Sunday, January 25, 2015

A #Sirius disappointment....

This post is not sponsored. Nothing was received for this post. As always- all opinions in this post are my honest opinions and not influenced by any partnerships I may have.


I am a mail carrier.... more specifically a rural mail carrier. I spend a lot of time in my car. Since I purchased my car used, I didn't get to choose what kind of options it had....and I've had to deal with the fact that it's not new so not everything is perfect. My stereo is one of those things. The 6 disc CD player hasn't worked since I purchased the car. I purchased it anyway (there's always the radio...right?). Well, the radio doesn't always come in- so I turned to Sirius.

I heard rave reviews from many people, and I checked with others in my town and was told the reception was great! I was excited, but then saw the price tags on the radios. I decided to wait to see if I could find a deal. Well, I finally found a pretty good deal on a Sirius XM radio, so I purchased it. I was SO excited because I could listen to Pearl Jam Radio whenever I wanted! 

The install wasn't all that bad, even in the winter. However, the account set up seemed like torture. I tried to do it online since I had a great discount code (6 months for $25). But, I couldn't get the deal to work. So, I thought I signed up for a free month trial. Nope, I signed up for INTERNET radio. Well, that isn't what I had intended (they even asked for the radio ID... why would they want your radio ID if you aren't using a Sirius radio with the service? CONFUSING!), so I had to cancel that. 

It took talking to 2 different people before they were able to activate my radio... but I did get the special introduction promo, and I was pretty satisfied at that point. 

Then.... after 3 days of great signal and everything seeming to go well....


and this...


I thought that it might be a one day thing... but then it has happened every. single. day. 

I refreshed the signal sent to my radio.... it didn't help. 

I've checked my antenna and all the wires from it- no problems! Nothing has changed, and it is all still in perfect condition. I've only had it for 10ish days! 

Aside from the signal issues I do enjoy the music, but it is a bit misleading when they say "commercial free". The stations are not commercial free. I have heard actual advertisements on most stations I've been able to listen to, and if it isn't an actual advertisement for a product it is a promo for another Sirius radio station.

The radio I have ( The OnyxPlus) isn't all that special... I wish I would have saved my money more and went with the basic radio. I don't need the color screen or album images, nor do I need all of the presets. It's a pain in the butt to change the station. You have to scroll through different stations one at a time or you can scroll through them by category but it's still a hassle! I had thought you could push the buttons to tune into a specific channel but you can't.

 Another major annoyance for me is that whenever I turn off my car (which is a lot since I have to turn it off each time I deliver a package) the whole radio turns off and has to reboot the signal. It would be nice if the radio held a charge so that the interruption didn't happen.

The price you pay for Sirius is NOT cheap... about $20 a month, plus taxes and fees plus royalty fees and a huge activation fee. Honestly, I think that I will likely be returning the radio if these problems can't be resolved and discontinuing my service.

Do you have an experience with Sirius?  I'd love to hear if you like it, love it, or hate it.


Wednesday, January 21, 2015

10 Benefits of HUGGING! #NationalHuggingDay





THE MOST ORIGINAL, HUGGABLE HERO OF ALL
SHARES THE 10 BENEFITS OF HUGGING!

1)    Hugs make us feel “happy”! When we hug another person, our bodies release oxytocin, a hormone associated with “happiness,” according to scientific studies. [1]

2)    Hugs alleviate stress! Just as a good hug increases our oxytocin levels, it decreases our cortisol or “stress” levels. [2]

3)    Babies need hugs as much as water and food! According to researchers at Harvard University, hugs help promote normal levels of cortisol necessary for child development. [3]

4)    Hugs make us better students! Students who receive a supportive touch from a teacher are twice as likely to volunteer in class. [4]

5)    Hugs improve our game! Scientists at University of California, Berkley discovered that the more affectionate members of a team are with each other, the more likely they are to win. [4]

6)    A hug a day keeps the doctor away! A hug stimulates the thymus gland, which in turn regulates the production of white blood cells that keep us healthy and disease-free. [5]

7)    A hug stops the bug! Researchers at Carnegie Mellon proved that individuals who were sick and received hugs had less severe symptoms and were able to get better quicker. [6]

8)    A hugging heart is a healthy heart! Research from University of North Carolina showed that a good hug helps ease blood flow and lower cortisol levels, which in turn help lower our heart rates. [7]

9)    A hugging couple is a happy couple! Couples that experience their partners’ love through physical affection share higher oxytocin levels. [8]

10)    Hugs let someone know you care without having to say a word! According to Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at University of California, Berkeley, we can identify love from simple human touch – imagine how much love a big hug can communicate! [9]



BURBANK, CA, January 21, 2015 – After much deliberation and even more hugging, Baymax, the lovable personal companion robot and star of Walt Disney Animation Studio’s action-packed comedy adventure and Academy Award® Nominated film “Big Hero 6,” was today named Most Huggable Character of 2015 on National Hugging Day™!

The coveted award was presented by the Ambassador of Hugs, Kevin Zaborney, founder and creator of National Hugging Day.™ Baymax humbly accepted the award from his residence in San Fransokyo where he attributed the honor to his “non-threatening, huggable design” and said he looks forward to spending the upcoming year giving and receiving hugs from all.

The Most Huggable Character Award coincides with this month’s National Hugging Day™ held annually on January 21. National Hugging Day™ was created to encourage people around the world show more affection in public. There is only one way you are supposed to celebrate the holiday: offer a hug to anyone and everyone you want.

Past winners of the Most Huggable Awards have included Joan Rivers who wrote after receiving her award, "I'm tempted to start saying 'Can we hug?' instead of 'Can we talk'" alluding to her participating in a telephone company ad; Jeff Ondash (aka Teddy McHuggins); Tessla Queen (bingtopia.com); and Mata Amritanandamayi (Kerela, India known as the "Hugging Saint").

For more information, please visit http://www.nationalhuggingday.com/home, like us on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Hugging-Day-tm-January-21st, Tweet us at  @hugambassador.


Disney’s “Big Hero 6” will be available nationwide on Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere February 3 and on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack February 24. For more information, visit http://movies.disney.com/big-hero-6.



 
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