I put Dan Nickerson under the gun and asked him to compose a Top Ten list ten minutes before our show today. He did it, and its pretty darned funny. On this edition of Joel Comm LIVE! we had a little bit of politics, answered questions, gave away some goodies and had fun. Ready for the replay? Watch below! Continue Reading

I'm amazed that there are people out there -- somewhere -- who aren't making money from AdSense. It's not as though you need a doctorate in computer studies and a professorship in literature. You just need a website and an AdSense account. And ever since blogging came along, the website bit has been a breeze. It takes all of about five minutes to sign up on Blogger and it's a perfect match for AdSense. Continue Reading

I'm going to tell you a secret. It's the secret of continued success that every successful publisher knows and benefits from them. Here it is... The secret of continued success is.. to be successful. I know, it doesn't sound very helpful, does it? Continue Reading

I'm always going on about the importance of networking at conferences. That's because I don't know of any strategy that can improve an online publishing business's success rate faster. Networking puts you in touch with opportunities that you can't find any other way. It builds the sort of business relationships that can last for many profitable years. It really does make running a business fun. And there's just no better place to do it than... Continue Reading

There's nothing better than welcoming a new child into the world and your family. Being a father of two, I can tell you that the health and welfare of your children is the utmost priority. We had a bit of a scare when our daughter was born and spent the first few days of her life wondering when she would be able to come home from the hospital. It all turned out well, but some... Continue Reading

What do you do if you are 38 years old and told by a doctor that you have just one year to live? That's exactly what happened to my friend Sylie Fortin. Shortly after getting married, Michel and Sylvie were face-to-face with the horrible diagnosis of breast cancer. But if you know Sylvie, you would know that this is not something she would take lying down. She pursued radical treatment and is alive two years... Continue Reading

I need to back up a bit because I left out Sunday from my journal. On Sunday, I spoke at Chris Howard's "Ultimate Wealth Symposium" on the grounds of the Sydney Olympic Park. I had a fantastic time sharing my story with 800 or so people. I've got to say, the Aussies are a bit difficult to get moving, but I think everyone had a good time and learned a thing or two. I also... Continue Reading

Our first full day in Sydney was mostly overcast, but we enjoyed time at the Sydney Aquarium and the Wildlife World exhibit on Darling Harbour. Enjoy this video compilation of our day. Continue Reading

I'm currently in Los Angeles for the annual Book Expo America, otherwise known as BEA. Why BEA? I have a book coming out on August 1st and I showed up to support my publisher and do some networking. Now I must confess. I am a trade show junkie. I love the vast conference centers with aisles and aisles of vendors hawking their goods and services. I'm especially a sucker for the freebies and swag. It's... Continue Reading

I decided to bring my son with me to the Book Expo in Los Angeles. I knew that I had a pass to get in, but I was told that I would need to purchase a pass for Z. Turns out it would cost me $230. When we arrived at the conference center, I decided that I would find a friendly face behind the exhibitors registration desk and see what I could do. I asked... Continue Reading

While speaking at Harv Eker's event, I wanted to demonstrate the power of the flip video camera. So I decided to shoot this brief video to show this incredible audience. I think they are a bit excited! Continue Reading

Everyone has heard of Chicken Soup for the Soul and the zillion titles that were derived from this massive best-seller. What you don't know is that I am friends with the man who helped make that series so huge! His name is Rick Frishman and he knows a few things about getting attention. ;-) Rick has just released a new book of his own called "Where's Your Wow?" that reveals 16 ways to make your... Continue Reading

Be careful... If you don't add the right amount of each ingredient, you could ruin the entire meal. Easy now... If you mix those chemicals incorrectly, it could be explosive. Watch it... If the calculations aren't perfect, the shuttle may never make it off the launching pad. Many things in life demand precision. There are some absolutes that do not allow for the least bit of give. One wrong step and the greatest ideas can... Continue Reading

I've got a pretty colorful past. I got my first job when I was fourteen-years old, working behind the counter of a fast-food restaurant at Northbrook Court shopping mall in Northbrook, Illinois. After all, I needed to save up money to buy a TRS-80 Model I computer from Radio Shack! Once I acquired my driver's license, I worked in the health & beauty department at Venture. Yes, I was a stockboy. At the age of... Continue Reading

I'm in Las Vegas for Affiliate Summit and am looking forward to the a few days of networking and learning. And while I have nothing to say about the conference yet because it hasn't started yet, I do have an experience to share with you. As you know, I enjoy blogging about my customer service experiences... especially the bad experiences. Why do I do this? I place a very high value on customer service and... Continue Reading

World of Warcraft has now occupied a part of my life for three years. No, I am not one of those people that plays hours each day, let alone every day. But I do enjoy the game and am eagerly anticipating the next expansion set titled "Wrath of the Lich King". Apparantly I am not alone. There are now over 9,000,000 people around the world who play World of Warcraft. Continue Reading

I consider myself a fortunate person. Every day, I sit in a beautiful office, surrounded by great people and look out of my window towards a fantastic view of the Rockies. I think it's a great thing. Not everyone agrees with me. I know that lots of people want something different. They want to work from home. Continue Reading

I'm a big fan of Amazon.com. I spend far too much money there but they also give me a fair bit of money too through book sales and affiliate links. I think they've done a fantastic job of selling products online and helping website publishers earn from their content. They might be the Walmart of Internet retailing, but they're definitely not the Apple of whiz-bang gadgetry. Their new Kindle book-reading machine is a great idea... Continue Reading

I'm glad I broke it. I wouldn't be here today if I hadn't broken it. No, I'm not talking about a vase I won in a church raffle. And I certainly don't mean the world 100 meter sprint record. I didn't break a nail, though I could probably use a good manicure. And I didn't break a vow of silence. I'd have to be silent for more than ten minutes for that to take place... Continue Reading

I've had several people ask me what I'm going to be up to in 2008. I'm very excited, because this is going to be a breakthrough year for many people who will increase their online revenue. AND, I am excited because I am going to be doing several things that have never been done before! That's kind of a mantra with me. I don't like to do what everyone else is doing. You have to... Continue Reading

I love quick and easy changes that make a significant difference. A few months back, I learned of a contextual advertising service that was compatible with Google AdSense. It took me less than 15 minutes to place their code on my pages. In my first month, I made an additional $1000 just from that fifteen minutes. Not bad! And it gets better... Continue Reading

With 2007 almost gone and 2008 on the way, I am doing quite a bit of reflecting on where I've been, where I am going, and how I can best serve you in the upcoming year. So this is going to be an interactive newsletter, because I am counting on you to tell me what you would like to accomplish in 2008, and perhaps give me an indication of how I can best help you... Continue Reading

The day has arrived! I don't think there has ever been such excitement over one of my product launches, and I am excited to say that the excitement really has nothing to do with me! Instead, this product is all about YOU, and the opportunity you now have to receive the Internet marketing education that can last a lifetime. The Secret Classroom It's not an ebook that overpromises and underdelivers. It's not a software tool... Continue Reading

I'm not a big sports fan. I used to watch a lot of baseball when I was a kid. And I watched a good bit of football in college. But as an adult, I just haven't made much time for sports. Continue Reading

Cost-per-click advertising, contextual advertising, cost-per-mille advertising, domain name investing, affiliate networks, joint ventures, resell rights, floating ads, banner ads, video ads... It's enough to give anyone a headache. There are so many ways of monetizing a website these days that it can all get a bit overwhelming. How can you tell which ads would best match your content and which system you should be using to squeeze the most out of your pages? Continue Reading

I finally persuaded my mother to buy a video camera to take with her on her adventure travel excursions. She bit the bullet, got a Sony camcorder, and shot some video on her recent visit to Tibet. She has been visiting me this weekend, so I helped her make her first videos and get them uploaded to YouTube. Check out her YouTube Channel here. Continue Reading

Facebook. The first time I heard about this site had to be over a year ago. I was told it was a social networking site for college students, so I didn't give it much of a look. After all, I've been out of college for many years. (I won't tell you how many!) But about a month or so ago I started receiving invitations to use facebook from some friends and associates of mine. Hmmm... Continue Reading

I did it. I bit the bullet and picked up an iPhone. I've been a faithful Treo 650 user for two years, but the buzz regarding Apple's new device won me over. So I ponied up $599 + shipping and tax to get one of these puppies in my hands, though I was unsure of what I would find once I actually got to try it out for myself. I may now render the verdict... Continue Reading

Put a Google search box on your website and you'll give yourself an opportunity to pick up some extra revenue. You'll also give your site a bit of extra functionality by letting users search your old posts. But you'll also be granting yourself a golden opportunity to create some joint ventures that could land you some finely targeted traffic. When you generate the code for the search box, you'll be asked if you want to... Continue Reading

This is big. No, seriously. This is REAL Big! I am on the set of The Next Internet Millionaire, where I am currently in between scenes... thought it would be a great opportunity to tell you what's going on. Well, as much as I CAN tell you :-) Continue Reading

There are lots of things to enjoy as an online publisher. There's the thrill of creating content. The pleasure of meeting friends at conferences. The sheer freedom of being your own boss and setting your own schedule. And then there's publicity. That's a whole other world of fun. Not every online publisher uses publicity to drive traffic to their website. Some think it's a bit like a lottery. You'll send out hundreds of press releases... Continue Reading

I am freshly returned from Hawaii, slighty tanned, somewhat rested, and ready to share some great stuff with you! Please read all the way through as you aren't going to want to miss any of this... First of all, we have officially announced TWO of the contestants for The Next Internet Millionaire. Want to meet them? Meet the Contestants Be sure to join the discussion on the forums with your comments as we look forward... Continue Reading

We arrived on Maui on Tuesday afternoon, snagged our rental car and made our way to the hotel. We're staying on the west side of the island in the Ka'anapali area. It's absolutely gorgeous here. From my fifth floor balcony I can see the ocean, the mountains, palm trees, sandy beaches and a beautiful landscape. It's 6 am Hawaii time as I blog this (my body says it is 10 am MST) and I've enjoyed... Continue Reading

It's one of the biggest challenges of building a profitable online publishing business. It's also one of the most important. Generating traffic. There's no easy way to do it. Yes, you have to have good content. Without that, you're never going to get the sort of traffic that arrives naturally, comes back and gives you referrals. But even good content isn't enough. It doesn't matter how good your content is if no one knows you... Continue Reading

"It was a dark and stormy night." That may as well be the beginning of this newsletter, because I have started writing it five times now. I get past the first line, read it, and delete it. So I figure you just can't go wrong with "It was a dark and stormy night." Well, perhaps if I was writing fiction... The fact is that I've got a lot to tell you this week and I'm... Continue Reading

You've heard it all before... $20,000 in one day! $100,000 in a week! A Gazillion dollars in a month! The Internet marketing community is being inundated with messages telling people how they can make outrageous sums of money in a very short period of time. Sometimes these claims are valid. Other times they seem like "pie in the sky". Continue Reading

When Google takes action, they really take action. The forums have been buzzing recently with news that Google is in the middle of a content "quality initiative." There's nothing about it in the AdSense blog, but Jennifer Slegg of Jenstar.com has reported that a number of publishers have received emails telling them that they have "an unsuitable business model" and that their account will be closed within two weeks. They will be allowed to keep... Continue Reading

Darren Rowse's blog at ProBlogger.net is always worth a read. He's a guy who's making a great income out of online publishing, and he's not afraid to share his knowledge. Recently, Darren put up a very interesting post about giving a second chance to old content. Sometimes, he points out, you'll put up a post that you're sure will get lots of traffic only to find that it dies away without doing anything special. There... Continue Reading

Google has been doing a bit of spring cleaning lately. First it redesigned its ad units. Now it's changed the look of the AdSense home page. What effect have all these changes had on your revenues? Almost none, I would think. The new ad units are slight more attractive than the old ones. But I doubt if the new look is worth more than a click or two each month. Continue Reading

Here's a hot tip... Actually, TWO hot tips! First... If you want your website to have lots and lots of traffic, you need... links. Okay, that didn't sound so hot, did it? But it is hot, because so many people ignore it. I'm not talking about incoming links. Everyone remembers that they have to work their fingers to the bone to get those. I'm talking about outgoing links. Continue Reading

The day has arrived! For the past few months, I have been hard at work at a project that I am very excited about. I told you that I would be doing something that has never been done before in the Internet marketing world. In fact, it is revolutionary for the Internet in general! Attendees to Armand Morin's Big Seminar have just seen the world premier of this ambitious project... ... and now it's your... Continue Reading

Nickelmania strikes again! Right, I know. What the heck is Nickel-Mania? It's the brain child of Gary Ambrose. Basically, Gary releases one of his tremendous products and starts the price at a nickel. That's just five cents! And with each person that purchases, the price of the product goes up a little bit at a time. Continue Reading

Does $10,000 for sending one email sound impossible to you? How about $25,000? Would it floor you to think you could make almost $75,000 with just two email promotions? To be honest, at one time I wouldn't have believed it either. But the fact of the matter is that it is far more possible than you think. Continue Reading

They say variety is the spice of life. I have to agree. I love variety. It keeps things exciting. It's why you see me doing multiple projects and always coming out with something new. I just can't sit still. (My wife says it is ADD, but I think she is.. Oh! Look at the butterfly!) ;-) Well, you know how I teach people to find a niche and become the expert in that niche by... Continue Reading

Where in the world are you? I thought it would be cool for people to check in and share their location on this planet we share. Maybe even tell us what you like the most about where you live. I recently arrived home from Washington, D.C. where I attended an internet marketing seminar. While I as there, I got to spend some time with Tom Kulzer of Aweber.com. For those that don't know, Aweber is... Continue Reading

Important. Urgent. Critical. Essential. Crucial. There are so many words I can use to describe how imperative it is that you read today's email, and listen to what I have to say... REALLY listen, because this comes from the heart. Continue Reading

Google is very protective of its AdSense code. Start changing bits here and there and you can't expect to keep your account open for very long. But there's one exception to that rule and it's a very important one. You can put this code on your Web pages: <script type="text/javascript">    var random_number = Math.random();    if (random_number         //your first ad unit code goes here     } else {         //your second ad unit code goes here     } </script> <script type="text/javascript... Continue Reading

Ever since Google changed its Terms Of Service to allow other contextualized ad systems on the same pages as AdSense, I've been busy taking another look at its competitors. And what I've found was that Kontera has been pretty busy. Kontera has created an ad system that turns keywords on a Web page into double-underlined links. When users mouse over those links, they get a floating tool box containing an ad. It's unobtrusive and looks... Continue Reading

When you sign up to an ad program, one of the first decisions you'll have to make is where to put your units. Should you cram them into the sidebar? Place them above the fold? Embed them into the text? Or relegate them to the end of the page? Although there are some general guidelines you can follow, the best way to decide which are the best spots on your Web pages for your ad... Continue Reading

Change. It's one thing in life we can depend on. And it can be the thing that frightens us most. I've known people who don't like the least bit of change in their lives. They are most comfortable in keeping the status quo. Change implies risk. And risk... well, sometimes things don't turn out the way we hope they will. And sometimes they do. Continue Reading

Ack! It was the only word uttered by Bill the Cat of Bloom County fame. If you don't know who I am referring to, here's a quick refresher course. Bill the Cat And now that we are on the same page, I felt a bit like Bill the Cat yesterday when I received questions about my Monthly Templates membership program. They were very GOOD questions. And I can't believe that I blew it by not... Continue Reading

Yesterday, we went to church for Christmas Eve service. And the pastor put a twist on the message that I hadn't really considered before. He asked "How many of you believe that Jesus is the reason for the season?" Hands went up throughout the sanctuary. And then the room when silent when he said, "Jesus is NOT the reason for the season!" Continue Reading

Building a successful website doesn’t happen overnight. You have to create the pages, write the content, optimize your ads, drive traffic. You can be up and running within minutes but to earn the sort of revenues that make the whole thing worthwhile (and more) you’re going to have to invest time. And much of that time is going to be spent troubleshooting. A poorly-designed, badly-optimized site might make a little bit of money. A site... Continue Reading

There’s something to be said for monopolies. Obviously, they’re great when you own one but they have another advantage too. They make life easier. They don’t make life better. But they do make life easier. Just think how much time you’d save if you were to walk into a supermarket and find only one type of bread and one brand of laundry powder and one sort of breakfast cereal. The bread might taste like chalk... Continue Reading

He beat me to it. I'm not angry... it's not my style. But I am just a little.. bit... um... er... envious? Ok, I said it. I'm envious. And I think I have a right to be. Continue Reading

I am blogging from Chicago O'Hare International Airport, where I am my family are awaiting an 8:55 pm departure to Oklahoma City. We've been here since 1 pm and our first flight was cancelled. With bad weather in Chicago and OKC, I'm not sure we're going to make it home tonight at all. Such is life, right? So I thought I'd make the best use of my time and write for a bit. In particular... Continue Reading

Alright, we are now headlong into the holiday season, and I wonder... Would it be ok with you if I follow a rabbit trail today? I just want to get something off my chest. It may just end up being instructive, but right now I just need to... um... well... er... rant? Yes, that's it. I need to rant. So, if you aren't interested in my little hissy fit, go ahead and delete this email... Continue Reading

The results of my experiment are in! Over the past week, I've told you a bit about the power of video to get traffic to your web site. Now I can demonstrate conclusively that video does indeed work to get your pages listed higher in the search engines, thereby driving more traffic to your sites. Watch this 4-minute video that shows you exactly how I got over 2700 new visitors to my web site in... Continue Reading

I've been looking back at what's been happening in the world of AdSense over the last ten months or so... and I've been amazed at what I've found. I was able to count at least fifteen innovations that could affect the way publishers earn through AdSense. Some of those changes, such as larger image ads, are relatively minor. Others, such as video ads and multiple channels for ad units, have the potential to radically change... Continue Reading

I'm blogging from my office PC... only I'm not in my office. I am, in fact, in the American Airlines Admirals Club at D/FW International Airport, awaiting my flight to Oklahoma City. With GoToMyPC, I can login to my office PC from any PC in the world. It's pretty cool stuff! And I must say, the Admirals Club is awfully nice. I'm on a one-time visit pass and am not sure it's worth the annual... Continue Reading

I am writing this entry from Heathrow Airport in London. I've been here with my family since August 30th and we're ready to be back on American soil. As of now, our flight is delayed and I'm afraid we'll be sitting for a few more hours. I've been unplugged for all but one hour while on vacation (holiday, as they call it here). It has been refreshing to get away from the computer. But, like... Continue Reading

Who's Matt? Just some guy who likes to dance. Well, he likes to dance and he likes to travel. In fact, he likes to dance in the places he travels to. Sound confusing? Continue Reading

Remember the pixel ad craze started by milliondollarhomepage.com last year? It was definitely a novelty that fuled a huge windfall for the owner of the site and a bit of notoriety for some of the sites that bought pixels. However, there was ultimately no linking benefit to the sites that paid for the pixels. Enter 500Words, a site that takes linking to the next level... one that should be of far greater interest to those... Continue Reading

I used to blog about current events all the time. But lately, I've been writing far more about Internet marketing and my travels. Why? It isn't for shortage of material. On the contrary, popular culture and politicians provide a plethora of opportunities for sharing a more rational point-of-view My reasons for avoiding current events are far simpler these days. Continue Reading

A few weeks ago, Andrew Fox phoned me and asked if I would speak to him for a bit about my AdSense strategies. I've known Andrew for a bit, having met him at Big Seminar in Los Angeles last year. (Remember, I always say how important it is to network at these seminars?) Anyhow, Andrew is a great guy... and he's pretty darned smart, too! Beating me to the punch, Andrew has put together a... Continue Reading

I like the food at The Cracker Barrel. It's usually pretty good, whether we go there for breakfast or dinner. They have done a great job of positioning themselves as the "Old Country Store", a combination restaurant/retail shop, where every store is positioned on a major U.S. interstate. And every store looks virtually the same. Continue Reading

I did it. I bit the PSP bullet and forked over my cash to Sony. I've been playing video games and computer games ever since there was such a beast. I remember when Pong first arrived on the scene. I owned a Fairchild Channel One video game system (the failed precursor to the Atari home video game system that sold millions of units). I've owned Nintendos, Playstations, XBox's and who knows what else. It was... Continue Reading

With over 65,000,000 members, Rupert Murdoch's My Space is a juggernaut in the online world. Sure, it is largely a wasteland of 18 to 22 year olds trying to "hook up" with each other. But I can see where the networking tools of the site can be used for those who aren't just looking for a "date". Continue Reading

If you are an AdSense publisher, you know that Google tells you very little about your ads. They tell you how many ads you have displayed. They tell you how many ads have been clicked. And they tell you how much money they are paying you. If you use channels, you are able to gather a bit more data regarding the success or failure of a page or an ad to deliver revenue. But other... Continue Reading

I don't like fishing. I couldn't care less if I ever catch another fish the rest of my life. However, my alter-ego, Zorigon, enjoys fishing quite a bit. It's even more enjoyable when I am providing fish for my son, BRMadcat. Sound weird? It's just another day in the alternate universe known as World of Warcraft Continue Reading

Ok, so it's February 18th. But the snow is blanketing the ground in the Oklahoma City area and it finally feels just a little bit like Christmas. Well, winter at least. Just two days we were enjoying temperatures nearing 70 degrees and sunshine. The cold front blew in and the temperature dropped 30 + degrees in a matter of minutes. Continue Reading

This morning, I had the privilege of speaking before sixty Affiliate Summit attendees in a special AdSense workshop session. The room was a bit large (cavernous, even), but I managed to communicate my strategies to the attendees just the same. Here are a couple photos taken by my friend Mark Widawer. Continue Reading

An intoxicated couple en route from the U.K. to Jamaica caused quite a stir in their attempts to join the "mile-high" club. The British Airways staff became suspicious when the couple's moans of pleasure were all-too-obvious. Continue Reading

The numbers are bad. If you are fan of the television show, Lost, you know exactly what that phrase means. However, in my case it means something entirely different. Continue Reading

I've gone the majority of the year without a compelling computer game to buy. Of course, I purchased World of Warcraft in 2004, so that doesn't count. But things have taken a turn for the better this past month. Look at what is now in my PC gaming queue. Continue Reading

Are you going to Affiliate Summit? This is the PREMIER event for webmasters and merchants online. My friend, Shawn Collins, tells me that the event is nearing sellout and record attendance. I would love to see you there! Continue Reading

I just got back from one of the the most educational and inspiring seminars of my entire life. My friend, Jeff Walker, suggested that I go to Armand Morin's Big Seminar in Los Angeles. On his advice, I registered just a couple weeks ago. It cost $2000, but I trust Jeff and took his advice. Words cannot describe the weekend I just experienced. Continue Reading

My favorite Aunt in the whole world is my Aunt Joan. She is my mother's younger sister and I have some fantastic memories of her from my childhood. She was always bubbly, gregarious, fun-loving and pleasant to be around. She loved her parents, her sisters, her children, her nieces and nephews and her grandchildren with a passion. Everyone knew when Joan was in the room. Her laugh was something akin to a "cackle", and she... Continue Reading

It's one of those days. My eyes are watery. My nose is stuffy. My body is achy. And I don't want to do anything. The common cold strikes once again. Continue Reading

World of Warcraft may be the most popular MMORPG ever. Over 3.5 million people are now playing worldwide. Tons of fan sites have popped up, celebrating this massive online fantasy world. And some people are quite creative with the resources provided by the game. No, I am not talking about the Chinese farmers who find the best places in the game to loot gold and resell for exhorbitant prices on ebay. I am talking about... Continue Reading

So what was the deal with hurricane preparedness in Louisiana? Who was really at fault? Perhaps this article from the L.A. Times can shed some light. Louisiana Officials Indicted Before Katrina Hit Federal audits found dubious expenditures by the state's emergency preparedness agency, which will administer FEMA hurricane aid. By Ken Silverstein and Josh Meyer, Times Staff Writers WASHINGTON — Senior officials in Louisiana's emergency planning agency already were awaiting trial over allegations stemming from... Continue Reading

After many months of exploring the huge world of Azeroth, Riathamus, my human warrior, has reached level 60 of World of Warcraft. I have seen every region, visited virtually every nook and cranny and encountered hundreds (thousands?) of baddies. I have upgraded my weapons, my armor and my skills close to the maximum. So now what? My interest level has declined exponentially. It's been a fantastic journey from newbie at the Northshire Cathedral. I must... Continue Reading

If I had been drinking coffee or milk, it would have come out my nose when I saw this story. Yesterday, the news reported that President Bush is the most physically fit President in history. He exercises six days/week and eats well. In the response to this, The Democratic National Committee has issued a press release saying "Bush Should Stop Playing Games with Physical Fitness". They accuse the President of cutting funding to schools for... Continue Reading

I've been in a Las Vegas this week, participating in Affiliate Summit, a conference for Internet merchants and their affiliates. I dragged a couple friends along with me and we're having a great time. Monday night we went to see Blue Man Group at the Luxor Hotel (the big pyramid...) What a fun evening! Continue Reading

A long time ago in galaxy far, far away, a thirteen-year old boy discovered a new world of action and adventure which had captured his imagination unlike anything before. Star Wars hit the theaters in 1977, and I still remember sitting in the very front row, completely in awe by the images on the screen. I probably saw the film ten times in our local cinema, and waited patiently for George Lucas to churn out... Continue Reading

I love my Treo 650. It is the coolest phone/PDA/camera/toy I have ever owned. But I am a bit ticked off today. The receiver portion of the phone went pffft today. I can call people and talk to them, but I can not hear them talk to me. Makes for a very uninteresting conversation. Anyhow, since it is past the 30-day warranty, the only way to get the phone replaced is to have Cingular send... Continue Reading

I've been slaving away attempting to make sense of this thing we call the Internet. In order to put things in proper perspective, I have composed this paper which I hope will prove useful. Continue Reading

It took me nearly ten years of being online, but I have finally figured out that there is more than one way to skin an Internet kitty. I've been trying to earn a living with advertising dollars, not realizing the bounty of information that I have tucked away in my grey matter. Turns out people are willing to ante up a little coinage for me to share my knowledge. My success with Google AdSense led... Continue Reading

It is true. I am an Arbonne consultant. (Actually, that may be past-tense by the time you read this...) For those unfamiliar with Arbonne, they are a fast-growing company focused on health care and skin care products. They claim the products are all natural and most of the people who try them truly love them. The downside is that they are ridiculously expensive. Still, you get what you pay for. For the record, I have... Continue Reading

I love finger food. There's nothing like the simplicity of enjoying cheese sticks and chicken fingers off the platter. But Wendy's has apparantly taken finger food to the next level. SAN JOSE, Calif. Mar 23, 2005 — A woman's meal at a Wendy's restaurant brought a whole new meaning to the term "finger food." The woman bit into a portion of a human finger while eating a bowl of chili Tuesday night at the San... Continue Reading

Finally, a documentary about the left that I can't WAIT to see. This just in from Drudge... HBO MOVIE SHOWS RADIO 'AIR AMERICA' CHAOS HBO is set to air a behind the scenes look at the launching of liberal radio network AIR AMERICA. The DRUDGE REPORT has obtained a director's cut of LEFT OF THE DIAL, a grossly entertaining docu-drama of life on the other side of the AIR AMERICA microphone. The doubts. The lies... Continue Reading

What makes people tick? Why do we respond to certain words, images and advertisements, while others seem entirely invisible to us? My friend from down-under, Sean D'Souza, has done a vast amount of research into the human mind. His site, Psychotactics, contains a wealth of free information that is beneficial to anyone who wishes to sell a product or service. But his information is also useful for discovering how to strengthen your relationships. Sean offers... Continue Reading

A few years back, I was into selling on ebay big time. Since I am collector of old computer games, I found a market for like-minded collectors on ebay, reselling some of my $1 floppy disk software for as much as $50. It was a sweet deal. But I also learned a little bit about how the collector's market works on ebay, and I began looking out for retail products that would eventually become collector's... Continue Reading

Is Ted Turner relevant to anyone anymore? Listen to what this buffoon had to say at the National Association for Television Programming Executives's conference Tuesday. "While FOX may be the largest news network, it's not the best." (sour grapes because they are beating Turner's CNN?) He followed up by pointing out that Adolph Hitler got the most votes when he was elected to run Germany prior to WWII. He said the network is the propaganda... Continue Reading

About a month ago, Mary got pulled over for speeding. The cop let her off the hook for whatever reason, but he noticed that the tags on the minivan had expired. I always take care of tag renewal and recalled that I had just sent a check in a few days prior. The city record showed that the tags had been expired for 8 months. Mary got a ticket and we had a court day... Continue Reading

I just got back from seeing The Aviator with Leonardo diCaprio as Howard Hughes. I believe Leonardo has gotten a bum rap as an actor for some time. I liked him in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. I thought he was perfectly cast in Catch Me if You Can. And whatever else you say about Titanic, his part as Jack Dawson will go down in history. But as eccentric inventor/businessman/aviator Hughes, diCaprio should be awarded an... Continue Reading

We are in the process of designing a new home which we intend to build this year. A few years ago, we bought two acres of land in our city. We have been holding on to it and think the time is ripe to place a home on the property. My father is an architect, so he is drawing the plans. Thanks Dad! But I thought it would be a fun thing to play with... Continue Reading

On Thanksgiving Day, I did what any respectable guy would do. Besides stuffing my face, I took some time to browse the sale papers for Friday's big bonanza. I found the usual suspects. Circuit City, Comp USA, Best Buy and Ultimate Electronics. Even Target's ad got a once over from me. Many of the bargains looked quite appealing, but there was no way in the world I was going to get up at 5:30 am... Continue Reading

It is political correctness and anti-God behavior gone nuts. From the Reuters news wire... LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California teacher has been barred by his school from giving students documents from American history that refer to God -- including the Declaration of Independence. Steven Williams, a fifth-grade teacher at Stevens Creek School in the San Francisco Bay area suburb of Cupertino, sued for discrimination on Monday, claiming he had been singled out for censorship... Continue Reading

Some sites I have recently bookmarked... Oklahoma City Astronomy Club - My son has become increasingly interested in the planets and stars, so I believe I am going to look into checking these folks out. American Oddities - You have got to see this unusual collection of photographs of homes and office buildings. What's My IP? - Need to know your IP address? Not sure what an IP address is, or why you would need... Continue Reading

The second Presidential debate took place this evening and President Bush took John Kerry to the woodshed on foreign policy and domestic issues. After an extremely disappointing first showing in last week's Miami debate, the President was focused, personable and knowledgable. Kerry came off as stiff, repetitive and a bit unsettled by Bush's strengths. The President made a strong case for the war in Iraq, the economy, the environment, stem cell research and numerous other... Continue Reading

About fifteen years ago, I started using bulletin board services online. These were pre-world wide web servers that ran out of people's homes. You would dial up the BBS on your 1200 baud modem and connect to a text-only based site. These sites would provide forums for discussion, information for reading and programs for downloading. Some of the more progressive boards had games you could play online, text only of course. Way back then, I... Continue Reading

After the somewhat scathing replies I got regarding my review of the Christian film, Gone, I am somewhat reluctant to step up to the plate again. Regardless (or irregardless if you want to annoy people), I will now attempt to convey my thoughts on a film I viewed today. Six: The Mark Unleashed is a futuristic end-times thriller focusing on the coming one-world government and the ubiquitous "mark of the beast" which must be taken... Continue Reading

Serious or superfluous? Truth or propaganda? These are some of the questions we must ask as we view political campaign commercials. Often influential and sometimes backfiring, political parties and their public relations teams attempt to discuss the issues of the day and portray their candidate as the best man for the job. Often, this entails little more than communicating how their opponent is the worst man for the job. The Living Room Candidate is a... Continue Reading

The pioneering spirit of the Internet continues to inspire people to build a better mousetrap. Nowhere is that spirit better exhibited than in the now ubiquitous search engine known as Google. While not the first search engine on the scene, Google has now surpassed all the rest to become the most useful tool for finding what you want on the web. Today's site highlights a new free download which makes the Google experience ever more... Continue Reading

Remember the Rocky and Bullwinkle show? "Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!" Among the other characters that were featured on this classic cartoon were a pair named Sherman and Mr. Peabody, in a bit called Peabody's Improbable History. In this toon, Mr. Peabody (the dog) would send Sherman to a period in time to see living history. The machine he used was called the WABAC (pronounced "wayback" machine). Fast-forward to... Continue Reading

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nope, its the Perseids! No, I am not nuts. The Perseids is a meteor shower that has been around since the time of the Civil War. From Space.com... "The Perseids are the result of stream of debris in space laid down by comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the Sun every 130 years and spends most of its time in the far reaches of the solar system. On each... Continue Reading

Mary and I just got back from the theatre. There isn't much out there worth seeing, so we sat in for a viewing of I, Robot, with Will Smith. I have never read Isaac Asimov's both that inspired the film, so I cannot comment on whether or not it was true to the original. On it's own, the story was very average, wit