Blog NUTS

Online advertising has been with us for as long as I can remember. It works well for advertisers, otherwise, it would not be around so much these days. But gone are the days where online ads were just banners and sky scrapers on the side or bottom or on top of the website. These days, online ads are just plain annoying!

They have media flash playing on your screen before you can even proceed with the website you are looking at or these huuugee ad banners smacked right in the middle of the website .. and on the article you are reading!

And i hate .. really hate online banners that is already blocking your whole article and you cant even close the gaddam thing! No close button or text or X mark. Click it and its still there! Its just there, sitting, plastered, right in the middle and there’s no way for you to go around it or close the ad.

So tell me .. how do I go on reading this article? Ugh!

I’m so glad to be back up and running. Im glad to have this blog back. I went on a hiatus for months. I moved to San Franciso from Orange County just a few months ago. I came from a break up, losing job, losing an apartment to hopefully back on my own 2 feet again. I know this is starting to sound like a personal blog, but hey, i do need to vent out a little lol!

I love San Francisco. I love the architecture and the vibe of the people. I love the dining places.  And most especially I love my friends here for giving me a chance to start over. With that, id like to say … WELCOME BACK TO MY BLOG ! I am sure I have more adventures to write about!

Feel free to drop in a note or 2!

I love Facebook … I’ve connected with old friends, shared photos, and played games. But I cant help noticing the ads on the side of the page. And there’s one that caught my eye.

$50 - $90 for part time job?! Hellooo! Thats spells SCAM in bold letters. Unfortunately, a friend of mine fell for it.

At first it may seem harmless. Google kit is absolutely FREE, they say. As soon as you sign up, they ask for your credit card information for “shipping”  - $3.88. Sounds good? But read the FINE PRINT buried in the middle of the paragraph of the page:

“To get your free kit, just enter the information on the right, and I’ll get your kit shipped out fast. Also… for a limited time, not only will you get my entire GOOGLE MONEY TREE KIT, but you will also get a seven day trial to my private, members only website. People pay almost ninety bucks per month for access to this site, but during this seven day trial period, you can have unlimited, back stage private access, without any charge whatsoever. You can stay a member at the discounted price of seventy two dollars and twenty one cents per month for life. Of course, if your goals change, you can always call and cancel your subscription at any time. It really is the easiest thing you’ll ever do. If you can follow simple instructions, and will devote just a little time every day… you can be living the life of YOUR DREAMS TOO. I AM!”

My friend was charged $72.21 in her credit card for 3 months. She couldnt get a hold of their customer service rep to cancel subscription so she had to dispute the charges from her credit card company. And everyone knows its not easy to take away hours from work and responsibilities from home to deal with things like these. Such hassle.

I just hope FACEBOOK screens their advertisers. I know its good money for them. But their reputation is at stake if this keeps up.

Times are hard now so I always try to find ways to make extra bucks. Like this one, thank you TODAY.com! Rebates, freelance writing, online coupons, etc. There are so many scams online. I just cannot believe how ingenious some of them are.

Someone commented in my gallery that I should sell my photos online, try stock photos or join photo contests. I found a few trusted sites but I came across a lot more that are NOT. They look legit and all but after thorough research, I found out that they are big scams!

There are 2 ways to get scammed:

1. They offer a contest with big prize. They ask you to upload your photo and then you get an email saying you were chosen for the grand prize and asks you to pay a certain amount for a book with your photo on it and framed artwork then you’ll never hear from them again. Like this website — http://www.photolaureates.org I’m embarrassed to say but I almost … almost submitted my photo here. Good thing I Googled them and I found a lot of complaints.

1. They ask you to upload your photo and if you don’t read the terms and agreement carefully, you’ll be surprised that you have been stripped off any rights to your own photo. They can sell it and do whatever they want to do with it, without giving you a single cent.

Bottom line, be careful! Read before you submit your photo or join any contest. Google the website and see what comes up. That always works for me.

This may be nothing for some but I just love the new THEMES from Gmail. You can now customize your inbox from Gmail. Just go to SETTINGS tab then click THEMES. There’s a bunch of colors and themes to choose from that Google launched just recently. And personally I cannot just choose one. Lol! They’re so pretty!

I can also customize by location but I haven’t tried that. These themes change throughout the day … if its sunset, sunrise, raining etc. in your location.

If you cant find the THEMES tab in your Gmail account today, just wait. You will have it anytime soon, for sure!

At 10:00am earlier today, there was the Great California Shake Out. Millions of participants (schools, businesses, families) in Southern California pretended that there was 7.8 magnitude earthquake. This is such a brilliant idea. Teaching people how to be prepared in case this happens in the future. I waited for our building to do a drill but unfortunately, they didn’t participate. Are we really prepared? I am a bit troubled. We are not prepared at all. I look around our office and our home … and I see shelves, bookcases unsecured, no disaster kits, no plan etc. Some people may think this is a joke. An officemate even said I am being paranoid. I’m not. I just want to be ready.

There are some guidelines from Earthquakecountry.info that you can read and also check out Shakeout.org for pointers on drills, how to prepare and your home for earthquake disasters, etc.

There was an email circulating for a few years now that the Triangle of Life is what you should remember during an earthquake. According to Shakeout.org, that information is false and the best way is DROP, COVER and HOLD ON.

Easy words to remember and can make a huge difference. I love their artwork too. I am going to post this around our office so everyone can be informed and there will be no excuse when the big day comes.

My friends and I went to MADONNA’s STICKY AND SWEET CONCERT last night at the LA Dodgers Stadium. Traffic was hell… so we decided to leave our car and WALK for 1.4 miles. It felt like Nike Run all over again. LOL! I NEED exercise. More stretching. But for Madonna, it was worth it! Her thighs were awesome. haha!

The stage was fabulous, of course. With digital backgrounds, moving stage and impressive videos. Britney Spears came out wearing what seems to be a tuxedo. Beside Madonna, she looked ordinary. Madonna is just striking! Have I mentioned her thighs are awesome?! I want to have that body when I’m 50! I remember shouting “MADONNA youre so HOT!!”.. and feeling quite embarrassed after that.. but what the heck she IS HOT!

Justin Timberlake made my night. Sorry, closet Justin Timberlake fan here *grin* They sang 4 MINUTES. I am thankful for my friend who gave us Madonna CD few months ago so I’m actually quite familiar now with all her latest songs. It would be uncool not to sing with the crowd hahaha!

The concert was spectacular! Never seen anything like it! 50,000 people screaming and singing along with Madonna while she performs a 2 hour high intensity, high energy show! I was so pooped after that. My legs are still numb by the way. But ilaviittt!

**Pictures and videos to follow…

Google now has 411 service … and it is FREE! All you need to do is dial 1-800-GOOG-411. Say where the place you are calling. State what you are looking for, then GOOG-411 will connect you directly with the business you are calling. That simple. That easy!

Some telephone company may apply usual charges for making a call but you will not be charged any additional fee. And also if you are calling from your mobile phone, you can just say “text message” or “map it”, GOOG-411 can even send you a text message with more details and a map.

Watch the video:

I really love Google . They make my life so much easier. Hah!

I am an Apple person … but I was never quite happy with the IPhone. When someone gave me an IPhone last year for Christmas, I ended up giving it away.

I got pretty excited when I learned about Google’s phone, G1 … it “could” be what I’m looking for. I wouldn’t know yet until I play with it. But reading the reviews is getting me hyped up. BUT unfortunately, I only see it on T Mobile … although I heard it will be open to all networks soon. For now, they are just hear-say … I would have to wait.

G1 operates on Android system. I’m no techie so I had to research about it. Wikepidia explained it well here. It simply means this will work great with Google’s applications.

G1 has a QWERTY keyboard which I love and one of the things I wish Apple’s IPhone had. It also has 3G network, Wi-Fi acess, GPS, Music Player, Bluetooth, IM, Text, Email, Camera… everything you want in there, its there! Google do listen to consumers.

… Can they make it prettier too?

Have you heard of drunk-emailing? That’s pretty much like drunk-dialing and drunk-texting.. When you text message someone something stupid while you’re drunk and regret it the next day. There’s also DRUNK- EMAILING… and trust me, I’ve done this before and I sure wish Google came up with the solution sooner!

I was drunk that night … feeling pathetic about myself over a break-up and before going to bed, I decided to email him (he was in another country with the new girl!). I type and typed all forms of emotion. Not deleting or editing my thoughts. I was typing fast as I think and then I pressed SEND. Big mistake!

Now Google launched MAIL GOOGLES. When you enable MAIL GOOGLES, it will make you solve few simple math problems AFTER you click SEND, to make sure that you really want to send that (pathetic!) late night Saturday email.

It works late night on weekends (that’s when you really need it anyway!) but can adjust the settings.

Check it out! Hope this saves you from doing something absurd like I did … =)