Most of us know of online auction sites like eBay – but have you heard of penny auctions like DealDash? The difference can be a real bargain – like an iPad for $11.09!

Here’s how it works:

• Starting from zero, an item is listed with a timer.
• You bid on an item, and the price goes up one penny, and the timer resets.

Get the idea? Now, as long as people bid, the clock resets, and the auction never ends. Eventually, people get bored, or use up their bids (in this auction, you pay to make each bid), and the clock runs out, and someone wins.

It’s a different take on the online auction, and in addition, DealDash has a few unique wrinkles that makes it a popular site (1.5 million users):

• If you lose out, you can still buy an identical item using a Buy It Now button. A good deal (obviously not as good as the auction), but it means you don’t need to go away empty handled. And as an incentive, you get your bids refunded, so you can bid on another item.
• BidBuddy is their system for automated bidding, allowing you to continue bidding even when you can’t be at the computer – ideal for auctions that go on for awhile.
• NoJumper auctions are auctions that ‘lock out’ new bidders after the price reaches $5 – only the people that bid before then are allowed bid further. This way, coming in at the last moment to bid is impossible – only people in for the long haul get to bid.

With options like this, the site is well worth a look if you’re living in the U.S. and interested in a bargain – so check out BidDash today.

How old do you want to be?

Here’s a simple test: If you know what a juicer is good for, I’m guessing you’ve added a year or two to your lifespan with just that knowledge. People who are into juicing and blending raw ingredients are taking care of their health in many ways. By being proactive, they are avoiding some of the common causes of poor health.

For instance, when you juice, you are taking in the live essence of the fruit or vegetable, rather than a squeezed and stored version. Enzymes break down in time, so the closer you can get it from the ground the better. And unless you live close to a farm, juicing fresh grocery produce is as good as it gets.

Of course, you may not be into juicing – blending may be your thing. Or air purification, especially if a family member is into smoking, or you live in an area with bad smells or high pollen counts.

Case in point: Wandering through an online site like this to find your juicer, you may notice a dehydrator, or air purifier, or a really powerful blender. All these appliances can contribute to better health, but all together, you can improve your health a great deal:

• Dehydrators allow you to take raw food and preserve it. Not only does it give you things like fruit ‘jerky’, but it provides natural snacks you can use to ‘crowd out’ the junk your kids may want right now for snacking.
• Blenders can do some fancy things. I thought a $50 blender was enough, until I wanted to blend ice cubes for a summer smoothie. Now I know better, and the missus wants a REAL ‘ice crusher’ blender…
• Air filters are vital for some people with allergies, but frankly anyone wanting better air should look into these things. Pet dander, outside pollen, and smoke are just a few of the things these products clean up.
• Juicers, as I’ve already mentioned, take the goodness of the fruit/vegetable and put it into drinkable form. I’ve tried a few juices in my day, and having a machine you can use to mix and match in your own home is ideal for some really fine drinks (I’ve found beet juice surprisingly nice when added to more ‘normal’ juices like carrot).

I’m not saying a dehydrator or juicer will make you live to 120 – but thinking about health and how to improve it is a great start. Grab something to make the healthy choices easier to follow, and get started – because it’s never too early to aim for 120!

What do Donald Faison and Tattoo removal have in common?

OK, that isn’t an easy one, unless you were watching Attack of the Show last week, in which Donald Faison (Scrubs, The Exes) admitted he was getting an old tattoo finally removed.

And in a move that will instantly show my age, I immediately thought ‘told you so’.

The fact is, tattoos are a real commitment. Change your hair color, eye color (with contacts), even your skin color with bronzers, and you can reverse it if you wish (that’s bronzers, not tanning, by the way; I remember a few uber-tanners from the 80′s that probably look like leather bags now, but that’s another story). But tattoo yourself, and you’ve made a statement you’re living with the rest of your life, unless you decide to get it removed.

I couldn’t put this point across any better than a site I saw online, which is about laser tattoo removal in San Antonio The site starts with a picture montage: a girl in evening dress with a large tattoo on her back, a “tramp stamp” that looks dated, and a guy trying to get ready for the office with a large arm tattoo showing past the cuff.

And as Donald showed, sometimes it just doesn’t fit anymore. He didn’t admit what it was on the show (it was the Superman shield), but his explanation was that the tattoo was OK for an 18-year, but 20 years later it just doesn’t work (unless you’re Superman, I suppose). And that’s another reason for tattoo removal – a ‘lark’ in your youth can really close doors. While a “girl with the dragon tattoo” look may be fun if you’re a super computer hacker, most of us have rather mediocre jobs – and for most of those jobs, seeing a tattoo is really jarring. Plus, as far as I know, you can discriminate in job hiring based on tattoos (unless perhaps if they are of a religious or other protected nature), so how many jobs might you have lost out on because of that ink?

It’s everyone’s choice to tattoo (drunken binges with friend notwithstanding). Fortunately, you can get it removed too – so at least it doesn’t HAVE to be permanent…

Lenz has a new set of contests happening – and if you’ve been paying attention, the benefits are getting a lot bigger…

For those not in the know, Lenzr is a free to submit photo contest (actually, a bunch of photo contests). You visit their site, pick a contest, and take the appropriate photo. You win (and win big – just see below); plus, you get not only the fun of a nice prize, but acknowledgment from your peers that you can really ‘click’!

Here’s some details about the contests running right now:

What does a Sony Laptop computer and construction have in common? If you’ve taken the ideal construction photo, then the laptop is yours! This contest, called Construction Sights, is all about interesting construction projects. So if it grabs you, share the photo so others can get caught up as well. This contest is sponsored, appropriately enough, by a company that makes its fair share of interesting construction sites – Nuden, which specializes in Ottawa roofing and windows (but of course they do many other things, like doors and siding).

With the contest Best Office Staff Party, no doubt there will be lots of photos of charades, karaoke, and Twister – because office parties are ALWAYS tame affairs. However, in the off chance you get a picture or two of a really FUN office party, then this is the contest to show them. Again, the best pic gets you a Sony laptop. And if you don’t have enough staff where you work for a decent office party? Fortunately for you, the sponsors of this contest just happen to provide I.T. Staff and other high tech personnel for the Toronto area – and as we all know, Geeks really know how to party!

Remember when you were a kid and learned to count? Everything was a chance to practice your number skills. And now you get a second chance to revisit that time of youth with this contest, A Counting Exercise. Just take a photo of repeating patterns that could be counted. Pickets in a fence? Cars in a row? If it can be counted, then it’s an entrant – but of course your winning photo will have that extra “something special” in order to win the Sony laptop grand prize! This contest is sponsored by Cunningham Accountants, Toronto Accountants who know the web well – for service you can ‘count on’ (wow, I’m surprised they never used that as a tagline)!

Have you ever seen a beam of light that was so strong it looked solid? Maybe something coming through a cloud after a rainstorm? Then grab your camera, because that is the type of photo they want for this contest, Shafts of Sunlight. And if you get the best of the best, your reward is appropriate – a Sony DSCH70 Camera so you can use to take even better photos! The contest sponsor fits right in with the topic, too: they encounter a lot of sun in their workday, since they create spectacular sunrooms for houses and cottages in Ontario (plus, they’re known for efficiency and high quality).

I’m sure it’s a coincidence, but these contests all fit in well with summer – office parties, outdoor construction, and sunlight. Oh yeah, AND the accounting contest – because you’ll need to use them on ‘account’ of all the fun you’re having taking pictures this summer! (Sorry about that, but it’s late at night when I wrote this!)

And as I’ve mentioned before, these contests are a great way to get your photos into the public eye. I have a friend who takes pictures – and contests like this are fantastic for exposure that doesn’t otherwise come his way. And once you’ve won for your outstanding photo, then you’ve got bragging rights – after all, who doesn’t want to call themselves an “award winning photographer”?

And it’s only a single click away – so get started people…