Wednesday, November 30, 2011

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.

Monday, November 28, 2011

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. :(

Sunday, November 27, 2011

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.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

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.

Friday, November 25, 2011

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.

Monday, November 21, 2011

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.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

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).

Saturday, November 19, 2011

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.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

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.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

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

Saturday, November 12, 2011

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!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

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!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

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!