PPP is getting better with PPP Direct

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I told you before that I love PayPerPost. After fiddling around with a lot of other blog advertising network, PPP is still the best. And today, the best is getting better. PPP introduces PPP Direct – similar like ReviewMe – but pays more. (I don’t like SponsoredReviews because I have to bid to get to write post. And until now I have not won ANY bid)

I don’t know why they called it “Birdo Release”, but PPP Direct will enable advertisers to directly approach Posties to get them to write special blog posts. Posties then have to specify specify the minimum amount they want to be paid for these PPP Direct opportunities and stick a widget on their blog. When an advertiser finds the blog and decides they would like the Posties to write something they just click on the badge attached to the widget and make them an offer.

PPP DirectThe service charges? I am now evaluating my reviews, so that advertisers will know how much they should pay me to write their reviews. As ReviewMe rate my blog as USD40 per post (which means I only get USD20) and SponsoredReviews rate my blog around USD10-USD40, I am calculating that with PPP Direct, I should earn around USD20 per post. By saying that, you will be surprised that you will only pay me USD22 (the extra USD2 is for PPP Direct service charges) if you are an advertiser. The charges is the lowest among those 3 mentioned blog marketplace. Sounds fair right?

With their “Birdo Release”, they also announced Benches – a feature that I think help me the most. I get really annoyed with this 6.01 advertisers. I know I am qualified to post, but my blog theme does not! So, I am going to “bench” all those advertisers for 90 days from now on – until I made a new blog specifically for them.

Cheers!

I received my Platinum Visa Debit Card from E*Trade

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I received 3 parcels from FedEx couple of days back, which was separately loaded with 2 Platinum Visa Debit Card and 1 PIN number. I was really surprised, as I expect to receive the parcels in a month. But E*Trade send it in just 5 days!!!

I load USD4.50 on my E*Trade brokerage account from PayPal before I requested them to send me the card. It seems that the regulation for you to have USD1000 in the account before you can get the card is not quite correct. You CAN get the card although you only have less than USD10 in the account.

Next, the activation phase. It seems the toll free number that E*Trade give us is not valid if you call from Malaysia. AT&T could not connect you to E*Trade’s card activation personnel although E*Trade claimed that the call that we made from Malaysia is free. They even mentioned to me that I may have to bear the cost of calling to activate the account from E*Trade.

Hmmm… I was thinking of having an iTalk prepaid card from TM to make the call, as it will be cheaper to call to US from Sabah. It took me 2 hours to realize that I can make the call for free – with Skype! I know, it is silly for me to uninstall Skype few months back, but knowing that it will cost me nothing to call from my notebook to US, I installed the old version of Skype from my software archive folder. Well, although it is not the latest one, I still can make the call, and the activation of my Platinum Visa Debit Card from E*Trade took only 10 seconds! Gosh! That was really, really fast! Oh, it did not cost me anything also!

Next, would be the moment of truth. To make sure my platinum card IS activated and working. Yesterday, I drop by HSBC ATM on my way to the clinic. Guess what? The card in working fine! However, it only showed USD3.70, not USD4.70 as stated in my internet account. That was strange.

But anyway, I am quite happy to know that I have an option to suck out all my money from PayPal through E*Trade. I will try to cash out small amount of money first, before I go for the bigger one.

Wait for my findings…

What can you do to stop global warming

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By reducing your carbon footprint, i.e. reduce your notebook/PC emission of carbon dioxide, a green house gas that contribute to the increasing temperature of our Mother Earth. Snap.com introduces CO2 Saver, a lightweight program that manages your computer’s power usage when it’s idle, saving energy and decreasing the demand on your power utility.

CO2 Saver

The less electricity produced, the fewer harmful emissions and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) are released into the atmosphere. So, what are you waiting for? Download and install it in your PC and save the earth in no time…

Get paid to surf with Agloco!

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I recently joined AGLOCO because of a friend recommended it to me. I am now promoting it to you because I like the idea and I want you to share in what I think will be an exciting new Internet concept.

Get paid to surf with Agloco!

AGLOCO’s story is simple:

Do you realize how valuable you are? Advertisers, search providers and online retailers are paying billions to reach you while you surf. How much of that money are you making? NONE!

AGLOCO thinks you deserve a piece of the action.

AGLOCO collects money from those companies on behalf of its members. (For example, Google currently pays AOL 10 cents for every Google search by an AOL user. And Google still has enough profit to pay $1.6 billion dollars for YouTube, an 18-month old site full of content that YouTube’s users did not get paid for!

AGLOCO will work to get its Members their share of this and more.

AGLOCO is building a new form of online community that they call an Economic Network. They are not only paying Members their fair share, but they’re building a community that will generate the kind of fortune that YouTube made. But instead of that wealth making only a few people rich, the entire community will get its share.

What’s the catch? No catch – no spyware, no pop-ups and no spam – membership and software are free and AGLOCO is 100% member owned. Privacy is a core value and AGLOCO never sells or rents member information.

So do both of us a favor: Sign up for AGLOCO right now! If you use this link to sign up, I automatically get credit for referring you and helping to build AGLOCO. http://www.agloco.com/r/BBDN2030

Mount Kinabalu climbing photos by Andrea Lau

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I received an email from Andrea with photos of her quest to Kinabalu…

..s***** looking face with blue towel – Andrea
..pretty girl wearing black and white stripe t-shirt – Miaw Ling
..nice lady wearing grey t-shirt, untied long hair – Ming Yen
..sweet lady wearing white t-shirt – Gek Joo
(4 super duper good friends)

Andrea LauAndrea Lau’sAndrea Lau’sAndrea Lau’sAndrea Lau’sAndrea Lau’sAndrea Lau’sAndrea Lau’sAndrea Lau’sAndrea Lau’sAndrea Lau’sAndrea Lau’sAndrea Lau’sAndrea Lau’s

Thank you for sharing. If you want to see more photos, check out our Gallery.

Emergency phone card for your travel to Kinabalu

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One of the problem that I notice for foreign travelers to Sabah is the difficulty of connecting themselves to outside world using phone. Mount Kinabalu is a place where you can actually “roam” with your mobile phone, but not all travelers come here with one. The options for them to get connected is still using the good old land lines, that are easily accessible via public phones which are available on the park (even up to Laban Rata). However, the cost for a normal rates o call from Laban Rata to United States for example, can be really huge. (Bear in mind, internet connectivity is almost impossible from Kinabalu).

Today I came across Pingo, a prepaid calling card provider which provide you with the best calling card experience, including quality, convenience, and customer service at the most competitive rates available today. They said that Pingo calling cards have no additional charges – just a nominal monthly maintenance fee – what you see is what you pay.

I did some research about using Pingo from Malaysia to call to anywhere around the world, and this is what I found out:

  1. Malaysia is one of the country that support Pingo calling card. They have their own toll free number here, 1-800-80-3815. Malaysia in one of the country listed among 34 other countries.
  2. Calling from Malaysia to United States is as low as 7.3 cent per minute (about MYR0.25 per minute). Calling from United States to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is as low as 2.9 cent per minute.
  3. I think Pingo calling card is one of the best options for you to have as a back up for emergency phone card.
  4. It is one of the best prepaid phone card rate to India.
  5. Well, it saves you money on international calls!

This is a sponsored post.

Transport service to and from Kinabalu Park by SSL

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I went to Sutera Sanctuary Lodges office here in Kota Kinabalu couple of days back, to help on one of our fellow climbers on his accommodation in Menggilan Hostel, Kinabalu Park. After settling the matter, the receptionist handed me a bus schedule that SSL provide for travelers who would like them to help on transportation to Kinabalu Park, Mesilau and Poring Hot Springs. This would be the latest schedule:

DEPART FROM TO ARRIVE
0920 HRS SUTERA SANCTUARY LODGES
(WISMA SABAH, KOTA KINABALU)		 KINABALU PARK HQ 1130 HRS
1030 HRS MESILAU RESORT KINABALU PARK HQ 1100 HRS
1200 HRS KINABALU PARK HQ PORING HOT SPRINGS 1300 HRS
1400 HRS PORING HOT SPRINGS KINABALU PARK HQ 1500 HRS
1500 HRS KINABALU PARK HQ MESILAU RESORT 1530 HRS
1530 HRS KINABALU PARK HQ SUTERA SANCTUARY LODGES
(WISMA SABAH, KOTA KINABALU)		 1730 HRS

CHARGES
Per Person Charges

  • Sutera Sanctuary Lodges to Kinabalu Park RM40.00
  • Kinabalu Park to Sutera Sanctuary Lodges RM40.00
  • Kinabalu Park to Poring Hot Springs RM25.00
  • Poring Hot Springs to Kinabalu Park RM25.00
  • Kinabalu Park to Mesilau Resort RM20.00
  • Mesilau Resort to Kinabalu Park RM20.00

For reservation, kindly contact:
Central Administrative & Sales Office
G15, Ground Floor, Wisma Sabah,
88000 Kota Kinabalu Sabah

Tel : 088-2248629/257059

Please contact them directly, at least one day in advance, so that they could prepare and arrange your transport properly.

For example: If you plan to take the bus from Kota Kinabalu (from SSL office) to Kinabalu Park, you have to arrive in Kota Kinabalu airport at least at 8.30am, so that you can still have time to travel from the airport to Wisma Sabah where SSL is.

Or, if you plan to take a bus from Kinabalu Park back to Kota Kinabalu, you have to arrive at Timpohon Gate at 2.30pm, where you could board the bus at 3.30pm from Kinabalu Park.

For Poring Hot Springs and Mesilau, just check their departure time.

2D1N Rungus Longhouse Homestay package

Some of our visitors feels that 3D2N stay in the longhouse is too long. So, I prepared a 2D1N package for those who still wants to feel the raw life of Rungus people in a shorter time.

Day 1 – Depart from Kota Kinabalu city center up to the north of Borneo, Kudat. the journey will take about 2 and half hours through villages and padi fields. Depends on the day of departure, Sundays will be a bonus on the journey as you can drop by in Tamu Kota Belud, one of the famous weekends open market in Sabah. It is good to also buy some raw material or some souvenirs (although not compulsory) for your stay in the longhouse.

Afternoon – should arrive in the longhouse, and will be greeted by my in-laws family. Mr Maranjak is the head of Maranjak Homestay and from that point of time, you will be the guest of the longhouse. After having welcoming drinks, (coconut juice and some locally brewed liquor), you will be introduce to the lifestyle of the Rungus Longhouse and the activities. You will be shown on how to make beads (Beads making) and other handicraft, so called “Inavol”.

Evening – Dinner will be served with lots of local delicacies, and most of the vegetables are home grown. After dinner, there will be a traditional dance show for you, so called “Mongigol” and you are invited to join the show. You will also be served with local drinks, called “montoku”. But I must remind you that this drinks, if take excessively can lead you to be drunk. The night will end with you sleeping in one of the rooms in the longhouse.

Day 2 – The day will start with breakfast by the host. After that, traditional games takes place. You can try to solve some IQ quenching games that is traditionally made by the Rungus people. A visit to the beautiful beaches at the Tip of Borneo and a sightseeing session in Kudat town will be followed. You will then be brought back to the longhouse for packing and head back to Kota Kinabalu. A visit to Honey bee farm in Kg. Gombizau and Gong making in Kg. Sumangkap will be made on the way back to Kota Kinabalu.

Just drop me an email if you are interested.

Another Borneo Pygmy Elephant fitted with GPS collar

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Pygmy elephantLAHAD DATU: WWF-Malaysia captured another Borneo pygmy elephant in Ulu Segama-Malua on Tuesday after having tracked the path of the mammal for two days.

The captured elephant, a female believed to be few months pregnant, was fitted with a collar that can send GPS signals to WWF daily via satellite, enabling researchers to keep track of its movements.

The pachyderm, thought to be about 40 years old, was captured along with her young cub by a team of WWF wildlife trackers led by WWF-Malaysia’s Asian Rhinoceros & Elephant Action Strategy (AREAS) Project Manager Raymond Alfred and assisted by AREAS Programme Coordinator Amritharaj Christy Williams, who is based in Katmandu, Nepal.

The animal was sedated by the drug xylazine, fired from an air pump gun from close range, and then fitted with the GPS collar. The entire process took less than an hour.

Article syndicated from New Sabah Times

Calling ALL Sabah and Sarawak Bloggers!!!

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AdvertletsI received an email from Josh (Advertlets) today. He is looking for MORE Sabah and Sarawak (East Malaysia) Bloggers to join Advertlets, as he has an opportunity for us to make use of our ad space to serve MORE targeted ads, i.e. advertisers from East Malaysia for LOCAL viewers. By doing that, it may increase our click through rate, and indirectly may increase our revenue by serving the ads. This is what his email sounds like:

Here’s the thing….We have managed to attract the interest of a advertiser, who plans to advertise a relatively big series of lifestyle events on your blogs, sometime around June, in East Malaysia. The event will happen in both Sabah AND Sarawak. Fingers crossed, besides giving you a relevant ad to show on your blogs, we will also negotiate for free passes for all of you, and some of you will get paying review / blogvertorial opportunities of the event (before and after the event).

We are really looking forward to making this campaign a success. To make it easier for us to close this deal, and also to ensure we can get ads specifically for East Malaysia in future, we need more bloggers – there are currently less than 100 Advertlets Bloggers from East Malaysia. We’ll need more to create a big bang…say, maybe about 250-300, before end of May?

Personally, I think this would be the best practice. Similar like Google Adsense, serving more targeted ads will definitely bring more revenues to the publishers and bloggers like us. So, visitors from Sabah and Sarawak will feel more “at home” by seeing ads from a local advertisers, compared to seeing an international ads. I don’t know about you, but serving some US advertisement in this blog is almost useless, and it is a big “ad space waste” for me.

I have a very good feeling about this thing and really support Josh and his team. If you happened to be one of the “East Malaysian Blogger” (or even blogger-to-be) why not register with Advertlets. Fingers-crossed, hopefully it CAN really be done. Malaysia Boleh!

For Josh, I will surely be one of your loyal supporter.