Okay, I'm just going to announce some Zazzle discounts.
First come, first served: there's an excellent chance that this discount can only be used once, although I don't get many visitors so it could be you!
XPJXUXPXDYUAKBDXIFEO
This code expires July 11 and give you free shipping when you buy at least $50 worth of stuff.
This one is good for at least two people, and perhaps more:
XDCWKZLQMCXTYNGBCIEK
It expires June 18 and gives you $10 off your order of $50 or more.
And finally, this one is good all summer for as many people who want it (although I don't know if it's only for U.S. residents or for everyone):
SUMMER5OFF45
This one gives you $5 off your order of $45 or more, and is good until September 29, 2009.
I'll post again next week with a look at quality and printing methods.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
My doctor told me to go on a diet
Apparently, after years of good health in spite of obesity, I have developed high blood pressure. Boo! Of course, my doctor recommended that I lose 30 pounds, but also that I concentrate on a low-sodium diet. I protested. "I don't eat a lot of sodium! I don't add salt to anything but popcorn, because I don't really like the taste." For some reason, my doctor didn't laugh at me; she just nodded and wrote me a prescription.A few days later, I decided to start reading labels and try the low-sodium thing after all. Holy shit! BREAD has 100-200 mg of sodium in every freaking SLICE! Cheese is high in sodium. My favorite brand of pizza has 1000 mg of sodium in just one small serving! There is excessive sodium in salsa, pickled jalapeños, guacamole, cookies, every kind of chip / crisp and every kind of dairy product. (Cue wailing and gnashing of teeth.) Adding it all up, I was eating around twice the recommended daily limit for sodium every day.
I'm adjusting to a new diet, after a fashion. I've switched to a no-salt bread, which is an incredibly dense "sprouted" whole wheat loaf that I could probably use to beat someone into submission. I guess it's a good thing that I like the taste. Instead of my favorite pizza, I've been making my own pizza dough and baking pizza from scratch. It's not quite as tasty, but it satisfies my cravings. I've switched from cheddar to swiss cheese, which has about 1/3 the sodium for some reason.
Still, there's nothing like being deprived of something to make
you crave it. Yesterday I had my head in the fridge, looking for a snack, and I found myself wondering what it would taste like if I dipped bacon into sour cream. I didn't try it, but I did eat the bacon. Yum.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Zazzle coupon: free shipping!
Zazzle is running a graduation promotion from now through May 25. You don't have to buy grad-themed stuff to use the coupon; it applies to everything except skateboards and photo sculptures. Just use the code GRADSHIPFREE if you buy at least $45 worth of stuff. Sadly, it's only good for U.S. addresses.
Monday, May 11, 2009
I saw a heron today
I live in a fairly nice climate, so there are plenty of wild birds around
even though it's a suburban area. There is a river within a mile or two of my houses, and we get geese, common egrets (they're shaped just like my ibis design, but they are solid white and don't have the head plumes), ducks, and many, many more. Today I was surprised to see the stocky, scruffy form of a great blue heron standing miles away from the river, at the edge of a dry field. I was driving, and this bird was about 10 feet away from the street, trying to gulp down some kind of huge rodent. (And here I thought they only ate fish. Live and learn.)
I really wish I could have stopped and taken a photo with my handy camera-phone, but I was on a busy street with those annoying "no parking at any time" signs and no room to pull over out of traffic. I was surprised to see it there; while that field was easily within flying range of the water, it was very inhospitable looking: an acre or so of dry, golden brown, utterly dead grass. It was the kind of place that should attract hawks, not water birds. Perhaps there was too much competition for food at the river.
I was driving slow, but was still past it before I had time to gawk as much as I wanted. It looked like the bird tried to swallow the rodent, but found it too big. It was trying again when I lost sight of it.
even though it's a suburban area. There is a river within a mile or two of my houses, and we get geese, common egrets (they're shaped just like my ibis design, but they are solid white and don't have the head plumes), ducks, and many, many more. Today I was surprised to see the stocky, scruffy form of a great blue heron standing miles away from the river, at the edge of a dry field. I was driving, and this bird was about 10 feet away from the street, trying to gulp down some kind of huge rodent. (And here I thought they only ate fish. Live and learn.)I really wish I could have stopped and taken a photo with my handy camera-phone, but I was on a busy street with those annoying "no parking at any time" signs and no room to pull over out of traffic. I was surprised to see it there; while that field was easily within flying range of the water, it was very inhospitable looking: an acre or so of dry, golden brown, utterly dead grass. It was the kind of place that should attract hawks, not water birds. Perhaps there was too much competition for food at the river.
I was driving slow, but was still past it before I had time to gawk as much as I wanted. It looked like the bird tried to swallow the rodent, but found it too big. It was trying again when I lost sight of it.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Site maintenance is annoying
Last year I put a few of my graphic designs on CafePress. I thought they were pretty cool, and I guess a few people agreed with me because I did manage to sell a few t-shirts. That part was fun. I'm not exactly a prolific artist, but I'll come out with something new once in a while that I think would look good on a shirt or coffee mug, so now I have over a dozen designs that I'm peddling. (Successful people on CafePress and Zazzle have hundreds of different designs, if not thousands. I am very much a hobbyist, not a serious player.)
Unfortunately for me, I am lazy. Once I've put a design on a variety of different products, I want to be done with it. I like making the image, and making sure it suits the item I'm putting it on is kind of satisfying, but tagging it so that search engines can find it is boring, and updating my personal website to include a link to the new design is boring. I tend to drag my feet on those parts.
Recently I've found myself in the position of having to set up the tagging and such for every design all over again, because changes in the way CafePress does business are driving me directly into the arms of their competitor. (If you want details, I think this blogger explains it pretty well.) I find that I kind of like Zazzle, but at this point in time, I have 687 different products there that use 13 different designs, and I'm starting to have a hard time managing them.
So, I'm feeling a little blue because I know my Zazzle site isn't as good as it could be. My mood turns positively grim when I try to figure out what to do with my personal website, which currently links only to specific designs on CafePress. I would just change all the links to Zazzle, but I don't want to abandon my clock designs (Zazzle doesn't offer clocks). Additionally, I have misgivings about some of Zazzle's shipping charges, so I would like to offer an alternative, even though I'm mad at CafePress now. Perhaps I will work on the Zazzle site, and leave my personal site alone until the end of the month. I will probably eventually set it up to point to both sites.
I have so much to do still that I really shouldn't be writing a blog. But honestly, I need a break from trying to figure out new tags to describe Thoth-themed shoes and such.
Unfortunately for me, I am lazy. Once I've put a design on a variety of different products, I want to be done with it. I like making the image, and making sure it suits the item I'm putting it on is kind of satisfying, but tagging it so that search engines can find it is boring, and updating my personal website to include a link to the new design is boring. I tend to drag my feet on those parts.
Recently I've found myself in the position of having to set up the tagging and such for every design all over again, because changes in the way CafePress does business are driving me directly into the arms of their competitor. (If you want details, I think this blogger explains it pretty well.) I find that I kind of like Zazzle, but at this point in time, I have 687 different products there that use 13 different designs, and I'm starting to have a hard time managing them.
So, I'm feeling a little blue because I know my Zazzle site isn't as good as it could be. My mood turns positively grim when I try to figure out what to do with my personal website, which currently links only to specific designs on CafePress. I would just change all the links to Zazzle, but I don't want to abandon my clock designs (Zazzle doesn't offer clocks). Additionally, I have misgivings about some of Zazzle's shipping charges, so I would like to offer an alternative, even though I'm mad at CafePress now. Perhaps I will work on the Zazzle site, and leave my personal site alone until the end of the month. I will probably eventually set it up to point to both sites.
I have so much to do still that I really shouldn't be writing a blog. But honestly, I need a break from trying to figure out new tags to describe Thoth-themed shoes and such.
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