Saturday, April 27, 2024
The latter part of this week was busy. The following list shows some of the things I worked on or happened, starting late Wednesday, 24 April 2024.
- Became a member of Reddit (my profile link).
- Finding, debugging, and correcting a problem with the Yelp application I maintain on the WiredPages Dining & Travel page.
- Unboxing an Amazon order.
- Preparing to update my ZipCode applications to use the Developer API USPS tools because the USPS Web Tools I currently use will retire in January 2025.
- Happy, I received the $50 reward for opening my new Mastercard account.
So many online services and offerings are changing including my advertising resources. Some of these include Google Adsense, Google Ad Manager, and Amazon's Unified Ad Marketplace (UAM) which I use in conjunction with Google Ad Manager for header bidding. I also have various affiliate and marketing partnerships and relationships, however, on qisoftware.com related site areas I use mainly Amazon's UAM header bidding resource.
Because I do all of my own integrations where advertising is concerned, I
have to keep up with new services being offered and sometimes it is a little
overwhelming. I found a forum on Reddit that seems to cover a lot of ground
in this area and I decided to join.
On Thursday, I noticed I had a problem with the Yelp application I maintain on WiredPages. I had errands to run on Friday, and thought I would get to it later in the day. I did not get to it until today, and happy to report the quick fix I decided on is working.
Recently, I ordered several items from Amazon which arrived today. I am very pleased with everything however wanted to talk about two specific items, the new lids for my glasses and a set of shawl scarfs.
The shawl scarfs I ordered were a great price and I am going to find all sorts of ways to use and wear them.
The last item, the USPS Developer API updates. Sometime ago, I developed two
applications using the USPS Web Tools APIs. Both applications are found on
this QiSoftware demonstration products page. As noted from the email shown
below, the USPS Web Tools resource will retire in January 2025.
I set up new applications with the USPS Developer service to allow calls to the new API resources. I do not foresee problems with this changeover, however, as of this date, I have not fully completed the task.
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
I shop Costco at least every other week. This may be surprising to some, in that it would suggest there are more people in my household than there are. Costco is known for the bulk items on its shelves.
That said, the products I normally purchase from Costco are paper products and other
staples on sale which last. So let us start with the everyday items I try to
get on sale.
Next are foods and drinks. I love bakery items like danish, croissants,
rolls, etc. Sometimes I purchase danish and a variety of their cupcakes
however, I have to freeze most of the items in each package. I also purchase in
bulk the King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls and freeze each package (comes with 2 in
a pack) until needed.
The King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls have 32 rolls in a pack and last about
2½ weeks. Here are some of the ways I use them with my meals.
I shop local food stores for most other staples. Is the Costco membership fee worth the savings I look for- on the products I purchase? Yes.
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Yesterday, I ran around town doing the weekly shopping. I only went by two stores- Costco and Food Lion. Normally, I also stop by Safeway, however, I only needed one item the others did not have, so decided to wait.
Before I left yesterday, I did not check my emails, however, later in the evening I did review and research issues related to the email (shown below), I received at 9:09 AM earlier that day.
As indicated in my last post, I am having too many issues with the APIs, XML, and RSS feeds I use to create my applications. The services are mostly being retired.
Highlighted in the illustration below, the application, Who Are My Representatives? affected by the latest "end of life" notice for a resource I am using.
Refer to this February 2017 post- New Political Officials Interface, which discusses the development efforts related to the application.
Research provides, I should be able to update my application by April 2025 to use a new resource that should be available in September 2024. As indicated by the email, the resource "downturn" (their term), will not go into effect until April 2025, however this is a big deal to me if all does not go as I hope.
All of this noise about my applications, do you want to know what I purchased from Costco? Are you worried about Mother's Day? Things I will get to next time.
Saturday, April 20, 2024
Lately, I have been trying to update my look, however, I have been distracted with a number of issues related to my software applications and sites.
Thursday evening, I noticed a problem with the FCC application I developed for the WiredPages Media page. I think I have a solution, however I am not happy about the number of recent problems with my applications. In most cases, the API, XML, or RSS feed I am using has changed or was retired.
In addition, hosting-q.com, the site I use to host most of my software applications has gone down too many times in the last week. When it rains it pours.
Now, why am I working on my personal appearance? Earlier this year, I noticed I had lost quite a bit of weight (due to physical exertion), so I made a determined effort to lose more.
This has not exactly worked out as planned, in that I am not losing at the same rate. A bit slower.
A week ago, I was pleased with how my hair turned out- so yesterday, I thought I would look through my makeup bag and try somethings in hopes of reigniting my efforts insofar as my diet.
I am not sure if that red lipstick is going to do the trick, and I am really not sure why I would want a darker lipstick as we approach summer.
Maybe I should smile more, however right now I am rather annoyed with each new problem.
Thursday, April 18, 2024
I research quite a bit to ensure I am making sound financial decisions.
Case in point, recently, I searched the term "Average monthly yield on $85,000", because I wanted to ensure my $250 current monthly yield on that amount was comparable to other investment strategies.
I found a Youtube video- "How Much My
Dividend Portfolio Paid Me in January! ($155,000 Account)" which led
me to several other videos on the channel.
I have never been a risk taker where the stock market is concerned. My savings selections when I was employed by large corporations, mostly involved guaranteed return choices. Matching funds provided by the employers were mostly in the form of stocks and though I checked daily the corporate stock prices, did little else.
I still do not do a lot of research where stock prices are concerned (time an issue) and for some reason (probably the cost), I will not hire a financial expert in this area for assistance.
So, I have many concerns that I am not getting every dollar I can possibly get, out of my on-hand cash.
I found other content creators with similar portfolio numbers, and happy my monthly yield numbers can compete with most of these investors.
That said, my new CD (opened March 18, 2024) had its initial interest deposit
this morning.
Are you researching financial related issues? I have added links to a set of robust financial calculators to the WiredPages Business & Markets page.
Note from the illustration above, the CD calculator for my first interest payment was only off by three cents.
Saturday, April 13, 2024
On March 8, 2024, I requested my undergrad college transcripts from parchment.com via Bowie State University (see resume).
As noted from the above graphic, the issue was resolved, however, after review of my unofficial transcripts I found several issues I am more than a little concerned about.
That said, because I was a defense contractor with clearances for a number of years- straight out of college, I am quite certain my 'official transcripts' are more in line with what I know.
My concern is not with whether Bowie shows I graduated with the BS in Mathematics in 1981, (we agree, I did)- more with courses I took and grades I received.
I could write a long drawn out post about my age, why relatives call me Doogie Howser (started college when he was 15), or any number of issues, however I am not going to. I do not need to prove there is a problem with my age. I probably did not do all of the grades between the first and twelfth grades.
I did complete the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades at Arundel High School in Gambrills, Maryland and completed four full time years at Bowie State College (now Bowie State University), in Bowie, Maryland.
The FBI officially received a statement about my concerns as related to the unofficial transcripts, after I recently downloaded the transcripts. I note this in this post because government agencies can easily check their records from years ago related to investigations into my background.
I was paid as a college educated STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) defense contractor with security clearances for 14 years. This through Fortune 100 corporations. This can only be done if the transcripts were originally checked.
Why belabor this? Today college educations are not always real. Many use fake credentials, but also have important relatives.
I have a lot of important relatives.
I test well on IQ tests and my SAT scores were notable as compared to other students entering Bowie at the same time. I also applied to Howard and the University of Maryland. Here again, my scores were good.
Why question a non ivy league degree? You would be surprised by those who do not have a degree, yet claim, to. You would also be surprised by those who would want me a little less qualified. My resume probably understates my skill set. It does not overstate my qualifications.
I should have been allowed to live a quiet life. I mostly paid for my college education. For various reasons, which I now understand, I was interfered with. I am a law abiding, college educated United States citizen in good standing. FBI, I said no.
Friday, April 12, 2024
Yesterday, finally did something about my hair.
I am not happy with these photos, however, pleased with how my hair turned out.
When out, I receive a lot of comments about my hair. Now that my hair is mostly one color, it may look like a messy wig. It is not.
Why now? Wednesday, I was taking a selfie video for a ID I needed, and while sitting in the afternoon sunlight, noticed all the gray. I went out later that day and purchased the Garnier Nutrisse hair color I prefer.
Monday, April 08, 2024
I have been working a number of projects, mostly business related.
- Integrated an AliExpress/Amazon plugin to my OpenCart e-commerce shop (WiredShops). The interface allows me to automatically add products from Amazon or AliExpress to my shop.
- Integrated another OpenCart plugin to enable live price updates based on options selected by the buyer for each product.
- Applying to AliExpress for access to the Drop Shipping API to allow more control of how products are added to my shop.
- Added a new category to my e-commerce shop, Digital Products.
- Preparing to offer my first digital product (MS Publisher Bank Check Template) for purchase. Ordered labels, flash drives, packaging and began the product brochure.
- Responsible for several tax return filings and happy to report I completed those tasks last week.
- Several business related filings to the State of Maryland to update records and access new services that became available at the beginning of the year.
I am very pleased most of these projects worked out well, however I have run into several problems with shipments and access to the AliExpress Drop Shipping API.
Allow me to backup. My order for custom flash drives (40), labels (210), and packaging (100) came to $63.84. Because of my past experience with business related projects, I wanted my initial investment to justify any failings I might incur.
During the checkout process, PayPal offered a $50 reward if I applied for the PayPal Cashback World Mastercard. (Link provided does not include the reward. Reward I was offered- provided through the e-commerce organization I purchased from, via PayPal.)
I was approved almost immediately and thought the $13.84 investment to experiment with my digital product offering was something I could afford to risk.
What about my FICO score? I did not think it would be affected as much- because of the limit offered by the new card. I only had about $13,500 in overall credit before I applied- with no liabilities. The new card provided an additional $9,000 in credit. I also justified the new card in case I wanted to acquire more on-hand shop inventory with a great cashback offering if I checked out through PayPal.
Credit ratings are based in part- on the overall amount of credit a consumer has versus the amount owed. It is also based on the number of creditors, i.e. credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, etc.
In my case, I did not want to apply for more credit, that is until the incentives became worth my while, as was the case with the one presented in this instance.
I received the labels and packaging on Saturday, April 6, 2024, however was issued a refund for the custom logo flash drives for $49.61 because the shipper did not ship.
I researched and this was a great deal for 40 custom logo flash drives for just under $50.00. To add to my dismay, the $50 I was going to get from PayPal for opening the credit account is probably not going to be credited because of the refund. I wanted to scream.
My other annoyance, AliExpress has not yet approved my access to the Drop Shipping API. Something about, I am stuck in their legal department.
