Get paid to rant! COOL!

I just found a really nifty site. It’s called Rant Blogger, found at www.rantblogger.com. This site is really cool! You can actually be paid to rant! Someone pisses you off, rant about it. Get a messed up order at a restaurant, rant about it. Get laid off by your pervert boss? Rant about that too! If they accept your rant you get between $5 and $10, offered on approval. No limits to posting! You don’t even have to sign up, just give an alias and email address and country and subject and body of the post and submit it!

I dunno about everyone else, but I am really good at complaining, especially when stuff gets screwed up, so this is nice for me. Check it out!

www.rantblogger.com

Platinum Lounge sucks and the admin is a stingy jerk!

So I have gone back to myLot. I have been away for a while because they were paying better, but that was only in pre-launch. Now they are shite. Now I’m not all about the money, but I am on limited income and thus have to arrange my time so that I can maximize the amount of spare cash I bring in. That’s why I stopped coming on myLot, because at the time Platinum Lounge was paying more.

Now I must rant because they have thoroughly pissed me off. The admin has got me fuming and I have to let it out.

For one thing, I am visually impaired and when I first joined, their accessibility with regards to posting discussions and responses was terrible. I could see it some with zoomtext but could not use it at all with a screen reader, and my fiance as well as other blind friends joined and found it inaccessible as well. I wrote to the admin and he assured me they would fix it, but it took around a month to get done, and I had to ride him about it the entire time. He never would’ve done it if I hadn’t kept on him about it.

On top of all this, there were a multitude of picture based contests which my friends and I could not participate in. He assured me that they would reduce the picture based ones, but keep them in for those who like such things. I accepted this as I fully understand the need to appeal to a variety of people. The problem is that the picture based contests did not decrease, but instead increased, and there were very few text based contests, most of which involved pictures as well and could not be completed with the text alone.

I also asked him to do something extremely simple. While I was there, they put in ranking icons because they pay you in a tier based system, so the higher rank you are the more you get paid, and the bottom two ranks don’t get paid. I asked him to label the graphic on the icon so that my screen reader would tell me my rank and he never did this. For someone who knows how to make a website like he does, labelling a graphic is one of the simplest things you could do.

Not only that, but you have to get a debit card to be paid, one which they endorse and is currently the only means of payment, and which now many users are complaining about having problems with. They are about to use bank accounts but I don’t think I’d want them to have that info, and they still do not pay non-US citizens.

Also, they do not pay all their users, as I stated earlier. They pay in a tier based system that is constantly getting worse. The exchange rate of the points is going down rapidly and I feel that now myLot pays far better, when it used to be the other way around, and it is virtually impossible now to get enough points to be paid without spending money. Still, I paid $35 at their new gorilla store cuz they were giving 80k points per purchase and I bought three items, thinking I would make up my $35 but I only got back $5. When I first joined during mid June, while it was still in pre-launch, I made payout within two weeks and got my $5 for about 1800 points. Now, I have over 141k points left and still cannot even get $5.

Well, saying I have those points isn’t accurate anymore. Last night, after realizing that I was not getting paid anymore, I decided to have a contest for someone to win all my points. This is where he is stingy. I had the contest for newbies with under 50k points and said the first person to guess the name of my mom’s cat could have my points. I was leaving anyway so why let them go to waste. I earned those points myself so it should be up to me what is done with them. Well I logged in a few minutes ago to check the contest, but it said my account was not activated. He banned me for offering to give my points to someone who needed them more than I! If that’s not stingy, I don’t know what is! When I first joined, I could make about $5 per week with about 1-2 hours per day. Now, I couldn’t make $5 per week, even if I spent 24 hours a day posting. And so, I am back on myLot and don’t plan to leave again, not for a while and not unless I can find something that pays considerably more and is stable.

I realize Platinum Lounge was in pre-launch when I joined and I didn’t expect the exchange rate to stay so good, but the drop it has made is ridiculous, and the points are still being devalued not only daily, but hourly.

As a whole, I think the site is going down the tubes and will not last half as long as myLot has been around. The admin is stingy, unwilling to make the site screen reader friendly, doesn’t pay everyone, the exchange rate decreases hourly, their only source of payment has had many recent complaints, they still don’t pay non-Americans, and they don’t have many features, and are very slow to put new ones in.

I think the admin had a good idea, but he did not plan well and did not look at the big picture and so is swamped with more than he can handle, which will ultimately be PL’s undoing. Sure it may last as a free forum, but not a paid one

Had An Appendectomy The Other Day

I’ve been home from the hospital for two days now after spending a day and a half there. I had some stomach pain the day before and pills and heating pad didn’t work. I had an instinct that it was something bad and sure enough when I went to the hospital, it was indeed appendicitis. It was early enough that I didn’t need emergency surgery so they kept me in observation for a while and I had surgery the next day around 3:00pm. I went home the day after that around 11:00am and have been home ever since. I have a little stomach and back pain but it’s not that bad. I was going to make the comment to my mom and fiance that now I knew what the pain was if I ever had it again, but obviously I won’t every have that specific type of pain again. Having surgery wasn’t a fun experience at all but at least I’m ok and the surgeon and anastheseologist did an excellent job of explaining what was going to happen and putting my mind at ease, at least as much as was possible. I intend to write a more detailed description of the whole experience as soon as I have had at least a few more days to recover.

A Letter I Wrote To Congressman Ciro Rodrigues

Hey all. I wrote to congressman Rodrigues quite a long time ago about something I don’t even remember what is now. Anyway I got on the mailing list and get some updates from him. I don’t know if he will even read my letter but I wrote to him a proposal of something that, if passed, would benefit anyone on Social Security, as well as the government itself and any companies affected by the proposal. I am going to copy most of my letter now, not including the first paragraph as it related to the contents of the email and not the proposal.

As for my request, you have plenty of things for veterans and such, but I would like to ask that a bill be passed in increase the amount of Social Security paid to blind and visual impaired individuals. As it is currently, it is virtually impossible for a blind person to live on their own. The average cost of living here in Texas, just for rent alone in a 1 bedroom apartment is around $500, and that doesn’t include bills and food, yet we are only paid $639 per month. I’ve even tried to get a place with someone else who is on Social Security and because most places require you to make at least 3 times the rent, we do not qualify. We can only qualify if they ask for 2 and a half and then just barely. I ask that SSI be increased to accommodate this, Also, many companies are unwilling to hire blind people due to discrimination, and give other excuses so that they don’t violate the ADA directly. Do you know what it is like to have experience and be told it is not enough, and then someone with none gets the job? I have a proposal which would benefit the businesses, the government, and blind/visually impaired individuals, as well as anyone on Social Security.

First, the government should provide a tax break to companies who hire citizens that are on Social Security, as well as pay half of the first month’s salary. This would give companies the chance to give us a chance and evaluate whether we are indeed right for the job. Meanwhile, the citizens are allowed to keep their SSI benefits for that month, in case they do not keep the job. If they remain an employee, their Social Security is then taken away.

This would benefit the government as if the person on SSI is granted the opportunity to prove themselves and keeps the job, the government no longer has to pay them, leaving more money either to pay other citizens who need it, or to put toward other things. This, in turn would benefit the recipients of the SSI benefits as it would both grant them a little more money with which to live on, as well as provide further encouragement to seek employment.

Consider for a moment, 10 people are on Social Security benefits being paid $6000/yr. Each of them gets a job making $2000 per month. The government pays $1000 to the company for the half salary. Then, say the companies each get a $2000 tax break. It’s all variable but for the example, The government has paid a total of $10000 in salary and $20000 in tax breaks, totaling $30000. If those ten people were on benefits, the government would’ve spent $60000. By saving $30000, they could put some toward increasing benefits for others, and allot the rest to other things. That’s just with ten people. Imagine that with thousands!

One final suggestion would be to, if possible, make it so that apartments only require people to make 2 and a half times rent, at least if they are on benefits, so that recipients can afford to get their own place, at least as roommates. Thank you for considering my suggestions.

Sincerely,
Amanda Robertson

As you can see, this proposal, if put into action, would benefit us, the government, and all companies affected as I stated before. The government should go for it as they’d still be getting the main benefit, but it’d help everyone. If they make 300000 per year from just ten people, imagine if it were 10000 people. The government would make $300000000, giving them plenty of money to redistribute back to Social Security and other causes. However, the government hasn’t been known for making the smartest decisions. Somehow I think my suggestion will just go out the window. Even if Mr Rodrigues has the common sense to acknowledge it and even bring it up before Congress, more than likely the rest of those damn politicians won’t accept it. Nonetheless, it’s a good idea if I do say so myself and I had to try. And knowing how greedy the government is, I figured explaining it in the way I did was the most likely way they might even consider it. Their greed may end up being a reason for accepting it. We shall see. Congressman Rodrigues also had a phone number so if I don’t hear a response via email soon, I will call and at least talk to a representative, but I’d like to get him if I can. We will see where it goes and I will post an update on this.

Do Not Shop At JumboCandy.com

Hey all! Just a friendly warning. Do not shop at JumboCandy.com. I will tell you why. Here’s a little story about the past week. If you read the whole thing you will understand why I will never purchase from them again and why you shouldn’t either.

About a week ago or so, give or take, I purchased some liquor filled chocolates from JumboCandy.com. Lots of my friends had passed me the URL to check it out but to my knowledge, none of them had yet ordered anything themselves. I went on the site and found some liquor filled chocolates, a dozen of each of four different kinds. I decided to buy it because it sounded good and was a bit of a treat for myself and my fiance. They have a heat policy basically stating that they are not responsible for melted chocolate due to the weather and that they recommend buying ice blocks to prevent melting. This was all understandable so I paid the extra $1.50 to buy the ice block. When I received my package a few days later, it was completely melted, to the point of being entirely liquified. Now, they do have their heat policy, and I wasn’t going to complain, except that as I looked in the package, I realized that there was NO ice in it at all! There was no water from melted ice, although I assume it was dry ice anyway, but neither dry ice nor standard ice was anywhere to be found. This is when I complained to them about the problem. I tried to call them and got a residential voice mail, which did not sound like even a home business, let alone jumbocandy. I then sent them an email and they said that supposedly their phone lines were experiencing technical difficulty and that they would handle my complaint via email. Because I got a residence, I am not sure I belive that excuse. Nonetheless, they asked for my order number and I gave it to them, explaining the entirety of the situation and asking that I either receive a replacement of my order done correctly or a refund of the full purchase. They proceeded to respond by telling me that the weight was 4 pounds meaning that there was ice because it would’ve weighed 3 pounds without the ice. Just to be extra sure, I checked, double checked, triple checked, and even had Jerry double check the package, just in case I had missed the ice, which they said was packed in a ziploc bag. Again, there was no ice, no ziploc, nothing. In fact, the exact contents included a plastic cover over the whole thing, another plastic cover on top of the candies which were individually placed in their own little slots inside another little plastic tray which was all set in a wooden tray. I lifted all of this, which had at this point been in the refridgerator overnight, and looked and felt around for something I had missed and there was absolutely nothing. Now I am waiting for a response from them and am rather miffed.

So, I implore you, do not shop at this website. What they offer might look good but they are very unprofessional about how they handle everything and I will never shop with them again. I doubt I will get my refund at this point but I intend to keep trying, and at least get refunded for the ice that was not included in my package, but if possible I will push for a full refund because they really slacked on their job. I realize the temperatures here are extremely high for chocolate and that explains their melting but if it had included ice, it could’ve prevented or reduced the severity of the melting, so that it might be a little soft, but not utterly liquified. Anyway, rant over, but please, please, don’t waste your money!

Feeling Kinda Blue

Not in the best of moods at the moment. I’ve been having serious regrets about ever moving to San Antonio from Austin. I wish I could just erace the past 8 months but I can’t. Now I can’t possibly move back for at least 10 months and even if I could, I can’t. There is no way I could expect my mom to help us move again and we couldn’t afford to hire movers. On top of which, I’d have to get a job at the lighthouse and we don’t make enough money without some sort of income to qualify for the 3 times rent requirement. I’d have to start at the lighthouse a month before and find someone to stay with in austin during the week and then come back to San Antonio on the weekends. So I think it is clear why I am so depressed. It’s virtually impossible for us to get back and even if it were possible, it’d be nearly a year before we could. If only I could change the past, we would’ve never moved to this city at all. What a bummer!

Learning HTML

Only a little over a week ago, I decided to start learning computer programming. I have long had ideas for programs and browser based games or websites to create but never had the resources to do it. I always told myself that I couldn’t do it and that I just didn’t have the patience. I have been working at it only a week now, and not even spending all of my time on it, and yet I have learned quite a bit about HTML, XHTML, and CSS. I still have a bit to catch on about CSS but I am learning. I have taken all three quizzes at W3Schools and passed them but I want to do better. I want to take the exam for my certificate and then I want to move on to the other exam they offer too but, although I only need 75% to pass and I think I can do that, I would like to get 95% so that I can get the certificate, I can’t remember what it is, but it’s better than just the regular passing certificate and if I am going to pay $59 to take the test, I might as well try and pass it with flying colors and get the most out of it. Really though, learning to code is a lot easier than I thought it would be. It’s actually quite fun. I just can’t sit and do it for too long at a time, at least not learning anyway. I look forward to seeing what comes of my learning and what kind of things I can create with it. I guess the great thing about learning to program would be seeing the finished product and knowing that you put the work and time and effort into it, even if it is something basic that anyone could do. Check out my first ever project, my Color Poll. It is just a basic poll with a bold question, a few radio buttons for the answers, and a vote button which opens an email in your client, if you have one, and mails me the answer. All you do is hit send in the browser. I realize that it’s not the most efficient submit button, but it was all I knew how to do at the time.

Small Fire at my Apartments

There was just a small fire at my apartment and the firetruck just left like within the last five minutes. It was only a small patio fire started by a cigarette that wasn’t put out properly. I hate irresponsible smokers. Sad thing is most of them are. I’m not saying they all don’t put out their cigs, but anyone who smokes in front of non-smokers, without even considering their feelings or the health hazards to other people besides themselves is irresponsible. Anyone who smokes indoors, with the exception of their own house is irresponsible. I really think cigarettes should be illegal, considering that they are even more of a health hazard to both their users and people around them than marijuana or some other illegal drugs. Of course the only reason they aren’t is because the government makes a fortune off the tobacco industry. Then again, they’d make a killing off the weed industry if it were legal too. Anyway sorry for the rant but that little minor fire just reiterates how irresponsible most smokers. Stuff like that happens far too often!

Time Warner has ticked me off,

I am very irritated at the moment! I have just now been able to get back online after the internet has been down the whole day. Time warner came to check the entire apartment and disconnected us all without warning. They were supposed to tell the office so that they could send out notices but they failed to do so. I was not the only person to go to the office and complain and they weren’t too happy about it either. They just had the representative from Time Warner come into the office and say they were going to do work and they should have been told but the office told them that they had not been. It is a real pain in the behind and I hope that from now on they do their duty and tell the office if they are going to do that. Not doing so is bad business practice, among other things. Well anyway, rant over. I’m still irritated but on to better things.

Digg or Thoof Part 2

It has been a few days since last I posted about my issues with these two sites. I have received several correspondances from Digg and, although we are still having CAPTCHA issues, they have agreed to create an account for me with a temporary password to get around the validation. I still have not heard a single word from thoof, telling me that their admins just don’t care. That is fine with me. I will just join Digg and make sure that I am a worthwhile contribution to their community, as well as having what I believe to be the superior site to help promote my own work, this blog and my Associated Content material. Somehow now I doubt I will hear from Thoof at all.