Italys Finest

If you are considering renting a car on your next vacation, here are some tips to help you find the best deal:

1. Go online: Experts say that the best car rental deals are found on the Internet. Check car rental sites and compare them to third party discount sites such as Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline, Hotwire, Orbitz and Kayak.
2. Book early: Rental rates tend to fluctuate. If you reserve as soon as you know your plans, you can cancel and rebook if prices drop.
3. Compare prices among lesser-known vendors: You may find that regional companies have lower rates (although their cars may be older).
4. Enroll in free loyalty programs. Companies often make discounts available to customers who participate in their loyalty programs.
5. Take advantage of organizational discounts. Ask whether rental companies offer discounts to veterans, active military, or members of organizations like AAA, AARP, and Costco. Also, check whether you are eligible for rental discounts through your employer.
6. Dont fall into the trap of renting more car than you need. Yes, its nice to put yourself in the seat of a convertible or premium vehicle but costs can increase substantially based on the category of car you choose.
7. Dont buy more insurance than you need. Verify whether you can decline collision insurance because it is already covered under your existing automobile owners policy. Also, certain credit cards provide coverage even if your insurer doesnt. In either case, be sure to ask your insurer or credit card company for written documentation that spells out their policies.
8. Determine the most economical pick-up location. Because of hefty airport fees and surcharges, it may be cheaper to pick up a car at another location.
9. If you have flexibility, determine the best time to rent and the best length of the rental. Weekday pickups can be more economical than weekend ones;weekly rates are often more economical than daily ones.
10. Determine whether you really need to rent a car at all. Given the high price of gas, it may be cheaper to consider cost-saving alternatives to renting a car. Does your hotel or resort provide transportation to and from the airport? Does your hotel provide free transport during your stay? Is public transportation available? Could you save money by relying on taxis?

Tags: Economical

Timeline of the 2011-12 Premier League season after Manchester City won the title on Sunday:

Aug. 14. Manchester United start their title defence with a 2-1 win at West Bromwich Albion thanks to a late own goal, sparing the blushes of keeper David de Gea who makes a shaky league debut.

Aug. 15. Argentine striker Sergio Aguero, signed from Atletico Madrid, comes off the bench to score twice on his debut as City hammer new-boys Swansea 4-0 at home.

Aug. 28. On an extraordinary day, United and City go goal crazy to make it three wins from three. United hammer a depleted Arsenal side 8-2 at Old Trafford with Wayne Rooney scoring a hat-trick while Bosnian Edin Dzeko hits four for City in a 5-1 demolition of Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

Sept. 18. City blow a 2-0 lead at Fulham to drop their first points of the season in a 2-2 draw.

Sept. 27. Roberto Mancini says Argentine striker Carlos Tevez is finished as a City player after he refuses to come on as a substitute in a Champions League game against Bayern Munich.

Oct. 23. In a remarkable derby and watershed moment in the balance of power, City hammer United 6-1 at Old Trafford to go five points clear at the top. Mario Balotelli and Dzeko score twice apiece to help inflict United#39;#39;s first home defeat in 18 months.

Nov. 19. Free-scoring City maintain their grip at the top with a 3-1 home win over Newcastle United to take their goals tally to 42 from 12 games.

Dec. 12. City suffer first league defeat of the season after Frank Lampard#39;#39;s late penalty hands Chelsea a 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge.

Dec. 31. United waste the chance to start the new year at the top when they suffer a shock 3-2 home defeat by struggling Blackburn Rovers. Grant Hanley#39;s 80th-minute winner stuns Old Trafford and spoils manager Alex Ferguson#39;s 70th birthday.

Jan. 1. Sunderland sink City with a stoppage-time winner from South Korean Ji Dong-won to beat the leaders 1-0.

Jan. 8. Former England midfielder Paul Scholes makes a shock return from retirement to rejoin United until the end of the season.

Jan. 10. City lose appeal against captain Vincent Kompany#39;#39;s four-match ban for his red card in FA Cup third round defeat by United. Mancini says City#39;#39;s expensively-assembled squad is not big enough to cope with injuries and absences.

Jan. 31. United move level on points with City at the top after Ferguson#39;s side overcome Stoke 2-0 while former United player Darron Gibson#39;s goal condemns City to a 1-0 defeat at Everton.

Feb. 5. United roar back from three goals down to snatch a point in a breathless 3-3 draw with Chelsea in London.

Feb. 21. Tevez says sorry to City for his behaviour, setting up a possible return. The Argentine striker also withdraws his appeal against a gross misconduct charge handed to him after he spent three months in his homeland without the club#39;s permission.

March 11. Two goals from Rooney put United back on top for the first time in five months when they beat West Brom 2-0 and City, who had led the standings since the middle of October, surprisingly lose 1-0 at Swansea.

March 21. Tevez marks his City return by coming off the bench and setting up Samir Nasri#39;s late winner in a 2-1 home victory over Chelsea.

March 26. Rooney#39;s 21st league goal of the season secures a 1-0 victory over Fulham to put United three points clear with eight games remaining.

March 31. City salvage a point with two late goals to draw 3-3 with Sunderland but the result tips the balance in the title race more in United#39;s favour.

April 2. Goals from Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young take United five clear of City after 2-0 win at Blackburn.

April 8. United surge eight points clear by beating Queens Park Rangers 2-0 while City, who have Balotelli sent off, crash to a 1-0 defeat at Arsenal.

April 11. The title race takes a surprise twist as a lethargic United lose 1-0 at Wigan. City cut the gap to five points with five matches to go as Tevez scores on his first start for since September in a 4-0 win over West Brom.

April 14. Tevez#39;#39;s hat-trick and Aguero#39;#39;s double help City thrash Norwich 6-1.

April 22. The gap closes to three with three to play. United fight out an astonishing 4-4 draw against Everton at Old Trafford, letting leads of 3-1 and 4-2 slip as they are pegged back by late goals from Nikica Jelavic and Steven Pienaar. Strikes from Aguero and Samir Nasri secure City a 2-0 win at Wolves.

April 30. Kompany#39;s towering header earns City a momentous 1-0 home victory over uninspired United to put Mancini#39;s side within two victories of Premier League glory. They lead the standings on goal difference.

May 6. City take another huge step towards the title with a 2-0 win at high-flying Newcastle. Both City and United, who beat Swansea 2-0, have 86 points but City#39;#39;s goal difference is eight better and could be the deciding factor in the race.

May 13. On a final day of drama, City come from behind to snatch the title in thrilling fashion thanks to stoppage-time goals from Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero which secure a 3-2 win over Queens Park Rangers. City are champions on goal difference, ahead of United who finish with a 1-0 win at Sunderland.

Tags: Journey

Indian Premier League season five has seen some extraordinary performances by the bowlers so far. It is a format designed to favour the batsmen and the previous four seasons turned out to be the batsmen dominating season. The tournament is in its last two weeks and it has been the most open completion so far. As many as seven teams are fighting for the place in the playoffs and it is mostly because of the efforts from various bowlers.

The biggest topic of discussion in this IPL has been all the last over and last ball finish. But, one thing that people are forgetting that it is the efforts of the bowlers that is taking the match to the last ball. It has not been easy work for the batsmen and most they will agree to it.

Taking wickets is extremely important in all formats but stopping the batsmen to score quick runs is equally important in T20 format. There has been instance that a bowler who has not picked a single wicket has won the match for his teams because of his economical bowling.

Let’s have a look at the bowlers who have been the best when it comes to bowling economically. (Only the bowlers who have bowled more than 20 overs have been taken into consideration)

Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders): He has been the best bowler for Kolkata Knight Riders and is one of the major reasons why KKR is leading the points table. Narine has been a revelation and no batsmen till now has been able to read him. Narine’s economy rate is 5.30, which is absolutely brilliant. He is also in the race for the purple cap; KKR will be hoping that Narine can carry on with his good form.

Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians): No surprise here, Malinga is the best bowler in the world in T20 cricket and he has showed why. Malinga is the current holder of the purple cap and the best thing about him is that he is taking the wickets at a very good economy rate. Malinga has conceded runs at an economy rate of only 5.36.

Ankit Sharma (Deccan Chargers): No one expected him to make it to the list, but he has bowled well to get it in the list of the most economical bowlers. He beat the more experienced Dale Steyn and Amit Mishra in terms of the pace at which he concedes runs. He has been very effective with his slower balls and batsmen have found it hard to hit him. He has conceded runs at an impressive economy rate of 6.41.

R Ashwin (Chennai Super Kings): He has been one of the best bowlers in the history of IPL and he has been effective in this season as well. He has been struggling to pick wickets and has only managed four wickets so far, but his economy rate has been good. Batsmen always find it difficult to get Ashwin away and that reflects in his economy rate which is 6.43.

Muttiah Muralitharan (Royal Challengers Bangalore): Murali has not played all the matches for RCB and the only reason is that the other international spinner in the side is the skipper of RCB. Murali has been troubling batsmen from the past two decades and IPL-5 has not been different. Murali has got eight wickets from the five matches that he has played in and his economy rate of 6.5 is very good.

By Gaurav Jha
Indian Sports News

Tags: Economical

I bet you thought I had forgotten about my getting organized pledge. Ive already covered organizing your activity schedule, cleaning schedule and your priorities. Next on the list from Organize Now! by Jennifer Ford Berry is to organize your things!

What does that mean? Things are like your kids toys, your hobby and crafts, your purse or backpack, the vehicle, your pet stuff.

Organizing your kids toys can be first, and dont forget your toys. Think about your hobbies and the equipment involved. Heres an example fishing and all the gear, golf equipment, art activities equipment and all the books you have stashed.

When you focus on the kids stuff, especially their toys, get them involved in the project. This is a good time to talk about giving to the needy, too.

Family crafts are a different story. Centrally locate all crafts in one spot and begin to sort and toss all the scraps and supplies you havent used more than once in the past year and toss those projects you are never going to finish. Sort the remaining stuff by category: scrap booking, knitting, painting, card-making, stamping, etc.

I have a project table in my office and admit most of the time it is loaded with stuff. I bought a plastic four-drawer chest on wheels that fits underneath the table and I keep my paint, glue, brushes, and all other craft supplies separated that way. Or you could get stacking storage containers for each category, label and store in one place, handy and ready to use when the mood strikes.

On to those photos Anyone that know me is aware that I like to take pictures with my digital camera, so you know what I have to focus on sorting my photographs, and I have a bunch. They are clogging up my computer and making it slow so I need to get this job done. A bird-watcher friend of mine told me to get a portable hard drive and down load them all there. They are always ready to be viewed and, when connected to my computer I can make all the copies I want. I am working on this project as we speak.

My big issue is that I always copy my pictures and put them in albums. Right now I have 11 big fat albums on the shelf in my office. My saving grace is that they are organized by year and clearly marked. They are my family life history so they are as organized as they are going to get and, of course, I will not throw any away. Ill leave that up to our four kids when our toes turn up.

If you havent cleaned out your purse or backpack in a while, this is a simple job so put it on your to do list. Eliminate all unnecessary papers from your bag and carry only one debit card, two credit cards, your drivers license, checkbook and some cash. The less you have in there the less youll have to deal with if it gets stolen.

My pet is a horse and I have to admit my car is a disaster most of the time with all my teaching stuff, aerobic shoes, boots and horse equipment. This is a once a month cleaning task,

The fun thing about all this organizing is that you will probably do a lot of bending, stooping, reaching and walking and you can count it as part of your exercise workout. There we go multi-tasking again!

You can e-mail Gazette fitness columnist Mary E. Neil at maryeneil@earthlink.net

Tags: Hobbies

ITS the F-word. The dirty word you dont dare mention around St Kilda big man Justin Koschitkze. Form.

Tags: Journey

Nokia Lumia 900 is a good and economical alternative to Apple iPhone 4S and other costly Android smartphones.

Nokia Lumia 900 is turning out to be a great attraction for thousands of smartphone lovers across the world. With its beautiful body and great specs and features, it is attracting great reviews and making heads turn. For many people who didn’t like iPhone 4S or Android smartphones it is but a natural choice.

In US market too, like elsewhere in the world, people have fallen in love with this little beauty with lots of brains. To be true, this Nokia and Microsoft smartphone is actually the first major splash made by the two tech behemoth in the U.S smartphone market. Given its top class features, many reviewers have called it to be the biggest threat to Apple’s iPhone 4S before iPhone 5 actually hits the market.

A reviewer while reviewing the smartphone on leading tech blog BGR says, “The Lumia 900 is a remarkably smooth smartphone, thanks in no small part to Microsoft’s mobile platform. The user is greeted on the home screen by two columns of brightly colored tiles that make up the most recognizable part of Microsoft’s “Metro” user interface. Each tile represents a different application, for the most part, and tiles configured to do so can display live information such as unread message counts, current weather conditions or top headlines”. Others too have heaped praise on this beautiful smartphone.

The Lumia 900 comes with a powerful a 1.4-GHz Snapdragon processor behind the 4.3-inch ClearBlack AMOLED display. It runs on a 1830-mAh battery that gives 7 hours of talk time. Like many other top smartphones, The Nokia Lumia 900 comes with a good 8 megapixel camera with large aperture (F2.2), wide-angle focal length (28 mm), and optics from German lens specialist Carl Zeiss. This is coupled with a front facing camera for videoconferencing. For many this is an ultimate cameraphone and they don’t want to see farther from it.

Lumia seems to be a next generation smartphon as it comes with 4G LTE support. But it falls short on storage as 16GB of storage is very low and disappointing. Apple’s iphone 4S has 64 GB of internal memory and 16 GB looks like a pittance. The Lumia 900 is easy to use and pretty intuitive. The display has live tiles that are a joy to use and many find it more useable than the ones on Google’s Android, which become tough to navigate for some.

Other reviewers too have appreciated the hard work put in the Lumia 900 by Finnish technology giant. Marguerite Reardon while writing in Cnet says, “Nokia has done a good job not making the Lumia 900 too bulky. It fit easily in my hand and was comfortable to carry around. I had no problems slipping it into my pocket…The ATamp;T LTE network in New York City was terrific when I could access it. I noticed a big difference between surfing on LTE compared to when I used other ATamp;T devices that are 3G or HSPA+.”

At a time when top Android smartphone come for a huge price, Nokia’s latest Lumia 900 seems to be very cheap. While high-end smartphones go for a bomb, the Nokia Lumia 900 comes for a mere $99 with a two-year contract by ATamp;T. so I bet, if you are looking for a reasonably priced smartphone with all the great specs, look nowhere else and go grab Lumia 900.

Tags: Economical

The euro fell to a three month low Monday after voters in Greece and France voted against austerity leaving eurozone leaders in a quandary.
In Greece, center-right parties saw their support fall away as left-wing politicians talked about renegociating terms of the countrys recent bailout packageraising new doubts about Greeces continued membership in the eurozone.
And a new socialist President-elect in France, Francois Hollande won by promising growth and a limit to the budget-cutting that has characterized the Eurozones approach to the ongoing debt-crisis.
The successive defeats of pro-austerity politicians in France and Greece, could leave German Chancellor Angela Merkel looking for allies as she pushes her pro-austerity agenda on her Eurozone compatriots. Germany cant go it alone.

[Interview : Angela Merkel, German Chancellor] The election result in Greece is somewhat complicated. But the most important thing now is for Greece to evaluate the result themselves. They will discuss how to progress.

A confrontation between Greece and its European lenders could come as soon as next month.
Greece earlier agreed to implement tough austerity measures including cuts to health-care spending by June 30th, and to find an additional 19-billion US dollars in savings for next year.
Even before the recent Greek election, meeting the deadline was going to be tough; but President-elect Hollande says he wants to move Europe in a new direction, allowing the region to mend its finances while laying the foundation for future growth.
Ji Myung-kil, Arirang News.

MAY 08, 2012

Tags: Economical

Thursday

Sunbonnet Sue Quilters Guild: Meet weekly, quilt for enjoyment/charity. Vero Beach Church of Christ, 3306 20th Ave., 9:30 am-3 pm Dues $30/year. 772-770-4659.

Martin County Republican Club: Speaker, Peter Feaman, The Next Nightmare. Finz Restaurant, 4290 Salerno Road, Stuart, 11:30 am-1 pm, May 10. $20-$23. Reservation: 772-223-0244; gopclub@martingop.org.

Rotary Club of Vero Beach: Quail Valley River Club, 2345 A1A, Vero Beach, noon. $20. 772-231-3713; rotaryclubofverobeach.com.

American Legion Auxiliary: Charles L. Futch Unit 189. American Legion Post, 807 Louisiana Ave, Sebastian, 1 pm

Beachsiders Toastmasters Club: Public speaking club. Brackett Library, 6155 College Lane, Vero Beach, noon-1 pm 772-778-4758.

Country Friends Band: Womans Club of Vero Beach, 1534 21st St., 7-9 pm Donations accepted.

Indian River Civic Association: Not-for-profit club helping needy of Indian River County. Florida Irish American Society, 1314 20th St., Vero Beach, noon. Ages 18+. Lunch $5. Register: 772-913-1196; IRCAFL1@aol.com.

Indian River Woodcarvers: Vero Beach Moose Lodge, 226 43rd Ave., 8 am-noon. $10/year; $1/week. 772-489-5824; irwoodcarvers@aol.com.

Port St. Lucie Anglers Club: Different topic each month. Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens, 241 SE Westmoreland Blvd., 7 pm-9 pm 772-340-7440; pslanglers.com.

Singletarian Society: For widowed, widowers or divorced in Martin, St. Lucie Counties. Ages 57-70. 772-398-2345.

Friday

Intermediate Bridge Club: Looking for intermediate players. Council of Aging, 2501 Bayshore Blvd., Port St. Lucie, noon-3 pm 772-878-8565.

Genealogy: South Mainland Library, 7921 Ron Beatty Blvd., Micco 1-3 pm Adults. Register: 772-567-7463; ckirkfirst@comcast.net.

Italian-American Civic Association: Dinner, dance. 1600 25th St., Vero Beach, 6 pm $13-$16. Ages 18+. Reservation: 772-778-1522.

COMING EVENTS

Humanists at Barefoot Bay: The history of Humanism. Micco Library, 7921 Ron Beatty Blvd., Micco, noon, May 12. 772-567-3416; erikabab@hotmail.com.

ABATE Lighthouse Chapter: Organization promoting motorcycle education, safety. Horse Feathers, US 1, Hobe Sound. noon, May 13. abatelighthouseprez@gmail.com.

Humanists Of The Treasure Coast: Clarion Inn, 1200 SE US 1, Stuart, 10:30 am, May 13. humtc.com.

Art Associates of Martin County: Art demonstration by Carolyn Land. Womans Club of Stuart, 729 E. Ocean Blvd., Stuart, 7:30 pm, May 14. artassociatesmartinco.com.

Martin County Eagles 3896: Election of Officers. Aerie Home, 2904 SE Waaler St., Stuart, noon to 7 pm, May 15. 772-286-8507.

Roseland Community Association: Topic: Scrub jays with Jane Schnee. Roseland Firehouse, 129 Court, Roseland, 7 pm, May 15. Open to the public.

Martin County Conservation Alliance: Martin County Commission Candidate Forum. Morgade Library, 5851 SE Community Drive, Stuart, 6:30-7:45 pm, May 16.

Treasure Coast Macintosh Users Group: Morgade Library, 5851 SE Community Drive, Stuart, 5 pm, May 17. 772-283-5646; tcmug.net.

Pelican Island Audubon Society: Bird Art: Humans Conveying Their Love of Birds. Vero Beach Community Center, 2266 14th Ave., Vero Beach, 7:30 pm, May 21. 772-567-3520; pelicanislandaudubon.org.

Humanists Of The Treasure Coast: Jensen Beach Storage, 3250 NE Candice Ave., 6:30 pm, May 22. humtc.com.

Friends of St. Sebastian River: Harbor Branchs Dr. Brian LaPointe to speak on lagoon pollution. North Indian River County Library, 1001 CR 512, Sebastian, 7:30 pm, May 22. 772-202-0501; fssr.org.

Vero Beach Christian Business Association: Luncheon topic: How to stay young the first 10 years. The Plaza, 884 17th St., Vero Beach, 11:30 am, May 24. $15-$17. RSVP: lunch@vbcba.org. Open to the public.

Rivers Coalition: City Hall, Commission Chambers, 121 SW Flagler Ave., 11 am-12:30 pm, May 31.

Tags: Hobbies

Great Hobbies has opened in a new location in Charlottetown adjacent to the Future Shop at 171 Buchanan Drive.

For the past 28 years, Great Hobbies, an original Prince Edward Island-based company, has grown from humble beginnings into Canadas leading supplier of radio controlled models.

Since 1990 the store has been located on Glen Stewart Drive in Stratford, out of the limelight, but supplying local modelers as well as mail-order customers all over Canada with model and hobby supplies.

The past two years, however, has seen the company make some major changes along with high-paced growth, essentially doubling in size and serving even greater markets.

In 2001, Great Hobbies went from being a solely Island-based company to having a second store in Edmonton, Alberta. This allowed them to better serve their Western Canadian customers, as well as add a retail presence to an avid modeling public in one of Canadas largest urban centers.

A news release says this format served the company well for nearly a decade.

However, with advancements in the products available where not only the hard-core hobbyist but also the average guy on the street can enjoy radio control models as a pass-time, a new business model with retail outlets in high-traffic shopping areas would be the order of the day, says the release.

In 2010, Great Hobbies opened its third location, this time a strictly retail store located in the trendy Trainyards Shopping Centre of Ottawa. The venture was successful and in 2011 the company added a fourth location, again strictly retail, in the Meadowvale Shopping District in Mississauga.

Along with these latest projects, in March 2012 all mail order fulfillment was amalgamated to ship from one new warehouse also in Mississauga. A completely new enterprise software system was developed in conjunction with another Island company, Thinking Big, and it has been deployed over the past six months to aid in accommodating all the changes.

Although the Great Hobbies store has moved from Stratford to Charlottetown, the administration offices for the company will remain in the Stratford facility.

Tags: Hobbies

IN the beginning was the crime. In 2005 Maria Korp was found near death in the boot of a car not far from Melbournes Shrine of Remembrance. The most obvious candidate for the brutal attack on Maria was her husband, but the philandering Joe Korp blamed his mistress, Tania Herman, for doing the deed.

Tags: Journey