Buy me a Time Machine

I love debt collectors.  They are a funny group of people.

They are hired by debt collection companies and whose sole purpose is to legally harass people to the point where the debtors feel that their only recourse is to rob a bank in order to pay off the debt.  The debt collectors will hound you, your family, friends, employers, acquaintances, and whomever else they think may be remotely associated with you, just to get the company money.

They're like Dawg the Bounty Hunter, but without the cool-looking mullet and reality television crew following them around.  And some of the things they do are illegal (Dawg does some illegal things as well, so scratch that part).

Anyway, when I talk with them, they try to corner me with their logic, but it usually turns out to be a pretty funny situation.  They bring up two arguments which make me laugh: Why did you go into debt when you weren't going to be able to pay it back, and Why did you have so many kids when you can't pay the bills.

Why did you go into debt when you weren't going to be able to pay it back?

This is the most ridiculous argument which they give me.  I mean, come on!  Wasn't the entire marketing scheme during the heyday of credit along the lines of: "Get a [input bank name] credit card today for those times when you need a little extra cash"?

Nowhere in those advertisements was there a warning that you need to make sure that you could pay it off.  The entire marketing focus was to use this WHEN YOU DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY!

They had an assumption that things would continue on their rosy path, and would never change.  People would continue making tons of money and credit card companies would never experience any sort of economic downturn.  Stupid them.

I usually retort to this argument that they need to talk to the credit approval department as to why they didn't include a fortune teller reading in the credit approval process to make sure that each person would be making enough money to pay it back.  Seriously, when you need a little extra money, you're thinking that things will get better so you can pay them back.  Does it always get better?  No.  There is no guarantee that you will be able to pay it back.

So, why do they ask this question?  It is so that if you make a statement saying that you took out a debt with the intention of not paying it back, it is fraud, and they can take you to court.  It is stupid for them to do.

Why do you have so many kids when you can't pay the bills?

This is a favorite question of mine.  I have five kids, and when debt collectors talk with me, the questions eventually go to the size of my family.  When I tell them that I have five kids, they usually are silent for a few seconds.

Then comes the usual statement (it's either this exact one or a variation of it): You shouldn't have had so many kids.

You know what?  I'll just jump into my time machine and change the past.  I won't have any kids so I will have enough money to pay you back.  Oh, wait.  I probably wouldn't be in debt to you if I didn't have any kids.

What are you, retarded?  Do I have a time machine?  I don't have a time machine.  So how about you buy one for me so I can pay you back.

This is the most incomprehensibly stupid argument I hear from creditors.  There is no logical response for such a stupid argument.  Usually a question about them building me a time machine stops that.  They can't give any sort of response to that, so they switch topics.

When debt collectors make either of those arguments, I make my retorts and laugh at them.  I wonder how they can ask such stupid questions in all seriousness.  Maybe they aren't asking those questions in all seriousness.  Maybe it is a big joke to them just to see how annoyed they can make people.  Maybe they do that to give them a comical break from the difficulty of their job.  Maybe they ask the questions and mute their end of the line and are rolling on the floor laughing.

A guy can hope.

It's Basketball Time!

Well, it's that time of the year when church basketball starts.  It actually starts next week, but I started getting into it last week.  We had our first basketball practice, and let me tell you, I'm WAY out of shape.

Scratch that.  I'm in shape, but not the kind of shape that will last very long playing any kind of sport.

Anyway, we had a practice game with another ward out here, just to help out the referees (most of the refs have little to no experience refereeing, so we played a game to help them hone their skills).  The only problem (well, it was a benefit to me, because I was out of breath) was that the game was stopped several times in order to explain what the refs missed and why it was that way.  It was also to make us aware that they were going to call everything (travel, 3 seconds in the paint, etc).

All Day in the Waiting Area

Let me tell you about my day today:

Today was a VERY long one.  Before I get too far into today, let me backtrack a little bit into yesterday: I went to bed at midnight.  Why?  That doesn't matter (I played basketball until 11p, and I relaxed until I went to bed at midnight).

With that said, let the story continue.

I woke up at 4.30a this morning.  I wanted to get up at 3a so I could make sure that I did all of my morning stuff, but I didn't wake up until 4.30, so I was running severely late.  How late?  Well, we wanted to leave at 4.30a so we could make it to the hospital at 6a.

We needed to be at the hospital at 6a in order to check two of our kids into the Same Day Surgery unit.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Well, folks, it's that time of the year.

No, not Christmas, or even New Year's.  Okay, well, it is THAT time of the year, but I'm thinking about something else.

It IS playoff time for the NFL, but that's not the reason why I'm excited (although it is close).  The reason why this is the most wonderful time of the year is because it is time for the NHL!!!

It Might Actually Make Money Online

I'm sure you've read (or heard about) those businesses which claim to make you money online.  Their ads are always around, and they always make outrageous claims.

Then, if you purchase it, you find out that it's pretty crappy.  You find that it is one of two things:

1. You have to build the website from scratch, input the products/services, set the pricing, descriptions, pictures, and everything else.  It will take at least one full month of complete hard work to set up suppliers and get the website fully built.  And after it is built, then you have to start advertising your website in order to drive traffic to it.
2. You are given a cookie-cutter website.  This is a website where you don't have to set up anything.  Everything is already put together for you, but the problem lies in the fact that your website looks exactly like everyone else's who purchased that same problem.  There is absolutely no difference between yours and your competition, so your advertising and marketing efforts will fail in differentiating you from your competition.

It's a "Man"date!

While I was having fun over the Christmas weekend, I was invited to go on a "man"date.

What is a "man"date?  Simply, it is a date for men.  Not a romantic date, with romance, but rather a guys out date--more of a bromance.  It was just to strengthen our bro-bonds.

If this post is too "manly" for you, you can click on another post and wash this testosterone-filled brost (bro-post shortened) out of your hair.  I won't hold it against you, but we may hold your man card until you're ready to become a man again.

Putting Humans to a Good Use

Ah, my excitement runneth over.

I have been waiting for something like this ever since I thought of this invention.  Since I didn't have the physics and chemistry knowledge to ever come up with this, when I read about it, I was SUPER excited!

There is a new multiferroic metal which has recently been created, and it has two properties, magnetic and non-magnetic.

You may be wondering how it can be both magnetic and non-magnetic at the same time.  Well, it's not exactly doing both of those at the same time.  When it is cold, it is non-magnetic (ferromagnetic), and when it is heated up (even a little bit), it becomes highly magnetic.

Interim "Job" for the Unemployed

I had read a few articles months ago about a few companies posting Help Wanted ads with one peculiar requirement for potential job applicants: You must currently be employed.

Today, while in the car, I heard on the radio that there were more companies doing the same thing.  They were requiring potential job applicants to be currently employed before they could apply.

My first thought to that was confusion and anger.  I mean, why would a company want to limit their applicant pool?  Haven't they heard that thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of companies have downsized or even closed up shop?  Haven't they also heard that the amount of jobs created hasn't caught up with the amount of jobs deleted?  Do they think that the only good talent is what is currently employed?  Do they honestly think that only those who have outstanding skills have found employment, while everyone who is not employed does not have skills?  Haven't they heard that it's hard to move because selling your house takes at least a year, and most people cannot afford to pay a mortgage payment and rent, especially when wages have gone down?

Apparently not.

Just Me and My ADD

There are plenty of times when I want to write something, but my mind is moving at a thousand miles per hour, and my fingers move at about 10 miles per hour.  I start writing things down, but by the time I get through my first sentence, my mind has already skipped down the road, and is so far away from what I started thinking about, that I completely forgot what I was first thinking about.

I don't know if that made much sense to you, but it sure did for me... at least I hope it made sense to me.  With that last statement, you are probably asking yourself whether or not I am sane.  Well, I would like to think I am, but it's still under debate.

So, why do I write like this so early in the morning?  Simple: it's because I have been wondering if I have ADD (or ADHD, but since they're pretty similar, symptom-wise, I'll just say ADD).

CPU: A Cash-Back Story

For those of you who have no clue what a CPU is, let me explain.  A CPU is an acronym for Central Processing Unit, which is a main component of computers.  But that is not what CPU means in this instance.  For all intents and purposes for this article, a CPU means Contract Postal Unit.

Really, it does.

That's what it's actually called.  Don't believe me?  Call USPS.  Their number is 1-800-ASK-USPS (you may need to ask around about it, because it's something only for existing businesses, but it is something they offer).  Don't worry.  I won't go anywhere while you call and check on this.  I'll just sit here, waiting patiently, while you show that you don't believe me.

Spudtopia - The Land of Deliciousness!

 Ah, my restaurant.  This was to be one of my greatest achievements, but alas, it costs a lot to open and run a restaurant.  Even one as simple as this.

Anyway, when I served a mission in Spain, I got to eat a lot of good, authentic, Spanish food.  I had several occasions where I got to eat paella (with rabbit and seafood--both delicious!), seafood (loads of shellfish--also delicious!), and many other authentic foods.

While there, I had the opportunity to visit a little shop in Malaga, where I had my first taste of papas.  They were delicious and very simple: they consisted of a one pound potato, stuffed full of a dressing and other things.  My first time was a marisco (seafood) one, which consisted of a Thousand Island-like dressing, corn, baby shrimp, and a few other things (I can't remember all of it, because it was so long ago).

My Extended Delay

Well, it has been almost one week since I have last posted anything.  For you, my loyal readers (note: I may at some point in the not-too-far future refer to you as "my loyal minions."  Feel free to be honored by that title.  If I were you, I would be honored), I want to let you know that I HAVE RETURNED VICTORIOUS!  Allow me to share my story:

My story begins several years ago, when I, the humble, handsome, hard-working (notice how most of the adjectives start with "h"?  I did), and lowly peasant Grog, was given taken captive by the Lord and Lady of the region.

The "I" Word

In the run-up to almost every election year, one of the main topics (especially when the economy is not very strong or when people don't have anything else to complain about) is illegal immigrants, and how they're "stealing our jobs!"

Now, as a point of reference, I believe the complaints brought by those against illegal immigration do have some merit.  I think that because of illegal immigrants, the wages (within the industries which hire illegal immigrants - see Federal Reserve Working Paper) are down significantly from what they could be (why hire someone at full price when you can get someone who will do the same job, with the same quality, at half the price?), and that because of the lower wages, workers who want to obtain a living wage must work more than one job at a time, which means less family time (which increases the probability of delinquent children, btw), and lessens the availability of jobs (if most Americans have to have more than one job to make ends meet, there must be millions more jobs than there are now to accomplish that).

On the flip side, however, there are some benefits we enjoy through illegal immigration.  Lowered food prices is a big one.  When businesses have higher costs (wages are typically the biggest cost that businesses have), they have to charge more to sell their goods (to make a profit, which if a business cannot do, they go out of business).  If they can lower their costs, they can sell their goods at a lower price than their competitors.

And Make Your Flowers Grow

I thought of this game soon after I first heard of the Cow Clicker game.  For those of you who are familiar with the Cow Clicker game (I think it's again working on Facebook), you may think that I'm WAY behind the times since I only heard of that game when NPR did a story on the creator of that game.

The creator talked about why he created the game and what its purpose was, and stuff like that.  I liked the interview, so I wanted to see the game for myself.  But since the cows had already been taken up by the rapture, there was nothing on the screen except for cow shadows.

Anyway, this game would be similar to the Cow Clicker game because it would serve no real purpose, other than to get people to play something when they're bored (that was the reason the creator gave as to why he made the game).  Except for a few differences, it would essentially be the same.

Innovative Cash for Gold Opportunity

As I was listening to news radio yesterday, they were talking about gold scams.  Well, it all started with Utah's legislature, who passed a law stating that gold (and other precious metals) could be used as a form of currency.  The problem, however, was that they didn't really think it through.  The legislature failed to recognize that in order to do that, every business/government office would need scales, experts to show that it really is gold, and a current ticker-tape to show the exact price of gold when they accepted it.

Nice try, Utah legislature.  You were on the path, but you didn't go all the way.

Anyway, they talked about different scams which were cropping up because of this law, and I had a brilliant idea (well, it was more of an innovation): Why not offer a cash for gold business which puts the funds on a debit card?

Task of a Lifetime - well, of the week at least

So on Saturday, I was tasked with a task: Build a lead generation website for a small company.

Taken from vividblurry.com

This will be no ordinary website!  It will be an awesome and amazing website, mainly because I will have built it.  Actually, that's the only reason why it will be so awesome and amazing.  I don't want to sound cocky and narcissistic in saying that, but well, since I am cocky and narcissistic, it's nothing abnormal (lol).

So, the company I'm doing this only offers auto insurance right now, but they're looking to expand into additional areas.  What they do is work with dozens of auto insurance companies, and try to get you the best rate (translation: cheapest insurance).

v1.3 - This time, there are LOADS of changes!

I know that I haven't made a lot of changes to the Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock site lately--or have I?

Anyway, I made a lot of cosmetic changes to make it more streamlined so you don't have to wait for larger images to load, and so that it's easier to understand what you played, what the computer played, and the results.

I am also working on changes to the site itself so it will work much faster than it is now.  So, although it may take a little while, it will be done.  Also, I will be turning this into a Facebook game, so for those of you who want to play this on Facebook and show your friends just how good you are with Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock, just wait a little longer.  It'll come.

Thank you for all of you who have given me suggestions and have played the game.  I would like to get some more feedback, so please shoot me a message (email or Facebook) with more suggestions and other things you would like to see.

Thanks!

This is the Mortgage Help people need!

What happens when you have a giant recession, high unemployment, stagnant wages for those still employed, and financial institutions now willing to work with borrowers?  An increase in mortgage defaults.

 There doesn't seem to be any help for those borrowers.  The government has tried to help with a variety of programs, but the borrowers don't ever get to see them.  Since the borrowers are not seeing any help, they are defaulting and being forced out of their homes through foreclosure.

I had a genius idea a few years back on how to help all parties involved.  Because I did not think of a cool name for it, I will just refer to it as: Mortgage Help (I know, it's a really boring name, but if you have a problem with it, leave a comment with a cooler name):

The Great Zombie-pocolypse!!!

My wife and I let our kids check out some movies from the library recently.  One of the movies that they checked out was "Casper's Scare School."

If any of you are even remotely entertaining the possibility of checking this movie out, don't.  You will lose 2 hours of your time, along with about 30 IQ points.  Seriously.  You will feel your brain turning to sludge (it's a very interesting feeling.  You may want to try it sometime--just to say you've experienced it).

The only good thing which came from it was that my 2 year old occasionally walks around like a zombie.  She also chases the other kids around, saying that she's going to get them.

The image to the left is a representation of what she looks like (well, what she would look like if she were a bald stick person with no face and no discernible features - including hands and feet).  It would be an actual picture, but our camera died on us and even though we were able to get a picture, it was not converted to a usable format, so this is the best you get at this time.

Maybe at a later point in time we'll get an actual picture of it, and you will laugh hysterically.  Really, you will.  She's just like a cute little 2 year old wannabe zombie.

Anyway, she would walk around like that and chase our other kids.  All while loudly growling.  When she catches the other kids, she then laughs and goes after another kid.

We seriously will have to get this on video, because it's really good.

Sharing our First World Problems with Others

In order to allay my sarcastic, cynical, and hopefully humorous nature, I am going to start another "blog."  Okay, so it's really going to be a newspaper/magazine kind of thing.

Now, why in the world would I want to do something like starting another blog, let alone a newspaper/magazine?  Simple: I think it will be fun.

As a little background, I listen to the radio.  Often.  Like all the time, often.  Anyway, there is a program here in Utah called The Nightside Project, which is pretty funny.  They poke fun at a lot of different things, and they have a segment called "First-World Problems."

My Love Affair with Credit Card Companies

Thank you, credit card companies.  Every week, you send me a letter with a note inside, telling me that I am pre-qualified for one of your fancy-pants cards.  You raise my hopes, telling me that I will be able to afford whatever my credit limit allows.  So I make that call to you (using the number provided in the letter, mind you), I speak with you and give you my life's information.

(Andres Rueda via Flickr)

And then you tell me that I do not qualify.

What a sack of bull.  It angers me when you do that, credit card company!  You get my hopes up, getting me to think that I can now afford that ceramic fly-shaped bowl which was hand-painted by some modern artist that sells for 3,000 times more than it's really worth, only to crush it by saying, "Oops, we made a mistake. You don't qualify at all. What you DO qualify for is pity, you poor, poor, poor, pitiful fool."

What do you do with a screaming child?

So far tonight, I have managed to get about 4 hours of sleep, and I don't see myself getting any more sleep tonight.  It isn't because I was partying late last night into the wee hours of the morning, nor is it because of a Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings/Star Wars/etc movie marathon.

It is because two of my kids (ages 1 and 3) were having nightmares.

From early last night, soon after they fell asleep, one or the other would wake up screaming and crying.  Since I am a light sleeper anyway, I immediately woke up each time and went in.  Because they can't open the door yet, they can't come in my room when they're scared.  That's good because my wife and I aren't disturbed at night, but at the same time, it's not good because the kids can't come in when they've had nightmares or need additional comforting.

Anyway, because of tonight and them having so many nightmares (I have gone in to comfort them at least three times so far, and there were a couple of other times when they stopped crying before I even got to the door), I am wondering what the cause is for their nightmares.  I would like to know why they are having so many and what I can do to help prevent them.

To anyone reading this, if you have any suggestions on what to do, I welcome them.

Thinkin' in the Shower Notepad

I first had this idea years ago, but I failed to do anything about it.  It would have been very simple to accomplish, but due to my neglect and focusing on other things, it has already been done by many other companies.

I came about this idea because I do most of my thinking while in the shower.  I would come up with many, many ideas and productive thoughts, but as soon as I got out of the shower and to a notepad, all of the ideas and thoughts were lost.  I would get so frustrated that I tried to figure out a way to solve the problem.

What I came up with was very simple: a charcoal pencil attached to a string which was attached to a pad of waterproof water.  The pad of paper would be affixed to the shower wall by either foam tape or suction cups (I wasn't sure on which one would be better--the suction cups will lose their suction within a relatively short time, and the foam tape never comes off).

That was it.  It was that simple.

I guess there's nothing really special about this product, but it was a brilliant idea when I first came up with it.  Too bad I didn't take advantage of it at that time. :(

Attitude of Gratitude

It is at this time of the year when gratitude is truly abundant.  Starting around the Thanksgiving season, and typically ending about a week or two after New Year's Day, people become more and more giving and grateful for the things which they have.

I am grateful for this season where the focus is on gratitude and looking outward to helping others.

This is the season when charitable donations increase; this is the season when holiday cheer runs high; this is the season when community and neighborhood works help all to be happier.  This is the season when the overall morale of people increases because they are willing to be grateful and look outward to help those around them.

v1.2 - Counter Action and Smoooooth Function

Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock is out with another version - v1.2

That's right. We made a counter for it, and added smoother functioning. That's it.

It may not be a whole lot, but it's even better than it really was before the update. Anyway, please visit the RPSLS Game tab up at the top of the page to check it out.

If you do not wish to use the tab, you can visit the website RPSLS Game.

Enjoy the game and please comment on what additions you would like to see.

Speed-Shopping Website

Most websites, and businesses for that matter, focus on having the customer spend enough time in the store so that they will purchase more.  The thought process is the longer someone is in an establishment, the more likely they will purchase, and if they do not purchase today, they will leave with a positive impression, so they will purchase sometime in the future.

It is a great model for most businesses, but because that is the focus of almost every business out there, how can you stand apart?  What will make your business be seen as better than the competition?

I would like to introduce the Speed-Shopping Website.

Newspaper Wars

With the recent demise of so many newspapers across the nation, the leaders of the nation have determined that in the best interests of the free press, it would be best to allow all people to start their own newspaper. 

That means that you can now start your own newspaper. Along with starting your own newspaper, which includes determining which sections to include, your sources, delivery venues, biases, and print schedules, you get to gain readership, protect your company from snooping and mischievous rivals, and hopefully launch the dreaded Clown Car of Destruction on your opponents.

 Welcome to Newspaper Wars, where it's not too different from the real-life newspaper offices.

Open Letter to Congress

Dear Members of Congress:

You disgust me.

Truly, you do.

That 13% approval rating you have received is unwarranted.  It should be 0%.  You do nothing to promote the good and tolerance which the American people have.

You sit there in Washington DC saying that you are seeking to do what is best for America, what is best for me, without even trying to find out what REALLY is best for me.

You truly seek the benefit of only one individual: You.

Bad Driver Postcards

Have you ever been driving when another driver cuts you off, or tailgates your car, or even gets angry (and flips you the bird) because you're not going as fast as they think you should?  I've been in that situation--actually, I've been in those kinds of situations often because I tend to drive the speed limit (while in the right land, of course), and the other drivers seem to think that's wrong.

Unfortunately, there is nothing that normal drivers can do when others are mean to us.  But that can change!  Well, that's the plan, anyway.

Welcome to one my most super-awesome business ideas that I could think of:

Bad Driver Postcards.

Snowmen on a Snowday!

Yesterday morning (early in the morning--even before I got up) it snowed here.  Although it only snowed about two inches, it still snowed.  That made it a wonderful day.

By the way, why is it that a lot of people hate the snow?  I haven't really understood their position other than the fact that it's cold when it snows and if you drive in the snow, you will most likely hit a patch of black ice.

Anyway, I digress.  So, because it was such a wonderful day, I took the kids outside and we made a snowman.  It was an amazing snowman, our 6' bug-eyed snowman.

It really was 6' tall!  I made the bottom ball about 3.5' tall, and the other ones filled out the rest.  The face was the best part, because we didn't have any coal (or raisins) or carrots.  So we found some sticks and rocks.  That sounds kind of kooky, but we put some sticks for the mouth and nose, made some snowballs for the eyes (we put rocks in the snowballs so they actually looked like eyes) and buttons on the jacket, and two funky snow-arms.

It looked like a bug-eyed freak (well, the freak part is because the eyes weren't focused on anything in particular--they looked like chameleon eyes that are focusing on two different parts, or one extreme lazy eye).  The arms just looked out of place.  It was fun making that.

After making it, we had a snowball fight.  I, of course, won, because of my superior marksmanship and skill (although it's not too difficult to beat 7 and 6 year-olds).

Manga, Addictions, and a nice Cold Shower

"Hello, my name is Chris, and I have an addiction."

Now that the formalities are out of the way, I can let the healing start.

So, I have an addiction.  To what?  Manga.  I am addicted to manga.

For those of you who have absolutely no clue what manga is, well, the simplest way to describe it is to classify it as Japanese comic books.  There are several different manga series available (actually, there are tens of thousands of different series out there), and they are featured in both print and online form.  I typically read the online forms because they come out weekly, I know where they will come out at, and most importantly, they are free.

Destroy the Sinners!!!

By the blog title, you would think this is going to be something about how sinners are horrible and that because they have sinned, they need to be destroyed.  Kind of like the Westboro Baptist Church.  That's not it.  It's a game I thought of, and hopefully there isn't one like it already out there, but if there is, I may need to go out and play it.

Anyway, before I get sidetracked again and start rambling on about whatever crosses my mind, I think I should say some things about this idea.

So, in this game you would play god.  You have a planet of people who have all sinned grievously against you, and because they have sinned against you so horribly, you have decided to destroy them all.  This is kind of like Sodom and Gomorrah in the Bible.  They sinned grievously against God and were destroyed by fire.  As for the sins which the people committed, I will let you decide what sins they are--they could be anything from everyone murdering everyone (then wouldn't there be no population on the earth?) to the people eating Greek food on Thursday nights instead of pizza.  You decide on that.

Instant Answers for your Math and Science Questions

So, I actually came up with this wonderful idea this morning.  It may not seem to be as well thought-out as many of my other business ideas, but because I think this may be a simple, yet extremely attractive business, I'm going to throw it out--and if I get additional thoughts about this, I can always add a new post about it!

This would be a very simple method to get answers to students.

You see, when I'm studying and doing homework, I will work through the question and get as far as I can (usually, it's to the end), but I want to make sure that my answer is correct so that I can rest assured that I'm performing the calculations correctly.  Unfortunately, in most textbooks, in order to verify that my answer is correct, the question must be an odd number.  For some reason, the textbooks (and textbook makers) have some beef against even numbers, and they don't include them with the rest of the answers in the back of the book.  So, if I want the answer to an even-numbered question, I'm kind of out-of-luck.

v1.1 - Now with 20% More Style!

Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock game

Okay.  I have changed the way the Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock site looks.  There is a little more organization right now, but it's not perfect yet.  There will be a counter in it as well, which will allow you to see how many wins, losses, and ties you have gotten.  That's not implemented yet, but it will be soon.

Please check it out and give some feedback!

Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock game

1 month of being my shoes

During my entire life so far, I have only had one pair of shoes which has lasted longer than 6 months.  I still remember those shoes.  They were Adidas brand shoes.  They would have lasted longer, but the soles of both shoes fell off.  Actually, they were held together (shoe to sole) by electrical tape for a couple of months.

Although these are backwards, they show
the condition of my shoes

Funny, I remember the day when I had to get rid of those shoes.  The tape had worn off (electrical tape tends to do that after about 4 - 5 days of use, but duck tape does it after 1 - 2 days), and I was walking with the sole flopping around.  I miscalculated the height of my step, and caught the toe of the sole on the ground, which caused it to rip off the shoe completely.  I kept the sole and shoe for several months as a trophy of sorts.

These latest shoes were purchased a month ago from Walmart.  They were the cheapest shoes offered.  I figured that even though they were cheap, they should be able to last a few months before completely falling apart.

 Before I go any further, I should note that I had purchased shoes by Starter before, and they had lasted about 3 months before experiencing serious problems.  I felt comfortable that they would be able to last long enough for me to be able to justify spending a paltry $15 for them (I know, I know... that's WAY to cheap to spend on shoes that should last me 3 months!  I should have spent at least, $30).

My Proposed Tax Plan (it can't be worse than what's already proposed)

If you ever tune into the news on tv or listen to it on the radio, I am certain that you have heard the recently proposed tax plans from those in the Republican party who are seeking the presidency.  You've most likely heard about Herman Cain's and Rick Perry's flat-ish tax plans.

If you have not yet read (or heard them talk about) their plans, they will make great bathroom reading materials--the stink from those plans will match the bathroom ambiance.

Anyway, when I first heard about those plans, I thought to myself, "Those plans suck. All they do is benefit the rich, and nobody else. Why don't I see if I can come up with something a little more fair."  So I did.  And this is what I came up with:

The 25 Slide Tax Plan

v1.0 is Finally Up!!!

Okay, so it's not really the best thing to brag about, but I finally have the Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock game up!  It's not perfect, but it works.  I will be working on it until I am satisfied with it (which may take a while :) )

Since it is up, you can go visit it and play around for a while.  And I would LOVE to read your comments and suggestions on how I can better it.  I am only one person, so I can't think of everything that I could do to make it better.

It is at www.rpsls.site88.net.  Go there, play it a few times and report back!

Dehydrated Water

Just Add Water for a Healthy, Refreshing Beverage!

This started out as a big joke.  I thought of this about 17 years ago when I was still in high school, along with the Bottled Fresh Air.

Through the years, I have found that this could actually be a viable business.  I mean, people buy all sorts of powders for their water--powders that provide additional vitamins and minerals and those that add flavoring to make your water more palatable.  So it's not like this idea is a completely stupid idea.

This is one of my ideas which I would consider to have been successfully completed.  I cannot think of anything that would add to it or any way to improve it.  Congratulations to all those large powdered water makers for making one of my dreams come true!

Bottled Fresh Air

This was my first foray into the business world, almost 17 years ago.  I was in a television production class, and we had to come up with a commercial.  I thought of a hilarious commercial (although it was never completed because of location issues), and thus Bottled Fresh Air was born.

This was a very simple product when I first thought it up: You go up in the mountains, take some Mason jars, open them, and then close and tighten the lid.  That was it!  You would do that and sell it to the masses.

After some years, I gave it some thought, and I figured that you could still use the Mason jars (although it would be better if you had custom-made clear jars which were embossed with scenery), but put a thin layer of scent on the bottom so when you opened it up, it would smell just like the scenery.  That thin layer could be replaced when it no longer smelled.  It would be a great product which would sell well to cubicle-dwellers around the world!

Marketing Consulting Business

Okay, so I'm a very altruistic person who would rather do things in a manner in which everyone wins, not just the owner.  I would rather have a business succeed long-term and have a slow, consistent growth with a focus on the clients instead of a focus on the profits and always seeking to increase them.

So, with that out of the way, I want to talk about a business I started to implement years ago, but due to family issues, I was unable to fully implement it :(

The business was a marketing consulting business, with a focus being on startup and small businesses.

What I had planned on doing was pretty simple: Be the company's marketing department.  Here is how I had it planned:

Facebook Bar

I'm sure that we're all aware of the big games and apps found on Facebook, such as Farmville, Frontierville, Mafia Wars, and the other thousands of games which you may play as long as you divulge your personal information, friends' information, and send invites to each and every one of them.

This is similar to them in that you will have an app on Facebook, but it's different in that it's none of those games I previously mentioned.

This one's more like a new spin on a retro internet function.

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock

I started watching The Big Bang Theory, and while watching the earlier episodes, I saw the one in which Sheldon created an updated version of Rock, Paper, Scissors: Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock.

This is a very simple business which works mainly with one website.  It's basically a game that where you can have people play in three different modes: Beginner, Advanced, and Chuck Norris (you will lost probably 99% of the time).  In order to advance to the higher modes, you must win a certain amount of games (either in a row or total).

Here are the rules of wins and losses:
Scissors cuts Paper

Monetizing a Blog

When I first started this blog almost a year ago, the reason why I started it was for two reasons: Write down my ideas so they might get started, and Make some additional money doing something I would already be doing.

Well, one year ago, I was not in a position to dedicate my time in writing (and other than that, I didn't really want to spend a lot of time writing--I was busy doing other things).  Now, I feel that I am ready to start doing that.

I'm ready to focus my time and effort into writing.  I had thought about going into writing before, but I usually lost steam a few days after starting.  I would stop because I would get writer's block and then I would quit because things would not come quickly.

As for why I do that, I believe that it is because I have ADD.  It's hard at times to get focused on doing things, but I recognize that I must focus on things, so I need to get in the habit of writing often--even when I really don't want to or I cannot think of anything to write.

Wish me luck on this new venture!