Why am I writing about UPrinting’s business card printing service? Simply put, they took care of me when I won 250 business cards during one of their promotional campaigns. Honestly, I didn’t expect a high level of customer service from them since I wasn’t exactly paying for my business cards but today I feel a need to return the favor since they truely understand the importance of having a good relationship with their customers.

After I wont the business cards the first thing  I did was check out their site to get an idea of what to expect.  Sometimes it’s hard to order things online without seeing it in person. That’s why I was immediately attracted to their free sample kit. The turn around for their sample kit is really fast and before I knew it, I was handling paper and print samples so that helped me decide exactly how I wanted my business cards made.

Once I knew what paper I wanted (the Eco Friendly 13pt Uncoated paper!), I was a little nervous about styling my business cards. This is where it gets really cool.

You can create a proof of your business card layout free. FREE proofs before you pay for anything! Thank goodness for this because I was really nervous about submitting something without having very good graphic design skills. They accept several different file types including JPG, PNG, PDF, TFF, etc. A real person (can you believe it?) reviews your proof and lets you know if there are any problems. Since I’m not a graphic designer, I initially uploaded a proof that didn’t have a sharp enough image to print on a business card. Within a few hour of submitting my proof, a representative contacted me back to explain the problem. I fixed it and sent the proof off again which then was of the high quality needed to print my cards.

From there, UPrinting had my business cards at my door step within a week… and all of this during the week of Christmas!

Overall, I was incredibly impressed with their service. Fast. Efficient. Good quality.

Thank you, UPrinting!

I’ve been keeping a sharp eye on the outcome of the elections in Israel mostly from shock that a complete genocidal maniac like Leiberman would even be placed into consideration.

But just as I was starting to lose faith in the people of Israel (like when Arab parties were banned to participate in the election), they go ahead and shock me with the incredible triumph of Tzipi Livni.

All day I was trying to get used to the idea that Bibi Netanyahu would be the next Israeli Prime Minister as he was the most favorable of all candidates.  I tried to get comfortable with the notion that there would be continued aggression in Gaza…. that the settlements would continue to expand which would continue to spur Arab retaliation.  I told myself that President Obama would just have to wait two years until the next Prime Minister was elected and he could finally get to work on a peace initiative in the Middle East.

Well, I can breathe now.  The Israeli people have spoken… twice (she was elected last year to replace Olmert as PM).  Yay for Democracy!

Now, who can guess how long the losers will drag the ballet counting out just to make the process harder, dirtier, and annoying?

UPDATE:

No surprise…  Bibi Netanyahu’s reaction after the polls closed:

He smiled as he gave a victory rather than a concession speech close to 1 a.m. He was greeted by large cheers from the crowd. They clapped their hands and yelled out, “here comes the next prime minister.”

Netanyahu told them that while the true elections results had yet to be calculated but that even if they exactly replicate the exit polls, “there is no doubt about their meaning.”

“The real question is not what do the polls say, but how do they translate into reality,” he said.

I’m not sure which reality you’re hoping to extrapolate from the polling numbers, Bibi, but in my world, if you have the lesser of the numbers, the reality is that you lost.

Firstly, the fingerprint locking systems by Axxis Biometrics are gorgeous. Just look at it!

Secondly, the fingerprint lock is all about security, which is beautiful in its own right. Axxis Biometric provides the best security system for your home with the fingerprint lock technology. As Axxis Biometric’s slogan says, “Where our world revolves around your security”. Damn right, it does.

Axxis Biometrics provides advanced fingerprinting identification locking mechanisms. And these aren’t like those flimsy and unreliable fingerprinting locks at Disney World either!

Axxis Biometric offers several benefits and features that stands out from its competitors. Biometric’s door locks fit your standard door, instead of other locks that usually require special drilling or even a new door in order to be properly installed. In addition is its price. Axxis Biometric provides and explains to you all necessary information about their price. They have low price guarantee, you can compare their prices with other similar products, wherein Axxis Biometric has lower price than other similar products.

They also allows you to use your preferred shopping method. You can order via internet or by phone. If you would feel better by calling your order in, please call them at 1-877-AXXIS 01 (1-877-299-4701). If you leave your e-mail address, they can confirm your order by phone or e-mail, whichever you prefer.

Maybe.  And why not?

The Right is screaming bloody murder and insists U.S. talks would tie Israeli hands from “finishing the job” of wiping Hamas off the face of the earth.

I mean, it’s not like Obama’s claiming he’ll want an idiotic unconditional cease fire like the lame and useless United Nations.  Obama has always said he would be willing to open communication channels with Hamas as long as they recognize Israel and stop being terrorist assholes.

What good would silence do for either Israel or Palestine?  It’s clear the United States will need to get their hands (at least a little) dirty in this mess.

Discussion is a necessity but it doesn’t mean Obama will give up the farm for it.

The good news is that five Blackwater security guards accused of murdering innocent Iraqi civilians will be placed on trial. Guilty or innocent, I think Blackwater needs to go on trial as any American citizen  who commits a crime overseas. I don’t believe Blackwater should be immune from prosecution as soldiers in Iraq are. Soldiers are subject to UCMJ law and are liable for misconduct and crime through military channels.

If Blackwater isn’t liable through UCMJ or liable (as they argue) to be prosecuted under U.S. Federal law, then who’s doing the checks and balances on these guys? But I guess that’s been the argument all along, now hasn’t it?

So, here we are with five Blackwater security guards accused of opening fire on a crowded street in Baghdad in 2007 that left 17 Iraqi’s dead including children. The U.S. government wants to bring them to trial in Washington D.C. which is where crimes committed by American’s overseas usually go on trial.

But the bad news is that the five Blackwater guards went into hiding only to surrender in UTAH where gun laws and (apparently) compassion for lawlessness and murder are doled out at a higher rate than in D.C.  Tricky tricky!

It’s not uncommon for lawyers to try to get their cases in front of favorable juries, but often it is difficult in criminal cases. GOP Sen. Ted Stevens unsuccessfully tried to move his recent corruption trial to his home state Alaska from the District of Columbia.

Prosecutors are expected to argue that crimes committed overseas are normally charged in Washington. They also have been negotiating a plea deal with a sixth guard. Documents related to those negotiations already are filed in Washington federal court.

I guess the theory here is that if Mormons can put gay marriage to rest in California (Prop-8), then they can put to rest these pesky murder charges again five non-Mormon, non-Utahian Blackwater guards?

UPDATE:

“A federal judge on Monday ordered the guards to report Jan. 6 to a District of Columbia courthouse, where they are expected to plead not guilty.”

So much for Utahian leniency.

There’s no way around.  Credit cards are a necessity.  I got my first credit card in college on a whim only because they offered a free t-shirt at sign up.  What can I say?  Marketing to 18 year old college kids is that simple.

Now that I’ve matured and experienced the pit falls of credit cards, I’ve learned that research is your most power tool to building a healthy credit line.   I had high expectations for extracreditcards.com because they pride themselves as a consumer’s guide.

Here’s what I found out:

1.  Before you start clicking on any of the credit card offers provided, take a look at the left side bar.  This is the most useful navigation menu on the site; EDUCATE yourself with Credit Card 101, Industry News, and How Many Cards before going any further.  While not all the articles are “flush” with information, there’s still  a handful of good ones.

2.  It appears that no one is left out.  Some credit sites focus only on consumers with bad credit or those seeking special credit reward.  Instead of pandering to one specific group, extracredicards.com tries to have a little bit of something for everyone.  For me, I headed right for Travel Reward Credit Cards because of how much I travel.

That’s when I discovered their weakness:

Here’s a breakdown of the number of cards recommended depending on the type of bower category you fall into:

• Low APR Credit Cards:  Two cards recommended
• Instant Approval Cards:  None recommended
• Travel Reward Cards:  None recommended
• Prepaid Cards:  None recommended
• Bad Credit Cards:  One card recommended
• Business Cards:  Two cards recommended
• Student Cards:  Two cards recommended which are the SAME cards recommended for Low APR Credit Cards.

In the end, there simply isn’t enough substantive information or credit card offerings for me to make a positive review of the site.  It has all the makings of a credit card power house with access to information and applications, but there simply isn’t the variety to be expected from a site who calls themselves a “a consumer’s guide to online credit card offers”.

The following is a paid review and is completely of my own opinion and is not influenced by being paid. If you’re interested in having me review your site or product, please visit my advertising page or contact me directly.

I graduated from college in 2007 with a Bachelors degree in English.  Even though I enlisted in the Army and took advantage of their educational benefits, I still couldn’t cover the total cost of my education.  This is a problem that most students face when they decide to pursue a higher education and let’s face it, it’s hard to get anywhere these days without a college degree.

The average cost of tuition across the nation is $9,000.  But over a lifetime, the gap in earning potential between a high school diploma and a college Bachelors degree is more than $800,000!  [1]  If we do the math, the short term investment on a college education will give you a significant return in the long run.  It’s a no-brainer to get that college degree.  But how should we finance it?

Consider researching private student loans to finance your education.  I wish that I knew about the resources at iStudentLoans when I was scraping together enough money to attend another year of college.  Lucky for you, everything is right at your fingertips.  iStudentLoans has been around since 1999 (that’s almost 10 years!) and are a trusted name in giving solid student loan information.

Right now they’re featuring private student loans through Chase who can help suppliment your Federal loans or grants to cover the remaining cost of your education.  I can attest to the fact that more often than not, you will have a remaining balance on your college tuition.  I think the great thing about a Chase student loan is that you can use those funds toward any school expense such as books, computers, housing, or anything school related (up to $40,000 per academic year)!  This is definitely more flexible than with Federal loans.

Of course with every loan, make sure you read the fine print, especially those interest rates which are currently advertised between 7.57% to 7.82%.

Like every informational website, iStudentLoans is simply a place to start when researching private student loans.  The difference is that I think iStudentLoans is a good place to start.

The following is a paid review and is completely of my own opinion and is not influenced by being paid. If you’re interested in having me review your site or product, please visit my advertising page or contact me directly.

The way people make money from Foreign Exchange Market and currency trading fascinates me. That’s why I wanted to review the Forex trading website, FabForex.com. Prior to checking out the website, I knew almost nothing about online Forex currency trading.

The most important thing to remember when visiting Fab Forex it’s an informational site and though the articles are not written by the website owner, he does credit the articles to the proper author. The articles listed cover all aspects of Forex trading from the most basic (good for me!) all the way to advanced currency traders

Trading currency is not for the weak at heart and it is risky. However, as I found out on this website, the rewards are worth the risk if you can afford the risk. I read through some of the articles on this site and they are well written with quality information to help you understand the process of foreign currency exchange.

As with any investment, the key is to do your research. If you are looking for a new investment opportunity and want more information, this website will be a great help. Fab Forex is not trying to sell you anything, it’s simply a no no-nonsense collection of information provided free of charge.

As for me, the site achieved what I wanted it to. It educated me. I now have a good overall understanding on the Foreign Exchange Market. If I ever decided to enter the market, Fab Forex would help me feel more confident in that decision.

Bonus: They even had a currency converter to keep check of the rates. What more can you ask from a free website?

The following is a paid review and is completely of my own opinion and is not influenced by being paid. If you’re interested in having me review your site or product, please message me via my contact page.

During these hard economic times, most of us are beginning to seriously evaluate our finances and how to get them under control.  And let’s be honest here, not everyone has good credit either.  No longer can our debts wait another day without us making a game plan to resolve them.  That’s why I was compelled to check out the Bad Credit Loan Shop.

I think the most important thing to realize about BadCreditLoanShop.com is that they don’t actually give loans for bad credit.  Instead, they’re an information portal for you to research on how to get a loan.   The information provided is for people who are looking for a bad credit auto loan, mortgage loan, or any type of personal loans.

The first thing I did when I visited the site was click at the big green arrow on the bottom of the page where it says, “Begin Here”.  That seems like the most logical place to go, right?  Apparently not.  The link clicked out to a warning message from Commission Junction advising me that the user has been suspended from the affiliate network.  Yikes.  Not exactly a good start.

Next I went to the Site Menu to get some more information on loans because that’s essentially the purpose of the site.  The most useful link for me was the FAQ of home equity loans.  With todays real estate market, a lot of people are going to be researching this topic.  The site gives you the bare bone basics on home equity loans.  It’s just enough information to wrap your head around it but not enough information to speak fluidly about it with a loan agent.

The one kudos I’ll give BadCreditLoanShop.com is their link to VA mortgage loans.  As a veteran, I instantly found that link appealing and appreciated the direct link to apply for a VA loan.  Unfortunately, I didn’t exactly see how that related to getting a “bad credit loan”.  It wasn’t related to the site’s niche but appreciated none-the-less.

I think the important thing to keep in mind when visiting BadCreditLoanShop.com is that it’s for informational purposes only!  They may help lead you in the right direction but realize that the site is essentially set up as an affiliate for other programs and is there simply to pool loan resources.

The following is a paid review and is completely of my own opinion and is not influenced by being paid. If you’re interested in having me review your site or product, please message me via my contact page.

Recently someone suggested to me that I start playing World of Warcraft. While it has attracted my attention before, I have to admit to have never played the game. While I am a geek, I’m not a gamer. I love my football just like every other red-blooded American but never played that game either. The fact is that I’m never going to be able to enjoy either of them. I have long come to terms to being a geek which means that I have the hand eye coordination of a pig. In any head to head game I try, I always get slaughtered.

Besides sucking badly, another reason I’ve never gotten started in any of the massively multiplayer online games is that you start with nothing. Weak and impotent, you are easy prey for veteran players. But what if there was a way to get started on an even playing field? What if you could buy an existing account, complete with everything you would need to start stomping heads from day one? Well, thanks to buymmoaccounts.com, you can buy cheap WoW accounts ready to rock.

When I visited the site, I first noticed that they test their security daily with McCafee Secure and are approved by Rate Point.  As consumers, these are important factors as they tell us the legitimacy and security of the products we’re buying.  Also, you’re provided 24/7 live support!  You can’t get any better than that.

If you’re worried about getting a bad WoW account, remember that buymmoaccounts.com has a 100% WoW Account Guarantee on all of the WoW accounts they sell. In addition, their WoW accounts are protected and guaranteed from being reclaimed or disabled.  And who knows, maybe I’ll see you online. You’ll know me when you see me. I’m the one constantly being annhilated.