Just Say No

I've been running around saying No to so many things out there. Exceptions do come everywhere. One among the exceptions are Riflescopes. The wrong scope can turn a beautiful firearm into an awkward clunker; the right one can enhance the performance of a fine gun.

Oddly, one of the least discussed issues when considering scope sights for a Rifle scope is balance. We talk about magnification, field of view, eye relief, aperture, exit pupil, tube diameter, lens coatings, parallax, reticles, brightness, resolution -- all those technical, optical engineering points -- but rarely do we look at the big picture -- balance.

"Proportioning" the scope to the rifle is important so that the rifle maintains as much of its inherently fine handling qualities as possible without compromising its intended purpose or sacrificing needed optical performance.

For example, have you ever bought a new Rifle scope topped with nothing more than a set of simple open sights, thrown it up to your shoulder, and marveled at its fine balance and dynamics? Then, having mounted a scope on that same rifle, have you felt a bit dismayed with the additional weight and sluggish handling that resulted? Your new pride and joy simply lost its balance -- its liveliness. The fit between scope and rifle didn't work out, but it can.

Fifteen years ago, you had two options when it came to paying someone else - cash or personal check. Nowadays, you have a dozen different ways with new methods popping up each year. I, for one, am ecstatic we're moving away from personal checks. I very rarely use bank checks and it's usually at the request of the person I'm paying. I'm not a fan of personal checks because personal checks are not secure.

They have almost all the information someones needs to steal your identity (name, address, bank, bank account number, and your signature). I'm not an identity thief so I don't even know the full extent of the shenanigans you can pull with just that information. but I imagine you could do some serious damage. The only time I use checks is when I'm paying back a friend for something, like for social sports leagues, and even then it's only if they want it as a check (they're doing me the favor, so I'll pay however they want).

As for taking personal checks, I don't take personal checks unless it's from some I know. I have no desire to verify a personal check and I definitely don't want to get dinged the fees for bounced checks.

Do you use personal checks? What's your feeling towards them? Let the world know.

When most of us think of Christmas shopping we picture crowded malls and shopping areas, difficulty parking and sales racks in complete disarray. For some people this hectic chaos is what Christmas shopping is all about and they would never consider avoiding the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season for anything. For these individual this is a very important part of the Christmas season. However, for shoppers who find this scene to be too frustrating and stressful there is an excellent alternative. Shopping online is a relatively new concept but each year more and more people are turning to online shopping to complete all, or even just part of, their Christmas shopping.

One of the most useful tips for Christmas shopping online is to do your Christmas shopping early but not too early. It is important to complete your online Christmas early enough to have the item shipped to the recipient in time to arrive before Christmas without incurring charges for rushed shipping. This is important because you want your friend or family member to receive the gift on time but you don’t wan to pay a great deal of extra money for shipping. While it is important to complete your online Christmas shopping early enough to get the gift to your friend or family member before Christmas, you do not want the gift to arrive early. Check out dealfun.com for a new twist to online shopping. While there is technically nothing wrong with this, it may be result in the gift being opened early or the recipient putting the gift in safe spot until Christmas and then forgetting it was ever received.