I see I’ve been added to the guest list for the Phoenix Comicon next May. I really need to do something about that leering, creepy press photo, tho. Maybe I can get my sister to take a new one over Thanksgiving.

Anyway, both Tony Harris and I will be there, and we’re hopeful we can start chatting a bit about our upcoming creator-owned book by then. It’s been in the works for a couple of years now, and as EX MACHINA gets closer to wrapping, we get closer to rolling.

Hope to be in Chicago, New York and San Diego next year, as well. Beyond that? Who knows.

As I posted earlier in the blog, Farmville has become a trademark at Facebook. It is “the popular game” and everyone from every walk of life is playing it. How cool is that for a game like this to get so many members. Although, this game is earning praises from its members since its launch, it has some negative aspects as well. Not that they are harmful but are irritating to the players. I have gathered pros and cons of this game while playing it.

Farmville Pros:

• Although, not a new concept in the virtual farms but Zynga has taken it far from what the others are right now
• The attractions are strong for the players, almost addicting. For example, surprise boxes, awards, new items every season, free gifts, and others
• Zynga developers have strong communication with the players. I admire that every term of lack of communication is avoided. There is discussion board, podcast, email service, and support. The team gives its players what they request, once in a while, which is a good gesture of saying thank you to them
• The graphics and their quality is good. They don’t seem like, players are getting hold of cartoons. (Cartoons are fun but for a real-time game, Farmville has given its best)
• The most important part of it is that everyone feels creative in their own way. No matter how, there is nothing that stops them from laddering up except themselves
• They keep track of the errors and bugs now and then. In addition, the team keeps messaging its users that they are looking into the “present” issue. Players get solution in parallel to their visit on the farm, unless they are very unlucky to open Farmville
• It has been a good addition to the Facebook.  Facebook is getting more clicks and new members just because of Farmville, which is a pretty good thing. According to AppData, Farmville’s monthly active users in October-November are near to 70,000,000 and daily users have been above 24,000,000. How cool is that?

I, myself have been a Farmville user since it came into being. I started playing Zynga games by the Pathwords and Scrabble. I loved them (still do…) but Farmville is a feeling, that you are really doing something with land, animals, crops, coins, cash etc. The new game in the pool is Fishville, which is equally interesting and better than the other fish games on Facebook that I have seen. Fishville has drived the Farmville members and I guess vice versa in case of new members.

Where I have passion for this game, I also get irritated by a few things that happen during my visit. They are not big issues but being a technical writer, usability tester, and knowing devices for user assistance; I feel the need to mention them. And if I may suggest a few ideas (as solutions) to the problems.

Facebook Cons:

• The server keeps getting restarted when players are farming, which undo’s whatever thay have been doing before the game restarts
• Saving takes a lot of time (in my case I just click “Play” again instead of waiting, which again undo’s everything)
• Real spending of cash to buy virtual farm cash. This means a player is spending more than they would spend in purchasing an online game

Users totally understand the need to earn revenue and profit, but the team can come up with 1-2 plans to keep both the real-money spending players and only-coins spending players happy. Although, in some cases the team has put up one item twice with both cash and coin. I am not sure what comes out of it. I bet coins are being preferred in that case. In the Market, the things with coins are smaller and look like spending on them is not worth; when the cash items are more attractive. As a user and usability tester, I can see that this can make players feel they ar ebuying something uncostly and insignificant. That is why the hot topic in the discusison board of Farmville is “cash” and “items”.

I am sure the team would be working on something. This blog does not mean to doubt their abilities. I wish the team best of luck and appreciate what they are doing presently.

To explain “New Moon” the film, you not only must compare it to the books but to the style and praise of the previous film.

Disclaimer: I am not a critic, nor a genius, nor have I ever written a review. These are just my thoughts on the film. Just me talking about the pros and the cons. If for any reason you feel this doesn’t meet your standards then stop. I am just a fan of the books sense they’ve come out. I have read the books instantly as they came out after discovery the first novel Twilight from a friend. I read it before anyone had gone Vampire crazy, and before New Moon came out. So I have liked the novels a long time. Don’t get me wrong though, as much as I am satisfied with the plot line of the most of the novels I find the author disappointing.

The Author: Stephenie Meyer came and went like J.K Rowling. The author wrote a great story idea but the writing itself was nothing special. There are writing mistakes an experienced author would not make. Stephenie Meyer’s works aren’t master pieces by any standard of literary work. She got this far as J.K. has because she gave the public a nice plot line that made readers drool over pure romance. The same way that Romeo & Juliet are still read in modern times though not modern whatsoever. Yet, the author of Twilight progressively got worst. Lacking in keeping up with the true story she had started with and progressively developing into an almost different story by her fourth book. Change occurred as money in her wallet developed. The later books came solely for the money. After all she did say it herself that she only meant to write two novels and she ended up with four. Most of all I lost my respect entirely of her. Due to the fact that she  personally wrote a letter on her website telling fans of her distaste at the manuscript of Midnight Sun being released online by one of her people and basically telling the readers punishments will happen for it by her not finishing the novel and releasing the draft on her website for all eyes. This action of so outwardly blaming her loyal fans of which some refused to read it even though they could. Shows the fact of how power-hungry she has become to lose track that these people  are devoted to supporting any action taken by her then to just be kicked in the gut for having done absolutely nothing. Plus, it was clearly her fault for the release for trusting the wrong people.

Twilight: My review of twilight the novel. I give it five stars. The characters felt real, relate-able, and consistent. The writing was neither completely poor nor amazing. It was very average like when a friend ask you to read something they wrote. It was properly written and is definitely for a young person that could not acknowledge mistakes. It was written rather childishly, like an adolescent wrote it, which makes it in essence easier to relate to Bella. Although Stephenie Meyer says it was written for  older crowd like individuals like herself, Twilight would not cut it. Most adults would not totally dismiss it, yet it would not have had as great a turn out as it had with the young adult readers. Overall, it is by far the best novel of the Twilight Saga. This is very bad for the rest of the books because they cannot meet up to the standards of the first novel.

New Moon: This novel is clearly the worst of the four novels to some and to others its just seems like a small stepping stone. This novel feels like it was a filler episode in the series.  It filled in some gaps and brought in some ideas for the future books but over all I feel it was a waste of time expect for a few expectations. If the novel had just contained the first bit with Edward and summarized Jacob’s developing character and had the final chapters of the novel it would be better. Basically keep the beginning, the end, and shorten the middle  a lot then this novel might just be ok. Reading this I just felt like get on with the point of the story already, I get it shes depressed move on already, and Jacob is ok but his no Edward. The thing is Edward made Twilight big no matter how you see it and New Moon containing very little Edward is well boring.

Eclipse: This book should have been the last one. It solves the resolution that had started in the first novel almost completely. Though something would need to be added to make this the end and make it amazing instead it wasn’t the last one. The novel seemed to drag on in the middle like New Moon yet it contained some more interesting facts. The end was thrilling, the beginning is forgetful because I literally can’t recall the beginning. Eclipse was nothing special, it was better than the second but still could not compare to the first. Most readers that I spoke to feel that the Bella everyone had fallen in love with in Twilight and people could relate to had become someone utterly different. I get that characters in novel can grow up and change to but this was a radical attitude change in the series. It just felt like a different person with the same name.

Breaking Dawn: By far the worst of the books in the series to most. This novel has the same character ideals of same names, vampires, werewolves, and fight for good. However this novel seems almost unrelated to the rest to the series. The main characters seem almost like strangers to fans of the series. The actions and plot line of the story are just out-of-place with the rest of the series that most people are disgusted to call Breaking Dawn the end of the Twilight series. This book is entirely like a filler episode to the climax. Then as the reader reaches the climax disappointment is waiting. Some of the ideas or passages of the novel are what the fans of Twilight had been waiting to see, yet with the personality change of characters, mainly Bella, made those passage unbearable to enjoy fully. The beginning plays with the exact answers to  that of the readers questions of  “what would happen if this happened.” The middle didn’t really make sense and seemed to be implemented for a shock effect. The end was a the biggest fail and disappointment for readers looking for a little more action.

Twilight the film: Disappointment. Comprehension that the novel can’t literally be brought to life but it was painful to watch almost. The acting by Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson was horrible. Neither of them can properly act. This is no surprise sense Catherine Hardwicke tends to favor actors and not properly look for actors that can act. The effects in the film were unimpressive and lacked realism. A lot of the details that made the novel famous were left out. Scenes were added that just wasted time in the movie and were pointless. The camera work was done poorly and overall failed in properly symbolizing what the novel was all about. Twilight basically had been butchered to shreds for fans of the novel.

New Moon the film: In comparison to Twilight, the film, New Moon was amazing. The effects were much smoother, there were more of them, the camera angles were nice, and it properly symbolized what the Twilight Saga is about. The actors of the first film were kept and brought down the movie. Due to the fact the worst actors in the film are the lead actors. However one lead actor stands out from the rest. Taylor Lautner was amazing. His acting skills carried the film and made the character Jacob look outstanding. Compared to the novel in which fans didn’t like not having as much of Edward in the film I feel better not having Robert Pattinson on-screen. His acting was literally a joke and Kristen Stewart is so emotionless and seems more like versions of  Keanu Reeves. The film kept very close to the novel, but the film brought the novel to life were the novel had failed. The fail was much more entertaining and accomplished in the areas that novel lacked. It had a much more concrete ideas of romance between Edward and Bella. It brought out the feelings of the novel while still being able to introduce the added plot-line of the werewolves and the Volturi. In the end it was a great film. It was better than Twilight the film and New Moon the novel.

Eclipse/Breaking Dawn the films: As the Twilight Saga rages through the media, I hope success on the future films, and wish for certain actors to get some talent, while the rest of the cast stays gifted in their roles. Much appreciation to the actors that play….

Jacob, Charlie, Cullens (Carlisle, Esme, Emmette, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice!), the Wolf Pack.

(If this doesn’t make sense I haven’t slept this a quick blog. A quick 1554 word count blog~   )

Maybe a Part 2 later.

I have a huge love/hate relationship with Craigslist. It’s an easily accessibly source of local information (especially when you’re looking for a job!), can help you sell (and buy) things fast and easily, and occasionally can get you involved in a wonderful scam or two. We’ve all heard about the fake “Nigerian” prince scams, and similar money fraud cons (if you haven’t, please start reading here and don’t stop until you’ve familiarized yourself with other popular internet scams as well) however we rarely hear about the many job posting scams floating around craigslist. (Here’s a good post that explains some red flags to pay attention to when trolling craigslist for work)

I’d like to clarify, I don’t think this is actually craigslist’s fault. Since that post above was written, craigslist has implemented a new rule requiring an actual payment for job postings in most big cities. Yep, that’s right. While it might seem inconvenient as an employer seeking workers, the idea is that if you’re willing to put down $25 to list your available position on craigslist, you’re less likely to be offering a scam and more likely to be offering real work.

Here’s where things fall through the cracks. We love craigslist because it is stream lined and easy on the eyes and makes finding potential work so much easier then cruising the more sophisticated, feature abundant pages of Monster.com and Career Builder. Sometimes we just want the long and the short of it. The difference with craigslist is that as long as you’re willing to pay the fee, you’re job posting can consist of very little information. Anything from “Admin Assistant needed, part time, respond to email above” to something much more complicated including a detailed listing of requirements, duties, and contact information for the company. And in fact, the last one is kind of rare (even with legitimate posts). Without a required company name included in the job posting it’s easy to apply for a wonderful, “legitimate” looking job.

You might even encounter something similar to what I did today.

I found this posting on craigslist today. It looked wonderful, included a name (ah, how rare this really is) and phone number and it was an entry level position for an industry I’m very interested in – marketing.

After responding to the email with my cover letter and resume I received a wonderfully normal and polite email from Teri at Mile High Management, Inc. asking to set up an interview right away. My initial reaction was beyond excited! Asking for an interview within hours of receiving my email, sounds too good to be true.

Turns out, it was.

In my over excitement, I called right away and scheduled an interview for Friday morning at 9:30AM. I then sat down to explore the Google-verse and find out more about the illustrious Mile High Management, Inc.

First, I could only find Google postings for other similarly named (but different) companies. No websites for their company. So I tried narrowing the search to Denver. Still no company information. I found a real estate management office, but it turned out they were in Oregon. (Silly Google, I said Denver!)

So I Googled the address included in my “interview instructions/directions email”, and in that same building Google listed several businesses (7 actually) which made perfect sense to me because the address I was given listed Mile High Management as being Suite E. Obviously it was an office building holding many other business. Makes sense, right? However none of the 7 businesses listed we’re Mile High Management.

So I Googled the phone number I called “909-969-6676″ and found several (tons actually) of links referencing their job listing for the same (and similar positions) on other job sites. Which is when I really started getting suspicious. Not only was Teri (the admin assistant who contacted me) setting up interviews in Denver, she was setting them up in Minneapolis as well. This is also when the “duh” light bulb went off in my head. I’m a CA native, there’s a reason 909 is a familiar area code to me – It’s in Riverside, CA.

So basically, Teri from Riverside CA is calling and scheduling interviews (and posting) for jobs in Denver and Minneapolis. Weird, but not totally out of the realm of possibility. Still everything wasn’t adding up just right. So I started reading some of the other job postings and noticed Teri Garcia and the same phone number listed in each postings, HOWEVER some of the postings showed the hiring company as Mile High Management Systems, Inc.

Bam.

A Google search of Mile High Management Systems, Inc. revealed a very interesting and informative link to Yahoo Answers. From there I went down an Alice and Wonderland rabbit hole of links chasing information. Turns out Mile High Management Systems, Inc. is a branch of Smart Circle International, Inc. a well known Multi-Level Marketing scheme that changes it’s name frequently in order to avoid legal troubles. According to the poster on Yahoo Answers who ended up going on an interview with Mile High Management Systems, “The branches of Smart Circle International change their names often to avoid legal problems, which is why they don’t have websites, business cards, or the company name on the door. The job is to sell products or services at another business. This branch specialized in Home Depot. In theory, the associates walk the floor of home depot contacting customers and signing them up for an in-home consultation where someone else tries to sell them something. I contacted several Home Depot locations to verify the story, and they had never heard of them. They also demanded all my personal info upfront, including a picture, which I very seriously regret giving to them.”

After reading this and doing a little further investigating of my own (see the Alice and Wonderland rabbit hole reference above) I decided to email Teri back and cancel my interview.

In a society where work is already hard to find, it is discouraging and frustrating to see companies out there willing to con you into work (that could even get you into legal trouble)! I’m sure if I hadn’t learned this today, I would have quickly at the interview. I am, however, still frustrated that I wasted my time. Wasted it responding to the ad, getting excited at the prospect of the interview; wasted time on the computer, on the email, on the phone. Just plain wasted, when I could have been applying for actual work.

Ah, well. The hunt for “Red October” continues. (And by Red October, I mean work. Call me.)

If this has happened to you, I sympathize! If it hasn’t, but you’re looking for work online, be careful and get educated! And remember, that even though there are idiots like this out there posting jobs on craigslist, there are also fabulous legitimate gigs available and the internet will always continue to be an invaluable tool in the search for jobs, despite con-artists and scammers.

I also have some rants (thumbs down) about pawn shops, and a rave or two (thumbs up) for pumpkin spice bread and my amazing vacuum but I’ll save those for tomorrow.

Until next time, stay smart and never underestimate the power of Google!

Social Networking has become more and more popular over the past few years. Many businesses have already discovered the potential these sites have to generate new business. Some businesses, however, are still unsure about if they should venture into the world of social networking, which is why I wrote this post! In this post, I will describe some pro’s and con’s that social networking offers. Read on!

The Pro’s

Always good to start on a positive note

• Networking – Many people think of social networking sites as a virtual Speed Networking event. To a certain extent, I would agree. Although it is always better to actually attend a networking meeting, sometimes we are stretched for time; which is where social networking comes in!

• Cheap as chips – It’s not really cheap as chips. It’s actually free most of the time, for example, Facebook, Twitter etc. Think of it like this; with huge marketing expenses, would you throw away a free marketing strategy?

• Personal touch – Social networking is a way for a company to interact and build a relationship with their customers, and potential customers. I personally think it is great to have a face behind a brand; it helps customers trust you quicker.

• HUGE reach – How many people do you think you can reach with an ad in your local newspaper? Maybe a few thousand. Now think of how many people you can reach on the internet. Billions.

The Con’s

• Time – A fair bit of time is required to maintain a social networking site, to set it up, to constantly post on it, to interact with people, etc. This is why a lot of people aren’t using it for business purposes yet. I believe, however, that the return on your time is worth it. Maybe some of you think the opposite? Let me know in the comment section below.

• Time II – This isn’t in relation to the amount of time inputting, it is about the amount of time it takes to achieve results. Getting new business from a social networking site usually takes a while, because the main purpose of these sites is to build relationships with prospective customers, and only some of those people will actually become customers.

• 1 mistake – Yep. One mistake is all it takes to tarnish a reputation you have been steadily building for years. One spelling error, and people think you’re unprofessional. You need to make sure everything is right before sending an update or a tweet, or anything else.

• Hackers – Don’t think it won’t happen to you. Many profiles for small businesses have been hacked, and the profiles destroyed, or obscene images posted, or foul language used. You can go a fair way towards stopping this happening to you, though, by maintaining your security settings, changing your password often, etc.

I hope that this post was helpful. If you have any more pro’s or con’s about social networking, then share your wisdom with the other readers!

I spent the past four years doing Nano, the last three of them as a mentor. Hitting 50K wasn’t a problem in any of those years. Last year, I did Nano although life was a challenge due to an illness and subsequent death in the family. While I am very fond of the piece I worked on, and it will be rewritten enough to start the submission process early next year, I didn’t get out of the experience what I wanted and needed.

This year, I decided to make the sane choice and not to Nano. It was great Personal Drama for me, but I made the decision and stuck to it anyway. I’m juggling numerous deadlines and contracts, and I travelled every week in the entire month. There’s no way I could keep that kind of commitment to myself and my work without a major meltdown. Rather than setting myself up for frustration and failure from the outset, I passed.

The first few days I felt sulky and left out. I mean, thousands of people are writing in community, and here I was on the sidelines. I have very strong opinions about either you do Nano or you don’t. The parameters of Nano are that you start a new project and write 50K of new material for it in 30 days. You don’t use a current WIP and you don’t revise. There’s nothing wrong with writing in tandem with Nano and riding the energy wave of so much focused attention on the page, but unless you honor the premise of it, you’re not doing it. So, even though I wrote A LOT, I wasn’t doing Nano, and I didn’t pretend I was.

The further into the month we got, not only was I writing a lot, but I missed it less. That made me sit down and assess the pros and cons of Nano. Those who love Nano swear by it; those who hate it say you can’t write a real, publishable piece of work in 30 days.

I believe you can learn a lot during the process that, if you are serious about your writing, you can apply to your regular writing life.

Cons:
–Quantity over Quality. The point of Nano is to spit out 50K of a first draft. You’re not supposed to go back and edit or slow down or anything else. Since each novel has its own innate rhythm, this can sometimes be counterproductive. Some novels just aren’t meant to be written at breakneck pace over a concentrated period of time.

–Creative Vampires. Whether it’s a Mentee who doesn’t respect you enough to keep his/her end of the commitment, or the person on the board whining about how hard it is or making excuses, a large percentage of Nanoers are trying to find shortcuts, easy ways, or suck the energy out of those who are sitting down and doing it.

–You have to be a Time Management Pro. Nano happens in November. That means the holiday season’s already started and will continue into the New Year. Thanksgiving falls in the month, along with pageants, exams, bad weather, and a myriad of other life challenges. If you suck at time management, you have two options: Learn to manage your time better or fail. Yes, life can and will throw some curve balls, and there will be times when a massive life emergency happens and Nano has to go on the backburner. There’s nothing wrong with that. And there’s always next year. But if you don’t learn to make writing a priority for the mere 30 days, you won’t be able to achieve Nano.

–By December 1, You’re so Burned out, the very Thought of Your Manuscript Makes You Want to Puke. Very few novels can be sold at 50K. You have to finish the manuscript. Unfinished manuscripts hang like albatrosses around your neck. They weigh you down and hurt your future work. Even if you decide to put the manuscript in the drawer for years once the draft is done, make sure the draft is DONE. That’s really tough after a month of breakneck writing. You can choose to either continue the pace into December until the manuscript is done (which, with holiday madness, could land you in the rubber room), or you can cut back your daily quota back to what feels like the novel’s natural rhythm. For me, that’s usually 1000-1500 words a day, although sometimes a piece only lets me write 500 words/day on it. Whatever it is, keep going until the draft is done, even if you’re burned out. If you’re serious about being a contracted, paid writer, you will have to write and meet your contract deadlines whether you feel like it or not. This is good training.

–January, the Edit Month, is Too Soon. The biggest mistake aspiring writers make is to finish their novels and immediately go into edits. Unless you’re on a contracted deadline and are behind, put it away for AT LEAST two months. Four to six months is often even better. When you go back to rewrite, revise, and edit, you MUST be able to look at it objectively, as though someone else wrote it. Finish the draft, even if it takes you into the following calendar year. And then put it away for a few months.

–What You Write During Nano Needs More Revision/Rewriting/Editing. This goes back to quantity over quality. Everything I’ve ever done for Nano needed far more drafts than work done outside of the Nano process in order to make it submissible. Again, that’ why time and distance before revision is so important.

–Do NOT Mention It was Written During Nano During the Query Process. That’s a major turn-off to editors and agents. They don’t want something slapped together in 30 days. They wanted a well-crafted book. Once you hit bestseller lists, the demands change, and they want more from you faster, but at the outset, keep your mouth shut. Let the info drop in post-publication interviews.

–More than 50K. I realized that I regularly write more than 50K in any given month, but it’s not all on one project. If I didn’t write a lot and across a wide variety of projects, I couldn’t pay the bills. And no, I do not churn out quick articles for content mills — they can’t afford me. I write quality pieces, but I do write a lot in any given month. Definitely more than 50K. Adding a 50K novel into that sometimes simply doesn’t make sense (like this year).

Pros:
–Quantity over Quality. Huh? Wasn’t that also one of the Cons? Yup. But this is a first draft, and the point is to get words on paper. If you don’t get them on paper, you don’t have anything to revise. Those who claim they can’t finish anything because they’re perfectionists are lying to us and to themselves. It’s not about perfection, it’s about fear. Nano helps you let go of a lot of fear.

–Learning Your Novel’s Pace. Again, as I stated above, every novel has its own innate rhythm. Some of them aren’t right for Nano. You have to learn to choose a project that has a quick rhythm (which is different from a quickly-paced novel, which sometimes takes longer to write than a slower-paced-to-read novel that can be written more quickly). You learn to suit the project to the parameters, which is useful if you plan to hire out to anthologies or series or package deals or anything else.

–Riding the Energy Wave. Writing in community is often a great spur to creativity. You can tap in to the energy of thousands of other people whose goal is to write. You have built-in brainstorming groups, and you can attend write-ins and meetings if you choose. Just knowing there are a lot of other people out there going through similar experiences is often very helpful in getting you to the page each day.

–No room for Martyrs. No one cares about your excuses for not writing. You either write or you don’t write. The people who are writing are too busy writing to feel sorry for you.

–Learning about Scheduling and Personal Rhythms. Because I always go away for Thanksgiving, I like to front load Nano. If you plan an even writing rhythm every day, you only need to write 1667 words per day, about 7 pages. I commit to writing 2500 words per day, with an eye to hitting the 50K before Thanksgiving, and anything beyond that, is, pardon the pun, gravy. This way, if I have a bad day or something happens, I have words in the bank and don’t need to panic. I also learned that my best and most creative time is early in the morning, after yoga but before doing anything else. That is something I can carry over into my daily writing life, and is one of the ways I’ve applied Nano techniques successfully into my full time writing career. If someone else’s best time is late at night — go for it. There are always a few things you can rearrange in your schedule to leave you an hour or two of writing time when you’re at your best.

-Learning When to Outline and When to Fly. When I’m committed to writing 2500 words first thing every morning, it’s much easier for me to outline. I pull out my outline when I sit at the desk and I know what comes next. I don’t have to stare at a blank page. If, however, during the writing of a scene, I find a tangent, it’s the perfect opportunity to explore it. You’re upping your word count, and, if it doesn’t work, you can cut it later.

–You Learn To Treat Your Writing Time With Respect. You should already be doing this, but far too many people think if they rush around “doing for” others, it will be appreciated and, in return, the aspiring writer will be given the gift of writing time. Not going to happen. You have to set boundaries and make it clear that this is important for you. It’s often easier to do that during Nano because it’s a concentrated period of time and thousands of people around the world are doing it. If you’re with someone who doesn’t support your dreams or sabotages them, you’re with the wrong person, and you better get out now, because that kind of abuse only gets worse over time.

–You Have 50,000 More Words On a Single Project Than You Had a Month Ago. What you do with them is up to you, but you’ve got them!

Go forth and enjoy!

Devon Ellington publishes under a half a dozen names in both fiction and non-fiction. Keep up with her on the blog Ink in My Coffee.

Even though landfills may save cities and counties plenty of money, there still seen has a hazard to our cities and counties. There are atmospheric emissions from landfills which can enter the atmosphere and affect not only those surrounding the landfill but regions that are far away. Though many landfills are able to prevent most leakage problems from occurring with the waste, like White St Landfill which does use newer techniques to deal with the landfill, there still exists a risk. The waste and gas materials can leak out and affect not only the environment surrounding it but also sources of water in the area. All landfills, including the White St Landfill will fill up. They can only last for so many years until there is no more space to put the trash in. Much of the waste put in there can take hundreds to thousands of years to decompose while it sits in the Landfill. Landfill fires can happen with Landfill gasses. With the amount of waste in the area it is easy for a fire to ignite and become much harder to put out. This could lead to problems with surrounding homes in the area which are not that far away from the landfill in Greensboro.

We found out this information from this article below click on the link for more info:

http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Environmental_Problems:_Landfills

Posted by Viriatha

Art

So the last time I wrote, I was dreading going to art class because I’d gotten so little done but it turns out that my teacher, who isn’t suffering from depression, had the same problems. Instead we focused on a large work I’m doing, the first large piece I’ve ever attempted with a real subject and background. It even has detail!

This week, we’re not going to do art, other than some critiquing possibly. Between the weekend’s convention and my life, I’ve done very little. Also, we’re having a dinner and transportation is an issue so I won’t be there long at all anyhow.

Meds

I’m noticing some side effects as well as some real problems here. First, the sleeping pills make me sleep longer – like 3-4 hours longer than usual. Sleeping 11 hours is cool but not if you have another pill you’re supposed to take with breakfast. Also, I’m groggy for half the time I am awake.

My right hand swells up overnight. Nothing massive and it goes away in a few hours but unpleasant. Linked to that is some fairly massive dehydration and some other really unpleasant bits I won’t go into here.

Otherwise, I’m feeling more stable and mostly coping so the meds are doing their job and it’s possible I just need some adjustment.

Fish

I bought a 55 gallon fish tank, with some supplies, for 65$. Anyone who knows aquariums knows I got a deal, especially when a friend offered to make the stand for free.

Stage 1 – This is the tank in question cleaned up and on the stand for the first time. The joined are mitred and I’m going to buy 2 cabinet doors for the outside sections to hide equipment and supplies. Books will be kept in the center section. See the nearby tv for an idea of scale. This tank is FOUR FEET long!

Stage 2 – This is the tank once I’ve started putting gravel, decor and equipment into it. I still have to buy some things but it’s shaping up. The current plan is to slowly add water and see if anything leaks. I’m going to keep water in it for a total of 30 days then test the water from the tank and my tap so see how the rocks, etc. are affecting water chemistry.

The Con

Nerdacon was a mixed blessing. I didn’t sell anything except a commission to a friend but was able to talk to other vendors and learned alot. It was depressing to sit there with a bunch of strangers and have no interest, though. I did get to have bean sprouts for lunch on Saturday ^^

The best costume I saw was Darth Elvis. That was hilarious

Therapy

I have my TB test tomorrow morning and will be getting a peppermint/chocolate shake afterwards but I often feel like I’m treading water. Life continues but I can’t go forward until I know what’s a good idea right now and what isn’t and I really don’t trust my own judgement at this time.

Mostly, I’m setting very small goals and just trying to cope with getting through the day. It’s working but sometimes frustrating.

I’m not sure why, but we have hit a record for daily views today!  Many of the views were of our old, and very old posts. 

If it was due to our WE Blog viewers, we thank you.  Some day you may even contribute to the coffers of our socialist causes.  Thank you very much. And, I might also add, f*ck you very much…

IggyDonnelly

Click to see more.

Cant wait to see this video! I absolutely love this song!

Running Head: FINANCING A NEW TECHNOLOGY

Financing a New Technology

Darius Jenkins

Abstract

Through the course of researching and developing this new technology, three finance options have been considered. Debt can be issued from a bank or private investor, stock can be issued or the technology could be licensed. Licensing is my preferred choice for funding because over the long run it can be used in various applications outside of the home appliance industry, yielding a constant stream of royalties for the years to come. There are disadvantages to licensing which include, a monetary payment, usually a percentage of the sales revenue from the products to which the agreement applies. Frequently, the licensor demands an initial fee for setting up the agreement and as a manifestation of good faith. I could issue stock to people who may be interested in helping my venture out in return for a proportional share of the profits that the company might generate.

My name is Darius Jenkins. I have recently made the decision to enter into the home appliance market. I have invented new technology that simplifies the way the current consumer cleans and disinfects clothing and other everyday garments. This new technology is not only safer than similar products on the market but is user friendly and much more effective in producing a cleaner and fresher washed garment. This technology that I have pioneered uses seventy percent less energy than any product on the market and all waste and bi products of this technology are fully biodegradable and reusable.

Through the course of researching and developing this new technology, three finance options have been considered. Debt can be issued from a bank or private investor, stock can be issued or the technology could be licensed. Borrowing money and issuing stock are both good ideas but I am writing you in regards to different licensing options available for my new home appliance technology.

Licensing is my preferred choice for funding because over the long run it can be used in various applications outside of the home appliance industry, yielding a constant stream of royalties for the years to come. I also believe it is the easiest and most realistic option considering the fact that my net worth is not very substantial and securing leverage for a loan would be difficult

Since the market is already saturated, with an annual growth of only two percent, licensing would be the most viable financing option because a licensing agreement can be tailored to the specific needs and expectation of my company.

I am cognizant of certain factors having to do with licensing that could either limit or expand by business. According to the Management Review Journal, I stand to gain a strategic advantage in marketing products abroad, especially where total loss of a market is threaten by trade restrictions. (McMillan, 2009).  Another advantage to licensing my technology to your company is the acquisition of additional revenue from company- owned know how and the spread of the cost of research and development. (Mc Milan, 2009).

Even with the above advantages, according to the Management Review Journal there are disadvantages to licensing which include, a monetary payment, usually a percentage of the sales revenue from the products to which the agreement applies. Frequently, the licensor demands an initial fee for setting up the agreement and as a manifestation of good faith. (McMillan, 2009) I also understand that if I were to license my technology to you it may not be produced with the quality that I intended and that if you fail to promote my product with vigor, there is a possibility.

All things considered, I still think that licensing is the best option for financing my technology. If for some reason you are disinterested in being involved in licensing another option could be considered.

I could issue stock to people who may be interested in helping my venture out in return for a proportional share of the profits that the company might generate. According to the Encyclopedia of finance the advantages of issuing stock are “A Company can raise more capital than it could borrow. A Company does not have to make periodic interest payments to creditors and A Company does not have to make principal payments.”(Encyclopedia of finance, 2009)

I hope I can look forward to doing business with your company in the future.

References

McMillan, C. (1964) Management Review. Retrieved October 16, 2009 from

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=6113640&loginpa

Encyclopedia of Finance (n.d) Retrieved October 18, 2009 from

http://tryfinance.com/1/t2.html

So Windows 7 has been out for a while now and reviews are setting in. I personally have a bias and LOVE Apple, plus I haven’t had the chance to use Windows 7 yet. I have however used Vista and I’m not a fan. Below are 2 links referring to Wired.com listing 7 reasons to avoid Windows 7 and 7 reason to switch… confusing to me, they’re both by written by the SAME person!

I would rather have you, my reader’s input on what you think; Pro’s and Con’s of Windows 7, your thoughts, pains or praises… ready, set, go!

Click here for 7 reason to SWITCH

Click here for 7 reason NOT to switch

I know this is coming late, but I just ran into this article towards the end of the week myself. Anyway, my school has a weekly newspaper that it puts out called the Maroon Weekly and this week, they had a little article done by two separate writers over the pros and cons of a public education. One points out the benefits of the government having control of the education system, while the other article argues against the government’s involvement in education. You can view the Pros article here and the Cons of a public education here.

While I agree with the pro article that the government should take responsibility for the education system, I also agree with Tony Listi’s con argument that parents should have the right to choose what school their children go to.  Simply because many children don’t have access to schools that offer a more substantial education mostly because of location. However, what if a parent cannot make the trip out to the school, especially in this economy where money is tight and gas prices are starting to rise again. Or what if there isn’t a bus that goes to the other school? Some bus stops only extend to certain areas and past that the student has to find their own transportation to and from school. In the case of this, I’d say the government needs to step in and improve schools in all areas and not just certain ones.

The one argument that Listi makes is that children are taught to embrace lies, atheism, socialism, and sexual perversity. Now I don’t know about all schools in the U.S. but I don’t look at it as schools teaching children all of these negative things. I see it as teachers giving their students an objective overview of events so that they can choose whether they think something is right or wrong. I never felt pushed to embrace atheism or socialism, my own views were my own, and the same could be said with my other classmates and friends. Some of us had our own opinions that differed from our parents/guardians, and some of us didn’t drift far from what our parents taught us. It all depends on the individual and I think that’s how it should be.

At least toward the end of Listi’s argument, he does say that parents can have the right to take their children to a private institution, whether it’s affiliated with a church denomination or not, and that’s fine. Parents have the right to do whatever they think would benefit the child or make them happy. But when it comes down to public education, you can’t always have your cake and eat it too. You can’t include everything in education because somewhere along the way someone will get offended by something. The system would have to constantly change their curriculum just to make it politically correct, and yet have it be balanced, which is where the system currently is now. Until there is a new solution for public schools and the curriculum being taught, it will more than likely stay the way that it is.

A lot of people have already discovered the benefits of having a blog. Others, however, are still undecided about it. Blogs are used for different reasons. Some us it as a marketing strategy; to establish themselves as an expert, build trust with potential customers, and then redirect them to a website where the reader can buy their products. Others use it either as an online diary, or as a means of making money. In this post, I will outline the pro’s and con’s of having a blog.

Pro’s

• Marketing – As said above, a blog is a very good way to market your product

• Possible income – If you can get enough visitors to your blog, and enough subscriptions to your RSS feed, companies will want to advertise on your blog. Alternatively, you can get paid commission by ‘affiliate’ selling, where you mention a product sold by someone else, and for anyone who that product, and was directed from your site, you earn commission

• Traffic from search engines – Search engines regularly scan blogs and add them to their search listings. The more pages your blog has, and the more relevant it is to the search term, the higher up your link will appear. This is good because you will get more visitors each day, which means more people to click your link; either to your products, or someone else’s.

• Feedback – A blog is a great way to get some feedback about your product. Make sure you enable the comments though, otherwise you won’t get any!

• Reputation – As long as you don’t have any silly spelling or grammar mistakes, your blog will help build not only your company’s reputation, but also it’s brand awareness as well.

• Free – Most blogs are free. Others, however, cost money, but these usually have better features and stats analytics.

Con’s

v     Reputation – Mainly, this is a pro, because most of the time a blog will improve your company’s reputation. As said above, however, any mistakes, speaking out of term, or giving incorrect information can seriously tarnish your reputation. It takes years to build a reputation, and seconds to destroy it.

• Time – While blogging is mainly free, you may see it as free marketing. It’s not. Ever heard the phrase ‘Time is money’? Silly question, of course you have! A blog takes a lot of time to maintain, and if you fail to maintain it, it could harm your reputation.

• Legal – Beware of this one. If you offer advice to your readers, make sure you include a disclaimer. If one of your readers decides to take you up on your advice, and it all goes horribly wrong for them, chances are it will also go horribly wrong for you, as they will either spam your blog with negative comments, or in the worst case scenario, commence legal action against you.

Well, there you have it. The pro’s and con’s of blogging. I hope you found this post helpful, thanks for reading!

“Des fois, il vaut mieux ne rien dire et passer pour un con que de l’ouvrir et ne laisser aucun doute à ce sujet.“

Je trouve que cette maxime tombe à pic pour les propos tenus par l’inconnu et qui ne gagne pas à être connu Eric Raoult, cette semaine, et bien entendu pour le sinistre Christian Vanneste (Mais pourquoi donc l’invite-t’on à la télé çui-là ?)

Email Marketing is one of the most renowned marketing strategies in the world. Thousands upon thousands of companies are using emails to keep in touch, build a relationship, and market to their existing customers, along with potential customers. In this post, I will outline the pros and cons of email marketing.

Pros

• Cheap – Most email marketing software will only charge you a small fee, depending on the size of your list, and then it won’t cost you anything from then on. Others, however, will charge you annually, but this is still cheap, considering the return you could get!

• Easy to Manage – Once you have input all your contact’s email addresses (usually you can import them from an excel file), all you have to do is add the rest as and when you get them. Also, an email marketing campaign is also easy to manage in the way that you can see all of the stats of your email, eg. how many bounced, how many opened, how many clicked your links, etc.

• Saves Time – Even if you had a list as small as 100 contacts, how much time would it take you to ring each of them? Let’s say 3 minutes each, so 5 hours!! With email marketing, you take maybe an hour designing your email, and then send it off. So you’ve just saved yourself 4 hours. Easy!

• Directing Traffic – Emails are great for directing traffic, especially if you are tactical about the time you send it out. I usually like to send mine out at about 11, so most people open it on their lunches, and are more likely to click through. Another good time is on a Friday afternoon, when everyone is distracted from their work, thinking about the weekend!

• Reach – You can reach millions of people, without spending any more time or effort than you would if you were emailing 100 people!

Cons

• Need to be a good writer – You don’t need to be the best in the world, but you do need to be able to know what will captivate your audience’s attention, and how best to word your sentences to optimise click-throughs. There are ways around this, however; you could hire an experienced writer. While this will cost more, the return on your emails should easily cover this.

• Spam – The worst possible outcome of an email marketing campaign is to be labelled a spammer. This could possibly affect your reputation, and all you need is one miserable reader, or even someone who glances at your subject line, and before opening it, marks it as spam. There are ways to overcome this; most email marketing software has an anti-spam check, which will tell you how highly your email ranks in terms of spam. The higher, the worst. Try avoiding words like free, money, and other spammy words that you probably see in your inbox all the time.

Looking for a stroller with convenience and great uses without high prices? Baby Jogger City Micro single stroller can fulfill those needs. This small, light weight stroller is a great upgrade from your basic umbrella stroller. It comes in four different colors and offers more standard features to meet your needs.

Reviewers are loving how light this stroller is. A rounded handle bar makes for  easy pushing.  This urban style stroller offers great maneuverability with 6′ front wheels and 8″ rear wheels, equipped with a front swivel and a rear break for safety. An adjustable canopy shades baby from the elements, and gives mom the convenience of a peek-a-boo window to check on baby. What about  storage? There is a good size basket underneath and a rear backseat pouch. City Micro also comes equipped with Baby Joggers quick fold feature and a handy carry strap.

Baby Jogger City Micro stroller reviews say they don’t like that the safety restraint straps do not have  padding, that it  makes them seem flimsy and difficult to adjust.  The snack tray is sold separately. This may be a problem for some if  it’s a feature you feel you can’t live without. It just doesn’t come standard on this model.  Lastly, the stroller reviews say the smaller wheels make it difficult to push over rough terrain. If you’re looking for a light weight, affordable, stylish stroller, Baby Jogger City Micro will do the job just fine.

At a Glance::

Pros

• Rounded handle bar
• Patented Quick-fold technology
• 2 position Canopy with peek a boo flap
• 2 position seat back
• Swivel front wheel
• Seat back Storage compartment
• Under seat storage basket
• Adjustable 5 point safety harness
• Patented universal accessory mounting bracket
• 6″ front wheels 8″ rear lightweight EVA wheels w/ sealed ball bearings
• rear parking break

Cons:

• No Padding on straps
• limited seat adjustability
• No suspension system

Baby Jogger City Micro Specs

Stroller weight: 16.8 lbs

Assembled Dimensions: 37.5″ x 23.5″ x 41.5″

Weight capacity: 50 lb

Retail price: $159.

*Check to see if your stroller is on the Baby Jogger recall list

Select Baby Jogger City Mini Single/Double Strollers manufactured between 11/1/2007 and 2/28/2009

helllloooooooo~

so i sold a bit at the con, ’twas quite exciting. it got me thinking…why not sell my art a little more avidly on the internet? so i was thinking you could check out the extra prints i put up from there! alice, some os people, etc. : )
anywayyyyy the con was awesome. i think i might start working on some more detailed artwork for Nakakon pretty soon here…but for now i’m working on my nanowrimo novel. O_O
yay cons!

~c

Yes this is a bit late but…
I went as Rei Ayanami gothic outfit~
I thought it turned out alright. Not the smartest thing to wear while still sick >.<
I blame me for that xD Should’ve worn Haruhi! But … oh well~
I guess when I make up my mind… I make up my mind!

But that Saturday was fun. Went pretty late though >.<
I wish I interacted with the other congoers more. But then again I had a pretty big group with me.
It starts off with one other person and it just.. grows o.o;;

I LOVED cosplaying for PMX this year. Yea… not as many pics as I thought I’d get, but I didn’t go to get my pictures taken by some random people. I want it for my own portfolio xD
And its just.. Fun. Dressing up and all~ Omgsh and seeing the looks on some of the people’s facses that didn’t know what was going on. lol!

I wanted to DecoDen my phone but didn’t wanan mess up what was already on it. … should’ve done it anyways! Rawr.
But I know how its done now so I’ll just wait till I can get a new phone~ hehe.

Omgsh Kogi truck? BEST everrrr~ Soooo yummy. Like… seriously? I was well worth my $5.

Bought a braclet from a vendor that makes it all herself. Also got a cool little phone charm~ I <3s it.

So from what I can remember that’s what I remember! lol xD
I’m actually working on my paper.. like.. REALLY working. I need that A >.<

–Kimiko–

Before I came to Stony Brook University, I was considering living on-campus because it’s more convenient and safer especially in the situation when everything is completely new to you. But then, I got a list of payments from the school and surprised by the price of on-campus housing. It was $3,776 for West Apartment single room. Even considering Long Island and some school areas are expensive to live in, I thought it was too expensive. But there seemed like no other options I can choose. Actually, there is: living off-campus.

(For your information: International Student Office assigns a room to exchange students, which is mostly West Apartment, the most expensive dormitory)

 If you are deciding between living on or off-campus, here are some pros and cons of living off-campus.

Advantages

1. Cheaper: The biggest advantage! Where I live now costs me $300 + utilities. I save about $2,000 dollar per semester.
2. Independent life
3. Something else to see other than campus

Disadvantages

1. Annoying to get on campus everyday
2. Must worry about parking
3. Would need a car for more convenience

And here’s how I found a room where I’m staying now. First, I started searching the web. If you want the room to be found before you get to Stony Brook, this might be the only way you can find one.

• Useful websites

- Craigslist:

LI Craigslist

-Stony Brook Off-Campus Housing website:

School Website

Craiglist sometimes has spam and strange housing ads, so be careful when you visit the house to take a look at. Good thing is it shows approximate distance to school and location of the house with Google map. Also you can check pictures of the house if attached. Usually you will find it more secure and reliable to get information from school website since ads are uploaded by Stony Brook students who are looking for a roommate or house owners.

• School bulletin board: During vacation when many students leave for their home, you will find a lot of sublet ads on the board in the main library.

Small tip: Students who have a car can live a little far from campus like Centereach or Coram. If you don’t have a vehicle, however, choose a house near train station or south parking lot, where can be a little more expensive than the one in Centereach and Coram but more convenient to get to school by walk.