Quarters Received: 245 ($61.25; 0.153125% of goal)
Letters Received: 113 (0.070625% of goal)
Current Percent Confidence in Reaching Goal: 44%
Money spent on postage: $20.92; Days since site launch: 490
April 30th, 2009
Well...I'm back to where I started: zero quarters. Last night, Bethany and I were robbed. The perpetrators ran off with our TV, digital SLR
camera, Wii + games and accessories, laptop, AND all $48.50 in MMTB quarters. Bummer! Anyway, we're very thankful that 1) we are OK, and 2) we have insurance.
However, it's a bit unsettling to be in our apartment now. That's why I'm about to go pick up some mace...
December 31st, 2008
Thanks to a couple generous in-person donations from some wonderful Nebraskans, I now have over $25 in quarters!
However, November was a slow month...the excitement of opening my P.O. box was consistently extinguished by its emptiness.
Still, I’m eager to see what happens in 2009. To you and yours: Happy New Year!
October 25th, 2008
Check out the new letter map! And, if you're
a web developer, check out the
Google Maps API,
'cause it's pretty fly (cheesy rhyme intended). Finally, some words of wisdom:
taping your quarter(s) to your letter or envelope is probably a good idea, because I recently
lost some loose ones
to the ravages of the postal service's mail centers!
October 10th, 2008
I've received my first letter! If you'd like to see what it says, open the mailbox.
The letter also included two quarters ... that's 0.00125% of my goal!
October 2nd, 2008
To build this site, I used some great freeware
tools, a couple of javascript libraries, and a little music
by Skypiper.
Links to each are included in the footer of this page.
Once I receive 2,000 quarters, I will donate $20 to each
tool/library author that provides a way to do so. Also, I will try
really hard to see a Skypiper show.
September 19th, 2008
In the past two weeks, I've added new and important content.
Please check out the FIAQ page for answers to questions that
I anticipate will be asked frequently or infrequently,
but at least once :-). Also, whenever you see a link
like this,
hover your mouse pointer over it!
September 6th, 2008
Today was a productive day! I brushed up on php and css by
reviewing the simple, free tutorials at
www.w3schools.com.
Then, I fixed up a free css template designed by a
guy from Slovakia.
Now, it's time to work on the content!
Hello! My name is
Allen Gilbert.
I'm a human being, and therefore, I have problems. Some of them are more serious than others, and a few are
currently unsolvable, but most will be worked out someday. Anyway, lately, I've been thinking about these three:
To pay for school, I've gone the traditional route of getting a job, but as a
newlywed,
I am anxious to get out of debt so that I can get back into it for a house!
Consequently, I have created three equations that model solutions
to each of the problems listed above:
- 160,000 quarters * 5.67 grams ≈ one short ton of change
- 160,000 letters / (365 * 2) days = lots of fun snail mail
- loans + one ton of quarters = no debt
Collectively, the equations point to the single solution: I must convince you and 159,999
other people to snail mail me an interesting letter along with a quarter! Now, although I
could just rip open each envelope, grab the quarter, and chuck the remaining letter, I vow
not to. Instead, I want to make a part-time job of reading what you have to say. If it's something
interesting, creative, or crazy, I'll scan your letter and display it in
the mailbox!
At this point, you may be wondering, "What do I have to say to
Allen Gilbert?"
Good question! For a possible answer, consult the What To Write section.
You may also ask, "Why should I spend time, as well as
67 cents,
on writing
Allen Gilbert
?" Mmm...yeah, lots of you are going to ask that. I better provide some reasons!
- It's only 67 cents!
- It won't take long! (unless you write me a novella)
- You'll be retroactively contributing to my education!
- Handwriting your thoughts can be very rewarding!
- If you send me an advertisement and I like it, I'll post it!
- Your quarter will change my life! (no pun intended :-)
- Support the USPS! e-mail is hard to compete with...
- Your charitable contribution is tax-deductible! (ok...I lied...I actually don't have 501(c) status... :-P)
- You'll be my unidirectional pen-pal!
- I will actually read your letter! (unless it's more than 2 pages)
- If you write in cursive, I'll struggle to earn the quarter!
- If it's awesome, I'll scan and post your letter in the mailbox
