A locksmith is one of those things you don’t think about, until you really need one. No matter if you locked your keys out of your car, or locked yourself out of your house, a locksmith is one of those guys you want to come help you out quickly when you need him! I’ll never forget the time I locked myself out of my house when Catherine was a baby. I was pregnant, and in my pajamas. I had to walk to the neighbor’s house across the street and borrow their phone, so that I could call my mom, because she had an extra key to my house. If not for her, I would have been scrolling through the Yellow Pages for a Tampa locksmith! I like this particular Tampa locksmith because they started as a small family owned business. I think that’s a great foundation for good customer service! That’s how they became the guys to call in Tampa when you’re locked out - good service, quick response, and happy customers!

Every summer, parents begin a mad dash to look for activities to keep their kids busy and entertained. For most of us, some kind of summer program is not just for fun, it’s a necessity, especially if you are a working parent. For others, it’s to keep from hearing, “there’s nothing to do!” And for some, it’s to retain study skills during the 8 week break. An educational summer program like the ones that Score offers can be a great way for your child to keep up with good reading habits, or improve study skills during this long vacation period. Not as boring as school, but better than sitting around and watching television all day! We usually give our kids “homework” during the summer (writing a book report, reading each day) and this is just the next step if you’ve got a child who struggles with school.

And so another holiday weekend has officially begun! We’re going to chill this weekend, but we’re hitting a local beach on Monday to enjoy some sand and sun. I’ve got the day off of course, but my husband does too, so we’re picking up my sister and heading out Monday morning. I haven’t been to the beach in ages and I’m looking forward to it - as well as a day off work!

Drive safe, and play safe!

If you’re not using online storage for your PC, you need to get with the program! Why fill up your hard drive with pictures and videos and MP3s, or upload it to your server? The smart solution is to use an online store system like IBackup. It’s not just for personal use either, in fact, they’re an ideal solution for the small business (and don’t we have plenty of those, right here in Tampa) looking to save money while providing their employees with great tools. The system features online mapping as a drive or a web folder, and you can even schedule backups to be done at your convenience! Don’t just take my word for it - the software has won awards from PCWorld and PCMag too!

We’ve got passes to Busch Gardens (as well as every other theme park in the state, or so it seems!) but we haven’t been in MONTHS! Disney has just been calling my name. I think we’re about due for a trip though, especially with their Summer Nights starting up again. Staying open late is a great idea, and I don’t know why more theme parks don’t do it. (I’m looking at you, Islands of Adventure. Open til 7pm on a Friday night - duh!) The B-52s will be in concert at Busch Gardens on June 2, and the park will stay open til 10pm on most weekends.

When in Rome…do as the Romans do? If you think that’s a good rule of thumb to follow, you’d probably want to live like a high roller the next time you’re in Palm Springs, California. A day out on the golf course, a quick dip in the pool at your resort, and then an hour long rub down from a local Palm Springs massage service. Just think about it - the very same hands rubbing all of those sore muscles on your back could have touched Charlie Sheen on his last vacation. Or Pamela Anderson! If you already live in Palm Springs, no need to check into a swanky hotel to get your rub down - this massage service offers in home services as well, or spa parties! Think they’d make a house call to Florida?

I’ve been navigating that mess by Tampa International Airport almost every day for the past two weeks. What the heck are they doing there? The main overpass, under construction, seems extremely high - so high that a plane could whack it, and the rest of it is just confusing. Between that and the mess where the Veteran’s Expressway and 60 converge, I’m tempted to cut down Dale Mabry to head to work.

With the real estate market tanking (for the time being) here in Tampa, investors are looking to other locales for a place to park their money, and hopefully make some money. Topsail Island real estate is one such place. Topsail Island is located off the coast of North Carolina, which means it’s not as stinking hot and humid as here in the Sunshine state. The barrier island isn’t very big - just over 25 miles long, but the size allows the community to retain a down home family kind of feel, while being close enough to the big city (Wilmington, NC) that you don’t lose touch with the finer things in life.

Those of you looking for a quiet place to own a vacation home might just think that Topsail can’t be beat - it’s got golf, fishing, beaches, dining, marinas, and plenty to see and do. Rent your 2nd home out to tourist and enjoy it when you want to get away from the Florida heat! The weekly or monthly rental fees are more than enough to cover a mortgage, and the island is just a day away by car when you’re ready to BE the tourist. Now that’s the life for me!

I’m reading the news I missed while we were out of town this weekend, and I just heard about the horrible crash on I-275. The guy hit THREE troopers? And he was drunk. Nice! For those of you who didn’t hear about it, a motorcyclist lost control of his bike while changing lanes (speeding, of course) and crashed into a guardrail. He died at the scene. Now, while troopers were attending to THAT accident, a drunk guy (that would be one Robert M. Taylor) crashed into the troopers while they were working the first accident. He was arrested. What a fiasco!

Most of us, when we think of the history of Tampa, think of Jose Gaspar and the cigar makers who settled in the area. Did you know that there’s a theory that the lost city of Atlantis Was a Real Place, the Americas? Yep. And part of Atlantis was right here in Tampa Bay? It’s a theory, and an interesting one at that. The website, AtlantisKingdom.com speculates that Tampa, FL was the location of the royal city of Atlantis. When I looked at the map shown here, it even looked like the area of Tampa where Davis Island and Harbor Island are, neat, huh? Kind of weird to think that a place where we go for fun and a night out could be the location of a lost city of treasures…

Atlantis Was a Real Place, the Americas

The kingdom of Atlantis included North, South, and Central America. It was divided into ten countries or kingdoms and each country had its own King. One of the kingdoms was also called Atlantis. The King of Atlantis was the ruler over the other nine Kingdoms. The first ruler of the Kingdom was called Atlas. This is how Atlantis got its name.

The royal city of the kingdom was located within the country of Atlantis. Within the royal city there was a royal palace. Originally, three different moats surrounded the royal palace. Plato referred to the moat formation as three zones of water and two zones of land.

As time went by they covered over the moats and cut three canals through the peninsula on which the royal palace was located. The construction of the canals divided the peninsula and formed two triangular shaped islands. The island that held the royal palace was called Atlantis. That is why Atlantis is referred to as a continent, and city, and an island.

Read the short version of Plato’s story at www.atlantiskingdom.com to learn more about Atlantis and the Americas. Then read Plato’s Timaeus and Critias to get the complete story.

I have matched the terrain features that Plato wrote about with present terrain features found in the Tampa Bay area. Research shows that Plato described Harbour Island as the small island of Atlantis. You will find that Plato recorded and published the story just as it was told. He even recorded the discussions leading up to the story. You will also notice several obvious mistakes made in translating the story from Egyptian to Greek and from Greek to English. The biggest mistake occurred when travelers came upon a shoal of mud and thought it was left over from the sunken island. They were wrong. The continent of Atlantis did not sink.

You are invited to review the facts to see for yourself that the Americas, from South America to Alaska were once the kingdom of Atlantis, a single nation. The land formation is still laid out the same as it was over 11,000 years ago. It is best viewed from the air. See image.

Source: Dennis Brooks
www.atlantiskingdom.com

to country…!

This Friday night, the Charlie Daniels Band will be performing at the Ford Amphitheatre. Like the Gwen Stefani show, tickets start at $10, which is a heck of a deal. Considering how nice the weather’s been, I can’t think of a nicer way to spend the evening than sitting outdoors and listening to live music!

So you’ve been to tattoo artists all over the Tampa Bay area, and you still can’t find the perfect tattoo design? Not to worry, because a new website at BullseyeTattoos tattoo designs that you can download to take to your favorite tattoo artist. The site features tons of designs from the hottest, newest, and best artists around the world - everything is a line art stencil, perfect for full color inking. Just pick your image, download it, print it, and then take it to the artist of your choice locally. Browse through categories like flowers, celtic, gothic, animals, snakes, and symbols, or search by artist or top sellers. You’ll find amazing designs at a price you can afford.

Honeymoon Island State Park and Caladesi Island are 2 of my favorite beaches. If you haven’t been to these Dunedin beaches yet, now is a great time, because a new nature center opened this morning at Honeymoon Island. The nature center features exhibits and videos about the history of the island and the current residents (most of the 4 legged variety). You can walk nature trails before heading to the beach, picnic areas, and playgrounds. You can also schedule hikes with a guide.

The new center is open daily from 9am til 5pm.

The business world has it’s own terms and language. From over used cliches like “thinking outside the box” to phrases like user acceptance testing and fixed price and ledger and human resources generalist - it’s enough to make your head spin. And if you’re doing business with people from other countries, not only do you need to worry about the cultural differences (for instance, a standard 48 work week in Japan) but the language barrier as well. Knowing the language isn’t enough - you need to know the language of business. How does “marketing plan” translate into Japanese? Is there a word for “project manager” in German? If your a UK resident and you want to take courses in German, learn German in Cambridge, learn German in Leeds, learn German in Leicester - you’re in luck. SGI Business Languages offers courses at their office in London, or in the comfort of your own home or office. The instructors are all native speakers of the languages they teach, and can offer you the opportunity to become fluent in a language for both professional and social purposes.

Last night the kids and I went to the Ford Amphitheater in Tampa to see Gwen Stefani on her Sweet Escape tour. Akon was one of the opening acts. The show was amazing, the weather was perfect (I can’t believe we needed sweatshirts at night. In May. In Florida!) and our seats on the lawn were cheap ($10!) It was my 2nd concert at the Ford Amphitheater, and it’s turned into one of my favorite venues, especially when you can get cheap seats on the lawn.

I’ve seen a lot of billboards around town advertising a service to repair your credit, if it’s not the greatest. Why would you pay someone to do that for you, when you can get free advice on how to fix your credit online? Duh! CreditNet.com isn’t just a site with a bunch of credit card offers - they’re a resource for how to use credit wisely. You’ll find company reviews, information, and services for credit repair, plus tips on how to keep your good credit in tip top shape! The message boards are a great place to get advice from other people who have been there, done that!

I was listening to the MJ show this morning on 93.3FLZ. I normally listen to Sirius, but I was driving my husband’s car. MJ mentioned a promotion he’s doing where they give away plastic surgery procedures, and also mentioned that they’ve been doing this at that particular radio station for years…since before he worked there. He then shared the store of how he read about the promo (before he worked there) in a trade magazine, back in 1989, when the radio station was called…the Power Pig.

Holy moly, what a blast from the past! Those of you who lived in Tampa back then probably remember the big ratings war between the Power Pig and Q105, which at that time, was a pop / top 40 station. I had forgotten about the station being referred to as Power Pig, and it brought back some happy memories of me in my room at home, listening to it at night while I did my homework.

Q105 was my favorite station though, and they did this feature called Top 5 At Nine. You could call in and you’d be able to introduce one of the top songs. It usually went something like this:

::cue breathy, fast, 12 year old girls voice::

Hi, this is Colleen and I go to Tarpon Springs Middle School - go Spartans! I want to say hi to Kerry and Kerri and Jen and Jenn and Christy and Chris and Mike and Mark! The #3 song is “Hangin’ Tough” by New Kids On The Block - I love them so much! See ya!

Come on, who else called the top 5 at 9?

I was watching a show called Tori & Dean Inn Love last night. It features Tori Spelling, and her husband, and it’s all about how they’ve opened a modernized bed and breakfast in California. The furniture in this place is out of sight - I’ve never seen anything like it in the stores around here. Let’s face it - the chain furniture stores around Tampa aren’t known for their fantastic style and wide selection. If you want really unique bedroom furniture you need to shop online. At GreatPricedFurniture.com, you’ll find really unique pieces that you can’t find locally, from brands like American Drew, Kathy Ireland By Standard Furniture, Hooker Furniture, Pulaski, and Serta. Check out the brands in the local stores - unless you go to a high end store, you won’t find name brands that you know! I really love the selection of designer sink cabinets - one of those would look SO neat in our master bath!

Driving to Key West sucks. It’s a long trip, there’s not much to look at, and there’s no way to make it fun. And if you’re trying to get OUT of Key West after an event, like Fantasy Fest, be prepared for the highway to turn into a parking lot. I’m pretty excited to hear that Delta is starting a flight from Key West to Tampa and vice versa. It’s a non stop service and the flight takes just over an hour. Not bad for a drive that normally takes 8.

The only problems? Flights are only on Saturday, and they’re on a small 50 seater jet.

Two years ago, while visiting my aunt in New Jersey, she offered me her piano. I still haven’t been able to find a company that can move it to Florida for a reasonable price. I haven’t researched the pricing in a year or so, and it’s probably time to check into it again. I’m not sure if this air cargo company can help me out, but I’ll try anything at this point. They specialize in heavy haul shipping - does a piano count as heavy haul? I’m not sure about that question, but boy - they can do just about any kind of freight you’ve got. They’ve got access to flatbed trucks and refrigerated trucks and air and land and sea. Wow!