#but it's CRAZIE how corporations will expect SO MUCH for such low pay. fast food workers and retail workers need $20 MINIMUM. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

issyaboimoony · 7 years

Text

Chiccolo Week, Day 2: Sci-fi/Fantasy Day

Demon Hunters AU that is a WIP cuz it is my curse to never write anything short @chiccolofans

“I don’t want to kill the kid.”

“Good. Because we’re not going to.”

“I’m just saying collateral damage is to be expected.”

“And I’m just saying that if you kill the kid, then I kill you.”

Piccolo sighed, and kept his back pressed against the wall. The only rule of the mission was: Cure the Kid. Alive or dead hadn’t really been discussed, and, par for the course, Chi Chi hadn’t decided to debate with him until they were already in the goddamn building. He didn’t know her exact location, as his memory of the schematic was foggy at best, and her descriptions were absolutely shit.

“I’m serious!” Her voice was so loud - it had gotten them in trouble many different times on missions. He gritted his teeth. Even on its lowest setting, in his ear, the bud fizzed and crackled with the sheer strength of her voice. He tightened his grip on his gun, and kept it up. He tried to maintain his straight arm as he rounded a corner.

“Trust me, Milk, I got it.”

Silence crackled for once, until he heard a dramatic sigh.

“I hate that code-name.”

“You call me Sweet Pea,” he snarled.

She didn’t answer, and he focused on doing a perimeter check on all the nearby rooms. There was always so many damn rooms. Every time one opened Piccolo waited for the whole mission to collapse in on itself.

“I’m in the room with the rather nice floral sofa,” Chi Chi piped. “Ooo… I want this carpet!”

“We can’t afford that carpet. And how about you try telling me the goddamn floor number? Room number? If you’re even in the same building as me?” Piccolo kept his voice low, actually attempting to be covert, unlike his partner.

Chi Chi made a psh noise that made his connection go crazy. He was half-tempted to take the piece out of his ear, just so he wouldn’t have to listen to her yammering.

“You don’t need the floor number. You just need to know that there’s a designer Ricatti vase in here.”

Piccolo rolled his eyes, and twitched his antennae towards a noise he’d heard. He quickly reached up with his free hand, and silenced his com. The gun in his hand weighed heavy as he swung his back against a wall, and pushed gently on a door.

Inside the room, a little boy sat dead in the center. He had a curly black hair, but Piccolo couldn’t see much else. The room was littered with broken furniture, and splinters of wood abrupted out from underneath the carpet. He saw that several tapestries had been ripped apart, and a few pieces of art had been shredded or shattered according to medium.

Chi Chi would have been pissed, if she’d been the one to find the room.

“All right, kid, turn around.” Piccolo stepped into the room, gun at the ready, as the child finally seemed to notice him. He turned, slowly, but his torso remained still, allowing his head to fully rotate on his shoulders. Piccolo gritted his fangs together, and waited as the boy opened his mouth and unleashed a hellish cry.

Piccolo jumped to the side, but not in enough time to avoid the vomit the kid had spewed at him.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” he snarled. He quickly jerked his leather jacket off, where it fell to a sizzling heap on the carpet. He sprung forward, trying not to think of how much that was going to cost to replace. The kid was up now, head still twisted backwards as he skittered back across the carpet.

Piccolo wanted desperately to shoot the kid, but there was only a 80/20 chance of survival, depending on where you aimed the thing. He dug into his pocket, and pulled out his crucifix. He didn’t want to have to get close to the thing, but it looked like he really didn’t have a choice.

Burn in Hell! the kid screeched, and he tried his vomiting trick again. Piccolo saw it coming this time, though, and managed to duck behind one of the shattered tables. He heard the bile hit it, and watched as it sizzled through the wood. He was left with a peephole in which to see the murderous brat.

“Already been there,” Piccolo griped. “Not interested in going back.” He scuttled out from behind the table, and his boots hit carpet as he hurled himself forward. With a shout, he jabbed down, burying the tip of the cross into the kid’s forehead. The kid screamed bloody murder, and thrashed wildly beneath Piccolo’s body. The strength of the blows was unbelievable for a kid this size, and Piccolo felt himself quake with every whack to his ribs. He was almost ready to collapse from the pain when the kid gave one last, feeble punch.

Your father says hello, the thing hissed one last time, a dying echo from the boy’s unmoving mouth as the demon slid from the little boy’s throat. Piccolo hastily grabbed at one of the capsule balls in his pocket, and knocked it sharply against the spirit’s rising form. The capsule ball did its job, and sucked up the nasty creature, where Piccolo didn’t have to listen to its damn mouth.

Exhausted, Piccolo pushed himself up. He looked down at the now free kid, and sighed. The cross he’d lodged in the kid’s skin was still there, and Piccolo bent to retrieve it. His exhausted fingers slipped around the metal, but he managed to gain a grip on it. He tugged, and tried not to grimace at the noise it made as it slid out of the boy.

There’d be a scar, but at least his neck wasn’t twisted around anymore. Piccolo, on the other hand, felt as if he had several broken ribs, and plenty of other scrapes and bruises for the evening.

Piccolo switched his com back on, and almost let out a breathy laugh at the fact that Chi Chi was still rambling on the other side of the phone, this time about some curtains she’d found.

“I’ve already sealed the demon in a dragon ball,” Piccolo said, and tapped on his pocket, as if Chi Chi could actually see.

“What?!”

“Would you keep it down?” he hissed. His ears flapped back against his skull in pain as he tried to listen past Chi Chi’s loud voice. He didn’t hear anyone, but then again, it was almost impossible that no one had heard the scuffle.

Chi Chi finally seemed to regain herself, however, as she whispered, “You didn’t… hurt him, did you?”

“No,” Piccolo answered. Then hesitated. “Well… I stuck him with one of the crosses but. He’s fine.”

Chi Chi made a soft cooing noise. Piccolo crouched for a moment, attempting to regain himself.

“I’ll head out from here. You do the same. Meet me at the car.”

“You wanna grab something to eat before we report in?”

“Depends… it’s my turn to pick, your turn to pay.”

One thing Piccolo had learned since coming to the world of the living was: fast food was fantastic, and honestly, it would be something he would miss whenever he eventually had his contract terminated. Sure, it might happen several hundred years from now, or it could happen tomorrow, but one thing was certain - he’d miss burger grease and fries.

Chi Chi was in the driver seat, a chicken sandwich pinched firmly between her teeth as she squinted her eyes up at the GPS.

“I can’t read this damn thing,” she mumbled around her food. Both of her hands were clasped like vices around the steering wheel. She absolutely hated driving, but Piccolo had pointed out he was the one with a busted rib, and she’d conceded to drive for once.

“It says turn left two lights from here.” Piccolo thought it was ridiculous that he could read the contraption better than the actual human - but he found that everything with Chi Chi was ridiculous, and keeping track wasn’t really helpful anymore.

And anyways, fries were far more interesting at the moment. If he buried himself up to his eyeballs with salt and coke, he could try to ignore the searing pain he was in. He went to unclip his seat belt to alleviate some of the pressure, but Chi Chi punched him in the arm without even looking up from the road.

“Don’t you dare.”

“I’m in pain,” Piccolo hissed. His fingers fumbled clumsily at the clasp, just for him to get punched again. This time his bag tumbled out of his lap, and he watched desperately as his fries scattered all over the floorboard.

“Don’t get pissy with me,” Chi Chi said, and snapped her fingers in his face. She had the chicken sandwich between her lips again, and Piccolo lamented that he couldn’t have his own food. “If you ooze your slime all over another car, Bulma said she wouldn’t replace it.”

“It’s not slime!” Piccolo crossed his arms and purposefully stomped his boot down on a few of his unsalvageable fries. He ground them into the carpet, and stared purposefully at Chi Chi. She didn’t look, though, as she was too busy flicking her eyes back and forth from the GPS screen to the road, and Piccolo received no satisfaction.

“A slightly viscous liquid that pours out of your body isn’t slime?” He could already imagine the eyebrow arch she had.

“Ectoplasm,” he deadpanned. “You work for a paranormal corporation. You should know the proper term.”

Chi Chi made a noise at the back of her throat, and quickly squashed it by swallowing some of her sandwich. Her shoulders were hunched forward so far that they almost touched the wheel, and the lights reflected crazily in her eyes.

Piccolo flopped back in his seat.

“Since my ribs are broken,” he changed the subject, “I obviously won’t be able to do the dishes for a week.”

“You definitely are, I just have to get Eighteen to patch you up.”

Piccolo frowned. “Hell, no. That woman is creepy as hell.”

“Well luckily for you, that’s kind of your expertise.”

“Cheap shot - and not funny.”

Chi Chi still refused to look from the road, but her fingers twitched on the steering wheel. She clearly wanted to hit him again.

“Just be quiet while I get us home. You know, I wouldn’t have to drive if you could just manage not to be a jerk for once, and actually call me to your location.”

“Couldn’t figure out where I was,” Piccolo hastily answered.

“Uh-huh.”

After that he allowed Chi Chi to lapse into the silence that she wanted. Piccolo, instead, entertained himself with the fuck-load of nothing that raced past his window. He honestly knew he should have called Chi Chi. It was much safer to tackle an enemy with back-up, but he often times was reminded of just how human she was. The thought of her getting her caused an unfortunate prickle to race across his spine.

They didn’t talk for the rest of the ride home - it was honestly better, with Chi Chi at the wheel. Her ability to drive, talk, and eat was not the strongest, and aside from all that Piccolo could feel his consciousness drifting in and out due to the pain in his ribs.

Piccolo may have been a literal demon summoned from Hell, but at the cost of him forming, he’d had to form himself a corporeal body that was more than capable of sustaining a plethora of different wounds - some of which were fatal. Every time he died, however, he was merely resurrected back into a new shell. Chi Chi cried every time, and punched him quite a bit.

#chiccoo week 2017 #chiccolo #chi chi x piccolo #chichixpiccolo

24 notes · View notes

j-kaiwa · 5 years

Text

Discussion Article July 22nd

Good enough to eat? The toxic truth about modern food

We are now producing and consuming more food than ever, and yet our modern diet is killing us. How can we solve this bittersweet dilemma?

Pick a bunch of green grapes, wash it, and put one in your mouth. Feel the grape with your tongue, observe how cold and refreshing it is: the crisp flesh, and the jellylike interior with its mild, sweet flavour.

Eating grapes can feel like an old pleasure, untouched by change. The ancient Greeks and Romans loved to eat them, as well as to drink them in the form of wine. The Odyssey describes “a ripe and luscious vine, hung thick with grapes”. As you pull the next delicious piece of fruit from its stalk, you could easily be plucking it from a Dutch still life of the 17th century, where grapes are tumbled on a metal platter with oysters and half-peeled lemons.

But look closer at this bunch of green grapes, cold from the fridge, and you see that they are not unchanged after all. Like so many other foods, grapes have become a piece of engineering designed to please modern eaters. First of all, there are almost certainly no seeds for you to chew or spit out (unless you are in certain places such as Spain where seeded grapes are still part of the culture). Strains of seedless varieties have been cultivated for centuries, but it is only in the past two decades that seedless has become the norm, to spare us the dreadful inconvenience of pips.

Here is another strange new thing about grapes: the ones in the supermarket such as Thompson Seedless and Crimson Flame are always sweet. Not bitter, not acidic, not foxy like a Concord grape, not excitingly aromatic like one of the Muscat varieties, but just plain sweet, like sugar. On biting into a grape, the ancients did not know if it would be ripe or sour. The same was true, in my experience, as late as the 1990s. It was like grape roulette: a truly sweet one was rare and therefore special. These days, the sweetness of grapes is a sure bet, because in common with other modern fruits such as red grapefruit and Pink Lady apples, our grapes have been carefully bred and ripened to appeal to consumers reared on sugary foods. Fruit bred for sweetness does not have to be less nutritious, but modern de-bittered fruits tend to contain fewer of the phytonutrients that give fruits and vegetables many of their protective health benefits. Such fruit still gives us energy, but not necessarily the health benefits we would expect.

The very fact that you are nibbling seedless grapes so casually is also new. I am old enough to remember a time when grapes – unless you were living in a grape-producing country – were a special and expensive treat. But now, millions of people on average incomes can afford to behave like the reclining Roman emperor of film cliche, popping grapes into our mouths one by one. Globally, we both produce and consume twice as many as we did in the year 2000. They are an edible sign of rising prosperity, because fruit is one of the first little extras that people spend money on when they start to have disposable income. Their year-round availability also speaks to huge changes in global agriculture. Fifty years ago, table grapes were a seasonal fruit, grown in just a few countries and only eaten at certain times of year. Today, they are cultivated globally and never out of season.

What we eat now is a greater cause of disease and death in the world than either tobacco or alcohol

Almost everything about grapes has changed, and fast. And yet they are the least of our worries when it comes to food, just one tiny element in a much larger series of kaleidoscopic transformations in how and what we eat that have happened in recent years. These changes are written on the land, on our bodies and on our plates (insofar as we even eat off plates any more).

For most people across the world, life is getting better but diets are getting worse. This is the bittersweet dilemma of eating in our times. Unhealthy food, eaten in a hurry, seems to be the price we pay for living in liberated modern societies. Even grapes are symptoms of a food supply that is out of control. Millions of us enjoy a freer and more comfortable existence than that of our grandparents, a freedom underpinned by an amazing decline in global hunger. You can measure this life improvement in many ways, whether by the growth of literacy and smartphone ownership, or the rising number of countries where gay couples have the right to marry. Yet our free and comfortable lifestyles are undermined by the fact that our food is killing us, not through lack of it but through its abundance – a hollow kind of abundance.

With Brexit, food worries in the UK have become political, with panicked discussions of stockpiling and the spectre of US imports of chlorine-treated chicken on the horizon. Woody Johnson, the US ambassador to the UK, has dismissed these worries, suggesting that US food standards are nothing to be concerned about. But the bigger question is not whether American standards are lower than those in Britain, but why food standards across the world have been allowed to sink so dramatically.

What we eat now is a greater cause of disease and death in the world than either tobacco or alcohol. In 2015 around 7 million people died from tobacco smoke, and 2.75 million from causes related to alcohol, but 12m deaths could be attributed to “dietary risks” such as diets low in vegetables, nuts and seafood or diets high in processed meats and sugary drinks. This is paradoxical and sad, because good food – good in every sense, from flavour to nutrition – used to be the test by which we judged the quality of life. A good life without good food should be a logical impossibility.

Where humans used to live in fear of plague or tuberculosis, now the leading cause of mortality worldwide is diet. Most of our problems with eating come down to the fact that we have not yet adapted to the new realities of plenty, either biologically or psychologically. Many of the old ways of thinking about diet no longer apply, but it isn’t clear yet what it would mean to adapt our appetites and routines to the new rhythms of life. We take our cues about what to eat from the world around us, which becomes a problem when our food supply starts to send us crazy signals about what is normal. “Everything in moderation” doesn’t quite cut it in a world where the “everything” for sale in the average supermarket has become so sugary and so immoderate.

At no point in history have edible items been so easy to obtain, and in many ways this is a glorious thing. Humans have always gone out and gathered food, but never before has it been so simple for us to gather anything we want, whenever we want it, from sachets of black squid ink to strawberries in winter. We can get sushi in Buenos Aires, sandwiches in Tokyo and Italian food everywhere. Not so long ago, to eat genuine Neapolitan pizza, a swollen-edged disc of dough cooked in a blistering oven, you had to go to Naples. Now, you can find Neapolitan pizza – made using the right dough blasted in an authentic pizza oven – as far afield as Seoul and Dubai.

We don’t just eat more burgers than our grandparents, we also eat more fruit, granola bars and 'guilt-free' kale crisps

Talking about what has gone wrong with modern eating is delicate, because food is a touchy subject. No one likes to feel judged about their food choices, which is one of the reasons why so many healthy eating initiatives fail. The rise of obesity and diet-related disease around the world has happened hand in hand with the marketing of fast food and sugary sodas, of processed meats and branded snack foods. As things stand, our culture is far too critical of the individuals who eat junk foods and not critical enough of the corporations who profit from selling them. A survey of more than 300 international policymakers found that 90% of them still believed that personal motivation – AKA willpower – was a very strong cause of obesity. This is absurd.

It makes no sense to presume that there has been a sudden collapse in willpower across all ages and ethnic groups since the 1960s. What has changed most since the 60s is not our collective willpower but the marketing and availability of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods. Some of these changes are happening so rapidly it’s almost impossible to keep track. Sales of fast food grew by 30% worldwide from 2011 to 2016 and sales of packaged food grew by 25%. Somewhere in the world, a new branch of Domino’s Pizza opened every seven hours in 2016.

But this story isn’t just about one kind of food or one set of people. Across the board, across all social classes, most of us eat and drink more than our grandparents did, whether we are cooking a leisurely dinner at home from fresh ingredients or grabbing a takeaway from a fast food chain. Plates are bigger than they were 50 years ago, our idea of a portion is inflated and wine glasses are vast. It has become normal to punctuate the day with snacks and to quench our thirst with calorific liquids, from green juice and detox shots to craft sodas (which are just like any other soda, only more expensive). As the example of grapes shows, we don’t just eat more burgers and fries than our grandparents, we also eat more fruit and avocado toast and frozen yoghurt, more salad dressing and many, many more “guilt-free” kale crisps.

Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill can identify the year when snacking took off in China. It was 2004. Before that, the Chinese consumed very little between meals except green tea and hot water. In 2004, Popkin suddenly noticed a marked transition from the old Chinese ways of two or three meals a day towards a new pattern of eating. In collaboration with a team of Chinese nutritionists, he has been following the Chinese diet in snapshots of data every two or three years, conducting regular surveys of around 10,000-12,000 people. Back in 1991, Popkin found that at certain fixed times of year, there were treats to supplement the daily diet. During the mid-autumn festival, for example, people would eat moon cakes made from lard-enriched pastry stuffed with sweetened bean paste. But such feasting foods were ritualised and rare, nothing like a casual cereal bar.

In 2004, out of nowhere, as incomes rose, Chinese habits of snacking spread dramatically. The number of Chinese adults between 19 and 44 describing themselves as eating snacks over a three-day period nearly doubled, while the number of children between two and six eating snacks rose almost as much. Based on the most recent data, more than two-thirds of Chinese children now report snacking during the day. This is an eating revolution.

The curious thing about snacking in China is that to start with it actually made people healthier, because they were snacking on fruit: fresh tangerines and kumquats, bayberries and lychees, pineapple and pomelo. These were the foods that people had always aspired to eat, but couldn’t afford in the past. Phase two of snacking in China has been very different. “The marketing comes in,” Popkin tells me, “and boom! boom! boom! the snacks are not healthy any more.” As of 2015, the commercial savoury snack food market in China was worth more than $7bn. When I travelled to Nanjing last year, I saw people consuming the same Starbucks Frappuccinos and blueberry muffins as in London.

China is not alone. Almost every country in the world has experienced radical changes to its patterns of eating over the past five, 10 and 50 years. For a long time, nutritionists have held up the “Mediterranean diet” as a healthy model for people in all countries to follow. But recent reports from the World Health Organisation suggest that even in Spain, Italy and Crete, most children no longer eat anything like a “Mediterranean diet” rich in olive oil and fish and tomatoes. These Mediterranean children, who are, as of 2017, among the most overweight in Europe, now drink sugary colas and eat packaged snack foods and have lost the taste for fish and olive oil. In every continent, there has been a common set of changes from savoury foods to sweet ones, from meals to snacks, dinners cooked at home to meals eaten out, or takeaways.

The nutrient content of our meals is one thing that has radically changed; the psychology of eating is another. Much of our eating takes place in a new chaotic atmosphere in which we no longer have many rules to fall back on. On an early evening train journey recently, I looked up at my fellow travellers and noticed, first, that almost everyone was eating or drinking and second, that they were all doing so in ways that might once have been considered deeply eccentric. One man had both a cappuccino and a can of fizzy drink from which he was taking alternate sips. A woman with headphones on was nibbling an apricot tart, produced from a cardboard patisserie box. She followed it with a high-protein snackpot of two hard-boiled eggs and some raw spinach. Sitting across from her was a man carrying a worn leather briefcase. He reached inside and produced a bottle of strawberry milkshake and a half-finished packet of chocolate-caramel sweets.

More than half of the calorie intake in the US – 57.9% – now consists of ultra-processed food, and the UK is not far behind

We are often told in a slightly hectoring way that we should make “better” or “smarter” food choices, yet the way we eat now is the product of vast impersonal forces that none of us asked for. The choices we make about food are largely predetermined by what’s available and by the limitations of our busy lives. If you go into the average western out-of-town supermarket, you can choose from thousands of different sugary snack bars (many of them protein enhanced in some way) but only one variety of banana, the bland Cavendish.

It might be possible to eat in a more balanced way, if only we didn’t have to work, or go to school, or save money, or travel by car, bus or train, or shop at a supermarket, or live in a city, or share a meal with children, or look at a screen, or get up early, or stay up late, or walk past a vending machine, or feel depressed, or be on medication, or have a food intolerance, or own an imperfectly stocked fridge. Who knows what wonders we might then eat for breakfast?

Our culture’s obsessive focus on a perfect physique has blinded us to the bigger question, which is what anyone of any size should eat to avoid being sickened by our unbalanced food supply. No one can eat themselves to perfect health, nor can we ward off death indefinitely, and the attempt to do so can drive a person crazy. Life is deeply unfair and some people may eat every dark green leafy vegetable going and still get cancer. But even if food cannot cure or forestall every illness, it does not have to be the thing that kills us. The greatest thing that we have lost from our eating today is a sense of balance, whether it’s the balance of meals across the day or the balance of nutrients on our plate.

“There are so many myths about food,” says Fumiaki Imamura, an epidemiologist who has spent the past 16 years in the west, studying the links between diet and health. One of the food myths Imamura refers to is the notion that there is such a thing as a perfectly healthy diet. He offers himself as an example. Like many Japanese people, he eats a diet rich in fish and vegetables, but he also eats a fair amount of supposedly “unhealthy” refined white rice and high-salt soy sauce. But Imamura is conscious that no population in the world eats exactly the combination of healthy foods that a nutritionist might prescribe.

Every human community across the globe eats a mixture of the “healthy” and the “unhealthy”, but the salient question is where the balance falls. Take ultra-processed foods. The occasional bowl of instant ramen noodles or frosted cereal is no cause for panic. But when ultra-processed foods start to form the bulk of what whole populations eat on any given day, we are in new and disturbing territory for human nutrition. More than half of the calorie intake in the US – 57.9% – now consists of ultra-processed food, and the UK is not far behind, with a diet that is around 50.4% ultra-processed. The fastest growing ingredient in global diets is not sugar, as I’d always presumed, but refined vegetable oils such as soybean oil, which are a common ingredient in many fast and processed foods, and which have added more calories to what we eat over the past 50 years than any other food group, by a wide margin.

The highest-quality overall diets in the world are mostly to be found not in rich countries but in Africa

In 2015, Imamura was the lead author on a paper in the medical journal the Lancet, which caused a stir in the world of nutrition science. This team of epidemiologists – based at Tufts University and led by Professor Dariush Mozaffarian – has been seeking to map the healthiness, or otherwise, of how people eat across the entire world, and how this changed in the 20 years between 1990 and 2010. The biggest surprise to come out of the data was that the highest-quality overall diets in the world are mostly to be found not in rich countries but in Africa, mostly in the sub-Saharan regions. The 10 countries with the healthiest diet patterns, listed in order with the healthiest first, came out as: Chad, Mali, Cameroon, Guyana, Tunisia, Sierra Leone, Laos, Nigeria, Guatemala, French Guiana.

Meanwhile, the 10 countries with the least healthy diet patterns, listed in order with the unhealthiest first, were: Armenia, Hungary, Belgium, USA, Russia, Iceland, Latvia, Brazil, Colombia, Australia.

0 notes

letsimportanttreecollection-blog · 6 years

Text

Would zero demerit points mean that my insurance rates wont be effected?

"Would zero demerit points mean that my insurance rates wont be effected?

Would zero demerit points mean that my insurance rates wont be effected?

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare quotes: : http://howmuchisinsurance.xyz/index.html?src=tumblr

RELATED QUESTIONS:

How far in advance can you buy your car insurance?

I'm trying to avoid the increase that's happening in December but my premium runs out 2 weeks after the increase

Can I get long term disability insurance and social security?

Long term disability insurance from the company I work for. If I get that,can I apply for ss?""

What do car insurance companies have access to?

my friend was trying to tell me what he did to get him cheaper insurance.... he lied through his teeth so do insurance companies in Canada have access to the following: marriage status medical records where you live if you have kids security on house and car driving records and what other info do they have access to because my friend said he lied about all that and pays cheap insurance now

How much would full coverage insurance cost on a 1965 Silver Cloud 3 Rolls-Royce?

Male driver, clean driving history.""

So is there any health insurance for those with serious medical conditons?

My younger brother who's only 20 years old has a host of serious illnesses: crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, and a few more conditions that has constantly kept him sick for a good portion of his childhood. He's missed at least half a school year on a number of occasions, and despite his maturation he's still heavily affected by his conditions. Obviously, it's practically impossible for him to hold a steady job, he'll work for a while and then he'll have to take off a month or two just to deal with his illness, with that said he surely won't have employee health insurance. Currently, he's using our state's medicaid, however once he turns 21 he's no longer eligible for medicaid. With the health care system being the way that it is, is there any possibility that he could continue receiving health care despite his ineligibility? He takes a ton of drugs daily, and even takes some of the same medications that our grandparents take lol. I know some of you heartless conservatives believe he should provide his own health coverage, but how? His drugs cost thousands, and he's in the ER constantly, thus making his health-care only affordable to extremely rich individuals. When healthy, he does contribute as much as he possibly can, however for someone in his condition it would be downright shameful if he can't continue to receive any healthcare.""

How does AD&D Insurance differ from Life Insurance?

I understand a little about how AD&D works (for example, if you lose a leg you get x% of your benefit), but who is it for? If I have Life and Medical Insurance, am a white collar worker, and do not engage in dangerous hobbies, why would I need it? By the same token, why not get AD&D instead of Life insurance (since the AD&D plan I looked at had a death benefit)? AD&D seems like a waste of money (of course I've just jinxed myself). Can someone please enlighten me?...""

What kind of insurance do I need?

I provide training workshops for colleges and the school I am currently doing work for asked me to send them a certificate of insurance. They said, they need this in order to process a purchase order. What kind of insurance do I need? I've never had to do this before? Is it general liability insurance? And generally, how much does it cost?""

Question about insurance liabilty when driving a drunk friend home in his car?

My friend asked me to drive his car for him to pick him up because he was drinking. I picked him up and on the way home got into a fender bender at my fault. His insurance paid for the damages done to the other vehicle, but he does not have complete coverage for his car and wants me to cover 800 dollars in damages done to his vehicle. I do not feel responsible for this. I have minimum coverage. Will he be able to take me to claims court? Am I liable for his damages?""

Nissan GTR for a teenager?

Hey everyone, I am a 16 year old who runs a photography business in Nashville, TN. I have been saving up for a car for the last 7 years, originally for a BMW M3 or Audi S5. I have amassed about $25,500 to spend on the car, and have a steady income to pay for insurance and gas. There was a recent question asking whether it would be safe to give a child like myself a car like the M3 or the Nissan GTR. However, I feel as though such a generalized statement is grossly inappropriate. I feel that responsibility in an automobile should fully be determined by ones own experience and responsibility, as opposed to strictly ones age. For example, I have shifter cart racing experience, have taken multiple high performance driving courses from some of the best. (Truly recommend Bondurant's program BTW). I have over a 4.0 GPA, and am editor and director of an online magazine and our school's paper. I make a decent wage from a job and business that I created myself, and have learned marketing and advertising from some of the best in the field (anyone heard of the oldspice commercials?). My own determination has lead to success and my ability to reward myself with a highly exclusive and phenomonal driving machine. On the other hand, no one would doubt the maturity or ability of a man thrice my age attempting to buy the same vehicle, who had never driven on a track, who had never used ABS, and who had never learned the evasive driving techniques necessary to driving such an automobile. Herein lies the problem. In the previous discussion on this same topic, the driving of a GTR by someone my own age was likened to handing someone like myself a loaded .44 Magnum. However, this in itself is a stereotype. I am a nationally ranked rifle competitor who knows how to build, much less safely use, a .44 Magnum. I am a member of USA Shooting and the NRA and CMP competitive shooting divisions. How is handing me a loaded .44 any less safe than handing some retired man who has never held a gun the same pistol? I am at a loss for the logic in that situation. Is my inherent danger of being 16 such a risk as to counteract my own experience and track record of responsibility? SO back to my actual question. 1. If I purchased it, would you disapprove of allowing me to drive a car such as the GTR. and 2. Would you purchase a 2009 GTR, an 2008 M3, or a 2010 Jaguar XF? Why? Thanks in advance!""

Blue Cross/Shield health insurance?

Is this Insurance corporation a good one or a bad one to have as a health care plan?

""How much is insurance for new drivers? People are saying 1000 - 3000, how can it be that much money... ?""

I am unemployed at the moment, but even with a part time job I wouldn't be able to afford that sort of money a month. I mean that is a lot of money, considering you have to also buy a Car, tax etc. Is this a true amount? I am 22 years old ( nearly 23 ) and I am planning to start my lessons, but I wanted to find out how much it would be to run a car before I started lessons. So I searched for Insurance, Tax, Fuel etc, and the prices for Insurance that people were saying on forum's were crazy! Is this right? Can it really be correct?""

Best Health insurance for young adults in NZ?

The reason why i'm wanting health insurance is mostly going to the dentist. does anyone know a good health insurance and what do i need to look for when i joining a company?

What cars cheap on insurance but still has over 200 hp?

I'm 18 and I've got a 2.0L 2010 ford focus with just over 150 bhp with my insurance 1,700 but I'm looking for a car with over 200 bhp but still below 2,500 on insurance but under 12,000""

Cheapest car insurance female driver full no claims?

low milage

""Who has the best car insurance for 2 people good credit, a 96 car and a 99 car. in the 40s, ?""

now in AAA, but AAA raised it since i moved to bismarck nd. shopping for good and reliable car insurance. its going to be staying with AAA, and pay more or go to no-dak, will not go ...show more""

""Need help to find a boy car for around 1000 or below, something cheap on insurance and also a bit sporty?

i know sporty and insurance dont go together well but am sure there are some cars that are fast and boy racer cars that arnt tooo expensive to insure

How much a month would car insurance be for a 2010 dodge charger? Im about to turn 18 and plan on getting this?

car. I know it depends on where u live etc..but i want to know the average cost per month of this particular car. I'm going to be joining the marines..idk if this matters but most places offer a military discount. So any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

A realistic way for a full time college student to make money.?

This student is a 20 unit UCLA Law major who needs money but can't even work a part-time job. Without inculding college debt, this student needs 1.5k every month(rent, car, gas, food, insurance, utilities). A part-time min-wage job is not an option due to class load and $400-$500 isn't worth negitive effects on performance. Thus, I'm asking for out of the box ideas. No get a job at McDonalds or Spend less money . Those have already been thought of and done.""

It should be illegal for the amount car insurance comanies charge for young drivers!!?

Having my driving test next month and looking at buying a car soon, either a clio or corsa. I have just got some quotes for a clio and a corsa and all i can say is that its ...show more""

Cheap car insurance UK?

any tips to bring the price down? or any insurers going cheap atm? 24 yr old guy 1 yrs no claims citeron saxo desire 03 reg park it on a drive way

How much would it cost me to get motor bike insurance?

I am thinking of getting a motor bike since the cost of insuring a car is just too high. I'm 18 and male and was wondering roughly how much I could expect to pay for insurance on a 125cc if I do my CBT. Oh and I live in the Uk... which will hike the price up a bit

""USA, health insurance. when you are 56 & cannot afford health insurance, is that a death sentence?""

doctors & hospitals in the US will not help unless you have insurance. so if i have cancer or any sickness, am I left to die.?""

Flight connection insurance?

Does anyone know of a company I can buy flight connection insurance from? I am taking a trip with two separate airline tickets. If the first flight is delayed, I might forfeit the second ticket and be forced to buy a very expensive last minute ticket. All the policies I have found online are packages that include medical, lost baggage etc. which I'm not interested in. Also, the companies I've found that offer missed connection insurance only offer meals and accomodation (not transportation) or have a limit too low to cover buying a new ticket.""

What is the Cheapest Car Insurance For Young Driver?

18 Year Old, Male, Vauxhall Corsa 16V (1.2) Worth 1000, Full License Held for 2 Month, Access To Company Vehicle (Ex Personal Use), Mileage up to 5000 per year, No PASS PLUS, Social Use and kept on a public road.""

If I can't afford the affordable care insurance how do I know what the penalty is for not subscribing?

Would zero demerit points mean that my insurance rates wont be effected?

Am I screwed? Two years ago I was approached by my auto insurance company.?

I was told that if I added my home owners insurance to their company that I would save a bundle on both the auto and the homeowner policy. At the time, I had the same homeowner company for over 25 years and was happy with my policy but they looked at the policy and said they could offer me the same coverage at the same price. So, of course, I switched and admittedly never looked at the policy until I had a recent claim. Now, I find that the policy that I was switched to was NOT the same coverage I had at...not even close. I now have a 1% deductible instead of $500 and I also now have actual value instead of replacement cost coverage. Needless to say, I'm angry and feel I have no recourse since I admit I didn't read over the policy...I trusted the agent , since I had my car insurance with them for over 30 years. Has anyone ever had this happen to them and what, if anything, can be done about this?""

Hi what is the best 600cc sports bike for an 18 year old bearing in mind the insurance?

I need some help with choosing my first 600cc bike at the moment i ride a skygo 125cc (yes chinese lol) but i turn 18 in a couple of weeks and am looking to buy my first big bike. iv had a look at the cbr 600 but not to keen on the shape to be honest and dont really like the shape of the r6 so im looking at the kawasaki ninja / suzuki gsxr 600 and 750. any ideas would really help insurance would play a big part for me to so i need the cheapest really and what price would i be looking at ? if anyone has any other bikes to suggest i would apreciate that aswell ?

""I need help getting good and affordable health, life and dental insurance for me and my family-please help?""

All I have is Medicaid, I want better dental and health insurance, and my family and I don't have life insurance. When my dad died he didn't have life insurance. I'm a bit concerned because I'm in my 30s and my mom's getting old, and I'm concerned about my little brother. My mother doesn't have dental insurance. I want my brother to have better dental insurance too. I need dental implants. Please help me out.""

I need cheap insurance for me and my baby?

I recently moved out of my mom's house to live with my boyfriend. She was covering me on her insurance but now it's been dropped, We moved to where his new job is and we are letting a friend live with us. My boyfriend's yearly income is about 65,000. I can't be covered under his insurance because we aren't married. I have a 11 month old baby and I have to take pills regularly... I need to find an insurance plan that can cover me and her. If it makes any difference I'm 18 and I'm turning 19 in October... I know some insurance plans cover certain ages. I'd prefer something kind of cheap but I also need something that has decent copay..even if it raises the price a little. Does anyone know a good carrier?""

Is it better to buy cheaper can than expensive car?

I love expensive sports cars, but I don`t need to have it, I can just watch those at museum, stores, and photos. I think buying cars is waste of money. It costs money to buy cars, car insurance, gasoline, and parking ticket. Also cars get stolen lot , it can break easily by car crash, some bad kids will scratch it, and high risk of death. Using train is way cheaper. If I really need car, I would stick with least cheapest car. Because when my car got stolen, or broke, I have less things to lose.""

Who's a good health insurance provider?

I was looking to get some health insurance soon outside of my job. What insurance company has something affordable for someone like me? 24 year old male no health problems non smoker.

What is the New York disability insurance rate and NYS Unemployment rate?

What is a cheap insurance for San Antonio? We have a 2006 GT Mustang that Esurance wants to charge us 500 some

dollars for EVERY MONTH and that is WAY too much!

""If u wrote-off a $5000 car, on average how much would ur insurance company give you back?""

If u wrote-off a $5000 car, on average how much would ur insurance company give you back?""

First they cancel my insurance. Is it true that I'm now hearing 70% of Cali doctors will boycott Obamacare?

I have to sign up for Obamacare because I'm self employed and was on an insufficient individual plan. So I'm resigned to the fact I need to sign up for Covered California(Obamacare), but now I'm hearing the California Medical Association says 70% of physicians say they will boycott my Covered California policy if I get one, since I don't have employer insurance and am in the Obamacare network. Basically I'm screwed everywhere I turn now. Can 70% of physicians really thumb their noses at the government? Can they afford to? http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/2540272#.UqLPd42Zl8I.twitter""

First traffic violation. How much will it affect my insurance?

So today I got my first traffic violation after 9 years of driving. I am 25 and have been driving since I was 16. I stopped to far in a stop sign and passed the line. How much will the ticket cost? I live in CA. How badly will this affect my auto insurance? Right now I pay $150 every 6 months for liablity coverage.

""Any opinions on AUTO INSURANCE in Providence, RI? cheap prices?

cheap prices

What's the cheapest auto insurance for a 23-year old woman?

I've only wrecked once, and it was during a storm, with little damage resulting. I'm about to get a car, but I need insurance - what's the cheapest company for someone like me? Thanks!""

""I was caught driving with no insurance and in court they required me to have car insurance for 1 year,?""

ive been paying for car insurance for the past 6 monthsm, but I recently sold my car, and was wondering if I stil have to pay insurance when I have no car. what should i do?""

Maternity Insurance?

Does anyone know of a good insurance company with maternity insurance? I'm not pregnant yet, but me and my husband are talking about starting to try, and need to get insurance first. I would like to find a company with very little or no waiting period. Any suggestions?""

Car Rental Insurance?

Liability Insurance Supplement 11.95 USD Loss Damage Waiver 19.99 USD Personal Accident Insurance / Personal Effects Coverage 5.95 USD Which ones are really needed? We won't be carrying any luggage. We are only driving from San Antono to the coast and back for business. One day trip.

Where can I get affordable health insurance?

I need health insurance thats less than $50 a month. Im not eligible for medicare or medicaid. Im only 25 and in good health.. I mostly need it for routine stuff and in case I need emergency care. I live in Ohio. My work offers insurance, but its way too expensive!""

""On average, how much do YOU spend on utilities each month?""

I'm a college student getting ready to do into dental school. & I was wondering about how much do you spend on gas, electric, rent, insurance....etc. Please name what it is and about how much you pay. Do you have any money left over?? I'm like freaking out here because right now, I live in a dorm & I don't pay anything.""

Customizing your car insurance?

I want to buy a winter-beater, something around 600 bucks. When I quote myself for insurance my monthly comes to $330 and I would assume that means full coverage. I don't want my insurance to cost a hundred times what my car is worth. If I were to customize my insurance and have the choice, what insurance options should I be choosing to bring my cost down below $200? I know it will also depend on other things like the car itself, don't give me un-necessary information, please and thanks. I live in Ontario.""

Cheap car insurance?

any one know where the best place to cheap car insurance, my dad is going to insure a car for me to teach me to drive, it needs to be in his name but i ned to be a driver on the policy.""

Which insurance company is best ?

im 15 going on 16 and i need car insurance im getting either geico which is my mom's insurance or farmer's which is my dad's my mom had farmers but farmers is too expensive the car i will be driving is a 2000 Nissan Sentra SE (automatic) http://www.edmunds.com/flipper/do/MediaNav/styleId=9585/firstNav=Gallery it looks exactly like the red one except its green and it has brown leather seats and a new radio system :]] its my brothers old car he hardly uses it since he has a brand new 2008 Nissan Altima so my Sentra is free :]] my dad will probably pay for my car stuff .or they will split it . i live in a city around the houston area . p.s can you give me your guess of how much i will be paying a month for insurance or perhaps every 6 months ? and which insurance company should i get ? p.s idk if this helps but my mom drives a 2004 Infiniti G35 Sedan and my dad drives a 2001 Jaguar XJ8 .

""High deductible, low premium?""

hello, can someone please explain insurance terminology? what does high deductible mean? who should get this and who SHOULDN'T? i am trying to help my parents by purchasing ...show more""

Fee to Drop A Vehicle From Insurance Policy?

I just sold a car, and when I called my insurance company to drop it from my policy, I was informed that it would cost $15 to do so. I know it is only $15, but still that seems a little steep. Just wondering if anyone else has had this experience.""

Does anyone know where i can get cheap and affordable health insurance from in wisconsin?

Im looking for cheap or affordable health insurance ,, sure cant seem to find any .. does anyone have an answer""

Best Insurance for Speeding Tickets?

I will be getting married in a month and need to get new car insurance. What insurance companies offer the best rates for people with speeding tickets? I have 2 speeding tickets, and my fiance has 2 accidents on record... any suggestions of the best places to start looking?""

Would zero demerit points mean that my insurance rates wont be effected?

Insurance for dummies(life insurance)?

Please help . I took out a life insurance policy about 8 years ago it is a whole life insurance policy and has some cash value .I recently discovered I have a group life insurance policy at work . Should I keep both or cash in the whole life insurance policy which is worth about 11,000 in coverage and 1,100 in cash value . The work policy is worth about 65,000 in coverage and 0 cash value""

Im 19 how much does the average 19 year old pay for car insurance?

I live in new york city

Can I get car insurance for one month?

I need tags for my car and I have to have insurance. I can't afford more than 150 so does anyone know a good place I can go that would let me do one month or just somewhere that is cheap online that i can pay a little amount then cancel the rest?

Insurance companies will have 32 million new customers because of Obamacare. How is this socialism?

The Affordable Care Act was modeled after a Republican health care plan by the Heritage Foundation and was first implemented by a Republican governor. All this bill does is makes sure that insurance companies have 32 million new customers. I could understand if you called Single Payer socialism (which I highly support), but calling Obamacare socialist is pretty stupid.""

May have a preexisting condition and i need affordable insurance?

i may have a preexisting condition i will find out monday ,anyway we are on a month to month with a high cobra premium and it is kicking our butts my husband's job closed after 20 yrs we both are not working and if i have a condition how do we pay for it, how can i get i get affordable health with no job .help somebody i feel for people i feel for everyone who needs health care and can't get it what a shame i pray that i am well and the doctor has good news for me so everyone please pray for a good outcome when prayers go up blessings come down and i need your prayers i love my yahoo family some people are rude but for the most part real decent people live here Sorry for my jumby words""

Auto insurance in California?

I bought a car in Aug 09. It's under my dads name for cheaper insurance purpose. But I never really got to the insurance part and have been driving w/out it. I just got a letter in the mail from the DMV saying my registration is suspended because I haven't provided financial proof... So I went earlier... and if my dad were to add the car and list me as a 2nd driver on my car, I would pay too much :| So the question here is... if my dad were to add the car and not list me as a 2nd driver, will I be covered? I really don't give a crap if it's fraud or not, just need to know if I will be covered since he will be lending me the car. Only place I really drive it to is work, and I work overnight so there's no cars around! ..and weekends. Plus with gas prices this high I stay below the 1.5k rpm's.""

Cheapest Auto Insurance Humanly Possible?

I am a college student living on campus and want to have a car but will not be driving it much at all. I am just looking for the most basic and least expensive auto insurance I can find. I am 19 with no tickets or accidents yada yada yada. Where can I find some cheap coverage?

Where have you gotten your cheapest car insurance from? Who has the best rates?!?

When getting an insurance quote do you have tell them what your tickets have been reduced to or....?

I am going to get an insurance quote and need to know if I can tell them what my tickets were reduced to or if I have to tell them what I was actually pulled over for.

On average what will a 22 year old male pay for motorcycle insurance?

I have to get a new license in CA and decided to get a motorcycle instead of a car. That being said, how much will I pay? The area I am in is Monterey, CA.""

Can anyone recommend a cheep and reliable car insurance in New Jersey?

Does premium payment depend on the area you live in. Would my car insurance be cheaper in Hudson or Bergen county? Any pointers ly and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Is it legal to Drive a borrowed car without insurance?

Let's say my friend has this car, up to date tags, and insurance for himself, and all the works for FOR HIM. He lets me borrow it, I get pulled over or i get in a fender bender Aside from the ticket and the damages is there any legal problems there? Diving a insured car but me not having insurance and other stuff?""

Does anyone else have USAA insurance?

When do I get my insurance card

What to do when someone has an accident in your car...no insurance?

A friend took my car without exactly having my permission (had permission to drive, but not where the accident took place). We are in WI where insurance is not required so our lapsed (bad move on our part, but we are past that now). The friend was at fault in the accident and our car is badly damaged although the other car was not...what do we do now?""

Auto Insurance coverage -- How much Liability and Medical?

I got a couple of questions about about auto insurance coverage. Namely, what's the best amount of liability and medical coverage to select. 1) For the liability, I know it's wise to get the best liability that one can afford to cover your assets. But how about if one also gets umbrella coverage. For example, if one gets an umbrella coverage at a $2 million limit and the liability limit for the auto insuarance is $300,000 or $500,000, does it make sense to select the $500,000 or is it better to select the $300,000 limit since the umbrella coverage would kick in? 2) for medical, is this redundant coverage and not needed because wouldn't the liability portion also cover medical expenses? Or is it wise to get this, for example, if a passenger is not insured (no health insurance), so the medical part would help out in that case? Thanks.""

Car insurance for family car?

My mum is learning to drive and my dad got her a small Vauxhall Corsa and the idea was to insure me on the car so I have access to it should I need it. The quote just come in at 1300 ish and well for a car I may or may not be driving that much I am not going to pay it. On my own if I owned the same car I have found insurance of around 700 which is more acceptable. The problem is I don't own the car and my dad is insured on it and my mum is insured on it as a learner, but could I then insure myself on that same car separately? Naturally I'd have to tell them who owns the car but other than that? The main problem is I'm 21, have not driven in three years since passing my test (due to insurance funnily enough) and a student, which is a potent mix for insurance companies ripping you off as much as possible.""

What's your Scion TC's Insurance Rate?

Scion TC's are in the top 10 most expensive cars to insure. (Number 2) So I was wondering if you have a TC, how much do you pay monthly? What's your deductible? What insurance company are you with? And how old are you?""

Can i get car insurance without owning a car?

Before the smart *** answers come in, let me explain. I looked up this subject and saw many people saying that's stupid, why would you want insurance on something you don't own . This is not the point. I'm a full time college student in Massachusetts and take the train around to get to places because its easier that way living in the city. It's illegal to drive here without car insurance. So could i get coverage driving a parents or friends vehicle? My parents don't have the money to add me onto their policy so i want to know if i could get my own, almost like a non owner policy, and be covered driving their vehicle in case anything ever happened? I heard that as long as you have the owners permission, you're covered. that doesn't sound right though.""

Allstate insurance in NY- Question

Hi. I live in New York City and we have a leased 2007 Lexus es350, leased 2008 lexus gs350 and a leased 2007 Mercedes Benz e350, all using allstate insurance. I am under my parent's policy. I am very curious to know how much the insurance would cost for the lexus es350, because soon I'll be paying for it once I get out of school and have the ability to do so, since that's my car. I am 17 years old, turning 18 in November. I have had my unrestricted driver's license since December 2007. I also took driver's education, and we receive an insurance discount for taking driver's ed. No accidents or moving violations. Approximately how much does it cost now, and how much will it cost in about 2-3 years from now if all these conditions remain the same? Thanks""

As a 22 female driver about how much would a 2010 camaro insurance cost? i have a perfect driving record?

What car insurance companies are in Washington? Can I get a list to look up?

I need to find the cheapest for myself. I am getting my license this Friday and I will be going to a car insurance company on my way home so that I can drive my car. Can I get a list of all the auto insurance companies in Washington?

Are rates for disability insurance different in different states?

To clarify: I own Guardian own-occupation disability insurance, which was initiated in California. Given a recent income increase, I am eligible to exercise a rider to increase my disability coverage. Are my premiums going to go up a different amount if I increase my coverage through my agent in CA than if I increase it through a different agent, say, in Ohio? Are these riders and insurance premiums nationally uniform for personal disability insurance plans through Guardian?""

What is the auto insurance rate for a 16 year old in Florida?

I live in Florida, let's say a Toyota RAV4 2008 is what I'm driving, I plan to drive around locally, I think my family has all-state. (Excluding discounts). Also about discounts, does driver's ed act as a discount? If so, how much? I'm pretty sure I meet the GPA requirement, are there any other discounts a 16 year old could apply for?""

""What is a good & inexpensive life insurance, medical insurance & dental insurance?""

I work for a company that doesnt supply any of this. So I need to come up with this on my own, hence the inexpensive part. I am a husband & father of 3 so I would like to make sure they are well taken care of just incase. I would also like a good insurance for us.""

Need help wit chosing car insurance!!!?

I AM 19 AND I AM TRYING TO FIND CAR INSURANCE FOR MY VEHICLE IN THE STATE OF VA. I AM LOOKING FOR SOMETHING THAT IS CHEAP BUT HAS PRETTY GOOD COVERAGE. I AM ABOUT TO START SCHOOL IN THE FALL AND I PLAN TO COMMUNTE TO SCHOOL AND TO WORK. I AM A FEMALE AND I JUST GOT MY LICENSE.

Would zero demerit points mean that my insurance rates wont be effected?

Cheapest car insurance for a 21 year old in nj?

what's the cheapest car insurance a 21 year old can have in the state of new jersey?

What is home owners insurance like in Florida?

I am thinking of purchasing a home in the Kissimmee area that is around $140,000. Some people have told me that homeowners insurance and additionally flood and hurricane additions to my insurance is very very expensive. Can someone give me an example of their real life insurance price that includes flood or hurricane? Please reply only if you have first hand experience in Florida. Preferably in the Kissimmee or Orlando area.""

What is the Cheapest Homeowners Insurance for Senior Citizen?

My elderly neighbor has had her homeowners insurance cancelled because she couldnt afford to pay it. She is on a fixed income and her children do not help in any way. She owns her home but is having a hard time with paying the large payments. her mortage company says that if she doesnt take out her own insurance then they will purchase it for her at a cost of 2100.00 per year. This is way too much for a Senior citizen. i got a quote for her from progressive for 2600.00. Are there any cheaper alternatives?

How much would a 1970 ford maverick cost to insure (roughly)?

I'm an 18 year old guy, completely okay with the minimum coverage. I see almost everyday this 1970 ford maverick coupe on my road, and was wondering how much it would cost to insure. I have no tickets and no accidents, as well as good grade discounts etc. don't need a specific number but an educated guess would be appreciated.""

What is some affordable/ good dental insurance?

""Whats a night's stay in a hospital cost, on average, without insurance?""

I need to know approximate, or just the price of a hospital anywhere.""

Will insurance be ok if I use a friend's car?

My girlfriend's dad said he wants to see how I drive and I am getting my license tomorrow. Not my insurance yet. Do I have to have my own insurance to drive his car or will his insurance cover me? Thanks!

How much does car insurance cost for a 19y/o?

Hey, I just wanted to know what is the avarage cost of car insurance in California( San Diego) for a 19 yearold female and college student""

What's the cheapest bike to insure for a 16 year old that still meets my requirements?

I'm 16. I've had my motorcycle license since December 2009, so that would be a year and about 4 months. (This is Oklahoma, you can get a motorcycle license at 14, but I had a late start.) My 17th birthday is in 2 months. I've been driving a car lately, but now I'm wanting to find another bike. However, it has to meet some requirements- it has to be good on the highway, since I live several miles from town and go on the highway almost every day, it has to be smaller than 500cc (not because of ability, just preference, I don't like big engines), and it has to be good on gas- at least 50 mpg. I don't car about the age, I know most people my age want the newest, coolest thing; personally, I don't care. I'd drive some 1963 rust-bucket so long as it ran. I'm just looking for the cheapest bike to insure for my age that still meets those requirements.""

How much a month would car insurance cost for a 17 year old male with a 2011 hyundai sonata?

Just wondering :)

Which is the best health insurance in india to choose as individual and family floater ?

Which is the best health insurance in india to choose for individual and family floater , which provides annual health check up""

Cheapest Car Insurance Deal For A 17Year Old In The UK?

Exactly what is a car insurance supplement?

After the accident, my adjuster originally estimated the damage to be around 3,400 dollars. With my 500 dollar deductible, they sent me a check of 2,900 dollars. But at the body shop, they estimated the cost of damage to be around 7,700 dollars so now the body shop called over an appraiser to look over the car again. Since the body shop's estimate is a lot higher, would the insurance company issue me a new check with the higher amount to cover for the damage? Is that what a supplement is? And what do I do with the 2,900 dollar check? Do I send it back and or have it voided and get a new check with the higher amount?""

Used 2006 mustang v6 insurance for teens?

how much do you think insurance will be for a teen ages 16-17. (estimate) will it be cheap or expensive because it is used. and what if it is under the parent's plan? thank you

Why does another persons driving record affect my insurance?

sharing a residence with other people doesn't mean sharing vehicles or the responsibilities, so why should their driving record affect my insurance rates?""

Adding newborn to insurance policy?

I have a family medical plan and added my son as a dependent 4 days after his birth online. I received a bill in the mail stating my son was uninsured so I called my insurance company. They stated it could take up to 4 weeks for processing. I followed their advice and now my son is out of the 30 day window and they are claiming I failed to check a box to enroll him in my family coverage. Trying to appeal. Am I out of luck?

I looked for insurance quotes at progressive.com.?

At the end, I received a quote from Progressive and also 3 other leading competitors. I also received a quote from Progressive Direct which is lower than Progressive quote. Does anyone of you have insurance from progressive direct? What makes it different (and hence lower) than the actual Progressive quote?""

Work and Car insurance?

The business that I am employed by, is telling me that im required to put the business on my car insurance policy as an additional insured. Im kinda reluctant to do so, and im afraid to ask the reasons as to why the business would need to be on my policy. So my question is, what are some of the reasons they would need to be on the policy, and should i add them?""

How bad would my insurance rates be?

I have the money to buy a used 04 S2000 now, but my parents are paying for the insurance and I don't want to make them pay a lot. My father is 47 and wants to put the car under his name if I buy it. If it matters, I'm 18, straight A's in high school if (GPA matters), two years of driving experience, and I live in Indiana. Would the insurance rates for this car be a lot? If possible, does anybody have an estimate?""

What is the Average cost for Horse Insurance?

My mum has nearly agreed with me getting a horse! :D And we are trying to work out prices. The only cost we haven't got is horse insurance. I just want the Average cost for Horse Insurance? They age of the horse will be 6 - 10 years old? Thank you.

Cheap car insuarance for young drivers?

Im an 18 year old girl just passed my driving testr didnt think insurance would be so much. Iv checked most comparison sites does anyone know how to bring my insurance down or cheap deals:?

Where can i find cheap car insurance for over 25's first time buyers?

Do you need car insurance to get your permit in New jersey?

Do u HAVE to have insurance?

i rather pay out of pocket anyways than fool with insurance.

Im 21 and in need of health insurance...?

My company offers it but its like $200/month and i cant afford that! Im a female, non smoker, and in good health. I just need basic health insurance that has dental and eye. What are some good options out there?""

Would zero demerit points mean that my insurance rates wont be effected?

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/philadelphia-pennsylvania-cheap-car-insurance-quotes-zip-thomas-crisp/"

0 notes

samuelfields · 6 years

Text

Taking A Vacation From Parenthood By Going Back To Work

One of the things I learned after leaving Corporate America is that entrepreneurship is much harder than a day job. When you have to be the marketer, the creator, the accountant, the publicist, and the customer support, you often wonder how you can make any decision to move your business forward.

But after over a year of being a full-time parent, I’ve come to realize that being an entrepreneur is a walk in the park in comparison!

As a stay at home dad to a newborn, you realize why sleep-deprivation is an effective torture technique used by the CIA. You experience mini-heart attacks on a daily basis because there’s always a close call as they learn to crawl and walk. You endure pain in your knees and back because you constantly get down on their level to make a connection. Your patience is tested as you read the same books, work on the same dexterity exercises, and use the same hand signs over and over again. Then of course there’s the diaper changing, temper tantrums, and crying.

Despite all the difficulties of child raising, I wouldn’t trade the initial years for the world. The joy you get from seeing your little one smile and waddle into your arms when you enter the room is priceless. There’s also an incredible sense of satisfaction helping your baby reach milestones.

Two Years Of Full-Time Parenthood Seems Like Enough

Now that I’m in my second year of full-time parenthood, I’m beginning to plan ahead. Whereas the typical dad in America might stay at home between 2 – 14 weeks, I told myself that I would stay at home for at least 104 weeks, with the aim of going for 260 weeks until he goes to kindergarten.

Pediatricians say the first two years are the most important developmental years in a child’s life. A child’s brain triples in size from birth to age two and reaches about 75% of an adult’s brain size. Therefore, to be present as much as possible during these first two years seems like a good idea. If he becomes a problem child, at least I gave it my best shot.

Today, however, I’m really not sure if I can last much longer than two years as a stay at home dad. I’ve begun to experience occasional heart arrhythmia from the pressures of simultaneously running a business and helping care for our son with my wife. I’ve also gained another five pounds from the lack of exercise and constant food delivery. Finally I’ve begun to feel the full force of being a sole provider now that our investments are no longer easily providing a healthy return.

Some friends, who have older children, tell me parenting gets easier and more rewarding as children grow. But I can’t count on them being right. Instead, I’m counting on them being wrong so I can hopefully be surprised on the upside.

I need to find some way to unwind before having some type of breakdown. The solution I’ve come up with is taking a year long vacation by going back to work. All my male friends find fatherhood to be relatively easy because they have full-time jobs.

Several mothers I’ve spoken to have found relief in going back to work after three months, although they say they struggle with guilt. But after two years of being a stay at home dad, I don’t think I’ll have much guilt at all, especially if my son goes to pre-school.

Source: Census Bureau

Full-Time Work As A Way To Decompress

Here are eight reasons why going back to work could be the perfect vacation from parenthood.

1) A long and peaceful commute. Although commuting was the #1 reason why I hated going to work, since leaving work in 2012, ridesharing costs have come down by over 50% since. No longer do I need to wait for a super crowded bus that is hardly ever on time. I like the idea of sitting peacefully by myself in an Uber or Lyft for 30-40 minutes each morning and evening. During this time, I could daydream, sleep, or consume mindless information on my phone.

2) Easy work objectives. When I worked in banking, there was constant pressure to bring in the most revenue and be ranked in the top 3 with every single client. That’s all I knew for 13 years. When I did some consulting for some fintech startups, I realized this type of pressure was not normal. Despite working in a fast-paced startup environment, I found people at the three startups I consulted for to be much less high strung with much lower objectives. As a result, I believe I can go back to work at most places and not feel the same amount of pressure that I felt in banking.

3) Nice water cooler conversations, holiday parties, and work boondoggles. Nobody works 100% of the time during the work day. There’s a lot of long bathroom breaks, smoke breaks, coffee breaks, lunch breaks, and company outings. I’m always envious of friends who get to go with their work team to a Giants or Warriors game in the middle of the day. I love attending holiday parties and watching colleagues get drunk and making a fool out of themselves in front of their bosses. One time a guy got so drunk he professed his love for his female boss in front of a dozen folks. It was hilarious! Seriously, who doesn’t love having fun on company time while also getting paid.

4) Endless meetings to relax the mind. Some organizations have so many meetings it’s hard to get anything done. Combine so many meetings with water cooler conversations and work boondoggles, it’s no wonder why I found it much easier to get 3X more done in the same amount of time working for myself at home. Getting 1X worth of stuff done at work would be a peace of cake. I’d use all the endless meetings and extra time to zone out and recharge my mental health. I might even go work out for an hour a day as well.

5) A better social life. As an extrovert, I enjoy spending time with people. I have a feeling it’s much harder being a stay at home parent as an extrovert than as an introvert. My wife has the amazing ability to stay at home for an entire week and not go stir crazy. I, on the other hand, start getting grouchy after about one day of being at home. Joining a workforce elevates my chance of having a better social life. I should be able to make new friends and attend the random weekend BBQ or house party. I love those.

Related: The Key To A Longer Life: Fear Being Alone

6) Optimization of work. Even with blogging, there’s a diminishing level of return. It feels wonderful to work online for 1-3 hours a day and get 90% of the benefits. After the third hour of blogging, blogging no longer becomes fun. By going to work for 10 hours a day and earning a steady paycheck, I could easily maintain Financial Samurai before and after work just like the old days. Maximizing the day brings me joy.

Related: Why Blogging Is The Best Business On Earth

7) More appreciation for family. Distance always makes the heart grow fonder. But if you’re with someone 24/7, you will naturally take that person for granted. By being gone most of Monday – Friday, I’ll appreciate my Saturdays and Sundays with the family more. I’ll plan more fun things for all of us to do. With me being gone most of the week, my wife will appreciate more of my efforts during the first two years of our son’s life as well. She’ll also become more independent. Finally, my son might miss me more and be more excited to spend time with me.

8) Financial relief. The obvious benefit of full-time work is getting a steady paycheck and healthcare benefits. It was relatively easy providing for just the two of us, but something about having a baby increases your level of financial responsibility to new heights. Having an extra income and insurance source would certainly create more relief, especially if the stock market and real estate market begins to seriously roll over.

We pay $1,625 a month for health insurance as a self-employed family. Then we pay another $120 for dental insurance. That’s nuts! How is this even a reasonable amount to pay when all of us are all relatively healthy? If we stay in San Francisco and have another child, $300,000 a year in gross income might be necessary.

Find The Right Vacation Job

Getting a job at a startup, in banking, or in management consulting would not be a vacation job. Instead, a “vacation job” is one that’s at a huge organization where profits are plentiful. The larger the organization, the smaller your impact. Given management has lower expectations of you and has so much money, your stress will be lower. At a startup, one wrong decision could mean the death of the business.

Organizations that have long-term objectives instead of quarterly objectives are also wonderful. Working for a small-cap public company is probably going to be incredibly stressful because they’ll always be wondering which gorilla will launch a competing product and eat their lunch. Conversely, working at a large private organization could be just the ticket.

I don’t want the term vacation job to be pejorative. I’m simply describing a vacation job as something fun, meaningful, and that can be easily accomplished based on your skill set.

Here are my vacation jobs guesses that would best suit me:

* Venture Capitalist: You get paid well, don’t have to risk any of your money, work reasonable hours, don’t have to build a business, get to attend a lot of social functions, and aren’t judged on performance until the end of the fund’s life (5-10 years). A lot of venture capitalists don’t even have firsthand experience building a business.

* Quant Fund Manager: The computer does all the investing for you once you’ve developed the proper algorithms. So long as you are performing in-line or better than your index, all you’ve got to do is press a button once in a while and you’re golden.

* Index Fund Manager: Your job is to simply stay on top of any changes in a particular index and copy the changes in your index fund. You literally don’t have to think of any new ideas or make any hard decisions because your investors are investing in your fund for the low fees. But you can easily try to market yourself as an Index+ investor with a sexy edge if you want.

* Sports Broadcaster: It would be amazing to be a sideline reporter for every major tennis open. I can easily watch tennis for eight hours a day and talk about tennis for another four hours. Ah, now you know another reason why I’ve been practicing my oral delivery through my podcast.

* Fintech Startup Board Member / Advisor: As someone who lives in San Francisco, worked with dozens of fintech startups since 2009 and organically grew a personal finance site to 1M+ organic pageviews a month, I’d be a good fit for many startups in the financial technology space. I’m connected, have operational expertise, know how to grow a business, and have a platform they can leverage.

I’d love to know if you have a vacation job or know of anybody who has a vacation job. All ideas are welcome. By planning ahead, I hope to increase my chances of landing that perfect gig.

A List Of Career Limiting Moves To Blow Up Your Future

Family Or Career? You Only Have To Sacrifice 5 Years Of Your Life

Readers, what are your thoughts about going back to work to take a vacation from parenthood? What are some negatives about work and leaving my son behind after he goes to pre-school I’m not considering?

https://www.financialsamurai.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Taking-a-vacation-from-parenthood-by-going-back-to-work.m4a

The post Taking A Vacation From Parenthood By Going Back To Work appeared first on Financial Samurai.

from Finance https://www.financialsamurai.com/thinking-about-taking-a-vacation-by-going-back-to-full-time-work/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

0 notes

gartdavis-blog · 6 years

Text

Visit to Aguadilla

Friends,

I recently traveled back to the house I grew up in on M street in Ramey. I have followed the state of the island since Maria hit almost 8 weeks ago, and had lots of questions going down, so I thought I’d share my notes…

Travel by air: I was not able to book in or out of BQN airport… Jetblue flights that run overnight from the states were all cancelled. So I booked AA through San Juan. Prices were reasonable on AA, but Jetblue is still the best if you can get a flight. Easy to find flights down to the island… harder to find them back. SJU airport was full, but operating normally. AC was on, and I had no trouble transiting and picking up my rental car. BQN currently only has had a regular service from Spirit Airlines from FLL. In theory, service from Jetblue and United will return to BQN before the holidays, but we’ll only know for sure once its happened. One new feature of BQN - the old ready area where the bombers used to park has been taken over by the US military, and is now a small city of lights with lots of army trucks exiting and entering near the golf course. Now that the Army’s mission is complete, this may return to its normal empty state.

Connectivity: much better than expected. I have a Verizon contract and was connected to Claro the moment I powered up at SJU and it remained so all over the North side of the island. Near Ramey, the connection is actually LTE, which means its been good enough to use my phone as a hotspot for email, research, e-commerce. I believe that this is partially a result of more than 40 high efficiency solar powered cell stations that were brought to the island by Vanu inc. (Vanu Bose, the founder of Vanu and the driver of this humanitarian contribution, was the son of Amar Bose of the eponymous corporation. He passed away last week.) People on AT&T were also on Claro. I had coverage from San Juan to Mayaguez continuously on Route 2 without interruption. I wouldn’t count on this to watch netflix, but it was strong and reliable for phone, text, and email. All of Ramey had coverage. At this point there is no value in pursuing satellite, but there are various expensive Satellite systems, like this one from Garmin, that keep you in basic communication when you're off the cell grid, but they don't actually replace Internet connection. There's a great review in there that goes on for pages - its a complicated device.

Travel around the island - Driving from San Juan to Ramey was almost completely normal except for the visuals. You notice right away that all the outdoor advertising and large signage is gone, and pretty much anything involving wood, corrugated roofing, or poles for any use. Traditional construction of concrete with metal ventanas is pretty much untouched. The impact is notable in San Juan, but becomes much more dramatic from Arecibo on. A kinda weird visual - you could tell the worst sections because the buildings looked sandblasted. Many businesses along #2 were open with generators, or occasionally, a section that had power. I took the same route to Ramey as I have done, without detours. Some traffic lights are out, but none of the really important ones where big routes cross. If you have to turn left at a busted light on rt. 2, just don’t…. turn right and figure it out later.

Water… is flowing in Ramey and many places around the island, and did not drop out when I was there. There’s still a boiling order, and when you take a shower you come out smelling like you exited a heavily chlorinated pool. But regardless, having water is great. I brought two different filtration systems, one that is gravity based (Lifestraw) and one that you pump. I bought 4 coleman solar showers, which are basically 5 gallon black plastic bags with nozzles. Down the road, I’ll try to purchase some water storage, a big cisterns for flushing, and something else for long term storage of potable water, but right now this was not as urgent.

Fuel: I had no problems getting gas, there were no lines and most gas stations were open.

Groceries: The Econo is open, and even takes credit cards. As always, its a social center, so budget 3 minutes for talking for every minute of shopping. The coolers were full and prices are about as I remember them. I bought a fresh salad that was good!

Restaurants: many are open, though some with a smaller menu or shorter hours.

Open out gate 5:

Levain (daily coffee here was sent from heaven)

Debut

Cofos Pizza

Martin’s BBQ

Cinco

Country Pizza

110 thai

Palmas

Open down the Hill:

eclipse (dinner only, no breakfast or lunch)

The frituras place at the S on the way down to Jobos

Ocean Front and lots of places near Jobos

Julios and lots of the other frituras places on the beach near Isabella

Open out Gate 1:

El Meson

Sasones

Desecheo

Lots of fast food out near #2

Closed:

Umas

Ramey Bakery

Airport cafe

Marriott (they have a small thing set up just for guests)

Beaches: After seeing pics of crashboat online I was concerned that all the beaches were just as hollowed out… not so:

Crash boat: every bit as dramatic as the pics. Right side is now tiny and not terribly safe, lots of exposed rock under the surf near the jetty. It seems that a lot of the missing beach was thrown onto the space that was the parking lot… which is now 3-4 feet deep with sand. I hold out hope that this sand can be pushed back out to re-create some of the old the beach. The left side you can still park and swim; its smaller but not that different from how it was.

Malecon Aguadilla: The brand new oceanfront walk seems to have come through entirely unharmed and looks great.

Borinquen beach: Much as beautiful as it always has been. Only new feature: a military unit desalinating water in the parking lot… impressive operation.

Survival / Martinica / Bajuras / Shacks: the Sand road down the cliff is still intact, though the left turn to go to Survival is completely blocked. You can go straight across, although its still rainy season and with all the recent dumping its turned into a bit more of a cesspool of garbage and shit than I remember. It appears that despite the violence of the storm, the waves did not break through the dunes and flood the old sand excavation area - a concern I’d long held. Once across, you can walk the strand to either survival or Shacks without impediment. I saw many hoof prints as well, so it looks like people are riding this stretch. The lawns next to the Eclipse took a beating, but the restaurant was hardly touched… hopefully people will be able to breakfast and lunch their soon.

Jobos: is in mid-construction down near the beach access, so I didn’t see that much, but did not seem too undermined. None of the oceanfront places fell in, and many were open and totally full on a Friday night.

Surfers: the road down has a couple trees propped across the roadway, but not so low you can’t pass. The parking lot structure is a bit undermined, but it was before. Waves are the same.

Spot/Middles/Isabela: I was down that way at Julios in lower Isabela on Sunday and the place was as full as I can remember, complete with the parade of Jeeps and music. The beach roads are intact and the north shore seems largely as it was.

Money / ATMs, Banks, Credit Cards: this is not quite back to normal, cash is still the only currency in a lot of smaller businesses, but I didn’t have trouble getting cash out of ATMs, and used credit cards for large purchases at Home Depot and Econo.

Electricity - This is really the biggest story that remains. The grid is a string and tinkertoy tangle that will be an enormous labor to sort out. Just to restore 30 houses on our street is a project that will require clearing/cutting dozens of fallen trees to create backyard access, and then every pole, wire and transformer is down (and will have been for months), and most connections to the individual houses are impaired as well. And the whole island is like that. Right now, the focus is on the easiest and most critical places. The most recent estimate that I think is credible is 70% of meters connected by the end of February. This leaves the 30% that pay the smallest bills and are the hardest to reach, and I could see it being another year before its 95%. While I was there, none of the housing areas in Ramey had power, but there were a few areas outside Gate 1 and Gate 5 that had been restored. Lots of people run generators - our neighborhood sounds like lawn mowers going 24 hours a day. The Solar folks, particularly Maximo Solar near us, are crazy busy. He’s signed contracts for more than 1,000 off-grid systems… only about a million more to go!

Until power is restored - There is a lot that can be done to improve quality of life even if you do not have grid power. Its hard to know how much to spend because you don’t know when you might be lucky enough to get your power back on. My view - think of your spending as one part now, one part preparation for the next Irma/Maria. But with the money thing in mind, I’ll go in order from cheapest to most expensive. I brought two checked bags of 50 lbs each, so my experience was limited to what I could brink and what i could buy on the island.

— My very favorite thing is the OPolar USB fan. This 9 inch fan doesn’t replace a ceiling fan, but it runs all night, blows enough to keep me cool and keep the bugs at bay, and uses just a part of my laptop battery, and it was cheap. We still had our mosquito nets, but the mosquitoes were actually not bad in Ramey, so I did not re-hang them. This fan actually had a review from someone in PR who used it after Maria using her laptop battery. I also found these little fans that are used to cool electronics and blow 50 CFMs each and are powered by USB ports out of the batteries. I bought two sets of two... These worked and drew very little, but the Opolar was a much better solution for cooling down and sleeping.

— I bought 4 LED solar lights that you leave outside during the day and stay on all night... they have motion detectors and you can leave them in three modes: full on, night light, or motion detecting that goes from night light to full. My next favorite thing. charge up during the day, take them inside and light your evening hours no problem. Then leave them in night-light mode so you don’t stub your toe on the way to the bathroom.

— a Two burner grill and a propane cylinder. I bought these on the island for $89 and $49 at the Home Depot in Hatillo, and now I can boil water and cook stuff.

— portable fold up solar panels (36 watts) - this is perfect for charging cell phones and kindles, but not for laptop or fan. I’d skip this, and instead, the next two are useful individually, but if you’re willing to drop the dough, they are perfect together:

—185 watt-hour battery that output USB and, with separate inverters, 110 volt AC which runs laptops, charges phones, anything up to 100 watts draw, including the USB fans (see above), but also the smaller of the standard 120 volt rotating fans.

— 80 watt fold up panel to charge the battery. These connect to each other via a 5.5 outside diameter * 2.5mm inside diameter DC cable that is female on both ends, but is fairly short, so I bought 3 12 foot male to female extenders. This combo worked great, but you really do need 8 hours of sun to recharge the battery if you’ve drawn it all the way down. It weighs 4 lbs, folds to the size of a fat laptop, and if you have a reasonably sunny day, will power up the battery I listed above. While I don’t recommend it, I did leave this unit out in some pretty heavy rain several times, and it continued working.

— One of the things that I hungered for as I tried to mete out my meager trickle of electricity was the ability to know how many watts a thing used… what would burn down my battery faster, this fan or that fan? This watt meter would have been super useful, so I’ve bought three and they’ll go back down with me in December.

— A 1000 watt honda generator. This is 26 lbs and can be brought in checked luggage as long as you never open the box. It is the quietest, lightest, smallest generator on the planet, and runs longer on less fuel than anything out there. Two trade-offs: you can only power 900 watts of stuff with it, and its pricier than many bigger, noisier, heavier generators. This will let you run things like a (modern) fridge, almost any household item that doesn’t have a heating element including all your fans to keep you cool, and you can charge your batteries in the rain. Generators could not be had at any store I visited on the island, nor could you buy a jerry can, and I looked. If you bring a generator to the island, bring a jerry can or you’ll not get much use of it.

— Cool trick: turn off every single breaker in the house. Turn everything off. Cut off the female end of an extension cord, and splice on a male end. Plug one end into your generator, and the other into a wall socket. Now all the things that are on that circuit are powered by the generator. In my case, that enabled things like ceiling fans and the lights attached to them. Warning: do not back-power the grid, make sure that the circuit you plug into is -not- open. If this sounds confusing, just think of it like water. If your neighbor has well water and your city water is out, they can run a hose to your outdoor spigot and turn both ends on, and you’ve got water in your house… now you just need to make sure that your neighbors well isn’t running through your house back out into the city water system full of broken pipes or whatever.

— Refrigeration -- Our house fridge ran brilliantly on the Honda genset… it cooled right down, and stayed pretty cool when the generator wasn’t running. Alternatively, there are some really fantastic new compressors in a 40 quart fridge/freezer (about 1.33 cubic ft) that draw just 30 watts (about 10% of the power of a normal fridge) and can run for a week on the charge in a 12 volt car battery. I'm not going to jump on this, but it may be the best way forward for folks that are trying to run a minimalist electrical footprint on portable solar panels.

— Cleanup & Tools -- Chainsaws could not be had at any store on the island. Dewalt has a new 'flexvolt' battery system with 60 volt tools. For example this chainsaw or this fan. If you buy 4 batteries, you can power an inverter power station that with the power stored in all 4 batteries is a little like the jobsite version of the Tesla Powerwall, which can power a house fridge or other normal things that need house current. I didn’t purchase / test this.

Laundry -- This becomes a top issue once you’re in week 4 and you have water and generators. The motors in older washers draw 1,000 to 2,000 watts, so you need a bigger generator than the one I brought. Modern energy star washers draw more like 500 watts. Dryers - Just no… I’ll put up a clothes line for the back porch.

Bigger Batteries, Inverters, bigger portable solar — We have had folks from RAM staying in the house, and they were kind enough to put another portable solar solution on the house. It was a pair of Centech 750 watt inverters, a Solar charge controller model cm-30a, two Uni-Solar PVL-136 roll-out solar panels, and a 935 CCA 12 volt lead acid truck battery that I bought at the local auto parts place. This system worked, but was not able to run stuff that drew more than 100-200 watts. I think part of this was just my ignorance of how to optimize the utilization of this rig.

Bigger Generators - Generators are everywhere, so the whole island is like Saturday morning with lawn mowers running. The inexpensive gas generators work great but they are -very- noisy. After waking up to the sound of a generator for the Xth time, quiet is important and merciful. With that in mind, the Honda 2,000 watt generators can be put in tandem, they have an ‘eco’ mode that throttles up and down as energy is drawn, they are efficient, and as quiet as its possible to make a generator that makes this much power. 4 kilowatts peak service will allow most houses to do most things, with thoughtfulness about what gets turned on. A dual rig with parallel cables, security attachments and extended run fuel system can be had for under $2,500.

Permanent Solar - This is the long term solution. I’ve gone ahead and committed to 21 240 volt panels and a Tesla powerwall, to be installed by Maximo Solar. This, combined with a moderation of electrical consumption, will permanently address electrical power. Two neighbors had rooftop solar arrays that survived the winds of the storm completely intact. Another neighbor out on the cliff was a bit more exposed, and their array tangled with a solar water heater tank, and was a total loss.

A couple concluding topics:

Law & Order: My experience was really very much like life on the island at any other time. Across more than 4 decades there’s been lots of petty larceny, and perhaps I’ve just been lucky, but I’ve experienced just one face to face larceny (in high school on the track bus) and zero violent crimes. While there are stories (as ever) and people should take proper precautions, I found the island as peaceful (and chaotic) as ever it has been. The mood and tone were warm, and I felt at every moment surrounded by commiseration and a willingness to help. I felt totally secure at gas stations, banks, supermarkets and airports.

The big work: I saw electrical crews out at all hours of day and night, in all weathers. Debris removal crews had started to come through our neighborhood. Its an extraordinary undertaking, with no drive-in assistance, but I think the agree with others that amidst the huge challenges and overwhelming scale of work, the key words are resilience, optimism, and heartwarming positive vibes.

How to help?

The first way to help is simply to think about this as you read the news, and as you advocate and you vote. The future of the island is absolutely in the hands of our federal government, everything from the amount of assistance supplied to the diaspora of Boricuas that are arriving in the 10s of thousands, to the way that PREPA will pay the billions required to rebuild 50 years of electrical power infrastructure. This stands on top of the basic questions that predate Maria: a decade of economic and population shrinkage, and a death spiral of debt burden.

There are many charities doing extraordinary work on the island. Global Disaster Immediate Recovery Team worked with the Vanu team to restore cell communications on the island. There is still a lot of work especially up in the mountains, so you can volunteer through the coordination site Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters. If you’re on the island and unemployed, FEMA is hiring.

At a more personal level, I’ve followed through on gofundme campaigns of friends and colleagues, and tried to work the connections I know and contribute what I can to the upward spiral. I’ve diverted resources from stateside projects to cleaning and rebuilding on the island, and tried to support others as they’ve done so as well.

0 notes