Here are some links to articles of interest that I’ve been saving over the last week:

High on Mount Sinai?

“The biblical Israelites may have been high on a hallucinogenic plant when Moses brought the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai, according to a new study by an Israeli psychology professor…

The thunder, lightning and blaring of a trumpet which the Book of Exodus says emanated from Mount Sinai could just have been the imaginings of a people in an ‘altered state of awareness,’ Shanon hypothesized.”

If you’ve been thinking of buying a house, now is a great time to do so!

Mortgage rates down on weak economy

It’s a great to invest, period. What are you waiting for?

Invest, not borrow! Don’t fall into that trap like many seem to be.

Consumer borrowing grows

“Consumers increased their borrowing by $6.9 billion in January, just about in line with expectations, the Federal Reserve said Friday.

‘With other sources of income slowing down, consumers are shifting a greater bulk of their spending on to credit cards,’ said Andrew Gledhill, an economist with Moody’s Economy.com.”

This one’s filed under People-Will-Go-To-Any-Lengths-To-Get-Around-Laws:

Minnesota bars beat smoking ban

“A new state ban on smoking in restaurants and other nightspots contains an exception for performers in theatrical productions. So some bars are getting around the ban by printing up playbills, encouraging customers to come in costume, and pronouncing them ‘actors.’”

In this high-tech age, with TV and internet, you would think they would find a less costly method to do this. Why do they even have to let us know ahead of time? Just send the check!

IRS spending $42 million on rebate reminders

“The Internal Revenue Service is spending the money on letters to alert taxpayers to expect rebate checks as part of the economic stimulus plan. The notices are going out this month to an estimated 130 million households who filed returns for the 2006 tax year, at a cost $41.8 million, IRS spokesman John Lipold confirmed.”