Search Results for: blog the surprising and the not so surprising

Cthulhu AllSpark is not a Good Baby Name

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How did you decide upon the perfect name for you son or daughter? Many parents choose names that have been handed down in their families from one generation to the next. Others pick names that are popular in the year the baby was born. One couple decided to break with tradition and ask “the internet” to select a name for their baby girl. Poor thing almost got named Cthulhu All-Spark! How did this very unique name get suggested? It didn’t come from either of her parents! Stephen McLaughlin, a software developer, decided to ask the Reddit community to suggest some … Continue reading →

Disney Interactive Unveils New Game, Console Plans

Disney’s never been much of a name in gaming.  Disney Interactive is the only branch of the company that has reported consistent losses.  In the past few years, Disney hasn’t even put that much of an effort into console gaming, choosing to focus on simple games played on websites like Facebook or on mobile devices.  But that might be about to change. Gaming website CNET reports that Disney’s taken out a patent for a gaming console that employs augmented reality.  This isn’t the first of Disney’s augmented reality patents; late last year I blogged about one involving images projected over … Continue reading →

Travel to a Hands-On History Lesson

Looking to take a trip of a lifetime? Then, consider jetting off to see history in the making at the 57th Presidential inauguration. Washington, D.C. is buzzing with excitement as it gets set to host Inauguration 2013.  On Monday, January 21st, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will be sworn in and officially begin their second term in office Surprisingly, there are still some hotel rooms available for visitors traveling to D.C. for the big event.  Of course, not all of them come with price tags fit for frugal travelers.  In fact, some Presidential inauguration travel packages are … Continue reading →

4 Ways to Deal with the High Cost of Kids Sports and Activities

Today, it is not surprising to hear that parents are spending anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 a year per child on sports, dance or other activities. In some cases, that amount can be even higher, when there are several children in the family and each are taking several activities at a time. According to financial guru Dave Ramsey, “some parents can spend up to $10,000 a year funding their child’s athletic pursuits.” Why is the cost so high these days? First of all there is equipment that parents much purchase, everything from figure skates or hockey skates, to baseball equipment … Continue reading →

Gender Disappointment – It Does Happen Sometimes

Whether you are expecting your first child or a subsequent addition to the family, you are likely to have some feelings about what the new baby’s gender is. Also, no matter how hard you try to avoid thinking about the subject, you are likely to have some amount of desire for your baby to be a particular gender. With my first pregnancy, I wanted to have a little boy. When the ultrasound showed that I was indeed carrying a boy, I was elated. During my second pregnancy, I felt like I was carrying a girl and like I wanted to … Continue reading →

Shopping with Grandma and Grandpa Part IV

After selecting several articles of clothing for my daughter, my mother-in-law and moved on to looking for some clothes for my son, which was surprisingly more difficult than shopping for my daughter. Since jeans were a must, I set my attention on scouring up all the different styles of jeans. The perfect pair was a straight fit jean in a darker wash with a dragon embroidered on the left pant leg (my son is currently fascinated with dragons). Much to my dismay they did not appear to have his size, but the saleswoman was able to track down a pair … Continue reading →

How Safe Is That Sandbox?

Dylan loves to go to the playground. It does not matter which playground, or where it is, the moment he hears the word “playground” he drops whatever he is doing and runs for the door. We have a few playgrounds around here, and I like to mix it up by taking him to different ones. One thing that I am trying to figure out, though, is how to keep him out of the sandboxes at the playground. I’m not completely against sandboxes, however recent events have left me a bit concerned. A few days ago, I brought Dylan to a … Continue reading →

Another Santa Reprimanded at Disney World

An official Disney Santa at Epcot We’ve learned that adults are banned from wearing Disney costumes to a Disney park. We also know that any kids old enough (the cutoff is 9 or 10) also can’t do so, at least not if their costumes are too realistic. Now we have another look to add to the list of things not allowed at Disney: Santa Claus. Official Disney-sanctioned Santa Claus’s still make seasonal appearances at Disney World. What’s going to get you kicked out, or at least reprimanded, is if you too closely resemble Kris Kringle. The Huffington Post reports. Atlantan … Continue reading →

Insurance Blog Week in Review – July 8 – 14, 2012

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Every week, the Insurance Blog Week in Review brings you a quick and easy way to “ketchup” on the blogs that have been posted here in the past seven days. There could be anywhere between twelve and fourteen blogs that appear. Which ones did you miss? Jan Brewer Wants to Take Away Health Insurance Benefits Arizona Governor Jan Brewer wants the Supreme Court to allow her to terminate health insurance coverage for the same-sex partners of state workers. An appeals court would not allow her to do that. The Insurance Podcast Roundup went up on July 9, 2012. This time, … Continue reading →

Protest in Chicago Over Birth Control Mandate

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The battle over birth control coverage continues. Over 500 people attended a protest in Chicago about the federal requirement that employer sponsored health plans must cover birth control. Unsurprisingly, the majority of the crowd of protesters were Catholic. There are two sides to this ongoing battle. On one side, is the federal government, who want women to be able to have access to birth control. The government recognizes that birth control is an important part of preventative care for women. As such, the requirement says that all employer sponsored health insurance plans must include coverage for contraception, without cost to … Continue reading →