<a href="http://www.webraw.com/quixtar/archives/2005/02/monday_reader_mail_33.php">Monday Reader Mail: 33

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QBlog's Farcical Help Desk - 14

By QBlog in Farcical Help Desk

Every Friday, the QBlog Farcical Help Desk™ answers the Quixtar questions that nobody dared to ask. Additionally, each Help Desk answer is guaranteed to end with some form of punctuation or we'll refund your money. No fooling!

Question: I heard that the Artistry Research Team uses "the same technology to map the skin’s surface that NASA uses to map the surface of the moon." Is that true and what does it mean?
Answer: It's absolutely true and it means that the Artistry Research Team is using some really state-of-the-art gear to map your face.

Q: Wow. That is so exciting. I've always wanted my face mapped. Sometimes I get confused and a map would really help out. Like one night I kept trying to shove a tuna sandwich (on rye) in my nose because I was thinking it was my mouth. A map would have really come in handy that night.
A: Of course it would and Quixtar's Artistry Face Map will help you avoid embarrassing situations like that. There's even a laminated travel version of the map that fits snugly in your back pocket.

Q: Awesome! I've already order 30 copies of my personalized Face Map. But, I was just wondering, how does the Artistry Team make the map?
A: Well, they do it just like NASA mapped the moon!

Q: And how exactly did NASA map the moon?
A: Ah, you want a history lesson. Ok. Well, in 1969 NASA sent three men to the moon with a Lunar Rover and they set out to map the moon. They drove all around its dusty surface drawing elaborate maps of each crater. There are rumors that the map is really a photocopy of a slice of swiss cheese but I know Neil Armstrong and he's alergic to dairy.

Q: So... Neil Armstrong is going to map my face?
A: No, silly. The Artistry Research Team has a miniturization machine (patent pending) that shrinks a team of Artistry cartographers and deploys them onto the surface of your face to make a detailed map. They even shrink a "lunar rover" to speed up the process. It's all done while you're sleeping.

Q: That's awesome. Man, Quixtar is soo cool. I love it!
A: And Quixtar loves you back big guy. Hugs and kisses.

Q: Wasn't this farcical thing supposed to be on Friday?
A: It is!

Q: But this is Saturday, which is not Friday.
A: But it's still Friday in Australia.

Q: No it's not you dork. They're ahead of the U.S., not behind. That's why they celebrate New Years the day before the folks in the U.S. It's Sunday in Australia.
A: Oh. So maybe we did publish on the wrong day after all?

Q: That's what I'm trying to tell you. Where were you anyway?
A: See, the Help Desk ™ crew was up all night Thursday celebrating Yom Kippur.

Q: Really. Getting an early start huh?
A: Uh.. ok... we really just forgot. Happy now?

Q: Always
A: Bye.

February 25, 2005

Who Said That?

By QBlog in

"You and I may approach the business in different ways. You and I may want different things. You and I may do different things in the business. But you (the leaders) and we (the company) are joined at the hip. We're joined at the wallet."

» Who said that? (mp3)

February 24, 2005

- Suckered!

By QBlog in Quixtar Chatter

- Suckered!

"We asked the presenter if this was an Amway-style operation, and were repeatedly told that this was the furthest thing from Amway"

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New Rumors?

By QBlog in

Move over Proctor and Gamble, looks like a new batch of rumors are emerging from the Quixtar faithful and they have nothing to do with "the man in the moon." Nope, looks like the new rumors target Wal-Mart and focus on patriotism instead of religion.

From Miguel's LiveJournal we read:

My trepadation about this mounted. He [the Quixtar IBO] told me (again) that he (they) out performed Walmart last year by 100 million dollars. Also, that Walmart is going to pull out of the country soon. I thought Walmart was an American company? Now, that doesn't seem very American does it? Quixtar is an American company, giving oppurtunities to Americans.

Alright, it's quite possible that such comments are indeed isolated to this one "rogue IBO" but they are consistent with my experiences in Quixtar. I don't recall hearing those specific rumors but my wife was repeatedly told that Quixtar is an American company, selling products made in America, employing Americans and providing support to American causes. And those comments were often contrasted with Wal-Mart who was described as something less than American.

Are the rumors true? Well, Wal-Mart does import a lot (most?) of the products they sell. They were once putting "Made in USA" stickers on products but that practice has since ended. However, Quixtar outperforming Wal-Mart by $100 million? Not hardly. And is Wal-Mart planning to leave the United States? I really don't know but it seems unlikely since it's still owned (majority I believe) by Sam Walton's kids.

What's curious to me is that the IBO quoted in Miguel's post found it necessary to question Wal-Mart's patriotism. I wonder if others have had similar experiences? Have you ever been told some outrageous (or not so outrageous) statistic about one of Quixtar's competitors while being shown "the plan?" If so, would you care to share?

February 23, 2005

? Truth About Quixtar

By QBlog in Quixtar Chatter

? Truth About Quixtar

"Quixtar Truth will scour the internet to find information about Quixtar"

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Raise Your Hands

By QBlog in

Sometimes fiction does what reality can't.

Wow, what a great turnout tonight. How's everybody doing? Great! Me too. It's wonderful to see so many of you here and I just want to start by asking a couple of questions. By a show of hands, how many of you out there have ever had somebody try to get them to become a Quixtar IBO or an Amway Distributor? Just raise your hands. It could be anybody, a colleague at work, family, friends, your pastor, anyone.

Ok, ok. Good. Lot of hands out there. Spectacular. Now, keep your hands raised if you were "prospected" to join Quixtar or Amway more than once. If you were only recruited once, then put your hands down. I just want to see the hands of people who have had different people try sponsor them in "the business."

Ok, ok. Still a lot of hands out there. Not as many but quite a few. Keep 'em raised. It's good for you. Gets your blood flowing down your arm into your brain. Boosts your thinking power. Now, how many of you, with your hands still raised, ever had someone try to sell you Quixtar or Amway products before trying to get you to become an IBO or Distributor? Keep your hands raised if someone tried to sell you a product like SA8, XS Engergy Drink or Artistry Cosmetics before showing you "the plan." You can put your hands down if nobody tried to sell you products or they only tried to sell you products after trying to recruit you.

Goodness. A lot of hands just dropped. Not many hands raised now. Not many at all.

- Inspired by God's ex-Boyfriend

February 22, 2005

- Team of Destiny (the latest incarnation of the Amway empire)

By QBlog in Quixtar Chatter

- Team of Destiny (the latest incarnation of the Amway empire)

"All I hear about is how much money everyone makes at this, but when I divide the gross revenue of the corporation by the number of Independent Business Owners, I get about $2,000 per year"

? Top Ten Signs Your Super Bowl Party Is Bad

By QBlog in Quixtar Chatter

Top Ten Signs Your Super Bowl Party Is Bad

"7. You knock out the Tupperware and Pampered Chef parties at the same time. Extra bonus bad points for having a whiteboard set up beside the TV for your Amway presentation."

- I used to be in Amway, (Quixtar)

By QBlog in Quixtar Chatter

- I used to be in Amway, (Quixtar)

"Deceive others into thinking something about you that is not true because you are greedy for more"

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DeVos Speaks - Income Claims

By QBlog in DeVos Speaks

"DeVos Speaks," is special series that features comments made by Amway co-founder Rich DeVos. Each DeVos quote is published without comment and includes a link to the source material (for context) when available. This series doesn't have a regular publication schedule but all posts are available under the Category listing on the Archives page.

"Number Two: I will only use Amway-produced literature in the presentation of the Plan and will use only the figures Amway gives.

We have a major lawsuit going right now with an attorney general in one of the states based on people making what they say are excess claims and telling people they hardly have to work at all, telling them you can make $50,000.00 a year and you only have to work twelve hours a week.

Now, you and I both know, you know; that -- that just can't be put up with. And, therefore, I have a very simple statement to you: Don't create numbers of your own. You use the numbers and the literature we give you, and nobody else's. You don't have any tapes in your group to teach you how to present the Plan other than the one Amway has. That's what I mean by following Rule Two."

- Rich DeVos, Directly Speaking - 1983

February 21, 2005

Monday Reader Mail: 32

By QBlog in Reader Mail

Another edition of Reader Mail. It must be Monday.

name: joesmoe
date: February 18, 2004

message: Your comparison of income to employments doesn't show one thing, how much time does the average person put into their job as an engineer, doctor, etc. and how much time does the average person put into quixtar. If people treated it the same as their real job then they might have different outcomes.

What "joesmoe" is referring to is my post on the Quixtar Average Income. In that post I make some income comparisons using Quixtar's own data. And joesmoe does make an excellent point and one that should be examined. How would Quixtar's income averages change if all IBOs worked it full-time?

Well, the first issue we encounter is lack of immediate revenue. I doubt anyone will claim that a brand new IBO should quit their day job and start working Quixtar full-time. Why not? Because there isn't a guaranteed salary for an IBO as there would be for "traditional jobs." If a new IBO puts in 40 hours he may not get a dime that week. It's hard to live off nothing. Of course, commissioned salesmen are in a similar situation but they generally begin their jobs with an enormous set of tools including solid leads (not friends and family) and extensive market analysis. Basically, Quixtar is designed to be a part-time job with part-time income, at least until a certain pin level. But Quixtar isn't usually pitched (or sold) as a part-time income. It's sold with phrases like "Freedom for your family" and "Flush that stinkin' JOB." The marketing of Quixtar by most of its IBOs is that it is a full-time income, and more.

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, Quixtar makes no distinction between those IBOs who work "the business" 5 hours a week and 55 hours a week. The Quixtar Average Income data lumps everyone together. But guess what? All the other income averages do the same thing. I listed the Quixtar IBO averages along with Engineers, Farmers, Small Businesses, Physicians and College Grads. None of the other averages make a distinction between full-time and part-time work. One could make assumptions but there's no way to verify the accuracy of those assumptions.

And so we're right back where we started. Murky data leads to murky conclusions. Maybe Quixtar could provide some real meaty data? Give some solid, detailed numbers about all its IBOs. Why don't they do that? Are they hiding something?

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February 20, 2005

Blogging 101 - Podcasting

By QBlog in Blogging 101

The latest buzz in the Blog Realm (and everywhere else it seems) is something called "podcasting." The term "podcasting is "a portmanteau of the words iPod and broadcasting." The primary goal of podcasting is to make audio (broadcasting) portable by automatically downloading programs onto mp3 players like the iPod. Four Minutes About Podcasting is a video that gives a brief overview of the technology, how it works and why it's so much fun. However, as the video points out, you don't really need a portable device to join the podcasting revolution, you simply need an internet connection, some podcasting software and a computer that plays mp3 files (all of them do).

How Does It Work?
There are two obvious aspects of podcasting: the consumption of the podcasts and the creation of the podcasts. First, let's look at podcasting consumption (finding and listening to great audio). To start listening to podcasts you'll need:

A computer
An Internet connection
Software to play mp3s like iTunes or Musicmatch (and chances are you already have something on your computer)
Some podcasting software like iPodder
An audio card (for your computer), speakers, headphones or a portable mp3 player like iPod
Ears

Assuming you're familiar with steps 1-3 let's address step 4. Once you've installed the podcasting software you'll need to find programming that you would like to add to your list of podcasts. Finding podcasts is easy. Either look for an "XML" link on your favorite blog or check out one of the many podcasting directory sites like iPodder.org, Podcast.net and Podcast Alley. If you look around long enough, you'll find something you like.

Once you find some programming, add it to your podcasting software and you're almost ready to go. The next step is to download the program and then either listen to it on your computer or transfer it to your portable music player. It's really pretty simple. If you're still confused, type "podcasting" into Google and you'll find many great resources to help get you on your way.

The Podcasters
But what about those who want to create their own podcasts? Well, beoming a podcaster is obviously more complicated than simply listening to existing podcasts. There are many different ways to publish a podcast but I'll go over some of the basics. You'll need:

A computer
A microphone
Audio editing software like Audacity, Garage Band or Sound Forge
An FTP client or some way to get your mp3 to the Web
An RSS feed with "enclosures" which is just a way to include your podcast (more on that later)

If you have a Mac, Engadget has the best podcaster tutorial I've found. Read through it and follow the instructions. If you have a Windows machine, then ZefHemel.com is the place to go.

Now, once you've created your super-cool podcast and uploaded it to your server (or wherever) you'll need to include that podcast in your RSS feed. This is done by an "enclosure" tag that looks a lot like this:

<enclosure url="http://www.yoursite.com/podcast/mypodcast.mp3" length="10306438" type="audio/mpeg" />

Enclosure is where the file lives, length is how big it is, and the type is what it is.

Yeah, But How?
Getting your podcast "enclosure" tag in your RSS feed is easier said than done. The most direct way of doing this is to go in and edit your RSS feed each time you publish a new podcast. However, that's the most cumbersome method and serious podcasters will quickly get tired of manually editing their RSS feed for each new program.

There are several ways to simplify the process of including podcasts in your RSS feed and I recommend you find the method that fits your needs. The goal is to end up generating something similar to the example found at iPodder:

<item>
<title>We need one of title or description, or it ain't RSS</title>
<enclosure url="...mp3" type="..." length="..."/>
<podcast:alt_path url="...torrent" type="application/bittorrent" length="..."/>
<podcast:prodnotes type="text/opml" length="..." url="..."/>
<podcast:payload_info duration="..." guid="..."/>
<podcast:enclosure_protection md5="..." length="..."/>
<guid>it's an item guid, not an enclosure guid, or it's not RSS</guid>
</item>

I know, if you're like me you're wondering how in hell you're going to easily generate something like that. Well, it's really not hard at all and some blog tools include features that do this automatically.

Movable Type 3.x - There's an enclosure plugin that makes this possible
TypePad - There's a sort of hack that uses Feedburner (a good service I've used before)
Blogger.com - There's another sort of hack that also uses Feedburner
BlogHarbor - It's a built-in feature so it's pretty darn easy
Radio Userland - This blog tool also includes a method for publishing podcasts and it's an integrated feature
Wordpress - The newest version of WordPress (now 1.5) fully supports podcasting so if you haven't upgraded yet, do it now
The Other Blog Tool - If your blog tool isn't listed, then my suggestion is to use Feedburner and try to include your podcast that way or search for a hack

Conclusion
Finally, you just really need to get in there and start podcasting. I've directed you to many resources that should be more than sufficient in getting you started with either listening to podcasts or creating your own. If this little tutorial has helped you at all, please let me know. If you have any tips or links to include, please share.

Blogging 101 publishes every Sunday and provides blogging tips, advice and tutorials for blog newbies and veterans alike.

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February 19, 2005

A Survey Of Sorts

By QBlog in

Tim, the Random Observations guy, has posted an interesting survey that explores the relationship between Quixtar and Christianity.

How has this organization [Quixtar] affected your view or relationship with God? I'm not interested in short-term effects, such as "I made a decision" but more long-term effects.
Did it increase your faith at one point?

Did it make you more cynical about religion when you left? Or at the time?

Or did having a bad experience cause you to try to clarify your own values?

Did it give you a bad view of Christianity, the faith they pretend to represent? Or did it encourage you to look into it?

If you're not a Christian, did you feel your own faith, or non-belief, was respected? Or was there any heavy-handed attempts to pressure you into something you didn't believe?

Did your experiences make real differences in the way you live? Do you treat other people better? Did being in Quixtar help you attend to get involved in non-Quixtar religious organizations regularly? Or did it draw you away from whatever faith you had?

What are your actual, first-hand experiences?

So head on over to Random Observations and fill out the little survey. It asks some good questions and I'd be interested in seeing the responses.

February 18, 2005

- God's ex-Boyfriend

By QBlog in Quixtar Chatter

- God's ex-Boyfriend

"Amway: Cancerous or Benign?"

QBlog's Farcical Help Desk - 13

By QBlog in Farcical Help Desk

Question: Did you hear the big news about the Quixtar-run Blogs?
Answer: What? That most of them suck?

Q: No, not that. Quixtar is developing its own blogging service like Blogger.com and TypePad.
A: Really? Wow. No, I did not know about that. So how will this thing work?

Q: Well, apparently they are preparing to purchase BlogHarbor and use that existing technology to power their new blogging service.
A: Very interesting, what will it be called?

Q: They're naming it "Quixtar - The Official Quixtar Diamond Commander Powered Blog Tool: Independent Business Owners Reaching Their Dreams By Blogging." That's the beta name anyway. It will probably be something longer when it's officially released.
A: TOQDCPBTIBORTDBB. That's an acronym I can sink my teeth into though remembering it is a different story. Any cool features on this new blog service?

Q: Well, of course it will have RSS but strangely the blogs won't have permalinks, comments, trackbacks or searchable archives.
A: That is sort of strange. Anything else?

Q: Yeah, the sign-up process will be all-new and improved. Instead of registering and creating the blog online, new members will fill out a form and an existing member will contact him in 2-3 business days to set up a meeting at his house. At the meeting the existing member will talk for about an hour or two about blogging, the costs and how easy it is to start a blog. Then, after the blog is created, follow-up meetings will occur every few weeks to explain the process of blogging again and again.
A: That sounds like a royal pain in the ass. On Blogger.com I can have a blog running in about five minutes without having to talk to anyone. Is all that other stuff really necessary?

Q: Oh, absolutely! We call it "High Touch Blogging" and it distinguishes us from other, impersonal blogging services.
A: I dunno. Sounds stupid to me. How much does it cost anyway?

Q: Well, it's only $150 per month BUT you get a bonus check so it's really not that much because it's your own blog, not someone elses.
A: Right. Ok. Well, I'm anxious to see this new service. When does it launch?

Q: September 1, 2005!.
A: It's on the calendar.

Q: Daddy, what's a "farcical?"
A: It's just a word meaning "absurd" or something. And I'm not your daddy.

Q: What's it for?
A: To make you laugh.

Q: I'm not laughing.
A: Join the crowd.

Q: I'm scared.
A: Scared of what?

Q: The farcical.
A: Right. Ok, get lost kid. You're annoying me.

Q: I just got back from Executive Diamond Club in Hawaii and it was awesome!!!
A: Three exclamation point eh? Sounds like it was fun.

Q: Oh my Gosh! I was blown away. You should have heard Dexter Yager speak. He's like an orifice.
A: I think you mean oracle.

Q: Yeah, that. He is so wise and so cute too. Did you know he's only three feet tall? It's true. He's like a little garden gnome. I just wanted to tweak his cheeks and dress him up in a gnome outfit.
A: You know what's weird, I heard Dex has a bit of a green thumb. You should see his hydrangeas.

Q: And you should hear the things Dex says. He's so funny. I bumped into him in the lobby and he said "Mxyzptlk!" What a riot.
A: If only he'd said it backwards.

Q: Huh?
A: Nevermind.

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February 17, 2005

AmaKids and QuixKids

By QBlog in

As you may know, I routinely scour the Web for candid opinions about Quixtar. The Quixtar Chatter links along the side of the Home Page have become a way for me to showcase some of those opinions, whether they're positive, negative or indifferent (and even confusing). I'm fascinated by the way people perceive "the business" and how they choose to express those perceptions on the Web.

Today I discovered a post that piqued my interest because the author is the child of an Amway/Quixtar IBO. Nicholas's Blog-O-Rama (a veteran blogger) expresses some very strong opinions about "the business."

I'd also like to thank Amway/Quixtar for destroying my parent's marriage (or being a huge chunk of the "why?") -- my dad was drug into it by my mother, and he was never really supportive of it. When my parents got into Amway, I remember hating every monday night, having to drive for 45 minutes so they could go to a motivational meeting, while my sister and I stayed in the car for 2 hours.

I know a few Amway kids. None of them are in Quixtar now. Some hate "the business" while others are less hostile but not much more supportive. One won't talk about it at all. I don't want to give the wrong impression. I'm speaking from my personal relationships. I'm sure there are lots of Amway and Quixtar kids who absolutely LOVE the business. I just don't know any and I haven't found any on the Web.

Do you know any AmaKids or QuixKids? How do they feel about "the business?" Are you one yourself? Would you like to share about your experience as the child of an Amway or Quixtar IBO?

February 16, 2005

Michael's XSMargarita Recipe

By QBlog in

From Michael of Pluck News here is the infamous XS Margarita Recipe with Vodka!

Michael's XSMargarita Recipe

2 Jiggers Jagermeister
2 Jiggers vodka
1 can Cherry or Fruit Punch XS energy drink(your Choice)
1 slice Kiwi
3 Ice Cubes

Mix vodka, jagermeister and XS in a glass. Add ice and a slice of kiwi.

Serve in Margarita or Highball Glass. Enjoy!

I'm not into mixed drinks so I haven't tried it but don't hesitate to share your impressions here or with Michael.

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Guess Who's Back

By QBlog in

Guess who's back
Back again
Shady's back
Tell a friend
Guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back..

This morning I received a couple of hits on my referrer logs from the SLAPP suit filed by Team of Destiny page. Big deal right? Well, yeah. Because if you remember, all mentions of Team of Destiny were removed from Larsen's site back in November, apparently as part of a settlement or some kind of agreement. But now some (if not all) of those pages are back and this must mean something has changed.

Shall we speculate? Sure.

Larsen is breaking the agreement (if there was one) by putting the pages back up and is now in big trouble

Larsen isn't breaking anything, it was all just a coincidence

All deals are off because of something

Orrin Woodward and Co. broke the agreement somehow and now Larsen is no longer bound by that agreement (if there was an agreement)

The lawsuit was dismissed though I can't find any documents on PACER indicating such a development

Something I haven't thought of

Whatever the reason, the Team of Destiny (now called TEAM) stuff is back on Larsen's Web site now. Anyone else care to speculate?

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Blog Approval?

By QBlog in

From the Rich Dad Forum, an IBO who had a blog and was apparently forced to delete it.

Leo & Selena de Leon -
Shane, I got an email from Quixtar yesterday telling me to delete it [the blog] immediately due to it's not an "approved" website.
I worked so hard for that stinking blog and I had to delete it

Oh well.

Leo

I really don't remember much about the blog except that it was pretty positive stuff about Quixtar. I also remember that it wasn't manufactured PR pabulum like Quixtar's Google Bomb Blogs.

Now I'm wondering, if Leo's blog wasn't approved and got canned, then does that mean the Google Bomb Blogs are approved and continue manipulating search results with Quixtar's blessing? Or how about the Qrush blog? Could it be that Quixtar approves of the Qrush blog? Inquiring minds want to know!

February 15, 2005

The Blog!

By QBlog in

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Quixtar and Porn Culture

By QBlog in

WARNING: Some links in this post are to adult Web sites. Some of the sites may be offensive and are possibly Not Safe For Work.

According to Wired Magazine, a new breed of subculture porn sites are "putting a new face on porn."

Sites with names like Raveporn, Supercult, Suicide Girls and FrictionUSA (all NSFW) are likely to feature "artful nude photos" of women with tatoos, multiple piercings, purple hair and pale skin instead of the airbrushed Barbie Doll models one finds in Playboy.

One of the interesting things about these sites is that the featured women can have their own blogs, forum discussions and friends list to interact with site visitors. Likewise, paying members can create personal profiles and similarly participate in the... uh... subculture porn experience.

While browsing Technorati, a blog aggregating service, for Quixtar discussions I discovered p0g0 (NSFW) a member of the Suicide Girls. This guy happens to have a blog (journal) on Suicide Girls and he also happens to be a new Quixtar IBO.

On February 11, p0g0 writes (NSFW):

so i'm an offical IBO (idependant business owner) with quixtar....
www.quixtar.com

so what this means is
A) i can get pretty good discounts off almost anything most of the time.
B) i can show anyone who wants to learn how to do it as well.
C) they have some exclusive items you can only get from quixtar like their energy drink *which i love* XS...

...and eventually i'm going to make alot of money and retire by 25 (hopefully) with this *smile*

I think the subculture porn market is ripe for Quixtar. Think of all those raver kids who could use an XS boost to keep that party jumping. What would happen if Quixtar ditched the whole right-wing, Moral Majority image and went underground to connect with the Tricky, Massive Attack, Donnie Darko crowd? Maybe call it Qxtar² or something?

February 14, 2005

- It's not Quixtar or AmWay, right?

By QBlog in Quixtar Chatter

- It's not Quixtar or AmWay, right?

"They're everywhere - the Quixtar drones"

- Quixtar / AmWay and a F***ed-up Lunch

By QBlog in Quixtar Chatter

- Quixtar / AmWay and a F***ed-up Lunch

"Got an e-mail response back... An angry/demeaning response... This fits perfectly the mold of a response I would expect to receive if I had attacked someone's religion"

+ Yes I am still in quixtar

By QBlog in Quixtar Chatter

+ Yes I am still in quixtar

"I implore every single one of my friends to listen to me and hear me out about my buisness before buying into half ass biased polls about it before getting spooked off"

= Pitch us on joining Quixtar

By QBlog in Quixtar Chatter

= Pitch us on joining Quixtar

"The missus was pretty diplomatic and said that instead she would rather focus on expanding her 'cello business.'"

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Wendy Wonder Dog

By QBlog in

There's no Reader Mail today. Instead, I'll share a story with you that is both true and heartwarming. It's a story of courage and triumph. It's a story about Wendy, my wife's Basset Hound.

Yesterday was Sunday and grandma offered to watch the kiddos after church so that the wife and I could go watch a movie or something. We saw Sideways which was good but didn't quite live up to the hype.

After the movie we gathered up the children (and Valentine's candy) and returned home for dinner. Wendy, who generally stays in the backyard when we're away from home, was very excited to see us. She bounded into the house, tail wagging and ready to play.

She seemed a little muddy but it rained the night before so mud was to be expected. Then the phone rang. It was our neighbor Chris(tine). She chatted with my wife who started saying things like, "No way. Oh my goodness. What a wonderful dog."

Here's what happened, according to Chris. While we were away from home, a "purse snatcher" did what purse snatchers do best. I'm not sure how he got the purse. Did he snatch it from the old lady walking her dog? Did he get it from an unlocked car? Did he break into a house? No idea. But he was described as a purse snatcher.

The police were called but couldn't find him. They began searching the neighborhood and asked residents to keep their eyes open. Just then, in our backyard, Wendy started barking like a... uh... dog. Basset Hounds have a very deep, hound-dog bark and everyone heard her.

Suddenly a man bolted out of our backyard, leaving the gate open. He was carrying a large, black purse. Wendy darted behind him, barking and running with her short Basset Hound legs. You guessed it, the purse snatcher jumped in our backyard to evade capture and Wendy decided to take care of business.

Our neighbor was watching this happen from across the street and she said Wendy chased the man to a house and cornered him until the police got there moments later. The purse snatcher is now in custody and the purse was returned to its owner.

Our dog is a hero. This two-year-old Basset Hound, who is afraid of our declawed cat, chased down a crook and saved the day! We gave her lots of dog treats last night and extra loving. Wendy the Wonder Dog!

February 13, 2005

PowerBook Down

By QBlog in

My PowerBook died... again. It's currently in the Apple shop and won't be back for a while. My super-wonderful Blogging 101 post was on that Titanium laptop and so you can probably guess what's next. Blogging 101 is delayed.

I still like Macs. The PowerBook was a little over three years old and I used it every single day. That's not so bad for a laptop, right?

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Mysterious Meeting Goes Down Under

By QBlog in

The "Mysterious Meeting" finds its way Down Under.

From the "Ratbags Dot Com" Web site:

A few weeks later I discovered that "Internet" was the corporate name of the business belonging to Dexter Yager, who runs the oldest and biggest of the Amway motivational organisation pyramids. His company had been using this name for more than ten years, and the company named on the tape wrapper was the Australian subsidiary of his US organisation. (As a nice aside, the people in Yager's outfit are so ashamed of what they do for a living that they won't let strangers look at their web site.)

Why, oh why do IBOs insist on using the "Mysterious Meeting" to get new business? A thousand blessings to all IBOs who vow to NEVER use the "Mysterious Meeting" tactic. In fact, I encourage IBOs everywhere to take the Vow of Non-Mysterious Meetings:

I, (insert name), solemly swear to never use the "Mysterious Meeting" tactic to recruit new IBOs. When explaining my business for the first time I will mention Quixtar and explain its relationship with Amway. I will fully answer all questions about my business to the best of my ability.

Cool. So, that's it then? No more "Mysterious Meetings" right? Awesome!

February 11, 2005

God Save The Queen

By QBlog in

Do you live in the United Kingdom? If so, it's come to my attention that the UK Department of Trade and Industry (sort of like our FTC I guess) is seeking information about Amway/Amivo. If you have any info contact:

Cliff Callaghan
Tel: 020 7215 3338/3051
Director & Deputy
Inspector of Companies,
Companies Investigation Branch,
DTI
VB 707, 10 Victoria Street,
SW1H ONN
Cliff.Callaghan@dti.gsi.gov.uk

A bit of trivia, do you know the difference between Great Britain, the United Kingdom and England?

- How does Amway brainwash people like they do?

By QBlog in Quixtar Chatter

- How does Amway brainwash people like they do?

"I can't imagine what kinds of kool-aid they must drink at their rallies"

- The Smirking Chimp

By QBlog in Quixtar Chatter

- The Smirking Chimp

"Amway and their clones don't pass the common sense test"

- Stop Quixtar Propaganda and Lies

By QBlog in Quixtar Chatter

- Stop Quixtar Propaganda and Lies

"Dedicated to exposing the truth about Quixtar"

- Did you hear the one about?

By QBlog in Quixtar Chatter

- OfficialWire: Psst... Did you hear the one about?

"I wasn't aware of that new rumor and I suspect neither were you. So don't tell anyone, okay?"

+ Do Me A Favor

By QBlog in Quixtar Chatter

+ Do me a favor

"To sign up, you'll need my number... and the first 3 letters of my last name"

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QBlog's Farcical Help Desk - 12

By QBlog in Farcical Help Desk

Question: I keep hearing that Quixtar is a 'cult'. What's up with that?
Answer: It's not a cult.

Q: But some people have all kinds of evidence that it might be.
A: Well, that may be, but it's not a cult. If you have any doubts, just keep telling yourself over and over 'it's not a cult, it's not a cult, it's not a cult'

Q: Thanks. That does help.
A: Anytime.

Q: Did you read this article about Quixtar?
A: No, which one?

Q: The one where "IBOAI's Don Wilson lauds new Quixtar Store for More Catalog"
A: No way. Quixtar Diamond Don Wilson has great things to say about the new Store for More Catalog? I can't believe it. Where can I read this article?

Q: The article is at Web Wire and it's really awesome!
A: Web Wire! I heard of that. It's like the New York Times on the Web. Only the New York Times is on the Web so it's like another New York Times on the Web, without the crossword puzzle.

Q: Yeah. And did you know the Store for More is offering clothing, fitness equipment, abd even major household appliances?
A: No, I did not know that. Wow.

Q: I can't wait to read more awesome articles about Don Wilson. I wonder what he will laud next?
A: Well, between you, me and the wall I heard he's getting ready to start lauding blogs. But you didn't hear that from me.

Q: Don Wilson Lauds Blogs? Awesome!
A: Awesome!

Q: I was trying to shop at Quixtar the other day and all the products were just really expensive. Why is that?
A: They aren't expensive.

Q: Uh, yeah they are. A case of soda for $27? That's nuts. That's more than $1 per can.
A: No it's not.

Q: Yes it is. A case is 24 cans. $27 for the case. That is a little more than $1 per can.
A: You forgot to subtract your bonus.

Q: Oh, you're right. Well now it ain't so bad.
A: See how it works? Never forget that bonus. And you're earning PV/BV on that case of soda.

Q: Thanks.
A: You're quite welcome.

February 10, 2005

Twighlight Zone

By QBlog in

ObLoNg5000 (4:56:53 PM): hey
quixtarblog (8:39:12 PM): hi
ObLoNg5000 (8:39:15 PM): hey
quixtarblog (8:39:20 PM): who is this?
ObLoNg5000 (8:39:26 PM): Brook
quixtarblog (8:39:30 PM): Brook?
ObLoNg5000 (8:39:32 PM): and you are...?
ObLoNg5000 (8:39:34 PM): yes
quixtarblog (8:39:43 PM): you pinged me
quixtarblog (8:40:05 PM): ObLoNg5000 (4:56:53 PM): hey
quixtarblog (8:40:21 PM): at 4:56 p.m. today you said "Hey"
ObLoNg5000 (8:40:22 PM): on
ObLoNg5000 (8:40:25 PM): ko
quixtarblog (8:40:40 PM): just responding to your greeting
ObLoNg5000 (8:40:50 PM): ok
quixtarblog (8:41:04 PM): do I know you from somewhere?
ObLoNg5000 (8:41:10 PM): i dk
quixtarblog (8:41:49 PM): ok... well it's rare that messages are sent to people one doesn't know
ObLoNg5000 (8:41:58 PM): i know
quixtarblog (8:42:12 PM): yeah... well... alright then
ObLoNg5000 (8:42:35 PM): i have a website
ObLoNg5000 (8:42:41 PM): www.peebofamily.com
quixtarblog (8:42:42 PM): who doesn't?
ObLoNg5000 (8:42:53 PM): hehe
ObLoNg5000 (8:45:11 PM): mynes pretty cool
ObLoNg5000 (8:45:19 PM): if you like rock and roll
ObLoNg5000 (8:45:24 PM): and adult swim
quixtarblog (8:47:26 PM): yeah... ok
quixtarblog (8:47:54 PM): do you generally ping random folks you don't know and then send them links to your website? kinda weird don't you think?
ObLoNg5000 (8:48:44 PM): no
ObLoNg5000 (8:48:54 PM): some one gave me your sn
ObLoNg5000 (8:49:00 PM): i just 4got who
quixtarblog (8:49:00 PM): who?
quixtarblog (8:49:10 PM): what was the context?
ObLoNg5000 (8:49:37 PM): i 4got
ObLoNg5000 (8:49:45 PM): it was a while back
quixtarblog (8:49:52 PM): hmmmmm
quixtarblog (8:50:04 PM): well you seem legit I guess
quixtarblog (8:50:16 PM): if you're really Brooks Peebo
ObLoNg5000 (8:50:29 PM): i am
ObLoNg5000 (8:50:31 PM): hehe
ObLoNg5000 (8:50:34 PM): who are you
quixtarblog (8:51:11 PM): I'm Quixtar Blog
quixtarblog (8:51:13 PM): :-)
quixtarblog (8:51:30 PM): guess what my web site is
ObLoNg5000 (8:51:32 PM): your names quixtar?
ObLoNg5000 (8:51:34 PM): i dk
quixtarblog (8:51:35 PM): just take a wild guess
ObLoNg5000 (8:51:45 PM): www.quixtarblog.com?
quixtarblog (8:51:48 PM): bingo
quixtarblog (8:51:56 PM): and the rest is elementary
ObLoNg5000 (8:52:13 PM): ok
quixtarblog (8:54:30 PM): well, nice chatting with you... sorry I'm not such a great conversationalist, I just regularly get contacted by complete nut cases and so I'm naturally suspicious of pretty much everyone
quixtarblog (8:54:40 PM): nothing personal
ObLoNg5000 (8:54:57 PM): ok
ObLoNg5000 (8:54:58 PM): cool
ObLoNg5000 (8:57:05 PM): do you go to CSMS?
ObLoNg5000 (9:00:31 PM): ?????
quixtarblog (9:28:07 PM): CSMS?
quixtarblog (9:28:12 PM): what is CSMS?
ObLoNg5000 (9:28:15 PM): clint small
ObLoNg5000 (9:28:20 PM): middle school
quixtarblog (9:28:31 PM): no
quixtarblog (9:28:44 PM): I graduated high school in 1991
ObLoNg5000 (9:29:13 PM): wow
ObLoNg5000 (9:29:22 PM): that's before i was born
quixtarblog (9:31:44 PM): how did you register a domain if you're only 14?
ObLoNg5000 (9:31:51 PM): i'm 11
quixtarblog (9:32:09 PM): ok.. 11.. how did you do that?
ObLoNg5000 (9:32:22 PM): i bought one
ObLoNg5000 (9:32:30 PM): k bye
quixtarblog (9:32:48 PM): busted

Previous message was not received by ObLoNg5000 because of error (9:32:48 PM): User ObLoNg5000 is not available.

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February 9, 2005

Quixtar Fraud Alerts

By QBlog in

Oh joy, Quixtar will be posting fraud alerts on its new Quixtar Newsroom Web site. This could be quite interesting.

The Clothes Make The Man

By QBlog in

Check out the righteous QBlog Gear that Imran's sportin'. Stylin' and profilin'. Lookin' good Imran.

So you wanna be an ultra-cool hipster like Imran? Well just head over to the QBlog Store and get busy.

The proceeds from each sale go to support this site.

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February 8, 2005

Quixtar Myth Busters

By QBlog in

Myth: Quixtar Employees aren't allowed to be IBOs.

Fact: Quixtar Employees are allowed to be Independent Business Owners and many are IBOs with uplines, downlines and tools.

REVISION: According to a site visitor, some but not all Quixtar employees can be IBOs. Those employees in a position to adjudicate over IBO behavior or IBO bonuses cannot be IBOs so there is no conflict of interest.

February 7, 2005

Monday Reader Mail: 31

By QBlog in Reader Mail

The Reader Mail this week is one that makes me sort of "cringe." Read it and then I'll explain.

name:John T.
date: February 6, 2005

message: Wow!! Glad I decided to look this compnay up before getting involved. Did not know it was Amway reincarnated. I just ordered the energy drink at a local race and the guy selling it wanted to talk to me about promoting the product at the races I do. Now that I have the "complete" picture, I will not be getting involed. Thanks for the info.

John

The reason I "cringe" when I read such emails (even though I genuinely appreciate getting them) is that Quixtar IBOs view such experiences as business lost to those "negative Web sites." I believe such hasty conclusions are inaccurate and based on faulty logic. Coincidentally the recording industry uses similar logic when calculating revenue lost to peer-to-peer file swappers. The RIAA believes that every song freely traded on the Net translates into a music sale that was "stolen" (Scott Rosenberg's Blog). The reality is that such assumptions are only partly true at best. If a man downloads a Beatles song after hearing it on the radio, chances are great that he wouldn't have bought that same song if it weren't available freely. He's willing to go through the trouble of finding the song on some file swapping network but he's not motivated enough to spend the money on the song should such networks cease to exist.

And many IBOs take the RIAA mentality when looking at the Web. They see people like John T. who decline the business based on Web information but they fail to understand that such people probably weren't all that interested anyway. Maybe they are using the "negative Web info" as a polite way to decline the recruitment pitch? "I would love to do this Quixtar thing but I just read so much bad stuff on the Web, so you know. No thanks." The focus shifts towards blaming the Web info, and away from the fact that the person just really isn't IBO material (whatever that is).

I know several Quixtar IBOs who thoroughly researched the business on the Web, read all the "negative info" and still became IBOs. Why? Because that's what they really wanted to do and they believe they are IBO material. One guy I know believes that the "negative sites" help his business.

In fact, the Quixtar BackBone project demonstrated that some hard working IBOs perceive value in the so-called "negative sites."

From IBO Sharon Schlesinger answering the questions "How has this blog specifically helped your Quixtar business?"

I have gotten some ideas for retailing a few of our products. I've picked up some solid answers to criticisms about Quixtar. I have heard about some strange experiences that some of the fellow bloggers report, and I am on the alert for such behaviors in my own organization. Overall, I understand the business in a fuller sense.

The point I'm making is that many Quixtar IBOs seem too willing to blame their recruiting problems on the "negative Web sites" instead of realizing that the two (difficult recruiting and "negative Web sites") may not be related at all. Maybe Americans are just less likely to participate in MLM businesses than they were 20 years ago? People change. Cultures change. Societies change. I encourage IBOs to be skeptical of those who say that "negative Web sites" decrease revenue. Be critical thinkers. Don't follow the herd. And above all, don't be like the RIAA. ;o)

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February 6, 2005

Google Sundays

By QBlog in

Seems like Google likes to have a little fun on Sundays. Or maybe it's all business? I don't know. Do you see what I see?

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Blogging 101 - Sharing

By QBlog in Blogging 101

Sharing doesn't come naturally to humans. It's a learned behavior. Children must be taught the benefits of freely sharing with others. Their tiny minds try to grasp that while sharing may seem burdensome, distressing and generally uncomfortable at first, the simple act can result in rewards far beyond their imagination. Such behavioral lessons serve as the foundation of our development and it's why the behavior of Mother Teresa is held in higher esteem than the actions of Dickens' Ebenezer Scrooge.

So what does all this goofy sharing talk have to do with blogging? Well, like the Interent itself, sharing is a fundamental aspect of blogging. Most bloggers just love to share and most of them do it for free. They share helpful links, tips on tweaking some HTML, writing TiVo hacking tutorials, recipes or the latest news about city government and they do all this without any requirement for compensation. They do it for free. They do it because they enjoy it.

Business minds have a hard time grasping this blog-sharing mentality. "Wait, you're posting tips on how to raise saltwater fish and doing it for free? I don't get it. Why for free?" Similar questions were asked of the Internet's founding fathers. This idea of sharing is what fuels today's Open Source communities. But it runs contrary to traditional notions of how and why people are motivated to "work."

Bloggers aren't so mystified by the idea of sharing. Most of them "get it." They know that when they were first introduced to blogging, someone probably shared something with them to get them up to speed. They understand that sharing feeds a sort of "Blog Karma" and that "it's better to give than to receive."

So, how are you sharing? What are you doing to give back to the blog community? Or are you still in the learning phase, not quite ready to share? That's fine too. Just remember that as long as bloggers continue to share, blogging will remain a special way to communicate. When the sharing stops, so does blogging as we know it today.

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February XMas Decorations

By QBlog in

You know that neighbor who leaves his Christmas Decorations up till Valentine's Day. It's the same neighbor who leaves his Halloween jack-o-lantern on the front porch until it's a black, rotten mass of decay and fungus. Sometimes, during the summer, the grass in his front yard resembles the African Serengeti and in the fall it reminds you of a forest in Vermont.

Well, I believe that same neighbor is Quixtar's Webmaster. Joe Land was booted from Quixtar (ok, he resigned before being officially booted) last year. Today is February 5, 2005 and the official Quixtar Facts page still lists Joe and Lynn Land as leaders of an LOA called Alliance Net Solutions.

What is an LOA? According the Quixtar Facts page it's Lines Of Affiliation which are "organizations of Quixtar IBOs who share a similar business building philosophy and employ similar business building techniques." So, either Quixtar's Webmaster is asleep on the job (which would be just about right for Quixtar) or former Quixtar Diamond Joe Land is still leading an organization of Quixtar IBOs who share a "similar business building philosophy." In the Alliance Net Solutions LOA I assume that philosophy is "work in a competing MLM until Quixtar decides to kick you out and then do that other MLM full time."

Some of you may say, "So what? Big deal. Quixtar has an outdated page. It happens all the time." Yeah. Sure it does. Big sites are big projects. It's hard to keep every single page up to date. However, Quixtar seems quite competent when it comes to updating the page about IBOs who appeared on Dateline.

Interesting. Now, it's almost 10 p.m. Eastern on Saturday night. Let's see how long before Quixtar yanks Joe Land's name from their LOA page. The clock is ticking.

February 5, 2005

Passport Bloggers MIA?

By QBlog in

What's happened to the "Passport Blogs?" They seem to be dramatically evolving, completely drying up or totally shutting down. Ok, there really weren't that many to begin with but there was a time, maybe a year ago, when the perception was that every new Passport Associate started a blog and posted in some Quixtar of MLM-themed forum. And today, well, there's practically nothing.

Why have things changed for the Passport bloggers? Was some sort of deal hatched with Quixtar? Did Bo Short, Passport's founder, issue some edict? Or maybe Passport Associates are scaling back their activity in the business? Or it could be something else entirely, I really have no idea. I've placed a few calls to Passport folks I know but those calls haven't been returned.

Maybe it's as simple as, "We tried blogging, it was fun but we realized it was a waste of time." That's what many non-Passport bloggers conclude. That's why you see so many blogs sit stagnant after a few months of posts. Blogging can be a giant waste of time if you don't fully understand why you're doing it and how to do it effectively. It's easy to start a blog but it's hard to maintain one. Sometimes, very hard especially when there's no financial incentive.

Anyway, it's Speculation Saturday and so I'm speculating. Another blogger and I had a brief discussion about this and I thought I'd pitch it to the larger blog audience. What say you oh QBlog readers?

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February 4, 2005

QBlog's Farcical Help Desk - 11

By QBlog in Farcical Help Desk

Question: I am a new IBO and I want to know, where is the best place to show the plan?
Answer: Is this a trick question?

Q: No. I'm serious. Should I show it in my living room or the prospect's living room or at a Starbucks or in a hotel lobby or what?
A: Well, studies have shown that the best place to show the plan is in a Swedish Sauna. You're both naked, it's hot, your pores open up, you're sweating and the prospect is much more likely to be receptive to your pitch.

Q: I'm not really into saunas. Any other suggestions?
A: Sure. I once showed the plan to a guy on a camping trip. We were out in the woods, all alone, naked, sitting by the campfire...

Q: Whoa! Naked? What's up with the naked?
A: What? You don't get naked when you go camping?

Q: Err... no. Thanks anyway. I guess I'll just go with the prospect's living room.
A: Or, you could go swimming in the lake... late at night... under a full moon...

Q: Let me guess. Skinny dipping?
A: Of course!

Q: Uh.. hello. Am I too old to be in Quixtar? My grandson's taken me to a couple of meetings and all, and well, I'm usually the oldest one in the room.
A: Hey, you do what you want to. Do you want to be an IBO?

Q: I don't have BO! Why would you say I did?
A: No, I mean, do you WANT to become an Independant Business Owner?

Q: I'm retired, sonny.. why would I want to own a business?
A: Well, that's what the meetings are supposed to be about, owning your own business, I mean. Do you want to own your own business?

Q: Hey, are you sure I went to the right meeting? I mean, I plan on going to another one, especially since I won a couple of gift certificates at Denny's last time I went.
A: Dennys? How did you win... I'm sorry were you playing a game at these meetings?

Q: You young people don't listen too well. Besides, you haven't answered my question, do you think I'm too old for Quixtar?
A: Uh.. okay, well, No, you're not too old for Quixtar, I mean, they usually look for a younger crowd and all. Hey, how do you like the XS?

Q: Sonny, I don't discuss sex with someone young as you. You ought to be ashamed for asking!
A: Oh.. sorry, sir. Well, have a great day!

Q: I got a problem with them there motivational tapes ya got.
A: What seems to be the problem?

Q: Well, I ain't motimavated. Listen to about 20-30 every day but I ain't left the front porch in two weeks. Got the motivation of a paralyzed hound dog.
A: Hmmm... maybe you just don't have the right tapes. Do you have any by Randy Haugen? Orrin Woodward? Billy Florence? Bo Short?

Q: Course. I got all them. Even bought one of them Boom Boxes to play my tapes on. Estelle don't like it much but I needs my motimavating.
A: Well sir, I really don't know what the problem could be. They seem to work for everyone else.

Q: Dang blastit. Howm I gonna do that Quixtar biz if I ain't motimavated?
A: Well, do you talk to your upline? Go to meetings? Seminars?

Q: Hell no. The nearest meeting is in Springfield which is a good half-day drive in Ma's pickup. My upline is damn fool. I just need to get some good tapes. You got any real humdingers? Ones that is guaranteed to motimavate me?
A: Well sir. I'm not really supposed to tell you about this but since you really seem like a good guy, I'll let you in on a little secret. Here at Quixtar we've developed a top secret Uber Tape that is the result of extensive research. It's got the most motivational elements of the best tapes and combines them in a potent (and patented) audio formula that is so motivational, a helmet must be worn when listening to it. It's code named "The X Tape."

Q: Well send it on down boy!
A: Ok sir. It's on the way. Good luck and "Flush that stinkin' JOB!"

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Amway Christian

By QBlog in

From the Augusta Free Press (I've never heard of it either):

Amway Christian (n.): A pretentious Christian who has forgotten the original message of Jesus Christ to be of assistance with those less fortunate.

Wonder how that definition would sound if someone swapped Amway with Quixtar?

Quixtar Christian (n.): A pretentious Christian who has forgotten the original message of Jesus Christ to be of assistance with those less fortunate.

Oh. Well, mystery solved. And no, I didn't come up with this. Some Lt. Gov. named Tim Kaine said it. Complain to Kaine (yes it rhymes, how observant).

Spanos Update

By QBlog in

If you're a lawyer or have the time to research this then maybe you can make sense of the two email notifications I received from the California Courts this afternoon regarding the "Spanos Case." I should probably research it but I'm not in the mood.

Received 2:05 p.m.
The following transaction has occurred in:

Spanos v. Quixtar, Inc. et al.
Case No. G034004, District 4, Division 3.

Date (YYYY-MM-DD) 2005-02-03
Event Description: Voluntary dismissal

Ok, so the case was voluntarily dismissed. Not so complicated. But what does this "Remittitur" mean?

Received 3:05 p.m.
The following transaction has occurred in:

Spanos v. Quixtar, Inc. et al.
Case No. G034004, District 4, Division 3

Date (YYYY-MM-DD): 2005-02-03
Event Description: Remittitur issued.

As far as I know the suit is over. This means Quixtar wins. Even if it doesn't mean Quixtar wins, it means Quixtar wins because nobody will ever learn the details of the case.

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February 3, 2005

DeVos Speaks - Increase Your Income

By QBlog in DeVos Speaks

Welcome to the first installment of "DeVos Speaks," a new Quixtar BLOG series that features comments made by Amway co-founder Rich DeVos. Each DeVos quote is published without comment and includes a link to the source material (for context) when available. This series doesn't have a regular publication schedule but all posts are available under the Category listing on the Archives page.

"The thing I want most for you is to increase your income; but I don't know any way to do that, other than by increasing your volume. And I don't know any way to do that, other than by sponsoring some new people who get some customers and retail products on a regular basis.

But I watched you skirt the issues. First you got afraid of selling; told people they didn't have to. Then some of you came along, and you didn't dare own up to the fact you were in the Amway business; so you had some cutesy names you contrived and kind of flew the Amway flag upside down, hidden under the basket someplace, snuck it in about an hour later, after the meeting began."

- Rich DeVos, Directly Speaking - 1983

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February 2, 2005

BAU - Server Problems

By QBlog in

Business As Usual - We're having server problems. :( The Forum seems to be working but is sluggish and may be having trouble reading session cookies. This could explain why new posts are not being flagged as new.

I'll keep you updated. As far as I know the Forum is up and running but it's not 100%.