Ryan McFarland

Palm is running a “best, worst, and funniest pick-up line” contest. According to the official rules you can get multiple entries by logging in often. The grand prize is a trip to Vegas for six people. There are three Caribbean cruises for two. And every day they are giving away a Palm Centro. The contest closes on May 17th.

Tranform Your Home (a Renuzit product) is running a contest that one lucky winner will receive a $20,000 home makeover. I spent a bit of my free time the week in DC watching HGTV and you’re all well aware of the home improvement projects that Cena and I have been taking on. Having twenty thousand dollars to work with would go a long way. It looks like you have to submit a video (under 2 minutes long) or a photo and text (less than 250 words) to the site (Be sure to follow the official rules.) to enter. The contest ends June 8th, 2008.

If i were to win $20,000 for a major remodel i would probably work on the boiler room’s transformation to a bathroom. I can’t find in the official rules what kind of a makeover the house gets. Are we just talking about paint and decorations? Is this s furniture update? Or is this a tear down the walls and reconfigure a room kind of a project? In the rules it says “If Tanya Memme is unavailable for home makeover consultation, no substitution or compensation will be awarded.” Ugh. So you could be the grand prize winner and actually get nothing if she can’t fit it into her schedule? And who is Tanya Memme? There is a second prize of $3,000 and third of $2,000. With just two or three thousand dollars i could make a big impact on my plans for that bathroom.

Most of the prizes are suited for website owners but with over $14,000 in value, the Craziest Internet marketing Contest has stuff that even non-owners of websites might enjoy. An iPod, logo design, and t-shirts. For site owners there are hosting plans, site reviews, site designs, ads, and much more. Check it out and sign up to win.

Win!

•		A custom lawn and garden consultation and plan from Justin Cave, landscape consultant and host of HGTV’s “Ground Breakers.” With years of experience in every aspect of landscaping, Cave will focus his expertise and enthusiasm on developing a plan for our winner to turn their yard into an incredible outdoor living space.
•		$3,000 cash to be used towards carrying out your recommended lawn and garden plan.
•		Mustang™ ZT 50″ Zero-Turn Riding Lawn Mower with innovative zero-turn technology, and a time-saving 50″-wide mowing deck.
•		TB1086 XP Series™ 21″ Rear Wheel Drive, Self-Propelled Mower with increased traction, precise speed control and increased maneuverability.
•		Troy-Bilt Pony® Garden Tiller for preparing finely milled, well-aerated and ready-to-plant garden beds.
•		TB70SS Straight Shaft Trimmer that converts into a blower, an edger, a hedge trimmer and more.

That’s over $17,000 worth of prizes and all you need to to is give them a little information about yourself! Only one entry per person per household per day (enter daily!). Enter at the Troy-Bilt sweeps.

I’m not a huge fan of light beers. But when the Guinness runs out and a case of Bud Light is still in the fridge i’ll grab one. Or like last week when i popped by Ryan Welde’s to say hi while waiting for Cena to get out of a class she was taking about business marketing. Ryan was kind enough to hand me a Bud Light.

By March 14th you can enter to win a $300 Amazon gift certificate by doing a text message survey about light beer. I love surveys. Just send a text to 247365 with the word “beer” and you’re supposed to get 10 questions. I tried it and only received four. Cena tried and only got four.

We have an unlimited text package on each of our plans. Supposedly that is the only charge “standard message rates apply” but we’ll watch our bills. I decided to opt out after even trying the “H” for help text. If you make it any further in the survey than answering what your favorite form of communication is (?) then please leave a comment. I’d like to enter to win that gift certificate!

The folks at Mint want to help relieve holiday overspending by throwing $5,000 toward two lucky winners with a story to tell.  Just shoot a video or write a story “confessing your holiday excesses to the world.”  Sadly i’m ineligible because i have been a “professional” writer.  But my loss could be your gain on your loss.

[via Consumerist]

I’ve been bragging about my smartphone since my first one - my Treo 600.  Well there’s a round robin going on right now where writers from four sites are swapping phones and giving their honest opinions of the hardware, software, and function of the phones they don’t use when compared to the ones that they are used to.  Participate in forum posts or the comments on the stories and you’re entered to win your choice of a smart phone.  People ask me my opinion of my phone often enough - here’s a good chance to get a comparison from the pros.

Kaboodle is a decent way to collect things you want from many websites into one online wish list.  All you need to do is add some items and you have the chance to win them daily between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.  Check out the Wish-A-Day on Kaboodle rules.  Of course, by having a wish list and letting people know about it you’re far more likely to “win” an item from your wish list by having a friend or family member buy it.  But maybe Kaboodle wants to be your friend.

Sign up for SmartHome’s email newsletter and you’re entered to win $500 worth of home automation merchandise.  These systems allow you to control the house lighting and appliances wirelessly or with a PC.  I’ve always wanted to be able to use my DVD remote control to dim the lights during a movie and then bring them back on afterward.  Some of these products can do so much more.

Enter to win a winter trip to Anchorage.  This contest prize package includes

• Two roundtrip airline tickets to Anchorage
• Three nights accommodations for two
• Two Sets of Skate Skis, Boots, Poles and Bindings.
• Round-trip adventure on the Alaska Railroad for two
• “and more!”

Having just been in Anchorage yesterday i can say that winter has arrived up there.  In fact, i may have brought it with me.  We trotted across some slush last night after our hot tub soak and then had a thin layer of slush on the car this morning.