Wal-Mart Blocks Dog Treat Sales

Wal-Mart is not calling it a recall. It seems that Wal-Mart is proceeding with caution, in light of the recent problems with contaminated pet food:

“LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. quietly stopped selling two brands of dog treats in July, after customers voiced concerns that the Chinese products may have caused their pets to fall ill, but no recall has been announced, a company spokeswoman confirmed.”

link: Wal-Mart quietly pulls dog treats, but no recall

Needless to say, it is time to check the cupboards again to see what treats you are giving to your pet. If Wal-Mart does not feel secure with these products, it may be prudent to throw out these treats.

An Easy Way to Refresh Your Pet

There are times when it is impossible, or inconvenient, to bath your cat or dog. And your nose tells you that your pet needs a cleaning. One way to refresh your cat or dog is to sprinkle baking soda onto the coat and then comb it out. If you can take your time, that is even better. It will give the baking soda that much more time to work.

The baking soda helps to clean the coat and helps to neutralize any ‘pet smell’ that the coat may have. There is one caution to remember. While combing out the dog, he/she may decide to help you out and give himself/herself a good shake. The baking soda will fly. So, pick the location carefully when you do this.

This is a good way to neutralize the ‘wet dog’ odor, if your pet has been outside in the rain. - There are many products on the market that are suppose to be good for cleaning your pet and neutralizing pet odor. Baking soda works exceptionally well, is relatively inexpensive and readily available. And, if you read the ingredients of those fancy (and expensive) commercial dog and cat products, you will find something interesting. Yes, the main ingredient in some of them is sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) - otherwise known as… ‘baking soda’.

We will give them games and they will love us for it

As I listened to how many bridges in my state are at least as bad as the one that recently collapsed, I pondered the state of American infrastructure. Blame was spread to many. I heard the need to raise taxes immediately to fix our bridges. I heard we spend far too much on other government programs, we need to fix our bridges and roads. Everyone is always looking to blame someone for their problems. I was just a little curious about how much we as a nation have spent on sports stadiums and arenas lately. I did a quick search, barely spent 5 minutes, this is what I found.

New Yankees Stadium Public financing: $220 million from New York City, Nationals DC Stadium ($611 million), PNC Park, Pittsburgh ($262 million), New Jersey recently ($750 million stadium for the New York Giants football team). $1.843 BILLION (probably a lot of roads and bridges) At least 50 stadiums and arenas have been built in the US and Canada over the last 25 years.

But stadiums bring construction jobs and then vendor jobs. They generate economic activity. Last time I checked bridges/roads and stadiums were both made from roughly the same material and people were used to construct them. My point is if we are going to blame someone we should look in the mirror of the bathroom at our local stadium.

Fraud of Almost A Million Dollars for Shipping

There are news items that just makes one wonder… ‘what were they thinking?’:

“Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) — A small South Carolina parts supplier collected about $20.5 million over six years from the Pentagon for fraudulent shipping costs, including $998,798 for sending two 19-cent washers to an Army base in Texas, U.S. officials said.”

link: Pentagon Paid $998,798 to Ship Two 19-Cent Washers

Just finding one such fraudulent contractor would pay for a number of Pentagon investigators. A million dollars here and a million dollars there - soon it becomes expensive for the tax payer. Furthermore, nineteen cents for a washer seems a bit steep.

How Do I Buy Land In The Country?

Looking to get out of the big city, get a little land, and just learn to relax in the country? Maybe have some cattle, or a horse or donkey or two? If so, this is a column that will interest you.

Maybe you’ve always dreamed of your own place in the country. Here’s how to buy rural land.

Determine how you intend to use the property and what features you desire, such as ponds, trees, or easy accessibility to main roads. Consider area amenities such as grocery shopping, banks, and hospitals. Narrow your search for the perfect spot by driving through rural areas, searching classified ads in newspapers or on the Internet, or contacting real estate agents about rural properties for sale. Walk over the property and obtain topographical maps of the site from the U.S. Geological Survey to learn about the terrain and features of the land.

Contact local government offices to find out about rights and restrictions that could affect your use of the desired property, such as zoning ordinances, historical restrictions or environmental regulations. Obtain prices of other, comparable land sales in the area from a local real estate agent. Ask the current owner for a professional survey of the property to determine boundary lines. Arrange to finance the land purchase through a private lender or the current property owner. Consult a real estate attorney or agent about contract terms before making your offer on the rural land.

To make full use of the property in the future, find out about all government restrictions or regulations on the land before you make an offer to buy the property. Obtaining financing on undeveloped land through conventional lenders can be difficult; your best bet for financing may be a private lender or the current property owner. Most lenders will require a subordination clause that requires you to pay off the balance of the loan on the land before taking out another loan to build a home or other structure.

Do you have a question that you want answered? So do we! But we’re at a loss for the answer to our question. So why don’t you just ask us your question at How Do I? and see if either we can or one of our many viewers can answer it? Maybe…