Cubecul

Swimming is Fun

2008-08-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

Swimming is fun. There we go.

Swimming is different from most other sports. While football players are muscular and very fat if linemen, swimmers are considered to be lean. When you're working out, we're swimming out. When you are sitting on the bench dripping sweat and starting to smell like utter crap, we aren't and we keep going like nothing happened.

You have to go use the restroom to take a piss. We stay in the pool and hope the chlorine kicks in fast enough. Less effort, more time for quality exercise. Male swimmers usually have no problem with anything like weight or BMI or height. Female swimmers have to rely on genetics for height, and dry land work for bone density. But that's all part of swimming.

Effort chain:
Swimming > Football > Basketball > Baseball > Sitting

Owned!

Those Histrionic Teenager Shows

2008-07-31T19:53:00.000-07:00

You know what I'm talking about right? Shows like The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Let us take a look here, yes?

The show deals with Amy whose life is flipped upside-down because of a pregnancy. The father just happens to be the sexual conqueror named Ricky.

Now let's stop here. Why is this so bad? So far it's not. It's typical. There's that typical night of confusion and possible drunkenness with the guy who just happens to have slept with every girl in sight. The next morning, the girl wakes up and feels a bit funny. Next, she remembers that neither of them (or possibly the third person) used protection and now she's pregnant. Continue?

Amy falls in a relationship with Ben, the nerd. Ben is like...crazy for Amy and gets very clingy and eventually proposes.

Stop again. That is NOT typical. Not typical at all. It's too dramatic! Nobody proposes after a month of dating. I'm serious. So take this. Those teenager shows that claim to depict teenagers the way they are stretch the reality way too much. Don't believe, but it really is a good source for a solid laugh. That is why I watch them. Pure laughter.

Why I Hate Article Marketing

2008-07-31T17:34:00.000-07:00

Article marketing is tedious. I tried article marketing and could only pull out a fluke of a sale. I know I'm probably exaggerating, but I hate article marketing. I still do it though.

It is a complete pain in the butt to write ten 250 word articles, a total of 2500 words, every day to submit to a certain article directory in order to attract that one $20 sale or those couple of sales. I mean sure, it works. But it takes a long long time in order to set the snowball effect in action. I would rather get a $10 constant stream of income starting today rather than have to put three hours of work nonstop in order to get $20 a day consistently a month later.

I see it as not worth it, but I still do it. Why? Have you seen those images of those huge earnings from Commission Junction or Clickbank? I want those! Article marketing works, but it's just a huge workload to manage. Even if I don't put out 2500 words a day, I am still putting out word counts. It could be 1000 words a day, translating to four 250 word articles, or as much as 4000 if I wanted to.

Work + Hate = Passion to continue. Don't ask.

We Got a New Name!

2008-07-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

We will now be going under the classic and most known name out there in the web, Cubecul.com

Just kidding, but we'll be rolling shortly. As you know, this blog deals with everything from news to money to politics to simple straight life. New posts will be coming in so stay tuned!

Ahh It's Back!

2008-07-30T22:44:00.001-07:00

As You Want It is now back online and functioning!

The Dilley Sextuplets

2007-11-29T15:19:00.000-08:00

On May 25th, 1993, Becki and Keith Dilley were made parents of children. Six children, in fact. The children were sextuplets. The couple met in a Wendy's restaurant in Indiana, where they both worked and ended up becoming friends. They married and decided to start a family. For a year, they mated like gorillas with no results of Becki conceiving. After this, Becki and Keith contacted a doctor and found out about a powerful fertility drug named Pergonal (made from menotropins, which are extracted from urine and used in fertility drugs). Reviews convinced the two that Pergonal would work, and so they tried. In the end, they received sextuplets. Their names are Brenna Rose, Julian Emerson, Quinn Everett, Claire Diane, Ian Michael and Adrian Reed.

Bombing in Sri Lanka Kills Seventeen

2007-11-28T21:35:00.000-08:00

On November 28th 2007 (today), a bomb went off in Colombo, Sri Lanka that sparked fear that the Tamil Tigers, a Tamil nationalist group, could still hold the ability to deeply injure government territory even after the group has suffered waves of attacks in their northern holdings. The Tamil Tigers have waged a political war against the current government of Sri Lanka, demanding a separation from the current nation in order to create a separate state. Led by Velupillai Prabhakaran, this group has proceeded to assault the Sri Lankan government even after peace talk were held. In this most recent bombing, 17 people were killed in the department store. Other bombings that the Tamil Tigers have set into play have killed over 150 government personnel, injuring even more. For example, the Sri Lankan army general Fonseka faced an attempt at assassination by suicide bombing. The attempt failed, but 10 others were killed with 28 (including Fonseka) injured.

The Meaning of Life

2007-11-27T20:35:00.001-08:00

The meaning of life, as defined by Merriam-Webster is as follows:

1 a: the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body b: a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings c: an organismic state characterized by capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction

Aside
from this formality which I find very annoying, life in my view goes to
nothing. Everything is completely worthless. Everything that is done, heard, smelled, felt, etc just determines how much of a person you will be at time of death. It's tough to realize this when you're in a picturesque life because most just don't want to let life go. Those who debate about the important topics like health care or global warming or nuclear weapons are simply afraid of the fact that things will be worthless when the time comes. They are afraid of living pain, because that will go to waste as well. They are afraid of chaos on the world, which also ends as dirt and dust. Once those that pass away do so, they do so. So what? Nothing matters anymore, in their eyes at least. They're dead. They're not able to respond to stimuli. The dead can't stop global warming or another Hiroshima. Everything that they have done will end up as worthless, whether it goes with them or with their ancestors. Sooner or later the human race will perish and the thousands of years spent building our knowledge and advancing our abilities doesn't matter. A new race might appear after us and repeat the cycle. Now according to what I have said, why should we care about what happens? That's sensitivity, and those who are sensitive control the population, but will never control the future. How do detect those who are sensitive? Ask around and see if people use the word 'mean' or the word 'brutally honest'. Those who use 'mean' probably don't know any other definition rather than 'hurts people'. Those who use 'brutally honest' have probably made the same discovery I have made.

So why do we still go and go like life is supposed to be enjoyable and stuff? Why do people think that heaven and hell exist, and God can and will make things better? If people have made this discovery, why even try? It's because the world will not admit it. The world will not admit that life as we see it is useless and all we are doing is changing things around for the worse (global warming yada yada yada). It won't admit that those who succeed don't succeed, they just made a lot of things worthless.

Sony's PS3 Zooms Up in Sales

2007-11-26T21:30:00.000-08:00

For Black Friday and the week before it, the PS3 saw itself off the shelves two and a half times faster than ever before. Price cuts were made, first $100 then another cheaper model was introduced at a $200 cut, from $599 to $499 to $399. After the year where Nintendo and the Wii dominated the market, the Sony has finally made itself competitive and overtook the market with it's sales. The top 10 retailers have reported the surge in sales, however the actual number was not yet available for release.

Lott to Resign the Senate Seat

2007-11-26T20:57:00.000-08:00

Mississippi Senator Trent Lott surprisingly announced his resignation of his position at Pascagoula, Mississippi, where he grew up and served four terms. The 66-year old will leave the post before the end of the year, where a new law is set into action stating that senators must wait two years before lobbying former senators. Lott also had diminished power when he commented a bit on segregation, but quickly regained the public confidence. The 35-year career of the Mississippi Senator will not be ended because of the law, says Lott. He has declared intentions to a vague 'do something else' and financial commitments. The seat that was not expected to be empty until 2012 will be filled again 10 days after the official resignation and an election will be held for the seat on November 4th, 2008. After Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour announced that he will not participate in the running, eyes fell upon two current House representatives, Roger Wicker and Charles W. Pickering Jr.

Lott is the sixth Republican senator to resign his seat. In the upcoming election, the Republican Party will defend 23 slots while the Democratic Party will defend 12. Senators Jon Kyl and Lamar Alexander of Arizona and Tennessee, respectively, are vying for control of the whip position (the whip ensures that all members of the party will vote as the leadership decides). According to plans, Kyl will take the spot and Alexander will support.

Clinton, Obama Slam Each Other

2007-11-25T20:43:00.000-08:00

Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama relentlessly attacked each other as the choice for the Election 2008 Democratic candidate comes closer. Both are turning up the heat on the 'I'm better than him/her' speeches. The recent debate about health plans has exposed the flaws of both viables and entire nation is preparing to accept or reject the Democratic Convention results. According to the Associated Press and Clinton, Obama's plan, if put into action with no edits, will leave 15 million people uncovered for health care and is "a plan crafted for politics, not for people." Obama reacts strongly to this statement and bluntly explains that Clinton's plan is to force everyone to buy health insurance and not tell them how much the fine would be if unpayable. He says his plan allows a $2,500 annual savings and goes very far into cutting costs, which makes him stand out in the Democratic race.

Even the aides of both competitors are suggesting solutions, only to find themselves bombed by the opposing side. The public awaits the Democratic Convention to determine the US's health care future if the next President is a Dem.

Malibu Toast Needs More Butter

2007-11-25T18:39:00.000-08:00

The Malibu fire that has been burning for the past couple of days has finally allowed evacuees to return to their former residence. Malibu is reknowned for it's spectacular housing and it's spectacular celebrities. Flea, who plays bass in the Red Hot Chili Peppers, went back to his home to find a burnt structure worth no more than $10 off the property he was standing on. 48 more houses, like Flea's, were destroyed by the Californian flame and 27 others were damaged. At most, 10,000 people were evacuated and half allowed back to visit their residence.

This fire, like the San Diego fire, is determined to be cause by humans. Today, officials are reporting a 40% control of the flame and no further damage to homes will be speculated. 4650 acres have been burned already with more to come. 1700 firefighters are currently involved with 15 helicopters, 15 airplanes, and 1 fire-retardant drop as well.

Seattle Marathon Starts Again

2007-11-25T13:53:00.000-08:00

This morning of the 25th of November 2007, Seattle Marathon 2007 starts. Today, Seattle is expecting the same weather they receive each year, mid-40s with a 30% chance of rain. The course features some very unique segments that can exploit Seattle's wet and windy weather. Namely, the 3.5 mile run on the bridge which runs over Lake Washington. After runners get past this challenge, they line Lake Washington. Immediately following the shoreline is a 200 ft climb located 20 miles into the marathon. This segment, from the bridge onwards, separates the joggers from the runners as the lactic acid can ruin your emotions when trudging up the hill.

To help with this, 15 aid stations are placed throughout the course. They stock themselves with water, gatorade, and energy gel (only if its one of the more important stations). As Coach Joe English advises, try to use these as much as possible if you regularly train with them.

This year's favorite for the women's race as of pre-race is Trish Steidl. Her husband Uli Steidl is not attending this race because he is planning to race in California. Shame, because Uli has competed in the last 8 years and is not here to defend his title.

Fit for an Atheist

2007-11-25T09:54:00.000-08:00

The 79th edition of Carnival of the Godless is now posted up at Sexy Secularist! We have a nice poem guiding us through the day and guess what? I'm in there too! ^^ So go ahead, check out the Carnival here.

5 Ways on How to Really Get Into Your Blog

2007-11-24T20:45:00.001-08:00

I've read on countless posts that most blogs die out or fade within the first 6 months of creation. Yes, it's true, just like how most small businesses die within the first year or two. Here's how I've been dedicating myself to this blog and how I think blogging and be more exciting:

1. Continuously make your blog better - Think of ways how you can improve viewership to your blog. Think of ways to find other blogs that will communicate with you. After all, communication is basically everything on the web. I've been trying to improve visits to As You Want It and using certain tools to make it better truly works. For example, I've been surfing other blogs and commenting, leaving a link for a visit. Sure it's cheap, but it works, so it becomes a bit more fun to see another person from Canada view your blog or someone from New York reading your post about Black Friday. Find ways to improve. There's always room, so get comfortable.

2. Write about what you like - There are times where you just can't stand your blog niche anymore. No worries, it's normal. Try to research more into the latest developments of your niche and pick out something that you enjoy and can give your honest opinion about. If you can give a good, solid opinion with reasons, you've just created the best post ever. When you post it, no matter how much people love it or hate it, it's a good post since effort was put into it. Plus, it's obviously easier to write about things you enjoy, yes? Alternately, you can write outside of your niche. It's offtopic, sure, but there's no reason why the creator/editor/author of a blog can change it up a bit right? This can also expose your blog to new readers. Which is good anyways, as stated in point 1. Remember, it's your blog.

3. Communicate within your blog, your niche, your community - It's no fun just typing away at topics and find that your readers don't really care about you. Interact with those that leave comments. Visit their blogs and comment. Make friends. Find blogs in your niche, or just blogs in general, and discuss some stuff with anyone you meet. It's a great way to find link exchange and friendship as well. You develop trust outside of your own URL and can easily find yourself with a bunch of blogs able to link to. Trust me, it's very enjoyable to look at a post that you wrote and say "I just helped out someone with traffic." or "I just shared." Find others that blog like you do.

4. Get your friends/family to rate - Fun from your blog can also come from getting improvement tips from your friends and family. They are the closest to you and know what you're like. I recently asked my brother how he thought I was running this blog, and he said something like "You were never like that the last time I saw you." which meant that I was writing out of character. Find close ones who really know you well and ask them how you're doing. Maybe the more formal route will attract readers and overall 'better' or the more informal and relaxed route will attract those who enjoy that kinda stuff. Don't be afraid of personality criticism. It's good to improve.

5. Create your own story - I've been thinking about this one a lot lately. What if I could take my own niche (just personal blogging) and create an alternate world? It's possible for pretty much any topic/niche and just requires some active creativity. For example, if I was a guest author for Engadget, I could make up an entirely new person named Jeff and have him explore the future's technology. This is a great way to both find your focus and get back into gear. Go ahead, be creative.

As you can see these are just 5 easy ways to have fun again and go beyond the simple lines of text many see within the first 6 months of opening a blog. Have fun.

Hogan Brings Another One Down

2007-11-24T18:18:00.000-08:00

Linda Hogan has filed divorce from popular wrestler and reality TV star Hulk Hogan, who's real name is Terry Bollea. Linda, according to Hulk, has been in California for a mere three weeks and had done the separation without Hulk's knowledge. A reporter informed the wrestler of the event and he replied with a simple "Thank you for the great information". The couple stars in Hogan Knows Best, a show that airs on VH1, with their kids Nick and Brooke. The family moved from Clearwater, Florida to Miami, Florida in an attempt to better their chances at the success of Nick and Brooke in singing and acting. Nick was arrested a couple weeks back on November the 7th for reckless driving after his passenger, John Graziano, was severely injured in a car crash.

This came on as a surprise to many, including Hulk himself. He had never expected this sort of action and it's a terrible way to break it to someone that you don't love 'em. We'll see how he takes this, I guess.

Apple Cup Number 100

2007-11-24T17:02:00.000-08:00

The century old celebration continues to astound fans. Apple Cup 2007 marks 100 years of rivalry between the University of Washington Huskies and the Washington State University Cougars. In all of these meetings since 1900, excluding 2007, UW Huskies have won 64 meetings, the WSU Cougars with 29, and 6 ties between the two. Starting with this years meeting, Boeing will officially sponsor each Apple Cup as the competition gains fame. Students are awaiting the game results and the two 4-7 teams are preparing to duke it out in the very special version.

The two teams have received high ranks in the past couple of years. This year, they have barely received a good ol' talkin-bout on even the most barely watched shows of community programming, let alone ESPN. UW hopes to begin another win streak and WSU hopes to stop another.

Titanic Reborn

2007-11-24T16:38:00.000-08:00

The M.S. Explorer, a cruise ship touring the Antarctic, hit an iceberg and started to slowly submerge itself, just like the Titanic. This time, passengers and crew were more aware of the situation and immediately began to evacuate the vicinities as icy water filled the vessel. On lifeboats and inflatable rafts, the temporary inhabitants of the Canadian cruise ship floated in icy waters and winds waiting for assistance. The Norwegian M.S. Nordnorge arrived four hours later and picked up the 154 people that were left. Everybody arrived at King George Island and is camped in military stations operated by Chile and Uruguay. Several hours after the pickup, the Explorer finally ended it's run and disappeared into the wet unknown.

The Nordnorge has also been in previous rescues when another Canadian ship, the M.S. Nordkapp, went down on a remote island. 294 people were rescued.

The Other Power Crisis

2007-11-24T16:28:00.000-08:00

Lebanon President Emile Lahoud left his position yesterday, hours after issuing state of emergency and ordering military to secure the nation. The divided country is set into a pace of turmoil after the resign and the opposing leader Fuad Siniora, who is Prime Minister, seeks to calm this. Citizens are fearing a vacuum of power as one side of the political party has no successor and the other can easily control the nation. Parliament has scheduled a meeting on November 30 for the selection of a new President. Although this action is swift and completely appropriate for the situation, the citizens are doubtful. Possible nominees include General Michel Aoun, who represents the pro-Syrian Hezbollah and Samir Geagea, who represents the pro-government Christians and who went against the General's claim that he (Aoun) was the only choice that was logical to choose. US State Department has pushed faster conduct of government but also cautions the US citizens of further disruption within Lebanon.

Parliament has acted well as of yet, but needs to continue this action to receive the proper trust that is needed for a stable nation. The division between pro-Syrian and pro-Western unsettles the situation and the unled pro-Syrian side has added to the great tension.

Finding Your Blog Niche

2007-11-24T12:22:00.000-08:00

Finding your blog niche is very difficult. Since I love swimming and music, I had once decided to make this blog about sports or music updates. But hell, that got muddled didn't it? Personal blogs are pretty much covered in just about all areas. Talk about what you want to talk about, not what you have to. An example of a great personal blog is Indulging in my Own Pleasures. Melody Cheng simply writes about her life and how she views things. Simple isn't it? Another less 'colorful' blog is Matters Of Little Consequence who's posts are those of a true storyteller. As you can tell, both blogs show the real person behind all of the posts. This is, basically, why I chose to create a similar blog, As You Want It.

Dealing With Turkey Leftovers

2007-11-24T10:52:00.000-08:00

Leftover Turkey always seems to be a chore, even after Black Friday. Here are some recipes that I've found for the 'bad stuff'.

All recipes pulled from about.com

Turkey Stock

INGREDIENTS:

1 turkey carcass
3 sprigs parsley
2 medium onions, sliced
3 ribs celery, cut up
2 medium carrots, cut up
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons dried leaf thyme
2 teaspoons salt
dash pepper

PREPARATION:

Break up carcass and place in a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Add remaining ingredients; cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer over medium low heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 3 to 4 hours.

Cool slightly; strain broth into a bowl. Refrigerate then remove fat from top of broth.
Makes about 4 cups of turkey stock.

Turkey Broccoli Quiche

INGREDIENTS:

1 9-inch pie shell, unbaked
3/4 cup chopped fresh broccoli
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup chopped cooked turkey
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

PREPARATION:

In a large skillet over medium-low heat, cook broccoli and onion, stirring frequently, until tender. Drain.

Sprinkle broccoli and onion, turkey, and cheese into prepared pie shell.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs slightly; beat in half-and-half, curry powder, and salt.

Pour egg mixture over turkey and broccoli mixture. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 325° continue baking for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Turkey Pie

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey, shaped into 1-inch balls
1 large onion, thinly sliced
8 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots, thawed
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
purchased or homemade pie crusts for 2-crust pie

PREPARATION:

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground turkey balls. Cook until lightly browned, gently shaking to brown all sides and keep balls round. Remove turkey to a bowl with a slotted spoon.

Add onion to the pan drippings and sauté for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and continue to cook until mushrooms are tender. Remove vegetables to a bowl. Add wine to the skillet and stir to loosen browned bits. Add soup; bring to a boil. Stir in peas, turkey, onions, and mushrooms. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 425°. Blend egg yolk and water in a small bowl. Prepare pie crust. Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry, leaving about a 1-inch overhang. Fill pie with turkey mixture. Brush edge of pastry with egg yolk mixture. Arrange remaining pie crust over the filling. Press top and bottom crusts to seal and flute edge of crust. Brush edge with more egg yolk mixture. Bake 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Serves 6.

Turkey Rice Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 to 3 cups cooked rice
1/4 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 cups diced cooked turkey
6 pimiento-stuffed olives, sliced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup cornflake crumbs or other crumb topping

PREPARATION:

Combine cooked rice, curry powder, chopped onion; put in a shallow baking dish. Top rice mixture with diced turkey and sprinkle with olives. Mix soup with milk, pour over turkey. Sprinkle cheese and cornflake crumbs over top.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.
Serves 6.

Turkey Salad

INGREDIENTS:

6 ounces wild rice
4 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms
1 cup fresh torn spinach
3 green onions, with tops, thinly sliced
2 cups cubed cooked turkey
tomato wedges or slices
.
Dressing:
1/4 cup salad oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar

PREPARATION:

Cook rice according to directions; cool. Add mushrooms, spinach, onions, and turkey to the rice. Arrange in serving dish, with tomato wedges for garnish. Mix all dressing ingredients; pour over salad.

For best flavor, refrigerate dressed salad and serve the next day.

Turkey Divan Soup

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups turkey stock or chicken broth
1 medium clove garlic, minced
2 cups whipping cream or heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon ground black or white pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped blanched broccoli or thawed frozen broccoli
2 cups leftover cooked turkey
4 ounces ham, cut into strips

PREPARATION:

Melt butter over medium-low heat in a Dutch oven or stockpot; sauté onion until soft. Add stock and garlic. Stir in cream and seasonings. Heat for 10 minutes, but do not boil. Add cheese, broccoli, turkey and ham; continue to heat, stirring, until cheese melts.

Serve immediately.
Serves 4.

Turkey Pot Pie

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots, thawed under cold water
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 3/4 cups turkey or chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
2 1/2 to 3 cups diced cooked turkey or chicken
Pastry for 9-inch two crust pie, prepared or purchased

PREPARATION:

Drain peas and carrots; set aside. Heat butter in 2-quart saucepan over low heat until melted. Stir in flour, onion, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat then stir in broth and milk.

Place back on heat; heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in turkey and vegetables. Prepare pastry. Roll 2/3 of the pastry into a 13-inch square; ease into ungreased 9-inch square pan. Pour turkey mixture into the pastry-lined pan. Roll remaining pastry into 11-inch square; cut out designs with small cookie cutter. Place square over filling; turn edges under and crimp. Bake in 425° oven until golden brown, about 35 min.
Serves 6.

Together these recipes should serve one day then the next as well.

Top Ten Ways to Write a Blog Post

2007-11-23T21:49:00.000-08:00

Here are MY top ten ways to write a blog post.

10. Write a poem with each blog to express how you feel about the topic.

9. Make fun of something you saw or heard on the news to make yourself feel better.

8. Google something and give your thoughts on what you find.

7. Write about what someone else told you to write about.

6. Make a blog post about just...what your dreams are.

5. Find someone who will pay you to write something on a popular blog. Describe the situation in your own blog post and see how many flaming bloggers come and destroy your comments section.

4. Find a hot topic that has just hit the web and quickly write 10 posts on it. 'Switching your blog focus' just to get viewership is risky, but sometimes works. I have yet to do so.

3. Dedicate yourself and your blog posts to a certain topic that is so strange that you will be first to hit the blogosphere with this grand idea. Everyone will want to copy you.

2. Write about making money online. Though it's repetitive, it's fun to talk about money and how you can make it online through blogs and other opportunities.

1. Simply put, have fun. Write about what makes you happy for the time being. Don't mind viewership or subscribers or how many ad clicks and such. Write about something that makes your life a bit better.

Making Money Online

2007-11-22T13:04:00.000-08:00

Sure. We all know how people can make money online. This includes affiliate programs like Amazon Associates, selling ad space, and using traffic to click ads like AdSense. Why are these programs booming with popularity within the online community and how is it starting to fail in it's uniqueness?

More and more bloggers are aiming to monetize their blogs in an attempt to create a small income stream for personal use. Because of this, the programs are either starting to reduce their conversion or click to earn rates to account for the amount of users in this method. PayPerPost, a program that pays for a requested topic through application and such, has payed hundreds of dollars per user, assuming that they were long term. This is quite a sum of money, and unless there's some way to increase sponsorship and advertisement, that sum of money will go down to future users. Alternatively, they could cut down on the number of users, which drives the potential traffic down and the advertisements/sponsorships down. I wish to see programs building and providing income, no matter how big or small, to bloggers who wish to go fulltime.

I have added AdSense to this blog to test it's ability. For anyone reading, please click once to support this blog, but only if you really want to see me keep going. My bills are starting to get out of hand and sooner or later I'm going to start commuting to the library to blog over there. So please, click it. ^^

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T09:11:00.000-08:00

Happy Giving of the Thanks to all of ya ^^

Here's some random facts about today and how it originated:
Thanksgiving is celebrated on the 2nd Monday of October in Canada
The earliest Thanksgiving celebrations were in 1619 and 1621.
When 38 English settlers arrived on December 4th, 1619, they celebrated the first Thanksgiving.
Turkeys are able to adapt to a wide variety of habitats. However, most turkeys are found in hardwood forests with grassy areas.
The best time to see a turkey is on a warm clear day or in a light rain.
Turkeys have heart attacks. When the Air Force was conducting test runs and breaking the sound barrier, fields of turkeys would drop dead.
Turkeys can drown if they look up when it is raining.
Turkeys spend the night in trees. They fly to their roosts around sunset.
Turkeys fly to the ground at first light and feed until mid-morning. Feeding resumes in mid-afternoon.
Gobbling starts before sunrise and can continue through most of the morning.
A wild turkey has excellent vision and hearing. Their field of vision is about 270 degrees. This is the main reason they continue to elude some hunters.
A spooked turkey can run at speeds up to 20 miles per hour. They can also burst into flight approaching speeds between 50-55 mph in a matter of seconds.
Benjamin Franklin wanted the national bird to be a turkey.
52 Pilgrims attended the 'First Thanksgiving' in 1621
Approximately 50 Native Americans attended the 'First Thanksgiving'
This 'First Thanksgiving' was actually a secular event that was not repeated. A Calvinist Thanksgiving actually did occur in 1623 and did not involve sharing food with the Native Americans.
The first National celebration of Thanksgiving was declared in 1777 by the Continental Congress. However, this was not an annual event.
In 1863, two national days of Thanksgiving were declared
Each year the President declares a day of National Thanksgiving.

The Good, The Bad, and the Godless

2007-11-21T21:17:00.000-08:00

Here's my view on the entire subject of gods and other higher forms of life. Gods can't exist assuming that we're not in a video game like the Sims, with Player 1 clicking objects and telling us to 'Use Toilet' or 'Clean Counter'. If gods existed at all, there would be continuous contact like what is mentioned with prophets and such. What would make the gods stop their contact with us? Why would they just tell 5 people what they know and stop for hundreds of years? It makes, clearly, no sense. The original message from this so-called 'God' or 'Allah' or whatever has been manipulated with people slightly editing the message to their liking. If this is true, the message is completely tainted and people should cease to support what they believe.

My father told me that 'Everyone needs food for the physical body, and soul food for the spiritual body' when I asked him why people are members of an organized religion. Is he saying that people need to believe in something that's not quite there in order to survive? Hell, I'd love to sit on a deserted island and thinking about pumpkin pie which just happens to be not quite there. Would that help? Absolutely not.

For the debate between evolution/science vs. intelligent design/creation (2 people started everything), I take the side of evolution/science. Why? Explain why there's no evidence of God, Adam, and Eve when you say there's no evidence of a second Lucy. I'll tell you why there's no second Lucy. Early humans could have died in multiple fashions, including drowning and burning. Drowning can send the remains into the deep ocean and yes, that will take a long time to find the bones. Burning can char the bones and make them brittle, thus decomposing the bone's entirety with greater speed. If Adam and Eve were humans, there would be remains right? And most likely, the remains would be on land if the two were so smart as to not drown while swimming the sea.

Regardless, this can go both ways. The real reason why I believe science rules over a crazy idea is because there's more than a repeatedly printed book that supports the theory. I see no reason to believe that there's a god. This is how I live my life, godless and a nonbeliever.