kid-cleaner

While I am discussing lofty invention ideas, here's another one to try and help keep your toddler clean while eating at the dinner table. It's actually more like the opposite of my last invention. Instead of sealing off the kids head in an oxygen-fed astronaut style helmet, seal off their entire body in a large plastic bubble that can be worn while eating. Think of the bubble boy from Seinfeld, and let them eat in their "birthday suit" or their bathing suit.

This way, no mashed up meatloaf in the lip of their diapers. No mashed potatoes in their pockets, ketchup in their hair, and no threatening "unknown" food substances smeared all over those brand new clothes. (Since they grow so fast, their clothes are nearly always brand new, it seems, aside for the occasional hand-me-downs).

To top things off, include a hose connection in the top of the bubble so that when they are done, you can simply connect a hose and rinse them down right there in their bubble. What do you think? Am I truly evil or am I a genius? LOL.

soundblocker for kids

I was thinking recently about a great invention for parents of wild, unruly children - an astronaut helmet, complete with oxygen tank. Why? Because I just got back from Mal-Wort and my kid was screaming the entire time we were in the store. God, I hate that! You know the attitude that some kids get - the fit that ensues regardless of what you do for them. You let them out of the cart - they scream. You carry them - they scream. You get them a bite from the "sample lady" - they eat it voraciously and...scream. I considered buying him some candy, but I don't like to reward him for terrible behavior. Instead, I bought the rest of the family candy, and we ate it in front of him while driving home. What better way to reinforce that good behavior has its rewards?

Personally, I get tired of trying to appease my kid, and am sometimes tempted to bring along some earplugs, but that wouldn't stop me from getting the same dirty looks from the other customers. Not that I mind dirty looks, but coupled with some earplugs, I might be asking for a brawl. (If *i* gotta listen to *your* kid, you sure as hell have to!) Maybe I should bring earplugs for everyone else...

So this is my idea. Make an astronaut helmet for a kid that is air (and sound) tight, with a some sort of rechargeable oxygen tank that they can wear like a backpack. Maybe throw in a plastic laser gun to get them more excited about wearing it. Problem is - there would be safety concerns. Anything that is airtight could suffocate them, but making it not airtight would also negate its sound-proof qualities. Alas, back to the drawing board. As I mentioned to my wife, why not just let me stay home with the kid next time?

gourmet gifts with a conscience

I recently ran across a new gourmet gift basket website that I think I am going to try out for Mother's Day. In addition to fruit gift baskets that are popular this time of the year, they offer some very unique gourmet ethnic, wine, chocolate, BBQ, and even special occasion baskets that any Mother would enjoy - even my crusty old Mother-in-law.

Sure, there are lots of gift basket sites on the internet, but there are a few reasons why this one caught my eye. First off, I am a sucker for video web presentations lately. I don't know why, but I really dig surprise video clips that integrate nicely into a website, as opposed to obnoxious you-tube-styled "windows" that often break the overall theme or "flow" of a website.

Upon reaching their site for the first time, I was welcomed by "Ryan", a little guy in the lower right-hand corner of my screen who proceeded in explaining why Gourmet Gift Baskets was different fro their competitors, and why their reputation and experience has earned them a #1 position in their industry with Alexa. We're talking about a company that's been around since 1940, too - not some fly-by-night operation. Ryan's legs would disappear whenever I scrolled up or down during his presentation - an obvious limitation of the programming, but it didn't interfere with his short but effective one minute message. Little touches like this make a big difference to me when shopping online, although if I didn't have a high-speed internet connection, I'd probably be singing a different tune.

One of the most surprising features of their service is their same day delivery offering. Are you sitting at home with one foot in the doghouse, and need to get something delivered today? They can do it. Although I thought I would pay through the nose for that type of speedy delivery, their shopping cart was showing me $9.99 for hand delivery. Can that really be the cost of such severe procrastination? Very impressive.

So now I just have to figure out how much to spend on each of my Mother's Day recipients, and what type of basket is going to keep my Mother-in-law off of my case for another year or so.

holiday anticipation?

suggested by Egyptian Home

"Are you looking forward to the next holiday? Why or why not?"

I thought that this prompt was appropriate, given my recent posts about Mother's Day. Sure, I could talk about Easter, but I'm on this Mother's Day kick right now, so let's keep things rolling. Am I looking forward to Mother's Day? Sure - why not? After all, this gives me an opportunity to dote on my lovely wife and hopefully show her some much-deserved appreciation for the very important role that she plays within our family. Unlike so many previous holidays, we're away from the troublesome branches of our family tree, so I don't have to worry about making obligational trips to the in-laws' homes, and suffering through uncomfortable silences at overpriced restaurants. I don't have to endure the obnoxious giddy anticipation and faux smiles during the "watch Mom open her gifts and let's see who spent the most money on her" after-party.

Although I don't like the commercialism behind nearly every holiday, I can appreciate the concept behind reserving a day during the year to show someone how important they are in your life. Obviously, we should be showing this type of respect most of the year, but sometimes it takes a holiday for everyone to slow down and bestow that gratitude with any clear expression.

As for the long distance relatives, thank goodness for the internet. I don't feel like fighting crowds at the local shopping shops or Mal-Wort (and then the post office). Instead, I will let my fingers do the shopping and send a nice floral arrangement or even easier, a gift card. Mother's Day is one of the easy ones.

rewarding family for their quirks

Any great ideas for Mother's Day gifts this year? Honestly, holidays are getting a bit on my nerves lately, and I'm not just using this as an excuse to not buy gifts. :-) I actually want to get my shopping for Mother's Day done early this year - maybe even a month ahead of time.

I actually enjoy purchasing gifts for my loved ones. I just don't like buying into the whole $5 throwaway greeting card idea, and I don't like feeling obligated to buy people gifts who may not deserve them. It's like the scene from the movie SLC Punk, in which "Heroin Bob" brings a birthday gift to his father, who nearly blows him away in a psychotic fit because he thinks Bob is a government spy. Did his father really deserve a gift from his apparently unloved and estranged son?

Now this isn't a rant against my mother, as I'm sure I will be getting something for her this year (and deservedly so), but rather a rant against using holidays as an excuse to buy gifts and pretend like our relationships with everyone are perfect (if only for one day of the year).

Over the years, as I have become older (and perhaps wiser?), I have realized just how malicious certain members of the family can be. I have done my best to avoid those family members the best that we can, as I don't want them influencing, embarrassing, or emotionally damaging my children if I can help it. However, sometimes I get that "nice guy" streak that tells me that I should feel sorry for these people and do better to try and keep the peace. Sometimes it is just so difficult, though.

I try to put myself in their place and see things from their perspective, taking into account that which I know of their past and their own upbringing. However, some family members are just so downright cruel, two-faced and evil-spirited that I just can't see them being a regular part of our lives. Contrary to what you read in greeting cards and what the talk shows throw at you with their "family is family" spiels, I don't mid the idea of "estranging" ourselves from certain relatives. I am "okay" with growing apart from substantial stress-inducing relationships, and not forcing my children to "suffer" through their B.S. like I have.

The real question is whether it is better to have theoretically "sound" smaller family gatherings, or the bloated drama that goes hand-in-hand with all-encompassing gatherings of bloodline and marriage. Obviously, the larger gatherings are more interesting to watch, but so are cock-fights...

vacations.net

Far be it from me to pass up the opportunity to review a new travel site, especially after my last two posts. This one is a bit different, as vacations.net focuses more on all-inclusive travel destinations. Personally, I've never tried an all-inclusive vacation, but I have heard shining reviews from friends and family from their experiences with staying in them in Mexico.

An "all-inclusive" vacation package does just what it says - it includes everything in the cost. Or at least, most everything. It all depends on the specific package, but many of them include meals, lodging, tax, gratuity, and even transportation. As vacations.net states, you can "leave your wallet at home". Of course, you may want to bring your ID and passport.

These all-inclusive travel packages are intended to be as stress-free as possible. You don't have to worry about the cost of anything, as it's already pre-paid. No need to tip anybody, and there are no hassles over the bill. When my sister first booked one of these all-inclusive trips to Mexico, I was a bit quick to warn her to "check the menu". After all, if all meals are included, you may end up with fish tacos every night. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that she and her husband were dining on steak and coconut shrimp as part of their package. Another perk is that these resorts are generally more private than other non-inclusive chains, so you don't have to worry as much about sand-vendors walking up to you on the beach, trying to sell you plastic crap from Taiwan.

The vacations.net site is pretty easy to navigate. My only complaints were that it would have been nice if it remembered my travel dates when I returned to the homepage to try a different destination. I also had to keep typing in my children's age every time I tried to search. Again, it would be nice it if remembered these details from the last search, and allowed me to change them if need be. (Obviously, my kids aren't going to change age from one search to the next.) The site automatically includes the all-inclusive results in your search. If you want other offers, you need to click on the "change" link where it says "All-Inclusive resort (change)".

It would also be nice if they included the estimated cost for the entire stay in the results, instead of just the average per night. Sure, I can take out the calculator and multiply $247.35 times seven nights, but it would be nice if they did it for me. My only other complaint was that it was showing me rooms that said "Exceeds max guests" in the results. If the room won't accommodate my family, why are you showing it to me?

One nice feature is the "travel style" selector. You are able to pick from a list of hotels based on whether they are family friendly, or just for adults, etc. This made it a little easier for me to narrow down results for a family of four. Unlike many of the new travel sites on the net that try to compete with the "biggies" by offering up half-baked affiliate booking links, this is one that I could actually see myself using if booking an all-inclusive trip.

I'm just not sure if the "all-inclusive" option is something that I'd be interested in. Sure, there's a lot of stress that is eliminated, especially when you're staying in a foreign country, but part of the fun of traveling is exploring, trying new cuisine, finding the "local dives". If I had an all-inclusive package, I wouldn't want to eat anywhere else, because I'd feel that we were wasting money. I guess that you need to look at an all-inclusive trip as a slightly different approach at traveling. It's more about getting away from the world, and relaxing in a protected and predictable environment. For the road-weary and those less-inclined to haggle, an all-inclusive package could prove to be a blessing.

the road to non-road recovery

In my last post, I discussed how some people (myself included) are obsessed with "the journey" and can't seem to settle down when they reach their destination, even when that destination is near perfect. So is there a cure?

Is there some way that we can re-train our minds into slowing down, appreciating what we have, and ignoring the allure of the open road? Or is it too dangerous to simply go "cold turkey" and does it make more sense to allow ourselves a hefty travel budget to cure those late night (and long weekend) cravings? But what keeps us from eyeing every new travel destination as a potential living destination? I am guilty of this - very much so.

The last dozen or so travel trips that I took were not only vacations - they were more like hometown scouting reports. What did I think of the town? Could I see my family living there? How does it compare with where we are at right now? would we be happy there? The last question, obviously is a trick question, as we would be happy anywhere that is new, for a short period of time. Then, it would get old to me, and that open road would be "curling up like smoke" above my shoulder. It was even worse when I was traveling frequently for work - alone in a car, driving thousands of miles with nothing but my thoughts to keep me company.

So what is the cure? That is, if it is truly a problem in the first place...

Maybe there is nothing wrong with having a desire to travel, and see new places, and want to live in them. Like any fantasy, I suppose that thinking about it doesn't hurt - dwelling on it or acting on it would, though. I don't want to uproot my children from their friends and school every time I feel like moving. It's not fair - I hated it as a child, so I know that they would, too.

Aha!! A Freudian moment! Did you hear that last sentence? It's not fair - I hated it as a child, so I know that they would, too. Perhaps that really is the defining reason for my condition. I secretly want to torment my children by moving around often because that's what I grew up with. LOL. Just kidding. But I am sure that moving around often as a child has something to do with it. I left my hometown before I felt established enough to call it my hometown, and my second hometown never accepted me for who I was - a Southern boy, tried and true. Every town that I have lived in since has been a predetermined "temporary" thing.

Sometimes I am convinced that we would be happy living in Europe somewhere. A small town in the South of France, perhaps. It's all very dreamy and idealistic, but we do find that the qualities that we look for in potential "hometowns" are its small-town European self-sustaining type qualities. Meanwhile, rural youth are knocking down doors to get into the big cities so they can get their hands on technology jobs. Small towns are left with nothing but "silver-stranders" who have no skills (or interest) in computer technology.

There is a movement of young people (or at least younger than the boomers) who are simplifying their lives and moving back to smaller communities, but are they doing it to truly simplify and live better lives, or because it offers a more affordable glimpse of what suburban and "new urban" communities promised, but failed to deliver?

Perhaps we are just part of a target market - more "numbers" to fit into these "movements". Or perhaps there really is something wrong with this country, and I'm just way ahead of my time with the disenchantment that I feel.

the journey or the destination?

So which type of person are you? Do you live for the journey or the destination? This is a theme that has popped up pretty often in my life, as I often feel like I have an "itch" that I can't seem to scratch every time I have settled down somewhere new. Sometimes I start to doubt my happiness, or question my original incentive for wanting to be where I am at, but then I realize that I'm just missing the journey once again.

How does this happen? What is it that makes certain people happy to just settle down, while others are itchin' to move on? Could it be that I have moved nearly once a year for the last decade? Or that my family moved me so far from home when I was a child, and I never re-established myself s a native in my new hometown? It's pretty hard to say - perhaps it is an inborn thing. Maybe I am just depressed. Or perhaps it is an age thing.

Maybe somewhere in my subconscious I have associated "settling down" with "old age" and I am avoiding it. But I had no problems tying the knot and having kids - just staying in one place...so what is the deal? I could go off the conspiracy deep end, and blame it on the government or the "American Way" and how we ruin everything that was once "real", which might explain why my quest is often to find a new place that feels more life-like.

Perhaps I was just born in the wrong decade...or hell - the wrong century! Two hundred years ago, I would have been happy to explore the "west" and claim my own piece of land (at the government's expense!), raise a family, settle down...live off of the land, not a computer. Talk about old fashioned. Geez.

honesty in SEO?

Over the last year, I have read numerous e-books, blog posts, and forum advice on the subject of search engine optimization (SEO). I have also run across hundreds of companies offering the service. You would think that with the availability of search optimization information on the internet for free, that everyone would be doing it for their own websites. Unfortunately, not everyone has the time and experience to do it right. After all, if you have one shot at making your website famous, you don't want to screw it up by trying to optimize it yourself when you've never optimized a site before. Sure, there are obvious tactics that seem to work every time - for example, getting quality linkbacks. But then there are the trickier tactics that could land you in search engine limbo. (Trust me - I can speak from experience - you don't want to be there. I am still wrestling with Google for re-inclusion of one of my sites, and I still don't know what I did wrong.)

This is often why businesses turn to professional SEO services for their organic listing optimization. Sure, it is going to cost you a pretty penny, but you're paying for their time (in lieu of your own), and hopefully some high quality links from some highly ranked sites. You're also paying for experience - a company that (hopefully) has had success with thousands of websites in the past.

One thing that always bothered me about these professional SEO services, though, is their "guarantee" that they will get you placed where you want. What a sham! Considering that the organic search listings are controlled by the search engine companies and not the SEO professionals, I don't see how anybody can make this kind of guarantee. You would think that their reputation would catch up with them pretty quickly. That's why SEO companies with an established presence and repeat customer base is important.

I was pretty impressed with Customer Magnetism, a search engine optimization company with an honest approach at SEO services and the guarantees that they carry. They quickly debunk the bogus "guarantee" strategy offered by so many of their competitors, and offer a much more realistic one of their own. Since most of your fees go towards link building with their service, that means that even if they don't quite place you where you wanted, you'll still have some quality links to show for it. They also list specific examples of the sites that they have worked with in the past, all of which you could contact to check as a reference. Compare this to many SEO services who don't list any of their previous clients, and don't reveal what they will do for you because it is an "industry secret".

Even better, they offer a free custom research report, and competitive analysis with optimization recommendations. I may just have to take them up on that offer for a few of my newer sites.

icon't do it captain!

With the Web 2.0 design-influx, one of the aims of web designers across the globe is to create the slickest new icons for their site. I, too, have fallen prey to this silly ideal, and wasted too much time creating custom icons in GIMP for several of my sites. In some cases, I can justify it, if I am getting paid for my time working on it. Other times, my extensive noodling around isn't going to pay off, and I'm just spending too much time trying to make it look pretty. Instead of breaking out Carrera 3D and trying to relearn the interface once again, I sometimes have to just use someone else's creations.

Enter IconPlant, home to the slick-n-pretty XP Icons. Check out their free samples to see if they might save you time and money, as well. Sure, you can find standard "alert" and "user" icons just about anywhere, but these guys offer up tons of specialty icons, too. And by specialty, I'm not referring to "special alert" and "user add" icons, but rather the "unique-est" of the unique, including XP-styled bananas and blenders, tricycles and trucks, and flaming discs. Best of all, they're sorted into concise groups specific to your industry or application.

cms - buckle up and pray

One thing that I have noticed about CMS systems is that they *do not* play well together. Trying to migrate from one system to another tends to be a nightmare, and you often end up with bogus MYSQL, lost data, and random errors from tables that don't quite match. Why does this strike me as odd, though?

Honestly, it doesn't. After all, if I spent so much time writing a piece of software for free, am I going to pour additional time in converting other software suites to be imported? I have heard some good occasions of importing into Wordpress, but in some cases, it was because the info being imported (like b2evo) was based on the same original codework.

In my case, I just went through a considerably nasty case of trying to import b2evo into Drupal. I ended up manually importing some of the content, and I still don't have the comments fixed.

Words to the wise - do your homework before picking a CMS or blogging platform, because trying to move it later can be a real headache.

smart investors dig modern booty

We've all heard of Fort Knox gold scandal, and the reported finagling of our gold prices that our government was attempting during the sixties. Gold has played a part in the direction of the world's most powerful governments, and it has caused them to make some interesting decisions. It is what brought the Spanish to the "New World", and has been the trigger for battles and wars in countless eras. Recent Hollywood films such as Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean remind us that when the dollar fails, tangible assets like coins made of precious metals will remain prized possessions, regardless of origin or language. The Y2K scare resulted in many fearful consumers picking up some "booty" of their own, in case the dollar would crumble.

Seven years later, we see that the Y2k scare yielded little calamity, and our dollar is still around (albeit with a new off-center face and some not-so-green accents). Gold is still around, and savvy investors don't require an impending doom to respect its value. The value of a dollar has continually dropped over the last few decades, yet according to Monex, gold bars have consistently held their value. In fact, they state that the value of silver today would buy you the same amount of gas as it had bought based on its value back in the seventies. Imagine getting your gas at an equivalent of 25 cents a gallon again!

As with any retirement or investment strategy, it is best not to have "all of one's eggs in one basket." Whereas many investors may think that they are diversifying their investments simply by spreading them across multiple stock plans and money market funds, I believe companies like Monex are providing sound advice when they recommend including some precious metals in that diversification equation. Some people advocate real estate, but you can't put a house in your pocket like you can a gold coin.

mindbump blogging prompts

Check out the latest development on the web that is offering a free cure for blogger's block. Unlike the random blog prompt generators that we've seen on the net for some time now, Mindbump features more of a Web 2.0 approach, since users are able to contribute their own blog writing prompts to the site, and in return can be shown at random on the front page (and receive votes, linkbacks and trackbacks from other bloggers using their prompts).

Best of all, there aren't lots of annoying advertisements all over the page. Check it out if, like me, you're often feeling a bit stumped on what to blog about. I'm also going to submit some blog prompt ideas of my own and see what kind of traffic I can get from it. The best kind of blog promotion is free blog promotion.

RIAA can go to hell

Have you heard the latest crap being spewed from the mouth of the RIAA? They are now using the Copyright Royalty Board (a leg of the US Copyright Office) to try and effectively shut down net radio streams. Their tactic? As a new article at techdirt recently reported, to jack up the royalty rates from 2006 to 2007 by more than 37%. Considering that many webcasting radio sites are barely making enough off of their efforts to pay for the hosting of their streams, this boost in royalty responsibility could kill them dead.

This is basically a way for the RIAA and the bigshot major labels to try and control the output of internet radio, like they have done for so long with physical radio stations. They don't want people to be able to listen to anything that they want. They don't want artists to be played on the radio without major label support. They want independent music to be unheard so that it is not a threat to their watered down pap. Please write your congressmen and let them know that you're sick of the RIAA having their hands around every media broadcaster's neck. The RIAA has never done anything good for artists - only for the major labels that are funding their lobbying.

In addition, I feel it is high time for everyone to boycott the RIAA, and the labels that they stand for altogether. These are the same jerkoffs that were suing twelve year olds for downloading songs off of Napster a few years back. This is their last gasp at retaining control. Perhaps we will witness an influx of internet radio hosted in places like Russia in the near future, since the reach of the RIAA isn't as heavy-handed in those types of areas.

linux safeguards

If you have friends and acquaintances who are Linux-obsessed, as I do, you'll probably want to share the following information with them. A good buddy of mine is constantly on his soapbox about how great Linux is, and I can usually agree with him, until he gets to the point where he basically makes a blanket statement that Linux is *perfect* and can do no wrong. In my estimation, no operating system can ever be perfect, but Linux definitely does offer some advantages over the competition, many of which fall into the realm of security and stability.

However, when your friend is on his soapbox, it may be wise to remind him that even Linux has its flaws, and he better be keeping an eye on those occasional security loopholes. Symark, for example, recently announced that their PowerBroker and PowerPassword UME access control solutions now take care of security gaps in more than thirty versions of Linux and Unix systems. Symark has been around since 1985. Those who commonly deploy HP's Integrity servers, for example, should be particularly interested in this security enhancement and how it pertains to the HP-UX 11i v3 operating system.

With Powerbroker, the oft-attacked "root" server account is better protected from external and internal threats, while their PowerPassword assist with managing Unix and Linux user accounts. A third offering, their PowerKeeper software deals with admin password storage and access control.

In a nutshell, it is never a good idea to have "blind faith" in any operating system. It's easy to get wrapped up in a brand or a logo, or a "stick it to the man" (or Microsoft) attitude. Even if you think you've found the unhackable, uncrackable OS, don't forget that nothing is impenetrable. Fortunately for most of us, there are companies like Symark with their password management software to cover our bases when we get a little too comfortable.

dollar menu at godaddy

In case you haven't heard, GoDaddy is now running a 99 cent special on all .INFO domains. There is no limit and best of all, you get free private registration with the purchase of three or more domains at a time. While the .INFO domain extension isn't exactly a highly-valued moniker, they are still great for trying out those ad-loaded landing pages and generating quick contextual revenue schemes. After all, at 99 cents, how could you possibly lose?

Even my Adsense ads generate that much money per year!

LOL.

everybody has an e-book

I must be in the wrong business. Instead of trying to make money on the web, I should be making money off of other people trying to make money on the web. Everybody is doing it, so why not me? Maybe I should write an e-book. Follow the formula, write a hard-sell website with fifty pages worth of text crammed into one page full of alternating font styles, sizes and colors.

I'll admit that some of them are legitimate, and actually involve some research and include unique content and advice. However, most appear to be transparently superficial, and merely regurgitate in their own words what others have already said (for free) on their websites. Then, they simply turn around and create an affiliate program so that others can sell it for them.

*Dangle a carrot in their face, and they will help make you money.*

I am slowly developing a love/hate relationship with the internet. On one hand, I depend on it for my income, but on the other hand I can't stand how plastic and inhuman everything has become. Frightening, isn't it? You would think that the "social" aspect of Web 2.0 would have breathed some life into the web, but aside from the occasional heartfelt video-blog (which hopefully isn't actually part of a "reality" show masquerading as reality), I'm just not seeing it.

Web users wanted a more personal experience, so we turned them into a target market. We gave them watered down "social" interfaces, slapped a design formula for shiny buttons and reflective surfaces onto it, gave it an overzealous moniker (or maybe a made-up word), and whoila! - instant Web 2.0. It's not all that different from track home builders adding "cottagy" touches to their huge homes to appeal to home buyers looking for something "old world". Forget the fact that few cottages ever built in the "old world" had more than 1200 square feet of living area, or that a big part of the attractiveness of cottage-like homes is their one-of-a-kind character, or that the color palette of original cottages included more than just three versions of beige.

The internet is no different - it offers glamorized cookie-cutter faux-life approaches to solving real-life problems, few of which have a lasting impression. The fact that we had to apply a number to it - "2.0" - indicates that it will be reinvented ad nauseum each year or so, to try and keep web users from growing tired of its facade, and keep upgrading their computers and software.

paid blogging buzz

PayPerPost recently offered an opportunity for us "posties" to speculate on a "big" announcement that they will be sharing with everyone in the next few weeks. Seeing as majority of the opportunities that are currently sitting in my PayPerPost account are shaded in pink (meaning that the are not currently available for me to take them), it would be nice if PayPerPost's big announcement is that they are going to release those opportunities to me. Aside from that, perhaps they will be announcing a new way for bloggers to increase site traffic and gain more readership and subscribers to our blogs.

Other possibilities could include another attempt at a buyout or merger, like what had almost occurred with PayPerPost's move towards picking up performancing.com not too long ago.From a blogger's perspective, some of the things that I would like to see change at PayPerPost (and I feel that there are *many* other bloggers out there who feel the same way) would be to implement some stricter advertiser standards on the site.

I'd like to see sites that aren't just one page half-baked information sites whose true purpose is to trick visitors into clicking on contextual advertisements. I'd like to see more opportunities to actually review websites - opportunities that offer bloggers the capability to do a real review, and not necessarily be required to write in a positive spin (which is sometimes part of the offer requirements). In fact, I wish they would do away with the option to request positive feedback altogether. None of the other paid blogging services allow advertisers to force this onto their "posties" so why should PayPerPost? As an advertiser, it is all to easy to not see the ramifications of requesting positive feedback - especially if you haven't been doing too many paid posts as a blogger. I've been on both sides of the fence, and once requested positive feedback for some buzz on one of my sites, and now see how foolish that was.

I'd also like to see a ticket system implemented for communicating with the post reviewers, so that when we have questions, comments, or rebuttals we can actually talk to the person who is reviewing our post, and not have to try and force comments into the submission form in places where they shouldn't be, just so that we can explain why a rejection might have been ill-awarded to us.

The only other announcement that would have been extremely gracious on the part of PayPerPost would have been to offer free admission to their "PostieCon" event to all of their current "posties". As far as I can tell, very few people are making enough money to actually live off of with PayPerPost (except for Ted, and PPP Queen Colleen perhaps), so I don't think it is reasonable to expect most of us to travel and pay to attend a conference to hear more about how we can make a few hundred bucks a month with PayPerPost.

These are my lofty wishes as to what this announcement could be. I would imagine that I've probably totally off the mark, and it will have more to do with their reality startup show, as that seems to be where most of their efforts are currently focused.

robot ethics?

The BBC recently released an article covering some theories and speculation surrounding robot ethics. According to the article, groups of expert robot-enthusiasts in North Korea and Europe are said to be investigating the ramifications of robotic infusion in the home, what type of rules should be followed, and what type of potential rights these robots should be given.

It's all very interesting, and serves as a stark reminder that movies like Bicentennial Man and AI may not be so far off the mark, when it comes to the place of robots in the home. In fact, it seemed like Bicentennial Man copied Isaac Asimov's "laws of robotics" from the 1940's almost verbatim. Already, we have robotic vacuum cleaners and toys. My kids have Furby's and "Tickle me Elmo" dolls that project the appearance of intelligence. Even in the fifties, children's cartoons (like Gumby), and science fiction movies presented us a glimpse of future worlds dependent on machines, and it seems as though we are not too far off.

Lately, my luddite streak has been getting the best of me, and I am starting to believe that technology may be getting the better of us. The more time I spend on the internet, the more I find it growing ridiculous. I suspect that the neo-luddite movement may gain more loyalty in the near future if we continue to see this push into inhuman (and often inhumane) progress at the detriment to social interaction and self-enlightenment.

freelancing without schmoozing

This is the second time in my career that I have opened the door to taking on freelance work. The last time was more than six years ago, and I eventually gave up on the sporadic work that I found in favor of a "regular" job with a big corporation.

Now that I am my own boss, I am also open to the idea of freelancing. Unfortunately, I've never been one to "schmooze" with potential clients, and I've never been very good at networking my skills. I remember attending professional parties in the hopes that I might "rub elbows" with some important client who may be looking for some of the skills that I have under my belt. I also remember taking potential clients out to lunch, never to hear from them again, most likely because their needs didn't fall out of alignment with my offerings until we were able to sit down and discuss the project in more detail (on my dime).

Fortunately, my return to the world of freelancing is not without some very useful tools that didn't exist before. In addition to online job postings, we now have professional freelance market sites like Elance. Whether you are looking for skills or looking to leverage skills, you can now post a request for free, or a "courtesy listing" of your offerings for free. You can even create different profiles to concentrate on your various fields of expertise. This comes in handy for someone like myself, who may not want to muddle up web design experience with something unrelated. Then, you get to bid on the latest project offerings. This keeps the market competitive, and also means that you're not left fending for yourself to try and negotiate a reasonable fee.

Elance also offers premium subscription memberships for nominal fees that enhance your listing and guarantee you premium placement. Their membership services also include useful features like escrow and payment processing, automated archives and email trails, and mediation support, should you have any problems with your clients.

Check them out if, like me, you don't want to give up freelancing opportunities, but you're tired of the schmoozing.

when to go virtual

I recently decided to make the switch from shared web hosting to a virtual private server. At $50 a month, it was a difficult decision, but one that I had been contemplating for the last several months. Shared hosting just wasn't cutting it for. For one, there were domain limitations that I had to deal with. I know that there are other hosts out there that offer cheaper shared plans with better domain options that what I was getting, but the customer service that I experience with WebHSP has been utterly phenomenal. Paying a little extra each month is worth it if it means that I get tech support responses in ten minutes, which is about the average that I have been experiencing.

The other problem that I was having with shared hosting was some occasional server lag from the other sites on my shared server. Many were running intensive flash and PHP scripts that flooded the server now and then, resulting i performance hits on my own websites. Now that I am living off of the web, I figured that it was a good idea to get my own virtual private server so that I can better manage and maintain my own server resources. For $50 a month, I get to host/resell as many domains as I will need to, and get my own private server so I don't have to worry about anyone else's sloppy programming affecting the server performance.

My move ot the virtual server should happen soon. I hope that everything goes smoothly. I backed up all of my SQL databases just in case. VPS Hosting isn't cheap, but then again, neither is losing traffic due to shared server issues.

kill the muzak

I had to call up GoDaddy today because I was having an issue with one of my forwarded domain names. It turns out that the original name server settings had transferred over into my account when I transferred the domain from Network Solutions to GoDaddy, and I forgot to change them to GoDaddy's parked name servers, so it wasn't forwarding correctly. I had been tinkering around with their user interface panel for the last week with no success. I never thought to check that the name servers were correct. I just assumed that they would automatically be set to GoDaddy's parked name servers when I transferred the domain. Their tech support guy figured it out pretty quick for me. It's working correctly now.

Although I did have to sit on hold for a little while (about 7 minutes) before getting through to a customer service rep, I was pleasantly surprised when their automated system actually gave me the option to turn off the hold music. Wow! That's a first!

Chalk up some extra points for GoDaddy for actually serving up a customized "hold" environment.

link popularity for all

I'm always looking for ways to improve page ranking for my websites, and incoming links seem to be the key at this point, although there are still several other factors to consider. Like many other SEO newbies, I went out of my way to read just about every blog post and e-book that I could get my hands on to better understand how all of this page ranking stuff works. Unfortunately, the details seem to be scattered all over the web, and there are very few free sources that I have found that cover many of them all in one place (and in summarized form for the time-impaired like myself).

The folks over at USWeb posted a blog post on link popularity not too long ago that covers many of the basics, and I recommend taking a look if you are just getting into SEO and link building for your blogs and websites. They provide some insight to Google's complex indexing algorithms (without getting too complex), and they offer some relief for those of us who are so concerned with pagerank. Apparently, Google isn't weighing pagerank as much as they used to, primarily because pagerank can still be "gamed" fairly effectively.

Their post also touches on link-baiting, link brokers and even Latent Symantec Indexing (LSI), a new idea for Google that focuses on the relationship between keywords. Under LSI provisions, Google rewards similarly linked websites with more points since they are getting more appropriate or "relative" links. This should help to rule out bogus ranking lifts due to spammy link exchanges and reciprocal links. After all, if you run a website that is all about real estate, why should you receive ranking points for getting a link from a dog grooming site?

In case you were thinking to yourself, "Gee, USWeb sounds like a familiar company. Where have I heard that name before?" If you've ever heard of Blogitive before, that's most likely where you've heard of them. Blogitive is a unique paid blogging platform from USWeb that allows companies to issue press releases and have bloggers comment on them for a small fee. This is yet another great way to improve page ranking and get some legitimate website reviews for your company, website and/or products.

hunger and other stories

"He moved funny too, walking as if he were once taken apart and put back together wrong..."

I just finished reading an excerpt from a book titled Hunger and Other Stories by Ian Randall Wilson. It was rather interesting, as it described the relationship of a man and his father in a metal shop and how he and a man named "Emmanuel" built toys (and the occasional artificial limb) out of scrap metal. I like how the author describes the "strap look" that the father gives his son every so often - I can relate to that look, and I do my best not to give it to my own children. His relationship is similar to my own with my father, in that nothing that anyone does is "good enough". The excerpt feverishly ends in possible murder and arson. Does he kill his own father? Not quite, but I won't give it away. You can read the excerpt yourself and pick up the book if you're interested.

The writing is intense at times, and the descriptions are poignantly expressed.

Here's the cover of the book:

the pc case fan conspiracy?

Is it just me or are the screws that they send with case fans just too large? I just spent a half of an hour trying to torque some screws into a new case fan for my pc, and it was a pain. The AC8 fan, by Arctic Cooling, is great - it "floats" on rubber mounts and is as quiet as I wanted it to be (unlike the Masscool fan that I had purchased and will return to NewEgg soon). But the screws that they sent are huge, and I was afraid that I was going to break the plastic mounting base of the fan.

Believe it or not, the cheap Masscool fans (I bought a case of 10) had smaller screws, but I need to return them with all the hardware to get my full refund. Otherwise, I would swap them out with the clunky screws form the Arctic Cool fan. I'm really not sure why they feel the need to send such large screws. Are they worried about them getting loose or something? Like I said, I think it may be a conspiracy so that you break the mounting base when you go to install it, and have to buy a new one. And of course, the screws are an odd size and I'm not sure if I could pick some up with the correct thread pattern at a regular hardware store like Home Depot. All I can say is that this new fan better not break or quit working, because the screws are so tight that I'm not sure if I can unscrew it from the case anymore.

The Brits like Dinsey World, too

Apparently, Americans aren't the only population obsessing over the sun and fun of the Florida coast. A new Florida property site is specifically targeting UK investors with their Florida property listings.

It is interesting because the English were part of the early European explorers that came to Florida, after the Spanish, but they didn't populate the state in significant numbers. Now, a couple hundred years later, some well-to-do English are willing to pay more than a half of a million dollars to establish their second home at a condo hotel. Florida has long been a destination for people of other countries. In fact, by 1996, approximately 15% of Floridians were foreign-born, many having come from Cuba and Haiti.

Personally, I'm not much of a beach person. I get burned a little too easy. I'm just happy that we escaped from Colorado, where they've been getting dumped on by serious snowstorms over the past few months.

the great florida migration

I recently read a statistic that in Florida only 30% of the population is native born. This makes Florida second behind only one state - Nevada. I remember seeing a special on the television once that discussed the California/Florida phenomenon, too. They had some maps of the nation, and showed the general population as they predicted it would migrate over the next thirty years. The people, displayed like a plague (LOL), slowly spread away from the center of the country and to the coasts, particularly to Florida and California. Florida has been getting more of the migration, since their cost is living is still quite a bit cheaper than in California.

In fact, the Californians have been participating in a mass exodus over the last decade or so, and many can now be found in Colorado, Idaho, Arizona, Oregon and Washington. It's interesting to see how Americans are deciding to relocate based on climate. I can only imagine what it will look like as global warming gets worse.

hotel booking site review

I was recently presented with an opportunity to review a new Hotel Reservations site via the PayPerPost program. Seeing as I have booked quite a bit of online travel over the years, and I also have a firm background in web design, I feel that I am well qualified to deliver an assessment of their site.

Right off the bat, their homepage seems a bit bland. The layout features small fonts which may not be suitable for older eyes, and there isn't very much color. The upper left-hand logo doesn't return one to the homepage, per most website standards. On the bright side, they don't feature a bunch of obnoxious flash animation like some booking sites. There are several button links on the page, one of which is for a $100 rebate. Clicking on the button for details will show that you get the $100 if you stay at a hotel for 12 nights. That's a bit extreme, but you still get $20 with a three night stay.

The site isn't exactly what I would call "all-inclusive" when it comes to their hotel listings, but they do include lots of different chains. The site seems to be more focused on the "Choice Hotels" brands - like Comfort Inn, Days Inn, Super 8, etc. Also, popular brands like the Best Western and Holiday Inn are conspicuously missing from the list. I did get an overwhelming batch of two star hotels that were about sixty plus miles from where I searched, though. There doesn't appear to be a proximity range that one can choose while searching. Maybe I missed it. For example, when searching for hotels in the popular Ozark resort area Eureka Springs, the closest hotels that showed up are an hour away.

Mapping the list of hotel results revealed a display of numbered circles in relation to a single HWY with no real details on side streets or interconnecting highways. As a result, I can't imagine trying to use their map to actually locate the hotels.

If I was going to stay at one of the more economy based hotels during my travels, I might suggest comparing the deals to be had on this site with others and going with the best price that you can find. Their rebate may make a difference on your total. This site advertises "guaranteed lower rates" so there is a good chance that you can hold them to it, and get them to match (or better) a deal that you might find somewhere else.

Although this company asked for a positive review in their listing at PayPerPost, I couldn't help but share my honest opinion of their site, including some items above that could be viewed as negative. After all, they asked for a "review" - not a commercial advertisement. If this means that I don't get paid for it, so be it. I had already accepted the offer and had started writing my review before I got into the details of the site. I do think that their site has some good deals, but they need to expand their listings and work on the interface a little more to compete with the "big boys of booking".

the milk gene

BBC News recently reported on a scientific discovery indicating that early man was lactose intolerant, much like the minority of the population that still is today. They speculated that at some point in time, most likely during the era when humans began to have dairy farms, the human body developed a resistance to the milk sugar and was able to break it down. Their findings seem to be supported by the fact that countries that don't have many dairy farms (those in Asia, for example) continue to report significant numbers of lactose intolerant individuals.

As a lactose intolerant person, I find it a little comforting knowing that my problems don't have to do with genetic defects, but rather with genetic adaptations that may not have yet rooted themselves in my bloodlines.

box.net widget

Here's an example of flash put to good use - this is a widget from a site called Box.net. They take the FTP geek speak out of file uploading and hosting, and allow users to place a widget on their site for free that includes up to 1Gb of storage, and unlimited bandwidth. The site is easy to use and requires very little understanding of HTML or code. If you can browse for a file on your desktop and click a button, copy some code and paste it into your site, you can do it.

Check out the Box.net Widget:


Get your own Box.net widget and share anywhere!

is flash too flashy?

I recently met with a client at a local restaurant, and strangely enough there was another web designer sitting across from us discussing a site with their client. It must have been "web design" time or something, as this was during the lull between lunch and dinner, and we were the only customers.

I overhead them talking about flash, and the client didn't really sound like he wanted it, but the designer was pushing it pretty hard. I personally think that this is ridiculous. Aside from the idea that telling a client what he/she "needs" is walking on thin ice at times, flash isn't exactly something that I would be pushing as a necessity. I still don't think enough web surfers have flash capable browsing enabled. There are still many who surf a slower dial-up speeds, and others who refuse to install plugins because they have no idea what they are doing. In addition, some people still find flash to be gimmicky. There is also SEO to consider, as I don't believe that the search engines are too capable to indexing flash as well as text.

In a nutshell, flash may be...well...flashy...but anyone who tells you that it is a necessity is blowing air up your skirt. If you feel you have to have some flash, make it an insert or a widget. They don't call them "bells and whistles" for nothing.

saving cash quickly

Another quick way to grab some deals is to visit a site like Coupon Chief. In many cases, the coupons listed will get you better deals than if you waste an hour doing comparison shopping. Or, if you're going to do comparison shopping anyway, see what the different coupons will get you at different stores. In some cases, the base price at one store may be more, but it may be a better deal after the coupon. For example, we recently picked up a great deal on a laptop because the store didn't charge shipping. And since we had a coupon, it actually made their higher base price cheaper than their competitors after their competitors shipping charges.

Another thing that is interesting about Coupon Chief is that they even have coupons for things like live seafood! You might even find that a $10 off of a $100 purchase coupon makes it quite a bit cheaper than your local grocer, and it may be fresher, too, since there's no "middle man" and extra transport (and freezing time). I'm going to take a look at their crawfish offerings, as I grew up in New Orleans and have always missed the seafood.

comparison shopping

Lately, I've started to realize that the time that I spend trying to compare prices ends up negating any savings that I find. When trying to find the best deals on computer parts, for example, I end up spending an hour trying to save a few bucks on a $10 case fan. Is it really worth my time? One of the main problems has to do with "hidden" costs. Many sites don't advertise their shipping and handling costs, and many of them like to surprise you with sales tax at the last minute (whether they really have a store in your area or not!).

I guess that like anything, the answer lies in moderation. I wouldn't advocate just jumping at the first price you find, but don't waste too much time bouncing back and forth. If you find a similar price at several stores, and you're not shopping for such a high dollar item, you might as well grab it instead of wasting too much time. I don't know about you, but spending an hour to save four dollars isn't worth my time.