I'll Never Pay for Long Distance Again

I did a post a couple of weeks ago recommending Google's latest acquisition - GrandCentral.com. If you didn't read that post, you can take a look at it HERE.

I've been thinking about GrandCentral since then - trying to figure out what, if anything, I could do with this kind of service. As a refresher, they give you a phone number and you can give that number out and your calls to that number will automatically be forwarded to any number you designate. Well - after a couple of weeks of thinking about it - I've figured out how that I can use a service like this.

Here's my plan. Anytime I need to call someone long distance, I simply go to GrandCentral first and enter the long distance phone I'm trying to call there. Then - when I call my OWN GrandCentral number (the number that got assigned to me when I signed up) my call will auto-forward to the long distance number of the person I'm trying to call. I've called a local number (my GrandCentral phone number is a local Charlotte number) and the service does the forwarding - so no long distance fees for me!

Give it a try! You can still sign up with the link in my earlier post.

Website Recommendation: JetEye.com

JetEye.com is nothing like it sounds. When I first heard about it, I thought it was something to do with travel - and it's not at all. This is a cool site that can save you a lot of time - especially if you are a teacher, a researcher, or need help finding information on a particular topic.

JetEye.com basically allows you to take a shortcut - by posting other people's best links on a given topic. Groups of links are stored in what are called 'jet packs' and can be accessed and used by anyone on the site. For example, if you were interested in the 2008 Presidential Election or were doing research on the British monarchy, you could go to JetEye.com and type in those terms. Your results would be 'jet packs' - groups of links created by other people looking for similar information. By using other people's links, you're taking the shortcut of not having to weed through all the bad, non-useful links that you might get from a Google search and can head straight to information that someone else has already screened and deemed useful.

I don't know - maybe it's the fact that I actually like doing research - but I think this is a cool site and a cool concept. You can even take it a step farther and start creating your own jet packs for others to use. The more people that use the site, the better the information gets, and the more time we can all save by not having to wade through useless site after useless site in search of the one or two good ones. Give it a try next time you have something you want to learn more about!

Watch Sports on Your Computer - For Free!

I have my friend Todd to thank for today's website recommendation. Channelsurfing.net is a pretty bare bones, plain site. No fancy interface or pretty graphics to be found. That, however, does not lessen the 'coolness' of this site. What it offers are links to live video streams of sporting events from around the country and around the world. VERY COOL.

I have used the site to watch a number of blacked out NBA games or games that weren't being carried locally. I tested the site out today and saw that the Atlantic 10 basketball tournament was being shown. This is not to mention all the international sporting events that are linked to from the site (you can watch international soccer to your heart's content from this site). Todd has been spending some time on the west coast recently and told me that he watched the last UNC-Duke game on this site - all LIVE. Most live streaming sites are pay only and many don't have good performance. My experience with this site has been that it has very good performance and it's completely free! I will say that it doesn't always work well with Firefox (my preferred internet browser) - so if you want to give it a try, I recommend using Internet Explorer. Next time your favorite team isn't on showing in your area, give it a try. You might be able to watch online for free!

Website Recommendation: AllMyFaves.com

Have you ever seen that commercial where the guy is surfing the internet and gets a message telling him that he's reached the end of the internet and must go back? That's how I often feel. I often struggle to find good sites that I haven't seen before or have not already decided that I'm not interested in. The site I'm recommending today helps with that.

AllMyFaves.com is a site that brings you the best of the internet organized into categories. When you hit the site, you'll see lists of the top ten sites in various categories displayed. Site listings are updated weekly and you can also drill down into more specific categories for some topics. For example - it doesn't just list the top 10 entertainment sites, it allows you to drill down into TV dramas, movies, etc.

Next time you're on the hunt for some interesting content or want to try some sites that you haven't been to before, start here. You're likely to find something that's new and interesting!

Website Recommendation: UShip.com

My friend Matt introduced me to a new website this morning that I think people will find really useful. UShip.com is a startup company that aims to connect people that need to ship goods (whether that be boxes/packages across the country or household moves across town) with reliable moving companies. The great thing is that it's an auction style site. You list the particulars of your move and literally thousands of companies bid on the job. You can choose the shipper of your choice based on recommendations, price, feedback from other users, etc.! Even better - there's no cost to use the service!!

Here's just a quick example of how this might be a good site to bookmark for future reference. When I moved to Charlotte from Memphis almost four years ago, I was moving a 2 bedroom apartment (far less stuff than I have today). That move cost me over $4,000. I put in the particulars of that move on UShip (using their estimator tool) and it came back with a price in the $900 - $1200 range. Now - I'm sure that probably didn't include some of the extras that I purchased like packing and insurance - but it definitely looks like this is a place that you could go to save yourself some big time money.

A final note - my friend Matt knows one of the guys running the company and he says it's growing like crazy. I say that to let you know that this isn't some fly by night scam type website - we have actual human contact and have heard some of the 'back story' on the company. Give it a shot if you've got a move coming up, need to ship something you sell on Ebay, etc.

FNL - This is What Ticks Me Off

I bet you're probably tired of my incessant ranting and raving about Friday Night Lights. Well - until the shows gets renewed (or cancelled), I'm going to keep on ranting because I simply can't understand what NBC is thinking?!

Yesterday, Optimedia, a communications planning/buying agency, published a first of it's kind study called the 2007 Content Power Ratings. The study attempts to provide a ranking of a program's true commercial value based on buzz, web presence/streaming, audience size, and audience appeal. Basically the gist is that traditional rankings are based solely on Nielsen ratings but today, with multiple channels for shows, blogs spreading buzz about shows, etc., there are more factors to consider.

So - taking all of these new variables into consideration, how did FNL do? It came in 17th! It finished ahead of supposed powerhouse shows like 24, NCIS, Two and a Half Men, My Name is Earl, Without a Trace, ER, Cold Case, the list goes on and on. It's absolutely ridiculous to me that we're even having to sweat it out. The show clearly has a dedicated following and wide spread appeal - what in the heck is the issue here?!

What else can we do now that SaveFridayNightLights has finished their mini-football campaign (at least for the time being after sending nearly 20,000 footballs to NBC!)? There's still a few things to do. First - head over to TVGuide and vote in their poll about what "bubble show" deserves another season. The poll is on the lower right side of the page. Second, head to NBC.com and use their contact form to send the powers that be an email on your desire to see the show continue.

I'm going to keep talking about it and trying until we get a definitive 'yes' or 'no'. I hope you'll hang in there with me!!

Thirteen Thoughts: My Greatest Hits

I meant to do this post a few weeks ago when we finally hit 2,500 page views here but time got away from me and I didn't get to it. I've got a couple of tools on this site that let me know where people that visit the site are coming from, whether or not the links I post get clicked on, etc. The tools also tell me what posts are the most popular posts on the site. There are four or five of my posts that get clicked on MUCH more than any of the others. I suppose it's because they turn up more prominently in Google searches or something like that. Nonetheless, I've been surprised by which pages are the most popular - as they're often not the ones I think people will be as interested in or they're ones I've posted just on a whim. Without further adieu, here are my "Greatest Hits" after 2,750 page views:

#1 - Far and away my most popular post. Guess there are a lot of annoyed people out there!

#2 - Random post on a random topic and it gets hit at least 3 times per day

#3 - Lots of searches for colleges on Google - hopefully this post will influence some decisions

#4 - I guess there aren't many reviews of this book on the net because this one gets hit almost daily

#5 - Apparently a lot of folks were wondering about these guys just like I was

So - that's it - the top 5 posts since I started this blog. Weird - none of my ideas on money saving or shopping or cool websites. Just random stuff. Any ideas on why these would be more popular than the others?

Don't Pay Full Price for Magazines

I don't think I've ever paid full retail price for a magazine subscription in my life. Most of my subscriptions have been gifts and if I choose to renew them, I usually wait for the "please don't let your subscription lapse" letter which always comes and then renew. You can find good prices on magazine subscriptions pretty easily by doing a little digging on Google or some of the deal sites. The offer I saw yesterday, however, is better than a good deal - it's a FANTASTIC deal.

Fandango.com, a movie ticket site, looks to be running a special for their customers where you can get a year's worth of top name magazines for $2.00. The great thing about it is that you don't have to do anything with Fandango to get the deal. Simply go HERE and you can sign up for up to 4 magazines. We're talking about expensive magazines like Sports Illustrated (usually $90 per year), Time, Entertainment Weekly, Fortune, etc. $2.00 for a year of any of those magazines would definitely be worth it. That's lower than the cover price of one issue!

My understanding is that in one year's time, they'll send you a notification that your subscription is being auto-renewed and your credit card will be billed if you don't cancel. I, being the 'cheapskate' that I am, did not want to mess around with having to cancel (though I'm sure that'd be pretty easy), so I used a virtual credit card to pay for the subscriptions. What, you ask, is a virtual credit card? It's a one-time use Visa code that some credit card companies offer to their customers for online transactions. When these magazines try to renew next year, they'll get a denied message because my virtual card has already been used once! Check with your bank to see if it's a service they offer. I know that PayPal, Citi, and Bank of America all have the service.

Lending Club - Free Money Update

I posted last Monday about LendingClub.com's $25.00 free signup bonus. I'm happy to report that the ENTIRE process (enrolling, confirming my bank account, getting the $25.00 credit, and taking that money back out) took less than a week! That's really almost unheard of in the online banking/financial world. So...long story short, if you haven't signed up for an account at LendingClub, do it now. It's fast free money - and, like I said in my last post, if you want to try your hand at lending money, you could make it worth even more!

Website Recommendation: GrandCentral.com

This may be old news to some of you - but it's a site that I just learned about in the last couple of weeks so I thought I'd share it with you. GrandCentral is a company that has recently been acquired by Google (that should tell you something about the site right there - Google doesn't buy companies that don't have something special to offer). The site offers users a FREE centralized phone number. You can then set-up your Grand Central account to ring any of your phones - cell, home, work, etc. - when that one centralized phone number is called. You can also set up the site to screen your calls for you, route different calls to different numbers depending on who's calling, get voicemail that you can listen to over the web, and even play the 'this number has been disconnected' message when you get called by telemarketers or someone you don't want to talk to. It's pretty powerful and I haven't even explored all the features that the site has!

Britney and I were talking about it this weekend and thought of another pretty cool use for the site. If you have friends, relatives, etc. in another state, sign up for a number that's local to those people. They can call the local number and the site will forward the call on to you - at no cost!

Up until recently, the site has been closed to new users. Last week they opened it up for everyone, so go get your number before they're all gone. Sign-up link is HERE.

Friday Night Lights - The Campaign Continues

Sorry for the slowdown around here. I'm technically "on vacation" even though Britney & I had to cancel our ski trip to Lake Placid due to the blizzard they had in upstate NY. Something like 20 inches of snow fell the day before we were supposed to head up there and roads closed, etc. So...we're on vacation...at home...with a one year old...and stuff to do around the house. It's a pretty sweet vacation.

Nonetheless - this isn't about my vacation - it's about the sincerity of the fans of my favorite show 'Friday Night Lights'. What you're looking at in this picture is the result of the first wave of fund raising over at SaveFridayNightLights.TV. This is the first 6,250 mini-footballs that were shipped to NBC in an effort to save the show. Since this shipment, the site has raised enough money to send 10,000 more mini-footballs, give over $1700 to charity, and give more than $900 worth of DVDs to soldiers in Iraq. If you haven't donated yet, get your paypal checkbook out and start giving. NBC has not yet renewed the series but things are looking up and the smallest donation can help!

Free $25.00 and a Chance at an Infinite Return!

I've talked in the past couple of weeks about venturing into the world of social lending and so far, so good. I've got $500.00 in loans over at Prosper.com and my average rate of return is over 16%. I'll let you know if anything starts going south and people start defaulting.

Today's deal comes from Prosper's main competitor - LendingClub.com. LendingClub is offering a promotion of $25.00 for opening a new account. The site operates much the same way as Prosper - people can lend and borrow money from each other rather than through a bank. It gives lenders a chance to get better returns and borrowers a chance to get more favorable terms than they might get elsewhere. LendingClub's special deal is an effort to get more people borrowing and lending. Here's how to take advantage of the deal:

1. Go to LendingClub.com and sign up to open an account and become a lender.
2. After entering some basic information about yourself, LendingClub will send you an email to verify your account.
3. After verifying your account with the link they send in your email, go back to LendingClub.com, log in, and enter your bank account information on the Bank Account page.
4. In the next couple of days, LendingClub will either add a few cents to your account or take a few cents from your account and you will need to go back to LendingClub and verify the amounts added/taken away (usually it's like two 15 cent credits/debits). This is how financial sites verify that you are the owner of the bank account that you listed and is standard for online financial sites - nothing to worry about!
5. Once your bank account is verified, fund your LendingClub account with $1.00.

That's all there is to it. The promotion states that new accounts that are funded with $1-$999 are eligible for the $25.00 promotion. The site will credit your account within a week of the $1.00 going into your account. Free money!

Now - you could stop there if you just want to get the cash. But - if you're willing to actually fund a loan on the site, you have a chance for an INFINITE return (you invested $0 and any amount that you get in return would equal an infinite return!). LendingClub allows lenders to fund loans in $25.00 increments (Prosper requires $50.00 increments) - so if you want to try to get more than the free $25.00, turn around and lend out that $25.00. You get to shop around and find a loan that you're interested in making based on the proposed interest rate, borrower information, etc. Lend that money out and give the site a test drive. It costs you nothing and offers the rare chance of getting an unbelievable rate of return!

By the way - I realize that you actually invested $1.00 (not $0) - but as soon as the promotional funds hit your account, you can transfer that $1.00 back to yourself - so you really have not invested anything at all!

Website Recommendation: File2HD.com

I hesitate a little bit to post a recommendation for this site simply because I know that not everyone that reads this blog is computer saavy. Let me preface this recommendation by saying that if you're not at least a little bit comfortable with computers, this site won't be useful to you. If you are, however, this site is pretty cool.

File2HD.com lets you save files off of websites onto your hard drive. This site does things that you can't do on your own by just right-clicking and selecting save. For example, you can enter a MySpace page and tell the site that you're interested in saving the audio files off the site and it will give you the ability to do so. That is something that, without the help of a tool like this, is virtually impossible to do. All you have to do to use the site is enter a website and tell it what type of file you're interested in saving (audio, images, etc.). File2HD will examine the page you entered and gather all of the data that can be saved off of the page. I use it all the time to do things like save pictures and music.

Sorry for posting a site that isn't applicable to everyone, but this is a cool tool for those that can figure out how to operate it so I wanted to go ahead and share. Drop me a note if you can't figure it out and I'll try to help.

Friday Night Lights May Actually Survive!

It appears that all of the furor and uproar from fans over the potential cancellation of 'Friday Night Lights' may have gotten the attention of execs at NBC. Variety magazine is reporting that NBC execs are trying their hardest to find another network to partner with so that 'Lights' can survive for a third season. That is fantastic news!! My co-worker, Matt (last name withheld so as not to humiliate him), told me last week that I needed to give up the dream of saving my favorite show. It looks like I may get the last laugh after all.

It's still in the make-or-break period though and support still needs to be shown. Head over to SaveFridayNightLights.TV and make a donation (or another donation) and let's make sure that NBC knows that there are people out here that want this show around for another season!!

Get Paid For Your Old Electronics

If you're like me, you probably have a decent collection of old cell phones, video game systems, MP3 players, etc. Every year or two I seem to upgrade my gadgets and am left wondering what to do with the old ones. In the past, I've simply given them to Goodwill (which is still a decent way to get rid of things). However, with the IRS cracking down on charity donations and the issues around disposal of electronics (putting them in landfills is not good for the environment), I started wondering if there were better ways to get rid of this stuff. Turns out there are ways that I can both help the environment and make some money!

Second Rotation is a site that buys back all kinds of electronics - cell phones, digital cameras, video game consoles, MP3 players, etc. - and extends their life by selling them in markets where the technology is still viable or in demand. You enter your device, give the details about it (what condition it's in, etc.), mail it to them, and get paid. If your device can't be resold, they'll recycle it in an environmentally friendly way.

TechForward works a little differently - but the concept is the same. This site allows you to lock in a future trade value for your unwanted devices. I have an 80GB IPod that I know I may not want in a year. I can go to the site, tell them that I will send the IPod in one year from now, and lock in a trade value for the IPod. Once I'm locked in, I am guaranteed to get the amount that they promise - AND if I decide I don't want to send it in a year from now, I'm free to walk away! Just like Second Rotation, these items are sold in other markets and, if they're unsellable, are recycled in environmentally friendly ways.

There are a number of sites popping up around the net that offer this type of service. So - next time you're thinking of getting rid of a piece of electronics, think again. You may be able to pocket some cash in the process!

Free Platinum Status at Hyatt

For the second day in a row I'm linking to an offer for free status. Hyatt has a promotion now for free platinum status (their 2nd highest level) just for registering for a new Gold Passport account. It's absolutely free and is good through March 31st. If you stay at a Hyatt between the time you register and 3/31, the status lasts until February 2009. The link for the offer is HERE.

Now - what if you don't plan to stay at a Hyatt and don't have any use for status with them? There's another good reason to register. Hyatt Platinum members get a one-year free membership in Clear. Clear is the fast-track program that's being implemented at airports across the country. Clear members register their information, Clear checks it with the government, and you, as a member, get to bypass those ultra long security lines in airports. A year's membership costs $128.00 - so it's worth getting for free!

Our New Little Girl

As I've mentioned in earlier posts, my friend Carlos Whittaker and a team of 15 bloggers are in Uganda this week as part of a Compassion International trip. The bloggers are posting videos, pictures, and stories of what they're seeing there. After watching and reading these stories, we made the decision to commit to sponsoring a child in Uganda. $32.00 per month can and will make a difference in her life and we are excited about getting to know our new little girl.

Her name is Phinah and she is 3 years old. She lives in the Budimo Village of Uganda with her parents and 3 other children. Neither of her parents have regular jobs. In this area of Uganda, adults that are employed full time average an income of $2 per month. Her village is in an area that is heavily affected by HIV/AIDS. Our sponsorship will get Phinah in a program that will provide her with health screenings, supplementary food, education (school fees, clothing & supplies), and communication and life skills training. We are excited about the opportunity to communicate with and get to know Phinah. Welcome to our family!

If you'd like to sponsor a child and make a difference in an area that desperately needs it, here is the link to do so.

Friday Night Lights - There's More You Can Do

The campaign to save Friday Night Lights looks like it's picking up some momentum around the internet. There are rumors out there that the show may be moved to one of NBC's affiliate networks (Bravo, USA, etc.) rather than completely cancelled. That's fine with me as long as the show isn't taken off the air.

SaveFridayNightLights.TV has another campaign going - one that proved effective last year when fans saved 'Jericho' from cancellation by CBS. Jericho fans contributed money and bombarded CBS headquarters with packages of peanuts (why peanuts? I really don't know). In similar fashion, this website is collecting PayPal donations and will be sending 6-inch plastic footballs to NBC with 'Save Friday Night Lights' printed on them. Take a look at the site and give a little money. So far, they've got enough to send nearly 2100 footballs!

FYI - you can make a PayPal donation via credit card even if you don't have a PayPal account!

On the Ground in Uganda

As I mentioned yesterday, my friend Carlos Whittaker and a team of 15 bloggers are on the ground in Uganda as part of a Compassion International outreach trip. The trip is designed to let these 15 bloggers bring eyes and ears to the conditions that many people across the world face on a daily basis. You can find links to all 15 blogs HERE.

In this picture, Carlos is showing the Ugandan boys a picture of his adopted son Losiah. When he explains the meaning of the word 'adopt', the little boy in the basketball jersey asked Carlos if he would adopt him. That, to me, is heart breaking.

Please take some time to read these blogs over the next few days. The team will be in Uganda through the 18th of February. I'm also including a link below for Compassion International in the event that you decide that sponsoring a child is something you're interested in.

Friday Night Lights - This Calls For Action

If you've been here long, you know that I am a big big fan of NBC's show 'Friday Night Lights'. In my opinion (and in the opinion of my wife and at least 3 other people I know), this is the best show on TV hands down. I don't actually know anyone that watches the show that doesn't absolutely love it. Here's the problem - NBC is thinking of cancelling the show. Read the comments HERE from NBC's head of entertainment, Ben Silverman.

So...we absolutely have to take action so that this show doesn't get cancelled. If this sounds like a desperate plea - well...it is. Here's what you can do:

1. Go over to Best Week Ever and sign their online petition.

2. Go to PetitionOnline and sign their petition.

3. Send letters to Jeff Zucker and Ben Silverman at NBC/Universal telling them that you'll never watch another NBC show ever again or buy another GE product (NBC's parent company) AND you'll devote your life to making every NBC show fail miserably in the ratings AND you'll make it your life's cause to see CBS, ABC, and FOX succeed by any means necessary if this show is not renewed. Here's their address:

Jeff Zucker/Ben Silverman (send a letter to each one separately)

NBC/Universal

100 Universal City Plaza

Universal City, CA 91608

If you want to do what some other websites are suggesting, you can send these two guys a light bulb with 'Keep Lights On' written on it. I'm not sure how to prevent it breaking in transit - but that's their problem. You could, alternatively, include some 'Clear Eyes' eye drops - as one of the mottos on the show is 'Clear Eyes, Full Hearts Can't Lose'.

In all seriousness, please (I beg you), take the time to do one or all of the things above. My high school football career ended in less-than-spectacular fashion and this show is one of the best outlets I have for vicarious living. Plus it's a really good show. Seriously.