heaven but I can't help but wonder if I died and went to Hell.

You were born July 18, 1963

If you were born on 7 / 18 / 1963 which means you are 44 years old and about:

46 years 8 months younger than Walter Cronkite, age 91

42 years 0 months younger than Nancy Reagan, age 87

39 years 1 month younger than George Herbert Bush, age 84

31 years 10 months younger than Barbara Walters, age 76

29 years 8 months younger than Larry King, age 74

23 years 5 months younger than Ted Koppel, age 68

20 years 0 months younger than Geraldo Rivera, age 65

17 years 0 months younger than George W. Bush, age 62

12 years 0 months younger than Jesse Ventura, age 57

7 years 9 months younger than Bill Gates, age 52

2 years 11 months younger than Cal Ripken Jr., age 47

2 years 11 months older than Mike Tyson, age 42

7 years 0 months older than Jennifer Lopez, age 37

12 years 5 months older than Tiger Woods, age 32

18 years 11 months older than Prince William, age 26
and that you were:
38 years old at the time of the 9-11 attack on America

36 years old on the first day of Y2K

34 years old when Princess Diana was killed in a car crash

31 years old at the time of Oklahoma City bombing

30 years old when O. J. Simpson was charged with murder

29 years old at the time of the

93 bombing of the World Trade Center

27 years old when Operation Desert Storm began

26 years old during the fall of the Berlin Wall

22 years old when the space shuttle Challenger exploded

20 years old when Apple introduced the Macintosh

19 years old during Sally Ride's travel in space

17 years old when Pres. Reagan was shot by John Hinckley, Jr.

16 years old at the time the Iran hostage crisis began

12 years old on the U.S.'s bicentennial Fourth of July

11 years old when President Nixon left office

8 years old when Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace was shot

6 years old at the time the first man stepped on the moon

4 years old when Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated

2 years old during the Watts riotnot yet

1 year old at the time President Kennedy was assassinated

Florda Power is hiring

The gator is/was 18' 2" long.The rattlesnake roundup totaled 87.FP&L shared these pictures.

They said I could have this house as long as I could deal with the snakes...




















WHATEVER, I'LL PASS