photo credit: dearsomeone

As I mentioned in my last post, I would love to be able to earn a passive income online, but that is a long journey and the rewards don’t always match up to the effort put in. We can all raise money through resources that we all have and have simply forgotten about, and I’m talking about all that ‘junk’ you’ve got squirreled away in your loft/spare room/under the bed.

Out of site, out of mind, but the questions I’ve asked myself are: Am I really going to watch all those DVDs? Will I listen to that CD again? Am I going to wear that shirt again? The simple fact if you haven’t used them for the past few years, then you probably didn’t even remember you had half the stuff so why not make some money from them.

Primarily I’m looking towards my DVD and CD collection to clear space and to also make a few quid. There are three routes to take for these items as each CD/DVD has a different value (I believe) and they cannot all be sold in the same way.

• Someone wants them. If you have rare CDs, import DVDs, collectible vinyl then it’s worth realising this and putting the item up for auction on eBay. We all know how eBay works and if there is high demand for an item then you can often get a very good return.
• No one wants them. It would be hard to shift these ones as they are frankly worthless, and so a website such as Musicmagpie.co.uk which buys your discs regardless of who they are can get rid of the clutter. Most CDs/DVDs will only get 30p each which seems rather small but it’s better than just giving them away and some will be worth more. If you have lots of discs then this can add up.
• Everyone might want them. Some CDs/DVDs remain popular, but due to their mass popularity there are a large amount in circulation, and so they are not easy to sell online. If you go onto eBay and search for DVDs then you will see thousands of identical ones, most with zero bids, or going for next to nothing. For my popular items I will look to cut out the middle man and sell direct via the ‘for sales’ board at work. I know who I’m targeting and if I can achieve £1-£2 per DVD then I would be happy and I believe this is what people would be happy to pay.

Some people will argue that they paid £10 for the discs when new and want to recoup more of their costs, but the fact is that something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for them. Whilst it might not seem that much it is better than nothing, and in most cases it’s money for something you didn’t even know you had.

We of Thanet love our history, due partly to the fact that we have so much of it here and one of the sights that greet visitors entering Thanet is the Viking Ship Hugin which is found at Pegwell Bay. I’m sure most of you know the history but just to recap in 1949 the ‘Hugin’ sailed from Denmark to Thanet in celebration of the 1500th anniversary of the traditional landing of Hengist and Horsa at Ebbsfleet and the betrothal of Hengist’s daughter, Rowena, to King Vortigen of Kent.

We can go a lot more into that historical line but I’m more interested in 1949 rather that 449 and I’ve come across these great videos from British Pathe that show the Hugin arriving at Viking Bay (originally known as Main Sands until this event), the thousands who celebrated its arrival, and the presentation ceremony in 1950 by Prince Georg of Denmark with the ship on display at Pegwell Bay.

Just click on the photo and you’ll be taken to the relevant video.

VIKING SHIP ARRIVES

KENT GREETS VIKING INVADERS

THE VIKING SHIP ‘HUGIN’ AT RAMSGATE

It really is amazing having such a link into the past. Yes it’s a relic that’s only 60 years old but it signifies something a lot older and normally gets me spouting off about Vikings et al.

Tonight Euroferries were featured on BBC 1′s Inside Out programme in an investigation by Glenn Campbell under the title of ‘Will Euroferries start a new ferry service?‘

You will shortly be able to watch the programme on BBC iPlayer on this link.

I’m not sure of the viewing figures for the programme but I’m sure that quite a few people in the South-East watch it so it really could be seen as a good PR opportunity to set the record straight and let the public know what is happening, something the blogging community has been asking for the past year, but Euroferries declined to be filmed and instead released another press release (some of which contradicted what Thanet Council were saying.)

Glenn went down to their ‘offices’ at the Port of Ramsgate to find that there weren’t any, and then went to find Adrian Gillan (Director of Euroferries), but he wasn’t available either, so yet again it was left to the viewer to speculate and grow even more pessimistic about the chance of a cross channel ferry from Ramsgate to Boulogne.

I’ve never really watched American Football before and have only got tastes of it from the movies (Last Boy Scout anyone?) which I doubt really gives a true representation of the sport. I do however know the basic rules of the game and always liken it to Rugby League for simplicities sake. Of course there are lots of ‘time-outs’ too which seem to be integral to American sports.

So anyway, I found myself watching the Super Bowl match between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts and I quite enjoyed it, although I only made it to halftime before having to get to bed (just before 1am). This morning I found out the Saints had won the match 31-17. We Brits usually dismiss the game as rugby but with padding, but I guess that’s because we don’t know a great deal about the game. Don’t get me wrong, some of it is still very ‘different’ to sports I’ve played but I guess I’ve got a little more respect for it now having actually watched a real game.

The only thing that would annoy me though is the adverts which come on at every possible moment, but luckily for me I was watching the match on BBC1 so when the adverts came up they just went back to the studio for some more insight from the pundits (and from @Aravis and @LegalEagle).

True Blood, the American TV series about the co-existing lives of vampires and humans in Louisiana, is a great bit of television and is currently showing on Channel 4, but what does impress me every time I watch in the title sequence.

A quick scour on Wikipedia tells us that the sequence was Emmy nominated, so have a look at it below if you haven’t been watching the series.

Its main inspiration is Sex, Death, and Religion, but then you probably knew that after watching the video. If you want to read about the making of it then click here.

A very funny Alan Partridge clip for you today where Michael tells Alan about the transexuals in Bangkok:

The Hangover...funny film.

I was a little tired yesterday after work and wanted to do something relaxing so I popped off to the cinema by myself and watched ‘The Hangover‘.

A Las Vegas-set comedy centered around three groomsmen who lose their about-to-be-wed buddy during their drunken misadventures, then must retrace their steps in order to find him.

It may sound like something that has been done a million times before, and maybe it has, but it was very funny, and I even found myself laughing out loud (or maybe I should put lol) at quite a few bits. If you’ve got an hour and a half spare then go and watch the film and have a chuckle.

I was thinking that as my own little tribute to Michael Jackson that I would learn to moonwalk. Not sure if that will happen but it would be very cool indeed.

Friday 19th June was our Summer Ball at Uni and my job for the evening was to take video and photos which is something I enjoy, although lugging around equipment for 7 hours wasn’t great fun especially as it was hot hot hot.

The good thing was that there were loads of bands and artists to photograph and I got a few good photos. Nothing amazing but I was happy with them, and will do for promotion for next year’s Ball.

Arcadian Kicks performing at the Summer Ball

You can see more photos here (over 300 so only if you have time!) and you can see the video below.