Clark frequently opens his show by telling listeners that his purpose is to be of service to them. But have you ever wondered how you can be of service to others? Clark is a big believer in joining our nation's homeland security effort by signing up for state guard service. These are voluntary military units under the service of the governor in 27 of the 50 states. Like many people, Clark had never heard of state guards before a guardsman told him about them in the wake of 9/11. Now he's been active in the Georgia State Defense Force for about six years and has become a captain. Prior military experience is usually not necessary.
Different states operate their defense forces in different ways. Some train with the National Guard, while others don't. Some carry weapons and some don't. In case you're wondering, Clark doesn't carry a weapon! There's no pay for this work, but it really can enrich your life. Clark has been trained on search and rescue, medivac and community support in the event of a disaster. He had the privilege to serve his fellow citizens doing medivac during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Now he's just completed his annual training this past weekend and he's totally pumped about the experience. Volunteering for Georgia's State Defense Force is his way to stand up in an era when foreign enemies want to destroy us. Check out Clark's defense force guide for more information about state guards across the country.
If you filled up at a gas station in the last several weeks, you've probably noticed the price of gas has been zooming up. That's because the price of oil per barrel is nearing a historic high. The most recent trade Clark saw was around $95. But adjusting for inflation, we've seen higher prices in the $101 and $102 range. Clark's economical Scion XB now costs him 9 cents/mile to gas up. One of his coworker friends was recently shocked that he couldn't fill up his huge modified TV station van for $50. Clark's friend thought the gas station was limiting how much gas he could pump, but really he was just getting such little gas for such a high price.
The good news is that gas and oil prices should decline in the future, barring any disasters either manmade or natural. A lot of the recent rises in price have been because of speculators. In fact, the price of a barrel of oil is up $25 over the last two months. Prices will drop once the speculators put their money elsewhere. But in the meantime, those who use home heating oil in the winter will really feel the pinch. The price of home heating oil is directly affected by the price of oil per barrel. So make sure you insulate and weatherize your home to avoid getting financially burned this winter. The average house using home heating oil is looking at $2,200 in winter heating expenses versus $900 dollars just two years ago.
Clark has finally gotten his hands on a mini laptop called the Eee (pronounced "Triple E") PC that he's been talking about for the past several weeks. At $399, Clark admits to having overpaid for this computer. But he's really impressed with its usability and light weight of around 1.5 pounds. If you have smaller fingers you should have no problem touch-typing on the keypad. Travelers can now take an affordable mini laptop with them instead of paying $2,000 for a traditional one. The Eee is made by a Taiwanese company that teamed up with Intel, and it's designed for the basics: web surfing, e-mailing, word processing and cheap VoIP service. In fact, Clark's Eee came preloaded with Skype software! His computer even boots up in mere seconds versus a few minutes with most other laptops. His Eee uses Linux as its operating system. Linux is beloved by techies, but even a non-techie like Clark finds it extremely easy to use this laptop. Meanwhile, a version that runs Microsoft Windows won't be available for another couple of months. What about the much ballyhooed price in the low $200s? Clark says we should begin to see those kinds of prices sometime next year. So if you bought a Nokia Tablet PC on Clark's recommendation and really thought he stunk, you owe it to yourself to get to a store and check out the Eee. It will truly allow you to travel with laptop functionality without lugging around 10 or 15 pounds of extra baggage!
If you were expecting Google to announce the rumored Gphone today, you might have been disappointed. But Google did announce a new platform called Android that promises to shake up the traditional cell phone monopolies. Soon you'll be able to take any wireless device you want and access phone calling, e-mailing, web surfing, music and TV on your digital device. This is not a Star Wars thing that's 10 years away; this should start happening late next year! Google found support for Android among a lot of big-money players. They all see the financial advantages of busting up monopoly cell phone companies who want to control everything on their platform. What the future holds from here on out is almost limitless. But free cell phone calling will probably be one benefit!
Clark has finally gotten his hands on a mini laptop called the Eee (pronounced "Triple E") PC that he's been talking about for the past several weeks. At $399, Clark admits to having overpaid for this computer. But he's really impressed with its usability and light weight of around 1.5 pounds. If you have smaller fingers you should have no problem touch-typing on the keypad. Travelers can now take an affordable mini laptop with them instead of paying $2,000 for a traditional one. The Eee is made by a Taiwanese company that teamed up with Intel, and it's designed for the basics: web surfing, e-mailing, word processing and cheap VoIP service. In fact, Clark's Eee came preloaded with Skype software! His computer even boots up in mere seconds versus a few minutes with most other laptops. His Eee uses Linux as its operating system. Linux is beloved by techies, but even a non-techie like Clark finds it extremely easy to use this laptop. Meanwhile, a version that runs Microsoft Windows won't be available for another couple of months. What about the much ballyhooed price in the low $200s? Clark says we should begin to see those kinds of prices sometime next year. So if you bought a Nokia Tablet PC on Clark's recommendation and really thought he stunk, you owe it to yourself to get to a store and check out the Eee. It will truly allow you to travel with laptop functionality without lugging around 10 or 15 pounds of extra baggage! 
