Archive for the 'Miscellaneous' Category

Halloween Costume Stores Online

Now that the Halloween costumes have been out in stores for past month or so and you may have even taken the kids on a trip to a Halloween Costumer store (I just rode by one tonight and from the amount of cars in the parkin glot, IO’d say business is booming), it’s time to get serious about just which costume you are going to pick out for the kids and for yourself.

Despite the number of t-shirts proclaiming, “This is my costume…,” I believe you can do a lot better than that. Simply check out some Halloween Costume Stores online and you will see what I mean. There is no shortage of fancy and high-quality choices. In fact, some of them look downright theatrical in quality and detail.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re hosting a Halloween party at home, dressing up just to take the kids trick or treating door to door or to a child-oriented Halloween activity or even if your workplace gets into the Halloween spirit….you can find the perfect costume online right now and have it delivered in plenty of time for the holiday.

Start your Halloween shopping right now and you will have plenty of time to even make an exchange by mail if necessary with their quick and easy return policy. Place your order today (October 9) or tomorrow and you can even take advantage of a free shipping offer if you spend more that sixty dollars. Get the full details at the site., ,

Sample Holiday Cards Sale

I promised I would update my holiday cards page as soon as I came across this year’s promo. Details are on the page along with the code to get 14.95 off an order. Depending on the price of the Christmas cards you choose, you could end up getting five free!, , , , , , , , , ,

Carpal Tunnel Help

It used to be that only secretaries and writers typed all day long. Now, no matter what your profession, a large portion of your work time is spent typing on a keyboard. If that’s not enough to trigger carpal tunnel symptoms, most people spend another large percentage of their leisure time in front of computers at home too which means several more hours of typing and mouse use every day. All this typing can lead to compressing a particular nerve in the wrist. That leads to the pain, numbness, and tingling sensations associated with carpal tunnel syndrome.

When my wrist bothers me from too much typing, I’ve used ice packs and topical gels. I have a friend who suffers from terrible wrist pain and she has a special curved keyboard at work as well as a glove that immobilizes her wrist. I don’t know if it is this brand or not, but it looks like the
carpal tunnel relief glove sold here.

Actually I hope her carpal tunnel relief product is from that company, Imak, because they have a guarantee on their products for a full year. That is so unusual these days that it deserves attention. I think it is important with these types of items because often you think something helps in the short term, but you change your mind after a while. In this case, you have a whole year to decide if the product is relieving the painful symptoms.,

Web Hosting Comparisons

I just finished writing an article saying that parents should explore accepting credit cards to expand small businesses that they have started from home. This applies to online and offline ventures.

Here’s another topic that applies whether the business is primarily Internet based or more one on one with customers – having a proper website. Whether the website is the primary selling tool or just a jumping off point to introduce goods or services to the customers, the website needs to be reliable and properly presented.

That leads to the topic of web hosts. For some reason, many people, including people trying to earn money with their blogs are stuck on the idea of using free hosting services. I think it’s a matter of being comfortable with them and not having to spend anything. However, this does not go over well with prospective customers. They expect to see a unique domain name on a business website or serious blog.

If you are ready to make the switch to your own domain and web hosting for your business, but you don’t know where to start, then check out these web hosting articles and the ratings report on the site about different hosting services. It’s a great place to educate yourself on what is out there in the marketplace., ,

Turbochargers for Cars

Since I wrote about a car review site already today, I thought I’d extend the theme with an entry about car turbochargers.

Just saying that phrase has me picturing racecars zooming around the track. I always assumed this technology was only for professional racers. I never realized until I came across this website that offers vw turbo chargers and turbochargers for other models as well that anyone can fit their cars with these devices. (Actually, you might want a mechanic to do the work!)

I wonder what effect these items have on gas mileage. The site has a learning center so I will have to visit the site again later I have more time to read about it. Just from reading the introductory information, I already learned how turbochargers and superchargers work (and the fact that there is a difference between them).

Definitely check out TurboChargerPros.com and learn about the technology to see if it is a modification you want to make to your vehicle., , ,

Auto Air Conditioning

I know this sounds like something from a sitcom episode, but it really happened to my friend a couple weeks ago in the midst of a summer heat wave. She lost the AC in her car, condo, and cubicle all in the same week! Can you imagine? She couldn’t get relief from the hot, humid weather wherever she went. The automobile was the last of the three to lose the cooling capability. Up to that point, she was actually thankful to spend time in the car, even in traffic, to beat the heat outside.

I don’t know what the problem was at her workplace, but the culprit in the air conditioning unit failure in the condo and the car was the air conditioning compressor. Although she took her car to the dealer, other people look online to find auto AC parts like an AC compressor and find them at a discount. (Check the link above to see if the site has the parts you need for your car.) You can save a bundle if you order the parts online and know how to do the work yourself., , , , , , , ,

Television Viewer Declaration of Independence

This document is dedicated to the devoted and hardworking fans of Jericho as well as all those they’ve inspired to join the New American Media Revolution.

Television Viewer Declaration of Independence

When in the course of television viewing history, it becomes necessary for one group of television viewers to dissolve the bands which have connected them with traditional media outlets and traditional forms of audience measurement, common decency requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to this separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident:

  • All television programming is NOT created equal.
  • Television viewers are endowed by the creators of decent television shows with certain unalienable rights, that among these are:

  • Life Programs should not suffer under the constant threat of cancellation, especially when they have aired a minimal number of episodes. Television history is replete with programs that started off with low ratings, were kept on the air, and then ultimately became ratings powerhouses and unending sources of revenue.

    Liberty Programs should be free of interference from outside influences such as special interest groups and focus groups. Programs should be allowed to develop as per the vision of those that brought them to life.

    The Pursuit of Happiness Audiences should gain enjoyment from shows because the shows make a difference in their lives by illuminating and explaining the human condition as all good literature and performing arts have done throughout history. We don’t and/or shouldn’t find happiness in television shows that exploit (with or without their consent) real people by putting private lives on public display.

  • Every viewer should, can, and MUST be counted.
     
  • The Digital Media Age

    In the digital media age, it is both unacceptable and ludicrous to rely on a “representative sample” of a few thousand households to determine (and worse, to shape) the viewing habits of hundreds of millions of people.

    Statistics may not lie, but they can only tell the truth about what they actually measure. Since current television ratings only actually measure a miniscule portion of the viewing public, the rest is pure extrapolation.

    Advertisers should not be paying for extrapolations, speculations, assumptions, hypotheses, or good old-fashioned-guesses. Television executives should not be making decisions based on any of the aforementioned.

    We, therefore, the early adopters of the New American Media Revolution, do solemnly publish and declare that

  • we united viewers are, and of right out to be, free and independent thinkers;
  • we are absolved from all allegiance to antiquated methods of audience measurement;
  • we have full power to watch television programming across a multitude of media platforms as well as on the days and times we find most convenient.
  • We, the television viewing public, in order to

  • form a more perfect viewing experience,
  • establish justice in audience measurement techniques,
  • ensure that consumers’ voices are heard,
  • provide television industry executives with valuable feedback,
  • promote shows that are simultaneously thought-provoking and entertaining, and
  • secure the continued development, airing, and renewal of shows that have a meaningful impact on audiences,
  • do ordain and establish this Television Viewer Declaration of Independence in the name of viewers in favor of quality television everywhere.

    - - - -

    Please sign your name to the Declaration by leaving a comment in the comment section below., , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    Do You Still Use The Phone Book

    This may seem like an odd question, but do you still use the phone book?

    Annual phone book deliveries took place in my area last week. As I picked up that gigantic paper tome, I thought to myself, “Is anyone still using a phone book these days?”

    I haven’t looked up a number in the white pages or a business in the yellow pages of a physical phone book in almost ten years! I can’t even imagine the amount of money the phone company is wasting by printing those and still delivering them to every residence and business. I suppose the cost is partially offset or perhaps completely so and they are turning a profit by selling yellow page advertising. Even that must be on the decline. If less people are using the printed books, then the yellow pages aren’t effective as they were before and would therefore be less attractive to advertisers.

    I remember when I was a kid how excited we were every summer when the phone books arrived. We couldn’t wait to go through them to check for our own numbers and then look up all our friends to make sure they had been listed correctly. I assume those days are pretty will long gone since the phone number databases have migrated first to CD’s and now to Internet based services.

    Also, everyone has cell phones these days and can call directory assistance or surf the net on their phones and other devices if they need a number when they are away from home. There are also several services that you can call for free to search for local businesses by category and retrieve their phone numbers and even be connected to them. In fact, the Magellan GPS systems have that exact capability too.

    I know there is another side to the argument…not everyone has an Internet connection at home or uses the computer constantly at home. Still, I think the phone company should make receiving phone books optional. Think of the environment al impact. How many trees could be saved and how much landfill space not used if annual phone book consumption was cut significantly?