RUles Change!

Oh no! PayPerPost has changed their rules on me!

I had hoped this blog as a way to earn some extra spending money - but PayPerPost has "caught on to me!" They have a new rule set up where I have to have a normal blog seperate my PayPerPost blogs.

Oh dear. Now ... I must rethink this whole deal. PayPerPost is going to have to up the ante I thinks for me to take the time to write all of these posts!

Virtual Office Hits The Real World

Back to My Virtual Office Dreams ....

Now .... I wrote a few days ago about opening up my own online business. I started thinking about the next steps. Taking that vitual buisness out into the real world - and opening up an office. How would I go about finding the perfect location?

Offic2share.com is the perfect serach engine for me to begin my hunt. Their main focus is for small business - like myself - locate shared office space - or short term leases. They help out the small business owner make that big leap from "Home Offfice" into a "Real Office".

They recently ran a contest called "Home Office From Hell" - which if I had known about I am sure that we would havec won!!! {well ... after I throw back in all the stuff I've now got piled all over the dinign room!} The prize was free rent for a year in actual office space! And guess what - they'll have a second contest in the fall! Maybe I WILL enter!?!

The Houston Rodeo Returns

"Mama don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys!"

Yep - cowboys are an incredibly dangerous breed I have been told. Then why is it that all of the cowboys in movies are so yummily sexy?

When I was a young girl – the year we moved from Scotland back to the United States – we headed out West for a week on a Montana Ranch. I had my own horse – Whiskey. It was only my horse for a week – but I fell in love with him hard and fast. I imagine that being a cowboy – you feel the same way. You’re out in the open air – in beautiful surrounding mountains – just riding along on your horse. I believe they call it moseying along.

At that time I thought it would be really cool to be a Girl Cowboy – to go to rodeos – to live the fast and dangerous life of the wild west. I went through my Billy The Kid stage – and was really into the romantic Villans of the West. Funny thing is – I’ve never actually been to a rodeo. So … today I decided to look one up and came across the Houston Rodeo!

This looks like a ton of fun! The concerts alone are worth the price of the Season Ticket! Sherly Crow, Maroon 5 and Lonestar as well as a ton of your Country Favorites – Toby Keith for one It’s three weeks of the best athletes in professional riding - all sheltered within the Houston Astrodome! The event started in 1931, and is kicked off every year with a parade through Downtown Houston.

The Houston Rodeo is consistently as the world's largest rodeo—in events, entertainers and spectators—and drawing top competitors searching for a piece of the world's largest regular season purse.

Now this …. This rodeo is the stuff that little girls {and big cowboys} dream of!

To Slide - or Not To Slide...

I think that I'm the only person in the world who has never eaten a "Slider".

You know what I'm talking about - right? Those little tiny hamburgers from White Castle. They are in the shape of a square and are on a bun that looks more like a dinner roll. There's lots of diced onions on top - so I have to imagine that these things taste wonderful!

Still Looking For The Perfect Job!

If you've read my Main Blog {www.willosweb.com/blog} then you'll know that I've been searching for a job for the past 11 months. Sure ... I took a few months here and there to help out with family emergencies - but it has been a total of 11 months since I last had a real job.

There's a new website available - A New Job - for job seekers with a new approach. The employers can post FREE job listings, and access employee residents and no charge. This is great - because it give the HR person an opportunity to review ALL the resumes - and not just do a hit or miss search on "keywords". They may be able to find my "diamond in the rough" resume and see that - hey - she may not have the exact experienec we wanted - but she's good!

The twist though, is that the employee has to pay a one time fee if hired by a company that utilizes this web site. While no one should have to pay a fee in order to find a job - I think that this might be worth it. If it means having an advantage over other candidates - that the HR personal are going to see my full resume rather than a snippet - I say sign me up!

all Taxed Out

I know .. and you know ... that Tax Season for next year is still far away. But it's not too early to think about what type of Tax Software to use for filing. Or perhaps you're one of those procastinators who have yet to fill out your 1040EZ for 2005?!

eSmart Tax offers an online tax software product that's free for anyone to try. It's quick and easy to use, and takes the average consumer about 30 minutes to complete their taxes from start to finish. Remember - to be sure to have all your reciepts and forms available on hand BEFORE you begin. I've found that this slows down the tax preparation process considerably if you're not organized up front.

The web site looks easy enough to use - and it appears that all the forms and documentations will be available. So ... if you HAVN'T filed your taxes yet this year - why not give it a try? You've obviously been procastinating for a reason - let eSmart Tax lend you a helping hand!

Saving Local News!

This next product will be great for my TV friends who are trying to find a better way to steam their video live to the internet. Please don't ask me any technical specifications on this product ... I don't know how it works. I'm just posting about it here so YOU can do the homework and find out if it will work for your needs or not.

epiphan Systems has developed a dual mode frame grabber than can broadcast high quality images and video to the internet from any sort of device with a USB connection and monitor. The best part is no PCI is needed - which eliminates that quality reduction you typically get when transferring graphically.

I almost wish I had this product when I was creating my video for the Biggest Loser. While my quality was pretty clean – there were some spots that became pretty pixilated when I uploaded the video to putfile.com . ALSO – for my TV friends – this makes making your Demo Reel that much easier! No need to “borrow” the station equipment – you can do your own dubs at home and wind up with better quality than if you had dubbed on the tired equipment in master control. The epiphan systems web site is all a bit too technical for me … but I am sure there are photogs out there who would eat this type of device up!!

The DVI2USB uses the USB port to capture output from virtually any VGA or DVI source - such as a Windows PC, Macintosh OSX, Unix machine, and more. It then broadcasts these images over public, private or broadband wireless networks, enabling remote almost instantaneous shots streamed live via the internet. Every TV station should have one of these – can you imagine? Satellite trucks would become a thing of the pass – just hook the camera into a portable laptop – shoot the story – and zap it live for broadcast via a simple USB port!

Amazing! Think of the money it would save? Then again … when have TV stations been up to date on the latest and greatest technology? It will probably take YEARS for them all to figure this one out. If you’re an Engineer at any local TV station – you have to check this out. You could wind up the hero at the end of the day – saving the company thousands and thousands of dollars.

Free Long Distance?

So ... I've been reviewing web sites and new products for the past week - I'm sure you're wondering "What's Up With Hush Hush's old blog"? Well ... that's right - this old blog has become my "Product Review" blog ... so deal with it!

And I now have a new product for your purusal - it's actually kind of neat for those who never ever want to leave their PC to take a phone call. Seriously - if you're a big time web geek or gamer - you HAVE to see the advantages to this next product.

iCall is a telephone program that you load onto your PC - and with the use of a headset and mic - you can make phone calls right from your desk. You don't have to have phone service, you don't have to buy expensive phones, nope - all you need is an intenet connection, this software, and off you go! iCall uses your broadband connection - and you avoid long distance charges!

For anyone who gives this product a try - the company is offering a free iPod AND $100 cash.

A Pirates Life For Me!

In my hunt for vacation attire, I stumbled across a new type of "flip flop" and thought - hey- these would be GREAT for the beach. These sandals are even better than flip flops - because there is a strap in the back - so the shoe won't fall off your feet when you sink down into the steaming hot sand!

Pirate Brand Sandals come in a variety of patterns and vivid colors. One of the best features - replcement straps! That's right - if your gets hold of these sandals and knaws through the strap - you just send away for another set of straps. OR- even better - you get tired of the neon Pink strap - send away for a different color and viola! Just like new sandals!

Besides ... everything and anything is about Pirates this Summer! Especially with Pirates of the Carribean 2 opening TOMORROW!

Online Passport Photo Booth

Have you heard about the new Online Passport Photo booth? It's a really neat tool for anyone needing a new passport photo. Go check it out - it's fun to play with too! You upload any photo you have on your PC, then crop the photo so it only shows your face, and then you can download the photos to print on your own PC for free - or pay to have them print and shipped to you. It's that easy!

Blogs In Space

It almost sounds like something you'd find on G4 or the Conan show ... Blogs In Space {imagine a fake echo here}.

You can have your blog submitted into the Great Vastness of Space. Be one of the first to have your thoughts read by interspace communication specialists from other worlds. Imagine what it would be like KNOWING your blog is one of the first forms of communication beings from other solar systems discover!! Think of the implications - your blog tells the rest of the Universe what EARTH is all about!!!!

Please ... just don't make any mention of Dubbya. Promise me that one thing!

Laptop or TV - why not both?

I've been looking for a tray table of sorts to use for my laptop while watching TV. Currently I'm sitting my bum on the floor at the cofee table - and let me tell you - that is NOT comfortable AT ALL! Well .. I think I've found the answer!

TABLE MATE




Now - this handy-dandy table could be called the Modern Day TV Dinner tray. But it's update to fit our modern styles and needs. The best part about this - it folds up and collapses for easy stoage when you're not using it. The web site even tells me that I get this at $5 less than the advertised price - AND - it will ship in just a few weeks. Now that's a great deal!

Family Appreciation

Do you ever have one of those days - when you wish you could trade in your hubby or wife? The show Trading Spouses kind of reminds me of this .... trading in for a newer model. Do you think the family learns to appreciate mom or dad more? OR do you think the spouse that was traded comes to appreciate what they have in a family more? Wouldn't it be funny - if the spouses traded - then didn't want to trade back!!! That would be a hoot!

Podcasting For N00bs

I've been doing this blog thing for a while now - and have always wondered how to get into Podcasting. How it all works is beyond me - I don't even OWN an iPod!

But now-I found a website that will allow me to listen to Podcasts online! I don't need an iPod to tune in to my favorite broadcasts. It's a new website called Pluggd.com - I can search the site for podcasts that interest me, subscribe to the casts that I want to keep on listening to, and add new podcasts to my playlist whenever they become availble.

And my favorite part - the critic in me just loves this - I can REVIEW the podcasts and share my opinions with the rest of the Pluggd.com community! There's even a RSS feed to automatically update my blogs with the review - I don't even have to type it in twice.

This is a really cool site!

Over The Rainbow

Tired of packing your fragile items in plain old bubble wrap? Do you want to spice up your ebay life? Are you looking for something to brighten up your day - AND - your packages?

Then you have GOT to try COLORED bubble wrap!!!!!

fast-pac.com has every kind of packing supply you can imagine - it's an ebayers best friend!

Road Trip - Asheville, NC

My son and I are planning our next road trip - we're headed to the Biltmore Estates in Asheville, NC. When I started planning the trip - I really had no idea where we wanted to go. I found a great web site for Vacation Rental homes - at Zip Vacations {The Biltmore Inn at $1000 a night was to much for my pocket book!}.

The site was easy to use and had literally thousands of Vacation Home Rental property listings from around the world. It was easy to navigate - I didn't have to sift though HUNDREDS of rental directors and lisitings. I could enter the exact criteria for the type of property that suited my son and I best. Then their site did the rest. If you're planning a vacation this summer - I'd give it a try. Vacation Rentals usually end up saving you more money than staying at a hotel.

New Arrivals

Both my sister-in-law and cousin are expecting babies this year - and they were asking me to help them find unique birth announcements - something outside the norm. I stumbled across Babyshere.com - and found not only unique annoucements - but they were VERY affordable.

Starting My Own Business - Maybe

I've been thinking about starting my own online business - but I really don't know where to begin. I've seen a lot of positive things about Virtual Assistants - that would be something I could easily do from home. But what do I do first?! Where can I find help?!

Incparadise comes to the rescue! They take all the guess work out of applying for a buisness license - from the business application process to the filings, to paying for business taxes. They do it all! So perhaps my virtual business dreams are a REALITY!

Howard Stern - Ugh!

I don't get why people tune into the listen to Howard Stern over and over and over again! It's tourture to me. Come on ... is it really neccessary to bring in Porno Stars and have them "perform" on air? Or send out a Little Person to intiate obscene actions on innocent little old ladies? I mean whatswithHowardStern?

PayPerPost - Now In Beta!

I found a GREAT opportunity online for Bloggers everywhere - it's called PayPerPost! Basically, Bloggers from all over can log into this web site and earn REAL MONEY just for making a few posts. You get to decide which offers to write about - so you're not being forced to say things you don't want to.

The site is in BETA right now - so you're going to want to jump on board as soon as you can. I've decided to give it a try for one month and see if they really do pay for your posts! What harm could it do? If nothing else - you'll at least have an outlet for Post Ideas when you come down with Bloggers Block!