Money Blue Book

Microsoft released Halo 3 – its highly anticipated Xbox 360 video game on Tuesday to much hype and acclaim. In case you didn’t know, some enthusiasts have called it the biggest day in entertainment history. I think the only other game that could possibly top Halo 3 in the future is Blizzard Entertainment’s upcoming Starcraft 2, but that’s a story for another day. The Halo series have been very fun to play, and many people are going to be forking over their money to buy this must-have game. Although I used to be a big computer gamer and still enjoy the occasional video or computer game, today I prefer to just read about it and follow the industry spectacle.

Blockbuster Games are Big Money

According to media reports, when Halo 3 comes out Tuesday, the video game is expected to pull in more than $150 million in sales in the first 24 hours, outshining the $151 million that the Spiderman 3 movie did during its entire three day opening weekend in May.

What does this all mean? It means that the video game industry has finally flexed its muscle and shown that it’s a force to be reckoned with. Popular blockbuster video games have become extremely profitable, with profit margins up to 90% compared to 40% or so for big time successful movies. Highly anticipated games can now easily outsell at retail what movies rake in at the box office.

Video Games Trumping the Movie Industry?

This made me wonder. Has the video game industry finally exceeded the movie industry? Has Hollywood finally lost its cutting edge touch and has it finally been pushed aside by the next generation of entertainment? The truth of the matter is that Hollywood is still firmly on top.

Successful video games are certainly very lucrative and popular games and systems can generate a substantial amount of sales, but unlike films, they are only limited to one outlet, which is retail. Video games are also still primarily constrained by its narrow fan base – mostly young men. In contrast, movies have a broad mainstream audience and have numerous sales outlets other than theaters. Movies can branch off into licensed video games, toys, and other merchandise. There is also further revenue from sales of DVD’s, Blu-Ray, and even future broadcast rights.

Interesting Trend in Entertainment

But I think with the continual growth and shift of video games into mainstream entertainment, if it wants to stay on top, Hollywood is ultimately going to have to rethink it’s model. The average gamer’s age is 29 and it’s steadily getting older. Some are also starting to encounter this interesting dilemma:

1. Stay in the comforts of your home and play a really great video game with your friends while eating cheap snacks and drinks, or
2. Go to a theater and pay upwards of $10 per person, while paying rip off prices for your popcorn and coke, and sitting through introductory commercials for a movie that may or may not turn out to be any good.

I know I’m oversimplifying things, but it’s an interesting comparison. Frankly I don’t really remember the last time I sat through a movie and though the price I paid for the movie and snacks was definitely worth the overinflated price.

What do you think about this statement – true or false? To prolong the life of your vehicle, experts recommend that you change your vehicle’s engine oil every 3000 miles.

The answer? False! Modern engines today are much more advanced and don’t require oil changes every 3000 miles, and research has shown that frequent oil changes have no appreciable benefits. The only experts that push for this are those from the oil industry.

The 3,000 Mile Myth

The long handed down concept of the 3000 miles oil change was the brain child of Jiffy Lube and propagated by oil industry officials. While it’s not exactly a scam per-se, it’s quite a lucrative myth for the engine oil maintenance industry. The average American drives 12,000 miles in a year, and with an oil change every 3,000 miles costing in excess of $25 each, that’s $100 annually for each customer. Every visit to the auto mechanic or oil change facility gives them yet another opportunity to push for other pricey maintenance services such as air filter replacement and transmission flush.

Although oil companies and quick engine lube shops like to promote this idea, it’s usually not necessary. Instead, drivers should consult their vehicle owner’s manual oil change schedule for more credible guidance. Most vehicles driven under normal conditions can reliably go 7,500 miles or more between oil changes. Some models now even come with monitoring systems that alert the driver when the oil needs changing. Depending on driving conditions, they can help extend oil change intervals further – to 10,000 or 15,000 miles.

If you want some test trial and research backing, just take a look at what Consumer Reports discovered. They performed an experiment to test engine oil performance in 1996 using New York City taxi cabs. After examining the results, they concluded that:

Even in the severe driving conditions that a New York City taxi endures, we noted no benefit from changing the oil every 3,000 miles rather than every 6,000. If your driving falls into the “normal” service category, changing the oil every 7,500 miles (or at the automaker’s suggested intervals) should certainly provide adequate protection. (We recommend changing the oil filter with each oil change.)

My Vehicle’s Correct Oil Change Interval

I checked out my Honda Accord’s driver’s manual and lo and behold, the car manufacturer recommends oil changes every 5,000 miles for severe driving and every 10,000 miles for normal driving. Every car model’s different, but in my case, my manual indicates that severe driving is characterized as mainly operating the vehicle under the following conditions:

• Driving less than 5 miles per trip, or in freezing temperatures, driving less than 10 miles per trip,
• Driving in extremely hot (over 90 degree) conditions,
• Used primarily as a delivery vehicle or taxi that is driven mostly in stop and go traffic and/or parked with the engine idling,
• Trailer towing, driving with a roof top carrier, or driving in mountainous conditions, or
• Driving on muddy, dusty, or de-iced roads.

My owner’s manual also notes that if you only occasionally drive under the above severe condition, than you should follow the normal driving conditions maintenance schedule. With this in mind, I would consider my driving to be fairly normal with more highway driving than local since I commute to work mostly via public subway transportation. Thus, I now get an oil change every 6,000 miles (a compromise between severe and normal), which comes out to twice a year, and I find it to be very sufficient.

It’s that time again. Time for free stuff! Oftentimes, I find myself signing up for some random freebie even though I know I have no particular use for the item. I just can’t resist something that’s free.

But as always, the items listed below are available as of the date of this posting, but keep in mind that some may not last too long once people get a wind of them. So get them while they’re still there! Please let me know if and when they are no longer available. Here they are:

1. FREE $10 Starbucks Gift Card – Both User Name and Password: “demo”. Tips on how to qualify: You have to be a woman older than 50, make more than $50,000 a year, and have had botox treatment before.
2. FREE 2 Year Subscription to Skiing Magazine
3. FREE $20 Amazon Gift Card From IBM – Why did they make the site so creepy?
4. FREE 30 Minutes Prepaid Phone Card
5. FREE $5 Starbucks Gift Card
6. FREE $5 WalMart Gift Card – Play the Pop Culture Challenge. Answers: 1. Runway, 2. Joey, 3. The Queen, 4. The Departed
7. FREE FreeStyle Lite Blood Glucose Monitor and 10 Test Strips
8. FREE General Mills FiberOne Cereal - Enter Pin Code: 10128-793932
9. FREE Marvel Mystery Oil From Turtlewax – Car savvy people might like this one.
10. FREE Nutra Sweet Sample
11. FREE Sample of Aquafresh Advanced Toothpaste
12. FREE Senokot 2008 Calendar – Sign up if you don’t mind having a free calendar advertising a brand of laxatives.
13. FREE Tazo Tea Sample – Click on “Be Enlightened” and sign up. They will automatically send you a free sample.
14. FREE T-Shirt from BioWizard

Remember to check out past Freebies if you haven’t already done so. Hopefully the other offers haven’t expired yet.

If you occasionally have free time to spare, then I recommend that you make some extra money on the side while you’re at it. MySurvey is one of the online survey companies that has drawn positive reviews. Spam does not appear to be an issue and the surveys are well designed and easy to complete. Doing online paid surveys is not the most efficient use of time, but if you approach it like a hobby like I do, it’s just a quick and easy way to make a small sum of money.

After completion of each survey, you receive reward points that can be later redeemed for prizes, merchandise, and even cash. You are also automatically entered into a cash sweepstakes after completion of each survey. The payouts for each completed survey averages from 10 points to 200. However, I have completed at least one offer worth 1000 points. If you decide to redeem your accumulated points for cash, 1000 points = $10.00.

If interested, you should sign up for several online paid survey companies to maximize your survey opportunities. I suggest expressing interest in many things during the initial profile setup to increase your chances of qualifying for more survey opportunities. The companies are not all the same. I personally prefer MySurvey more than some of the other companies like Greenfield Online because MySurvey doesn’t trick you into completing a lengthy survey only to wait till the very end before informing you that you didn’t qualify for the survey.

I’ve Earned More Points Than I Expected

I signed up with MySurvey a month ago back in August. So far I’ve racked up 2610 points by completing surveys during my free time. I’ve gotten very efficient in completing them. For a long one that should normally take 60 minutes to complete, it now only takes me 10-15 minutes. Not bad. I now have enough to redeem for $26.00 cash. Keep in mind that this is only for one survey company. I’ve also earned points through other companies as well.