We finally got our washer and dryer back a few days ago. We’ve had to use the coin laundry for so long that it doesn’t seem real. From what I’m told, the construction is almost done. I think a lot of it is the details, like pouring cement and putting in some of the fixtures.
I finally broke down and got myself a stamp for Where’s George. Normally, I write the site by hand on all of my bills. Recently, I’ve been getting fifty singles at a time, and I usually write the URL four times on each bill. That means that I have to write the URL 200 times. It’s a lot easier to have a stamp.
I’m going to be visiting my brother in Arizona in just under three weeks. I’ve wanted to do this for a while. I’ve just recently gotten around to being able to make the arrangements.
I don’t have much else to post right now. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to post more often.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Maybe once a year is more accurate
I need to get back into this. I was trying to write more often, but I’ve been writing less often. I’ve been busy with work, but not that busy. I have been writing, but when I do write, it’s usually for Epinions.
I’ve been entering a lot of bills on Where’s George. I’ve entered almost 1500 bills since February, totaling $5,843. I actually broke down and decided to get fifty singles. Entering them into the system wasn’t so bad. The hard part was marking them all. Imagine trying to write a URL 50 times in a really confined space. My handwriting isn’t that good to start with. (The backs aren’t so bad because there’s at least a wider margin.)
I’ve had only 22 hits, which means that 22 people have found and entered the bills since I entered them. (I’ve entered four other bills that others have entered.) Most of the hits have been in Florida, but I’ve had one each in Texas, Minnesota and Wisconsin. I’m hoping to get at least one from each state, known as a fifty-state bingo.
I think this would be a good class project. I’m not exactly sure how it would work, but imagine looking up each city as the bills were entered. The only real problem is that hits tend to be few and far between. Fewer than two percent of my bills have hits, and I’ve been doing this for several months. Between twenty or thirty people, that could amount to a lot over a year, but there’s no promise of anyone getting anything.
Anyway, I’m thinking of posting some pictures of deformed jellybeans. I have to take some pictures and see how they come out. If any come out decent, I’ll, post them,
I’ve been entering a lot of bills on Where’s George. I’ve entered almost 1500 bills since February, totaling $5,843. I actually broke down and decided to get fifty singles. Entering them into the system wasn’t so bad. The hard part was marking them all. Imagine trying to write a URL 50 times in a really confined space. My handwriting isn’t that good to start with. (The backs aren’t so bad because there’s at least a wider margin.)
I’ve had only 22 hits, which means that 22 people have found and entered the bills since I entered them. (I’ve entered four other bills that others have entered.) Most of the hits have been in Florida, but I’ve had one each in Texas, Minnesota and Wisconsin. I’m hoping to get at least one from each state, known as a fifty-state bingo.
I think this would be a good class project. I’m not exactly sure how it would work, but imagine looking up each city as the bills were entered. The only real problem is that hits tend to be few and far between. Fewer than two percent of my bills have hits, and I’ve been doing this for several months. Between twenty or thirty people, that could amount to a lot over a year, but there’s no promise of anyone getting anything.
Anyway, I’m thinking of posting some pictures of deformed jellybeans. I have to take some pictures and see how they come out. If any come out decent, I’ll, post them,
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Math
I think I may have a new direction for this blog and I have Where’s George to thank for it. I was thinking about how the currency circulates and the exact nature of getting change. For those that don’t know, Where’s George is a Web site where people enter dollar bills that they get. The idea is to hope that someone else gets the same bill and enters it into the site, thus allowing both users to see where the bill has been and how far it has traveled.
I began thinking about how I have so many bills and how easy it really is to accumulate bills. Take, for instance, a $20 bill. If I enter that on the site, I have $20 listed. Now, take that twenty and use it to buy a lottery ticket for $1. That gives me $19 in change. Most likely, I’ll get a $10 bill, a $5 bill and four $1 bills. If I add those to the original $20, I get $39. The cumulative dollar value of what I have entered has almost doubled.
At this point, the $1 bills are useless in terms of my demonstration. The $10 and $5 bills, however, will get me another $5 bill and eight more $1 bills. (The ten is broken into a five and four ones and the five is simply broken into four ones.) That’s another $13. Added to the running total, that’s $52. After spending the remaining five on another lottery ticket, I get another $4, bringing me up to $56 off of the original twenty. Assuming I withdraw only twenties, my potential is almost three times whatever I withdraw.
This got me thinking. What if I were to do some sort of math-related blog? I suppose I could think up some strange mathematical curiosity to work out or something. It’s better than just sitting around waiting for something to happen. Comments? Suggestions?
I began thinking about how I have so many bills and how easy it really is to accumulate bills. Take, for instance, a $20 bill. If I enter that on the site, I have $20 listed. Now, take that twenty and use it to buy a lottery ticket for $1. That gives me $19 in change. Most likely, I’ll get a $10 bill, a $5 bill and four $1 bills. If I add those to the original $20, I get $39. The cumulative dollar value of what I have entered has almost doubled.
At this point, the $1 bills are useless in terms of my demonstration. The $10 and $5 bills, however, will get me another $5 bill and eight more $1 bills. (The ten is broken into a five and four ones and the five is simply broken into four ones.) That’s another $13. Added to the running total, that’s $52. After spending the remaining five on another lottery ticket, I get another $4, bringing me up to $56 off of the original twenty. Assuming I withdraw only twenties, my potential is almost three times whatever I withdraw.
This got me thinking. What if I were to do some sort of math-related blog? I suppose I could think up some strange mathematical curiosity to work out or something. It’s better than just sitting around waiting for something to happen. Comments? Suggestions?
Monday, March 06, 2006
Another post
I know that I said that I was going to post something by my birthday, but I’m lazy. Besides, I’ve been busy writing for a contest on Epinions. I’m working hard to get to 2,000, which is a long way off considering that I’ve written only 18 reviews this calendar year and that I hit 1,000 reviews on December 11th of last year. (I now have 1,022 reviews.)
The construction is still going on. There are few major problems aside from still not having a working clothes washer. One is that the phone seems to go out every so often. This has to do with the fact that the wire going out has fallen down. We can get it back after messing with it a little, but it’s still an inconvenience. I guess it could have been worse. At first, I was expecting it to be hell with all of the noise and dust. I’ve been out of the house during most of the construction and the dust has been contained to the kitchen, leaving a small area to be cleaned up.
I’m posting two pictures of the construction. One is from the inside showing a window looking out of what will become my room. The other is on the outside looking at that same window. The windows were put in a few days ago. However, as you can see from the interior shot, a lot still has to be done. I knew that it was going to take a long time, but I had no idea that it was going to take this long.
Part of it is that we’re still ordering stuff, like locks, and we’re waiting on things, like tiles and stuff. There are also a lot of schedules to coordinate and many changes to the plans have to be reflected on the permits. I’m eager for it to be over just so I can get back to a normal routine.
Speaking of a normal routine, I’m still getting over a reformat that I did to my computer several months ago. I jut got around to putting GTA 2 back on my computer. I had lost the saved game I had, which means that I’ll have to beat the first level over again. I’ll probably do a lot of side missions and stuff just to get to the $1,000,000 necessary to get to the second area.
I’ve been looking for some other games to buy. I don’t really need anything fancy. I just want something to pass the time. Some of the games that I’ve found are too much for my computer. Others don’t look that involved. I may end up buying one just to get a review out of it. Worst-case scenario, I could bring it in to EB Games or something.
I suppose that’s all for now. I really will try to keep up.
The construction is still going on. There are few major problems aside from still not having a working clothes washer. One is that the phone seems to go out every so often. This has to do with the fact that the wire going out has fallen down. We can get it back after messing with it a little, but it’s still an inconvenience. I guess it could have been worse. At first, I was expecting it to be hell with all of the noise and dust. I’ve been out of the house during most of the construction and the dust has been contained to the kitchen, leaving a small area to be cleaned up.
I’m posting two pictures of the construction. One is from the inside showing a window looking out of what will become my room. The other is on the outside looking at that same window. The windows were put in a few days ago. However, as you can see from the interior shot, a lot still has to be done. I knew that it was going to take a long time, but I had no idea that it was going to take this long.
Part of it is that we’re still ordering stuff, like locks, and we’re waiting on things, like tiles and stuff. There are also a lot of schedules to coordinate and many changes to the plans have to be reflected on the permits. I’m eager for it to be over just so I can get back to a normal routine.
Speaking of a normal routine, I’m still getting over a reformat that I did to my computer several months ago. I jut got around to putting GTA 2 back on my computer. I had lost the saved game I had, which means that I’ll have to beat the first level over again. I’ll probably do a lot of side missions and stuff just to get to the $1,000,000 necessary to get to the second area.
I’ve been looking for some other games to buy. I don’t really need anything fancy. I just want something to pass the time. Some of the games that I’ve found are too much for my computer. Others don’t look that involved. I may end up buying one just to get a review out of it. Worst-case scenario, I could bring it in to EB Games or something.
I suppose that’s all for now. I really will try to keep up.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Where's George?
Valentine’s Day can be a tough day if you have to spend it alone. It’s not that I haven’t tried to date or anything. It’s just that it’s hard to meet someone. Most of my life is spent either at work or at home. When I do go out, it’s not usually doing things that are geared towards meeting people. I don’t like bars or clubs and I don’t know anyone that’s willing to set me up with someone.
Dating sites are a joke. You have to admit that any site that charges by the month and has a 3-month deal is a bit pessimistic. If I’m going to pay money for a matchmaking service, I want some measure of success within a few weeks. At the very least, I should see some responses, even if they’re negative, within a few days. I shouldn’t have to send several messages and not get so much as a quick “no”.
Is there something that I’m missing? Advice seems to be contradictory. Some people have told me that you have to relax and let it happen while others say that I have to get out there and be aggressive. Which is it? I don’t see how I can do both.
I’ve got my birthday coming up in one week. I’m turning 30 and I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. I don’t see why people make such a big fuss about the milestone birthdays. I could see if it was 100 or something, but it’s only 30. Get over it.
In more exciting news, I found a site called Where’s George, located at http://www.wheresgeorge.com. The George is as in George Washington, a reference to the fact that the site is used to track money. There’s nothing technical about it. There are no GPS locators or anything. It operates on a catch-and-release system.
You enter the serial number off of the bill and hope that someone has entered it before. If so, you get to see the bill’s history as told by those few who have encountered the bill prior to you. If you’re the first to enter the bill into the site, you get to originate said history. The next chance you get, you spend as many bills as you see fit.
Once a bill gets multiple hits, you get to see how far and how fast the bill is traveling. So far, I’ve hit two bills that were already in the system. Both have been from the Miami area. I’m the first entry for all of the other bills that I’ve entered. I’ve sent many of them back into circulation, but I’ve only been doing this for a few days, so nothing yet.
I’d really like to make a habit of writing here. Posting once a month doesn’t really count. I’m going to set a goal of writing another entry by my birthday. Maybe I’ll have a hit on Where’s George by then.
Dating sites are a joke. You have to admit that any site that charges by the month and has a 3-month deal is a bit pessimistic. If I’m going to pay money for a matchmaking service, I want some measure of success within a few weeks. At the very least, I should see some responses, even if they’re negative, within a few days. I shouldn’t have to send several messages and not get so much as a quick “no”.
Is there something that I’m missing? Advice seems to be contradictory. Some people have told me that you have to relax and let it happen while others say that I have to get out there and be aggressive. Which is it? I don’t see how I can do both.
I’ve got my birthday coming up in one week. I’m turning 30 and I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. I don’t see why people make such a big fuss about the milestone birthdays. I could see if it was 100 or something, but it’s only 30. Get over it.
In more exciting news, I found a site called Where’s George, located at http://www.wheresgeorge.com. The George is as in George Washington, a reference to the fact that the site is used to track money. There’s nothing technical about it. There are no GPS locators or anything. It operates on a catch-and-release system.
You enter the serial number off of the bill and hope that someone has entered it before. If so, you get to see the bill’s history as told by those few who have encountered the bill prior to you. If you’re the first to enter the bill into the site, you get to originate said history. The next chance you get, you spend as many bills as you see fit.
Once a bill gets multiple hits, you get to see how far and how fast the bill is traveling. So far, I’ve hit two bills that were already in the system. Both have been from the Miami area. I’m the first entry for all of the other bills that I’ve entered. I’ve sent many of them back into circulation, but I’ve only been doing this for a few days, so nothing yet.
I’d really like to make a habit of writing here. Posting once a month doesn’t really count. I’m going to set a goal of writing another entry by my birthday. Maybe I’ll have a hit on Where’s George by then.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Driving Force
I have to make a resolution to post here at least once a week. (At the very least, twice a month.) Things have been pretty boring. Most of my time is taken up with work, which leaves me with little time to do anything else. The big problem that I have is that I don’t drive.
It’s not that I hate taking the bus. It’s that having a car would be so much easier. Not having a car limits what I can do and where I can go. I would not be able to go south of the Miami downtown area and get back before the buses stopped running. I also can’t make any physically big purchases since I have to bring them back with me. The nearest bus stop is a quarter of a mile away, which means that I’d have to drag or carry something a quarter of a mile.
It’s also difficult being a pedestrian. The greater Miami area isn’t really a region that’s set up for pedestrians. You don’t really feel compelled to leave your car behind if you have one. When I go down to Dadeland Mall, I have to walk a good distance from the Metrorail station to the mall and there aren’t a lot of sidewalks. It’s not a lot of fun to walk through a parking lot that isn’t pedestrian friendly.
At the intersection by where I work, one of the buttons that you press for the crosswalk is broken. I’ve already reported it, but it’s not like anyone respects a pedestrian’s right of way anyway. Whenever I cross with the light, several drivers try to make a turn, even though they’re supposed to yield to me. I’ve even gotten dirty looks from drivers.
I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all been pedestrians at some point. What is it about being a driver that causes us to lose perspective? I think that part of it is that being a driver in Miami causes people to think little of others. Miami arguably has some of the worst drivers and some of the worst driving conditions in the country. If I recall, Broward County (the county to the north of us) has the most dangerous intersection in the nation.
We also have a pathetic transit system. Miami-Dade County has a rail system that’s just one line. Granted, the county is working on several other lines, but those aren’t due to open for a while. Even then, I’m not sure that anything will come of the proposed line near my house. In order for me to use rail, it has to be accessible.
The same could be said of the buses. There’s one line that runs within a mile of my house. That’s fine if I want to go south. If I want to go north, I either have to transfer (which costs an additional 50¢) or walk a mile to the next-nearest line. The cost of the transfer is on top of a $1.50 fare. I don’t feel like paying $4 round trip if I can avoid it and get some exercise at the same time.
I find it hard to believe that the fare was raised last year after the county voted for a half-cent sales tax to support mass transit. I’ve actually started using the bus less, preferring to do stuff closer to my house if I can. That’s three dollars to go to the library to get a book and another three dollars to return it, assuming that I don’t use a transfer. It would actually be about as expensive for me to go to the dollar store and buy six books. (I’d actually be better off because I could keep the books.)
What am I going to do? I’m going to have to buy a car and start driving. First, I have to get my license.
It’s not that I hate taking the bus. It’s that having a car would be so much easier. Not having a car limits what I can do and where I can go. I would not be able to go south of the Miami downtown area and get back before the buses stopped running. I also can’t make any physically big purchases since I have to bring them back with me. The nearest bus stop is a quarter of a mile away, which means that I’d have to drag or carry something a quarter of a mile.
It’s also difficult being a pedestrian. The greater Miami area isn’t really a region that’s set up for pedestrians. You don’t really feel compelled to leave your car behind if you have one. When I go down to Dadeland Mall, I have to walk a good distance from the Metrorail station to the mall and there aren’t a lot of sidewalks. It’s not a lot of fun to walk through a parking lot that isn’t pedestrian friendly.
At the intersection by where I work, one of the buttons that you press for the crosswalk is broken. I’ve already reported it, but it’s not like anyone respects a pedestrian’s right of way anyway. Whenever I cross with the light, several drivers try to make a turn, even though they’re supposed to yield to me. I’ve even gotten dirty looks from drivers.
I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all been pedestrians at some point. What is it about being a driver that causes us to lose perspective? I think that part of it is that being a driver in Miami causes people to think little of others. Miami arguably has some of the worst drivers and some of the worst driving conditions in the country. If I recall, Broward County (the county to the north of us) has the most dangerous intersection in the nation.
We also have a pathetic transit system. Miami-Dade County has a rail system that’s just one line. Granted, the county is working on several other lines, but those aren’t due to open for a while. Even then, I’m not sure that anything will come of the proposed line near my house. In order for me to use rail, it has to be accessible.
The same could be said of the buses. There’s one line that runs within a mile of my house. That’s fine if I want to go south. If I want to go north, I either have to transfer (which costs an additional 50¢) or walk a mile to the next-nearest line. The cost of the transfer is on top of a $1.50 fare. I don’t feel like paying $4 round trip if I can avoid it and get some exercise at the same time.
I find it hard to believe that the fare was raised last year after the county voted for a half-cent sales tax to support mass transit. I’ve actually started using the bus less, preferring to do stuff closer to my house if I can. That’s three dollars to go to the library to get a book and another three dollars to return it, assuming that I don’t use a transfer. It would actually be about as expensive for me to go to the dollar store and buy six books. (I’d actually be better off because I could keep the books.)
What am I going to do? I’m going to have to buy a car and start driving. First, I have to get my license.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
More stuff
It’s funny how a few days turn into a few weeks. The local election came and went and I’m at least happy with the candidates that won, even though only two that I voted for got in. I’m lucky that I had Tuesday off. Had I been working a full day that day, I would have had to wake up earlier to go in and vote.
I finally passed a thousand postings on Epinions. It took me several days to get over myself. I don’t get anything special out of it, but it is a strange feeling to have reviewed so many items. I still have a few reviews to rewrite. I hate having so many movie reviews to rewrite. A lot of the movies that I watched weren’t really worth rewatching. I got lucky with a few. With one, I got to watch it while I was waiting during jury duty. I didn’t get to watch the whole thing straight through, but I saw enough that I was able to piece together the major details.
I recently got into sudoku. Most of the ones I’ve done were easy. I’ve been trying to find more difficult ones. I like doing them online because they’re much neater. The two that I’ve done in the Miami Herald were messy because I kept having to erase stuff. That’s why I don’t like doing the crossword puzzles. (Well, that and the fact that I don’t know two thirds of the answers.)
The construction is going well. It’s not so bad not having the washer. We still have the dryer, which is nice. I’m not sure how much longer it will take, but I think I’ll be able to survive it. The most difficult part is not having the garage. There are things that I would consider putting out there had it not been for the fact that I can’t.
That’s all for now. Maybe by the next time I post something, I’ll have some sort of closing line or something.
I finally passed a thousand postings on Epinions. It took me several days to get over myself. I don’t get anything special out of it, but it is a strange feeling to have reviewed so many items. I still have a few reviews to rewrite. I hate having so many movie reviews to rewrite. A lot of the movies that I watched weren’t really worth rewatching. I got lucky with a few. With one, I got to watch it while I was waiting during jury duty. I didn’t get to watch the whole thing straight through, but I saw enough that I was able to piece together the major details.
I recently got into sudoku. Most of the ones I’ve done were easy. I’ve been trying to find more difficult ones. I like doing them online because they’re much neater. The two that I’ve done in the Miami Herald were messy because I kept having to erase stuff. That’s why I don’t like doing the crossword puzzles. (Well, that and the fact that I don’t know two thirds of the answers.)
The construction is going well. It’s not so bad not having the washer. We still have the dryer, which is nice. I’m not sure how much longer it will take, but I think I’ll be able to survive it. The most difficult part is not having the garage. There are things that I would consider putting out there had it not been for the fact that I can’t.
That’s all for now. Maybe by the next time I post something, I’ll have some sort of closing line or something.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Fewer books
I’m happy to say that I got rid of most of my books. I actually found a place in Miami Beach that was willing to pay me $81 for almost three hundred books. If you look at the picture in the previous post, I still have those two long cases. I also have two of the cardboard boxes, but they were willing to take a lot of old textbooks that I couldn’t get rid of. I have mostly paperbacks left, which I may or may not sell on eBay. If I can’t get rid of them, I may call back after the New Year to see if he’s going to take any more.
I actually bought three new pairs of shirts and three pairs of pants for work. This gives me enough that I should be able to last at least a week between washes. The washer and drier will be disconnected tomorrow, so we’re going through as much laundry as we can tonight. It’s getting to the point where I’m washing work clothes about as quickly as I use them. I’m hoping that they won’t be out of commission that long. However, it will now be a little easier to survive.
My brother comes back into town next week, which I’m looking forward to. I’d say that this means that I’ll be writing less, but I’m already writing about once a month. It might actually mean that I’ll be writing more since I may have more to write about.
Had it not been for work, I would have passed 1,000 postings on Epinions by now. As it stands, I’m three shy of the milestone. I could probably get two more out tonight and maybe get some sort editorial in commemorating a thousand. So far as I know, very few people on Epinions have made it this far, mostly because there’s so little money to be made in it.
In any event, that’s all I have for now. I’ll probably be posting in a few days because we have a local election tomorrow. Yes, I know. It would have been the perfect subject for a blog. Insofar as elections go, there really wasn’t that much to cover.
I actually bought three new pairs of shirts and three pairs of pants for work. This gives me enough that I should be able to last at least a week between washes. The washer and drier will be disconnected tomorrow, so we’re going through as much laundry as we can tonight. It’s getting to the point where I’m washing work clothes about as quickly as I use them. I’m hoping that they won’t be out of commission that long. However, it will now be a little easier to survive.
My brother comes back into town next week, which I’m looking forward to. I’d say that this means that I’ll be writing less, but I’m already writing about once a month. It might actually mean that I’ll be writing more since I may have more to write about.
Had it not been for work, I would have passed 1,000 postings on Epinions by now. As it stands, I’m three shy of the milestone. I could probably get two more out tonight and maybe get some sort editorial in commemorating a thousand. So far as I know, very few people on Epinions have made it this far, mostly because there’s so little money to be made in it.
In any event, that’s all I have for now. I’ll probably be posting in a few days because we have a local election tomorrow. Yes, I know. It would have been the perfect subject for a blog. Insofar as elections go, there really wasn’t that much to cover.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Turning Point
I guess this is one of those situations where I should have written more often, but I’m not really that far behind. I’d like to start by saying that I’m no longer selling on Half.com. They’ve made two recent decisions that lead me to believe that eBay doesn’t care about Half.com users.
The first is the removal of the preorder function. Preordering allows Half.com users to set a price at which they want the site to automatically order an item. When this happens and I list that hypothetical item, I see that someone is willing to pay a certain amount. If I think that this is a reasonable offer, I can accept. If not, I can list the item at a higher price.
The second (which really annoys me) is the removal of order confirmation. It used to be that when I got an order, I was able to confirm it. Now, it’s automatically assumed to be confirmed. I would have to refund the money if I can’t find the book.
So far as I know, the first issue is still in place. They may have changed the second back to the way it was, but I’m still quitting Half.com for good. It seems that since the eBay acquisition, they just don’t care any more.
We had a yard sale this weekend, but I didn’t sell that much. I didn’t even make $6. What I’m going to do is try to call some used bookstores either tomorrow or Tuesday. Hopefully, at least one will take cash. If not, I may have to list the books on eBay to get rid of them. If that’s what it comes to, I’ll have to sell them in lots to keep the listing fees down. As you can see from the picture I’m posting, I have a lot.
The main reason we had the garage sale was to clear out the garage. We’re going to do some construction on it and put in a bedroom. I’m not really sure about the exact plans. My parents have changed their minds about it several times.
The main thing that worries me about the construction is that we’ll be without the washer and drier, meaning that I’ll only be able to do my laundry occasionally. As it was, I could wash work clothes as needed. I’m going to buy extra clothes soon, possibly in the next week. This way, I could go a week or two without having to do laundry.
I’m sure I’ll survive. I suppose that in the grand scheme of things, it could be a lot worse.
The first is the removal of the preorder function. Preordering allows Half.com users to set a price at which they want the site to automatically order an item. When this happens and I list that hypothetical item, I see that someone is willing to pay a certain amount. If I think that this is a reasonable offer, I can accept. If not, I can list the item at a higher price.
The second (which really annoys me) is the removal of order confirmation. It used to be that when I got an order, I was able to confirm it. Now, it’s automatically assumed to be confirmed. I would have to refund the money if I can’t find the book.
So far as I know, the first issue is still in place. They may have changed the second back to the way it was, but I’m still quitting Half.com for good. It seems that since the eBay acquisition, they just don’t care any more.
We had a yard sale this weekend, but I didn’t sell that much. I didn’t even make $6. What I’m going to do is try to call some used bookstores either tomorrow or Tuesday. Hopefully, at least one will take cash. If not, I may have to list the books on eBay to get rid of them. If that’s what it comes to, I’ll have to sell them in lots to keep the listing fees down. As you can see from the picture I’m posting, I have a lot.
The main reason we had the garage sale was to clear out the garage. We’re going to do some construction on it and put in a bedroom. I’m not really sure about the exact plans. My parents have changed their minds about it several times.
The main thing that worries me about the construction is that we’ll be without the washer and drier, meaning that I’ll only be able to do my laundry occasionally. As it was, I could wash work clothes as needed. I’m going to buy extra clothes soon, possibly in the next week. This way, I could go a week or two without having to do laundry.
I’m sure I’ll survive. I suppose that in the grand scheme of things, it could be a lot worse.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Post-hurricane post
As I predicted, my post here was limited during the hurricane. I got poser back relatively quickly, but Internet access took a while to get back. I didn’t get to watch many of my programs for the two weeks following Wilma because we didn’t get the local NBC affiliate. It left me to watch a lot of movies on DVD.
My Internet access is still somewhat patchy. It seems to work until I need to go online. When I have to look at something, I can stay on for a few minutes or so. It seems to be more stable now, but I’m still writing this in Word.
The Aventura branch of the Miami-Dade County library system was closed indefinitely due to hurricane damages. I’m going to have to check to see what happened with the books I had on hold. I may have to put them on hold for the downtown library.
In other news, I set up a shop on CafePress.com, located at http://www.cafepress.com/b_and_p. Mostly, it’s just stuff with the “Bark and Pee” photo from before. I also set up custom postage using an image that I normally use for profiles. I really can’t see anyone buying that. Even I have to admit that it’s overpriced. I’ll see if anyone buys it. If I can’t sell any in the next month or two, I’ll probably take it off.
Elections are coming up in Biscayne Park. The election is scheduled for December 6, but there was talk of postponing it due to the hurricane. I don’t think anything came of that. I won’t be working that election for two reasons. First, I never worked in my home precinct. Second, even if they called, I don’t think I’d want to. My current work schedule would theoretically permit it, but I still probably wouldn’t want to. I don’t need the money that much.
My Internet access is still somewhat patchy. It seems to work until I need to go online. When I have to look at something, I can stay on for a few minutes or so. It seems to be more stable now, but I’m still writing this in Word.
The Aventura branch of the Miami-Dade County library system was closed indefinitely due to hurricane damages. I’m going to have to check to see what happened with the books I had on hold. I may have to put them on hold for the downtown library.
In other news, I set up a shop on CafePress.com, located at http://www.cafepress.com/b_and_p. Mostly, it’s just stuff with the “Bark and Pee” photo from before. I also set up custom postage using an image that I normally use for profiles. I really can’t see anyone buying that. Even I have to admit that it’s overpriced. I’ll see if anyone buys it. If I can’t sell any in the next month or two, I’ll probably take it off.
Elections are coming up in Biscayne Park. The election is scheduled for December 6, but there was talk of postponing it due to the hurricane. I don’t think anything came of that. I won’t be working that election for two reasons. First, I never worked in my home precinct. Second, even if they called, I don’t think I’d want to. My current work schedule would theoretically permit it, but I still probably wouldn’t want to. I don’t need the money that much.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Hurricane Wilma
I’ve been awaiting the arrival of Wilma. We’re at the point now that we’re not going to worry about a category-two storm, even if it kicks up to a category two. We’ll survive. Basically, what it comes down to is how much we’ll have to clean up tomorrow.
What really gets me is the news coverage. For the past day or two, it’s been the same information over and over again. The same areas have been told to evacuate. We’re still going to be hit either tonight or Monday morning. It’s probably going to be a category- two storm. The local channels are using interviews as filler. There are the officials repeating the basic information and the residents saying that they’ll either get out of Dodge or rough it out.
This leaves me to watch The West Wing, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Crossing Jordan over the local NBC affiliate’s web site. My parents are actually watching a DVD. At I have an option. I hate it when the networks just preempt shows with no regard for what the people actually want to watch.
How much coverage can one person take? I think there should be a law limiting hurricane coverage to 12 minutes per hour. Let the stations use their commercial breaks if they think that the coverage is so important.
The irony is that I’m tempted to give updates about how the hurricane has affected me, but I’m inclined to not do so. Not only do I not want to encourage anyone, but also my power will probably be out.
It’s just as well. I’m trying to think of other things to write about.
What really gets me is the news coverage. For the past day or two, it’s been the same information over and over again. The same areas have been told to evacuate. We’re still going to be hit either tonight or Monday morning. It’s probably going to be a category- two storm. The local channels are using interviews as filler. There are the officials repeating the basic information and the residents saying that they’ll either get out of Dodge or rough it out.
This leaves me to watch The West Wing, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Crossing Jordan over the local NBC affiliate’s web site. My parents are actually watching a DVD. At I have an option. I hate it when the networks just preempt shows with no regard for what the people actually want to watch.
How much coverage can one person take? I think there should be a law limiting hurricane coverage to 12 minutes per hour. Let the stations use their commercial breaks if they think that the coverage is so important.
The irony is that I’m tempted to give updates about how the hurricane has affected me, but I’m inclined to not do so. Not only do I not want to encourage anyone, but also my power will probably be out.
It’s just as well. I’m trying to think of other things to write about.
Monday, October 17, 2005
The dating game
How does a guy get a date?
That’s one of those things that have always confused me. I know it happens because people go one to get married and at least some of those marriages have to have come from a first date. I was thinking about all of those dating and matchmaking sites and how I have yet to find one that works.
I haven’t tried many, but I find that sites tend not to do too much for me. The problem is that with the pay sites, the free version stinks. What usually happens is that I find a site, try the free version for a while and usually get a few promising leads. However, the free versions don’t make it easy to correspond with that many people at once, so I sign up. Once I’ve paid good money, what few conversations I’m having dry up. I go an entire month without really meeting anyone.
The big problem is actually getting started. Few people want to bother with someone who has a free account because they’re likely to be someone using a free account to get you to go to a pay site. (Even paid accounts might do this.) This is another motivating reason to pay. However, once paid, I still might not get a response.
I don’t know why that is. Probably it’s because I’m competing with hundreds of other guys doing the same thing and it’s very easy for us to come across as losers that try to hard. How do I try without making it look like I’m actually trying? If I make the first move, it could appear aggressive. However, if I wait, I run the risk of paying $20 for a month of nothing.
Dating is a lot like gambling. Everyone has a system and they all seem to be just a little off. I have yet to find a magic word or phrase that will get me a response. Right now, I’d be happy for that. I just want a chance, or at least the possibility of thinking I have a chance, at maybe meeting someone.
The question is, if I ever met a woman, would I know what to do with myself?
That’s one of those things that have always confused me. I know it happens because people go one to get married and at least some of those marriages have to have come from a first date. I was thinking about all of those dating and matchmaking sites and how I have yet to find one that works.
I haven’t tried many, but I find that sites tend not to do too much for me. The problem is that with the pay sites, the free version stinks. What usually happens is that I find a site, try the free version for a while and usually get a few promising leads. However, the free versions don’t make it easy to correspond with that many people at once, so I sign up. Once I’ve paid good money, what few conversations I’m having dry up. I go an entire month without really meeting anyone.
The big problem is actually getting started. Few people want to bother with someone who has a free account because they’re likely to be someone using a free account to get you to go to a pay site. (Even paid accounts might do this.) This is another motivating reason to pay. However, once paid, I still might not get a response.
I don’t know why that is. Probably it’s because I’m competing with hundreds of other guys doing the same thing and it’s very easy for us to come across as losers that try to hard. How do I try without making it look like I’m actually trying? If I make the first move, it could appear aggressive. However, if I wait, I run the risk of paying $20 for a month of nothing.
Dating is a lot like gambling. Everyone has a system and they all seem to be just a little off. I have yet to find a magic word or phrase that will get me a response. Right now, I’d be happy for that. I just want a chance, or at least the possibility of thinking I have a chance, at maybe meeting someone.
The question is, if I ever met a woman, would I know what to do with myself?
Monday, October 10, 2005
search engines and portals
I honestly didn’t expect to get many visitors here, but I signed up with one of those site-tracking services anyway. I wanted to see who was visiting and where the visitors were coming from. As I would have expected, quite a number of people are in the South Florida area. A good 70% of the visitors are in the same time zone as me. I do make mention of local landmarks. Someone even did a search for Barry University.
That actually got me thinking. Most of the hits seem to come from my profile page on Epinions, but I do get a few from portals and search engines. Since I’m using the basic (free) site tracker, I can’t see hits by search terms, but I can get an idea from the referring URLs.
Someone, apparently from Texas, did a search for Wolf Camera. Ok. That’s understandable. Someone in Ontario did a search for “check from Epinions” and came up with this blog. A hit is a hit, but I have to wonder what that person was looking for.
The most common search term seems to be Miami. I don’t know what they expect to find here. Then again, that’s the problem with search engines. You enter a word or a name and you get anything. The thing is that I don’t even live in Miami proper. I actually live in Biscayne Park, which is just a little north of Miami. (I’m only about a mile away from Barry University and about two or three miles from the local Johnson and Wales campus.)
Either way, it’s gratifying that people find their way here, however it is that you got here. If you came by search engine, though, I’d appreciate a comment about how close a match this blog was to what you were looking for.
That actually got me thinking. Most of the hits seem to come from my profile page on Epinions, but I do get a few from portals and search engines. Since I’m using the basic (free) site tracker, I can’t see hits by search terms, but I can get an idea from the referring URLs.
Someone, apparently from Texas, did a search for Wolf Camera. Ok. That’s understandable. Someone in Ontario did a search for “check from Epinions” and came up with this blog. A hit is a hit, but I have to wonder what that person was looking for.
The most common search term seems to be Miami. I don’t know what they expect to find here. Then again, that’s the problem with search engines. You enter a word or a name and you get anything. The thing is that I don’t even live in Miami proper. I actually live in Biscayne Park, which is just a little north of Miami. (I’m only about a mile away from Barry University and about two or three miles from the local Johnson and Wales campus.)
Either way, it’s gratifying that people find their way here, however it is that you got here. If you came by search engine, though, I’d appreciate a comment about how close a match this blog was to what you were looking for.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Yes, I'm still alive
It occurred to me that I haven’t written anything since getting the job. Everything’s been going well. In fact, I’ve been bumped up to full time. This has left me with little time to write. I think I wrote about ten reviews on Epinions for August.
I didn’t sell any books for a month, which left me with no direct deposit for one full bank cycle, and was thus charged $5. Banks seem to be after money, but this is nothing new. Banks are businesses and are thus after money. They’re not doing this out of a sense of altruism.
The thing that gets me is the fee for bouncing checks. If I write a bad check, I’d expect to get hit up with a fee. That’s fair, as I have a responsibility to keep track of my own money. However, I don’t think I should be charged for someone else’s bad check. I have a right to expect that person to write a depositable check.
It’s left me in a position where I won’t take personal checks for my eBay auctions. I’ll take PayPal and credit cards (through PayPal) and put up with PayPal’s fees rather than risk a $29 fee. If anyone can explain why banks charge that much for something that’s not my fault, please leave a comment.
In other news, I just got back from my brother’s wedding. It’s hard to believe that he’s married. I served as best man, which wasn’t that hard. People make a big deal about giving speeches. It really isn’t. The hard part was actually writing it.
Getting back to jobs, though, I don’t think that the mystery shopping will work out. I always get the jobs a day or two in advance, and they’re always hard to do. Since I don’t drive, I’m limited to the locations that I can take.
Miami Beach and South Miami are both difficult, especially if it’s on a day that I work. Many of the good locations get taken quickly, which is to be expected. Also, some have a long list of requirements. Movie theaters, for instance, require that I arrive a certain amount of time prior to the start of the movie, that I make a purchase from the concession stand, that I visit the restroom…
I did finally get another check from Epinions, although it was for only $10 and change. I wish I could get a little more money for my writing. I have a ton of things to write from my trip to California for my brother’s wedding. Unfortunately, I don’t get paid much for travel stuff.
I’ll leave you with a picture that I took in California. It’s actually a doctored picture, but people seem to take it for real. The story that I give is that California is giving more space to dogs.
I didn’t sell any books for a month, which left me with no direct deposit for one full bank cycle, and was thus charged $5. Banks seem to be after money, but this is nothing new. Banks are businesses and are thus after money. They’re not doing this out of a sense of altruism.
The thing that gets me is the fee for bouncing checks. If I write a bad check, I’d expect to get hit up with a fee. That’s fair, as I have a responsibility to keep track of my own money. However, I don’t think I should be charged for someone else’s bad check. I have a right to expect that person to write a depositable check.
It’s left me in a position where I won’t take personal checks for my eBay auctions. I’ll take PayPal and credit cards (through PayPal) and put up with PayPal’s fees rather than risk a $29 fee. If anyone can explain why banks charge that much for something that’s not my fault, please leave a comment.
In other news, I just got back from my brother’s wedding. It’s hard to believe that he’s married. I served as best man, which wasn’t that hard. People make a big deal about giving speeches. It really isn’t. The hard part was actually writing it.
Getting back to jobs, though, I don’t think that the mystery shopping will work out. I always get the jobs a day or two in advance, and they’re always hard to do. Since I don’t drive, I’m limited to the locations that I can take.
Miami Beach and South Miami are both difficult, especially if it’s on a day that I work. Many of the good locations get taken quickly, which is to be expected. Also, some have a long list of requirements. Movie theaters, for instance, require that I arrive a certain amount of time prior to the start of the movie, that I make a purchase from the concession stand, that I visit the restroom…
I did finally get another check from Epinions, although it was for only $10 and change. I wish I could get a little more money for my writing. I have a ton of things to write from my trip to California for my brother’s wedding. Unfortunately, I don’t get paid much for travel stuff.
I’ll leave you with a picture that I took in California. It’s actually a doctored picture, but people seem to take it for real. The story that I give is that California is giving more space to dogs.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
At last!
Well, I got the job at Wolf. The hard part now is finding the documentation that I need to hand in to complete the application process. This happens every time. I put it someplace that I can’t possibly lose it and I then promptly lose it. I know it’s around here somewhere. It looks like I’ll have the same schedule as my brother, which is good.
The downside is that I’ll have to find something else to write about. It looks like a lot of employers don’t take kindly to having their stores or offices written about, so I don’t really want to put in a lot of detail. I like the people there and everything, but I really don’t want to take any chances, especially this early on.
The next big obstacle for me is going to be getting a car. I’ll probably be putting away a lot of money until I can afford something. I don’t really want to get something for the sake of getting something, but I do want something that I don’t have to worry about. Thus, I’ll probably be getting something used.
A hybrid doesn’t make sense for me right now, but that would be nice. In terms of cost, it wouldn’t work out because of the fact that whatever I save in gas will probably be eaten up by the cost of the car.
I don’t want to stay on for too long because I have to look for that documentation. I can look for it tomorrow. However, if I don’t find it, I’m going to have to have it replaced.
The downside is that I’ll have to find something else to write about. It looks like a lot of employers don’t take kindly to having their stores or offices written about, so I don’t really want to put in a lot of detail. I like the people there and everything, but I really don’t want to take any chances, especially this early on.
The next big obstacle for me is going to be getting a car. I’ll probably be putting away a lot of money until I can afford something. I don’t really want to get something for the sake of getting something, but I do want something that I don’t have to worry about. Thus, I’ll probably be getting something used.
A hybrid doesn’t make sense for me right now, but that would be nice. In terms of cost, it wouldn’t work out because of the fact that whatever I save in gas will probably be eaten up by the cost of the car.
I don’t want to stay on for too long because I have to look for that documentation. I can look for it tomorrow. However, if I don’t find it, I’m going to have to have it replaced.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
More stuff and stuff
I had to reformat my computer last night. It wasn’t fun. I still can’t figure out exactly what happened. It might have been a virus or it might have been something I installed. Either way, reformatting was something I should have done a while ago. There were so many programs that I had installed and never used that it was probably just easier this way.
The thing that I hate about reformatting is that I can never get the computer back exactly the way it was. When I received the computer from Dell, they had customized the settings. I have no idea how to get things back that way.
The one thing I miss sorely (and this was something from a previous computer) was the ability to view individual files in the recycle bin whenever I deleted an entire folder. With my current computer, the recycle bin displays a deleted folder as the folder. With the previous one, reformatting caused it to alternate between this and displaying the individual files within the folder in the recycle bin. I have no idea why I like the other way better, but I do.
I may be able to get a job at Wolf Camera. I applied there yesterday and there seems to be a good chance that I’ll get hired. I have to call back, though, because I’m supposed to go in for an interview on Monday and that happens to be the Fourth of July. I want to make sure that they’re open.
I’m still expecting a check from something I did a while ago. It was for a National Geographic program. I was supposed to watch two DVDs and take a survey both before and after. The check is for $160, which is why I’m so impatient. By my estimate, it should have arrived already. If it doesn’t arrive soon, I’ll have to contact someone.
That’s all for now. With any luck, I’ll be posting a lot on Epinions soon.
The thing that I hate about reformatting is that I can never get the computer back exactly the way it was. When I received the computer from Dell, they had customized the settings. I have no idea how to get things back that way.
The one thing I miss sorely (and this was something from a previous computer) was the ability to view individual files in the recycle bin whenever I deleted an entire folder. With my current computer, the recycle bin displays a deleted folder as the folder. With the previous one, reformatting caused it to alternate between this and displaying the individual files within the folder in the recycle bin. I have no idea why I like the other way better, but I do.
I may be able to get a job at Wolf Camera. I applied there yesterday and there seems to be a good chance that I’ll get hired. I have to call back, though, because I’m supposed to go in for an interview on Monday and that happens to be the Fourth of July. I want to make sure that they’re open.
I’m still expecting a check from something I did a while ago. It was for a National Geographic program. I was supposed to watch two DVDs and take a survey both before and after. The check is for $160, which is why I’m so impatient. By my estimate, it should have arrived already. If it doesn’t arrive soon, I’ll have to contact someone.
That’s all for now. With any luck, I’ll be posting a lot on Epinions soon.
Monday, June 20, 2005
Employment is a mystery to me
Things seem to be getting better, but better is a relative term. The mystery shopping has only produced one job, wherein I went to several cell-phone stores. There were three stores, each paying $10. It will still be several weeks before I see the money. I was told that it would take 42 days to send me the money.
The problem is that I get a lot of offers, but they’re all over the place. Some are even in Central Florida. I’d take more jobs, but I can’t always get to them. Some are supposed to be multiple choice, but the ones I got had some that had to be filled in. They seem to be easy enough.
I got a mysterious call the other day about a job. Someone wanted me to come in for an interview, but it was at a place that I had never heard of and it was in northwest Miami-Dade County. I tend to avoid the northwest part of the county, mostly because I don’t drive. It would be very difficult for me to get to and from work on a regular basis. Also, the woman that I spoke to was a little strange. She almost hung up without giving me the address of the place that I was supposed to go to.
I seem to be doing well with Epinions. My overall ranking went up by ten positions and I also earned $3.77. My review of the iPod earned 62¢ in its first month. It seems like I’m cashing out every three months or so.
That’s all for now. I can only hope that I get more stuff from the mystery shopping. I might have to sign up for a few more.
The problem is that I get a lot of offers, but they’re all over the place. Some are even in Central Florida. I’d take more jobs, but I can’t always get to them. Some are supposed to be multiple choice, but the ones I got had some that had to be filled in. They seem to be easy enough.
I got a mysterious call the other day about a job. Someone wanted me to come in for an interview, but it was at a place that I had never heard of and it was in northwest Miami-Dade County. I tend to avoid the northwest part of the county, mostly because I don’t drive. It would be very difficult for me to get to and from work on a regular basis. Also, the woman that I spoke to was a little strange. She almost hung up without giving me the address of the place that I was supposed to go to.
I seem to be doing well with Epinions. My overall ranking went up by ten positions and I also earned $3.77. My review of the iPod earned 62¢ in its first month. It seems like I’m cashing out every three months or so.
That’s all for now. I can only hope that I get more stuff from the mystery shopping. I might have to sign up for a few more.
Monday, June 06, 2005
A new frontier?
I just got back from a trip to pick up my brother from college. This means that I have a few travel reviews to write. It will probably be a few more days before I post anything. I haven’t really felt like writing since I got back.
While I’m talking about Epinions, I just heard that Shopping.com (which owns Epinions) is going to be acquired by eBay. This could be a good thing, but I doubt it. When eBay acquired Half.com, eBay said that Half.com would remain open, or at least that they had no plans to close it shortly after the acquisition. The only reason that Half.com is still open is that people didn’t migrate to eBay like they had hoped.
I see no reason why eBay should close Epinions. After all, this could be a good thing. I’m hoping that Half.com will start displaying reviews from Epinions of the products it has. However, you can’t always get what you want. It seems that the primary reason is that eBay wants to use shopping.com as a platform for displaying its deals.
On a happier note, I signed up with a few mystery-shopping programs. I have yet to receive any jobs yet, but I’ve only been with some of the programs for a week. If I don’t get something soon, I’ll have to contact some of the programs to see what’s up.
I’m still looking online and in the paper. I found a job in the paper yesterday. The job is close to my house. With any luck, I’ll get an interview. Online, there’s still very little. None of the local sites seem to have anything.
That’s all for now.
While I’m talking about Epinions, I just heard that Shopping.com (which owns Epinions) is going to be acquired by eBay. This could be a good thing, but I doubt it. When eBay acquired Half.com, eBay said that Half.com would remain open, or at least that they had no plans to close it shortly after the acquisition. The only reason that Half.com is still open is that people didn’t migrate to eBay like they had hoped.
I see no reason why eBay should close Epinions. After all, this could be a good thing. I’m hoping that Half.com will start displaying reviews from Epinions of the products it has. However, you can’t always get what you want. It seems that the primary reason is that eBay wants to use shopping.com as a platform for displaying its deals.
On a happier note, I signed up with a few mystery-shopping programs. I have yet to receive any jobs yet, but I’ve only been with some of the programs for a week. If I don’t get something soon, I’ll have to contact some of the programs to see what’s up.
I’m still looking online and in the paper. I found a job in the paper yesterday. The job is close to my house. With any luck, I’ll get an interview. Online, there’s still very little. None of the local sites seem to have anything.
That’s all for now.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Water, water everywhere
I just got my check from Epinions. $12.24. It’s not bad, but I’d like more for several months’ writing. For some reason, I always have one cent that I can’t cash out. I think perhaps that I have a partial cent and they’re rounding up.
I also got the check for the survey. There was word of another survey, but I’m still waiting to hear from the ones doing the survey. For some reason, Juno has a way of blocking messages that I want to come through.
Right now, I’m waiting on the check from the election. Everything went fine last week. Every time I do an election, I tell myself that I’ll never do another one. Then, another election comes around and I find that I need the money. If I find a job, I really don’t know if I’ll do another one. I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.
I want to apply for a job at one of those self-storage places. It’s just a matter of getting over there. One of the self-storage companies is opening a new location that wouldn’t be difficult for me to get to. The problem is that they’re accepting the applications at a location that isn’t that close to me. Since I don’t drive, I have to find someone to take me over.
There’s also a job opening at Barry University, but I can email a résumé to the appropriate person. Also, that’s very close to me. I’d love to get a job there; that would probably be the most convenient thing for me right now. Unfortunately, I can’t always get the most convenient thing. I need to get something that pays. Maybe then, I’ll be able to look for something that’s easier for me. The important thing for me right now is to get money.
The Web sites for nearby cities don’t have anything to speak of. One hasn’t even been updated since April 1. Those that do have current listings don’t have that many and among the listings that they do have, there’s nothing that would be good for me.
I’m going to apply to those two jobs and see how those go. It’s better to try and fail than not to try at all.
I also got the check for the survey. There was word of another survey, but I’m still waiting to hear from the ones doing the survey. For some reason, Juno has a way of blocking messages that I want to come through.
Right now, I’m waiting on the check from the election. Everything went fine last week. Every time I do an election, I tell myself that I’ll never do another one. Then, another election comes around and I find that I need the money. If I find a job, I really don’t know if I’ll do another one. I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.
I want to apply for a job at one of those self-storage places. It’s just a matter of getting over there. One of the self-storage companies is opening a new location that wouldn’t be difficult for me to get to. The problem is that they’re accepting the applications at a location that isn’t that close to me. Since I don’t drive, I have to find someone to take me over.
There’s also a job opening at Barry University, but I can email a résumé to the appropriate person. Also, that’s very close to me. I’d love to get a job there; that would probably be the most convenient thing for me right now. Unfortunately, I can’t always get the most convenient thing. I need to get something that pays. Maybe then, I’ll be able to look for something that’s easier for me. The important thing for me right now is to get money.
The Web sites for nearby cities don’t have anything to speak of. One hasn’t even been updated since April 1. Those that do have current listings don’t have that many and among the listings that they do have, there’s nothing that would be good for me.
I’m going to apply to those two jobs and see how those go. It’s better to try and fail than not to try at all.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Mixed news
It looks like I’ll be doing another election. I found out about it a week ago and they’ve already changed the training location twice. For now, the training will be in the same location as the polling place, which is convenient. In the past, the training locations have required a long bus trip each way. At least this location is close enough that the bus trip will be easy. I might even consider walking back.
I’m waiting to get paid for a survey. I don’t expect it to be much, but it’s something. I was recently contacted about doing another one for the same company, but it was by the person that introduced me to the survey people. I haven’t actually heard directly from them yet. Surveys are tough to get any money from.
A lot of sites that I’ve seen use contests. If you complete a survey, you get entered into a drawing for money. The problem is that I may be competing against hundreds or even thousands of people for one or two prizes. I’d rather take ten or twenty dollars. Another problem is that by the time I get to a lot of these surveys, my demographic is filled. That means that I get nothing. To boot, surveys are usually few and far between. There’s no way that I could count on them for money.
I came close to cashing out on Epinions. The minimum to cash out is $10 and I have $9.53. Next time, I should be able to do it. I hate high cash-out limits. The one for the advertising that I use on a lot of my sites is $100. I figure that at the rate that I’m going, I should be able to cash out in a few years.
I had almost cashed out on Commission Junction. They have all sorts of advertising programs to select from, which I can put on my sites. The limit was set at $25. Unfortunately, they instituted a rule that said that they were going to charge me $10 for every month that I was inactive. It should have been easy, considering that I had a lot of programs that were willing to pay me small amounts of money for giving out free stuff. Nothing. I was just a few dollars shy of cashing out and I went two months without any activity at all. It’s a shame, really. They said that I could sign up again, but why bother?
I’m just lucky that anyone’s looking at this Blog. I signed up for a counter, which I believe is displayed on the right side of the window. (If not, then it’s on the bottom, below all of my entries. I’m not sure.) I don’t get many people. If you’re looking at this now, I can expect the next person to come by within a few days. (I really need some word-of-mouth advertising.)
There’s still no news in the classifieds. I went through today’s and found nothing. However, I did go by the job-placement center at Miami-Dade College. They had two jobs, but it looks like both were filled. Unfortunately, their jobs go back several months. Usually, within a week or two, the job is filled.
That’s all for now. I’m going to have to keep trying.
I’m waiting to get paid for a survey. I don’t expect it to be much, but it’s something. I was recently contacted about doing another one for the same company, but it was by the person that introduced me to the survey people. I haven’t actually heard directly from them yet. Surveys are tough to get any money from.
A lot of sites that I’ve seen use contests. If you complete a survey, you get entered into a drawing for money. The problem is that I may be competing against hundreds or even thousands of people for one or two prizes. I’d rather take ten or twenty dollars. Another problem is that by the time I get to a lot of these surveys, my demographic is filled. That means that I get nothing. To boot, surveys are usually few and far between. There’s no way that I could count on them for money.
I came close to cashing out on Epinions. The minimum to cash out is $10 and I have $9.53. Next time, I should be able to do it. I hate high cash-out limits. The one for the advertising that I use on a lot of my sites is $100. I figure that at the rate that I’m going, I should be able to cash out in a few years.
I had almost cashed out on Commission Junction. They have all sorts of advertising programs to select from, which I can put on my sites. The limit was set at $25. Unfortunately, they instituted a rule that said that they were going to charge me $10 for every month that I was inactive. It should have been easy, considering that I had a lot of programs that were willing to pay me small amounts of money for giving out free stuff. Nothing. I was just a few dollars shy of cashing out and I went two months without any activity at all. It’s a shame, really. They said that I could sign up again, but why bother?
I’m just lucky that anyone’s looking at this Blog. I signed up for a counter, which I believe is displayed on the right side of the window. (If not, then it’s on the bottom, below all of my entries. I’m not sure.) I don’t get many people. If you’re looking at this now, I can expect the next person to come by within a few days. (I really need some word-of-mouth advertising.)
There’s still no news in the classifieds. I went through today’s and found nothing. However, I did go by the job-placement center at Miami-Dade College. They had two jobs, but it looks like both were filled. Unfortunately, their jobs go back several months. Usually, within a week or two, the job is filled.
That’s all for now. I’m going to have to keep trying.
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