I'm a bit behind in the news. I know that YouTube has movies and TV Shows or they just added that recently. Yesterday I watched "The Blue Lagoon". I never saw it. It came out in 1980 and I was 10 at the time so I wasn't able to see it for obvious reasons. It's rated R. Not only that but I'd have to be an adult to really get it. So I watched it and really understood it. Such a sad and happy ending.
Anyway, they don't have a whole lot of movies and TV shows yet because they just started but I'm sure they will have every movie and TV show ever made available for all to see.
I usually watch TV shows on Hulu because they have them like the very next day usually after airing on TV. Sometimes I have to wait a few days after the show airs on TV but it's not too long. And you can subscribe to TV shows on Hulu so they email you to let you know a show is on their website so you don't miss it.
This will certainly put Netflix out of business if people are able to just watch their movies right from YouTube. Netflix is going to have to think fast and lower their prices and offer unlimited viewing through their website to compete.
The movies and tv shows you watch on YouTube do have commercials. I was thinking that perhaps watching YouTube movies is like stealing from the actors and the production companies but the commercials probably make up for that. The Blue Lagoon had like 10 commercials, it was all the same commercial just played every 10 minutes or so. So that probably pays for it all so YouTube can continue showing them for free.
It's the same thing as watching regular TV, you still have to watch commercials, but only 1 commercial, not 2 minutes worth of commercials. More like 1 30 second commercial. I think that I can handle being interrupted every 10 or so minutes by a 30 second commercial and be able to watch it for free than have to wait for the movies to come in the mail via Netflix and have it scratched and unplayable or have it come to me broken or never even receive it at all. Which has happened to me by the way. But that's another blog post for another time.
All in all I give YouTube a big thumbs up for making it available for free.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
RapidShare AG Scam
Today I was sitting at the computer looking at YouTube videos and my email program told me I had email. So I went to look and here is this one email from a business called RapidShare AG showing me my account information. Then a 2nd email which came at the exact same time from PayPal showing that I had been charged €29.99 EUR.
At first I thought it was just another email phishing scam asking me to click a link and give up my password so I just opened a new browser and manually typed www.paypal.com. I entered my password and sure enough there was that euro dollar charge and they did the exhcange rate thing so the total that will come out of my checking account in 3 business days is $37.34.
So without hesitation I searched for the PayPal phone number and called them and told them "I DID NOT AUTHORIZE THIS!!!!" I told the guy on the phone that I don't even know what RapidShare is and he said it's a file sharing website. How did he know that? Perhaps PayPal knows about this yet they are still allowing people to be charged for this? I don't know. He walked me through the process of disputing the claim but said it could take 10 days.
10 Days? It only takes 3 days for them to take the money directly out of my checking account. I only have $18 available until my next check. So I called Bank of America and told them what happened and I told them that I talked to PayPal about it and I wanted to make sure that they don't get their money from me through my checking account which should be in 3 days. Well, that costs $20 and like I said, I have $18 available so now I gotta put $2 in the bank to cover my ass because if they take $20 and I have $18 they're going to charge me $20 insufficient fund fee lol. That's $40.
Why should I end up having to pay $40 when I'm the one being scammed?
OK so I went to the Google search engine and found out that this is indeed a scam. Someone didn't just sign me up for this website or service, this company somehow got my PayPal password and they charged me for an account that I never asked for.
I was going to call them because PayPal has all the details but they are in Switzerland. I can't call Switzerland! First of all they would probably put me on hold for 20 minutes and my phone bill would skyrocket. I could use my PSP with Skype but then I'd have to pay Skype more money to make a international call. The details also provide the company email address so I emailed them telling them that I disputed the claim with PayPal so they might as well just reverse their charge because they are not getting any money from me.
So now with all that out in the open, I have to go to the ATM machine to deposit $2.
UPDATE: This transaction did go through to the bank on that Monday which means the stop payment thing through Bank of America didn't take. In fact when I called them they said that it wouldn't have worked anyway because that is supposed to be for a monthly stop payment, not for a 1 time stop payment. I don't know why they were going to use that then if that wasn't for what I needed. Gawd!
Our dog Flower had a medical emergency so Chip had to call his brother to ask him to NOT cash my rent check which means that since it did go through to my banking account I didn't go in the negative so I don't have to worry about insufficient funds fee... for now.
The refund did go through with PayPal and the money is back in my PayPal account. However, they didn't put it back in my checking account. I wish they just put it back where they got it from. But, I think I'm going to just leave it in there just in case something happens like this again. Also it's good to save money right?
So everything worked out in the end.
At first I thought it was just another email phishing scam asking me to click a link and give up my password so I just opened a new browser and manually typed www.paypal.com. I entered my password and sure enough there was that euro dollar charge and they did the exhcange rate thing so the total that will come out of my checking account in 3 business days is $37.34.
So without hesitation I searched for the PayPal phone number and called them and told them "I DID NOT AUTHORIZE THIS!!!!" I told the guy on the phone that I don't even know what RapidShare is and he said it's a file sharing website. How did he know that? Perhaps PayPal knows about this yet they are still allowing people to be charged for this? I don't know. He walked me through the process of disputing the claim but said it could take 10 days.
10 Days? It only takes 3 days for them to take the money directly out of my checking account. I only have $18 available until my next check. So I called Bank of America and told them what happened and I told them that I talked to PayPal about it and I wanted to make sure that they don't get their money from me through my checking account which should be in 3 days. Well, that costs $20 and like I said, I have $18 available so now I gotta put $2 in the bank to cover my ass because if they take $20 and I have $18 they're going to charge me $20 insufficient fund fee lol. That's $40.
Why should I end up having to pay $40 when I'm the one being scammed?
OK so I went to the Google search engine and found out that this is indeed a scam. Someone didn't just sign me up for this website or service, this company somehow got my PayPal password and they charged me for an account that I never asked for.
I was going to call them because PayPal has all the details but they are in Switzerland. I can't call Switzerland! First of all they would probably put me on hold for 20 minutes and my phone bill would skyrocket. I could use my PSP with Skype but then I'd have to pay Skype more money to make a international call. The details also provide the company email address so I emailed them telling them that I disputed the claim with PayPal so they might as well just reverse their charge because they are not getting any money from me.
So now with all that out in the open, I have to go to the ATM machine to deposit $2.
UPDATE: This transaction did go through to the bank on that Monday which means the stop payment thing through Bank of America didn't take. In fact when I called them they said that it wouldn't have worked anyway because that is supposed to be for a monthly stop payment, not for a 1 time stop payment. I don't know why they were going to use that then if that wasn't for what I needed. Gawd!
Our dog Flower had a medical emergency so Chip had to call his brother to ask him to NOT cash my rent check which means that since it did go through to my banking account I didn't go in the negative so I don't have to worry about insufficient funds fee... for now.
The refund did go through with PayPal and the money is back in my PayPal account. However, they didn't put it back in my checking account. I wish they just put it back where they got it from. But, I think I'm going to just leave it in there just in case something happens like this again. Also it's good to save money right?
So everything worked out in the end.
Friday, April 24, 2009
How To Change a Dell DJ-20 Battery
I just posted this video on YouTube. It's sort of a tutorial on how to change the battery in a Dell DJ-20.
Change Dell DJ-20 Battery
I got this for Christmas in 2004 but it didn't actually arrive until the middle of January 2005 so technically the day I got it is when the warranty started. Over the next year the battery would start to die so when I charge it it's supposed to have 8 hours of battery life but that started going down more and more until it wouldn't even turn on at all.
I called Dell about getting a new battery but since my warranty had lapsed (they never contacted me to renew it, I didn't think to call them because I thought I had a 2 year warranty, that's what I chose when we bought it through their website) so they refused to help me. I told the person I was talking to that I basically had a $318 paper weight. The guy said yeah I understand but without a warranty there is nothing we can do. I asked about buying a new battery, they wanted like $75 for a new one. I couldn't afford that.
So it sat in a drawer until September 2008 when I wanted to start riding my bike for exercise. I didn't want to ride without my tunes so I went on eBay and found a battery for a Dell DJ-20. Unfortunately it was .50mm too wide and it would've ended up costing me more than the battery was worth to send it back so I said screw it, I'll make it work.
In this video I will demonstrate how to remove the old one and put in the new one. Although mine I couldn't put it in so I had to tape it to the back. But it works and that's all that matters. I actually put the Dell DJ into a neoprene camera case to protect it.
I don't know why but when I was video taping myself doing this my hands all of a sudden got so shaky. I was kinda afraid of breaking it when pulling the old battery out even though I had to put it in for this video and then take it back out lol. I knew what I was doing because I did it before but I got nervous all of a sudden I guess.
Anyway, for those people who have been searching for this, here you go. I would've embedded the video in here but it just looks better at the YouTube website since it's widescreen.
Change Dell DJ-20 Battery
I got this for Christmas in 2004 but it didn't actually arrive until the middle of January 2005 so technically the day I got it is when the warranty started. Over the next year the battery would start to die so when I charge it it's supposed to have 8 hours of battery life but that started going down more and more until it wouldn't even turn on at all.
I called Dell about getting a new battery but since my warranty had lapsed (they never contacted me to renew it, I didn't think to call them because I thought I had a 2 year warranty, that's what I chose when we bought it through their website) so they refused to help me. I told the person I was talking to that I basically had a $318 paper weight. The guy said yeah I understand but without a warranty there is nothing we can do. I asked about buying a new battery, they wanted like $75 for a new one. I couldn't afford that.
So it sat in a drawer until September 2008 when I wanted to start riding my bike for exercise. I didn't want to ride without my tunes so I went on eBay and found a battery for a Dell DJ-20. Unfortunately it was .50mm too wide and it would've ended up costing me more than the battery was worth to send it back so I said screw it, I'll make it work.
In this video I will demonstrate how to remove the old one and put in the new one. Although mine I couldn't put it in so I had to tape it to the back. But it works and that's all that matters. I actually put the Dell DJ into a neoprene camera case to protect it.
I don't know why but when I was video taping myself doing this my hands all of a sudden got so shaky. I was kinda afraid of breaking it when pulling the old battery out even though I had to put it in for this video and then take it back out lol. I knew what I was doing because I did it before but I got nervous all of a sudden I guess.
Anyway, for those people who have been searching for this, here you go. I would've embedded the video in here but it just looks better at the YouTube website since it's widescreen.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Neat Breakfast Ideas
I was just thinking of something. Why go to McDonald's for a breakfast sandwich when you have the Big City Sliders Station? All you have to do is buy some ground up sausage meat then roll it into balls and press them with this thing but don't cook it in there. Just pop them out and cook them on the skillet (or BBQ).
Then beat some eggs and pour them into the 5 spaces and of course, as per instructions cook on low heat for 4 minutes. Obviously since it's eggs you can't press them and you can't use that top press piece to put on top of the eggs, it's too heavy and the eggs will come out and get all over the place. So what I think is let them cook for a few minutes. Since they are small spaces they won't take that long to cook then you can just add the lid when it's pretty solid. It says that you can flip them so that's a good idea I guess if you can. Make sure you use Pam.
Then once you are done cooking the eggs and the sausage take some English muffins or better yet, make some fresh baked biscuits. Preferably from the recipe from the Bisquick mix instead of the ones that are in a tube. Those are never right. But when those are done just slice it then place the sausage on the bottom, a piece of cheese (optional) on top of the sausage then add the egg on top.
I'm sure this will be such a good sandwich. And since they are so tiny you could enjoy a few of them. I can't wait to try this. When I do I'm going to take some pictures and add it to the recipes page heh.
Then beat some eggs and pour them into the 5 spaces and of course, as per instructions cook on low heat for 4 minutes. Obviously since it's eggs you can't press them and you can't use that top press piece to put on top of the eggs, it's too heavy and the eggs will come out and get all over the place. So what I think is let them cook for a few minutes. Since they are small spaces they won't take that long to cook then you can just add the lid when it's pretty solid. It says that you can flip them so that's a good idea I guess if you can. Make sure you use Pam.
Then once you are done cooking the eggs and the sausage take some English muffins or better yet, make some fresh baked biscuits. Preferably from the recipe from the Bisquick mix instead of the ones that are in a tube. Those are never right. But when those are done just slice it then place the sausage on the bottom, a piece of cheese (optional) on top of the sausage then add the egg on top.
I'm sure this will be such a good sandwich. And since they are so tiny you could enjoy a few of them. I can't wait to try this. When I do I'm going to take some pictures and add it to the recipes page heh.
The Heat Is Gone
I know the song is "The Heat Is On" but for us in Bakersfield, it's gone. This is for the time being. The last few days has been really hot, like 95°F-100°F temperatures.
I went bike riding this morning and it was nice and cool but not too cold. I thought for sure it was going to be a scorcher today but it wasn't. Although there were times that I had to pull over into the shade because the sun was beating me down like Chris Brown on Rihanna. Too soon?
I looked at the forecast until Monday and it's going to be in the late 70's to mid 80's all week. Then the 6-10 day forecast it shows next week is going to be in the mid 80's too. Even on May 1st which is usually the day the 100°F temperatures start coming.
Although, you can never rely 100% on the weather forecast because it's not always accurate. So perhaps by May 1st it will be so hot I'm gonna be bike riding at 5am.
I went bike riding this morning and it was nice and cool but not too cold. I thought for sure it was going to be a scorcher today but it wasn't. Although there were times that I had to pull over into the shade because the sun was beating me down like Chris Brown on Rihanna. Too soon?
I looked at the forecast until Monday and it's going to be in the late 70's to mid 80's all week. Then the 6-10 day forecast it shows next week is going to be in the mid 80's too. Even on May 1st which is usually the day the 100°F temperatures start coming.
Although, you can never rely 100% on the weather forecast because it's not always accurate. So perhaps by May 1st it will be so hot I'm gonna be bike riding at 5am.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Big City Sliders Station
I got the Big City Sliders Station today. It was a lot smaller than I had thought it would be. But that's fine. It looks neat. I haven't been able to use it yet because I don't have any ground meat. I need to get to the store.
I've read several blog's about how crappy this device is and what a complete waste of $20 it is.
This one person said that when she opened her BCSS she smelled it and it had an unpleasant odor. I didn't smell mine but I washed it right away in warm soapy water. The instructions say hot soapy water though. It was hotter than regular warm so that's good enough I guess. But this person also said that she put it on the stove for 15 minutes by itself with no burgers in it to remove all the germs or what not. Well, I read the instructions and it clearly states not to put it on the stove without anything in it. And you have to cook the burgers on medium, not high. It also says not to cook it on a halogen or quartz stove surfaces yet in the commercial they are using the glass stove top.
Another person said that when he was biting into his mini burger he saw some silver on his burger and shouted STOP EATING! because the teflon was attached to the burgers. I'm sorry but you would notice that when you finish cooking them before putting them on the buns.
Another person said that he cooked like 70 or so mini burgers for a party, just batch after batch after batch. When he was done it was pretty nasty and he said he had to use a Brillo pad (or something like it) to clean it. The first rule when cleaning Teflon is no wire cleaning tools that can scratch the Teflon. Everyone knows that.
Well, the cooking time of this thing is 2-4 minutes on medium and I don't think that after the 3rd batch the Teflon is going to start coming off if you are using it right. That's what another person said, after the 3rd batch it started coming off and onto the burgers. That's only 12 minutes of use so if that happens to them after 12 minutes of use then I'm going to guess they are cooking it on high and leaving it on the stove for long periods of time without cooking anything in it.
But, I'm going to take all these comments that I've read into consideration and I'm not going to cook with it. I'm going to use it as a burger press then lay the 5 burgers on a piece of wax paper, put wax paper on top of the burgers, then add 5 more stacked and so on then put it all in a gallon zip lock bag. The one that you suck the air out. This way I can have maybe 30 or so mini burgers frozen and ready to use whenever I get the urge to eat some. And I plan on cooking them with a skillet. I know that Billy Mayes thinks that people who cook their mini burgers on a skillet are all morons who can't cook but I've done pretty good cooking burgers on a skillet my whole life, I think that I'll be ok.
I've read several blog's about how crappy this device is and what a complete waste of $20 it is.
This one person said that when she opened her BCSS she smelled it and it had an unpleasant odor. I didn't smell mine but I washed it right away in warm soapy water. The instructions say hot soapy water though. It was hotter than regular warm so that's good enough I guess. But this person also said that she put it on the stove for 15 minutes by itself with no burgers in it to remove all the germs or what not. Well, I read the instructions and it clearly states not to put it on the stove without anything in it. And you have to cook the burgers on medium, not high. It also says not to cook it on a halogen or quartz stove surfaces yet in the commercial they are using the glass stove top.
Another person said that when he was biting into his mini burger he saw some silver on his burger and shouted STOP EATING! because the teflon was attached to the burgers. I'm sorry but you would notice that when you finish cooking them before putting them on the buns.
Another person said that he cooked like 70 or so mini burgers for a party, just batch after batch after batch. When he was done it was pretty nasty and he said he had to use a Brillo pad (or something like it) to clean it. The first rule when cleaning Teflon is no wire cleaning tools that can scratch the Teflon. Everyone knows that.
Well, the cooking time of this thing is 2-4 minutes on medium and I don't think that after the 3rd batch the Teflon is going to start coming off if you are using it right. That's what another person said, after the 3rd batch it started coming off and onto the burgers. That's only 12 minutes of use so if that happens to them after 12 minutes of use then I'm going to guess they are cooking it on high and leaving it on the stove for long periods of time without cooking anything in it.
But, I'm going to take all these comments that I've read into consideration and I'm not going to cook with it. I'm going to use it as a burger press then lay the 5 burgers on a piece of wax paper, put wax paper on top of the burgers, then add 5 more stacked and so on then put it all in a gallon zip lock bag. The one that you suck the air out. This way I can have maybe 30 or so mini burgers frozen and ready to use whenever I get the urge to eat some. And I plan on cooking them with a skillet. I know that Billy Mayes thinks that people who cook their mini burgers on a skillet are all morons who can't cook but I've done pretty good cooking burgers on a skillet my whole life, I think that I'll be ok.
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