Tuesday, June 21, 2011

First day of Summer!

Most of us feel that summer has been here for a while now, but actually today June 21st is official the first day of summer, also known as Summer Solstice. After a bit of researching on the web I came across some very interesting facts that I would love to share with you about the “longest day of the year”.

The summer solstice occurs exactly when the Earth's and the moon's axial tilt is most inclined towards the sun, at its maximum of 23° 26'. Though the summer solstice is an instant in time, the term is also colloquially used like Midsummer to refer to the day on which it occurs. Except in the Polar Regions (where daylight is continuous for many months), the day on which the summer solstice occurs is the day of the year with the longest period of daylight. The summer solstice occurs in June in the Northern Hemisphere north of the Tropic of Cancer (23°26'N) and in December in the Southern Hemisphere south of the Tropic of Capricorn (23°26'S. The Sun reaches its highest position in the sky on the day of the summer solstice. However, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, the highest sun position does not occur at the summer solstice, since the sun reaches the zenithhere and it does so at different times of the year depending on the latitude of the observer. Depending on the shift of the calendar, the summer solstice occurs some time between December 21 and December 22 each year in the Southern Hemisphere, and between June 20 and June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere. Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied among cultures, but most have held recognition of sign of the fertility, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around that time.[3]

The word solstice derives from Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still).

Source: Wikepedia

People all over the world celebrate this remarkable act of nature with rituals, dances, picnics, etc. There is the “Tour of Stonehenge – Summer Solstice Festival“this annual celebration is held at the world heritage site of Stonehenge on England’s Salisbury plain.

(for more information click here)

If you can’t make it to England lets keep it local our lovely Town of Hingham has an annual celebration of summer as well and it’s held at the World’s End where family’s gather for a community picnic. This year will be held from 6 to 8:30 pm. live music by the Aldous Collins Band. (for more information click here

)


So whether you are flying to England or just keeping it local, make sure to enjoy the longest day of the Year as much as possible.


Other interesting links:

Washington Post - Summer Solstice

IB Times - Summer Solstice

Friday, June 17, 2011

Happy Father's Day!


We at Lamb Insurance is wishing all the dad's out there a Happy and Relaxing Father's day!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Teen Safe Driving Tips

As a parent of a teenage driver, it is critical that you continuously remind your child to remain safe. Although your teenagers are now more independent, your parental responsibilities continue. Now, more than ever, your teen needs your guidance on how to drive safely.


Some tips include:

Set a good example for your child


Don’t text & drive
Don't use your cell phone when driving
Drive within the posted speed limits
Teach your child to be a defensive driver, not an aggressive driver.


Tips you should share with your child


Know your child’s travel companions
Remind your child frequently of the inherent dangers of operating a motor vehicle with anything less than 100 percent concentration
Choose a safe car and make sure the car is in good order
Remind your child not to drive while distracted:
Don’t text & drive
Don’t speak on your cell phone and drive


You and your teenager should take our safe
driving pledge
! Drive safely



copied from: Plymouth Rock

Monday, June 6, 2011

Text and Drive Law in Massachusetts


The Safe Driving Law becomes effective in Massachusetts on
September 30, 2010. The law creates a series of new violations, which the RMV
Division, MassDOT IT staff and the Merit Rating Board are working to program and
implement.
These new violations include:




1. Ch 90/8M- Use of a Mobile Phone or Mobile Electronic Device by a Junior Operator
Civil Offense- No Surcharge (Mobile electronic device includes mobile telephone, text messaging device, paging device, PDA, laptop computer, electronic equipment capable of playing video games or video disks or can take/transmit digital photographs or can receive a television broadcast. Mobile electronic device does not include any equipment permanently or temporarily installed to provide navigation, emergency assistance or rear seat video entertainment. Reporting an emergency is the only exception. Drivers are encouraged to pull over and stop the vehicle to report the emergency.)




  • 1st offense-$100, 60 day license suspension & attitudinal course


  • 2nd offense-$250, 180 day suspension


  • 3rd or subs offense-$500, 1 year suspension


2. Use of a Mobile Phone by a Public Transport Motor Vehicle Operator Civil Offense-No insurance surcharge




  • $500 assessment each offense


3. Use of a Mobile Phone by a Public Transport Non-Motor Vehicle Operator Civil Offense-No insurance surcharge (MBTA Trolley)




  • $500 assessment each violation


4. Improper Use of a Mobile Phone by Operators 18 and Over
Civil Offense-No insurance surcharge (One hand must be on the steering wheel at all times and no use of device can interfere with driving)




  • 1st offense-$35 assessment


  • 2nd offense in 12 months-$75 assessment


  • 3rd offense in 12 months-$150 assessment



5. Sending/Reading Text Messages



Civil Offense-No insurance surcharge (Operators cannot use any mobile telephone or handheld device capable of accessing the Internet to write, send, or read an electronic message including text messages, emails, and instant messages or to access the Internet while operating a vehicle. Law applies even if the vehicle is stopped in traffic.)



  • 1st offense-$100


  • 2nd offense-$250


  • 3rd or subs offense-$500


6. Negligent Operation & Injury from Mobile Phone Use
Criminal Offense- Insurance surcharge

JOL Suspensions:



  1. 1st offense-180-day suspension


  2. 2nd or subsequent offense within 3 years-1 year suspension


  3. $500 reinstatement fee


Over-18 suspensions



  1. 1st offense-60-day suspension


  2. 2nd or subsequent offense within 3 years-1 year suspension


  3. $500 reinstatement fee


Additional Suspensions:



The law repeals the current suspension for 5-surchargeable incidents in a 3-year period and replaces it with a new suspension for 3 surchargeable incidents in 2 years. Violations with an incident date on or after 9/30/2010 can be factored into the new suspension calculation. However, older violations will still be considered a basis for operators that accrue 7 surchargeable incidents. Similar to the current suspension process for 5 surchargeable incidents, operators will have 90 days from the suspension notice to complete a National Safety Council course to avoid going into suspension.



EXAMPLE: An operator receives a citation on October 1, 2010 and is cited for 3 offenses on the ticket: speeding, failure to yield, and a marked lane violation.Under the new law, this driver will receive a notice that they must complete the NSC course in 90 days or have his/her license suspended until completion of the class.


Friday, March 5, 2010

Massachusetts Facts and Trivia

  1. 552 original documents pertaining to the Salem witch trials of 1692 have been preserved and are still stored by the Peabody Essex Museum.
  2. Boston built the first subway system in the United States in 1897.
  3. Although over 30 communities in the colonies eventually renamed themselves to honor Benjamin Franklin. The Massachusetts Town of Franklin was the first and changed its name in 1778.
  4. Norfolk County is the birthplace of four United States presidents: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and George Herbert Walker Bush.
  5. In Holyoke, William G. Morgan, created a new game called "Mintonette" in 1895. After a demonstration given at the YMCA in nearby Springfield, the name "Mintonette" was replaced with the now familiar name "Volleyball."
  6. There is a house in Rockport built entirely of newspaper.
  7. Hingham's Derby Academy founded in 1784 is the oldest co-educational school in the United States. Hingham's First Parish Old Ship Church is the oldest church structure in the United States in continuous use as a place of worship.
  8. The Fig Newton was named after Newton, Massachusetts.
  9. The visible portion of Plymouth Rock is a lumpy fragment of glacial moraine about the size of a coffee table, with the date 1620 cut into its surface. After being broken, dragged about the town of Plymouth by ox teams used to inspire Revolution-aries, and reverently gouged and scraped by 19th-century souvenir hunters, it is now at rest near the head of Plymouth Harbor.
  10. The Basketball Hall Of Fame is located in Springfield.
  11. James Michael Curley was the first mayor of Boston to have an automobile. The plate number was "576" - the number of letters in "James Michael Curley." The mayor of Boston's official car still uses the same number on its plate.
  12. The American industrial revolution began in Lowell. Lowell was America's first planned industrial city.
  13. On October 1, 1998, "Say Hello To Someone From Massachusetts" by Lenny Gomulka, was approved as the official polka of the Commonwealth.
  14. 1634: Boston Common became the first public park in America.
  15. 1891: The first basketball game was played in Springfield.
  16. Massachusetts holds the two largest cites in New England, Boston, the largest, and Worcester.
  17. The creation of the Cape Cod National Seashore, which was formerly private town and state owned land, marked the first time the federal government purchased land for a park.
  18. Robert Goddard, inventor of the first liquid fueled rocket, was born and lived much of his life in Worcester and launched the first rocket fueled with liquid fuel from the neighboring town of Auburn
  19. Quincy boasts the first Dunkin Donuts on Hancock Street and the first Howard Johnson's on Newport Ave
  20. Glaciers formed the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard during the ice age.
  21. The first U.S.Postal zip code in Massachusetts is 01001 at Agawam.
  22. Brewster has become the de facto "Wedding Capital of Cape Cod" because of its many small and larger inns that cater to weddings.
  23. The signs along the Massachusetts Turnpike reading "x miles to Boston" refer to the distance from that point to the gold dome of the state house.
  24. Harvard was the first college established in North America. Harvard was founded in 1636. Because of Harvard's size there is no universal mailing address that will work for every office at the University.
  25. The Boston University Bridge on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston is the only place in the world where a boat can sail under a train driving under a car driving under an airplane.
  26. The Mather school was founded in Dorchester in 1639. It is the first public elementary school in America.
  27. John Adams and John Quincy Adams are buried in the crypt at the United First Parish Church in Quincy.
  28. The Children's Museum in Boston displays a giant milk bottle on the museum's wharf. If it were real it would hold 50,000 gallons of milk and 8,620 gallons of cream.
  29. Princeton was named after the Reverend Thomas Prince, Pastor of the Old South Church in Boston, and one of the first proprietors of the town. Princeton was incorporated in 1759.
  30. The Pilgrim National Wax Museum in Plymouth is the only wax museum devoted entirely to the Pilgrim's story.
  31. The Boston Tea Party reenactment takes place in Boston Harbor every December 16th
  32. Massachusetts first began issuing drivers licenses and registration plates in June of 1903.
  33. The 3rd Monday in April is a legal holiday in Massachusetts called Patriot's Day.
  34. William Hill Brown published The Power of Sympathy in Worcester in 1789. An imitation of Goethe's Sorrows of Young Werther it is regarded as the first American novel.
  35. The fourteen counties in Massachusetts are made up of 43 cities and 308 towns.
  36. Elias Howe of Boston invented the first sewing machine in 1845.
  37. The first nuclear-powered surface vessel, USS Long Beach CG (N) 9, was launched at Quincy in 1961.
  38. The USS Constitution 'Old Ironsides', the oldest fully commissioned vessel in the US Navy is permanently berthed at Charlestown Navy Yard. Since 1897 the ship has been overhauled several times in Dry Dock 1.
  39. Revere Beach was the first public beach in the United States and is host to Suffolk Downs horse racing track, Wonderland dog racing track and a 14-screen cinema complex.
  40. The official state dessert of Massachusetts is Boston cream pie.
  41. Milford is known the world over for its unique pink granite, discovered in the 1870's and quarried for many years to grace the exteriors of museums, government buildings, monuments and railroad stations.

Thanks to: Sandy Kreutter, David C. Weiler, Peg, Ethel Duggan, Mary Ferrara, Wakelings, MATD27
source: http://www.50states.com/facts/mass.htm











Thursday, February 4, 2010

WE ARE NOW SELLING LIFE INSURANCE!

We just started selling life insurance, through SBLI.
A life insurance company you can count on.


At John J. Lamb Insurance Agency Inc, we can help you to understand what type of life insurance works best for you.


Please e-mail or call us today to get a free quote, based on your needs.







Jeanne McPhail

John J. Lamb Insurance Agency, Inc.
24 North StreetHingham MA, 02043

781-749-6960


Jeanne@jlambinsurance.com




link: https://www.sbli.com/get_life_insurance_quote.aspx

Monday, January 18, 2010

Keep your old clunker or buy a new car?




It may clang and bang, but your despised old car may be the best bargain around.
by Des Toups


Let's divide the car-buying universe into two camps: those who keep a car until it drops, and those who think a new car will change their lives.
To the first, a round of applause. There's nothing short of the bus that's cheaper than keeping a car until it crumbles into a pile of rust. Almost any car can be nursed to 200,000 miles without endangering your life, and even a new engine is cheaper than all but the cheapest used cars.

To the second, another round of applause, because the millions of new cars they buy every year instantly become used cars soon available at a considerable discount to those in Camp 1. And a moment of silence, because a new car will change their lives in ways they never foresaw on the dealer's lot.
If you're in a drive-until-the-muffler-is-dragging wannabe, read on. We'll look at ways to keep your car on the road longer and realistically weigh the costs of upgrading. I'd love to keep my old car, but …

It no longer fits my life.


You may have taken up gardening in a big way but still own a Corvette. You may feel nervous about taking your '78 Ford on a trip to Colorado. Your little Accord may be a tight squeeze when family comes to town. The answer to all: Rent. Why buy a gas-sucking pickup because you visit Home Depot twice a year or a $40,000 sport-utility because you take the kids skiing for a week at Easter? Even at $180 a weekend, renting is far cheaper than a car payment. Plus you get to drive the very latest without worrying about insurance, license tags, maintenance or depreciation. Or try swapping cars with a friend, returning it gassed-up and clean (with the oil changed, too, if the loan was more than a day or two. You want to be able to ask again next year.).Those repair bills are really adding up. Then do the math. Does the cost of repairs exceed the cost of a new car? A typical new car is around $28,000; that's about $475 a month for five years after 20% down. A rebuilt transmission might run $1,800, a huge outlay in one chunk, but far less than the $5,700 a year you'd spend on new-car payments alone. If you can't afford repairs twice a year, it's unlikely you can afford a new car payment every month. In any case, anybody with a car older than three years should be tucking aside $50 a month for repairs and maintenance. If the gods smile, you'll never use most of it and you'll have a tidy sum to blow on your next car.

I'm nervous driving an older car.


Maybe little things are beginning to go: a new thermostat one month, a starter the next. You might simply spend $56 on a AAA Basic membership and carry a cell phone, reminding yourself that even new cars aren't immune to mechanical failure. The upside of frequent breakdowns is that you'll get to know mechanics quite well. Find one you like. Flatter him. Pay your bills on time. And the next time he fixes your car, ask him to take a few minutes to see what else will need repair soon.
The repair costs more than the car is worth. A $1,500 engine rebuild that keeps your '83 Toyota on the road still makes good financial sense. It's at this point, however, that all but the flintiest drivers begin to think about upgrading.

Which brings us to our next question:

Am I ready for a newer car?
Your first step is to do nothing except write a check to yourself in the amount you're thinking you can afford every month. Put aside a car payment every month for three months (long enough for at least one of life's little emergencies to crop up).


To pass the time, make three phone calls: one to your bank, to find out what kind of rates they charge on loans to people with your credit history; one to your insurer, to ask the rates for comprehensive insurance on a model you think you'd like to buy; and one to your local DMV, to see what registration and licensing would cost.

At the end of three months, ask yourself these questions:


  • How much did it hurt? If you skimped at all on other bills or shorted the amount of the payment, you're not ready.

  • Would I have enough left over to pay for insurance and licensing fees each year?

  • Would I pay this much every month for the car that's in my driveway already? Sooner or later, every new car becomes an old car, and you'll feel about the next car just the way you do about your old clunker.

  • Would I rather have the cash? Our typical car payment, $475, adds up to more than $1,400 in just three short months. Perhaps you'd prefer to get a tan in Mexico and limp along with ol' Betsy another year.

  • Could I continue to save for another year and simply pay cash? Six grand would buy any of hundreds of reliable used models. Save for two years and you're approaching new-car territory, if your old car will fetch a few thousand.
    If the craving for a shinier car hasn't passed in three months, at least you begin the shopping process with a few months' worth of car payments and a more realistic idea of the hit your wallet will take.


Side note: Never skimp on maintenance



Pay special attention to the things that will cost you a fortune if they break. That means making regular oil changes, tire rotations and transmission tune-ups, even if the car is running fine. Timing belts, for example, are spendy at $600 or more, and replacing one for no other reason than that the odometer has turned 90,000 miles might seem wasteful. But let one break and you'll find that repairing bent valves could cost you three times that. Replacing torn CV boots, those plastic housings that keep grime and grit out of the car's constant-velocity joints, costs about a third as much as a CV joint repair.


(If your owner's manual is long gone, MSN Autos has a free online service,

My Car, that tracks your car's service schedule. [click on the link]http://autos.msn.com/everyday/everyday.aspx?src=LeftNav)

[article source] Des Toups is senior editor at MSN Money in Seattle.
Updated Nov. 18, 2009

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveonaCar/KeepYourOldClunkerOrBuyANewCar.aspx