Online Sales of My Art Items - An Initial Investigation

I have been having so much fun with my arts and crafts. A couple of people have said I could sell them.


Tonight (technically last night since it's way past midnight now), I looked at selling on Amazon and Etsy. I tried to sell something on eBay years ago and got no bites. Also, I don't like the bidding aspects.

Amazon was very pricey but I know there is value in just the name. If I plan to sell under 40 items each month, there is no monthly charge. For a $5.00 item, the $0.99 per item listing fee + 15% (min$1.00 referral fee). That $1.99 per item is a pretty hefty chunk. If the item were $20.00 the fees would be $3.99.

Etsy is considerably cheaper. For that same $5.00 item, there is a $0.20 per item listing fee + transaction fee of 3.5% in this case $0.175 + processing fee of 3% in this case $0.15. That's 53 cents per item.
If the item were $20.00 the fees would be $1.50.

Well, I guess I need to take another look at eBay.

Helping Mother-in-law Get Navy Veterans Benefits Part 2

I received a response from January 12, 2016 request with ezdd214.com for the DD 214 from the National Archives.  I just received a letter from the National Personnel Records Center at the National Archives on Friday March 4th. It's dated January 26th. They allow 30 days to receive payment ($25.00). Yikes, I have NEGATIVE 9 days to get them the money. There's a phone number  (314-801-0800). I called. Due to high call volume, they are not taking calls at this time. Ok. There's a number for making in person visits (314-801-0850), maybe they can help. Basically, the same response. Ok. I'm just going to send it in anyway. Maybe the beuracratic gods of red tape will have mercy on me.

Groups

It occurs to me that groups must be pretty important to us. English really only has one word that means love but group has been split atomically. Is it because we want to belong to a group? Does it help us to give meaning to our lives? Or is it that we name these "groups" to ensure our own uniqueness?

Here are a few synonyms of group that I was thinking of while I was collecting seashells by the sea shore: team, community, club, committee, gaggle, pack, squad, herd, pride, murder, congregation, troop, colony, battalion, litter, brood, gang, flock, posse, generation, mob, school, and bunch. That's 23 different ways to say group. As I continue to type,  I continue to think of more. I have no idea why it is so important to distinguish that a group of dogs is a "pack" but a group of geese is a "gaggle" or a "flock." Yet, it's nearly impossible for me to name the different feelings of love I feel without resorting to Greek words, metaphors or examples.

Experimenter - The Movie

"You could say we are puppets. But I believe that we are puppets with perception, with awareness. Sometimes we can see the strings. And perhaps our awareness is the first step in our liberation."— Stanley Milgram

It's an entertaining and interesting movie starring Peter Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder about the "obedience" research of Dr. Stanley Milgrim in the 1960s. I personally, didn't remember Milgrim or the controversy surrounding his research. I was familiar with the results of several of his research projects. The film itself is a kind of project: the main character breaks the fourth wall, some scenes are portrayed with the backgrounds projected behind the actors, and much of the emotion of the film seems to be left up to my interpretation. There are important human behavioral questions brought up. Two that particularly interest me are: why will we hurt others just because we are told to; and are we justified to hurt others in order to learn. There are at least two sightings of actual "elephants in the room." I am not sure if the elephants represent that Milgram was justifying what the subjects endured in the name of his own research or that our society still doesn't act any different than the Germans did carrying out Hitler's atrocities.

Everyone would like to believe that "I would not have shocked the stranger." How we can learn as individuals or as a whole how to get there? How can we get to a point where we no longer do what we're told just because we we're told?  How can we be sure that we will act within our conscience?

Raking

Most of my days are spent with my daily work. There are very few activities like raking. I work hard. I give my best effort until I have blisters on my hands and my hip aches with arthritis. Then I finish up as best I can gathering the last leaves and putting the rakes and such away. When I look at my work the ground is still littered with acorns and leaves (I live in an oak hammock).

Disney World EPCOT - "Club Cool"

Disney World EPCOT - "Club Cool"

a.k.a. The Coca Cola Place and Ice Station Cool

Cool Club as seen from Starbucks in EPCOT

I had a 2-day Disney World adventure. We have passes again so I know we'll be going frequently.

EPCOT is my daughter's favorite and everybody loves tasting interesting Coca Cola products, right? We love this place.

I hadn't been to EPCOT in 5 years and usually in between many people have told me that: "there is no such place," "am I sure," and most lately "its been replaced with Starbucks."

Guess what? It's still there. It's in the same location as it has always been; inside of EPCOT back near the World Showcase Lagoon but still n Future World on the right as you enter (on the West).





We are always so excited to get there. On this particular day, EPCOT opened at 9:00 AM BUT (and this is a big but to me) Cool Club didn't open until 10:30 AM and the World Showcase didn't open until 11:00 AM. Cool Club opened as promised but the World showcase had ropes and guards blocking past and they weren't going by a clock. They had to wait for a call on their radio. I'm not sure why the gates open hours before the Showcase opens.

So back to Club Cool

Club Cool Coca Cola International Flavors

The flavor-flaves had changed which is nice. It's been 15 years but I have been to the tasting part of the Atlanta World of Coca-Cola Museum and I know that there are dozens of flavors. This visit has:
Beverly, Fanta (Pineapple), Fanta (Melon Frosty), VegitaBeta, Bibo, Sparberry, Inca Kola and Guaraná Kuat.

On the "Flavors Around the World Fountain" the drinks are described.

Beverly – This soda from Italy is a popular non-alcoholic aperitif that is bitter flavored and is a traditional part of Italian refreshment culture.

Fanta (Pineapple) – This soda from Greece made its debut in Europe in the 1940’s and was later introduced in the 1960’s in the United States. Fanta Pineapple is  caffeine-free that features a sweet pineapple taste.

Fanta (Melon Frosty) – Fanta Melon Frosty is the number one soft drink of Thailand. This fun melon flavored beverage is beloved in Thailand’s sunny tropical climate.

VegitaBeta – Originally launched in Japan in 1992, is a non-carbonated beverage with apricot and passion fruit flavors. It is rich in beta-carotene that contributes to it unique yellowish orange color.

Bibo – This soda was originally created in 1998 and is part of a fruit flavored line of juices popular in South Africa. The brand features fun characters such as Johnny Orange, Taka Strawberry, and Palo Peach.

Sparberry – A raspberry flavored cream soda, Sparberry launched in Africa in 1955. It is exclusively available in several countries in southeast Africa.

Inca Kola – Known as “The Taste of Peru” this soda has an unusually sweet fruity flavor that many compare to the taste of liquid bubblegum. The name “Inca Cola” refers to the Quechua words for king and queen.

Guaraná Kuat – This soda is a guaraná berry flavored soft drink that was launched in Brazil in 1997. The word guaraná comes from the word guara-ná which translates to “fruit like the eyes of the people”

Because I'm so special (all my fun allergies), I woke up the next day with my lips really swollen. I took a Zyrtec, went back to sleep for two hours and woke up only looking like I had overnight Collagen Injection/Lip Augmentation (like all the stars, ha ha). The swelling did go down within the day. I took a Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) at bed time. Even the next two days, my lips still felt funny. SO I am trying to find the ingredients to these drinks. I'm sure my reaction is due to "Bibo Kiwi Mango" which I did not taste. Since I do have a pretty severe reaction to mango. But I havent had much luck online. Here's what I have found:

Drink Name	Country	Ingredients	Source
Beverly	Italy	High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Citric Acid, Salt, Sodium Benzoate, Natural and Artificial Flavors	glutenfreedairyfreewdw.com
Bibo Kiwi Mango	South Africa	Ingredients	Source
Fanta Melon Frosty	Thailand	Ingredients	Source
Fanta Pineapple	Greece	Ingredients	Source
Inca Kola	Peru	Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup and/or sucrose, citric acid, sodium benzoate, Caffeine, artificial and natural flavors, yellow #5	Looked at the back of a bottle. See below.
Kuat Guaraná	Brazil	Carbonated water, sugar, guarana seed, acidity regulators citric acid and sodium citrate, identical to natural synthetic flavoring, caramel coloring IV conservative potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate.	cocacolabrasil.com.br
Sparletta	Zimbabwe	Carbonated Water, Sugar, Flavouring, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Carmoisine	bobsbiltong.co.uk
VegitaBeta	Japan	Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Potassium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate, Artificial and Natural Flavors, Yellow 5, beta-carotene, Tocopherols	glutenfreedairyfreewdw.com

Inca Kola

Inca Kola Ingredients

(407) 824-4321

Helping Mother-in-law Get Navy Veterans Benefits

Since my mother-in-law is quickly approaching 90, we have been evaluating her options. I'm helping her determine if her World War II (WWII) service was sufficient to entitle her for VA Benefits.

So we gathered documents. We found:

Birth Certificate

and a

NAVPERS 661

Veterans Administration Certificate of Eligibility

Everything online refers to the DD 214. That's the form that is NECESSARY to prove her Eligibility. So we decided to use a service ezdd214.com . It cost $9.95 but we're hoping that they ensure we have jumped through all the right hoops. The whole process is online.
In our confirmation email, they say National Personnel Records Center, (NPRC) is currently running 2-4 weeks.

What will we do next?

We wait.