Simple America

I don’t know what I did but I have been sicker than a dog. Temperature got up to 102 F (38.9 C) yesterday. Have not really been able to eat or even drink for that matter. Got miserable down pat though. Feelinb better at the moment. Only 100 F (37.8 C) at this moment.

All I have been able to do is watch DVDs in bed. So I am on Season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I tried to sit up yesterday and that just put me off in a bad way. The bright side is I am ill this week and not next week when the family shall be on the road. Phew!

What caused this? Either I got the flu, had a reaction to pork, or I breathed in some bad mold while cleaning my fish tanks.

Despite resigning, I have not cancelled my vacation to Orlando to go see my old pal Mickey. In fact I need to work on the budget for that trip. Gosh we leave next week.

Today I came across Trusted Travel eNewsletter. I found them just in time. If you follow the link and register, you not only get a chance to win four sightseeing tour tickets, you also have a chance to win an iPod Nano. Trusted Tours and Attractions have 21 cities to choose from too. I am so pleased that one of their locations is Orlando.

They list quite a number of attractions for Orlando too. You can catch tours to Kennedy Space Center. They have discounts to a lot of other local attractions. But the thing that looks really attractive to me is the passes they sell. These passes are good for two, three, or five days. These are good for 50 different tours, attractions, and activities.

The site is quite helpful too. You can find a page of hotels there. A map of Orlando is provided and I am going to use that to plan my route around town. Weather is another piece of information they provide. Raining a bit I see now, but the temperature is nice. I won’t need a heavy coat.

Hey I need to dig out the suitcases. Why don’t you go plan your trip? Join me in Orlando or visit one of their other travel locations. Then we can blog about our trips. 

I pushed a button by mistake. Wanted to edit and hit view instead. A routine ran that let me create Simple Warcraft. Yay!

So now I am ready to blog on gaming over there. I may do some short fiction also.

And now that I see how easy it is to create one more blog, I should be adding the Writer’s Journey soon.

Gosh look at my blog too. Somehow I goofed up my skin and it has reverted to the basic WordPress version. Though it did get my links in the order I prefer. Hmmmm. I have been wanting to change that also. I suspect I will use some of my free time to learn how to make my own skins.

The editing menu on my new blog is different than this one. I thought Yahoo (my host) kept me on the cutting edge of this stuff. Oh well. This won’t be hard to add. Then I can do spellchecking in the blog instead of having to copy to Word. And write in different colors. Did I mention I saw styles too? Also I need to look at tables or Excel addins. I am delinquent on my Hug Hug responsibilities.

I received a box in the mail.

Of course I had to open it.

Styrofoam boxes rest inside the cardboard box. Look a gift card.

What happens when I pull the top off of the Styrofoam? Look inside and we find wine. Two bottles, one red and one white. And some lovely flyers too.

Who sent this to me? The good folds at Gold Medal Wine Club wanted me to try out their product and service. After seeing how it works they want me to let you all know my experience. And I confess that this is my first experience with any wine clubs.

The wine is well packaged. The Styrofoam protects the bottles quite well and I suspect the packaging helps control the temperature so the wine does not overheat while in transit. The bottles I received are Belvedere Russian River Valley 2005 and Bradford Mountain Grist Vineyard Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley 2004. A white and a red respectively.

All of the paper materials are top notch. Very nice quality, so when should you want to mail some wine to a friend for Christmas you won’t be embarrassed by sending shoddy materials. The newsletter is on a glossy paper and the layout is appealing to the eye. The font is easy on my eyes which I appreciate. The first think I notice inside is column on the wine sent to me. They regarding how the wine has been made and what wine credentials they posses. They also have stats on the wine to include pH, alcohol content, total acidity, how long the bottle is aged in oak, cases produced for each vintage and when to drink the wine.

The newsletter includes information about the Hambrecht family wines. These articles tell about the owner’s experience. They allow the reader to have an inside look at the vineyards. This lets the wine connoisseur have the chance to know the wine and not just taste it. I enjoyed the “Wine Wizard” which is a wine trivia section. They have some nice recipes inside and this recipe made use of the wine. This wine club lets you grade the wine and inside the newsletter they presented a score of past vintages.

I think wine clubs are a great concept. Learn about the wine. Sample it. Tell others how you feel about it. Then order more of what you like and at a discount.

I am no longer employed by the College. Yesterday I tendered my resignation and left Lake Jackson. No more hour long drives. At least that is my hope.

Now I hope to limit myself to a short jaunt up the stairs. My goal is to make money through my writing. This includes fiction for print or media. The gear chapter of the ETU book is on my to do list. Writing for blog ads and such will probably increase. The firm is there too and I see the coming tax season as a chance to make some money too. And there is eBay also. So I’m going to be hustling.

I hope to use some of this time to catch up on visiting around the blogs too. There are some folks out there that are long over due for a visit. If I can get the Warcraft blog running and I think I’m getting closer, it shall be followed by a Writers Journey blog. Simple Warcraft is going to be an open blog, while the Writer’s Journey is going to require a subscription. No charge, but I want to control access to that site.

It is strange to feel free today. I hope from here on out the only jerk I have to work for is me.

Does anyone remember that post I made in October about the video phone? The one I titled “Calling Southeast Asia is Not Good Enough“. Part of the incentive to write a good post was a chance to win a phone and receive six months of their phone service free.

Guess who wrote a good post?  I am pinching myself. This has been a very lucky year for me this year. I cannot believe that they sent me the Video Phone and the free service. I did not set the device up right away. Honestly, I was a bit scared it would be difficult to install. I could not have been more wrong. I plugged my old phone into the Tango 8 unit. Then I plugged a cord from the phone that connected it directly into my router. Then I plugged in the power cord and the device configured itself. Then I just went online and clicked on the email they sent me and activated my phone. Then I just unplugged the phone power once so it could reboot itself and now I am ready to chat.

Look at the picture. Now I can see folks that call me from another video phone. I can also see myself in the corner so I can tell what the other party views. So no more phone calls while wearing my pajamas for me. *smiles*

And I have all of the services one would expect with their phone service. Voice mail. Caller ID. Call blockers. The whole nine yards. And the line quality is just as good as the old phone service. So who else has a video phone? Let’s call and have coffee together. We can show off our cups, pastries, and Bared Naked cereal. Anyone?

Thank you Packet 8 Tango for letting me receive this new device. I feel like the coolest kid on the block with my new phone. If any of my readers are interested in this VOIP service they should visit Packet8 VOIP internet phone service provider right away.

It is time to do a meme once again. Everyone ready?

For this meme I must pick 20 friends. Everyone ready?

1. Titoki
2. Seniorita Lyn
3. Princess Eileen
4. Paris Beaverbanks
5. Winn
6. Jolene
7. Jia Meei
8. JJ
9. Cyber Red
10. Plink
11. Angel
12. Rabbit
13. Rinnah
14. Pei Yun
15. Mistipurple
16. Goldilocks
17. Carcar
18. Canadian Pie
19. May
20. Nicole

There is a theme there. Anybody notice?

Now I have to answer some questions.

1. How do you get to know 14 ( Pei Yun )

I found her via blogging. And I am glad I did too.

2. What would you do if you never met 1?( Titoki )

I would not laugh nearly as much as I do. She is so funny.

3. What will you do if 9 and 20 dated you? (Cyber Red and Nicole)

Both at the same time. I think I would have a blast. Such cute leng luis. CR knows what is happening in KL scene too. Nicole is fond of food so we could visit some nice restaurants in Sydney.

4. Would 6 and 17 make good couple ? (Jolene and Carcar)

I think they could be good friends.

5. do you think 8 is attractive? (JJ)

There is no doubt. Thanks to Facebook I can answer yes with the greatest of confidence.

6. Do you know anything about no. 12’s family? (Rabbit)

Rabbit is a good daughter and sister. Though she can be a little cheeky too.

7. Tell me something about 7. (Jia Meei)

Jam is my first Malaysian blogger ever. And she has a super smile. Always cheers me up when I see her grin.

8. What is no 18’s favourite? (Canadian Pie)

A good party with her friends and/or family.

9. What languange does 15 speak? (mistipurple)

Misti speaks bidness. Not to mention English, Chinese, and I bet some Malay too.

10. Who is 19 going out with? (May)

Go read her blog and find out. This is not a gossip column.

11. How old is 16 now? (Goldilocks)

Never tell a woman’s age. Even a young lady like Goldilocks. I know better than to play with fire.

12. When was the last time you talked to 13? (Rinnah)

I commented on her blog today. Did we IM recently?

13. Who is 2’s favourite singer? (Seniorita Lyn)

El Divo. That’s right ain’t it Ahmui?

14. Would you date 4? (Paris Beaverbanks)

She plays World of Warcraft. How could I resist?

15. Would you date no. 17? (Carcar)

She is a beautiful lady and likes to eat good food. It would be an honor.

16. Is 15 single? (mistipurple)

Yep! Yep! And huggable too!

17. What is no 10’s last name? (Plink)

San. Which is why I call her Plinksan. kekeke

18. Would you ever consider being in a relationship with 11? (Angel)

If the missus don’t mind, I don’t mind. Heck, Angel has been waiting for me at the airport for the longest time.

19. Which school does 3 goes to? (Princess Eileen)