Netwinner, Blingo and Winzy - Play and Win Online For Free

Here are a few simple, totally free online places you can win cash and prizes. We've joined them, we use them. You probably won't get rich. You probably won't win fabulous prizes. But you could pick up a bit here and there.

Netwinner
Netwinner is a lotto style game that's absolutely free to play. You choose four numbers between 00 and 99, and one number from 0 to 9. There are compared to pre-selected numbers and, if any match, you're a winner. Obviously the more you match, the more you win. You can win cash or points.

The points accumulate and are redeemed for gift cards to stores like Target, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Barnes & Noble, Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. It's advertiser supported, which is how they keep the cost at zero. There's also a pretty good referral system: you get points when people you refer sign up, and you receive a percentage of whatever cash and points they win. It doesn't come out of their winnings; it's in addition to them. Remember, this program has names like Target and Wal-Mart behind it. Those gift cards make great gifts for birthdays or Christmas.

Important note: After you sign up, you should immediately verify your email address. Don't worry, there's no spam. I've only received two emails from them. Just go to the "My Account" page and click on "Verify Email". This ensures that you and your referrer get the payouts you earn.




Blingo
You're probably already using Google for your web searches. Now, you can get the same search results, and maybe win a little something. Blingo is a Google-based search engine. Each search is a chance to win prizes or cash instantly. These range from movie tickets and Amazon.com gift certificates to LCD TVs and cash. Invite friends to join, and if they win a prize, you win the same prize.




Winzy
Winzy is a search engine that gives away free prizes when you use it to search the web. You can win iPods, gift certificates, X-Boxes and cash prizes up to $100,000. Each time you search on Winzy, you earn points. Each point is an entry into monthly prize drawings. There are also instant prizes, like Amazon.com gift certificates. They have a referrer program, also. If someone you refer wins a prize, you also win that prize. Winzy uses the search services of Ask.com.



Give these a shot and see what you think!

Just So Wrong

Seems that Hamas has its own television station. And on this station they've been airing a program aimed at Palestinian kids, featuring a Mickey Mouse-like character that urges children to fight Israel and the West and work for world Islamic domination.

Top 25 Meltdowns

While celebrating its 25th anniversary, USA Today has listed the 25 Biggest Public Meltdowns. See how many of them you remember.

The Most Remote Place In The U.S. ?

In the continental U.S., with the exception of Alaska and the Louisiana swamps, the farthest distance you can find yourself from a road is 22 miles. The only place you can be that far from a road is a spot in the southeast corner of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

How's That?

A teenager in Nebraska is charged with felony motor vehicle homicide for a accident that killed two of his friends who were passengers in his car. He had been driving less than a year, was on an unfamiliar road, in the dark, possibly drunk, and driving 101 miles an hour.

His lawyer sure has guts. His defense... charges should be reduced because 101 miles an hour doesn't qualify as "reckless driving".

G.O.P. Debate

The Republican Presidential candidates took part in a debate tonight. Here's a transcript of the event, should you care to read it. The first portion of the debate stuck to the usual topics... the War on Terror, Iran, President Bush and his Cabinet. Later, though, it got strange. There were questions like...

What do you dislike most about America?

Do you have a plan to solve the shortage of organs donated for transplant?

If a private employer finds homosexuality immoral, should he be allowed to fire a gay worker?

Is Karl Rove your friend? Would you employ Karl Rove?

What’s with your party and all this corruption?

Do you believe in evolution?

How do you take a debate seriously with questions like this?

My favorite comment of the debate came from Rudy Giuliani...

And the reality is, in the 1990s, we were on defense in dealing with Islamic fundamentalist terrorism. When you had this debate last week and all the Democrats were up here, I never remember the words "Islamic fundamentalist terrorism" being spoken by any of them.

All in all, though, it didn't really help me out. Too many candidates, sorry moderating and questioning by Chris Matthews and the others... in some ways just a mess. At least the candidates seem more serious about this nation's defense and fighting terror than their Democratic counterparts.