The Brainchild of Miranda Lane

Friday, January 18, 2008

Focus Group Update

Last night it was rather snowy and slushy during my commute to the focus group, and they weren't able to get in touch with me before I arrived to tell me that they decided to cancel due to the weather. So guess what? I got $50 just for showing up! They also were kind enough to send me off with some snacks, bottled water and a sandwich - since I had to turn back around in the messy weather and drive home. I should hear soon about when they will reschedule - so I have the opportunity to earn the $75 for actually giving my opinion when they hold the focus group again.

While I was there, they shared with me their business card and website info - I think I had a different link in my last post. So here's the info. And yes, this is legit. No, I don't get any incentive for posting this, but if you would like to share the wealth and donate to Miranda Lane, it will be gratefully accepted and appreciated.

Receive cash for participating in:
    Taste Test
    Product Evaluations
    Telephone and Online Surveys
    Focus Groups


www.JRAopinions.com
1-877-JRA DATA
(1.877.572.3282)
To Register!

JRA
J.RECKNER ASSOCIATES, INC.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Focus Groups - the truth thru the hype

I'm on file with several focus group companies in the area. The two that called me this week were Schlesinger Associates and the other is JRA or J. Reckner Associates. Every now and again they call me to participate in focus groups. Different companies want consumer opinions - sometimes on existing services and products, sometimes on new products, and sometimes on their competitors. The sessions sometimes are one-on-one, usually taped and done in a room with a two-way mirror so the clients can watch. They usually last an hour or two and you leave with a check or cash and sometimes if it's in Center City they'll even re-imburse you for or validate your parking. Pay ranges from $75 to $125 per group.

They call every now and again, and I do a pre-qualifying survey on the phone. I don't always get in based on that survey, but I get in maybe once or twice a year. I've participated in groups about banking and toe-nail fungus (that was with Focus Point, I think, at 17& and JFK, but I can't find their website... maybe it changed. Anyway, they haven't called recently, but I think they focus mostly on medical conditions and I guess there's not much wrong with me). One time, I was called in to talk about perfumes, and was the alternate - so I got to show up, eat, and then was sent home with a check and validated parking after 15 minutes when it was clear that everyone else had shown up on time!

So tonight it's about beverages... or bottled water... I don't remember. Like I said, two companies called me this week and I only got into one of them.

I hope that helps explain some of the truth about all those internet ads that hype Focus Groups. You really can make up to $125 an hour, but maybe only an hour or two per year.

The links to the companies above do not contain affiliates; however, if you would like to donate to Miranda Lane, it will be gratefully accepted.

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Monday, January 14, 2008

Unitards and High Waisted Shorts

One word:

Why?


Sorry, random banner ad. So resulting random post.

That is all.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

How Much is Fitness Worth?

Featured on Rachel Ray today in her "Human Lab" were a pair of MBT Sport Shoes, which are said to be designed to help you walk more upright and tone your legs and glutes. MBT stands for Masai Barefoot Technology and there are many places which offer the sneakers online. However, the price-tag is around $250! Now, I freak out when I had to pay $75 for a pair of Easy Spirit sneakers. (I usually try to get them on clearance or on sale or at an outlet, but rarely do they have my size.) Yes, my new gym is supposed to open up next week and I'm really excited about being able to use the treadmills, but it looks like I'll be doing it in my new under $100 sneakers. I bet those $250 are nice, though. Maybe I'll have to treat myself for them eventually, but for now, it just seems silly to pay that much for a pair of sneakers I'll wear at a gym which will cost me only half that in membership and monthly fees!

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Thursday, January 3, 2008

Everyday elegance

Over seven years ago, when I visited Ireland, I bought two grapefruit bowls from the Waterford Crystal factory. At the time (and currently) I don't really eat grapefruit, but I thought they would be the perfect size to enjoy ice cream out of.

Well, that was three apartments ago and in my moving and downsizing over those years, they landed at my parents house to be stored. Recently, I asked my mother if I could have them back, but I would always seem to remember sometime after I had entered the turnpike heading back to my own place.

On New Year's Day, as I was putting on my coat and saying good-bye to my parents after dinner, my mother remembered them so I could take them with me. Surprisingly not only did I have the two grapefruit bowls, but I also had two matching accent plates as well.

So, rather than keep them in storage for some special occasion (and then forget them), I thought I would enjoy them regularly. Last night, I baked a cake (for no particular reason other than I had all the ingredients) and ate a piece (OK, two pieces) off of the crystal accent plates.

Since they are lead crystal, they are heavier than my usual plates, so I figured I burned some calories or briefly worked some arm muscles while I held it up and ate off of it.

My point is this. Enjoy elegance everyday. Don't put fancy things away so that they can be enjoyed someday later. Make "someday" today!

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Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Writers strike and my shows

It's January 2, 2008, and the late night TV shows are to start airing new episodes tonight. David Letterman will be the only one to have his guild writers with him, as he owns his show and negotiated his own agreement with the WGA.

I looked up Wikipedia to see how long the daily soap operas could run. I knew they have scripts several months in advance, but the strike has been on since November 5, 2007. According the this Wikipedia article, the soap operas only have scripts thru January 2008. So maybe we'll be looking at daytime TV reruns soon, too.

Surprising to find in that same article was the news that The Daily Show and The Colbert report would start airing new episodes on January 7, 2008 - without their guild writers. This USA Today article stated, In a joint statement, Stewart and Colbert said: "We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence."

What is TV coming to?

Though I am currently a non-union on-camera actress, the fact that production stopped on so many TV shows have stopped production is not good news for one who wants to work. However, I support the writers as they have very reasonable demands. Though how long is this going to continue if the studios are strong-arming their shows back into production without WGA members?

Hopefully, it's simply a matter of time before a settlement is agreed upon. Until then, we may have to suffer thru some less desirable television programs.

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Tuesday, January 1, 2008

2008 and Resolutions - and ala carte religion

Yesterday, Anderson Cooper of CNN announced his New Year's Resolution was to blog more - at least once a day. I figured that was easy enough for me to do too, particularly because I'm not nearly as busy as Anderson Cooper appears to be (not to mention my earlier intention to make money from this particular blog, so more content should increase my income potential).

I usually post many times a day on LiveJournal, though most of those are deemed "friends only". This is public, and is for a different audience. So I already blog a lot, and though not necessarily daily, it's pretty darn close. I also journal offline, usually at the laundrymat, so there's at least once or twice a week I'm writing as well. The point is to post an entry HERE at least once a day.

And why not go with something controversal: The Bible.

I still have the Bible I used in High School. I was raised Catholic and went to a Catholic High School, though now I do not consider myself part of the church. Maybe if I had a family I would feel differently because the whole church community thing seems to center around raising children. The two main reasons I am not a member of the Catholic Church are for their stance on homosexuals (being homosexual is OK, but if you decide to actually express yourself as a homosexual and have homosexual sex that's a sin); and their stance on women being priests (a priest has to represent the person of Christ in body, and that's actually Dogma thanks to JPII).

Although I do not feel that I have been called to a priestly vocation, I am a woman, and I can't in good conscious be a member of a community who marginalizes me by insisting my only legitimate roles are either that of a virgin or a mother. (I'm also not so zealous to protest or work from within to try to overturn church doctrine, either).

Although I myself am heterosexual, again, I don't feel it moral to say that those who's sexual attractions are different than mine are prevented from expressing physical love for another - ever. The Catholic Church's stance on sex is that unless it's within the context of marriage and open to conception, it's a sin. Needless to say, I'm for gay marriage. And I believe in birth control, but that's another story.

So on to the Bible. Most Catholic Churches, I believe, would not be classified as "Bible Based". Yes, they include the reading of scriptures in their Masses, though in the Catholic education I've been blessed enough to receive (which taught me so well it allowed me to question the faith itself and reject it) always took the Bible in context. Yes, it's the inspired word of God, but it's not to be taken literally. If anything, it's a piece of literature, subject to criticism and study and must be viewed in the context of the life and times in which it was written.

So anyway, that's really just background info. Lately, I've found several cable channels who broadcast Joel Osteen's sermons on Sundays. If it weren't for CNN, I wouldn't even be aware of him. But he was in an interview about his new book and he may as well have been preaching the Law of Attraction or selling The Secret for all of his talk of Abundance. I kind of liked hearing that God wanted me to live an abundant life, so I tuned in. Who wouldn't want to go to a church where they tell you that God wants you to be rich, right?

For the most part, his sermons are positive. Yes, I'm sitting in my living room in a comfy recliner watching and listening to him, but even when I used to go to Church and sit in those uncomfortable pews, I don't remember many positive sermons. Usually, I remember hearing all about what NOT to do... and after all that Catholic schooling, there was a bunch of stuff they told me was wrong that I wanted to try myself and come to my own conclusion. Sometimes negative campaigning works, but sometimes I just want to hear some good news. It's why I watch a lot of cartoons and very little news. I like to stay informed, but I also like to be happy.

The thing that really struck me, though, was at the beginning of his sermons, Joel leads his congregation in a chant / prayer where they all hold up their Bibles. At the end, he says to "Get yourself into a Bible-based Church." Hmmm... that was somewhat disappointing for me, as I'm no Bible nut (per above). And it seemed that it was just those book-ends of his preaching that emphasized the Bible that much. Sure, he had some references to Bible stories in his sermon, but he also had several modern-day stories and examples to try to make it relevant today. So you can imagine my disappointment when I read on his website on the What We Believe page where it says that the Bible is without error.

So... I might tune in again on other Sundays to see what he has to say, but it seems I'll only ever really get the most out of his sermons if I pick-and-choose, which is sort of what I had been doing with my Catholic faith before I decided to stop considering myself a part of that community.

The good news is that I'm strong and reasonable and can make my own decisions. Religion is a powerful thing, and the desperate and hopeless can easily be attracted to a cult. I prefer to think for myself.

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