Bank of America Will Charge for Debit Card Use (Updated 11-1)

*UPDATE* Bank of America Abandons (STUPID) Plan to Charge for Debit Card Use! 11-1-2011 Story here.


I think one of the most pervasive evils in this world is greed and acquiring money for money's sake. Once you have six houses and a plane, it's just about a number. It's never been anything I understood.
~Kevin Bacon

I read the news today (oh boy)
about a greedy bank
that makes you pay ♪♪

BoA! Really? $5/month to use a debit card?

A very good question: "Why is anyone still doing business with banks like these?" in this NYT article.

Note: I am glad that I do not (nor have I ever) banked at Bank of America!

Something else I learned when reading this news: Wells Fargo started it ($3 monthly fee to spend your own money!)

Wild Berry Fruit Jolly Ranchers = YUM!

I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week sometimes to make it up.
~Mark Twain

Today I discovered that Wild Berry Fruit Jolly Ranchers are awesome!

I have always been a fan of Jolly Ranchers and never realized they had new and different flavors. From the original flavors the cherry and blue raspberry are my favorites. The grape and watermelon are okay. I don't eat the apple at all. I always set those to the side, and if my boys don't eat them, I collect them in a sandwich bag and put them on the communal counter top at work. They do get eaten.

Wild Berry Fruit: wild strawberry, blue raspberry, mountain berry, strawberry-watermelon, and raspberry-lemonade (tastes like limoncello). I like every single flavor, and haven't picked a favorite yet.

Also new (to me): Passion Mix. A friend had some of those and I tried the peach (very tasty!) and the fruit punch (okay). I may try a bag of those.

Note: the main ingredient is corn syrup :-(.

Something I found while researching new Jolly Rancher flavors (well, besides the sampling research): Jolly Ranchers originated in Colorado in 1949. They are now owned by Hershey.

What is a Menhir?

Geologists have a saying - rocks remember.
~Neil Armstrong

Today I learned that a menhir is a large, upright stone.

Dictionary

It is also a parser generator, a German pagan/black metal band, and a Spanish tapas bar (they have a typo on their page).

I found menhir whilst searching for images of the Tree of Knowledge, which seems like it would be a nice image for my "Learn something new every day" blog. My first thought upon reading the definition was "Stonehenge." Is it a Menhir, or several menhirs? Or is a menhir something else? Further research reveals that a menhir can also be an ancient stone monument. So yes, Stonehenge is a menhir.

There are pagan overtones attached to most menhirs. No one really knows who erected them, or why, so attaching a mystery to something mysterious certainly makes sense.

There are menhirs throughout Western Europe particularly in England and France. Menhirs can also be found in Asia, South America, and Africa.

Famous menhir in Carnac:

I'd like to see the menhirs of Languedoc.

Note: the Blogger spellchecker does not recognize the word menhir.

Something I found while researching menhirs: Manor House for sale, South of France  20+ rooms, 1.3 Hs Parc & Pool, views of Pyrenees (in caseyou were looking).