by: Grant Photography - Evin

Friday, October 17, 2008

10 More Reasons You're Not Rich

10 (More) Reasons You're Not Rich

by Jeffrey Strain
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
provided by
Many people assume they aren't rich because they don't earn enough money. If I only earned a little more, I could save and invest better, they say.
The problem with that theory is they were probably making exactly the same argument before their last several raises. Becoming a millionaire has less to do with how much you make, it's how you treat money in your daily life.
The list of reasons you may not be rich doesn't end at 10. Caring what your neighbors think, not being patient, having bad habits, not having goals, not being prepared, trying to make a quick buck, relying on others to handle your money, investing in things you don't understand, being financially afraid and ignoring your finances.
Here are 10 more possible reasons you aren't rich: 
You care what your car looks like: A car is a means of transportation to get from one place to another, but many people don't view it that way. Instead, they consider it a reflection of themselves and spend money every two years or so to impress others instead of driving the car for its entire useful life and investing the money saved.
You feel entitlement: If you believe you deserve to live a certain lifestyle, have certain things and spend a certain amount before you have earned to live that way, you will have to borrow money. That large chunk of debt will keep you from building wealth.
You lack diversification: There is a reason one of the oldest pieces of financial advice is to not keep all your eggs in a single basket. Having a diversified investment portfolio makes it much less likely that wealth will suddenly disappear.
You started too late: The magic of compound interest works best over long periods of time. If you find you're always saying there will be time to save and invest in a couple more years, you'll wake up one day to find retirement is just around the corner and there is still nothing in your retirement account.
You don't do what you enjoy: While your job doesn't necessarily need to be your dream job, you need to enjoy it. If you choose a job you don't like just for the money, you'll likely spend all that extra cash trying to relieve the stress of doing work you hate.
You don't like to learn: You may have assumed that once you graduated from college, there was no need to study or learn. That attitude might be enough to get you your first job or keep you employed, but it will never make you rich. A willingness to learn to improve your career and finances are essential if you want to eventually become wealthy.
You buy things you don't use: Take a look around your house, in the closets, basement, attic and garage and see if there are a lot of things you haven't used in the past year. If there are, chances are that all those things you purchased were wasted money that could have been used to increase your net worth.
You don't understand value: You buy things for any number of reasons besides the value that the purchase brings to you. This is not limited to those who feel the need to buy the most expensive items, but can also apply to those who always purchase the cheapest goods. Rarely are either the best value, and it's only when you learn to purchase good value that you have money left over to invest for your future.
Your house is too big: When you buy a house that is bigger than you can afford or need, you end up spending extra money on longer debt payments, increased taxes, higher upkeep and more things to fill it. Some people will try to argue that the increased value of the house makes it a good investment, but the truth is that unless you are willing to downgrade your living standards, which most people are not, it will never be a liquid asset or money that you can ever use and enjoy. You fail to take advantage of opportunities: There has probably been more than one occasion where you heard about someone who has made it big and thought to yourself, "I could have thought of that." There are plenty of opportunities if you have the will and determination to keep your eyes open.
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*Green

Monday, October 13, 2008

My New Camera: Sony A(alpha)300...Time For Some Traveling...!!

This past week I finally got my camera upgrade, and I'm loving it. I'm still trying to do the photography thing, so go check out my page Grant Photography.

Here is a little bit about my camera from Sony:

"If you're new to DSLR photography, the α (alpha) DSLR-A300 is the perfect choice for you. To kick start your new hobby, a high quality DT 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 standard zoom lens is included."
Sony α (alpha) DSLR-A300: the camera that links you and your subject. For first-time DSLR users, Sony combines superb 10.2 MP quality, a high quality DT 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 standard zoom lens, and Live Preview in a large tilting 2.7" LCD monitor for point-and-shoot simplicity. You'll have super-quick AF response, continuous shooting speed up to 3 fps with viewfinder and up to 2 fps in live view mode, plus high sensitivity (ISO 3200) for great low-light shots. What's more, you get simple controls, Creative Style settings and in-camera Super SteadyShot® image stabilization that work with every Sony, Carl Zeiss® and legacy Minolta a-mount lens. Stamina® power for up to 730 shots, Auto Pop-up Flash and many more features make DSLR model an excellent choice for your favorite new hobby.

10.2 MP CCD

Superb image quality gives you great DSLR shots right from the start, with a large APS-size CCD imager developed by Sony to expand dynamic range, and minimize noise more effectively for clear, sharp photos even at high sensitivity setting (up to ISO 3200).

Live Preview of Your Subject

The DSLR-A300’s Live Preview mode links you and your subject on a large 2.7”1 LCD screen, for a familiar point-and-shoot style -- with super-quick AF response and accurate exposure control to help you catch the perfect moment. In Live Preview mode, the camera bypasses the optical pentaprism mirror to create a live “eye-to-eye” view of loved ones, children, pets and fast-changing scenes.

Tiltable 2.7”1 Clear Photo LCD Plus™ Screen

A large built-in screen with 2-way angle tilt provides a sharp, clear view of your subject and tilts up or down for low-angle or high-angle monitoring in situations where you want a child-level or overhead shot.

Continuous Shooting While Viewing

The DSLR-A300 lets you shoot continuously at up to 3 frames per second while you see your subject in the viewfinder2, so you never lose track of the action. In JPEG mode, you can shoot up to the limit of your flash memory card; in RAW Burst Mode you can capture up to 6 shots, with intelligent buffer management to allow more shots to be captured without waiting for the buffer to clear.

Smart Teleconverter 2X Zoom

At the touch of a button you can zoom in electronically on your subject, reproducing pixels on a 1:1 basis with no degradation in picture quality. One touch zooms in at 1.4X, the second touch advances to 2X zoom -- creating the 35mm equivalent of a 200mm telephoto effect with the DSLR-A300’s standard 18-70mm zoom lens.

Expanded ISO Sensitivity

A broad sensitivity range from ISO 100 to ISO 3200 enables the DSLR-A300 to capture beautiful color images even in very dim light -- with High ISO Noise Reduction technology that reduces picture noise artifacts at high-sensitivity ISO 1600 and ISO 3200 settings by eliminating noise from RAW data after analog-to-digital conversion.

Super SteadyShot® In-Camera Image Stabilization

Because image stabilization is built into the DSLR-A300, every lens benefits by an advantage of from 2.5 to 3.5 exposure steps. This allows you to shoot effectively with minimum blur even in low light without flash -- or adjust exposure control for smaller lens aperture, to increase depth of field and bring both foreground and background into sharp focus.

Bionz™ Image Processor

The “brain” of the ? (alpha) DSLR-A300 is the advanced Sony Bionz™ Image Processor, using hardware-based Large Scale Integrated (LSI) circuitry to enhance images with rich tonal reproduction, improved white balance and exposure control, and expanded D-Range Optimizer capabilities. With 2-channel data transfer from CCD to processor, your camera can also respond faster.

1200-zone Evaluative Metering5

Exposure information from the image sensor dedicated to Live View is divided into 1200 zones of luminance and RGB color information. In addition D-Range Optimizer technology contributes to judge the scene and then determine the optimum exposure to reproduce images with a more natural look.

Dynamic Range Optimizer

To improve results with backlit subjects and recover details hidden in shadows or lost in glare, the DSLR-A300 provides Dynamic Range Optimizer at two levels: Normal DRO, to improve detail using standard gamma curves for fast shot-to-shot response time, or Advanced DRO, to adjust dynamic range area-by-area for the greatest precision.

Anti-Dust Technology

Changing lenses in a DSLR can allow dust to enter the camera -- so to keep the CCD imager cleaner for better pictures, the DSLR-A300 utilizes both static-free anti-dust coating on the CCD filter and anti-dust vibration that automatically shakes the CCD to dislodge dust each time the camera is shut off.

Auto Pop-Up Flash

The camera flash automatically pops up and fires when needed, to help first-time DSLR photographers shoot more effectively. Auto Pop-up works in Auto mode and some scene selection modes; Flash is cancelled in Landscape, Sport or Sunset modes and in “Flash Off” position on the Exposure Mode dial.

Eye-Start Autofocus System

It begins precision autofocus adjustments the moment you raise the camera to your eye -- so unlike some DSLR cameras that don’t start focusing until the shutter button is half-pressed, the Sony DSLR-A300 never slows down your ability to catch fast action.

9-Point Center Cross AF Sensor

A fast focus motor and improved focus control help bring images into sharp definition more quickly, with predictive focus control that automatically calculates the position of a fast-moving subject.

Scene Selection Modes

Along with auto exposure, the DSLR-A300 gives you scene selection modes to optimize camera performance for Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports, Sunset and Night Portrait/Night View situations.

Creative Style Settings

To express your creativity and personal taste, you can adjust contrast, saturation and sharpness settings for any of 8 finishing styles -- including Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Night View, Sunset, B & W and Adobe RGB modes.

Index and Slide Show Display

To quickly review your photos, the DSLR-A300 can display 4, 9 or 25-frame index views -- or present automatic slide shows with fade-in/fade-out effect.

High-Resolution Thumbnails for PhotoTV HD Viewing4

The DSLR-A300 automatically creates high-resolution thumbnail images for viewing on Sony’s BRAVIA® HDTV in optimized PhotoTV HD mode, with image format adjustable for standard 3:2 or widescreen 16:9 display.

Function Guide Display

On-screen menus are intuitive and easy to use -- and a simple Camera Function Display can be activated and operated with one hand using the “Fn” (Function) button and controller button to adjust Flash mode, Autofocus mode, White Balance, Metering mode, AF area and D-Range Optimizer.

Stamina® Battery Power

In optical viewfinder mode, you can take up to 750 shots3 on a fully charged NP-FM500H InfoLITHIUM® battery -- and you’ll be able to see about how much power remains in percentage increments, so you can keep shooting in confidence.

High-Capacity Media Options

For conveniently storing and sharing your images, the ? (alpha) DSLR-A300 accepts CompactFlash™ Type I/II media and Memory Stick PRO Duo™ media via an optional adapter.

Advanced Lenses and System Accessories

Sony’s ? (alpha) system gives you everything you need to expand your creativity in DSLR photography: precision Sony DT zoom lenses and specialty lenses, Sony “G” Series lenses with advanced motorized autofocusing, amazingly bright Carl Zeiss® lens designs, professional-quality flash units, and over 16 million Minolta a-mount lenses sold worldwide.

**info can be found on the Sony website. Click title to go there. For a Full Review go to Camera Labs: Sony A300** All photos Provided by www.Cameralabs.com

*Green

Friday, October 10, 2008

Biden/ Palin Debate Parody

The Biden/ Palin debate parody. They pick on her stupidity just as much as they did George Bush's.  So would you really want to vote for her?

Imagine, if McCain dies, would you want her to be your Take Over President?

http://tv.yahoo.com/saturday-night-live/show/194/videos/10037417 


*Green

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Saturday Night Live Sarah Palin Skit 1

This is the mock interview parody of Sarah Palin.

Debate parody coming soon.

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/couric-palin-open/704042/ 


*Green



Friday, October 3, 2008

Palin Failin'

Palin always answered a different question from what she was asked? Did McCain give her any important information? She had no clue what to say, or what her policies even were.

McCain picked her to take over the Hillary voters, not realizing Palin is not Hillary...she is a Bush with Breasts...probably has the penis, cause she gotta have balls to be McCain's running mate.

*Green