Standard Blinds Are Old News

Hey there friends. Curtains, blinds, or open window? That's the dilemma that most people face when decorating their home. Curtains have many colors to mix and match and can be quite expensive depending on the color and fabric that is chosen. Blinds are a good choice to block out the sun but they really only keep you in the dark and obstruct your view of the outside world. Well, our friends at The Shade Store have come up with a sleek, modern solution that will not only keep harmful UV rays out of your home but will also allow you to enjoy your beautiful view.

All materials used to make these shades are 100% recyclable and GreenGuard Certified, which makes them a welcome addition to the environment. The shades also block out UV rays that can damage your furniture, they absorb heat, and they reduce the glare of the sun. This is a great alternative to the standard and old set of blinds that many of us grew up with. And the best part? IZEA has partnered up with The Shade Store to offer all friends free shipping and a 15% discount. When placing your order, be sure to use the promo code, IZEA01, to take advantage of this money saving offer.

Good looking, sleek, modern. Check out the picture below to get a feel of what the shades can do for your windows. Check it out, friends. Go to The Shade Store and order yours today. Later!

Feeling Sick and Feeling Great

Hey there. I'm not feeling all that great today. I may be getting something from my wife, who is sick right now. She left work early yesterday because she wasn't feeling too well and she didn't come in to work this morning because it seemed like she got worse. She was burning up and has this cough that just won't go away. I know we didn't sleep well last night because she kept getting up. I don't know if it's my "husband sense" or what but when she gets up, I get up. So I'm a little worried about her. I called her a few minutes ago to see how she's doing and she doesn't sound too well. I'll more than likely take her to the doctor if she doesn't sound better in a few hours. I pretty much just told her to rest up and drink plenty of fluids.

In other news, I got drilled yesterday. Not in a negative way but I was asked many a question about my work habits and the way I come up with solutions. I didn't meet with everyone that I supposed to but I did meet with the head IT guy and the owner. I believe that it was a very successful meeting and I want to say that I left a great impression on the owner. As he went over my resume, he continuously stated how he liked what he saw and complimented me on my test scores (had to take an intermediate level Excel test). Very laid back for an owner and by looking at him, I would say he is a surfer kind of guy. lol But that's good, because you get that sense that he's one that knows how to have a good time, but when it comes down to business, knows what he's doing. He did ask me if there was a question that he forgot to ask. To which I replied, "Yes. You forgot to ask, "When can you start?" We had a good chuckle over it and he said that if all works out, he'll be asking me that next time we meet. I haven't received any feedback as of yet. Hopefully, all will turn out well. Later!

IZEA and Seaworld's Manta Mania Contest!

Hey there friends. Check out this link Manta Mania 3 to get all the info! 1 lucky person will win a chance to win a trip for 4 to visit the park for two whole days. Travel and hotel expenses are covered! Check out Ted's take on the ride here. Later!

Entrecard Experiment is Over

Hey there. I decided a week or so ago, that I would stop using Entrecard for a week. Not because I think the service sucks, or anything of that sort, but because I was curious as to why so many of it's members were leaving. Is there really a benefit for those that simply walk away? I've had a steady stream of traffic (in the vicinity of 250-400 page views a day) since I've joined Entrecard, that I was happy about. I know I'm not a super popular guy and I don't expect 1000's of hits a day but a couple of hundred page views and some committed friends is a satisfactory result. With that being said, my traffic took a huge nose dive during the time off from Entrecard. Somewhere around a 67% drop. It dropped faster than the US economy.


A very humbling experience. I don't see how someone can walk away from a community that not only brings in traffic to your site but also creates friendships. I thank you, friends, that continued to visit and drop this week, even though I did not reciprocate. I made no mention of my experiment cause I didn't want to influence my readers, or lack there of, and I would call it a success, even though I am not ecstatic of the results. I'm back on Entrecard and I'll start my blog surfing. Thanks again, friends. Later!

Samuel L. Jackson is... Afro Samurai

Hey there. I love me some Samuel L. Jackson. I think he's one of the best mother f*ing actors out there. Think about it for a second. The man has done it all. He's is a comic book villain (unbreakable), racist cop (Lakeview Terrace), cracked up junkie (Jungle Fever), jedi master (Star Wars flicks), Jules (if you don't know who Jules is, you're not a fan) I mean... the man has been in dozens of movies and he plays the characters well. AND HE'S NOT FULL OF HIMSELF. He's more than willing to take a role where he's a role player in the movie. I think that's what draws me to his movies. He knows he's a star but he doesn't act like a diva. He takes his fame in stride and isn't afraid to try out new roles. He's not an action man, or comedic actor, or a drama king, he is purely a jack of all trades and has shown that he can play any part that he wants to try out. The man is a chameleon. It's only fitting that the next step in his career is animation.

The man has skills as an actor, he's known for his voice (I go back to Jules) but his facial and body expression aid his performances. Voice acting is one dimensional. The animators will provide you with the facial expressions and body language but you need to bring that artwork to life. The voice needs to breathe life into the character or you just don't believe the story and the man does a fine job in Afro Samurai.

He's credited for the voice of Afro and Ninja Ninja, thought Ninja Ninja is the one that does most of the talking. Afro, a more stoic and stone cold persona, doesn't have much to say during the series but kicks some serious ass. Afro Samurai has been around since 2007 but this year marks the release of Afro Samurai: Resurrection. The first season was simply bad ass. I'm a sucker for a good story and Afro Samurai provided a great story in a much too short 5 episode season. Afro Samurai: Resurrection is a film that carries on Afro's story.

In a nutshell, the greatest samurai battle each other for numbered headbands. The #1 head band being the top dog. Afro's dad held the #1 head band until he was defeated by Justice. A young Afro witnesses this and lives a life fueled by revenge. After he obtains the #2 band as an adolescent, he earns the right to go after #1, all the while, others attack Afro for the #2 band. Enter Afro Samurai: Resurrection here. I haven't looked into it yet since I don't want to spoil it for myself. lol I missed the first airing of the movie on Spike. They are now showing the movie in a four 30 minute episodes. I caught the first one last Friday, episode 2 is going to show this Friday. You guys gotta catch this show!!! Later!

15 Companies That May Not Make It This Year

Hey there. I haven't had much time to post here since I've been working too hard and tired as hell once I get home. Being a credit analyst, I've been burying my head in balance statements and profit & losses for all kinds of companies to assure that we will not lose money on companies that we do business with. With that being said, I stumbled on an article in Yahoo Finance about 15 companies that may not make it through 2009. Here is my take on those 15 companies.

Rite Aid: I like Rite Aid. I shop there every now and then and it's basically a suped up liquor store. The problem? Their pharmacy. Because they invested much in the pharmacy side of Rite Aid, the comp. is losing out to Wal-Mart now that Wal-Mart offers pharmacy services. Many are ditching the Rite Aid pharmacy to hit up Wal-Marts since customers can also buy other items at discounted prices.

Claire's Stores: My wife loves this store. Each time we're at the mall, we need to stop by Claire's or Icing (same company) for little nick knacks and girly accessories. The problem with this is that it's in a mall. Many consumers are just not hitting the malls since many don't have that extra cash to spend. Since the company specializes in accessories, this economy is hurting the company since many of us can live with out the glittery clip or starry hair bands.

Chrysler: This one is a tough one to swallow. The gov. has already provided the company with bailout money and they're burning right through it. It also doesn't help that the higher ups insist that the company is not going out of business. Are they trying to convince us? Or trying to convince themselves? The fact that their main inventory consists of gas guzzling SUVs and trucks are not helping either.

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group: This small chain of rental cars will suffer due to Chrysler, since Chrysler provides approx. 80% of the cars that the automotive group rents out. No cars, no company. Simple as that.

Realogy Group: This is the biggest real estate firm in the country and that's why it's in trouble. The housing market has been in a nose dive since late 2007 and all the losses are tearing this company apart. They've attempted to refinance most of their debt to no avail. When the largest real estate firm is having trouble refinancing, you know they're in trouble.

Station Casinos: This one is a no brainer. No money to toss around at the gambling table. Coupled with the fact that this is a home grown business that is native to Las Vegas, this is one business that does not have the big dollars backing it up like some of the well known casinos on the Vegas Strip.

Loehmann's: Like every other retailer out there, it's feeling the pinch of consumers not spending money but Loehmann's just doesn't have the cash to keep the company afloat. It may very well follow the likes of Mervyn's and Gottschalks and simply run out of money to keep the business open.

Sbarro: This one's in trouble for the same reason Claire's is. They are in a mall and people just don't spend the money on pizza while at the mall. To make matters worse, they can't offer additional items since the store is only open during mall hours so a breakfast or late night menu is not an option. Consumers love options and this company just doesn't have any.

Six Flags: This one hurts. I love Six Flags. We go about once a year during one of our mental health days that my wife and I take. The problem here is that the company is just not making money. It's been losing money for years and many of the parks are for sale to private investors and unless someone comes up with the cash to make this place profitable, it's just not going to make it. In California, Six Flags has a bad rap. There have been incidents involving gang violence and disturbances that just give the theme park a negative connotation. Being a family man, I'd rather take the kids to Disneyland or Knotts Berry Farm where I know that the kids are less likely to encounter a problem. I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking that way.

Blockbuster: This goes for all video rental places that have a brick and mortar place of employment, online video rental is the way of the future. Netflix and other online video rentals just make it too easy for customers to rent what they want and receive movies without leaving their home. Not to mention that a monthly subscription, at a low price, makes it more affordable than other places. And now that Netflix can stream via a XBOX 360 or on their latest product, The Netflix Player by Roku, other video rental companies simply cannot compete.

Krispy Creme Donuts: I love me some donuts. The company figured that many Americans do as well. The problem? They opened too many stores too quickly. They expanded right before the housing market came down, forcing many of the locations to default on leases since they could not negotiate new leases. This caused for many of those locations to close down. That trend will more than likely continue this year.

Landry's Restaurants: This one is 50/50. They own well known cafe's such as the Rainforest Cafe and Chart House. The problem here is that they are in the middle of a buyout where the company needs $400 million in funds to finalize the deal. Some banks have already shut them down so it doesn't look good. If a bank gives them the money they need, they can ride this storm out.

Sirius Radio: This was a problem the moment this company started. Many will not pay for something that is already free. XM was in the same boat but merged with Sirius to keep the company alive and reduce losses. Now, they are both sinking and because they have huge contracts that need to be paid (*cough *cough Howard Stern *cough *cough), the company is just not profitable.

Trump Entertainment Resorts: The Donald has been in hot water for years now. Each time he's managed to get out of it by using his persona to get extensions on late payments. Now that the real estate market is still in the dumps, The Donald may be able to talk himself into any more extensions. Especially since a good portion of his properties are in the casino business.

Bearing Point: To be honest, I don't know much about this company other than that it is a consulting firm. Per Yahoo, "The firm is consistently lost money, revenue has been falling, and management stopped issuing earnings guidance in 2008... With a key interest payment due in April, management needs to hustle - or devise its own exit strategy."

There you have it, 15 companies that may not make it. I expect to see many clearance sales on these in the coming months. Later.