Archive for March, 2008

March 25, 2008

Tuesday Teaser photo verification

This last week has been insanely busy and I found myslef last night having to scramble for Tuesday Teaser material. After trying and rejecting several ideas I finally went with some art I had rejected a few weeks ago as “too easy.” Looks like my first impulse was the better one becuase I didn’t give anyone much of a challenge this week. The only real contest was to see who would post all of the correct answers first and Corrin must have been up very late last night - or very early this morning! She posted all of the correct answers within twenty minutes of the contest going live. I’m thinking most of you had to search “state flags” after you recognized one or two pieces and figured out the theme, so twenty minutes - that’s mighty good time. Congratulations to Corrin, who has won a linky love post for her blog. She’s also entered into a drawing for a gift card which will be awarded to one of the March winners.

Mahalo to you all for playing. I’ll try to get an early start on putting together a real challenge for you next week!

Technorati Tags: contests, photo puzzle, puzzles, state flags, Tuesday Teasers

Posted by skeet @ 10:30 am • Tuesday Teaser, Contest, Photos • 4 comments

Tuesday Teaser for March 25, 2008

G. What is the theme that unites the items?

Can you identify the items depicted above? Take your best shot and answer in the comments below. If your answer wins, you’ll get a nifty prize.

The game rules were recently altered, so read the following paragraph carefully. Here’s how it works:

1. Write a comment giving your guess as to what each item is. The photo clues are labeled from top to bottom with the letters A through F. Use these designations in order in your answer. You must also provide answer G: what is the common theme that unites the items?
2. First person to identify all of the items wins.
3. The author of this blog will be the sole judge as to what constitutes a correct answer.
4. Comments will be held in moderation for the first twenty-four hours of the contest. This will allow all contestants to speculate independently without influence from previous comments. If the puzzle is not solved within twenty-four hours, the coments will then be made public.
5. Hint: It’s not dash kits this week.

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~~ ~~PR2~~ PR0 (bah google!) 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 April 1, 2008, and will include all weekly winners for the month. There are four Tuesdays in March, thus the maximum number of people who will be eligble is four.

March 24, 2008

Rent a condo for your Hawaii vacation

Did y’all know that there’s an alternative to Waikiki hotels when you take your Hawaii Vacations? About half of the condos that I inspect are vacation rentals that you can choose instead of hotel rooms. If you want the glamour and bustle of Waikiki right outside your door, you can rent a condo at rates that are sometimes much better than regular hotel room rates. Here’s another option: see that scene above? How would you like to share your beach with a few people instead of a few thousand? That’s a picture I took on a recent inspection out here in the quiet countryside. You’ll find almost identical pictures from the same building on the Hawaii Vacations site. They have rentals available all across Oahu and on Molokai, Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii, too, with accomodations ranging from practical to luxurious. Pick up a few groceries on your way from the airport and you’ll have everything you need for quiet meals from your ready-to-go kitchen on the days you don’t want to sample our world-class cuisine. Amenities range from full service (like a luxury hotel) to minimal and unobtrusive, according to your tastes and your budget. Vacation condos are a great alternative to high-priced hotel rooms in crowded spaces. Check them out before you come over to visit me!

Technorati Tags: Hawaii, Hawaii vacations, vacation rentals, vacations

Posted by skeet @ 4:24 pm • Travel, Hawaii • 2 comments

March 23, 2008

Self Portrait Sunday for Easter, March 23, 2008

One of the nice things about holidays is that we can give ourselves permission to slow down and relax. I did. I soaked and read until the water got cold, then I drained some of it away, added more hot water and soaked and read some more, maybe an hour in total. It’s a little luxury I don’t indulge in very often. I don’t usually have the time, and besides, it’s very wasteful of water and the gas that heats it. I probably undid at least a week’s worth of conservation with that one bath. I’ll be more frugal with natural resources in days to come and maybe go out of my way to buy more green products to try to make up for it. Sometimes, though, you just have to treat yourself to something nice.

My friend is off-island, so I’m headed over to her place to water her plants, feed her fish and bring in her mail. When I get back I’ll be visiting Midlife Musings to see the rest of the lovely self portraits for this beautfiul Easter Sunday.

Technorati Tags: meme, photos, self portrait

Posted by skeet @ 1:23 pm • Photos, Meme • 18 comments

March 22, 2008

Win a $20,000 Renuzit TriScents Home Makeover!

I added a screened room to my home a couple of years ago. It’s a lovely room, and gave me space to move my washer and dryer out of the kitchen so I could remodel it. The kitchen is all original to my thirty-five year-old house, except for the twelve year-old stove and refrigerator. It was a bad design to begin with and it hasn’t aged well. When I built the new room I also had a new lanai built across the front of the house and down one side. Oh, and I landscaped the yard, added a shed and had a new roof installed. That’s how far I got before I ran out of money. I thought I’d have enough set aside to start the kitchen remodel by now, but business has been really slow for over a year, so it’s just not happening. My contractor told me it would cost “about $20,000″ to replace all of my pipes, install new wiring, knock out the half-wall between the kitchen and living room, then install all new cabinets and floors. That is exactly the amount up for grabs in the TriScents Home Makeover Contest. Coincidence? I don’t think so! I think I’m supposed to enter and supposed to win. Otherwise I might end up living with cracked tile floors, sagging cabinets and a lousy design for another ten years. There’s no guarantee that I’ll win, of course, but it’s certainly nice to dream about, don’t you think? If I don’t take the prize myself, I’d like one of my friends to win. Is there any among you who couldn’t use a $20,000 makeover for your home? If we all enter there’s a pretty good chance that one of us could be the winner, so here’s what you need to do. Take a picture of your home and write a short essay (no more than 250 words) or make a two minute video explaining why your should have a makover from Renuzit® TriScents™ and Tanya Memme (yeah, that Tanya Memme - the one who hosts Sell This House on A & E.) You’ll have to show your home, scabs and all, because if you’re going to enter to win you need to show them that you really need a makeover. You have until April 30th to enter, but you should do it now because they’re limiting the contest to 3000 entires. See what I meant about there being a good chance one of us could win? Those are great odds! You should see official rules before you submit your entry, just to make sure you’ve got all of the i’s dotted and t’s crossed, but really, there’s nothing hard about it. After you’re though checking out the contest, make sure you download and print the coupon for a Renuzit® TriScents™ Starter Kit. It’s quick and easy to do and will save you a couple of bucks you can put towards a new lamp or some knick-knacks to go with your new design when you win the contest (I don’t win it, of course!)

Technorati Tags: contest, home makeover, Renuzit TriScents

Posted by skeet @ 3:34 am • Home & Family • 1 comment

Simple Kind of Life

Y’all know Colleen, right? Of course you do. She’s everywhere, what with her seven blogs, her message board community and, oh, yeah, her work for sponsored blogging companies. She was the first to hit the $10,000 earnings mark with PayPerPost, and right this minute is less than $25.00 away from passing $20,000. I think I’ll go ahead and congratulate her now, because it’s already morning at her home in Florida and she’ll probably be posting with her morning coffee while I’m still sleeping. Congrats on being the first $20,000 postie, Colleen! Y’all should go congratulate her, too. She hangs her hat at Simple Kind of Life, where the welcome mat is always out.

I’m not sure where the simple part of her life comes into play. She juggles three kids, a hubby, a full-time job, school, her blogging duties, year-round promotion of her annual 3 Day walk for breast cancer … and still somehow manages time for relaxing, a social life and travel. She and her family take regular vacations together, but she and hubby also sometimes travel without the kids. On their last big “adults only” trip they did something I’ve always wanted to do. They went to Amsterdam and, while there, toured the Anne Frank House and Museum. I remember how overwhlemed I was when I went to the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor and came to the realization that I was in the exact spot where horrific historic events occurred. To have had that same experience, and to have it associated with a person whose story we all know so well and whose face we know - can you imagine how incredibly moving it must have been? Actually, you don’t have to imagine it, because Colleen describes it well. Make sure you click the flickr link in the post to see pictures of the Anne Frank House and the rest of their trip.

You should get to know Colleen (if you’re one of the few people who doesn’t already know her.) Simple Kind of Life features pithy comments about all of the TV she watches (though I can’t see how she finds the time,) family stories and commentary on everything from men’s fashion to the weather in Antarctica. You’ll enjoy her her quirky and sometimes hilarious take on some unfunny things like being harrassed by a cop for blowing her horn and how a snail trial proved someone was trying to pass off used merchandise as new. She’s smart, sassy and funny, and so industrious she’ll probably be running the world in a few years. You’ll be wanting to call on her for favors then, so yeah - now would be a good time to get to know her.

Technorati Tags: blog review, blogs, Simple Kind of Life

Posted by skeet @ 2:08 am • Review, Blogging • 6 comments

March 21, 2008

New trend means more hidden object game fun!

Several games have been released recently featuring our favorite genre as mingames. I prefer full version hidden object games, but these games offer a fun diversion while we wait for new releases. Give them a try and see what you think.

Hidden Wonders of the Depths

Hidden Wonders of the Depths is primarily a match-three game, but has a nice mix of of minigames, some quite engaging. I didn’t get to any hidden object play before my demo hour ran out, but I was playing during the business day and had numerous interruptions (darn clients!) I found a screen capture on Big Fish, though, that shows some hidden object fun.

Rainbow Web

I enjoyed Rainbow Web, a match three game with an unusual configuration. As you claim the orbs from the enchanted webs that imprison the castle, you’re also collecting letters that will help you discover a spell to end the curse. The couple of hidden object screens that I played during my demo hour were not terribly challenging, but the overall gameplay was nice.

Natalie Brooks: Secrets of Treasure House

Natalie Brooks: Secrets of Treasure House is an adveture game in which the player must find items and perform specific actions with them in order to move forward. The hidden object levels are a much more integral part of the game play than with the two games above. I’ve only just begun to get acquainted with adventure games and haven’t developed any skill with intuitively figuring out what comes next in each scene, so I was pretty frustrated playing Natalie Brooks. I liked it, though. I may buy the full version and play it through so I can get more comfortable with the adventure genre.

The History Channel Lost Worlds

The History Channel Lost Worlds is special! Being from The History Channel, you know it’s got some educational value and is, of course, family friendly. There are more split-screen find-the-differences puzzles and jigsaw-type puzzles than hidden object games, but they’re all challenging, some devilishly so. Little history lessons come with each level, of course. The artwork is superb and the entire game is quite engaging. I’ll be buying this one for my collection.

Hidden Secrets: The Nightmare

Hidden Secrets: The Nightmare is another adventure game which came out about a month ago. I finally played it today in furtherance of my efforts towards trying to master adventure games. They’re still pretty frustrating for me at this point. There’s not “pure” hidden object play in Hidden Secrets - it’s incorporated into the adventure. The darkness of some of the scenes makes it impossible to “see” what you’re looking for. You have to rely on the objects being highlighted as you mouse blindly over them. I’d rather a game that doesn’t have to give you the clues. The minigames are fun and somewhat challenging. I did enjoy the storyline, so I may buy the full version, practice my adventure game skills a bit more and find out how the story ends.

Escape the Museum

Well, I thought I had reviewed Escape the Museum for you a week or so, but I guess not. It’s another adventure game/hidden object game combo. The hidden object action is more robust here than in the other games on this list. The storyline is interesting, but annoying. If you brought your daughter to work with you at the museum and an earthquake trapped you in separate ends of the building, would you stop to search for museum artifacts on your way to rescue her? Not if your body has ever produced progesterone! Still, there’s a lot of great hidden object fun here, making Escape the Museum worthy of purchase.

The mixed genre/hidden object game combo is growing rapidly into it’s own specialty niche. I’m good with that. Anything that brings us more hidden object fun is okay with me. You can get a free one-hour demo of each game above by following the links. Full versions are available for $19.99 from Big Fish Games. If you want to get them at a nicely discounted price, check out the link in the graphic below and get your own Game Space.

Technorati Tags: Escape the Museum, games, hidden object games, Hidden Secrets: The Nightmare, Hidden Wonders of the Depths, History Channel Lost Worlds, Natalie Brooks; Secrets of Treasure House, Rainbow Web

Posted by skeet @ 11:18 pm • Review, Games • No comments

The Carnival of Aloha is coming!

It’s that time again, folks, when we share the aloha of our beautiful islands with each other and with the world. Come join us for the Carnival of Aloha, which will be hosted right here on skeet’s stuff on Monday, March 31st. Follow the link to submit your post by Wednesday, March 26th to be included. The Carnival of Aloha celebrates the people, places, things and events that make our islands such a very special place. Sorry, commercial or promotional posts and sites are ineligible, but if you live in Hawaii or have strong island ties, this is your opportunity to talk story. If you don’t have a post ready yet, eh - still got time! Come! Share the aloha!

Technorati Tags: aloha, blog carnivals, Carnival of Aloha, Hawaii, Hawaii stories

Posted by skeet @ 6:44 pm • Blog carnivals, Hawaii • 2 comments

These cufflinks must have been made for me!

My friend is on the mainland this week. Her son graduated from bootcamp in Georgia yesterday (Congratulations, Drew! I’m so proud of you!) I wouldn’t call her a frequent flyer, but she certainly travels more than I do, usually going to the mainland about twice a year. She has the same problem that I do with clutter, so she doesn’t keep a full cold-weather wardrobe. Since most of her travels are in the summer it’s not a problem, but this time there was recent snow where she was going. I offered to loan her my leather jacket and a trench with a zip-out lining. She wanted to travel light, though, so she only took what she could cram into one suitcase and is probably freezing. At one time I had a closet full of jackets, sweaters and suits, having lived in chilly San Francisco before I moved to Hawaii. They’re all gone now, donated to United Cerebral Palsey when I first started my de-cluttering frenzy a year or so ago. I kept two long-sleeved shirts that I used to wear with suits, but rarely get to wear them. The reason I kept them is because they are both timeless classics with French cuffs and I love that look. Somewhere along the line,though, I’ve lost most of the cufflinks that I used to wear with them. I think I have one pair of plain gold button cufflinks left. It would be silly to invest in a whole jewelry box full of them, but I do need to get a few more pair and I really like these Modern Cufflinks a lot. The last time I wore my green silk shirt with the French cuffs was at a pest control conference, so wouldn’t the skeeter cufflinks be perfect for next time? Not to mention, of course, that they provide a little opportunity to play with my online name, which none of my professional cohorts know about. I have a few pieces of insect jewelry that I’ve collected over the years, but no spiders, so the spider cufflinks would be nice, too, don’t you think?

For those of you with a less whimsical fashion sense, take a look at the rest of the jewelry at Tateossian.com. I promise you don’t have to love insects to love their stuff! The contemporary designs incorporating semi-precious stones, fiber optic glass, and CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements, are all classy and elegant (don’t you love they way they even make pesky bugs look elegant?) Robert Tateossian is the “King of Cufflinks,” but there’s much more than just cufflinks in his collections. Every piece reflects the same fine hand-finished craftsmanship as the ones I’ve shown here, and there are stylishly unique designs for both men and women. They’re in better department stores everywhere, in addition to their own stores and in-flight magazines on some airlines. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day will both be here soon, so it’s not too early to shop for a special piece to surprise your loved one. My boy always treats me well for Mother’s Day and my birthday, so I’ll be dropping some heavy hints about those cufflinks soon.

Technorati Tags: cufflinks, jewelry, Tateossian.com

Posted by skeet @ 10:29 am • Review, Shopping • 2 comments

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 are some recent feel-great stories:

Today is World Down Syndrome Day 2008. Val has posted her personal thoughts about why this day is needed. Make sure you take a moment to visit the photo montage she’s linked at the end of her post.

Lisa, the notorious Queen of Pith, is a Mets fan. Find out why she switched her loyalties and rooted for the Yankees this week.

If you’re my age, you probably remember the days when neighbors all knew and watched out for each other. There’s a young man on Oahu who was recently recognized for honoring that old tradition.

Have you checked the back pages of your local paper lately? Do yourself a favor and make it a point to find the good news that never gets the bold headlines. Pick a news source anywhere in the world or something great you’ve found on the web. Better yet, share a heart-warming first-person moment that made you smile. Did your youngest just bake a cake without parental interference? Did the smelly guy on the bus finally get a clue and clean up his act? Maybe your neighbor’s nut tree is hanging over your back fence and giving you all the free pecans you could ever want. Did someone give up their theater seating so you could sit next to your honey? Those little day-to-day moments that make us smile are the stuff of a happy life and worthy of sharing. Here’s your chance to recognize them for what they are and spread a little sunshine in the process. Make sure you send me a link when you’re moved to blog about something good going on. I’ll hook you up the next time we Share Some Good Stuff and then we can all feel a little better about what this world is coming to!

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

Posted by skeet @ 2:12 am • current events, Meme • 3 comments