Josh Madagan » Business

Word Play

Josh — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:41:48 +0000

Have you noticed how some companies use words to disguise their reality? Like instead of saying that they sell used cars, they call them “previously owned” or “pre-loved”?

I was reading a listing for a job with a company that calls itself a “consumer finance business.” I wish they would cut the crap and just call themselves a title loan company. Seriously.

Flat Rate Packages

Josh — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 00:19:35 +0000

There are a couple of ways to find a cheap way to ship boxes. If you use the USPS, you can send books and CDs or DVDs at a very cheap rate, called the “Media Rate.” But if it is other things, like clothing or toys, you have to pay a different rate according to how big the box measures, how much is weighs and how fast you want it to get there. I like the flat rate box, which is a set price for whatever you can stuff into that size box. The rate is reasonable and the package arrives in 3 days in most cases.

Getting Rough

Josh — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 02:57:42 +0000

I am thinking there are some parts of town in most cities where this sign would be real and not a joke. I know in this state it is against the law to cover your face with any kind of mask when you go into a gas station, convenience store or bank. Its sad that they have the need to pass laws like that.

Shutting Down the Plants

Josh — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 20:34:01 +0000

Get your Nissans and Toyotas quick! With all the problems in Japan from the earthquake and the tsunami, everyone is predicting that new Japanese cars will be hard to find. Have to wonder about the electronics, too. Will we be able to buy the new cell phones, tablets and video games? This could be a tragedy that effects the entire world.

Oscars

Josh — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:37:57 +0000

The Academy Awards is on tonight. I haven’t seen a single one of the films that are being nominated. I frankly can’t afford to spend $10 – $15 per person to go see a movie in the theaters any more. I don’t go to the movies alone, so my out of pocket is anywhere from $20 to $40 for two of us to see one movie. They charge extra for 3D movies, and all the new movies seem to be coming out in a 3D version.

It will be interesting to see which movies win the Oscars tonight. I’m looking forward to watching most of them – when they come out on DVD.

Looking Back

Josh — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:38:40 +0000

Lately I’ve gone back and read over some of the blogs I have written. I noticed one thing in particular and that is that they sound a little negative. I think part of the reason is that I am obsessed with the news. It’s the first thing I put on when I get home from work and it’s the first thing I look at on the computer. CNN has become my obsession. Which isn’t that bad considering it’s good to know what is going on in the world. But now it is time for a change. I am going to make a conscious effort to be more positive and upbeat in my blogs. No more horror stories about the Craigslist killer or anything of the like. We’ll see how far it goes and how many funny, positive blogs I can write before going back to my obsession with CNN.

Buying off of Ebay

Josh — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:28:29 +0000

Ebay is one of my favorite sites on the internet. They have great products for great prices and a huge selection of things as well. I have bought things off of Ebay for years, but finally made the first purchase for myself the other week. It was a digital camera. I received it in the mail yesterday. It was a used item which I was a little worried about but everything seems to be fine with it. I was using it last night at an event in DC. It worked great and the pictures turned out perfectly too. The best part of the whole deal is that I bought it for $29.99 which is less than half price if I would have bought it from a store. I don’t really mind that it’s been used either, because there is a 30 return policy on it. Like I said I love Ebay.

Seattle Flooring

Josh — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:03:37 +0000

Just recently my wife and I have decided to put hardwood floors in our home. We have lived here now for 4 years and have 2 cats that have torn up the carpeting. We put off getting new floors in for as long as we could, but now it’s time to do it. We didn’t know what to expect at first until we researched it a little. We wanted to put something in that looked nice, but also was reasonably priced. We knew exactly what we could and couldn’t afford. It was great to finally find Seattle flooring, because they not only offered everything we were looking for but their prices were fantastic too.

We found the most beautiful hardwood floors on their website. We actually used one of the photos from their website to come up with the cherry wood floors and the new design for our kitchen. The job Seattle flooring did on our house was amazing. We now have top quality floors throughout our house. Our house looks bigger and brighter. We couldn’t be happier with the results. I would recommend Seattle floors to any and all of my friends and family. The quality, the service and the prices are unbeatable.

Tax Time

Josh — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:41:00 +0000

I can’t believe it is already April. It is getting closer and closer to tax time and I haven’t even started mine yet. I guess I have about a week to get them done. My wife was telling me the other night she hasn’t started hers either. For some reason this year everyone seems to be procrastinating on getting their taxes done. I don’t know if it’s the economy and the shortage of money or are we all so afraid that we wont have the money to pay our taxes so we are waiting until the very last minute. I think our problem is a little bit of both. I heard the best news the other day though. On the radio a woman was talking about getting an extension on your taxes and also setting up payment plans to pay back to the government what you owe over time. I never knew these options existed without a fee if you can pay it in full within 120 days. I know I’ll be taking advantage of this option this year.

Relaxing

Josh — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 04:49:46 +0000

I have been taking sometime off these past couple of weeks to rest. I haven’t planned any activiites and I have even taken some time off of work to just have a few days of R & R. I didn’t realize how badly my body needed it. There have been 2 days where I ended up sleeping until 1:00 PM. Then there have also been days where I worked out and worked on the computer and just caught up on a lot of things that I had been setting aside. I am feeling so much better and I’m ready to get back to work. It’s a good thing too because I don’t think I have another day off for eight more days!

Learning Spanish

Josh — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:34:15 +0000

I don’t know how many years I’ve been saying I’m going to learn Spanish. I need it for my job, I have friends that speak Spanish, and It’s just good to speak more than one language. You look so much smarter on your resume. Anyhow the reason I’m bringing this up is because I found the greatest thing on the internet. It’s from Rosetta Stone and you install it on your computer to learn a foreign language. It allows you to do 2 things at once which I love. It will change your computer to show you websites, etc. all in Spanish. It’s a great tool if you are interested in learning a foreign language.

When You’re Out of Work

Josh — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:03:33 +0000

One of my friends just got laid off about 2 weeks ago and he still hasn’t tried to find a job yet. I guess since he was at the company for 13 years he figured he needed a little bit of a break. So now he is not working and just decided that he would spend a few weeks relaxing. I don’t know how I feel about this. On one hand he is right that he has been working hard for a long time. On the other hand he is just expecting to collect unemployment for as long as he can and then he is going to think about finding a job.

The question I have is that I don’t understand if our government does too much for people or not enough. You always hear that those who need assistance are not getting what they need. Then on the other hand there are those that are fully capable of working who get assistance because they don’t want to work.

Termites

Josh — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:52:24 +0000

Okay I love nature as much as anyone else but I have this big problem with termites invading our house. I saw one the other day which means we not only have one but probably have close to a thousands inside the walls of our house. The first thing I did was search the internet for termite control. I came up with winged termites. These people were amazing. They answered all of my questions on their website and came right out to fix the problem. See for yourself at www.killthetermites.com.

The Stimulus Check

Josh — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:51:46 +0000

I don’t know about you but I am pretty happy to be getting a stimulus check this year. With the economy at an all time record low we all could use the help. Last year I know it saved me to get the extra $600 in order to pay off the taxes I owed. This year unfortunately it is going to be used for the exact same purpose. Either way I am still happy to be getting it considering I would have to come up with $800 on my own to pay the government.

When I opened up Yahoo this morning and saw that one governor was not accepting his state to get the stimulus I was appauled. First I was worried it was the state I lived in. Then when I realized it wasn’t I was worried about all those people who have been expecting to get a check and now it’s been taken away. Does this governor really have the right to make this decision? Isn’t government supposedly out to help the people? It will be interesting to see how this one turns out.

Daycare Centers

Josh — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:29:24 +0000

I just read the news article about those kids who accidently drank windshield wiper fluid at a home daycare center. The accident occurred because the woman who runs the daycare thought it was blue Kool-Aid. What a terrible mistake to make. Fortunately the kids are fine because they didn’t ingest enough to actually kill them; although one of the children is still in intensive care.

My sister use to work as a nanny and then she started a home daycare herself. I remember one time when I was visiting her she had 3 of her own children and then about 4 other children to watch as well. I couldn’t believe how chaotic it was and how difficult of a job that would be for me. I stood back in amazement as I watched her observe each of the kids to make sure they were fine. I swear being a teacher or running a daycare is one of the most difficult jobs there is.