Drive or ride on Germany’s most famous race track
The Nürburgring, 90km southwest of Cologne, is the ticket. One lap costs €16 in your own vehicle. Or take a ride (up to three passengers) with a pro for €180. One lap is 13 miles. A nice little summary is at about.com or visit the Nürburgring site itself.
I was researching a screenplay I’m writing. Thought I’d share this tidbit of info.
Another track for watching races instead of being on the track is the Hockenheimring. I know. Germans really need to remove some consonants from names. Just separate the “ring” from the word to help a touch.
International SIM cards – the perils
Oftentimes SIM cards you want to use abroad are expensive.
I thought I’d found the perfect deal for Spain in Lebara (you essentially pay €10/$15 for the card), and I thought I’d even be able to keep my sweet phone number. Well, they’ve changed the rules. It used to be that you had to use it in some capacity every 90 days to keep it active without occurring additional fees.
Now, I see that they’ve changed the rules. See this FAQ page on their site where I’ve gotten the following:
Your Lebara Móvil SIM card will remain active as long as you top-up the balance at least once every two months (60 days). If you do not do this or if you run out of credit, Lebara Móvil will grant you an additional month to top-up your balance. During this month, and until you top-up the balance, you will only be able to receive calls or make calls to the emergency services. If at the end of this one month period, there has not been at least one top-up, the SIM card will be permanently deactivated and you will lose the number and, if applicable, any remaining credit.
Sorry. I’m just bummed. I had €17 left on the card when I left in October. And I really do have a sweet phone number. Lebara’s still cheap, especially when they have their frequent top-up deals – buy €20 credit, get €10 free. Ah, well. Here we go again.
Screw ratings by Netflix users
I’ve been a member of Netflix for over six years. Let me tell you that’s a whole hell of a lot of movies, maybe 450. Anyway, Netflix has all sorts of cool features that make selecting a breeze. One thing I used to do was pick movies with a 3.5 star rating or higher. But judging by American movies I loved but which were poorly rated (like Original Sin with Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie), I decided to try films with lower ratings. What a payoff it’s been. Statistically, the number of films I’ve seen this way have sucked or been great at the same rate as highly rated films. So, before you accidentally skip a film you’d love, get off your high horse and try something that other people think are bad.
Sexy new corset from China
The heading tells half the story. The photos do the rest. BTW, in the close-up, that’s my bra sticking up on your right, not a defect. And yeah, that’s fur trim from some poor animal that died so I could look hot.
It fits wonderfully, has a luxe, multi-dimensional shine, and if I wanted to take a couple of inches off my girth, I could, in a few months. Also, I look hot. Yes, my legs are short, except they’d actually look better in regular heels. The boots hide my great calves and little ankles. But enough about me.
BTW, I got this corset from the ebay seller: bestlingerieline.
Buying from foreigners on ebay – mini I-phone clone
I thought I might mention my purchases on ebay from the Far East.
Last February I purchased a cute little touch-screen mini I-phone clone – a CECT A07.
Cons:
- Every four or five days it decided to freak out, reset all settings, and delete all but the last 16 incoming SMS texts. Apparently the quality of these phones can vary dramatically.
- It died permanently last week. R.I.P., less than a year after I received it.
- It eventually produced a static noise that those on the other line would hear.
- The robust MP3 player would wear down the batteries pretty quickly.
Pros:
- Cute, cute, cute! I used it in Spain on two trips, and I got asked about it all the time. I can’t imagine lugging around a clunky I-phone. My purses are tiny.
- Powerful sound from MP3’s. You could seriously annoy some people.
- Really neat displays on applications
- A choice of several keyboards. I used the Spanish. It was so easy to type accents and caps, etc.
- Best for people with fingernails unless you want to use the stylus. The stylus did not fit in the phone itself.
- Really light-weight
- Supported a Micro-SD card up to at least 2GB (never tried a larger size).
- Included FM radio.
So, when it died, I needed another one. I have a Lebara SIM card from Spain that retains its balance and phone number as long as I use it once every 90 days. ***CORRECTION: you have to add credit to it every 60 days.*** Luckily, they are partnered with T-Mobile, so for a premium price, I can simply send a text periodically and retain my very cool number and card. By the way, Lebara sells by far the cheapest SIM cards and has crazy good rates to call back to the States and Canada from Spain. I got mine from SIMS FOR SPAIN.
ANYWAY, so I’m looking for a replacement GSM cell phone for my international trips. Did I decide to buy a reliable brand like Samsung, LG, Nokia, or Motorola? Noooo. Because they’re boring and I’m so used to the touch screen yet not the clunkiness of one. So…I bought the next generation of the same phone, the CECT A08, and it should arrive in three weeks. Of course, I’m hoping I luck out on quality. At least the ebay seller has crazy high ratings, so we’ll see. The problem with ratings is that you’re encouraged to give feedback quickly. If a month later, the product craps out, the seller still gets a high rating.
Anyway, I’ll post pictures of my new phone and tell you how it goes.
Later!
Obscure Plastic Surgery including jaw reduction and hairline lowering
I know. This has nothing to do with international shopping. But it just fascinated me!
HAIRLINE LOWERING
Look how much better some of the women in the link below look after hairline lowering surgery. No more huge foreheads!
http://www.bevhills.com/gallery/lower-hairline-photos/
CORRECTIVE JAW SURGERY (Orthognathic Surgery)
And here we have jaw alterations. In these cases, surgery has been performed to fix serious structural abnormalities. Many of these patients look fabulous post-surgery!
http://drrichardjoseph.com/jaw-surgery/
For standard jaw reduction surgery – or jaw shaving, that apparently is popular among Asians, check this out:
http://www.asiancosmeticsurgery.com/html/beforeandafters.asp
Though also notice that the rhinoplasty before and afters aren’t dramatic and in most cases, I don’t see what was wrong with the original nose or the enhancement wasn’t worth it.
