Adventures of the 2-Faced Baseball

12:05:23 PM EST
Feeling Angry

      

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10:47:33 AM EST
Feeling Angry

Folks,

When AOL introduced AIM Blogs, they placated paying members by saying the free AIM Blogs would have an ad banner and paying AOL accounts would have no such ad. 

This is evidenced in this blog entry from John Scalzi --  Introducing AIM Blogs

The important excerpt in case the entry is removed: "For AOL Journalers, this means that the neighborhood is about to get a lot bigger and a lot more diverse -- and, not entirely coincidentally, that all your friends with AIM accounts will now be able to have their own blog here on AOL, with all the features of AOL Journals (the real difference is that AIM Blogs, being a free service, have an ad at the top, whereas AOL Journals, as part of your paid AOL account, are ad-free)."

As time goes on, AOL has been giving away for free what many members pay the highest cost of any ISP to have.  Yes, I realize they make more off of advertising than paid subscriptions.  Have we, as AOL members, become redundant?  There comes a time that you have to make a stand for services you dole out your hard-earned money to have.  The customer should be a priority to any company and it's obvious that AOL considers their advertisers their customers, not those of us who have subscribed for years. The Journals of paying AOL accounts should NOT have ad banners and should function well on the whole.  Flashing ad banners not only are aesthetically offensive, but take a long time to load for those AOL members paying an absolutely ridiculously inflated price mainly for features and benefits AOL gives away for free on AIM. 

What am I doing?  I'm writing to AOL.  Whether it will have any effect or fall on deaf ears, I don't know.  I've already moved one of my Journals off the service to Blogspot where their free blogs carry no huge banner ads.  In my recent entries on my AOL Journals, I'm posting no actual content.  All I'm doing is posting a boycott of the advertisers listed in the ad banner.  Now, if the advertisers see their ad followed by a request to boycott -- well, it's not a good thing.

Any ad banners should be restricted to those with FREE AIM Blogs, paid work accounts for AOL, etc.  Those of us who PAY to be a member here shouldn't have to have garish, crass and annoying ads for companies we do not support on our personal journals -- especially when we can go elsewhere and create blogs for FREE with no such ad banners. AOL stopped listening to its customers long ago and stopped the ad campaigns which spoke of how important we, as the customer, are.  What they're not giving away for free these days really isn't worth paying the highest dial-up cost in the country to have, IMO.  And, something like this, pushes more subscribers right out the door.

If you're not making your Journal private, boycott.  Post one entry for all to see urging the boycott of any companies in the ads and of AOL Journals themselves.  Hopefully the companies in the ads themselves will note the negative publicity.

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6:56:43 PM EST
Feeling Angry

I'm looking to move this blog to another venue.  This is NOT a free AIM account, this is a paying account stuck with a slow loading ad banner by AOL.  I do this on a dial up which already slows the page loading due to the graphics.

The ball is boycotting AOL Journals with banner ads for paying customers.

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5:18:30 PM EST
Feeling Chillin'
Hearing Bob Marley & Peter Tosh - 'Get Up, Stand Up' Ah, food, mon, FOOD!  Here I am enjoying the take out Jamaican patties! 

Cow heel soup?  Uh... I think not!  They have hoofs... hooves... HARD FEET!  There!

I'm a worldly Ball.  I am.  I really am!

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7:28:01 PM EST
Feeling Mischievous
Hearing Third Eye Blind - 'Keep Away Danger' Let's go exploring!  This looks SO cool, doesn't it?  I love to explore! 

Sign?

What sign?  Oh... just ignore that!  I'm sure there's no real danger!  C'mon!

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7:49:51 PM EST
Feeling Ecstatic
Hearing Frank Sinatra - 'New York, New York' As Mayor of New York City, I promise free Yankees tickets to everyone!  Free CrackerJacks for ALL!

That Freddie shouldn't have run against ME!  And who knows where Mike went when they started showing the exit polls... a LANDSLIDE!  A HOME RUN!

I'm the Mayor!  I'm the Mayor!

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8:06:12 PM EST
Feeling Anxious
Hearing Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan - 'Fire Hydrant #79' It wasn't ME!  I SWEAR I DIDN'T DO IT!  I was innocently rolling along and he FELL OVER ALL ON HIS OWN!  I think it was old age.

Really.

It wasn't me!  I'm innocent!

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12:40:54 AM EST
Feeling Ecstatic
Hearing Queen - 'Bohemian Rhapsody' "I'm just a poor ball, from a poor family
He's just a poor ball from a poor family...
I'm just a poor ball, nobody loves me..."

WAIT!  You like me!  You really do! 

THANK YOU for voting for me to receive the MOST ORIGINAL/CREATIVE BALL AWARD!  Er... that's JOURNAL award! 

I want to thank everyone who made this possible:
The New York Yankees
The Somerset Patriots
The Billiard Ball gang at the pool hall
The Ping Pong Balls I've loved over the years
The Tennis Balls I've courted
The Super Balls whose bounce I've envied
The Red Rubber Ball by Cyrkle
The Golf Balls with whom I've run the course
The Magic 8 Ball who told me the future was unclear
The Basketballs... the "other BBall"
The Footballs even though they're not well-rounded
The Beach Balls -- love their surfing music!

And, most of all...
I want to thank YOU, my fellow J-Landers!  It's an honor indeed!  Thank you all so very much!

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4:36:46 PM EST
Feeling Anxious
Hearing 'Give my Regards to Broadway' Tonight's the night!  Yay!

"Give my regards to Broadway!
Remember me to Herald Square!
Tell all the gang at Forty Second Street
That I will soon be there!"

It's the gala extravaganza VIVI AWARDS ceremony!  Congratulations go out to all the nominees and a huge thank you goes to Patrick, Vivian and Betty (who's hosting the chat room)!  You can find the chat room info here -->  2005 AOL/AIM Journals Peer Recognition Awards Chat

If you're on AIM, check out the more recent entry in Betty's Journal (the one linked above).  I'll see you all there!  I must go get my stitches primped!

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5:09:01 PM EST
Feeling Ecstatic
Hearing Queen - 'Miracle' It's a MIRACLE!  The doctors cured my cousin Pat!  Wow!  A mix of modern medicine and the heavens above!  He's as good as new!

I can't believe it!

The cops are still lookin' for the perpetrators of the dastardly deed.  If you know who did it, call the crime tip line.

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