There are many things I have wanted to write about this past week but by the time a get around to it they are missing from my memory. I really need to invest in a notebook or at least a notepad and take notes to refresh that memory when I finally get the opportunity to sit down at the keyboard. It is those little suggestions that come to your mind in the middle of the night, or while you are driving to work and you’re stuck in traffic, or you are stuck in a staff meeting; that is when you’re mind starts to wander and you receive some marvelous ideas.
I have a hard time staying awake in meetings. On the one hand I think that I am easily bored but on the other hand I think that I am on a constant go and when I come to a screeching halt to sit in a meeting I tend to fade out. I think that this has something to do with being on pace all the time, from the moment we rise till the moment our head hits the pillow we are doing something. It isn’t always something important. It isn’t always something of value. It is just something. When you get to those points we you have to do nothing, like standing in lines or sitting in meetings, the body and mind go into pause mode.
At work we have to appear to be busy, whither it is productive or not is another matter though I am always trying to be productive because it is in my nature to do so, even then there is always the effort to appear busy. This even comes at times when you have to sit and think your way through a problem; you have to do it in such a way that it appears you are busy. I am sure that this affects more than just those of us that live in a world of Dilbert.
This carries over into our home lives as we return home to find a list of daily and weekly chores awaiting our arrival. There is enough busy work backlogged to keep us busy for a month of Saturdays. No wonder we crash on the couch, flip on the TV and mindlessly surf the voids that use to provide some respite through entertainment. And when there is a commercial on, we can’t let that time go to waste so we are up doing little chores running to and fro or we start to channel surf looking for something to fill the gap between the program in an effort to ease our conscience for sitting there inert for the 2 to 3 minute exposure of advertising drivel.
When did we lose control of this thing we call the time of our lives? And how do we gain it back?
We used to hear about the time before TV when people used to sit around and have conversations. Now that seems to have been relegated to a chore and must be done only on a cell phone while commuting in the car.
People used to read books for personal education, entertainment, and enjoyment. There seems to be too much personal effort after a long laborious day to want to expend anything in that area. Besides it takes many, many hours to make your way through one whole book when you can throw in a DVD and watch the movie in a fraction of the time. I could probably watch all 7 Harry Potter movies in the same amount of time it takes to read one of the books.
So when it comes time for prayer and meditation, do we even allow ourselves the time for prayer and meditation? I mean, how much time does it take anyway? I can say my prayers in 30 seconds if I try. Or can I? It can take me a good 30 seconds just to call someone on the phone and leave a message on the answering machine. Why should my conversations with God be any less important than a daily call with a friend? And do we take the time to listen for an answer? Are our prayers truly a two way conversation, or are we just leaving a message on the machine?
I think that we need that eternal feedback from our Heavenly Father. It is an essential ingredient in the makeup of who we are. When we go without sleep are bodies feel deprived and try to compensate until sleep is mandatory. When we go without food for too long our bodies try to tell us through hunger pains that this condition cannot be a lasting one. When we go without spiritual nourishment, can we as easily read the signs of a deficit, and can we readily spot the damage done?
Perhaps that is why in those moments of sitting in meetings, inching along in traffic, standing in line, or nodding off to bed, when the world is put on hold and the pause button is pushed; perhaps it is at those times that the mind can truly reflect on things, ponder if you will, and there is enough calmness around that the inspirations of heaven can finally penetrate the noises and clamor of the world that it can reach my ears and my heart.
Perhaps that is why I shouldn’t just let those times come as a matter of chance, but should seek them out. Perhaps I should even schedule them into my daily routine. That way they will be a constant part of my life rather than a passing coincidence.
Perhaps you already know this, and I commend you if you do. After all, you did read this rather than doing something else. Perhaps it made you stop and ponder.
I know I did.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
06 December 2008
27 November 2008
Tips for playing in IWON part 5
Addendum:
I have been spending more time on IWON and learned a few more important things that I want to pass on to those that have read this far.
First, they started a fund raising team play concept. You can join a team of your choice that is usually associated with a national or local charity, then all the play you do will earn coins for you and a matching amount for your team. The team with the most coins at the end of the month wins $10,000 for that charity. There are some team favorites that are way in the lead and if you want to be on a winning team just look for one of those. If you want to play for something you believe in then look for a team that matches your interest.
I chose the Rails to Trails group as I like to ride my mountain bike and the Rails to Trails program has been a great source of trail riding. They convert old railroad tracks and lines to groomed gravel and sometimes paved trail ways. Great idea.
Each team has a page to chart the progress and includes a message board where members can encourage others and provide hints. One of the hints left by ‘moerlien’ has been a great booster to the number of coins I have earned this past month. He reported that you can go to the Diamond Poker game and without even playing a single hand you hit cash out and collect the 1,000 coins that you where spotted to play the game. Hit play again, and cash out again and you just added another 1,000 coins. Repeat as often as you like.
There is a cap on the number of coins you can earn each day. For the casino games that works out to 1,000,000. Then you can go to the other games and earn a max of 200,000 a day. You can also earn up to 20,000 a day for searches. Since you can only have one game open at a time, I have opened up Diamond Deal Poker in one window and have a search window open next to it. I then cycle through the play, cash out, routine while incorporating searches refreshes periodically. It still takes quite a while to max out your coin earnings for the day but at least this way it can be done if you want to.
A quick way to earn coins on the search is to enter something that it cannot find, such as “Farrwestview.blogspot.com”. Since it can’t find it, there isn’t anything to display so it doesn’t take a lot of time throwing up the page. You can then hit the search button immediately as the search box is automatically filled with the last search. Searches are only worth 30 coins but there is the chance of an instant win for searches so it is worth the effort.
There is also a bonus game on Diamond Deal Poker, and because you are going through a new game with each ‘cash out’, you will hit one of these bonus games every now and again. It is a picture of a safe where you scratch off the combination then try it to open the safe. After the game says 'Not this time', right click in the window but not on the flash objects and select refresh for the shortest way back into the game. I have now played many of these bonus games and still have not won anything on it.
In fact with all the extra time spent trying to collect coins I still have not learned any secrets that will allow me to actually win something of value. Remember what I told you about the odds of winning on this site, they are horrible. If you want to get a feel for what the odds are to win a lottery this is a good way to do it. Besides, the latest prize of choice is now a water bottle. Hardly seems worth it.
Of course all the coins you earn can be used to enter the sweepstakes. Since I have learned how to earn mega coins through the poker game, I better understand why my meager entries from before did me little good. There are others that know and use the coin gathering methods of the poker game. But not everyone does. After awhile it does get very boring. In fact, when this month is done and my efforts for the team are through I think I might back off of it all for lack of interest, but till then, go team.
Of the casino games, beware that only a few games will spot you coins. Some of the casino games will you the coins you have earned already from your pot. This may or may not be o.k. depending on how good you are at the games. I prefer to play on their money so only play the games that stake me. Also, the slot games do not let you cash out the stake immediately so you pretty much have to play out the original stake. And although Dog Deal Poker has the cash out function, it seemed to load and recycle slower than Diamond Deal Poker so I stayed with it for efficiency.
If you chose to collect coins this way you will notice that your player ranking on that game will be high and stay high. That is because the game ranking is based on your highest score for the game compared to other players of the game. Don’t worry about it unless you want to personally play that game. What will change and rather quickly to begin with is your overall player coin rankings. It is kind of fun to see where you stack up compared to others as well as set personal goals for advancements. You can see your rankings at anytime by going to your profile page.
That is also where you can compare your scores and rankings with other players. There is a way to make ‘friends’ on the site though I haven’t done anything with that and probably won’t. Not my thing I guess. Most games have a chat function attached and you can have friendly visits with other players that way.
I did discover one new game that is fun and can earn coins quickly and that is Sponge Bob Collapse. Yes that Sponge Bob. It is a tetris style game, fairly fast paced and I enjoyed it.
That is what it is all about anyway when it comes right down to it. Are you enjoying the play? If not, then there should be some kind of payback as it just became work, and with the odds of winning what they are this is not the kind of occupation you should be looking for. The payback has to be from the fun. So go have some fun.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Click here to go to IWON Tips Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 6 (SquareBob Spongepants Collapse).
I have been spending more time on IWON and learned a few more important things that I want to pass on to those that have read this far.
First, they started a fund raising team play concept. You can join a team of your choice that is usually associated with a national or local charity, then all the play you do will earn coins for you and a matching amount for your team. The team with the most coins at the end of the month wins $10,000 for that charity. There are some team favorites that are way in the lead and if you want to be on a winning team just look for one of those. If you want to play for something you believe in then look for a team that matches your interest.
I chose the Rails to Trails group as I like to ride my mountain bike and the Rails to Trails program has been a great source of trail riding. They convert old railroad tracks and lines to groomed gravel and sometimes paved trail ways. Great idea.
Each team has a page to chart the progress and includes a message board where members can encourage others and provide hints. One of the hints left by ‘moerlien’ has been a great booster to the number of coins I have earned this past month. He reported that you can go to the Diamond Poker game and without even playing a single hand you hit cash out and collect the 1,000 coins that you where spotted to play the game. Hit play again, and cash out again and you just added another 1,000 coins. Repeat as often as you like.
There is a cap on the number of coins you can earn each day. For the casino games that works out to 1,000,000. Then you can go to the other games and earn a max of 200,000 a day. You can also earn up to 20,000 a day for searches. Since you can only have one game open at a time, I have opened up Diamond Deal Poker in one window and have a search window open next to it. I then cycle through the play, cash out, routine while incorporating searches refreshes periodically. It still takes quite a while to max out your coin earnings for the day but at least this way it can be done if you want to.
A quick way to earn coins on the search is to enter something that it cannot find, such as “Farrwestview.blogspot.com”. Since it can’t find it, there isn’t anything to display so it doesn’t take a lot of time throwing up the page. You can then hit the search button immediately as the search box is automatically filled with the last search. Searches are only worth 30 coins but there is the chance of an instant win for searches so it is worth the effort.
There is also a bonus game on Diamond Deal Poker, and because you are going through a new game with each ‘cash out’, you will hit one of these bonus games every now and again. It is a picture of a safe where you scratch off the combination then try it to open the safe. After the game says 'Not this time', right click in the window but not on the flash objects and select refresh for the shortest way back into the game. I have now played many of these bonus games and still have not won anything on it.
In fact with all the extra time spent trying to collect coins I still have not learned any secrets that will allow me to actually win something of value. Remember what I told you about the odds of winning on this site, they are horrible. If you want to get a feel for what the odds are to win a lottery this is a good way to do it. Besides, the latest prize of choice is now a water bottle. Hardly seems worth it.
Of course all the coins you earn can be used to enter the sweepstakes. Since I have learned how to earn mega coins through the poker game, I better understand why my meager entries from before did me little good. There are others that know and use the coin gathering methods of the poker game. But not everyone does. After awhile it does get very boring. In fact, when this month is done and my efforts for the team are through I think I might back off of it all for lack of interest, but till then, go team.
Of the casino games, beware that only a few games will spot you coins. Some of the casino games will you the coins you have earned already from your pot. This may or may not be o.k. depending on how good you are at the games. I prefer to play on their money so only play the games that stake me. Also, the slot games do not let you cash out the stake immediately so you pretty much have to play out the original stake. And although Dog Deal Poker has the cash out function, it seemed to load and recycle slower than Diamond Deal Poker so I stayed with it for efficiency.
If you chose to collect coins this way you will notice that your player ranking on that game will be high and stay high. That is because the game ranking is based on your highest score for the game compared to other players of the game. Don’t worry about it unless you want to personally play that game. What will change and rather quickly to begin with is your overall player coin rankings. It is kind of fun to see where you stack up compared to others as well as set personal goals for advancements. You can see your rankings at anytime by going to your profile page.
That is also where you can compare your scores and rankings with other players. There is a way to make ‘friends’ on the site though I haven’t done anything with that and probably won’t. Not my thing I guess. Most games have a chat function attached and you can have friendly visits with other players that way.
I did discover one new game that is fun and can earn coins quickly and that is Sponge Bob Collapse. Yes that Sponge Bob. It is a tetris style game, fairly fast paced and I enjoyed it.
That is what it is all about anyway when it comes right down to it. Are you enjoying the play? If not, then there should be some kind of payback as it just became work, and with the odds of winning what they are this is not the kind of occupation you should be looking for. The payback has to be from the fun. So go have some fun.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Click here to go to IWON Tips Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 6 (SquareBob Spongepants Collapse).
22 November 2008
Don't take dumb advice.
That may sound like common sense but I am amazed at how much dumb advice is out there. And I have come across some of the dumbest advice yet from AOL sponsored pages.
When we hooked up the new computer to the internet, one of the default home pages was to AOL. It looked innocent enough at the time and so I just haven't taken the time to delete it. Besides any links to new or more or better information is a good thing for an info junkie like me.
The trouble is, they are nothing but fluff vendors. The page is full of teasers of the worst kind, the kind I get sucked into. Not all of them get me but there are enough that do to make me worried as to functioning of my crap detector. It really seems to be falling down on the job lately.
Anyway, the headline reads "Need to make some quick cash?". Well sure who doesn't? But I have seen these lines many times in the form of spam in my e-mail box. What could AOL possible have that might be of value? The following tag line reads "Clever ideas that fill pockets fast". That sounds great, take me there.
The link takes me to the next page that is titled "25 (Unconventional) Ways to make Quick Money". Unconventional huh, well that could be a good thing. After all it is unconventional that makes people stand out and excel. Dave Ramsey says "Live like nobody else now so that you can live like nobody else later". I like that.
Of course this list of things is not a simple list but a slide show of ideas so you have to remain in their pages exposed to their ads for the next 25 slides. O.K. I can live with that if you are going to give me something of value. Lead on.
First up, start your own part-time business from home. No bad but their suggestion is to become a dog walker, errand runner, driver or computer consultant. That is a pretty diverse selection and none that will produce quick money in the near term.
What's next? Take a part time job, again not bad advice, working for a living is always a good thing, but we are looking for unconventional ways to make quick money, not the tried and true methods.
The next item got me. They suggest you seek emergency assistance, in other words charity. There are certain times when things fail that charity can step in and provide a helping hand to get people over a hurdle, but too suggest this as a way to make quick money is pretty pathetic. What is AOL thinking with this one?
A couple of more good suggestions come next, such as 'Make stuff to sell', 'sell stuff on craigslist (which should also work on eBay), 'do odd jobs' (same category as taking a part-time job), 'find an online gig' (not sure what that is but sounds like part-time work through online sources), 'return past purchases', 'hold a yard sale', 'recycle scrap metal', 'become a temp' (another form of part-time work), 'take in a boarder', 'pawn your stuff' (though you will probably get more selling it yourself), and 'go scavenging' (using a metal detector, or collecting aluminum cans).
These are mingled with stupid things like 'rent out your parking space', rob the piggy bank to 'collect your change', 'sign up for medical tests' such as avian flu vaccine, 'tap your life insurance', and 'scalp tickets (legally)'.
But the dumbest suggestions of all are 'get a payday loan' (just visit the local loan shark), 'raid your IRA' (retirement is for old people), 'sell some body parts' (thankfully they limit this to blood and hair, but still), 'bank your sperm', 'sell stuff to motorists' (that's all we need more car to car vendors), and the absolute worst suggestion of all time 'Head to the Casino'.
Some of these ideas you can easily do and should if you are in need of additional funds. Some of the ideas will take some funds to get started, if you don't already own a metal detector you may have to lay out some funds to obtain one. Then you need to compare costs to revenue and decide if it is worth it.
The other ideas are foolhardy if not outright dangerous. If your retirement plans consist of lottery tickets then you are probably a prime target of this AOL article. If not, you will recognize it for what it is, crap. Get your crap detector in gear. The best way to do that is to educate yourself. Learn as much as you can about as much as you can. The more you know the more wisdom will follow. There are plecty of people out there willing to give you advice. With knowledge and wisdom you will quickly be able to discern the difference between the good and the bad. Profit from the good and avoid like the plague the bad.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
When we hooked up the new computer to the internet, one of the default home pages was to AOL. It looked innocent enough at the time and so I just haven't taken the time to delete it. Besides any links to new or more or better information is a good thing for an info junkie like me.
The trouble is, they are nothing but fluff vendors. The page is full of teasers of the worst kind, the kind I get sucked into. Not all of them get me but there are enough that do to make me worried as to functioning of my crap detector. It really seems to be falling down on the job lately.
Anyway, the headline reads "Need to make some quick cash?". Well sure who doesn't? But I have seen these lines many times in the form of spam in my e-mail box. What could AOL possible have that might be of value? The following tag line reads "Clever ideas that fill pockets fast". That sounds great, take me there.
The link takes me to the next page that is titled "25 (Unconventional) Ways to make Quick Money". Unconventional huh, well that could be a good thing. After all it is unconventional that makes people stand out and excel. Dave Ramsey says "Live like nobody else now so that you can live like nobody else later". I like that.
Of course this list of things is not a simple list but a slide show of ideas so you have to remain in their pages exposed to their ads for the next 25 slides. O.K. I can live with that if you are going to give me something of value. Lead on.
First up, start your own part-time business from home. No bad but their suggestion is to become a dog walker, errand runner, driver or computer consultant. That is a pretty diverse selection and none that will produce quick money in the near term.
What's next? Take a part time job, again not bad advice, working for a living is always a good thing, but we are looking for unconventional ways to make quick money, not the tried and true methods.
The next item got me. They suggest you seek emergency assistance, in other words charity. There are certain times when things fail that charity can step in and provide a helping hand to get people over a hurdle, but too suggest this as a way to make quick money is pretty pathetic. What is AOL thinking with this one?
A couple of more good suggestions come next, such as 'Make stuff to sell', 'sell stuff on craigslist (which should also work on eBay), 'do odd jobs' (same category as taking a part-time job), 'find an online gig' (not sure what that is but sounds like part-time work through online sources), 'return past purchases', 'hold a yard sale', 'recycle scrap metal', 'become a temp' (another form of part-time work), 'take in a boarder', 'pawn your stuff' (though you will probably get more selling it yourself), and 'go scavenging' (using a metal detector, or collecting aluminum cans).
These are mingled with stupid things like 'rent out your parking space', rob the piggy bank to 'collect your change', 'sign up for medical tests' such as avian flu vaccine, 'tap your life insurance', and 'scalp tickets (legally)'.
But the dumbest suggestions of all are 'get a payday loan' (just visit the local loan shark), 'raid your IRA' (retirement is for old people), 'sell some body parts' (thankfully they limit this to blood and hair, but still), 'bank your sperm', 'sell stuff to motorists' (that's all we need more car to car vendors), and the absolute worst suggestion of all time 'Head to the Casino'.
Some of these ideas you can easily do and should if you are in need of additional funds. Some of the ideas will take some funds to get started, if you don't already own a metal detector you may have to lay out some funds to obtain one. Then you need to compare costs to revenue and decide if it is worth it.
The other ideas are foolhardy if not outright dangerous. If your retirement plans consist of lottery tickets then you are probably a prime target of this AOL article. If not, you will recognize it for what it is, crap. Get your crap detector in gear. The best way to do that is to educate yourself. Learn as much as you can about as much as you can. The more you know the more wisdom will follow. There are plecty of people out there willing to give you advice. With knowledge and wisdom you will quickly be able to discern the difference between the good and the bad. Profit from the good and avoid like the plague the bad.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
18 November 2008
strange couple of weeks
So I take a few days off and the whole world goes nuts. It seems like that some days.
We elected a new president or is he really new? Thankfully there was no huge outbreak of rioting and discontent and that is a good thing. I wonder what would have happened had the election gone the other way. Would the losers have been as understanding if McCain had won the election or would there be rioting and calls of an illegal election and the attempt to overturn the election in the courts?
There is the one accusation of an illegal candidate that has yet to be played out but it looks like it will be buried rather quickly, and that question may remain with us long term, “Is Obama an American born citizen, or was he just a few days late on arrival?” What will the reactions be if he is or if he isn’t? Some things can be interesting to ask and watch and learn as long as the implications aren’t too personally costly.
One of those interesting things to watch has been the vote on Proposition 8 in California, the defining of marriage as being between a man and a woman. It isn’t often that churches will come out and actively take a stand on an issue; they usually just let their doctrine stand on its own merit. If you have faith in the doctrines that your church proclaims then you generally know what your position will be on any given issue. You either accept it as your own or you don’t. Many people did just that.
But there were several churches that thought that this issue was important enough to take a public stand in protecting a moral position as well as a sacred and respected institution, that of marriage. It brought together several churches that would normally be at odds for their varying points of doctrine but were united in their efforts to protect the sanctity of marriage.
That is right, I said protect. These churches were in a defensive position. They were defending the very nature of marriage and that which makes it holy and sacred, a gift from God. It was they who were in danger of losing something precious. They are the ones who were under attack. And the tactics the homosexual community used were most definitely attacks, vicious, cruel and hateful.
And now because Proposition 8 passed by the voters of California and marriage is once again defined as it should be, the churches and their followers are under attack again. Vandalism, graffiti, protest and violence are all coming from the homosexual community and all under their banner of love. So where is their tolerance for people different than them? Where is there acceptance of people that are heterosexual? Where is their respect for people that have faith and believe in God? Where was the media in pointing out these travesties of fairness? Who was there to point out the hypocrisy?
I am unaware of any arguments for Proposition 8 that banned any homosexual from continuing to practice their beliefs. In fact, they didn’t try to change anyone in the homosexual community at all. In a world that is continually injecting the homosexual lifestyle into everything around us, be it music, book, or screen, proponents of Prop 8 managed to leave at least one institution intact. At least for now.
The world of finance however is a whole other world all together. On one side you have the downtrodden millionaire and on the other the taxpayer. Guess who is going to win this contest?
On the other hand, everyone is sticking their hand out, waiting for a handout. I am still thinking that this whole bailout thing is one of the worst knee jerk reactions America has made in a long time. It wasn’t well thought out, it isn’t equitable, and it doesn’t play well to the ideals of capitalism that this world was designed around. If a merchant has bad inventory, he marks it down real low, moves it out and then replaces it with good inventory, and moves on. Most items can be either bought or sold if the price is right. It is just a matter of getting the price to be right.
Same goes for the producer of goods. If you provide for your customer what he wants at a price that he wants and you do it at least as good as the next guy, you will have a business. But if you are unable to deliver on any of those points you customer will go elsewhere, especially if there is an elsewhere to go too. Why is that so hard to understand? And why do we think it is necessary to assist through a bailout those that don’t understand it? We are not doing anyone any favors here. Especially not the taxpayer.
But it is more than just the taxpayer that is harmed by these bailouts. What are the messages that we are sending out? Is it really all right to fail? Are there really any risks if all my mistakes are taken care of by Uncle Sam? Are there really different standards for the elite versus the common man? Will I be looked after as well as the next guy, and if so do I no longer have a responsibility to make wise decisions concerning my welfare? Or that of those around me? Can I take credit for (or will I even get credit for) all this generosity even though it did not come directly from me? Has our quiet acceptance been considered a vote of approval for our leaders to continue doing what they have been doing? Will we ever be granted the status of individuals and adults again?
I believe it is possible to be counted as a grown up and as an individual. It won’t be easy, in fact it is going to get a whole lot harder be your own person, but I am willing to make that effort. I believe it is worth it. I believe I am worth it, and I believe my family is worth it. Freedom does not come from group think but rather from a group of individuals that think. That is where I want my voice. I wish for you to be as I would wish you to let me be.
Does that mean we stand alone? No, far from it, for it means we stand together. We do not stand over, nor are we stood upon. And that makes all the difference. For none should be more equal than others. No, not one. To have it any other way destroys equality.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
We elected a new president or is he really new? Thankfully there was no huge outbreak of rioting and discontent and that is a good thing. I wonder what would have happened had the election gone the other way. Would the losers have been as understanding if McCain had won the election or would there be rioting and calls of an illegal election and the attempt to overturn the election in the courts?
There is the one accusation of an illegal candidate that has yet to be played out but it looks like it will be buried rather quickly, and that question may remain with us long term, “Is Obama an American born citizen, or was he just a few days late on arrival?” What will the reactions be if he is or if he isn’t? Some things can be interesting to ask and watch and learn as long as the implications aren’t too personally costly.
One of those interesting things to watch has been the vote on Proposition 8 in California, the defining of marriage as being between a man and a woman. It isn’t often that churches will come out and actively take a stand on an issue; they usually just let their doctrine stand on its own merit. If you have faith in the doctrines that your church proclaims then you generally know what your position will be on any given issue. You either accept it as your own or you don’t. Many people did just that.
But there were several churches that thought that this issue was important enough to take a public stand in protecting a moral position as well as a sacred and respected institution, that of marriage. It brought together several churches that would normally be at odds for their varying points of doctrine but were united in their efforts to protect the sanctity of marriage.
That is right, I said protect. These churches were in a defensive position. They were defending the very nature of marriage and that which makes it holy and sacred, a gift from God. It was they who were in danger of losing something precious. They are the ones who were under attack. And the tactics the homosexual community used were most definitely attacks, vicious, cruel and hateful.
And now because Proposition 8 passed by the voters of California and marriage is once again defined as it should be, the churches and their followers are under attack again. Vandalism, graffiti, protest and violence are all coming from the homosexual community and all under their banner of love. So where is their tolerance for people different than them? Where is there acceptance of people that are heterosexual? Where is their respect for people that have faith and believe in God? Where was the media in pointing out these travesties of fairness? Who was there to point out the hypocrisy?
I am unaware of any arguments for Proposition 8 that banned any homosexual from continuing to practice their beliefs. In fact, they didn’t try to change anyone in the homosexual community at all. In a world that is continually injecting the homosexual lifestyle into everything around us, be it music, book, or screen, proponents of Prop 8 managed to leave at least one institution intact. At least for now.
The world of finance however is a whole other world all together. On one side you have the downtrodden millionaire and on the other the taxpayer. Guess who is going to win this contest?
On the other hand, everyone is sticking their hand out, waiting for a handout. I am still thinking that this whole bailout thing is one of the worst knee jerk reactions America has made in a long time. It wasn’t well thought out, it isn’t equitable, and it doesn’t play well to the ideals of capitalism that this world was designed around. If a merchant has bad inventory, he marks it down real low, moves it out and then replaces it with good inventory, and moves on. Most items can be either bought or sold if the price is right. It is just a matter of getting the price to be right.
Same goes for the producer of goods. If you provide for your customer what he wants at a price that he wants and you do it at least as good as the next guy, you will have a business. But if you are unable to deliver on any of those points you customer will go elsewhere, especially if there is an elsewhere to go too. Why is that so hard to understand? And why do we think it is necessary to assist through a bailout those that don’t understand it? We are not doing anyone any favors here. Especially not the taxpayer.
But it is more than just the taxpayer that is harmed by these bailouts. What are the messages that we are sending out? Is it really all right to fail? Are there really any risks if all my mistakes are taken care of by Uncle Sam? Are there really different standards for the elite versus the common man? Will I be looked after as well as the next guy, and if so do I no longer have a responsibility to make wise decisions concerning my welfare? Or that of those around me? Can I take credit for (or will I even get credit for) all this generosity even though it did not come directly from me? Has our quiet acceptance been considered a vote of approval for our leaders to continue doing what they have been doing? Will we ever be granted the status of individuals and adults again?
I believe it is possible to be counted as a grown up and as an individual. It won’t be easy, in fact it is going to get a whole lot harder be your own person, but I am willing to make that effort. I believe it is worth it. I believe I am worth it, and I believe my family is worth it. Freedom does not come from group think but rather from a group of individuals that think. That is where I want my voice. I wish for you to be as I would wish you to let me be.
Does that mean we stand alone? No, far from it, for it means we stand together. We do not stand over, nor are we stood upon. And that makes all the difference. For none should be more equal than others. No, not one. To have it any other way destroys equality.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
01 November 2008
Why did that light go red?
I do believe I was abducted by aliens and that they implanted in my nose (near my sinuses since I keep getting sinus headaches) a transmitting device that automatically changes the traffic lights to red as I approach them.
It’s true. It seems like there is an overwhelming majority of traffic lights that change to red as I am coming near, whether there are any other cars on the road or not. A recent trip to the local Wal-Mart this early morning, and trust me, 6:30 on a Saturday morning is pretty close to the same as the middle of the night, just reinforced the theory of an implant.
As I approached at least four of the intersections with traffic lights, the light changed to red making me lose cruising speed, even having to use brakes and then sit idle as my turn eventually came around again. Each time the light changed you would think that there was someone else waiting their turn or at least approaching from the other direction but not at this time of the morning. At this time of the morning there were very few cars on the road and none were on the alternate direction route. In fact, at one light that made me stop, it gave a green to traffic (that wasn’t there) to the right of me for a full cycle, and then it gave a green light to the traffic (that also wasn’t there) to the left of me.
Now that it has me really ready to go, it makes me wait one more turn as it gives a green light to the turn lane coming from the other way. There was one car in the turn lane and he had only just barely arrived when the light turned green for him. It was just an optional turn light that he didn’t even need to make the turn with, but the traffic system seemed to think he needed it above me anyway.
This kind of behavior on the part of an inanimate object such as a traffic light is not just isolated incidents. It happens to me all the time. In fact, when I finally do get an unexpected green light or better yet a string of green lights (3 or 4 at least), I almost get giddy. I thank the heavens for this grand and marvelous gift.
My wife thinks that I am just focusing on the negative and that the traffic lights do that to everyone. She may be right. In fact, I have started to notice that this phenomenon is not just happening to me but is catching a few others as well.
Sometimes I will be sitting at a light with not another soul to be seen, waiting for it to turn green, when I notice another car approaching on the line that has the green light, and secretly I hope that they also have the implant so that their approach will change their green light to red giving my light the chance to go green again. This is sad to admit, because I really don’t want this to happen to anyone else, but I am secretly happy that it does because it finally gives me a chance to go again.
These intersections are not the old tech type that would auto cycle at the same rate all the time throughout the day. These aren’t even the old type that had sensors in the road that I always had a hard time setting off when I was riding my bicycle and sometimes couldn’t even set off with my motorcycle. These intersections have all had the new camera sensors put on them that are supposed to time the lights in a more efficient manner. These high priced units were paid for with all important taxpayer dollars and should be serving those taxpayers in a more appreciative manner. So why are they so cruel?
If my wife is correct, and there is no implant that triggers these lights against me, then someone somewhere is programming these lights to do this on purpose. Why oh why would anyone do this to another individual? Is this a control issue? Is there an effort to enforce a behavior? Are we being conditioned to being controlled? I would certainly hope not but it makes me wonder.
I mean in the olden days of the original gas crunch, creating synchronized traffic lights was a priority. There were some sections where you could travel for miles without even having to lightly lifting throttle to make the light.
One town I know of with the main street sporting 8 traffic light intersections per mile was still able to synchronize the lights to allow nonstop travel at 22.5 mph. This was only hard on those drivers that didn’t know the secret and would speed up then slow down then speed up then stop then speed up and so on for each light. This secret speed must have been too much of a good thing because they came along and messed it all up by changing the sync. They were able to take a 10 minute cross town drive and extend it to 25. I would still like to ring the neck of whoever was responsible for that one. Ogden, Utah you disappoint me. Last time I was there they were reducing the lane count from three to two and installing islands in the most congested part of town. Does no one understand productivity and efficiency anymore?
In fact, that is what this really comes down to, making life easier by making us more productive. When we are able to do more with less, we can get more done with what we have. Seems simple enough but for some reason most government agencies don’t get it. The Departments of Transportation for most states are seldom there to make things easier, and by their actions they prove that they are apt to try to control our efforts than expand our abilities.
So if there is no implant, and this is a deliberate effort for control on our government, then let us remind them that they are there to serve us. This is supposed to be a government of the people, by the people and for the people and they should be doing everything in their power to make our lives less encumbered. This means taking down obstacles and impediments, not finding new ways of adding speed bumps or doing things that bring us to a screeching halt. We need progress, not interference.
And in this time of economic uncertainty we need it more than ever.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
It’s true. It seems like there is an overwhelming majority of traffic lights that change to red as I am coming near, whether there are any other cars on the road or not. A recent trip to the local Wal-Mart this early morning, and trust me, 6:30 on a Saturday morning is pretty close to the same as the middle of the night, just reinforced the theory of an implant.
As I approached at least four of the intersections with traffic lights, the light changed to red making me lose cruising speed, even having to use brakes and then sit idle as my turn eventually came around again. Each time the light changed you would think that there was someone else waiting their turn or at least approaching from the other direction but not at this time of the morning. At this time of the morning there were very few cars on the road and none were on the alternate direction route. In fact, at one light that made me stop, it gave a green to traffic (that wasn’t there) to the right of me for a full cycle, and then it gave a green light to the traffic (that also wasn’t there) to the left of me.
Now that it has me really ready to go, it makes me wait one more turn as it gives a green light to the turn lane coming from the other way. There was one car in the turn lane and he had only just barely arrived when the light turned green for him. It was just an optional turn light that he didn’t even need to make the turn with, but the traffic system seemed to think he needed it above me anyway.
This kind of behavior on the part of an inanimate object such as a traffic light is not just isolated incidents. It happens to me all the time. In fact, when I finally do get an unexpected green light or better yet a string of green lights (3 or 4 at least), I almost get giddy. I thank the heavens for this grand and marvelous gift.
My wife thinks that I am just focusing on the negative and that the traffic lights do that to everyone. She may be right. In fact, I have started to notice that this phenomenon is not just happening to me but is catching a few others as well.
Sometimes I will be sitting at a light with not another soul to be seen, waiting for it to turn green, when I notice another car approaching on the line that has the green light, and secretly I hope that they also have the implant so that their approach will change their green light to red giving my light the chance to go green again. This is sad to admit, because I really don’t want this to happen to anyone else, but I am secretly happy that it does because it finally gives me a chance to go again.
These intersections are not the old tech type that would auto cycle at the same rate all the time throughout the day. These aren’t even the old type that had sensors in the road that I always had a hard time setting off when I was riding my bicycle and sometimes couldn’t even set off with my motorcycle. These intersections have all had the new camera sensors put on them that are supposed to time the lights in a more efficient manner. These high priced units were paid for with all important taxpayer dollars and should be serving those taxpayers in a more appreciative manner. So why are they so cruel?
If my wife is correct, and there is no implant that triggers these lights against me, then someone somewhere is programming these lights to do this on purpose. Why oh why would anyone do this to another individual? Is this a control issue? Is there an effort to enforce a behavior? Are we being conditioned to being controlled? I would certainly hope not but it makes me wonder.
I mean in the olden days of the original gas crunch, creating synchronized traffic lights was a priority. There were some sections where you could travel for miles without even having to lightly lifting throttle to make the light.
One town I know of with the main street sporting 8 traffic light intersections per mile was still able to synchronize the lights to allow nonstop travel at 22.5 mph. This was only hard on those drivers that didn’t know the secret and would speed up then slow down then speed up then stop then speed up and so on for each light. This secret speed must have been too much of a good thing because they came along and messed it all up by changing the sync. They were able to take a 10 minute cross town drive and extend it to 25. I would still like to ring the neck of whoever was responsible for that one. Ogden, Utah you disappoint me. Last time I was there they were reducing the lane count from three to two and installing islands in the most congested part of town. Does no one understand productivity and efficiency anymore?
In fact, that is what this really comes down to, making life easier by making us more productive. When we are able to do more with less, we can get more done with what we have. Seems simple enough but for some reason most government agencies don’t get it. The Departments of Transportation for most states are seldom there to make things easier, and by their actions they prove that they are apt to try to control our efforts than expand our abilities.
So if there is no implant, and this is a deliberate effort for control on our government, then let us remind them that they are there to serve us. This is supposed to be a government of the people, by the people and for the people and they should be doing everything in their power to make our lives less encumbered. This means taking down obstacles and impediments, not finding new ways of adding speed bumps or doing things that bring us to a screeching halt. We need progress, not interference.
And in this time of economic uncertainty we need it more than ever.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
31 October 2008
Is the Obama threat real?
I have written a few articles lately that have condemned the political candidates in this year’s elections. I have generally meant exactly what I have said about this being one very scary election with the threat of a bloodless take over by socialist and socialism that would shock anyone that has participated in the writing of the story that is America. From the founding fathers to the warriors and soldiers that stood up to dictators and communism, I think that there is a great disappointment over the fact that Obama was even allowed to make it this far and that the only answer put forth against is a McCain.
Have we forgotten the lesson of our past? Do we not recall what our forefathers worked so hard to establish? Did we even really know? Do we no appreciate what we have? I fear that we have no clue what we have done to ourselves.
In any case, I have heard rumor that the Obama campaign has enlisted the help of volunteers to search out blogs that speak poorly of their candidate and flood the comments with countering viewpoints. I have not seen any indications that that is the case. So in order to test this out I have added the above title in an effort to draw them in. No worries as this is still one of the least read blogs in blogosphere land but what the heck.
I do wish to understand what it is, or should I say how it is Obama supporters think. I know that there is the blind allegiance to party that can claim a large percentage of supporters. I know that there is the projection of a person’s personnel values onto the candidate’s platform whether true or not in an effort to believe that the candidate actually represents their views. Many turn a blind eye to anything that might cast the light of truth if it reveals their candidate for who they really are. It is easier to “hope” that things are different than to realize that reality falls far short of their ideals.
So why on earth would anyone be for Obama? I know he has used the traditional political illusions of being able to make everything better without actually offering an actual plan. Are you buying into them? Did you buy into the Clinton approach that everything wrong was someone else’s fault while taking credit for anything that went right even if was in spite of their actions? Is cause and effect that easy to manipulate? For some it must be.
So will anybody reading this respond? Is there really a program in the Obama camp that reads and responds to these blogs? If there are genuine Obama supporters out there that want to respond I will add any and all comments sent my way. That goes for McCain supporters also. Just keep the language clean. That is really the only thing I will edit on.
Maybe with a better understanding of what we are seeing out there and what we are wanting to see, we will be able to come up with better solutions to the common problems we all face and not have to rely so much on the windbags that continually sell us short.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Have we forgotten the lesson of our past? Do we not recall what our forefathers worked so hard to establish? Did we even really know? Do we no appreciate what we have? I fear that we have no clue what we have done to ourselves.
In any case, I have heard rumor that the Obama campaign has enlisted the help of volunteers to search out blogs that speak poorly of their candidate and flood the comments with countering viewpoints. I have not seen any indications that that is the case. So in order to test this out I have added the above title in an effort to draw them in. No worries as this is still one of the least read blogs in blogosphere land but what the heck.
I do wish to understand what it is, or should I say how it is Obama supporters think. I know that there is the blind allegiance to party that can claim a large percentage of supporters. I know that there is the projection of a person’s personnel values onto the candidate’s platform whether true or not in an effort to believe that the candidate actually represents their views. Many turn a blind eye to anything that might cast the light of truth if it reveals their candidate for who they really are. It is easier to “hope” that things are different than to realize that reality falls far short of their ideals.
So why on earth would anyone be for Obama? I know he has used the traditional political illusions of being able to make everything better without actually offering an actual plan. Are you buying into them? Did you buy into the Clinton approach that everything wrong was someone else’s fault while taking credit for anything that went right even if was in spite of their actions? Is cause and effect that easy to manipulate? For some it must be.
So will anybody reading this respond? Is there really a program in the Obama camp that reads and responds to these blogs? If there are genuine Obama supporters out there that want to respond I will add any and all comments sent my way. That goes for McCain supporters also. Just keep the language clean. That is really the only thing I will edit on.
Maybe with a better understanding of what we are seeing out there and what we are wanting to see, we will be able to come up with better solutions to the common problems we all face and not have to rely so much on the windbags that continually sell us short.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Politicians promise scary Halloween
I have been hearing a lot of very scary things this Halloween. I understand there is an election going on where the very fabric of our Society is at stake. It appears that there is an attack on the core values that made America great, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness (Property).
I also understand that we are down to two finalist, (were there really ever going to be any more than two?) and both our out to destroy your way of life. Our job is comparing too what degree of destruction we are willing to accept.
This nation struggled throughout its lifetime to obtain and maintain the values that have stood the test of time as being preferable to anything else the world had to offer. But, at this point in its history, all of those past efforts are threatened to become null and void by the results of one election.
The reason it is different this time, is that those that oppose American values have stacked the cards in their favor. Whichever candidate gets the nod this time is a move in their direction. They win, we lose. And whichever candidate wins, they will take it as a mandate for them to continue to pursue and implement their Socialist policies and agendas.
And of the two remaining candidates that are essentially running unopposed, by far the worst offender to grace the stage has to be Barrack Hussein Obama. Where McCain is an old hand Democrat and has worked hard to one up the traditional Democratic party by pandering to its traditional campaign plans, Obama has raised the gamut completely past that stage to full on socialism.
(Lest ye think otherwise, I have been warning of and calling the traditional Democratic party socialist for far longer than the recent use by host and pundits on the airwaves.) The warning extends now to this fact. The next step beyond Socialism comes when it is no longer able to be enforced by persuasions political correctness but needs to be enforced by force and that is usually representative of Communism, and Dictatorships.
So do I really think we are on the verge of destruction? Actually I am not sure. I do find it hard to believe that this nation has spent so much time and energy to defend and promote these two candidates and in particular Obama as he appears to be the furthest removed from traditional American values. Obama seems poised to ruin the fabric of democracy from the first day in office whereas McCain might take an extra week to get there. It really scares me that a seeming majority of America's citizens would actually embrace what these two are proposing. Once we have gone over the half way point is there hope of bringing things back?
Actually there is hope. I have talked to quite a few Americans that still believe in America, what it stood for and what it stands for. They still have America's core values at their core. They do not want to give up and will not give up. They are just struggling to know what action to take to try and help ensure that those American values are not threatened. They want to put their voice with others and be heard. They want to have something to vote for, but once again they have a contest of choosing what to vote against. If you have to vote against then by all means vote against, but be sure that you make your vote against the absolute worst possible scenario, then work like mad to make sure that next time really will be different, and work like mad to preserve real American values.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
I also understand that we are down to two finalist, (were there really ever going to be any more than two?) and both our out to destroy your way of life. Our job is comparing too what degree of destruction we are willing to accept.
This nation struggled throughout its lifetime to obtain and maintain the values that have stood the test of time as being preferable to anything else the world had to offer. But, at this point in its history, all of those past efforts are threatened to become null and void by the results of one election.
The reason it is different this time, is that those that oppose American values have stacked the cards in their favor. Whichever candidate gets the nod this time is a move in their direction. They win, we lose. And whichever candidate wins, they will take it as a mandate for them to continue to pursue and implement their Socialist policies and agendas.
And of the two remaining candidates that are essentially running unopposed, by far the worst offender to grace the stage has to be Barrack Hussein Obama. Where McCain is an old hand Democrat and has worked hard to one up the traditional Democratic party by pandering to its traditional campaign plans, Obama has raised the gamut completely past that stage to full on socialism.
(Lest ye think otherwise, I have been warning of and calling the traditional Democratic party socialist for far longer than the recent use by host and pundits on the airwaves.) The warning extends now to this fact. The next step beyond Socialism comes when it is no longer able to be enforced by persuasions political correctness but needs to be enforced by force and that is usually representative of Communism, and Dictatorships.
So do I really think we are on the verge of destruction? Actually I am not sure. I do find it hard to believe that this nation has spent so much time and energy to defend and promote these two candidates and in particular Obama as he appears to be the furthest removed from traditional American values. Obama seems poised to ruin the fabric of democracy from the first day in office whereas McCain might take an extra week to get there. It really scares me that a seeming majority of America's citizens would actually embrace what these two are proposing. Once we have gone over the half way point is there hope of bringing things back?
Actually there is hope. I have talked to quite a few Americans that still believe in America, what it stood for and what it stands for. They still have America's core values at their core. They do not want to give up and will not give up. They are just struggling to know what action to take to try and help ensure that those American values are not threatened. They want to put their voice with others and be heard. They want to have something to vote for, but once again they have a contest of choosing what to vote against. If you have to vote against then by all means vote against, but be sure that you make your vote against the absolute worst possible scenario, then work like mad to make sure that next time really will be different, and work like mad to preserve real American values.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
25 October 2008
Heads they win, Tails we lose
I am sorry to report that it is turning out to be just that kind of presidential race yet again this year. The two most likely candidates as spoken for by the media have once again reduced this race to finding reasons why not to vote for the other guy (as well as providing plenty of reasons not to vote for themselves). And once again, we the people have no viable options.
A word of warning to many of you that live in these United States of America, besides the obvious fact that our founding fathers would be turning over in their graves if they knew what we have allowed our nation to become by having an election of socialist and none other, but this nation has not wholly learned how to be a good winner or a good loser.
That worries me some. Events in our not so distant past have shown us that many of our citizens are not the most civilized at demonstrations of celebrations or disappointments. I think that we will once again see claims of an illegal election (as we did in 2004) no matter what the outcome. They are already planning for it. Riots are expected to break out in several major cities. Heck, this even happens when the local team wins a national sports competition, why not a national political competition.
That is sad when you think about it because we are already losing so much in this election year; the last thing we need to lose is our dignity. As there are a lot of people who are upset with the way things are going, they will be looking for any excuse to act out on those frustrations. I hope that any incidents like that will be small and insignificant.
If big incidents arise, and cities create riots and havoc it could spill over into our ever day lives. This is one week when you want to have all your shopping done ahead of time. You might even want to have enough food on hand to last a couple of weeks just in case things really fall to pieces. I am not saying that they will, but the possibility is out there for some locations to have disrupted services. I really hope it doesn’t come to that.
And it shouldn’t. There is no valid reason for things to get too bad. I know this election has stirred up emotions in people on all sides and to an extent not seen in many years. Here will be the real test of our character.
Whatever the outcome of this election the coming years will demand more attention on or parts. Attention to what the legislative, executive and judicial branches actions will be going forward. Will they think they have a mandate from the people and try to implement policies that go against what has made this country great? You bet they will, that is how our government has worked for many years. That is also why it is of the upmost importance to take a more active role in voice our opinions on issues and letting our elective officials know of our thoughts concerning upcoming legislation. If there is one thing that will sway the actions of a politician, it is the voice of the people as expressed through polls, phone, and mail.
Politicians may not agree with your position on the issues, but they tend to quickly give up their own positions if it is countered by more than one voice from their constituency. If they think they are only hearing a lone voice in the wilderness though, you can forget that you even made a sound.
An example of this was the initial $700 million dollar bailout package. The House waited until the last minute to make its vote, waiting to see how the votes would be placed to see if their vote would make a difference and then voted how best they thought the folks back home would value their action. They will always try to play both sides of an issue if they think they can get away with it. They knew that people would be watching this one though so they weren’t about to stick their necks on the line. They had to go back home and try to get reelected. Now they can go back home and tell one group of voters that they voted against the bailout of corporate greed and they can also tell another group of voters that they voted for the bailout to save the economy and keep Americans working, and in their minds, technically they did.
I often wonder how politicians can live with themselves or even get much sleep at night. Somehow they have convinced themselves that they are right no matter what it is they do. I don’t think their conscience works they way mine does. I tend to think that some politicians have lost their consciences a long time ago. That is why we need to step in and remind them that we haven’t lost ours. It is still a government of the people, by the people and for the people, and that means we have a responsibility that goes beyond one single Election Day. In the memory of our founding fathers, may we continue to make this ‘One Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.’
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
A word of warning to many of you that live in these United States of America, besides the obvious fact that our founding fathers would be turning over in their graves if they knew what we have allowed our nation to become by having an election of socialist and none other, but this nation has not wholly learned how to be a good winner or a good loser.
That worries me some. Events in our not so distant past have shown us that many of our citizens are not the most civilized at demonstrations of celebrations or disappointments. I think that we will once again see claims of an illegal election (as we did in 2004) no matter what the outcome. They are already planning for it. Riots are expected to break out in several major cities. Heck, this even happens when the local team wins a national sports competition, why not a national political competition.
That is sad when you think about it because we are already losing so much in this election year; the last thing we need to lose is our dignity. As there are a lot of people who are upset with the way things are going, they will be looking for any excuse to act out on those frustrations. I hope that any incidents like that will be small and insignificant.
If big incidents arise, and cities create riots and havoc it could spill over into our ever day lives. This is one week when you want to have all your shopping done ahead of time. You might even want to have enough food on hand to last a couple of weeks just in case things really fall to pieces. I am not saying that they will, but the possibility is out there for some locations to have disrupted services. I really hope it doesn’t come to that.
And it shouldn’t. There is no valid reason for things to get too bad. I know this election has stirred up emotions in people on all sides and to an extent not seen in many years. Here will be the real test of our character.
Whatever the outcome of this election the coming years will demand more attention on or parts. Attention to what the legislative, executive and judicial branches actions will be going forward. Will they think they have a mandate from the people and try to implement policies that go against what has made this country great? You bet they will, that is how our government has worked for many years. That is also why it is of the upmost importance to take a more active role in voice our opinions on issues and letting our elective officials know of our thoughts concerning upcoming legislation. If there is one thing that will sway the actions of a politician, it is the voice of the people as expressed through polls, phone, and mail.
Politicians may not agree with your position on the issues, but they tend to quickly give up their own positions if it is countered by more than one voice from their constituency. If they think they are only hearing a lone voice in the wilderness though, you can forget that you even made a sound.
An example of this was the initial $700 million dollar bailout package. The House waited until the last minute to make its vote, waiting to see how the votes would be placed to see if their vote would make a difference and then voted how best they thought the folks back home would value their action. They will always try to play both sides of an issue if they think they can get away with it. They knew that people would be watching this one though so they weren’t about to stick their necks on the line. They had to go back home and try to get reelected. Now they can go back home and tell one group of voters that they voted against the bailout of corporate greed and they can also tell another group of voters that they voted for the bailout to save the economy and keep Americans working, and in their minds, technically they did.
I often wonder how politicians can live with themselves or even get much sleep at night. Somehow they have convinced themselves that they are right no matter what it is they do. I don’t think their conscience works they way mine does. I tend to think that some politicians have lost their consciences a long time ago. That is why we need to step in and remind them that we haven’t lost ours. It is still a government of the people, by the people and for the people, and that means we have a responsibility that goes beyond one single Election Day. In the memory of our founding fathers, may we continue to make this ‘One Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.’
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
18 October 2008
Tips for playing in IWON part 4
When you open the game you may notice that sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. While typing this I have just managed to freeze up one of the free slot games. I have had more trouble of late because of the changes they have made to the flash players and I think that most of this is tied to Internet Explorer not being as capable or compatible with IWONs programming. I have written IWON to let them know of the troubles but with little notice or improvement. I have found that if you are having these problems you might be better off trying a particular game using Firefox as your browser. I know I have.
By the way, I had two games open in the background for reference in Explorer and I think they conflicted with each other and that caused the lockup. Reboot to explorer via the Task Manager and we will try again.
When playing any of these games you may like to try a little trick that I use all the time and that is to resize the window so that it only displays the game you are playing. This helps you focus on the game and not all the noise that is going on in the background. IWON again is ad driven but it is driving me mad with all the ads they throw at you. There is always one just below the game that not only flashes and winks at you but is changing every few seconds and it is very distracting so by putting it just out of view you are better able to focus on what you are doing. When you resize just remember to leave enough room on the right to remind you that there is a $3,000.00 jackpot to play for.
They have also added an IM chat feature to the games, again it can be a distraction but it can be fun. Throw out a line and visit with some of your fellow gamers. Just don’t get too distracted with the chat that you miss Word Pop dropping 3 letters in the far left column.
Most of the games come with the ability to shut off the sound (noise, music etc.) when you first start the game. This is a handy feature for some games as the accompanying sound can be quite annoying. On the other hand some of the background noises are clues in some of the games and you will want them there, just adjust the sound coming from the speakers to a reasonable level before you start to play.
IWON also comes with a search engine and you can earn points with each search. Unfortunately that is about all it is good for. They have teamed up with ASK.com previously Ask Jeeves, but it is a pretty lightweight search engine. Just try searching for this site and see what you get. Nothing, even when I put the exact address in. It is just plain weak. If I put in my name it will reference erectile dysfunction but it will not mention me. Too bad.
They have made a change recently so that their sponsored responses post front and first and they have made it hard to tell where the sponsored stuff ends and the real stuff begins. They have also rearrange the display page so it is much more difficult to navigate the page and look for real returns so I have pretty much given up on using it for real searches and strictly use the power engines of Google or Yahoo and such. Sorry IWON, but your latest edition of search like your latest edition of e-mail lost productivity for me so I can not recommend.
If you are looking for coins though, IWON gives 30 coins per search. This is not enough for a single entry in the sweepstakes and since you need at least 100 I will give you a hint. Enter something to search on that won’t return too much like “Farrwestview” and see what you get. Since it won’t find me it will be a short list and there won’t be any sponsored responses to clog up the page either. This means that the response will be fast. It will also have the box filled with the same search just waiting for you to hit the search button and do it again. This will quickly net you another 30 coins for the search. You can go on doing this several times until you get bored and are ready to move on to the next search or game. I know that there is a part of me that thinks that if I do this enough time that might actually think they should really do a search and look for me, but the odds are probably about as good as winning one of the sweepstakes.
There is a limit on the total amount of coins you can earn in one day or on one game or one daily searching. I do not recall what the totals are and I think they have changed over the course of the years to suit their fancy. You can probably find it out in their rules if you can search that far. I do know that if you are after the coins, learn when to say when because after you reach the total, there is very little use in playing anymore. I found this out the hard way on more than one occasion.
And the last thing to add is that most games have a ranking for the players. As near as I can tell, the game rank you receive is based on your personal high score for that game as compared to other players of the game. As you record a new high score your game rank will drop to a new lower level though it might not show until after you go out and come back in to that game. The game rank number you have today may not be the one you have tomorrow as other players will score will and move up in the ranks. Don’t be discouraged by your numbers, or how they compare to others, they will improve I promise. The important thing is to have fun.
There are lots of games and I know I didn’t begin to touch on many of them but this is a start. If you have any favorite tips you would like to add, please do through the comments section. If you are one of the few to actually win big money from IWON let us know that also. It might make us jealous but it would be good to think that some things are what they say they are.
I wish you all the best of gaming and may you always look for the win in everything you do.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Click here to go to IWON Tips Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, and now Part 5, and Part 6 (SquareBob Spongepants Collapse)..
By the way, I had two games open in the background for reference in Explorer and I think they conflicted with each other and that caused the lockup. Reboot to explorer via the Task Manager and we will try again.
When playing any of these games you may like to try a little trick that I use all the time and that is to resize the window so that it only displays the game you are playing. This helps you focus on the game and not all the noise that is going on in the background. IWON again is ad driven but it is driving me mad with all the ads they throw at you. There is always one just below the game that not only flashes and winks at you but is changing every few seconds and it is very distracting so by putting it just out of view you are better able to focus on what you are doing. When you resize just remember to leave enough room on the right to remind you that there is a $3,000.00 jackpot to play for.
They have also added an IM chat feature to the games, again it can be a distraction but it can be fun. Throw out a line and visit with some of your fellow gamers. Just don’t get too distracted with the chat that you miss Word Pop dropping 3 letters in the far left column.
Most of the games come with the ability to shut off the sound (noise, music etc.) when you first start the game. This is a handy feature for some games as the accompanying sound can be quite annoying. On the other hand some of the background noises are clues in some of the games and you will want them there, just adjust the sound coming from the speakers to a reasonable level before you start to play.
IWON also comes with a search engine and you can earn points with each search. Unfortunately that is about all it is good for. They have teamed up with ASK.com previously Ask Jeeves, but it is a pretty lightweight search engine. Just try searching for this site and see what you get. Nothing, even when I put the exact address in. It is just plain weak. If I put in my name it will reference erectile dysfunction but it will not mention me. Too bad.
They have made a change recently so that their sponsored responses post front and first and they have made it hard to tell where the sponsored stuff ends and the real stuff begins. They have also rearrange the display page so it is much more difficult to navigate the page and look for real returns so I have pretty much given up on using it for real searches and strictly use the power engines of Google or Yahoo and such. Sorry IWON, but your latest edition of search like your latest edition of e-mail lost productivity for me so I can not recommend.
If you are looking for coins though, IWON gives 30 coins per search. This is not enough for a single entry in the sweepstakes and since you need at least 100 I will give you a hint. Enter something to search on that won’t return too much like “Farrwestview” and see what you get. Since it won’t find me it will be a short list and there won’t be any sponsored responses to clog up the page either. This means that the response will be fast. It will also have the box filled with the same search just waiting for you to hit the search button and do it again. This will quickly net you another 30 coins for the search. You can go on doing this several times until you get bored and are ready to move on to the next search or game. I know that there is a part of me that thinks that if I do this enough time that might actually think they should really do a search and look for me, but the odds are probably about as good as winning one of the sweepstakes.
There is a limit on the total amount of coins you can earn in one day or on one game or one daily searching. I do not recall what the totals are and I think they have changed over the course of the years to suit their fancy. You can probably find it out in their rules if you can search that far. I do know that if you are after the coins, learn when to say when because after you reach the total, there is very little use in playing anymore. I found this out the hard way on more than one occasion.
And the last thing to add is that most games have a ranking for the players. As near as I can tell, the game rank you receive is based on your personal high score for that game as compared to other players of the game. As you record a new high score your game rank will drop to a new lower level though it might not show until after you go out and come back in to that game. The game rank number you have today may not be the one you have tomorrow as other players will score will and move up in the ranks. Don’t be discouraged by your numbers, or how they compare to others, they will improve I promise. The important thing is to have fun.
There are lots of games and I know I didn’t begin to touch on many of them but this is a start. If you have any favorite tips you would like to add, please do through the comments section. If you are one of the few to actually win big money from IWON let us know that also. It might make us jealous but it would be good to think that some things are what they say they are.
I wish you all the best of gaming and may you always look for the win in everything you do.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Click here to go to IWON Tips Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, and now Part 5, and Part 6 (SquareBob Spongepants Collapse)..
Tips for playing in IWON part 3
Once the game is played, don’t forget to spin the jackpot game that goes with it. You will be given up to 10 spins depending on your score. With Word Pop I have been able to get my 10 spins after the first round so if that is what you are after, why play for more than the first round. The jackpot games are attached to the right side of most games offered. You hit the play now button and wait for it to come back and say try again or sorry and then hit the play button again until all your spins are gone. The jackpot amount starts low and builds to a maximum of $3,000.00 where it seems to stay for quite some time. If you are going to play for the jackpot, I would suggest only playing those games that have already reached their maximum total of $3,000.00. Anything less than that will mostly likely not pay off until reaching that total and probably won’t pay off until many weeks after reaching that total.
If you are playing the jackpot game you can start a fresh round of the game you are in and continue to play the jackpot spins, just be sure to finish your jackpot spins before you reach the end of the game you are playing or it will overwrite your spins with the new allocation and you will lose whatever spins you had remaining. You will also lose remaining spins on the jackpot if you happen to go out of the game to another page, even if by accident. No way to reclaim them if you do, as far as I know. If you have to go elsewhere, open another window, it’s safer that way.
Now is a good time to mention that with IWON there are free games and there are not so free games. Be careful to know this and know the difference. I only play the free games. I am a tightwad, spendthrift, cheapskate, whatever but part of the fun for me is to get something for nothing (and most times getting nothing for nothing but that is o.k.). As with anything on IWON don’t expect too much and you won’t be disappointed. There are plenty of games to enjoy and try out. Find some you like and enjoy. Try some new ones and expand your mind. As long as you’re having fun then that is what counts. Whatever you do, whether it’s free or cost some money, look for a return on your investment, and compare that return to other activities and see which has the greater return and invest in those things. Then you will really notice a payback. If I quit having fun with the games and am never seeming to win anything then the time to move on has arrived. Even free things cost time.
Having games that cost real money on IWON is relatively new and I am skeptic enough that I just stay clear. If it is asking me to open an account and load real dollars against it, I am totally against it. There are enough free casino games on IWON that I don’t need to pay to play. Besides, if the odds of winning anything are horrible on a free game, I can just imagine what they would be like on a game you had to pay to play.
Speaking of the casino games such as slots, poker and blackjack, I have played them some and you can pick up a few coins with them but don’t expect much. It is a quick way to get bored with them and maybe cure yourself of any urges to go to Vegas anytime soon so for that I guess it is worth a little time spent. Watch out for how the game loads coin totals. Some of the games will use your existing coin balance as the coins in play and that means that you can quickly lose many of those coins that you built up to enter the sweepstakes with. The better casino games start you out with a pre-stake amount of about 1000 coins. You can burn through that pretty quickly and then try the $3,000.00 jackpot that goes with it and start all over. Just be sure to notice if you are using your money or theirs.
Also, take note that IWON has been putting up lots of ads in places that are normally just IWON items and look like links to other IWON games but are in fact taking you off site to other areas that are collecting e-mail address and are pay for play sites or at least spam magnets. As with anything on the web, be aware of what you computer is doing at all times. If you are not afraid of these things, venture forth but use your new IWON e-mail account, it will be perfect for just this sort of thing.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Click here to go to IWON Tips Part 1, Part 2, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6 (SquareBob Spongepants Collapse).
If you are playing the jackpot game you can start a fresh round of the game you are in and continue to play the jackpot spins, just be sure to finish your jackpot spins before you reach the end of the game you are playing or it will overwrite your spins with the new allocation and you will lose whatever spins you had remaining. You will also lose remaining spins on the jackpot if you happen to go out of the game to another page, even if by accident. No way to reclaim them if you do, as far as I know. If you have to go elsewhere, open another window, it’s safer that way.
Now is a good time to mention that with IWON there are free games and there are not so free games. Be careful to know this and know the difference. I only play the free games. I am a tightwad, spendthrift, cheapskate, whatever but part of the fun for me is to get something for nothing (and most times getting nothing for nothing but that is o.k.). As with anything on IWON don’t expect too much and you won’t be disappointed. There are plenty of games to enjoy and try out. Find some you like and enjoy. Try some new ones and expand your mind. As long as you’re having fun then that is what counts. Whatever you do, whether it’s free or cost some money, look for a return on your investment, and compare that return to other activities and see which has the greater return and invest in those things. Then you will really notice a payback. If I quit having fun with the games and am never seeming to win anything then the time to move on has arrived. Even free things cost time.
Having games that cost real money on IWON is relatively new and I am skeptic enough that I just stay clear. If it is asking me to open an account and load real dollars against it, I am totally against it. There are enough free casino games on IWON that I don’t need to pay to play. Besides, if the odds of winning anything are horrible on a free game, I can just imagine what they would be like on a game you had to pay to play.
Speaking of the casino games such as slots, poker and blackjack, I have played them some and you can pick up a few coins with them but don’t expect much. It is a quick way to get bored with them and maybe cure yourself of any urges to go to Vegas anytime soon so for that I guess it is worth a little time spent. Watch out for how the game loads coin totals. Some of the games will use your existing coin balance as the coins in play and that means that you can quickly lose many of those coins that you built up to enter the sweepstakes with. The better casino games start you out with a pre-stake amount of about 1000 coins. You can burn through that pretty quickly and then try the $3,000.00 jackpot that goes with it and start all over. Just be sure to notice if you are using your money or theirs.
Also, take note that IWON has been putting up lots of ads in places that are normally just IWON items and look like links to other IWON games but are in fact taking you off site to other areas that are collecting e-mail address and are pay for play sites or at least spam magnets. As with anything on the web, be aware of what you computer is doing at all times. If you are not afraid of these things, venture forth but use your new IWON e-mail account, it will be perfect for just this sort of thing.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Click here to go to IWON Tips Part 1, Part 2, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6 (SquareBob Spongepants Collapse).
Tips for playing in IWON part 2
If your goal is to obtain as many coins as possible in order to make as many entries into the sweepstakes as possible then your best bet is to get good at the word games. The one I have had the most luck with is Word Pop. It pays off well. It can eat up a lot of time though and the biggest drawback is that there is no pause button; once you start, you play to the end, which may come soon if you need to take a bathroom break in the middle.
The key to this game as to many of the other word games is to get familiar with it then read the rules to see how the scoring is done. Word Pop does not list scoring in its rules but it acts like many of the other word games in that it gives more points the bigger the word. And it gives significantly more points for significantly bigger words. The smallest words are three letters long and there is a cap of the longest words accepted but I can’t remember what that is set at for this game, 8 or 9 letters I think. It doesn’t matter much as it almost takes too long to click on that many letters and then find out that you are missing the second ‘n’ to complete the spelling.
Speaking of spelling, they have a pretty inclusive dictionary so you might think you are making up a word and it will work anyway. Use this as a vocabulary building exercise and then you can justify your game play as educational. I have noticed that all games do not use the same dictionary because some words will work in one game that will not work in another. This is a matter of trial and error. As you play the word games you will notice that you can get very good at certain strategies. Build on them and then build from them. Hang in there and your hi scores will grow.
For example, in Word Pop start simple by going after as many three letter words as possible, building on speed in recognizing the three letter words and using hand eye coordination as quickly as possible to select each letter, completing the word and moving on to the next word. Some three letter words are easy to spot because the letters are close together while some are spread across the page. Get in the habit of looking across the whole board often. It is too easy to get stuck in one section of the puzzle and then miss all the letters that dropped down on the other side ending your round.
By the way, Word Pop likes to drop letters on the ends so be sure to work at keeping the end columns lowered first then work with the middle. You may notice that the letters drop from the top in a back and forth motion working from one end to the other, and you can also work back and forth following the letter drops and generally keep up the new letters as they drop.
Once you have three letter words down pat start looking for four letter words. Many three letter words can be made into four letter words by making them plural, as simple as adding an “s” at the end. In fact, adding any common suffix to many words is an easy way to get the bigger letter count. Look to adding “s”, “es”, “ed”, “ing”, “ful”, etc. to any of your basic words and you have instantly increased your point tally.
The other thing you can do after playing the game for awhile is notice what words you see and use a lot of, then think of what bigger words you could create if you just added a letter or two. Then the next time you played look for those extra letters when you come across your commons words. That way if you are always seeing “and” then look for “band” or “sand” and after that look for “brand” or “strand” and always remember to add a suffix and make “brands” or “stranded”.
One last thing to know about the word games is that some letters are more common than others and you will get too know which ones are which as you play. There are many times I have wanted to spell what I thought would be a common word but would be missing one of the letters to complete it and I would have to stop, clear the word, and start on another. There are also many tricky letters thrown in with the hopes that it will stump you. “Q” and “X” are two that come to mind but if you have some quick words at the ready you will not be stumped. There is usually always something you can do to play them.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Click here to go to IWON Tips Part 1, Part 3, and Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6 (SquareBob Spongepants Collapse).
The key to this game as to many of the other word games is to get familiar with it then read the rules to see how the scoring is done. Word Pop does not list scoring in its rules but it acts like many of the other word games in that it gives more points the bigger the word. And it gives significantly more points for significantly bigger words. The smallest words are three letters long and there is a cap of the longest words accepted but I can’t remember what that is set at for this game, 8 or 9 letters I think. It doesn’t matter much as it almost takes too long to click on that many letters and then find out that you are missing the second ‘n’ to complete the spelling.
Speaking of spelling, they have a pretty inclusive dictionary so you might think you are making up a word and it will work anyway. Use this as a vocabulary building exercise and then you can justify your game play as educational. I have noticed that all games do not use the same dictionary because some words will work in one game that will not work in another. This is a matter of trial and error. As you play the word games you will notice that you can get very good at certain strategies. Build on them and then build from them. Hang in there and your hi scores will grow.
For example, in Word Pop start simple by going after as many three letter words as possible, building on speed in recognizing the three letter words and using hand eye coordination as quickly as possible to select each letter, completing the word and moving on to the next word. Some three letter words are easy to spot because the letters are close together while some are spread across the page. Get in the habit of looking across the whole board often. It is too easy to get stuck in one section of the puzzle and then miss all the letters that dropped down on the other side ending your round.
By the way, Word Pop likes to drop letters on the ends so be sure to work at keeping the end columns lowered first then work with the middle. You may notice that the letters drop from the top in a back and forth motion working from one end to the other, and you can also work back and forth following the letter drops and generally keep up the new letters as they drop.
Once you have three letter words down pat start looking for four letter words. Many three letter words can be made into four letter words by making them plural, as simple as adding an “s” at the end. In fact, adding any common suffix to many words is an easy way to get the bigger letter count. Look to adding “s”, “es”, “ed”, “ing”, “ful”, etc. to any of your basic words and you have instantly increased your point tally.
The other thing you can do after playing the game for awhile is notice what words you see and use a lot of, then think of what bigger words you could create if you just added a letter or two. Then the next time you played look for those extra letters when you come across your commons words. That way if you are always seeing “and” then look for “band” or “sand” and after that look for “brand” or “strand” and always remember to add a suffix and make “brands” or “stranded”.
One last thing to know about the word games is that some letters are more common than others and you will get too know which ones are which as you play. There are many times I have wanted to spell what I thought would be a common word but would be missing one of the letters to complete it and I would have to stop, clear the word, and start on another. There are also many tricky letters thrown in with the hopes that it will stump you. “Q” and “X” are two that come to mind but if you have some quick words at the ready you will not be stumped. There is usually always something you can do to play them.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Click here to go to IWON Tips Part 1, Part 3, and Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6 (SquareBob Spongepants Collapse).
Tips for playing in IWON part 1
Tips for playing in IWON part 1
Since I have noticed that there are others out there that have an interest in the IWON web site I thought that I would pass on some of the insights that I have come across as a user myself and maybe pass along some tips that I have picked up in the many lost hours spent trying to actually win something on IWON. As I write this the IWON website claims that there are 2,195,042 registered users so maybe one of you will find this interesting.
First of all, if you have a slow computer or a slow connection to the web, don’t even bother. IWON is a power hog. It will use whatever you throw at it and still want more. It continually updates (though I am not sure that is the true term for it) its pages and each update seems to require more resources than the last. They are continually looking for ways to through ads in your face so just be aware of that going in.
If you do decide to register the first thing I would do is set up one of their free e-mail accounts first then you use the e-mail account to register your IWON game account with. Be forewarned though, the e-mail account in the old days was pretty good and useable but they have made changes that have turned made it a pain to use. Remember those ads I was talking about. They have managed to use up a lot of available space on your screen leaving very little to actually read your e-mail with. Also note that their spam detector is not very great, and then couple in the fact that just selecting the e-mail from the list opens a preview pane which is equivalent to opening up your spam and publishing your e-mail address is like asking for one bloated e-mail account.
So why get an e-mail account from IWON? Because everyone should have at least one throw away account and this can work for that purpose as well as being a useable interface with IWON themselves. They tend to send out a fair amount of stuff on their own, but if you do actually win something this is a good way to be notified of it. If you do sign up, be sure to uncheck many of the boxes concerning your interest in your preferences setup or they will see that as an open invitation to send you e-mail.
As far as the winning of prizes is concerned, please don’t get your hopes up too high. They claim to have given away over $72 million dollars worth but that number has not changed much in the last few years. I recently noticed that the prizes they do give out are getting smaller and less frequent, if at all, with an IWON water bottle being the latest addition.
Just be aware that the odds are strongly against you winning anything. I have been a player since Oct 1999 and only recently won three $10 Amazon gift certificates. If you spread that out over the time spent it might work out to about $0.0000001 per hour. Don’t view this as a part time job or count it towards your retirement plan. It will give many of you a good appreciation for what the odds of winning a lottery are without having to drop real money. Trying playing the sweepstakes with any strategy you wish and in as many ways possible. If you win, share your secret, but if you are like the great majority of us, fill grateful you weren’t using hard earned dollars.
You may have noticed from the above that I have not discovered the secret to winning the daily, monthly or annual sweepstakes so I can’t pass on anything there. I still play but what else are you going to do with all those coins. What are the coins you ask? Well, as you play the various games on IWON you can win and earn coins. Save up 100 coins and you can make one entry into one of the sweepstakes. It is not too hard to earn some coins but it does take some time. It takes a lot more time than it used to in the old days when compared to making the equivalent number of entries into the sweepstakes. In fact I don’t think you can make in one day the number of total sweepstakes entries you used to get in the past.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Click here to go to IWON Tips Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6 (SquareBob Spongepants Collapse).
Since I have noticed that there are others out there that have an interest in the IWON web site I thought that I would pass on some of the insights that I have come across as a user myself and maybe pass along some tips that I have picked up in the many lost hours spent trying to actually win something on IWON. As I write this the IWON website claims that there are 2,195,042 registered users so maybe one of you will find this interesting.
First of all, if you have a slow computer or a slow connection to the web, don’t even bother. IWON is a power hog. It will use whatever you throw at it and still want more. It continually updates (though I am not sure that is the true term for it) its pages and each update seems to require more resources than the last. They are continually looking for ways to through ads in your face so just be aware of that going in.
If you do decide to register the first thing I would do is set up one of their free e-mail accounts first then you use the e-mail account to register your IWON game account with. Be forewarned though, the e-mail account in the old days was pretty good and useable but they have made changes that have turned made it a pain to use. Remember those ads I was talking about. They have managed to use up a lot of available space on your screen leaving very little to actually read your e-mail with. Also note that their spam detector is not very great, and then couple in the fact that just selecting the e-mail from the list opens a preview pane which is equivalent to opening up your spam and publishing your e-mail address is like asking for one bloated e-mail account.
So why get an e-mail account from IWON? Because everyone should have at least one throw away account and this can work for that purpose as well as being a useable interface with IWON themselves. They tend to send out a fair amount of stuff on their own, but if you do actually win something this is a good way to be notified of it. If you do sign up, be sure to uncheck many of the boxes concerning your interest in your preferences setup or they will see that as an open invitation to send you e-mail.
As far as the winning of prizes is concerned, please don’t get your hopes up too high. They claim to have given away over $72 million dollars worth but that number has not changed much in the last few years. I recently noticed that the prizes they do give out are getting smaller and less frequent, if at all, with an IWON water bottle being the latest addition.
Just be aware that the odds are strongly against you winning anything. I have been a player since Oct 1999 and only recently won three $10 Amazon gift certificates. If you spread that out over the time spent it might work out to about $0.0000001 per hour. Don’t view this as a part time job or count it towards your retirement plan. It will give many of you a good appreciation for what the odds of winning a lottery are without having to drop real money. Trying playing the sweepstakes with any strategy you wish and in as many ways possible. If you win, share your secret, but if you are like the great majority of us, fill grateful you weren’t using hard earned dollars.
You may have noticed from the above that I have not discovered the secret to winning the daily, monthly or annual sweepstakes so I can’t pass on anything there. I still play but what else are you going to do with all those coins. What are the coins you ask? Well, as you play the various games on IWON you can win and earn coins. Save up 100 coins and you can make one entry into one of the sweepstakes. It is not too hard to earn some coins but it does take some time. It takes a lot more time than it used to in the old days when compared to making the equivalent number of entries into the sweepstakes. In fact I don’t think you can make in one day the number of total sweepstakes entries you used to get in the past.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Click here to go to IWON Tips Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6 (SquareBob Spongepants Collapse).
23 September 2008
Stop Congress from acting
We are faced with the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, or so they say. If Wall Street collapses Main Street will also, or so they say. If the government doesn’t step in and buy up all the bad mortgages then millions will lose their homes, or so they say.
The headlines and the talking heads have been heaping up a whole light of gloom and doom lately and in the wake we the American people and more especially the tax payer are headed for disaster. We can ill afford the plans being offered and the actions about to be taken. You cannot continue to cover up a mistake with a bigger mistake and hope no one will notice.
Let me present a simple little story to try to make a point. A local furniture store opens for business with the hope of making a profit by selling its wares to the local community. In the process they stock inventory that they hope will appeal to the local population. Some of it does and some of it doesn’t. Some of it is priced where the average person can afford it and some of it is priced way beyond the reach of the local community. Those things that appeal sell quickly while those that don’t sell are marked down to a price where they will sell. The business learns what the market wants, adjusts its inventory and repeats the process having found a formula that creates a long lasting relationship with the customer in the community.
Another furniture store opens for business and does a good job for awhile but management doesn’t understand the needs of the community. They stock inventory that suits their own desires and ideals and for awhile they see some sales but they begin to taper off. The furniture is just too expensive for what it is and the local economy can’t afford to splurge on these items even if they wanted the styles this store has to offer. As sales continue to fall, they finally reach a point where they can no longer stay in business. The last month the store has signs hung in the window that read ‘Going out of business Sale’ as they try to reduce their stock and payback their creditors. The final days see the owners taking any price on the remaining inventory in an effort to clear the books. The bargain hunters and shoppers find items finally at a price they can live with and clear out the remaining inventory of the store.
Meanwhile the successful store sees a slowdown in its sales temporarily as the ‘going out of business sales’ have taken away some of their shoppers. This only lasts for a little while though, as the successful business continues to provide their community with the right mix of product and price.
This is how business has worked in this country and around the world for years. That is what capitalism is about. Freedom to enter the market and exit the market as the market dictates. If you do things right you are rewarded, but if you do not get things right, you correct your methods or you go out of business. It works on a small scale and it works on a large scale.
If the government decided that the second furniture store should stay in business and decided to loan them enough money to pay their salaries and utilities and they stepped in and bought at full retail all the furniture they couldn’t sell, they could keep this company in business but only for as long as they were willing to pay for their salaries, utilities and buy their crappy inventory. If the company continued to operate the same way as they began it would take continued infusions to let them continue to exist.
Also, how fair is this to the first company? They also wish to remain in business but they have a plan that works and they have been successful in implementing that plan. They do not need the assistance or handout of government nor do they seek one. Is it fair for them to have to pay taxes that are transferred to their competitor just because he is not able to meet the needs of his customer? Is it fair to penalize the first company and reward the second? Is this the government’s role?
If we truly believe that America is great and want it to continue to be great, then we trust in those things that made it great. Freedom is one of them, Capitalism another. This is not a matter of scale, but rather of core values.
If the financial institutions have bad paper on their books then let them mark them down to true value and take the hit to the income statement. If they no longer want to own them, let them take them to the market place and get whatever price another is willing to pay. There is generally a market for everything; you just won’t necessarily like the price. If after selling off your bad inventory and you still find yourself in business then congratulations you are still alive and kicking. If after selling off your bad inventory and you don’t have sufficient cash flow to survive, then close shop, learn your lessons and start again.
Learning the lessons is not an easy thing to do. Some never learn. Some give up and never try again. Some try again but end up doing the same thing they did the first time. Some actually see what they did wrong; make adjustments and move on to bigger and better things. There must be consequences both for when we fail and when we succeed. This is America at its finest.
So what is wrong here, or should I say what are some of the things that are wrong here because there are many and that means there is not a simple single fix that will take care of everything.
As much as there is a cry against deregulation, that is not the problem. There is still more than enough regulation to choke a horse it just needs to be applied, consistently and equally to one and all, no favoritism. This runs throughout the financial world and many aspects of our economy.
The housing problem is a very large issue and one that has been compounded by previous bad responses. It is a market bubble with many providing the hot air to blow it up. Stemming from the last mortgage bail out of savings and loans with the RTC, the continued tax subsidizations that Congress passes to promote debt, and the tax laws that encourage and advantage those that speculate in real estate, it is no wonder that the bubble has ballooned to a point of explosion. If we continue with these proposed fixes then we are just slapping a band aid on the balloon and trying to force more air into the bubble.
All balloons can only hold so much air. There is only one way to find out how much it will hold, and after you find out, it will never hold that amount again. Then you are left looking for a new balloon.
Instead of all this governmental intervention to circumvent the markets, let’s make a way for the market to take over and work the way it was meant to. Let stability return to the market place naturally. Let the rules work naturally as they always seem to do no matter how much governments try to change them.
We will get through this. I just don’t want it to be harder than it has to be.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
The headlines and the talking heads have been heaping up a whole light of gloom and doom lately and in the wake we the American people and more especially the tax payer are headed for disaster. We can ill afford the plans being offered and the actions about to be taken. You cannot continue to cover up a mistake with a bigger mistake and hope no one will notice.
Let me present a simple little story to try to make a point. A local furniture store opens for business with the hope of making a profit by selling its wares to the local community. In the process they stock inventory that they hope will appeal to the local population. Some of it does and some of it doesn’t. Some of it is priced where the average person can afford it and some of it is priced way beyond the reach of the local community. Those things that appeal sell quickly while those that don’t sell are marked down to a price where they will sell. The business learns what the market wants, adjusts its inventory and repeats the process having found a formula that creates a long lasting relationship with the customer in the community.
Another furniture store opens for business and does a good job for awhile but management doesn’t understand the needs of the community. They stock inventory that suits their own desires and ideals and for awhile they see some sales but they begin to taper off. The furniture is just too expensive for what it is and the local economy can’t afford to splurge on these items even if they wanted the styles this store has to offer. As sales continue to fall, they finally reach a point where they can no longer stay in business. The last month the store has signs hung in the window that read ‘Going out of business Sale’ as they try to reduce their stock and payback their creditors. The final days see the owners taking any price on the remaining inventory in an effort to clear the books. The bargain hunters and shoppers find items finally at a price they can live with and clear out the remaining inventory of the store.
Meanwhile the successful store sees a slowdown in its sales temporarily as the ‘going out of business sales’ have taken away some of their shoppers. This only lasts for a little while though, as the successful business continues to provide their community with the right mix of product and price.
This is how business has worked in this country and around the world for years. That is what capitalism is about. Freedom to enter the market and exit the market as the market dictates. If you do things right you are rewarded, but if you do not get things right, you correct your methods or you go out of business. It works on a small scale and it works on a large scale.
If the government decided that the second furniture store should stay in business and decided to loan them enough money to pay their salaries and utilities and they stepped in and bought at full retail all the furniture they couldn’t sell, they could keep this company in business but only for as long as they were willing to pay for their salaries, utilities and buy their crappy inventory. If the company continued to operate the same way as they began it would take continued infusions to let them continue to exist.
Also, how fair is this to the first company? They also wish to remain in business but they have a plan that works and they have been successful in implementing that plan. They do not need the assistance or handout of government nor do they seek one. Is it fair for them to have to pay taxes that are transferred to their competitor just because he is not able to meet the needs of his customer? Is it fair to penalize the first company and reward the second? Is this the government’s role?
If we truly believe that America is great and want it to continue to be great, then we trust in those things that made it great. Freedom is one of them, Capitalism another. This is not a matter of scale, but rather of core values.
If the financial institutions have bad paper on their books then let them mark them down to true value and take the hit to the income statement. If they no longer want to own them, let them take them to the market place and get whatever price another is willing to pay. There is generally a market for everything; you just won’t necessarily like the price. If after selling off your bad inventory and you still find yourself in business then congratulations you are still alive and kicking. If after selling off your bad inventory and you don’t have sufficient cash flow to survive, then close shop, learn your lessons and start again.
Learning the lessons is not an easy thing to do. Some never learn. Some give up and never try again. Some try again but end up doing the same thing they did the first time. Some actually see what they did wrong; make adjustments and move on to bigger and better things. There must be consequences both for when we fail and when we succeed. This is America at its finest.
So what is wrong here, or should I say what are some of the things that are wrong here because there are many and that means there is not a simple single fix that will take care of everything.
As much as there is a cry against deregulation, that is not the problem. There is still more than enough regulation to choke a horse it just needs to be applied, consistently and equally to one and all, no favoritism. This runs throughout the financial world and many aspects of our economy.
The housing problem is a very large issue and one that has been compounded by previous bad responses. It is a market bubble with many providing the hot air to blow it up. Stemming from the last mortgage bail out of savings and loans with the RTC, the continued tax subsidizations that Congress passes to promote debt, and the tax laws that encourage and advantage those that speculate in real estate, it is no wonder that the bubble has ballooned to a point of explosion. If we continue with these proposed fixes then we are just slapping a band aid on the balloon and trying to force more air into the bubble.
All balloons can only hold so much air. There is only one way to find out how much it will hold, and after you find out, it will never hold that amount again. Then you are left looking for a new balloon.
Instead of all this governmental intervention to circumvent the markets, let’s make a way for the market to take over and work the way it was meant to. Let stability return to the market place naturally. Let the rules work naturally as they always seem to do no matter how much governments try to change them.
We will get through this. I just don’t want it to be harder than it has to be.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Energy solutions?
I have seen a couple of commercials lately that have caught my interest but then created disappointment and just a touch of anger. The two I am talking about are the ones espousing T Boone Pickens Plan and the other being the We Can Solve It group.
It seems like every other ad these days has an internet address attached to it for further information and in some cases the only way to find out any information about the company that is doing the advertising. In most cases, probably 98 times in 100 I don’t give the ad a second thought and very seldom if ever actually go to the web site. In fact I am almost anti web page advertising and actively ignore some of the more gimmicky ads like the one that starts you off on some adventure and then wants you to go to their web page to see what happens next. Sorry I haven’t done it yet and don’t intend to. I just don’t manipulate that way.
Curiosity did get the best of me on these two though because they are covering topics that I have had an interest in, or at least I thought I did.
As when American with a pulse knows the price of gasoline has gone up a little bit lately and it has caused some concern. T Boone Pickens, an oil man who has made a fortune from the oil industry is also concerned and has decided to put his money into letting us know of this concern and at the same time offer up a proposal on how to solve this dilemma we now face.
His proposals for the most part are sound with the stated goal of getting America to do some basic things that would significantly reduce our dependence on foreign oil. He suggest converting some of our transportation vehicles such as trucks and buses to run on natural gas which burns more cleanly and is a product that this nation has a rich abundance of.
This approach has a lot of merit but will take a little time and some commitment on people and companies willing to break some new ground. The infrastructure for refueling vehicles with natural gas is not nearly as abundant as it is for gasoline and diesel. As demand goes up so will the facilities. I have a friend right now that is converting to natural gas powered cars and he is loving it. He has to plan his fuel stops but when he fills up it only costs 8 or 9 dollars as compared to the 45 to 50 it has been costing me. He deserves those bragging rights.
The downside is planning a long cross country or even a short trip to grandmothers house will take extra effort to make sure there is fuel available along the way. There are some cars that are dual fuel machines and can run either or but most are single fuel choice. Another setback is the added weight for carrying the heavy high pressure tanks that hold the fuel. This will reduce the performance of the vehicle and I am including handling as part of that.
Another key ingredient to the plan is to really start harvesting one of the energy sources that America has an abundance of, namely the wind. We have all seen the pictures of big wind turbines and some of us have actually seen them in action. They can be quite impressive. Some of the wind farms are immense and make quite an impact by its presence. I have seen wind farms in the hills of California to the high Wyoming valleys. I have seen giant windmills on the hilltops of Greece from 35,000 feet wondering what they would look like at ground level if they where that easily seen from that height. I have seen large single windmills set within city limits and on military installations supplying energy to their communities. I have also seen small single units and testing units churning away producing energy. Each time a see a modern era windmill silently working away I am impressed.
I have often driven through the back country of America, for lack of a better term, and have past often old and forgotten windmills that used to serve the ultimate off the grid user, the ranchers and farmers of the west. These old windmills had one important function, bring the water from the well to the surface to water crops, livestock, and family.
There is so much potential for wind and I hope that it begins to be realized. If interest grows then technology advancements will also grow and increased efficiencies will be injected into the equation making the cost benefit analysis of wind a great alternative energy source. The one thing missing in most all of these arguments is a true comparison of costs.
I think that the cost issue may account for the lack of mentioning of photovoltaic or solar cell technology. Again though, as interest grows technology advances and possibilities increase.
More information about the Pickens Plan can be found at:
http://www.pickensplan.com/index.php
The other advertisement that has had a lot of airplay lately is a group of people taking about the current problems we are having with the high cost of oil but ends with the collective resolve that we can solve it by demanding action.
Before I go any further let me tell you up front what it took a very little digging to find out. This web site is a front for Al Gore and his politics. It is totally centered on his vision of the environment and his environmental manifesto. Just know that going in. I for one was greatly disappointed by this fact.
The commercial has great power in that it alludes to the people of this land banding together as individuals and making changes within their own lives and actions they can take that will lead to a ground swell change. The kind of changes made for individuals by individuals. Changes that come from ideas that are freely shared, and expanded upon by individuals, with the common goal of freeing ourselves from the oil crisis.
What you get is a call to become a political activist and demand Al Gore’s environmentalist programs be turned into Congressional mandates. He has already conned more than 1.5 million into signing up. This means he can weld some influence in Washington which is easily pushed over by such silliness. Do all of those that signed up on the web site really understand that they are giving their voice to the personal fancy of one man?
There are the solutions already mentioned but without any detail nor again any cost benefit analysis which is to be expected of a long term politician. It is easy to say we should enhance energy efficiency and adopt the use of renewable energy; it is a whole other ball game when you actually infuse it with a real plan of action. And that is where Al Gore fails. He wants to set the goal that sets the agenda and he wants others to figure out how to met his goal and then he can take credit for it while he calls it innovative leadership.
Al Gore’s web site can be found at:
http://www.wecansolveit.org
My biggest gripe for both of these movements and especially Al Gore’s is that they both call for government action. Both want government intervention to force and fund full implementation of their plans. That funding would come from taxpayer dollars and changes would be mandated is where these plans break down. If they are viable worthwhile goals, both economically and environmentally, (which I think they are), they should be able to be implemented directly without the need for government mandates, infusions, or interventions.
Of the two plans at least Pickens is putting some of his plan into real action by starting wind farms to harness and produce a real change. I can assure you that he will only do this as long as it is economically viable and that is the other reason for him to seek government subsidization, but a better way would be to continue to seek ways that would make it profitable on its own.
The last energy crunch of the 70’s created a surge in wind generators and solar cells that were heavily subsidized with tax breaks. Because the cost break even points were artificial, true cost benefits were not needed. The quality of the products that were rushed to market to fill the new tax subsidized industry were subpar and new technologies were not needed because existing or old tech would meet the rules for tax write off purposes. When the wind generators broke they sat there broke because it was not worth putting any money in to fix them.
I don’t want to see us head down that path again. We can’t afford to waste time and energy on more knee jerk reactions that continually shift the problem. We need real solutions from real people for real people, not government solutions for the masses. If the government would kindly leave some money in my pocket rather than continually confiscate it for ill conceived plans, then maybe I as a consumer could create an influence through my actions and choices that would make a real difference. Maybe I could afford to support by investing in a wind farm of my own, or at least buying a solar system for my house. One that put money back into my pockets because of savings and sell back would make it all the more sweet. That is where you start and that is how you make it work.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
It seems like every other ad these days has an internet address attached to it for further information and in some cases the only way to find out any information about the company that is doing the advertising. In most cases, probably 98 times in 100 I don’t give the ad a second thought and very seldom if ever actually go to the web site. In fact I am almost anti web page advertising and actively ignore some of the more gimmicky ads like the one that starts you off on some adventure and then wants you to go to their web page to see what happens next. Sorry I haven’t done it yet and don’t intend to. I just don’t manipulate that way.
Curiosity did get the best of me on these two though because they are covering topics that I have had an interest in, or at least I thought I did.
As when American with a pulse knows the price of gasoline has gone up a little bit lately and it has caused some concern. T Boone Pickens, an oil man who has made a fortune from the oil industry is also concerned and has decided to put his money into letting us know of this concern and at the same time offer up a proposal on how to solve this dilemma we now face.
His proposals for the most part are sound with the stated goal of getting America to do some basic things that would significantly reduce our dependence on foreign oil. He suggest converting some of our transportation vehicles such as trucks and buses to run on natural gas which burns more cleanly and is a product that this nation has a rich abundance of.
This approach has a lot of merit but will take a little time and some commitment on people and companies willing to break some new ground. The infrastructure for refueling vehicles with natural gas is not nearly as abundant as it is for gasoline and diesel. As demand goes up so will the facilities. I have a friend right now that is converting to natural gas powered cars and he is loving it. He has to plan his fuel stops but when he fills up it only costs 8 or 9 dollars as compared to the 45 to 50 it has been costing me. He deserves those bragging rights.
The downside is planning a long cross country or even a short trip to grandmothers house will take extra effort to make sure there is fuel available along the way. There are some cars that are dual fuel machines and can run either or but most are single fuel choice. Another setback is the added weight for carrying the heavy high pressure tanks that hold the fuel. This will reduce the performance of the vehicle and I am including handling as part of that.
Another key ingredient to the plan is to really start harvesting one of the energy sources that America has an abundance of, namely the wind. We have all seen the pictures of big wind turbines and some of us have actually seen them in action. They can be quite impressive. Some of the wind farms are immense and make quite an impact by its presence. I have seen wind farms in the hills of California to the high Wyoming valleys. I have seen giant windmills on the hilltops of Greece from 35,000 feet wondering what they would look like at ground level if they where that easily seen from that height. I have seen large single windmills set within city limits and on military installations supplying energy to their communities. I have also seen small single units and testing units churning away producing energy. Each time a see a modern era windmill silently working away I am impressed.
I have often driven through the back country of America, for lack of a better term, and have past often old and forgotten windmills that used to serve the ultimate off the grid user, the ranchers and farmers of the west. These old windmills had one important function, bring the water from the well to the surface to water crops, livestock, and family.
There is so much potential for wind and I hope that it begins to be realized. If interest grows then technology advancements will also grow and increased efficiencies will be injected into the equation making the cost benefit analysis of wind a great alternative energy source. The one thing missing in most all of these arguments is a true comparison of costs.
I think that the cost issue may account for the lack of mentioning of photovoltaic or solar cell technology. Again though, as interest grows technology advances and possibilities increase.
More information about the Pickens Plan can be found at:
http://www.pickensplan.com/index.php
The other advertisement that has had a lot of airplay lately is a group of people taking about the current problems we are having with the high cost of oil but ends with the collective resolve that we can solve it by demanding action.
Before I go any further let me tell you up front what it took a very little digging to find out. This web site is a front for Al Gore and his politics. It is totally centered on his vision of the environment and his environmental manifesto. Just know that going in. I for one was greatly disappointed by this fact.
The commercial has great power in that it alludes to the people of this land banding together as individuals and making changes within their own lives and actions they can take that will lead to a ground swell change. The kind of changes made for individuals by individuals. Changes that come from ideas that are freely shared, and expanded upon by individuals, with the common goal of freeing ourselves from the oil crisis.
What you get is a call to become a political activist and demand Al Gore’s environmentalist programs be turned into Congressional mandates. He has already conned more than 1.5 million into signing up. This means he can weld some influence in Washington which is easily pushed over by such silliness. Do all of those that signed up on the web site really understand that they are giving their voice to the personal fancy of one man?
There are the solutions already mentioned but without any detail nor again any cost benefit analysis which is to be expected of a long term politician. It is easy to say we should enhance energy efficiency and adopt the use of renewable energy; it is a whole other ball game when you actually infuse it with a real plan of action. And that is where Al Gore fails. He wants to set the goal that sets the agenda and he wants others to figure out how to met his goal and then he can take credit for it while he calls it innovative leadership.
Al Gore’s web site can be found at:
http://www.wecansolveit.org
My biggest gripe for both of these movements and especially Al Gore’s is that they both call for government action. Both want government intervention to force and fund full implementation of their plans. That funding would come from taxpayer dollars and changes would be mandated is where these plans break down. If they are viable worthwhile goals, both economically and environmentally, (which I think they are), they should be able to be implemented directly without the need for government mandates, infusions, or interventions.
Of the two plans at least Pickens is putting some of his plan into real action by starting wind farms to harness and produce a real change. I can assure you that he will only do this as long as it is economically viable and that is the other reason for him to seek government subsidization, but a better way would be to continue to seek ways that would make it profitable on its own.
The last energy crunch of the 70’s created a surge in wind generators and solar cells that were heavily subsidized with tax breaks. Because the cost break even points were artificial, true cost benefits were not needed. The quality of the products that were rushed to market to fill the new tax subsidized industry were subpar and new technologies were not needed because existing or old tech would meet the rules for tax write off purposes. When the wind generators broke they sat there broke because it was not worth putting any money in to fix them.
I don’t want to see us head down that path again. We can’t afford to waste time and energy on more knee jerk reactions that continually shift the problem. We need real solutions from real people for real people, not government solutions for the masses. If the government would kindly leave some money in my pocket rather than continually confiscate it for ill conceived plans, then maybe I as a consumer could create an influence through my actions and choices that would make a real difference. Maybe I could afford to support by investing in a wind farm of my own, or at least buying a solar system for my house. One that put money back into my pockets because of savings and sell back would make it all the more sweet. That is where you start and that is how you make it work.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
15 September 2008
Free DVD rental at Redbox
If you are fortunate enough to live near a place that has a Redbox then you know how handy they can be. For those that don’t let me tell you what they are. Someone came up with the great idea of setting up a movie rental business from a vending machine. I finally overcame my fear of the new technology and had to try it out, and I must say I do like the idea. I have since seen the idea done in other places but Redbox seems to have the formula down pat.
They have placed the rental kiosk in many convenient locations such as McDonalds and Smith’s Food King and some local Wal-Marts. At the screen select any of the DVDs available, enter your credit card and out comes the movie. When you are finished watching the movie you take it back to any location, it doesn’t even have to be the one where you got it from and return it. Your credit card well then be automatically billed for the whopping price of (get this) $1 + tax per day. These are for any selections in the box including new releases. That certainly beats out the last few places I used to rent from.
And what happens if you keep it an extra day? Nothing but an extra $1 charge. In fact if you have it out over 25 days just keep it because the charges stop after 25 days and it is assumed that you have bought the movie.
As Redbox continues to grow, there are over 8,000 locations now, it will make it easy for families that go on a road trip to stop at one place and rent a kid friendly movie, watch it on the video player that so many mini vans and SUVs have now and turn it back in for another one somewhere down the road. If I didn’t like to do the driving so much I would definitely be a passenger.
Now it won’t completely replace your local video store as the vending machines are limited on the total number of selections available. You can only put so many into one machine, so if you are looking for an obscure classic you will be better off shopping the local store. If you want one of the latest new releases, be sure to get there early because they might run out of stock, especially on hot items and especially on the weekends. That said, you generally find a pretty good selection and I only go away without finding something really worth watching occasionally.
As I am always on the lookout for great ideas to invest in, this one surely grabbed my interest. I went straight to the internet to look for more information on this company. I knew this was a good idea when I went to the local McDonalds one night to rent the latest comedy and noticed that the line outside in front of the Redbox was longer than the line inside ordering food. You know you have a winner when…
Unfortunately Redbox was and as of this writing still is a privately held company. They have made known their intention to file registration statements for an initial public offering with the SEC. Depending on the pricing and business plan laid out in the prospectus this might be a worthy investment. After all, some of the sites with a Redbox have added a second box so business must be booming.
So the last thing to say is that when I gave them my e-mail address they gave me a promotion code that I could give to my friends for one free night rental, so if you are in an area with a Redbox and want to give it a try, enter the promo code “DVDONME”. Tell them Ed sent you.
You can find them on the web at www.redbox.com.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
They have placed the rental kiosk in many convenient locations such as McDonalds and Smith’s Food King and some local Wal-Marts. At the screen select any of the DVDs available, enter your credit card and out comes the movie. When you are finished watching the movie you take it back to any location, it doesn’t even have to be the one where you got it from and return it. Your credit card well then be automatically billed for the whopping price of (get this) $1 + tax per day. These are for any selections in the box including new releases. That certainly beats out the last few places I used to rent from.
And what happens if you keep it an extra day? Nothing but an extra $1 charge. In fact if you have it out over 25 days just keep it because the charges stop after 25 days and it is assumed that you have bought the movie.
As Redbox continues to grow, there are over 8,000 locations now, it will make it easy for families that go on a road trip to stop at one place and rent a kid friendly movie, watch it on the video player that so many mini vans and SUVs have now and turn it back in for another one somewhere down the road. If I didn’t like to do the driving so much I would definitely be a passenger.
Now it won’t completely replace your local video store as the vending machines are limited on the total number of selections available. You can only put so many into one machine, so if you are looking for an obscure classic you will be better off shopping the local store. If you want one of the latest new releases, be sure to get there early because they might run out of stock, especially on hot items and especially on the weekends. That said, you generally find a pretty good selection and I only go away without finding something really worth watching occasionally.
As I am always on the lookout for great ideas to invest in, this one surely grabbed my interest. I went straight to the internet to look for more information on this company. I knew this was a good idea when I went to the local McDonalds one night to rent the latest comedy and noticed that the line outside in front of the Redbox was longer than the line inside ordering food. You know you have a winner when…
Unfortunately Redbox was and as of this writing still is a privately held company. They have made known their intention to file registration statements for an initial public offering with the SEC. Depending on the pricing and business plan laid out in the prospectus this might be a worthy investment. After all, some of the sites with a Redbox have added a second box so business must be booming.
So the last thing to say is that when I gave them my e-mail address they gave me a promotion code that I could give to my friends for one free night rental, so if you are in an area with a Redbox and want to give it a try, enter the promo code “DVDONME”. Tell them Ed sent you.
You can find them on the web at www.redbox.com.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
12 September 2008
ACSC course a tuffy
So here I am again taking many days off but I am back. I have been rather busy and not in a good way all the time. Being busy in a good way at least lets you feel like you are accomplishing something, and I have on a few things but not nearly to the extent I would have liked.
I did finish a class I have been taking at work for the last 18 months. It is called the Air Command and Staff College a course that is part of the PME or Professional Military Education. It is a self paced self study course or it can be taken in residence if you are lucky enough to be selected for that. I joined up with a group that was interested in taking the course and did it seminar style. Our study group started out with 14 individuals but by the end we were down to 6, and even then we were fragmented by at the end. I was the first one to complete the course with one other completing 2 days later. The rest are still working towards the last test. I really pushed hard the last few months to finish because I got to the point where I couldn’t take much more.
It was a very hard course in a lot of ways. Mostly because it was a new language made of governmentese with lots of new acronyms. Some of the acronyms were defined when first encountered while many were not. This made for a longer learning process as you spent time searching for what was really being said. Towards the end you didn’t care as much and tended to just take the acronym as its own word and pressed on hoping that through repetition it might stick. I find that with a lot of acronyms used in the government, many users only know the acronym and have long since forgotten what it actually stands for if they ever really knew in the first place. The acronym takes on a life of its own.
The course consists of 7 text books covering different sections. Each book has a comprehensive test of 50 questions that must be passed with a 70% or better. If you miss a test you have one retake available per book and the retest is not the same test you took the time before. If you miss that one you must reapply generally after a 30 day wait. Most in our group have had to do a retest while some have had to reapply. The good thing about being in a group is the motivation factor and encouragement that each would provide to help each other press on. If it wasn’t for that, I am sure I would have quit on several occasions through discouragement and other reasons. I did not want to let the group down so I always tried to meet my commitments, contribute where I could and keep up with everyone.
Along with the test there is a written assignment with the first book and three computer exercises, one with each of the last three books. I had talked myself into thinking that they would be pretty bad and I was really worried about them until I actually did them. I think that sometimes when I make things out to be so much worse than they are it is a little easier to handle the reality of it when it comes time to actually do them. On the other hand it can make things worse than they need to be.
That is the way this course was though. In hind sight it doesn’t look nearly as bad as it was when I was in the middle of taking it. I hope that means I will survive without too much post traumatic stress syndrome. It took a lot of effort to go through a topic that was of very little interest and at times felt like it was messing up my mind. I have had a hard time focusing on things since taking this course. Now that it is over I am hoping that I can do a few things that have been put on hold and get life back to normal. The fact that it is looking smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror is a good sign.
I joked that I needed to go back to reading Dr. Seuss to start getting my head straight again. I was joking but I am wondering if there isn’t some truth in that. I used to read a lot and think a lot as well as watch tv, movies, music, road trips, bike rides, family outings, car shows, hikes, and just general hanging out. I have had a strong desire to get back into flying, finish up my license, build a plane and doing some cross countries but it has all been put on hold. I just haven’t done much of any of those life kinds of things while I was taking this course, with the exception of walking. I would take the occasional break at work and go for a walk on an untraveled road near my building and I would take the text book with me to read while I was walking. That sounds difficult but it seemed to help me stay awake and a little more alert while getting in a little exercise. Keeping blood and oxygen flowing was a definite plus in studying this stuff.
It is not that it was all bad but a lot of it was. There was some interesting stuff and there were some topics that you would have loved to have had a serious discussion on, but you weren’t in a classroom setting at the time and the author wasn’t readily available to have a proper debate with. There was a lot of paradox in the text and no way to reconcile it. The text books are made up of several articles and various regs and pubs. Government publications are not structured for quick and easy absorption. They are a great remedy for insomnia.
The problem is that the order and organization of the material is not well planned or laid out. You would try your best to comprehend what you thought was the essence of the article and think that you were grasping a pretty good overview of the what objectives were but then you would run across something else that made you wonder if you were on the right track. Then when you thought you had everything you needed, enough to take the test, the questions would get into the weeds of an article and not the macro vision you thought the book was trying to portray. As a supposed introductory level course it fails to readily build a core foundation with which to understand military doctrine, and it does not well define the terminology required to interact meaningfully in the world that uses such language and thought process.
It is that change in thought process that has me worried for after being immersed in this course for 18 months my mind does not work quite the way it used to and I am working hard to get it back. It is coming but it feels slow in doing so. Like I said I put a lot of things on the back burner and I am just starting to get back to them with real intent. I did just finish an investing book by Jeremy Siegel this last week but there were about three days after the last test where I did nothing but play a video game on the Playstation 2. I know it sounds lame but it was a good change of pace and the video game helps reintroduce the application of logic that is of more use in the real world.
I intend to refresh my efforts to study for my pilot license and continue to set the goals of flying. That was one of the strongest motivators to finish this course and get it out of the way. I am hopeful that the aspect of studying anything has not left me completely. I have wondered about studying a second language as I feel like that is what I have been doing for the last 18 months. I remember reading somewhere that the brain uses a different section to recall a second language depending on when you learned the second language giving evidence that there is something of truth about it being easier to learn another language while in your youth than when you are older. That might help explain why this course was so difficult but also gives me hope that if I can manage to get through this I should be able to learn another language.
In fact that was one of the reasons for taking this course, besides the obvious reason of job advancement, was to exercise the mind and blow out the cobwebs. I was hoping for a positive invigorating experience but I sit here wondering if it was all worthwhile or not. It is supposed to give me a couple of points on my whole person score, about the same as if I had gotten my Masters, and it does help me understand the military lingo a little bit better but did it really improve me as a person and am I better off for expending all that time and effort…only time will tell. Right now it still doesn’t feel like it.
So if you are taking ACSC, I feel for you but keep it up, press on, press through the boggy stuff, hang in there, you can do it, others have and so can you, never give up, and it will be over when it is over. I can't really say that it will get better because it doesn't until it is over.
If you haven’t yet started but are thinking about doing it I would have to give my advice as this, DON'T DO IT, unless it will directly help your career, instead go ahead for a Master’s degree. It will probably be of more value in the end. If you already have your Master’s and you are bored then go get a Doctorate. The sad thing about this course is that if it were properly structured you could probably lay the whole thing out in a 28 page Cliff notes pamphlet. I could do it if I had enough desire to fully comprehend the subject matter and spend the time and still be able to speak English after it was all said and done and still be able to translate things into laymen terms or an understandable format that real people could use. In fact I did a lot of translating to put things into my terms for understanding and for helping others understand only to have to translate it back into government speak to take the test. I tell you it is like learning another language. It does give you an instant understanding of why our Washington is the way it is.
One final note to all those that are looking for a short cut such as dirty purples, don’t bother. The school frowns on it and rightfully so. I don’t know if there are any out there for this course as there were in the past but they can't give you what this course is supposed to give you, and that is an exposure to the military mind think and that is what is needed to participate in the military environment.
As every book and test was administered and developed by a different person what worked well in one book wasn’t always the best method to use in another book. The study questions were a good starting point for us in the beginning but we weren’t referring to them much in the end. After all is said and done you still had to do the work, read the articles, and review the material. You are the one that has to take the test.
I was on version 5.0 and I understand that version 5.1 is just around the corner. The tests are lousy. Many questions have more than one right answer so you have to look for the answer that is right for this particular question. Some questions are easy and some don’t even look like they belong. I had to read through the first six questions on the first test before I knew I had the right test. There is limited feedback so even though you passed a test you had little idea of which questions you answered right and which ones you got wrong. Another secret is that once you passed you didn’t care. A common comment was anything more than the minimum 70% was a waste of brain power. There are also quite a few questions that had been thrown out on the test I took so others that have gone before have also had issues with the test.
Am I glad I did it? I don’t know. Right now I think there were many other things that would have been a better use of my time and energy but it came along and the right time and caught me in the right mood so I signed up and I did it. I accomplished a rather large goal which became a commitment not only to the others in my group but to myself. I finished it as I said I would. If I take nothing else away from this than the accomplishment of finishing and I carry that momentum forward, then I actually have benefited from this course and that is something.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
I did finish a class I have been taking at work for the last 18 months. It is called the Air Command and Staff College a course that is part of the PME or Professional Military Education. It is a self paced self study course or it can be taken in residence if you are lucky enough to be selected for that. I joined up with a group that was interested in taking the course and did it seminar style. Our study group started out with 14 individuals but by the end we were down to 6, and even then we were fragmented by at the end. I was the first one to complete the course with one other completing 2 days later. The rest are still working towards the last test. I really pushed hard the last few months to finish because I got to the point where I couldn’t take much more.
It was a very hard course in a lot of ways. Mostly because it was a new language made of governmentese with lots of new acronyms. Some of the acronyms were defined when first encountered while many were not. This made for a longer learning process as you spent time searching for what was really being said. Towards the end you didn’t care as much and tended to just take the acronym as its own word and pressed on hoping that through repetition it might stick. I find that with a lot of acronyms used in the government, many users only know the acronym and have long since forgotten what it actually stands for if they ever really knew in the first place. The acronym takes on a life of its own.
The course consists of 7 text books covering different sections. Each book has a comprehensive test of 50 questions that must be passed with a 70% or better. If you miss a test you have one retake available per book and the retest is not the same test you took the time before. If you miss that one you must reapply generally after a 30 day wait. Most in our group have had to do a retest while some have had to reapply. The good thing about being in a group is the motivation factor and encouragement that each would provide to help each other press on. If it wasn’t for that, I am sure I would have quit on several occasions through discouragement and other reasons. I did not want to let the group down so I always tried to meet my commitments, contribute where I could and keep up with everyone.
Along with the test there is a written assignment with the first book and three computer exercises, one with each of the last three books. I had talked myself into thinking that they would be pretty bad and I was really worried about them until I actually did them. I think that sometimes when I make things out to be so much worse than they are it is a little easier to handle the reality of it when it comes time to actually do them. On the other hand it can make things worse than they need to be.
That is the way this course was though. In hind sight it doesn’t look nearly as bad as it was when I was in the middle of taking it. I hope that means I will survive without too much post traumatic stress syndrome. It took a lot of effort to go through a topic that was of very little interest and at times felt like it was messing up my mind. I have had a hard time focusing on things since taking this course. Now that it is over I am hoping that I can do a few things that have been put on hold and get life back to normal. The fact that it is looking smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror is a good sign.
I joked that I needed to go back to reading Dr. Seuss to start getting my head straight again. I was joking but I am wondering if there isn’t some truth in that. I used to read a lot and think a lot as well as watch tv, movies, music, road trips, bike rides, family outings, car shows, hikes, and just general hanging out. I have had a strong desire to get back into flying, finish up my license, build a plane and doing some cross countries but it has all been put on hold. I just haven’t done much of any of those life kinds of things while I was taking this course, with the exception of walking. I would take the occasional break at work and go for a walk on an untraveled road near my building and I would take the text book with me to read while I was walking. That sounds difficult but it seemed to help me stay awake and a little more alert while getting in a little exercise. Keeping blood and oxygen flowing was a definite plus in studying this stuff.
It is not that it was all bad but a lot of it was. There was some interesting stuff and there were some topics that you would have loved to have had a serious discussion on, but you weren’t in a classroom setting at the time and the author wasn’t readily available to have a proper debate with. There was a lot of paradox in the text and no way to reconcile it. The text books are made up of several articles and various regs and pubs. Government publications are not structured for quick and easy absorption. They are a great remedy for insomnia.
The problem is that the order and organization of the material is not well planned or laid out. You would try your best to comprehend what you thought was the essence of the article and think that you were grasping a pretty good overview of the what objectives were but then you would run across something else that made you wonder if you were on the right track. Then when you thought you had everything you needed, enough to take the test, the questions would get into the weeds of an article and not the macro vision you thought the book was trying to portray. As a supposed introductory level course it fails to readily build a core foundation with which to understand military doctrine, and it does not well define the terminology required to interact meaningfully in the world that uses such language and thought process.
It is that change in thought process that has me worried for after being immersed in this course for 18 months my mind does not work quite the way it used to and I am working hard to get it back. It is coming but it feels slow in doing so. Like I said I put a lot of things on the back burner and I am just starting to get back to them with real intent. I did just finish an investing book by Jeremy Siegel this last week but there were about three days after the last test where I did nothing but play a video game on the Playstation 2. I know it sounds lame but it was a good change of pace and the video game helps reintroduce the application of logic that is of more use in the real world.
I intend to refresh my efforts to study for my pilot license and continue to set the goals of flying. That was one of the strongest motivators to finish this course and get it out of the way. I am hopeful that the aspect of studying anything has not left me completely. I have wondered about studying a second language as I feel like that is what I have been doing for the last 18 months. I remember reading somewhere that the brain uses a different section to recall a second language depending on when you learned the second language giving evidence that there is something of truth about it being easier to learn another language while in your youth than when you are older. That might help explain why this course was so difficult but also gives me hope that if I can manage to get through this I should be able to learn another language.
In fact that was one of the reasons for taking this course, besides the obvious reason of job advancement, was to exercise the mind and blow out the cobwebs. I was hoping for a positive invigorating experience but I sit here wondering if it was all worthwhile or not. It is supposed to give me a couple of points on my whole person score, about the same as if I had gotten my Masters, and it does help me understand the military lingo a little bit better but did it really improve me as a person and am I better off for expending all that time and effort…only time will tell. Right now it still doesn’t feel like it.
So if you are taking ACSC, I feel for you but keep it up, press on, press through the boggy stuff, hang in there, you can do it, others have and so can you, never give up, and it will be over when it is over. I can't really say that it will get better because it doesn't until it is over.
If you haven’t yet started but are thinking about doing it I would have to give my advice as this, DON'T DO IT, unless it will directly help your career, instead go ahead for a Master’s degree. It will probably be of more value in the end. If you already have your Master’s and you are bored then go get a Doctorate. The sad thing about this course is that if it were properly structured you could probably lay the whole thing out in a 28 page Cliff notes pamphlet. I could do it if I had enough desire to fully comprehend the subject matter and spend the time and still be able to speak English after it was all said and done and still be able to translate things into laymen terms or an understandable format that real people could use. In fact I did a lot of translating to put things into my terms for understanding and for helping others understand only to have to translate it back into government speak to take the test. I tell you it is like learning another language. It does give you an instant understanding of why our Washington is the way it is.
One final note to all those that are looking for a short cut such as dirty purples, don’t bother. The school frowns on it and rightfully so. I don’t know if there are any out there for this course as there were in the past but they can't give you what this course is supposed to give you, and that is an exposure to the military mind think and that is what is needed to participate in the military environment.
As every book and test was administered and developed by a different person what worked well in one book wasn’t always the best method to use in another book. The study questions were a good starting point for us in the beginning but we weren’t referring to them much in the end. After all is said and done you still had to do the work, read the articles, and review the material. You are the one that has to take the test.
I was on version 5.0 and I understand that version 5.1 is just around the corner. The tests are lousy. Many questions have more than one right answer so you have to look for the answer that is right for this particular question. Some questions are easy and some don’t even look like they belong. I had to read through the first six questions on the first test before I knew I had the right test. There is limited feedback so even though you passed a test you had little idea of which questions you answered right and which ones you got wrong. Another secret is that once you passed you didn’t care. A common comment was anything more than the minimum 70% was a waste of brain power. There are also quite a few questions that had been thrown out on the test I took so others that have gone before have also had issues with the test.
Am I glad I did it? I don’t know. Right now I think there were many other things that would have been a better use of my time and energy but it came along and the right time and caught me in the right mood so I signed up and I did it. I accomplished a rather large goal which became a commitment not only to the others in my group but to myself. I finished it as I said I would. If I take nothing else away from this than the accomplishment of finishing and I carry that momentum forward, then I actually have benefited from this course and that is something.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
29 August 2008
IWON on par with AT&T for screwing up
I admit that I have been an IWON user and participant nearly since its inception and have at times enjoyed it and at times being very disappointed by it. I have had a free e-mail account with them for many, many years and have given the address out to very few but still manage to get 98% spam and junk. Personally I think IWON was the source of some of it, and that is beyond the stuff they sent to me on their own behalf which was fine as I had signed up and agreed to the service. It is because of all this spam that they had a way of designating the e-mail as spam without opening it and then they would hopefully id it as such and treat it as such and better id future e-mail as such.
IWON did not do a very good job of it though as they continually had more spam e-mail ending up in the inbox than they were transferring into the spam junk box. The problem seemed to be getting worse rather than better. Now it has gotten worse to the nth degree.
IWON redesigned their e-mail user interface and they got it all wrong. They have put frames in that take up all the valuable real estate that was previously used for viewing the e-mail. The frames are fixed and defined by IWON and are not sizeable. This allows them to dedicate prime space to their advertisers but doesn’t allow you to see the whole picture of your e-mail in any given meaningful way. This is not the worst of it.
In the old system you could highlight an e-mail item from the selection list and label it as spam without opening it. This was safe and smart operating since it is generally easy to know by the topic heading and the senders name if you are receiving a legitimate e-mail or not. The safety factor extended to the fact that by not opening it in the first place you were not in danger of sending back any kind of message that lets the spammers know this is a valid e-mail account.
Under their new system, they have added a preview screen to see the contents of the e-mail as it is selected from the list without opening it into a new window. This is similar to Outlook’s preview ability but with Outlook it is just an option; you decide if the risk is worth the previewed image. IWON does not give you the choice. They have taken away any ability to designate the e-mail as spam without opening it in the preview window. They have also taken away any ability to delete the offending e-mail without opening it in the preview window. Buried in the preferences is the ability to suppress the image viewing which might save you from viewing objectionable images but given their track record I am not sure I want to take that chance.
I have sent them an e-mail voicing my concern but not to the extent I have here. We shall see if there is a response but again based on past problems I am not holding my breath. That is sad as I have been a long time user of IWON and have spent way too many hours playing their games and looking at their advertisements. You would think that I would be considered a valued customer, and would be important enough to listen to. Evidently not.
IWON was also supposed to be about the winning. You always had the chance to win a big million dollar prize or at the very least a few pretty cool lesser prizes. The only thing I have won during that whole long stretch of time is a few Amazon gift cards, hardly sufficient pay for the amount of time spent and adverting revenue that must have generated at my expense. The odds of winning anything in IWON makes playing the Powerball lottery seem a sure bet. The only difference is that instead of putting down hard currency to buy a lottery ticket you were putting down soft currency, you hard earned time.
The games I admit have been fun (some better than others) but with the amount of trouble I have had in using some of them it just doesn’t seem worth it anymore. The last format change was to the gaming screens and they made it so they wouldn’t work using IE. I finally got them to work with the latest edition of Firefox but what a pain and the solution did not come from them. Last time I tried to use Explorer the games still wouldn’t load so they haven’t fixed a thing.
The home page used to be user defined and set up to show many topics of interest to you as an individual like many other search sites such as Yahoo and Google. The page is still there but is lost in the back ground and isn’t worth visiting anymore. The search engine function that was also a main draw is also a losing proposition as they have gone with ASK.com (I think that they are all under the same corporate umbrella) and the searches have gone downhill. They can’t even find this blog no matter how hard you try to ask and direct. After the last redesign you can no longer tell which search results are real and which are advertisements (hint: the advertisements are all listed first and none of them are relevant). In case you haven’t noticed I am still looking for a decent search site.
So to sum up, Dear IWON, three strikes and you are off the list. I have given you the benefit of the doubt and have wished for the best from you. I truly wanted nothing more than for you to be a premier web site that offered great games, useable searches, valued links and information, and a simple effective e-mail account. You had all of these elements at one time but slowly one by one you have lost it. Like so many other companies, you have lost your vision and your way. I say you have lost your vision but I think that you have changed your vision and your direction and it is that which has caused you to lose your way. The web is still a big wide world and it is full of options and choices galore that make it easy to be fickle. So long IWON. Wish you would miss me even half as much as I am going to miss what you were.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
IWON did not do a very good job of it though as they continually had more spam e-mail ending up in the inbox than they were transferring into the spam junk box. The problem seemed to be getting worse rather than better. Now it has gotten worse to the nth degree.
IWON redesigned their e-mail user interface and they got it all wrong. They have put frames in that take up all the valuable real estate that was previously used for viewing the e-mail. The frames are fixed and defined by IWON and are not sizeable. This allows them to dedicate prime space to their advertisers but doesn’t allow you to see the whole picture of your e-mail in any given meaningful way. This is not the worst of it.
In the old system you could highlight an e-mail item from the selection list and label it as spam without opening it. This was safe and smart operating since it is generally easy to know by the topic heading and the senders name if you are receiving a legitimate e-mail or not. The safety factor extended to the fact that by not opening it in the first place you were not in danger of sending back any kind of message that lets the spammers know this is a valid e-mail account.
Under their new system, they have added a preview screen to see the contents of the e-mail as it is selected from the list without opening it into a new window. This is similar to Outlook’s preview ability but with Outlook it is just an option; you decide if the risk is worth the previewed image. IWON does not give you the choice. They have taken away any ability to designate the e-mail as spam without opening it in the preview window. They have also taken away any ability to delete the offending e-mail without opening it in the preview window. Buried in the preferences is the ability to suppress the image viewing which might save you from viewing objectionable images but given their track record I am not sure I want to take that chance.
I have sent them an e-mail voicing my concern but not to the extent I have here. We shall see if there is a response but again based on past problems I am not holding my breath. That is sad as I have been a long time user of IWON and have spent way too many hours playing their games and looking at their advertisements. You would think that I would be considered a valued customer, and would be important enough to listen to. Evidently not.
IWON was also supposed to be about the winning. You always had the chance to win a big million dollar prize or at the very least a few pretty cool lesser prizes. The only thing I have won during that whole long stretch of time is a few Amazon gift cards, hardly sufficient pay for the amount of time spent and adverting revenue that must have generated at my expense. The odds of winning anything in IWON makes playing the Powerball lottery seem a sure bet. The only difference is that instead of putting down hard currency to buy a lottery ticket you were putting down soft currency, you hard earned time.
The games I admit have been fun (some better than others) but with the amount of trouble I have had in using some of them it just doesn’t seem worth it anymore. The last format change was to the gaming screens and they made it so they wouldn’t work using IE. I finally got them to work with the latest edition of Firefox but what a pain and the solution did not come from them. Last time I tried to use Explorer the games still wouldn’t load so they haven’t fixed a thing.
The home page used to be user defined and set up to show many topics of interest to you as an individual like many other search sites such as Yahoo and Google. The page is still there but is lost in the back ground and isn’t worth visiting anymore. The search engine function that was also a main draw is also a losing proposition as they have gone with ASK.com (I think that they are all under the same corporate umbrella) and the searches have gone downhill. They can’t even find this blog no matter how hard you try to ask and direct. After the last redesign you can no longer tell which search results are real and which are advertisements (hint: the advertisements are all listed first and none of them are relevant). In case you haven’t noticed I am still looking for a decent search site.
So to sum up, Dear IWON, three strikes and you are off the list. I have given you the benefit of the doubt and have wished for the best from you. I truly wanted nothing more than for you to be a premier web site that offered great games, useable searches, valued links and information, and a simple effective e-mail account. You had all of these elements at one time but slowly one by one you have lost it. Like so many other companies, you have lost your vision and your way. I say you have lost your vision but I think that you have changed your vision and your direction and it is that which has caused you to lose your way. The web is still a big wide world and it is full of options and choices galore that make it easy to be fickle. So long IWON. Wish you would miss me even half as much as I am going to miss what you were.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
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