Don't Panic

Co-operative Bank Credit Cards

2007-09-27T17:45:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
Whether you think you do or not, most everybody needs a credit card. The Co-operative Bank may just be the solution to ALL your credit card needs. They offer a wide range of services / benefits on their card option.

For those of you getting out of debt or that currently have an emergency, the Advantage credit card may be for you. It offers 0% on purchases and balance transfers fixed for six months. This offer is great to ensure all your payments are applied directly to your outstanding balance and not messing with a finance charge.

If you're the generous type, check out the Affinity cards. This option gives you the ability to make a donation to an organization of your choice when you open the account and whenever you use the card.

For you travelers, check out the travel credit card. This option earns you travel rewards for every purchase you make with it.

So. . . if you're in the market for a new/additional credit card, be sure to add The Co-operative Bank to your short list of possibilities.

I'm an idiot

2007-09-18T18:44:00.000-05:00

That's right, I'll admit it; I'm an idiot. Today was the perfect motorcycle riding weather, but I left my bike in the garage all day long. A mistake I don't plan to duplicate tomorrow. Which means that it will rain tomorrow, so consider yourselves warned (if you life in central Illinois). I got the new tires on the bike earlier this year and I have hardly gotten a chance to break them in. One round trip to and from work will do that though. That's all for now, talk to ya later.

Red Gac

2007-09-17T19:22:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
If you read my last post, you know that the status of my skin is a touchy subject for me right now. I'm currently trying to wait out a case of sunburn. That and the fact that my wife is a skin cancer survivor got me interested in learning about this R.G. Skin Revitalizer. I'm not saying it will cure or help with either, but its overall nourishment of the skin can help anyone. The R.G. stands for Red Gac. Gac is a tropical fruit found in Vietnam and other regions of Southeast Asia. This isn't your run of the mill fruit either, this one is long believed to hold some health secrets within itself. The gac is rich in beta-carotene, lycopene and other antioxidants, which help promote cellular rejuvenation throughout the body. Which brings me back to my initial interest, skin health. The medicinal values of the gac don't stop with the skin either. Lycopene has been a buzz word lately for those that take a multi-vitamin, especially in the mens formulas because of its benefits on the prostate gland. The gac can produce up to 76 times the lycopene found in a commercial tomato.

Back to the product at hand, the R.G. Skin Revitalizer. This product provides daily skin nourishment that just can't be found anywhere. It takes full advantage of the gac and all the benefits that it provides and applies the directly to your skin.

Wear Sunscreen

2007-09-17T19:14:00.000-05:00

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.

Those lyrics were stuck in my head all day Sunday because I spent all day Saturday outside facing the sun. My nose is now a lovely shade of red that would probably glow (If I needed to fly through a large patch of fog).

Trust me on the sunscreen.

Garage Accessories

2007-09-16T21:33:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
With summer coming to a close, now is the perfect time make some changes to you garages overall functionality. A quick way to occomplish this is to purchase some garage accessories. A very popular item to stock you garage with is an extra fridge; I however already have that taken care of thanks to an ex-coworker. What I could use is a few small items such as a wall clock or a comfy stool. What does your garage need?

A Day to Remember

2007-09-11T05:40:00.000-05:00

Many people view today, the anniversary of the attacks on US soil, as a day to grieve and pay respects to those that lost their lives on that fateful day. I prefer to look forward to what will be. I bet you took that wrong. . . I'm not currently looking forward to what will be in an optimistic way. I fully expect more attacks against the US and am already dreading how W will respond. I don't want to get all preachy on you here, so I'll let you commemorate this date how ever you feel is best. Lets just all agree that we want every nations soldiers to return home safely as soon as possible.

Happy Birthday to me

2007-08-17T09:07:00.000-05:00

Today is my birthday. Wow, at 34 years old, I feel old. I get to cook my birthday dinner tonight, but that's ok cuz it is a seafood boil; which means I get to eat a bunch of crab legs, sausage, potatoes, and corn-on-the-cob. Those always turn out to taste super good. Other than that, it will be a day of relaxing and playing xbox. That's all for now, I'll hopefully post again soon.

Halloween the Movie

2007-08-07T20:18:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
What is your favorite scary movie? Mine is Friday the 13th; but not for its horror value, but rather its comedic value. You see, I went to a theater to watch it in college during a free showing on a Friday the 13th. This particular showing had the theater full of 19 - 21 year old women. And they were really freaked out by the movie. You know during the movie something scary is going to happen when you hear the whispering echo "kill kill kill kill jason jason jason jason". Now the fun comes when there is a point that has no scary value at all and you start whispering "kill kill kill kill jason jason jason jason" and the entire row of women sitting in front of you scream, making the entire theater scream. Let me tell you, that was the funniest horror movie I've ever seen. These Friday the 13th movies and the entire Halloween series are of the same cloth.

The new Halloween movie is soon to be released and I'm sure it will revive the series. This new Halloween the movie is brought to you by Rob Zombie (from the rock/heavy metal band White Zombie). His musical endeavors have always been innovative and appealing. I'm sure his version of Halloween the movie will have that same edge to them. What this series needs is a fresh mind to give it a fresh feel, while still holding the heart of the old-time horror movie. This is exactly what it looks like Rob Zombie is bringing, based on the trailer.

Try to have some fun with this movie. See how many times you can get the entire theater to scream in between the scary parts.

Interview process

2007-08-07T20:00:00.000-05:00

Since when does the interview process for a company include a 30 minute phone conversation and nothing else. I get that that would be then end of the process if you blew the interview and the prospective employer wasn't interested. However, that 30 minute phone conversation was the only step in my last interview process which resulted in a job offer. After reviewing my resume and speaking to me for 30 minutes they are willing to offer me decent money to come work for them. The strangest part of the whole process is that during that phone call, I was asked 1 technical question and I couldn't answer it. :-( That, however, didn't seem to bother them. It makes me wonder what I'd be getting into if I accept the offer. I'll keep you updated on what I decide.

Aches and Pains

2007-07-25T22:33:00.000-05:00

OK, here's the situation. My body wanted to go on a weeks vacation and, my hands were sore, they needed some relief; should I wine? Um, well, of course not. Seriously though, I had this pain in my hand that I just couldn't explain. I've narrowed it down to about 4 things though: Old age, arthritis, a change in weather, or too much xbox playing. I took Ibuprofen and acetaminophen, but neither helped with the pain. Then, out of nowhere, I got this letter asking me to try the product "Freeze It" and blog about my experience. Included in the envelope were 4 sample packages of the product (pictured here with said hand). The timing on this was too good to be true, so I ripped one open and applied it to my hand immediately. One of these packages goes a long way and is good for many uses. The $9.99 price tag on the retail size could take care of all your aches and pains for years. Did I mention, it got rid of the pain? Yep, good as new.

That first application made me think that Freeze IT would be perfect for the person with a sore jaw and a stuffy nose. The sore jaw bit because FREEZE IT provides great pain releif; the stuffy nose because its initial menthol scent could clear the stuffiest of noses. Don't worry, that scent doesn't last long.

They've even got a commercial on YouTube, but you can watch it here.

XBox 360 Fall Releases

2007-07-23T21:48:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note to tell you what xbox 360 games I'm looking forward to and to find out the ones you are. First, my list: I know it's not Fall yet, but out today is Nascar 08. I pre-ordered it a couple weeks ago so I should be receiving it any day now. The next game I'm looking forward to is Orange Box (Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2 Episode 1, Half-Life 2 Episode 2, Team Fortress 2, and Portal). This box is scheduled for release on 10/9. I'll own it that day. The next release that I'm looking forward to is Mass Effect, which is slotted for a November release. There are others, but unless they cut the price, I'll only end up with these 3. What games are you looking forward to?

Burn Notice

2007-06-18T19:03:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:

The USA Network's Burn Notice wants to know what you would do if you were stranded in an unknown city with no money and no resources. That's an interesting question and one I'll answer for you here. My first thought is that I would do a lot of begging, but I think I would like to become more entrepreneurial in my efforts to survive. The first thing I have to do is find some skill I could use to get some fast money. I guess blogging would be out as it takes a while to make blog monetization worth while. So, I could start small and walk dogs (if it was a city). Or maybe I could go the hard labor route and find a job in construction. OK, for those of you that know me, stop laughing! I'm not skinny, I'm wirrey. For the life of me, I can't think of what I really would attempt to survive while stranded in an unknown city. I have a feeling I would end up on the streets for at least a couple days, in all the elements suffering. If you want to find out what a CIA operative would do, make sure you tune into Burn Notice on the USA Network.

Seinfeld & Superman

2007-06-18T18:54:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting here watching a Seinfeld re-run and for some reason I faintly remember reading years ago that every episode references Superman in some way. I really can't find the reference while watching. Do any of you know what the references are? Or do I remember it wrong? I've been looking on his walls, furniture, clothes, and listening to the dialouge, but I just can't find it. I could google it, but I'd rather see if any of you know where the references are. If you know let me know by commenting to this post.

PayPerPost gets Lucky $7 Million

2007-06-12T21:55:00.000-05:00

PayPerPost has raised another $7 Million and are celebrating by getting their bloggers to advertise on blogs. There are many things that I think they should/could do with the money. Some of them are feasable, some are very far fetched. Here's my list, in no particular order:

1. Imagine it, a $1 Million dollar post opportunity. Announce that it will be available sometime between 1am Monday morning and noon Friday afternoon. You'll get a bus load of sleep deprived posties that week.

2. I guess the developers could use a bonus to make up for all the overtime they have obviously been doing. Throw them a little bone and expect them to code non-stop for the next 2 months.

3. Give it all to the President/CEO of PayPerPost. Everyone knows they do all the work anyway. ;-)

4. Use it to buy-out a competitor to achieve more advertisers. (ReviewMe or blogsvertise or loudlaunch), a subsidiary of PayPerPost, has a nice ring to it.

5. Just start depositing the money in random postie paypal accounts until it's all gone.

That's just a couple of the ideas off the top of my head. I'm sure they have an idea what they are going to do with it already, so my brainstorming session is probably all for naught. Here is their published Press Release:

The PayPerPost Revolution Accelerates, Sponsored
Blogging Marketplace Secures $7 Million Series B

Draper Fisher Jurvetson leads round and joins Board of Directors

ORLANDO, FL – (June 12, 2007) – PayPerPost, the leading marketplace for advertisers to reach bloggers and other consumer content creators, today announced it has completed a $7 million second round investment led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson, an investor in the company's Series A and one of the world’s leading high-technology venture capital firms. The financing brings the total amount of capital raised by PayPerPost to over $10 million, giving the company considerable resources for further development as the industry’s leading Consumer Generated Advertising marketplace. Additional participants in the round include existing investors Inflexion Partners and Village Ventures as well as new investor DFJ Gotham. With this investment, DFJ Managing Director Josh Stein also joins PayPerPost’s Board of Directors.

“PayPerPost created this exciting new advertising space and has established itself as the industry leader,” said Ted Murphy, chief executive officer of PayPerPost. “Although we’ve only used a portion of our first round capital, this added support from investors unlocks significant growth potential. Our content creator and advertiser ROI metrics clearly demonstrate the upside for PayPerPost’s model. We intend to use this capital to build the infrastructure, visibility and professional expertise necessary to reach and retain a greater network of advertisers and content creators than ever before.”

Since its founding in June of 2006, PayPerPost has signed more than 6,500 advertisers to its groundbreaking service, which has enabled Consumer Content Creators to be compensated for their efforts discussing specific companies, products or services via blogs, videos or other media. The content creators are required to disclose relationships with advertisers on their blog, providing transparency for the end reader. Over 125,000 Internet postings, most in the form of blogs, have already earned money for their creators through PayPerPost’s innovative marketplace. PayPerPost recently released PayPerPost Direct, a disruptive new service that allows advertisers to contract and negotiate directly with individual bloggers they identify through a safe, managed system.

“PayPerPost has laid a strong foundation for the future,” noted Tim Draper, founder and managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson. “It continues to attract a critical mass of participants from both the advertising and blogging communities. Analogous to Overture’s sponsored search model, we believe PayPerPost’s business model holds disruptive potential and will enable the company to thrive in the evolving paid-content arena.”

To mark the $7 million dollar funding, PayPerPost has launched a new website detailing the company’s service offering at http://www.payperpost.com. Bloggers and advertisers can easily sign up at the site and begin leveraging the self service marketplace.

Busy weekend summary

2007-06-11T14:58:00.000-05:00

Well, we got everything done as planned this weekend with the exception of camping in the backyard with the boys. Maybe we will be able to give it a go next weekend. In addition to the things listed, I was able to mow the lawn, and patch up a whole in the wall. I've had a 1 inch whole in an outside wall for a while now where the tv used to be. That was where the coax and network cable came in. Since I moved the tv to another wall, that whole has just been letting bugs, hot/cold air into the house. I finally got around to squirting some insulation in there along with applying a blank face plate on the inside to cover it up. Gotta save on energy bills this summer as much as I can.

Spy Sweeper

2007-06-09T09:19:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:

Has your pc ever just started acting "funny"? Not haha funny, but rather frustrating funny? My worst case prompted my pc to open random applications whenever I right clicked, had continuous pop-ups, and was as slow as a 10 year-old pc. Talk about frustrating. I tried all those free spyware applications to try to clean it, but it was never quite right after that. I manually scanned all installed applications looking for the culprit, navigated every folder on the system looking for anything out of the norm, and browsed the registry for anything suspicious. Of course, I couldn't find anything with these manual attempts. I needed a real spyware cleaner like Spy Sweeper. This application has won many awards. I probably could have added a couple years of usefulness if I had used this product. Unlike the free options, Spy Sweeper blocks the spyware before it gets installed on your pc. Spyware doesn't stand still and you detector shouldn't either. Spy Sweeper provides you with free defense updates so it can evolve along with the spyware and block all new varients. Just imagine how much time I would have saved if I had used this application before becoming infected. I literally had spent hours trying to save that old box, when I should have been online looking for a tool to do it for me.

Busy Weekend

2007-06-09T09:09:00.000-05:00

This is going to be an action packed weekend. Last night, we got a sitter for the kids and Brandy and I went to the Bodeans concert. If you ever get the opportunity, I highly recommend seeing them live, as it was a very good show. I was worried that they weren't going to play my favorite 2 songs of theirs, but they managed to hit both of them during their encore. Today, I get to replace all the outlets and light switches in the bedroom that Brandy and I are moving to, while she paints the closet doors and floor. (Hopefully she paints the floor AFTER I'm done with the outlets.) The kids have been asking to go camping lately so I will be putting up our tent in the backyard so we can all sleep out there tonight. That should be fun. We are also all going to a wedding reception this afternoon. As for tomorrow, I'm sure I'll come up with some yard work to do. Like I said, lots going on this weekend. I hope I find more time for blogging as well.

Poker Forum

2007-06-09T08:29:00.000-05:00

About 2 years ago, I started watching Texas Hold'em on TV. I'm almost embarrassed to say that I was watching celebrity poker. Watching this didn't give me any strategy insights, but it did show me the basics of how to play. I then moved on to watching professional poker on tv, which showed me some strategy that I could use in my play. An even better way to learn is to read what thousands of players are saying in a forum setting. That is why I decided to accept this sponsored review for Cards Chat.

They are a Poker Forum with over 20,000 members. You can visit the site and read many of the discussions with your guest account, or you can sign up for free to participate in those discussions. If you're interested playing online, then you will find the reviews section very helpful. This is my favorite section. They list all the major online poker sites and give very informative reviews of them. This can help you decide which site to make your primary online poker site. Since you are reading this blog, you might also find their blog useful. It makes it easy to view all blog posts related to poker strategy. Don't go to Vegas without first forming a poker strategy and don't form that strategy without research on Cards Chat.

BarterBee

2007-06-07T23:15:00.000-05:00

You know that I've been on the lookout for any new sites or services that I think we could all use. Well, I just came across a campaign in ReviewMe for BarterBee.com, which offers you a free way to get movies, music, and games. They are sponsoring many reviews of their site, and this is one of them.

BarterBee.com - The Free Way to Get Movies, Music, and Games

They seem to bee exactly that, a cool new way to get movies, music and games. I am most interested in getting some games to play on my Xbox 360. If you sign up now, you can get 5 free points. Not sure what that means? Well, it looks like you can get a game disk for as little as 2 points. You can acquire points by listing your items on the site for a point value. These points that you acquire by distributing your items can be used to get new items of your choice. One thing that concerns me is the quality of the disks that are being passed around from person to person. They currently don't have too many XBox 360 games, but I'm sure that will change after all these reviews are done and they become more popular. They do have 1 360 game that I haven't played yet, Phantasy Star Universe. The next time you complain that you don't have any games to play, you can head over to BarterBee and they will get you one in the mail for hours of game play.

Sarah Silverman

2007-06-07T23:07:00.000-05:00

Where did Sarah Silverman come from? I know I've heard the name before but I have no idea where. This week I've seen her hosting the MTV movie awards and now I'm sitting here watching Comedy Central and she has her own show. Both of these programs are suppose to highlight how funny she is, but I haven't seen or heard her do anything funny as of yet. She's now singing a song about how she tried to fart, but pooped instead. This is like torture! Maker her go away. . . Oh, wait, I have a remote that will do that for me. Bye Bye Sarah

The NewsRoom

2007-06-06T12:08:00.000-05:00

If you follow this blog at all, you know that I am always on the lookout for new and interesting ways to make money from it. Well, on that note, I just came across a service that pays you to put up news stories on your site. Just posting the video on your site won't get you money, but if you advertise your site well, you can get paid when your readers view that posted video. CPM (cost per thousand impressions) starts at $1, which seems to be standard for any type of CPM advertisement stream.

Registration for The News Room service is fast and free. Seriously, I timed it. It took me less than 5 minutes to create an account, enter my payment information, and find a news story. They even provided all the needed code to be placed on this page. Let's see how easy that part is. With summer around the corner, I think a video about beach safety is in order. I found the video on their site, clicked the "Mash" button and clicked the copy code button. Lets paste that here:

Wow, that was easy. Pretty good video quality too.

If you are looking to monetize your blog, consider using The News Room to do so easily, while still providing some useful information to your readers.

Blog topic

2007-06-02T22:52:00.000-05:00

Much of my blogging time lately have been spent on BlissLogs, which has the topic of blogging about blogging. This blog really has no primary topic. I'm thinking about making posts about the various tv shows I watch. Well, that and all the PayPerPost opportunities that I take. The benefit of blogging about any tv show I watch is that I always have a topic to blog about. You see, I watch entirely too much tv. Just ask my wife. Well, she'll probably say I watch too much tv and spend too much time blogging. So what do I do? I decide to merge the two together. Let's see how that goes.

The Police

2007-05-26T23:25:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
My wife and I are both fans of The Police. We were born in the early 70's which basically requires us to be fans. Funny, how there are some bands from the 80's that have the type of popularity that almost require you to be a fan if you were of music listening age at the time. The Police is definitely one such band. I, like many other fans around the world, am looking forward to June 5th when I can buy the new police cd.

I've already dug out all my old Police CD's and filled my CD changer with them. They make really good driving music too. They make we want to drive faster than the local police would like, but hey I'll risk it. Unfortunately, I still have room in my CD changer for more CDs. That is why I have no choice but to get this new CD. Speaking of the new police cd, oh, did I mention it is a 2 disk set, here is the tack list in its entirety:

The Police

Track Listings
Disc: 1
1. Fallout
2. Can't Stand Losing You
3. Next to You
4. Roxanne
5. Truth Hits Everybody
6. Hole in My Life
7. So Lonely
8. Message in a Bottle
9. Reggatta de Blanc
10. Bring on the Night
11. Walking on the Moon
12. Don't Stand So Close to Me
13. Driven to Tears
14. Canary in a Coalmine

Disc: 2
1. Do Do Do de da da Da
2. Voices Inside My Head
3. Invisible Sun
4. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
5. Spirits in the Material World
6. Demolition Man
7. Every Breath You Take
8. Synchronicity I
9. Wrapped Around Your Finger
10. Walking in Your Footsteps
11. Synchronicity II
12. King of Pain
13. Murder by Numbers
14. Tea in the Sahara

I'm sure you recognize a bunch of your favorites on these 2 CDs, as I sure do. I can't wait to hear what they've done to them to make them new again.

Slowing down the content

2007-05-26T21:22:00.000-05:00

When I started participating in PayPerPost, I set the goal of making $100 per month. Well, I have been falling a little behind on that goal. Not for a lack of opportunities from PPP, but rather a lack of dedication to this blog. A majority of my blogging time has been spent on BlissLogs. With the onset of the new PPP Direct program, I am in hopes that I will receive some additional review requests. I guess I will have to put up the PPP Direct banner if I want to generate some interest in this blog. I think I'll put that up tonight before bed. I just have to pick a color and location on the blog. Here's to making more money from your blogs. . .

PPP Direct

2007-05-24T23:03:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
PayPerPost is at it again. They have been busy lately implementing their new PPP direct program. I'm going to let you know what PPP Direct is, what I like about it, what I think could be improved, and how advertisers benefit from it. In a nutshell, this new service is a form of word of mouth marketing.

What is it?

PPP Direct is a new program from PayPerPost that allows the publishers to market their content directly to the advertisers. Advertisers, reading your blog, can request a review/post specifically from you rather than joining the PPP network and creating an opportunity for any random blogger to take.

What do I like about it?

I like that I can negotiate a price with the advertisers and that negotiations can start at my pre-determined low price. This negotiation feature sets this new offering apart from ReviewMe. I like that PayPerPost is continuing to offer new services to both the bloggers/publishers and the advertisers. These new programs tell me that PayPerPost is listening to its members and making their service better as a result.

What do I think could be improved?

The main thing that I think could be improved with this new service is to have PPP step in and use their network to advertise their experienced bloggers. What are the odds that an advertiser will stumble upon your blog? Not very good. A better solution would be for the advertiser to go to a marketplace similar to what ReviewMe offers to find the blogs that meet their category requirements. From there they could contact the blogger to begin negotiating terms of the post.

How does this benefit the advertisers?

This part is simple, and the same benefits of ReviewMe. The advertisers now have the opportunity to find a blogger that fits their style. With the number of bloggers out there, these advertisers should be able to find a blogger for them.

Tivo Rocks!

2007-05-24T22:50:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to make it clear that Tivo Rocks! There is so much that I can do with my Tivo that many other DVR owners can't come close to. The reason I decided to go with Tivo instead of the DVR that comes from the cable company was the feature that lets me record a show on a particular channel. It doesn't matter if that show switches times or has a special 2 hour showing, I still won't miss it. That was the feature that got me to pick Tivo, however I've found many more since getting it that would have made me pick it as well. I'll give a more detailed review of the Tivo on BlissLogs in the near future if you're interested in all these unique features.

Hawaii Vacations

2007-05-24T19:41:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
Hawaii has to be in the top 5 of all vacation destinations for U.S. residents. There is a press release tauting how environmentally friendly many of the local communities have become while still promoting tourism. The Hawaii Ecotourism Association (HEA) has been at the forefront of this ecotourism movement throughout the islands. One site that that will allow you to book your environmentally-friendly Hawaii vacation is hawaiibeachrentals.com. The scenery is beautiful, the beaches are clean, the sky is blue, and the time is right. Condo maui wailea is the destination of choice for many enviro-sensitive tourists. I know, you're probably thinking that you can't afford a vacation to Maui. To that I'd have to say you're wrong. They have packages ranging from $3,894 down to $85. What's your next excuse?

Parker's Clumsiness

2007-05-24T18:40:00.000-05:00

Remember when Parker knocked his tooth into his gums from getting too excited by watching hockey on SportsCenter? Last night was a similar situation. He must of got a little too excited when playing Hide and Seek. Check out the picture taken right after the incident.

I think it looks worse tonight. I will take a new picture tonight when he gets out of the bath. I will post it so you can feel sorry for him. He says that lots of candy will make him feel better, so feel free to send him some.

PayPerPost Love

2007-05-13T09:04:00.000-05:00

Payperpost is always on the lookout to generate some buzz in order to get more publishers and advertisers. What better way than to use their own service to get us to blog about why we like PayPerPost. If you still don't know, PayPerPost is an easy way to place ads on blogs.

I guess I should start with what I like about PayPerPost. Well, to be honest, I like getting paid to make blog posts. There is some controversy as to whether this is morally acceptable, but I don't seem to have any problems finding opportunities that I can be completely honest about. While we're on the topic of making money, here's a quick summary of my PayPerPost progress thus far.

Have Been Paid: $283.83
Will Be Paid: $19.50

That's over $300 in a little less than 4 months. Not too bad for a part time hobby huh? Now my only concern is what I will do with the money I make. Currently I plan to use this money to accomplish 3 separate goals. First, I want to add money to my kids savings account. Second, I will use some of my earnings to promote my blogs. Who knows, maybe I will become an advertiser with PayPerPost as well. Lastly, my motorcycle is in dire need of replacement parts and new chrome.

If you like this post, make your review about it:

Or if you want to jump right to the PayPerPost sign up, you can do that here:

Happy Mother's Day

2007-05-13T08:56:00.000-05:00

Today is Mother's Day, so I'd like to take a moment to wish all you mothers out there a happy day. I took the twins to the doughnut shop to pick up breakfast this morning and Wal-Mart to pick up some flowers for their mom. We were able to make it back home in time to surprise her with them when she woke up and came down stairs. So now the house smells like flowers, Brandy is outside planting herbs, and I am blogging while watching Tom & Jerry. I should get outside and mow the yard, but I am trying to wait for it to warm up a bit first. I better get something done, so that is all for now.

Quibblo.com online polls

2007-05-10T22:54:00.000-05:00

Big changes to Google Analytics

2007-05-10T22:04:00.000-05:00

Every time I went to Google Analytics, I would get lost and couldn't find the reports I was looking for. That changed for me yesterday as they rolled out the new version to me. My initial feelings on the new Google Analytics is that it is an improvement. I like that when I drill down on a report, it actually drills down to what I would expect it to and not just go to a dead end like it did previously. Time will tell whether this new version is completely satisfactory. I'll spend much more time on the site this weekend to fully evaluate its new functionality and UI.

Drug Rehab Help

2007-05-05T10:34:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
There are some organizations that just make it easy to get behind and support. As I look through this site about drug rehab, I believe that I have found one of those organizations. This site provides a service to any individuals that are willing and ready to accept the help. It is very similar to an organization that I donate money to regularly, but this post is about 1800NoDrugs; so I'll blog about that other organization another time.

The service is simple, call 1-800-No-Drugs to receive help for drug addicts, alcoholics, and their families to find rehab and provide intervention help. Those that need help sometimes don't know where to start to get it, so they never get the help they need. This program helps remove that excuse and gives a spring board to treatment.

If you, or anyone you know, is in need of this service, I recommend giving them a call at: 1-800-No-Drugs.

Bliss99 Monthly Review - April

2007-05-05T10:17:00.000-05:00

A lot of sites are making blog posts reviewing what happened on their blog in the previous month. Heck, I just finished one on BlissLogs. The review for this site won't be nearly as detailed or eventful.

April brought many more PayPerPost sponsored posts as well as some scatterings of other pay for blogging sites. I slowed down quite a bit in April, even thought my PageRank had improved to a 1 shortly before April started. That increase allowed me to do more reviews, however I chose to cut back on the quantity of reviews and focus on the ones that had a bigger payout. I haven't completely sold out yet,as I haven't accepted a sponsored post for anything that I just outright disagree with.

The big news in April was the sweep of Google PR updates. Again, this site saw an improvement. The last week of April saw this site go from a PR1 to a PR3. This again should increase my opportunities on PayPerPost. My next goal is to improve my Alexa Rating. This will increase those PayPerPost offerings as well.

There's your update for April, keep coming back to see all my reviews and anything else that catches my eye that I think you may be interested in.

Online auction with a twist

2007-05-03T07:39:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
We all love auctions, right? Of course we do. Ebay wouldn't have been nearly as successful if we didn't. There's another auction site out there now that will be taking the web by storm. It's called bid4prizes. Their current live auctions include a BMW, Plasma TV, Apple iPhone, and $500 in cash. My first thought was, Why on earth would I bid on $500? That's easy enough to answer after you read through or watch the video of how bid4prizes works. Your goal is not to be the highest bidder, but to be the lowest unique bidder. Also, if you ARE the lowest unique bidder and you won the auction, you don't pay 1 cent for the prize. They send you the prize for free. I'm still not entirely sure what they get out of it other than the possibility of ad placements on their site, but who cares. As long as I win a prize.

I'll be giving this auction a chance in the near future. I'm looking to run a contest on another blog and need a great grand prize. A grand prize of a laptop or a Wii only gets better for me if I didn't have to pay for it. Good Luck on your quest for the lowest bid.

Google PR update

2007-04-29T08:59:00.000-05:00

It seems that Google is in the middle of a PR update. Unless this is a cruel practical joke by Google, this site is slated to go from a PR of 1 to a PR of 3. What does that mean for this blog? Well, first of all, it means that I will qualify for many more opportunities from PayPerPost. Second, well I don't really have a second as this blogs main purpose in life is to generate some money. I never would have thought of making money from a blog if a friend hadn't told me about it back in January. From that point on, I checked out PayPerPost and got my blog ready to meet all of their requirements for approval. So far, it has been fun and a little frustrating when that $500 post was in my grasp 2 weeks ago and I couldn't click fast enough to grab it. Come on PayPerPost, keep up the $1000 Tuesdays, Please. I want one of those. Anyway, I just thought I'd drop you all a note to let you know that the site is growing in the eyes of Google.

Building and Maintaining a Blog Audience

2007-04-25T07:56:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
Building and Maintaining a Blog Audience is a topic that I was planning on covering in this blog; but when the opportunity arose to have this topic sponsored by SponsoredReviews, I couldn't put it off any longer. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, they have made this posting already on the SponsoredReviews blog. They offer up 27 + 1 (or 28 for those of us that are mathematically challenged :-) ) tips for building and maintaining a blog audience. Their list is fairly encompassing and all great tips for the new blogger to take into account.

One of their tips is to "Avoid Gimmicks". That is a good tip; as many times these gimmicks can discredit your site. I would offer, though, that the line that separates the gimmick from a great promotional tool is fairly blurry. I would like to offer up another tip that some might consider a "Gimmick".

Run a contest on your site. It can be a contest to request links to your site from other bloggers, to request comments on your site, or to subscribe to your RSS feed. Whatever you do though, make sure you give your readers a reason to participate. If it is a successful contest, your current readers will tell their friends and your traffic will increase.

If you liked this review of the SponsoredReviews blog post, check out my profile page and order up a review of your blog.

One Day Blog Silence

2007-04-17T21:31:00.000-05:00

Silence can say more than a thousand words.

This day shall unite us all about this unbelievable painful & shocking event and show some respect and love to those who lost their loved ones.

On April 30th 2007, the Blogosphere will hold a One-Day Blog Silence in honor of the victims at Virginia Tech. More then 30 died at the US college massacre.

But it´s not only about them. Many bloggers have responded and asked about all the other victims of our world. All the people who die every day. What about them?

This day can be a symbol of support to all the victims of our world!

All you have to do is spread the word about it and post the graphic on your blog on 30th April 2007. No words and no comments. Just respect, reflect and empathy.

Blogger's Choice Awards

2007-04-12T15:50:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
Like we don't have enough awards shows already, now they've entered the blogosphere. The Blogger's Choice Awards are offering blog awards for blogs of all types. And when I say "of all types", I mean it. You can vote for the "Worst Blog of All Time", the "Freakiest Blog", and the "Hottest Mommy Blog", just to name a few. If you have a favorite blog, like mine, you can nominate as many blogs as want, in as many categories as you want. All I ask is that you don't add mine to the "Hottest Mommy Blog" category. :-) Voting is open now and will run through midnight May 22nd. I've visited this site a few times over the past week and notices that the voting has substantially picked up over the past 3 or 4 days. My personal favorite blog about blogging is BlissLogs, which already has 4 votes, but is located on page 3 of the rankings. It would take 2 more votes to move it to page 2. One thing I've noticed in regards to the voting, is that the blogspot blogs aren't normally leading any of the categories. They have the same eligibility as any other blog, but it seems the the most popular bloggers have their own domain name.

If your curious as to the winners, visit Orlando, Florida on June 1 - 2. Winners will be announced at Postiecon '07. Tickets are currently running $200.

High SEO Rankings

2007-04-10T10:15:00.000-05:00

Every website aims at being at the top of the search engine rankings, even if the ranking would never provide them with the best quality traffic. Each search engines is unique. Each of the search engines has its own style and criteria to assist a search. The similarity lies in the criteria on which a website is ranked. Search engines rank a website based on algorithm. These algorithms are kept secret, but the variables used in the algorithm are always the same.

The variables of a search engine are run by the phrases present on the website and the importance offered to the key phrases and keywords. One of the search-engine algorithm variables is entirely proportional to the resourcefulness of the website and also the recommendation of high-ranking websites. Finally, search engines grade the relevance of the website.

Referrals and linkages of high-ranking websites always influence search engine rankings. The more the referrals, the higher the website ranking will be. The algorithm considers referrals and links to have a major impact on the traffic quality that any website receives. The basic purpose of the website design is served when it is accessed regularly and popularly. The investment made online has a profound effect on the business profitability.

Getting referrals and links is linked to the fame of a website. To receive fame on cyberspace requires in-depth and perfect services and this takes most websites years to accomplish. There is software that can also be used to generate links. Such software are part of the link popularity program that finds and manages reciprocal link partners, to increase the website link popularity ratings, which in turn improves search engine rankings.

Such software though expensive, can handle the whole process. Website gurus consider such software to be the anti-algorithm of a search engine algorithm. This website track of every site the request has been sent to permits the website to monitor what stage the link request is at.

To move up the ladder on a search engine ranking, the website may come across some on-line services that make false promises. Such services ask for a large amount of money and offer pathways, which may have no impact on the website. They might be over thousands of pathways directed towards the website, but with a non-existent traffic. This may occur on account of the position, quality and relevance of the pathways being negligible.

The algorithm of search engines increases their mathematical dimension every year. The algorithms are able to state the relevance and the usefulness of the website. This is the reason why software having the anti-algorithm can work miracles for the website and improve the volume of traffic the website receives.

Most Internet browsers use a search engine optimization method that really analyzes the web pages having a better and a high ranking for their keyword. In such cases, a tie-up with the optimization company could also lead to increased traffic to the website. The profit arising out of the investment offers real value for the money spent.

Football season

2007-04-10T09:31:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
The NFL football season is fast approaching. The draft will be taking place in the next couple weeks. Me, being the 49ers fan that I am, will be watching the draft to see what they will do with their 8 picks in the first 4 rounds. This will be a great opportunity for them to get some young talent to address their weaknesses on defense, the offensive line, and wide receiver. Yeah, I know they have a lot of weaknesses, but they are on the upswing and I am forecasting them to make the playoffs this year. If your wondering what your team is forecasted to do, you can see your teams forecasted Football picks at Football Forecasters.

Feedburner slowdown?

2007-04-09T08:57:00.000-05:00

Did anyone else notice feedburner responding extremely slowly this past weekend? It seemed to me that every site I went to on Friday and Saturday that utilized a feedburner widget was extremely slow, my sites included. At first I thought it was my web host, but soon saw in the status bar that I was waiting for a response from feedburner. This was the first time I've noticed an issue with anything feedburner related and hope it is not a sign of things to come. If anyone knows if they were performing maintenance over the weekend to explain the slowdodwn, let me know, as I am very curious.

SEO Anyone?

2007-04-08T21:52:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
You may have noticed me writing here, and on my other blogs, about generating more traffic to your website. You can do this on your own by trial and error, mostly error, or, you can try an SEO company to help you succeed. All of your traffic can't come from friends and word-of-mouth. These SEO companies can help you optimize your site for organic growth. These professional SEO companies can help you implement multiple SEO strategies for your site.

If you want to find out more of a topic, what do you do? Google it, of course. Now imagine how much more traffic you would get if you Googled a phrase that was relevant to your site and your link appeared on page one of those results. If it is the right phrase, you can generate thousands of new visitors each month. For example, if your site is similar to this one, a majority of your posts advertise for other sites. A search for the term "Internet Advertising" is searched 16,320 times every month. If your site appeared on the front page for that term, you would be bound to get some of that traffic.

Get paid to blog

2007-04-06T12:38:00.000-05:00

If you haven't noticed, I have had quite a few sponsored posts over the last couple months. If your blog is at least 90 days old, has at least 20 posts, and has NO gaps of 30 days between posts, you could make some money from your blog as well. Click the "get paid to blog about the things you love" image in my sidebar to the right and you will be on your way to having extra cash in your paypal account. Add your comments to this post if you have any questions regarding the entire process.

Knee Pain

2007-04-03T18:40:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
I was just walking up the stairs and all of a sudden, my knee popped. I would normally associate this with the fact that I am getting old; however I recently came across a website about a medical massage therapist in NYC. I didn't realize how many possible diagnosis can be associated with knee problems. Anyone experiencing knee pain or discomfort, and is in the Manhattan area, should look them up.

If you're curious as to possible ailments and if a massage therapist can help, go to their site, in the "Where are your symptoms" section to see what they have to offer.

Another Alexa Rank Jump

2007-04-02T23:04:00.000-05:00

It's been about a month since I said my blog's alexa rank had improved by over 1 million points in 2 weeks. Well, I'm happy to say that 1 month later, I've improved another 1 million. I am now at 971,419. While this number isn't great, I do like that it is moving in the right direction. This, in conjuction with my recent Google PageRank increase, shows great progress. In order to keep this progress going you can expect the content to continue to flow through this site.

Big Web Links

2007-04-02T22:41:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
If you've tried promoting your new website or blog, you know the best thing you can get is links to your site. One easy way to do this is to submit your site to a web directory. This may be easy, however the benefits are hard to realize. This link usually gets your site on page 10 of your category and hardly ever visible to anyone browsing the directory. Big Web Links Bid Directory is different. They allow you to donate to their site and will rank your site accordingly. If you want your site to appear on page one for your category, all you have to do is donate enough to get you there. This site is new, so you can get a good ranking at a very reasonable price now. Check them out.

Affiliate programs

2007-04-02T22:34:00.000-05:00

This is a great way to make money with blogs that hardly anyone even considers. By mentioning the product, the affiliate program will provide you with a clickable link to hyperlink the word with. This way if people are interested in your blog post and click on the product word, they are directed to the affiliate program website where you make commission on all products they buy.

Sci-Edge Social Network

2007-04-02T20:59:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
Can you imagine the success you would have had if you were one of the first members of MySpace? You now have that opportunity again on a brand new social networking site. When I say brand new, I mean it was just launched today. Sci-Edge is the new site that offers the MySpace type environment for the science hobbyists, technology geeks and science fiction fans.

Sign up is free, so create your account now in minutes. You will then be able to create your own blog and/or a forum for group interaction. Invite your friends to join with you.

One thing that this site offers that the other social networking sites don't is the opportunity to get paid for your content. Check out the "Get Paid with Sci-Edge" link on the front page for more details.

Linkback contests

2007-04-02T20:48:00.000-05:00

I have noticed a bunch of blogs lately that are sponsoring a "review my blog for a linkback" contest. These contests work like this: You write a review of my site and provide a link to my main page and I will provide a linkback to your site. A few are even getting more valuable by asking for a particular anchor text in the link and offer the linkback with the anchor text of the reviewers choice. The benefits of the specific anchor text is that you can improve your organic search results for that phrase and generate more traffic. If you put lots of thought in your anchor text, you can fairly easily get to page one for that Google search. I may have to launch one of these contests myself on one of my blogs. Look for it soon at BlissLogs.

Wine Gift Baskets

2007-04-02T19:33:00.000-05:00

Today, I came across an opportunity on Blogitive to review a web release for Gourmet Gift Baskets. Being the wine fan that my wife and I am, I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to review something that I legitimately have an interest in.

The site itself is organized well with easy navigation to find a gift basket that is perfect for any occasion. This isn't some major corporation that has a side website that sells gift baskets, this is a family owned company that specializes in providing you the perfect product. The baskets that interest me the most are the wine gift baskets, but they have much more to offer. There is a long list of occasions that have pre-designed baskets that fit the occasion to a tee. That list ranges from anniversary to get well to thank you. Let them help you celebrate all of life's special occasions by visiting their site and finding your perfect gift.

Make Money Surfing the Web with Agloco

2007-03-30T20:10:00.000-05:00

The previous Agloco announcement stated that the toolbar would be available "sometime in March". Well, here we are at the end of March, so I thought I'd check the status of the toolbar. The release date has now been narrowed down to a more finite release date of between Monday April 2nd and Monday April 16th. I hope they make these dates, but I still don't want them to rush a product that isn't ready for prime time.

For those of you that haven't been following, AGLOCO™ gives its Members part of the money they (as Internet users) generate. Their slogan is 'Get Your Share of the Internet'. They are also giving the entire company to the Members (it is a 100% Member owned entity.) -- You get more cash and shares if you refer new Members, and this is what I'm doing with you now.

AGLOCO™ Membership is free and there is nothing that the users can lose, because all they do is – sign up, invite friends to join and use the internet normally. So hurry up, sign up at Agloco using my id# (BBCF0448) and bring in your friends before others do!!!

Web Hosting

2007-03-27T21:31:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
I recently made a post about a dedicated hosting solution. Well, I've found another option, and more options is always better, right? RackNine would be a smart decision for anyone looking to limit their IT costs. Anyone except my company that is, as I would lose my job.

How would you like to run a website, but not have to worry about patching the web server, updating your anti-virus software, and keeping backups of all your data? With RackNine Dedicated Servers, all that can be yours. You also get what you need, not just a pre-packaged bundle. If you need extra RAM, you can get it; if you need more drive space, BOOM, it's there. You can subscribe to their services with either a shared environment or a dedicated server just for your use. With their around the clock support services, you never have to worry about your site going down. A lot of companies say it, but this company guarantee it; 99.9% uptime that is.

They also offer many pricing options based on your needs. They range from a measly $5.95/month for web hosting to $109/month for a dedicated server for all your IT needs. Check out all their offerings and find the best choice for you.

Below is a complete Press Release for RackNine:

Press Release:

RackNine Inc. http://www.racknine.com Toll-free: 1-866 GO RACK9 sales@racknine.com RackNine Cuts I.T. Overhead for Customers New Offering from RackNine Equals Expert Support & Great Value Edmonton, Alberta (March 27. 2007) – RackNine a leading provider of shared and dedicated web hosting services, is expanding options for its dedicated server customers by adding an Assisted Service Plan–a professional solution without the traditional costs. RackNine’s technical support will address needed patches, backups, monitoring and vulnerability assessments. Customers can get the power of a dedicated server without having to perform all of the administrative tasks associated with an unmanaged account such as server startup, patching and anti-virus protection. Add-on services, with the purchase of a service contract, include security scans, backup and recovery, monitoring and escalation management, at no additional fee. Custom engineering options are also available, billed at a flat hourly rate. The plan can be added to qualified dedicated hosting accounts during the purchase process. While users are provided with a basic startup environment, RackNine can also assist customers who have special needs. As with all dedicated servers accounts, customers can choose from a wide range of options including operating systems, RAM, hard drives, processors and firewalls. In addition, as with all RackNine services, the plan is backed by RackNine’s round the clock customer support. For more information on RackNine dedicated server plans, visit http://dedicated.rk9.net. About RackNine RackNine Inc. is the evolution of its former company, Couple Guys Consulting. Originally founded in February of 1997, Couple Guys Consulting grew as a leader in automated website management, developing the popular and widely-used SiteTools content-creation system. Couple Guys Consulting entered the web hosting arena in 1999 after being unable to find a reliable method to outsource its hosting arrangements. A subsidiary (CGC Network) was formed to handle hosting needs of both Couple Guys Consulting's web presence as well as needs of a quickly growing userbase who were also unhappy with their current hosts. Hardware solutions were heavily researched, technical staff was hired and trained, and CGCNetwork's experience in high quality dedicated - and shared - hosting began. CGC Network has since evolved to provide inexpensive and incredibly reliable consumer hosting services. New servers and infrastructure have been laid, our aggressive package pricing is implemented, the newest and most advanced user management system ever created has been installed, and our always-present commitment to providing high quality service has turned CGC Network into one of the fastest and most user-friendly systems available. - RackNine - © 2007 RackNine Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Satellite vs. Cable TV (Which is better?)

2007-03-27T13:47:00.000-05:00

This is one of those hard questions to answer. It is not as straightforward as it may seem. Which option is best for you depends on what is offered in your area as well as your own needs.

Cable television certainly has a lot of advantages, especially now that digital options are available. Lots of channels and a wonderful range of packages to choose from. Many companies will give you the option to have service on multiple televisions as well.

Cable television is also available in most areas now. Not all, certainly, but it is extremely widely available. However, in many areas you will still only have one company to choose from. If you don't like the service you are receiving it's not so easy to just go over to the competition, unless you switch to satellite.

There aren't a lot of satellite companies to choose from either, but you do at least have a choice. And the channel selection is simply wonderful. Many people get marvelous reception, although some do complain of weather related issues.

Choosing based on cost may not be as easy at it first appears. Most cable companies don't particularly care how many televisions you hook up, although if you get digital cable you will need a box or card for each so that your television can understand the signal.

Similarly with satellite you will need a receiver for each television. Unlike cable, the costs may go up when you add more televisions.

You will also want to consider who is offering the best options for what you watch. Sports lovers will want to consider which sports channels they can order and the costs associated with that. It will be similar for movie lovers.

Many cable customers suffer from regular price increases. This is one of the biggest problems with the lack of competition. But on the other side of things, most satellite providers insist on a contract, so you have to be prepared to stick with it for a time.

Equipment can be something of an issue. Depending on your cable provider, you may have to pay rent for the digital receiver if you go with digital cable. On the other hand, many satellite providers offer at least some equipment for free, then have you purchase anything above and beyond what they offer for free. In both cases you may well need equipment for every television you hook up.

As you can see, there is no definitive way to declare one is better than the other for every home. It depends on your own needs and preferences. Don't be afraid to contact both a cable provider and a satellite television company to get the numbers for your situation. It will help you make the right choice.

Backgammon Masters

2007-03-26T19:56:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
Have you ever wanted to learn how to play backgammon? If so, couldn't an animated tiger teach you? Jean Claude is ready to teach anyone to play backgammon. To see Jean-Claude's helpful video, click on that animated tiger on the right side of the page. Watch the video and see if you can guess the accent of Jean Claude. BackgammonMasters.com is the place to come to find players from all over the world to challenge your backgammon skills. The perfect instructor to bring all these challengers to you is the world famous animated tiger, Jean Claude. To watch Jean Claude and to learn more about this popular game, be sure to visit backgammonmasters.com.

German Beer

2007-03-26T19:52:00.001-05:00

Throughout Germany, beer is very popular with the culture. Germany contains well over 1,000 breweries, which is more than any other location in the world. All beer that is manufactured in Germany must follow the purity law, which lets manufacturers know what ingredients can and can't be used. Basically, the only ingredients allowed to make beer in Germany are water, hops, and barley malt.

Due to the strict purity requirements, you can easily notice German beers by their overall level of quality. They have a distinct taste, with little to no aftertaste. Some styles of German ale include Koelsch, Weizen, and Altbier. Some types of German lagers include Bock, Pilsener, Dunkel, Helles, and Maerzen. Keep in mind that the taste, aroma, and color can vary, although all can be identified as being true German beers.

The German beer Altbier is a very common dark ale, that is top fermented in the lower regions of Germany. The beer proposes a yellow color, with a taste that is rich in hops. Another ale, Rauchbier, is known to have a smoky flavor with a smoked color. These beers taste great, and happen to be very popular throughout the regions of Germany.

German lagers are also very popular, and happen to be popular in other areas of the world as well. Pilsener is one of the most popular and most familiar of all German beers, providing you with more hops and less malt. Pilsener can be found for sale all over the world, and happens to be very popular throughout North America as well. Several bars serve it as well, as it happens to be one of the most popular dark lagers out there.

Throughout Germany, there are several different companies, produce over 4,000 different brands of beers. Some of the more well known and larger companies of north Germany are Beck, St. Pauli, Warsteiner, and Krombach. In the southern region of Germany, there are more breweries, although most of them are smaller, as they are locally owned and operated. Southern Germany also contains the Benedictine Abbey, which is one of the oldest breweries in the world. This brewery started producing beer in 1040 - very impressive indeed!

Germany is also home to Oktoberfest, which is held every year in Munich. Oktoberfest starts in late September and carries on for two weeks, ending in early October. During Oktoberfest, beer drinkers from all over the world will travel to Germany and celebrate German beers. Each and every year, over 5 million people attend the event, making it one of the biggest beer celebrations in the world.

During Oktoberfest, local breweries in Munich are the only breweries allowed to serve beer in the bigger tents. There are six breweries in total, producing a variety of different beers. By attending this yearly event, you can learn more about German beer, sample the different varieties, and enjoy the rich bold flavors that make German beer so very popular.

Due to the success Oktoberfest gets each and every year, other cities around the world try and mimic this event. Even though they have success, their level of success isn't near as much as the original Oktoberfest - Germany. German beers are very popular around the world, with Oktoberfest helping to prove that very claim. If you drink beer but have never experienced what beers from Germany have to offer, you really should give them a try. Once you do, you'll quickly realize why German beers are so very popular - and why the taste simply can't be duplicated with any other beer.

Lemon Free Cars

2007-03-25T23:12:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
I just came across this opportunity to review the site lemonfree.com. The front page is a very easy form to search for Used Cars. You pick the year, make, model, and location and lemonfree.com finds your next car. One feature I really like about this site is it's crash test rating section. This section provides the 1 to 5 star crash test rating for frontal, side, and rollover tests.

I've always been intrigued with the BMW 3 Series. It has that special combination of afford ability and luxury that fits many wallets. Or if you are looking for a more family friendly vehicle, then maybe the Honda Odyssey is more your style.

Whatever your style, you are sure to find a vehicle that will work for you. This can be your one stop shop to find your next used car.

Funny Stuff

2007-03-25T21:51:00.001-05:00

Just connect yourself to the World Wide Web (www), which can be accessed through the Internet. You will find a lot of interesting and funny things to do when you log on to the World Wide Web. If you like reading jokes then you will be happy to know that there are a lot of websites, which makes jokes available to you. You don't even have to pay a single penny to read these jokes. You will have a fun time reading the archives of funny jokes and you will not be able to keep yourself away from these websites. These websites also accept jokes from the readers. So if you are aware of any jokes, which you think is funny and interesting then you can also share the jokes with the other users by posting them on the websites that, accept jokes.

If you are a movie freak then you will be happy to know that there are certain sites that offer reviews on different movies. Even a user is allowed to post a review on a movie. You can check out how good or bad the movie is by going through the review or the summary of the movie. After that if you think that the movie is worthy to be watched then you can go watch it with your friends. The same thing goes for music. There are sites, which offer you songs, which you can listen to online. So before thinking of getting a new album by your favorite singer or group, check out their songs on the websites first. This way you will know whether the album is good or not. You can also read the review of the music albums over the Internet.

There are so many funny and interesting things to do over the Internet. You can even upload a funny video of your own and on a website and share it with other users. Likewise, you can also check out the funny videos uploaded by other users. You will also find websites that offers online games for the users. So if you are one of those people who love to play games then you will have great time playing the games available online.

Do you know what you IQ is? If you don't then you can take an online assessment of your IQ. All that you will have to do is answer a few questions. There are so many websites that offers a free IQ assessment test to you. Just check out any one of those websites and find out your IQ score. There are also websites that accept writings for prizes. So if you are a budding writer or poet then submit your poetry or story to the website. You may just turn out to be a winner.

Unsigned Bands

2007-03-25T09:39:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
If you're like me, you're always on the lookout for some good music. It's fun to find a band that no one else knows about and let your friends know about them. I just found a site that has a seemingly endless supply of unsigned artists. Pick a genre, any genre, and they are sure to have some listings for it. From the popular: Alternative, Rock, and Country; to slightly less popular: Electronica Bands, Christian Rock, and Bluegrass; to the completely less known: Emo, Ska, and Trip-Hop. If you are interested, you can create a free listener account to listen to the artists to find ones that make you say "wow".

Google PageRank upgrade

2007-03-23T14:37:00.000-05:00

Imagine my surprise a few minutes ago when I made a visit to this site and noticed my Google PageRank had increased to a 1! I really hadn't expected this site to ever improve in terms of PR as this site has migrated to a payperpost, blogitive, and miscellaneous topic site. I've been throwing in some filler between payperpost posts in order to fulfill their requirement of not having 2 payperpost posts back to back. This improved ranking will help with my opportunities in payperpost as I will now qualify for more. The past few weeks have been tough catching opportunities that I qualify for before other bloggers claim them as the opportunities for pages with a PR of 0 are very limited. Another benefit is that the opportunities that require a PR of at least 1 also come with a slightly larger payout. Now I need to improve my ranking on my other sites so I can attempt to monetize them.

Dedicated Hosting Solution

2007-03-20T16:14:00.000-05:00

Sponsored:
If you're tired of relying on others for your websites uptime, then DMG Dedicated Servers has a solution for you. They can offer you a dedicated server for you to completely manage on your own. Not only that, but they have a price range package to fit any budget and/or technological requirements. If you require support from them, they have a very easy to understand process of sending an email to Support@DMGDedicatedServer.com with your issue. They are directly on that AT&T backbone with provides unprecedented network reliability. The web hosting business is about as cut-throat a business as you can get into. DMG has been in business for almost 3 years now, which shows that they offer great service to their customers.

Blogging topics

2007-03-18T09:47:00.000-05:00

Have you ever been at a loss for blogging topics? I'm amazed at how ofter I experience this. Now you may be thinking that that is not that rare of an occurrence. But look at this blog. . . It has no focus. I could post about anything and everything. I could blog about how I'm doing on my latest XBox 360 game. (It's Enchanted Arms by the way. According to the status bar, I am 47% of the way through the game. It's been about 2 weeks since I've played it. All my time has been spent blogging on my other blogs.) All my other blogs have specific topics and I usually have no problem finding something to blog about. I'll keep thinking of a topic. If you think of one, leave a comment to this blog and I will blog about anything.

Online Personals

2007-03-14T21:21:00.000-05:00

I just received a request to review/promote justsayhi.com, an online dating site similar to Yahoo Personals. My initial reaction was to not accept it. After second thought I decided to take a look at the site and rethink my initial response. I realized that my initial thought was based strictly on all the spam that I've received over the years in my email. It is unfair for me to judge this site based on all the nuisance sites that are out there.

I realize that there is a market out there to provide a community for people to meet each other. Everyone should have the opportunity to find love. There are a lot of sites out there that provide this service, but they usually come with a price. This site appears to be different from the others in that they will never ask for a credit card and is 100% free. If this sort of service is for you, then justsayhi may be what you are looking for.

The justsayhi.com front page has a nice clean look to it, with the bottom 3/4 of the page dedicated to their newest members. If you go to this site often, you will notice that group of people constantly changing. That tells me that their membership is growing fast. There is even a section on the right dedicated to finding someone in your area. Simply click on your state and you will be brought to a page like this one for Illinois. If you have decided that this free online personal is for you, Good Luck.

OpticsPlanet

2007-03-14T07:10:00.000-05:00

I just came across this opportunity to generate some buzz for this online glasses retailer and decided to jump at the chance. With the summer months approaching quickly, the need for a nice pair of sunglasses is increasing with each day. I forsee my entire family becoming customers of this site. For myself, I am always on the lookout for some motorcycle goggles that are functional as well as comfortable. My wife and son both wear Eyeglasses, so I'm sure we will add this site to our group of stores to comparison shop. www.OpticsPlanet.net has the widest selection of sports optics I have seen for any singular retailer. They also proclaim to have the largest selection of prescription sunglasses, eyeglasses, and goggles. If you're comparing prices with other retailers, don't forget to take into account the free UPS shipping on all orders above $29.95.

Orlando Fun Tickets

2007-03-09T14:54:00.000-06:00

Sponsored:
Summer vacation 2007 is right around the corner and now is the time to plan for it. Orlando Fun Tickets has issued a web release that spells out the benefits of using them to visit Orlando Florida. Orlando is one of those destinations that seems to have an endless supply of activities for even the pickiest of travelers. Walt Disney World alone has 4 theme parks and 2 water parks for days and days of family fun. OrlandoFunTickets.com offers you a wide selection of Discount Disney Tickets. Not only does Orlando offer a multitude of activities for daytime family fun, but they have a very active nightlife as well. Another activity that I recommend you try is Medieval Times. This is a combination dinner and a show that is fun for the entire family. If your worried about the price, once again, orlandofuntickets.com can get you some great discounts.

Definition of lightweight

2007-03-08T19:26:00.000-06:00

I guess you could say that I am the definition of a lightweight now. In my college days and shortly there after, I drink and drink and drink with really feeling the effects. Tonight, however, my wife and I split a bottle of wine with dinner and I am seriously buzzed. For those of you that can't really comprehend how much that is, basically we each got 2 glasses of wine. I must say that blogging while intoxicated is very interesting. For one, my backspace key is getting worn out; for two, I can't entirely read what I am typing. So I guess the logical thing for me to do is to end this posting.

Manhattan Comedy School

2007-03-07T17:38:00.000-06:00

Sponsored:
Were you the class clown? How about the person at work that everyone's lasting impression is that "you're the funny one"? Or maybe you just have a keen interest in comedy. In any of these cases, you should immediately be interested in this Comedy School Blog. I've heard of Caroline's before, but I never realized how many very popular comedians have tried their "new stuff" on that stage. They now offer comedy classes you can take to hone your comedy craft. Imagine how much fun it must be to take a class where the purpose is to make people laugh. That's the sort of thing that we used to get sent to the principals office for.

Vacations.net Web Release

2007-03-07T17:19:00.000-06:00

Sponsored:
I have been given the opportunity to comment on a recent web release for a new website that is destined to make booking your next vacation pain-free. This new website immediately sets vacations.net apart from its competitors. They have obviously done their research on what makes a website easy to navigate and book a vacation.

Their specialty appears to be booking an all inclusive resort vacation. They offer virtual tours and in-depth information on your destination of choice. If you're not sure which resort to choose, you can view ratings from travelers who have been there.

I've said it before that an informed shopper has the upper hand on the retailer, and that statement holds true for shopping for vacations as well. The difference is that vacations.net allows you to do all of your research right from their website. So when you are ready to book that next family vacation, I recommend giving vacations.net a try.

Blogging Widgets

2007-03-06T23:23:00.000-06:00

Have you noticed my new Headlines feature on this site? This widget dynamically updates with the last 2 posts from my Blisslogs blog. This seems like an easy way to give you a snapshot at what's going on over there, so you can easily click on over if a topic interests you. If you're interested, the widget is supplied by feedburner.

FeedBurner is the leading provider of media distribution and audience engagement services for blogs and RSS feeds. Our Web-based tools help bloggers, podcasters and commercial publishers promote, deliver and profit from their content on the Web.

Alexa Ranking Jump

2007-03-06T22:24:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I expressed the importance of Google PageRank. I thought today I could give you a brief comment of another website ranking tool: Alexa. Alexa seems to rank sites differently than Google, in that they don't rank you based on your incoming links. Instead, they rank you based on queries of your site. These queries happen when someone visits your site and has the SEO toolbar installed that queries for you. Another way to ensure all your visitors query Alexa is to install a small script that displays your Alexa ranking right on your page. With this tool built into your site, every page view results in another query. Another difference between the 2 ranking sites is that with Alexa the lower number is better. I have noticed my Alexa rank improve by about 1 million in the past 2 weeks. Coincidentally, that is about when I placed the Alexa script on my site.

Eight Myths of Vacuuming

2007-03-06T17:08:00.000-06:00

It is buzz time again. . . I've been presented with this opportunity to discuss this topic for the housekeeping channel.

I bet you didn't know there even were Eight Myths of Vacuuming. Well, if there are, the housekeeping channel is the place to dispense of these myths. The myth that surprised me the most was: Myth #6: Cyclonic Systems Do Not Use Filters & Require Less Maintenance. I was completely prepared to make my next vacuum purchase be a Dyson. However, with this revelation that they possibly do in fact use filters that are capable of clogging, I am ready to re-evaluate my decision. You'll be happier with your shopping choices if you become an informed consumer, and the housekeeping channel can definitely help inform you.

Kick that coffee habit

2007-03-06T16:17:00.001-06:00

Do you want to feel better, sleep better, and save $1500 or more of your hard-earned cash per year? Then it’s time to wake up and STOP smelling the coffee!

Coffee addiction or, more specifically, the addiction to caffeine found in the coffee, is a true addiction for some people because it has the capability of increasing the body’s tolerance. This means that as your body becomes accustomed to the caffeine levels that you introduce, it will require more caffeine to reach the same level of satisfaction. A caffeine addiction can also cause actual withdrawal symptoms including these:
• Increased cravings for coffee throughout the day
• Excessive tiredness or lethargy as the caffeine effects wear off
• Periods of confusion or an inability to maintain focus
• Headaches during periods of withdrawal.
Heavy coffee users also develop an emotional dependency on coffee which results in their actually believing themselves when they say “I can’t wakeup without my coffee.”
Other interesting things you won’t hear in coffee advertisements

• The caffeine in coffee affects our sleep patterns by shortening the stages of sleep that recharge our brains. This, in turn, reduces our mental capacities and ability to think clearly.

• Caffeine causes an increase in our levels of cortisol, a hormone that triggers cravings for fat and carbohydrates.

• After the last of the day’s caffeine dose wears off, people often feel fatigued and moderately depressed.

So, if you’ve tried to quit coffee, and you quickly found yourself Jones’n for a cup, you’ve got yourself a coffee habit. Here’s how to kick it…

Brrr, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

Yep, that’s right. The best way to kick the coffee habit is to do it cold turkey. And it’s not as hard as you think it’s going to be. In fact, it can be as easy as 1-2-3.

1. The night before the new coffee-free you emerges, throw away any coffee you have left and put all of your coffee-making equipment out of sight.

2. When you wake up on the first day of the rest of your coffee-free life, take several deep breaths, stretch, and then start your morning routine minus the coffee-making part. Repeat this phrase to yourself whenever the coffee urge strikes. “I don’t need a cup of coffee right now. Just for today I’m not going to drink any coffee,” and then stick to it. Repeat the process tomorrow, etc.

3. If you have physical symptoms like headache, treat them with your normal pain relievers. These types of symptoms will usually disappear by the third or fourth day of withdrawal.

It takes 30 days to develop a habit. It took you thirty days to develop your coffee habit, and it’s going to take 30 days to replace it. The good news is that by the fifth day, or so, you won’t be consciously fighting the “I want a cup of coffee” urge. Your subconscious will have taken over by then and the battle against addiction will take place mostly without you even being aware.

Piano keyboard reviews

2007-03-05T23:58:00.000-06:00

I have just come across this opportunity to generate some buzz for a piano keyboard review site and became interested in what they have to offer. I'll be the first to admit that I am no musician, but it has been one of my goals for years now to learn how to play the piano. My problem, is that every time I decide I am going to attempt it, the keyboard that is available to me is one step above a child's toy. This review site has an excellent choice of Yamaha Keyboards to choose from. There is a brief description of each product that informs me of it's vital stats. For instance, they explain how key sizes should influence your choice of your perfect keyboard. I never would have thought of that when I finally went to purchase my first keyboard.

Importance of pagerank

2007-03-05T23:53:00.000-06:00

If are attempting to monetize your blog, increasing your google pagerank is a must. For instance, I use payperpost for a vast majority of my monetizing options. With their new structure, the opportunities that I have, with a pagerank of 0, are very limited. The solution to this is to get as many incoming links to my site as I can get. Those incoming links are harder to achieve than I once thought. I just have to keep telling myself that patience is the key to creating a successful monetized blogging endeavor. If you are interested in monitoring your site's google rank, urltrends is a handy site to visit.

Goal Setting

2007-03-05T23:34:00.000-06:00

Are you as organized as you would like to be? Have you achieved all your goals that you have set out to? Have you even listed out what your goals are? I have just been presented with the opportunity to generate some buzz about this goal setting software that will allow you to answer yes to all of those questions. This software is designed to aid you with all stages of goal setting and achievement. Those stages cover everything from identifying those goals, to tracking them, all the way through achieving them. Upon reaching designated numerical milestones, you have the option of displaying motivating graphs and charts to graphically represent your progress. Don't think that this software will only help your professional career, it can also help you reach your personal goals as well.

Blogging is like a drug

2007-03-05T22:21:00.000-06:00

With a show of hands, how many people out there think they could get addicted to blogging? 1. . . 2 . . . 3. . . Well, there are quite a few of you out there. Yes, I had my hand up too. I started this blog 1 1/2 years ago and kept it simple with some personal posts. My posting volume slowly decreased over time. Well, about 6 weeks ago, I got the blogging bug again. In those 6 weeks, I have been rapidly posting on this site, plus I've added 4 other blogs, each with their own topic. It's been fun and I hope to stay excited about it.

Unknown Online Store

2007-03-03T17:00:00.000-06:00

Sponsored.
I've blogged about it before, but I have been continuously finding great deals on their site. I'm talking about Coupon Chief. With the release of Microsoft Vista a few weeks ago, I'm finding myself wanting to upgrade my pc. If you're in the same boat, check out the Dell computer deals. I'm currently leaning towards getting a Dell E520 as that seems to be a decent option for the home pc. Coupon Chief is currently offering over $200 off of one of these systems.

Dell isn't the only option at their site though. They have coupons for over 1000 stores. The variety spans the entire spectrum of merchants. From My Wines Direct to Target to Home Depot, your shopping spree can be taken care of all from couponchief.

My blog sites reminder

2007-03-03T11:08:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to remind all readers of my site that my blogs have moved to a new domain.

This blog is being replaced by 2 blogs:
BlissLogs and Marketing BlissLogs

My parenting blog has been migrated to:
Family Blisslogs

My sports blog has been migrated to:
Sports BlissLogs

I hope to see you all there.

Agloco

2007-03-01T17:20:00.000-06:00

Whenever you are online, either surfing, blogging, clicking on an ad, making a purchase, all the money generated by your activities is pocketed by a small number of players. At AGLOCO™ they say not anymore!

AGLOCO™ is a global community, whose owners are its Members (you and potentially the millions of internet users out there). Their goal is to capture a significant portion of the value generated by our online activities and return it to Members in cash. Best of all, it is totally free, Members will NEVER have to pay anything, nor will they have to disclose ANY personal information!

How does this work? Once you sign up on their website, when available you will be able to download the Viewbar software, a free toolbar-sized application (half the size of a traditional Windows tool bar) that quietly sits on your desktop without ever hampering your online habits. That’s all you need to do! Just continue using the Internet as you used to… no need to change your habits!

Do you have several individuals using one computer? You can have different AGLOCO™ viewbars to fit the profile of each user.

Don’t want to see or use the Viewbar at any given time? Just minimize it and the Viewbar stops working!

There are different ways AGLOCO™ can make money for its Members:

* Cash: You get cash by surfing the Internet while the Viewbar is running. AGLOCO™ ’s profits are distributed back to its Members. And you can also receive real-time discounts should you choose to purchase from AGLOCO™ ’s partners. They will never include gambling or adult entertainment sites as partners.

* Shares: In addition to cash, AGLOCO™ will give out shares in the company to its Members. Eventually, AGLOCO™ plans to go public and will be traded on the London Stock Exchange AIM. You can start earning stock options by keeping Viewbar active while you surf. In addition, you will gain extra shares by referring active users to AGLOCO™ (they lose nothing). Click here to see the calculator.

The more people join AGLOCO™ , the more value the community can generate for itself. The company believes those that build the community deserve more: your own profits become larger the more people you refer. You can accumulate hours not only from your Internet activity but also from those who you refer, and their referrals too… Up to 5 levels underneath you! For example, if you refer 10 people and all of them refer 5 people each, you could make over 7000 shares a month*!

Remember, this is all free, you don’t lose anything, all you have to do is sign up, download the Viewbar and that’s it. Build your network and refer friends, family and colleagues to AGLOCO™ and earn even more!

The guys behind this idea include several Stanford MBA’s and a few individuals who started AllAdvantage back in 1998, which gave over $100 million to its users before falling victim to the burst of the internet bubble. Today, the context is much more favorable: The sophistication of on-line commerce, the rapid emergence of communities, the wealth of advertising revenue sources, etc. Isn’t it time you got your share of the Internet?

Don't wait any longer. This is a win-win opportunity, and you’ll make it even more profitable for yourself when you start referring friends and relatives before others get to them! Since I assume you learned about AGLOCO™ thanks to my website*, please don’t forget to add my referee ID when signing up: BBCF0448. Click here to sign up directly!

Return Address Labels

2007-03-01T17:04:00.000-06:00

Sponsored:
If you know me, you know I'm lazy. Not your everyday ordinary lazy, I'll take any measures available to me if it will take less effort on my part. For some reason, my family members still like to receive "snail" mail (as opposed to email) on occasion. When writing these letters, I found a way to cut the step of writing my return address on the envelope now that I can easily order address labels online. Heck, I can even choose a set that reflects my personality best. Now I just have to find one that says "lazy".

Career Decisions

2007-02-26T19:16:00.000-06:00

Just when I was starting to think I made the wrong choice when I decided to leave Dynamic Graphics almost 2 years ago, I get word that there are talks progressing to sell them to Getty Images. I don't know all the details, but the rumors I've heard are that Getty has a reputation of buying companies only to close them down. I'd hate for that to happen to the people in the Peoria office, but I could see the writing on the wall years ago; so I can't get myself to feel too sorry for them. The previous owner, David Moffley, really seamed like he wanted to build something with Dynamic Graphics. He made it a point to tell us that he had been approached many times by Getty to sell, but he wanted to protect the company and the people. (I guess I wasn't there so maybe they just didn't offer him enough) Either way, he ended up selling to a company that convinced him that they were building something great. What I saw after Jupiter Media purchased Dynamic Graphics was a company that wanted to grow without regard to product or the people working there. That was enough for me to believe that Allen Meckler was in it for the money and not the business. I am at the point in my career that I either need to go to a small company like what Dynamic Graphics was pre-Jupiter Media (that was a job I could feel passionate about and really wanted to work hard), or go to a large fortune 500 company where I can get lost in the shuffle and finish out my last 30 years of the daily grind.

PayPerPost Rumors

2007-02-26T07:51:00.000-06:00

Sponsored:
If you are a member of payperpost, you know they made a major site rollout a few weeks ago. I doubt that that is the last change we see from them in the immediate future. What I don't know is what these changes will be or how they will help my blogs. I can tell you what I've heard though.

1. With the segmentation they recently released, they will begin to require the sponsors to offer a lower paying opportunity to give the fledgling posters a chance to continue to make money. (like me :-))

2. PayPerPost is changing their name. They will now be know as the more catchier name of: "You write it, we pay you for it"

3. They will be holding monthly polls. Whoever has the most voted for posting over the course of a month wins a monetary prize.

4. PayPerPost will begin to offer a rival service to blogger and wordpress.com and give members a free blogging site. If this and rumor #2 are correct it could be: http://yoursite.youwriteitwepayyouforit.com. That is kind of catchy.

5. To coincide with all of their referral opportunities to drum up more business, they are going to open up the posts to nascar teams. Now if you own a nascar team, you can take an opportunity and paint it on the side of your car. The requirement will be that the car has to complete at least 30 laps to coincide with us bloggers requirement of 30 days.

Let me know if you hear anything further on these rumors.

Overtime sucks in the IT field

2007-02-26T07:36:00.000-06:00

If you're in IT, you know what I mean. We usually don't get paid overtime, as is my case, but when the extra time is required, it is usually the most painful times at work. This weekend wasn't too bad for me. We replaced the UPS that supplies power to our server room this weekend. This meant that we had to come in Saturday morning at 2am to shut all equipment down, then 1 hour later bring it all back up once we were switched off of the old UPS. We then spent the next hour testing that everything came up successfully. We had so much fun Saturday morning, we decided to do it again Sunday morning. The was needed to switch us to the new UPS. Luckily for me, all the hardware under my responsibility came back up with no problems. Unfortunately for our Unix team, they weren't so lucky. They lost 1 piece of hardware Saturday morning and another Sunday morning. Between our two Unix admins, I think they got a total of 8 hours of sleep from Friday morning to Sunday evening.

So let this be a lesson to all you kids out there that want to get into IT and systems administration. Your personal weekend time is always dependent on work and the whims of the hardware you support.

leica binoculars

2007-02-24T09:57:00.000-06:00

Sponsored:
Well, I've found a product that I thought I'd blog about. Eagle Optics is a site that sells every type of leica binoculars you could imagine as their selection rivals and exceeds any of their competitors.

Anyone could find a need for some nice binoculars. Me, I like to take some with me whenever I'm going to a sporting event. I always end up in the nose bleed seats, so the binoculars bring me closer to the action. The light-weight Audobon binoculars are the perfect choice for my needs as they are a lightweight and sturdy. A co-worker of mine uses his binoculars to aid his star gazing.

I'm sure everyone has had the need for some in the past; only to realize they were without. Why wait till it's too late to buy some when you have the opportunity now to go to Eagle Optics and check out their great low prices. You have the opportunity to pick out the pair that is just right for you. If that's not incentive enough, they offer free financing on orders over $200. If you aren't into ordering on the web yet, their helpful customer service team can help you when you call their 800 number.

Pre-occupied

2007-02-24T09:50:00.000-06:00

You may notice the number of posts in this blog slowly decrease in volume. I have been spending a majority of my time on my new blogs. I am searching for themes that appear to fit the tone I want each particular blog to take. The one blog that I still haven't decided on a theme for is my sports blog. If anyone knows of a nice (free) sports related wordpress theme, please let me know.

Show your Patriotic Colors

2007-02-22T08:10:00.000-06:00

Sponsored:
Do you support the war in Iraq? If not, most people at least support our brave troops fighting there. Now you can show your patriotic colors by visiting patriotic posters. If you want a poster featuring a patriotic red-white-and-blue theme, visit this site. I know you college students need something to cover your bare dorm room walls and I'm sure you can find something to peak your interest.

Major Announcement

2007-02-22T00:24:00.000-06:00

I have a major announcement. I finally broke down and bought my own domain. I am in the process of migrating my blogs off of blogspot and over to the new domain, blisslogs. I will continue to use this blog for sponsored posts as my new blogs won't qualify for 90 days. While we're on the topic of a new domain, I would like to offer a free blog to any of my readers. I will provide the sub-domain (yourdomain.blisslogs.com) and the wordpress blog software.

Box.net Widget

2007-02-20T14:28:00.000-06:00

Sponsored:
One of the things I want to turn this blog into is a site that helps bloggers share their information. That will range from providing success stories of my endeavors to cool tools and widgets I find. A cool new widget just popped up on my radar. The box.net widget is a flash player that streams podcasts, music, photos, videos, and any other type of file. It gives you a clean tool to share your files.

Podcast blogs look to be the next wave of the blogosphere, and this widget could be the tool to allow you to catch that wave. Here is an image of what it would look like, this is not the actual widget on my site yet.

If your company was bought by an Indian company

2007-02-19T09:56:00.000-06:00

We may all need to go to sensitivity counseling after this practical joke, but who cares, it was funny.

The company I work for was recently bought by a company out of India, Hinduja HTMT. They are slowly working their way into our work environment. Our helpdesk consists of 3 guys answering the phone. One of these guys has been spending most of his time doing programming and incorporating Linux into the company. It didn't make sense for him to be in the helpdesk any longer so they are moving him to our Unix administration team. The supervisor of our helpdesk is an older "gentleman" who is pretty set in his ways. We decided we needed a good laugh this Monday morning, so we placed a call to the helpdesk supervisor. The transcript went something like this: (Make sure to read the "joker" part with an Indian accent)

joker: "Hello, my name is Kumar. I just started the 3rd shift here at HTMT. I was told by Sati to call you so I may be answering helpdesk calls for Affina. When is it when I will be able to train with you?"

Help Desk Supervisor: Click (hangs up the phone) Turns to other helpdesk workers and says "Fucking Mattingly". (Mattingly is the one that played the part of joker)

joker: calls back to complain about getting cut off, but the call goes straight to voice mail.

Maybe you had to be there, or maybe you had to know Million (helpdesk supervisor) to think it's funny.

Monetized Blogs

2007-02-18T13:22:00.000-06:00

Sponsored:
It's been almost 1 month since I found payperpost.com so I thought this would be a good time to mention the success I've experienced. If you're not familiar with their service, I'll sum up for you.

Payperpost will give you a wide variety of topics to blog about. They have a new segmentation system which awards bloggers with higher site traffic. If your blog is popular enough, you have the opportunity to make up to $1000 for one post. On the other hand, if your blog doesn't have the traffic yet, you still have the opportunity to make some money via payperpost. If you don't believe me, check out what almost 1 month has done for my paypal account via blog marketing:

Have Been Paid: $0.00
Will Be Paid: $123.01
Sent To Charity: $0.00

The reason I haven't been paid any yet is because that payperpost requires your post to remain on your site for 30 days before they pay you. They also require that your blog disclose that you receive monetary payment for some of your posts. You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of this page. Also notice that you have the option of sending some of your earnings to charity; currently to either the Red Cross or for the habitat for humanity.

This segmentation that they began a couple weeks ago really motivates us bloggers to promote our site and generate traffic to our sites in order to qualify for those opportunities that offer the big money. But remember, payperpost is the perfect opportunity for high traffic and lower traffic bloggers alike.

Live Earth Concerts

2007-02-16T14:34:00.000-06:00

The Environmental News Service (ENS) has reported that former Vice President Al Gore launches Live Earth Concerts to fight global warming. I was starting to worry that we were going to start experiencing a shortage of theme concerts this year. Lilith Fair has been gone for years now, Lolapalooza has been coming and going, etc. Now we can go listen to some great musical acts and help fight global warming at the same time. It's great that they are trying to spread the word, but this will only work if they can show concrete proof that global warming exists and exists as a result of the human race. There are many people out there that are very skeptical that we, as humans, are responsible for this hole in the ozone layer. What are your thoughts? Global Warming: caused by humans or Earth's self regulation?

Home Improvement

2007-02-16T08:40:00.000-06:00

Sponsored:
No, not the tv show, the actual burden of home ownership. I am in the planning and ordering phase of my bathroom remodel. I will be gutting the entire bathroom save the bathtub and the floor (I redid the floor 3 years ago). Drywalling everything, new surround for the shower, bathroom lighting, and a much needed exhaust fan. I think I'll try to order all needed parts online. I've got the Home Lighting Fixtures taken care of at shoppremier. They have a wide range of products to choose from. I'll be sure to bookmark that site since I plan to replace all of my outside lights this summer. Now to find the rest of the materials.

Obama pulled a Kerry

2007-02-15T15:21:00.000-06:00

Looks like Barrack Obama pulled a John Kerry this past week while speaking about our troops in Iraq. If you remember a few months ago, John Kerry made a statement referencing the lack of intelligence of our brave troops. He since apologized, claiming he was the victim of a botched joke attempt.

A New Hampshire reporter asked Mr. Obama whether he regretted the remark, made at a rally on Sunday that “we ended up launching a war that should have never been authorized and should have never been waged, and to which we now have spent $400 billion and have seen over 3,000 lives of the bravest young Americans wasted.”

“Even as I said it,” Mr. Obama said Monday, “I realized I had misspoken.”

“What I would say — and meant to say — is that their service hasn’t been honored,” Mr. Obama told reporters in Nashua, N.H.

The NY Times reported the incident on 2/13/2007.

Review my posts

2007-02-15T09:09:00.000-06:00

Sponsored:
I made a post about 1 month ago about making some money via blogging. Well, the experience has been very successful thus far. I will post some numbers indicating my progress within the next week to give you an idea of the opportunity. My main tool for generating money is via payperpost. They offer opportunities for you to blog about a wide range of topics and pay you for the content. All they ask is that you meet a few easy requirements, like word count and providing specific links in your post. They had a major update to their site last week that provides everyone with additional avenues to make money blogging. That's right, everyone, including you. They have launched a new referral program with 2 separate referral opportunities. If you look to the right side of this blog, you will notice a payperpost referral link which allows you to sign up and take on sponsored posts like I have been doing. Another option is the "Review My Post" program. You will notice that link at the bottom of this post. I can put this link at the end of any of my posts, not just the sponsored ones. I then make some money when you blog about that particular post. Both options are great ways for you to generate traffic to your blog.

Monetized blogging rules

2007-02-13T18:58:00.000-06:00

I've seen the professional bloggers make their posts giving us the top 10 lists like 10 blogging mistakes to avoid, 10 techniques for finding blog readers, Blog Rules, Dave's 9 rules for blogging. This is all good info for your blog, however; you need to keep yourself in your blog. Once you start blogging about something you can't really back, is the moment your blog begins to fail. If you want a successful blog, there are two rules that always hold true:

1. Blog about something that interests you.
2. keep the content coming.

Looking back at all of my posts, I realize that I have made many mistakes along the way. I have found a topic to blog about and rush the content out. The result is not conveying my thought as clearly as I had hoped. I need to learn how to slow down and make my content useful to the readers.

One of my excuses is a lack of writing experience. It has been over 12 years since I've taken a writing course in college. I do feel I'm getting better. Not that my writing is getting better, but I now recognize my mistakes.

Rahman's Promise

2007-02-13T12:50:00.000-06:00

Sponsored:
Hassim Rahman rocketed to fame with a stunning knock out of then Heavy Weight boxing champion Mike Tyson long ago. It was a memorable act on his part. Now he is doing it again. This time, he is trying to do the right thing under some unfortunate circumstances. His brother robbed a convenience store, then stole a car to flee police. Karim Rahman proceded his reckless ways and struck a motorcycle driven by a Baltimore police detective with his wife sitting behind him. Karim Rahman did not contest the lawsuit filed by the detective's personal injury lawyers.

This where Hassim comes in. You see, his brother is broke and unable to pay one dime to the settlement. Hassim has promised to "donate a percentage of the rest of my career for (the Honakers) family to offset some of the financial burden to the family." Now some people will claim this is the right thing to do, while others will question why he is doing it. I am impressed how this former champion is stepping up and taking on some responsibility for his family's actions.

MLB - Pitchers and Catchers report

2007-02-13T10:53:00.000-06:00

With Pitchers and Catchers reporting to spring training today, I thought I'd create a blog dedicated to Sports. Check it out and make sure to comment often.

Debt consolidation

2007-02-12T21:20:00.000-06:00

Are you drowning in debt? Is it so overwhelming that you're looking through the cushions of you couch to gather enough money for the next bill? That's were I've been for a few years now. Until now that is. I just completed the refinancing of my house along with a Home Equity Loan to pay off my credit card debt. All in all, my payments are going down $300 per month, which gives me some extra money to help with the debt that wasn't covered in the loan. If you're interested, you can get some online loan info from secureloanconsolidation. They can give you contacts for any type of loan you need.

U.S. Presents Evidence of Iranian Weapons in Iraq

2007-02-12T13:00:00.000-06:00

They also presented evidence of Weapons of Mass Destruction, WMD, in Iraq didn't they? Call me skeptical of any evidence that comes from this White House. I can think of 3 possible scenarios regarding this information.

1. The Bush administration is trying to find a scapegoat for its problems in Iraq
2. This administration is looking for an excuse to attack Iran. Tensions between the countries have been ratcheted up by disagreements over Tehran’s nuclear program.
3. There really is a connection between Iran and the resurgences in Iraq and the U.S. does need to take action against Iran.

What do you think? Item 1, 2, or 3? If you vote for 3, I've got some prime land to sell you in the Florida swamps. :-)

Day Care

2007-02-12T11:16:00.000-06:00

According to the Day Care posting from encyclocentral; over half of all parents handle daytime childcare themselves, the next largest group provide other in-home care; such as nannies, relatives, or friends. The smallest percentage of parents actually use a professional day care service. I currently fall into the 2nd group, in that we have an experienced day care teacher come to our house to watch our children while we are at work. We will, however, be switching to group 3 in a matter of months. The reason behind the switch is due to the fact that Parker and Casey will be entering kindergarten this August, and we would like to get them used to leaving the house and spending the day with a larger group of children prior to the start of kindergarten. I know they would eventually gain the social skills and adapt to the change, but we would prefer to ease them into this change as much as we can. Kindergarten is a big change in a child's life, so any steps to make the transition easier is well worth any other inconveniences as far as I'm concerned.