I started this so I can critique and give people information about various Internet activities (such as Internet dating, paid survey sites, money-making sites). I am going to give people the information I wish I had whenever I was taking part in some Internet fad. This will probably all devolve into random writings of mine in the future, but for now I will be informative and try to be helpful.
I
am a loner, and there are times that I am really grateful for my
preference. This morning my coworker came into work three hours early
because he woke up early and, it being four in the morning, no one
else was up so he had nothing to do. As a loner I am seldom bored. I
am engaged with my own mind. There is never a shortage of books to
read or movies to watch or even puzzles to do. I am not dependent on
having other people around to have a good time. My life doesn't stop
because no one else is awake.
For
all the times I've been accused of "doing nothing" or
"vegging" because I spend most of my time alone, and for
being accused of having no life because I don't spend time with
friends I say: How is sitting at home and reading more "vegging"
than going to a bar or going to see a movie? Why is doing puzzles or
reading short stories alone "doing nothing" but going to a
sports game is doing something?
I
love being a loner because every day I get to take part in activities
that are interesting to me and I don't have to wait to do them. I
don't have to wait until the world starts to do something fun, and if
all of my friends are at work it doesn't make a difference to me. I
feel lucky that my plans aren't tied to someone else so I'm not at
someone else's mercy for my fun.
If
you're a loner and you get tired of people ragging on you for "never
doing anything" or calling you boring because you never go out
then remind yourself of how mentally diverse your life is. I know
it's easy for the "socials" of the world to get us down,
but how interesting is it really to go to a bar every weekend?
Also
recommended reading is Party of One: The Loners' Manifesto by Anneli
Rufus - "a
long-overdue argument in defense of the loner." Available as a
Kindle ebook or paperback through Amazon(affiliate
link).
I occasionally wander around Half-Priced Books when I have nothing better to do. I promise myself that I'm just going to look at the books, I'm not going to buy anything. But I always end up buying something. Sometimes I come across something that I would not have imagined finding at Half-Priced Books.
This week I found Poltergeist: The Legacy first season on DVD. I didn't even know there was a DVD release of this show. Poltergeist: The Legacy is a show about a group of people who investigate paranormal phenomena. (It has no relation to the Poltergeist movies). It ran from 1996 until 1999 and it was on at two in the morning on Saturday mornings. It's produced by Richard Barton Lewis, who also produced The Outer Limits revival series. I didn't even know anyone but me watched this show. When I came home and looked up some information about it I discovered that it's actually a Canadian show, so it must have been on at a regular time up there. And not only is there a season one DVD, but there is also a season two DVD and the entire series is available on Region 4 DVDs. Update: The entire series has now been released on Region 1 DVD (for US/Canada). There is an Amazon link to the DVD collection below, as well as links to the first two seasons streaming on Amazon Prime.
More About This Show:
The main characters are Nick Boyle (played by Martin Cummins), Alexandra (Alex) Moreau (played by Robbi Chong), Derek Rein (played by Derek DeLint), Rachel Corrigan (played by Helen Shaver), Katherine (Kat) Corrigan (played by Alexandra Pervis), and for the first couple of seasons Philip Callaham (played by Patrick Fitzgerald), whose character left to become a priest. They all live in a big mansion in San Francisco and investigate occult phenomena throughout California. The Legacy is a worldwide organization that is set up to protect people from occult occurrences, with members stationed in various cities across the globe.
Derek is the Precept (or head) of the house and is the oldest member of the San Francisco chapter. He sometimes clashes with younger Nick, although he views Nick almost as a son so they work through disagreements quickly. Nick and Alex are the younger members so they do most of the research and investigating. Rachel is a psychiatrist who sometimes helps the Legacy although she is a skeptic. Her daughter, Kat, has shown some strong psychic abilities and this causes them to get drawn in to some of the cases.
Since the beginning of time mankind has existed
between the world of light and the world of darkness.
This journal chronicles the work of our secret society,
known as the Legacy, created to protect the innocent
from those that inhabit the shadows and the night.
Poltergeist: The Legacy season one and two are streaming exclusively through Amazon Prime. The entire four-season series is only available on DVD (affiliate link).
There are plenty of paid survey sites out there. None of them will pay you a lot, but you may get a little extra money each month. Sign up for multiple survey sites to maximize money-making chances. I've been taking paid surveys for years, and what follows is information about some of the most popular survey sites.
Survey Spot: Survey Spot is one of the best survey-taking site out there.When I first signed up they were up front about the fact that taking surveys will not get you a lot of money. They send the most survey invitations (although you won't qualify for every survey). You get points for every survey that you complete and those points can be redeemed for either a Paypal payment or gift cards. (You don't get any points if you don't get to complete the survey, though). When you cash out with Paypal they pay right away. Literally, when I cashed out I received an e-mail just a few seconds later letting me know there was money deposited into my Paypal account. You can also redeem your points with an Amazon or iTunes gift card or Webshop vouchers from multiple online stores.
Ipsos i-Say: Ipsos i-Say offers points in exchange for taking surveys that can be redeemed for Amazon or iTunes gift cards, Paypal deposits, or charity donations. If you don't qualify for a survey you still get a few points so the time you spent seeing if you qualify for a particular survey isn't a complete waste. They send a fair amount of survey opportunities, maybe two or three each day. But again, you might not qualify for all of them.
Harris Poll: Harris Poll offers about one survey each day, sometimes less. You receive points in exchange for completing a survey, and you do get a few points if you don't qualify. The points can be redeemed for gift cards or magazine subscriptions. They have gift cards for many stores, including Amazon.com, so you won't have trouble finding a redemption that works well for you. Harris Poll allows people as young as thirteen to join.
My Survey: My Survey has a few surveys posted each day that you can take. You get points for completing a survey that can redeemed for Paypal deposits, e-certificates and gift cards, DVDs and video games, and assorted items. I like the rewards on My Survey best because you aren't limited to boring cash or gift cards, you can get an actual item if you want to (and that just seems more fun to me). Looking through the DVDs I saw a DVD of Mama's Family (the Carol Burnett show spin-off from the '80s) and Doctor Who (and they have over 1,000 DVDs and Blu Rays to choose from). Given that you won't make serious money taking surveys, sometimes it's better to get a neat item in return for your time. Survey Savvy: Survey Savvy has the highest payout for their surveys, but surveys are only available a couple of times a week (and there's no guarantee that you'll qualify for every survey). They only pay with checks. There's no points system, just a straight cash incentive per survey. You don't get any sort of compensation if you don't complete a particular survey.
VIP Voice: VIP Voice has easy surveys every few days but the only options for reward redemptions are one of their auctions or sweepstakes. You get points for every survey you take and you can use them to bid on an auction or you can use them to try and win one of their sweepstakes. So basically you're not guaranteed any real incentive for taking their surveys.
How to Really Make Money Taking Surveys:All of these survey sites are well and good, but as you can see you won't make a lot of money by using them. Even signing up for all of them you might get $50 each month if you're lucky. To make real money taking surveys go to Amazon Mechanical Turk. There are a lot of tasks posted to this website that pay you pennies (sometimes more) per task, but the real money is in the surveys. And there are people constantly posting surveys, so you won't have to worry about only getting two or three surveys each day. I easily make $10 each day taking surveys on Mechanical Turk (that's $300 each month at least). Some of the surveys will drag on and on with little pay, so check Hits Worth Turking For on reddit to find surveys that are worth your time. Their rule is to only post HITS (which are mostly surveys) that will amount to at least $0.10 per minute, so you won't have to keep doing surveys that pay $0.20 for twenty minutes of your time.
Never sign up for a survey site that asks you to pay first to access a bunch of surveys. There are plenty of free survey sites. You won't get rich taking surveys so don't trust any site that says you will. Before signing up to take surveys check with the Survey Police. They have information on thousands of survey sites and people can comment if they've tried a particular site to let others know if it's worth it.
If you're very diligent about not washing food down your sink yet your sink still has stopped draining then use a plunger. Don't call a plumber, don't take the pipes apart, don't try to snake it. It doesn't really make sense because if there's no possibility for a clog then why would a plunger work?
My disposal stopped working months ago so I never put food down my sink drain. If I had leftovers I would throw them in the trash. My sink was getting grimy but it couldn't possibly be clogged. When I searched the Internet there was talk of call a plumber and remove the trap. I had to search for a little while before I found the suggestion to use a plunger. It made no sense to me because there was no food down there so how could it be clogged, but I pulled out my plunger and in under thirty seconds the sink was draining perfectly.
This is a sink plunger. It is not a toilet plunger.
There are plungers that are specifically made for sinks and those that are made for toilets. Most people don't really know about the difference. It's a good idea to have one of each.
Here is a sink plunger from Amazon.
If the plunger that you use for your toilet looks like one of these and you find it difficult to unclog a toilet, then the problem may be that you're using the wrong type of plunger.
This is a toilet plunger. It has that secondary cup on the inside.
Even if there could be food in your sink drain the very first thing you should do is use a plunger on it. If that doesn't work then this article from WikiHow has some other methods for unclogging your drain. I'm not sure why "use a plunger" isn't a ubiquitous idea for sinks the way it is for toilets. When you're toilet isn't working properly you don't immediately try to remove part of the pipe. So for your sink, before using drain cleaner or taking out the trap or calling a plumber try a plunger and see if that doesn't quickly and easily fix your sink.
Candles are a very useful tool for meditation. You can use regular
candles with a specific color, or you can use these gemstone candles.
These candles have gemstones in the wax so as the candle burns the flame
reflects off the gem crystals. These are beautiful and you can choose a
specific gemstone to direct your energy.
I originally found these candles in the natural foods store in my town.
When I searched online for them, "gemstone candles" turned up gem candle
holders. After changing my searches around I finally found these
candles sold through Living Better Naturally. They are made by Angelic
Mercantile. I am writing this because these candles are very neat and interesting and I want anyone who is looking for something like this to have an easier time finding them than I did.
They have a variety of gemstone candles, including rose quartz, kunzite,
tourmaline, lepidolite, obsidian, peridot, and sugilite.
All of these pictures are pictures that I took of the candles that I bought. I am not an affiliate of either Living Better Naturally or Angelic Mercantile. I just think these candles are neat. Always be careful when fishing the gemstones out of the candle wax.
Jewelry in Candles
I am, however, an Amazon affiliate. So, if you don't care about gemstones but still like the idea of finding something in your candle there are these interesting candles available from Amazon. They each have a piece of jewelry inside.
Dr. Liz Wilson is Garfield's veterinarian. Jon has been pining after her
(and going on the occasional date with her) since they first met in
1979. On July 28, 2006 they finally became an official couple!
(Coincidentally, this is also mentioned as Jon's birthday.) Jon is geeky
and awkward and finally gets the girl of his dreams. So, for all of us
that have lost hope: If there's hope for Jon Arbuckle, there's hope for
us all!
"She's one cute chicky-boo. I'd marry her in a second."
Jon and Liz History
Jon has always had trouble getting girls. He occasionally goes on dates, but they never end well. (Consequently, he rarely gets a second date.) He has been enamored of Liz ever since he first brought Garfield into her office, but she wasn’t very receptive
at first. Over the years she has gone on a few dates with Jon but it
never turned into anything serious. Not until July 28, 2006, that is.
This year will be their eight year anniversary. Jon and Liz’s
anniversary is a day for people who haven’t had much luck over the years
in the romance department to celebrate. If this polka-playing
fashion-disaster can get the girl after all of his failed attempts, then
there’s no reason to give up hope. If you already found your
significant other after years of having no luck, then that’s even more
reason to celebrate!
Why Celebrate?
So, why should you celebrate a cartoon character’s love life? I view
this day as a day for people who have or have had bad luck when it comes
to love. Jon Arbuckle was constantly rejected, and sometimes cruelly
mocked, by the opposite sex. He is socially awkward and loves polka
music. But despite his bad luck with women he would always put himself
out there. He would quickly bounce back after humiliating himself on a
date and keep trying. While Liz took a while to warm up to Jon, they
eventually found love together. Maybe love does happen for everyone
eventually.
Ideas to Celebrate Jon and Liz's Anniversary
If you haven’t already found that special someone, then take a chance and ask someone you’ve been interested in out on a date
Who knows, maybe next year you’ll be celebrating your own anniversary.
Go to a fancy restaurant
While he may be awkward, Jon usually treats his dates to a nice dinner at upscale restaurants.
Treat your date to a polka serenade
Jon loves his polka. Which is part of the reason why he was single for so long.
Dress like Jon Arbuckle
Jon is known for his love of loud and “unique ” clothes. So, wear a giant tie or a brightly-colored plaid suit.
"There was a sale at Clown Town."
Clothing ideas for dressing like Jon Arbuckle Here are some clothing suggestions for dressing like Jon Arbuckle when
he's going on a date. If you want to dress like regular Jon Arbuckle,
his everyday clothes are a plain polo shirt (unbuttoned at the top) and
blue or black pants.
Jon Arbuckle Fashion Strut
This dance is too funny not to include here.
Jon and Liz Song
This is an instrumental song that was featured in A Tail of Two Kitties. You can hear a preview on Amazon.
Watch Jon and Liz's Relationship Unfold
Here are most of the comics featuring Dr. Liz Wilson as Jon and Liz make
the transformation from acquaintences to a couple over the years. These are the Garfield comics that feature Dr. Liz Wilson through the time she and Jon officially become a couple. Watch Jon and Liz's relationship unfold.
Earlier I was reading an article on Slate, The $5 Trillion Coin. It contains a few ideas for how the government can relieve the debt if the debt compromise doesn't go well. This got me thinking. How would a regular person keep bills at bay in order to stay in the black just a little longer? If Congress can't compromise about the debt ceiling, what if they worked together to earn money to relieve the US debt just enough to keep us from defaulting. Here are some ideas I came up with.
Auction off their junk There are 535 members of Congress. Most of them are in their late fifties-early sixties. That's a lot of stuff piling up over the years in their attics. So, why not hold an auction? To reach the entire public, they could post their stuff on eBay. I anticipate great success with this idea because they can have a great deal of free advertising. Every reporter will be eager to talk to any member of Congress over the next few days as debt talks carry on. And there's a type of brand recognition for whatever they're selling. It's not just an old scarf, it's Nancy Pelosi's scarf that's up for auction. Having a famous name associated with an item automatically gives value to that item.
Congress Car wash One of the old stand-bys for school groups to raise money is to hold a car wash. The members of Congress can go to their respective states for a couple of days and have car washes all over the country. Who wouldn't pay $10 to have John Boehner wash their car? They could make a fortune for the novelty of it alone.
Blog for money A blog-hosting website could be created for Congress with ads on each page. It would be like livejournal for Congress. Each member of Congress can blog about what was discussed that day and what important decisions were reached and their take on certain issues. This website would attract high-paying ads because of relatively high search-rank for the names of members of Congress. And there would be a level of transparency in politics that has yet to be seen.
Food Stand Congress could open up a food stand in Washington, D.C., and each of them could take turns running it throughout the year. With 535 members, if two members are working the stand each day, that's only a couple of days a year that each person has to work at the food stand. It would be part of their Congressional duties, so the individual members wouldn't make extra money for working at the food stand. But all the proceeds could go towards paying down the US debt.
Cyberbegging Like the old adage says, it doesn't hurt to ask. Congress could take to the web and ask Americans to donate money to pay down the debt. There are probably lots of people who would be willing to pay a little to help keep the nation's credit rating from taking a beating. Make it easy for them.
So if debt talks continue to be drawn out there are still a few options for handling the debt. Paying off the bills a little at a time is a tried-and-true method that plenty of Americans have used over the centuries. As anybody who has had money troubles knows, every little bit helps.
