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Swagcode alert! (Three-fifths of the way done.)

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Good morning, everyone. (It’s way too early to be a great morning, i.e., it’s still 5 a.m. in Alaska.) You’ve got just under an hour to snare five Swagbucks. From now until 7 a.m. Pacific, go to the Swagbucks site and enter the code Shop4School. This case-sensitive code is good in all Swagbucks-playin’ countries except … Read more

Swagcode alert! (The second of five.)

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card129You’ve got about two hours to earn five easy Swagbucks points. From now until 2 p.m. Pacific, go to the Swagbucks site and enter the code SchoolStarts.

This case-sensitive code is good in all countries where Swagbucks is offered.

Not sure what I’m talking about? You can get the basics by reading “Swagcode alert! (And four more to come.).” Feel free to click on the link in that article to join the program. (Note: If you do, I will receive a referral bonus. If you don’t want to do that, then just go to www.swagbucks.com and sign up that way.)

Short form: Swagbucks is a simple-to-use rewards site that lets you cash in for products, gift cards or even PayPal payments.

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A little piece of SaveUp ’13, just for you.

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65293My trip to the SaveUp ’13 conference has come and gone, and quickly. I left Anchorage on the evening of Wednesday, July 31 and arrived at the Orlando World Center Marriott late Thursday morning.

There followed a whirlwind of sessions and discussions about coupons, SEO, plug-ins, apps, readership, blogging tips and the like. Food, too — really good food. I just don’t make things like wild mushroom risotto or miniature pineapple cakes often enough.

And oh, the fresh pineapple, melons and other fruits available at every meal – most Alaskans never get their fill of strawberries, but I sure came close.

The fun was fleeting, though. An airport shuttle picked me up at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Two less-than-comfortable flights later and DF was bundling me and my bag into his aging Subaru.

Speaking of bags: That’s this week’s giveaway. 

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Swagcode alert! (And four more to come.)

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card129The Swagbucks rewards site has a “Five for Five” promotion going on starting, well, right now. Before I explain, let me give you the first code:

Zoom over to Swagbucks and enter the code BloggerTips, which is good from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Pacific today. The case-sensitive code is valid in the United States, Australia and Canada.

Go ahead. I’ll wait. But then come back to find out what a “Five for Five” promotion is.

Now that you’re back, here’s the scoop: Swagbucks has asked bloggers to put out posts touting the latest code. I’ll be doing this four more times between Friday, Aug. 9 and Saturday, Aug. 17. Each code is worth five points. (Hence, “Five for Five.”)

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Entering the giveaways? Check your e-mail!

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imageLast week’s giveaway — a trio of Ray Troll magnets — went begging twice. The first reader whose name I pulled did not claim the prize, even though she had more than the usual 24 hours in which to do so. (I got too busy to check my e-mail.)

The second name I pulled? Also a non-responder.

The third time was the charm for a reader named Jenzer, who turned out to be an excellent match: Some years back she’d given a Ray Troll T-shirt, “Bass Ackwards,” to her dad, an avid angler. So glad the magnets went to a good home.

This short, semi-chiding post is a reminder: If you enter, why not check to see if you’ve won?

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Giveaway: Clark Howard’s new book.

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9781583335253LConsumer king Clark Howard has followed up his New York Times bestseller “Living Large in Lean Times” with another one that’s sure to be a hit. I know this because I’ve read it: Clark has donated two copies for review and/or giveaway.

Review first, giveaway after.

The format of “Clark Howard’s Living Large for the Long Haul” is quite smart: Interview 50 U.S. residents who were body-slammed by the recession and find out how they coped.

This is both shrewd and reader-friendly. Too often personal finance books and articles use people as bad examples: “John Smith had 24 credit cards. For years he was up to his hairline in consumer debt, and ultimately declared bankruptcy. Now his credit score is in the crapper, he can’t get a decent auto loan rate and landlords don’t want to rent to him. John is an idiot. Don’t be like John.”

It’s not that object lessons are bad. It’s that sometimes they’re a little too close to the reader’s own behavior. The temptation is to shut down, i.e., to be unable to learn anything from the example, or to pretend you’re nothing like John (“Yeah, I have a dozen cards but at least I don’t have two dozen – and I’m making the minimum payments on time so everything’s cool.”)

Clark’s premise is swell and once again he’s packed the pages with sometimes obscure and always ingenious tips. It’s a terrific resource, and one that I plan to keep on my own bookshelf along with his previous book.

That said, there’s something else to say: Clark, if you’re reading this, get yourself an editor, son. Please.

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Fish, fossils and really awful puns.

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image-1If loving Ray Troll is wrong, I don’t want to be right. The Ketchikan-based artist is best known (up here, anyway) for his fish T-shirts, prints, pins and such. But he’s branched out to sharks, fossils, dinosaurs and evolution, all of it imbued with unmistakeable graphics and some truly atrocious puns.

Three of those mini-masterpieces, in the form of fridge magnets, make up this week’s giveaway.

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Share your thoughts, and maybe win prizes, at a pair of Twitter events on July 23.

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thI’m participating in a pair of Twitter events tomorrow. You should, too, because you likely have something to contribute and/or you might learn something.

Did I mention the prizes, including Visa and Amazon gift cards?

Now that I have your attention, let me describe the fun:

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Giveaway: Two $10 Starbucks cards.

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th-1Seems that we finished our vacation just in time, escaping the Lower 48 barely ahead of a serious heat wave. (And I thought it was hot while we were there…!) Sorry for all of you whose feet are sticking to the softened asphalt.

This week’s giveaway won’t make the hot weather go away, but it’ll help you cope: I’m selecting two winners to receive $10 Starbucks gift cards. I’m not a coffee fan myself, but I understand the iced variety is quite cooling.

Coffee isn’t the only option, of course.

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Beat the heat with “Tundra.”

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tundra 100It’s high summer. The heat and humidity are racing each other to the century mark. Your shirt is sticking to your back like a sweaty decal. The air is so thick you could drink it.

Here’s one solution: Look at a cartoon that involves polar bears, snowmen or dog mushers. You’ll get a vicarious chill and the laughter-induced endorphins will distract you from the fact that you’ve got a few more months of this kind of weather.

Yep, it’s another “Tundra” giveaway. This will be the third time I’ve featured a collection of Chad Carpenter’s comics, and the reaction is always tremendous. Why? Because he’s freakin’ funny, that’s why.

Carpenter’s strip is syndicated all over the U.S. and also in other countries. If you’d like to know more, read this post from last year, which contains a link to a profile of the artist.

Or just take my word for it: Chad is a sick and twisted man, which makes for awesome (and occasionally wince-inducing) cartooning.