Mishmash Musings

Well, I’m happy to report that BlogExplosion is finally back after being down for several days. There were rumors that it was perhaps dead forever, but obviously those were inaccurate. I didn’t truly realize how much fun I have surfing other blogs via BE until it was gone, so now that it’s back I’m definitely going to appreciate it a lot more.

I do wish that the current ownership would take a more active role in maintaining the site. I’ve heard that it’s a long, slow process to get blogs approved, which sucks — especially since I often get the dreaded “No More Active Sites” error message. I mean, how hard can it be to approve blogs for surfing purposes? Sign me up, I’ll help out!

I got an email from a friend earlier today who is looking for someone to take over his car lease. He has a very nice ride, a 2005 Nissan 350Z, which is the special 35th Anniversary Edition. Mark’s car has all the options and upgrades you’d expect, including leather seats, alloy wheels, and a premium sound system. Plus, he even has extras like coilovers for superior handling, a spoiler, and a racing exhaust system.

Why is he getting rid of such a cool vehicle? Because he’s now engaged, and his future wife thinks they need to drive something more “age-appropriate”!

Anyway, the lease has just 12 months left on it, with payments of $439 per month. If you’re interested in a car like this and you’re in the Twin Cities area, shoot me an email!

My husband and I both love gadgets and tech toys, so it’s no surprise that we’ve wanted a digital photo frame for a long time now. We just haven’t come across one that provides both adequate quality and good value. All of the frames we’ve previously looked at were either too expensive for our budget or offered no real quality to speak of, which would have just made the thing a waste of money.

But after reading a bunch of customer reviews about this Westinghouse Digital Photo Frame, I think I’ve finally come upon a product that fits our requirements. This particular photo frame, model number DPF-0702, has a 7-inch widescreen display, and comes with a beautiful ebony wood trim. It also comes backed with terrific features and capabilities, including built-in 128 MB flash memory, memory card support, slide show function, different transition styles and speeds, and support for a wide range of digital file formats.

Also in the box are a mini USB for file transfers, as well as a USB port for connecting to flash drives. This means the Westinghouse Digital Photo Frame is ready to go as soon as you buy it. All you have to do is connect it to your computer to transfer files or slip in a memory card preloaded with photos, and you can get the show started right away.

Normally, you’d have to pay more than $100 for a digital photo frame of this quality and with these features. But Buy.com is having an incredible sale on this product as part of its Weekly Specials, so for a limited time you can pick one up for just $39.99. Now that’s a deal that’s too sweet to resist! I will probably order one for myself and get one or two extras to use as birthday gifts for family members.

If you’ve been thinking about purchasing a digital photo frame but have been put off by the prices, then be sure to give this Westinghouse Digital Photo Frame a look over at Buy.com. You’re not going to find a better bargain anywhere else!

If you were watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, then you no doubt saw the Denny’s commercial saying that the restaurant chain would give a free Grand Slam breakfast to “everyone in America” on Feb. 3. That’s today, so get ready for some free food! The offer is good from 6:00 am to 2:00pm, which is a very generous window of time for breakfast. Customers will also receive a coupon book that contains additional offers.

I think this is a great promotion, especially at a time when the economy is suffering and people could use a free meal. Sure, it’s not exactly “free” insofar as you have to leave a tip and will probably buy a drink or whatever, but you know what I mean. If there’s a Denny’s near you, I hope you go and take advantage of this great offer!

I’ve been a part of BlogExplosion for about a year, and found it helpful not only for driving a bit of extra traffic to my sites, but also in alerting me to some fun new blogs out there. I usually don’t have time to surf around the blogosphere on my own, so it was nice to surf via BE because I knew I’d get reciprocal traffic that way.

But for the past three days, I haven’t been able to access the site at all. I decided to check around to see what others are saying about BE, but haven’t come across a definitive answer yet. Some people are saying that it’s completely dead, while others are saying that the parent company is in the midst of a server swap that is affecting all of their sites.

I truly hope that BE will be back sometime soon. I know lots of people who have benefited from it in the past, since it’s an easy way to promote small business opportunities, webstores, and personal sites. I will keep checking on BlogExplosion, and let you know if/when it comes back up!

… that there are still so many blogs out there with “autoplay” music that assaults my ears as soon as I click on the site! Don’t people know how utterly annoying that kind of crap is?! That’s something I’d expect from a 13-year-old’s MySpace page, not from a 30-something blogger.

Anyway, whenever I come to a site that has autoplay anything, I leave almost immediately. That’s a great way to drive away traffic, IMO. Why do people think that others want to be subjected to their music choices in the first place? I’ll never understand this!