Imagine your Kansas free land. (Photo Credit: CC BY/Adam Sparks/Flickr)

According to the Department of Agriculture, there are 386 U.S. counties where residents consistently reside in poverty. Of those, 340 are of the rural variety. In order to stimulate rural economic growth, some of these counties offer free land programs. Web sites including Kansas Free Land offer prospective homesteaders a means to take advantage of available free building lots, with the hope that the infusion of tax dollars and purchasing power will give communities a lift during the recession.

Support rural America with Kansas Free Land

Aside from being suitable for agriculture, ranching and other endeavors, Kansas Free Land gives potential homesteaders the opportunity for a fresh start, far from the hustle and bustle of city life. From Atwood to Osborne and Plainville to Chetopa, numerous Kansas cities are offering Free Kansas Land plots, many of which are located within range of major interstate highways. Links to individual real estate company websites are provided at KansasFreeLand.com. Residential and commercial options are available.

eHow advises that those serious about taking Kansas Free Land do the following:

• Decide how much to spend on a house before you move
• Get pre-qualified for a mortgage once you’re certain
• Be prepared for paperwork and credit checks

Taking advantage of Kansas Free Land

eHow advises those who are serious about the opportunities available to begin by researching the various communities where Kansas Free Land is available. Talk to locals, visit the towns and get the lowdown from law enforcement on safety. Each small town has unique local color and history, so research and interviews can prove useful in sorting things out. Wilson, for instance, is known as the Czech Capital of Kansas, while Marquette is only a few minutes away from Lindsborg, aka Little Sweden. For those with more of an interest in non-human creatures, Ellsworth, Kansas, was reportedly a wild cow town during the 19^th century.

Other benefits offered with Kansas Free Land

Depending upon the city you choose, Kansas Free Land may come with other bonuses. Some examples are property tax abatements, down payment assistance or waived loan fees on homes, and even the option to move a modular home onto your Kansas Free Land.

Sources

eHow: “How to Get Free Land in Kansas”

Kansas Free Land

USDA Economic Research Service

Profile of a Kansas ranching family

Jack in the Box is offering free tacos after 2 p.m. on Nov. 16. Image: Flickr / thetruthabout / CC-BY-SA

Today, Nov. 16, Jack in the Box is offering two free tacos per customer. This particular Taco Tuesday deal is good between 2 p.m. and midnight today or until supplies run out. This is not the first time Jack in the Box has offered free tacos, and it likely will not be the last.

Jack in the Box locations for free tacos

Unlike previous Taco Tuesday free taco deals at Jack in the Box, no coupons are required. All a customer needs to do is show up at a Jack in the Box location after 2 p.m. and request two free tacos. There are Jack in the Box locations in 18 states, and a full listing can be found on the Jack in the Box website. Most locations are offering the free taco deal, though a few franchises may elect to not participate.

Jack in the Box expanding

Though Jack in the Box has closed 40 company-owned locations in the southeast, the company is actually expanding. Jack in the Box locations have opened across Oklahoma, New Mexico and Colorado. The company is also airing nationwide ads for its products, trying to generate buzz in places that do not currently have Jack in the Box stores.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-2oJCtU9lc&feature=player_embedded

Make your own Jack in the Box tacos

Though two free tacos from Jack in the Box sounds great, if you’re addicted to the crunchy treats than you can also try making them on your own. There are two big secrets to Jack in the Box tacos that differentiate them from what you might usually make. First, the “taco sauce” is actually a mixture of refried beans and thin, spiced tomato sauce. Second, the shells are fried in-store, which makes them much more flavorful. To re-create this at home, try using this Jack in the Box taco recipe, or even just fry your own shells. You will be able to tell the difference.

In celebration of veterans, many places are offering free meals or deals to service members. Image: Flickr / walkadog / CC-BY

Veterans Day has has become a day when it’s traditional for businesses to honor veterans by providing free meals. The list of Veteran’s Day free meals for 2010 shows that the tradition is continuing. On Veteran’s Day 2010, free meals will be available across the nation for current and former military members.

Veterans Day Free Meals 2010

There are several national chains offering Veteran’s Day Free Meals on November 11, 2010. Be sure to double-check with your local businesses as well, as many of them are likely to offer Veteran’s Day free meals 2010. Most of these meals require a U.S. Uniform Services Identification Card, U.S. Uniform Services Retired Identification Card, Current Leave and Earnings Statement, Veterans Organization Card, photograph in uniform or wearing uniform, DD214 or Citation or Commendation.

• Applebee’s : Choice of seven entrees offered for free to service members. Drinks and gratuity are not included.
• Chili’s : One of six entrees offered for free to service members. Gratuity and drinks not included.
• Texas Roadhouse : Anything on the “Early Dine” menu free to service members from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.
• Outback Steakhouse : Free Bloomin’ Onion appetizer and non-alcoholic drink
• Golden Corral : The Golden Corral Military Appreciation Dinner will be on Monday, Nov. 15 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. A free Golden Corral meal will be given to military members.
• Hooters : All veterans and active duty military members eat for free from a special “Veterans Day” menu
• McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood : One complimentary entree to each service member. Online reservations are “highly recommended.”
• T.G.I. Friday’s : Buy one get one free entrees for service members from Nov. 11 to Nov. 14

Veteran’s Day Discounts 2010

Veteran’s Day free meals 2010 aren’t the only deal you can get on Veteran’s day. Veterans also qualify for a range of special discounts and deals throughout the year and on Veteran’s Day specifically.

• Home Depot : 10 percent discount on Veterans Day, Memorial Day and Independence Day
• Lowes : 10 percent discount on all purchases up to $5,000
• Dollar General : 10 percent discount with coupon available in circulars
• Sam’s Club : With membership, 36,000 Hugo Canes will be offered free to veterans that need “mobility assistance”
• Sport Clips Haircuts : Free haircut on Veteran’s day for all military members

National Coffee Day is today. And it is good. (Photo Credit: CC BY/viZZZual.com/Flickr)

Wednesday, Sept. 29, is National Coffee Day, and across the U.S. various establishments are offering a free cup of Joe to get you going. That singular roasted aroma, rich flavor and welcome shot of morning electricity to tired brain cells is welcomed by all who can handle the rush. CBS News reminds us that we once we’ve had our coffee and can function like normal human beings, we should remember that there are health benefits to coffee as well as drawbacks to the main ingredient, old Uncle Caffeine.

National Coffee Day: A tale of caffeine

There is no better way to celebrate National Coffee Day – after first discovering where to get it for free – than to check out the caffeine totals in various beverages. The Mayo Clinic indicates that caffeine amounts vary wildly from one brand of coffee to another. From Dunkin’ Donuts to Starbucks, or from a standard cup to a latte, cappuccino or mocha, caffeine amounts are quite different. According to CBS News, here are the numbers:

Dunkin’ Donuts, brewed, 16 oz (480 mL) 143-206 milligrams of caffeine

Generic brewed, 16 oz , 190-400 mg

Generic brewed, decaffeinated, 16 oz, 4-24 mg

Generic instant, 16 oz, 54-346 mg

Generic instant, decaffeinated, 16 oz, 2-24 mg

Starbucks Espresso, 1 oz (30 mL) 58-75 mg

Starbucks Vanilla Latte, 16 oz (480 mL) 150 mg

The good, the bad and the caffeine

Anxiety, difficulty sleeping and gastro-intestinal ills don’t mix well with coffee. That’s because of the caffeine. The Mayo Clinic warns that six cups of coffee or more per day can cause irregular heartbeat (not heart attacks, as was previously believed), headaches, muscle twitches and general irritability. Various antibiotics and bronchial medications don’t mix well with caffeine as well. If you’re curious as to whether your coffee habit is endangering you, ask your doctor.

There are health benefits to consuming coffee in moderation, however. Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s, asthma and gallstones are all conditions that are lessened to some degree by consuming coffee.

Celebrate National Coffee day

While businesses are still open, make your way there for a free cup. Be like the Ethiopian goats that first discovered the stimulating qualities of cocoa beans, writes IndyPosted. Worldwide, 1.4 billion cups of coffee are consumed each day. Contribute to the glorious statistical tally.

Sources:

CBS News

IndyPosted

The first one’s free

A vintage Budweiser neon bar sign. (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/Nancy ~/Flickr)

When Adolphus Busch introduced the Budweiser “Bohemian-style” pale lager in 1876, it quickly became a hit in America. According to a 2008 report the St. Louis Business Journal, beers by the Busch family corporation Anheuser-Busch held a 50.9 percent market share for all beers sold in the United States. Later that same year, however, Anheuser-Busch sold most of its stock to Belgian-Brazilian beer magnate InBev. Thus, America’s “King of Beers” became “de Koning van Bieren” and sales sagged. In order to bring drinkers back into the fold, reports St. Louis Today, Anheuser-Busch InBev will be giving away free beer – yes, free Budweiser – on Sept. 29 during National Happy Hour.

Free Budweiser and a massive advertising push

Participating bars and restaurants will distribute about 500,000 free Budweiser beer samples in 6- and 12-ounce sample sizes as local and state rules allow. The advertising campaign “Grab some Buds” will run Sept. 25 through Oct. 3 in a massive effort to raise Budweiser U.S. market share, which had dropped to 9.3 percent after a high of 26 percent in 1988. Drinkers in their mid-20s are the corporation’s primary target, as market studies have found that approximately 40 percent of beer drinkers aged 21 to 27 have never even touched de Koning van Bieren.

“We want to close that gap,” Anheuser-Busch InBev President Dave Peacock told St. Louis Today.

If you’re ever down in Texas, get the deep-fried beer hookup

If you’re of drinking age and happen to make it to the 2010 Texas State Fair, find Mark Zable. He’ll be preparing ravioli-sized deep-fried beer, which could (in moderation) make a fine complement to de Koning van Bieren or your beer of choice. Salty pretzel dough pockets are filled with beer, then dunked in 375-degree oil for 20 seconds. That’s long enough to cook the batter, but not long enough to burn away the alcoholic content of the filling. The London Telegraph reports that diners find the treat delicious, and that Zable is attempting to patent the cooking process, which may or may not include other secret ingredients.

For the record, Mark Zable uses Guinness. Sorry, Koning van Bieren.

Sources:

London Telegraph

St. Louis Business Journal

St. Louis Today

Wikipedia

What’s up with free beer?

Google Voice is now integrated into Gmail. It's a marriage of free U.S. calls to the U.S. and Canada, plus the convenience of your Google contacts! (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/adria.richards/Flickr)

The prospect of making free telephone calls from within the United States to other U.S. and Canadian numbers – regardless of whether those numbers are land line, cell phone or desktop virtual phone numbers – is enticing to all. It’s enticing to everyone except traditional phone and cellular service providers, that is. Now that Google Voice will soon be completely integrated into Gmail, it will be that much easier for Google users to make and receive high-quality calls for free. Wherever Gmail is accessible, so is free calling.

Google Voice turns your Gmail contacts into an active phone service

You may not have a phone on you, or you may be in a place with poor cellular reception or exorbitant roaming fees, but if you have an Internet connection and can access your Gmail account, you can make a free call with Google Voice. Calls outside the U.S. or Canada run at a very low rate, typically two cents per minute. TechCrunch reports that all it takes is the Google Talk plug-in for your browser. Make and receive calls from within the Gmail interface, and if you miss a call, the voicemail goes straight to your Gmail inbox. And here’s a neat feature: you can transfer a call in progress from Google Voice on your desktop to your cell phone iithout dropping the call f you’re on the go but need to keep talking.

Google Voice in Gmail is coming soon

Google is rolling out the new Google Voice features over the next few days to U.S.-based Gmail accounts, according to the official Google Voice Blog. Watch for “Call Phone” to show up in your Google Chat list. Google users who are using Google Apps for academic or business purposes will also be able to enjoy the new Google Voice features and free calling, but integration will take slightly longer in that case.

Sources:

Google Voice Blog

TechCrunch

Google Voice humor: testing transcript capabilities

Chicagoan Josh Stevens has taken up the Groupon challenge to wander the U.S. living off nothing but online coupons for a year. Think Stock photo.

Groupons are supporting the lifestyle of Josh Stevens for a year. Earlier this year the online coupon company threw down the gauntlet with the Groupon Challenge. Groupon dared someone to live off nothing but unlimited free Groupons for a year. Stevens went for it. Living life as the “Groupawn,” he’s about a quarter of the way through his year of traveling the country chasing Groupon deals for his basic needs. In Stevens’ Groupon universe, those basics can include carriage rides, yoga classes, boat cruises and lots of food.

Groupawn blog chronicles a year on coupons

Stevens, who used to be a corporate auditor, left his cubicle behind and accepted the Groupon challenge in May. He told CNN that he started with one pair of shoes, socks, underwear and a paper suit made of Groupons. Groupon gave him a laptop, camera, internet card and phone. Stevens can’t use or even touch money, but he’s supplied with online coupons that can be used for lodging, dining and shopping. He’s allowed only five visits from family and friends, with each visit lasting less than a day. He tracks his exploits in the Groupawn Blog as he barters using Groupon coupons for a place to crash, a ride  or plane ticket.

Groupawn guy gains a following

If Stevens completes the challenge, he wins $100,000. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel caught up with the Groupawn guy last weekend. He was passing through in pursuit of the next Groupon deal. Stevens told the Sentinel that he thought he would have to do a lot more bartering on the street. But when he talks about what he’s doing people want to become part of it. He arrived in Milwaukee more than three months into his Groupons tour, which has taken him to New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and several other cities so far

The Groupon business model

Groupons are daily deals offered by local merchants sold on the company’s website. The site offers Groupon deals in more than 165 markets in 22 countries to 11 million subscribers. The deal becomes valid when enough people buy in. If the quota is reached, buyers get links to print out their Groupons. If the deal doesn’t fly, the offer is canceled. Buyers aren’t charged for trying to cash in.

Groupons can bite the hand that feeds

The Groupon business model has been so successful that the Chicago Tribune said more than 500 Groupon clones have emerged online. But Groupon coupons can backfire for a business promoting its products and services. The Tribune reports that a growing list of local merchants have been overwhelmed by the Groupon response. A Chicago bagel company’s Groupon promotion cost $3 for an $8 voucher good for any menu item. Nearly 10,000 Groupons sold. After splitting 50 percent of the revenue with Groupon, the standard deal for most businesses, the bagel shop netted about $15,000 for giving up $80,000 worth of food.

Whataburger is giving away free burgers tonight for "Orange Night Out." (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/Hephaestos/Wikipedia)

The search for America’s perfect burger has fascinated both subterranean basement dwellers and penthouse lions of industry since ham and burger first became acquainted. Texas entrepreneur Harmon Dobson knew that two things were important to the burger connoisseur: first, that the burger requires two hands to hold, and second, that just one bite would prompt the diner to exclaim “What a burger!” According to the Houston Press, Dobson’s now 60-year-old Whataburger chain is rewarding hamburger fans with a free Whataburger tonight from 5 to 8 p.m. All one has to do is wear orange to match the Whataburger franchise’s signature color. Make it an “Orange Night Out” to celebrate Whataburger’s 60^th birthday.

Whataburger is a Texas and southern institution

The first Whataburger A-frame restaurant opened for business on Ayers Street in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1950. Today, the franchise’s sphere of influence has spread across the southern U.S. from Arizona to Florida, with nearly 700 locations. Made-to-order, pure-beef burgers with large toasted buns and all the extras a body could need are Whataburger’s claim to fame. From the Texas flavor of grilled jalapenos and extra bacon to just about any request imaginable, Whataburger will oblige, 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Yet what sets the company apart from most large fast food chains is its commitment to tradition. Harmon Dobson’s son runs the company, and Whataburger is proud of its family-owned and operated status. It’s why Whataburger calls employees family. If you’re ever down in Texas – or Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia or Florida – look up Whataburger.

What, free breakfast isn’t good enough for you, Houston?

According to the Houston Press, a recent Whataburger customer appreciation day featured free breakfasts for customers. However, the locations surveyed by one Press reporter remained “semi-idle.” Maybe Houston was holding out for the burgers. Whatever the case, the local press encourages Texans to orange it up for a burger legend on “Orange Night Out.”

Sources:

Houston Press

Whataburger.com

Even Mel Tillis loves Whataburger

Mmmm… smells like a Denny's free grand slam meal!

Even needed payday loans for seat cushions? I mean the kind you carry around with you at sporting tailgates, the kind that fit onto arena seats. If you’re planning to take advantage of Denny’s free Grand Slam Tuesday on February 9, you’ll likely need a cushion, as you’re going to be waiting in the lobby for a long time. Everyone will want to enjoy their free Original Grand Slam between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m., if for no other reason than to bring the pain to all those screaming chickens in the Denny’s Super Bowl ad. Check the video out below.

Free Grand Slam on your birthday, too!

Of course, it doesn’t work the same way it does on Ventura Boulevard, where freebie-seeking men shout out to ladies of the evening, “Hey, it’s my birthday!” At Denny’s you’ll actually have to register for the Denny’s Rewards program and show ID.

As an added bonus to the Denny’s free grand slam Tuesday, if you register at http://dennys.promo.eprize.com/freegrandslam, you might even win one free Original Grand Slam per week for an entire year! That deal may be artery clogging, but at least it’s had its shots. Check out Denny’s Facebook page if you have more specific health questions.

But Denny’s won’t stop there

They’re also dishing out one free order of burger and fries for the first 500,000 people who register at the above URL. The coupon for winners will be E-mailed on February 28… and those who sign up before Valentine’s Day will receive another special offer.

For those of you who are on the fence about registering for Denny’s Rewards, there are other perks. You’ll gain “exclusive access” to great meal deals. You’ll also receive a special reward on your Denny’s Rewards anniversary date. No, it’s not another holiday you’ll have to keep track of, a holiday where you’ll need payday loans to buy gifts. Your adventure with Denny’s free Grand Slam will indeed be a cheap date, as will the Denny’s Rewards program.

(Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oddharmonic/ / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Related Video:

Check out a recipe for Molten Chocolate Cake below. Image from Flickr.

People celebrate holidays for many reasons. Religion, tradition, family, patriotism and sometime just for fun. Everyone has their favorite small, unexplainable holiday. Mine is National Punctuation Day. However, I think many of you might adopt today as your new favorite holiday, if you haven’t already.

It’s National Chocolate Day, a perfect excuse to cheat on your diet or have dessert with breakfast or give gifts of chocolate to loved ones. Better yet, today would be a good day to discover opportunities to get free chocolate, and guess what! I have the answer.

Godiva Chocolate Rewards

You don’t have to take out a cash advance to enjoy Godiva Chocolate Rewards. In fact, all you have to do is sign up, and you get a free piece of chocolate every month. You can join the club any time, but what better time than National Chocolate Day?

Members of Godiva Chocolate Rewards also get a gift any time they spend $10 in one month. So, if you’re a chocolate lover, your chocolate buying habits will be rewarded with more chocolate! Joining Godiva Chocolate Rewards also gets you free shipping on an order and access to exclusive online specials.

Asher’s Chocolates

If you’re the type who doesn’t mind filling out online surveys and loves the thrill of winning, check out Asher’s Chocolates. Asher’s gives out free chocolate each month to one random person who participates in a survey. So if you’re delighted by the idea of National Chocolate Day, you might be a good candidate for the position of chocolate winner.

For more opportunities to get free chocolate, check All Free Samples regularly. Right now the site is offering free samples of Nestle’s (at http://www.nestle-abuelita.com/EN/Granulado/) latest hot chocolate concoction.

Molten Chocolate Cake recipe

You knew I wouldn’t leave you on National Chocolate Day without a delicious recipe for chocolaty goodness. I don’t know about you, but I think molten chocolate cake is one of the best inventions for fully enjoying chocolate. Here’s a recipe from Joy of Baking.

half a cup of unsalted butter, cut in pieces

6 oz. semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces

3 large eggs, separate yolks and whites

one-third cup of granulated sugar, plus 2 TB sugar, separate

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

one-eighth tsp. cream of tartar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place rack in center of oven. Butter four three-quarter cup molds, ramekins, or custard cups. (I recommend using large muffin tins.) Use some 1 TB sugar to dust the insides of the molds. Place  prepared molds on a baking sheet and set aside.

Use a stainless steel bowl suspended over a saucepan of simmering water to melt the butter and chocolate. Remove from heat; set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and the sugar until thick, pale, and fluffy. (When you slowly raise the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in slow ribbons.) Beat in the vanilla extract. Fold in the melted chocolate mixture.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until frothy. Add cream of tartar and whip until soft peaks form. Gradually add the other TB of granulated white sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. With a rubber spatula or wire whisk, gently fold the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture. Don’t mix too much, or the batter will deflate. Divide the batter between the molds, filling about three-fourths of the way. Bake 10 to 15 minutes.

When outside edges of cakes look set but centers still look wet, remove from oven and let them rest for a couple of minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of each cake and invert each onto the center of a serving plate. For topping, you can sprinkle powdered sugar or add a dollop of whipped cream or creme fraiche.

Note: If you prepare the chocolate mixture several hours ahead of time, pour it into the prepared molds, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Bake just before serving. When the batter is cold, it may take a couple of extra minutes to bake.

Image from Flickr.

Despite the mayhem that occurred in some areas the last time KFC gave out free chicken, the fast-food vendor is going for it again. If you sign up for the Colonel’s E-mail Club, you can print a coupon for a free piece of KFC grilled chicken.

Previously, KFC gave out full grilled chicken meals for free. In that case customers also needed a coupon that could be printed from the web site. Also, Oprah promoted the giveaway on her show and her site, adding a whole new level of hype to the phrase “KFC free chicken.”

Boston Market meals for $1

It’s a good day for chicken lovers, as Boston Market is running a special on chicken meals through Nov. 1. Customers who print out the online coupon can get a Boston Market meal for only $1. So if you were thinking of getting payday cash advance loans to pay for groceries this week, you might want to hold off.

Boston Market meals are pretty hearty. The $1 meals include a quarter of a chicken, cornbread and mashed potatoes. That is a whole lot of food for $1. Boston Market probably figured out that in order to compete with the ever-more-popular Dollar Menus popping up at every fast food place, they’d have to run this promotion to get people hooked. The strategy seems to be working, as the page that allegedly contains the Boston Market coupon (www.bostonmarket.com/restaurant?page=coupons) won’t even load right now, probably because of too much web traffic.

More free stuff

Taco Bell also is participating in a giveaway this week. Taco Bell says it will give a free Black Jack Taco to customers after dark on Halloween, which is Saturday. The only difference between a Black Jack Taco and a regular taco from Taco Bell appears to be the “zesty pepperjack sauce.”

Of course, the color of the shell is different, too, but that’s not really an ingredient. Black Jack Tacos are normally 89 cents, but you can try one for free on Halloween. In case I don’t make it to Taco Bell on Saturday, let me know if the Black Jack Taco lives up to all the hype. As far as I can tell, you don’t need a coupon to get a free taco.

Trapster puts the power to avoid police in your hands. Image from Flikr.

The best way to avoid getting a speeding ticket is to not speed. However, for those who just don’t see that as an option, there is Trapster. Trapster is a free smartphone app that “maps out and alerts users in real time to the presence of live police speed traps, red light cameras, speed cameras, and areas where police often hide,” says Wikipedia.

Personally, I think Trapster developer Pete Tenereillo really missed out on a fortune by not charging for this app. This dude would be a multimillionaire if all of the people who have downloaded Trapster had paid for it. I wonder if he’s so well off that he doesn’t need cheap payday loans or the cash he would have made from Trapster.

More Trapster features

As if warning you about nearby cops and cameras weren’t enough to get every smartphone-having driver out there interested in Trapster, it does more. Trapster users can use it to log trip data and even share it on Facebook and Twitter.

Some people think the idea of letting a whole big, public social network know exactly where you are is creepy and dangerous, but others think exactly the opposite is true. I definitely think it’s good to let people close to you know where you are and what you’re doing when you’re away from home, but I keep my Facebook profile private so not just anyone can use information on it to track me down.

Trapster as a financial planning tool

Of course, no one wants to get a speeding ticket. They are super expensive, and when you tack on the possibility that it could hike up your insurance rate, it’s even more so. Also, police officers will always look for additional offenses to tack onto your ticket like not wearing a seat belt, dark window tint, you name it.

Not having to deal with the cops and the cost of getting involved in the legal system is definitely a plus, but of course Trapster has been quite the controversial little tool. After all, if drivers know where the cops are, they know where the cops aren’t, and for some that means it’s speed demon time. So I cannot argue with the fact that Trapster does help people break the law.

New Trapster release

Tuesday a new, improved version of Trapster is coming out. CNET says the new version of Trapster features an improved interface, Bluetooth audio, built-in iPod controls, rotating maps and a real-time traffic map. Now, that last one sounds really handy!

Image from Flikr.

After AT&T delayed the launch of the iPhone multimedia messaging service (iPhone MMS) multiple times, the new, free feature will finally be available on iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. If you have an iPhone 2G or iPhone 1G, the wait is not over for you. There’s no word on when iPhone MMS will be available for those models. It might take as long as reaching tax resolution or longer.

PC World reports that AT&T, the exclusive iPhone carrier, would not allow iPhone MMS to launch until the network was ready to handle the additional traffic. PC World also thinks that this was an unnecessary precaution because “the service in question has been out for years on other handsets and hasn’t exactly taken the mobile world by storm.”

What is iPhone MMS?

The new iPhone MMS feature allows users to send photos, audio recordings, video clips or contact information and has a short messaging service. AT&T expects iPhone MMS to create record traffic volumes. In June, when Apple announce the iPhone MMS was ready, AT&T was concerned that it would crash the network.

While the same service on other phones has not generated groundbreaking levels of traffic, in my experience iPhone users have a tendency to take advantage of every feature they can, whether they need to or not.

Analyzing iPhone owners

Why do I think that iPhone users will take advantage of iPhone MMS more often than others have used multimedia messaging services? Well, let’s start with the fact that I at any given moment, in any place, I can tell you which of the people who I know in the room have an iPhone.

I do not know what type of phone anyone else has. I’m not even sure what type of phone my boyfriend has. But I know who has an iPhone. That is because iPhone users are constantly pulling out their phones to play games, look at pictures and most often to show people something after saying “Hey, check out how cool this is.” So my guess is that AT&T traffic will indeed spike because iPhone users will want to use iPhone MMS just because they can.

The whole truth

Is it fair for me to stereotype iPhone users? Maybe not. But any iPhone users reading this already know the truth: I taunt because I am jealous. I can’t tell you how many times I have been sitting on a bus or in a waiting room or some other situation where I really wished I could listen to music or play a game or surf the Internet on my phone.

If I had an iPhone, I would probably use iPhone MMS. As it is, I often send my friends songs through instant messaging services online. I am not much of a picture-taker, but I think if I had a device that could both take photos and send them to people that would probably change. I would probably use it on a daily basis, just to send my friends photos with messages attached that said things like “Look at this cute puppy!” or “Get a load of this guy’s hat.”

I am aware of the fact that this is what I would use my iPhone for, which is why I haven’t sprang for one yet. Someday, though, I’m sure I’ll realize I cannot live without being connected to the internet at all time. I’m already pretty close.

Celebrate your birthday in style with birthday freebies. Image from Flikr.com.

I was very surprised today when I found out about the number of birthday freebies that are available. It makes me wonder why I bothered to spend all that money on birthday dinners and lunches and treats before. For many birthday freebies, though, you must sign up before your birthday in order to get your birthday freebie.

For some birthday freebies you can just walk in and flash your ID, but many you must join a club in advance to get your birthday freebies. Signing up for birthday freebies, though, doesn’t take any longer than applying for payday installment loans online.

Join the birthday club

If you join the Buffalo Wild Wings club, you can get a coupon for a free dessert on your birthday. You’ll also be notified of special promotions year-round. If you join the Old Spaghetti Factory Kids Club, your children can get free meals on their birthdays.

You can also get birthday freebies from Qdoba Mexican Grill if you join their e-club. You get free chips and salsa just for signing up. Not surprisingly, Chuck E. Cheese offers birthday freebies if you join the Chuck E-Club. Sign up for Del Taco’s Raving Fan Club and you can get a free shake on your birthday. If you’re a steak lover, join the Lone Star Steakhouse E-club and get a meal  up to $15 free on your birthday.

Birthday freebies just for showing up

At Chevy’s Fresh Mex restaurants, you don’t have to sign up in advance, you just have to show up on your birthday to get your birthday freebies. You’ll get free ice cream — and a free sombrero! Check around with your local businesses to find more places who will give you birthday freebies.

Most large chains require you to sign up online in order to get birthday freebies and other special deals. A lot of places have clubs you can sign up for to get free stuff any day of the year.

Every day freebies

Many places will give you free stuff just for signing up for their programs online. Register with the Melting Pot and you can get a coupon for free chocolate fondue. You get one free smoothie from Juice it Up for signing up for their Smoothie E-Club. Later you will be informed about their birthday freebies, too.

Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill will give you coupons for free tacos when you sign up for their Beach Club. If you sign up for Wendymail through Wendy’s you get a $1 off coupon, and with all of the dollar menu items available at Wendy’s you can easily get a free meal. If you sign up for Noodlegrams from Noodles & Company a coupon for signing up, a free dish on your birthday and a surprise on your Noodlegram anniversary.

Back to birthday freebies

Here are a few more places you can get free meals on your birthday if you sign up online:

• Black Angus Prime Club, free dessert for signing up and free steak dinner on your birthday
• Moe’s Southwest Grill, join Moe’s E-World and get a free burrito on your birthday
• Through the Red Robin E-Club get a free burger on your birthday
• The California Pizza Kitchen gives free meals to kids any time during their birthday month if you’re signed up
• The Denney’s Kids Birthday Club gives children a free entree and a sundae on their birthdays

Access a university education from home with Academic Earth (Photo: flickr.com)

The more you know, the more socially, intellectually and (in some cases) physically able you become. Being a well-rounded citizen, friend and self-sustaining individual are all ends that can be achieved in large part through education. Unfortunately, many give up on the idea that they have to continue to learn throughout their lives if they want to challenge themselves, grow and live vibrant lives. Too many accept the black and white the world gives, topping it off on rare occasion with a splotch of gray. This is a tragedy, in that the world is filled with veins of colorful experience. Knowledge of how to live – rather than merely subsist – is essential for people of all ages. If the brain isn’t stimulated, the chance of senior onset dementia in later life is increased.

Use your mind while you’ve got it

Some people make good in college and truly expand their mental horizons. Others turn away from that kind of life and choose a trade, an average job or simply to drop out. Still more would love to be exposed to a university education, but lack the funds or the time to actually attend college. Sure, cheap loans or cheap payday loans can help with a little money once in a while, but not enough to bankroll a college education.

Yet there is hope. The popularity of distance learning has exploded across the World Wide Web, resulting in the availability of high-level university lectures covering a wide variety of topics. Two of the best aggregators of this video content are Academic Earth and OpenCulture.com. At no cost to you and on your own time via online video, you can view complete lectures from MIT, Harvard, Yale, Berkley and Princeton, among other esteemed universities. It’s all organized by topic and is easy to search, too.

“Hulu for nerds”

Farhad Manjoo writes for Slate that for anyone who has free time, there’s no excuse to stop learning. He recounts how he was able to hop from one lecture to the next, learning about everything from the origins of the current recession to long-term investing and more. Most of the lectures were very engaging, and for those that weren’t, leaving was as easy as a mouse click. Hop from the lecture halls of one university to the next without the travel costs… in no time at all! Academic Earth, while not an organization that can provide you with college credit, can give you nearly all the same material you’d receive in a traditional college classroom. They give you education when you want it. You can even subscribe in podcast fashion. As Manjoo describes it, “it’s like Hulu, but for nerds.”

And being a nerd is a good thing

Lead a busy life? Academic Earth is available when you need it! (Photo: flickr.com)

Academic Earth picks and chooses the best of the best, and its organization scheme couldn’t be easier to navigate. Google tried to achieve something similar with Knol, but the results were less user-friendly. In both cases, however, you are learning from acknowledged experts in their fields, as opposed to anonymous commentators that tend to color what appears on Wikipedia. Academic Earth, in Majoo’s estimation, bests Knol in that it presents material in the complete context of a course, whereas Knol is comprised solely of articles experts want to contribute at the time.

Academic Earth’s videos are generally of high quality, and make both the professor’s notes and spoken words quite clear. Discussion with students is sometimes included as well, but as the students aren’t speaking directly into microphones, the sound quality of their questions varies. Lecture notes, transcripts, handouts and homework are even available, but as this is all made available at the online student’s leisure, there is no grading pressure. How you use the material is up to you.

No grades?

Well, that isn’t entirely true. Viewers can grade the lectures to help clue the Academic Earth student community at large in to which lecturers pack that extra something that makes learning more fun. The base grade on a given lecture is “B,” but that can change based upon user reviews.

Where’s the profit?

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Richard Ludlow, Academic Earth’s founder, ultimately envisions his site as an agent for change. He told BusinessWeek that he hopes it will help lower the cost of education worldwide. But that can’t be done for free, or with just a few cheap loans or with cheap payday loans. While users can view videos for free, Academic Earth is a for-profit company. Thus, Ludlow’s initial plan is to add supplementary content that falls outside the Creative Commons. He will sell advertising on these.

Your college experience may vary

Studies have shown that distance learning can be highly effective, so the future of sites like Academic Earth is bright. Currently they do not replace a college diploma (as they are not an accredited academic institution), but who knows what the future will hold? I don’t believe online only education can ever fully replace the traditional college experience (some would argue the social element alone is worth the price of admission), but a more intense integration of online and on-site learning seems possible.

However, there are plenty of people out there who simply want to learn and are not worried about whether they’ll receive college credit or grab the reins of that “college experience.” No essays, finals, or boring discussions are to be found on Academic Earth. The bad ones generally don’t make it onto the site, and the lukewarm tend to be voted into oblivion by the user base. Plug in and spend an afternoon expanding your mind. Tune into one of Academic Earth’s playlists, even. But this isn’t merely an iTunes list of rock anthems or slow jams… it’s the tune a happy brain plays when it’s filled with interesting food for thought.

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(Photo: BrewedDaily.com)

Is a trip to Starbucks a part of your morning ritual? It is for so many people, even though the difficult economy has made a venti cappuccino habit less financially viable than it would have been in better days. However, Starbucks realizes two things:

1. If you’re going to get a good start in the morning, whether it be at work or at school, you need more than coffee to stay balanced.
2. People need freebies more than ever these days; there are enough reasons why we need quick cash from cheap loans. A balanced breakfast shouldn’t be one of them.

How do you get your free pastry?

Make sure you bring in the coupon at starbucks.com/retail/free_pastry.html!

Publications everywhere are publicizing this free Starbucks event. The Dayton Business Journal reports that the coffee megalith will provide every beverage-purchasing customer who wants one a free pastry. The giveaway will occur on Tuesday, July 21 only, from the time a store opens until 10:30 a.m. (or until the pastry supply is gone). Only dedicated Starbucks stores are participating, which means Barnes and Noble cafes will not be participating in this offer. Furthermore, Hawaii and airports are also not in on this deal.

If morning coffee is your mantra, add a pastry to your focus on Tuesday, July 21!

In case you missed it

What pastries are included in this offer by Starbucks? I’m glad you asked, freebie lover! You’ll have your choice of a muffin, scone, bagel, croissant, roll, bread, pound cake, morning bun, coffeecake, cheese Danish, apple fritter, tart, piece of pie or other pastry. That’s pretty inclusive, so if you’re planning a Starbucks run Tuesday morning, you’d be a fool to pass this up. Unless you’re gluten intolerant – then I’d say you’re being safe. However, Starbucks does offer some gluten-free pastries, so even you would have no excuse. Eat! Eat! Eat! It’s free! Free! Free! No quick cash for cheap loans required!

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(Photo: LouisvilleHotBytes.com)

I am a native Southern Californian who grew up exposed to Mexican border culture. Whenever I went to a San Diego Padres game with my family, the call of that concessions staple this is hot dogs was always present. I like a hot dog as much as the next guy, but living in San Diego presented certain regional options. One of those was the fish taco, which I love.

A delicious concoction from Baja, tacos de pescado consist of fried or grilled fish, lettuce or cabbage, pico de gallo and a splash of sour cream or citrus/mayonnaise sauce. The delicious mixture is contained within a corn or flour tortilla. Street vendors in Mexico sell these, but they’re also very popular in California, Washington and Colorado, according to Wikipedia. Since they aren’t expensive, secured loans for quick cash aren’t necessary to make or partake of such fishy goodness.

Get Fish Tacos FREE at Long John Silver’s TODAY, 7/14!

That’s right. Until 2:30 p.m., go to your local participating Long John Silver’s and you can get your hands on and your mouth around a Free Baja Fish taco. No additional purchase is necessary, and only one is available per customer. You can dine in, carry out your order or drive through for your free fish taco. Get moving!

Wienerschnitzel has a competing deal

Not to be outdone, the maven of fast food hot dogs that shall be known as Weinerschnitzel is offering FREE Chili Dogs or Free small ice cream cones from 5 to 8 p.m. Apparently July is National Hot Dog Month, which seems appropriate considering that the summer weather is fine and everybody loves to break out the outdoor grill and have a party. Hot dogs are often on the menu.

Don’t every say we don’t look out for you!

Personal Money Market wishes you a happy summer and hopes that no matter how bad the recession gets, you keep your taste buds on the loose for little culinary bargains like this. Whether you like fish tacos, chili dogs or ice cream, there’s sure to be something to please even the pickiest eaters in your family. And remember, FREE means no secured loans or quick cash. Eat up, bargain hunters!

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