Saturday, October 9, 2021

Music From The 80's

 









My kids have a wide range of interests. The younger one of my sons is into Legos and Star Wars while the older one is into tabletop Warhammer games and online gaming. Lucky for me, he also has the same appreciation for music as I do even though our tastes in music differ significantly. However, to my surprise, he loves older music from the 80’s and 90’s even though I do not play any music from those decades. Imagine how happy I was to discover that little tidbit of information about him.

Yesterday, while getting dinner prepared, instead of watching Netflix as I normally do, I decided to listen to music. I happened to come across a song in my playlist that I haven’t heard in a while and played it just when my son came into the kitchen for a snack. He stated, “Hey, I heard you play that song before, I’m going to look it up on YouTube”. Before too long, he was sitting at the kitchen table watching music videos through YouTube via his Ipad. Soon enough, I was suggesting different videos and he would watch it. Then we would begin to dissect the music. We started off with Billy Joel, Phil Collins and Genesis and eventually moved on to other artists ending with my least favorite: Michael Jackson. Now, TONS of people love Michael Jackson…I’m not one of them. He was worth working into our discussion, however, regardless of my opinions of the man. I will admit, Michael Jackson has produced a lot of good songs and may be the “King of Pop”, but, I have never been interested in his music style. I will also confess that there are only three to four songs at the most that I do appreciate by him; one of them being “Man In The Mirror“. I much prefer Janet Jackson over Michael, but even her style does not exactly cater to my particular taste in music.

After each video I would suggest, my son would become interested in the message, lyrics, and a bit of history about why a particular song was produced. At his age, I never took my music interest that far as to do any research about the lyrics or what prompted the artist to write the song to begin with. I was like every typical teen and would just listen to the music for the beat rather than the message. So, to witness my son actually dive into any given song for a better understanding of it just blows my mind…and, I love it!

As I stated earlier, we started off with Billy Joel. “We Didn’t Start The Fire” was the first one he wanted to watch since I had played it the other day during my workout on my treadmill. I had never seen it due to being deprived of MTV while growing up, so, I was pulled away from cooking and watched it with him. I am always impressed by the videos of the 80’s. The creativity that went into the older videos always leaves me in awe. Even my son commented on how amazed he was at the amount of work that went into making the videos for Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” and Genesis’ “Land Of Confusion“. He was a bit confused with Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start The Fire” video since it did a quick run through of a family’s life ending with someone in a casket. He did enjoy trying to sing the lyrics to REM’s “It’s The End Of The World“. We both failed miserably, which, I take consolation in knowing that there are probably very few people who can sing that song perfectly aside from Michael Stipe. He wound up looking up the actual lyrics and found that even trying to read them was a challenge in itself. I read it with him and found the lyrics very confusing and mainly made up of random phrases mashed together in such a way that it just works. I tried to explain it to my son, but he was stuck on the fact that it didn’t even rhyme. I pointed out that some parts did rhyme, but that wasn’t the point. The point was the message. All of the things going on in the world which prompted these artists to bring awareness through their songs was what I wanted him to “get”. While “Sledgehammer” and Dire Straits “Money For Nothing” prompted carefree feelings and fun, songs like Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” and Michael Jackson’s “Man In The Mirror” catered toward awareness of real issues of poverty and hate.

We finally ended our “one on one” time with the WHO’s “Pinball Wizard” and Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida“. Well, at least, I TRIED to get him to watch “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” just to get back at him for the numerous nonsensical videos he has forced me to watch in the past. He quickly caught on and firmly stated “I am NOT watching a music video that is seventeen minutes long!” (Dang it!)

Our discussion ended on the topic of whether or not “Pinball Wizard” was about a real person or not. I believed it was. My son looked it up on Google and wound up on Wikipedia, as most people normally do, and tried to explain that it wasn’t based on a real person at all. I further explained that the concept of “Tommy” was made up, but, the person it was about was actually real. We butted heads on that one song and neither could confirm which one of us was right since the internet seems to say both as well. If one of my readers could clarify, it would be much appreciated. I am not a WHO fan and have not listened to any of their music aside from the “Pinball Wizard” song.

In conclusion, the quality time spent on our similar interest is one that I am sure we will both look back on fondly in years to come. It is so rewarding when you find that common ground that you can relate to with your teen. Whatever interest you both share, take advantage of it and cherish it because, “all we are is dust in the wind, dude”.

Monday, October 4, 2021

MY FAVORITE MONEY MAKING APPS


  This summer, in between spending countless hours teaming up with guild members in SWTOR, I have been working hard on researching these money making apps. I recently found out about such things as "affiliate marketing" and "passive income" over the winter and decided to check it out to see what it was all about. I had already decided to commit to working remotely and have tried to find my special "niche" so to speak. Easier said than done in my case. I was told that I keep getting in my own way and that is why I have not been able to start any real job online. 

  Like I stated in a previous post, I have been using a few apps for making money for a while and have gotten a few decent payouts; not enough to get rich off of or quit my "day job" of gaming online with my friends, but, I have actually been able to get to the point where I now feel confident enough to maintain an online banking account for not only myself, but for my boys as well. I also felt comfortable enough to begin investing online through Acorns. I've invested a lot of time in these apps to ensure that they are legit and worth passing on to you. As with everything that involves money, you do have to put in a fair amount of work when you start off, but, eventually, things will fall in place. 

To get started in investing in Acorns today, click here.

   The first one on my list is one I have talked about before known as Current Music App. I love this app due to the fact that after I put in my selection of groups I love to listen to, a list is curated based on my choices. I can save my online radio stations and the music starts automatically when I go into the app. The app is time based and pays you for the amount of time you listen. Obviously, the longer you listen, the higher your boost goes. I usually run my music all day and sometimes in the middle of the night, but, then again, I love music, so, it doesn't bother me. The other benefit is that it pays you for charging your phone. They have other incentives as well such as a referrals program which rewards you whenever your referrals use the app.

   The cons of using the Current Music App is that your timer only counts for an hour, then you have to go through the "check in" process to begin again. The "check in" seems a bit glitchy, but eventually, you do get the timer active again. I've read that some users have experienced their phones running hot a few times while others have not. The other glitch I have experienced is the loss of the "Games" option, however, that could be due to my settings on my phone dealing with "permissions". Payouts can go to your Paypal and usually takes a few days.

   Click here to start earning passive income through Current Music App.

    Second on my list of favorite apps is CoinOut. It is very straightforward. You open the app, snap pics of your receipts and that's it. You can earn badges to boost your earning potential. I recently took part in one of the badge opportunities and got an extra $15 added to my CoinOut balance as a bonus simply for signing up for a bank account I was already considering. I have to admit, it was a very pleasant surprise. They do pay out through your Paypal, and payment is fairly quick within a couple of days. 

   The only down side is that you get pennies for every receipt. sometimes you get lucky and get about $.14-$.34 on a couple of random receipts, but for the most part, you can expect around $.01-$.03 on average. While it doesn't seem like much at first, think of it as the traditional piggy bank full of spare pennies you throw in. When you break it open, you find you've saved a total of maybe $50.00 in pennies that you otherwise would not have had. I've gotten a few decent payouts based on how much I wanted to save before I cashed out. Another benefit is the offer wall which rewards you with badges that might add more receipt scans every week or credit you cash rewards straight to your balance. 

   Click here to quickly get started on CoinOut.

   Third on my list includes those familiar gaming apps such as Mistplay and Tapchamps amongst others. They are all time based and you can literally leave a game running without really interacting too much if you so choose, however, you do have to tap on the screen every now and then to make sure the phone doesn't go to sleep, otherwise, your time will not count. These time based apps take dedication in the form of...well, basically investing time. You eventually wind up playing the games just to pass the time, which is fine if you are playing a game you really enjoy, but can take an eternity on those you downloaded just for quick point bonuses. If you choose to use the mobile gaming platforms, I suggest utilizing at least 3 top rated platforms to build up for 3 separate payouts.

   The cons to playing through the mobile gaming platforms is that it does take time, storage, and battery life away from your phone. The majority of my storage space is dedicated to just gaming apps I've downloaded for the gaming rewards platforms. I now have 2 battery packs to keep my phone charged when I am out and about. Will I stop playing on those draining mobile platforms? Probably not so long as I am getting paid.

For Mistplay, click here

   Last on my list and most recent is BigToken. This has quickly become one of my favorite apps for generating a weekly payout. At the time of writing this post, I have been using the app for about 3 weeks now and am on my third weekly payout. It is a survey app that is strictly related to you and your interests or habits, so the questions are easy to answer. You do not have to worry about spending a ridiculous amount of time on a survey just to find out that you do not qualify, which is very frustrating when it happens constantly. There is a daily check-in along with location check ins which reward you with decent points. The app also has a referral program which rewards you with every action your referral makes in the app. I recently found out about "teams" which gives you even better points for answering the team question. What is really great about this app is that you know exactly where you stand with points, because it actually reflects the amount of money you are accumulating. For example, 348.25 points is equal to $3.48 in cash. You can also see how much you are making off of referrals completing their actions in the app. 

 For BigToken signup, click here and be sure to include my referral code: OCO2ONO60