Bestest Blog Finance Carnival $$ Hosted by Kelly

Kelly has been kind enough to host $$$ The Bestest Blog Finance Carnival $$$ on her blog "A Girl Worth Saving".

I have my own entry in the Carnival "FOAD: Don't Buy Britney's Hair on Ebay" in which I rant about financial injustices in the world, amongst other things. I am thoroughly enjoying all the posts in the blog carnival - make sure you check it out....

Technorati Tags:
blog carnival, finance, bestest blog, a girl worth saving,

WTF?? Budget Rent-A-Car Shenanigans!

You may remember my post "AVIS Messes With Family Catch-Up". This was a ranting piece (most of my posts are rants - I can't help it) on the difficulties I encountered while trying to book a few days car rental. It is really not that difficult for most people. I know this to be true because people give me strange looks when I explain the ridiculous situations I have been faced with. I shall prevail. I know this because I watched Rocky about 10 times.
Okay, so if you have the background on the AVIS story, I vowed never to use them again even though they had given me pretty good service in the past. So I decide to try their competitors, Budget Rent-A-Car. Yippee! I thought. This will be easy. I went to Budget's website and that's where the fun started. Is it just me? Or does the website not work in either Internet Explorer, Firefox OR Opera? I mean, they are the main ones, aren't they? It doesn't say in fine print at the bottom "this site will only work with Obscura Minimus v2.7"....or does it?
I wouldn't know because I can't get in to the fricken' website!!! I'm still on the first page, pulling my hair out and saying:
WHY-WON'T-YOU-JUST-GET-THE-FRICKEN'-RATES-ALREADY!!!!!

But no. Sadly it will not yield to my dulcet tones. I have to try other methods. So I did. Somehow I guessed the URL of the contact page and managed to slip in the back way. Then I wrote a detailed comment pointing out the fact that their website does not work. At all. On the three main internet browsers. (Unless you have Safari, yes I know but I can't afford a Mac at this time so jolly well done for those who have one...)
So, I submit my comment. No response for days. So I write an email detailing the same points and send it. No response again. Is it still there? Did Budget close down when I wasn't looking? I suppose at this stage you are saying "listen Nerd Girl, just get off the dang computer and use the phone...you know, the little white thing with the handle and the twirly cord..."
Yes, I know. But...you can't get the internet specials unless you use the internet. If you call them you don't get $5 off per day or whatever the deal is supposed to be. Again, I wouldn't know.....because THEY WON'T LET ME IN!!!

I will call them, however. This can't go on forever. Perhaps there is some funny setting that I haven't tweaked on my internet browser. It keeps on telling me JAVASCRIPT (Void). I am pretty sure this means one of two things. Either I am a luddite or their website has got mistakes in it.

I'm not going to call them yet because I'm still grumpy. If I call when I'm grumpy, I'm likely to get a brick-wall officious *^%#@^*%&*&#^I'm not going to call them yet because I'm still grumpy. If I call when I'm grumpy, I'm likely to get a brick-wall officious *^%#@^*%&*&#^$&*#$ person on the other end of the phone. I think that's how the universe works. If you put out anger you get a%$%#@^holes in return. The laws of the universe should take into account that sometimes when you are in a hurry to book a holiday you are likely to be stressed and people should just jolly well be nice to you anyway because you are under a lot of pressure.
amp;*#$ person on the other end of the phone. I think that's how the universe works. If you put out anger you get a%$%#@^holes in return. The laws of the universe should take into account that sometimes when you are in a hurry to book a holiday you are likely to be stressed and people should just jolly well be nice to you anyway because you are under a lot of pressure.

Technorati Tags:
Car Rental, Budget, Rent A Car, Holidays

Just Say Hi Dating Site

Perhaps you missed out on a Valentine's day card this year. Or perhaps you're just looking for lurrrve.

Free Online Dating is a truly 100% free dating site. This means you don't need to give over your credit card details. The features are the same as you would get from a paid dating site, with the added bonus of no cost to you! Creating a profile includes describing yourself, filling out your interests and specifying your geographical region (U.S. & Canada). You can also include all the information you wish to include about yourself, add a photo, which obviously enhances your chances of meeting someone, and you are ready to go. Spread the love!

Z-list : Pass It On!!!

The Zlist was started at Viral Garden. It is a simple way to get links from other bloggers and also improve technorati ratings.

What do you have to do to join? Just copy the links below to a new post, making sure you add to the list the last site you got the Zlist from (that would be me!! SAVESAVESAVE). Then sit back and relax as people copy the list from your blog and pass it on. And on. And on. And on....

JCM's blog & updates
the 15,000-dollar mission
DoshDosh
612 to apocalypse
JCM´s RPG art
Connected Internet
Blog-Op
Can I Make Big Money Online
Blogtrepreneur
Flee the Cube
Blogging to Fame
Million Dollar Experiment heads Down Under
Kumiko's Cash Quest
Calico Monkey
Internet Bazaar
JCM´s blog
Shotgun Marketing Blog
BrandSizzle
bizsolutionsplus
Customers Rock!
Being Peter Kim
Pow! Right Between The Eyes!
Billions With Zero Knowledge
Working at Home on the Internet
MapleLeaf 2.0
Two Hat Marketing
darrenbarefoot.com
The Emerging Brand
The Branding Blog
CrapHammer
Drew's Marketing Minute
Golden Practices
Viaspire
Tell Ten Friends
Flooring the Consumer
Kinetic Ideas
Unconventional Thinking
Buzzoodle
NewsPaperGrl
The Copywriting Maven
Hee-Haw Marketing
Scott Burkett's Pothole on the Infobahn
Multi-Cult Classics
Logic + Emotion
Branding & Marketing
Popcorn n Roses
On Influence & Automation
Bullshitobserver
Servant of Chaos
converstations
eSoup
Presentation Zen
Dmitry Linkov
aialone
John Wagner
Nick Rice
CKs Blog
Design Sojourn
Frozen Puck
The Sartorialist
Small Surfaces
Africa Unchained
Perspective
gDiapers
Marketing Nirvana
Bob Sutton
¡Hola! Oi! Hi!
Shut Up and Drink the Kool-Aid!
Women, Art, Life: Weaving It All Together
Community Guy
Social Media on the fly

Technorati Tags:
Z-list, Viral Garden, Technorati, Rating

I am Ranked #3442 - this probably means I suck...

I have been messing with my template again. It's making me cross-eyed. I think I have to compulsively change my blog template for some reason, the way some people always have to change the colour of their hair. Now I have migrated to the new Blogger (not BETA anymore), I have found it's even harder to get blog templates. I have found some good sites for new Blogger templates but I think there are already too many of those "red lipped woman" blogs floating around and I don't want to just be another identical one. Anyway, the woman looks like she is dribbling. Am I the only person who has noticed this? If I could only be bothered designing my own blog templates...it's a thought...
Actually, writing this has made my mind up. I will just use this template and mess with it when I feel like it. I suppose it's better to have a design that is unique - even if some other blogs make you go "Wow! How the $%&$ did they do that?"

And even though I have lost a whopping 9 "Battle of the Blogs Challenges" and won exactly zero, I am starting to wonder about whether anyone reads the posts when they vote or whether my blog just sucks! I mean, do people go "I don't like the colour scheme" and vote for the other one? Or do they go "Oooo nice pictures" and forget to read the words? Or am I a bitter and twisted person damaged beyond repair by consecutive defeats? Only time will tell. Incidentally, I have just thrown down the gauntlet again (albeit foolishly) on the Battle of the Blogs on Blog Explosion.

This is not a desperate plea for you to vote for me, by the way.
YES IT IS! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD VOTE FOR ME AND NOT THE OTHER PERSON. ESPECIALLY THAT GUY WHO TAKES PHOTOS OF NEW YORK! HE DOESN'T NEED THE VOTES! HE'S RANKED #1! I'M RANKED #3442! THROW ME A FRICKEN' BONE HERE!!! I'M DYING!!!
*pant* *pant*
Case dismissed.
*THUMP*

Technorati Tags:
blog template, new blogger, blog explosion, battle

Box.net Widget

The following is a Pay Per Post advertisement....
I love widgets. Ever since I first tried out a weather widget I have been going widget mad. Before I went widget mad I didn't even know what a widget was. Heck, a year ago I didn't even know what a blog was!!! (strange but true) But I digress.
Box.net Widget is a flash player that you can use to stream files. You choose which files to upload from your hard drive (up to 1GB) - these can include podcasts, photographs, videos, whatever you like. I tried it out myself and it's pretty easy to use - took me all of 2 seconds to figure it out!

The Empire Strikes Back....T-Shirt

I saw a girl wearing the best T-shirt today...It will be mine....












Oh yeah! The Empire Strikes Back. I'd probably rather have a "Star Wars - A New Hope" T-shirt because otherwise people might think I'm evil.

Speaking of evil empires...now I'm going all Empire Strikes Back mad on Ebay.













Stormtrooper Figurine. I had heaps of these. Don't know what happened to them. I know that I lost one or two on a beach in Santa Monica when Mum took me and my brother on holiday. It was probably my fault because I was playing at burying them in the sand and pretending the beach was the ice planet Hoth. I had the supreme confidence that I would remember where I buried them but it turned out that all of the beach looked the same and Han Solo in antarctic gear and Luke Skywalker with his lightsaber were gone forever.









Comics. What more need I say? Brilliant. Oh, dang, I said something.













I love these 'books of the movie' type things. At the moment there aren't enough of these around. Maybe they will make a comeback. When the "Return of the Jedi" books and tape sets came out, I listened to them so many times I can recite the bulk of the entire movie. Oh my God. I just wrote that down. I am such a geek. I might as well accept that and be comfortable with it.

(say the first line while holding your nose)
DEATH STAR CONTROLLER: "The security deflector shield will be deactivated when we have confirmation of your code transmission. Stand by... You are clear to proceed."

SHUTTLE CAPTAIN: "We're starting our approach."

OFFICER: "Inform the commander that Lord Vader's shuttle has arrived"

OPERATOR: "Yes sir"

MOFF JERJERROD: "Lord Vader, this is an unexpected pleasure, we are honoured by your presence..."

VADER: "You may dispense with the pleasantries, Commander, I'm here to put you back on schedule..."

That's it. I'm getting a trenchcoat and growing a beard. Hang on, I'm not a guy. Um....
20GB hard drive? 1GB ram? Maybe I'm already on my way to using my powers. I must.... complete.... my training......

Technorati Tags:
star wars, empire strikes back, t-shirt, comics, collectables