Fox Cosmos Review

There sure was a lot of promotion leading up to the premier of the new show Cosmos on Fox. Space is an interesting subject so I figured I would check it out. I didn't know exactly what the show would be like but it turns out it is just like any other space documentary style program you have seen on PBS.

Now there is nothing wrong with this show and there is nothing wrong with Fox, but when you combine the two, it just doesn't work. This is a show that clearly belongs with other similar educational style shows on a network like PBS. It does not work on a major channel during primetime hours when viewers are expecting to see popular comedies and dramas.

Another reason it is out of place on Fox is because of the commercials. When you have commercials, you have to have a little teaser or preview in the show before each commercial break to keep the viewer interested. Cosmos had no such teasers. At every commercial break, I was like "What? This is where you put a commercial?" There was nothing to make you want to stay with the program through the commercial break. A show like this is much better on public broadcast stations like PBS because they do not have the commercial breaks.

Overall the program Cosmos itself was ok. As I mentioned earlier, space is an interesting subject and it boggles the mind to see how big the universe really is. Will I tune into this show week after week? Probably not. Primetime major network time slots are valuable and you really need to have a good show filling these slots. Cosmos is not a bad show, it just does not really fit in a time slot like this or a network like Fox.

Why TV networks should not pay royalties to use music in their shows

A few times I have been watching Conan O'Brien's show and he has mentioned that there should be music at a certain section but there is not because they could not afford the royalties to use the song. I'm not sure how much of this is true and how much of it is a joke, but it got me thinking about how artists are paid money when their songs are used on tv shows.

I don't know all the specifics on percentages and the companies involved with collecting royalties, but I do have a strong opinion on this subject and that is that artists should not be paid money to have their music played on popular tv shows. Keep in mind, I have a background in making and selling music and I still hold this position. Allow me to explain.

There are 2 sides involved here, the tv network and their show and the artist and their song. A tv show can benefit by having music increase the mood and likeability of the show. An artist can benefit from having their song featured on a show by it getting lots of free exposure to people who have never heard it before. Weighing these 2 benefits, the artist has a lot more to gain than the tv show. They can potentially get a lot of new fans which can turn into sales in the long run. The tv show does not gain much other than maybe the show is a little better with the music in the background.

Another reason why artists should not be paid money for their songs to be in tv shows is because there are so many bands and artists that would love to have their music featured for free. Having your song used in a show that people like is one of the best forms of promotion. So many people will watch the show and think, "Hey, that is a good song." Then they will go find out who it is by and possibly buy the song or at least become a fan of this artist.

If an artist is asking for money to have their song used, the tv network should simply find another artist or band who would be happy to lend their music for free. Now, what if a network really wants to use a popular song and the artist will only allow it if they are compensated? In this case, the artist should be paid since the network really wants this specific song and the artist will not allow it without royalties.

Don't get me wrong, a tv network still needs to get permission to use an artist's song. As long as they get permission, they should be able to use the song free of charge unless the artist will not agree to these terms. If the artist does not allow the music to be used without a fee, the network should then seek out other music as there are tens of thousands of bands and artists out there who would love to have their music featured on tv for free.

AT&T Blocking 000Webhost Hosted Sites

A few months back I discovered that a couple of the websites I own were not working.  After doing some troubleshooting, I contacted the web hosting service 000Webhost to see what the problem was.  They said the sites were working fine on their end.  I still could not access the sites from my computer, but oddly enough, I tested it out using my phone and was able to load the sites just fine.  This meant it was something with the computer not being able to load the websites.

Next I contacted my internet provider AT&T.  After about 2 hours of customer support they said that the error was indeed on their end, but that they thought it was a problem with my modem.  This is odd considering every other websites worked fine.  They said someone would contact me about getting it fixed, but I never heard back from them.

Just recently I tested the websites out from another computer several towns over and found the they would not load there either.  This location also happened to be using AT&T for their internet.  So after process of elimination it became clear that the issue was with AT&T blocking 000Webhosted sites.

After doing some research I found that many other people are having the same issue of their 000Webhost sites not being accessible from AT&T connections.  There are forum discussions about this topic both on the 000Webhost site as well as AT&T.  Apparently there have been some abusive websites that were hosted on 000Webhost and because of this, AT&T decided to block a whole bunch of the 000webhost websites, even though it was just a small percentage of websites that were causing trouble. 

There does not seem to be much progress on this issue.  000Webhost is saying it is an AT&T problem.  AT&T is saying that they have blocked it because of abuse and there does not seem to be any resolution happening any time soon. So what are we to do?

Some recommend just moving the sites to another host, a paid host.  What was good about 000Webhost is that it was free as long as you had your own domain name.  I don't really want to move my sites and buy a hosting plan every year when there are free options out there.  Is anyone else in this same situation?  What is the best solution?  For now I will be looking into other possible webhosts to move the sites to because as of now, they are not accessible because of the block from AT&T. 

Update 4-6-15 I finally decided to move the site I was hosting on 000Webhost over to Blogger and now it is working again.  Of course it was a bit of a process and was kind of technical but I got it done.  Also it involved remaking the site from scratch which was time consuming but at least now the website actually works.  If you are in the same situation, I would recommend switching it to another hosting provider as well. 

Jewel Monopoly Game Rare Pieces

NOTE: This is the 2014 Game.  Link here for the 2016 Monopoly Game Rare Pieces List 

It's time once again for the Jewel Osco Monopoly Game!  Like previous years, you must collect game pieces each time you shop at Jewel and if you collect all the pieces in a category, you win that prize.  The odds of winning are steep but it is still fun to play.  Each prize has a rare game ticket, some of the bigger prizes have 2 rare game tickets.  To make things easier, we have narrowed it down to which game markers are hard to get.  The following are the rare pieces needed to win prizes:

A889 - $5 Grocery Gift Card
B887 - $10 Grocery Gift Card
C882 - $15 Monopoly Game
D879 - $25 Cash
E874 - $25 Grocery Gift Card
F871 - $50 Grocery Gift Card
G866 - $100 Grocery Gift Card
H864 - $250 Cash
I860 - $250 Grocery Gift Card
J854 - $500 Xbox One
K849 - $500 Apple iPad Air
L848 - $1,000 Free Groceries
M843 - $2,500 Free Groceries
N839 - $5,000 ATV or Camping Pack
P832, P835 - $10,000 Family Vacation
R828, R829 - $25,000 Backyard Makeover
S823, S825 - $40,000 Motorcycle or Boat
T820, T821 - $40,000 Vehicle of Your Choice
V812, V816 - $100,000 Cash
W807, W809 - $500,000 Dream Home
X803, X805 - $1,000,000 Cash

Feel free to use the comments section below to discuss which pieces you have or which one's you need.  Special thanks to the forum over at FatWallet.com for helping determine the rare game pieces.  For odds chart and FAQ's about the Jewel Monopoly game, visit the official website here.

The Income Tax System Needs to be Simplified

It's around that time when millions of American workers are getting their W2 forms in the mail and have to file their income taxes.  This can be a fun time if you are expecting a refund but not so much if you end up having to pay money when you figure out your taxes.  I understand the important need to collect income taxes to help run the country, but what I don't agree with is way the system is currently set up.

As it is now, there are hundreds of deductions and itemizations that can be entered in to adjust the amount owed on the taxes.  There is so much wiggle room and overall it is not that easy to understand everything on the forms.  Also everything is rounded to the nearest dollar.  When you take all these factors into account and multiply it by the millions of people filing taxes each year, it is so inexact.  Some people are going to end up paying more than they should and others are going to end up paying less than they should.

This is why the income tax system needs to be simplified.  It should be as simple as paying a set percentage based on how much you earned.  For example, say it is 25%.  If you earn 10,000, you should pay 25% of that which would be $2,500 for income tax. No messing around with all these countless deductions.  Some might argue that there are business expenses.  It's true, there are, but that is something you have to take into consideration when you decide to run a business.  When we start adding in all these business expenses, that is when it becomes inexact. 

When you look at political issues, reforming the income tax system does not seem to be a big priority, but I think it is something we really need to take a look at.  The current system has gotten way out of hand with all the deductions and modifications.  Income tax is a huge part of the resource that runs this country.  It's time we get the finance numbers straightened out so that the correct amount of money is being sent to the government each year. 

Sesame Seed Butter Review

Lately I have taken an interest in peanut butter alternatives, not because of any allergy or anything, but just to get some variety.  Butters made from nuts and seeds are a healthy way to get proteins and fats in your diet.  Recently I tried almond butter which was pretty good.  It tasted just like ground up almonds.  It also had more of a gritty texture compared to peanut butter.  While I liked the almond butter, there was another butter I saw at the store which looked interesting and that was sesame seed butter.

Sesame seed butter is also known as tahini and it is basically just ground up sesame seeds.  The price was pretty good and the nutrition facts looked healthy so I decided to give it a try.  The brand is Krinos and it comes in a 1 pound jar.  The oil separates from the butter so it requires a lot of shaking before opening it. 

Compared to peanut butter, the sesame seed butter has more calories, more fat, and more protein for the same serving size.  This is great if you are looking to get extra calories in your diet.  It also has a little more fiber and less sugar.  This product is 100% sesame seeds so nothing is added to enhance the flavor. 

Upon opening it I found the consistency to be very liquidy, in fact I didn't even use a knife to put it on bread, rather I just poured it out onto the bread.  I tasted some with a knife.  I found the taste to be somewhat bitter and sour.  I would also describe it as a savory kind of taste.  It is definitely different.  Overall the taste was not that good, but still edible.  It might be better if they added some flavor enhancements to it.

Overall tahini sesame seed butter is a unique spread and a good alternative to peanut butter if you are looking to change things up a bit. The taste is not nearly as good as peanut butter but the nutrition is just as good if not better. 

Circuit Breaker Directory Label

It had been a while since I changed my smoke detector battery so I decided to change it.  Before I took it off, I noticed it said to turn off the power supply before disconnecting.  So I went to the circuit breaker box looking for the tab to turn off the power supply to the smoke detector.  Unfortunately there were 24 switches and only 3 of them were labeled.  It was at this point I figured I should probably take some time to figure out what all the switches actually do. 

This is not exactly an easy task.  It takes time and a lot of organization.  Start by making a list of all the electrical outlets and electrical appliances in the house.  Try to be specific when it comes to the outlet locations.  Usually most of the outlets in a room will be controlled by one switch but sometimes they are different.

Once you have your list, start going through the switches one at a time.  Turn off the first switch and go around to see what turned off.  Once you find the room or location, test all the outlets in that area.  You can use something like a night light or a cell phone charger to test if the outlets have power or not.  Record the number switch next to everything that is controlled by that switch.  Then proceed to follow the same test for each of the remaining switches. 

Once you are done, you should have a complete directory of all the circuit breaker switches and what they control.  This is very important information to have handy in case you need to replace any electrical appliances or do any electrical work.  It is best to know what all the switches do before you actually need to use them.

You can write the functions on the label that is in the circuit breaker or do what I did and type up a new one that is clear and organized.  Once it is typed and printed, cut it out and tape it inside the panel cover so you or anyone else who needs it will have the correct information for the circuits.