John Soares

In the last three months or so, I've started wearing a weight vest to walk around the park. I walk three times a week and walk six miles. Our park has a good mix of uphill, downhill, and flat areas. I've noticed that the back part of my thighs(hamstrings?) hurts a lot after I walk(I wear a 32 pound weight vest). Are there any stretches I can do(before or after), so I don't have this pain? It makes it hard to swing a golf club also. Thanks.

It is giving me an error. It has worked fine in the past. Is anyone else having this problem?

Thanks.

I'm looking for a face-forward design that will get rid of shanks(one less thing to worry about!). Also a well-balanced set of wedges that will help to keep the ball straight. It would also help to have a wedge that can cut through thick grass or tight lies. Any suggestions?

Is Skrill as trustworthy as Paypal? I want to transfer money out of there, but they want my bank account number. I'd rather transfer to a credit card, paypal, or have them send me a check.

Thanks.

You see this all the time now in Internet advertising: "One Weird Trick That Helps You Lose 30 Pounds In One Month!" or "One Weird Trick To Help You Drive The Ball 300 yards!", etc.

Where did this come from and why do advertisers think this is effective? Does it imply a quick and easy solution to a problem?

I see this all the time in novels. If we have four main characters, two females and two males, the men will invariably be referred to by last name only while the women by their first name only. It makes the women sound like children.

Any thoughts?

Taylor: usually for girls

Tyler: usually for boys

Madison: usually for girls

Mason: girls/boys

Blake: girls/boys

Parker: usually boys

etc.

I just find it strange; you don't see these names in "baby name" books. I often see these names in novels and have to keep reading for at least a page or two until I find out if I'm reading about a male or a female!

I found plenty of candidates, but most had too much or irritating narration, still pictures instead of video, verses scattered here and there. Is there some dvd that takes you through the most inspiration bible verses with moving nature scenes and soothing music in the background?

I trade stocks from my computer at home for a living. I do not need to stare at the computer all day, perhaps an hour at most a day.

I play golf or practice each day and that takes up from 2 to 4 hours. I also am learning classical guitar, but since I'm just beginning, I may practice 30 minutes a day.

I also enjoy reading, but I can't help getting the feeling that I'm wasting my time and should be doing something productive.

I have at least 4 hours of time per day that I can find nothing valuable or productive or even interesting to do.

I can always find SOMETHING to do to pass the time but who wants to waste time? I can easily do things like crossword puzzles, watch TV, etc but these are passive wastes of time.

I've also done my share of volunteer work, but have never found that fulfilling at all. I would hesitate to do that again. Either they couldn't find enough for me to do or the employees seemed to wonder if their jobs were safe!

Any pointers appreciated.

What's the fascination with the number seven for just about any self-promoted product on the internet? You see $27, $37, $47 all the way up to $997.

I remember in the old days, marketers would price something at $9.99 or 99 cents or $99.99. I guess the idea was to get the consumer to feel he was paying less. Ridiculous.

I'm just wondering how 7 replaced 9 on the internet. You don't see $9, $19, $29, $39, etc anywhere that I've seen.

I've always had a difficult time finding other golfers to play rounds with on a regular basis. Usually, I'm put with strangers I never see again or end up playing by myself.

I work at home as a stock trader, so I don't have access to work friends. I'm in my mid-50's and most of the golfers I play with now are at least 20 years older.

I normally play early in the day as it can get very hot here in Arizona after about 10 am.

I notice that most groups I play with already know each other from work or some seem to have grown up together. We also get a lot of Canadian and "northern tier" golfers in our winter. Most of them live in the same trailer court or caravan together, so most of them know each other pretty well. I also play with a lot of husband/wife teams, usually much older than I. I've also played with our local men's club, but again found they were well past retirement age.

Has anyone out there had the same problem? How did you find golfers in and around your age and playing level to play with all the time?

I have already been to a lot of on line "find local golfer" sites, but was disappointed to find that either the site was meant for dating only or there was no one in my local area. I live in a small town in Arizona.

Any help appreciated.

How do I find a classic stamp album that is mostly empty or never used? Here is what I want to do:

1. Collect stamps from 1840 to about 1950

2. Existing countries of interest: Germany and England

3. Dead countries and colonies during that time period. For example, Nationalist China and the African colonies before independence. Or Poland before/after the end of WWI.

I've been looking around ebay and see many albums offered for sales with hundreds of stamps already in them. Does anyone know how I'd find one of those classic albums that is mostly empty and in good condition?

I have stamps that I used to collect as a kid and also have my grandmother's collection.

Thanks for any help.

John Soares

sam38092@yahoo.com

Has anyone used Value Stock Selector by AptosSoft? I use Windows 7 and I'm having a heck of a time getting it to open; it keeps wanting me to register over and over. There is no place on the author's site to put my registration number.

Has anyone had this experience with Value Stock Selector? You need to run it in administrative mode, which is what I've done already.

Thanks.

1. I don't care about brand name

2. I don't care about how expensive or cheap the shoe is

What I want is a shoe that will keep me from slipping on wet grass or wet sand. I also want a shoe that will hold me firmly on dry ground as I make my swing. It would be nice if I could buy a shoe whose spikes don't wear out after six months!

Thanks.

John Soares

sam38092@yahoo.com

Here is what I see in most mystery/thriller/spy novels on my kindle:

1. Something bad is happening in the world and only ONE man can stop it. Why this is true is never clear.

2. This man usually has something in his past that he deals with every day. He if "flawed" and sometimes a "loose cannon". He is usually a "lone wolf" or a "rebel" who has trouble with authority but is somehow good enough at his job that this can be ignored. His new assignment nearly always hits "too close to home" or affects him personally in some way.

3. This man is usually an agent(CIA, NSA, etc.) or a lawyer, or a police officer or a private investigator or a doctor or some other occupation that is considered glamorous. He is never an accountant or a plain office worker.

4. There is always ONE person that is behind the "evil" and our hero always goes one on one with this person at the end of the novel. Of course, the hero wins and the bad guy is always brought to justice or killed. Usually, our hero knows the villain from his past.

5. For whatever reason(and sometimes no reason at all), there is always a "beautiful" or "gorgeous" female that teams up with our hero to solve the problem. Sometimes he has to rescue her from the evil guy or at other times, she serves no purpose at all. I've also seen that this "beautiful" woman is involved with both the hero and the villain!

6. Most mysteries/thrillers/spy stories feature extraordinary people in ordinary situations or extraordinary people in extraordinary situations. Every now and then you get ordinary people in extraordinary situations. But you NEVER get ordinary people in ordinary situations. I guess that is not "escapist" enough.

7. There is always sex and violence in these novels. I know that sex and violence(and bad news) always sells on TV, so I shouldn't be surprised that it helps sales with fiction. Neither is usually needed in a good mystery novel.

I realize that authors want to sell as many of their books as possible, but do they always have to be written with standard formulas? Do publishers force them to do this or not publish their book? Do you think the author would sell as many copies of his book if our hero had a plain-looking girlfriend? Or if our hero had no "love interest" at all? Or if our hero was married with children? Or if the "evil" person was not brought to justice at the end? Or if there were no sex scenes or unneeded violence?

Assuming English is your first language and you have taken foreign language courses:

1. What is the hardest language to learn for you and why?

2. What is the easiest language to learn for you and why?

I'm looking for languages that have very little to do with English or related Indo-European languages, although some say German is a very hard language to learn for English speakers.

I'll base my ratings on the "why" for each question.