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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Shake a Soda Too Much and It Will Explode

So I've just got back from the hospital. Had to stop by my mom's case worker's office to try to apply for a reconsideration, because her first application for disability was denied. I guess liver diseases and the possibility of her dying without a liver transplant doesn't concern them.

One of the case workers remarked that it might be because of the recession - and it makes more sense. If you get approved for disability, you get social security checks from the government. They give you money. And last I heard... we're about $9.5 trillion dollars in National Debt right now. So I guess the government is trying to cut their losses as much as possible. By denying what my mom needs most. Financial aid.

In a nutshell, my mom has a liver disease in which her liver is attacked by it's own antibodies. The doctor prescribed her some medicine for her, but one of the side effects it has is that she might be a diabetic. And now she is. So now she has to worry about her liver shuttin down, as well as her insulin levels from spiking up and down. SHE IS DISABLED. She cannot work because of this.

Her case worker already filed for a reconsideration, and recommended a conference to be held so the social security people can actually see she's not well. You can't really blame them though, as they are not doctors. But at the same time... they run into these types of cases on a daily basis. They should know that a liver disease is very dangerous to a person's health. C'mon, it took me 2 seconds to research all this crap on the internet and find out more about her diagnoses.

If we get that conference, I know we'll get approved. Because this problem is destroying my mom's life right now. Mine too. Check out the cumulative effects on the second segment of this post.

_______________________________________

In my older post, I mentioned that I'm gettin the boot from my apartment. They initially gave me till July 31 to return the keys. And guess what today is?

I went to the Century 21 office (this post can double for a review about these crime figures here -.-) when they told us (me and mom) about the notice. They said because we weren't making payments on time, and missed a couple (relates to the 1st segment in a way), that we had till the end of this month to return the keys and leave. Stay another day and we'll have to face penalties.
We had to sign the notice.

But then next week, they send another notice telling us that our lease is up at the end of August. But in this notice, we had another option. We actually could renew the lease. I'm not a real estate agent, with no knowledge of real estate affairs, so I try to renew the lease. I go in there and schedule an appointment with the director of the property (is that right?) and ask to renew the lease. He tells me that since we've made late payments, there are late-fees that have to be paid, as well as security for two month's rent (since we used it to pay for those two months we skipped), and the actual rent money. Total comes out to over $2.000 dollars. For a small ass apartment with one bathroom and no washer/dryer hookups. Our best option is obviously to move out and put Century 21 in the past. Except there's a little problem regarding the actual date our lease is up...

The director guy says that the property owner stated we had to move out by the end of this month. But my mom called the office and the lady there said it's actually the end of next month that we have to move, because the security deposit was used for July and August. So August's rent is paid. That makes more sense. But it's stated on our notice that we're to leave the apartment tomorrow. So I'm hoping that lady is right, but I'm still packin my stuff, and will finish by today (sike).

_________________________________________

So my next move is to pack all the stuff, rent a storage room and store most of the stuff there. We're probably gonna have to be light on our feet for the next couple of months. And for my mom, I'm gonna start writing all of her symptoms down on paper, as well as take a before and after picture, so the social security people can actually see the difference. I'll have to also talk to some of my mom's friends to see if we can room in with them until we get shit straightened out. Aw crap! What if she gets approved for disability, but we have to change our address? I hope she doesn't have to resubmit her application!! All this plus my own problems I have to deal with....

Oh yeah... and it's my birthday today.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Movin On Up!

Google has updated their PageRank (as if you didn't know already... it's like a broadcast echoing throughout the web). And my Endless Possibilities blog finally has a rank! I got a 1 xD. Feels like I accomplished something!

There's no PR (PageRank) for this site or the Muscle Armor blog, just yet. But I have some plans I'm going to put in effect pretty soon, or when I have time. But check this out: type "Muscle Armor" into Google's search engine and you'll find me on the second page! A couple weeks ago you couldn't find my blog no matter how hard you looked! Or try searching up "Thaiger" on Google - Thaiger's Tidbits is also on the second page! Before I was on the 6th page! And you already know about Thaigerblog. Search that up on Google and just about all the entries you'll see are mine! Yes!!

Feel proud at the moment - had to let my readers know. Man, just imagine where my blog will be in the next 6 months? I'm gonna friggin dominate the search engines!

Maybe not... but still! I'm movin up!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Opera 9.5 vs. Firefox 3 (pt. 2) Plus Extra Tips for FF3

After about a month using Opera 9.5, I have to say it works ok. Not as great as I hoped. And here's why: Opera is not compatible with some websites! You might know this already - but I had no idea! Mapquest, for one, isn't compatible for Opera. When I'm on Mapquest, it will show the map for only 10 seconds before it closes and says that it's not compatible with my browser. That sucks.

Also, I've found more problems with using Opera 9.5 for blogging (with Blogger). There's this problem with adding a new Page Element. I have Opera set to where instead of opening a link to a new window, it will just open a new tab. For Opera, after I open the tab and make additions, it has a problem closing. Or it will have problems saving, at which point I'll close the tab and refresh on the Layouts screen. The changes are saved, it just lies to me and says it's not (o_O). Very inconvenient for blogging.

So in the first "Opera 9.5 vs. Firefox 3" post (I should have named it "Battle of the Browsers", would've been cooler), I gave a good review on Opera 9.5. But after finding these problems, I would have to say that it's still good, but there are alot of things they need to improve, far as compatibility is concerned. I still use it for casual browsing, since it works for popular websites, such as Youtube, Google, and whatnot.

A Firefox update was just released about a week ago. They supposedly fixed a couple bugs that were giving people some problems, I guess. Personally, I haven't run into a single problem as of late. Currently, I use Firefox as my default browser. Yes, it may be slow, but it works without problems. Plus it's so customizable I feel like a geek whenever I add stuff to it xD. For now, FF3 is the best browser out there. In my opinion, of course.

One thing that is very cool about Opera 9.5 is the "Speed Dial" feature. If you see a website you think you're going to check out often, just add it there, and when you open a new tab, you can select it from the "Speed Dial". Pretty cool. But I've found a way to add that feature to FF3! You have to download a couple add-ons though, but it's not intrusive, and it doesn't slow your browser. Here's how I did it:

1. Download Tab Mix Plus (Dev Build). Here's the link if you don't have it already (the link will take you directly to the download page). You can check it out on the FF add-ons page for more information. After you download it and restart FF, go to your Tools section at the top of the toolbar and go to Tab Mix Plus options, and go to the Links tab. Enable single window mode.

2. Download the Taboo add-on. This has a feature similar to the "Speed Dial" for Opera 9.5. The problem is you can't change the settings. After you download it and restart FF, you can start adding your favorite websites by going to them and clicking the new "+" button that should appear to the left side of the address bar.

3. Click the new "T" button to open your Taboos in a new tab. After that, copy the URL in the address bar.

4. Go to the Tools section and click Options. Go to Main (if you're not there already), and paste the URL you copied into the homepage section. Click OK. That's it!

Now, instead of having to click the "T" button to see your Taboos (your sites), you can just make a new tab my pressing ctrl+t and it will automatically display on the new tab! One thing about Taboos is if you click the "+" button twice, you can also add a description for the Tabooed site. You can also edit it on the Taboo page. Also, you can add as many sites to Taboo as you like!

Hope you find this tip useful! This makes browsing with FF3 all the more convenient and easy! Like to "ping" your blog? Add the site to Taboo, and you won't have to re-type the URL evertime you update your blog! If you're having trouble getting it to work (I might not explain things too good xD), just leave a comment and I'll help you out. Or if you have tips of your own, let me know about them!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Life's Twists and Turns...

Not sure why, but I live my life in a spontaneous manner. I'll be driving by some restaurant and just decide to go eat there, or I'll hear about something on the net, like Adbrite for instance, and just join it. Sometimes I'll just wake up and decide to check out the flea market with my friends in a different county miles away, just to see something different, I guess. Being spontaneous can be good, but there are also moments when I do bad things, like catch a charge and get into trouble. I wrote a post all about it on the Endless Possibilities blog. That one's more of a personal blog than this one.

My life now: I'm currently on state probation and I'm getting kicked out of my apartment. Those are the big things going on right now. I was working at Kmart for only two months when I just walked out. Low paying job, like 20 hrs at the most, no real benefits... I had to quit.

I go into the probation office and they said if I don't find another job soon, they'll violate me (probation officers are too kind -.-). So I'm putting in applications everywhere like it's a video game, where the objective is to put in as many applications to different places before the time runs out, and hopefully I pass and advance to the next level. Trouble is no one calls me. I know it's because of my record, but still. If they gave me a shot, I know I can exceed their expectations and leave a good first impression. But I didn't get that shot - and soon I begin to count the days until I go to jail... for not keeping a job (is that even legal?).

Well, I was with one of my cousins drinking a couple beers, trying to cool my jets about the situation, when I hear a knock on the door. It's my other cousin, and he tells me that my uncle needs another person to help maintain the restaurant his wife owns. He didn't want to do it, so he refered me. Err... more like he stuffed me into a car and drove me there. And I was drunk xD.

The place is called Gus Corona's Cafe. I've worked here before, but after my experience here as a dishwasher, I vowed I would never work in the restaurant business ever again. I broke my vow this day.

Me and my cousins stagger our way in the cafe, and we talk to my uncle, the "bossman", for a couple minutes. At first, he was iffy about me working here, because I quit last time. But I do some talking (don't know if I was slurring or not xD), and he tells me to throw on an apron and start on the dishes. Back to the same position I was in before. Ain't that a b****? Oh yeah, and my cousin was a huge help too. He helps refresh my memory about what he did when he worked here, and he brings me to the front to ask the customers if they needed a refill or whatever. And he asks me to do the same. And I was drunk. I could barely walk straight as it was, but I did the damn thing. Don't think they noticed anything out of the ordinary at all!

Well, at closing time, I go head the talk to my uncle about what's been up with me since I left. I tell him about probation, and I tell him about my previous job at Kmart. He says, "You did a good job today, worked fast, the dishes are clean... can you start on Monday?", I was like, "Sure can. And thanks for giving me this opportunity! Can I have a Singha?". I got the job. And just in time, too.

So what's in my future? For now, I'm back to work at the restaurant me and my cousins hate, doing the job I hate the most. I still have about two weeks to pack my stuff and ship out of this dump. I'm working on the Muscle Armor blog, so hopefully that will help me balance out the crappy pay I may be earning at the cafe. This and that. But it's a good thing. I'm not in danger of violating probation, and I have this job until I get a better one. I just have to work on my networking skills.

Even though my situation is preventing me from really living life to the fullest, I still keep a positive outlook on life in general. I never know what I'll run into next! Maybe I'll talk my way into working in Destin with the rich folks, or maybe I'll get huge earnings from Muscle Armor, so I won't have to work anymore (hopefully), or I just might haul ass to Thailand and check out the scenery (once I'm done with probation, of course!).

So if you're in a tight situation, always know that even though things are not looking your way at the moment, they won't be like that forever. There is a God up there, and he may not throw a million dollars at your doorstep, but He will save you from real dangers - if you ask Him.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Entrecard: One Widget to Rule Them All

Entrecard. If you don't like recognition for your work, people to interact with, or attention in general, I suggest you stay away from it. Because joining the Entrecard network will ensure you get all that - and more!

Check out my Muscle Armor blog. Before I joined Entrecard, I had 14 views in two weeks, some from me xD. After I joined, maybe 2-3 weeks ago, that number has climbed to 174! Very effective! I even have a few return visitors! I have to thank Entrecard for all they've done for me, and you should really consider it if you're lookin to pick up traffic for your blog.

Why Entrecard? Why not! Look, you can join a million different blog directories and ping your blog every post, but it's not going to bring you nearly as much traffic as Entrecard will do in just a couple of days! My blog is a true testimony to this claim! All you do is sign up and add your blog (which is all free). After you activate your account, get the code for the widget and place it on your blog - that's it! Oh, and drop your card to other Entrecard bloggers and they will surely return the favor!

That's why it works so well. It's based on a credit system - the more you drop, the more people will return the favor. And if your blog is interesting, something may catch their eye! That's how it works. Oh, and here's another huge thing about Entrecard. They've recently just partnered up with SezWho, a blog commenting service, to ensure visitors actually read your blog and make comments! That's an extra credit per comment, which is a reason why more people do it, but to comment, people will have to read your blog's content, and again, if it's interesting, they may return and hopefully comment some more, giving you more credits!

Like the title says: one widget to rule them all. This simple looking widget has a function that completely dominates all other blog trafficking services!

Monday, July 14, 2008

An Idea for Job Applications!

Right now, I'm currently working at Kmart. It's very slow with minimal hours, and small pay. And the 20-35 hrs, they said, is so they don't have to pay extra for insurance. Does that make sense? I guess so... they don't have to pay for the insurance, unless I actually get injured, at which point I can just sue them for unethical practices (probably can't but whatever). Ha!



I'm lookin around for a new job. Because of my past, I'm not able to get just any job I apply for. Hell, I'm lucky if I get a job I'm even comfortable with.



As I go from website to website, looking to apply, I came up with an idea for submitting multiple applications to all local businesses that are looking to hire. With blogs, there's this "ping" service in which you enter your blog info (like your blog name, URL, and/or RSS feed address), and the service "pings" multiple blog directories, basically letting them know you've updated your blog. What if there was a website that did the same thing, but with career applications, "pinging" local hiring businesses and letting them know you've submitted an application? Would be easier than manually visiting the websites and applying to each one that you're interested in. You can just fill out a basic application, telling about your past work experience, education level, and your personal info. And if they need additional info, they can just contact you by phone or e-mail. Simple and easy.



Like I said for my other "bright" idea xD, I dunno if there's already a service that does this. So far, the websites I've been to are like "medium" websites, businesses just make job openings and post them to the site, and people looking for a job search it up and apply. But if there's a website out there that has automatically submits applications, let me know!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Ripple Effect of Gas Prices?

I heard from Fox News just now about airline tickets raising in price about %10. And earlier in the week, I hear about airlines trying to keep a tight schedule to arrive on time without delays. Maybe it's a strategy to balance out the rise in gas prices. That's what I think.



Gas is about $4.11 on average over here on my side of Florida. Last year, it would've been around $2.90. W-t-f? $10 back then would give me about a half tank, but now it's double in price for the same amount.



I know there are other problems out there that are caused by rising gas prices. I saw on Youtube this video about how real estate in metropolitan areas are higher than in rural areas. The guy's reason is because of gas prices. I also heard on the news about people stealing used vegetable oil to find an alternative to gas, which is theft on a small scale but it may be a growing problem.



Is this the ripple effect from rising gas prices? If, so, what does the future hold for our ecomony if our next president can't find a feasible solution?



*Sigh*, at times like these I wish I was a farmboy in rural Thailand...

Friday, July 11, 2008

Firefox 3 vs. Internet Explorer 7 vs. Opera 9.51

Here are the notes I made while browsing with Opera:

"First impression of Opera... this is fast! It looks different! It's like a tricked out version of IE7, but faster! Not to mention the added features! Very impressed and looking forward to learning more about it! Also, there's this thing to the right of the address bar that's sort of like a progress meter. No other browser has this!

Hmm, let's see how it works with Blogger... ran into problems with both Firefox 3 and IE7. Uh oh, problem found. Went to check my email and there was a problem with the shockwave plug-in. Opera just crashed. Firefox never crashed like this... also takes a LONG time to sign into Twitter. What's up with that? May be the server, cuz it lags pretty bad while I'm Twitting (that right?) on FF3. Hey! I noticed the scrolling action on Opera is way smoother than FF3, same as IE7. Lags a little bit with video's also. Checked out my Muscle Armor blog. FF3 for some reason won't display my video widget on the sidebar, IE7 takes too long to load, but Opera loads the site quicker and also displays my sidebar vid. I've just found out this shortkey to check my security. By hittin the alt+Enter, I can see if a website is safe or not. Should be useful. Ok, scratch what I said about the vids. I'm watching the vid on my site, and I notice the video doesn't lag when I scroll, unlike IE7. Not significant, but kewl. 

Alright, done with the review. Opera would really benefit anyone that has a computer (with internet).Also, I'm typing this note on Opera! Very useful for bloggers. A little laggy though. One last test...
"

To sum all that mess xD, here's Thaiger's review:

  • Opera is faster than FF and is safer than IE7
  • Smooth scrolling and quicker video uploads
  • Crashed earlier from a Shockwave plug-in... maybe this can be fixed? 
  • The look and feel of Opera is more organized and looks more visually appealing than FF (although you can download skins for FF, you can also download for Opera)

Blogging with Opera, I haven't ran into problems like I usually do with IE7 and FF. For Firefox, the problem is sort of the same with IE7 (bulletin problems, uploading vids, and the bold/italic buttons get messed up sometimes), but I haven't run into any problems with Opera as of yet. But this is only my first post using Opera. 

With IE7 out of the picture, which is best? FF or Opera? Hmm... tough call. Haven't downloaded anything with Opera yet, but with FF the downloads are quick, and the files are scanned before hand. So I would say keep FF for downloading apps and for casual browsing, and use Opera for watching vids and blogging, because the notes feature is invaluable for bloggers like me who don't plan on topics to write about xD!

America's Best Dance Crew!

I've been watching this show since the middle of last season. At the time, I thought it was just another dance show that's boring, with the same moves seen over and over again. Wow, was I wrong! There is alot of talent here, and every crew is different from the next!

Last year, the Jabbawockeez won it, hands down. Not just because they wear masks and gloves, but because of their intricate movements and they all dance at the same level (and the masks tripped me out xD, you can't see their face, or what they're looking at!). Personally, I think the final two should've been Jabbawockeez vs. Kabba Modern. Would've been a great ending, but whatever. Atleast they battled each other in the top 3.

This season, it's not as exciting (so far) as last season, because there's nothing too unique about the crews, with the exception of the Super Crew. They're on fire! Their breakdancing influenced choreography is going to take them to the top! They also breakdance better than the Jabbawockeez. SoReal Crew is also one of my favorites, because they dance similar to Kabba Modern, even though Kabba is better, in my opinion.

I was thinking about the similarities from this season to last, and I compared the different crews. If there was ever a showdown between the two seasons, I think it would look like this:

  • Kabba Modern vs. SoReal Crew
  • Super Crew vs. Status Quo
  • Iconic vs. Fanny Pack
  • Break Sk8 vs. Supreme Soul
I didn't add the Jabbawockeez because, of course, they're in their own league. Maybe at the end of this season, they'll comeback to battle the winner of America's Best Dance Crew season 2!

Just some wishful thinking...

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Muscle Armor Blog Makeover

Wow, I didn't know making an affiliate blog could be so hard!

I changed the template for my other blog to make it more professional looking, and it looks ok so far, only thing wrong with it is the header banner. When I tried to add the banner to my header, it doesn't display properly... it's hidden behind the blog! For now I just added the pic of the banner and put it at the top until I can figure out how to make it display the way I want it to.

Besides that, everything looks better than it did before. It's more organized (less clutter), and I can add more to it than I could with the previous template. Still trying to figure out how to add this XML feeds to display the top 50 products. It's not an RSS feed, so I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to add it to the blog. I just added the link to the link bar for now.

It's still a work in progress. The XML feeds thing gave me a headache, so I'm going to finish it tomorrow (hopefully). Once I'm done, I can concentrate on blogging. There's still so much to blog about!

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Good Blog Titles Gone to Waste

Earlier, I came up with an idea for another blog that I was gonna title, "Music and Movies". Simple title, just bloggin about movies and stuff (name says it all). I went and checked it out to see if it was available, and... ta da! It's not. >:-(

That's fine if the blog title is already taken, but this site I went to is garbage! It's just two UK dudes conversing with each other via this blog! There's nothing in it that relates to music and/or movies! The last post was made in 2002! I should stop there...

There was another blog that already beat me to the blog name. BodyArmor.blogspot.com was going to be my original blog title for what is now Musclearmor.blogspot.com. Same deal here. Although this photo blog is a little more personal, I really wish the guy would've changed the name. Maybe something like "Roy and Friends!" or "Wright Makes Right!", or something other than "Body Armor". I had like this dream that if I ever made it big, I was gonna start a supplement company called "Body Armor Supplements (BAS)" -- and that's where I got the idea for the title. Well, I can fuggetaboutit now. >:-O

So yeah, that's my rant for today. I wish Blogger would like check these sites out and if they're incomplete for a certain number of YEARS, then they should just delete the blog (like the musicandmovies.blogspot.com one), because the authors are not going to update it anytime soon. I don't even think they remember that blog existed.

Hmm... maybe I can just change it up and call it musicnmovies.blogspot.com... ARRGH THAT ONE'S TAKEN TOO! >:-(

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Thaiger the Twitter!

Just made a Twitter account today. I have no idea why, probably because everyone online has one, so I'm just jumpin on the bandwagon.

If you notice that little Twitter Updates thing below my profile on the sidebar, that's it (for those who don't know what Twitter is). It's this website you sign up to where you just type in little tidbits of information, like what you're doing or what your plans are or whatnot. Basically it's a stalker friendly micro-blogging service o_O.

Follow me!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Some Ideas to Gain Traffic

Everyone I know in the real world right now don't know about blogging. They go on the internet to check out Youtube vids and update their Myspace, or they might shop online occasionally. I like to surf around the internet, because it gives me something to do, and because there's a ton of info out there for me.

I also like to play online games, mostly because I don't have the available funds to buy a PS3 or an Xbox 360 (just yet). Two of the games I play online are Endless Online and Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu. Luminary is pretty fun, but the file is big (about 500+MB to download. You can check out Ijji.com for more info). Endless Online is a smaller download, and it has less lag.

I've been playing Endless Online (EO for short) for about seven months before I started blogging about it. I saw a couple other EO blogs out there, and I just said, "Hey, I wanna make my own!", so I did, without any prior knowledge on blogging. Well, not much you need to know about it. But the more you know, the better your blog will turn out.

Now, I get about 50 hits a day from my EO blog, which to me is good for a blog that's about three months old. At the end of the month, I might end up with about 1,000 hits. This is because I became known in the game a little bit before I started blogging (I think o_O).

So this is my idea for gaining traffic: if people know about you before you make a blog, then people would be more interested in what you blog about. If you have like thousands of friends on Myspace, and you make your blog, chances are alot of your friends will check it out. Like I said earlier, I played Endless Online for about seven months before I made my blog, and now I have alot of hits and unique visitors. On the other hand, this blog doesn't have many hits, because people don't know me, so they might not care what kind of content is found here. But it'll grow, eventually (I hope!)

If you have friends like mine, who don't really pay attention to blogs and online stuff, you might wanna find online friends. There are alot of ways to do this. Myspace, Youtube, and online games are a great place to start. And when it comes to online gaming, there are alot of them to choose from! Anything you want, from that popular card game you see on t.v (that I'm not allowed to mention), to multiplayer strategy war games. There's even an online game where you just create an avatar and you socialize with other people's avatars. A great way to gain traffic to your blog if you depend on traffic to earn you some extra gas money.

Of course, if you use this strategy to gain traffic, you have to be friendly!

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