Another Artfire offer

Here's another great offer from the folks over at Artfire:


To celebrate our anniversary we’re happy to announce a 2010 pre-pay
opportunity for our members with The ArtFire Pro 500. In the past,
many members have expressed interest in billing periods other than per
month which our previous payment systems wouldn’t allow. As we grow
and upgrade our infrastructure we are happy to extend a 2010 pre-pay
offer to 500 of our artisans. While this offer lasts, you can pay for
a yearlong Pro(Verified) ArtFire.com membership for just 100$; that’s
over 30% off the normal $12/mo rate. If you’re a $7/mo charter
artisan you have the option pre-pay for 2010 at your normal rate
knowing that you already have the best deal we can offer.

TANSTAAFL and Tooth Whitening

So everyone's always looking out for the good deals, especially now with the economy being what it is and so many dealing with reduced hours or wages, or being laid off. And there are lots of people out there right now looking to take advantage of you. The phrase "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch," or TANSTAAFL, has been around for ages, although it was popularized by Robert Heinlein in the mid 20th century, and it's a very good phrase to remember whenever you come across some internet offer that touts a supposedly free or very cheap version of some expensive procedure or product.

The one that seems to be exploding all over the internet is the tooth whitening scam. You'll see a little blurb that tells you that some housewife or teacher discovered this fantastic cheap alternative to the expensive products or procedures you can get through your dentist to whiten your teeth. I think this is especially enticing right now. You've been out of work for months, and finally land an interview. You really need the job, it looks like a really great company, and you want to make sure you give an excellent impression, and what better way than to start out with a brilliant smile when you walk in the door?

So you find this blog or website that says for just a few dollars in shipping you can get these two different tooth whitening product samples from two different companies, and if you use them together you get these fantastic results, and you just cancel after receiving your trial shipment. Sounds easy, right?

Well, first of all, where's the data that says these two products are safe to use in combination with each other? There's a good chance you will do serious damage to your teeth. Some kinds of whitening work because they actually strip off the enamel or calcium from your teeth, weakening them and making them more susceptible to cavities, give you sensitivity issues, or weaken the tooth enough that you'll be more likely to chip or break a tooth. A cheap fix for a bright smile could end up to be very costly in the long run.

Products such as these go through review and are approved for specific use by the FDA. Think these two products being used together have gone through that same review process? Really? Nope, neither do I.

And to make it even better? That "free" or "cheap" thing? It's a complete scam. All these blogs and websites that are supposedly written by these people just like you? They're shills for the companies that make these products.

Here's a bunch of examples, found in about a 10 minute Google search. See any similarities between all of these?

A mummy from Princeton, NJ, discovered how you can whiten your teeth for free at home

Megan from Seattle, Washington (gee, she might be my neighbor!) has a teeth whitening success story! But wait, when you click on the article, where does it say this mom is from?

A schoolteacher and fulltime mom shares her trick for whiter teeth

An average, humble mother of two has this trick to a whiter smile!

By pure dumb luck this woman discovered on two products that when combined made her teeth whiter!

This woman took advantage of an amazing free trial offer and has agreed to share her results with us!

A typical average mom found a way of mixing two separate teeth whitening product trials

Oh, look, another mom from Seattle! Or is she?

You'll call, you'll sign up for the free trial, give over your credit card number, and you'll find out that you won't be able to cancel it in time. So add to those few dollars you pay in shipping another $150-200 minimum, if you're lucky, and monthly charges of the same amount for months afterwards if you're not.

Here's an article on tooth-whitening trials complaints. And here's another blogger who explains how these websites are coded to change where these miraculous moms are from when each of you clicks on the link, to make it seem more personal and applicable to you.

I've seen similar scams for fabulous diets too, usually involving free samples of acai berry juice.

Please spread the word!

A Year in the Making, Day 64

Home again! I seem to be saying that alot lately. This should be the last of my trips for awhile, though.

I should be having some real food. I have a craving for grilled cheese and tomato soup. I am having popcorn instead, while watching reruns of NCIS. Cooking seems like too much effort tonight. Bad Victoria!

The munchkin's kindergarten class has an ongoing project. Clifford takes a trip. They each get to bring home a stuffed Clifford for a couple of nights, along with a bagful of Clifford books, and a 3-ring binder to which each student adds a page. I'll post Clifford's adventures in our house tomorrow.

Tonight, something simple, four pairs of briolette earrings. I bought these awhile ago (familiar refrain, that), and found them while I was digging around just now. There's two different shades of amazonite, some incredible moss agate, and some tiger iron.



This is the first of the work trips where we didn't get back on a Friday afternoon or evening, so it'll be early to bed tonight so I can be bright eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow. I'm usually a lot more beat after a trip, though. I always have problems sleeping in hotels. Last night, I realized it's probably because my hotel rooms have been too quiet. I usually go to bed earlier than my husband, so I can hear his background noise. My recent hotel room was right around the corner to the elevators, and not too far from the icemaker, so the mechanical hum probably soothed my subconscious and I got two full nights' sleep this trip. Something to remember for future trips, and that'll make me popular with the hotels too, I'm sure.

A Year in the Making, Day 63

Quick post today, as I'm falling asleep typing this. Good day, with lots of useful information imparted in a most humorous fashion. One of the best parts of the day was when one of the academic types, a PhD, said the following in an aside:

"What's the difference between bitching and complaining? ... Bitching is fun!"

Two pairs of earrings this evening, made with Swarovski crystal cubes.



Home tomorrow hopefully in time to read the munchkin a bedtime story and tuck her into bed, and also hopefully the end of the on the road posts for awhile.

JET of the Day!

I'm on several teams on Etsy, groups of like-minded or like-talented folks who work together to support each other. One of the most active is the Jewelry on Etsy team, or the JETs. It's a wonderful bunch of talented, creative people. One of the team features is our blog, which features a different teammate each day. It's great reading if you want to get a true idea of all the amazingly different talents represented in the bunch. And guess what? Today's I'm featured!

The write-ups are done by one of our teammates, Bob of Jewelry24Seven. He makes gorgeous custom made silver jewelry. Check out this garnet and sterling silver ring:



Got a long day ahead, time to start getting ready. But there's a wine and cheese reception at the end of the tunnel!

A Year in the Making, Day 62

Another "on the road" post, from a hotel in Portland. No view photographs today, thanks to daylight savings time, but here's my room:





And here's today's creation, not listed yet because I forgot to bring along the fabric remnant I use for photo backdrops, so I can't get really good pictures. It's made with antique faceted crystal beads, with the original antique black filigree bead caps, strung on silver wire, chain, and earwires. The picture is taken on the wooden desk in the hotel room:

A Year in the Making, Day 61

Pumpkin butter was not achieved today. It'll have to wait till next weekend. Instead, we cleaned. The house had gotten a little neglected in the last month, with all my preparations for the convention plus being away for work. We found the dining room table and the kitchen counter. The floors were mopped. Laundry was done. It is good.

I did some more beading today, and as I was sorting through looking for a particular color of seed beads, I found a few odd beads rolling around in the bottom of one of my bins. I found enough matching ones to make a few pairs of earrings.

Blue and green glass:



Pink and green glass:



Red and green agate:



Back on the road again tomorrow, off to Portland for another conference. Not staying in a Red Lion this time, so hopefully I'll have decent internet.

Cheerio!