October 31, 2007

Did you paint your face?

If you painted your face or costumed for Halloween, I know you took pictures because - well, that’s what bloggers do, right? So post your pretty putz and send me the link (click “email skeet” on the right) and I’ll link you up right here.

Hooray for Julie! She won a hundred bucks with her Geek Squad Girl costume! Go take a look - she’s everyone’s dream techie, lol! Way to go, Jules! Congrats!

This is the first time I’ve painted my face since I was a child. May I say, first of all - ICK! The inside of a foam clown’s nose? Smells pretty much like I would think the inside of someone else’s nose would smell. The paint? Not itchy, but heavy and oily. I feel very unclean. When you’re “mature” and your skin has lots of wrinkles, the paint collects in the wrinkles and does weird things, but clowns should be weird, right? I did get some smiles from the TWO trick-or-treaters who came by, and the gal at the Pink Market where I went for a bag of ice thought I looked “cute.” I should mention that it started raining pretty heavily just before dark. The kids in costume who had been hanging around waiting for the sun to fade disappeared when the rains came. I met several parents escorting their keiki on their rounds when I went to the store and I saw two more on the road - that’s it. Pretty much a bust as Halloweens go. It’s almost eight o’clock now. The rain has stopped. I’ll keep my face on for a while longer, just in case. But the boys aren’t barking, so it’s a pretty sure bet there aren’t any little ones out there anywhere on the block. I hope they’re all happily trick-or-treating at a mall somewhere or getting themselves scared silly at haunted houses.

And I hope I can wash my face soon.

Technorati Tags: clown, clownface, costume, Halloween, trick-or-treat

Do you NaBloPoMo?

It’s almost National Blog Posting Month! That means that a whole bunch of crazy people have gotten together and each agreed to post every single day of the month of November. Why? Well, because we can, of course! There are some other good reasons, too, though. Participating in NaBloPoMo is a great way to stretch yourself creatively and to get into the habit of posting regularly. Joining in the fun is also a great way to meet new people while promoting your blog. Newer bloggers like my friend Jessica will find it especially helpful because being in NaBloPoMo means you’re introducing yourself and your blog to thousands of potential fans. Jessica is blogging lately about how to get hard-to-find tickets for popular events like SNL and Oprah tapings, so I’m predicting that her blog will be wildly busy once she gets the word out.

NaBloPoMo was born in admiration of the hardy folks who will be participating in NaNoWriMo. Writing a blog post every day is taxing for some. Producing a novel in one month is totally insane, but thousands of writers do it each year and will do it again simultaniously with the legions of us doing NaBloPoMo. It’s a fact folks: the only way to be a writer is to write. Both of these programs help us develop the discipline to make writing a part of our daily routines and to commit ourselves to being a little better each day. Both provide a reading audience to help us get past any reticence we may have about putting ourselves out there, and honest critque if we want it. If you’re serious about your writing, whether through blogs or other media, you can only benefit from joining in on the fun. I don’t seem to have what it takes to fully develop a novel, but I can blog daily and will hopefully be better at what I do when the month is over. Get yourself signed up for NaBloPoMo, then pop on over to my page, “friend” me and say hello. I’ll return the aloha and we’ll all help each other get through this! Happy blogging!

And hey - good luck to all of my NaNoWriMo friends, too! You may be crazy but I loves ya anyway!

Technorati Tags: blogging, insanity, NaBloPoMo, NaNoWriMo, TicketStrategies.com, writing, writing exercises

October 30, 2007

Do not call - are you registered?

I got an email from a cousin today:

This is for real, I just registered mine.

…YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS

My cousin is a pretty intelligent guy, but he’s constantly forwarding emails such as this without verifying the information. It seems to me that it would be less troublesome to go to Snopes or the source quoted in the email forward than to forward it. It took me about a minute to debunk this one. From the FTC website:

October 12, 2007

The Federal Trade Commission today reiterated that despite the claims made in e-mails circulating on the Internet, consumers should not be concerned that their cell phone numbers will be released to telemarketers in the near future, and that it is not necessary to register cell phone numbers on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry to be protected from most telemarketing calls to cell phones.

Read the entire press release.

So should you register your cell phone? It can’t hurt. I get occasional telemarketing calls on my cell phone, so I decided it was the reasonable thing to do. You can do it online at the National Do Not Call Registy or by calling 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236) from the phone you want to register. I used the phone number to register my cell and office phones today. It took less than two minutes to do each. My fax machine does not have a handset on it, so I registered my fax line through the online site (link above.) That was also quick and easy. I look at it the same way that I see buying term insurance - like an ace in the hole. I remember registering my phone (land line) when Do Not Call became available, but maybe that was before I got new numbers. I regularly get calls from Sun Marketing (as do thousands of others who have complained about them) and occasionally from other telemarketers. Now that I know for sure that all of my phones are registered I’ll be able to file complaints if these nuisance calls continue. It takes thirty-one days for your number to actually enter the system, but after that you’re protected for five years. It’s free, so I can’t think of any reason not to do it.

Technorati Tags: do not call, FTC, National Do not Call Registry, telemarketers

Tueasday Teaser for October 30, 2007

Can you identify the item depicted above? Just take your best guess and post it in the comments below. If your guess wins, you’ll win a nifty prize. Here’s how it works:

1. Write a comment giving your guess as to what the item is.
2. First person to identify the item wins.
3. The author of this blog will be the sole judge as to what constitutes a correct answer.

What will you win?

1. The author of this blog will write a LINKY LOVE POST (review) about the winner’s blog (commercial sites ineligible.) The LLP will contain the url for your blog plus at least two deep links and will be posted here on Skeet’s Stuff, a PR4 blog. Skeet writes good reviews.
2. The winner’s name will be entered into a drawing for a $10.00 gift card from Starbucks or Amazon.
3. Drawing for the gift card will be held on or about November 1, 2007, and will include all weekly winners for the month. There are five Tuesdays in October, thus the maximum number of people who will be eligble is five.

Other stuff

1. All comments to this blog are time and date stamped. The winner will be the first person (according to time and date stamp) to provide the correct answer.
2. No hints will be given.
3. Answers must specifically identify the item. For instance, if the item depicted were to be a button on a remote control, the answer “button on something electronic” would not suffice.
4. Decisions of the judge are final. Don’t argue with me. I won’t answer.
5. I will attempt to post every few hours as to whether or not a winner has been declared, but I am not continuously at the keyboard so please be patient.
6. Entries must be posted before 12:00 a.m. Thursday, November 1, 2007, Hawaii time (GMT -10, approximately forty-eight hours from now.)
7. This is intended to be an ongoing feature at Skeet’s Stuff. If it turns out to be a dud it will cease to exist, but all qualified winners will get their prizes.
8. Skeet’s Stuff is a do-follow blog, so you get some link value just for commenting.
9. Let the fun begin!

Technorati Tags: contests, photos, photo contest, blog contest

October 28, 2007

Hidden Relics - New hidden object game

I’m so bad so dedicated to my readers. I wasted an entire day spent an entire day researching a new game so I could tell y’all all about it. Hidden Relics is a new offering from Big Fish Games. I liked the sampling enough that I bought it right away and ended up searching for hidden objects all day.

A thief has stolen an entire collecition of priceless relics and your task as a new detective is to follow his trail and retrieve the stolen items. The journey covers some interesting real estate in locations all over Europe, Russia and the Mediterranean. The graphics are sharp, clear and colorful. The game is maddening because many of the objects are fiendishly hidden. You’ll need to find the teeny-tiny magnifying glass in every frame. Each one you find will credit your store of hints. You’re going to need them. Well, I did, and I don’t often need the hints when playing hidden object games.

You’ll begin your adventure traveling by plane and later will switch to a car. Your mentor has hidden a can of gas at each location you’ll investigate. Make sure you locate them or you’ll find yourself stalled! The thief is aware of your pursuit and determined to stop you, so you’ll have to watch your back, too.

Some especially valuable hidden objects are only visible using special gadgets. You can earn the gadgets by playing mini-games any time you want. The mini-games will be easy at first, but get tougher and offer shorter solving times as you progress. Keep trying! You’ll need those tools in order to recover all of the stolen items.

I’ve been on the Big Fish mailing list for quite a while, but only decided to join their Game Club last week. They offer several packages which allow you to buy any of their games for as low as $6.99 each. They’re offering a Halloween special right now: Mystery Case Files: Ravenhurst for 99¢. I bought it, of course. I suppose that means I’ll have to spend tomorrow doing research again. Such is the life of a dedicated blogger.

Technorati Tags: Big Fish Games, games, hidden object games, Hidden Relics

October 27, 2007

Parking lot denizens

I drove a friend to a clinic appointment and sat with her in the waiting room until her name was called. There was some time to kill while she was with her doctor, so I headed for my car to get my book about an Orlando vacation rental. As I left the building I disturbed a large, noisy flock of red-vented bulbuls. I abandoned the idea of reading and retrieved my camera from the car instead. The bulbuls flew away again as soon as I approached them with camera in hand, of course.

There were quite a few myna birds about. They’re almost always seen in pairs and spend a lot of time strutting on the ground. A man I worked with when I first came to Hawaii calls them “stupid birds” instead of mynas. They’re fond of paved roads and when cars approach them they seem to forget they can fly. It’s comical to see them trying to outrun a motorized vehicle, but a lot of them pay with their lives.

Zebra doves are pretty common in the islands. I’ve had nesting pairs in my yard as long as I’ve lived here. Their cooing is one of the first sounds I hear each morning.

I took over a dozen shots of this sassy red-crested cardinal, but never did catch him completely still. He was very busy inspecting the pavement for bits of plant matter and insects, never still the entire time he was in my sight.

Golden plovers over-winter in Hawaii. They are abundant near my home and I sometimes sit and watch them on the beach. They, too, are very “busy” birds, constantly running and picking and pecking.

I’m not sure who this pretty green fellow is, but I think maybe some type of finch. My copy of Hawaii’s Birds doesn’t picture him.

A single red-vented bulbul returned just before I was ready to leave. He paused or a brief rest, then flew away. My friend returned and we, too, went on our way.

Technorati Tags: birds, birds in Hawaii

New hidden object game- Amazing Adventures: The Lost Tomb

Once again I’m neglecting work to satisfy a craving. Amazing Adventures: The Lost Tomb has been added to the menu of hidden object games at Big Fish Games.

The game is challenging without being frustratingly difficult. Solving each scene require you to find ten items. Some of the objects are appropriate to the ancient Egyptian setting - pyramids, camels and such. There are also items more familiar to our time like body shop supplies, teddy bears and cassette tapes.

The graphics are nicely done with vivid colors. Tile-swap pictures, jigsaw puzzles and other mini-games are presented upon completion of the scenes. Each mini-game introduces the next scene. A scarab is hidden in each scene also. Collect them all to unlock special play which will allow you to find the tomb at the end of the game. Hints are available throughout the game to help you if you get stuck.

One hour is not really enough time to get well-acquainted with the game, especially if you’re pausing to capture screen shots and make notes for a review. I’d like to play some more and may end up buying this one for my own game collection.

Technorati Tags: Amazing Adventures: The Lost Tomb, Big Fish Games, games, hidden object games, online games

October 26, 2007

Four Foods on Friday

Val over at Fun, Crafts and Recipes has started a new food meme and was kind enough to link me up. She was so exited to get the first one out there that she gave five questions instead of four. Being me, I had to poke a little fun about that, but I hope she knows it was just teasing.

Here are this week’s four five questions and my answers:

1. How do you like your eggs cooked? Any special ingredients?

My favorite is poached eggs served on wheat toast, but I don’t do it very often because it’s so hard to get them just right. Second favorite is scrambled with just salt and pepper added - or maybe a little cheese. Cheese and eggs = good stuff!

2. What’s your favorite cold sandwich, made on two pieces of bread?

Ham and swiss, when I can find a tasty ham that’s not too salty.

3. What is your favorite pie?

Chess pie! I’ve never made one, but I think Mom’s recipe is around here somewhere. I should find that and give it a whirl.

4. Name one food you refuse to eat and why.

Oh, there are a lot (I’m a picky eater,) but if I need to select just one - boiled okra. That’s just nasty!

5. What’s the name of your favorite restaurant, and is it small or part of a chain?

Ryan’s Grill at Ward Center, one of the best restaurants on the island (or anywhere else, including Paris, New York and Vegas. One of a kind, as far as I know. Their pasta dishes are my favorites (especially the Cajun Chicken Fettucine,) but honestly, they do everything very well. Table of Contents (my BookCrossing group) eats there regularly and we all love it. They have a delightful and diverse menu, friendly laid-back atmosphere and a wonderful wait staff - professional and attentive but unobtrusive (and they’re all highly literate and love to get books from us.) Their Chocolate-Caramel Ganache Cake is so good that it’s embarrassing to eat in public. I behaved kind of like Meg Ryan in everybody’s favorite restaurant scene the first time I ate it and no one will ever allow me to forget that, lol!

Y’all know I prefer not to tag folks, but you’re welcome to to join in the fun and post your own Four Foods on Friday.

Graphic from Incredimail

Technorati Tags: food, meme

October 25, 2007

Share some good stuff!

Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with the bad news that we forget that there are good things going on around us all the time. We can’t change the headlines, but we can seek out that which is good, that which is uplifting, that which shines with a positive radiance - the good stuff. Here’s some recent feel-great stories:

Shannon introduces us to a local pumpkin-carving legend.

Corrin made me smile with the story of a life-saving parrot.

After my fisaco with the phone company, I really needed Leigh’s reminder that some businesses have a heart.

Val is proud to share praise for some local volunteers.

Finally, I was really pleased to find out that Honolulu bloggers are a force to be reckoned with.

There’s good news going on around us all the time. Sometimes you have to dig to find it, but it’s worth the effort. Next time you blog about a good news story, send me the link. I’ll publish a collection of your pick-me-up-and-make-me-smile stories each Thursday.

Technorati Tags: good news, current events, local stories, meme

Incommunicado

I can’t think of many things that are worse for business than being unable to communicate. I discovered late Sunday that my phone line was dead. On Monday morning I called my service provider and stepped into that nightmarish scenario, the automated answering system. You know how it works. A not unpleasant voice asks you for information, then asks you to reply by selecting a number for the most correct answer. This particular call, which would have taken a minute or two if a human had responded, sucked about twenty minutes out of my morning. I found myself wondering if I would need a diet patch to help me stave off starvation while I waited. After providing my phone number I answered a few questions. Yes, I was calling from a different number. No, there was no service on the line I was reporting. Yes, I checked to see that the phone was plugged in before I called them. Each response from me brought a new question. This took a while as the phone bot selected phrases to make up sentences, with long pauses between each phrase: “Please provide …………… another number where you can be reached.” After I had supplied all of the basic info I got: “Please wait while we ………………………… check your phone line. This may take …………………………… up to two minutes.” It took about that long. The voice then came back and advised me that: “A repair of your line has been requested. Please expect this ………………………….. repair to be completed by ………………………………………. Wednesday afternoon at four p.m.” Now, first of all, I had called their business service center. How acceptable is it to advise a business that they might have to wait three days to have basic phone service? Secondly, since they had just run a line check and then scheduled service, it stands to reason that the line check had revealed a problem with my line, right?

The waiting began. The only good thing about the problem is that my phone would ring and caller ID would tell me who was calling, though I got dead air when I tried to answer. A friend advised me that calls were going straight to voice mail, so I was able to return client calls and I don’t think I’ve lost any business. Yesterday afternoon I got a call on my cell phone from a service tech, advising me that he was at my gate. After I got the boys secured (the beagle is a runner) I let him into the yard and showed him where my service panel is located. It’s on the front of my house, under an overhang. When I had my deck built I called the phone company and aked them if I needed to have the box moved, since it would now be under the deck. They said no. Their field tech took one look a the location and told me he couldn’t inspect the box because safety concerns preclude them from going under structures. Hah! Wimps! Crawling under houses is a routine part of what I do and I’m not exactly a spring chicken. Company rules, insurance requirements, risks - yeah, I get it. You won’t be providing me with service until I hire someone else to move the box. Yes, I’ll let you inside so you can check from there. No, the dogs won’t be able to get to you (wuss!) Yes, you can keep your shoes on (we take our shoes off at the door in Hawaii unless permission is given to keep them on.) We tramped back to my office where I had to unplug my fax machine and move it away from the wall so the tech could access the phone jack that hides behind it. He unplugged my phone and plugged in his **and**got**a**dial**tone! Thus we discovered that I’d gone three days without a phone because the phone itself was bad, not the service connection. I would have had a new phone on the line Monday if their bot had not told me I needed line service.

Ask me how happy I am with my phone service today. Go ahead. I dare you.

Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com

Technorati Tags: business, business services, phone service, stupidity