Jimmy's Favorite Sites

By Jimmy R. Hammond

How about a 750 square foot cabin, a 1,200 square foot apartment, maybe even a 4,500 square foot house delivered to your lot ready to be assembled. You can find these and more at www.fabprefab.com. Manufacturing technologies and labor costs have changed so much that manufactured housing homes are rapidly becoming a reality. My family bought a manufactured home, (not a mobile home, thank you) 40 years ago and it still looks great and is as functional as the day it arrived by train and then truck to their lot. At www.fabprefab.com I even found a glamorous waterfront home currently being assembled/constructed here in Annapolis. Check out this site and the Annapolis house. You'll have to find the Annapolis house on your own; sorry - no other hints. This could be where the baby boomers go next for retirement or a summer retreat.

Have you ever been excited about a site and its offerings? You check it frequently, maybe sneak a peek from the office and then home. Then something distracts you and the site becomes part of your electronic attic. Sad, but it happens. I am here to remind you that the Mars exploration team is still alive and working around the clock. It seems that each rover is on a different time zone and fully out of phase so that teams are always coming and going, night and day. If you haven't visited http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/ you have missed a lot. Since my last visit, NASA has assembled an expansive Mars landscape photo library and new analysis and theories about our red planet neighbor appear daily. You will be unhappy to know that the 90 day warranty has expired on Spirit and Opportunity, but after 400 plus SOL days they are both still functioning at near capacity. If that isn't enough to get you back, a new Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is scheduled to be launched on August 10th. This would be a great time to catch up on Mars and start watching the stars at http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/ .

Has the cost of auto fuel got you down, Bunkie? Then you might want to check out the full story on hybrid vehicles at www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hybrid_sbs.shtml. This site, sponsored by the US Department of Energy, is chock full or facts and figures and it has a great side by side comparison of the 4 most popular cars from Toyota and Honda. If you aren't ready to step down in size, Ford has one of the first of the SUV hybrids in the Ford Escape which can be seen at www.fordvehicles.com/suvs/escapehybrid/. It looks like Lexus is close to introducing a vehicle similar in operation, size and purpose to the Ford unit. Oh, did I tell you about the $2,000 clean fuel deduction you can take in your Federal income tax return though 2005 and in some cases $500 in 2006? It is a great way to save on taxes, cut operating cost and help with the environment. Triple winner!

If you haven't visited www.InsideAnnapolis.com recently, you've missed a lot of changes. The one link I encourage you all to visit is www.insideannapolis.com/covers.html. This was a trip down memory lane for me. Every cover of the magazine's 15-year history is displayed! No doubt the site or a specific cover will remind you of an event, a person or an article. I hope this pictorial bonanza will help as we continue to bring the older issues and articles back into the new archive structure. Enjoy!

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