Online Surveys - The Answers to Life's Burning Questions

In my spare time (ha!) I do online research polls to earn "e-dollars" to redeem for SkyMiles on Delta.  I've not earned enough yet to redeem for a flight or even an upgrade. But the good people at Delta don't take unused miles away from you as long as you have account activity within a twenty four month period unlike some other un-named airline (cough - Southwest - cough) who only lets you keep miles/points for a year whether you add to them or not.

Some of the polls are pretty quick - usually because they have enough answers from my demographic group or the answers I've given don't qualify me for further participation.   Some of the polls don't fit me at all (why would I know or have an opinion about tampons?) while others have me guessing at what they are really trying to get information about.

I did one tonight on health.  There were a series of questions ranging from Acne to COPD to Diabetes 1 and type 2.  Here's a sample of what they ask:

Alzheimer's
	I suffer from
	Someone in my household suffers from
	I provide care for someone who suffers from
	Not Applicable

Here is an example of how twisted my mind is:  Shouldn't they have another option to check such as, "I don't remember?" or "How would I know?"    (Yes, I know it's a horrible disease.  Yes, I've seen first hand the affect it has on a family.) Like I said, twisted mind.  And it just occurred to me that what they are really finding out is what kind of person actually answers those surveys.  Scary.

Celebration!

It's been sixteen years since I've been able to say this... I'm free of a car payment!  I made my last payment online tonight on the Cruiser.  It's completely mine.  And now, something will go horribly wrong.  Like finding another car and ending up in another loan.  Let's hope it's a while.  Got my eye on the Chevy Camaro convertible that is due out next year.


It's a great feeling though to have a car paid off.  The student loans were finally paid off last summer. And now that we aren't paying for storage on a "pile of crap" (click here for Time Capsule) maybe we'll be able to spend some money on landscaping that we've been wanting to do.  First is a privacy fence between our back yard and the neighbors driveway.  We have no privacy on that side of the backyard and it makes me a little crazy sometimes. 

Next would be taming the wilderness at the back of our property.  It's overgrown with honeysuckle bushes (considered a noxious weed in Indiana) and takes up15 to 20 feet of our yard.  A yard that we'd like to add a playset and playhouse for Riley.  The only downside is that the birds really like the cover when hitting the feeders set up back there.  Maybe the best thing would be to remove them a little at a time and replace them with something a little more tame and not so rambling.

So there are the possibilities now that I don't have a car payment going out every month.  Fencing.  Playsets. Playhouses. Shrubbery.  Or I can just go crazy and get lipo and then drop the gym membership.  More money saved.

Psuedo Celebrities and the People who Follow Them

"Who the hell are the Kardashians?"  That was the question I posed to my co-workers a few weeks ago.  I have been hearing of Kim and her sisters Kourtney and Kloe' (what's up with all the k's?) for years but had no idea what they are famous for.  Infamous would probably be a better word.  I knew that a seemingly confused Bruce Jenner is their stepfather, but to me that wasn't enough for them to have their own reality show.  So I asked the woman who works by me (and has a huge crush on Reggie Bush) what made them famous.

Their father was Robert Kardashian who probably is most famous for being friends with and an attorney to O.J. Simpson.  Um, I remember F. Lee Bailey and Johnnie Cochran, but not Mr. Kardashian.  And is that really enough to make someone's daughter a celebrity.  Ah, but no!  It turns out there is more to Kim Kardashian's story and her infamy.

Wikipedia describes Kim as "an American celebutante, socialite, model, actress, and television personality. She is known for her social life and her role on the E! reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians."  I think the word celebutante says a whole heck of a lot here.  Place her with the more well known celebutante Paris Hilton and I still wouldn't care if they were on television.  Or the planet for that matter.  Meh.  I'm supposed to be excited about someone who carries around a Chihuahua as a fashion accessory? Sorry, but no.




And it still begs the question, just what has made Kim so famous that she gets so much press?  Then the women at work told me about the "leaked" sex tape she made with R&B singer Ray J - who has his own reality show.  And it probably helped her when she posed nude for Playboy magazine.  Ah!  Now we're getting somewhere.  She's famous for being an internet sensation with a sex tape and for being curvy and naked in print.  Wow.  If that's all it takes to be famous, then there are a lot of people out there who can aspire to greatness.

The bigger question for me though is this: what is the matter with the public that they can take someone without any obvious talent and make them a "Star"?  I don't understand the obsession with reality shows and I am completely clueless as to the appeal of celebutantes and their ilk.  There are so many people deserving of that kind of attention who haven't stripped down to their birthday suits.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm sure the Kardashians are perfectly lovely people, I just don't care to see them on TV.  Or on the covers of countless magazines each month.  When they start contributing to society as a whole, then maybe I'll pay a little attention.  Maybe.

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Update 3/27/10: Yes, I realize there is a certain irony on commenting on pseudo celebrities in a negative way on this blog.  By doing so I help perpetuate the cycle of keeping their names in the public's eye.  I suppose my saving grace is that I'm not making any money off of this.