RYAN

the numbers are apparently patterned and I can't figure out the last number. They appear as follows:

3 7

5 13

6 16

8 ?

I'm looking at two laptops separated by RAM and processor...is it better to got with more RAM or a faster processor. It will be used for home and office...no gaming. The choices are:

Option 1

# Processor: Intel Core i5-450M Processor (3M cache, 2.40 GHz)

# Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium

# 640 GB SATA II Hard Drive (5400 RPM)

# 8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)

# 8X DVD +/- RW Drive

# Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD

or

Option 2

# Processor: Intel Core i5-460M Processor (3M cache, 2.53 GHz)

# Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium

# 640 GB SATA II Hard Drive (5400 RPM)

# 6 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHZ

# 8X DVD +/- RW Drive

# Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD

also...would it be worth the extra $20 to buy a Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo (Reads BD and Writes to DVD/CD)

My mortgage is as follows:

1st mortgage - $146,000 @ 4.875% 30 yr term that I'm 5 yrs into paying

2nd mortgage - $36,000 @ 7.855% 30 yrs as well - 2 yrs into paying (182K total)

I have more than 20% equity

I'm thinking of a refi offered to me of 4.625% over 30 yrs that would consolidate the two loans with the closing costs into the loan. The cost of refinancing would be offset in 2.5 years by the monthly savings and I don't plan on moving at all.

Is there anything I'm missing or is this a no brainer. My concern is I', refinancing and starting over with a 30 yrs loan again so I feel I should pay down a bit extra to amortize to 25 yrs since I'm five yrs into my current loan.

I'm looking for opinions from professionals in the mortgage business.

what would be a great incentive to offer to insurance agents who qualify for certain promotions I'll run in the future. I'm looking for new and creative ideas and not the same old trips to somewhere, gift cards, branded company clothing/etc, or comission incentives. I'm looking for new ideas that are relatively gender neutral and would like to run more frequent promotions with less expensive items vs. prior years. So, I would like to focus on items ranging from $25 for smaller promotions to around $300 for my larger ones....items or services that are useful or handy around home or office, items that get used and don't collect dust. They get enough of those things.

I'm considering Little Giant ladder systems or dash mounted GPS for vehicles but I'm not sure that women would respond to these as well as men. Men seem to be drawn to gadgets.

Any help is appreciated.

I'm considering a Ruger 10/22 but wanted other input. I'll scope it and would consider a bolt or semi-auto action. Simply put, what's the best buy out there for a new OR used .22 at that price or below? I'll use it mostly for targets, rabbits, etc.

I'm new to a major insurance company's marketing dept and was looking for new and creative ideas on incentives, promotions, contests, etc. to help drive and motivate our agents to increase business/profitability in their personal lines property/casualty book of business. Any ideas are appreciated whether general or very detailed. Thanks.

I'm new to a major insurance company's marketing dept and was looking for new and creative ideas on incentives, promotions, contests, etc. to help drive and motivate our agents to increase business/profitability in their personal lines property/casualty book of business. Any ideas are appreciated whether general or very detailed. Thanks.

Whether it's for injuries, property damage, etc., I'm blown away how litigious a society we live in. many only hear about the large verdicts plaintiffs get and never the small or even defense verdicts of $0. The last three trials I've beeen involved (yes, on the defense side) netted the plaintiffs a combined $618.50. I spent nearly $100,000 defending them and would do it again. Two of them left offers on the table and one is paying some of our costs. Do people understand that can happen? Adjustors handle and settle many more claims than any single attorney does in the same period. Many adjustors settle more claims in three months than some attorneys do in a year.

Insurance is not a lottery. You get what your owed; no more/no less. Attorneys serve a good purpose and are appropriate in some cases but try and work out your differences with the insurance company first before running to one. There are 'bum' insurance adjustors out there but most are reasonable and they cost nothing.

This happens about a third of the time. The only way to fix it seems to be to hold the power button and reboot it that way but it's hit and miss. I've had to reboot five consecutive times in one instance before it runs right. Any ideas would be appreciated