Earthday Activities for Kids that Grownups Will Also Enjoy

Who says that you have to spend much just to come up with Earthday Activities for Kids? We never really celebrated this particular event before, but today, I decided that the kids should have an awareness for this particular event specially since they're going to be among the many billions of people who will inherit this planet.

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. 
I somewhat feel that this theme needs an upgrade, but that's for another discussion. Here are some of the things that my kids are doing right now and some ideas which we might be able to do in the future. After all, Earth day should be celebrated everyday and not just on one particular day.

1. Earthday Artwork Making.

Mother Nature herself is a continuous process of art and creation. We humans are just too lazy sometimes to notice it. The key here is to open the eyes of children who are most specially keen about what they observe in nature and then stimulate their imagination.

Different kids have different skill levels so a little imagination could be required. You don't have to buy anything to create art and in fact you could use any material that you can find in your house.  

Diablo 3 Price: $59.99 Standard - $99 to $200 Collectors

Anyway, some of you might be wondering why I have to make up creative ways like this just so that I can get this game. The Diablo 3 price is really not that high, at least for the Standard Edition and I can afford it if I sacrifice some things - like food and water. Being a dad remains my priority and I always have to make sure that my children gets everything that they need.

Moreover, there's something about D3 that makes me really interested and that's the Auction House. It could be a potential source of income. But that's for another discussion.

I will try to compile a complete list of Diablo iii price offerings on the net to give you an idea of where you could make some savings. For full disclosure, my experience with buying games online is limited to one single game, and that's Plants vs. Zombies for a great price of $2.00.

I've never actually purchased anything from Amazon before particularly because I don't know exactly how much it will cost me in shipping and other related expenses. I only refer it because of their reputation as a company and of course for the commission. I'll be posting some affiliate links but the only ones where I will earn are from Amazon.com. Okidaddles?

The information below is based solely on my personal experience, prices may differ depending on a variety of factors including your geographical location, the vendor and the time you will buy it. Furthermore, these are subject to change at any time since they are third party information.

Diablo 3 Price for Amazon.com




Diablo III: Standard Edition - $59.99 as of April 22, 2012. You can only buy this on May 15, 2012. 


I live in the Philippines so it has other costs associated with it. Apparently this is a boxed item since they have to ship it. It may be slightly different for the United States. Here's the breakdown:

• The actual item: $59.99
• Shipping and Handling: $35.98
• Total before tax: $95.97
• Import Fees Deposit: $11.52
• Order Total of: $107.49

Diablo III: Collector's Edition - $206.99 as of April 22, 2012. You can only buy this on May 15, 2012

Same notes as above. I wasn't able to glean the details as most of these collector's edition items were being resold by resellers. Redundant ain't it?

Diablo iii Price for Bestbuy.com


I went out of my way to try to order from Bestbuy.com because I saw in an Amazon review for Diablo 3 Collector's edition that it's actually cheaper to buy there. Unfortunately, Bestbuy caters only to US customers and will not ship to internationally. You can either pick the item up or have it shipped to you provided your address is in the US. Or alternately, you can have someone pick it up for you.

Diablo III: Collectors Edition - $99.99

Shipping (US Only)

• Standard $0
• Expedited $6
• Express $8

Sales Tax

• $8.25

Order Total

• $108.24

Comment: Wow, it looks like it's actually cheaper to get it from Best Buy rather than Amazon.com. Remember, this is the Collector's edition we are talking about. It's almost half the price.

Diablo III: Standard Edition - $59.99

Shipping (US Only)

• Standard $0
• Expedited $6
• Express $8

Sales Tax

• $4.95

Order Total

• $64.94

Pre Purchasing from Battle.net

Now here is something that got me more confused. Buying from the original makers of the game is supposed to be cheaper right? Anyway, maybe I just got my numbers wrong since it looks like buying from the official Diablo site is more expensive, I don't really know. 

Anyway, if you want to buy from the official website where you could buy Diablo 3, you need to create a Battle.net account.

Right now, the game is only available for Pre-Purchase: $90 SGD for Southeast Asia. Converted to USD on April 22, 2012, that's $72.057 USD. 

Diablo 3 Computer Requirements Simplified

Will my computer run Diablo 3? That's the same question I am asking myself right now. The Diablo 3 computer requirements that they post can be confusing since they post brand and model names as a measurement of performance.
  
Here's a simple way of knowing whether your CPU can play Diablo 3. I am using Windows XP, and my name is dannybuntu, so yeah, whatever, anyway.

1. Click on the Start Button, then click on Control Panel

Help Me Buy Diablo 3 - A Win-Win Proposition

Ok I can't buy Diablo 3. It's just outside of the budget. But I really want it. Anyway, I have a proposition that any Diablo 3 blog owner can't refuse.

Here's how it goes:

I honestly don't have money to buy the Diablo III: Collector's Edition. I can't even buy the Diablo III: Standard Edition. So, here's how you can help, either:

1. Click one of the links above and buy the game from Amazon so I'll earn the commission to buy the game myself.

OR

2. Donate any amount you like, so I can buy the game myself

In Return
For the full donation of $60.00 Standard Edition I will post a banner on my PR3 blog dannybuntu.com to your (Diablo 3 only website/blog/forum) as a 728x90 banner


Like this: 

• Posted on Dannybuntu.com my flagship PR3 Blog
• For 1 Month 
• At the top - I will replace my Adsense banner
• Do Follow Link
• Only for Diablo 3 Exclusive Content Ok?
• I will blog about your Diablo 3 related content 2 times a week for 4 weeks
• Only qualifies for the full donation

Diablo 3 Open Beta Problems Are Marketing Ploys

Is it just me or do I feel like Blizzard is screwing with our minds with these Diablo 3 Open Beta problems? I mean, they make us wait for a gazillion years until they gave Diablo 2 a worthy successor. After they announce it,


they then make us wait for 3 more effing years. After that, they bait and bait us with beta invites and of course  ramp up the envy meter by limiting these to prominent blogs and then making them do all sorts of promotional gimmicks for mere beta invites.

Diablo 3 Open Beta Error - Temporary Fix

UPDATE: Please read this: Diablo 3 Blog Proposition

ERROR: The file "C:\Program Files\Diablo III]Beta\Updates\d3-0-9359-Win-final.MPQ" appears to be corrupt. You may need to download this file again.

What War With China Would Be Like

It would be quick given that the Philippine naval and airborne forces have severely limited capabilities. It would be a naval and aerial encounter. I personally don't see China invading mainland Luzon, Visayas or Mindanao, not unless they plan on completely annexing the entire Philippines which is really a futile exercise both economically and militarily.

At best, they would most probably cripple critical infrastructure such as ports and airports, military installations and utilities. This is of course, assuming that our distant Uncle Sam would not be willing to honor his MDT with us.

Purely Speculative Thinking Below



If China bombs Manila, here are probably some of the things that might happen. Again, assuming that the Americans will not come to our aid.

• Attack on major utilities, such as electric, water and communication. 
• Brownouts
• No Water
• No Internet
• Limited land based communication systems
• Communication would probably be by radio
• Bank Rush
• People would need hard cash to buy emergency supplies. 
• Anti Filipino-Chinese Sentiments
• Our Filipino-Chinese compatriots consider themselves to be genuine Filipinos, however, ultra-nationalist movements may spring up. After all, most major businesses are controlled by Filipino-Chinese who hire a vast majority of Filipinos on a contractual basis.
• To remedy this, they may have to express their solidarity in one way or another. 
• After sinking what our Navy and Airforce would bravely put forward, the next step for the Chinese would be to establish its presence in the area. Hauling construction material from China all the way to the Spratlys is going to be an extreme challenge in logistics. It would be easier instead to capture maritime and aerial installations which are nearby.     

Map
 
View Larger Map

• Martial law would be declared. 
• It's also possible that Manila will be declared as an open city again to prevent its destruction. 
• Rise of paramilitary groups. The state of war, would give the erstwhile dormant paramilitary organizations which exist mainly in the provinces an excuse to form up and arm themselves. 
• Private armies would become prevalent again - they will most likely stoke nationalist sentiments for their own gain and may even acquire by force "friendly" Chinese businesses. This is purely conjecture, but of course - the possibility exists. 
• Along with the rise of paramilitary organizations, criminal elements would also take advantage. With the armed forces and the police forces engaged in warfare - and the crippling of basic utility services, there could be a breakdown in law and order at most - or simply a rise in banditry, while war happens. 

America Coming to Our Aid Militarily Will Spark a Chain Reaction 

• The problem with the United States coming to our aid, is that it will most likely cause a very troubling chain reaction. 
• The players involved would most likely include North Korea, China and Russia. On the other hand, America, some of the SEA nations, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.  

Where to Live?

• Makati would be a ghost town. 
• Residents from Metro Manila will flock to the provinces. 
• There would be an insufficient supply of gasoline, rationing at first and then - nothing at all.  
• The best places to live would be in the Eastern part of the archipelago, far from the coastal areas. 
• It would be preferred to live near clean waterways or places which do not have a high population density. 
• Access to manual pumps (poso) would be essential.

ROTC

• Remember that annoying thing that we had to go through college called ROTC? Yeah, I forget that I am a reservist. So anyone who has the misfortune of being the right age at the wrong time, will most likely be activated. 

Diplomatic Solution With China The Only Recourse

I'm going to put it bluntly, the Americans will not help us - unless China engages in conventional and terrestrial warfare on Philippine territory. 

US mum on PHL-China sea dispute (PhilStar, 2012)

"The United States is mum on the circumstances under which it would intervene on behalf of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea even as US troops began a joint military exercise with Filipino soldiers off Palawan.

The US Congressional Research Service (CRS) said although both sides have denied that the activities are aimed specifically at China, Beijing has raised concern about their real purpose.

The CRS report, prepared for members and committees of Congress, said the Philippine-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) left room for different interpretations."

If Malacanang would persist on standing its ground - or water in this case, and if China really needs to ameliorate its power - as in energy - hungry economy by means of annexing Scarborough Shoal, our navy would stand little to no chance of ever coming out of this alive.

Rylyz.com Review - The $1/mo Social Gaming Experiment

Sometimes, it takes me a whole month to decide on something. Sometimes I just take the plunge. Besides, I am looking into making a gaming website myself - since I used to be a hard core gamer during my younger years.

Rylyz.com doesn't have much information pertaining to its owners, co-founders, corporate headquarters or any of that. But its proposition is indeed very intriguing.

The Hook That Got Me...
Was an Adsense text link ad on Statcounter which goes something like this:
Add Social Games to your website for $1 a month, and share up to 80% of the profits and get extra traffic

I clicked on it and it brought me to this website:

I just did some intensive analysis on North Korea, which drained me of my investigative vigor, so I haven't gotten much information about this company and its scheme.

I'll be updating this soon and would experiment on this blog.

Anyway, they claim that the games that they would be serving on your website are HTML 5 games like Connect 4, Battleship and Poker. Upon sign up you would be asked to share their referral links via social networks, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and Tumblr. You could also invite via email.

I was quite surprised since they haven't really asked for payment upfront nor have they given the embed codes necessary for this social gaming experiment.

I won't be putting my referral links just yet, but my concerns about these are as follows:

Concerns
1. Adsense TOS - Prohibition on Gambling Content Quoted:
          Gambling content

AdSense publishers are not permitted to place Google ads on sites with gambling or casino-related content. In other words, if your site accepts money or allows users to place bets in exchange for an opportunity to earn cash or other prizes, then Google ads may not be placed on your site.

Examples of acceptable gambling content
Sites with play-for-fun games, contests, sweepstakes, raffles.
Location-based gambling sites (hotel casinos and destination travel sites).
Sites promoting fantasy sports.
Sites selling books, ebooks, magazines, TV shows that discuss gambling-related activities.
Discussion forums or blogs about gambling that don’t drive traffic to online gambling sites.

Sites selling gambling equipment.
Sites that drive traffic to online gambling sites through referral links or advertising.
Examples of unacceptable gambling content
Online gambling sites, such as online casinos or online wagering sites.
Sites that drive traffic to online gambling sites, such as through organic links.

It needs to be clarified whether Rylyz would be letting us embed gambling games. If they do, I suppose I must remove the Adsense placements on this blog.

2. Is the service really just $1? - website has no Terms of Service yet.
3. Social networking is the whole point of social gaming - so, I am not yet seeing this as a possible Ponzi scheme. Besides, for a $1 investment a month, I must say that it's not at all that bad.

Here is the general gist of the email that was sent to me verbatim:

We'll give you a way to build engaging traffic and make money, by using games :)
Our gaming platform will allow your website to serve fun, casual, high quality, real-time, social games to your visitors.

We are excited to get things kicked off and are very happy that you have decided to check us out.

You can add our HTML5 widget to any page on your site:
For only $1 per month:
o Your website URL will get promoted to other players in a game.
o Your visitors will be given incentives to invite friends to your site.
o Our games will help keep your visitors coming back to your site.
o You will share in the profits whenever your visitors make a purchase while in our gaming environment.

Your membership is very valuable to us.
You are now considered as an early adopter. We honor you as a partner: your amount of profit sharing is set to 25% and your monthly rate is set to $1. Your profit sharing amount will never go down and your monthly rate will never go up. Your rates will be linked to this email address that you signed up with.

You can get more by helping us get the ball rolling even faster!
For everyone of your referrals who use our service, we will bump your profit sharing rate up another 5%! (to a max of 80%.)

Your Unique Share URL
Tweet it, share it, post it to forums, make blog comment and email to webmasters you know:
The more webmasters there are who use our service, the more players there will be, the more exposure your site will get, and the more fun it will become! win, win, win!
You can always find out how many people you have referred through http://rylyz.com/play - just enter your email address again to see your referral stats.

(Note that the signup page may show a lower profit sharing amount or a higher monthly rate - don't worry though, the page is meant for new signups, and we have your correct amount linked to this email address)
Stay connected with us:
We are currently in private development and we'll be looking for partners to alpha test our service.
We'll send you updates as we prepare to launch!
Send us a note if you would like to be an alpha tester, or if you would be interested in doing a partner interview. 

Status: Still awaiting for instructions.
Action Points: Find out who owns Rylyz.com

Interesting Adsense Conversation on Reddit

Don't jump just yet, read my warning first. Searching on the Internet about earning Adsense turns up a lot of disinformation and ploys for you to subscribe to various schemes. These guys are really good at what they are doing and know exactly which of your buttons to push at the right time. I wrote about this because I've been meaning to write about Adsense again. Yes, it's possible to earn some money via Adsense most specially if you have specialist and professional knowledge and not just interest on any topic.

Reddit.com is a very vibrant community and I owe it to the site for earning the largest ever amount I ever got on Adsense in a day. Now before you go, I advise some caution with regards to the claims of the original poster. Instead, pay attention to the minds of reason in the thread - to the ones asking the right questions:

I Make $5,000 a Month in Adsense

Family Guy MMORPG Launched or MMLOL

Fans of the popular cartoon show "Family Guy" may now test out the ground breaking game in its Open Beta release. I believe it's the first game ever to brand itself as an MMLOL or a Massively Multiplayer Laugh Out Loud game.

The game shows promise, though I still haven't gotten in the game yet. %!@$@!$%!%!%@#


From the Site....

"Family Guy Online registered players will be the first to receive their “Key.” As new players register for the game, they will receive an email with the approximate wait time for their “Key.” Access is on a first come basis, so the players who have already registered will receive their Keys first, then, as new players register, they will be placed in the Keys queue. The program will begin today and continue for a short period after the open beta goes live with regularly scheduled releases of “Keys” to increase the number of fans in the game."

 I'm still staring at my Inbox....