Friday, July 30, 2010

The Truth About Mirrors

Not sure what's wrong with you ladies but there's nothing wrong with the mirror!

What's the Medical Term for Lazy?

A man worried about his stamina decided to go to a doctor to get checked out.

"Doc, I'm just not able to do all the things around the house that I used to.  What's wrong with me?"

The doctor then starts his examination and once he's finished, he gives the man an uneasy look.

"Doc, just tell me in plain english.  I can take it.", the man declares.

"Well," the doctors says, "in plain English...  you're just lazy."

"Ok...", says the man, "now give me the medical term so I can tell my wife that."

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Vote for my Little Cousins at Parents Photo Faves

Hey there.  Just look at them!  Adorable, no?  My twin cousins are trying to earn $25,000 for a college fund using their stunningly handsome good looks at Parent Photo Faves.  Help them out by voting for their picture here.  They're currently sitting in the #32 spot and reached as high as #22.  Let's break through the top #10, friends.  Many thanks and we greatly appreciate all the votes we can get!  Later!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Charter’s Back-to-School Campaign is Giving Away 50 Laptops

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Charter. All opinions are 100% mine.

Laptop1

Hey there friends.  Charter Communications have been on fire with their widely successful give-a-way campaigns.  They've managed to give away XBOX 360's, a hybrid car, a Camaro, laptops, and HD TV's all for their growing customer base.  They have decided to carry on the give-a-way campaigns but have decided to switch it up a bit.  Not only are they giving away laptops to customers, but will be giving away 50 laptops to two lucky schools.

As part of Charter's laptop-a-day giveaway they are offering the chance to nominate a school of your choice to win 50 laptops for students.  You click on the above link and register for a chance to win your own laptop and then nominate a school.  It really is that simple.  The laptops are Lenovo G555's with a 15.6" screen, 160GB drive and 3GB ram (with a Targus bag) which is a pretty impressive machine will be more than enough to help out lucky students in getting ahead in their education.

Schools will need to be nominated by August 12th and 50 finalists will be selected by August 16th so there is still time to nominate your school.  Once the 50 finalists are announced, the voting will begin so have your friends and family vote for your school to win!  The two winning schools will then be announced on Sept. 27th.
 
Ordering services from Charter will not increase your chances to win, however, they will offer an automatic entry for a laptop and up to $300 cash back.  You can register online without ordering so feel free to check out the registration page here and sign up yourself and your school!

Make sure to check out Charter on Facebook to make sure you're on top of all things Charter.  With great promotions and give-a-ways like this, how do you not want to follow Charter.  Best of luck to you and your school!  Later!

Visit my sponsor: Charter is giving Free laptops to Schools

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Youtube Video Hits

Hey there.  I've been playing around with the idea of posting Youtube videos that I create on this site.  Now... I'm all for the idea, but I'm concerned with how the view counter on youtube works.  If I embed a video here and someone watches it, will that view register with Youtube?  Hmmm...  I need to find that out.  Not that it matters a great deal but I want to be able to accurately see if my videos are being seen or not.  I do have a Youtube channel but just a mere 3 videos on it and they were done to test out some features here on Metallman's Reverie or the features on my phone.  I've been wanting to create some original stuff to embed but I want to assure myself that when I'm testing out this new material, the view counter will be accurate. 

It's still an idea that is in it's infant stage and I'm open to suggestions as to what would be in these videos.  Stupid stunts?  Funny jokes? (nah, that's why we have Funny Fridays)  "Metallman" sings the classics?  Answer questions a la Old Spice Guy? (which I think is great!)  I don't know.  I need to find the content that is right for me that would work in this segment.  I still need to put some more thought into that.  Until then... later!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Motivational Monday - Perspective

Hey there.  Monday's suck.  There's no question about it.  After having some time away from work and spending it the way you see fit, the last thing you want to do is get up early and go to work.  It's why many of us suffer from a case of "The Mondays".  But you know what... it really isn't THAT bad and I loved that the below sums it up quite nicely.  lol  Later!

Friday, July 23, 2010

You're Beautiful

A man was in a terrible car accident and was rushed off to emergency surgery.  He was just waking up from the anesthesia after the surgery when he looked over at his wife, sitting by his side, and said, "You're beautiful."  He then tilted his head back and fell back asleep.

His wife, feeling that the accident may have rekindled his love for her, was feeling great since it's been so long since she heard him say that.  She decided to stay by his side until he fully woke up.

30 minutes later, the man's eyes fluttered open.  He looked over at his wife and said, "You're cute."

His wife, a little disappointed that she went from beautiful to cute asked her husband, "What happened to beautiful?

He relied, "The drugs are wearing off."

Batman - What Could Have Been

Thursday, July 22, 2010

No TV Day at Home

Hey there. Yesterday was no TV day at home. And by no TV, I mean no TV, no PSP, no DS, no computer, no nothing with images on it. Why? Because 2 nights ago, the kids were playing Wii and didn't bother to go to sleep until 11PM. That's pretty late when their bed time is closer to 9:30 (now that they're on vacation). It was my fault for not keeping tabs of the time... I was online working. By the time I noticed it was pretty late, I told them to turn it off and go to bed and declared the next day, No TV.

I thought the kids would have died... lol They live off of TV and games. The girls can't get enough of the Nickelodeon and Music channels and the boy is either playing Wii, XBOX 360, PS2, or has a handheld game glued to his hands. They needed this time to just go out and play with the dogs or do other activities that do no involve a gaming system. To my surprise, they did fairly well. A lot of reading and a lot of interaction with each other was pleasantly welcomed. I'm wondering if my maybe no TV day should come by more often... Later!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Affordable Family Friendly Education at Ashworh College

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Ashworth College. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there friends. I have many blogging friends that are stay at home moms. Which I think is great! There is nothing better than to be able to stay at home and spend more quality time with the kids. I wish I could do that... but I'm at work. Nevertheless, being a stay at home doesn't mean that mom's don't work. Besides the sack lunches, tending to injuries, being referee, and bringing down the law (of the household at least), a stay at home parent needs to find time to be themselves before they were mom or dad. Whether that be taking up an old hobby or getting back into school and getting that degree.

Getting back to school must be the most single thing most parents claim that they simply do not have the time for. Which may be true, if you are still speaking of school in the traditional sense. Now with many online schools, any parent, or working adult, can find the time to log online and attend school and work on improving your education. Because it's flexible and self-paced, so you can study whenever and wherever you like. Now that is ideal for any stay at home parent or working class citizen.

"But I can't afford school, Metallman. It costs too much money!" Not so, my friends. At Ashworth College, you can earn that Online degree and pay approx. 50% less than the average accredited online school and unlike other programs, you are guaranteed to graduate without student loan debt. Let me translate that for you... NO STUDENT LOAN to worry about AFTER you've graduated! And with over 100+ degrees to choose from, you will find the one that you have been wanting to achieve.
Being a stay at home parent is great, but have a backup plan ready for the when the little ones are more independent. With classes being attended online, there is no need to travel to a school when you can sit in the comfort of your own home and attend class. You've been helping your kids with homework through out elementary and middle school, with an online degree from Ashworth College, you can assure that you can continue to help them for years to come.

Visit my sponsor: While the kids are away

Time for a Template Change

Hey there. I think I'm going to make a few changes to this template. Nothing too drastic, but I'm not to thrilled at the way it looks. I am thinking of getting one professionally made, but I'm going to take a crack at it myself before I go that route. I already have a twitter friend in mind that does an awesome job and if you want to check out some of her work, you can check that out at her site, Blogging Bella Designs. Now... time to get to work. Later!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Do You Know of the Secret ampm Secret Menu?

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of AMPM. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there friends. ampm has been known for years as a gas station pit stop for snacks and nothing more but the times are changing and with a slogan as "Too much good stuff", the ampm convenience store is gaining much deserved attention.  When my wife and I first started dating, we would have ampm nights.  No fancy restaurants for us!  A quick trip to ampm to grab some grub and then we'd stay in the car and just hang out and spend time together.  In no way was it conventional, but it worked for us.  And for that, ampm will forever have sentimental value to me.  Today, I learned that there is now a secret menu at ampm that will set apart the standard burger and hot dogs with awesome concoctions! 

Check out the secret menu tab at their facebook page.  It lists the current secret items with more being revealed on 7/26, 8/2, 8/9, 8/16, 8/30.  I can already see myself eating the "Hot Chihuhua" on a regular basis and I see myself taking the challenge of downing a "Towering Inferno".  lol  Yeah, with cool names like that, how can you not be intrigued.  Check out the Hot Chihuahua and the Towering Inferno below.


How can you not want to take those on!  The secret menu tab lists the ingredients and the know how on how to make it, but I left those out for you to discover on your own.  Check out the ampm secret menu tab and comment on the items that you see yourself eating.  And don't forget to check it out on 8/2.  ampm will allow their fans to add their very own secret menu concoctions right on Facebook!  If it's good enough, they may very well add it to the menu!  Imagine that... to have a burger... sandwich... or nachos... of my very own creativity to be sold in 1000's of ampm's!  A guy can dream, can't he?  Later!
Visit my sponsor: ampm Secret Menu Items

Monday, July 19, 2010

Problems with an iPod Touch

Hey there.  I'm usually the guy people turn to when their electronics are busted.  Busted XBOX 360? sure, I'll look at it.  Whacky computer?  I'll clean it out for you.  Electronic gizmos acting odd?  I'll figure it out.  It's been like this for as long as I can remember and you know what?  I don't mind.  I can be such a tech geek that I enjoy working on electronics for hours on end.  My latest project has been an iPod Touch that seems to have crapped out on it's owner.

I was first shown the iPod when it was stuck in recovery mode after it was synced with some questionable software.  After explaining the dos and don'ts of the iPod use... I went to work on it.  None of the traditional methods of resetting the device worked, iTunes refused to recognize it and the drivers on the machine were corrupted.  I spent a few nights trying different methods and different versions of iTunes in hopes of getting it to work and only after I downloaded the driver, restarted the apple mobile device support and many re-installs of iTunes, did I finally get the iPod to register under DFU mode.  I directed it to install the driver and iTunes finally recognized it and I was finally able to restore it.  YES!  Or so I thought...

I turned on the iPod and everything seemed well.  You can sync it to iTunes and can generally use the iPod now.  Yesterday, I find out that the guy cannot sync his iPod to their iTunes and when plugged in, the computer "sees" the iPod as a camera.  What a pain...  So I checked that out yesterday.  I reinstalled iTunes and tried to direct the iPod to the correct driver but I had no success with it so I decided to take it home and check that out.  When I got there, I went to work on it right away and after a few minutes, it synced up with iTunes without a problem.  Hmmm....  I went ahead and reset the iPod to factory settings any and took out a flash drive and copied some of my iTunes files and iPod files on it and plan on replacing the user's files with mine, since I now believe that the problem may lie in their iTunes install or the user might have corrupted windows files...  If that's the case, I'll try to repair the windows installation while trying to preserve their files but I'm hoping that it wont come to that. 

I plan on visiting later today to check that out.  Wish me luck friends.  Later!

Motivational Monday - Monday

Hey there. Monday's are such a drag. Especially for those of us that need to get up in the morning, drive through terrible traffic, and then work in a strenuous work environment. Sometimes... you simply just don't want to show up. But we know that we have to. We all need to work to pay our bills so sometimes... just sometimes... you just have to gut out that smile and carry on. Later!

Friday, July 16, 2010

The Mel Gibson Benefit Show feat. Mark Gonzales

Hey there.  There has been a lot of talk of Mel Gibson and his idiotic rants to his girlfriend/wife/baby momma.  And even though he's being torn apart from the media, one man is out to help out Sergeant Martin Riggs by hosting a benefit show!  Check out the flyer above for The Mel Gibson Benefit Show with my friend and comedian, Mark Gonzales.

I've missed a few of his shows, so I declare myself to be an awful fan, but I plan on changing that!  I plan on attending this event and hope that you all you friends in the Los Angeles area can make it as well.  

Check out his twitter page for a small taste of the humor of Mark Gonzales.  Hope to see you guys there!  Later!

PS:  We all know Mel Gibson is a huge douche for doing the things he's done and saying the things he's said.  This is a comedy show, people.  Take nothing seriously, laugh the night away, and have yourself a great time.  Later!

Mystery Lifesavors Flavor

An employee for Lifesavors was testing out a new Lifesavor flavor and decided that an honest opinion of a 5th grade class would be perfect.  Using a bowl of Lifesavors, he walked around gave the kids all the same flavored Lifesavor and asked them for the flavor.  The children sucked on them for a bit and guess all the common flavors right until he gave them the new flavor, honey.

"Well, how about I give you guys a clue." the employee said.  "It's what your mom would call you dad."

At that instant, a little girl in the back of the classroom spit out her Lifesavor and with a look of horror declared, "Everyone spit out the Lifesavor!  They're assholes!!!!!"

Rainbow Road Song

Hey there.  There have been many talks of rainbows as of late, especially since there was this one guy that posted a video of him freaking out over a double rainbow that almost turned into a triple rainbow.  lol  However, since I'm in Mario Kart mode, I just had to share this gem off of youtube.  Rainbow road!!!!  Later!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

My Problem with Summer

Hey there.  When I was a kid, summer was awesome.  No school, no homework, nothing to worry about but play video games, wrestle with friends, and general childhood mischief.  Sounds like a pretty bad ass time to me.  As an adult...  summer is not so great.  I know that it can get hotter in other places, but summer in LA sucks.  The commute to and from work here is so bad, that you spend a lot of time stuck on the freeway and with a scorching sun beaming down on you, you're going to get sweaty.  Even though the AC is on blast, the fact that you're in a heated metal box for a long while will slowly negate that AC of yours.  Then there's the prob with people in offices across LA.  People... it's hot outside!  Let's be merciful to those that just came in from that blazing sun and turn on the AC!!!  If you start complaining (ahem ahem... you know who you are) then you should be shot!  lol  I would rather be in a cold office than a hot one.  If you're cold, it's easy to slip into a sweater or jacket.  If we keep the office hot... there's nothing you can do to remedy that.  No amount of water or drinks, no fan, no anything will dispel the heat from your body.  I can be walking around naked in the office and still feel hot.  (It's not a pretty sight, friends.  Don't make me go there) lol

Now, I'm not saying all of summer is bad...  Out of the 3 months or so of uncomfortableness, they'll be a few days where we'll go out to the beach and take in some of that sun and splash around in the Pacific Ocean.  The big difference between beach day and work day???  Beach day = fun where as work day = work.  lol  And working while all sweaty sucks.  I'm just saying... 

I think I'm going to write a strongly worded letter to the Mayor.  See if I can convince him of giving us Los Angeles workers some mandatory, PAID, time off to go to the beach during the week.  It's that... or we will all take a page out of Al Bundy's book and grab some lawn chairs and hang out in the frozen food section of the local market.  Either way... I'm down.  lol  Later!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Get More Than Just Movies with Charter on Demand

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Charter. All opinions are 100% mine.
Ondemand-1
Hey there friends. Recently, I've found myself pressed for time. Time to get out and hang out with the kids and family. I'm either working at work or working at home and sometimes I feel as if I don't have the time of day to just sit and watch some TV. I have so much stuff recorded on my DVR, it's not even funny. I'm sure I'm over 90% of my capacity and it's tough to keep track of the shows I've recorded. This is why Charter on Demand is so awesome.

The Charter On Demand home page clearly indicates what's on demand. Whether it's movies or TV shows. And even though I may be a movie buff, it's the shows that I regularly miss and can easily catch up on with this great service from Charter. And the best part of it all is that it doesn't take up any of my DVR space! If I missed last night's episode of Mad Men, I can count on Charter on Demand to have it available for me to view. It's a way better alternative than to decide what to delete from your DVR to make space for a new show.

And it's not just for me, the kids benefit from it as well. With family networks like the Disney Channel readily available, my young one can catch Spongebob any time she wants, or laugh away at the latest iCarly show. It's great to know that we do not have to rearrange our outings based on our favorite TV shows. We now have the leisure to watch our favorites any time when we are ready.

Make sure the check out the Charter On Demand home page for more information. And if you like what you'll see, You will ‘Like’ their Facebook page as well. It's a great way to keep up to date with all things Charter.  Check it out, friends, and rediscover TV!  Later!

Visit my sponsor: Charter On Demand goes WAY beyond movies

Monday, July 12, 2010

Motivational Monday - Heaven & Hell

Hey there.  We may all have our own idea of what heaven and hell will be like.  Some people simplify it and say heaven is where the home is and hell is at the workplace.  lol  Anyways, I love the interpretation of Heaven and Hell depicted below and you know what... I wouldn't doubt it if that's exactly how it is.  Later!

Motivational Sundays is Moving to Monday

Hey there.  I've decided that I simply don't have time to post on Sundays anymore.  I've been trying to eek out some time in the morning and it just doesn't happen.  No way it's happening during the middle of the day and I'm simply to drained to try and post at night.  Because of this, I've decided that Monday would be the best day to put up a motivational poster.  And besides... It's Monday!  We all need a little motivation today anyways.  lol  Later!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Experiencing Nintendo's Wii's New Super Mario Bros.

Hey there. Hope you all had a great and safe 4th of July weekend. The 4th of July is extra special to me, not only because of the 3 day weekend, but because it's also my daughter's birthday. She's been hinting for month's that she wants her own Nintendo DS. In terms of portable gaming systems... the kids have 2 PSPs and a DS, but she's been wanting her own. So I stroll into Gamestop planning on getting her one, when I see that they have Wiis on sale. Hmmm... the kids have also been asking us for a Wii, but we figured we have too many games at home. Out of curiosity, I ask the guy how much the DS is and how much for the Wii. Wii = $120, DS = $150. What?!?!?! The Wii is cheaper than a DS!!! So I went with the Wii. I also picked up the New Super Mario Bros game which I know she would love since she plays it when we're at Target or Gamestop.

So I venture home, wrap it, and hand it her. She is happy with her Wii! I hook it up and I started setting it up. I did have a difficult time with synching the controllers. I wasn't sure exactly how to do it but since I'm so used to the XBOX 360,I figured that it would work in a similar fashion. Once the game started and I got both controls working, the kids played on.

I'm really liking this New Mario Bros game. It's old school roots are definitely there but the multiplayer mode has a completely new twist: you play simultaneously. Whereas the old game would allow one player to play at a time... this one will place the players (up to 4) all on the screen at once! It makes it that more challenging, and fun, to play with a friend and get through a stage as a team. I also think it's a great tool to subtly hint at teamwork. Especially for young ones that still don't grab the concept of working together for a common goal. It's completely different than the "wait my turn" approach that many of the previous Mario titles thrived on.  It's a fresh idea that makes for a more enjoyable experience.  Especially for those with family members that are willing and ready to take on video game challenges.  lol 

I'm still new to whole thing and am working through the settings to see what I can do with a Wii. I'm under the impression that it is online compatible... but I don't think I've set it up yet and I haven't seen where I can create profiles for myself and the kids... I guess once I start clicking on buttons, I'll find out how. lol So... any suggestions on any bad ass online games? If so, let's hear em. I'm down for some online competition! Until then, later!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Earn a Year Long Subscription of TrainingVOD ($399 value) and Improve Your Business

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of TrainingVOD. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there friends.  I'm made comments before how my blog, Metallman's Reverie, is now considered a small business.  I think it's great, but like all small businesses... I need to make sure that I'm on top of my game to protect and grow my business.  With more exposure comes increased critique and you want to put the best product out there when dealing with potential sponsors and clients.  This is where TrainingVOD has been an irreplaceable ally. 

With over 50 years of presentation experience (ranging from classrooms to fortune 500 companies), TrainingVOD gives you the look and feel of in person training in the form of 10 minute videos.  If put it in perspective, there are 7 minutes in between commercials when you watch TV so these videos are streamlined towards the common consumer.  By keeping things tactical instead of story based, the videos are perfect in giving us the information we need and how to apply those skills.

So what kind of videos are we talking about here?  The kind that will help your business grow, expand, and help you be a better leader.  With topics that range from HR & Compliance to Safety and Operations and video courses ranging from protecting your PC to negotiating styles and Sales, you'll learn a great deal of information on how to assess and deal with any scenario that you may have to deal with.

I'm currently a subscriber to the "Business Skills" set of videos (197 courses) and I must confess that the courses are definitely for the average Joe.  There is no fancy gimmicks in the videos and they definitely feel as if actual trainers made these and not graphic artists.  If I can "get it" within 10 minutes, I don't see why no one else can.  With that being said, who wants in on TrainingVOD and learn the skills to improve your business and improve your skills of being a leader? That's right, my good friends at TrainingVOD has offered one of my readers a full year of the "Business Skills" set of courses and videos for free. FOR FREE! That $399 worth of training for free when fortune 500 businesses are paying up to a $1000 for similar training DVDs.All you have to do is leave a comment telling me how these videos would be beneficial to you.  That's it.  A simple comment and you're in the sweepstakes.  On August 1st, I will announce the winner among the comments (chosen by random.org) and provide them with instructions on how to obtain their free year subscription. 

Good luck to all you friends and don't forget to check out this quick tour of TrainingVOD.  http://www.trainingvod.com/content/tour It's just a taste of how to improve your business and leadership skills.  Later!

Visit my sponsor: TrainingVOD

Friday, July 2, 2010

Achievement Unlocked!

I want this shirt!!!

I Need Help with Math!!!!

Just doing what you told me, ma!!!

Irresistable to Women

A man, feeling down on his luck, decides to take a stroll on a beach and clear his head.  He stumbled across an old bottle and pulls out the cork.  A puff of smoke, and a loud bang later, a genie appears.

The genie said, "Thank you for freeing me from that dreadful bottle.  As a thank you, I will grant you three wishes."

"Hell yes!" the man said, finally feeling his luck turning.  "I've been thinking about this for a long time!  I know exactly what I want!  First, I was a billion dollars in a Swiss bank account!"

Poof!  A sheet of paper appeared in hand with all the banking information.

"Next, I want a brand new red Ferrari.  You know, the ones that the ladies will love!"

Poof!  A shiny new Ferrari appears before the man.

Practically in tears because of his awesome luck the man says, "Finally, oh wonderful, wonderful genie.  I want to be irresistible to women!"

Poof!  The man turned into a box of chocolates.

Just Like the Greeks and Romans

Addicted to Piles

Start Your Friday with Erik Estrada

Just because you can!!!