Sawgrass

Jeanie, Annabelle, and I were driving around trying to get to Belle's job interview. On the way there, we saw homes for $100,000 each and Jeanie wanted to purchase one with Ken. We stopped inside one of the communities. They were developing off the Sawgrass, by clearing out the Everglades. The realtor there told Jeanie that the only drawback is that mostly seniors live there. I saw many different bus stops, with young people. I was afraid we would be late to Belle's job interview, which was at the end of the Sawgrass Expressway, so tried to get Jeanie back driving. All and all, the houses and community looked great.

Sleeping at Damian's, Part III

I was walking through the streets later. There were these trees planted on the sidewalk that had come from Pac Bell stadium; they had a bunch of baseballs stuck in their limbs from homeruns hit by Barry Bonds and other Giants players. I got one.

I ended up in my old house in New York -- the one I grew up in. I had a bat and the ball. I was in the backyard, looking for a place to practice my swing. I went to the back, to the right of the red and white garage, and I saw that the place that used to store timber and rotted wood was all cleaned up; it was now a field.

I noticed the teacher from the Primamerica class and two kids approaching. I went in the house through the backdoor, put away my bat (I didn't want the teacher to see it), and invited them in.

Sleeping at Damian's, Part II

I remember wanting to leave Damian's because of an exam early the next morning for my Primamerica business. Unfortunately, I got to the classroom later where they were administering the test.

I asked the teacher what I could do. He noticed I had a cellphone, and he communicated with me via a two-way walkie-talkie feature that I didn't know existed on my phone. Afterwards, he showed me how to use it, and we talked that way.

He led me to another classroom....

Sleeping at Damian's

Here's a dream from 2002 where Damian made an appearance:

I was sleeping on Damian's couch when he walked in. I said hello, so that he knew I was there. I told him I had fallen asleep. It was 9:00pm.

I was going to leave, but Damian gave me a blanket and told me to read this book on the end table. IT was a small digest, about 200 pages, with comic book art and lullabies for dialogue. There was one where Batman and Robin are in a tree, and Batman asks his sidekick if he is "Singing like a bird?"

My mother and father entered the kitchen. My mom started complaining about grease on a pan. My dad and I were silent. I went to get Damian. He came over, asked for a brillo pad, and quickly cleaned up the pan. My mom was satisfied.

Damian, afterwards, asked me if I had noticed how my dad handled the situation. "Yes," I said. Damian said that's how you handle certain situations when you're married.

Looking for a cool mobile phone?

When the Apple iPhone came out last year, I was so glad that I was a Cingular customer. I have to admit, though, that I felt bad for anyone locked into a contract with another provider who wanted the latest and greatest cellphone.

It's hard to make a switch. If your family is hooked up with Verizon or T-Mobile, the costs of switching to another carrier make it difficult to justify doing so just because you want to grab an iPhone.

A company called imobileplaza has solved this problem. They offer unlocked phones -- phones that can be used with any cell phone provider -- at excellent prices.

For example, imobileplaza is currently selling 16GB iPhones for $519.00 ... if you search for the same phone on google, you'll find it selling for $689.50. That's a huge savings!

If you're looking for other phones, like Vertu or Blackberry, imobileplaza has phones available at a great price. I used to use Siemens phones before Cingular stopped carrying them, and I was happy to see I could get a new model from imobileplaza. I may do that over the next couple of months.

I'm glad I found their website.

Dream vs. reality

I awoke this morning from an adventurous dream (I'll probably get into that in another post) -- part of it dealt with creating a website called slimpicity. The website seemed to offer better search results than Google, easy to use search tools, and even jobs, like connecting bloggers with advertisers.

When I got home from work, I thought I'd see how my dream stood up to reality. This is what I found, brothers and sisters:


That's right, folks -- a weight-loss site!

To quote Ron Simmons: "Damn!"

I tried out slimple, to see if that would yield different results. Well, it did ... I got a spammer disguised as a Google Adsense addict:

Legitimate Ecommerce Solution

Over the years, I've been frustrated by trying to make money on the web with an online store. I've tried various services ... for instance, I tried installing a paypal shopping cart years ago and found that too much programming skill was required. At the opposite extreme, services like cafepress or lulu make it incredibly easy to set-up an online store, but there were very few sales once I put the store up. The results were lacking, to say the least.

Besides the technical stuff of setting up shopping cart software, I've had tons of problems finding customers willing to buy my products -- be it clever t-shirts or self-published novels and ebooks. Sure, services like adwords can get you clicks, but it doesn't guarantee that your catchy ad will attract people willing to spend money to support an independent website.

Well, I just ran across a site that appears to overcome the ecommerce software problems and advertising problems I've had in the past.



Not only does ashop offer an easy to use web-based shopping cart application (thank goodness), they provide terrific support for promoting your ecommerce site ... bringing legitimate buying customers to your web business.

I love the fact that ashop offers SEO (Search Engine Optimization) services -- it makes sense for someone like me, with limited time and some resources, to get an all-in-one solution for my website.

I found their prices reasonable, considering all the services they offer, including flash animation and logo design. Anyone who is serious about launching their web business, or upgrading their current web store, should take a close look at ashop's shopping cart applications.

Dogs

I had a dream I had a key to Tony's apartment in New York. I opened the door to babysit his 3 kids, but I really was there to see Nightmare, a she-dog from my past. Nightmare was a large, wild, yet sensitive and loving dog. Nightmare was guarding the door, but then recognized me, and we played. I then saw Tony's kids- they were really Mike's kids.

We were all playing with Nightmare. Eventually Tony and his real wife can up, and pretty much ignored Nightmare.

I asked Tony's wife if I could take Nightmare to my old apartment so she could be reunited with Whiskey, my other childhood dog. Whiskey and Nightmare had puppies in around 1990. Whiskey died an unknown time after, as Nightmare must have as well by now.

When I went to my old apartment, Whiskey was there, and very active. My aunt Nina took the place of Tony and his wife. She brought Nightmare up. Nightmare was so thrilled to see Whiskey again. In my mind, I knew I was looking at them resurrected, and they had no seen each other in a long time.

Unfortunately, Whiskey turned away from Nightmare. Nightmare's head and shoulders drooped because she was so sad that her "husband" had turned his back on her (Whiskey generally preferred the company of his human family, not other animals).

In the dream, I cried for Nightmare and hugged her. Then Nina took the dog(s) away.

When I awakened I really felt like I saw the two dogs again for real- like I was granted time to see their spirits.

Synopsis: The Man in the Velvet Mask

Plot

Denton Morris is waiting at the post office to mail a package. The Dream Seeker is there in front of him, and before Denton knows it, he's recalling a dream of a man locked in a prison, wearing a Velvet Mask.

The dream inspires Denton to take more risks in life and conquer his fear of success. Months later, he is more successful in his career and in his relationships -- when we next see him, he's at the airport, about to go on a trip to France with his new girlfriend Lillian. He plans on proposing to her in Paris.

As fate would have it, a gunman wearing a velvet mask started firing at the people at the security check point. Denton sees the mask and approaches the gunman, while everyone else runs away.

Memorable Quotes

"The truth is that I am not adventurous, spontaneous, or dynamic." -- Denton Morris

"But the last thing he saw was that brutal animal ... that vicious ape." -- Lillian

"No ... no Lillian. The last thing he saw was God." -- The Dream Seeker

Character Appearances

Denton Morris (first appearance)

The Dream Seeker

Lillian (first appearance)

The Man in the Velvet Mask (first appearance)

Gunman wearing velvet mask (first appearance)

Top Three Web Hosts

As someone who has had difficulty in the past finding a good webhost, I really appreciate the time and effort Kaushal Sheth spent to find the best web hosting sites. It really is a public service for bloggers/web masters like myself.

One of the hosts he listed offers 1,500 gigabytes of space and 15,000 gigabytes of site transfer a month, and that comes standard with all their plans! Another offered free domain and file transfers if you're coming from another host, as well as reseller services.

I had never considered reselling web hosting services, but it makes sense. It seems like a legitimate win-win scenario. The web host gets new customers, and you, the reseller, get passive income by getting people to sign up.

I also learned from Kaushal Sheth's blog post that one of the big names on the web is now offering web hosting services, which surprised me.

Anyway, check out his list of web hosting sites. Whether you're a veteran like me or a new blogger looking to host your own site, it's good info.

24

Had a dream I saw a commercial for the upcoming 24 season on Fox. It seems as if the U.S. President (who was Japanese) was in Times Square, New York for New Year's Eve. The apple was rigged to explode at 12:00 midnight, and the commercial acted like it did, and the Japanese U.S. president was killed. The whole commercial spot must have lasted less than 30 seconds. That FOX voice over guy was speaking.

American Idol

I was on American Idol. I forgot my lines. I was given a chance to memorize the song again and come back later. I tried. I still forgot my lines. I was very embarrassed, but there was no way I could have memorized an entire song in a few minutes. It was in Miami, and I was with a group of people. I wanted to go home ASAP.

Scratch Out Some Paintings

Here's a strange sequence of dreams that the Dream Seeker encountered once:

I locked myself in an apartment in an attempt to scratch out some paintings. The owners of the paintings (all different people) were attempting to break-in, but I locked the door and windows.

Later, I saw Robert Redford on the streets of New York City (Manhattan). He took my Yankees baseball cap. My buddy Cliff Tee was with us, and I asked him to take a picture of us. Cliff Tee ended up throwing a baseball at us, wanting to take a picture of us trying to catch a baseball.

I got home, and the T.V. was playing a Chaka Khan infomercial about how to save for retirement.

Suddenly, I'm on a trolley in San Francisco. The Russians attack the city with a stealth bomber, dropping a low-power nuclear bomb. A building was destroyed. Everyone in the street was wondering if the radiation would kill us. We huddled around a radio that was still working -- eventually, the announcer said the plane had been shot down and the bodies of the pilots were recovered -- it turned out they were drugged up on meds the old U.S.S.R. used for interrogation purposes.

Later that night, I was at my friend Conrad's house. His mom put on some Billy Joel music to celebrate the victory.

Pitt vs. Director

Here's another deranged dream the Dream Slayer encountered:

Brad Pitt was starring in this movie. The director began to hate Brad for some unknown reason. Maybe was jealous of his looks, fame, and marriage. Who knows?

The director decided to change elements of the movie without telling Brad. Pitt thought the director was employing some experimental style, and just rolled with it.

By the end of shooting, Brad ended up locked in a house on set. The director and his crew left him there. Pitt couldn't escape. By the time he was found, he had drank his own urine in order to survive.

Dr. Shapiro's Hair Institute

Anyone who has lived in sunny South Florida for awhile has heard the radio jingle for Dr. Shapiro's Hair Institute. Quite frankly, it's as catchy as a top 40 hit.

Well, I finally decided to check out his website. I've never been one who worries about getting a hair transplant, but my wife noticed the other day that my widow's peak was getting a little more pronounced.

I always swore I would go the Bruce Willis route if I started losing hair ... but, hey, it doesn't hurt to do a little research first!

At any rate, I found great info about the hair transplant procedures on Dr. Shapiro's website. He doesn't employ high pressure sales tactics, he encourages prospective clients to speak with people who've done the procedure before, and he breaks down the pre-op and post-op process.

His website is really informative. For example, if you click on the Questions link at the top of the page, you'll find info on what nutrients and supplements can contribute to baldness occurring!

From what I saw, Dr. Shapiro has a loyal staff. He's experienced at what he does.

And ... now he's got a DrHair blog. I look forward to reading his insights.

If I ever decide to restore my hairline, I'll be visiting Dr. Shapiro's Hair Institute.

If you're not in South Florida -- don't worry. On the Florida Locations link, it says that travel discounts are available!

Synopsis: The Final Fate of the Universe

Plot

"The Final Fate of the Universe" starts with a climactic battle at the end of time and space. On an asteroid, the beings known as the Realtor and the Dream Seeker face off. They are "The Last Two Remaining" in the universe, and we learn that, as Icons, they can change their appearances. They both morph back to their early 21st century look, as they appeared on Earth.

The Realtor and the Dream Seeker proceed to battle verbally, debating the virtues of their points of view. As the universe collapses around them, we see the Dream Seeker yield. The Realtor is victorious -- he is the Icon that will carry forward his message and live on in the universe to come.

OR will he?

After the battle, the scene switches to present day Japan, at an office high-rise. We see the Realtor sitting in a conference room, meeting with the creators of the video that depicted the scene we just read about. The Realtor comments on what he's seen, takes the disk, and leaves.

Moments later, the conference room explodes, killing everyone left behind.


Memorable Quotes

"That's right, Dace ... I watched over you all of the time. You were the only being in this universe that I truly loved." -- The Realtor

"I yield." -- The Dream Seeker

"Faaaaantastic, Mr. Yakamanchi! I couldn't have done it better myself! Well, actually I could have, but I'm a very busy man! Ha, ha!" -- The Realtor

"There are a few holes in your theory. I'll give you credit -- it's an interesting story, but I'm not buying. So you'll excuse me if I don't put my hand in my cloak and take out my wallet, Mr. Realtor." -- The Dream Seeker


Character Appearances

Mr. Lyons, a.k.a. The Realtor
The Dream Seeker
Mr. Yakamanchi (first appearance)
Mr. Rosenberg (first appearance)


This story is part of the book, "The Velvet Mask".

Rebuild Bad Credit

For years, I've been frustrated by credit card pre-approvals received by mail. Every so often, I'd get the courage to apply ... only to get a rejection letter a few weeks later.

Occasionally, I'd check my credit report ... and, yeah, there were some blips from when I was in college ... and when I was wining and dining the ladies ... but then I became a more responsible person! I had taken steps to pay off those old bad debts, and yet my credit score remained low.

I wish I had know about the bad credit loans available at Bad Credit Offers.




This website offers, among other things, a listing of credit card companies that accept applications from people with bad credit. If I'd known about this service years ago, my credit score would be higher by now!

This website offers a great service to the public. If you've been frustrated by credit mistakes you made in the past, Bad Credit Offers has unique solutions, such as credit consolidation and loans, to help eliminate debt and rebuild credit.

Thoughts from the Nihilist

Here are more "Heartwarming" random sentences and thoughts from the Nihilist, direct from the Dream Seeker universe:

The people who work the hardest are paid the least.

The best and the brightest are misguided by fame and fortune.

The higher up the corporate or political ladder you climb, the less common sense you will find.

Immoral behavior is largely rewarded in today's world.

The whole world seems to have lost "It," or jumped the shark.

Not only did Joshua die, but Nihilism lives on.

Domain Registration

If you're new to the web, domain registration can be confusing. There are so many different services out there; it's hard to know which to choose. I've often been frustrated by poor service, especially when it comes to transferring a domain.

Well, recently I ran across Pay Less Domains. They offer a great one-stop-shop service. You can quickly search for available domain names on their home page. Their prices are reasonable, and they offer international domain extensions like .au or .uk for a little extra -- definitely worth it on the world wide web.

For me, their domain transfer services make them stand out from the pack. If I ever need to switch web hosts or domain registrars in the future, Pay Less Domains will go out of their way to make the transfer as pain-free as possible. If you're tired of your current domain registrar, I would definitely consider making the switch.

Fred Dryer Dream

For all you Hunter fans ... a dream that may appear in a Dream Seeker story someday:

There was a serial murderer on the loose; the case was being investigated by Hunter (Fred Dryer). He was planning on retiring (even dreams have cliches), but changes his mind after seeing evidence found at the scene of the latest murder: a long, rectangular, silver cigar box. Inside is a poem describing the serial murderer's sick intentions, and a few cigars. He smokes a cigar for each murder he commits.

Police are led to a strange building with hidden hallways behind the walls. The murderer is hiding out there. The murderer manages to knock out a cop; Fred Dryer arrives too late ... cigar smoke wafts through the hallway as the murderer escapes.

Choose Smorty

After weeks of researching different websites that promote getting paid for blogging and blog advertising, I decided that Smorty was the way to go.


What is Smorty?

Smorty is a web service that connects advertisers with bloggers. Advertisers can pay bloggers to write opinion posts with links back to the advertisers site.


Why Smorty?

For one thing, their customer service had the quickest response for questions I had. Other websites seem more concerned with you, the blogger, complying with rules that are unclear and amorphous. Smorty was eager to getting me up and running in their system.

Once I was signed on, there were several blog advertising opportunities waiting for me! Unlike competitors, my blog was approved almost instantaneously ... Smorty seems to understand the pace of the internet and blogging.

Sci-Fi Movie Adventure -- Part III

The Empteror taunted the female with us when, all of a sudden, they started kissing. They got extremely passionate, stripping (you get the idea).

The female had some kind of silent alarm system attached to her breasts. The Empteror looked at her questioningly.

"You see," explained the female friend, "My last boyfriend was very jealous had these installed, in case I was ever with anyone else."

Just then, through the floor-to-ceiling glass window with a view of the ocean (no land or beach. By the way, the rest of the room was grey stone black, layered like bricks, with a Star-Trek-like door), we see a guy jumpt out of a boat and swim towards us. He breaks through a window (the guy looks like the bearded Aquaman, except with two hands and baggy yellow shorts) and punches out the surprised Empteror.

Our female friend leaves with the guy out the window, and we leave through the door.

Sci-Fi Movie Adventure -- Part II

On the Emperor's planet, her troops chased us around. A third person had joined us -- a female action hero; 5'10" with straight brown hair to her neck, thin, wearing a white jumpsuit.

All three of us were eventually captured and brought before the Emperor. She was tall and bitchy, with dark brown hair ... kind of looked like the villainess from MIB II. Her hair was shoulder-length and full-bodied.

She taunted us. Told us her name was Empteror ... in her opinion, this made her different and unique. "Empteror," she said. "Empt V."

Sci-Fi Movie Adventure -- Part I

Yet another dream that may appear in a Dream Seeker tale:

Dreamt I was in a high-action Sci-fi movie adventure with a Star Wars feel.

Setting: a futuristic universe with Middle Ages-style.

I was trying to get at the heart of some conspiracy. I traveled from Alcuthia to Arcadia, then to this nameless planet where a female Emperor ruled.

On Alcathia, there was this Queen who was beautiful -- long brown hair, just past her shoulder blades, fair skin, blue eyes, and about 5'8". Thin. I tried to find her (which I did) and convince her (which I didn't). Me and my partner (a 5'8" stocky, chubby black man) ran to our ship and blasted off.

World Series Dream -- Part III

The store manager turned on the alarm to let us know it was time to leave. As I walked by, I said, "All you had to do was ask."

I walked over to my car and said goodbye to everyone. Mellow Man asked me if I had watched a video he had sent me. I told him no, and I explained that I had been real busy. He said okay, and told me to watch it.

When I got home, I started watching it. It was about a guy trying to get into an all-female prison camp. There was this four foot long baseball bat that came out of the ground and floated next to the warden, who was at the watchtower. A voice came from the bat, asking the warden to take off his pants. He did -- the guy had no genitals.

The warden was led to a tent. There was a woman inside. There were two cots; the woman was asleep.

A preview for the next episode came on; there were a bunch of girls bowling. They wore male dress shirts, tied in the front,k with jean shorts.

World Series Dream -- Part II

We ended up walking over to a nearby Burger King. I ordered french fries.

Mellow Man, Liz, and some other friends were there. I started talking to them. Sady showed up, with a 20-year-old girl from work. They were friends. Sady kept encouraging her to flick her tongue to show off her tongue ring. The girl refused, and then talked about how she liked to eat salads with her tongue ring showing, and she liked watching a channel called "All-live Male."

I was shocked, and was talking to another woman in the BK, who noticed how shocked I was. I quipped about imagining the opposite channel: "All-dead Males," and how someone turned it on by accident, and not realizing the guy was dead for awhile.

World Series Dream -- Part I

Another Dream Seeker Universe dream:

Dreamt I was watching the Dodgers and Angels in a World Series. It was game 7. Chuck Knoblaugh was there, watching with me. The game ended up with Anaheim winning; the final pitch was thrown in the parking lot of a strip mall. When the Angels won, Chuck started jumping up and down, waving his cap in the air.

Stuffed Animals

This may appear in a Dream Seeker tale someday:

Dreamt I was spending my last night somewhere. There was a cardboard box with some stuffed animals. I turned the box up-side-down, and took some of the stuffed animals with me to bed. They help me sleep better.

New Miami WTC

Here's another dream that may appear in a Dream Seeker tale:

I dreamt those developers built that twin tower homage to the World Trade Center in Miami (was it approved in real life?). The interior was a kind of soft red motif on the 96th floor of one of the towers; there was a buffet-style restaurant there called Eat! Eat! Eat! I wonder if Mike Tyson owned the place.

I sat there with the Regulus character from the Lady in a Gilded Cage stories. We were talking about how really short goatees can grow in fast.

A nondescript white guy walked up to my bald black friend from another world and spoke with him. After talking, they pecked each other on the lips. Two girls at a table in front of us commented about seeing two guys kiss.

Therapist House Call

Another dream that might appear in a Dream Seeker tale:

Dreamt a therapist came over to my home in New Jersey for our session. A group of friends showed up later (Luthor, Wally, and Wayne?). We joked and had a good time.

The therapist admitted that when she arrived she wasn't feeling good, but she was impressed with my sense of humor. Explained how I had eight free sessions through spouse's insurance ... the therapist said everything was taken care of -- I didn't even have to fill any paperwork out!