Tag: parking lot

My Cycling Accident on March 16th

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, Health, Noom, Weight4 Comments

map to store accident

So this is how it happened. As you can see from the map on the left, I ride my bicycle with the blue line towards Albertsons going south on Chester. I lock my bike, go to the store, come out, unlock the bicycle and then head North on Eye street (now in red). I could go all the way back to my street, but I have bullies that live in the apartment building (note the X on Eye street). If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have broken my arm.

Anyway, I turn right on second Street, ride through the parking lot of the restaurant to get to the sidewalk on Chester Avenue. I normally ride along the sidewalk in front of the church until I get to their parking lot then I ride through the parking lot until I get back to my street behind the market.

What happened instead was that I hit the sidewalk bumper in front of the tax place. As you can see from the Google Map it does not exist, so it’s new. Here is the picture to prove it.

bike accident curb

I hit the corner of the little curb with my front tire and went head over handlebars and landed with all of my weight on my left shoulder. Here are the x-rays to show where my injury is and the bones broke in 3 places. There are only 3 x-rays.

xray1 xray2 xray3

I had my MRI today which took about 45 minutes. Most people probably don’t like to sit in a machine for 45 minutes, but thanks to my friend Jeff, I was able to meditate the whole time. The attendant mentioned something about breathing hard making blurry pictures and I learned how to take small breaths in meditation so I took small breaths and she told me that nobody has ever done that before and that she wished all of her patients did that.  I won’t know anything until April 2nd, so i will blog again then.

Someone showed concern about my weight loss program. Because without the bicycle, with a broken arm, it’s going to be difficult to get any exercise. Well, to be honest I haven’t been really doing much exercise and I lost 35 pounds. So I really don’t see how it’s going to be any different. I’m positive that I will continue to lose weight because I will continue to eat healthy as long as my arm is broken. That’s not going to change. My motivation is still here, I am still 110% motivated to lose this weight. Just wait until Saturday when I weigh in.

I broke my arm

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, Health3 Comments

So funny story…  I broke my arm.

What happened was, last night I rode my bicycle to the store and on my way home I was riding through a parking lot to go to the sidewalk on Chester Avenue. In the parking lot of the restaurant is a tax place and they put in a walk way to the front door. For some reason they decided to put a curb on both sides of the walkway. There’s really no reason for it. Long story short, I was riding through the parking lot and it was dark so I really couldn’t see the curb and I rode right over it . I went head over handlebars and landed on my left arm. All of my weight broke my arm.

I sat there on the ground for a few minutes because I couldn’t move. My arm was in so much pain that it hurt to even flinch. I decided that I had to get up, but it was very difficult. I got up anyway and went for my phone which was in my left front pocket. Of course I couldn’t pull it out with my left hand, so I had to reach over with my right hand to pull my phone out. I called home and said “help I’ve been in an accident.” I told my partner where I was and he drove right away to pick me up.

He put my bicycle in the car and drove home because I insisted that he put the groceries in the refrigerator and freezer. He drove me to the emergency room at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital and they took me to get x-rays almost immediately. It took maybe an hour and a half before they finally called me to go into a room to tell me the results of the x-ray. I just assumed that he was going to tell me that I dislocated my shoulder or just badly bruised my arm, but he told me that I did in fact break my arm. He didn’t put me in a cast and I didn’t have any surgery, he said that the bones were in place, so I just need to keep my arm in a sling for the next month.

I feel very stupid for not paying more attention because I have gone that way a million times and nothing like that has ever happened before. The thing that upsets me the most is that I’ve never broken a bone in my body my entire life. 42 years with not one broken bone. Oh well, I guess I was due lol.

Well, the positive thing about this is that I am able to type this by using my voice on my android cell phone lol. So I guess most of my computer activity is going to be with my voice. On the plus side, I don’t have to do any chores for a while lol. I can find a silver lining in anything.

The doctor said it will take a month to heal.

How to make money with your cell phone – 7 apps

On By Michel McDonaldIn Android, Cell Phone, Make Money3 Comments

AndroidMoney

I have been getting paid to blog for many years using various IZEA websites, such as PayPerPost, SocialSpark and Sponsored Tweets, which by the way is the only reason I was able to buy myself a brand new Android phone for Christmas.

Since I have a new HTC ONE V from Virgin Mobile coming, I figured I would see if I could use that to my advantage to make more money.  The blogging for money is fine, but it has taken a few months worth of blogging and tweeting just to make $80 to buy my new Android phone.  It’s good pay, but it doesn’t come by very easily.

Naturally the first thing I did was go to Google and typed “Make money with android phone” and I found a bunch of things.  IZEA used to have a cell phone app called WeRewards which rewarded you every time you checked in at a store like Target, Walmart, Subway etc. as long as you took a picture of yourself, your receipt, the product and/or the store sign while in the store or in the parking lot.  They closed that down so there is one less thing to talk about, but they did replace it with Staree.

Ok so here are the things I have found.

ipinion 1. iPinion and iPinion+

iPinion is the most sophisticated survey app ever built for smart phones. It has exciting survey questions including several image interaction types. Users can take surveys on the go and earn rewards.  iPinion is non-intrusive, fun to participate and professional.

They have 2 apps and they each got good ratings and reviews, but iPinion+ doesn’t have as many as the other.

iconzoomer 2. IconZoomer

Become Trendspotter at Iconzoomer and receive cash for your photos.

Shoot it – Send it – Earn it

Each week you’ll receive assignments of basic topics such as: “Show us what you are eating for dinner?” or “Show the shoes are you wearing today?”

Pretty straight forward.  They ask you to take a picture, you do and you get paid for it.  That seems pretty good and the ratings and reviews are very good.

checkpoints 3. CheckPoints

Scan barcodes for products like Coca-Cola, Dreyer’s and more in any store for instant rewards! As seen in the Washington Post, NY Times, USA Today and CNN, CheckPoints is the “App That Pays You Back” with free rewards, no matter where you are!

You are going to the store anyway, why not open this app while you are there and scanning barcodes for rewards?  It seems really easy.  This app got a lot of good ratings and reviews.

shopkick 4. ShopKick

This holiday shopping season, join the more than 4 million shopkick users who get rewarded for the shopping they already do. It’s like a rewards program—only better. You get rewarded just for walking into stores like Target, Macy’s, Best Buy, Old Navy, American Eagle and Crate & Barrel. Get even more kicks when you scan items and make purchases. Forget sales and coupons. You can find great discounts and deals in the app. It’s a magical experience, and it’s free.

This is very similar to CheckPoints in the sense that you get rewarded for scanning barcodes, but you also get rewarded merely for walking into a store without doing anything.  So you could basically just go to the mall and walk around with this app loaded and go into the stores that they have listed in the app and start window shopping and scanning barcodes.  They got some good ratings and some reviews.

SwagBucks5. SwagBucks Search Swidget & SwagBucks TV Mobile

The official app from Swagbucks. Earn rewards & prizes by searching on your Android device.

I haven’t had much experience with SwagBucks Search Swidget because when I have tried it, it hasn’t really given me too many rewards.  I think the only way to get your SwagBucks with that is by making a purchase from whatever website you are searching for.  Like if you search for Target and you make a purchase, you get SwagBucks for every dollar that you spend.

SwagBucks TV Mobile on the other hand is a bit different.  You load the app and you choose which type of videos you want to watch and you just sit there and watch videos for however long of a time you have to sit there watching videos I guess.  There are music videos and movie trailers.  It’s a novelty that does wear off and you don’t get that many SwagBucks, but it still counts.  You can’t just load the app and have it run all day and all night because you have to tap the X in the top right of the screen in between videos.

Note that 100 swag bucks is basically $1 so it is a good idea.

Added 8-14-2013

viggle 6. Viggle

Viggle. Check into your favorite shows and get rewarded. Viggle makes TV better.

Watch TV. Get Rewards. Check into your favorite TV shows with Viggle and you’ll get real rewards from brands like Best Buy, Burger King, Fandango, Old Navy and more.

Viggle can automatically identify the show you’re watching. You get Viggle points for every show you watch which you can redeem for real rewards or convert into charitable donations.

Some people are saying bad things about this, like the app doesn’t recognize the show they are watching so they have to type it in manually, and others are saying it doesn’t give you money, you get coupons.  I would say to check it out and if you only get $5 gift cards for Amazon, then at least you are getting something.  I mean who cares if you are getting coupons, it’s the same as cash when you go to use it and you end up saving money on things you already want to buy.  Also, if you feel generous you could give the money to charity.

Update: I can tell you that this is good and you do get real rewards because I got a $25 gift card for Barnes & Noble to buy ebooks.  I used it to buy the Hunger Games ebooks for my Nook.

staree 7. Staree

Use the Staree app to upload photos and videos to your Staree.com profile.

To request a Staree account, please visit our website at http://www.staree.com!

I am loyal to IZEA so I am only adding this because they are an awesome company that always pays you.  They are 100% legit.  I have signed up for Staree and have uploaded a couple of photos, but I don’t know how it really works yet.  But it’s still worth giving a shot.  I really wish they would bring WeReward back though.

erewards icon8. e-Rewards

e-Rewards Mobile is now available for Android- now you can answer surveys and earn Rewards on the go!

I have used e-Rewards for many years and I can say that it is a good tool for making money, although you don’t actually make money so much as you get rewarded for your surveys with gift cards.  Some rewards are better than others, but the only reward that I am interested in is $25 Game Stop gift cards.  They have changed their reward system since the last time I got a $25 gift card for Game Stop.  It used to be that I would have to do $50 worth of surveys to cash in for the $25 gift card, but now you have to do $75 worth, so they are basically charging you $50 to cash in on $25.  I feel that is a huge rip off, but it’s still a reward.

It would be nice if they offered better rewards.  Most of their rewards are for hotels or airline rewards or magazines.  I don’t travel or read magazines, so those rewards are useless.  It would be nice if they had Amazon and Barnes & Noble rewards.

Added 8-14-2013

So these are all of the apps that I plan on installing when I get my new HTC One V from Virgin Mobile.  If you know of any more or better apps for making money please let me know in the comments and I will add them.  These were just all I could find from doing my own research, but I am sure there are better apps out there.

Thank you to IZEA for allowing me to blog for products and websites and paying me for it.  Now I will hopefully be able to make more money from my phone so that I can afford the monthly fee and/or to buy some accessories for it lol.

DUI Check Point

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

It’s Friday and it’s also April fool’s day so you know people are going partying tonight to celebrate… er um… pranks?  We were on our way to Hometown Buffet tonight with a family friend of ours and we happened to get trapped in a DUI check point.

There were traffic cones in front of 2 of the neighborhoods so you couldn’t turn into them to get out of the trap, you were forced to go ahead.  It wasn’t clear that it was a DUI check point right away when there was opportunity to turn into the AM PM, Taco Bell parking lot or the freeway so from a distance it just looked like there was construction.

So there was just 1 lane and then all of a sudden it turns into 2 lanes, there is a police officer with a stop sign signaling for people to go into the right lane with another stop sign or allowing them to go on past the check point.  They were using the church parking lot as their mini police department and it was full of cars too.

We were lucky to have been let go and not be checked because that definitely would have ruined our night lol.  I guess they profiled us because Darrin didn’t look young and he was wearing a dress shirt and a tie.  I think if he were wearing a regular t-shirt like I was and if he were a bit disheveled he might have been chosen to get checked.

As we were passing we could see people in handcuffs, and that was only at 6:50pm.  Imagine what may have happened later tonight.  As we were coming home we saw that people were still being arrested and they were towing cars.

It’s funny, I have never in my life gone through a DUI check point, granted I don’t drive but still, even as a passenger I’ve never been through one.  In fact, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a DUI check point.  It was a shock to see there were so many people being stopped and how many cars that were sent to the church parking lot.  You know that if you got sent to the parking lot you are in trouble.

So is this a lesson for people?  Don’t drink and drive, and that’s not an April Fool’s joke either.

Vancouver, WA Woman Admits to Throwing Acid on Herself

On By Michel McDonaldIn Amplify, NewsLeave a comment

While eating dinner tonight we had Nancy Grace on the tv who was talking about this Vancouver, Washington woman who was the first victim of acid being thrown in her face in front of a Starbucks. But, the twist is, she admitted to police that she did it to herself.

I’m just shocked that any person would do this to themselves. I mean, she has disfigured herself for the rest of her life and for what? For 15 minutes of fame? To show how religious she is? Seriously?

I can think of better ways to get 15 minutes of fame or for showing how passionate you are about your religion. I mean look at her before image, she was gorgeous. She could have gotten famous in another way you know? Now look at her, she’s a ghoul now. She will never be the same ever again.

So now she’s famous for being stupid and she will likely serve 1 year in prison for her selfishness. Good luck with all that…

Amplify’d from theportlander.com

Vancouver, WA Woman Admits to Throwing Acid on Herself

Police have reported today that a Vancouver, WA woman claiming to have been attacked by someone throwing acid in her face is lying and the event was a hoax.

Bethany Storro claimed that on September 2nd, 2010, a stranger walked up to her in a parking lot and threw a cup of acid at her face. She did not know the alleged attacker but helped police create a sketch of the suspect. Storro suffered damage to her face but now has confessed that she in fact threw the acid on herself. The once tragic story made world-wide headlines and even prompted a copy-cat attack in Arizona.

We are still learning the details of why she may have perpetrated this hoax but one theory is that she wanted a platform to share her Christian faith. During a hospital press conference after the incident, she made multiple references to her faith and Jesus Christ.

The Portlander will update this story as more information becomes available.

Read more at theportlander.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/an62

Education School Security Orders CO Teen to Remove American Flags From Pickup Truck

On By Michel McDonaldIn News, PoliticalLeave a comment

Imagine if you will, a scenario where you are living in a country like the United States where you are told you are not allowed to be patriotic because it might upset someone. That is what happened to a Colorado Junior at his high school.

He was caught squealing his tires in the high school parking lot and got into trouble by the security guard who suspended his parking privileges for 2 weeks but then she had the nerve to tell him to take down the 2 American flags he had waving from the back of his pickup truck. She told him that it might upset someone.

If I were living in Mexico and I saw the Mexican flag waving proudly from a Mexican’s truck, I would not be offended because I am in Mexico. If I were living in Italy and I saw an Italian flag waving proudly from a Italian’s truck, I would not be offended because I am in Italy. And if I were living in ANY other country over the planet it would be the same thing. I would be proud to wave the flag of the country that I live in, even if I wasn’t born there.

What makes this security guard think that being proud of your country would upset people? It makes no sense. I think this security guard needs to re-evaluate her patriotism before she tries to tell someone they cannot be patriotic. In fact, I’d venture to say that she doesn’t deserve to have a job where she is in charge of telling people that they cannot wave the American flag in the United States.

Heck, the school itself waves an American flag on the flagpole, what makes her think that it’s not ok to wave a flag from your vehicle?

I’m sorry, it just upsets me to hear this kind of thing especially with September 11th coming at the end of this week.

For some reason I couldn’t amplify the video in this article so please follow the link below to visit the website that this article comes from to see the video. It takes seeing the video to get the full story, besides the text from the story that is.

Amplify’d from www.theblaze.com

Education School Security Orders CO Teen to Remove American Flags From Pickup Truck

Jeremy Stoppel is man enough to admit that he deserved getting a ticket for squealing his tires in the school parking ticket. But he has a problem with the order that came down from school security — no more American Flags. He told KMGH-TV:

“She said I should take my flags down. She said this is a school that focuses on diversity and she doesn’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable,” Stoppel said. “How do you suppose anyone would feel uncomfortable in America with an American flag? That’s where I’m confused.”

Jeremy and his dad told the station they are looking for an apology:

“To me, she’s just threatening him, hoping that she can just bully him so he’ll just take ‘em down and just put his tail between his legs and say, ‘I’m done. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.’ And that’s just not gonna happen,” said Dan Stoppel, Jeremy’s father.

The principal is promising to look into the matter. Stay tuned.

Read more at www.theblaze.com

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/9wo9

Men Soliciting Sex in Parks in Bakersfield

On By Michel McDonaldIn NewsLeave a comment

Undercover investigation: Men soliciting sex in parks

That is an article in the BakersfieldNow website.  In the 1970’s and 80’s this was apparently a very typical thing, men going to the park and sitting in the cars and/or going to the bathroom and exposing themselves hoping to have sex with someone either in the bathroom, their car or going somewhere else.

I go on the bike trail and I pass 3 parks (as seen in my BikeCam videos) and I see children playing sports, people exercising and children on bikes, they don’t need to see this.  What is wrong with people?  These children use those bathrooms and that’s the last thing kids need is to go to the bathroom at Yokuts and Beach park and see 2 men having sex.

What really pisses me off is that these people are adding to the laundry list of why straight people hate gay people.  It’s not just gay people, it’s straight people who are doing it but that doesn’t get put in the newspaper or on the news, they focus more on the gay people doing this.  If people want to find other people to have sex why can’t they do what normal people do, go to a bar and end up going home with someone.  Do whatever you gotta do but don’t go to the park and do something gross like having sex in cars and in the bathroom.

I have actually seen men and women making out in cars at 2 parks, 1 of them is by a Catholic school too which is in a neighborhood.  Plus I’ve seen straight people making out at the parking lot across the street from AAA on Truxton Ave.  I see these people doing this and all I can think is that they aren’t married, they are probably cheating on their spouses because trust me, if you are as old as these people are and you are having to make out with someone in your car, you aren’t married to them, you are cheating and most likely because your husband or wife don’t have sex with you anymore so you are sneaking around.

I have seen straight people doing this several times but I have yet to see any gay people in cars.  I don’t ever use the bathroom unless I am so desperate to go to the bathroom.  I’m a bit of a germaphobe so I would prefer not to sit on public toilet seats.  Peeing is one thing but if I see someone standing at a urinal I will use the stall to pee.  I don’t use park bathroom stalls because they don’t have doors.  So you won’t see me in the park bathrooms unless I REALLY needed to go lol.

The Contortionist Bicycle

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, TechLeave a comment

I have seen folding bikes before but this thing is amazing.  It folds up to the height of the wheels and is very compact.  You can take it to work with you and not even worry about locking it up, you can just hide it under your desk or if you don’t have a desk, lock it up in the break room.  You could probably even lock it up outside in the parking lot to one of the handicapped signs.  3 companies are already looking to crank out thousands of copies of this bicycle and charge maybe less than $700 each.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9_XEgGQBkQ