Make Money From Home - Do What I Do

There are sure a lot of places out there that promise the world and don't deliver. This is especially true when you see something that says "work from home! Make money now". I know. I have seen too many of those in my lifetime. However, for every 5 spam links you might find one that really is, well.. for real.

I will make this short. If you want to make a little money and do it seriously from home then listen. This is no joke and this is not spam. I am letting people know about this because I do it. And I will be honest, why not? What do I stand to gain from lying or deceiving anyone? If I get people to join and work for the the site I get a 2% commission on anything they write. Trust me, 2% is not much but it is something.

What is it? Well it is actually pretty easy. Its simply getting paid to write articles online. I have been working with the company for 2 years and over that time I have made a little over $700 working very part time. The work is not hard and you do not have to be a novelist to do it. Sure, you need to have a decent command of the English language but that is something you should have already right? Listen, you will not get rich doing this, none of us will. But if you want a little bit of extra spending cash or just want to do something useful and get paid then give it a shot.

Click on this link to go to the site and read all about what they are and what they do. The company is called AMS or London Brokers. In the 2 years that I have been with them I have never gotten cheated out of what I was due and I always get paid. They just recently started paying twice a week too which was nice. Check it out and if you think its for you then try it. You have nothing to lose. You will just need a Paypal account in order to get paid and that is easy to set up and free too. If you have any questions about this or just want more information I am always available. Just post a comment here of email me, my contact info is on the site.

Give it a shot, what have you got to lose?

GET PAID to write articles from home!

Online Storage Is The New Black

       It happens every so often. And idea comes along, someone makes a decent and profitable business out of it. Others come along and siphon off the original model and build their own profitable business. Of course, you can only have a couple to a few before the business model gets too saturated. People can and will continue to make money providing they offer good services and improve on the model as they go. Such is the case with online storage. Or as people today love buzz words so much.. you would know it as "The Cloud".

When The Cloud started surfacing nobody knew what it was. People thought it was this brand new technology. I guess we can thank our wonderful advertisers and marketing in the business world for that one. You know how it goes, everything needs a name. When something has a name people can fall in love with it, so advertisers came up with The Cloud. In reality it is just online storage. Something that has been around forever. But now, all of a sudden everybody wants a piece. The Cloud or online storage is the new black.

Where does it go from here? That is an interesting thought. Problem is that more and more people are storing their personal data on The Cloud and while the security has certainly gotten better there is still some risk. That danger however is not why I am talking about it today. I am writing about the online storage craze because just like any other fad, this one too will go just as fast as it came on the scene. Only it will not disappear, it will only lose some of its marketing flare. In some ways this has already happened.

The Cloud is slowly losing it's excitement that it had before people realized it was nothing more than online storage. Currently there are 3 big choices. You have Google's Drive storage, there is Box and there is also DropBox. Each of them offer various amounts of online storage and they all sync rather nicely with smartphones and tablets and computers. It is very simple to have your documents or files span across all mediums that you utilize throughout your day. You just have to remain organized enough to use it right.

To Each... A Peach

Work - work - work. It always seems to take me away from something. I must admit though, the substance of what that word entails is much different than what it used to be. But that's ok because that is what I was going for. Now, if I can only make the adjustment to what I am talking about I will be just fine.

More updates tomorrow. For now.. G'Night!

Reward Programs and Coke

It was a genius marketing plan when it was first sprung on the nation of consumers. Loyalty cards, rewards points, and store bonus cards among others. It was the next logical step to the frequent buyer or frequent shopper cards. The best part is that it worked. On the inside it was a marvelous strategy to get more money from the consumer. Raise prices slightly, then give the consumer a perceived deal when buying something with their Loyalty Card for a discounted price (which is actually the regular price that it would have been before all this started). On top of all of this the shopper gets to save points earned from the purchase to redeem on a gift later.

On the outside, to the consumer it was wonderful. Everyone with a Loyalty Card felt special. They felt as if they were important and that they were saving money. Oh and the points! If they save up enough points just imagine the things they could get. Aside from the obvious pricing strategy by the manufacturer of this grand scheme, the stores using this ploy got one more thing that no marketing or money could buy, and is priceless. Return Shoppers!

This is all great, when it works. However.. when it does not work, I mean when it goes sour, then what? What happens when someone drops the ball? What happens when the customer/consumer drops the ball or misunderstands the rules and makes some mistake and gets angry. Who do they get mad at? Of course... the store. In all actuality it doesn't matter who has made the error, the perception will always be that it is the stores fault. This is the inherent danger with such programs. Either way.. it is worth the risk.

Take me for example. For a while there I was a loyal Coca Cola bottle cap points saver. I would save my caps and enter the codes to get my points, 3 at a time. I did this for a while and racked up an impressive 900 and some odd points. Well.. at least it was impressive by my standards. So imagine my surprise when I logged in after not checking it for a while and finding all of my points GONE! At first I thought it was some mistake. It had to be. But no. It was no mistake, the points were gone.

As it turns out if you do not visit the site or enter points for 90 days, your points disappear. What kind of crazy rule is that? Coke needs to take a lesson from the age old and number one rule in retail, the customer is always right. It might not seem to apply in this case, but to me it does. See, I feel that no matter how long it has been since I last signed on and entered a "code" my points should have remained MINE. This is why I say the customer is always right.

I like Coke's product and I drink it quite often. Often enough to save up the caps to enter the codes. Mind you now, this is no easy task sometimes. Codes are hard to see, rubbed off, and if your trying to enter a code of the inside of a 12-pack or 24-pack box good luck. Point is, I put in all the effort and it was my choice to spend that time (that could have been better utilized) entering codes to get points. Points that are now all gone.

So what is the lesson learned in all of this? These loyalty programs are great for all parties involved. That is, if they are managed properly. Companies must remember that along with the loyalty and the returning customers that come along with such programs they too have a responsibility. They must make sure that they take care of those customers and not only lower some of the point values (some of these things are just plain ridiculous) but also allow customers to keep their points. These things are not easy to maintain. Your asking the consumer to do work, and they do. At least allow them the spoils.

Print Media Has Not Lost To The Digital World Yet

It has been a couple days since I last put pen to paper (so to speak). But I want to talk to you guys about something that has been discussed for a few years now. That is, the total and utter destruction of print media as a direct result of digital media taking over. Well, I don't necessarily think that the digital media platform has or will destroy the print media anytime soon, but it has changed the landscape.

Back in the day almost everyone got their newspaper delivered to their doorstep or they would pick one up on the way in to work. Either way, people were buying newspapers. Magazines too, but let's keep our focus on the newspaper side of things for now. Most of the time when someone writes up a piece on this topic the article is chock full of statistics and numbers and all kinds of other mind-numbing ways to make their point. Although I could do that with the best of them, that is not what I am trying to accomplish. I don't want the reader to walk away from this post and say, "WTF was he talking about? All I could see were those damn numbers and I got lost!"

Think about it, we don't need a bunch of stats to show us what we already know. We are the generation that was raised on technology. We know where it's going and what it has replaced. Again, like I said, let's take a look at the news media. I live in a suburb of Chicago so I have two choices for newspapers. The Chicago Sun Times of the Chicago Tribune. I have favored the Tribune since I first got interested in reading newspapers many years ago. I think it was the colors. The Tribune used full color pictures alongside their articles while the Sun Times remained traditional and black and white.

I have not always been a subscriber though. I must admit that I skipped the subscription to the paper because I got my news from the Internet. Exactly what the print media is trying to fight. But it was easier to get and I could get more of it and faster too. A story could break and two minutes later it was on a website somewhere. Had I been solely reliant on the newspaper, I would have to wait for tomorrows edition to find out what had taken place. So of course, speed of reporting is an important factor is deciding where to get your news from and in this case, the Internet wins.

The newspaper.. it has a certain feeling about it. I cannot put my finger on it quite yet, but the writing could be it. The editorial pieces and the writing in the articles are smooth, easy to read, and usually follow a certain type of flow. Of course, I think that is due in large part to the editors that work with the writers. Something not all websites use. Having an editor I have found is often an advantage. They give you a way to work ideas through and to help keep a writer grounded when they might want to fly off the deep end with a rant because of some subjective bias. Editors do the newspaper a great service.

I have recently taken my Tribune subscription and switched it to a Digital Subscription. For me this is great. I get every day's paper on my tablet so I can read it without getting ink all over my fingers. Aside from the obvious advantages of having a digital subscription, here is the best advantage over a print copy. Any article that I might be reading gives me the ability to jump to a link that is connected to the story so that I can get more information. Or a link to email the author or someone else connected with the story. Let me give an example.

The other day I was reading a piece about the recent gun law legislation. As the article went on about the new laws there were references to past laws and lawmakers. I could have touched the screen of my tablet where the highlighted link was and without losing the article I was reading another window would open taking me to the information about the previous gun laws that the article referenced. This is extremely convenient. Consider how much work would have to have been done had I wanted to get the same information if I was reading a print copy?

The digital revolution has already taken place, but not everyone has grabbed the reigns and joined the ride. There is no need to completely lose all print media. It has its place in society still. You cannot put tablets on a table in a waiting room, magazines still work better there. But for the personal reader a laptop or a tablet is a perfect fit for magazines and newspapers. Why not? We have already given our books to technology.

The New Space Age! Mining Asteroids.

With the news of late that President Obama has directed NASA to capture an asteroid and bring it into lunar orbit for mining and study, the 'net is all abuzz with asteroid talk. Of course, this is something that many in the sci-fi scene or the astronomy field in general have been discussing for some time. There are even a couple private companies who have started up and are gearing up for just such a project. One such company, Planetary Resources has plans and is in the process of gathering the resources to make such a mission a reality. They are not the only ones either.

The primary interest and motivation for many is the simple fact that exploring space and mining an asteroid is just.. cool. Beyond that however, the amount of information that can be gathered from a mission like this is just unprecedented. Sure we have gone to the moon and traveled around our blue planet. But to go beyond that and grab something as large as a US state and tow it back to lunar orbit... that is just amazing. Just thinking about it can often times give me goose bumps. Seriously!

The fact that the US government and NASA are starting to have an interest in something like this is exciting. However, I fear that the motivation behind our government is a little more shallow than exploration and the betterment of mankind. I think that money is the driving force behind the NASA mission. Why not? Have you heard what even a relatively small asteroid can be worth? Generally they contain magnesium, iron-nickel, platinum, gold, and a few other precious metals not to mention water ice. Lots and lots of ice. Many of these rocks are basically just big ice-balls. Even so a small asteroid can easily be worth 20 billion. Yes billion with a B and that is for a very small rock. Imagine one of the much bigger ones.

Point is, no matter what the cost to get it to the moon's orbit, whoever does it will be rewarded handsomely. They know it too and that is why they are trying to do it and also why the US government wants in. They do not want to be the last ones on the wagon when every private company with a spaceship is doing it and getting rich. Especially when we are currently paying another country to ferry our astronauts to the International Space Station. How embarrassing!

Anyway, the space age is nearing folks. Between the private space companies like SpaceX and the mining companies like Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries we are nearly up to our necks in people with rockets. Sure, they all live and work in the deserts but still, there are more rockets per citizen now than there have ever been and that is exciting! So gear up for more news about all of this because the new space age is here!

The Freelance Request Page

This will not apply to everyone of course, but it does apply.

Today I added a new page to the blog - 'Freelance Request'

I have been working as a freelance writer for a while now to supplement my income. I have been writing here and there for a couple content sites as well as working various projects here and there. Work is slow however and I can only get the work as it comes around. In some cases I have to bid for the work, which is fair of course. Just difficult.

Anyway, since I am doing the work I might as well sell myself here. Everyone else does it. How else is anyone supposed to get their name out there if they are not proactive and actively marketing themselves. So that is essentially what I'm doing. I will maintain that page on the blog to serve as a way for people needing my writing services to contact me. I still felt the need to announce it with a post though :-)

Any questions I can always be reached at my email:

                                                                              DIVERSEBYDESIGN@GMAIL.COM

Absence of Chivalry

Has chivalry completely left our culture? What would most people say to such a question if it was put to them like so, "Would you say that the general respect that a man gives to a woman as a woman is no more?" I asked a couple people, in no way was this anything near scientific, but I asked what they thought about this aged old tradition of showing a woman the respect we are taught they deserve and if they thought it still takes place. Their overwhelming response was that in their recent experience it has not.

This brings me to the reason that I am writing this piece in the first place. Tonight I picked up my 15 year old daughter from a Friday night hanging out with a couple of her friends. It was her boyfriend and two of their mutual friends. They were hanging out on the other side of town which just so happens to be a couple blocks away from one of their homes. Come time to call it a night, the boys got a ride and because I was coming to pick up my daughter, they all left. So now you have a pretty 15 year old girl standing alone in front of a school building and 9:45 in the evening.

Sure, I was on my way and would be to her soon, but my question is why didn't the guys wait with her until I had arrived? In the days of the past, back when I was a dating teenager, I would have never left a female alone in the dark. No matter if she was my girlfriend, just a friend, or someone else that I just recently met. Regardless of who she was I would have stayed with her to make sure that she got off okay. In my book this is the same as dropping someone off at home and waiting out front for them to actually open their front door and step inside before taking off.

Am I just part of a different era? I think not. I remember being a teenager and hearing my elders say similar things about my generation.  But this "respect" for another person, and for someone of the fairer sex is a learned action. This is something that I was taught over the years I was growing mentally and emotionally. This is something that I was taught about how you treat a lady and how you treat another person in general.

So who is at fault here? Is it this current younger generation or their parents who raised them? Is it the cause and effect of this generation of kids who seem to want everything now - instant gratification? I'm not sure what it is, what the root cause of this is, but it is wrong. People should have much more respect for one another, especially a girl.

You can believe that I had a long discussion with my daughter and explained to her how she should expect to be treated. That she should expect a certain level of respect from her peers and especially from her so-called boyfriend. I want her to understand that she is important and that something important should be kept safe. Even though we live in a very nice suburb and the crime rate here is very low, that does not mean things do not happen here. Anything can happen anywhere and I want her to know that she should always be aware of her surroundings and should always make sure that she does not put herself into a situation like what took place tonight.

I will not go into the safety measure that we all take with our children. That is a list a mile long. I just wanted to point out this lack of respect and lack of people looking out for one another. I was rather disappointed by the actions of the teenagers in my daughters circle of friends and it got me thinking. Hopefully she got the point and I am hoping that maybe somewhere this can maybe open someone else's eyes. Just maybe.

Do They Make Any Sense

Conspiracy Theories

I have never been one who would put too much weight behind any of the theories that I have heard. Though I will admit that some of them do have an entertainment value. See, the way these things work is if you give credence to one, you must do the same for all. Think about it, most of the theories involve some sort of crazy or hard to believe events that when put together tell a story. Even though there is a shred of truth to some of the stories, that is usually it. These stories need some truth to them in order to give the impression that they could be legitimate.

So why is it then that they are so hard to believe? I think a large portion of the reason why is because of saturation. The world has been saturated with so many conspiracy theories that you cannot even begin to try and find any real ones. If there are any that could be considered real. This saturation too has become a sort of theory. It has been said that the American government has used mis-information to cloud the judgement of people who might believe any of these theories. By flooding the Internet, news media, and other sources of news and information with tons of other so-called conspiracy theories or stories, it makes the real ones harder to find and harder to believe. This method has been used before to cover up regular news announcements so why not for these theories as well?

Personally, as a writer, I use these occasionally for fodder for a story sometimes. You have to admit that some of the circumstances or events in some of the better conspiracy theories make for good content. Like I said before, there is an entertainment value to them. Is this another reason they are so unbelievable? It could very well be. The Internet alone could be said to be responsible for the proliferation of such a reason. With the advent of e-books, e-zines, and various other fictional and some non-fiction websites have put out a lot of material over the years.

China and the United States

I suppose it could almost be said that China and the US are waging what amounts to a new cold war. Just like Russia and the US did decades ago, both countries have been playing spy games. Anytime someone gets caught they claim ignorance. The only difference between this cold war and the one of the past is there is not such a worry of nuclear war. Regardless, there is definitely a whole lot of espionage going on. Whether they will admit it or not.

Just take a look at recent news regarding the two superpowers. The US has made claims that China is responsible for hacking multiple military and non-military websites all of which China has denied. Of course, the information that has made the news in the US would seemingly tell a much different story. Essentially an Internet security firm in the US has tracked multiple hacks to a nondescript building in Shanghai with ties to the Chinese military. Even though what the US has amounts to some pretty hard evidence, China denies having anything to do with the hacks or the building.

This type of thing has continued to go on since then and probably will for a while to come. I hardly think the US will threaten the Chinese government with military action over something they will not admit. Then again, who knows. If it was up to me I would want the US government to stand firm and tell China to either keep to themselves or else. Guess we will just have to wait and see.

Is doing nothing or taking a wait and see attitude a good idea? Maybe not. Recently it was made news that when an American citizen named Shane Todd was found dead in his Singapore apartment in June of 2012 from an apparent suicide, that his parents think he was murdered. Without going into too many details, there are a lot of incongruities with what the police have said in their report and what the Todd's have found in their son's apartment. What makes this story even more interesting is the fact that Shane Todd was an engineer working for a company in China who has secret ties with the same company that was caught hacking the US. There is enough here to fill the script of a Hollywood blockbuster. That is precisely why these things are sometimes hard to believe.

Coming to a Head

So where does all of this leave us? Well.. considering the state of the world, and what is happening in N. Korea right now, some would say on the brink of war. I have a different feeling however. Sure, these are all circumstances that could lead to war but all the countries involved have too much to lose. Not to mention the fact that none of the countries, except for North Korea, want a full scale war. For the most part, China and the United States will continue in their cold war era spy games. Blaming each other back and forth for various things. North Korea will continue being the crazy guy on the block until someone knocks him out. Likely the US and South Korea.

The conspiracy theories will continue to come out and they will continue to help me fill some of my pages (I'm sure many other writers do the same). Then again, some of the more believable theories might come to fruition one day. Maybe one day really soon. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Almanac Page

Hello gang. Just a small announcement. I am posting a new page on the site called simply "Almanac". I have long been interested in the event in our history that take place on the day that we are currently on. So I will publish such events that I find interesting as I read them in my local newspaper, the Chicago Tribune. They publish an Almanac article daily and it is usually pretty full. I will not use everything they publish. Just what I find interesting, like I said. Anything else would be overkill.

I hope someone else finds interest in it, otherwise I am doing it for my own pleasure. I would like to provide the same for others. Let me know if anyone has any suggestions.

Thanks. Enjoy.

The Average Doctor Visit

Though I have not written about it here, in this latest reincarnation of DBD, it has remained a common theme in some of my writing. Mostly in my reviews or articles about medicine. In discussing the medical field it is hard to not come to the subject of the medical professional or the Doctor. The person who is in the role of helping another person who is sick, hurt, or otherwise suffering in some physical way. I have had a lot of experience with Doctors in my lifetime so I know what I'm talking about. This is not a case of reading and then writing.

In anybody's experience with a Doctor you will have different types of scenarios. You have the personal one on one visit in a clinical setting. You will have the visit in which you only see the nurse and then a "practitioner" of some type (usually because the real Doctor is too busy or does not care). Or you will have one of the various hospital style visits which are usually pretty uncaring. In all of these cases there is the exception.

I speak a lot of the negative experiences with medical professionals. Don't let that fool you into thinking that the positive does not exist because it does. Sadly however it is the exception, not the rule.

Now.. this could very easily turn into a very long rant about what I don't like about the medical profession or the typical Doctor's office visit. I did not intend to have this piece become an essay. I had a few things on my mind and I wanted to get them out there while I still possessed them. This is mainly about time. Time is a valuable commodity, especially today because so many different things are vying for ours.

When we visit the Doctor's office we are often advised to do various things to make it easier for the Doctor. If we do these things we will often get what we want simply because we molded our actions into something that fit what the office wants or needs. I say this is an incorrect way to act and a shame that people would advise others to become essentially a shy little introverted beggar.

There is one thing that we all must bear in mind when visiting the Doctor. They are charging us for the time that we spend with them. This means that we pay them for their services, and just like any other business that we pay for a service, we should be treated as a valuable commodity because we are. We are the customer even to the Doctor. I understand that in our society a Doctor for some reason thinks they deserve to be treated like royalty. Even though this is what our culture somewhat dictates, I think we should buck the system and they should treat us like royalty. After all, we pay their bills.

Just like with any other business on main street, the Doctors office is a place that we visit when we need to. But, just like any other business there are competitors on every street corner. Sure, many today are getting into the specialty fields because of insurance concerns but tell me you cannot find a doctor or two if you visit your downtown area of your town. I doubt it.

Point is they should be treating us differently and should be trying to find ways to bring us into their offices. We should not be trying to find ways to get the Doctor to help us more when we finally get 5 minutes alone with them. That is ridiculous. To think that after waiting over 30 minutes or more just to see the person for 5 minutes and get barely any help.. if that was any other business in town they would be out of business!

Consider this the next time you make an appointment with your primary care doctor. They will make you wait 2-4 weeks to see them and when you do you will show up early, but will be seen later than your appointed time. Yet if you were to show up late or miss the appointment, some doctors will charge you. You are charged huge amounts for anything ranging from $5 for a Tylenol to $15 for a 1 foot section of gauze. Your 5 minutes with the Doctor will cost you (or your insurance) at minimum $60 and when you leave can you honestly say that you have been helped? If you consider all of that and remain happy with the care and service you received at your last visit, then I guess you are the exception. However, chances are your visit will at least meet or exceed the above averages and if that is the case, we seriously need to re-think the medical profession in our country.

Thoughts on The Future

More and more people are talking about what the future holds. Of course there are multiple views on how to answer such a question. In my belief, this is one of those questions that needs to be broken down and dissected into various "parts" before any answers are ventured. For example, instead of asking what does the future hold? Maybe it should be rephrased as, what does the future hold for mining asteroids? Or you could say, what does the future hold for the growing number of women in executive roles?

There are a large number of aspects to this question and before we start trying to find the answers we need to know what we are asking. When I am asked a question such as the one above, my brain goes in a million different directions. Though most of them are filtered into certain "fields", there are still many paths to the answer. This is definitely a question that we should be asking ourselves, but we just need to refine it a little. 

The Atheist's Easter

I'm not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination. I do however, believe in being fair, open, and allowing knowledge to permeate those around me. This includes my kids. So although I am not one to push religious doctrine, teachings, or philosophy, I did take the opportunity of Easter to share what I knew about it with my youngest daughter. She was curious and interested to know why it was celebrated, so I told her.

Having grown up in a catholic household and having the benefit (or misfortune depending on how you see it) of attending a parochial school for 4 years in my youth, I was able to give my child a fairly decent overview of why the Easter holiday is celebrated. As an Atheist or Agnostic I think we get a bad rap as the evil scourge of the species. As people who are closed minded and who speak out against anything even remotely religious. Well, that may or may not be the case with some out there but it is not me. Nor is it how I think anyone should act, whether they follow a supernatural deity, a multi-armed goddess, or a mythological creature.

In my opinion, religion is largely on this planet because people living on it needed a way to make sense of the world around them. Over time this grew and evolved into the many religious factions we have today. No matter what the purpose or goal of any of them are, for the most part they are good and look to make other people good as well. Sure, some of the teachings and traditions are silly, ridiculous, crazy, or kooky (depending on the religion and culture) but if you have any common sense about you, you should be able to tell the difference between what is what and just how much you want your offspring to sponge up.

That is the purpose after-all. To mold and guide our children in this world that they will soon inherit. To give them the benefit of our experience and wisdom so that they may one day prove to be more successful at it than we were. At least that is the way that I see it. As for religion, it plays a small part in that even for someone like me. There is a lot of good and interesting stories in say the bible. And while almost every religion is a repeat of every other one it is easy to pick and choose the stories that you might want to point out to others.

All in all life is one big story. It is our job to wade our way through it and make sure that by the time we get to the final chapter that we have had an interesting and worthwhile story. Sometimes we need some help getting there. When we are born we don't know everything ab out life and the experiences of others can help us with that. In a big way that is what religions are, the experiences of others. So we just need to use our common sense, decide what we want or need to filter and let the rest through. Hopefully if we do it right the parts that our kids absorb will help to make them person of integrity, respect, and humanity.

Happy Easter.