Stallworth Gets 30 Days In Jail

Normally I don't write about things like this but it really goes to show you that if you do the crime, as long as you have money....you might not do the time.

Quick history:

Stallworth is an NFL player who killed a man while driving drunk. He got 30 days. That is disgusting.

Read the story at Just News here.

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Benefits of Blogging - Gaining a Worldwide Audience

This is a great article written by a fellow blogger, Kristi of Kikolani

If you have been reading my blog long then you know I am a huge fan of Kristi's.

I hope you enjoy it and comment on it, she has a great blog and community. Enjoy>

by Kristi on June 9, 2009 in Blogging

This post begins the Benefits of Blogging series, where I will cover the many benefits of blogging, for bloggers and readers.

Before the internet came into being, if you were not a published author, public speaker or anchor for CNN, the average person’s largest audience would be no greater than his or her family and friends. So anytime the average person had something important to say, they would have to hope that the people they were able to influence were receptive to such information.

But now, it doesn’t take much for the average person to share what is on their mind. With blogging and social media, anyone is able to put their thoughts onto the internet and expose them to a worldwide audience.
Benefits of a Worldwide Audience

What are the benefits of writing for a worldwide audience? If you have opinions that do not agree with those you know personally, you are now able to go online and seek others who may be more receptive to your viewpoints. If you have knowledge or advice that you feel would benefit others, you are able to reach beyond your circle of acquaintances. You will have the ability to teach, inspire and help others. Your influence could be spread to anyone who speaks the same language, and with online translation services, it could go even further.
The World at Your Fingertips

Along with the benefits to bloggers, there are also a myriad of benefits for readers. Blogs can bring almost any part of the world right to your monitors, in a personal way. You are able to learn about other cultures, international viewpoints, and so much more from the average person in another country, or even on another continent. There are so many events being covered in world news today, but the perspective gained from those who are living where that news is being generated from can be completely different and much more informative.
Responsibility

With the potential to reach such a large audience comes a bit of social responsibility. If you are giving a strong opinion, consider whether it will motivate others to react in a constructive or destructive way. If you are promoting a product or service, do some research or give it a try, if possible, so others are not spending their hard-earned money in vain. If you are suggesting a change in diet or lifestyle, be sure to note whether or not you are qualified to give such advice, and caution others to check with their health professional first. Certainly you are not responsible for anything a reader may do in response to an article you write, but at the same time, you do not want to deliberately mislead or misinform someone.
New to Blogging?

How much does it cost to get your voice heard on the internet? It is free! Sure, if you are looking to become a power blogger, you would want to buy your own domain, hosting and so forth. But for the most part, you can simply sign up for a free blog (WordPress, Blogger, LiveJournal, etc.) and start writing.

Of course, if you do seek a worldwide audience, you can’t just assume that if you write it, they will come. If you prefer, you can leave that to chance, but there are also cost free methods of publicizing your blog. Signing up on social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and StumbleUpon is easy, and once you do, you are able to search for people with similar interests to share your ideas with. And if you already belong to a forum that relates to your blog’s subject, be sure to share it there in your signature too!
Your Thoughts

What are some other benefits to speaking to a worldwide audience via blogging? What are the responsibilities of having such a large range of influence? And what are the benefits for the readers?

Leave a comment here at Kristi's blog here


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A Tribute To All NATO Soldiers Serving Oversea's

There has been far too much death in this stupid war. Friends of mine from 2RCR I hear are going over again.

Stay safe boys. Here is primarily Canadian soldiers but I am proud of every NATO soldier doing what they do best. Protecting the world from the likes of "So-damn-insane's" wanna be's.

Next time you see a soldier, take the time to say thank you and don't be surprised if they tear up. It will mean more to them than civilian's will ever know.

Tribute to our Canadian Soldiers

Some Funny Happy Father's Day Quotes

Just a reminder, next week is Saturday, well it is if you live in the U.S.A., Canada or the U.K. It is September 6 if you live in New Zealand or Australia


Red Buttons
Never raise your hand to your kids. It leaves your groin unprotected.

Jimmy Piersal, on how to diaper a baby
Spread the diaper in the position of the diamond with you at bat. Then, fold second base down to home and set the baby on the pitcher's mound. Put first base and third together, bring up home plate and pin the three together. Of course, in case of rain, you gotta call the game and start all over again.

Ernest Hemingway
To be a successful father, there's one absolute rule: when you have a kid, don't look at it for the first two years.

Bill Cosby
If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right.

Phyllis McGinley
The thing to remember about fathers is... they're men. A girl has to keep it in mind: They are dragon-seekers, bent on improbable rescues. Scratch any father, you find someone chock-full of qualms and romantic terrors, believing change is a threat, like your first shoes with heels on, like your first bicycle...

John Aubrey
Sir Walter, being strangely surprised and put out of his countenance at so great a table, gives his son a damned blow over the face. His son, as rude as he was, would not strike his father, but strikes over the face the gentleman that sat next to him and said, "Box about: twill come to my father anon."

James Baldwin
If the relationship of father to son could really be reduced to biology, the whole earth would blaze with the glory of fathers and sons.

Helen Hayes
When Charles first saw our child Mary, he said all the proper things for a new father. He looked upon the poor little red thing and blurted, "She's more beautiful than the Brooklyn Bridge."

Peter De Vries
My father hated radio and he could not wait for television to be invented so that he could hate that too.

Robert Orben
Life was a lot simpler when what we honored was father and mother rather than all major credit cards.


Quotes About Father's

George Herbert
One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.

John Gregory Brown, Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery
There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself.

Jean de La Fontaine
It is impossible to please all the world and one's father.

Marcelene Cox
Parents are often so busy with the physical rearing of children that they miss the glory of parenthood, just as the grandeur of the trees is lost when raking leaves.

Margaret Courtney
Be kind to thy father, for when thou were young, who loved thee so fondly as he? He caught the first accents that fell from thy tongue, and joined in thy innocent glee.

Euripides
To a father growing old nothing is dearer than a daughter.

Anne Sexton
It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.

Anonymous
The greatest gift I ever had came from God, and I call him Dad!

Fanny Fern
To her the name of father was another name for love.

Robert Frost
The father is always a Republican toward his son, and his mother's always a democrat.

Margaret Atwood, Cat's Eyes
All fathers are invisible in daytime; daytime is ruled by mothers and fathers come out at night. Darkness brings home fathers, with their real, unspeakable power. There is more to fathers than meets the eye.


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Facebook.com/insertyourname here goes live

Facebook.com/garret.belisle is Live!

Okay I admit it, I stayed up and watched the Facebook count down and got my name at exactly 12:02 A.M eastern time.

I know you're all thinking "What a DORK" and you're right lol.

But from a marketing and branding point of view this is deadly important.

It gives you more exposure.

It gives you a better sense of credibility.

It makes you that much more easy to find via the search engines.

If you haven't already done it get over to your Facebook account, remember it is a First come - First Serve basis.

Hope you didn't miss getting your name.

If you want to join me and my other 2,900 + friends just go to my profile here:

Garret's Facebook Page

Cheers

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My top 4 favorite bloggers

My 4 Favorite Bloggers and Webmaster's.

My 4 fav's ...sounds like a cell phone commercial doesn't it ;) I love the following blogger's and webmaster's (and yes there is a difference, albeit a small one) for the following reason's:

1. They are incredibly fun to read and watch. Entertaining and knowledgeable, you can't beat that combo.

2. They update regularly and keep their content fresh and not simply re-hashed.

3. They take the time to answer emails and/or comments. Something, sadly I wasn't doing originally.

4. They know what they are talking about. They don't just talk the talk like so many do. They talk the talk but more importantly the walk the walk.

5th and final point. They ALL genuinely care in helping you succeed with your online goals.

And if you pay very, very close attention to each of them you will build a wealth of knowledge fast, efficiently and you will be armed for success. If you don't succeed and you have these guys guiding you...all I can say is "WAKE UP!

Alright so here we go. Oh by the way. So it doesn't look like I am placing these folks in any particular order I am going to list them alphabetically. Lol. So there Wayne John...you don't get number 1....and don't give me the "number 1" as you read this either ;) P.S. Links to each individuals blog/site will be listed at the end of the post :)

Frank Kern

Personally the man has great products. He is very entertaining and he knows his stuff. Both on and offline. His info is a little pricey but well worth it if you can afford it. If you can't afford to purchase his product at least take a look at his video's for hidden tricks and tips.

Howie Schwartz

Not traditionally a blogger but he stresses the importance of why you should start. The man. Howie Schwartz in my humble opinion is the GOD of internet marketing. He offers so much it is quite sickening. In a damn good way however. You see the "Guru's" give you a great sales page, well written to grab your attention, get you excited and you buy the product and sadly, most of the time you find the information is not nearly as informative as the sales page.

Howie breaks all the rules. He is a very visual person, as am I, so the information he sends is done via video, you can get it in PDF relax ;). One video lesson I received I swear he did it via a cellphone. I don't know for certain, but it just show's he is not all about flash. He is about results. Pure and simple.

I cannot recommend enough how much you need to pay attention to this man. Howie and his team work tirelessly, all 85 of them to bring you the best and hottest info. If you aren't on his subscriber list then get on it NOW!

Kristi

A great blog and an even greater community. She will write a great article or put picture's of her puppies up or some other personal touch. It keeps you going back. She offer's a wide variety of topics. Too many to list, but whatever it is you are looking for the chances are very good you will find it. A word of caution before going to Kristi's blog. It is addictive.

Friendly, fun and loads of useful content. Make sure you subscribe to her feed...you don't want to miss Fetching Friday ;)

Awww darn, now you are wondering what Fetching Friday's is aren't you?

Last and definitely least....oopps I mean last but certainly not least. Wayne John.....seems Hollywood is dyslexic lol.

Seriously Wayne John is another of my personal fav's. It is chalk filled with information and tests that he has run on his site's to help his reader's.

A mention on his character is this: Not many people will say they only made $100 bucks in a month, everyone, well almost everyone always inflates the numbers. Not this cat!

He is always on the up and up. He, like Kristi also has a very friendly community within his blog.

A huge amount of information is to be found. Pay close attention to what you read, if Wane John doesn't recommend it, don't buy it.

Okay, hopefully I have helped you realize that we all need mentors. If you don't have any, you just found 4 of the Best.

Get over there and check out their sites.

Frank Kern

Howie Schwartz

Kristi

Wayne John

Best

Garret

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Ask a Saint

Just a fun joke I wanted to share. Thanks to Funny Buburuza for sharing this ;)

Marriage In Heaven

On their way to get married, a young Catholic couple was involved in a fatal car accident. The a couple found themselves sitting outside the Pearly Gates waiting for St.Peter to process them into Heaven. While waiting, they began to wonder….Could they possibly get married in Heaven?

When St. Peter arrived they asked him if they could get married in heaven. St. Peter said, “I don’t know, this is the first time anyone has asked, let me go find out, and he left.

The couple sat and waited for an answer…. for a couple of months. While they waited, they discussed the pros and cons. If they were allowed to get married in Heaven, should they go ahead with it, what with the eternal aspect of it all? “What if it doesn’t work out? Are we stuck in Heaven together forever?”

Another month passed. St. Peter finally returned, looking somewhat bedraggled. “Yes, “he informed the couple, “You can get married in Heaven.”

“Great!” said the couple. “But we were just wondering; what if things don’t workout? Could we also get a divorce in Heaven?”

St. Peter, red-faced with anger, slammed his clipboard on the ground. “What’s wrong?” asked the frightened couple.

“OH, COME ON!!!” St. Peter shouted. “It took me 3 months to find a priest up here! Do you have ANY idea how long it’ll take to find a lawyer?

Facebook Buzz Facebook Update - Important News

If you use Facebook this may interest you. If you use Facebook for Marketing online then this had better excite you.

Facebook has finally caught up to the likes of MySpace. So what is the Buzz all about?

As of Saturday June 13, 2009 at 12:01 a.m. EDT, Facebook's millions of users will finally be able to claim a name to use as part of their profile page's web address - as in http://facebook.com/insert name here.

This is incredibly exciting and important news for marketer's as now we can use this as a great branding tool.

Keep in mind however that Fan pages for businesses, brands and celebrities will be able to adopt such names, too, but they needed to have been on Facebook by May 31, with at least 1,000 fans at that time.

This will be based on a First come - First serve basis. According to Facebook official's, so if your name is Garret Belisle ;) it might be a good idea to stake one out early.

Facebook has implemented a great rule to avoid "squatting" on any popular names, only users who joined Facebook before 3 p.m. Tuesday will be able to sign up for usernames on Saturday. Everyone else has to wait until June 28.

So like I said this is a huge branding opportunity and a great way to get yourself known and not to mention with a link to Facebook it offer's some potential search love.

Make sure you get it done ASAP.

See Facebook for further details.

If I build it will anyone show up?

Not if you use those tools ;)

The age old question. For some reason, every summer season it seems, there is a HUGE spike in blog's and website's being designed and popping up all over the internet. People are naturally hoping to get away from the 9 - 5 grind and lifestyle.

It's actually quite amazing when you look at statistics. The statistics so of March 31, 2009 for internet user's is a staggering 1,596,270,108 according to Internet World Stats and there are over 186,727,854 websites as of the Internet in December 2008 with 31.5 million websites added during 2008.

The numbers seem to be almost unbelievable but they are in fact very real. It is also the main reason people build sites and blogs. Everyone is hoping to get a piece of the internet pie. There are however huge learning curves to overcome.

As I have mentioned before you need a niche, you need articles, you need traffic etc, etc.

All of a sudden people realize that although blogging is great fun, if you are going to make it a business you must treat it like one. I really hate it when I see sites that are purely M.F.A.'s. (Made for ASdsense) they offer no value and they show that the blogger is not serious at all.

Back in the good old days of internet marketing and blogging (2004-2005) you really could build a few blogs and ramp them up with ads and make some decent money. The game my friends has changed.

A very guarded secret I have online is that I have several blogs and websites. Sure they can be challenging at times to maintain, sure it takes time to do everything involved to get traffic and yes they are a thorn in my side at times. But I love the challenge.

I find in forums and message boards quite often that people don't realize the one simple trick to success online is to have a lot of sites and maintain them, the logic being is that if just one blog is making you $50 - $100 a month (which is the average earning for most blogs) then make that blog well rounded and then every month create two more. Take it slow and do all of the steps properly and after roughly 8 or 10 months you now have at least 20 blogs pulling in a very conservative $75 bucks. Not much each but times it by 20 and you are making an extra $1500 bucks per month. Keep in mind this is just an example to illustrate my point. There is no limit and how much you make is entirely up to you!

Always think outside the main stream. Believe me when I tell you that the Big Guru's, the ones trying to sell you something ALL have several blogs and websites. It is all mathematics. The more you diversify and expand the more money you can and will make.

Building a website should always be clean and not jumbled. I could show you some ugly blogs that I used to have when I first started out....Oh Boy...flashy, music, colors galore and I had a "huge" fan base. ME.

With the internet always changing there are always things to learn and watch out for. So the next time you hear about "The Next Internet Craze" wait and research it before you spend your hard earned money. Check out forums, ask people you trust for their opinion's and then decide. The Buy Now sales page is just that a Sales Page. Always remember when someone says they only have "X" amount left that they are selling a digital product, unless it is C.D.'s. They may say they only have so many left but how is that possible? Are they going to wipe it off their hard drive?

If they say they are taking it offline then you might want to consider buying it because when someone is upfront and honest that way, it's more than likely worth much more than the purchase price.

So, when you build a website or blog (and I highly recommend you do) just make sure to build it clean, easy to navigate and above all else content worthy.

If you can afford it get a press release for about 80 bucks and then you have a much better chance of repeat visitors. A well crafted PR release can hit Google News in a matter of hours. I personally know of someone who did this and wasn't ready for the traffic. He received so much that his server went down, so that is also something you need to be aware of, your bandwidth.

We'll cover that another time.

Best

Garret

I love the blogging lifestyle

I really do love the blogging lifestyle for several reason's:

I enjoy the feeling of an extended family, comment's and conversations can last from just two comments to several hundreds.

I enjoy meeting people from all over the globe.

I enjoy helping people. I offer a lot of tips and advice and I never charge for it. Lot's of blogger's don't. Those are the one's to keep up with for two reason's. First, I trust them because they don't push things on me to buy but if they recommend a product that I am interested in, you can bet your bottom dollar I will feel much, much better with a friend's trusted recommendation. Not to mention I also feel good for buying from their affiliate link ;)

I love the freedom. I work from home, when I want. Usually that is anywhere from 7 to 9 hours a day but my blog's are my livelyhood. I don't make $10,000.0 a week in my underwear - I wish I did however but the wife and kid's wouldn't like the underwear part. I like my Spidey P.J.'s ;)

There are so many aspects to cover....

I love continuously learning.

I love the great mentors I have.

I love the help that I receive weekly from Howie Schwartz and his crew. If you don't know who he is you are missing out on massive information.

Tell him Garret sent you ;)

I love the fact that I was once asked for help from a blogger a few years back who now makes more money online than I do. She has a great niche and I wish I had of thought of it first....darn you Leslie....darn you to HECK ;) I won't mention the niche out of respect but I can tell you that she runs her entire business, blog included from her Blackberry. Impressive huh?!

I could go on but well, my fingers hurt. Too much typing.

You can succeed, remember to take it slow and read. Knowledge is Power.

Check here often for tips and tricks or check out these great blogger's:

Kristi.

Wayne John.

And make sure you visit Howie Schwartz asap.

Until tomorrow...or after midnight if I can't sleep again.

Garret

What thing's are required to start a blog?

What thing's are required to start a blog?

Contrary to popular belief starting a blog is not easy. It really isn't.

Many people go to Blogger or Wordpress etc and create a free account, which is smart when just starting out, however they have no real agenda set in place.

So, whenever I am asked what thing's are required to start a blog I have quite a list to answer that question.

First and foremost you must have a theme or an idea set in place. You cannot simply create a blog put in a few posts and leave it alone and hope. Ain't gonna happen.

Once you have a theme or an idea the next thing to do is

Once you have a theme or an idea the next thing to do is write at least five good quality articles on your subject. Don't copy and paste other articles and throw up adsense or cpa's. That will get you de listed faster than you would care to imagine.

New blogs with good content have a better chance of being crawled by search engines because of the fresh and unique content they offer.

If you are serious about starting a blog and have read this far I bet, well actually I hope you noticed that I left out the single most important part of your blog.

Do you know what it is?

If you guessed the title or name of the blog, congratulation's. You must name the blog something that reflects what your site will be about. A no brainer but many people don't do this. I am guilty of this with two blogs I started and scrapped long ago. I named them about credit and put articles up about shopping. Why did I do that....blame the booze ;). I actually did that because at the time credit was so hard to list for I changed the post's not realizing that regardless of post's I had less of a chance to rank because the title, keywords and content didn't match.

Lesson learned.

So, we have a title, a theme and a few well written articles.

Now what you need to do is get involved in forums and other blogs. Leaving questions on forums is a great way to get help and answering questions is a great way to drive traffic. Keep in mind however that you should never join a forum and put up a question and then leave your sig file and never go back. A well moderated forum will remove you and your link very, very quickly...and yes that is another lesson I learned early on. I don't want you to go through the same harsh realities. :)

Now we will look at maintenance. Posting articles to your blog is up to you, I recommend at the very least 3 times a week. I usually post twice a day but I have the time. I blog from home. It is my primary source of income.

If you have a job then try to post at least three times a week.

Do not fill your blog up with ads and flash and colours etc. It is a dead give away that you are not really serious about your blog. Quite frankly you should not put ads of any kind up for at least your first month. Build up some credibility first, you will have follower's or reader's and they won't mind the ads. But if you look like a splog (spam blog) well you may like it but there is no point in having a blog if no one but you reads it.

Moving on.....

I have mentioned this before but another great thing to do is change your look every now and then. My good friend Kristi from Kikolani.com does this regularly. She provides excellent information and fun and because she changes the theme I go back often just to see how it looks and of course I enjoy being involved in her community.

Blogs offer a world wide audience and for a more in depth look at that I will give you a great post at the end of this to help you get much more detailed info.

Okay so quick recap:

We have a name. Check

We have a theme. Check

We have our articles. Check

We have joined forums/groups. Check

SO a few helpful hints. If you don't know what groups to join simply go to Google and type in your theme + forum. You will be amazed at how many show up. Check out a few posts and see if it is for you and if it is then join the group. Always obey the terms and conditions.

If you need help with articles, go to elance.com and put up a request for a ghost writer, affordable and fast. Plus it is fresh and unique content.

If you need traffic join communities like:

Entrecard.

Facebook.

There are countless articles to be found in this blog, just look through the history and you will find a lot of helpful tips.

The final thing that is required is drive.

You must be willing to update your blog, keep it fresh, maintain the look and feel of it and change with the times. Reader's will return as long as it is worthy.

I have a blog about twitter that sadly I have been neglecting and it is losing subscriber's because I started it as a blog for a few friends but it took on a life of it's own.

Always be willing to put in the work and you will find an audience and maybe even make some cash with ads etc.

Final tip and most important tip. If you place adsense or other revenue generating offer's on your blog that is fine but DO NOT ever join a clix exchange program.

DO NOT fall into the trap of I'll click your ads if you click mine. The big G will eventually find out and you lose.

Oh one last item, regardless of what you blog about make sure you get yourself a Google Webmaster's Tool account.

It will:

Track keywords.

Visitors.

Where your traffic comes from.

How certain words perform etc.

Never buy one of these programs, Google Webmaster Tools is free and a Helluva lot more effective.

Good luck.

P.S. If you ever need help shoot me an email, I'll do what I can.

Here's the article I mentioned about a world wide audience, care of Kristi from Kikolani. Shameless plug, look for my responses ;)

When the Water runs Dry

What a Wonderful Poem.

By: Tony L. Jefferson, Jr.

These predicaments we face really break the heart

This problem has gone on longer than we both can bear

After so long a love

The waters run dry

Our emotions are mere actions predetermined by stereotypes

How did we get here?

Feeling like Deborah Cox in the brain

This thing we’ve become I truly detest

Sometimes I feel like running away

Far away or even back in time

When the rivers flowed with vigor and strength

Love’s presence has eroded like mountains over time

The fire is extinguished

Intimacy is like a household chore

Life has caught hold of our status and twisted it into a withered old soul

The words “ I Love You” are hollow and bare

No emotion flows from the words spoken from our mouths

But this love must reignite

We’re destined to be great

We sacrifice too much

We savor too little

I love you for eternity

I can’t live without you

Please help me find passion

That first love type passion

That passionate love making

Help me ignite that fire

That had us dripping from head to toe with sweat from a pleasurable night

Light the fire and let it burn for eternity

I love you can’t you see that?

Let’s work this out

Let’s be one again

Let me love you better

Don’t let the water run dry

Love this poem? You know you do, check out my new friend Tony's blog here.

Why don't I qualify for unemployment insurance in Canada?

With times being what they are a lot of folks are applying for unemployment insurance in record numbers, more so here in Ontario than anywhere else in Canada and a lot of people are finding it very hard to qualify.

So the question gets asked : Why don't i qualify for unemployment insurance in Canada?

Well, from what I understand they have "guidelines" to act upon. Personally I don't believe that. Now to make sure my point is taken properly this is my personal opinion and I have the right to speak it. If E.I. doesn't like it....oh well.

There is a story I heard today on the local radio station about an elderly man who lost his job and had to move in with his son while he applied for Unemployment. He moved in with his son in Thunder Bay and as a result of moving to Thunder Bay he didn't qualify.

That makes "so" much sense doesn't it?

We pay into unemployment with every paycheck we receive and when we need it we have to jump through hoops to get it. Sounds highly unfair to me.

It is so bad that there is actually a caravan coming to Timmins tonight at our community center to collect stories from people. That is amazing that it has resorted to this.

The government should give us the right to choose not to pay it since they choose to not give it to people who need it based on so called guidelines. I am sorry but if you work and you pay into it, then by default when you need it you should receive it instantly. I pay "X" amount of dollars into E.I. so if I need that money back then give it to me. End of story.

Sadly it doesn't work that way. I understand times are tough but when times get tough the government should not be putting people through this, it simply isn't fair and it isn't right.

What do you think?

Like why can't I find a job?

Ahhh youth. The first reason you may not be able to get a job, you answered by asking the question I replied.

Oh yeah, like that makes sense...geez. Came the reply.

I stated quite matter of factly that the whole point you may not be able to get a job is because of your constant use of the word "like". It is in no way professional and it shows your character as being somewhat, how do we put this delicately.....umm....Paris Hilton - ish.

Mind you Paris Hilton in my opinion is a genius and plays the tabloids and the celeb world like puppets...so no offense Paris, just making a point ;)

Granted right now there is less and less work available as the days go by. With more companies closing down and more and more people being laid off it is DAMN hard to find a job for pretty much everyone. Having said that you will greatly lesson your chances if you act like a stupid person.

Using terms like:

"like"

"whatever"

"Oh my God"

"totally"

etc, is cute if you are in the age group of 1- 9 because you are learning to speak. After the age of 10, if you still use these terms (outside of having fun and acting like a "Valley Girl" deliberately) will greatly lesson your chances of work and of people respecting you.

Paris Hilton for example pretty much coined the phrase "that's Hot" and she is well aware of how much it influences people if she uses that phrase to endorse something, Paris is not looking for work so she can act anyway she likes.

So, things to look at when looking for a job.

If your area has been hard hit, as most have then you may need to ride out the storm unfortunately.

There are the usual methods such as the internet, newspapers, commercials, friends and then you hit the pavement.

The trick is not to get discouraged. We are all being affected by this in some way shape or form.

A positive twist is that this could be (for some) a blessing in disguise. You may now have the time to start your own business or become a consultant, similar to running a business but a little less work. Right now consultants in my area are being sought after via word of mouth.

Remember that finding a new job will be difficult for many but it may be your Godsend.

90% of available jobs are also NOT advertised with conventional methods, so hit the pavement at least once a week if not thrice.

Look around you, do some soul searching and breathe. Then jot idea's down. Think outside of the box and get 'er done.

Like, then you could like totally get a job. Totally :)

A good deed goes very wrong

A good deed goes very very badly. I could not have dreamed this one up.

Ah, children. They love their parents and every once in awhile they do something special for their parent's. Well, sometimes the good deed becomes a serious issue. A serious financial issue.

In Jerusalem, an Israeli woman was doing a good deed for her mom. She bought her a new mattress. Nice enough, mom is getting older and a new mattress will help her sleep better, right? Not this time.

Mom's old mattress had her entire life savings in it. A tidy sum of $1 million dollars. OUCH.

They are checking landfills to find it. Good luck, especially after making it public knowledge. Not to mention fighting with the 2,500 tons of garbage arriving at the site every day.

I truly hope they find it.

Can a calculator save me? Yes. Thanks to Gail Vaz-Oxlade

I was going through some finances. You know all the gifts I get from my good friend "BILL" and started to think about what was better for me in the long run.

Is a spreadsheet the way to go?

Can a calculator save me?

Should I hire someone?

Should I simply pay the bill and forget it?

There are many things to do on this situation and so I did something I never thought I would actually do:

What did I do? The same thing that a lot of people should be doing right now with times the way they are.

I am now using:

Jars.

If you don't watch the wonderfully funny, informative and in your face television show :" Til Debt Do Us Part" hosted by the amazingly intelligent and funny Gail Vaz-Oxlade, well...you should start.

The basic idea is to get people to live for one month through a series of challenges both financially and relationship wise.

So what's with the jars?

Simple. Gail takes ALL your credit and debit cards and makes you live on cash. Not only on cash but on a set amount.

So, it seems to work for the couples on the show. As a result we (the wife and I) are going to start this and see where it goes.

Now if you don't know how to calculate what you should be doing I will give you a link along the way to show you how to set it up.

One great thing to do is go a week and write down everything you purchase. I did this and was quite disgusted with myself with the amount of money I personally spent on coffee alone. Us Canadians Love our Timmy's ;)

It amazes me how math and the beauty of compound interest can really add up.

So try these steps with a calculator ;)

1. Write all purchases down for 1 week.

2. Separate what is required and what isn't. Be Honest here. Do you really need the coffee and "pop"?

3. Now take the non essential purchase for the 1 week time frame and times it by 52. There is 52 weeks in the year n'est pas?

4. To really drive my point home. Take that total and calculate that amount of money including the interest you may have gained from a bank.

Amazing isn't it?

I am going all through the house this weekend and rolling up all of the change I found. The reason I am doing this is because on one of the episodes on "Til Debt Do Us Part" a couple found over $137.00 in change.

WOW!

What we have lying around the house could be lot's of extra cash. As the saying goes, count your pennies and the bills take care of themselves.

Here is the link to calculate how to use the Jars.

Good luck.

Question :

Could you truly live this way?

Get Your Finances Organized in 12 Steps

The Budget Planner

Thanks Gail for all you do!

Check out Gail's site here.

dn2

Details to follow.

Want to know then bookmark us, keep checking back or scroll down and join our friendly community!

Garret

This just in ufo sightings in....

This just in U.F.O sightings in

Amazingly there has been a U.F.O sighting. According to the "N.I.F.B.S" there were strange reports of odd light flashes and what appeared to be lights movinbg in a circular motion in the sky at roughly 2 am eastern time.

An unidentified source for the "N.I.F.B.S" stated that


An unidentified source for the "N.I.F.B.S" stated that there has been no solid confirmation of any sightings.

Little men were said to have been seen peering through the craft in what looked like a window or front panel type windshield.

The National Institute For Bull Sh!t spokesperson doesn't exist and neither does this story.

So why write it? Because it proves that people love the unexplained, they love something interesting and they love to be challenged.

Always research what you read, kind of like the House Hippo commercials you see on Television.

I wrote this to make a point. People love weird news and they love gossip.

Sadly, even though I have said I wrote this as a joke and to be fun and interesting there are people who will believe it even though I put in no detailed details.

If there is any real company or organization named NFIBS my apologies. I simply used the letters to make my point.

Have fun and be careful with what you read and what you believe both on and offline.

Remember playing "telephone" as kids? The story starts out one way and never ends at the last person the same way.

Hope you enjoyed this little pun.
;)

When does google trends update and how does it work?

Great questions. That's our topic for the day!

When does Google trends update and how does it work?

Google Trends is so incredible and so useful that it really amazes me that most people aren't using it to it's fullest.

This my friends will cover how Google Trends can and will benefit you. I must warn you up front however that this is going to be a fairly long post. If you don't have time to go through it all then bookmark the page and come back to it later.

If you have the time then grab a pen and paper and your beverage of choice and let's get rolling.

Ahh, the wonderful world of Google Trends.

What is Google Trends?

Google Trends allows you to compare the world's interest on any topic. You can enter several terms and see how they have been searched over time. This is an amazing tool because if you want to do a post on say "dog food" you can go to Google Trends and add the keywords "dog food" and then find out the following:

How important is the keyword

How many times has it been searched

How much competition you have for it

So, you can see just how useful this tool can be whilst trying to get some good keywords. Not to mention it can give you idea's to write about should you find yourself stumped.

Another great thing is that not only does Google show you the aforementioned it also shows you how many times that particular subject did or didn't show up in Google News. That is very helpful as it let's you know instantly if you have a winner or a dud.

Once you have this information you really can do some serious damage to your competition and get a boat load of internet traffic fairly quickly. For blogger's make sure you are signed up with Google Analytics and Google Blog Search. Very important because once you are listed in Google Blog Search you can post a blog and be listed on Google Blog Search in a very short amount of time. I have seen one of my blogs on top of Google Blog Search within twenty minutes.

How accurate is Google Trends?

They are run by the Big G, but it is still in it's infancy, it is a lab product right now, having said that even if it has a few flaws you can't beat the information that you get for a few minutes of work.

Side note: The information provided by Trends is now updated daily, and Hot Trends is updated hourly.

What languages is Google Trends available in?

Currently, it is in English and Chinese. They are working on other languages. Give them some time :)

You can also export any of the data via a CSV file located at the bottom of the page. Please note that since the news reference volume data isn’t scaled, it won’t be included in the file.

Anyone is free to use the service as long as you follow the T.O.S.

For more information on Google Trends and what else it can do for you please visit the Google Trends information page located here.

Are online message forums dangerous?

We talk about using groups and forums as links and as potential sources of traffic. It begs the question:

Are online message forums dangerous?

That is a tricky answer. They can be both safe and dangerous.

The reputable ones are safe of course, but there is always the chance that some "bad" person or people are waiting to cause problems.

The danger's could be many, someone trying to

The danger's could be many, someone trying to access your computer....a standard practice with cookies but that is normal and safe, but if someone is trying to access your computer for evil well, that's a whole new ball game.

To be on the safe side there are a few things you can do when visiting a forum or group. If you are really nervous run your spyware or anti-spam program before and after your are done your online activity and always clear your cache.

You can clear your cache in the tools option on your monitor.

Test a forum out first before you add any personal details.

I always have a specific email address for forums that is separate from my main email account unless I am active in the forum or I trust it from the beginning.

Pick a screen name in the beginning. Don't use your real name unless it is with close members whom you trust. Never give out your credit card information, no forum member will ever ask for things like that. If they do....RUN!

A final resort, I know a few people who do this, only access forums from a computer that is not your own. Use the library for example. Then your personal computer is safe at all times.

I always use forums I have been referred to by folks I trust. I personally think the safest forums are paying ones. Even if it is a buck a month....it is worth much more because the forum owner(s) are charging for the service and they don't want their reputations ruined so you can bet your bottom dollar it will be safe.

So are online message forums dangerous?

There is no yes or no answer, you need to use your personal judgment.

Happy surfing.

Photo credit.

My Internet Traffic is Gone!!

My Internet Traffic is Gone!!

This happens quite frequently and when it does most people don't even really realize it. I thought it would be an idea to give a few reason's why.

The main reason traffic vanishes, in my opinion, based on tracking is that for awhile my blog hosted server's were down. This may not seem like a big problem but it is HUGE. Folks go to my blog through a variety of methods but if the server breaks down we break down ;)

Another reason is

Another reason is that there is a really hot topic brewing on a day that I didn't bother to check Google trends. So, not only does my traffic seem to vanish I miss out on having the story of the day or at the very least being a part of it.

My personal favorite reason my traffic vanishes is when I know about it before hand. I know before hand because I am making changes to one or several of my blogs and am fully aware that I am going to pay a short term penalty for doing it. Sometimes to gain more traffic sources however we do need to make changes and sacrifices. It's all relative and all part of the internet game.

Now there a many, many more reason's for traffic to vanish. One great way and more importantly free way to monitor your traffic and keep improving it is to set yourself up with a Google Analytics account. One of the most under used and powerful tools for marketing out there. It tracks things like:

Traffic Sources

Keyword's used to arrive on your site

The average length on your site

Your bounce rate

And much, much more. It really is an absolute requirement for any website/blog owners.

The most painful reason for a drop in traffic is your site is boring to web surfers. We all think we have the best site/blog out there but what we think doesn't matter, what matter's is what the reader's want.

Before you go any further set up your Google Analytics account and check it at least once a week.

You can get one here.

If you look around the history of this blog, you will find lot's of useful articles on traffic. There are a few "nuggets" hidden for those willing to look.

Photo credits

Value in Forum.

Today I was searching the net and I came across a very interesting thread where someone was saying that there is no value in forum's.

WHAT!!!!

I don't know the person who said this but I could determine so much about him/her from that one statement it isn't funny.

He/she has NO desire to excel in life, let alone anything else.

They do not have a clue as to how to measure importance.

Finally, they must be one of if not the craziest people I have ever heard of (in a bad way)

The reason they are crazy is

Value in forum's, any forum is measured by what you put into it and learn from it.

Don't expect to go and register in an online forum and do nothing and expect it to be a valuable experience.

Don't sign up at a forum and throw your blog in there just to get a backlink, sadly I have even done this one long ago to the point that I have signed up for a few forums and been told my email is already in use.

BANG! I signed up but never got involved, well no wonder it didn't have any value for me. I didn't contribute to it, so why would I get anything out of it.

Too many times people do fly by night registrations just to have one or two questions answered. But you end up missing out on the BIG picture. Yes you can get solid information, you can also begin to network, which leads to friends, mentors and maybe a Joint Venture.

The possibilities are endless.

There is massive value in forum's. Period.

You get so much out of them. Allow yourself to spend at least one to two hours a day in them. The value that you find may just be what you need to become super successful.

Everything has some value, if you look at it in a positive manner.

Forums are no different.

Participate and learn and the value in forum's will be much, much more than you imagined.

A business with a twist.

Here is a nice little way to bring in some extra money, especially from a blog that is niche oriented or even better focuses on your community.

Get yourself set up and go door to door.

Okay this may sound off the wall but think about it for a minute.

Have you ever gone to your online newspaper and seen all of the ads they have running? It doesn't matter if they are links or standard 125 * 125 buttons. The standard monthly fee in my area is $85.00 per month with a 12 month contract. That is awesome for several reason's.

First off, almost no one gets the paper any more, they go online.

So let's say you run a website or blog about the Tennis team's in your area. Okay, just an example but now everyone who plays Tennis on those teams may well be going to your site for schedules or contacts or other general information.

Whilst they are there maybe they are thinking that they need a new Tennis racquet....see where I am going with this.

So you call up (better yet go see personally) manager's of local sports shops that sell Tennis equipment and let them no for X amount of dollars you will put up a banner or a button or link on your site to go to their shop.

Now I know what you are thinking, you can easily put up SportsCheck or some other affiliate program and not bother with the personal side of it. But here's the thing. Affiliate commissions are easy to steal from other affiliates. I am actually running a test on my blog and on a friends blog to see which is more profitable and if it proves (even remotely) that something is amiss (i.e. theft is occurring) I am removing all of my affiliate links and placing local ads up at a set price.

Do the math, if I get 20 businesses to bite which won't be too hard as I know a lot of local business owners, and I charge $85.00 a month times 20 that is $1700.00 each and every month with no chance of affiliate commissions being stolen or lost etc.

Not too bad an income for about 15 hours of work, the time to walk and drive and meet and then set up the logo's etc.

Plus it is guaranteed income. No hit and miss.

If you decide to go this route I must stress however that you get documents drawn up for contracts etc by a lawyer to be 100 percent safe and legal.

I am pretty sure I will be doing this on another blog I have already set up for a local niche in Sudbury.

Any thoughts? Click and comment.

Photo from Flickr.

These are funny commercials

Just some fun whilst you are enjoying this wonderful day!!

And these really are funny commercials. :)

A Second Autopsy Critical in Carradine Death

David Carradine's family has enough to deal with these days. Incidents stemming from a photo released of him after he had died, now that is plain and simply wrong. Have some respect for the dead, but all these people are thinking is who will be the highest bidder.

If the photo becomes available for reprint you will not see it here. Sorry, that is just wrong.

The remains of David Carradine will also be another autopsy performed to determine further details of his death and insurance issues.

Is that really information that we need to know? I think it is, I do not agree with the gruesome photo. If you want to see it google it I suppose.

China cracks down on Internet - Shuts down Twitter

This is almost unbelievable but Chinese authorities have shut down blogs and even Twitter.

The reason for the crack down is an attempt to stem any and all online discussions geared towards politics prior to the Anniversary of Tiananmen Square last Thursday.

Any discussions regarding the Tiananmen Square incident have always been blocked. Any foreign reports on the protests also have been blocked.

Apparently some top notch writer's had even been placed under house arrest for months.

It really is amazing considering that China has the largest online population and yet they can still be this controlled.

'We understand the Chinese government is blocking access to Flickr and other international sites, though the government has not issued any explanation,' Ms Jason Khoury, spokesman for Yahoo, which owns Flickr. 'We believe a broad restriction without a legal basis is inconsistent with the right to freedom of expression.'

Officials from the popular site/online community Twitter have not responded as of yet.

Crazy Money

It always amazes me that people send emails and hurtful comments whenever a post on making money is listed. Or how people got their starts, etc.

So let's be clear. If you don't truly believe you can make money from the internet then all I have to say to you is this:

"Good, less competition for the rest of us who are"

There are so many people quietly making money online it is truly incredible. Need a few idea's or crazy money ideas?

Keep reading :)


Here are a few of my favorite success stories that are fresh, innovative and completely genius.

Million Dollar Homepage: A young man who needed money for his education set this site up. He decided to sell pixels for $1 dollar each. Only a million were available....only...anyway with a well drafted press release he made his money in under 5 months.

The next is an even better story. It is WhateverLife. A young teenager girl, she is 17 by the way, set up templates for MySpace etc and at last look she is worth around 4 million dollars. Yes you read that right.

Then there is LuckyWishBone. One of the most creative ideas I have seen like ever ;) A simple idea, why wait around for thanksgiving when you can get a wishbone whenever you feel like it? They manufacturer and sell plastic wishbones. They produce roughly 30,000 of them a month and sales have exceeded one million dollars.

So, you tell me. Is crazy money online available?

You better believe it, just think outside of the box.

Good luck.

Who is the coolest internet teacher

Timmins residents work in house.

I as most of you know life in Timmins, Ontario.

I live in a great area and love the fact that it is so quite and quaint. It wasn't always this way. I have worked several jobs in this "little" town.

Several friends of mine have asked me what made me decide to begin working from home so I thought I would explain it for anyone who wants to hear about it ;)

Hey, where are you going? Don't hit the close button, you might learn something or at the very least be entertained.....get your hand off the mouse ;)...Somewhere near the end I am going to give you the name of the "Superstar" of Marketing. The "King" of the internet and the "Man" who will make sure you succeed if you give him the chance. You don't want to miss this or you don't want to succeed online now do you?

A few years back I was working for a company that handled in bound customer service. I won't mention the name ahem Tele ahem tech and anyway I was slowly going down hill.

I tried to keep happy by joining teams and committee's but it was to no avail. Honestly the stress of that job for 10 something an hour wasn't worth it.

Around 2005 I decided it was time to work for myself. I was hitting road blocks everywhere. Myself and a friend of mine wrote an ebook on Firefox and through it up on clickbank and waited for the money to roll in. Boy, were we green, we did almost no advertising and almost no real promotion and never answered any emails. We were totally clueless. Now that old site is some redirect search engine which annoys me but hey, it was an invaluable lesson.

As I was learning and working and learning and doing internet stuff all night my live in girlfriend at the time was no help either. I remember one day she told me to give up on the pipe dream and that no one makes money online, then she bought crap from eBay.....Got me thinking.

I have said it before and will say it again. Negative people are never successful because they are negative.

End of story.

Moving along....

I decided to spend 8 months doing nothing but learning and reading and lurking in forums just reading and taking notes. I found myself always being so happy for other people when I read about their success and this is vital. You see when someone else is successful and you get mad or jealous you are actually pushing your own success away. You must be happy for those people and the universe will reward you in kind. Sounds crazy but it's true.

I run several websites and several blogs but this one is my baby. This is my first blog, so like a first born child I do spend more time on it.

Funny thing is that this blog makes me the least amount of money and IO spend the most amount of time on it. Mainly because it is my reader's blog, where I give tips and tricks and links to those that bother to show up.

To become successful working from home you MUST do the following:

1. Educate yourself. You have to keep up dated on how your particular business changes, especially now with the economy. Think about it this way, does a doctor become a doctor after high school? Nope it takes years of learning and hands on practice and then comes the huge paycheck, they also have seminars....let me repeat that word "seminars" to make sure they are up to date on the latest technologies and cures etc.

2. You must understand that like any job you start out making little money but as your performance gets better so does your paycheck. It's no different when you are your own boss.

3. You must have a mentor or mentors to guide you. This is paramount to any success. Once you have your niche then go to google or yahoo and type in your niche plus forum and get involved. What you learn in forums is better than anything you will learn on your own. Personally I think all forums should be at least 1 dollar per day. Then you know who is serious and who isn't.

Which brings me to my final point:

You must be willing to invest at the very least 20 - 30 percent of your earnings back into your business. You have to keep your sites live and your advertising going.

There are so many places to get good ads it isn't funny. I highly recommend using google adwords but if you aren't that familiar with them find someone who is.

Should you need a fast track to success then there is only ONE person. One man's team who will guide you to the Money. It's not me, I am a mere shadow compared to this man's genius and those on his team.

That man is Howie Schwartz.

He gives you thousands of dollars of free tips and tricks it's scary. He is the best mentor for any newbie who truly wants to succeed.

Here's the link to see what he can do for you. Make sure your speaker's are on.

14 ways to have a fun sunday

Sunday can and usually is a relaxing day. It can also be a very boring day.

So I decided to write a list of things to do with the family and here is what I came up with:

1. Go for a drive. Relaxing and you may see parts of the city you live in you haven't been to in awhile or that you have never been to.

2. Go for a walk together, bring a basketball or something just in case.

3. This one is always a fan favorite....

3. This one is always a fan favorite, make fun of poems or songs about your boredom using the latest hits, i.e crappy music

4. Have an egg toss, this one gets messy.

5. Water Balloon fight or water gun fight. Weather permitting.

6. Miniputt is always fun.

7. Go to the go cart track if you have one.

8. Clean up the yard, go cleaning up and picking up trash, then sell whatever is recyclable.

9. House work together and then bring the family out to dinner as a reward.

10. Re-arrange the furniture, change the house a bit.

11. Call old friends and have a picnic style lunch.

12. Have a bonfire and roast marshmallows and hotdogs.

13. Have a "Who can smile the longest" contest.

14. Clean up and watch a movie at the end of the day.

Comment issue fixed thanks to The Larsonian

After asking for help I got it in the form of a stranger from google help group.

Never met this person and never will. Still a huge Thank You is required.

Get over there and show him some love :) Oh yeah here's the link.

Thanks to The Larsonian for fixing my comment issue.

Mutton Busting

Okay just got this and it's crazy.

Enjoy the Mutton Bustin'

Was David Carradine Murdered?

David Carradine's death have led many to assume that he was murdered.

It originally looked like a suicide however reports are now confirming the death of David Carradine is believed to have been an accident. A representative told the media that David Carradine was hung accidentally by the neck and other body parts- which leads some to believe his death was the same of as that of former INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence and was involved in some sort of auto-erotic asphyxiation.

Whether he was alone in his room or not has yet to be confirmed. But the speculation that David Carradine was murdered is simply that - speculation.

As I said before, regardless of how he died it is a great tragedy and he should be remembered for all the good he did in his life.

Russell Peter's. Show me the funny

Tidbits about Russell Peter's.


It began in Canada...

Russell has been nominated for four Gemini Awards [the Canadian equivalent of the Emmys]. He has been featured at Montreal’s Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, HBO’s Aspen Comedy Festival, the Edinburgh (Scotland) Comedy Festival and many others across the globe. His TV appearances include CBC’s Comics! and two one-hour Comedy Now! specials on The Comedy Network in Canada. His Comedy Now! performance of February 2004 is one of the network’s most popular shows of all time. When fans placed segments of the special on the internet it created a global demand for Russell comedy and his popularity exploded. His Youtube videos have been viewed by over 20 million individual viewers. His website, www.russellpeters.com, gets over 10,000 hits a day and alerts his many fans to his upcoming shows via targeted email blasts. He’s performed sold-out tours of China, South Africa, Australia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Jamaica, St. Maartens, Trinidad, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates and in 2007, was be the first North American comic to tour India.

In 2007, Russell completed two USO tours for the troops. During these tours he performed on the USS Eisenhower and in Iraq, Afghanistan, Djibouti and Greenland and was part of a special Thanksgiving Tour for the troops with the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Cartwright.

Russell’s comedy is rooted in the reality of growing up brown in white Canadian society. “My family and I are Anglo-Indian,” Russell explains. “Anglo-Indians are a community of Indians from India who mixed with the British when they occupied India. Both of my parents are Anglo-Indian and their parents were Anglo-Indians and so on.”

Care of Russell Peter's Official Website

Davis Carradine found dead.

A sad day. The star of the legendary television show Kung Fu was found hanging in a closet. His agent has said it was an accident. Whether it was an accident or a suicide is irrelevant.

What is relevant is that the world has lost one of it's finest and mysterious actors.

Rest in Peace David Carradine.

I love dogpile. How do I add my url to dogpile?

This was quite an interesting question and the reason being is because pretty much every search engine out there will allow you to add your url to them.

Sometimes you simply add your site or blog.

Sometimes it is a paid inclusion. Photo courtesyof a great little blog.

Sometimes it is through a sitemap.

Etc, etc.

The thing about Dogpile is that you can't add your url to them at all. Period.

Why not?

Dogpile gets it's listings from the big boys like Google and Yahoo and Msn etc.

So now you know that you can't add your url conventionally but if you are laid out and seo friendly then you will get listed with them.

I hope they hurry up and add me soon ;) Hint, hint to Dogpile;)

Best

She looks at me then turns her head. What does that mean?

Talk about an off topic question.....I blog. I am not a psychiatrist. I have no idea. I had to share this just because it just goes to show what we get on this blog ;)

I am old school and don't play games. Too many have been played on me.

Maybe she has a bad neck.

Maybe you have something on your face that disturbs her.....a piercing perhaps?

I don't know you or her and even if I did I learned a long long time ago that women are as unpredictable as the Weather.

You want to know what it means then there is only one solution my dear fellow.

Ask HER!

Good luck.

Photo from this guy

How to check and clean up your css code.

Ever notice when you go to a website it loads really slow.

Chances are because the CSS is messy or there are way to many gadgets and widgets. Did you know that if your images are not coded properly and alt text is not in place this can seriously harm your load time?

Whenever you add an image to your site make sure to have the images properly formatted. I personally recommend .png format, it is cleaner and faster. If you upload images from an online source like fotosearch or flickr always make sure you do two things:

First and foremost get permission.

Secondly, check if they have a code that says alt =''. This is important because if you leave it that way then search engines may not list them or not read them. To fix this always add a tag. For example if your picture is a cute puppy then change the code from alt ='' to alt ='cute puppy' you get the idea.

Quick tip: Whenever you use these images you need permission or a link to the original source at best, so go to www.images.yahoo.ca and type in your search word. Now here is the best part, when the pictures come up look above them and you will see an option for "more filters" click that then click Creator allows reuse check that box and the boxes underneath that read "Commercial use" and "Remix, tweak, build upon" and "restrict by type". Now you have completely royalty free photo's to use as you wish.

Okay back to CSS.

First test your site speed at StopWatch.

Is it fast or slow?

Once you clean up your images head over to CSS drive and put in your CSS code. It's easy to find simply go to your html file and make sure you have it all up. For example if you use blogger simply go to settings and edit HTML and make sure to click the "expand" box. Your CSS code is located between the and tags. Before you do this make sure to create a backup of the source code so you have it if something goes wrong.

Copy all of that code and put it into the CSS compressor and hit "compress it"

Wait a few seconds and it will give you a compressed code. Take that code and simply replace the original code. Now this is VERY important DO NOT hit save.Hit Preview first. That way if there is an issue with formatting you can fix it first, if all is well and your site shows up click save and you are done. Plus you just shaved off a few seconds off your load time.

The faster your site loads the more people will stay on it. Don't believe me, ask yourself if you would wait more than 10 seconds for a blog or website to load?

I won't unless it is a really great site.

So to recap.

Check your images and alt tags.

Test your site load time at Stopwatch.

Clean up your CSS code.

Done.

Hope this helps everyone.

Best

Inspiration and Karma. A wonderful tale.

The bases of this article is pretty much about cosmic forces. Karma at it's finest I guess you could say.

The point being made is the incredible contrast that people have regarding cosmic forces and karma itself. Granted alot of people, myself included, believe in the age old "rule" you get what you give. It truly is a strange force in the universe. If you are a good person and help other's when you can then you almost certainly will have a good life. You may not be rich in a monetary sense however, but think about this: would you rather have a few hundred people at your funeral talking about how great you were in life or would you rather have a priest and a few grave digger and that's it. Remember how Scrooge was buried in his vision with the spirits?

What we get out of life is truly based on what we do and how we do it. What we get can even rival our friends and family at times or it could be the total opposite.

The story line is about a homeless man living on the the streets of Hollywood. It is a sad story and also a story of true human kindness, odd, seeing as it happen's in Hollywood. Now, I don't mean to judge the location, I just always here and read and see bad things come out of most major cities in North America. Anyway, the man would always move from his spot if there was a colder person going by, he was living quite literally on a subway grate. The reason was that the heat from the subway passing always kept the spot warm and being close to a subway entrance he had a better chance of getting change from passerby's.

One day a woman was being very rude to him and laughing at him and calling him names etc, he just sat there and took it. After she got tired of yelling at him for no reason, he looked at her through his old and worn eyes and he smiled and asked her if she needed someone to talk to and if she would like to have a coffee with him. Imagine. A homeless man asking a young, successful woman if he could help her. I was waiting for the woman to smack him. It seemed that he was about to get what he deserved to most people, a woman laughing at him and walking away. At least that is what I thought was going to happen.

Here is where Karma and cosmic forces show up. She agreed to not only coffe, but to lunch and she would buy as she had been so rude and wanted to apologize for her behaviour. So, off they went.


During lunch the young woman got up the courage to ask the man how he came to be in the state he was in, homeless and lost. He smiled and said he just woke up one day and went for a walk, he turned left and never looked back. He smiled and said it reminded him of a song. He didn't say which one unfortunately. He went on to tell her he had a wife and two children, a son and a daughter. He had pictures of them in his wallet, which was probably older than she was. He hadn't seen either of them or his estranged wife in so many years that he didn't really remember how long it had been. Then he became very quite and sullen for a few minutes. He asked her what she was doing in the city, where she worked, what she did. The usual questions you ask of a new found friend. She told him she was going to night school and was working as a waitress a few years back to put herself through law school. She had recently passed the bar and was now on vacation. She started to tear up and told the old man that she was looking for her father. She had been asking questions at homeless shelter's, churches, local organization's. She had even put up a little website with his personal information and the last photograph she had of him. She told the old man how much she wished it was him, her new friend.

The show used that climatic music and appropriate pauses while she had finished her story that you just hoped and prayed he was indeed her real father. He wasn't. They spoke for awhile longer and he told her that if she would like he would be her fatherly friend until she found her actual real one. With that she broke down in tears. He took her hand and told her it was alright and that everything would work out, if she just believed.

She never did find her real father, but she gained one. She started to help homeless folks throughout the nation and she became quite the advocate for human right's. The old man became her right hand man and soon found himself off the street's living a normal life. He had said it was a hard and strange transition for him, being homeless so long he had to re-adjust to living in warmth and eating regularly. It's amazing what we take for granted. It's amazing how life can change in the blink of an eye.

What you get in life really can be defined by our actions. What you get depends on what you give.

By simply being nice to someone, being a shoulder to cry on, a friendly ear.

What you get depends on how you live.

How do you live?

Is it time to optimize your pages?

Why is less more? You need to read all of this to find out ;) What really insults web visitors? Keep reading.

Are you feeling optimal today? Sorry....bad pun ;)

When we look at terms such as "optimal" and/or "landing page" it should start getting your creative juices flowing. Is your site attractive. Is it simple or is it full of flash?

When the net was first born, well when it started being popular in the early days I can still remember webpages and blogs that had colors and music out of the '70's. Man they were ugly and foolish. This is just my opinion but I am pretty good at proving my point on this topic:

When you go to a website/blog do you want to see some weird colors all in a row (hard on the eyes) do you want to be reading and all of a sudden music (crappy music) starts to blare and scares you since you aren't expecting it?


Chances are you hit the close tab faster than you realize.

Almost make sure you optimize your site the way you want it. Reason being is that you have to ensure if you would not go to a particular site do you think other people will?

A great way to kill a site/blog is to never change it. Think of an online store like an offline store. Have you ever noticed when you go to Walmart or some other big name store that every now and then the entire (or a large portion of the) store layout has been moved?

This isn't done to annoy us, contrary to popular belief, it is done to get people (customer's) looking around and getting re-acquainted. It has been proven to boost sales and online this is no different. If you have had the same website/blog for the last 5 years for example and it has never changed the chances are people stop going to it.

It's boring and predictable and people want and need some form of excitement. It may sound sill but believe me it isn't. Maybe someone goes to your site for specific information. One day you make a few test changes and they love it. You have accomplished many things here:

You keep an existent customer happy.

You make them want to come back

And maybe, just maybe they tell a few more friends about you.

If you aren't excited about working for yourself you simply will not move any further. It's easy to make a few hundred dollars a month online, but when you test and tweak the money will grow. Let's be honest here. You want to provide a service for people and you want to get paid.

Always remember that less is more. I learned this after getting a great ebook completely delisted because me and my J.V partner got greedy back in 2005. You learn that filling blogs with nothing but ads everywhere and no real content is never going to help you or more importantly attract future customers and or leads.

A final tip. Check your site at least once a week for dead links. Don't just hire some one who can upload a file to your site and think all is well. There is nothing and I mean NOTHING more annoying to a reader when you get them all excited about something they want to read and they click the link and the link is dead or worse there is nothing there.

Very unprofessional and a very fast way to look bad.

The internet is viral folks. Amazingly enough the bad news travels a Hell of a lot faster than the good.

Just some food for thought.

Have a good one.

Air France flight 447 is missing.

In today's day and age, with today's technology how on earth do we lose a plane?

It has sadly gone down. The amazing question is where and why?

Air France has said that Flight AF 447 sent an automatic signal indicating electrical problems while going through strong turbulence early in its 11-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. It is listed as an Airbus A330-200 with registration F-GZCP, had been in operation since April 2005.

Thoughts and prayers to the families.

100 Twitter Tools to Help You Achieve All Your Goals

This is not my article but I had to share it. Credit goes to Social Blog. This is a GREAT blog and I highly recommend you check them out here.

Twitter has become an incredible tool not just for communication, but for improving your life. College students can use it to expand their social circle, promote their side business, keep their coursework organized, and more. Whether you want to achieve your Twitter goals, or just use it as a tool to achieve others, these twitter tools will help you get there.

Twitter Analysis

If your goal is to be popular and influential on Twitter, be sure to check out these tools that will tell you how you’re doing.

1. Twitter Grader: Learn your Twitter grade, your local Twitter Elite, and find new people to follow through Twitter Grader.


2. Twitterholic: Check out the top Twitter users and find out your Twitter stats on Twitterholic.


3. TweetStats: TweetStats offers a graphical analysis of your Twitter stats.


4. Twitter Friends: Carefully measure your Twitter conversations using Twitter Friends.


5. Twinfluence: Twinfluence will measure your Twitter influence based on reach, velocity, and social capital.


6. Tweetwasters: Find out how much time you and other users waste on Twitter.



7. Tweet-Rank: Learn about the quality of your tweets by finding out which ones won or lost followers.


8. Mr. Milestone: Get a tweet when you reach various milestones using this Twitter tool.


9. Retweetrank: Find out how many retweets you and other Twitter users have through this service.

Information Gathering

With these tools, you and gather information for market research, blog posts, and your own simple curiosity.

1. Tweetbeep: With Tweetbeep, you can set up alerts that will help you keep track of keywords on Twitter.



2. @myflightinfo: Use @myflightinfo to stay updated on your flight’s status.


3. Twitterverse: Check out archived timelines and tweets through Twitterverse.


4. Twitscoop: Twitscoop shares what’s hot on Twitter at any given moment.


5. Twitbuzz: Twitbuzz tracks the latest conversations as well as popular Twitter links.


6. StrawPoll: Use StrawPoll to make sharing your opinion as easy as sending an @reply.


7. Retweetist: This service ranks the hottest links being retweeted on Twitter.



8. Monitter: Get real time keyword monitoring on Twitter from Monitter.


9. TweetNews: TweetNews ranks stories based on the amount of related tweets.


10. TwitterBuzz: TwitterBuzz will tell you what’s being linked to the most on Twitter.


11. Tweetscan: Set up Tweetscan to make sure you don’t miss any @replies, and to get alerted of your search queries.

Network Building & Management

Find more relevant Twitter users with the help of these tools.

1. Twitter Local: With this service, you can see tweets from Twitter users in a specific location.


2. Twubble: Twubble will expand your Twitter bubble, picking out people you may like to follow.


3. MyCleenr: Sort your friends by their last tweets, and you can get rid of the inactive and useless accounts you’re following.


4. Follow Cost: This tool will tell you how much effort it takes to follow someone.


5. Tweepler: Use Tweepler to organize your tweeps based on whether you’re following them or not.



6. Just Tweet It: Find Tweeple, tools, Twitter bots and more through this directory.


7. TweetWheel: TweetWheel will help you discover which of your Twitter friends know each other.


8. SocialToo: SocialToo will help you keep track of all of the people who have followed or unfollowed you.


9. Twitoria: Reduce your clutter on Twitter by finding your friends that haven’t tweeted in a long time.


10. TwitDir: With TwitDir, you’ll be able to search for people, and exploring categories including top followers and updaters.


11. Who Should I Follow?: Using this site, you can get good recommendations for Tweeps to follow.



12. Nearbytweets: Learn about all of the Twitter users in a specific area with the help of Nearbytweets.


13. Twellow: Find Twitter users in a specific industry using this service.


14. Mr. Tweet: Mr. Tweet is a personal networking assistant for Twitter, helping you find relevant followers.


15. Qwitter: Qwitter will help you manage your network by sending an alert when a person unfollows you.

Twitter Management

Save your time and cull your Twitter list with the help of these tools.

1. Summize: Retrieve information on Twitter quickly to search Twitter in real time.


2. Tweet O’Clock: Trying to reach someone? Tweet O’Clock will help you find the best time to get their attention.


3. Just Signal: Set up a filter using Just Signal to get only the tweets that discuss the keywords you’d like to read about.


4. TweepSearch: Put your Twitter network to good use and search your followers for specific parameters.


5. Friend or Follow: Manage your Twitter contacts and find out who’s not following you back through Friend or Follow.


6. TwitResponse: TwitResponse makes it easy for you to schedule the delivery of your tweets ahead of time.



7. TwitterSnooze: Put the pause button on a particular user for a while with Twitter Snooze.


8. Twitterless: Get notified when someone stops following you with Twitterless.


9. Twilert: Track specific keywords to receive alerts for using Twilert.


10. Tweetdeck: Tweetdeck has a groups function that will help you more efficiently follow the people you really want to listen to.


11. Twalala: Put the mute button on certain people and topics for a while if you are receiving lots of updates you’re not really interested in.

Sharing Tools

Promote your business, share photos, and more using these Twitter tools.

1. Tweetburner: Use Tweetburner to share links, and you can track their usage.


2. Twitpic: Twitpic makes it easy to take mobile phone photos and share them using your Twitter account.


3. TwitterHawk: Get targeted marketing on Twitter through TwitterHawk.


4. Acamin: Acamin makes it easy to share files on Twitter with your followers.


5. Glue: Post links to books, movies, restaurants and more on Twitter through Glue.



6. Ping.fm: This service will update all of your social networks at once.


7. TweeTube: TweeTube makes it easy to share videos on Twitter.


8. twiggit: Use this automated service to share the articles you digg on Twitter.


9. Twisten.fm: Share what you’re listening to on Twitter through Twisten.fm.

Organization & Productivity

These Twitter tools will make your life a bit more streamlined.

1. Twittercal: Link your Twitter account and Google Calendar to easily keep up with your events and appointments.


2. Timer: Use Timer to get reminders about tasks through your Twitter account.


3. TwitterNotes: Organize your notes using Twitter with TwitterNotes.


4. Remember the Milk: Use Remember the Milk on Twitter to update your to do list.


5. Tweetake: Tweetake will back up your Twitter timeline for archiving and more.



6. Nozbe: Nozbe makes it easy to add and update your to do list on Twitter.


7. Toodledo: This popular to do list app integrates nicely with Twitter.


8. TrackThis: Send TrackThis your tracking number, and you’ll get Twitter messages every time there’s a change in location.


9. Joint Contact: Get project management productivity on Twitter using Joint Contact.


10. Tempo: This time tracking tool allows you to send in updates from Twitter.



11. Tweet Later: Tweet Later offers a great way to set up alerts, schedule tweets, send thank you DMs, and more.


12. OutTwit: OutTwit will make it easy for you to use Twitter inside of Outlook.


13. Jott: Jott makes it easy for you to tweet without ever having to type, transcribing your voice message to Twitter.

Life Tools

With these tools, you can work on relationships, life tracking, and more.

1. MyMileMarker: Keep track of your mileage with info sent via Twitter every time you fill up.



2. 21Tweets: 21Tweets offers personal coaching on Twitter.


3. TwtTRIP: Organize your travel plans and find other Twitter travelers on your way with TwtTRIP.


4. Tweet Answers: Twitter Answers makes it easy to ask questions and get answers on Twitter.


5. Twtvite: Twtvite is a simple event organizer that will help you create a tweetup.


6. Vacatweet: Set up an autoresponder for your Twitter account with Vacatweet.


7. plusplusbot: Share when someone goes out of their way to help you, or otherwise make your feelings known using plusplusbot.



8. TrackDailyGoals: Use this site and the #dailygoals hashtag to keep track of your goals every day.


9. ConnectTweet: Put the voices of your group or business together through ConnectTweet.


10. Tweeteorology: Find tweets about the weather in any location through Tweeteorology.


11. DreamTweet: Keep a reminder of your dreams and nightmares, and follow the dreams of others through DreamTweet.

Business & Finance

Use these tools to improve your business and finances through Twitter.

1. Chipin: If you’re raising funds on Twitter, make use of Chipin to set a goal and let your supporters track the progress of the campaign.


2. Xpenser: You can Twitter your expenses to Xpenser and they will be recorded for you.


3. Twittertise: Schedule your tweets and track their clickthroughs with this app designed for Twitter advertising.


4. TwtQpon: Create simple Twitter coupons for your business with TwtQpon.


5. CheapTweet: Get all of the deals, sales, coupons and more being discussed on Twitter through CheapTweet.



6. Tipjoy: Like Chipin, Tipjoy offers a way to create social payments for your cause, content, or people.


7. SalesTwit: Get contact management for Twitter with the help of SalesTwit.


8. Tweet What You Spend: Track your cash in a really effective way using Tweet What You Spend.


9. StockTwits: StockTwits shares the investment discussions on Twitter in real time.

Health

Track your health using these Twitter tools.

1. Qwitter: Update Qwitter to shame yourself into quitting smoking.


2. TweetPlot: Use TweetPlot to chart your food and fitness statistics.


3. Tweetwhatyoueat: Keep a food diary to track what you’re eating every day using Tweetwhatyoueat.


4. gtFtr: Use the gtFtr tool to record your exercise activity on Twittr.


5. SugarStats: Track, monitor, and share your blood sugar through Twitter with SugarStats.



6. FoodFeed: This Twitter-based food log makes it easy for you to track what you’re eating.

Blogging

Bring your blog life and Twitter life together with these tools.

1. Add to Any: Get your posts shared on Twitter by using Add to Any on your WordPress blog.


2. TwitThis: Make use of this plugin to send Twitter messages about your blog post.


3. MyTwitter: Use the MyTwitter plugin to display your Twitter status on WordPress.



4. Twitpress: Twitpress will send out a Tweet every time you post a new blog entry.


5. TwitterCounter: With this plugin, you can display the number of followers you have on Twitter.


6. TwitterFeed: Announce your blog post on Twitter with a customized message using TwitterFeed.

Thanks to Kelly Sonora, OnlineBestColleges.com