Continuing to Frugality of it all!

So a while back I decided to work out the cheapest way to bank. Banking in this country has just gotten completely out of hand in terms of fees interest rates and general customer service. I feel banks do more time determining the best way to steal your money legally than determining how you could best build a tight little nest egg for the future. Enter ING Direct. A lovely little Dutch bank that offers online only, high interest bearing accounts of both checking and savings varieties at no cost to the account holder. Genius right? Their debit card works almost anywhere in the world and most ATMs are free to use as well! Oh did I mention the free billpay and other services like Person to Person digital payments and paper checks when you need them! Being I'm a proper cheapskate I couldn't wait to say goodbye to Citibanks purse pilfering and take up with ING Direct. No fees and better than that they pay me interest on my accounts! Good job guys!

Nathaniel's got a Peek how about you?

The Peek option

Lately I have been lamenting the high cost of my mobile phone. I have already ditched my high priced T-Mobile plan for a much more cost ffective, though less glamourous, Cricket Wireless plan but i still hate spending the kind of money I was just to stay connected. Enter the peek in combination with Google Voice. I now have a number, very similar to my old number (if you replace 391 with 340 then you know the number, for those of you who want it) that anyone can text or leave a voicemail at, for the small cost of Peek service, which is currently at around $17 a month. This is an excellent option when one considers that if you receive a voicemail, GVoice will transcribe it and send it to my peek in plain text format! I can then reply with a text or an email regarding the call! I never have to touch a phone if I don't want to Awesome! Now if I could get it to make a voicemail from an email, that would be a perfect solution. I imagine this service exists somewhere for TDD users (telephony device for the deaf) but I doubt it's as seamless as the GV option could be.

Sent on the go from my Peek

The Promise of Citizenship

Today is the primary election for Illinois. Have you voted yet? I have. It's a pretty amazing thing, when you think about it. The vote. I put some marks next to some peoples names. One of whom, I know and the rest are ambiguous mysteries with their public lives as open as Ubuntu and their private lives sequestered in the murky shadows of, well, privacy. Which is just as well because, I'm really not interested in their private lives. I just want them to perform the duties of their office well and with out totally destroying our rights as citizens of this nation.

At this point it doesn't feel like many of us has a say in the way things work around here. I don't feel like I have a say in whether our army goes to war or not. So the best I can do is try to elect and get elected people who will act in the same manner or better than I would if I was in their situation.

If you haven't already, you should go vote, it's fun and you get to feel like you've had a say in something.

A new goal.

http://www.panamericantour.net/

I'm going to do the Panamerican Trail! It's about 16 to 18 months long from the tippy top of Alaska to the bitty bottom of Argentina! Sounds like fun. I'm going get my grant and proposal writing skills up to snuff. Also, I need a new bike for this one. Something a bit more rugged. Possibly a Mountain Bike. I wonder if any bicycle companies sponsor touring riders...

Bicycle Accident

On the 2nd of January I was hit by a taxi while riding home from a movie. I can't make any other statements other than that because of potential legal repercussions. I'm alive and that is good.

Back in the CHI

After an amazing time in Denver, CO with my friend Amy and pretty much her entire building (thanks guys and gals)! Denver rawks!

I'm in the CHI. One more time.

Jonathan and I

This is me and my friend Jonathan from Moscow, ID. We're standing in front of the best gear shop in town! He happens to work there and that's where we met!