Ever since I created my blog, I've wanted to attract more people to it. I guess that's kind of the idea, otherwise, why post one right? This idea came to me to play a game there and maybe that will get people to stay and see what I have to say. My only problem is how do I attract people to where the game is played? I can send my email pals an email asking them to check it out and I can post something on Facebook hoping to attract readers and game players from there. I'm pretty certain I can make the game part work and get some swell prizes to give away.
Back in the 1980's, I became part of an Atari Computer User Group called Starbase. Our group contributed to a joint newsletter put out by all the area Atari groups called PSAN. (Puget Sound Atari News.) We had a pretty decent monthly newsletter. Glossy front and rear covers and good content inside. I remember contacting software makers, telling them that if they'd send me the products they made, I'd make sure it got reviewed in PSAN. One of our club members would take it home for 30 days, knowing that when they brought it back, they had to write a review. We'd then auction the gsame off at a club meeting. A win win situation for the software makers, the PSAN readers and our club.
In the 1990's, I started a trading card club. The computer user group folded, so we met at the same place. Eventually I started my own monthly publication called Trading Card Collector. This time I contacted all the card makers asking them to send me product to review. That opened the flood gates. My publication quickly grew from a 2 page newsletter to a 30 or more page monthly read. Each month I gave away packets of cards that we put together. (The various card companies sent me tons of promo cards and lots of other goodies.) My interest in collecting trading cards fell off when the prices of the packs got so high so I said bye-bye.
Around the year 2000, I got this hair brained idea to take a group of 40 kids to DisneyWorld. My wife and I had a lot of underpriveleged kids hanging out here, so I thought it would be a cool thing to see them all have a great time at place designed for kids to have a great time. Once again, I went about contacting a lot of major companies. Problem with this effort was, I wasn't a registered non-profit organization, so they couldn't really send me much. Heck, I wasn't a non-profit group period! It was Steve and Twila Drake doing this. Some companies contacted me and understood what it was that we were attempting to do, so they'd send us small donations. Things we could auction off and use the proceeds from that. Bottom bottom line is, the trip never happened.
My reason for telling you all of this is, I want you to believe in me when I tell you I can get some decent prizes to give away. I've done it before and am confident I can do it again. Even in these down economic times, I think companies are still willing to help the little guy and get some street cred for their effort along the way. In the meantime, we play some games, have some fun and win some OK prizes. Another win win situation if you ask me!
Now there's one last favor I need from all of you before I can go forward. When you arrive at the page where the game is being played, you'll see the word "Followers" on the right side towards the top. Below that it says "Join This Site" in a box. Please click on that and add your name to what I hope will be a growing list. Of course it would be nice if you'd drop by more than once a month and check out what I'm blogging about, but for now, to get the game going, I need some members to show the various companies I'm going to contact. Don't you think Coca Cola or Campbell's Soup will be more apt to donate something if I have 20 or 50 Followers vs. 2 or 3? Makes sense to me.
There you have it. Please help me give this game thing a try. Maybe you'll be one of my weekly winners of who knows what. This week the prize is a $15 iTunes gift card. Next week something else. Remember........there's strength in numbers!
Steve Drake
Monday, November 14, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Who Dat?
If you think you know who this is, then send me an email (stevedrakeinseattle@msn.com) with your guess in it. First person to guess correctly wins a $15.00 Itunes card. If 2 people submit the same guess, the tie will be broken by the time the email comes in.
DISCLAIMER!!
Contest ends on 11/18/11 at 11:59 PM. One guess per email address. Winners will be notified right away. You can win as many times as you can get the answer to each quiz correctly. Family and friends are eligible. Decision of the judge, me, is final.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Made in the USA!
A physics teacher in high school, once told the students that while
one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't slow a train very
much, a billion of them would. With that thought in mind, read the
following.
This past weekend I was at Walmart. I needed 60 W light bulbs and
Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to
the GE brand I normally buy was an off-brand labeled, "Everyday
Value... " I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats -
they were the same except for the price.. The GE bulbs were more money
than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most
was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand
was made in - get ready for this - the USA by a company in Cleveland,
Ohio.
So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets ... . . Yep, you guessed
it. Bounce cost more money and is made in Canada . The Everyday Value
brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA ! I did laundry yesterday and
the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using
for years and at almost half the price!
I was in Lowes the other day for some reason and just for the heck of
it I was looking at the hose attachments. They were all made in China. The
next day I was in Ace Hardware and just for the heck of it, I
checked the hose attachments there. They were made in USA .
In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do
affects someone else -- even their job.
My son likes Hershey's candy. I noticed, though, that it is
marked made in Mexico now. I do not buy it any more. My
favorite toothpaste, Colgate, is made in Mexico. Now I have
switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything.
My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for
everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA- the
job you save may be your own or your neighbors!
(We should have awakened a decade a go.)
If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others you know
so we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time!
Stop buying from overseas companies!
Let's get with the program. Help our fellow Americans keep their
jobs and create more jobs here in the U.S.A.
I Passed this on ......... Will you ???????
one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't slow a train very
much, a billion of them would. With that thought in mind, read the
following.
This past weekend I was at Walmart. I needed 60 W light bulbs and
Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to
the GE brand I normally buy was an off-brand labeled, "Everyday
Value... " I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats -
they were the same except for the price.. The GE bulbs were more money
than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most
was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand
was made in - get ready for this - the USA by a company in Cleveland,
Ohio.
So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets ... . . Yep, you guessed
it. Bounce cost more money and is made in Canada . The Everyday Value
brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA ! I did laundry yesterday and
the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using
for years and at almost half the price!
I was in Lowes the other day for some reason and just for the heck of
it I was looking at the hose attachments. They were all made in China. The
next day I was in Ace Hardware and just for the heck of it, I
checked the hose attachments there. They were made in USA .
In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do
affects someone else -- even their job.
My son likes Hershey's candy. I noticed, though, that it is
marked made in Mexico now. I do not buy it any more. My
favorite toothpaste, Colgate, is made in Mexico. Now I have
switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything.
My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for
everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA- the
job you save may be your own or your neighbors!
(We should have awakened a decade a go.)
If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others you know
so we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time!
Stop buying from overseas companies!
Let's get with the program. Help our fellow Americans keep their
jobs and create more jobs here in the U.S.A.
I Passed this on ......... Will you ???????
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Mexican drug cartels.
I was watching a documentary style show on TV today and was shocked by the number of drug cartel related deaths that have happened in Mexico since 2006. 41,000 was the number reported. Blame has been directly linked to this country in numerous ways. The top 2 look like this:
1. The USA is the biggest buyer of illegal drugs.
2. It's very easy to purchase assault weapons in this country and take them to Mexico.
It's no secret that drug use in this country is rampant. All of the money that us tax payers fork over to support the effort to try and stop the flow and usage, is a waste of time and money. We spend untold millions and the drugs still get through. Not to mention that our agents are getting killed trying to do the right thing. Whatever we're doing isn't working, yet we keep on doing the same thing.
A recent TV documentary showed how easy it is to walk into any gun shop or gun show in Texas and buy an assault rifle. In fact, the show I watched showed 2 guys buying multiple weapons, then being approached in the parking lot to see if the weapons were for sale! To top that off, our own FBI ran an OP called Fast and Furious, in which they let 1,765 guns go to Mexico, over a 15 month period, in hopes of following them to the major arms dealers that then supply the cartels. Problem was, the FBI "somehow" lost sight of the guns and no arrests have been made! Many of these weapons have been tracked to various killings in Mexico, including the killing of Customs and Border Protection agent Brian Terry.
Because billions are at stake, the various drug cartels aren't giving up without a fight. Slowly but surely they're finding new methods of getting their product to market. Throw away submarines are one of the newest methods. They can build a 100' submarine for two million dollars that can carry $400 million dollars worth of product and discard the sub when they're done with it.
If I sound worried about this, I am. The long arm of the cartels is reaching further and further into the daily lives of US citizens. The "US Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center, says the Juarez and Sinaloa cartels are active in five Colorado cities." More than likely, that's just the tip of the iceberg. For many years the mass killings were in Colombia, now we don't hear about Colombia anymore 'cuz it looks like those operations have moved in to Mexico. In case you haven't noticed, Mexico is just south of our border.
Perhaps it's time for this country to invade Mexico . We've been known to do that in countries like Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan, Viet Nam and a few others. This time the prize might be one that will have a long lasting affect on the citizens of this country. Whether we want to believe it or not, we're at war with the cartels and until we step up and show them we mean business, business will be conducted like it has been. I'm not sure why 41,000 people dying at the hands of drug cartels isn't prompting us to do more than we are. We bristle when leaders like Saddam kill their own people, why is this not something we want to stop? I guess until our government figures out a way to make money off it it's business as usual for them, too!
1. The USA is the biggest buyer of illegal drugs.
2. It's very easy to purchase assault weapons in this country and take them to Mexico.
It's no secret that drug use in this country is rampant. All of the money that us tax payers fork over to support the effort to try and stop the flow and usage, is a waste of time and money. We spend untold millions and the drugs still get through. Not to mention that our agents are getting killed trying to do the right thing. Whatever we're doing isn't working, yet we keep on doing the same thing.
A recent TV documentary showed how easy it is to walk into any gun shop or gun show in Texas and buy an assault rifle. In fact, the show I watched showed 2 guys buying multiple weapons, then being approached in the parking lot to see if the weapons were for sale! To top that off, our own FBI ran an OP called Fast and Furious, in which they let 1,765 guns go to Mexico, over a 15 month period, in hopes of following them to the major arms dealers that then supply the cartels. Problem was, the FBI "somehow" lost sight of the guns and no arrests have been made! Many of these weapons have been tracked to various killings in Mexico, including the killing of Customs and Border Protection agent Brian Terry.
Because billions are at stake, the various drug cartels aren't giving up without a fight. Slowly but surely they're finding new methods of getting their product to market. Throw away submarines are one of the newest methods. They can build a 100' submarine for two million dollars that can carry $400 million dollars worth of product and discard the sub when they're done with it.
If I sound worried about this, I am. The long arm of the cartels is reaching further and further into the daily lives of US citizens. The "US Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center, says the Juarez and Sinaloa cartels are active in five Colorado cities." More than likely, that's just the tip of the iceberg. For many years the mass killings were in Colombia, now we don't hear about Colombia anymore 'cuz it looks like those operations have moved in to Mexico. In case you haven't noticed, Mexico is just south of our border.
Perhaps it's time for this country to invade Mexico . We've been known to do that in countries like Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan, Viet Nam and a few others. This time the prize might be one that will have a long lasting affect on the citizens of this country. Whether we want to believe it or not, we're at war with the cartels and until we step up and show them we mean business, business will be conducted like it has been. I'm not sure why 41,000 people dying at the hands of drug cartels isn't prompting us to do more than we are. We bristle when leaders like Saddam kill their own people, why is this not something we want to stop? I guess until our government figures out a way to make money off it it's business as usual for them, too!
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