2008 Home Stretch
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You know, things are looking up. Gas prices are beginning to fall, it's cooling off outside, and I finally have a half-decent paying 'real' job that I sort of like. The downside? I'm running out of time this year. Oh, that and I'm going to be turning 30 in a few days. That sucks.
I really never wanted to be thirty. I never wanted to get old, and I feel like maybe I am getting old. I don't know. My uncle died just a few days after he turned thirty, and I've always felt that if I made it longer than that, it would be unfair (I was very close to my uncle when I was a kid, and he was a diabetic). It just kind of bums me out when I think of getting old, so I'm trying to distract myself from that fact by thinking of things that make me happy and keep me motivated.
Unfortunately, the new job doesn't give me much time to work on my sites, and once again I find myself complaining about how I'm in desperate need of a somewhat-modern laptop, so I can work on the sites, make some money, and maybe even take a college course or two while I'm in my truck on the road.
Heck, a Pentium II would be sweet at this point. I can make it run pretty fast...
I thought it was cool that I won an mp3 player, since I had been really wanting one for a few years now. Well, easy come, easy go. Some dork stole the thing from me. Nice, eh?
So I find myself at the end of 2008 looking back on the year. Remember that goal I set to earn $500? I passed that goal up a couple of months ago, and I feel pretty good about it. The problem is that with all the small financial setbacks I've had (i.e., paying BoA for their stupid timing scam) I'm sitting pretty with a grand total of about five bucks in my bank account and no new laptop. I'm almost $800 into the earnings, and I've got nothing to show for it.
Although, my total investment for this year is also around $30, going almost totally to domain name purchases. :D
I think I'll just tell myself that the next couple of months will be a serious push to make at least $100 to use on a laptop. I doubt I'll make it, given the amount of free time I have to work on this stuff, but if I tell myself that, maybe I can somehow pull it off.
You know, if I can keep from blowing the cash on caffeine. Heh.
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Review: MS21.2 PC Speaker Set From The Speaker Company
What can I say? I'm blown away by these speakers.
But I can't just leave it at that, this is a review, not a Twitter post...heh.
A few days ago I received a package containing the MS21.2 PC speaker set from The Speaker Company. For years, I've used whatever cheap speakers I could find for my computer, sometimes even resorting to rigging up an arcane system which included a guitar amplifier. Sure it was loud, but a computer isn't exactly a guitar, so it didn't sound that great. I suppose you could say that from the very start, I was impressed with the MS21.2's.
"Turn it down...the neighbors are gonna call the cops!"
Yes, that was my wife's first (and immediate) impression when I was giving these speakers a test run. I started out trying a bit of Eric Johnson on them, followed by Roxette, eventually running the gamut of everything from jazz (which I am currently listening to) to death metal (Bolt Thrower).
It seemed that no matter what I played, it sounded great! I just can't get over the excellent sound quality of these speakers!
I even tried to find something I didn't like about them (for the sake of fairness). I noticed that when I turned up the volume, I was getting feedback. Then I realized that it was because I had not muted my microphone. Problem solved. After muting the mic, it was crystal clear, even when cranked.
So, tell me about these speakers...
Well, the MS21.2's are exclusive to The Speaker Company. They push an average 80 watts, and consist of three speakers (two satellites and a subwoofer), and a controller. Setting them up took less than a minute (truthfully, they took longer to unpack than to set up), so I was able to dive in head-first into trying these out.
The MS21.2's are decently priced (especially for their sound quality). You can get a set for $35.97 (and right now they are offering free shipping. If you would like to see them for yourself, you can go to The Speaker Company's website.
The Final word.
I listen to all kinds of music. I have always preferred to listen at high volume, but only when there is superb clarity. I would have to say that these speakers definitely fit the bill. My compliments to The Speaker Company on an excellent product, and I would gladly refer anybody to them anytime.
If you like these posts and want to stay in the loop, please subscribe to my RSS feed and follow me on Twitter. And if you really like this stuff, you can buy me a coffee! Oh, and if you like being an insider, be sure to join the mailing list...I never spam, but you will get some insider specials!
Review: Mark Oristano Photography
I was asked to do a website review for Dallas photographer, Mark Oristano. I went over, checked out the website, looked through the portfolio, and this is what I thought about the site.
About the Site
Mark Oristano is a former sportscaster turned photographer. He specializes in doing classy, upscale photographs for performers, executives, active duty military (who get a special discount, which is not disclosed on his site, but you can contact him for details), as well as the general public. If you are a performer needing a headshot, Dallas is the place to be. Mark will do two different headshots (according to the site: one your agent will love, and one your mother will love). Looking at his portfolio, it's easy to see that Mark Oristano is a great photographer. Dallas should be proud to have someone so adept with a camera.
Testimonials
"Shooting with Mark is like hanging out with your hip uncle for a few hours... and his main goal is to make you look and feel great. I couldn't be more pleased with the way my shots turned out. Without a doubt I know they'll get me noticed."
-Lydia Mackay, Dallas"My headshots from Mark are amazing. I had been stalling on getting new shots and I am so sorry I did. Mark shoots with both business and creative know-how. I got the shot I wanted - the shot that presented me exactly the way I wanted to be seen. I am truly pleased with them and have recommended him to many friends."
-Julienne Greer, Fort Worth
Other Points of Interest
Mark Oristano wants to make sure that when you choose his photography service, you get what you pay for, and still get a good deal. Need proof? His website also features a section with tips on how to make your photography session more successful! In my opinion, a good photographer is one who loves what they do enough to make it something worth looking at, rather than just someone who is there to take some pictures and get paid. Mark seems to really care about his work, as well as his clients' satisfaction.
Site Design
The site, while intuitive and easy to navigate, seems to be lacking a bit in the design area. Perhaps in the near future there will be some renovations, however I have to put more emphasis on ease of use than aesthetics. What can I say? The layout works, the site isn't confusing, so it gets points with me.
Score
Mark Oristano seems to take great pride in his work, and for good reason. His pictures are very nice. My only gripe is that the site design could use a bit of touching up, but again, I emphasize functionality over looks. I'm going to have to give this site an 8 out of 10 points. If you are in Dallas and need some pictures taken, go have a talk with Mark. I'm sure you will be happy with that decision.
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Is Squidoo a Viable Way to Make Money Online?
For those of you who have no idea what I have done, I decided to check into the Squidoo zoo and see what the buzz was all about. I know Squidoo has been around for a while now, but I'm slow. Really, my laptop is running Windows 98 (and it a Pentium 133), hence the attempts to make some extra dough.
My lens, How I Get Money to Burn, has been online for about 2 days. With only the 20 or so visitors, I have earned affiliates in a couple different programs (just a couple signing up for a few programs can make a difference). Of course, these programs aren't designed to make anyone rich (except their founders), but the fact is that a little money CAN be made with them. The trick? Don't focus on completing thousands of offers. Instead, get tons of affiliates and let them do the work for you. Lazy? Not really, because affiliate marketing, as I am learning, takes quite a bit of effort and critical thinking. But one way to give your marketing a kick in the pants is to start a Squidoo lens about whatever it is you are marketing. Naturally, people will find it, and eventually (if your page is motivational enough), you will start seeing some outclicks to your stuff.
Personally, I like the idea of being able to set up a free mini-site in a matter of minutes on a reliable host where you can make money, not only from what you are marketing to your viewers, but also through royalties based on what Squidoo earns via your lens.
Squidoo seems to be a very good way to help promote your affiliates and/or services, and is definitely a good tool to help boost your revenue.
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Review: DotEasy – Web Hosting
After all of the trouble I have had in the past with hosting services, one would think that I would be completely jaded toward hosting companies. And although I have settled on my present host, I would like to share some information about another host (of whom I have heard quite a few good reports), http://doteasy.com/ (DotEasy).
One of the things I look for in a host is their budget hosting plan (since I'm cheap). DotEasy offers a free (that's zero bucks, folks) hosting plan that features 100mb storage, 1 GB of transfer (per month), 10 email accounts (each with 5mb storage), multimedia support, and best of all NO forced banner ads. This free account would be ideal for your simple brochure site. This plan does not offer PHP or MySQL support, so you might want to consider one of their paid plans for running that silly blog of yours.
Speaking of paid plans, their most expensive plan runs $20.00 per month, billable in three month blocks. It features 20 GB storage and bandwidth is not metered, so your multimedia blog would be right at home (with room to stretch) on this plan.
If you would like more information on DotEasy and their sweet hosting packages, you can click here:
If things ever go horribly wrong with my current host, I would seriously consider using DotEasy.
If you like these posts and want to stay in the loop, please subscribe to my RSS feed and follow me on Twitter. And if you really like this stuff, you can buy me a coffee! Oh, and if you like being an insider, be sure to join the mailing list...I never spam, but you will get some insider specials!
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