Author Archives: mary jean ziska

Wednesday May 25th 2011@5:14pm ( wsj article: google to unveil mobil payments platform)

Google to Unveil Mobile Payments Platform

Google
Inc. is expected to disclose details about how consumers will be able
to make store purchases, redeem coupons, and get loyalty points by
waving smartphones in front of a small reader at the checkout counter,
said people familiar with the matter.

At an event Thursday in New York, the Web-search company is planning
to show off the technology, called near field communication, which is
embedded in newer smartphones powered by Google’s Android software and
that can help turn the devices into a kind of electronic wallet, these
people said.

Square, Inc., the mobile payments company that
offers free hardware to businesses for mobile phone transactions, has
introduced new software aiming at making consumers’ mobile phones their
main method of payment.

The program will launch first in New York,
San Francisco, and potentially other locations, followed by a broader
rollout, said a person familiar with the matter. Participating retailers
include Macy’s Inc., American Eagle Outfitters Inc. and the Subway
fast-food chain, said a person familiar with the matter. Retailers that
participate in the program will have upgraded terminals at the point of
sale that can read the mobile devices and provide special offers.

A Google spokesman declined to comment. The
Wall Street Journal previously reported Google was working on a mobile
payments platform with credit card and financial companies such as Citigroup Inc. and MasterCard Inc., as well as retailers and hardware makers such as VeriFone Systems Inc. and ViVOtech Inc., which make credit card readers.

Bloomberg News earlier reported on the Google announcement planned for Thursday.

Many credit card readers allow people to pay or redeem digital
coupons by tapping their credit or debit card, but newer ones built by
those companies also let people pay through NFC, including by tapping or
waving their smartphones.

The Google payments platform will allow software developers to create
mobile applications, or apps, which take advantage of the technology.

For Google, the system could help boost its digital advertising
business. The planned payment system would allow Google to offer
retailers more data about their customers and help the retailers target
ads and discount offers to mobile-device users near their stores, these
people said. Google, which hopes to sell ads and discount offers to the
local merchants, isn’t expected to get a cut of the transaction fees.

In addition to receiving targeted ads or discount offers, users could
manage credit-card accounts and track spending, loyalty points and
other things through applications on their smartphones.

Many mobile app developers have said they could use NFC technology in
the future. For example, Pageonce Inc., which has a mobile app that
lets consumers control their finances and bills after they have
connected their bank and credit card accounts to the app, has said it
sees NFC as a useful technology for its users.

Users who are at a gas station could see that one of their credit
cards will give them 5% cash back on their gas purchase. The consumers
could choose to pay with that card and swipe their phone next to an
NFC-enabled credit card reader, if the gas station has one.

Google has already teamed up with smartphone maker Samsung
Electronics Co. to embed NFC technology into phones that use Google’s
Android software, while other hardware makers have said they would
follow. Google will also partner with wireless carrier Sprint Nextel Corp. to offer NFC technology to consumers in its network this year, said one person familiar with the matter.

The partnership with Google puts Sprint ahead of its competition. Isis, a joint venture between AT&T
Inc., Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA, to let users make payments and
redeem offers via their smartphones will not begin trials until
mid-2012.

The Google system will also face competition from players such as
Square Inc., which lets businesses accept credit card payments just by
attaching a small reader to a smartphone or tablet. Square said it will
give those businesses data on consumer-purchase behavior and let them
send offers to consumers’ mobile devices, among other things.

Write to Amir Efrati at amir.efrati@wsj.com and Robin Sidel at robin.sidel@wsj.com

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Wednesday May 25th 2011@4:03pm ( wsj article and video on person to person email/payments for online banking!)

  •  



Wednesday May 25th 2011@2:41pm( winnie the poo… the movie in theaters july 15th )

http://disney.go.com/pooh/?int_cmp=pooh_mov_WDSMP_VP_BAL_VisitSite_Intl

Having trouble viewing this e-mail? Try the online version.
Why Adults Love Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh

Winnie ille Pu, Vinni Pukh, Pu Der Bar … no matter what language you speak, we dare those who hear the name “Winnie the Pooh
NOT to get the warm ‘n’ fuzzies. With legions of grownup fans around
the globe, why does the silly old bear hold so much adult appeal – is it
the charm, humor, sentimentality, or what? On the paws … er, heels
… of Walt Disney Animation Studios‘ “Winnie the Pooh” feature film opening July 15 and the release of several new books, the Insider set out to discover the allure of Pooh Bear and his Hundred Acre Wood pals – specifically to the 18-plus age group.

British author A. A. Milne introduced the iconic children’s character to the world in …

READ THE FULL STORY

Check Out the Trailer
Check Out the Trailer
Hear the Music
Hear the Music
Make Memories
Make Memories
Relive the Classics
Relive the Classics
An Emotional Encounter An Emotional Encounter
I
have always loved Disney and its characters. I remember the Bicentenial
Parade when I was five years old and riding on the carousel. It’s no
surprise that my friends and I would watch Disney movies and sing along
with Winnie the Pooh as a …read more
$15 Disney Gift Card after first use of the credit card. Restrictions apply. Learn more.
"Winnie the Pooh" – Visit the official site!
Disney Store: Shop Pooh and Pals
"Winnie the Pooh" Featured Book: A Celebration of the Silly Old Bear
Family.com – Winnie the Pooh Crafts & Recipes. Go now!
Disney Cruise Line – Discover your magical Mexican Riviera cruise. Now sailing from L.A. Learn more.
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monday may 23rd 2011@ 8:30pm post for mysearch for justice about horrid sunday

 so this post i will have  to  put in mysearchforjustice.com …   but for some reason  i could not write in the actual body of the blog..but this blog is working.. where i can actually write in the body of  the blog… so since it is the same web hosting service.. it is  not the service… and since its  in my  same account.. its not  my account… maybe somehow  someone doesn’t want me to write about the telephone… or screwed up telephone service? 

 especially since  the people i was trying to talk to on the phone service were playing really mean and cruel games..again.. and as i said i haven’t been though a day like that in a while…  o.k. back to the day…. 
started off as a nice day.. i was up really early so i could make it to mass early… and i did.. i went  to 7 am mass at st. john’s catholic church… saw Sean.. a cousin to an old friend of mine from high school here …  she now lives in Miami and haven’t’ seen her in a while… he asked if i had been able to get in touch with Julie.. and  i hadn’t… i told him  if he could pass along a message to her and if she tries to email and doesn’t hear back from  me.. then to try to contact me though the comments on the blog for mysearchforjustice.com  ( that couldn’t be why the blog isn’t working right?  anyway…     

  its jsut  wierd … anyway.. this post is about sunday.. yesterday…  got to say.. a really horrid day.. haven’t had a day like that in a while… 

started off o.k…. after church i went to go and say hi to my mom.. actually wanted to see if she wanted to come over and have breakfast…  we chatted about going to a movie…  i fixed her Skype.. which was working great.. i don’t know why the  people i was taking to on the phone couldn’t get it to work…. but maybe i wasn’t actually calling and  talking to her.. or her home… and let me explain….  I’ve been thinking that the phone conversations never match up to  the actual conversations i have with people in real life…. and here is another example…  on the phone…. when i called my mom… trying to decide on a movie and a time..  there were a ton of options.. i thought we had decided on a movie at 2:55PM… and the instructions were that i was going to go and pick her up then we going  the movie…  
so i called  around 2:00pm and kept calling and couldn’t get  a hold of her..which was weird.. since i had just talked to her.. i tried from the front gate… still no answer…  and i drove to her home.. but her car wasn’t there and i asked Ron.. he didn’t know where she was or when she had left… …  so i went onto the move.. i was a little late and figured she had just gone ahead… but when i got to Silver Spot… she wasn’t there either… one of the movie attendants allow me to even go into the actual theater to see if she was already sitting there.. but no one .. there was a row full of 20 year old girls… and a few random couples.. but no mother…  then i got to thinking.. about all the babysitting jobs that my “MOM” had been doing.. and all the  conversations both on her cell phone and on her home phone…. and i was wondering if once again a really selfish and cruel group of  girls had been the people on the phone.. breaking into my home.. and basically making my life miserable at times….. not recently… but i had going  though years of the bullies on the phone.. who i kept telling everyone couldn’t possibly be my mother… or my family… or  any of my friends or even people who wanted the best for me.. but  kept  trying to make up a bunch of horrible and false stories not only about me.. but about my family… about my families finances.. or any situation for  my family….
when i called my mom’s cell from the movie.. silver spot… i got a person.. and it seemed more like a guy… who  was at home depot??????who would  be rude enough to blow off a plan made with  their daughter… and at the time they were supposed to be meeting their daughter.. In fact had asked to be picked up…..  not be anywhere near… but be somewhere… that my mom doesn’t normally frequent… ????  my mom  would not be at home depo when she was supposed to be at the movie theater with their daughter????    it was a bit similar to the day i had invited my mom over…. and she showed up an hour late… ?????  which wasn’t like my mom’s behavior… either… 
  
 
umand hadnt decided anything so  

Sat. May 21st 2011 @ 7: 51pm ( great show… great concept ) ntp

About

Pregnant in Heels
is a docu-drama that follows maternity concierge, fashion designer, and
pregnancy guru Rosie Pope as she guides expecting mothers through the
joys and perils of preparing to have a baby. Rosie owns a high fashion maternity clothing
boutique on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and runs MomPrep, the
premier training academy for mothers-to-be. With the help of her
assistants, Hannah and LT, Rosie runs the store, designs the clothing
and takes on clients on a case-by-case basis to help them with all their
bizarre baby needs.

Each week, viewers will join Rosie and her team as they tackle two
new clients and their pregnancy dilemmas. From shotgun wedding planning
and rock n’roll nursery makeovers, to daddy boot camps and even getting
the baby into British aristocracy, Rosie Pope is the maternity concierge to the most affluent –- and hormonal -– expectant mothers in the city.


Foodies

Sat. May 21st. 2011@6:55pm ( found pictures of cousin… and dress from my grandmother…)

I was trying to Skype today to show my uncle some pictures i found of his daughter… Nancy… she was born 4 months after me… and was a really great person.. we became best friends each summer when we would get to see each other  on our vacation…  its nice having   close cousins.. and family… but Nancy was murdered so  i think these pictures  will be nice for my uncle ot see…  the think about Skype…  luv it I can  move around the camera so i was able to show him a picture of Nancy and myself when we were about two  years old !  …..

i haven’t been able to reach them today…  but in the process of finding some really great pictures.. i found some great pictures of a friend ( my confirmation sponsor… Mrs. Schmidt…. and her family when we were in Saudi… in fact a time when my sisters had ridden their horses down the Persian  gulf to our house in the  Aramco compound…
 

I also found a little blue and white hand crocheted dress that was made by my grandmother Gregory…  she was amazing   she taught me to crochet… to make a great apple pie… and to make potato pancakes…   so i may have forgotten the lessons on the  cooking.. and even a lot about how to crochet… . but i will never forget the ties we spent together….

I know its not supposed to be something  that is “cool”… here in America to be able to   knit or crotchet but i learned how to knit when i was at school in France… a woman named Petra was from Germany … a group of her friends could really knit… so i learned with their instruction… the only problem is that i started on a  sweater for my father… and   Petra left   before i was able to have all the instruction needed to finish the sweater…. HA!… my poor dad… a real trooper… to accept a gift that was not exactly wearable HA! 

I actually think the more you are able to do.. the more well rounded you are…. there is no rule that says you can not learn to do  a bit of everything… it just makes life a bit more interesting… but  I still have some items on my bucket list like learning to sail… and to fly a plane…    and to do a lot  before my time is over  in this life… which since we are still here… and it is 7:17pm… i guess  the world didn’t end… at least not yet…. HA!

i tried speaking with my mom about my grandmother.. but someone was too involved in a tv show… so no new info…

Saturday May 21 2011 @ 5:28pm ( t.v show… about winning the lottery… )

 a television show is on right now…. how the lottery changed my life…     I was thinking that the st. Jude story would be perfect for this television show… HA!…. with a really nice happy story book… happily ever after ending!… My mom actually tried to take some pictures of my bedroom wall… (where one day….I think  I wrote a blog post that  I went back and actually painted out the entire st. Jude prayer on my wall… ) and of course i have been saying  the prayer every day since August   12th 2010 ….  gosh wouldn’t that be great.. my mom is at mass right now at St. john’s catholic church and she said she will say a prayer for me… hope she remembers to include the prayer i say for protection… for a whole list of people and organizations… and for a huge financial miracle… HA! so we will see…

Saturday may 21, 2011 @ ( favorite magazines… conde nast traveler ) )

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