Long Time No Blog!
Written by
David Dunn on October 29, 2008 – 11:20 am - 164 views Yes, I know, I haven’t blogged on either of my blogs for quite a long time now (I’m not even going to look at the date of my last post to see how long it’s been).
However, I haven’t stopped reading several blogs on the internet and keeping on top of stuff. The main reason I haven’t been blogging is just the lack of time - having just started college and such like.
When keeping myself updated with blogs on Google Reader today I came across a blog post from Budgets are Sexy - another money-making style blog on the internet. The blog post was about a ‘dollar a day’ challenge.
Now, I never knew nothing about the mentioned ‘dollar a day’ challenge as I haven’t been subscribed to this blog long enough to know about it.
The blogger posts this post about how they are going to tweak their originally set out challenge to save $1 every working day.
Now, at the moment I own an ISA bank account from Halifax and I have great difficulty saving any money at all - therefore I reckon that adopting this plan myself I could at least save some money every year whereas now it would just get spent.
So this is how I am going to do it:
- Save £1.50 every day of the year (including days I am not working as if that was the case I’d only be saving £3 per week)
- This means that I’ll be saving £547.50 per year just from these £1.50s
I am also going to experiment something I found quite interesting from one of the major banks (I don’t remember which) whereby when you spend something using their accounts, the change is saved into your savings account. I’ll try and explain this better:
- You spend £12.50 on some stationary from Staples
- You pay using your debit/credit card
- The amount is then rounded up to the nearest pound and the difference is saved into your savings account
- In this case it would be 50p
I’m going to give this idea a go on a weekly basis saving up my receipts until the end of each week and transferring the ‘change’ into my ISA. I will keep the blog up-to-date about how both of these are going.
What do you think about these two ideas? Do you currently carry out either of these things or something similar? Are you finding it beneficial?
| 3.7 (1 person) |
Tags: challenge, isa, money, saving, update
Posted in General | No Comments »
Another Random Stumble
Written byDavid Dunn on August 5, 2008 – 7:46 pm - 664 views This post, seems to have had quite a positive response from the readers of FerrariDave and also seems to have had a great response from StumbleUpon itself.
So I’ve decided to make this a weekly thing. I know this is much more recent than a week since the last one but I’ve decided that I’ll do one every week on a Tuesday. Some of the posts may be prepared before the Tuesday it is posted but it’ll still contain similar sort of material as found in the last one.
So here goes, five more absolutely random clicks on the Stumble button…
Number One - Funny metaphors found in high school essays (Help.com)
This one is actually quite funny. Just a list of metaphors used by school children.
Some of the funniest quotes I have seen have been from school children as they do seem to come out with some cracking stuff 
The only thing that would make this one better would be if it was quotes from children in the UK. It’s not that I have anything against quotes from the US it’s just I don’t get some of the metaphors but I imagine they would be ten times funnier if I was in the US. Still, it’s worth a thumbs up!
Number Two - Accuradio
This site claims to be ‘The Next Generation of Radio’. This seems to be pretty good actually, just has a load of streaming radio-style stations.
They’re iPhone version also looks pretty good (mentioned further down than my screenshot), will have to check it out on my iPhone when I’m bored some time.
I must however comment on the site design though, I’m not entirely sure what the blue/blank rectangle down the right hand side of the page. I know in this case the content outweighs the site design but to be honest it makes it look a bit poor. Would be alright if the main content was centred and the blue bits were either side though.
Number Three - Confusing Words
This one seems pretty good to me. The first thing that struck me though was the design of the site, it’s minimalistic but looks pretty damn good with it.
Now, onto the actual site, it’s basically a big database of words that can be confusing to writers, ie, two words that are pronounced the same but have two different spellings and completely different meanings.
This one is going to get a thumbs up and a review and probably a bookmark as I’m going to find this one useful in the future. I never have a clue about the difference between affect and effect.
Number Four - A list of government owned IP addresses and ranges (DataStronghold.com)
This is basically a great big list of IP addresses owned by the government and similar authorities. However, I have absolutely no idea why I’d need this information. (If anyone can enlighten me that would be great?)
Until I know what the hell I’m meant to do with this huge amount of data, it’s getting a thumbs down as it is totally irrelevant to me.
Number Five - EmailFuture.com
This actually seems like a really god idea to me. It allows me to send myself an email any time in the future. Seems a bit strange initially, to think of you emailing yourself.
However, when you think about it further, it’s a pretty cool idea to remind yourself of something say 3 years down the line.
You could remind yourself that your car needed servicing on a specific date a few years down the line. Or you could set up an email to be sent in 6 months time when you first fit a filter on your vacuum cleaner, to remind you to change it again.
Summary
To be honest, I really enjoyed doing this again. I’ve came across some pretty good websites and rather than randomly stumbling, it brings some sort of meaning to it. Especially when I have to talk about the site in question.
I’m glad I started this off and I will definitely be doing this on a weekly basis. It also means that any time I am bored, I can just create one of these posts and keep it in my drafts.
Hope you like this one :-)
| 3.7 (1 person) |
Tags: cool, five, random, sites, stumbleupon, weekly
Posted in Internet, Life | 2 Comments »
Random StumbleUpon
Written byDavid Dunn on August 4, 2008 – 7:24 pm - 1,283 views I’ve decided that I am going to now press the StumbleUpon ‘Stumble’ button 5 times, but each time I am going to take a screenshot and I’m going to comment about the page.
The pages are obviously going to be random and if I don’t really want to comment on the page that’s tough because I have decided I have to!
So… here goes…
Number One - Add a Picture
Oh dear… as I have just got myself a new StumbleUpon account, the first page I am given is the page to add a photograph for my profile. Okay well, I guess I will add one, seen as they asked nicely!
That reminds me, I need some friends added to my new StumbleUpon, if you would care to add me, please do… http://buymeaferrari.stumbleupon.com/
Number Two - RetailMeNot.com
Hmm… seems like a great site in theory, however, it appears to be aimed towards an American market, and as I’m in the UK it doesn’t really help me at all.
Oh.. hold on.. I’ve found a UK button That’s a lot better! There’s actually a really good selection for the UK market - didn’t think that there would be as many coupon codes as there is.
This site gets a thumbs up, however, not for the homepage but for the page dedicated to the United Kingdom.
Number Three - Friday, insane time, and this is what we are after
The third site in my random stumble is ‘The Funny Site’ (dfunny.info). And a blog post from them.
First impressions seem to count here as when the page first loaded, I am greeted with what you can see in the above screenshot. Now yes, I am definitely no expert but I know what I like and what I don’t like; all I can pretty much see when it first loads is a load of adverts and links, I can see one line of the post.
I personally prefer to see a bit more of the blog post, I don’t so much mind a load of ads on a homepage of a blog but on single post pages, I prefer to see a lot of the screen dedicated to the blog post itself. Just a personal opinion.
The post itself isn’t really to my taste either - it’s just a load of photographs of drunk people gathered from across the internet, some of which I have seen before.
Yes, of course this will be to some people’s taste, but to be honest, it isn’t to mine. This one is getting a thumbs down, not because I think the post is useless because it will appeal to some people, but it because it doesn’t personally appeal to me.
Number Four - BookMooch
As you can see from the boldness of my RoboForm toolbar, I am already a member on BookMooch. However, I can’t remember the last time I logged in.
I personally much prefer a site I found after BookMooch and that is ReadItSwapIt - to me it’s so much easier and seems to have more books to my taste.
However, I am still going to give BookMooch a thumbs up as it is still a really good website it’s just I have found a better resource to suit mu needs. The website itself has a decent design and functions pretty much as I would expect it to.
Number Five - There’s a method behind StumbleUpon’s madness (VentureBeat)
In all honesty, this is the most interesting blog post I have read in a while - MG Siegler is talking about the workings of StumbleUpon and explores the StumbleUpon Recommendation Engine.
I knew a little bit about it and the different methods the toolbar uses to recommend you pages but I didn’t really know about it to this extent.
I’m also glad to real that the co-founder he talked to has said that the limitation on the amount of friends you can have is going to be raised from 200 to 1000. On my previous account I struggled to shuffle the friends around so I could have a decent friend base but still keep within the limits (yes, I know, it probably doesn’t seem like it with my new account but it will grow :-))
This page is definitely going to get a thumbs up, a review and I am even going to comment on the blog itself as I really did enjoy reading the post.
Summary
I really enjoyed implementing this idea and actually talking about each of the sites which I stumbled upon. It made me really think about the site rather than just aimlessly stumbling, thumbs up/down then moving on.
This will definitely be something I will do again on FerrariDave as like I said, I really enjoyed it. I hope you enjoy reading the above. If you did, or have any other similar ideas that I could have a go with, please don’t hesitate to leave me a quick comment
| 3.6 (1 person) |
Tags: blog, cool, General, Internet, site, stumbleupon
Posted in General, Internet | 4 Comments »
School Work
Written byDavid Dunn on July 8, 2008 – 8:41 pm - 921 views Just a quick one as I need to get some stuff out as I’m starting to feel a bit happier about myself.
I’m currently starting to do school work properly now, I’m starting to cut down the procrastination and finally beginning to do some proper work.
Yes, attention isn’t always 100% there, but I’d defy anyone to truthfully say that they pay 100% attention, 100% of the time. It’s just very unlikely to happen.
I’m starting to get caught up with my ICT coursework, just got a couple of tasks that I’m going to do tonight then I should be done with it, assuming I don’t get it back to amend stuff. Even then, it’s still out of the road as the amendments should be pretty minor.
I’ve just got some English homework to do for next Tuesday but that day I am on a geography field trip. So, I’m going to do it tomorrow night after teaching karate then hopefully get it handed in on Thursday.
I may be feeling happier that I’m beginning to do things more efficiently, but once August 13th(ish) comes around, I might be disappointed. It’s results day for my AS exams.
I’m guessing I aint done well at all with any of my exams but thankfully I’m beginning to get my act together so hopefully I’ll be able to re-sit stuff and possibly get myself back on track. It’ll probably take some work but at the moment I’m in the right state of mind.
I’m also starting to exercise more effectively than I was previously. I’m going on the treadmill more often now, and hopefully I will get out for a proper run at the weekend before I start work.
Tonight I am not going to go on the treadmill, I’m going to take the dog for a walk at about 11pm then I’ll come in and do some abs work - sit-ups etc., then some push-ups. After that I want to do a fair amount of work with my Powerball as I haven’t used it properly for a while.
May update this tomorrow morning with how my work went tonight and how much exercise I got done.
| 3.6 (1 person) |
Tags: english, exercise, fitness, ict, Life, procrastination, school, work
Posted in General, Life | 2 Comments »
Blogging Contests
Written byDavid Dunn on June 30, 2008 – 10:05 pm - 726 views Just been reading the Blog About Your Blog post about a roundup of current blogging contests and thought that I should enter some of these and share them with you guys and girls.
Blog Paradise and Contest Whiz competition
Blog Paradise’s contest blog and Contest Whiz’s contest are giving away an impressive list of prizes including one year web hosting, 5000 Entrecard credits and six months SKY.fm subscription.
Techogy contest
Techogy are hosting their very first blog contest and are giving away $500+ in prizes - has a very easy method of entering too!
I will be entering more and more of these similar contests and hopefully hosting my own very soon. If you are running something similar, please do leave a comment
| 3.6 (1 person) |
Tags: blog, Competition, contest, entry, prize
Posted in Competition | No Comments »
Yet Another Change In Direction
Written byDavid Dunn on June 29, 2008 – 9:53 pm - 723 views Those of you who read both this blog and my other blog (Buy Me A Ferrari) will get what I mean by ‘yet another’ change in direction, especially if you have read this post.
It’s time for me to make a change in the type of blog this in (yes, I know I’ve done it before). But I really couldn’t think of enough stuff to do with motoring to make it a viable topic to blog about.
So I’m officially reverting back to the general sort of blog where I am just talking about anything that I am interested in and basically anything I wish to blog about.
This seemed to work better when FerrariDave was like this before so hopefully it will work again.
The competition at the moment is one complete flop but hopefully if I can pick the readership up again, I can have better competitions and stuff that people will want to enter.
Your comments are, as always, welcomed and I’d love to hear what you think, both positively and negatively.
| 3.6 (1 person) |
Tags: blog, direction, General, topic
Posted in General, blogging | 2 Comments »
Free o2 SIM Cards Again
Written byDavid Dunn on June 14, 2008 – 2:56 pm - 619 views Some of you may remember the last time I gave away free SIM cards on FerrariDave. Well guess what? I’m doing it again.
The O2 SIM Cards I have to give away boast the following tariff:
O2 Unlimited
This tariff gives you unlimited free text messages to O2 customers when you top up by £10 per month and unlimited free text messages and calls to O2 customers when you top up with £15 per month.
However, that’s not all, the £10 or £15 you have topped up with can still be used to call and text other networks.
This pay as you go SIM card would be ideal if you have lots of friends on O2 or even just a couple of mates.
So just to recap:
- Free text messages and/or calls to O2 customers
- £10 or £15 worth of text messages and calls to other networks
- Absolutely no contract
- You get to keep the same number
How to get your FREE SIM card
If you sound impressed by the above, please contact me (me@daviddunn.co.uk) with your address that you would like the SIM card to be sent to and I’ll get one out to you as soon as possible.
Please only apply for a free SIM card if you really want to use it as a few people missed out last time due to people just getting them for the sake of getting them.
Hurry and get yours as there are only 50 SIM cards available to be given out through FerrariDave.
Don’t forget to enter the FerrariDave National Lottery competition for your chance to win £10 worth of National Lottery tickets. Click Here for more information.
| 3.6 (1 person) |
Tags: card, free, giveaway, o2, sim, tariff
Posted in free | No Comments »
National Lottery Competition
Written byDavid Dunn on June 6, 2008 – 9:46 pm - 750 views Because there has been literally no entries at all to either of my two competitions. I am going to offer the first person who enters a free lucky dip to the main Lotto draw on 21 June 2008.
So to re-iterate, the first person who counts themselves into the competition will automatically win a lucky dip ticket for the main Lotto draw on 21 June 2008.
Hopefully that will get one person entering, and a stream of entrants after that 
| 3.6 (1 person) |
Tags: Competition, entry, lottery, lotto, lucky dip, ticket, win
Posted in Competition | 4 Comments »
Win £10 Worth of National Lottery Tickets
Written byDavid Dunn on June 5, 2008 – 9:47 pm - 794 views After posting a brand new competition on my other blog, Buy Me A Ferrari, I thought it was only right I had another competition for the readers of FerrariDave.
Taking a similar sort of prize idea used on Buy Me A Ferrari, on FerrariDave I am going to give away £10 worth of National Lottery tickets. I have also decided to give away 2 seperate runners-up prizes of 1 lucky dip for the main lottery draw including one entry for the Dream Number draw.
Again, as I mentioned on my other blog, this competition has the potential to be worth a whole load more than the £10 face value, depending on whether or not the tickets win much money. This also means it could be worth absolutely nothing if none of the tickets win anything - you’ve gotta be in it to win it though!
If you would like to be in with a chance of winning this great prize, you can do all/one of the following to gain entries:
- Comment on this blog post and drop me an email to compjun08@ferraridave.com - your email address will only be used for the prize draw and no other correspondence (2 Entries - this task must be done)
- Comment on any other FerrariDave blog post (1 Entry per comment)
- ‘Thumb up/I like it‘ any of the blog posts on FerrariDave using the StumbleUpon toolbar (3 Entries each)
Can I also ask that those who thumb up any of the pages, they email the above address with their username on StumbleUpon so I can add your entries.
Can I enter outside of the United Kingdom?
You also may be wondering whether or not you can enter if you are in the United States or other country. Yes, of course you can, all that will happen is I will purchase the tickets and if they win I will claim the money for you and Paypal the money across to you.
How will the prize draw take place?
At the End of July 2008 (the 31st to be precise), I will have compiled a list of entrants and given each entry an individual number. I will then get the random.org integer generator to give me the winner of the lottery tickets. The draw itself will be videoed and posted onto FerrariDave.
What happens if I am selected as the winner?
You get to choose which lottery draws you would like to enter (I will only be purchasing lucky dips) and I will go out and purchase the lottery tickets that you have requested. I will then send out the lottery tickets to the winner’s address. This will not be the case for international entrants, you will be emailed the numbers and the draws that you have been entered into before the draws take place.
What are you still doing reading this? Go and get some entries towards your name
Good Luck!
| 3.6 (1 person) |
Tags: Competition, draw, lottery, national, prize, tickets
Posted in Competition | 2 Comments »
Going to London
Written byDavid Dunn on June 3, 2008 – 10:12 am - 743 views Long time, no speak! I’m back (yes, I know I’ve said that much before, but I really am this time).
Enough about me being back, that’s too obvious - or else you wouldn’t be reading this post!
Let’s get onto the main topic of this post, I’m going to London. No… not to buy a Heat Magazine.
Me and Sam are going down there on Sunday and staying in The Royal National Hotel for two nights. We’re going to London to see the sights as it’s somewhere I’ve wanted to go visit for some time but never really had time or never got round to it when I did have time.
We’ve already got two things booked for when we get there:
- London Eye trip
- Madame Tussaud’s visit
If anyone who has been there before or even lives in the city would like to offer us some tips or has details of great places to visit, it would be much appreciated
I will be blogging about this trip as the hotel we’re in has WiFi and I’m taking my laptop. It won’t be like it was on the France trip as I’ll make time to blog this time and I definitely know the times when I can do so.
Please leave some comments about stuff to do in London, bearing in mind we’re there for two nights and we leave Newcastle on the 8th June.
| 3.6 (1 person) |
Tags: blog, eye, London, madame tussaud's, royal national, trip
Posted in London | No Comments »
