The Life of Reidy

Seeing as how I'm graduating college soon, I've been thinking about getting a credit card to start building some credit for myself. I get so many offers in the mail on a daily basis, is isn't even funny. With all the different offers and pitches out there, I think I enjoy the credit card that MINT has to offer the best. Not only is it a funky little design that was first introduced in 2003, but with this card you save and save again with 0% on purchases and balance transfers until December, typical 16.9% APR, no annual fees and 24 hour customer service. I heard about it when I got the MINT gift card for Christmas, which is another great little thing they have to offer. The gift card is different from the credit card because whoever gets it for you sets the balance for you to spend anywhere that you can pay with a credit card. These guys in MINT just keep getting better, so now is just as good a time as any to check them out for yourself @ http://www.mint-online.co.uk/

We've all seen the fancy new adds for Vista on TV now, it's becoming more and more a household name which is what Microsoft intends to make it become over the next year. However, it is still doing dismal in sales compared to XP. People are still satisfied, or just not ready to upgrade to the new OS apparently. I know I was all about making Windows more like the Mac interface, but I certainly don't feel the rush to upgrade either. It brings in the debate when I go purchase a new laptop in the near future, do I want it to have Vista so I'm ready and prepared or do I want to wait until they work out the bugs? Or do we just screw it all and go to Mac's again? Who knows. I certainly don't!

Back when I was more in control of web design, I always felt the best way to attract people to your site was customization: fancy little media playing all over the page and catching peoples eyes and ears. The Box.net Widget is a wonderful little flash application that can do just that for your website. With unlimited bandwidth and 1 gb of free hosting, you can turn any boring old website into a wonderful little spot with your streaming images, music, movies, and whatever other kinds of files you might want to use. The possibilities are limitless! My friends band likes to use to to stream their new tracks off of their website, and my film buddy John wants to start streaming his webcasts through it. Here's a quick little example below, but you should totally go to box.net and check it out for yourself, too!


Get your own Box.net widget and share anywhere!

I recently got chosen to direct a Peter Zachari original scene for my directing mid term. It's difficult to know exactly what to do with the scene when the man who holds my grade is also the man who writes my scene. I'll just have to give it my go and hope for the best. I'm also worried because I have been asked to be in three other peoples scenes, on top of performing in "Action" and "What the Butler Saw." Now I ask you, in a world where we should take all of the opportunities to advance our careers, what does one do when there are too many? The problem is we try to please everyone, and make everyone else happy before we do ourselves.

Oh well. I'm going to treat myself this weekend, a nice little trip to Hartford. Time to get back to work!

I remember last summer for my community service project we had a hard time getting people to notice that we were actually holding a car wash, and it was frustrating because all we had were these dinky little signs to catch peoples attention. I think if we are going to repeat the fundraiser and stick to advertisement through strictly Yard Signs, it would be to our benefit if we went through BuildASign.com and let them do the work for us. I just stumbled onto the site today and I gotta tell you, it's amazing how anyone can go there and design and buy their own custom sign within five minutes! Their templates are professional and their quality is top notch. You can use your own graphics and texts, and now they offer neat little bumper stickers that you can also make in minutes and get delivered to you fast! I will definitely keep this site in mind for any future events that I need to advertise out on the streets for.

I read a great little article today about how to increase the traffic on your website without the use of search engines. This is beneficial because not everyone can afford the costs of the higher end search engines and it might take a while for them to get approved. Using these methods you can skip all of that and gain your own sense of popularity. Here's a general over look:

1. Blogging.

2. Podcasting.

3. Link buying.

4. TV Buys.

5. Web Directories.

6. Ad Networks.

7. Online Forums.

8. Social Media.

9. Email List Rentals.

10. Webinars/Video.

11. Online Press Releases.

12. PR Firm.

13. Event Media Sponsorships.

14. Sponsored Reviews.

15. Syndicate Your Content.

16. Streaking.

Some of these are a bit trickier then others, but theres definitely lots of good advice out there. To see the whole article, check out this link and be on your way to higher internet popularity.

Looking for something a little different in your valentines greetings this year? I know I for one am sick of the old stuff, and I'm always looking for new greetings that don't take things too seriously. I finally found that at eGreetings.com with their great assortment of online greeting cards. Some have great jokes, some are a bit scandalous, but all are in good humor and will surely brighten anyones day. Even if it isn't for that valentine of yours theres lots of birthday greetings, and just little notes to let people know you were thinking about them! One of the funnier examples of the Valentines Day one they had was the Cupid pickup lines eCard, and I've posted a few more below just to give you some examples of the style at eGreetings.com. I should mention that if you plan on using this site there is a free 30-day trial membership to send unlimited eCards, and then a yearly subscription is only $13.99 but it reminds you of upcoming dates and always sends your cards right on time! Worth the investment if you are into this sort of thing, and making your friends and family feel good. Check them out!

The Grammys last night were fairly interesting, but didn't hold my attention the entire time. I loved watching the Police back in action, and it was fun seeing the Chili Peppers close out the evening. There were also some great performances in memoriam to those who have passed on in the past year, most specifically James Brown. Other then that, it was just a rather awkward evening... I didn't even know the Dixie Chicks were still around and they cleaned up with 3 of the 4 major awards. Oh well, heres hoping the academy awards will be a bit more interesting.

If you need to get some last minute shopping done for that special Valentine for everyones favorite Hallmark holiday, I recommend saving yourself a lot of worry and doing some shopping online through my favorite coupon website at couponchief.com. Theres lots of great offers posted each day, I know I personally will be making use of the Target Coupons because they offer a wide variety of gifts, and I'll definately be able to find more on the website then I could through the store anyway. And the coupons help out with things like free shipping and 10% discounts, so you've got nothing to loose. Of course, that is only one of the many vendors they offer. Check them out!

It seems that Red Octane is already planning to blow their very own Guitar Hero success story out of the water. Marcus (the headmaster behind this killer app) says that this next project will make use of strings and frets, and dare to go where no video game has gone before. Not only will it teach you how to play the guitar, but it will also let you make your own songs and share them over the magic of the internet. It makes me wonder however, if this makes the magic of playing guitar all to accessible to the world. Will this put guitar instructors and practiced professional musicians out of a job if anyone on the planet can easily develop guitar mastery this way? I guess we can worry about that when we see just how impressive this new app really is.

Ever get a really cool idea for a video, or maybe you need a little something to help support your product? With sites like YouTube the video medium is becoming more and more of a popular way to get yourself out on the web, and sometimes even a well made video clip is all you need to impress people. If you aren't so talented in the field of video editing, the Post Production Studio at mdflims.net can help you out. If you look at their portfolio, they have quite an impressive style that looks quite professional, and you can even get a quote directly from their site about how much your video might cost. Whether it be a quick blip, a conceptual music video, or a innovative short film, these guys know what they are doing and will work together with you until your vision is realized. Check them out, but make sure you've got Flash 8 so you can view their pretty site.

I'm back in the office, and the festival was lots of fun! Met lots of people, made lots of connections. Didn't advance very far but it was good because I got to have a relaxing week of partying and workshops and supporting everyone else. Congrats to my dearest Katie who made it to finals, and also congrats to my dearest Bryce who went to semifinals. G3L also rocked their very last show with the Bryce Read, and it was quite a successful one. Lots of great feedback from students and professionals alike, everyone enjoyed it and found it quite memorable. So basically, I want to go back to last week...minus being sick with the flu for about six hours. That part I can do without.

While I'm gone this week, I recommend that you guys take a look at some of the funny videos that jokeroo.com has to offer. They've got all kinds of hilarious videos that you can kill time with enjoying, people wiping out trying to do crazy stunts, funny sports bloopers, internet games, and plenty of great animated flash movies that you can send as e-cards as well! I feel confident that this site will keep you amused enough to fill the void in my absence this week. Ciao!

Sorry I haven't been too consistent with the blogs, I've had a lot of responsibility prepping up for the Region One Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, for which I leave tomorrow. So sadly, I don't know how often I will be able to grab a computer this week either. But I'm feeling pretty confident, my partner and I have some great scenes from "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" and "Burial Customs," and if I'm fortunate enough to move to the final round I'll get to perform a piece from "Ten November." So knock on wood for me, I'll be back soon!

A very effective, yet underused technology, is the power of the Podcast. People all over the world are becoming famous simply by talking about what they know best for about an hour a week, and other people download their podcasts to hear what they have to say. There is still so much more room for potential I feel, I want to try to get my improv troop to start putting our comedy sketches out on the web too. Who knows how many untapped ideas have yet to be utilized through this system? If you've got a great podcast idea you should jump into the game and get a Free Podcast hosted through mypodcast.com because they are not only free but they have some great bandwidth offers for when your podcast really starts to take off. Check 'em out!

This is a debate that has been puzzling me all weekend, and I saw a couple of side by side comparisons of the two formats that will supposedly take over DVD. The HD-DVD has a leg up because people will think of it because it has "DVD" in the title, and yet it's pretty much a Microsoft deal so you have to either buy an HD-DVD player or spend an extra $200 to upgrade your X-Box 360. The Blu-Ray format holds about 5 times as much as a normal DVD as opposed to HD-DVD (only three times as much) and you either again have to get the specific player or simply buy a PS3 at normal price. So in the end, both even out in price, and while HD-DVD may have the name association and more X-Boxes in American homes than PS3's, the Blu-Ray clearly holds much more and therefore is more useful.

Either way, my DVD collection is still so young, I'm not ready to start replacing it yet. Especially with TV shows on DVD becoming so popular, it will be a while before we really have to start converting to the super-sized formats.

Most or my readers know that I make a nice little extra cash with PayPerPost, but I found a new offer today that has earned people a living wage, so much that they have quit their day job for a few hours of sitting home at the computer a day! Send Out Cards is a great service where you simply click the cards you want, and they get sent out to any contacts for any occasion. And we're not talking about e-cards here, these are legit high quality cards that get sent to people through the mail. For more info on their service, how it can help you and how you can help them, check out their website at secrethomebusiness.com to learn all about the exciting opportunities to be had from Send Out Cards!

Looks like through the power of Youtube and the investment of an $8 website, someone was able to sell their indie film to MGM. There's more info about it here, but basically "A Dog's Breakfast" is going to now be considered for a pilot, all thanks to some clever writing, some long nights of editing, and the power of the information super-highway. It's stories like this that make me wonder how many other Celebrities will be spawned through YouTube, and how many brilliant ideas of the future can come from the average Internet Browser. Anyone can get their name out there, and pretty soon it will be my turn!

This ones for all of you daytime TV junkies out there. If you can't get enough of your favorite Soap Opera you should check into soaps.com, its a handy little database that has been on the web for about half of a year now but it's very informative. Since it is so early, it could still use some improvements however, I wish it had more direct links to the soaps from the main page and that it also wasn't swarming with adds. Also, it could definitely benefit from having histories of the shows so you can see how they've turned over the years. Also, being an actor myself, I would be interested to learn more about the careers from the specific people on the shows, but I suppose that would be a massive undertaking for these folks to pursue. Still though, what they have to offer is good enough to get your daily dose of soaps, so check it out if you missed an episode or two!

Sometimes when the office work gets a little slow, it helps to have some flash games that are simple and uncomplicated to kill those boring stretches of time. One of my favorite places to go is Ebaums World, I used to love that Ninja game but even that required a lot of platforming and tricky keyboard action, which was distracting to my coworkers. So now I'm kind of hooked on this game they have called Squares which is really simple: just collect the black squares and dodge the red ones! Give it a try to see how high of a score you can get.

Unfortunatly there was also sad news in the world of gaming today, because an inside rep at Nintendo claimed that the new Mario Galaxy game will be delayed until Christmas, making those die hard Nintendo fans wait even longer for the potential Mario 64 predecessor. But it's been my experience that everytime something gets delayed, it will only be that much better once it is released.