Telemarketers....

How many times has this happened to you? Your phone rings and the caller ID says, "Blocked ID." You answer the phone thinking that maybe it's one of your friends calling from their cell phone. You say "Hello" and there's a brief pause and an audible click transferring you from a computer automated dialing system to yet another telemarketer. You grimace and unwillingly listen to what they are trying to sell.

This has happened too many times to me. I have had just about enough of people trying to sell me stuff that I don't want over the phone. If I want to buy a product or service I will make the phone call or go to the store to buy it! I'm sure some of you who are reading this feel the same way.

Other than feeling like my privacy has been invaded when these telemarketers end up on the other end of the line, but when you are unfortunate and have to listen to their spiel, they won't take "No" for an answer. The last one I had to deal with couldn't speak English very well and obviously didn't learn the word "No." I'll give her kudos for being persistent, but really, know when to stop! In hind sight, I should have just said "No I don't want it" and hung up.

How many times have you been plagued by the dreaded Telemarketer?

Addition:
Recently I have been politely told off for my tone in this post. I understand that Telemarketers are people earning a wage to keep a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs. I'm not thrilled about receiving calls from these people, but the next time you receive a call from one of them there are eight words to remember "Put me on your do not call list." Special thanks to detached for reminding me that telemarketers are people too, and being polite about telling me off.

Rain, Rain go away...

This summer has been more humid than wet. We've had few rainy days and the grass in my back yard has turned yellow. This month we have had more days of rain than in the previous two months. I have only had to cut my grass three times this year. Not that I'm complaining about not having to cut the grass this summer, but three days of rain in a row reminds me of another country.

Granted that the rain is good for the plants, but really, how much good is it doing them when the leaves are starting to change colour? If my grass actually gets long enough and green enough to warrant cutting it, I don't think I will. The cold of winter is on its way, and the grass will probably not grow very much between now and next spring.

I don't mind the rain, when it rains at night while I sleep. However during the day while people are out running their various errands, or driving back and forth to work, it can cause lots of delays. At least when it rains, drivers have a tendency to be just a little bit more careful and more observant which is a good thing. But when it rains, the cold comes with it. I love the summer months, even when its hot and humid, because, at least its not cold and we don't have to bundle up or retreat to the indoors just to stay warm.

I guess I'm just annoyed that we've had three days of rain in a row. Normally I enjoy the rain, but when you have consecutive days of rain, I'm reminded of a week I spent in Scotland. It was my second trip to Scotland and I was only there for a week, and out of that week, we had one day of sun and six of overcast weather. I didn't think it was possible to have so much rain. Although playing in the muck was fun, I still would prefer a nice sunny day to a rainy one.

Traffic!

I'd like to start by asking a simple question, "Do drivers licenses come in cracker jack boxes now?" Some people know that I have to commute to work every day, those of you who don't, well now you know, and some of the other people on the road just drive me absolutely crazy!! Most of the time, the drive is very tame and not a lot to talk about, but every other day it seems, people decide that the road is theirs and you're not allowed to be in their way.

Some of the attitudes of other people behind the wheel absolutely frightens me! I've had more than my share of accidents in a relatively short period of time and I can't stand it when some one in the next lane decides to cut out in front of you while your near their rear bumper! Do people purposely not check their blind spot or is it just when I'm overtaking some one? Are these people just dumb or are they trying to prevent others from speeding by impeding traffic?

Not only that, but what about all those 'rubber necks' out there? Do you really have to slow down to a crawl just to look at an accident? Stop looking at the accident on the side of the road! You're gonna cause another one! I can prove it, the last accident I was in, I had to stop, and the guy behind me was too busy looking at the car in the ditch to stop and crashed into the back of my car! Pay attention Damn it!

If everybody just paid more attention to the road, and the vehicles around you, our roads would be a lot safer! Even though there are improvements that cities can make to improve the flow of traffic, it is far more important to watch where you are going! Don't you think?

Does it Work?

Recently I have added a new element to my blogs. Its called 'Blogosphere' and you probably can see it to your right of this. The site that I got the code for this wonderfull little widget is Blogrush. This site claims it helps to bring traffic to your blog site. I thought it was worth a try. So far I am undecided. Why don't you give it a try. Check out some other blogs and give me some feed back and help me decide if it was worth it or not!

Paid To Read, the truth!

Have you ever wanted to get paid to read your emails? I have, and I have been paid very small amounts for it! For the amount of time it takes to get paid for reading an email, or even just opening one, how much do you think you should be paid? I'm sure your answer is going to be much higher than what most advertisers are willing to pay you for 30 seconds of your time.

The majority of sites that claim they pay you for reading emails are only willing to pay you $0.03 for spending 45 seconds on the advertisers page. And even if you are willing to spend the time to make a few cents, how much of the advertiser's page are you actually going to read? I've seen many of these advertisers sites, and not very many of them actually appeal to me. Most of them are advertising work at home programs that are similar. For example, an advertisement for a "type at home" based business is usually run through a common site that offers you a commission on the sale of a membership to that site. In order to attain the commission you will have to subscribe to an online classified site just to get your 25 word ad for the website buried amongst the millions of others trying to do the same.

Is all this work that you are required to do worth it? How much time do you want to spend online? I've tried some of these paid to read sites and found that they are good if you would like to have a small amount of cash in a pay pal account to purchase goods over the Internet. But do you really want to spend upwards of 20 hours a day online trying to make money through paid to read emails? I've made my decision on the matter, what's your thoughts?

Roommates

Do you actually have a roommate when you don't hear from them in or see them over two weeks? I have a roommate, or at least I think I have a roommate, who disappears for some period of time. I have no problems with this person having a life of their own, in fact I encourage it! It is nice to not have to see a roommate every hour of the day when you're home. Not that we don't get along or anything its just nice to be able to have time to yourself to relax.

Supposedly, he was to move in, so far he's hardly been here. The dilemma that I have right now, is, do I ask him for full payment of the rent we agreed on or just a portion of it? I'm not sure if I should even ask for the rent, considering that he's spent maybe five nights here. I know I will definitely talk to him about it. From my point of view, it seems like he just wanted a place to stay for a few nights.

If all you need is a place to stay for a few nights, why would you be misleading and say you're going to move in? He was paying more for rent at the previous place than I was asking. Maybe he just can't pay the rent...that is probably why I have hardly heard from him.

Tim Hortons Vs Starbucks

Where to start when comparing Tim Horton's and Starbucks. Logically, the most common item in both chains is coffee! But which coffee offers the better value for your dollar? Most people I have talked to swear by a coffee from 'Timmie's' first thing in the morning, although I have a few friends that don't care for Tim Horton's coffee.

Obvious to anyone who has been a patron at both coffee chains, Tim Horton's coffee is offered at a lower price than Starbucks. For example, a large coffee at Tim Horton's will drain your pocket by $1.39 with applicable taxes in my area, whereas a "grande" coffee at Starbucks will delightfully remove $2.01 from your pocket. Now with the price of a similar size cup of coffee out in the open, which is the better value for your dollar?

The better value for your dollar is some what a matter of opinion and taste when choosing between Tim Horton's and Starbucks. Tim Horton's has sold an impressive amount of coffee throughout the years, and so has Starbucks respectfully. Starbucks has variety of different coffees from around the world, and Tim Horton's has their own blend of coffee. If you prefer a more exotic coffee, than Starbucks would give you the better value for your dollar. If you just love coffee then either coffee shop will give you the better value for your dollar, its a matter of taste and opinion.

I enjoy coffee from both coffee shops and will continue to go to either one of them. Every now and then an exotic coffee hits the spot, but when you just have to have a coffee, especially late at night, you can find a Tim Horton's in most Canadian cities. In fact, here in my city, you really won't have a hard time finding a Tim Horton's, considering there are four Tim Horton's with in walking distance of my front door!

In conclusion, its really up to you to decide which is better. I enjoy both and sometimes have trouble deciding which coffee shop to get my morning cup of coffee from!

Post #1

Wow, my first post. This is a little bit daunting, but I have to post something sooner or later. I am going to say here in this blog, that I will be expressing my opinions on many different topics here. Some will be positive, some will be obscure and some will be negative, maybe I'll even add a few boring ones too. Anyways, Talk at ya later!

Update:

This is my new header for my blog.