Shawn Collins' Blog

Affiliate marketing and other stuff from Shawn Collins, co-founder of Affiliate Summit.

Archives for November 2020

Have You Flown Since the Pandemic Days Started?

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I am probably somewhat of a unicorn these days because I have flown every month of 2020. I will finish up the year with 40 flights or so.

Shawn at the airport

When I first flew after things were locked down I was pretty nervous – in addition to the mask, I was wearing a face shield and gloves with long sleeves and long pants. I wiped down every surface anywhere close to me with Clorox wipes.

The airports were ghost towns with virtually nothing open, sections of terminals closed off, and few flights. It was tough getting an Uber, too, since so few people were requesting them that many stopped working airports.

After landing, I washed the clothes I flew in right away and showered.

Things have gotten more back to normal over time, but we’re still a long way to go.

One nice thing about the lesser crowds on the flights is that I get free upgrades to first more often, and many airlines are carrying over status through 2021.

A couple of times I’ve gotten the fancy pod seats on United that lay flat. I am in no rush for the flights to end with those seats.

I primarily fly United and most of their lounges aren’t open still, including Austin (grrrrr!).

There is a big one in Newark that is open, but the food selection has changed a lot – now it’s all packaged and pretty uninspired, unless you like Uncrustables.

The lounge bars are cleared of the tables and chairs and there are plastic guards between the travelers and bartenders.

The planes board rear to front, rather than by groups, and that’s probably a more logical method anyway. As each person boards, they receive a sanitized wipe to clean their area and people have been compliant on my flights with keeping their masks on.

I feel safe flying with all of the precautions and it makes it that much easier to avoid crowds having CLEAR and TSA Pre.

You Can Be Healthy During COVID-19

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I see lots of people on social media talking about how they’ve gained weight this year from COVID-19. When the global pandemic hit, I was freaked out and wanted to do whatever I could to avoid catching COVID-19.

In the pre-COVID-19 days, I would go to the gym a few days a week. It wasn’t making a big difference, but it was helping to preserve the status quo.

After we were locked down, I was going a little crazy being homebound and the only thing I could do outside the house for a while was exercise, so I started doing it every day.

At first, it was a half-hour or so a day to get my blood pumping. Then it morphed into 5 miles a day – either walking or intervals of walking and running.

In addition to enjoying the fresh air and change of scenery, I had read that vitamin D was helpful in staying resistant, so being out in the sun each day was a plus.

I also began taking 1,000 mg vitamin C each morning and one gallon of water per day with a motivational water bottle that had times you should drink the water by.

Since I wanted to track my progress along the way I also got a Withings watch, which tracks steps, heartbeat, sleep, etc. It has some similar functionality to an Apple watch, but it looks like a real watch.

I like the Withings brand and have used one of their WiFi-enabled scales for years to track weight loss and gain. This information syncs into their own app and others.

I didn’t stop at exercise and water consumption – I also focused on low-carb foods in the Atkins Diet.

Since I started my COVID-19 exercise plan I have lost around 20 pounds and I am feeling a lot better.

If there is any silver lining from this global pandemic, it’s that it got me to get more healthy and build my immunity to avoid becoming a statistic.

Take Steps to Make Your Home Safer

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Our neighborhoods feel like a safe bubble, but if you get alerts from a Ring doorbell you know there is property crime happening in and around any given area.

That’s inevitable in any city, so it’s a good idea to take some steps to improve your home security and minimize your risk of becoming a police statistic.

While you can’t guarantee you won’t be a victim in the future, you can take precautions to make your home less attractive to burglars.

Here are some steps I’ve taken at my house…

  • Shine a light: I have a couple of motion-activated lights, as well as keeping my front porch light on at night, so there are less dark places for people to creep around.
  • Sound the alarm: I got wired up with a security company and planted the signs and stickers around to let prospective burglars know breaking into my place will be met with an ear-piercing siren and automatic call to the police.
  • Reinforce your doors: a security bar can help fortify the doors to the outside and garage. If somebody is trying to get in, make it as difficult as you can by getting an adjustable door security bar.
  • Locking the gate door: I put a simple padlock on my gate door so entry into the yard is more of a hassle than it’s worth.
  • Big Brother is watching: I have a Ring doorbell, as well as a handful of Google Nest cameras to cover outside areas and let any passersby know they are on camera. I have them inside, too, and there is an option to tie to your phone so the internal cameras can be shut off automatically when your phone is home.
  • Locks your doors: My parents were from a big city, and even with growing up in the suburbs I learned from a young age that you lock the door whenever you come and go. Some people think that’s paranoid. I think it’s a good way to keep uninvited guests from entering my home.
  • Take away their view: I have a camera in my garage and I get notifications when movement is detected. One time I got that notification because a stranger was peeking in my garage door windows to see what I had. Right away I went online and ordered some frosted window film to keep prying eyes off my things.
  • Wag the dog: a barking dog can be a nuisance, but that furry face and noisy snout can also get criminals to think twice about trying to get into your home. My dog ate through some blinds in my front room to show her face more – I was not pleased about the destruction, but happy she likes to show her pretty face to anybody casing the house.

Think about taking these steps to keep your home and family safe and make the burglars know you’re not an easy target.