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Today is "Pitt Day in Harrisburg" here at Pitt.  Pitt day in Harrisburg is a day where a large group of students all take a bus to Harrisburg and speak with our representatives about, concerns or comments on current or possible future legislation.  This years big issue is the proposed cut in state school funding that would get rid of over 50% of current funding.  This budget cut would effect; all public elementary, middle, and high schools plus the 14 state-owned universities and the state-related schools including; Temple, Pitt and Penn State.

These cuts are outrageous.  While almost every politician preaches during campaign time on the importance of education, they seem out of touch on how to solve the problem.  How can this country compete with the rest of the world if higher education is simply not an option due to the high cost of tuition.  Higher education is not the only institution taking a hit, Corbett also proposed a 10% cut in funding for grade level's K-12.  This hits close to home as my younger sister(8th grade) no longer has the option to take a language due to lack of funding.  If the new 10% cut takes affect it is sad to think of how many more programs will be cut.

The bottom line is that Tom Corbett does not care about your kids, the education system, or the future of this country.  The only thing he gives a damn about are votes, and re-election.  The cuts in education give the Pennsylvania budget enough money so taxes do not need to be raised.  Many people hate raised taxes which could lead to a decrease in votes.

If you live in Pennsylvania I urge you to contact a state representative, congressman, or senator to help stop these budget cuts that will only hurt our education system.

Hines and the Steelers

Today news broke that the Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward was released from the team.  Love or hate the Steelers, Ward deserves respect for his accomplishments on and off the field.  As the all time leading receiver for Pittsburgh he was one of the most beloved football players of his time.  The painful break-up between him and his organization was bound to happen, even if no one(including the Steelers organization) wanted to see it happen.

Ward was quoted today saying that he planned to continue his career in the NFL next year for another team.  While I can respect his choice to continue to do what he loves, I believe he should hang up his cleats and retire.  His leadership would boobs undoubtedly be invaluable to any team that decided to pick him up, but he would still at best be a 3rd string WR.  Ward should retire and go live his life in peace, or join the ESPN commentator cult as so many other former players do.

An Evening with Seth Meyers

Seth Meyers is a comedian, a head writer for Saturday Night Live, and does Weekend Update on SNL. Last night, Seth Meyers came to the University of Pittsburgh and did an hour of stand-up followed by a short Q & A. 

I'll admit I was not a huge Seth Meyers fan, I've watched his sketches on SNL and never really found them very funny.  The tickets for last night's performance were free, so I decided to go with my girlfriend as something to do on a slow Sunday night.  I am so glad that I did.

Seth started his set with some quick jokes about Pitt and other related content.  Within seconds he had the whole room laughing, myself included.  The rest of his set was filled with just as many laughs, and it felt like he really enjoyed what he was doing.  During the Q&A he kept the laughs going with witty answers and short anecdotes.  

I'll admit that I was wrong.  Not only was Seth Meyers an extremely funny guy, he also seemed very down to earth.  I am not afraid to admit that I am now a Seth Meyers fan and can't wait to see what he comes out with in the future.

Today I decided to post some education content.

If you are in a MacroEcon class or just want to learn some basic terms that could help you sound smarter when talking to friends, this is the link for you!

The link will take you to Quizlet.com, a completely free site that helps you make flashcards or quizes to  study with.

My friend made an account that uses all of the vocabulary, and concepts in our book so far.
It's not perfect but hopefully some of you guys are interested

Click here for ------->  SOME COOL STUFF

This is the Cathedral of Learning, owned and operated by the University of Pittsburgh.

Every morning I get to go to class in this awesome building.  As I walked up to it today I felt like I had to take a picture (above).  This picture exemplifies human potential.  When it was built almost 100 years ago it was an engineering master piece.  Now it helps thousands of students to reach their potential by providing a place for them to study and learn.

                                       

As the Republican Primary circus continues, I wonder more and more everyday how anyone can take these candidates seriously?  I usually try to stay politically indifferent when it comes to blogging, but I would really like to know what makes people vote for some of these candidates?  It seems like almost every major Republican candidate has a history of hypocrisy, or major flip-flopping on more than one issue.  To any Republicans reading this, please comment with a reason why you would give your vote to any of the current contenders.  I am genuinely curious,  obviously I am not an expert but it seems like Obama will be easily reelected into a second term if running against any of the Republican incumbents.

Also the CNN debate is tonight so check it out, and decide for your self!

Picture Source: Here

I haven't posted in a couple of days but in my absence the folks at Bonnaroo gave out one of the best Valentine's day gifts possible(the line-up!).

Here is the link to the site:

2012 BONNAROO LINE-UP

(Headliners include: Radiohead, Redhot Chili Peppers, Phish, Skrillex, and the Beach Boys)

Be sure to tie your shoes tight, because this line up will blow your socks off.  If you were to buy a ticket for each of the bands mentioned above, it would cost 500+ dollars.  Bonnaroo is $250.  That's easy math, and you would have to be an a-hole to skip out.  Just kidding, you're not an a-hole, but you will regret not going...  All I'm trying to say is that Bonnaroo is an experience of a life-time that cannot be put into words, and if you add this years incredible line-up, it's downright dangerous how much fun you will have.

(Overhead View of Tent City)

Do The ROO!

It was just announced that the Bonnaroo lineup will be posted this week!  That means that I will be checking the website constantly waiting for the most exciting news of the year.

Bonnaroo is a music festival held in Manchester, Tennessee every year for the last 10 years. Last summer as a graduation celebration, my friends and I decided to road trip from Pennsylvania to Manchester for this huge event.  I had the time of my life and plan on traveling back there every year from now on.

If you enjoy music of any genre this festival is for you, the lineup will feature all kinds of performers from country to dub step and everything in between.  Some notable names that have been leaked for this years performance are Redhot Chili Peppers, Girl Talk, Radiohead, and Of Monsters and Men.

As the date of the festival approaches I will post more about how I am preparing and who I am looking forward to see preform.  For now all we can do is wait for the line-up, and hope 2012 brings the best Bonnarroo ever!!

Quote of the day:

"Sometimes thinking about death, is the best way to learn how to live"

 ~John A.M.

Today I thought it would be interesting to put up a quote, and analyze how I interpret it.  If this gets positive responses then I will make it a daily/weekly thing.  Please feel free to leave comments if you want in order to add to the discussion!


Quotes about life or death can be very controversial, however this one is very clean cut.  I believe it brings to light the fact that life is short and taken for granted.  No matter what you may believe happens after death, I think everyone can agree that spending your time wisely on Earth is extremely important.  


No matter how shitty things may seem, it is essential that we are not overwhelmed.  As long as we are alive, every day we have on this planet is just as important as the last.  Every day we have a choice to make the most of it.  Too many people are trapped in a cycle of sloth.  DO SOMETHING. anything

Do not waste a day, ever.  

Via

The worn out phrase of our time is, "live life to the fullest."  I say that's too big of a jump for most people.  Start as small as you want, but every morning you should look in the mirror and see the potential for greatness.  Be a "yes" man, learn something new, make a new connection, just do it!  

Via

I am not excluded from this. The reason why I preach so loudly is so that I can reach my own ears.  This is the standard that I want to hold myself to.  The bottom line is that we were born alone, we will die alone, and everyone else on this planet will do the same, so make the most of it.

Today I would like to talk about what is probably the website that has the MOST potential but is still a new project so I have no earned very much with it yet.  The website is called Cashtexts!

Cashtexts.com!

Cash Texts is a relatively new site that pays out 5 cents per text that you receive. Plus for every text that someone you refer gets, you earn an extra 3 cents!

The site has a very informational video for anyone who wants a better explanation of how it works, but basically the web site has an area where you put your "Favorites" which is what companies will use to target the texts that they send out, you check the boxes you like, and start making money!

There is a max of 5 texts per day - so max earned is $.25 a day. But the referral program on this site is great! It goes down 5 levels - you make money off the person you refer and 5 referrals down. 

All you have to do is register an email and a number. Also, you have to make $5.00 before you profit, as they pay you through a debit card that apparently costs $5.00 to send.

TIP #1: Some people on this site have suggested using a Google Voice number so you don't have to deal with the advertisements, but I don't mind 5 texts a day so I just used my real number.

TIP #2: You have to set up your profile to receive texts. Make sure you do that by selecting your "Favorites". But don't select all of the categories because it will give you an error.

Here is my referral!

http://cashtexts.com/by/pitt.oakland

Long posts about superpoints like my last one SUCK, to make up for it, here is a picture of a cat!

This is not actually a cat.  His name is Mark and if you want to see more then you should follow this blog!

Now to get back to business.

I advertised two other other websites in my first post, and I want to keep my word by explaining them, but after that I hope we can move on to bigger and better things!

Swagbucks.com

I am pretty new to swagbucks and probably don't know the best way to take advantage of it, but here is how I have used it so far. (This has earned me $10 in amazon.com gift cards)

First thing I would recommend is to watch ALOT of Swagbuck TV.  For every 10 segments you watch, it earns you 3 "swag bucks" which can add up fast.  You can find Swagbuck TV by clicking on "Watch SBTV" on the tool bar that you down load after you join.  Also doing the daily poll and using their search engine will earn you points throughout the day.

That's about all I have to say about that, take it or leave it.

Here is my referral link!

CLICK RIGHT HERE!!!!!!!

Okay after I made my first post I realized that talking about ways to make money online may be for the practical minded, but not necessarily the most interesting subject to read about.  So to ease your pain(and mine), I am going to quickly explain the three sites that I talked about in the first post and then move on to MUCH MORE INTERESTING TOPICS!!!!! hopefully  

This is my first blog so please feel free to comment with any feedback you have!

SUPERPOINTS!!


The first online money making site that I want to plug is superpoints.com.  This website is probably my favorite, because of its simplicity, and my success using it.  I have been on the site for around a month, and have made about $15.  This may not seem like very much, but I have spent no more than FIVE MINUTES a day on the site.

This site is invite only so feel free to use any of the links that I post at the bottom of this page to get involved.

HOW TO USE IT


The key to this website is the SUPERBUTTON, this is where you, and anyone that you refer will make most of your points(money).  Every user gets a certain amount of Superbutton clicks a day, and it is crucial that you use them.  It takes me about ten minutes to get through my daily clicks, so if you can't spare that much time then continue no further! However I'm assuming if you are reading my blog then you probably have some time to kill.  Why not make money on it!

Once you use one of my referral links at the bottom you will need verify your e-mail and set up your profile.  It is important to fill out your general information because this will take you from 5 superbutton clicks to 30!

Once you set up your profile and get your clicks, you decide your own level of involvement.  If you choose to recruit two more people you are upgraded to even more superbutton clicks....BUT here's the part that really got me, after you sign up TWO people under you then any points that those two people make are automatically also earned by you!  This referral line can go up to 5 levels!

This is where you decide how much time you want to put into this.  You could easily just do your clicks everyday and fairly soon you will start making some money OR you can invite a couple of your friends and have them earning money for you!

HOW IS IT NOT A SCAM?


I had the same question and did my research on it.  This website uses Google Adsense which is why they are able to give out so much money!  Every time you click the Superlucky button the page refreshes and a new advertisement pops up.  With the thousands of people using the site already and the thousands of clicks that they get a day it probably turns a pretty good profit.

CASHING OUT


Unlike some sites like this, superpoints makes cashing out extremely easy.  After you earn 1,000 points you are able to have the site directly deposit $10 dollars into your Paypal account.  I have not had any issues with payment so far and I am a very happy customer.

BOTTOM LINE


This website isn't going to make anyone rich, but it is a good way to make a little money on the side.  The way I look at it is that I'm going to be siting on the computer anyway, so why not make a little money while I'm at it!?

Here are my referral links if you decide that you want to join my pursuit in making some EXTRA CASH!
If the link you click on doesn't work try using one of the other ones before giving up!

(****Referrals Expired****) Comment if you want one!

Thanks for reading, I hope you didn't have too much fun ya crazy animal!! ;) 

Beermoney

I figured I might as well start my first blog by recommending a few ways that I like to earn a little extra money.  Now these web sites will not make you a millionaire but I have made about $20 dollars off of them through gift cards and other things so I believe it would be worth while to look into.

The three sites I am going to recommend are;

superpoints.com
swagbucks.com

and

cashtexts.com.

I will go into these sites with a little more detail and my own personal referral links for them at a later date, but I thought this would be a good way to get the ball rolling! !

Hope you enjoy my post, and look for me to post more soon!