Atlanta Braves can not win on the Road.

The Atlanta Braves enjoy the confines of Turner Field this year. This is something that they could not say last year. Currently leading the majors with a 14 - 4 home stand record, the Atlanta Braves could be enjoying success if they could just figure out how to win on the road. With an almost identically backwards record on the road of 4 - 13, it does not take one long to figure why these guys are not on top. Soon, and very soon, they will figure it out and then and only then will teams fear the day that the Atlanta Braves come to town.

After last nights fall apart from what started out to be another great game with Mark Teixeira hitting his 5th home run into the left field bleachers. The Braves jumped out to a 2 - 0 lead that would seem to be enough until the 4th inning where Chuck James fell apart and gave up the lead.

Today, the Braves look to stop their sliding as they look to their new young phenom Jair Jurrjens who has been spectacular this year to say the least.

Also, take a moment and click on the pictures to see some of the other blogs that I write on other sites.

About the Author

If you are in the market to purchase a home or even refinance an existing loan and you want a loan officer that will walk with you every step of the way, then contact Danny or Rich of the Thornton Team at Home America Mortgage today. We can have you pre-approval in as little as 4 hours. You can visit our website or send an email to thorntonteam@homeamericamortgage.com or call us @ 865-951-0522.

Have you used Zookoda.

Have you taken the time to check out Zookoda? Or maybe I should ask if you know what Zookoda is for some of you. It is quiet simple really. Zookoda is an email marketing application designed specifically for bloggers like you and me. It allows for you to market your blog through emails and get it out into the hands of your fans for faster review. Think about the delays that you normally have when you put out a new post to getting it into the hands of the people that you want it in: YOUR READERS.

Zookoda has many advantages to it's application. You can manage email newsletter subscribers, design eye-catching newsletters to match your blog, and schedule recurring broadcast for each day, week, or month just to name a few things that this will do. This is only scraping the surface as Zookoda has so much more that they offer and can do with this awesome tool. If you are not a member of them yet, then what are you waiting on?

What is in it for me you might ask. Well, that is a great question. Zookoda helps you broadcast when there are updates to your blogs. If you are not blogging on a platform like ActiveRain that automatically shows your updates, then it is hard to get the word out with the little updates that RSS gives you. Zookoda handles that issue for you. Since it was created with bloggers in mind, it is designed to benefit the bloggers that use it.

The great thing that I have yet to even tell you is, it is free. Yeah, you heard me right, it is totally free and that might be the best reason to at least check it out. Can you image having this kind of resource at your fingertips and at your beckon call and not have to pay a dime for it? I can, because I am not only promoting them, I use them myself. I hope that you will at least take the time to dig in and check them out too.

Are you holding out for the best deal?

Anyone that is in the market and can actually afford to buy a home or needs to refinance a home, today's market is nothing to play around in. With the volatility of rates and most of all, of programs, when you find a good deal, you need to get on it and lock it in. Playing the market today is almost as smart as playing Russian Roulette.

The Mortgage Industry - The Saga continues

As the world turns seems to be the fitting title for today's market. One day we are up, and the next day we are down. It is never too hard to predict where we will be as long as you know what to look for. More and more, I watch the stock market and see how volatile that it is, and be able to predict what is going to happen in the price war.

I notice that almost a week ago, we started getting beat up on the market and rates started making the move upward. My colleague, Rich Dansereau, was talking to a potential customer that was looking to refinance. As he quoted the customer, he instructed the potential client "that this is today's pricing and unless we lock, we will have to requote the price.".

Well, as the story typically goes, the customers want better than what is out there and decide that they want to shop it. And, as it seems to happen, the rates get worse and the rate quote is out the window.

This has happened twice over the last couple of weeks and it is a little unsettling to know that there are customers out there living in the 2006 fantasy world that existed. Playing the market today is not the best philosophy that a customer can take. In quoting a customer, I would advise to make sure that they understand when your adjustments come out and how the market is reacting during that period.

Redneck Test

*Disclaimer* I had no part of writing the Redneck Jokes.*

OK, I know that many of you have heard of this a thousand times. But, it never gets old. Now, we all know that Jeff Foxworthy is the creator and master of all "You might be a redneck if" jokes. So, grab a beer, pull up a chair, kick the boots off, and get ready to laugh. And, if my any chance you can say yes to any of these below then:

You Might Be A Redneck If . . .

you think watching professional wrestling is foreplay.

you think that Dom Perignon is a Mafia leader.

that billboard that says, “Say No To Crack” reminds you to pull up your jeans.

you think a Volvo is part of a woman’s anatomy.

you go to your family reunions looking for a date.

your Junior/Senior Prom had a Daycare.

you ever won first prize in a tobacco spittin’ contest.

your favorite entree is Spam barbecued on the grill.

your idea of high-quality entertainment is a six-pack and a bug-zapper.

you’ve ever gotten an official letter of recognition from a tobacco or beer company.

you break wind in public and blame it on your kid.

you ask the preacher, “How’s it hanging?”

your mother doesn’t put shoes on to go grocery shopping.

your favorite beer company cannot afford to advertise.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of Google Checkout versus PayPal?

Google Checkout and PayPal are really two different programs. They do both have their disadvantages and their advantages in using either of the programs. In all the programs, they have some type of invoice system that is already set up. So, lets look at it in 4 sections.

PayPal's advantages: The biggest advantage that PayPal runs, is it is international and can be used worldwide. PayPal also offers a credit card in conjunction with their services. And, on top of it all, you can store money in your account with PayPal. Also, it runs well with EBAY.

PayPal's Disadvantages: You are charged for every transaction that you run into PayPal. I had a customer send me $250 and I end with $247 and some odd change. Losing money during transactions is not something that I am keen on. Also, another issue with PayPal is they are always a target for hackers and phishing schemes. I can not even begin to tell you how many times that I have received phony emails. The last that I will expose is the fact that PayPal will only allow for one PayPal account per Checking or Savings account. So, if you have a joint account, only one can use PayPal.

Google Checkout Advantages: If you have a Google account and use AdSense and AdWords, must fees through CheckOut is either refunded or waived. Since this is all through Google, they believe in sharing in the wealth. Google Checkout is easy to integrate into your website and can easily be used to add a buy it now button in your website that will take you to Google Checkout to process your order.

Google Checkout Disadvantages: I have to say that the only disadvantage that I have encountered with Google Checkout is that they do not allow for storage of funds. This slows the process a little when purchasing through a bank account.

Now, with all this said, I think that the best system around in the US at this time is Revolution MoneyExchange. There is no fees at this time to send or receive money and can be integrated to your website to allow your customers easy purchasing. It is quiet frankly the easiest system to use and one can sign up for an account and be on line running in no time. I have found no flaws with this system yet except that they are only in the United States.

How to Create Structure

If you are interested in learning more about programming, then I have found a blog for you. This blog will take you through how to create structure. This is an article written by Albert Niftiger earlier this month. In this article, he gives some examples of structure and explains what it is used for.

This article is well written and adds a lot of great information for the programmer in you. As I go along and grown in the things that I do in my blogs and other endeavors, I find that post like this can be very helpful and I continue to search out other great information. Albert has added an embedded link to his tutorial if you will like to link to it.

PayPal gets more competition.

If you are a current user of PayPal and are tired of paying the high fees to send or receive money, then it is time to check out PayPal's newest competition. The company is Revolutionary MoneyExchange and for a limited time they will pay you $25 just for signing up with their service.
With RME you can bill clients with an invoice to allow them to pay with a credit card. You can get a circl of vendors to sign up so that you can pay their invoices on line. There are truly many great uses for this service that one only needs to sign up to begin using it to your advantaged.

Think of this though. Let's say that you find a great item to buy on Craig's List and the seller will only accept cash, but is willing to ship anywhere. You can get the seller to agree to go on line and set up their own account and then send you a bill for said item. The seller then has the money transferred to said account with-in minutes and can then ship and provide shipping number immediately. Transaction done.

Check them out today. The only thing that you have to loose is $25.

*Disclaimer* This offer is only for United States residents only.

Looking for a low cost ISP provider?

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There information does not stop there though. They have great information on speeding up your computer to protecting email from spam. And it does not stop there. They have many other great articles for you to dig through. getisp.info is the one stop show when it comes to low cost internet providers and they will even help you pick the one that is best for you.

With all the different companies out there to choose from, why not trust someone in the business to find what is best for your needs. Too much services cost you in the long run and too little cost you up front. Check them out today.

The Return of Mike Hampton

All the Atlanta Braves fans have waited for this moment since 2005. Tonight, Mike Hampton will step on the mound against the Pittsburgh Pirates for the series finale. He attempted to comeback in 2007 and it was aborted then due to tendon that hadn't reacted properly after the previous surgery.

Mike first went down in 2005 after starting just 12 games and in September of that year he underwent Tommy Johns surgery. He has been sidelined for the post part since then missing ALL of the 2006 season.

Mike has had a great spring and looks like this could be his comeback year. We are all pulling for him to be comepack player of the year.