Still diggin’ payperpost.com

I’m still into the idea of ads on blogs – Great way to make money with minimal effort. I don’t care about the negative press some have given. Folks think it’s almost bribery when a company pays you for advertising their product. What do these critics think any product review is? As if I don’t have the option of giving a negative review to a product/service? Or maybe I just won’t review it at all. Anyway, I haven’t paid enough attention to the site lately and I have to get back into it. Things have gotten much better since my last paid post. There are many more quality offers, much more money available and a huge range of products to review. I like getting that extra cash each month to spend on junk food or an extra night out to dinner or whatever. Hopefully I can start doing more and more posts for cash in the near future as I start school in a couple weeks and need to substitute my free time with spending money on useless goods. That’s where payperpost.com is going to have to come to the rescue. Maybe I can just spend all day posting and quit my job!

Damn Idol

That was wrong what they did to AJ.

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Tomorrow is Christmas

The NFL season officially begins tomorrow!  The fun has already started.  The Lions got a pretty sizable boost in their team by trading Dre Bly to the Broncos for Tatum Bell, George Foster and a 2nd day draft pick.  Assuming Kevin Jones is healthy this year, those two will make a really nice halfback tandem.  The Lions also have a decent improvement to the offensive line, as Foster is big enough to likely succeed outside of the Denver blocking system. 

Beyond that… what an offseason for defense this will be.  Joey Porter just got released by the Steelers, Adalius Thomas is going to be out there, so is Nate Clements.  Patrick Kerney will probably get a decent deal too. 

Not only that, but Drew Bledsoe is officially a free agent! 

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Captain Beefheart’s 10 Commandments of Guitar Playing

1. Listen to the birds.

That’s where all the music comes from. Birds know everything about how
it should sound and where that sound should come from. And watch
hummingbirds. They fly really fast, but a lot of times they aren’t
going anywhere.

2. Your guitar is not really a guitar Your guitar is a divining rod.

Use it to find spirits in the other world and bring them over. A guitar
is also a fishing rod. If you’re good, you’ll land a big one.

3. Practice in front of a bush

Wait until the moon is out, then go outside, eat a multi-grained bread
and play your guitar to a bush. If the bush dosen’t shake, eat another
piece of bread.

4. Walk with the devil

Old Delta blues players referred to guitar amplifiers as the “devil
box.” And they were right. You have to be an equal opportunity
employerin terms of who you’re brining over from the other side.
Electricity attracts devils and demons. Other instruments attract other
spirits. An acoustic guitar attracts Casper. A mandolin attracts Wendy.
But an electric guitar attracts Beelzebub.

5. If you’re guilty of thinking, you’re out

If your brain is part of the process, you’re missing it. You should
play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap
that feeling, then you have something that is fur bearing.

6. Never point your guitar at anyone

Your instrument has more clout than lightning. Just hit a big chord
then run outside to hear it. But make sure you are not standing in an
open field.

7. Always carry a church key

That’s your key-man clause. Like One String Sam. He’s one. He was a
Detroit street musician who played in the fifties on a homemade
instrument. His song “I Need a Hundered Dollars” is warm pie. Another
key to the church is Hubert Sumlin, Howlin’ Wolf’s guitar player. He
just stands there like the Statue of Liberty-making you want to look up
her dress the whole time to see how he’s doing it.

8. Don’t wipe the sweat off your instrument

You need that stink on there. Then you have to get that stink onto your music.

9. Keep your guitar in a dark place

When you’re not playin your guitar, cover it and keep it in a dark
place. If you don’t play your guitar for more than a day, be sure you
put a saucer of water in with it.

10. You gotta have a hood for your engine

Keep that hat on. A hat is a pressure cooker. If you have a roof on
your house, the hot air can’t escape. Even a lima bean has to have a
piece of wet paper around it to make it grow

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New Car!

I finally (after almost 2 dreadful years) ended my relationship with Honda today.  I did it in rather glorious style.  The Civic is already a distant, slow, ugly, uncomfortable memory.  What did I replace it with?  An old friend, in a sense.

Today I came home in a brand new, 2007 Subaru Impreza 2.5i Sedan.  I’m leasing it, which makes total sense now that I don’t drive nearly as much as I used to.  I’m paying a tad less than on the Civic, don’t have as long a comitment to the car and don’t have to worry about being in debt with the thing when it’s time for something new.

Anyway, the car is nice.  Much nicer than the old WRX was.  It feels like it handles better and is about as fast as a stock WRX as well.  The interior is familiar to the two previous Subarus, but there are a few notable changes.  The two-tone gray/black mesh seats that come with the current generation cars are a huge improvment over anything in the past.  If you haven’t seen them, keep in mind the photos below are in terrible light.  The flash on the camera makes the seats look almost white, but they are really a darker gray.  The shifter is also a softer/nicer feeling leather than before.  I swear the dash is the same, but it almost feels like the center (radio/HVAC controls) are aimed slightly toward the driver.  Maybe the Civic was just more obtrusive in this sense, but it really does seem different.  It’s quite nice.  I wasn’t crazy about the new front end, just like I wasn’t with the ‘04-’05 cars, but it grew on me.  I really quite like it now (although I still don’t enjoy the current STi look).  The car stands out enough to not be mixed up with an every day econo-box, but is certainly not loud and gaudy either.  Subaru seems closer to getting it right with the current 2.5i/WRX.  The wheels are much nicer looking than what came on the old WRX.  The seats feel about as firm as they did in the STi, but the sides offer a little more room for your rib cage to wiggle.  I don’t know the specs off hand, but the clutch seems very similar to the WRX, that same ambiguous feel to it that I somehow grew to love.  Back to looks, I really like the new back end, with the large Subaru logo replacing the big silver letters on the trunk.  I’m not sure what else to really add… I have barely put 15 miles on the car so far.  In a rather dorky way, I feel kind of proud to say that I’ve owned all 3 body styles from the bugeye on.  I’m also one of probably not a ton of people who have owned a WRX, STi and now a 2.5i (it’s really hard not to call it a 2.5RS, but I’m sure I’ll get over it).

Here’s to less Civic and more AWD!

         

Moss to Green Bay?

It’s still kind of hard to believe that the Raiders would actually give up Randy Moss for a 3rd round pick and a receiver.  Seems just last season the same team was looking for a 1st round pick in exchange for considerably lesser-valued receiver Joey Porter.  I realize that Moss hates Oakland (with good reason) and that his production will likely continue to dwindle away to nothing if he stays, but this is still the Raiders.  Al Davis is one of the worst owners in the modern history of the NFL.  It seems completely contrary to his management style to give up such a talented player for such a low price.

At any rate, Randy Moss could very well be a Packer this season.  Even if it costs a 2nd round pick, it would be hard to argue that you are getting a much better value with Moss.  This is a player who, back in ‘03, averaged OVER 100 yards and 1 TD per game.  With 2 years in the bag with the Raiders, he’s still managed over 1500 yards and 11 TD’s despite having HORRIBLE QB’s and being plagued with injuries and a bad attitude.  Personally, I don’t blame him for the attitude part.  Receivers *might* touch the ball on 5-10% of all offensive plays.  That’s bad enough.  Top that off with being one of the best receivers in the league stuck on a team with no desire to win, no clue who to hire as a coach, an offensive coordinator who was running a bed & breakfast prior to the season start and quarterbacks who would have a hard time getting starting jobs for AA schools… anyone with a passion for the sport would be furious in this situation.  We just have to hope that if Moss somehow lands himself in a Packer uniform that Favre can have a brief career revival along with Moss.  The receiver has easily 4-5+ good years left in him if he can turn his career around.  Favre certainly isn’t afraid to chuck the ball up and pray, and what better target than this guy?  The only real downside… almost $10million owed to him in ‘07.  Yikes…

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Bloggin from my Status Bar

I just installed a new extension in Firefox called “Performancing.”  It’s a blog editor that installs in your browser status bar.  I can click a button and start typing whatever comes to mind.  I guess I can also click/drag photos from whatever website I’m viewing into the blog post.  Let’s try it…

No, this post is not sponsored by M&M’s… it was just handy.  Interesting.  It’s got just about everything.  I can pick what category I want to post in, I can save drafts, whatever else I’m not thinking of.

Just gives me more access to posting nonsense.

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Inspiron 5160 Saga

So my Dell laptop is crapping out.  I’m having some luck with electronics lately (did I mention the turn signals on my car went out today?  I’m guessing blown fuse, didn’t have time to look).  Anyway, the power supply is breaking loose of the motherboard.  It’s a common problem on that model motherboard.  My options are pretty much 1) send it to some company that charges $180+shipping to repair the a/c plug.  2) buy a refurbished motherboard from Dell for $250 (the cost new isn’t worth mentioning).

I decided to go with option 3, fix it myself.  The a/c plug got so bad that the laptop no longer worked off a/c power.  So I tore the thing apart, got my soldering iron out and went to town.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have a ton of free time during the week to do this, so I went the lazy man route.  I didn’t completely remove the motherboard from the case.  Thus, I could only reasonably access the a/c plug from one side.  It seemed to be held in place pretty nicely, but once I re-assembled everything, the thing was noticeably loose, still.  However, it does work off a/c power again.  It’s back to the previous state where you can wiggle the plug and the power will cut in and out.

So, I guess over the weekend I will be tearing the laptop apart again.  This time I’ll do it right and remove the entire motherboard.  I really didn’t want to disassemble the heatsink and everything else involved.  I suppose it will be worth it to get it done for nearly free and quickly.

The laptop a/c plug officially died Tuesday night.  If I sent it out today for repair, I would get it back Tuesday at the earliest and I would be $180 + $40-50 in shipping poorer.  Let’s see if I can get this fixed by Monday for under $15 (I had to go to Radio Shack, because my low-watt soldering iron is lost in storage).

No video games – actually a GOOD thing?

It seems impossible at first, but the destruction of my PS2 might actually be an improvement in my life.  Since that time, I’ve been a bit on edge, thinking of what might be happening to my team in Madden (it’s like they go about their business without me… scary).  However, I’ve slowly been getting back into other things.  For example, I’ve been talking about cooking a batch of brownies for a good month now.  I finally did!  I’ve picked up playing guitar more, once again.  I think my chops got an immediate 15% boost by not holding a PS2 controller for a few days.  If that weren’t enough, I did laundry the other day and my whites came out whiter and my brights were brighter.  If it weren’t so cold out I would go run a marathon.  Actually, if I weren’t so damn lazy I would do that.  Maybe.

Key Foun to the Smell of the Sea

Yahoo! News Link

What does this mean? We’re one step closer to a beach cologne!!!

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I think I’m hooked on ANOTHER forum…

Recovering forum junkie checking in. I used to regularly post on as many as 10-20 different forums on a weekly basis. I’ve cut it down to random browsing of 1-2. I think I’ve got another though. I just found this newer football message board. I posted at another board not too long ago, during the fantasy season, but there wasn’t much worthwhile non-fantasy discussion. I’ve already found some fairly realistic and intelligent posts about the upcoming Packer season. I’m sure those topics will heat up with Favre returning and the upcoming draft. Oh yes, the draft! I can’t wait to start posting stuff about that… crap, didn’t I have homework to do? Forget that, I have to go do some Peyton Manning bashing.

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Wolves in Wisconsin can now be shot – you’re next

So gray wolves in Wisconsin are no longer considered endangered. Under new regulations, you are able to trap/shoot wolves that attack or pose a threat to your wildlife. You can also get a permit to shoot many wolves over time if you have a recurring problem.

I understand that wolves can be a big threat to farmers and that cattle are not cheap… but do we really need to be able to shoot more creatures? I’ve read nothing about folks just trying to keep the wolves off their property without resorting to slaughtering them.

Anyway, this makes me wonder… can we get this kind of law in place for other creatures? If the neighbor dog keeps crapping on my lawn, that presents harm to my cats as they might eat the crap and get some terrible disease. Can I shoot the dog?

Can I shoot the Jehova’s Whitnesses that keep coming to my door? Or hell, even the kid selling $4 candybars?

Can I get a permit to shoot a certain number of homeless people each year if they don’t leave me alone? How about drivers who ride my tail? Or drivers who go slow in the left lane? Well, just about anyone in a car…

Can I shoot the creators of CSI for making such a stupid show? Same for Survivor.

Can I shoot people in the area who honk their horns, let their car alarms go off constantly or scream and yell as they leave the bar?

Ugh…

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Window Shopping

It’s getting close to new TV time and I’m really starting to go nuts. Even though I’m not ready to buy, I’m starting to scope out more and more deals. Like this sale at bestbuy.com to get money off and free delivery. I found a 37″ LG LCD for $200 off and the free shipping. It’s tempting to just buy right now. Sadly, I don’t have the space at the current apartment for a proper entertainment center. Probably better that way for my checking account. Either way, I’m definitely bookmarking the folks at Coupon Chief.com for when it comes time to buy. Hopefully they don’t post any discounts on PS3’s… I’ll be broke in a second.
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No More PS2

It’s official.  I threw the piece of crap out.  Done.  Gone.  No more Madden.  No more fun.  Goodbye cruel world.

Weird Neighbor Getting Weirder

 So this lady on the end of the hall has always been a tad off.  She constantly looks like she is ready to either burst into tears or call you an asshole for no reason.  I regularly see her running from her apartment to the elevator and frantically pressing the “close door” button to avoid having to share space with anyone else.  Several times we’ve been too close to the elevator for her to close the door on time.  I think she’s developed a new strategy.  Since we seem to leave for work the same time as this nut-job, and she doesn’t want to come in contact with people, she’s had to go to great lengths to avoid us.  It seems that she now sits in her apartment and watches out the peep hole for us to leave.  We’ve even left later than usual lately and regardless of the time, she has regularly been seen coming down the 2nd elevator a matter of 30 seconds after us.  She is literally going out into the hallway and pressing the elevator button the moment she sees us go by.  There is no other logical explanation.  If only we weren’t cutting it so close on making it to work on time, I would happily pretend to be getting in the elevator only to open the door back up moments later and greet her.  Maybe some day I can make that happen.  For the record, this is a person that does not live next to us, has had no contact or conversation with us other than being in close proximity in the elevator.  There’s no rivalry or anything, she’s just a hateful bitch.

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Incredibly Boring Super Bowl

I don’t think I’ll be able to watch.  Maybe Rex Grossman and Peyton Manning can somehow break both of their throwing arms in at least 15 places during warmups.  Or maybe Prince will pull out a gun and simply murder Manning.  Too far?

The Real “Super Sunday”

I’m pumped about games today. I know, it’s almost 7:30PM EST, but thanks to my genius idea of DVR’ing the games and watching them back without all the commercials, sideline commentary and halftime shows means that I have no idea what has happened so far. Anyway, even though the Bears are still in it, I am pumped about the match-ups this week. Just like Al Michaels says on Madden, the Conference Championship games a lot of times ARE better than the Super Bowl. No better example of it than the Pats-Colts. I don’t care if people are sick of seeing the Patriots win in the playoffs. I don’t care if people are sick of seeing Manning blow it in the playoffs. It’s a great rivalry. You’ve got the offensive Juggernaut against the crafty and smart team that just knows how to win.

In other news, we went to Red Robin for dinner tonight. I haven’t had a burger in many many months. Very tasty, but my stomach is paying the price. On the bright side, Febreeze makes this citrus scented aerosol spray. It does wonders for getting rid of bathroom odors. On the down side, Red Robin has far too many TVs in their joint. Normally that is great, but when you’re trying to avoid watching the football game, it’s terrible. On the way out, I was looking down at the ground to avoid seeing anything, and they have a TV in the frickin’ floor!

Soon to be new apartment = soon to be new furniture

Since we are looking for new, upscale apartments, we’re also looking for some new furniture. We need a new bed, new living room table set, new entertainment center and a few other odds and ends. It’s been a frustrating search, as the furniture giants in the Milwaukee area sell items for people with outdated, horrendous taste. We’ve come across more early-90’s art deco items than I ever saw IN the early 90’s.

 

Anyway, I stumbled across one site that has given me some hope. I originally found the place for their home office furniture, but then noticed they offer everything. Honestly, the majority of the stuff is too ostentatious and just plain out of touch with my taste… but it is nice to see stylish items that are within reach of someone not driving the latest AMG Mercedes.

One item I’m in love with is this piece. However, my speakers rely a lot on the wall behind them to create bass, so I think I’d have to keep them on top of the side cabinets, which would ruin the look. They also have an entire section of platform beds, which really excited me, as most stores have only one or two platforms.

 

Like I said, I originally looked at Great Priced Furniture because of the desks. I never ended up finding one. I have a fantastically boring desk right now… but it is huge and accommodates all of my recording stuff perfectly. It’s been through 5 moves now and is in pretty rough shape. I know I’ll have to replace it soon. I’ve looked at desks for quite some time casually. Everything is either too showy to risk damaging with all the abuse I give, too cheap looking to risk storing a lot of heavy equipment on or just too small. The search continues…

 

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Apartment hunting still makes me crazy

We looked at some more places this weekend.  Most were a disappointment, as usual.  Some places inspired some hope.  We looked at a few more upscale places.  Found one in New Berlin that offers a fantastic place, a super nice 24 hour fitness center, quiet community and premium bragging rights with others.  It’s affordable, but it’s sad to think that you’re paying $15k/year for rent.  Still, there is little other option at this point.  Trying to find a place that will accomidate our space needs, not be an embarrassment to live in (that extra $200-300/month gets you much nicer ammenities, newer appliances, better finish on everything, it’s like going from a Kia to a BMW), be a reasonable distance from work/school and be affordble; is damn near impossible.  Even if we live a little further away to save $100 a month or so, we’ll easily make up for it in gas to make our normal commute.  Argh… I think I’ve even said it before in this blog, but the thing that frustrates me the most about looking for apartments in the Milwaukee area is this: around here, people don’t live in apartments because they want to, they do so because they have to.  That attitude is really reflected in the quality and the management almost anywhere you go.

Packers – 2007 Early Look and Wishes

Well, the season ended up being a lot better than though for the Packers.  Sure, they didn’t beat any really talented teams (aside from maybe the Bears in a meaningless game).  They did beat most of the teams they were supposed to beat.  They also put up a reasonable fight (for at least a half) against tough teams like the Saints, Eagles and Seahawks.

For next season, the offense will probably be the biggest question.  There is hope, though.  The offensive line wasn’t great, but got better with time.  The unit will stay in tact and should only get better, whether via free agency or simply experience.  Vernand Morency looked really good.  He is quick, good at seeing/hitting gaps and really understands how to use cutback lanes.  Ahman Green may be back.  He had a fairly productive year, but is aging.  I couldn’t see the Packers (or any team) investing a long-term deal in him, but he certainly won’t be signed as cheaply as he was this year.  There’s also potential through free agency, with a guy like Michael Turner out there.  Plus, you never know how far Adrian Peterson could slip in the draft after missing most of the year.  The wide receivers were horreble most of the season, but there is hope there as well.  Koren Robinson will be back next year.  Ruvell Martin looked like he could be a decent #3 option.  Hopefully Greg Jennings will continue to improve.  He mainly lacked consistency and seemed to be injured most of the 2nd half of the year.  Bubba Franks won’t likely return, whether he is traded on the cheap of just cut.  David Martin finally looked like he was developing as a receiver this year, and might be worth resigning.

The defense actually looks like they are going in the right direction.  Woodson and Harris are one of the better duos of shutdown corners in the league.  The defensive line improved a ton when KGB started playing limited downs.  Who knows what will happen with Kabeer over the offseason… he’s rather expensive for a 3rd down pass rusher.  As long as Nick Barnett doesn’t freak out and demand a huge contract, the linebackers should be solid.  Actually, it might be better if we try and trade Barnett.  He continually misses open field tackles and brings shame to the team every time he jumps and screams after making a routine tackle.  The safeties are still a liability… but got better when they stopped playing coverage rolls and mainly played the run or deep zones.  Manuel is still horribly slow, but we can always look for other options.

Anyway, with one of the higher chunks of available cap space and one of the lower number of free agents… the future looks bright for the Packers.  They could easily make a playoff run next year.  Depending on how aggressive Thompson wants to get, they could maybe go deep in the playoffs.  Who knows.  Why not make a push as long as Favre is willing to come back?

Daaaaaa Bears, Da Bears, Da Bears, Da Bears, Da Bears…

Good job Grossman… I knew he would stumble tonight, having had 2 “good” games in the last 2 weeks.  He’s done that pretty much all year long.  2 good weeks and then a disaster.  Boy, was this one a disaster.  Grossman finished with a QB rating of 0.0!!! ZERO!!!  This is the starting QB for your conference champion Chicago Bears.  Griese didn’t look much better, but he was thrown into an impossible situation after halftime.  I don’t know that he faired well enough to earn a potential start in 2 weeks, but he did okay.

Now comes the big countdown to Favre.  What’s he gonna do?  The Packers could have a winning team with him next year (assuming there is no severe drop in talent over the offseason).  I don’t know that Favre is good enough to win a Super Bowl anymore, but who knows, the team might be able to buy enough talent around him to make it happen.  If it’s Aaron Rodgers next year… good luck.

Packers in the Playoffs? Are you kidding me?

Is the NFC that bad?  Oh yes… it is.  The chances are somewhat slim, but the green & gold could see some January action.  It is possible.  The Bears will certainly be looking to keep their rivals out of the postseason, it’s the only thing they have left to play for.  However, there is some advantage to Chicago throwing the game.  The Bears have nothing to lose, save some momentum.  They also have the advantage of letting the Packers in the playoffs to throw another weak team into the fold.  If the Packers get in and play someone like Seattle or Dallas in the 1st round, who knows what could happen.  They could even win.  Either way, one would think that a young, unexperienced, poorly coached team with a reckless QB would be a much better matchup for teams than a potentially explosive team like St Louis or a tough defense like Philly.  There’s also the obvious fact that the Bears don’t want to risk hurting somebody.  They have enough injuries on defense as it is… my gut tells me they will be sitting a good number of players.

Anyway, here’s the skinny on how the Packers can make it to the playoffs.  Maybe one last run at it for Favre (or some extra incentive to come back next year, aside from chasing Marino).

For scenarios 1-4 to work, Green Bay must also WIN:
(winning teams in bold)
1. NY Giants @ Washtington + GB clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over NYG – You never know, the Redskins will want to play spoiler

2. NY Giants @ Washtington (or tie) AND St Louis @ Minnesota (or tie) – I can’t see Minnesota winning… but the Rams have been bad the 2nd half of the year

3. NY Giants @ Washtington (or tie) AND Carolina @ New Orleans – Saints have nothing to play for (can’t move up/down in seeding) but they still might give the pathetic Panthers a run

4. NY Giants @ Washtington (or tie) AND Atlanta @ Philly – I suppose the Atlanta game could go either way.  I think it will be tough to beat the Eagles right Or

5. Green Bay @ Chicago (tie)  AND NY Giants @ Washtington AND St Louis @ Minnesota AND Atlanta @ Philly (or tie) AND Carolina @ New Orleans (or tie) – that’s too wacky a scenario to really be possible.

As for that strenght of victory business – it’s even worse: Green Bay clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over N.Y. Giants if: Arizona, Detroit, Miami, Minnesota and San Francisco all win and Carolina, Houston and Tampa Bay all lose.

The Journal-Sentinel has a decent write-up on how the Packers can make it to the playoffs – http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=545983

Forget reading the NY Times, get business news from the source

So I got lured into watching the videos on rockstartup.com to see the creation of payperpost.com.  I figured I would see one episode and call it quits, but I honestly got hooked.  I am a geek afterall… and being a marketing student, it fits my field perfectly.

Anyway, it was fun seeing all the drama and stress involved in trying to get the company name out.  The end of the trade show was hilarious, as they run out of business cards and other materials.  I remember many Saturdays and Sundays at Kinkos when people would come in from trade shows desperate for business cards, posters, etc.

I’m curious to see if any other advertising ventures end up coming up…  the only way I found the site was by searching for ways to earn extra cash while in school.  It wasn’t anywhere near the top of the list either.  I’m kind of surprised they don’t advertise on satellite radio… seems a fairly cutting edge company would try to sell themselves on a fairly cutting edge medium.  Ah well.  I wish the site disclosed more info about how PayPerPost is doing as a company.  I don’t expect numbers, but I’d love to see some way to track the success as time goes on.

I’m watching the Vegas episode now… I miss Vegas.  I need to go back there and go broke.

I also want to find some reason to write/call into customer service now that I’ve seen a bunch of people there, haha.

reality tv

Apartment Hunting

I have a love/hate relationship with finding apartments.  I love touring nice properties that are well beyond my budget and seeing all the fancy things they have to offer.  I hate touring places that are within my budget.  We’re looking to spend considerably more this time around however.  We’re also looking for a place much further in advance than last time.  It’s still tough hunting.  A lot of places in the Milwaukee/Waukesha area are old.  Even the fairly expensive places are 20ish years old.  Some more.  No matter how well kept the places are, you’re still going to get some signs of wear.  Whether it’s the appliances, the cabinets or the tennants (lots of families with kids, etc), you can’t hide age.

A lot of places are just not worth the money.  There are many 1,000-1,200 sq feet 2 bedroom places with minimal ammenities (small fitness centers, boring club houses, etc) that charge around $1400/month.  It seems these places just charge high rent to ensure they have non-disruptive renters.  Rent around the $1500 mark in other suburban communities will usually net you a rather glamorous lifestyle (assuming you’re not near an ocean or something).  That isn’t the case around here.

The other problem is the damn income assistance.  1 person can make $27k/year or less and 2 people have to make less than something like $31k.  More than 2 people and you have to be below the poverty line (or damn close).  Even if one of us quit working, it wouldn’t happen.  Almost the entire city of milwaukee is full of income assistance properties.  You end up getting a super swanky place for like $700/month when everyone else has to pay double.  One place we toured had a huge gym, basketball court, driving range, movie theater… but it could never be afforded due to our income.  It’s not fair.  There should be brackets or something… like “if you make between this and this amount, you get this percentage off the normal rent”.  There’s no need  for “poor” people to get ultra-exclusive apartments.  There are plenty of places to live that are well kept and in safe neighborhoods that go for $500-700/month, why not have those people live there?  I just don’t get it.

Anyway, I’m touring places tomorrow and Friday.  Probably a bunch on Saturday.  We need to get as many done as possible before school starts in a couple weeks.  So far there’s only one potential winner.  It’s off a super-busy road and neighbored by some trashy apartments.  It’s a newer place and in good condition, but it doesn’t look THAT new.  Still, tons more space than we have now and almost anything is better than living in Waukesha.  Yuck.

Back from X-Mas Vacation

I’m back from San Diego… good fun… will write more later.  In the meantime, few random pictures.