May Top Droppers

Silver Sachet
1 Blog and 2 Sides
comatised
Computer Aid
sound of a soft breath
Beyond Feron
The Way I See It
Symphony of Love
Split Rock Ranch
Lainy's Musings

It's Official

The Zoo Crew is officially participating in Entrecard by giving 100% of the widget air time to EC credit paid ads only.

For those of you that were waiting for your paid ads to display on my widget, please accept my sincere apology for canceling your ad. It is nothing personal. I had to go with what felt right to me, and that is to accept EC credit paid ads only.

I will pay attention to the changes that are happening within Entrecard and keep myself informed. Should things change in a manner that I feel comfortable participating in, I will gladly start accepting paid ads at that time.

In the meantime, The Zoo Crew will dedicate 100% of the widget air time to EC credit paid ads.

Thank you for supporting The Zoo Crew in this decision. I look forward to approving your EC credit paid ad as well as placing my EC credit paid ad on your site as I can afford to do so.

Conflicted

I am having mixed feelings about this whole Entrecard paid ads thing. As I type I have a mere eight EC credit purchased ads waiting to run and a whopping 56 paid ads. Bear in mind I have not accepted every ad that has come across my dashboard. I do not permit ads that may be offensive or link to a site that may be offensive, and I do not approve ads of a business type nature that could present an element of risk to my readers.

Over the past week or so I have watched the controversy unfold and read the frustrations and opinions of the writers of the blogs I frequent. Up until this point I have truly enjoyed being and Entrecard member. I do not blog for money. I do it for the fun of sharing information. I have not earned any money from my blogging minus the few posts I wrote for SocialSpark and PayPerPost. That got all crazy, and I quit doing it just about as quick as I started. Entrecard seemed like a wonderful way to connect and share with other bloggers. Now I am not so sure about things.

I like the connection part of Entrecard. One used to get out of it what one put into it. Now I almost feel like I am working for free. All of these ads coming across my dashboard are time consuming. Where were these people before? Why am I taking the time to evaluate these blogs for the owners of Entrecard? Since when did I start blogging to make someone else a buck? I don't mean to come off too negative here, but I have a bad feeling in my stomach. It just doesn't seem right to me.

Other Entrecard members have made the decision to not accept paid ads at all on their blog. Some have elected to require that the advertiser purchase an EC credit ad before allowing them to purchase a cash paid ad on their site. Some are selective as to what ads display on their blog, and still others let everything run. I have seen drop strikes, experiments, and bloggers leave Entrecard all together.

Personally, I am not sure what I am going to do with my Entrecard membership. I do not feel good about showing the paid ads on my site. Now that I have accepted them it seems dishonest to cancel my 50 plus ads waiting. However, it does not seem right to me that blogs that are showing their widgets on my site have to share 50% of their air time and still pay the full EC credit price. Half the air time for the same price just has a big bubble of wrong around it in my book.

I was uncertain as to whether I was going to chime in on this and write about it, but I am interested in the opinions of my readers. I would love to know what you have decided to do. How are you handling your relationship with Entrecard? For me, it feels very one sided right now. My FOUR inquiries on as many subjects remain unanswered to this day. One used to hear back in a very timely fashion; not anymore. While I wait and ponder I would love your input. What do you think? What are you doing? What are you not doing? Please, do tell!

Top Droppers for March

The Way I See It
sound of a soft breath
Computer Help and Advice
Lola's Diner
Our Journey to Forever
Glue 4 Families
Symphony of Love
Whatever Comes To My Mind
Epicurean Health
Tom's Cats

It's a Tie, Folks!

This month's top dropper is held by two wonderful blogs! The top slot is still held by sound of a soft breath, but only alphabetically. The Way I See It tied for first place. Here are my top ten for February. Be sure to check them out!


sound of a soft breath

"Avoid silence, avoid solitude, avoid any train of thought that leads off the beaten track. Concentrate on money, sex, status, health, and (above all) on your own grievances. Keep the radio on. Live in a crowd. Use plenty of sedation..." Have you given this a try? Now ...




The Way I See It

My thoughts, opinions and personal observations on a wide variety of subjects, sometimes mixed with humor and including travel, retirement, opinion, politics, child sponsorship with Children International and life experiences. News and views from my perspective.




Lola's Diner

At Lola's Diner we'll be sharing recipes and sharing conversation across a virtual lunch counter. Topics will be varied and can include current events, politics, parenting, mental health, and glbt topics.





For Your Health

Common sense approach for better health and safety. Tips and ideas for a healthier and safer you and your family.






Picture to People

Researches about Computer Graphics.
New free software for graphics.
Hot free graphic effects.





Not Your Ordinary History

Our history is every human history; a black and gory business, with more scoundrels than wise men at the lead, and more louts than both put together to cheer and follow. ~Philip Wylie, Generation of Vipers





Anything Goes W/ Pahn

Anything Goes w/ Pahn is a personal website of Pahn to weblog his views, opinion and some story to the world wide web.






Celebrity Body Gossip

Daily updated blog with lots of pictures, news and gossip about celebrity bodies, their diet and fitness secrets, who has lost and who has gained weight in Hollywood, and much more!





Bingo Sites Online for Women

Bingo Blog and Women Community about playing Bingo, chatting, finding friends, watching movies and entertainment.






Symphony of Love

Bringing you Love and Inspiration!

Entrecard, Top Dropper

I am setting this up for automated post, since today is Sabbath and my top droppers are competing so earnestly. I was planning to have my post written for automated post to announce the top dropper, but it is way too close to call ahead of time and changes back and forth daily. So, we will just have to wait and see. Last month's winner has some aggressive competition!

I will try to get on later tonight and post the top dropper, but no promises. My oldest son, Andrew (17), is getting baptized today. Praise God! Needless to say, this will be a day of celebration. Family first, then blogging.

Watch for my announcement soon!

Entrecard Toolbar

Last week I was exploring the Entrecard Blog a little. I visited the blog, poked around, and what should I find? There is an Entrecard Toolbar for Firefox! How on earth did I not know about this?

I had pondered on more than one occasion, "Just how do people drop so many cards in one day? Do they have nothing else to do?" Well, the answer is clear as crystal now! They use the Entrecard Toolbar for Firefox. I installed it immediately, and I am a dropping fool...so to speak...now. I just love it! I can find so many more blogs in a much more efficient manner. AND, I can reach my maximum drops of 300 in less than an hour. However, I do get sidetracked every now and then. It is so much more fun to explore the vast abundance and variety of blogs out there now.

Another way I like to explore member blogs is to visit a member site, click on the Entrecard that is currently on their site. See where it takes you, and continue doing it from site to site until you find an Entrecard that you've already dropped on. Try it sometime. It really can be fun and interesting.

Take a minute to install the Entrecard Toolbar for Firefox and see what you have been missing. (Of course, you need to be using Firefox to do so.) It is such an awesome way to find fellow Entrecarders and read what they are writing about. There is such a vast array of blogs, topics, styles, and information! Searching and reading what everyone is working on is inspirational and informative. Have fun dropping your card!

Entrecard Bargain!

I have been SO busy that I haven been unable to work my site as much as I would like. With computers down and To Do Lists taking over my life it is amazing I am keeping up as much as I am. Due to the aforementioned challenges my Entrecard price has dropped to an all time low. Anyone interested in advertising? You can get your ad for THE ZOO CREW for a mere 8 credits! Act now, it won't be that low for long.

MRI

I visited the Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor this past Monday. He reviewed my symptoms and gave me a hearing test. I did so poorly on the hearing test that he does not think I have Meinier's Disease. Apparently with Meinier's Disease one would expect there to be a different hearing pattern. I pretty much am completely deaf in my right ear.

Today will mark a full five weeks that I have been without hearing in my right ear. It is amazing how our body compensates, and quickly. When I first lost the hearing in my right ear it was very difficult for me to hear. For instance, I normally watch television with the volume between 12 and 15 depending on the situation. After losing my hearing in my right ear I was watching it at about 18 or so. Now that time is passed, I am back to watching it at my normal level. Also, I hear more things on my left side than I used to without the right ear. As an example, it drives me crazy to hear the person chewing beside me. Apparently with both ears it is not as noticeable, but now with just the one ear focusing in on the information it is much more apparent. Although, conversation in the car with the window even cracked is pretty much impossible if I am the one driving.

So, based on the doctor's theory that I may not have Meinier's Disease and my non-response to the nerve test, he ordered an MRI. I will be going to have that done on this coming Monday. Since we do not have insurance I will be paying $800 cash at the time of the visit. It's a big bite out of the budget, and I am thankful to God that we were able to come up with it. If things were any more tight I do not know how we would have done it. Friday I will follow up with the E.N.T. doctor and get his interpretation. The purpose of the MRI is to rule out nerve damage and tumors. I really pray I do not have a tumor, although I am not inclined to think that is the problem.

It was suggested by a very respected person at our church that I may like an anointing. I am going to read up on it. I will likely have it done sometime soon. Has anyone else reading here ever experienced such a practice? I would love to hear your stories.

Under the Weather

Being sick is no fun. I can surely attest to that fact! Adrian has had a cold since last week. I caught it on Saturday. By Sunday I was on the couch. Last night was filled with sweating and blowing my nose. The bedding is currently being laundered. There was no way around that one!

Whatever this cold is that's going around. It packs a punch. Typically, I use Cold Reduce, and it works great. Today, I stopped at CVS, and they had them on sale for $2.50, both Cold Reduce and Flu Reduce. I had a $1 coupon, so I stocked up. I got two Flu Reduce and one Cold Reduce, and it only cost me $6.50 for what would normally cost me $30! I was so happy.

Hopefully, I will be back on target here soon. I have been slacking on Entrecard, Social Spark and Pay Per Post. I just don't feel up to sitting here. Pretty pitiful, eh? I can't even sit at the computer in my own home. Time to blow my nose again!

Big Pharmacy

I found this while dropping cards through Entrecard on the DorkChow blog. I actually do have a subscription through Dr. Mercola's website. As mentioned on DorkChow this is a promotion for a new book, but the information is real and true. What do you do to take control of your health care?

Our family has been without health insurance for years, and I am actually grateful. Sure this has cost us some serious cash flow now and again, but in my thinking it is totally worth it. No one dictates to us what doctors we can and cannot see, what type of care we have to have, or what type of treatment we are allowed to seek.

The amount of trust that is bestowed upon the medical industry always baffles me. We are afraid to speak to a stranger Online, leave our children in the care of a sitter, fly on an airplane, you name it, but we will let a complete stranger cut open our bodies and change the parts around like a mechanic on an automobile. What?

I am sure this short video will cause you to pause and think long after it's viewing:




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPI7zdGdqo4