Green Questions from dNeero-ites

"Green Is a Nice color -- So R U Green? " closed in threee days... this is the quickest completion for any dNeero Social Survey to date... responses about this 'green' issue/movement have been both thoughtful and passionate ... so, let's continue the thread with questions from our respondents.

New Year's Resolution - Oh Really!?

New Year's Eve has always been a time for looking back to the past, and more importantly, forward to the coming year. It's a time to reflect on the changes we want (or need) to make and resolve to follow through on those changes.

Green Is a Nice color - So R U Green?

Eco-friendly, carbon footprint, global warming, organic, recycle, save the planet... it's all about GREEN.

After Christmas - 11

Well, the event happened ... we gave, received, enjoyed, celebrated, worshipped ... now what? Can we keep it going?

Christmas / Holiday from dNeero respondents -- 10

We composed this survey entirely from questions from our dNeero respondents... many thanks to all of you whether we used your question or not. We truly appreciate your involvement with dNeero and hope that these surveys generate some thought and some fun... and we hope that you and your network of friends and associates use these surveys to start up conversations and learn a bit more about one another. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas.

Jamie Lynn Spears... OK now...!

Jamie-Lynn Marie Spears (born April 4, 1991) is an American actress and singer. She was best known for starring in the Nickelodeon television series Zoey 101 and as the sister of Britney Spears. Spears also has a older brother Bryan Spears and is the youngest of the Spears family. Now she's acquired some fame for getting pregnant -- that's right, she's 16!

Say Ahhh!...

It's about the doctor''s office. We're not always sick, but does the visit sometimes have that effect on our wallets, our emotions, our relationships?

Golden Globes... TV Time

Let''s look at the popular TV categories... handicapping the TV portion of the Golden Globes is a little like predicting the path of a tornado.

Does a second chance help or harm?

Obama takes took drugs? Hillary's aide quit because he mentioned it? Well to be honest, I have not been following the U.S. politics scene. That oba-boy took drugs is somewhat new to me. But the last I heard, he was running for the post of Mr. President and standing quite a fair chance. Yes, no doubt he has publicly acknowledged the "folly of youth" and "should" be given a second chance, but are we too liberal in giving second chances here? I have nothing against him and I am really addressing the situation in general - that of giving others a second chance. LONG AGO, second chances were rarer than rare. If you make a mistake, you are condemned - including everyone associated with you. Slowly, the stigma dissipated to be replaced by the glorious "second chance". You made a mistake, ok fine, just admit it and move on. Let's focus on the BIG mistakes here. If you make a BIG mistake, ok fine, we still give you a second chance. This is all good. After all, we are none of us saints and "infallible" is not the Word of the Day. Today, we give others a second chance. Come another day, we might need others to give us a second chance. This is all so very good. However, is this second chance "fool-proof"? What sort of signal are we sending? That we can feel free to make BIG mistakes and still get a second go? That any kid on the street should grow up on dope and alcohol then decide to run for President? I really don't know, my friends. There are lots of merits to giving second chances. I just hope that people will not take advantage of this goodness and think they can atomic-bomb a place for fun and still be welcomed with open arms - with a second chance. Good day. * Related myLot discussion

Golden Globes... Be Heard

Let's look at the popular movie categories... it's that rare time of year when comedies and musicals are guaranteed to get the love with their very own awards categories.

The real meaning behind "An apple a day keeps the doctor away"

After posting that myLot discussion on fruits, I have been incorporating fruits into my diet. I like to think I am living healthier lol.:P I am sure many of you would be familiar with the saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away". I was just thinking that there may be more than one truth in this statement. Generally, we understand that we are talking about the apple as a beneficial fruit. It contains lots of goodness so eating it makes us healthy and so we will not fall sick and thus we need not visit the doctor. Blah blah. However in my opinion, there is another hidden truth between the lines. This saying also embodies the discipline required to keep us healthy. If someone is sloppy and e.g. cares nothing for eating all the junk food in the world, he is unlikely going to stick to the healthy regime of one apple a day. On the other hand, for someone who is health-conscious, he is unlikely to stop at just apples. He might include more beneficial food items in his diet and he might even oil his engine with exercises. And so, there are really two meanings to this saying. The first is the apple; the second is the discipline. Somewhat like a self-fulfilling prophecy, isn't it? Stay healthy, live long, bask bright. =)

Conquer the world with your smile

It was a bright cherry afternoon and I strolled to the neighborhood store to buy something. The cashier scanned the item and out popped the receipt. But alas, it got stuck. It was a machine crisis and another staff was called in to help. She looked me and I smiled at her. She smiled back at my tacit green light for her to take her time. And when the whole episode was resolved (thankfully it did not take too long :P), she tied up the transaction and I smiled back at her. She returned the smile again. I was quite sure I made her day. Just with a single smile, you can change your own mood. Just with a simple smile, you can help change someone else's mood. Isn't it a great thing to spread goodness around the world? And if you believe in the "What goes around comes around" saying, you want to spread even more goodness around so that you can bask in sublime ecstasy like a dolphin in love. Have a great day. =)

Packaged Product Trends to Watch in 2008

New product developments will focus on health, fresh, function and taste, according to a study. Well, I think this can't be more than true. Everyone is raving about health recently. :P

MomsEasyChair.com Holiday Frenzy

A survey to determine how crazy the holidays make you or the mom in your life. We all love our mothers, don't we? But how does she feature in our holidays?

You can sleep all you want when you are dead

"You can sleep all you want when you are dead." Ever come across the saying above? Well, I disagree with it. Usually, people use this saying when they want to stress that life is more than just sleeping. After all, most people spend a large portion of their life sleeping. So if you think about it, it seems such a waste. You may live till 80 but you sleep 20 years... you know, something along this line. But hey, who can be sure what happens after death? Who can be certain that you still can feel the luxury of sleep after you die? I seriously doubt so. Whatever happens after death, I really don't think sleeping AND feeling it are likely. I think getting enough shut-eye time is imperative if we were to enjoy a healthy and active life. If you are tired, go sleep. Turn in earlier or catch a power nap. It is no good to push yourself for fleeting satisfaction and cause permanent damage to your body. Why gain 1 sec of pleasure and suffer 2 secs of pain later on? :P Have a good Wednesday. =)

Wrap your gifts in style this Christmas!

Yes, yes, I can't stop repeating myself. Christmas is coming soon... Hurray! :P If you intend to get some gifts for your family and friends, I hope you have got them ready. Otherwise the longer you drag, the draggier the queue is likely going to get. So what do you do with the gifts after you buy them? Well ideally, you should wrap them. You can rely on the usually free wrapping service that might be available at the shops or step in to do it yourself. If you choose the latter, then you can have a mambo jumbo with creativity and impress the recipients. So how do you wrap a present? I am not the best authority on this but I found some links on the web. ^^ For instance, if you are wrapping it plain vanilla, check out this wikiHow article How to Wrap a Present. You can also see How to Wrap a Gift in a Bag. If you want to know How to Make a Gift Bag , well you are in luck too. How about gift tags? You might like those too. Diana Bacon also has quite a few wrapping ideas. Check them out. At the site, there are videos showing you exactly how to wrap so they may be more useful if you don't quite get those plain text and pictures. =)

Presidential Politics 2008

Questions from our respondents about the U.S. Presidential Election coming up in 2008. Whether or not you are from the United States, what are your takes on this?

Can a cut finger pass the biometric test?

I cut my finger recently. It is recovering gradually though not as fast as I would like. All 10 of our fingers are important to us. It is when you do not have the use of one or more of them would you feel the loss. Imagine how the sink will suddenly shrink when you hit your finger accidentally against the sink wall. Or how you will somehow flick the wrong finger when you push close the fridge door. Or how you will punch the keyboard with the finger you thought next to the injured one when it apparently isn't. As the saying repeats, life goes on whether you like it or not. I was doing the dishes - yes, imagine handling a big pot bigger than your head with just your thumb and index finger... it is perfectly possible but balance is a tricky thing if you don't want to break a finger... anyway while washing, I hurt my cut finger more than once. I looked at the poor digit and a question suddenly popped into my mind. Can a cut finger pass the biometric test? Other than my biometric passport, there is no other biometric thingy around me. What if I have been using a laptop secured by a biometric lock? Imagine if the finger I cut is the finger required as the password. Does this mean I would be practically locked out till my finger recover? It is scary when you think about it. When "upgrading" alphanumeric passwords to "securer" fingerprints, they are supposed to lock out intruders more effectively. But computers are not smart. In this hypothetical case, it might well be that an owner with his finger cut will be wrongly viewed as the intruder. From a New Scientist article titled "ID Revolution - prepare to meet the new you" written by Celeste Biever, I quote, "Unfortunately, fingerprint scanners are far from foolproof. They may not record a clear print from sweaty, dirty fingers or those cut or bruised, or smoothed by hard labour." This writeup is more than two years old so technology might have advanced by now. But if not, allow me then to heave a sigh of relief. I almost bought that IBM thinkpad that came with a biometric fingerprint reader. Pray remind me about my cut finger the next time I drool over another biometric complement. :P

If you need help to jingle, check out Best Leading Lenders (U.S.A.)

Ok, it is going to be Christmas soon. In these modern times, Christmas is supposed to be one of the best times of the year. Beautiful Christmas carols, hearty get-together, piping hot turkeys... and yes, the Christmas gifts. And not to mention, the New Year is just after Christmas too. Stop tail-gating! :P Money. Right, money is needed for Christmas and money is needed for a happy New Year too. So what happens if you are short on moola? Ideally, you will never encounter this problem. But this world isn't all that ideal always, is it? :( If you are in the United States, you can take a look at Best Leading Lenders. It offers a variety of loans such as personal, auto, payday, student, etc. Loans can be your best friend but do take a responsible attitude when you seek them out. So if you need a Personal Loan, you know where to look. Or if you need Pay Day Loans , you know where too. Best Leading Lenders also provides financial articles that are tips and advice on loans and other various financial topics. Quite a wealth of knowledge there so there is no harm browsing whether you ultimately take a loan through the company or not. *wink* * This is a sponsored post.

Satisfy your nostalgia at TelevisionTunes.com

Feeling nostalgic? Well, we all do at one time or another. If you are missing a particular TV theme song that sparked off certain memory, check out TelevisionTunes.com . Here, you will find tons of TV theme music and songs from yesterday and today. Browse its huge archive of 3,589 (and growing) theme songs and the best part is that you can even choose to download them in mp3 format. Disclaimer: I am *not* sure whether what this site is doing is legal. According to its copyright information page, "All themes and Clips are copyrighted by their licensors and are intended for educational and personal listening only. These are not to be used for commercial or other non-educational use without permission of the copyright holder (licensor). They are NEVER to be sold or traded for items of value. This site does not own the music and cannot grant permission for any commercial use. This archive is a result of private collectors of historic television placing their private collections for all to share in remembering the various shows of the past and present and discussing their views on the subject of the music and the series involved. There will not be entire copies of CDs found on this site at any time. The music here is in a lower quality than a CD, and is considered a 'sample' of the music should you choose to buy the CD. If you wish better quality then please check with your local Music Store for a CD that might have that song on it and buy it." I have highlighted the more "important" phrases that the site owner has used to try to cover his arse. I do hope that TelevisionTunes.com manages to pull this off and stay clear of copyright infringement suits. After all, this is a handy site to have around for music lovers. Another feature of the site is its "Name that Theme Song" game. It's a real cool game if you feel up to the challenge. There are both the 1-player and 2-player modes and you can play 10 to 30 rounds each time. During each round, a song will play and a timer will start. You have to identify the song from 4 available options. Enjoy! ^^

Found on the Internet - December 9

Some questions floating on internet sites. Here's a funny quote lol... have a bright Monday! =) "On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog." ~ ??? ~

Learn how to fold an origami shuriken

Ever since I played that game, Feudalism, I have been fascinated by shurikens . For those not familiar with this term, perhaps "ninja stars" would ring a bell. Check out this wikiHow article on How to Fold an Origami Star (Shuriken) . The guide is presented in a step by step manner and it is complete with pictures. The steps are not hard to follow. I took a piece of A4 paper and experimented with it myself. I am proud to say that I managed to make my own shuriken. Woe to he who dares to attack me... for he would have to face my shuriken (paper shuriken lol)! :P For those who need or prefer a video guide, check out the youtube video above. Have fun throwing shurikens with your kids! =)

Holiday Company Party - Beware

Go? Not go? Is it mandatory fun or will you truly enjoy it? How do you act? Do share your thoughts! =)

Say thanks to American troops in Iraq

You've got something to say to U.S. troops deployed in Iraq? Well, check out the Let's Say Thanks mission at http://www.letssaythanks.com . It is an initiative by Xerox and the mission is to provide a way for individuals across the country (read U.S.A.) to recognize U.S. troops stationed overseas. There is an entire series of postcards depicting patriotic scenes and hometown images for you to choose from. These designs were selected from a pool of entries from children across the States. Just pick your favorite design and then add a template or personalized message. The postcards will then be printed and posted to the troops. From Xerox's point of view, these men and women on duty are going to be touched by the postcards. I really don't know. If I was one of those people, would I be touched by a template message from someone I don't even know? It's "just Iraq". I am not fighting a war that threatens the existence of mankind. Do I really care about what you feel? I don't know about you but I am here because it's my job. Given a choice, I would want my arse back in the couch in my living room as soon as the next flight is available. But of course, Xerox is just spending a little money to get some nice publicity for itself. This publicity campaign certainly doesn't hurt and shows the caring side of the company. There is something I don't understand though. I am not American and it seems that the site caters to Americans only. There is a "state" field in the online form and the site's "About us" explicitly mentioned U.S.A only. I guess if I really want to, I can fake the state information and have a card posted. But then, it would be so fake lol. I find it funny why only Americans can care for American soldiers. Cannot someone from another country want to show concern for American soldiers based in Iraq? The world is inter-connected. Americans are humans too like the people I see around me, no? Cheers, Xero. Way to go. PS.: My friend, slickcut, discussed this at her myLot discussion.

Search for a nursing home using BetterCaring (U.K.)

We all grow old. It is something so inevitable that it is hard to entertain alternate possibilities. History recorded that Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China from 221 BC to 210 BC, was one who feared death. Fearing death isn't really unique. Most of us suffer from varying degrees of necrophobia. What's different was that Qin Shi Huang had the clout and resources to attempt to find the elixir of immortality. The short conclusion to the whole story was that he ironically died because of mercury poisoning. He died because of the same mercury that he was convinced would make him immortal. The morale of the story is that the elixir of immortality is quite likely an unachievable dream. A fanciful dream that remains a frivolous wish until proven otherwise. So for all of us still breathing, the best we can do is to plan for our old age. BetterCaring at http://www.bettercaring.com is a dedicated service for anyone who needs answers to crucial questions about care for themselves or their loved ones. Be it care at home or residential care, you can consult care experts at BetterCaring regarding the different care options available. If you are in the U.K., care search will enable you to search the entire database of all registered care homes in the country. If you have a particular area in mind, you can also filter the search results by postal code. Care information provides resources covering issues that are important to the choices you make. This includes finances as well as the different care options. There is also a community forum that allows users to discuss their own experiences within the care system. So if you are looking for a nursing home in the U.K. for either your loved ones or yourself, you can make use of BetterCaring when conducting your research. Live long, live healthy, live happy. Cheers. :D * This is a sponsored post.

Escape from a spreadsheet in Excit

Now now, who would have thought that we could make a game out of Excel? Isn't Excel just spreadsheets and for "serious" stuffs? :P Check out Excit - a maze sort of game where you need to bound off walls to escape to the exit cell. You heard it right - you are trapped in a spreadsheet and you need to escape the 30 levels using the cursor keys without sliding off the screen. According to the developer, the game mechanic is similar to that of games like Road Blocks and Orbox. But despite it not being entirely innovative, the game has been polished and fresh elements have been introduced. You just need to maneuver your way around using the arrow keys. If you go off the screen "accidentally", the reset to initial position appears. I experimented with a few levels myself while multi-tasking. I guess it is an okay sort of game to play while you are pretending to work at the office (lol). So check it out when you are feeling bored at work or whenever. Play Excit at http://www.kongregate.com/games/Krystman/excit. =)

Found on the Internet - December 4th

The dNeero research team got up early... did a quick scan of poll / survey questions that are available on the Internet... we wish they'd pay you for your time ... so, have it. "All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them." ~ Galileo Galilei ~

Christmas / Holiday - 9

There's more than just shopping and giving, so let's take a look. Do you like caroling? Don't you just love the holiday music? =) "Santa Claus wears a Red Suit, He must be a communist. And a beard and long hair, Must be a pacifist. What's in that pipe that he's smoking?" ~ Arlo Guthrie ~

Found on the Internet - December 5th

The dNeero research team stayed up late... did a quick scan of poll / survey questions that are available on the Internet... we wish they'd pay you for your time... so, have it. "If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent." ~ Isaac Newton ~

Entertainment is refreshing

Yes yes Christmas is coming and there is not one who doesn't know it. :P Take a break... you need it... but now what... how do you entertain yourself?

Iraq, Iraq, Iraq... How's it going?

The reports we get, the conversations we have effect us. So, let's take a temperature check about we think of the U.S. efforts in Iraq.

Tactics 100 Live for chess lovers

Do we have any chess lovers here? I am sure there are several hidden tigers and crouching dragons among us. :P This game with a dumb name, "Tactics 100 Live", is a twist on our familiar chess. It is somewhat like another version of those animated battle chess games. The game is straight forward once you figure out the move/attack commands which are not immediately intuitive. But give it a few rounds and you will soon get how the game works. It is simpler than the usual chess game in that it has only 4 units to choose from - Knight, Ranger, Mage and Cleric. Just load up the game, look at the unit artwork and you can easily guess the rest. There are 10 waves of attackers in various battle formations. Thrash them all and you win. Winning all 10 waves is not hard - but getting a perfect score i.e. no unit dying at all for all 10 rounds would be trickier. You can play Tactics 100 Live at http://www.kongregate.com/games/Gamebrew/tactics-100-live-v1-5 . Have fun! ^^ PS.: And yes, there *is* a multi-player mode.

Act a clown to fight the Monday blues

OH NO. IT'S MONDAY AGAIN. Dreadful, isn't it? Why must Monday be the first day of the week? Why not... Sunday? Then again, if Sunday indeed becomes the leader, I bet you will hate it instead. :P Since there is always a case of the Monday, this problem of not wanting to face the new week will always persist. In that case, why not try to fight it instead? What do you do when you wake up on a Monday morning? Do you try to procrastinate as long as you can, just so that you can pretend it is not the new day yet? Do you grumble and mumble under your breath why you must suffer such a miserable life? Do you inevitably think of the tasks you would be facing later in the day and attempt to do some last minute moping? I can go on and on and the list will never be complete. So now that we are determined to make Monday a beautiful day, how do we go about doing it? Well, for this exercise in optimism, we need a mirror. If you have a full length mirror, all the better. If not, even the reflective screen of your cellphone will do. After you get out of your bed, before you even take your breakfast or brush your teeth, I want you to look into the mirror. Stare hard and start imagining yourself as the funniest clown ever sighted in history. Pretend you are the world's greatest pretender and try to make yourself laugh. Contort your face, puff your checks, twist your ears, roll your eyes, stick out your tongue. Act moronic and be crazier than you thought you can ever be. And while you are at it, go ahead and make some noise. Since you will be alone when you are trying this, there is no need to feel shy at all. In fact, if your courage runs on more than a AAA battery, I urge you to spread the joker jab to the next person you see. If you believe in karma, what goes around comes around. Make that next person laugh - make his day. Earth may never reach an Utopian state but it surely doesn't hurt to spread more joy. Don't be stingy with your gift of laughter - spread it hard and spread it wide. Let the world rejoice with you. =) Related myLot discussion: How do you fight the Monday blues?

Found on the Internet - December 2nd

The dNeero research team did a quick scan of poll / survey questions that are available on the Internet ... none of them pay you for your time ... so, have it.

Christmas / Holiday Shopping - 8

Like it or not, you''re in the Christmas / Holiday Shopping rush. Christmas is coming.................................. yea! :P

Download free web design templates at Open Source Web Design

I remember the time when I was making my first website. I was like a blind man groping around, just trying to grab whatever I could find. It must be amusing for you to hear my confession that I didn't know the importance of the index.html page. I was tearing my hair off wondering why while I could see the pages fine on my computer, my site just wouldn't load online. Well, that was maiden effort. Also, I didn't want to pay for any web templates then (not now either) and I wasn't savvy enough to make my own. I had a hard time trying to find something that I liked and yet still came free. Ever come across Open Source Web Design? This is a project started in 2000 by Francis J. Skettino. The goal was to provide the Open Source community with quality web designs to help get people's projects on the web in a way that is both organized and good looking. Currently, there are over 2000 designs to choose from so I pity your eyeballs and trackball as you run them through. :P If you have any particular criteria such as favorite color or column number, just use the advanced search available. Oh yes, have I mentioned that the site is very fast? Happy choosing! =)

Dice Mogul - an online substitute for Monopoly

We all know about the game, Monopoly. Published by Parker Brothers, it is a popular board game where players compete against one another to become the wealth magnate. I like the game a lot but the one pity is that the older you get, the harder it is to find like-minded players. Even after turning my sight online to look for human players, it would be dishonest to say that I found any platform to my liking. This post has no monopoly-online platforms to recommend. Rather, I came across this game, Dice Mogul, that is pretty similar to monopoly. The game is beautifully designed but the one drawback is that it is a one-player game. But hey, if you don't mind some "mindless" competition, you can perhaps spare Dice Mogul a glance. After all, it is free and can be played using your ever-ready browser. =) PS.: For those who find the repetitive music as irritating as I found it, there is a mute button - you just have to look real carefully to see it. It is white against a light blue background, just left of the game name and in the "inner circle".

"Run, run as fast as you can" - U.S. Presidential Politics 2008

Let's look again now that the Iowa caucuses are near. What are the issues and which candidate will best solve them? Clinton, Obama, Thompson, Giuliani, McCain, Paul, Romney, Huckabee, Edwards?

The Supermarket Online - Redux

Tarlok Teji, head of retail at analysts Deloitte, said this about shopping in Scotland: "We expect 2008 to deliver double-digit growth in terms of internet retailing. The number of people shopping online and the number of retailers with online stores are increasing quickly. The strongest sectors will be grocery and clothing."

Christmas / Holiday Shopping - 7

The shopping rush has begun ... will it be good for you? ... will it be good for merchants?

Christmas / Holiday Shopping - 6

Give, give, give ... receive, receive, receive ... can you make it a great time of year?

Gift an Amazon Kindle for this Christmas

We have driven into December and Christmas is just around the corner. Have you done your Christmas shopping yet? For those book lovers out there, there is finally a decent-enough portable e-book reader on the market. Amazon Kindle is a revolutionary portable reader that wirelessly downloads books, newspapers, magazines and blogs to a crisp, high-resolution electronic paper display that looks and reads like real paper, even in bright sunlight. It gives a reading experience no different from that of a real book - and that's what makes it tick. =) Kindle customers, no matter where they are in the U.S., can wirelessly shop the Kindle Store and download new content - all without a PC or a WiFi hot spot. Amazon pays for Kindle's wireless connectivity so there are no monthly wireless bills and no service commitments for customers. The Kindle Store contains over 90,000 books that can be purchased and delivered wirelessly to Kindle, each in less than a minute. Customers can choose from hundreds of top newspapers, magazines and blogs and have their subscriptions auto-delivered wirelessly. All New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases are $9.99, unless marked otherwise. At 10.3 ounces, Kindle is lighter and thinner than a paperback book, carries two hundred books, and includes built-in access to The New Oxford American Dictionary and wireless access to the Earth's biggest encyclopedia, Wikipedia.org. Related articles on the Amazon Kindle: Amazon Kindle Review: Igniting Interest in E-Books? by Melissa J. Perenson Amazon Kindle: meet Amazon's e-book reader by Ryan Block Why Kindle Will Change the World by Rick Aristotle Munarriz The Future of Reading by Steven Levy Stealing Books For The Kindle Is Trivially Easy by Michael Arrington Add these to your shopping cart: Kindle: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device Amazon Kindle Battery Amazon Kindle Book Cover Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 Light - Black

Which is your favorite day of the week?

OMG I can't believe it's Friday again. Really, I thought yesterday was just Saturday. But can you believe this - tomorrow is gonna be Saturday AGAIN! I was just wondering... what is your personal favorite for Day of the Week? Monday - Some people claim to have the Monday Blues so they hate Monday. But for me, I did try to make Monday my favorite for a period of time. I love loving what others hate... you know, being different. =) Tuesday - Some people love Tuesday because well, they had Monday to feel sad and that's enough. :P Wednesday - It is mid-week already so many love this. Thursday - The end of the week is approaching so it is a popular favorite. Friday - For many, it is the end of the work week and that's why terms like TGIF are coined. Saturday - No need to work tomorrow and it is a rest day in itself. Cool! Sunday - It truly feels like holiday so many love Sunday. Yet some hate it because it means Monday, and with it the new week, is coming again. How about you? What is your favorite day of the week? Any reason in particular? =) To see what myLotters have to say, click here.

myLot FAQ series: How do I add an image to my friend's profile page?

This is part of the series of Frequently Asked Questions for myLot. For more information on this site, please refer to this article . So now, you have got some friends and you are all hyped up. You want to rock, you want to party, you want to scream your lungs out. This is all good! Then you browsed over to your friend's profile page and wanted to leave a nice picture for him or her. But wait, there are no options to insert an image like the case for when posting a new discussion or response (after you reach 500 posts). What do you do now? Well, it is not as difficult as you might imagine. Just 3 simple steps. ;-) Step 1: First, you need to get a picture. If it is already present on your local hard disk, then you can move on to Step 2. Otherwise, you need to first find the picture you want. You can do so via any of the search engines or by grabbing it from one of the many sites around that offer free pictures. And once you find the picture you like, download it (e.g. right-click then "Save as") and put it somewhere that you know the location for. My favorite place is the desktop. Step 2: Now you have a picture ready. The next thing you need to do is to upload it online. My current favorite is www.divshare.com but you can also use other alternatives such as http://imageshack.us or http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com .The point is just to upload the picture you have chosen, that is now on your hard disk, online. To guide you further, I will illustrate how to upload a picture using Divshare. Skip this if you can figure it out yourself (it's not that hard really :P). Type in www.divshare.com into the address bar of your browser and press "enter". You should see a page like this screen shot above. Now click "Browse" and a window like your "My Computer" will pop up. Locate the picture file you have found and double-left-click on it. Then you should see something like this. Remember to check the box indicating that you agree to the terms and conditions. I have not mentioned this but you do *not* need to sign up with Divshare to utilize this free upload service. Update: Unfortunately, this is no longer true. You need to register for a free account now. Then just go ahead and hit the "Upload" button and you should see the progress bar moving. When it reaches 100%, your upload is complete and you will see a screen like this. Now click on the "More options". A box with a few more links will appear. Zoom in on the "Full Size" row and highlight the entire link containing your file name. It is right after the "img src" tag. Once you have highlighted everything within the inverted commas, right-click to copy, or simply execute a copy command with control-c. This is the link we want. For this example, our picture location online is http://athena.divshare.com/s03/files/2007/05/18/673355/medal.jpg . Viola. Just to make sure you get the correct link, I want you to paste the link you have copied (using control-v) into the address bar of your browser. As you can see for this example, the link is working just fine and you should be able to see the picture you have uploaded (I have used my virtual medal in this example). Step 3: Alright, we are almost there. Now that we have the picture uploaded online, we need to play with some simple html code. The code I used for my own medal is: <a href="http://lordwarwizard.blogspot.com"><img src="http://apollo.divshare.com/apollo2/files/2007/04/11/374893/decree.gif" border=0></a> There are 3 portions to this code. Let's look at the center portion dealing with the "img src" tag. Basically, this notifies the browser that there is an image and supplies it too with the image source location. Earlier, we had our picture uploaded to http://athena.divshare.com/s03/files/2007/05/18/673355/medal.jpg . So replace the http://apollo.divshare.com/apollo2/files/2007/04/11/374893/decree.gif in the code with http://athena.divshare.com/s03/files/2007/05/18/673355/medal.jpg as the new image source. You can do that! ;-) The second portion is the "border=0" tag. I suggest you leave this as it is since for most cases, this provides the highest aesthetic appeal. The third and final portion is where the "a href" tag is. Notice that the current link is http://lordwarwizard.blogspot.com . This means that if someone clicks on the image I leave on the profile page, they will be directed to my blog. If you want your image to point somewhere too e.g. your own website, replace http://lordwarwizard.blogspot.com with your website address. Otherwise, remove the entire <a href="http://lordwarwizard.blogspot.com"> tag as well as the </a> tag at the end. So if you just want to leave a "plain" image, your tag should look like: <img src="http://athena.divshare.com/s03/files/2007/05/18/673355/medal.jpg" border=0> That's how simple it really is. So get cracking and find a suitable image to use. Have fun! ;-) PS.: There are of course other simpler ways you can get an image up there. Some websites such as www.mycommentcodes.com and www.bigoo.ws provide template pictures with ready html codes for you to paste immediately. You *can* do it this way but it will not convince your friends that you are too original or that you are sincere enough to cook up something yourself. So once again, the cliche stands - the choice is yours. ^^

myLot FAQ series: Why should I get an avatar?

This is part of the series of Frequently Asked Questions for myLot. For more information on this site, please refer to this. As someone new to myLot, the variety of avatars you see might be one breathtaking sight. Some users have put up their personal photos; others have uploaded snapshots of their pets. Some prefer pictures of sceneries, while others like their favorite cartoon characters. Occasionally, you will see users come decked in green - in the default myLot newbie avatars. You ask yourself, "Should I get an avatar too? Do I really need one?" Since you are asking me, my opinion is yes. If you are able to get an avatar to replace the default one, do it. I do understand that some users may be on a public computer and so cannot download one of the many free ones available. Some do not have the time to do this "extra" thing. Others just cannot decide which picture to choose. Fair enough if you feel you have a legitimate reason, otherwise, do get an avatar. I wouldn't say it is illegal or against myLot rules not to change your avatar. However, there are reasons why you want to voluntarily get a picture. For a start, this world is a harsh one. Users with the default avatars literally scream NEWBIE so if you make a friend request and get rejected, you can sort of guess why. You might argue that everyone was a newbie too so what's the discrimination about? But this is how the world works, my friend. Not everyone is as nice as me who accepts all friend requests. :P Another reason is that when people look at "you", they first see your avatar before even noticing your name. You may have lots of ideas and intelligence, but if people don't remember you, you are not going to get too popular at myLot. You want people to notice you (not for the wrong things though) and with an unique avatar, people will remember you easier. Imagine growing up in a world where people are all wearing the same mask. How are you supposed to differentiate one from the other? Avatars thus help you stand out. If you don't change your avatar, don't complain when no one bothers responding to your discussions. There is one category of people whom I call the hit-and-run terrorists. These people come to myLot with the single aim of making money. Nothing wrong with that on its own, but the modus operandi of these people is such that they spam the community with many ridiculous discussions, then hope to get paid before myLot notices it and deletes all their discussions. These people are typically in a rush. They don't care about fostering friendship with other myLotters. As such, they typically just use the default green. Also, since they are worried that their IP addresses might be banned, they like to strike from cyber cafes. If one IP address is banned, they can always change to another cafe. As I have mentioned before, most public computers do not allow downloads to the local drives. Hence, they have a problem getting avatars anyway. If you don't want to be mistaken for these spammers, try to get an avatar if possible. Once again, I do acknowledge that there are legitimate users who log in from cyber cafes. For a discussion on avatars, you can check out this discussion I have started at http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/898607.aspx . At this time of writing, 158 myLotters have already expressed their opinions on this issue. So this is more food for thought for you. ;-)

myLot FAQ series: How do I see my reputation?

This is part of the series of Frequently Asked Questions for myLot. For more information on this site, please refer to this article . What exactly is your reputation? Well, when you have clocked at least 100 posts, you will see a number in brackets next to your username. That number is your rating - my own term for it is post count since it makes the meaning clearer. Many times, when users talk about your rating (which is in fact your post count), they may actually be referring to your reputation. Officially, the myLot term for post count is rating. Your reputation will be what is referred to by the star you have. If you have more than 100 posts but no star, it means your reputation is 0. If you are reading this, then I wish you good luck. :P Otherwise, you will have a star with a number from 1 to 10 inside. That number is your reputation, rounded off. To see your exact reputation based upon 100, you need to first determine the browser you are using. If you are myLotting using Internet Explorer, it is quite straightforward. Just move your mouse cursor over the star and let it hover there. You should see something like the screen shot above. Your reputation will pop up. If you are using other browsers such as Firefox, simply right-click on the star, and left-click on "Properties". You will then see something like above. Just read off your reputation. That's how simple. Happy myLotting! ;-)

myLot FAQ series: What does the number in my star means?

This is part of the series of Frequently Asked Questions for myLot. For more information on this site, please refer to this. What does the number in my star means? So now, you have got a star and you are curious what the number inside means. You are sure you saw a 9 but there are only 7 days in a week. :P Well, there are altogether 10 stars you might get. To see how the stars look like, check out my "Why don't I have a star?" article here. The number inside is your reputation, and it might be any number from 0 to 10. For a reputation of 1 to 10, you will get one of the respective stars. There are some people who have crossed the 100 posts hurdle yet received no stars. This is not a glitch. For those in this category, it means their reputation is 0 - not worthy of even a star. There are such people around and if you happen to come across their postings, you will understand why this is fitting.

myLot FAQ series: Why don't I have a star?

This is part of the series of Frequently Asked Questions for myLot. For more information on this site, please refer here. Why don't I have a star? Alright, I don't want to be a meanie here so I will try to put it as nicely as possible... are you new to myLot? You probably are - that's why you don't have a star - yet. But fret not... Harry Potter to the rescue!!! As soon as you reach 100 posts, you will see your star. Yes, you will get any of the 10 stars you see here... or no star at all. To understand what the number in your star means (or why you don't have a star), see "What does the number in my star means?" here.

myLot FAQ series: Why did my earnings decrease?

This is part of the series of Frequently Asked Questions for myLot. For more information on this site, please refer to this. Why did my earnings decrease? From time to time, you will see a sudden drop in your earnings. There is no fixed time when this might happen, and the amount affected varies as well. Before you cry foul and insist that myLot is scamming you of your hard-earned money, take a deep breath and relax. As part of quality control, myLot will weed out low-quality or inappropriate discussions/responses periodically. If you happen to respond to a discussion or start one that is ultimately deleted, your rating a.k.a. post count will drop together with your earnings. The earnings concept of myLot is as follows. Imagine a pot of gold that is shared among all the users. Each user gets a share of the total based on e.g. the number of discussions and responses he posts. Imagine a simplistic scenario where the pot of gold is worth $100. There are 5 users. Based on the quality and quantity of discussions and responses, preliminary calculation shows the point allocation to be: User 1's share: 3 points User 2's share: 6 points User 3's share: 5 points User 4's share: 2 points User 5's share: 4 points On the earnings report before payout, User 3, having 5 points out of the total 3+6+5+2+4=20 points, will in effect receive a 5/20 share (25%) of the total pot worth $100. Ceteris paribus, he will receive 25% of $100 which is $25. However, because of the quality control mentioned earlier, several discussions/responses of User 3 were found to be inappropriate and were thus deleted. Instead of 5 points, he now has 2 points. Let's continue to keep it simple and assume that the discussions/responses of the other users were found to be okay i.e. they didn't get anything deleted. The total number of points has dropped from 20 to 17. The pot of gold remains at $100. When the adjustment is made, User 3 will find that his earnings have suddenly decreased from $25 to 2/17*$100=$11.70. Following the same logic, User 1 initially had 3 points out of 20. This converts to earnings of 3/20*$100=$15. After the adjustment, he still has 3 points, but the total number of points has dropped to 17 (because of User 3). His earnings are now 3/17*$100=$17.60. While User 3 will cry foul for having his earnings slashed from $25 to $11.70, User 1 will be ecstatic to see his earnings jump from $15 to $17.60. And that's without any extra effort on his part. On an ending note, I can't resist a moral of the story here - don't just spam the community with one-liners or plagiarized works. Instead, focus on posting quality discussions and responses. ^^