Credit cards are a tricky topic for me. There are limitless companies out there offering all kinds of cards. Some have good deals of interest free periods, others have rewards, and some even have a built-in way to make contributions to the charity of your choice.

Even once you have some idea about what KIND of credit card you want, there is still the issue of going with a credit company that has a good reputation and a solid background. You don’t want to be issued a card with a fly-by-night company who is just going to turn around and sell your account. A company like the Cooperative Bank is one good example.

I only carry one credit card at a time and I make sure it is the best deal I can possibly get for my present situation. Right now I use a credit card infrequently, so I just want a low rate. I also want a guarantee that my rate will STAY low for at least 5 years.

It pays to shop around, but only with reliable creditors.

Somehow I never knew that one of my best friends from high school was in the 1997 Jon Bon Jovi video for Queen of New Orleans. That was 10 years ago and we were in a patch of time were we had fallen out of touch, due to odd and powerful circumstances. She mentioned she was in a few videos and I knew she had done modeling work; she still does, in good fact. Lately, she has finally found the time to work on her music career and I’m willing to bet she will be an icon before too long.

I’ve designed all of my own static websites, as well as a large handful of sites for friends and customers (mostly local small businesses). Even someone with a mind that can produce bountiful creative ideas, you sometimes hit a wall when it comes to find a unique angel and approach to design. Your client won’t always know what direction they want their site to go take and if you are juggling several design jobs at once, things can begin to blend together visually for you.

Sometimes the best thing is to sit back and look around. What are other designers doing? Are there some hot web trends happening that you might want to use as inspiration? I am absolutely not advocating using someone else’s designs, but inspiration can work in funny ways. A glimmer or glimpse of something amazing can come to you while you are looking at someone else’s work.

Someone with that concept firmly in mind has started a blog full of web design inspirations. It’s called Web Design Ideas, succinctly enough, and it features ideas for logos, navigation, layouts, backgrounds, patterns, and more are presented, detailed and explored. The blog is updated daily, sometimes two to four times per day. It’s basically a never ending stream of ideas and concepts offered to inspire those of us creating web sites.

I’ve been giving more and more thought about the age Florida issues a driver’s license. Sixteen-year-old are still children in many ways. Some of them have not even reached their adult heights. They are not emotionally finished developing. They are still under the guardianship of their parents.

How seriously do teens really see the privilege of driving? Are they too influenced by the phenomena teens often experience where they feel nearly immortal?

This all comes to mind, because yet another death has occurred in the Tampa Bay area due to a teen driver. Yesterday, 16-year-old John Holland Jr. lost control of his car and crashed into a scooter, killing the driver. Holland’s car then plunged into a pond. The victim’s name has not been released yet, because his next of kin has yet to be notified.

The Tampa Bay area is in the national spotlight due to Hulk Hogan’s 17-year-old son, Nick Bollea who crashed his car in downtown Clearwater August 26 collision, critically injuring his passenger, 22-year-old John Graziano.

An estimated 702 crashes occur on Florida roads every day, most frequently involving drivers 15 to 19.

I’m in favor of upping the legal driving age to 18 or 21. As a parent, I may very well do what is in the best interest of my daughter and not allow her to obtain her license until she is 18.

Give me even one compelling reason why a 16-year-old needs to drive?

When I was doing my practicum in various local schools, one thing I heard over and over was that the amount of homework assigned was overwhelming for some students. Although I heard it in all grade levels, it was often most shocking to hear it from the younger kids in elementary school.

While some of the students never batted an eyelash at the work they were expected to complete from home, others seemed particularly bogged down. When I would inquire further, it was usually the students who were struggling in one subject or another (usually math) and who had parents who either did not have enough time to help them with homework help in that subject or who did not have the expertise themselves to guide their child through the subject matter.

While most colleges and universities offer free tutoring services, students in lower grades will often need to find a tutor in a private setting. Doing so can often mean the difference between continuing to struggle and finally overcoming their academic obstacles. If you just cannot seem to grasp the concepts of algebra, for example, the value of working with someone who not only understands the subject, but also sees it in a different way than you do can be priceless.

One cool thing about the advent of the internet is that online tutoring is now an option. There are several reputable services available and by seeking tutoring online, you will often find the costs are more reasonable. For example, the site TutorVista.com offers unlimited tutoring for $99 a month. They were just featured on NBC’s Today show, so they are actually running a special where the first month is $49.

Having a notable college football team is a new thing for the Tampa area. USF’s Bulls have only been around for 10 years and fir the first time in their history, they finally have a sold out game on their hands. I find it ironic that the team they are playing for this game is WVU. I lived in Morgantown for three years while I was working at a small publishing house and for a while I lived in a house where I could see Mountaineer Stadium from my front yard. Sold out games are a fact of life in Morgantown. Of course, WVU has their own stadium, an older program, and a team that has been very good for much longer.

Local enthusiasm is palpable about the Big East showdown with fifth-ranked West Virginia is encouraging, even if more people around the Tampa area think the Mountaineers are from the western part of Virginia. I’m not sure why people forget WV is an entirely separate state. Perhaps they had bad geography teachers in school.

A win would be great for morale around here. Despite that, I am still predicting WVU will come out of this with a win.