I just wanted to post a little more about what is going on and giving whoever reads this an update with the site. I am in the process of upgrading the site and a new design to provide better content for the readers. So stay tuned and look for a new site.

Start prioritizing what you want to do first. Your house will look like a mess with all the boxes around, but take it on only one thing at a time. I began painting my room so that I can sleep in there without the paint smell when I moved in. That was a task all in its own. I ended up saying damn a million times, because I didn’t have the right tools and it was off to Home Depot again and again and again. Just like any purchases, you can save money by looking online for tools or even borrowing them from friends or co-workers. I mean, how many times will you need a wet saw or even a mitre saw? Good tools will go a long way though.

I will be posting more about what projects I am working on in the house and how to do them for the homeowner noob.

I just recently bought a new television and during the checkout the service guy kept pushing me to buy the service plan. He said, ” We will replace your bulb if it breaks in the first 4 years or if ANYTHING goes wrong we replace the TV.” I countered with, “I already have a television that had an issue and all they did was call some electrician to come out and fix the issue. They never replaced it.” Then he goes on with a long list of buts. This is the first time I have ever been pushed to buy a service plan. To me, it wasnt worth it, the buld costs $125 on eBay and it is really simple to replace. I was happy that I made the purchase, but dealing with the store clerk was a pain in the ass.

Secondly, the extended warranty wasn’t really all it was cracked up to be. Yes you pay for 4 years extended warranty or even 2, but the fact of the matter is that the manufacturer gives you a one year ALREADY! You are technically only paying for 3 years or just one year! They want you to bring the product back in the first year so that they can cut costs by just sending back to the manufacturer! This is something you could have done! But, who’s to argue peace of mind. I say if you are really that paranoid about something breaking, you better get used to paying high premiums! If you feel comfortable doing it, then do it. To me, nothing is more valuable than peace of mind, but it’s much cheaper to go without .

You post many of the items that you feel like you want to trade. I posted the DVD The Sixth Day and I got an immediate request for it. Then again, you are competing with other people that have the DVD. If they get their trade in first, then they get it first. You browse the trader’s list of tradeables and voila, you’ve got a new movie. You must also rate the condition of your tradeables, that way no one gets screwed.

I am going to make my first trade tonight and ship the DVD off and let’s see how it goes.

Update: I have finally accepted a user’s trade request and here is where the rub is. Once you find out that someone wants your title, you will then have to browse through their paltry set of DVD’s to find what you like. If and only if you decide to accept a title of theirs and they are willing to trade, you have to pay $1 through the site for the service. I guess if you really wanted the title that bad, you can go offline and ask for the trade without the fees. Interesting concept, but needs work.

1Eligible gas purchases include those purchases made at retailers that Visa® classifies as gas stations. This includes purchases made at service stations and purchases made with an automated fuel dispenser. Rebate applied only to transactions up to $100. If transaction exceeds $100, maximum rebate will be $5. Maximum total rebate earned during promotional period is $100. No minimum purchases required. Offer limited to one rebate per account.

2Checking accounts with co-branded rewards Visa check cards are not eligible for rebate.

3Your rebate will be deposited into your Bank of America checking account within 12 weeks of 1/15/07. If for some reason we are unable to successfully direct deposit the funds, a check will be issued.

The one feature I really enjoy is the suggestion of a destination based upon the length of stay and budget. The site will then create a little map of the destinations you can fly to. This is Tom Smakowski’s “Jump to Conclusions Mat” come true. That is an Office Space reference if you don’t know who Tom Smakowski is.

The site also has an interesting feature called Fare Guard. It will let you “guard” your fare for one week once you decide to guard it. You have one week to redeem the Fare Guard. The service will refund the difference between the Fare Guard price and the lowest price that you find. It’s a win-win if you ask me. The best thing about this service is that it is FREE! Sweet. If any of you are going to try it for the holidays let me know how it goes. Or if I decide to do it, I will post an update.

Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

1. If you aren’t sure if the site is secure, send them an email about their security. Many sites will just copy and paste a logo on their site to make them look secure. If you ever see this, make sure you contact your Better Business Bureau.

2. Even high traffic sites may not be secure. So check to make sure that your address bar has HTTPS://. The ‘S’ is very important. This tells you that the site is using a secure connection. But also beware of how they send your information over the web. If it isn’t encoded in the address bar. You may be susceptible to theft.

3. Use a credit card that has fraud protection. Almost all cards have that now, but call your credit card company to make sure. If they don’t have it, then cancel the card. It’s not worth having a card that won’t protect you.

Once I ordered the prints, they came in 3-4 days in a nice package that said do not bend. I opened it up and saw a nice thumbnail sheet of the photos I ordered and a summary of what was ordered. The prints came out really glossy on nice photo paper. On the back of the photos, they printed out the name of the JPEG you uploaded and the date. Pretty frickin sweet. They definitely had better quality than my local Ritz Camera.

I am going to try a few different places with other pics and I will compare the services. So far, Shutterfly has had the sweetest deal. Now throw me some free prints for the free plug!

If you can note the truck number or license plate number of the vehicle that is culprit and report it. Most of these trucks have the “how’s my driving” sticker and a vehicle number. If you are going to run a business, at least run it right.

Before you think of throwing that cup out the window, consider yourself warned about the fine you may incur. In Maryland, fines can be as high as $1000 if you are caught littering. Who’s watching you ask? Who knows, but you sure as hell don’t want to get busted.

If you are walking through the park and see a cup on the ground pick it up and pitch it into a trash can. Every little bit helps. I don’t know why I all of a sudden grew a conscience, but I did. Heck, if everyone picked up a piece of trash and disposed of it properly, it would look like the DC Metro!