CBS Early Morning Question - How much does the President get paid?

President Bush make $400,000 a year- Presidents get paid well because framers of our constitution were very concerned about bribery. They didn't want a president who was on the chief who could be easily bought off.
$400,000 is the presidents base salary. President also gets:
$50,000 expense account for job related expenses
$100,000 travel account
$19,000 entertainment account
Tax payers cover the cost of Air Force One and Presidential Helicopter.
President pays for his own dry cleaning and has to pay for his own clothes. Any meals connected to his official duties are covered by tax payers but not meals in the family quarters.

President Bush will get a yearly pension of $180,000 when he leaves office.

No federal employee can make more than the president. Vice president Cheney makes $212,000. Members of congress get paid $170,000.

Aquasana Shower Filter

Just ordered the Aquasana Shower Filter for $67.99 thru http://www.aquasanausa.com/. Someone had recommended the Jonathan Shower Filter to me over the weekend . After doing some research over the net, many have stated that the Jonathan filter is manufactured by Aquasana and essentially the same but with a higher price tag, so I of course ordered the less expensive. Some claim less frizzy hair and softer skin because the filter removes much of the chlorine and other stuff that cause the dryness, etc. Aquasana guarantees softer skin in a week. I shall see. They have a 30 day money back guarantee.

Update: I have been using the filter since Saturday, a total of 4 days. I must say that the filter is actually working. My skin is not dry or as dry as before and oh so soft. On the other hand, I have not noticed less frizz in my hair. i'm going to keep it now.

Friday Night

Hide on Sawtelle for dinner. Sushi was quite good today. Ordered yellowtail belly, uni and albacore. Walked to Papa Beard's for light dessert afterward. Then walked to Nijiya market. Noticed Karaoke right next to Nijiya market. Karaoke Happy hour special before 8 pm was only $5/hour per person. Lots of fun, although my throat hurt afterwards. Front desk woman was not so friendly. She walked us to a room without any direction on how to do. Had to call her back for instructions.

Audio Terminology

Encoding (convert to MP3)
Decoding (convert MP3 to WAV)
Ripping (convert CD audio to MP3 or WAV)
Burning (convert MP3 or WAV to CD)

Why female bars on bikes differ from

Drop style (slanted bar) was designed for women so they could get off the bike delicately and easier with their dresses in the 1800's. It became tradition. Jockey straps originally were invented to protect males on the bike.

Marion Jones - steroid use / now retiring

I've always liked her, but I'm not surprised by this news. She was very fast and looked like she took steroids. She's retiring now, she probably would have retired soon anyway. She's gettting older and probably wouldn't have performed as well either.

I'm not surprised by Floyd Landis' news either. He failed time after time and was still claiming he was innocent. Whatever.

LADWP Approves Rate Hikes - Increased rate to begin July 2009

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power board approved rate hikes yesterday for residential and commercial customers that would increase electricity costs about nine-percent and water charges about six-percent by July 2009. According to the "Los Angeles Times," the bi-monthly cost for average residential customers would rise by more than 14-dollars, while monthly bills for medium-sized businesses would increase about a thousand-dollars. The rate hikes approved still must be considered by the City Council's Energy and Environment Committee on October 27th and the City Council on October 31st.

2008 Tax Brackets

Among next year's changes: The basic standard deduction, typically claimed by about two-thirds of all taxpayers, will increase to $10,900, up $200 from this year, for married couples filing jointly. For most singles, it will rise to $5,450, up from $5,350. The personal exemption amount will rise by $100 to $3,500.

Los Angeles Weather

Winter storm heading our way? Geez, I've been waiting since yesterday afternoon for this so-called storm. Today's been a very nice day aroun 70 degrees and althought the weather reports indicate a winter storm is heading our way, it sure doesn't look it right now.

Supposedly, the weather/news channels are 90% correct in predicting the weather, but people only remember when they are incorrect. I guess this is one of those days.

US Dollar Continues to Weaken

The dollar took another fall on currency markets today, reaching one-to-one parity against the Canadian dollar for the first time in 30 years (since 11/1976) and falling to a new low against the Euro. The Canadian dollar is known as the "loonie" because of the bird pictured on the one-dollar coin.

The half-point cut in U.S. interest rates earlier this week had the effect of further weakening the dollar versus other currencies by reducing the cash yield on dollars. A lower dollar can make travel more costly for U.S. residents and can also pose the risk of making imported goods more expensive over time.

Damn!

Sneezing

Sneezing keeps bad stuff out of our breathing passages and gets rid of germs and bacteria. You create a force that propels things out of your nasal passages at 100 mph.

A long time ago, people used to think that sneezing was a sign that you were developing the bubonic plague, so people began saying "god bless you" in the hopes that the person sneezing would not get the disease.

Cell Phone Use and Driving in California

New Laws Goes into Effect July 1, 2008

Adult drivers will be required to use hands-free equipment if talking on the phone while driving.
$20 for 1st offense
$50 repeat offenters


Californians under age 18 will be prohibited from using cellphones, text message devices and laptop computers while driving. The new law also prohibits under-18 drivers from using hands-free cellphone devices.

Megan's Law - Find out about sex offenders in your area

This website http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/ (this website pertains to california only) provides detailed information on sex offenders required to register with local law enforcement under California's Megan's Law. Easiest way to get a map/listing of sex offenders in your area is by typing the zip code in the search box.

Currency Conversion

1.00 Euro = 1.39 USD (Dollar weakens to record low against euro today)
1.00 GPB (Great Britain Pound) = 2.03 USD

Interesting facts:
Total of 27 members of European Union.

13/27 European Union countries currently using the euro:
Austria,Belgium,Finland,France,Germany,Greece,Ireland Republic,Italy,Luxembourg,Netherlands,Portugal,Slovenia,Spain

11/27 European Union countries set to use currency at a future date:
Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania

3/27 European Union countries who have voted not to adopt the Euro:
Britain, Denmark, Sweden

European Countries that don't belong to European Union:
Switzerland, Norway, Croatia