Carpool Community

The other day, when I wrote about going green doing the questionnaire to find out how “green” I am, I was reminded that carpooling is one of the better ways. Carpooling is very popular even in Malaysia but when I was schooling and my parents were looking to carpool, they had a hard time looking for parents with children in my school to carpool with.

With the internet, though, things have changed. If you check the website here at http://www.ridesearch.com, which is a subscription-based service, you can see that for a minimal fee of $5.95 per month, $16.95 for three months or $29.95 for six months, we can set up an account, create a profile and search the RideSearch.com Carpool database and try to connect with people in our community so that we can either form a new carpool or join an existing one.

Carpooling, like I mentioned above, is a great way to reduce pollution. However, it is also a great way to cut down on expenses, especially on gas and car maintenance and it is also a great way to make friends with people in the neighborhood.

By the way, you can check the expenses on gas you use and save by carpooling with the gas Calculator provided on RideSearch.com. I am sure you will be surprised with the amount!

*** This post was brought to you by RideSearch.com ***

Sticking To Poker

I was chatting with my friend about my obsession with Poker after watching a Korean drama but he told me that he prefers Backgammon. Although I have heard of the game before, I am totally unfamiliar with the rules and game play. Heh… I know it is very popular but then I am always a little slow to catch up with trends!!

My friend told me to check out one site where I could learn the game starting from the basic Backgammon rules. Every Backgammon player would also need to know the five basic strategies in Backgammon. I learnt that Backgammon, although a very popular game and online Backgammon is getting more and more common, is played especially in the Middle East and I am sure they have a more exotic name for it.

There is a very informative article on BG 777 which lists some great reading resources for people who are just starting out on Backgammon. I believe that everyone who “gambles” play to win so it is always wise to start with a winning attitude and the right strategies. Check the article on how to begin your Backgammon career for some very good titles.

Personally, I am not sure I want to start playing Backgammon because I am afraid of getting addicted to the game! I’ll just stick to Poker!

Research On Dating Sites

Being single, I have friends who keep asking me to join online dating sites because they believe that I already scare all the guys I know in real life and need to meet fresh prospects online. You know, I spend so much time online that I know that I don’t believe everything that people say over the internet because we are able to hide behind our monitors.

However, they say that I am doing myself a disservice if I do not at least check out the online dating scene since this is getting more and more popular. I have to agree with them.

Right now, I really am not able to spare the time to keep searching for dating sites, registering myself, participating in the community and getting to know members who share the same interest as I do and then find that just maybe this site is not as good as I thought it is. This is why, I reading dating reviews and from there, decide if a particular online dating site is worth my time! I find that doing so will save me a lot of time and surprises since others have already done the homework for me!

I Give Up!!!!

The other day, I wrote that I recently discovered an iPhone owners’ discussion in a local forum. Although I have been a member of this particular forum for a few years now, I have not frequent that part that is specifically for MAC owners. So, I only found out about this thread when I was Googling on iPhone.

There have been already three threads on the board and the third thread spanned a long seventy pages!!! I thought I would spend a little time reading a few pages daily and would soon be able to catch up with the thread.

Whoa, before I could even proceed with my plan, the administrator started a new thread, version FOUR and it is now more than thirty pages. My goodness! I am not going to even try to follow the whole series of threads anymore. I give up!!!

Investing In Trade Show Displays

I was at a computer fair a couple of months ago. The whole place was very messy and I thought to myself that they could at least get some proper banner stands to hang up those banners instead of using cello tape to tape them to doors and cubicle partitions and we know how well cello tapes can hold those heavy banners!

I have been to a few trader shows previously and have seen exhibitors using professional trade show displays and that shows the seriousness of the company in attracting potential customers to their booth.

I went to the website of Displays Direct to view the different types of trade show displays that are available and it’s interesting to note there are even motorised banner stands.

I think that it is important for a company to invest a little money on trade show displays because it projects the image of the company and we all want our company to look good in the eyes of our customers, don’t we? First impression matters.

What Is Your GreenIQ?

I have a friend who was an advocate of the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Although he is no longer with us anymore, I still try to implement his influence in my daily life.

Coincidentally, this morning, I was asked what my GreenIQ is. To be frank, I WANT to help protect the environment, I WANT to “go green” but I have no idea if what I am doing now is right, if it is sufficient.

I took a questionnaire over at http://www.GreenIQ.com to check my monthly score of how “green” I am but my score is not very accurate because this questionnaire is based on American prices, lifestyle and state.

However, I still found this site very informative and resourceful and gained more ideas on how to stop wastage like declining the receipt from the ATM and washing clothes at full loads.

Based on my score, GreenIQ will then recommend products and services to me that they believe will help me be a more responsible green citizen. Although sometimes it feels that no matter how much we do, it is not enough or that the efforts of a single person will not help to improve the world, if all of us combine our efforts, I believe that we can make a difference.

But first, you must take the GreenIQ questionnaire to see how well you score.

*** This post was brought to you by Green IQ ***

Driving Around New Zealand

My friend Mike, who is a student in New Zealand, told me that he was very happy to discover that driving in New Zealand is basically the same as driving in Malaysia. The general road safety rules are similar except that driving in New Zealand is so much safer! Driving in New Zealand is a stress-free experience unlike in Malaysia where tempers flare easily.

Mike said that the only thing that he was surprised with was that while the minimum driving age in Malaysia is 17, it is 21 in New Zealand. I personally think that the four years in age makes a world of difference in the mentality of drivers.

Before Mike went on a road trip with his girlfriend, he checked the internet for cheap hotels in New Zealand so that he could plan his trip well. Mike already has some of the north island cities in his itinerary, starting from Wellington where he does not need to stay in one of the hotels in Wellington as he has a rented apartment there. One of the major cities that Mike plans to visit is Auckland. Hotels in Auckland surprisingly are not expensive thanks to the special offers.

Mike also checked out some of the more popular hotels in Christchurch in case he visits Christchurch but it is in south island so it is a little harder.

Seeing Mike and his girlfriend’s travelling route on the map, I wish I could tag along as well. How long has it been since I went to New Zealand? It seems like a lifetime ago!!

Random Thoughts Off My Mind