Guns-N-Roses and Money Saving

Well, to borrow a phrase from one of sports most awesome broadcasters, Al Michaels, "Do you believe in miracles" Because Guns-N-Roses are finally putting out the long awaited "Chinese Democracy album. Orginally begun back in 1994 when Slash and Axl were still on speaking terms. The album will finally see the light of day at Best Buy stores on Sunday November 23rd. Of course everybody has since departed the band. Really nobody left buy Axel. I don't think the guitars on this new album are nearly as sharp as Slash. But Axel owned the rights to the name, therefore it will be release as Guns-N-Roses. But no Duff and no Steven Adler(he succumbed to drug addiction and got booted out.)

Here's a Wikkipedia entry on what has transpired in the past year.....

On May 4, 2007 three more tracks leaked from Chinese Democracy; an updated version of "I.R.S.", "The Blues" and the title track. All three tracks had previously been played live. Guns N' Roses embarked on the 2007 leg of the Chinese Democracy World Tour in Mexico on June, followed by dates on Australia and Japan. The songs "Nice Boys" and "Don't Cry" were played for the first time since the Use Your Illusion Tour. The tour ended on the twentieth anniversary of Appetite for Destruction's release date, in Osaka. During this tour, the band featured Axl Rose, Robin Finck, Ron Thal and Richard Fortus on guitars, Tommy Stinson on bass, Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman on keyboards and Frank Ferrer on drums.
Rose appears as a guest performer on three of the tracks on Sebastian Bach's album, Angel Down, which was released on November 20, 2007. [33]
On March 26, 2008, Dr Pepper announced a plan to give everyone in America - except the band's former guitarists Slash and Buckethead - a free can of Dr Pepper if the band released Chinese Democracy before the end of 2008. Rose added, "As some of Buckethead's performances are on our album, I'll share my Dr Pepper with him."[34] [35]
Chinese Democracy samples:
"Chinese Democracy"
Sample of "Chinese Democracy" from Chinese Democracy. "Chinese Democracy" was the first single released by Guns N' Roses since 1999.Problems listening to the file? See media help.
The next day, on March 27, 2008, the band announced that they had hired a new management team, headed by Irving Azoff and Andy Gould. [36]
On April 5, 2008, a picture of Robin Finck appeared on Nine Inch Nails web page [37], under the title "Welcome Back!" starting the rumour of his possible reunion with Trent Reznor. Later, on April 11, 2008, Robin Finck expressed his happiness on playing again with NIN. [38] On April 20, 2008, on Guns N' Roses official website, Axl Rose expressed his surprise about Robin Finck's latest news but assure that the band was working with its management on the release of Chinese Democracy and thanked the fans for the continuous shows of support [39]
Nine tracks purported to be from Chinese Democracy were leaked to an online site on June 19, 2008 and quickly removed due to a cease-and-desist letter from the band's label. Six of the leaked tracks had surfaced previously in some form, while three were new. The leaked songs are fleshed out more than previously heard tracks.[40][41]
On July 14, 2008, Harmonix, in conjunction with MTV Games, officially announced the release of a new song from the upcoming Chinese Democracy album, called "Shackler's Revenge", through their new game Rock Band 2. Also the song "Chinese Democracy" is being played on the bands website.
In late August, speculation about the impending release of the album resurfaced, further fuelled by separate reports from both Rolling Stone [42] and Billboard [43] about a November 25 release date as a Best Buy exclusive. On October 15, Best Buy's website was updated to accept pre-orders for the album, which will be available both on CD and vinyl, and on October 16 the page was updated with the official track list and artwork.
On October 21st various radio stations [44] announced that the title track of Chinese Democracy would be available to download by U.S radio outlets the next day, subsequently confirmed by a report from Billboard. [45]. The single is already in regular rotation nationwide. [46]
Finally, on October 22, the band's managers, Best Buy, and Interscope Geffen A&M Records officially issued a joint press release confirming the much anticipated release of the album in the US on November 23 as a Best Buy exclusive. The album will be available in 3 formats: CD, digital download and vinyl (with a free digital download option). [47]
On November 11, 2008 the iTunes Music Store began accepting pre-orders for the Chinese Democracy album, with the title track available for download on the same day. By November 13, 2008, ten days before the official release of the album, the single had topped the general iTunes Music Store chart in Greece, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Finland. In addition to being the No. 1 song and No. 1 rock song in the above countries, it became the No. 1 rock song on iTunes in the U.S., Canada, France and the U.K.[48]

So there you have it...the whole sordid story! That's the way it goes and Guns-N-Roses is back!

With cold and snow upon us...I'd thought it would be good to review some money saving tips from the Money Pit on AOL...
Here ya go:

Six Free Ways to Cut Heating Costs
By Tom Kraeutler, AOL Home Improvement Editor
In a report recently released, the DOE's Energy Information Administration said heating oil prices are projected to average $2.75 per gallon, a reduction of about 17% from the 2007-2008 heating season. Propane prices are projected to average $2.22 this winter, a decrease of 10% from last winter. And natural gas prices are projected to average $13.02 per thousand cubic feet, a slight increase of 2% from last winter.
Bottom line, it's looking like heating your house this winter is going to be close to an all time bargain.With this part of the economy actually working in your benefit, there are a few things you can to actually drive heating costs down even further, without spending a dime:
DO WINDOWS – Keep window shades open and curtains pulled back during the day to take advantage of the sun's energy. At night, keep shades tightly drawn to both insulate the glass and reduce drafts caused by convection, which occurs when warm heated air strikes the cold glass, chills and then falls on you as you are stretched out on the couch, causing an uncomfortable draft.
SET THERMOSTAT – Yes, we know figuring out how to program your clock set-back thermostat sends you psychologically back to the days you spent staring at a blinking VCR. But do it! Programming your heat to go down when you are sleeping or not home, and back up only when you are active in the house can cut heating costs by a whopping 10%.
LAUNDRY LATER – Running your dryer not only dries your clothes, it also sends lots of excess heat into the house. Time your dryer cycles to supply heat when you need it, like during the day when you first get home from work. Running the dryer when you go to bed is a waste since you are already tucked snugly beneath the covers.
REVERSE SPIN - Ceiling fans' reversible motors can spin indoor air into comfortable savings year-round, pushing warm air down in the winter and pulling cold air up in the summer. Add even more savings by installing an Energy Star-qualified model, which is up to 50% more energy efficient than a conventional fan.
PUT OUT THE FIRE – Even though the thought of a roaring fire conjures up scenes from a Norman Rockwell print, you'll save some dough if you skip the fireplace as a source of home heating. Most fireplaces are a home heating vacuum cleaner that sucks expensive, heated air right up the chimney. Instead, use them selectively as you would any luxury expense – because that is exactly what they are to run.
SKIP THE BUDGET PLAN – If your fuel supplier offers a so-called budget plan where the cost of heating is spread over a 12 month period of time, cancel and pay for only what you use. Unless your income is such that you can not take the least bit of fluctuation, it's never been a better time to just pay for what you need.

Post Election Mania

Here's one for the environmentalists among us...
A news wire story about the environmental effects of the 2008 Presidential Campaign.

We all know the campaigns spent millions to get their messages across. But what about the environmental cost -- specifically how much the campaigns of Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain contributed to global warming. Based on total campaign expenditures -- including flying, driving, and printing materials -- it's estimated that the Obama camp emitted nearly 78,000 tons of climate-change inducing carbon dioxide (CO2) and the McCain campaign roughly 59,000 tons of CO2. The campaigns would need to plant a combined 18 square miles of new trees to offset the climate changing pollution they caused.

The Mountaineers take on Cincinnati on Saturday night at 7pm at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Big game as the Eeers are undefeated in the Big East. A BCS bowl is still within our grasp.

Congrats to Governor Joe Manchin who easily won reelection on Tuesday. He's done a superb job and will continue to do his best for the citizens of this state.

Don't forget to sign up for Dirty Jobs with Raven Rock ....the logo is on the home page. I'm going out every week to pick a winner. It could be you. Good luck

Weekend info coming.
Rock on!
Dallas

Electrifying Election Day

Just got back from voting. Waited for a bit. But it was enjoyable talking with people at the voting booth. First time I had ever used an electronic voting machine. I have always used the punch machines.(the kind that had hanging chads in the Florida elections that were disputed)
It's really a magnificient privilege to be able to vote for the candidate of our choice. That's what has driven our great country for 232 years. Representative government. And we have no one to blame but ourselves if we don't vote or get the candidates we want. The secret is, if you don't like who's in office, vote them out or run yourself. I think frustration with politics makes a lot of people get more involved. Many a candidate has decided to run because they thought they were more in tune with what people wanted. And that's a good thing. We need all of us to be involved for the country to continue to be the greatest.
Apathy could be one of the greatest faults of many of us, when it comes to electing officials to govern us. Then again, you could be like me....have a wife, four kids and fighting to keep your head above water every day. Seems I work so much just to keep us floating and therefore I don't get involved in a lot of politics because I simply don't have time. I think that's where quite a few Americans are at this time. Just working hard, trying to live life and get by. Seems everything else comes in a distant second when you're just trying to support a family.

Maybe when I get older I'll run for office.
Director of music to de-stress people. We need that office on a state and national level and then
the world would be so much happier. We'd all live to tell each other about the latest cool song we heard and how it changed our world.
Ah.....peace, love and harmony. Like it's 1967 all over again.
Have a great election day!
Vote and be proud you're an American!