With the price of gasoline approaching $4 a gallon and the economy still in bad shape, Budget is hoping more deal-hungry vacationers want to rent cheaper vehicles — as long as they don’t mind driving a billboard. The Boca Raton, Fla.-based rental car company is launching its sponsored rental vehicles campaign in Atlanta, one of its major hubs, with 15 full-size sedans and 10 intermediate SUVs. Those are the sizes most frequently rented by leisure travelers and families. The cars are outfitted with ads for Sheets Brand Energy Strips, a product launched earlier this summer. The promotion was brokered by Wrap Media Group, which offers brands nontraditional advertising. The Budget campaign is a first for all three companies, and the Atlanta promotion continues through November. But the concept is not entirely new, having already been applied to vehicles like trucks and buses. Companies emblazon their corporate fleets with logos and independent contractors often promote their wares on car doors and bumpers. Renters who choose a sponsored vehicle will get the car at a significant discount or may be eligible for a free upgrade. The cars can be rented online or at one of Budget’s Atlanta locations. The promotional rate will depend on the market rate and availability. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/atlanta-budget-branches-target-leisure-travelers-with-rental-deals-for-cars-wrapped-with-ads/2011/08/01/gIQAVeslmI_story.html

Budget Control Act of 2011
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s365eah/pdf/BILLS-112s365eah.pdf

The FCC estimates that 15 million to 20 million households may have unauthorized charges on their landline bills each year, with charges ranging from $1.99 to as much as $19.99 a month. Most people have no clue the charges are there, the agency says, in part because they appear with vague wording such as "voicemail," "service charge" or "other fees." On cellphone bills, the charges may appear as downloads for services that were never actually downloaded, or as subscription charges for what users thought was a single purchase, perhaps for a weather alert or ringtone. The FCC estimates that 15 million to 20 million households may have unauthorized charges on their landline bills each year, with charges ranging from $1.99 to as much as $19.99 a month. Most people have no clue the charges are there, the agency says, in part because they appear with vague wording such as "voicemail," "service charge" or "other fees." On cellphone bills, the charges may appear as downloads for services that were never actually downloaded, or as subscription charges for what users thought was a single purchase, perhaps for a weather alert or ringtone. The FCC is proposing that third-party charges be broken out separately on landline bills, and that companies tell customers how they can block third-party charges. It is also seeking comment on whether similar rules should apply to wireless carriers and Internet phone providers. Phone bills aren't the only place where you will find unexpected charges. Singer Marie Osmond marched this month with scantily clad showgirls in Las Vegas in protest of mandatory "resort fees" assessed by many local hotels that aren't included in advertised room rates. Other hotels may assess similar fees for health clubs or office services, even if you don't use them. Comcast and DirecTV Group offer Showtime and other premium services for free for up to six months. Then charges of $10 or more a month begin appearing on bills. The companies say customers are told about the promotions when they sign up and it is up to them to cancel. What else can be done to root out mystery charges? Using skills honed reviewing your credit-card charges, spend a few minutes each month looking over your bills for unauthorized or unexpected charges and compare the total amount with the previous month's bill. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903635604576472390863801176.html

A palomino mare named Star grazes on Debbie DeLouise's clover meadow, hanging out at a salt lick there and frolicking with her foal Holly. But a legal dispute may imperil their pastoral bliss: It threatens to close the only store where Ms. DeLouise can buy food for Star and Holly. Without their special diet, the horses would waste away and turn green. "If there's no food, I'm not sure what will happen," says Ms. DeLouise, a Long Island, N.Y., librarian. Star and Holly aren't real horses. They exist only within Linden Research Inc.'s "Second Life," an online virtual world where people can fashion a new existence. But while the buying, breeding and riding of horses happens in the virtual world, litigation over them happens in real-life federal court. Virtual rabbit maker Ozimals Inc., and Amaretto Ranch Breedables LLC, the creator of Ms. DeLouise's horses, share a similar business model. Each sells cheap virtual animals to participants of "Second Life." Both make the bulk of their money by selling the food these pets need. Demand for the chow is heightened by a secondary animal market, in which bunny and horse enthusiasts breed their virtual animals and sell the offspring—sometimes for hundreds of dollars in the case of beasts with rare colors. Ozimals, based in Pelham, Ala., has alleged that Amaretto copied its software, using horses instead of rabbits. "Amaretto's deliberate copying of Ozimals' intellectual property is undeniable," a lawyer for Ozimals wrote in a November letter to Linden and Amaretto. The letter asked that Linden shut down Amaretto's store—a move that would starve its horses and constrain its revenues. Linden declined. The Amaretto horses went online last year, several months after the Ozimals bunnies. The horses were immediately popular. "You can ride them," says Ms. DeLouise, the librarian, speaking of her avatar. Amaretto's co-founder, Mr. Jazdzewski, declined to disclose Amaretto's revenues. Late last year, Mr. Jazdzewski got the letter from Ozimals claiming his Amaretto horses were copies of the bunnies. Candace Sargent, the founder of Ozimals, says she has "no desire" to sicken people's livestock. Through her lawyers, she says she has told Amaretto that her company would be happy for the Amaretto store to continue operating—so long as it gives away its goods for free rather than selling them. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904772304576470722021477098.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_tech

Sweet and Sour Eggplant, Tomatoes and Chickpeas is a dish from Lebanon. Pomegranate molasses makes it both sweet and sour; you can find it in Middle Eastern markets. Serve the dish as a starter, a side or a main dish with grains.
Find the recipe at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/29/health/nutrition/29recipehealth.html

Google has purchased more than 1,000 patents from IBM in an effort to build up its intellectual property portfolio, possibly with an eye to fending off the increasing number of IP lawsuits the search giant faces from competitors such as Microsoft. The 1,030 patents cover a wide range of technologies, including "the fabrication and architecture of memory and microprocessing chips," according to the blog SEO By The Sea, which first spotted the filings. They also pertain to several other key aspects of computing infrastructure, including servers and routers. Google does not make such hardware, but has built a number of massive data centers that use such technology internally to store and serve up terabytes of data through its search engine and other cloud products. http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/google/231002937

Word of the Day
Cobalt KOH-bawlt (noun) A tough lustrous silver-white magnetic metallic element that is related to and occurs with iron and nickel and is used especially in alloys; a strong greenish blue; cobalt blue - www.merriam-webster.com
Website of the Day Googlism www.googlism.com
This fun tool lets you see what Google "thinks" of certain topics and people. This site simply searches Google and the thousands of thoughts and opinions about thousands of different topics, people, names, things and places.
Number to Know 92: Percent water that a watermelon consists of. Today is National Watermelon Day.
This Day in History Aug. 3, 1936: Jesse Owens wins the 100-meter dash at the Berlin Olympics. http://www.examiner.net/newsnow/x1009572203/Morning-Minutes-Aug-3