Archive for November, 2007
Free Hotel Suite At The Four Winds Casino
Nov 28th
I was comped a suite at the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo Michigan this past weekend and despite the room being free, I was not very satisfied. My stay was plagued with problems, not only with me but as I waited in line to ask questions of the front desk attendant several other guests were lodging identical complaints.
The room itself was very well appointed, comprised of a lounge, fridge, microwave, whirlpool tub, two flat panel televisions and a very large enclosed shower. I took some pictures when I first got into the room:
Notice the minimum room rate posted on the door – $1,000? I laughed when I saw that.
The problems I experienced during my stay included:
- Wireless Internet was not working in the rooms (no explanation or information given from hotel staff except it has been broken for a while and sometimes works only in the lobby). There were no ethernet cable hookups in the room either. The only way to access the Internet from a room would have been to access the dataport in the phone if I had a dial-up account.
- Rooms were extremely warm and setting the thermostat to the coldest setting didn’t do any good. I heard other guests complain about this issue and request fans to be placed in their rooms only to be told that there were no fans for guest use.
- Video checkout and hotel information via the televisions was not accessible because of “no signal”.
- I tried several times to make phone calls from my room only to have the phone cut out after about two minutes into each call.
- The coffeemaker in my room did not work.
The Four Winds opened in August and apparently still has not managed to work out the kinks in their system. Judging by the quality of the room layouts and furnishings, the hotel could be competitive for the AAA diamond award somewhere around the 3-4 diamond range (similar to the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mount Pleasant Michigan). But the poor service and lack of working amenities will kill any chance this hotel has of earning any meaningful rating.
Ironically, yesterday (just the day after I returned from my trip) I received a call offering me a free room this week at Four Winds. Well, even though the room is free – I’d rather stay somewhere with working Internet and a temperature controlled room and pay for it than have to put up with those problems in a free room. Or better yet, I’ll only be making day trips to this particular casino in the future.
Technorati Tags: four winds, soaring eagle, casino hotel, casino, resort, michigan, shaun carter, new buffalo, mount pleasant, gambling, rooms, AAA
Kontera Great For Product Based Blogs?
Nov 24th
During the Black Friday madness and the increased traffic to this blog because of posts listing specific consumer product model information, I noticed a dramatic increase in earnings from Kontera. I am inclined to believe that the increased CTR and EPC is due to the Kontera links for the various holiday products that everyone is clamoring for this season.
Typically, Kontera earnings on this blog are minimal (less than a dollar per day). But during the past week, daily Kontera earnings have been between $13 and $23. Meanwhile, Adsense earnings only increased about 100%, compared to Kontera’s 2,000%.
I think I will begin experimenting with the application of Kontera links on a product based blog or website where earnings and CTR is much higher than Adsense.
Technorati Tags: adsense, kontera, google, earning, cpc, epc, ctr, shaun carter, blogs, products, black friday, holiday shopping, earnings, making money online
Google Number One Rankings
Nov 21st
This blog has seen a huge surge in traffic the last couple of days, due in part to being listed number one in Google for the following search terms:
The Lexmark term is really doing well for traffic as I am number one for many variations of that term as well. I think that the Lexmark printer is an item on a lot of people’s wish lists this year. It’s great to have an entirely new group of people visiting the blog for information regarding Black Friday products. Visitors looking to buy are also more likely to click what they see on a banner ad within the site as well, so earnings are up considerably this week.
Google has been getting knocked around a lot lately over their policy shift over paid links. Some people are choosing to snub their nose at Google, while others are learning to obey. But Google provides an enormous amount of traffic compared to the other “leading” search engines out there.
For instance, this month Google has sent 1,097 people here. But Yahoo has only sent 203 and AOL sent 24, Live.com 9, MSN.com 7. So you see, Google reigns over the Internet and it’s best to obey your master.
Technorati Tags: google, search engine, ranking, shaun carter, paid links, aol, yahoo, msn, live, lexmark, emachines, dell, black friday, wal mart, blitz
Best Buy Announces Secret Doorbusters
Nov 20th
Best Buy has announced a secret doorbuster sale with items that will only be available in-store on Black Friday. Some of the items include:
- Panasonic – 42″ 720p Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV – $899.99
- Dynex® – 32″ Flat-Panel LCD HDTV – $449.99
- VAIO Laptop with Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Mobile Processor T2310 -$399.99
-
Sony VGN-NR123E/S Laptop Package with Anti-virus Software Installed, Mouse, Case & Printer – $499.99
- eMachines T3638 Desktop with Intel® Celeron® Processor 420, 17″ LCD Monitor & 3-in-1 Printer – $199.97
- TomTom – TomTom ONE LE GPS – $119.99
Technorati Tags: best buy, instore, specials, black friday, blitz, shaun carter, thanksgiving, holiday sales, doorbusters, emachines, intel, dynex, vaio, laptop, desktop, gps, tomtom, sony, lcd, plasma, hdtv
Wal Mart Posts Blitz Black Friday 2007 Circular
Nov 19th
You can now view the official release of the Wal-Mart Blitz/Black Friday circular.
As I posted earlier, some of the best deals in the circular include these electronics items:
- Polaroid 42″ LCD HDTV – $798
- Polaroid 32″ LCD HDTV – $448
- Garmin StreetPilot c330 GPS – $128.88
- Polaroid 26″ LCD/DVD Combo HDTV – $448
- Emerson 19″ LCD HDTV – $198
- 8″ Portable DVD Player – $49.98
- Select DVD’s – $2.96
- EA Sports Video Games for PS2 – $19.88
- Compaq Presario SR5223WM-8 Desktop Computer Bundle – $398
- Lexmark X3430 All In One Printer – $25
- HP Deskjet F2110 All In One Printer Scanner Copier – $34
- Dell I1501P-H003W Laptop – $598
- Dell Inspiron I531DTP-H003W Desktop Computer Bundle – $598
- HP Pavilion dv6629wm-b Entertainment Notebook PC Bundle – $798
- XBO360 Arcade Console – $279.92
- Kodak Z710 7MP Digital Camera – $149
- Sony Cybershot DSCS650 7.2MP Digital Camera – $79.87
Technorati Tags: walmart, black friday, blitz, shaun carter, 2007, holiday shopping
Magellan Maestro 3200
Nov 18th
“Affordable, ultra-thin and amazingly easy to use, the Magellan Maestro 3200 enables you to find virtually anywhere in seconds without reading the instructions! The simple touch-screen menu presents easy options in brilliant color! The large 3.5″ touch screen shows your position on the interactive map, plus distance to the next turn, distance to destination, ETA, street names and more, all at a glance. Voice guidance offers worry-free driving with turn-by-turn directions so you can keep your eyes on the road. Easily find your way around town or from Florida to Washington with built-in maps of the 48 contiguous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. 1.3 million pre-programmed Points of Interest (POI) enable you to search and select nearby services, and recreation and business locations. Find gas stations, restaurants, ATMs and more. Phone numbers are included (when available) so you can call ahead for information and reservations. The SiRFstarIII GPS receiver and built-in high-sensitivity antenna provide the fastest position acquisition in the industry for reliable navigation. QuickSpell intelligently searches and checks spelling so you can enter your destination with just few touches of the screen. SmartDetour prompts you to route around sudden slow freeway traffic. The integrated rechargeable battery provides cable-free navigation for up to three hours. Ultra-thin, pocket-sized, wireless and fully self-contained; take your Magellan Maestro anywhere for easy navigation! Auto night view – Adjusts color and contrast for easy night viewing SD-card compatibility – Back up your address book Digital music player – Listen to MP3 and WMA audio files from your own SD cards through the integrated speaker or standard headphone jack. “
While it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles like text to speech capability, it’s a couple hundred dollars cheaper than those models. The 3200 just came out in September, so it’s still relatively new itself and the unit is amazingly thin, less than an inch in fact.
So, purchase number one is down… I’m not quite sure how many more to go but I’ll keep you posted on the good deals I uncover along the way!
Technorati Tags: magellan, 3200, gps, maestro, shaun carter, directions, nashville, thanksgiving, amazon, auto navigation system
Wal-Mart Black Friday 2007 Deals
Nov 18th
I was able to procure a copy of the Wal-Mart Black Friday circular, but won’t be posting it here due to Wal-Mart’s legal threats regarding the matter. However I will share with you the deals I will be trying to grab at my local Wal-Mart this upcoming Friday. The sale is from 5am -11am, however I know that at my Wal-Mart they continue selling the non-regular, one-time offer merchandise in the blitz sale until it is sold out.
- Polaroid 42″ LCD HDTV – $798
- Polaroid 32″ LCD HDTV – $448
- Garmin StreetPilot c330 GPS – $128.88
- Polaroid 26″ LCD/DVD Combo HDTV – $448
- Emerson 19″ LCD HDTV – $198
- 8″ Portable DVD Player – $49.98
- Select DVD’s – $2.96
- EA Sports Video Games for PS2 – $19.88
- Compaq Presario SR5223WM-8 Desktop Computer Bundle – $398
- Lexmark X3430 All In One Printer – $25
- HP Deskjet F2110 All In One Printer Scanner Copier – $34
- Dell I1501P-H003W Laptop – $598
- Dell Inspiron I531DTP-H003W Desktop Computer Bundle – $598
- HP Pavilion dv6629wm-b Entertainment Notebook PC Bundle – $798
- XBO360 Arcade Console – $279.92
- Kodak Z710 7MP Digital Camera – $149
- Sony Cybershot DSCS650 7.2MP Digital Camera – $79.87
That is the extent of the items that I may be interested in, primarily electronics and movies. There will also be secret sale items being announced periodically throughout the weekend by e-mail or text messages.
When you pick up the Black Friday sales flyer, there is a coupon on the back for those who use their Wal-Mart credit card. It offers no interest for 18 months on purchases of $250 or more. Your purchase would be limited to whatever Wal-Mart determines your credit limit to be, so if you decide to sign up they will just need your drivers license and a current credit card. Give them the card with the highest limit to better your chances for a high limit Wal-Mart card as well.
Happy Shopping!
Technorati Tags: wal-mart, blitz, black friday, holiday shopping, shopping, gifts, electronics, dell, laptop, hp, credit card, compaq, ea sports, shaun carter, xbox, dvd, garmin, polaroid, hdtv, lcd, plasma, emerson, presario, lexmark, inspiron, electronics
Holiday Shopping 2007
Nov 17th
This coming week kicks off the holiday shopping season for 2007 and retailers across the country are preparing for all out war on Friday, the first day after Thanksgiving. I plan to be out in the trenches Friday morning to see what kind of deals I can pick up. Most retailers aren’t posting their sales circulars until later in the week, but you can find most of them have leaked onto various Black Friday websites. One notable exception is Wal-Mart, who had their legal firm send out preemptive threats to all the Black Friday websites warning them not to post any Wal-Mart ads before the company releases it or face litigation.
Well, with a little bit of ingenuity I was able to track down a leaked Wal-Mart circular and taken a look at some of the deals inside which I’ll get to in a later post. Wal-Mart is where I usually end up on Black Friday, because they usually have the best electronics specials. I am hoping to score a high definition LCD television and an XBOX 360.
For those of you that are not interested in fighting off kung-fu trained mothers at your local retailer, many online retailers are offering special limited quantity sales.
Amazon is currently letting users vote on what holiday deals they would like best, and the prices are great. Here’s a list of some of the items up for grabs:
- 1,000 Nintendo Wii Game Systems (see prices on Customers Vote page)
- 500 Panasonic 7.5MP Digital SLR Cameras, $499 (*normally $1,149.95)
- 1,000 Razor E100 Electric Scooters for $29 (*normally $89.99)
- 500 TiVo HD Digital Video Recorders, $89 (*normally $253.48)
- 500 Magellan Maestro 3140 Portable Auto GPS Systems, $99 (*normally $247.00)
- 200 Samsung 46” 1080p LCD HDTVs, $719 (*normally $1,899.98)
Amazon will be randomly selecting registered shopper between November 22 and 28 to buy the items above (as well as many others) at the super reduced prices. So head over there and get signed up.
I have added a widget on the sidebar that will display the latest and greatest deals this holiday shopping season so you can take advantage when a good one shows up.
Technorati Tags: wal-mart, amazon, shopping, holidays, christmas, presents, nintendo wii, samsung, lcd, television, xbox 360, microsoft, shaun carter, tivo, black friday, thanksgiving, sales, retailers
Northwood University Campus Visit
Nov 16th
Today I am heading to Midland, Michigan to visit the campus of Northwood University. Northwood is a private business school that I am considering to attend in the Fall of 2008.
Northwood is appealing to me because of its very business oriented curriculum and small campus of around 2,000 students. All the curriculum is business based, so there are no chemistry, biology, or similar general education classes offered. A part of me would like the well-rounded education I would get from a traditional school as I do enjoy the sciences, but the Banking, Finance and Economics triple major program at Northwood is very appealing to me as well.
Tuition is a little below average for a private school, with tuition and fees of about $17,000 and room and board of $7,000. The $24,000 annual price tag is of a concern to me though, but they have offered me some nice scholarships that I will get more details on today but the end result is still a more expensive tuition level than at a state public school.
Technorati Tags: northwood, university, tuition, college, banking, finance, economics, bachelors degree, room and board, midland, michigan, shaun carter
