Or, a love affair with time…

Time is a versatile performer; it flies, runs out, marches on, heals all wounds, longer then rope & will tell.
– source unknown

Even people who are not fond of wearing jewelry like rings and necklaces love the feel of a truly high quality watch on their wrist. My ex was a man’s man all of the way, but he still liked a big, gold, luxury watch. I guess there is just something classic and comfortable about a timepiece that’s made to last, … and made to look great. I love a good looking watch, because I am fascinated by jewelry that doubles as something useful.

Without dispute, the heart of the timepiece industry is the Swiss community and their long, celebrated tradition of Horology (the science of time, timekeepers, and timekeeping.) And, the heart of the industry is vividly realized at 10hs10.com. Anything at all you want to know about amazing Swiss luxury watches can be found on the 10hs10 site.

While you’re visiting the site, I want to urge you to go ahead and sign up for the newsletter. Just by signing up, you are entering to win one of three watches made by Atlantic, who also happens to be celebrating their 120th anniversary this year.

I just finished reading The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold. I figured it would be my kind of book, since it is a time travel fiction written by the man who penned my absolute favorite episode of the classic Star Trek series – The Trouble with Tribbles.

While the concept was endlessly fascinating and I enjoyed the complex look at multiple time streams and anti-paradox, I found myself wondering why the book was not just called The Man Who F*cked Himself. It may have been a more apt title.

Now, even books as popular as The Time Traveler’s Wife dealt with the concept of sexual exploration in the face of going back in time to meet yourself. That book, though, did not dwell endlessly on the issue. Gerrold’s protagonist, Dan, came to the point where that was about all he thought about. I found myself skipping entire pages of the story, and this is not a very long book.

In the end, I’m happy I finally read this 1973 time travel classic, but I will not be putting it on my list of re-reads.

There are those of us who are not in a never-ending pursuit of the latest video gaming system. My ex was forever buying a new system to replace an “old” one and that meant he had to buy all new games. The old systems would just sit and gather dust, or take up room in the closet. All along, I was mourning the loss of games like ClayFighter, which was made for the old Super NES. I loved it when Tiny grappled or Blue Suede Goo flipped someone with the curl of his Elvis-like hair.

For those who are still happily in love with their vintage Nintendo NES or Nintendo 64, there is NintendoForSale.com, where you can get your hands on refurbished classic consoles and vintage video games. “Relive the Fun” of your youth!

Personally, I’d like to find an old Intelevision system. I was addicted to Astro Smash!

Florida residents and the insurance industry do not have a happy relationship. Let’s just say that insurance companies will do almost anything to not have to cover homeowners here in the state, despite the fact that we have not had a devastating hurricane here in years. One insurance company even tried to justify their recent rate increases by saying Global Warning is causing them to have to up prices.

It’s a bunch of crap. These same insurance companies are simply greedy and prefer to go after the lower risk policies, like cars and trucks, and cherry pick the less risky homeowners.

Now 50,000 State Farm customers in Florida (most of them in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties) are the latest casualties of the greedy insurance industry. Their hurricane coverage will not be renewed by State Farm this year.

Most will turn to Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-run insurer. And while Citizens has always been more expensive in the past, recent rate freezes might actually means these former State Farm customers will save money.

Florida lawmakers keep trying to pass laws to protect homeowners. Insurance lobbyists are snakes in the grass, often tripping up the good intensions of the policy makers. In the end, most insurance companies pay consulting companies to find loopholes, and then they just keep upping prices and dumping riskier homeowners.

I used to hate shopping, seriously hate it. It’s not that I actually hate going out and buying the tings I need. I just despise the crowds of rude people and having to deal with clueless salespeople. Online shopping revolutionized things for me. I adore shopping online. Not only can I avoid the crowds, I often avoid sales tax as well. Plus, I can comparison shop without driving from store to store.

When I find a good website that lists shopping deals, I bookmark it. I’m going to share a great site worth book marking with you now. Buxr.com is a one-stop source for all sorts of online shopping bargains. You can find product discounts, online coupons, and special store promotions. I especially like their Free Shipping section, which clues you in on all the deals available that also come with the added bonus of not having to pay shipping costs.

Plus, if you have your own website, you can share Buxr Deals with your visitors and make money while you’re doing it through commissions simply by using the Buxr Deals Widget.

I’m taking my daughter to the Pirates and Princess Party at Disney’s Magic Kingdom for her birthday again this year. We tried it last year for her birthday and it was absolutely magical – despite the cold weather and the rain. My sister and my nephew went along with us, sop we spent a considerable amount of time doing Pirate kinds of things. This year, though, I am taking along one of my best friends and her daughter. The daughter is one of my daughter’s best buddies and is only 10 weeks older.

So, two princesses this time and it should be a BLAST! Gigi is dressing as Aurora and her friend, Cassie, is going as Jasmine. We will go to the party Friday night and then stay at one of the Disney hotels. The next day, one of my friend’s cousins is getting us all free park hopper passes. We will start the morning at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and then move onto Epcot for lunch at the Akershus with the Princesses.

A big weekend, yes? I have to admit I may be more excited than my daughter! The weather this year is supposed to be warm and no rain is in sight.

Here is one of the pictures from last year. She was Sleeping Beauty then as well.