She Said…
Sep/100
Everyone has their “catch phrases”…I’m reminded of the episode of Simpsons where each character belts out their classic phrases…but it’s true! If you are around a person enough times you’ll start to pick up the phrases that they tend to use over and over.
There’s a certain person that I see on a daily basis who’s catch phrase is quite unique…and albeit…annoying. Firstly, someone will be having a conversation with someone else and this person is listening and participating as a third party. As soon as person 1 says something funny or shocking, this third-party person will say “He/she said…” and then belt out what was just said.
For example:
Person 1: “My landlord won’t let up…he keeps asking for my rent.”
Person 2: “What are you going to do?”
Person 1: “Well, if he asks me again I’m going to kick him in the teeth.”
Person 3 (amused): “She said kick him in the teeth!”
It’s as if the person is trying to re-iterate the conversation for someone who didn’t hear it…but obviously since we’re all in the same room we all heard the original statement. This will go on MULTIPLE times per conversation.
Each time the phrase is spoken, I find myself muttering under my breath “I know that’s what she said…I heard it the first time.”
I suppose if I didn’t hear it on a daily basis it wouldn’t bother me as much…but man. I just wanna kick them in the teeth.
“He said kick them in the teeth!”
A/C On Second Wind
Sep/100
So, it turns out that instead of needing a recharge…it was actually much worse. The compressor had stopped working. Not good news.
Thankfully, the guy we had come out to look at it cleaned out the coils, gave the whole thing a cleaning, and was able to get the compressor started again. The air was flowing back in the house again and by the middle of the night we were back down to a comfortable 74 degrees.
I have a bit of work to do, however, as apparently our air conditioning unit likes to suck air from below the unit, so I need to cover the ground in concrete pavers to help keep it from sucking up so much dirt and dust.
But for now, we’re back in the world of the air conditioned and I’m glad. 
No A/C and high temps make Jon something something…
Aug/100
Well, it’s apparent that our air conditioner needs a freon recharge…cause after running it all day and the inside temp is only 2-3 degrees below the outside temp…it’s pretty obvious. It always seems like life loves to throw curveballs at you just when you least expect them.
Amy has been sleeping down in the basement with the kids, as it’s usually 10-20 degrees cooler down there. This leaves me with a king sized bed all to myself. While the air might be a bit humid…two fans and an open window have seemed to do the trick as I woke up this morning shivering.
Thankfully a freon recharge should be a trivial process…but let’s hope that it’s not the ONLY problem. That would just be my luck.
Left Out
Aug/100
It didn’t hit me until this morning…but now I’m really starting to feel left out by not going to Star Wars Celebration this week. I just didn’t have the money required to get me and a box full of armor to Orlando, FL for 4 days….
Almost every single one of my costume friends on Facebook are already there or headed down and all I’ve been reading about is the convention. Now as I sit here at work I’m thinking about them setting up the Mercs table, cruising the con, planning out their day. I just wish I could have been there. *sigh*
I might even settle for a live cam feed if they can get it working down at the table…but we’ll see.
How I Made $1000 In a Year By Doing Nothing
Aug/101
It was 2009 and I had ended up with over $1000 in gift cards, prizes, and paypal cash by doing practically nothing the entire year. Granted, I didn’t get all the prizes at once…they were spread throughout the year. But it did help with Christmas that year, as I gave out a handful of gift cards as presents to friends and family.
How do you make money by doing nothing though? Ok, you got me. I fibbed a little bit. You can’t do it by doing NOTHING…but you can by doing very little. I did that mainly to grab everyone’s attention….BUT DON’T STOP READING. Because unlike all those online marketing schemes online, I can tell you how to make some cash without spending any money.
Ok, so how this process works is that you get others to do the work for you and you get a matched percentage of their earnings. The real millionares here are the ones running the site…but since they’re actually paying people we won’t go into how much of the ACTUAL profit they get to keep. So Bob signs up under you and he simply has to complete a few free surveys. They take up at least 5-20 minutes of his time, but he doesn’t have to pay anything to take them and he gets credited his money within a few weeks. We’re talking little credits here, maybe only $.05 or $.10 per survey, some just under a dollar. You get a matched 20% of his earnings.
Small change? Keep listening. If you had 100 Bobs doing the same thing, your profits have increased. Now, if Bob signs Mary up under him…he gets a matched 20% and you get a matched 20% of that. Now if 100 Marys sign up under each of the 100 Bobs, your profits have increased.
Ok, now we’re talking…but there’s more. If Mary signs up Jim under her…she gets a matched 20% of Jim’s earnings. Bob gets 20% of Mary’s earnings from Jim. You get 20% of Bob’s earnings from Mary. THREE LEVELS of earning. If 100 Jims sign up under the 100 Marys who signed up under the 100 Bobs, that’s a ton of people. If you earned even one cent from each one…you’d be making a lot of money.
Now…the trick is getting all those referrals. You obviously can’t make much money if you don’t get 100 Bobs and 100 Marys under them and so on. So this is where the little bit of work is involved. You need to get your name out there, you have to tell others about what you are doing…very much like I am doing now. Here’s how I made $1000 in a year:
1) Get a blog or website. There’s tons of free options out there to create your own website. This allows you to create your first reference point for getting the word out about your referrals. Spend some time customizing the site…try not to talk only about making money…it tends to run people off. Toss it in casually here and there. Write reviews about the referral system and post pictures when you receive new prizes.
2) Sign up for a forum. This one is a bit tricky. You have to make sure that you read the forum’s rules first to make sure you are allowed to post referrals. Some will have a section devoted to referrals and money making, some will only allow you to post links in your signature. If they don’t let you post links directly to your referral…then post a link to your webpage. If it’s just your own blog, it doesn’t break any rules…but here and there you have posts about how to earn money…so eventually someone will find their way to your referral. WHATEVER YOU DO…DON’T SPAM. People hate that…be respectful, don’t just go to a forum posting your referral link. Get involved with the forum, spend some time being part of the community. The more you get your face out there, the more you get your link out there.
3) Facebook. Everyone has a facebook page nowadays. You have how many friends? Post a note about your referral. Instant viewage. Since they are your friends, they are more likely to follow your referral than a stranger would.
4) Twitter. While you may not use it, others do. Get an account, start following folks, get folks following you…then tell them how to earn money for free!
5) Flyers. Got a printer? Post up some flyers about how to make free money and put them up on bulletin boards around town. You need a catchy referral link though, so go to somewhere like tinyurl.com and put your link in to make a neat link.
6) Tell your friends and coworkers about it. Just sit down and have a conversation…they may be amazed and want to do it too.
Ok, so that’s how to get the word out and get more referrals. But I’m missing something here…OH YEAH. Where to make the money!
Things you will need before you continue:
1) Free email address. I suggest something like gmail or yahoo. Keep this separate from your normal address, as this one will most likely fill up with spam.
2) Paypal address. This will attach to your free email address. You can open one of these and leave it unverified. They only limit moving around large transactions of money…so you can keep under $100 in there at a time and buy things straight off websites and ebay with no issues.
3) Phone number. Well, everyone has one of these. I suggest using a cell number. You may get spam phone calls…so be aware.
4) An actual address. Yes, you will need to provide this so the site can send you your prizes. YES, it does need to be legit. You will get spam mail at your address…but who cares?
5) Patience. Money won’t come in overnight. It may take you a few weeks or months before you start seeing it come in. Stay in there and keep getting your referral link out there.
Ok, to get your own referral link all you need to do is CLICK HERE. Sign up with all valid and legit information. At the top of the page is a “referrals” tab. Click it and you will be shown what your referral link is. That’s what you’re looking for. Use it and spread it throughout the internet. Tell folks how to make money.
While you are there, you can get yourself started by clicking the “complete offers” tab and doing the FREE surveys. Yes, there are some offers that require you to purchase something or buy a trial. You don’t HAVE to do these. They do give you more money…but they require you to be vigilant about your credit card account. If it says you can cancel before you get charged…make a note so you know when to cancel. I personally avoid these as they’re too much of a hassle. I stick to the FREE surveys.
After a few weeks you should be on your way to earning cash. They may require you to validate your account by calling you or asking for a copy of a verifying document (something showing your name and address on it). They do this simply to keep folks from creating “bots” that collect money but aren’t real people.
Good luck.
Tightening the Belt
Jul/101
In June I hit a new high in my weight and was ashamed with myself over it. I was less than 10 lbs away from 300. While to myself I didn’t seem extremely overweight…I was still ashamed that I had gained that much weight. Thankfully I tend to have a positive self-image, but it was time to start making changes.
Over the past few months Amy and I have been eating more healthy and have been cutting back portions. I’m not strictly dieting, but at this point mainly just reducing my intake. It seems to be working so far.
I find that when dinner is served I’m usually grabbing the smaller plate in the cupboards and eating only one serving. I’ve cut back snacking a lot…especially in the late evening after dinner…as that’s usually when I was packing calories in.
Now, while exercise is important…I have to be honest that I really haven’t been exercising. I need to, I just haven’t gotten the motivation to devote a set amount of time each night to do it. Thankfully though, I’m urging myself closer and closer to that. I drastically want to change my circumstances…I’m tired of being who I’ve been for the last couple of years…I want to try and be a new person.
Unfortunately money is still an issue…so it keeps me from joining any sort of gym or club. But I’m going to do my best to make do with what I have.
This morning I woke up and realized I haven’t weighed myself in a few days. So as every other morning, I hopped on the scale to find that my weight is now down to 271. A whopping 25 lbs lost since June. That’s all from limiting my soda intake, regulating my snacking, and reducing my portion sizes.
I’m making a vow to myself to try to get down to 240 by December. I haven’t been feeling so great about myself lately…so this will hopefully help renew my self-esteem.
Short Circuit
Jul/100
It’s probably been at least a good 13 years since I have last seen this movie in it’s full capacity. I used to have a VHS recording of it from when it was played on TV back a long time ago. After watching the DVD this weekend I realized how much funny stuff the TV censors cut out of the movie. Nothing major, of course, just humorous jokes that I probably would have never gotten back then.
My kids watched along with me this weekend and they were actually very intrigued. Which is good because I’ve been wanting to show them that movie and it’s sequel. I tried to get them to watch the sequel a few years back…but they were too young and it didn’t interest them.
Now I’ve got them interested. I had forgotten that the original was actually a pretty good movie. I need to add it to my Christmas list.
Summer Events Wrap-up
Jul/101
Well, Summer is only part way over but it’s been a long couple of months. Upon recently finishing my Ghostbuster costume we’ve been setting up a bunch of events and have photo galleries for each one. Each event was fun in it’s own way.
First up we had the Midwest Haunter’s Convention 2010. This event was one I was really looking forward to. It’s the midwest’s biggest halloween and haunted house convention. They have tons of props, costumes, and animatronic goodies for your haunted house. I was a little disappointed in the actual size of the convention…it only took up a mere quarter of the large convention room, but what they had there was worth the stroll. Not to mention we trekked our way down to the food court area a few times and folks stopped us for pictures along the way. At the same time there was a video game convention going on down the hall…so there were plenty of folks walking the hallways.
view more images from this album
Next we had Origins Game Fair 2010, I actually thought this would be a video game convention…but turns out it was for card/table/mini gaming. Regardless, it was still cool and it took up all three large convention rooms. The main dealer room was PACKED with stuff and in the hour we spent in there we didn’t even see it all. We did get to meet and chat with Brian O’Halloran from Kevin Smith’s “Clerks” and “Clerks 2″. Afterwards we breifly made an appearance at the overly crowded Comfest across the street.
-pics coming soon-
Next up we set up a table at Westerville’s Fourth Friday event “Safety Fest” in an effort to get our name out there and try to raise some money for our upcoming AIDS walk. Unfortunately we didn’t get nearly enough traffic to raise a decent amount of donations…but we still had fun nonetheless. Didn’t get too many pics of the event…most of these were taken after a few folks had left.
view more images from this album
Lastly, our flagship event for the summer (for now at least) was the Doo Dah Parade 2010. Thankfully with this parade being a free event, we didn’t have to worry about registering or paperwork which made it a lot easier. It was a 2 mile walk through downtown Columbus with TONS of folks packed along the sides to watch. While we definitely weren’t the wackiest group there…folks sure did love seeing us.
Updates From My Corner of the World
Jun/100
Well, haven’t been posting too much here to my blog. Mainly just because I haven’t felt motivated to write. Anyways, here’s a recap on what’s been going on.
Things have been kicking off with the Columbus Ghostbusters. We’ve gained some new members and have been attending a few events. MARCon came around this year and we showed up on Saturday for the screening of Ghostbusters and a raffle drawing. Just this past weekend we showed up at the Midwest Haunters Convention downtown and made a pretty good impact.
That event was particularly fun because the whole convention was directed towards haunted houses and halloween displays. They had some really cool anamatronics and gory displays. Folks were digging seeing us there and we got stopped many times for photos. It may just be me…but I’m a sucker for having my photo taken in costume. I guess it’s just the pride of putting all the hard work into it to get noticed.
Did way more walking than I should in my shoddy combat boots. Even with padded inserts it was like walking on bare ground all day. Had a few blisters when I got home and pretty much had to stay off my feet all that night. Note to self: Get new boots.
Progress on the Ecto van is going slowly as usual. I get so ambitious with projects but always have to remember that getting the funds together to actually accomplish them is hard. Picked up my Whelen Edge 9000 light bar from a seller on Craigslist and have to mount it on the roof soon so I can get started on the rest. The deadline for July 4th weekend is nearing.
My hope is to knock out most of the work either this weekend or next. No sense leaving it all until the last minute.
Have a few events planned in the next few weeks, so all of that will keep me busy.
Get Paid to Visit Sites You Already Visit
May/100
Those who know me, I like to dabble in the “get paid to” world on the web and try out different sites that pay to do simple tasks as surveys or visiting sites. In my searches, I stumbled across this site and had to check it out.
It’s called BeRuby.com and they offer cash for visiting sites that you may already visit on a daily basis. I signed up and decided to check it out. Lo and behold, they do, and it’s legit. You can get between $0.005 to $0.01 per day for visiting sites such as Facebook, CNN, Hotmail, Yahoo, Myspace, etc. Sure, that doesn’t sound like much…but if you visit those sites every day anyways, why not get paid for it?
They have a minimum payout of $10, so it may take a bit to save up to cash out…but they do also have sites that pay to register a free account and sites that earn “cash back” if you shop through them.
It’s definitely worth a shot if you are like me and like to get free cash dropped in your paypal every few weeks. Give it a try!