Free Books

If you have children below the age of 5 they may be eligible to receive a free book once a month from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. All it takes is for you county to participate in program for you to be able to register and take advantage of the Free Books.

To register for free, click here.

There are no tricks or gimmicks here. My son has been receiving a free book a month almost since we was born making over 20 books received. He has received books like The Little Engine That Could , Good Night, Gorilla (one of his favorites) and many others. To understand what themes and types pf books are sent check out their website. Started in 1996 Dolly wanted to be sure that all preschool children in here home county had access to books regardless of family income and it has grown from there.

Free Money for College

Do you want to save for college while shopping for Christmas? Checkout Upromise.com. This site offers multiple ways to save for college while purchasing the things you would normally. How do they do this? Upromise partners with different companies that agree to pay you through upromise for purchasing their products. Once Upromise has a minimum of $25 in your account then it can be transferred to a College Savings 529 plan that you setup and designate.

How does Upromise know what I purchase? To earn your free money for college, Upromise asks that you list your grocery savings cards and your credit cards. By listing your grocery cards Upromise is able to determine what products you purchased that are eligible for your free money. By listing your credit cards several stores and restaurants track your purchases and credit you based on the total amount purchased. Additionally by shopping through the Upromise website links and having your credit cards listed you gain money through hundreds of websites. To by-pass using the Upromise website there is a tool bar that they offer so when you go to site such as homedepot.com you are already recognized as a Upromise shopper.

Myself, I have been a member for 3 years and have saved about $530. Additionally, friends and family can register and contribute to your child’s savings plan.

Movie: Journey to the Center of the Earth

Just watched the flick, Journey to the Center of the Earth, with my wife and we really enjoyed it. It was a light-hearted comedy with nobody dying, no cursing, and no love story. Just the hap-hazard discovery of a lava tube that leads to the center of the earth by the central charters played by Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, and Anita Briem. While on the journey, they guys bond, Brendan gets the girl, a brother/father is found, all set against the world imagined by Jules Verne in his book Journey to the Center of the Earth (Enriched Classic) .



Expecting a lot of CGI scenes and over the top stunts, there was a scene where everyone is on a raft crossing the underworld ocean when a cell phone call is received. I immediately started laughing in disbelief and saying “Yeah right, we can even get consistent service the hills around here” let alone the center of the Earth.

College 529 Savings Plan

There are multiple ways to save for college, including Coverdell Education IRA’s, Savings Bonds, and College 529 Savings Plans to mention a few. When I began saving for our son’s college, I was looking for a tax advantaged vehicle, which is a fancy way to say a plan that would allow me to save for college, growing any earnings tax free and possibly deducting any contributions from my taxable income .

After looking into the Coverdell Education IRA I found that it would allow earnings to grow tax free; however the contributions were not deductible. Additionally the any money saved has to be used by the child it is saved for and if not used then it goes to that child a certain age (I forget when) and is taxed. The other draw back is low contribution amounts.

Savings Bonds are another way to save; however the interest earned is usually lower than what can be earned through other means such as mutual funds. While this is true I have purchased savings bonds for nieces and nephews as gifts especially when they were younger. The last time I looked any interest earned on savings bonds is exempt as long as it is used for college expenses.

Now getting to 529 Savings plans, this was created by Congress in order to provide families a way to save for college. Once money is contributed it can grow tax free and the money removed tax free as long as it is used to pay for covered expenses. Other highlights of the plan include the ability to transfer any savings to different people within a family. Meaning I could save money for college for my wife, if she did not use it then we could transfer the beneficiary to our son, and then our daughter, without any tax penalty. Besides four year colleges and universities the money can be used for other institutions such as smaller community colleges and even prep school.

Every state should offer a 529 plan and most allow for the contributions to be deducted from state tax income taxes; however, to my knowledge no changes have been made to allow federal income tax deductions. (Try writing your congress person in order to change this.) Even though most states offer 529 plans, many financial intuitions also offer ‘national’ plans meaning that the money can be used for any qualified education in the US.

I should end this post by saying that I am not a tax advisor or financial specialist and you should consult your own tax and financial specialists for specific questions and how these vehicles can affect you.

Ship of Gold In the Deep Blue Sea

Cool book to read, little historical, little scientific, little swashbuckling

The book starts by introducing the characters which will be taking the fateful voyage from California to New York by way of the Panama sea route. Gary Kinder the author describes the era around the gold rush and how it sparked a new age for the US. Ultimately the story of the Central America is told while mixing in the background for the present day characters of the story Tommy Thompson and company.

For me the intriguing part of the book was the thought process that Tommy went through in order to focus on the Central America, the network built, the technological and legal obstacles he over came in order to achieve his goals.

While Thompson ultimately finds the Central America and its gold in the book much more mystery and controversy still swirl around its discovery.

Ugly's Electrical References

Great, Concise Electrical Reference book

The pocket size book was recommended to me several years ago by an electrician when started asking alot of questions like:
How did know what wire sizes to pull? How many wires can be in a conduit? What was the voltage drop going to be for a given pump?

Anyway he point me to this little yellow book that sat in the dash of his truck.

Whether you are talking residential 240V AC power or 480V industrial/commercial and higher this book is the most common reference I have seen electrician and electrical contractors use.

A Book to Buy that for the Engineer in your life

Cameron Hydraulic Data Book by CC Heald is must have reference for almost any kind of engineer.


I have had this book for several years now. I used it to help get through my PE exam as well as on a frequent basis.


The book has great examples and diagrams to explain pumps, their use and other fluid flows. The friction loss tables for pipe and pipe fittings is where I use it most as it applies to sizing pumps. Other valuable areas I have found have been around viscosity information and conversion, especially when looking at older data sheets and being familiar with some of the units that could be used. The book also contains a metric and standard set of steam tables. Those in the paper industry will also appreciate the friction loss graphs.



The book I have is dated 1977, which goes to show it is a timeless text still used today.