Mishmash Musings

If you’ve got your own websites, then you’ve probably noticed that there’s a Google PR update in progress. These updates can take a couple weeks to complete, and in the meantime a site’s PR can fluctuate drastically.

I’m not expecting much movement on this site because I haven’t been able to promote it as much as I’d like to. So far it’s showing a preliminary PR of 1, which of course is much better than the big, fat goose egg I had before. Let’s just hope it stays this way (or even goes up!) once the dust settles.

My stepfather grew up in Kentucky and has been a fan of horse racing his whole life. When I was a kid, he used to take me to a couple of local tracks where he would proceed to show me how to evaluate horses, jockeys, and track conditions in order to have the best chance at picking the winners. Although I didn’t get into the whole sport as much as my stepfather did, I still like to indulge in horse race betting every once in a while.

I don’t have much time to go to the track these days, but I can still place bets online through websites like xpressbet.com. That’s because horse racing wasn’t included in the recent anti-gambling legislation passed in the U.S., which means this form of online gambling is one of the very few that is still legal.

The thoroughbred horse racing season will begin very soon, so I should go get signed up at xpressbet.com right now. Then I’ll be ready to wager on the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Sunshine Millions, and all the other big races that are coming up!

I just read an article that says Nielsen is now tracking TV show ratings based on the DVR Playback factor. That is to say, they’re now trying to incorporate viewers who record shows on DVR and watch them at a different time into the overall ratings for the shows.

For example, the latest episode of House drew 19 million viewers, but that number increases by 2.7 million when DVR playbacks are taken into account.

I think this is a step in the right direction because obviously DVRs are here to stay and a lot of people take advantage of being able to record and watch whenever they have time. I just have to wonder how accurate the numbers are, though. Then again, they’re probably no more or less accurate than the original Nielsen ratings…!

I’m currently looking for a good savings account. I just closed my Washington Mutual account because it was only earning a bit over 1 percent, so it wasn’t worth keeping. I’ve been letting most of my money sit in my PayPal account where it’s earning 5.04 percent through the Money Market Fund, but since fund isn’t FDIC insured, I should probably move at least some of my money to a safer haven.

If any of you know of a high-yield savings account that I can open online without having to actually appear at a branch, please let me know about it!

If you work in a sales position, then chances are at least part of your compensation comes in the form of commissions from the deals that you close. As such, it would be in your best interest to deal with only qualified sales leads instead of wasting your time talking to prospects who aren’t really interested in your products or services.

That sounds good, but where are you supposed to get these sales leads? From marketing firms like Martin Worldwide that specialize in identifying and collecting this kind of information for sales professionals. Having access to a steady flow of leads can really do wonders for your sales volume, so this is something you should definitely check out if you want to stay ahead of the competition.

File this one in the “how ironic” category. It seems that Marilee Jones, the Dean of Admissions at MIT for the last 28 years, faked the credentials that helped her get the post. According to the AP article I read, Jones initially lied about her educational background on her resumé, and then continued the fraud in subsequent years by claiming to have earned three more degrees.

No wonder she often told students that having fun and taking time to “daydream” was just as important as building a long list of achievements that would help them get into college. Apparently, she knew exactly how to play that angle herself!

Of course, Jones was also very good at her job, so perhaps having a college degree isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Shouldn’t ability count even more?

I went in for another orthodontist appointment yesterday. I got new wires put in, so my teeth really hurt right now. My ortho seemed pleased with the progress I’m making and said I’m right on schedule as far as where my teeth should be at this point in the treatment. I can’t believe I’ve only had my braces on for four months… it feels like it’s been forever and I’m definitely ready for them to come off now. Too bad I still have over a year left!

In the past few years, Costa Rica has emerged as one of the hottest vacation destinations around. Several of my friends have spent time in that country, and all have raved about the beautiful surroundings they found themselves in.

I really want to visit Costa Rica some day because it sounds like the kind of place my husband and I could completely enjoy. We prefer active vacations, so we’d probably want to go bungee jumping, play some golf, rent motorcycles, go scuba diving, learn to surf, rent jet skis, and a whole lot more. In fact, we’d probably be better off staying at a Costa Rica all inclusive resort so we wouldn’t have to pay for everything separately.

This is certainly something I’ll have to look into for one of our upcoming vacations!