ActionZone Magazine

Santa Claus on Santa Letters, Naughty Kids and Christmas

2008-05-12T01:00:00.000-07:00

Noel Sommers is well known for her interviews with classic figures such as the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and more. Now she's got the prolific Mr. Claus who is quite definitely is most awaited person by children all around the world during Christmas. Noel meets up with Santa Claus in his North Pole Cabin and has a friendly chat about Santa Letters, naughty children and Christmas.

Often, Santa is troubled by questions from everyone. They doubt whether he exists, where he lives, how many letters he receives and how he manages to deliver all the gifts in just one night. But surprisingly, Santa was feeling cheerful and was in a rare talking mood. Maybe he had eaten too much many of Mrs. Claus' chocolate chip cookies on this particular night or maybe it was the three glasses of eggnog he casually sipped during the interview. Whatever it is, he was in a mood to answer questions.

They chat for a few minutes and then when Noel asks for Santa's views on Christmas in modern times, Santa says that he has mixed feelings about it. The good thing about Christmas in modern times, as Santa explains, is that, he is able to use technology to his advantage as his job has become a bit easy. In his own words,

I’ll be honest with you, I have mixed feelings. On one hand my job has gotten a whole lot easier. Santa tracker GPS makes global navigation a snap; my blackberry gives me instant updates on toy assembly, Naughty & Nice list names, and my cocoa bean stocks. And my laptop allows me to type up personalized Santa letters much more efficiently...

But one the other hand Santa feels that kids being smart in modern times almost ruined Christmas. He explains that some naughty kids who were not on his 'nice list', somehow hacked into his systems and changed the records so that their names came up in the list that will receive gifts and a Letter from Santa. But luckily, the lead Elf, Arthur Honeytree has pointed out that something is fishy when he found Timmy Warchickles in the list. Timmy had once posted Santa's personal phone number on his myspace.com account to over 73 million people.

So Santa has come up with a new system that will ensure that only good kids get personalized Letters from Santa. And with that Santa says that this is all he can discuss about the secret 'Package from Santa' program right now.

At the end, a very curious Noel cannot stop herself from asking how he manages to deliver all the gifts in only one night. Santa winks and asks her to save this question for her next interview.

My love for Photography

2008-05-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

I'm really interested in becoming a good photographer. I have been using my camera for quite a while now and I believe that I have learned so many techniques and still there is much that needs to studied in photography. Photography is a really good hobby for me. And I should learn how to use Photoshop as well. I have liking for edited images that look way better than what the real photograph is. There are many websites where you can find wonderful photographs from many people like flickr, webshots and more. There are also many stock photography websites where you can buy photos for your business purposes. And there are many blogs and websites with useful tutorials on digital photography like digital photography school and others. I better make use of all the tools available on the web and become a better photographer. One day I would be a professional in photography.

International Calling Cards at Low Rates

2008-05-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

If you have someone like a friend or a relative living in a different country, you might have already started using international calling cards. GetMeCallingCards.com is a website where you can buy calling cards at reasonable rates. They are one of the largest and leading online international phone card retailer proving high quality services. All their pages are well made and all the services they provide are shown with many details. Also, they give you the exact details to call from one country to another country. Say from the United States to India, they have a separate page for India calling cards. The same is done for so many countries and you can find out the exact pricing involved by checking out the country that you are going to call. For more details, read about calling cards and international calling cards. GetMeCallingCards.com covers 153 countries around the world. They truly are one of the leading online retailers of phone cards.

The Power of Online Business

2008-05-09T18:11:00.000-07:00

Having a business online is really hassle free and less stressful than a lot of other businesses. Just an idea could transform your business from an ordinary state to a world class one. Of course a lot of marketing strategies are involved. But if you love being online and doing things on the web, online business just might be the best thing that you can do. People earn money online through blogging, affiliate marketing, drop shipping, domain auctions and by making websites and providing services. All of them are really good means to make large sums of money. As we all know, the internet is worth many hundred billion dollars and even a little pie of it would make us millionaires. That's the power of doing business online.

Individual, Family and Small Business Health Care Coverage

2008-05-08T20:33:00.000-07:00

Health insurance is so important for each and every one of us. We do not know what exactly lies ahead of us. So if something bad happens to your health, your health insurance will be your refuge to take care of all your medical expenses. And if you happen to live in California and if you are looking for health insurance quotes, Kaiser Permanente Health Insurance is insurance quote website that you should definitely visit. If you are looking for a California health insurance plan, Kaiser Permanente provides quotes on individual, family, and small business health care coverage. You can also get quotes on Kaiser Health Plans available across the United States. Never think that you can take care of these insurances at a later time. We never know what might happen. So to be on the safer side, get a quote and apply for an insurance. It is said that people with health insurances tend to be happy and relaxed than those that don't have it.

On Traveling and Wisdom

2008-05-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

I would like to travel the world and visit many places around the world. Travelers say that there is nothing like traveling to a place that you have never been to. There are so many good things that you will learn from a journey abroad and it will help you widen your mental horizons as you would come across different kind of people and different kind of cultures. I have seen travelers become very wise as traveling will surely help you learn about life and teach you some wisdom. Well, there ae many places that I would like to go and visit. Among them would be the United Kingdom, the whole of Europe and the United States.

Auto Direct sells BMW Body Kits

2008-05-08T17:02:00.000-07:00

A BMW is a big fancy for me. I would like to buy one. Who would not want to? But if you already have a BMW and is looking for body kit provider, Auto Direct's MyHotBMW.com offers the best products. This is a BMW Body Kit seller with quite a lot of benefits. The company promises that every product they sell are selected by hand to ensure reliability, great fit, performance and style. They also put all the products through rigorous standard tests and they have a panel of auto part specialists who review the products. The pricing is really good as well. Not to mention the customer service. I'll list down the top points again.

Every product selected by hand
Products put through rigorous tests
Products reviewed by experts
Affordable pricing
Customer support

When I get myself a BMW, I would definitely opt for MyHotBMW.com's BMW Body Kit and I hope you do the same as well.

Towards a Greener Earth

2008-05-08T16:29:00.000-07:00

Slowly people are realizing how much mankind has misused this planet and polluted it. And now it is time that we take responsibility of our dear Earth and start being concerned about environmental issues. The pollution is really high in most cities of the world and something must be done to reduce the levels of emission of hazardous materials. A lot of companies have taken the initiative to save the planet and thus they are helping their employees educate themselves about all these issues. So you must get into the act as well. Try living a life of less emission and reduce paper work to help grow trees. Go online for every possible thing and store documents digitally. Let's look forward to a greener, more peaceful earth!

Reality Bug - The Ultimate Reality News Site

2008-05-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

Nowadays reality shows have gone to a different level with the number of viewers of reality shows and news increasing every month. So what about a website that covers all that happens in Reality Shows? Yeah, I have been thinking about it as well. And if you have not heard, Reality Bug is a really good website for Reality TV News. The site has a very good design and it looks like they are the experts when it comes to Reality Shows. I'm surfing through their site now. And I can assure you that it's fun if you love reality shows.

Is Design Really Important for a Blog?

2008-05-08T15:53:00.000-07:00

Is really important for a blog? I feel that a good design can get more people to respect your website or blog and it will also help you get more subscribers for your feed and newsletters. But there are some blogs out there and those designs are not too good. So how do they still manage to get so much traffic and subscribers. May be good content is all that is important. But a good design will always be of use to you. A blog with a good design and good content will always be in the good books of it's readers.

Rental Management in Chicago Made Easy

2008-05-07T20:48:00.000-07:00

Most people have rented an apartment at one time or another. And if you belong to the bunch of people who rent an apartment and if you happen to live in Chicago, I've got something for you. chicagolandlordservice.com is a Chicago condo rentals and Chicago apartment rentals management firm that has many reasons to call itself one of the best. Let's look at the benefits of this Rental management Chicago IL firm.

The firm offers their services at the lowest monthly fee of any Chicago firm
They've had proven results and performance in the past
There are no long term contracts
They are designed for small and midsized properties which is what most people rent
Their service and support are excellent

So for all of your condo associations in Chicago and association management in Chicago, this is one of the best firms that you can come across when it comes to customer benefits and support.

5 Tips to Become a Famous Blogger

2008-05-07T20:15:00.000-07:00

Many of us want to be among the top bloggers in the world. We see a lot of bloggers become popular in their niche and they are called the experts. So we begin to wonder...what would turn ordinary bloggers into popular ones? Well, this cannot be answered in one point or something like that. But I'm listing a few points on this. These points are what I think would make a blog and the blogger famous.

Social networking - A blogger needs to be a social networking addict when he starts out. Find new friends all the time.
Emailing popular bloggers - Keep emailing popular bloggers with questions, suggestions and thankful notes. Most of them will get back. It's good to have popular friends.
Guest writing - Writing guest posts for other blogs will help you develop a friendship with the bloggers for whom you write. And what's more, you gain a bigger audience as many of the readers of their blog might like your content.
Advertising - Use advertising well. It will have positive effects on your blog. PPC Advertising is highly recommended for targeted traffic.
Be different - Grab attention and make sure people pause for a moment and read what you've got to say. Most people decide what to do in the first few seconds of their visit to your blog. Keep that in mind.

Bonus tip! Always use the same image on all social networking sites with the same username. You can also use your blog's name as your username. This is to make sure that your face becomes familiar and recognizable in your niche.

Do you have any more ideas on making a blog and a blogger famous? If so, please leave your comments.

American Home Craft's Green Revolution in Home Improvement

2008-05-07T18:24:00.000-07:00

In the recent years a lot of companies have started a green revolution and are creating awareness among people by making environment friendly products. As I have been looking for a quality remodeler who would keep our environment in mind, I thought I'd just keep you posted on this impressive company that found today. American Home Craft, Inc. is a home improvement company with a difference. They rank very high on the Top 500 Remodelers List every year and that says a lot about their services. They have a range a products and what's more, they even help you in financing your remodeling project. They provide easy financial options through the well known GE Capital Consumer Card Company. American Home Craft can help you remodel your kitchen, remodel your doors and windows apart from helping you with lifetime exteriors. I feel that this is a builder that we can really trust to make your homes better. They use only the finest material, the most accomplished craftsmen, and they work towards developing a good relationship with their customers. Well, this is good enough for me. If you are looking for a remodeler as well, I hope this was good news to you.

Depp Sends a Cold Wave Down the Spine

2008-05-07T15:43:00.000-07:00

Johnny Depp is one of the very few actors whose movies you can definitely watch and enjoy. Each one of his movies are really good. And that would be one the biggest reasons why I like his movies. Even in the 90's he acted in some mysterious movies like Sleepy Hollow and Secret Window. Most of his movies are fantasy related and many are a bit dark and eerie. He is also a very humurous person and his comic side can be perfectly noted in movies like The Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy. I have always been a very good follower of his movies right from the time when he acted as an investigator in Sleepy Hollow till now. His recent work, Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, needs very special mention and it's surely one of his best movies ever. I also heard that Johnny Depp sang his own songs in the movie. I think that's pretty incredible. His character in the movie sends cold shivers down the spine and the movie is very artistic and mysterious. Adopted from a play in Broadway, Tim Burton, as he always does, has made the script into a fantastic movie that will stay in your mind for a long long time. I think Depp is the perfect guy for Tim Burton to make movies with. Together they have made Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd and much more than what I know. I feel that Depp is very stylish too. He is quite fantastic isn't he?

Paragon Motor Club Offers Best Car Extended Warranty

2008-05-06T21:50:00.000-07:00

If you are like most people in the world who drive a lot everyday, you might be interested to know about affordable Extended Vehicle Warranties, Roadside Assistance Plans, Tire & Wheel Road Hazard Protection and more. I was looking around for the most customer friendly online marketer for these for quite a while. I'm not an expert but after comparing a few, I found that Paragon Motor Club is the most consumer friendly and affordable marketer. If you are looking for car extended warranty, this is the best place to go to. They also provide a 24 hour roadside assistance and free review periods. Well, that's good enough for me. I guess you would be interested as well. Any thoughts on this?

High Budget Advertising - What the Advertisers Might Miss

2008-05-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

Advertising is a tricky industry. One uses marketing strategies to promote a product or make it familiar to the masses of people (customers I'd say) so that his business makes good profits. But I believe that advertising should be handled carefully. Many a time some advertiser spends huge sums of money of a certain undertaking and then it fails miserably. Below are a few reasons for such things happening.

Not attention grabbing - Advertising is meant to grab the common man's attention in order to turn him into a customer.
Not clear - Adverts need to be 'to the point'. You need your advert to project what you really want your customers to know.
No ground work - Advertisers need to do some ground work before they could start spending money. They should test out various options with small sums of money until they find out which one is the most profitable.

I guess there are lot more, but these three factors affect an advertiser so often and the advertiser needs to be smart. Advertising is an art on it's own.

An Award Winning Shopping Cart Software for Your Online Store

2008-05-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

These days a lot of people are into online businesses. There are many ways by which you can establish a highly profitable business online. You can start a blog or a website and sell ad space to advertisers. Or, if you are smart, you might want to go for an online store where you can sell products for huge profits. But how do make an online store ourselves? If you are not an expert coder and designer, you might find it really hard to do that. But no worries! Ashop Commerce is a leading US provider of hosted shopping cart software. This software unlike many is very simple to put to use and it's features are definitely one of the very best. It's an award winning ecommerce software for your online store. One thing about an online shopping cart is that they are pretty expensive. But when I found Ashop Commerce, I was surprised to see the kind of service they provide. They also give you a trial run with their demo store. So you can actually test it and then decide for yourself. So give it a try, click for a free trial! Also, their support is said to be excellent and if I need a shopping cart software for the shopping cart in my online store I would surely go to Ashop Commerce and sign up. Well, I guess this would be helpful to many webmasters and no more burden of doing it yourself and spending large sums of money! This award winning material is a complete solution for merchants to sell online.

CSK's Woes Continue - It's The Deccan Chargers This Time

2008-05-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

It's the Deccan Chargers this time who defeated the Chennai Super Kings of the IPL. This is the third time in a row that the Chennai Super Kings have lost in the tournament. After the first four matches, the Chennai Super Kings were on top of the list and were all geared up and happy. But now they have lost three matches in a row and the skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has a task at hand and he must somehow inspire his bunch of boys to believe in themselves like they did when they started out in the initial matches of the tournament. And I think the big hitting Albie Morkel should be pushed up the batting order so that he gets more overs to go about his routine of hitting big sixes. Manpreet Goni deserves special praise as he has been consistently bowling well throughout the tournament. Before the IPL actually started, I believed that the Deccan Chargers are the team that could very well win the IPL. But as it turned out they lost five of their seven matches as they were not mould themselves into a team. Now that seems like a story from the past. With explosive batsmen like Adam Gilchrist, Herscelle Gibbs and Shahid Afridi in the line up, I feel that if the Deccan Chargers get their momentum going, it will definitely be bad news for all the other seven teams.

Stylish Design's Ramblings About Web Development

2008-05-06T08:03:00.002-07:00

Stylish Design is a blog that I frequently follow. Run by Robert and Andrei, this blog features articles on art and design along with tips on internet marketing strategies. Robert and Andrei along with a team of writers have taken a significant step towards providing quality articles in the niche of professional and artistic design, internet marketing and web development. And something caught my eye today. They have an article that has some interesting points on backup and recovery. They have discussed in detail the highlights of backup and recovery, troubleshooting and networking in this detailed article and I must say that it was quite surely a good read. I don't know much about networking and other related stuff but I learned a few useful things. I think Stylish Design is one of the best web development blogs out there.

Why Feature Clutter is Not Going to Help You

2008-05-06T08:03:00.001-07:00

Softwares are usually used often by nerds and technology savvy people. And there is one thing that I've noted in so many of these people. Feature Clutter. Take a look at their screens when they are working and you will know what I'm talking about. Feature Clutter is a term used by software professionals and it means that a software is full of so many features..no, too many features I should say, too many features that the original purpose of the software is not highlighted. So I feel that software professionals must avoid feature clutter as much as they can. I don't really feel great when I see so many features and when it takes away the software's real purpose. But some softwares like Picasa have a simpler look and workability.

The Most Impressive Online Degree University that I've Come Across

2008-05-06T07:21:00.000-07:00

I'm a great believer in learning. Even if one has finished school and college, I believe that one should keep learning new things at least one at a time to lead an effective and useful life. I finished schooling some years back and I'm still looking forward to joining new courses that deal with my area of expertise. But like many people who go to work every single day, I find it really hard to go and enroll myself in some university to continue learning. So what could be the solution for this? I've been looking for quality online universities which provide an Online Degree on Business & Management, Marketing and Sales, Entrepreneurship and Internet Marketing so that I can put to use what I learn from my curriculum and blend it with the experience that I have being in this sector. So I looked around for a while and now I know which website offers the best online courses on business. Yes, as you might have guessed, it's KaplanOpenLearning.org.uk and there are few things that I would like to share here about this wonderful online degree service. The website is very user friendly and easy to navigate. Below is a small list of online degrees that they offer.

Business and Management Foundation Degree - to help you acquire skills for managing teams and creating value for a business.
Entrepreneurship Foundation Degree - to help you cover all the ground work in order to run a very successful new venture.
Marketing and Sales Management Foundation Degree - to help yourself with a senior marketing role in your own or another enterprise.
Internet Marketing Foundation Degree - to help you gain essential knowledge about online business and marketing.

Kaplan Open Learning Online University also provides a contact page where you can type in all your queries (the ones that has not been answered in the website) and send them to be answered by top class experts. The online university also has a place for employers to come and visit and make use of their very useful service. After comparing with other online universities, I really feel that Kaplan Open Learning is the best one that I have stumbled upon in my search for a quality online university. I'm looking forward to an online degree now. May be in Internet Marketing. I believe you are looking forward to an online degree as well.

More Woes to CSK

2008-05-06T00:32:00.000-07:00

The Chennai Super Kings lost again to The Rajasthan Royals. The Rajasthan team is not a star studded team. But they show more spirit than any other team in the IPL. Led by Shane Warne, the team has hit the right balance from day one. All the players in the team are doing their best to ensure that their team won. When they met CSK in their own home town, they bowled really well to restrict CSK for 109 in 20 overs. After that it's just a matter of time before they wrapped up the match in 15 overs. The dropped chance by Joginder Sharma at mid-on off Greame Smith was not of much help to the team either. Overall it was day when nothing went right for the Chennai Super Kings and everything worked out well for the Rajasthan Royals. The left arm seamer Sohail Tanvir took 6 CSK wickets and he was the star of the day. Let's hope the Chennai Super Kings turn things around soon. I heard that the Aussies are returning to the IPL and that means good news to the Chennai Super Kings.

Business Loans and Financing Made Easy

2008-05-06T00:13:00.000-07:00

If there is a financial decision to be made, I would always want some financial experts to come down and give me options. Because I feel that some important things such as your finances should be taken care of by real experts. This is where EZUnsecured.com comes in to the picture. They are the perfect destination if you are looking for Business Loans. They help you expand your business, get working capital, start a new business, consolidate debt, establish a fund and much more. Let's take a look at the benefits that you will get with EZUnsecured.com and you decide.

Easy Process - They provide services with clarity and the process involved is easy and simple.
Fast Funding - They provide fast funds which is what most of us customers want, isn't it?
Excellent Service - The support is really good and customers are known to have had a very good experience at this company.

So, if you are like me and you like some help from the experts, EZUnsecured.com will be of real help to you.

Daredevils End CSK's Dream Run

2008-05-05T23:43:00.000-07:00

The Chennai Super Kings have been winning all the matches in the IPL until the match in which they faced The Delhi Daredevils. The CSK's big strengths are the two Australians Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey. But as these two players had to go (after playing a significant part in the victories in the first four matches) due to their national and domestic commitments. Their departure will definitely have a huge impact on the morale of the team. On the other hand The Daredevils have been playing really well under skipper Virender Sehwag. Their top order is really strong with players like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Shikar Dhawan performing well in all the matches. When CSK met DD on the field they made a not too competitive 169 in 20 overs and the DD chased it down without much problems. The absence of the Australians has really had a negative impact on the Chennai Super Kings.

My Disclosure Policy

2008-05-05T23:35:00.000-07:00

This policy is valid from 6 May 2008.

This is my personal blog where I write about lifestyle, technology and entertainment. I sometimes receive compensations for some of the products and services that I promote. This blog believes in word of mouth marketing and on occasions the compensation may influence the posts written here.

I'm complimented to provide my opinion about some of the products and services that feature here. And I will work hard to provide honest reviews based on other reviews and experiences. Everything that I write here is a view of my own. This blog does not contain articles that lead to a conflict of interest. Any claim for products, statistics, quotes or other details about a product or service discussed here should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.