Canon Power Shot SX10IS - Picture Review Detail Level

When you take a picture with the Canon Powershot SX10IS you will see the image in review for a few seconds after clicking the shutter. You can set the length of time this is displayed, and you can choose to simply see the picture, or additional details about the shot.

Press the Menu button on the lower right back of the camera. It's easiest to see this if you toggle the display button to show it on the screen rather than through the viewfinder. You will be shown 4 tabs of menu options, and you want the one that comes up first anyway, the pink camera icon. Use the rocker control button to scroll down the menu till you find the item "Review." Then you can use the rocker (L,R) to toggle the review to off, hold, or 2-10 seconds. If you choose hold the picture will remain in review mode after shooting until you depress the shutter halfway. Press menu again to return to camera mode.

To chose more or less detail on the review display, select the menu as above, and the next item down is "Review Info." Your choices here are Off, Detailed, and Focus Check. "Off" means that you will just see the picture you took in the full frame. "Detailed" presents the picture in about 1/4 of the screen. Shown with that are the histogram, date and time, image number, file size, compression, print list, protection status, and several other pieces of complicated information that I haven't figured out yet.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, it is very easy to accidentally press buttons on the Canon Powershot SX10IS when you pick it up. I learned about changing the review settings after changing them by accident and then needing to learn how to change them back to what I wanted.

Canon Powershot SX10IS - Changing ISO

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.55 Adgitize $.72 Project Wonderful $.01 ______________________ Total: $1.28 Total to date in April $18.13 Total in March $4.88

VIrtual Horse Racing's First Millionaire

In its 24th season, a virtual stable owner at Digiturf.com has become an actual millionaire. Identified as Pillbutt (his online name), he has been racing since 2001. Through good strategies he has bought and sold virtual horses around the globe, and has won 33 of Digiturf.com's Championship race titles.

Digiturf.com is an extremely realistic virtual horse racing venue. Players buy and train horses, manage stables, and enter their steeds in virtual races. Race entries come from around the world, and race in 3-D live animation. Digiturf.com is in its 24th racing season.

Bloodlines and training are important for a horse’s success. When a horse is purchased it comes at a 50% fitness level which can be improved through training and care. Conditions in the virtual races are simulated with various track and weather conditions, and a random element is added to provide that unpredictability associated with real life.

It costs real money to buy a horse and stable it at Digiturf.com. Racing silks are free, but vet services and medicines cost real money. There are entrance fees for races, but the winnings are also real.

For new members, the first horse is free, and can also be entered in some races for free for 30 days.

Digiturf.com

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.04 Adgitize $1.01 Project Wonderful $.02 ______________________ Total: $1.07 Total to date in April $16.85 Total in March $4.88

Using Microsoft Image Properties

You can help organize your pictures without purchasing any fancy software if you make use of the Image Properties functions on any Windows PC. A great deal of information about the picture will already be embedded with it, but you can add descriptions, title, author (photographer), and most interestingly keywords which will tag the photo in a search.


From any file folder that contains images chose one and right click, then select properties. The list I am showing is in text, but you might have the thumbnails displayed. That doesn't matter.


On the General tab you can change the name of the image in case you haven't already named it something other than the camera-assigned number. Don't forget to leave the extension, this will not be added automatically! Notice all the information held here- when the file was created, its size and any time it was modified or accessed.


On the Summary tab, things get interesting! Add another title if you like, subject and author. These are all optional. Sometimes I do this, sometimes not.

The part I really like is keywords. This is like having the ability to place one image in several file folders or categories. Let's say you have a picture of a stunning scarlet maple leaf. Keywords might be red, trees, autumn, color, maple, leaves. Sometime, months later you would like to find all your pictures of maples. From the Windows start menu, click "Search," and then photos. Add the word "maple" to your search field, and all the photos that you have tagged with the keyword "maple" will be located!

In the Comments field you can give more detail. I like to use this to include more specific information about a picture. To continue to maple leaf example I might say "Tree in the SW corner of Mr. Smith's field." If I have two or more shots that I want to keep of the same thing I might add something like "full leaf" or "closeup of veins." Information like this is useful when it's hard to tell two thumbnail images apart and you don't want to bother to open the image to full size.


Finally, if you click the Advanced button from the General tab, you can see lots of detailed information about the image such as f-stop, shutter speed, resolution, and much more.

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.83 Adgitize $.83 Project Wonderful $.02 ______________________ Total: $1.68 Total to date in April $15.78 Total in March $4.88

Concerning the Tax Number and Entrecard

I actually received an answer from Entrecard support in reference to needing my tax ID number. They said "Entrecard requires the tax information for all participants in the cashout." There was no comment on the insecure form.

As I said in a previous post, no other online site that I earn from requires that information until the $600/year threshold is reached. I've decided that I'm not willing to give that information out for the very few dollars I might make in a year. Whether many of the allegations of poor management are valid or not, I won't submit that information via a simple online form. The few other sites that I earn more money from had me submit a regular W-9 tax form, a much more business-like method.

Since this means that I will not be cashing out any credits, I may decide to not accept any paid ads. To date, I haven't really objected to paid ads in theory, although I don't care for some of the particular ads. However, I've just rejected those ones.

I need to think about this a little longer. But if I am not going to benefit monetarily at all from the ads, I'm thinking that I don't feel a need to display them.

Entrecard

web ad income today (3 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.01 Adgitize $.77 Project Wonderful $.02 ______________________ Total: $.80 Total to date in April $14.10 Total in March $4.88

Marble Lines Game- Just For Fun

Thanks to UpFront News I learned of a free flash game that is way too addictive. It's called Marble Lines. As soon as it was said that this will appeal to lovers of Tetris I had to go check it out.

Too true! You try to clear the levels by shooting a colored marble at a line of marbles moving in a track. When three marbles of the same color are together they will disappear. If the marbles reach the drain hole before you clear them, you lose.

There are three tracks, and the levels rotate through these. Levels 1-3, 2-3, and 3-3 are much harder than the first two tracks in the levels. I've cleared 3-3 (the 9th screen) once, and then also 4-1, and 4-2, but 4-3 was impressively hard. Actually 3-3 is pretty tough. UpFront lists his(?) High Score as 64990 points and highest level 11 (4-2).

I've also now made it to 4-2, but a high score of only 54360. Gotta practice!

If you want yet another game to become addicted to, check it out.

Marble Lines

web ad income today (3 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.83 Adgitize $.68 Project Wonderful $.01 ______________________ Total: $1.52 Total to date in April $13.30 Total in March $4.88

B Stir Dynamic Random Post Widget- Update

I have been using this widget since April 6, but I'm not sure that I'm going to keep it. It delivers what is supposed to be a random post from earlier blog entries to entice readers to sample older entries.

However, I have noticed that the same articles keep showing up with little variation. This is usually the fault of a random seed generator that isn't really random.

B Stir Dynamic Widget

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.01 Adgitize $.77 Project Wonderful $.01 ______________________ Total: $.79 Total to date in April $11.78 Total in March $4.88

Is 125 Exchange Worth It?

125 Exchange claims to be a different kind of traffic generator. They don't promise lots of traffic, they propose that their service will deliver quality traffic that is targeted to your area of interest.

I've belonged to 125 Exchange since early February 2009, and I can't figure out if it has been a useful tool or not. They give you 5000 free impressions when you first join. But I can't figure out the system they use to give you impressions after that initial amount is used. As far as I can tell, my banner hasn't been shown on any other web site for days while they are getting an ad on my blog, My Quality Day, that is above the fold by requirement.

I'm open to hearing an explanation of their system that is understandable.

125 Exchange

web ad income today (3 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.53 Adgitize $.69 Project Wonderful $.01 ______________________ Total: $1.23 Total to date in April $10.99 Total in March $4.88

Serradinho Free Pixels

Until they are gone, you can advertise your blog or web site at Serradinho's Free Pixels!

Just head to the site, stake out up to 6 squares, upload your banner and the URL it should link to and you have a graphic link to your site. That's hard to beat for free.

As of today, about 1/3 of the real estate is taken.

Serradinho

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.04 Adgitize $.85 Project Wonderful $.02 ______________________ Total: $.91 Total to date in April $9.76 Total in March $4.88

Express Your Opinion and Earn at MySurvey.com

I have been a member of MySurvey.com for several years, and I really like the opportunity to express my opinion on various products or household practices. You won't get rich there, but over the years I have cashed out over $200. Most surveys are only worth a dime apiece and take about 10 minutes, but sometimes they qualify you for a longer survey worth $1.00 or more.

Some survey sites are looking for more specialized participants, but MySurvey will accept anyone who signs up. I receive notices of surveys around a rate of 2 per week, sometimes more, sometimes fewer. You do need to do them within a couple of days or they will expire.

You can invite friends to join MySurvey and get credits for them. Each time you complete a survey it also enters you into a contest drawing for more points, and every day that you log in you are entered in a daily drawing for points.

Points can be redeemed in cash, discounts on specific products or donated to a variety of charities.

It's really a no-hassle way to have some fun, voice your opinion, and earn a little bit while you are doing so.

MySurvey

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.22 Adgitize $.93 Project Wonderful $.06 ______________________ Total: $1.21 Total to date in April $8.85 Total in March $4.88

Two Annoyances with the Canon Power Shot SX10IS

Although I'm getting used to the new Canon Powershot SX10IS, and am generally pleased with the results, there are two things that annoy me about the camera.

The lens cap will hardly stay on any more. I can click it into place, but within a couple of minutes it is hanging on the end of it's tether.

The battery compartment cover is very difficult to open and close. By fussing with it I can eventually get it closed and locked or open, but I'm afraid of damaging it.

See Canon Power Shot SX10IS - Macro or click on camera in the labels below to find all articles about cameras.

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.02 Adgitize $.81 Project Wonderful $.07 ______________________ Total: $.90 Total to date in April $7.64 Total in March $4.88

Entrecard Opens Applications for Cashout- BEWARE the Insecure Form

Entrecard users will now find a link in their dashboard to the application which, when approved, will give a member the ability to cashout credits at the rate of $1 per 1000 Entrecard Credits.

This all seems straightforward enough. They do need a real life identity and PayPal email address in order to process the cashout requests. I started to fill out the application, but balked before I got to the end. They are asking for a tax ID / SS#. Note that this is an insecure form! That is my first concern.

My second concern is why they need this information at all. I make money from quite a few online sites, and unless I break the $600/year threshold, that information should not be needed at all. When income from one site rises above that (in the USA), then a W-9 form must be supplied to the payer/employer.

So, for now, I'm not signing up for cashout. You should NOT enter your SS# unless they fix this form, even if you are willing to provide it.

web ad income today (3 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.63 Adgitize $.84 Project Wonderful $.02 ______________________ Total: $1.49 Total to date in April $6.74 Total in March $4.88

Oh No! I Just Closed a Tab I Wanted!

And who of us hasn't said that? Well, in Firefox it's easy to get the last few tabs that you closed back again!

Actually, if you just want the most recent one you closed, hit Control+Shift+T, and there it is, like magic!



But what if the one you thought you were finished with was a couple of tabs back? No problem! Choose History / Recently Closed Tabs, and there is the list of the last 10 tabs you closed. Select the one you want or you can reopen all 10!

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.04 Adgitize $.83 Project Wonderful $.03 ______________________ Total: $.90 Total to date in April $5.25 Total in March $4.88

Giving Likaholix a Try

I just signed up at a new social networking site called Likaholix. The theory is that you find other people with similar interests to yourself. You can create interests, so you are not limited to the shallow list of things that someone thinks you should like.

In that respect it is similar to Smallaa, which was a great idea but so difficult to navigate that I pretty much gave it up. Likaholix is very new, so it remains to be seen how well it will do. But new things are often worth a try!

It's a little confusing how to add links to your topics, but I'll update this when I figure it out.

Likaholix

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.03 Adgitize $.81 Project Wonderful $.03 ______________________ Total: $.87 Total to date in April $4.35 Total in March $4.88

11K EC Contest at Nintendo Kingdom

Nintendo Kingdom is running a contest for Entrecard Credits. The NK blog is a Nintendo community perfect for everyone type of gamer, from casual to hardcore.

The contest is a 10K + EntreCard Giveaway in order to promote the blog and to thank all the visitors from EntreCard who have been stopping by and checking out the blog. I will be raffling off 10K EC plus 1k for each advertiser. Here are the current prizes:

Grand Prize (1): 5K EC
1st Prize (1): 3K EC
2nd Prize (3): 1K EC

Head over to Nintendo Kingdom and read the post to see the ways you can gain "tickets" for the raffle.

Current sponsors of the contest are:
Path to the Pegasus Letter

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.06 Adgitize $.75 Project Wonderful $.04 ______________________ Total: $.85 Total to date in April $3.48 Total in March $4.88

Blog Explosion Policy on Money-Making Blogs

Today I received the following message from Blog Explosion concerning this blog.

Sorry your blog has been declined at Blog Explosion as we are no longer accepting blogs that primarily contain advertising, or promote business opportunities.

So there you have it. I'm not sure what else one can say. Guess I should have started this project earlier.

Blog Explosion

web ad income today (3 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.05 Adgitize $.81 Project Wonderful $.05 ______________________ Total: $.91 Total to date in April $2.63 Total in March $4.88

Vitamin B12 for Vegans

A friend of ours has recently been very concerned for his fiance. She had been suffering from muscle weakness and the doctors were concerned that she was developing MS, multiple sclerosis.

The recent diagnosis was perhaps more surprising, yet a relief. She is a vegan and is suffering from a deficiency of vitamin B12. Fortunately this was discovered before permanent nerve damage had taken place, and she will be restored to full health by some changes to her diet.

People who do not get enough B12 may suffer from low energy, depression, lethargy, slowed brain function, and eventually anemia and permanent nerve damage. This is because vitamin B12 is required for cell division and the formation of new blood corpuscles.

Vitamin B12 is not present naturally in any fruits, vegetables or nuts. It is produced by bacteria. Meat, eggs, and dairy products are natural sources.

Although the actual B12 daily requirement is low, possibly as low as 1 microgram a day, vegans need to supplement their diets. Usually 2.4 micrograms is recommended. Some seaweeds, algae and soy products seem to contain B12, but it has not been shown that these are in a form that the body can absorb.

Also, bacteria in the human gut produce vitamin B12, but this occurs too low in the intestines for useful absorption.

Vegans who truly wish to avoid all animal product must add some fortified foods to their diet. Nutritional yeast is one source; as little as a tablespoon a day can provide adequate B12. Supplements in pill form are available. These usually contain 25 micrograms since the body will not absorb the vitamin efficiently.

Vegans need to exercise a little care to protect themselves from a serious health problem.

An Attractive, Useful, Nutritional Widget

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.06 Adgitize $.76 Project Wonderful $.04 ______________________ Total: $.86 Total to date in April $1.72 Total in March $4.88

Save Money at CouponsHouse.com

If you are looking for coupons for savings, free shipping, or promotional offers, CouponsHouse.com has hundreds of offers from thousands of merchants collected on one web site.

Sign-up requires only name, username, and email. It's completely free to use. You can look for coupons in various product categories, or by their association with times of the year (back to school, Mother's Day, etc). You can also search by store.

Each coupon includes a link to the online retailer's web site, and the expiration date. It is your responsibility to be sure to use the coupon code in whatever way the retailer requires. There are over 6000 retail sites in the database.

Members can vote for their favorite offers, email them to friends, and grab the code to put links to ones they especially like on blogs or web sites.

Most of the offers are for online shopping, but a few are coupons to print and present in brick and mortar stores.

CouponsHouse.com

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.04 Adgitize $.92 Project Wonderful $.02 ______________________ Total: $.98 Total to date in April $1.86 Total in March $4.88

Removing Pine Sap with Household Products

So you've taken down the Christmas tree, or cleaned the pine cones out of the yard, or just tried to pick up some broken branches, and now your hands are all sticky with pine sap. Yuk! What do you do next?

Products such as gasoline or paint thinner will cut the goo, but we've learned that soaking our skin in such chemicals is far from a good plan. Are there common household products that will help you clean your hands without toxic consequences? Yes!

Two products will do a fair job. These are plain old vinegar or rubbing alcohol. The vinegar will loosen the sap from the skin and allow you to rub it off. The alcohol will dissolve the sap. However, both of these products leave quite a bit of diffuse sticky residue, and you'll need to wash really well with a grease-cutting soap, such as dish liquid.

The clear winner was ammonia. Rubbing ammonia over my hands almost completely dissolved the sap. There was still a light stickiness, but it was removed with an easy washing with dish soap.

Save your money and don't worry about buying yet another product marketed for a specific use. Many cleaning problems can be solved with just a few basic products.

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.63 Adgitize $.78 Project Wonderful $.02 ______________________ Total: $1.43 Total to date in April $0.88 Total in March $4.88

Get Swagbucks - Lotsa Swag

Swagbucks is a complied search engine interface that delivers extra ads on the first page of entries, and rewards you for this with points called swagbucks. The swagbucks can be exchanged for a large range of prizes.

The search engine compiles results from Google and Ask.com. The top several results will be from the search engines, then there are several entries that are ads related to the search term, and at the bottom several visually presented commercials.

To use Swagbucks you can install their search bar in your browser or simply search from their home page. If you use it for regular search activities you can earn generally from 2 to 10 swagbucks a day. There is no tracking of search patterns or gathering personal info.

There are awards from the trivial to the impressive. Entries into various sweepstakes may go for only 1 swagbuck. Lots of sports trading cards are 10- 20, various songs are 20 and up. At the upper end are $500 gift cards for Saks Fifth Avenue or QVC. Airline miles, iPhones, drum sets, and GPS units are also at the high end, requiring several thousand swagbucks. There really are lots of award choices, over 600 of them.

For the more practical there are gift cards which can be used at places like Target, REI or Lowes. I'm saving for one of those. About 850 swagbucks will get me a $50 card at Lowes. I've been a member for about 6 months and I have almost 300 swagbucks.

If you can put up with just a few more ads, you won't get rich, but you can earn a nice treat every so often for no effort at all.

Swagbucks

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.36 Adgitize $.91 Project Wonderful $.10 ______________________ Total: $1.37 Total to date in April $-0.55 Total in March $4.88

Blog Explosion - Reasonable Traffic Generator

Blog Explosion is a traffic generation site that has been around long enough to have survived some bumps in the road and figured out how to do some things right. For all that, I use it reluctantly because it is very slow and some features are really annoying.

It is exclusively for blogs, which is nice, because you won't see page after page of get-rich-quick or advertising sites. They say that there are almost 90,000 blogs in their membership.

When I first joined it took four weeks for my blogs to be approved. That seems like way too long.

You earn points by viewing blogs in Blog Explosion frames and after 30 seconds you click a number that matches one shown you to get credit for that visit. You have to remember to assign these credits for your blog to be viewed. There is an auto-assign feature but I've never been able to get it to work.

In addition there are some games you can play at Blog Explosion for extra credits. The only one I really like is Blog Rocket. You add your blog to the bottom of a list (costs 1 credit) and it rises to the top as new blogs are added to the bottom. A blog usually gets 5 to 7 clicks before it is rocketed off the top. People are motivated to click on these blogs because there is a chance to win 1000 credits each month.

Other games are Battle of the Blogs where you wager credits and people vote for which blog they like best, a scratch card for credits, and others that I may cover in separate posts. I find them all pretty boring, and they mostly just cost me credits.

I don't like how long you have to wait before you can click to the next blog, but if I remember to log in, do some clicking, assign credits and do Blog Rocket I can guarantee ten or so hits a day. Seems like a lot of work.

One perk that is pretty good is "Ping my Blog." You can enter your URL and it will automatically be pinged by 19 different services.

It's definitely worth a look. You might like some of the games more than I do.

Blog Explosion

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.07 Adgitize $.82 Project Wonderful $.03 ______________________ Total: $.92 Total to date in April $-1.08 Total in March $4.88

Entrecard Answers Question about Cost of Approval Views

Since Entrecard has begun the paid ads being placed in the widget rotation 50% of the time two important questions have been answered in the forum.

The specific question, that many have been asking, was posted "If I'm an advertiser, am I paying for the clicks associated when an blog owner clicks my ad PRIOR to approving it? You know, clicking the ad to check out the site, PRIOR to the ad being actually approved by the blog owner. Assuming I've chosen to to pay by the click in my campaign vs the impression."

The answer: "Posted by Entrecard: nope, you don't pay for that. you only pay for impressions/clicks as served through the widget, and never the dashboard."

And the other question concerns the accuracy of paid ad views vs EC purchased ad views. In the flow chart EC provided, they referred to the decision about whether to show a paid or EC ad as a "coin flip." This terminology was perhaps unfortunate, because that is a 50-50 probability curve, not a promise.

In the forums this was also posted on April 6. "Entrecard: No, it is not a "coin flip" in the precise sense of the term... it is guaranteed 50%"

Just hoping this clears up two small pieces of the confusion.

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.01 Adgitize $.88 Project Wonderful $.04 ______________________ Total: $.93 Total to Date in April $-2.00 Total in March $4.88

Shared Reviews - Status, April 2009

Shared Reviews has been live for about 18 months. You may have seen links to the site promising that you can make $2 per review. That information is completely outdated, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't check out the site.

The premise of Shared Reviews is that reviews of products will be written from a personal point of view. Each review is supposed to tell the user's unique experience. The site currently contains over 36,000 reviews.

Shared Reviews is a great resource to learn about many products that you may see everyday or are curious to learn about.

So, can you earn money at Shared Reviews? At, the moment, only a little bit, but there is hope that will change. Initially there was venture capital to build a body of product reviews, and then the site, like any enterprise needed to be able to pay its own way. The model, from the beginning, has been to share revenue with the writers. After a few rocky months the owners, who are very hands-on with the business, realized that they had to either allow the site to fold or place the sharing on hold until money owed to writers could be fully paid.

Currently, April 2009, the back payments are not quite caught up. However, there is hope that the revenue sharing will begin within a few more months. At the moment you can earn some small cash awards with a great expense of time each month. The owners are also taking applications for a "Bounty" program, by which good writers will be able to make extra cash by accepting brokered writing assignments.

I have belonged to Shared Reviews since October 2007. I have to say that I have never belonged to another online community like the one at SR. Newcomers will be welcomed in the forums, and encouraged. There is no clique of long-time members. I have made several good friends and even moved one of those relationships from virtual to phone calls.

I won't try to explain how one used to earn money there, because there may be changes when the revenue sharing is reinstated. But, in general one gains points by voting for other reviews and when others vote for your reviews.

For anyone who might be interested in writing product reviews I would suggest that you sign up now, write some reviews, introduce yourself in the forum, and get positioned to be a player when the opportunity to make money there returns. How much money? It's impossible to predict. But the site is now self-supporting and has survived its launch. The only way to go is up!

Shared Reviews

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.03 Adgitize $.76 Project Wonderful $.03 ______________________ Total: $.82 Total to date in April $-2.93 Total in March $4.88

B Stir Dynamic Random Post Widget

This is a wonderful little addition to a blog that has been around for a long time. It is sometimes difficult to entice readers to look at earlier posts except by links from newer related articles.

The example above I pulled from another of my blogs My Quality Day. The example nicely shows that you can see the date of the original post, and its title, with a line from the beginning of the post. What the example can't show is that this post will show for a few seconds and then fade into a different random selection. This not only catches a reader's eye, but may draw them into reading an older post. The title is clickable, and will open that post in the same window.

This widget is made by Stuff-a-blog, and is called the B Stir Dynamic Widget. It is very easy to install. Follow the link, enter the URL for your blog, enter a keyword. This should be one word that you would say most represents your blog. You can select

• whether you want a "snippet" of text presented or just a title
  
• whether you want a border or not
  
• how many entries to include, 1-5
  
• a trasparent, red, yellow or blue background

The advanced option allows a choice of UTF-8 or ISO-8859-1 coding (don't even bother with this unless you know you need the ISO setting. Then click on the "Dynamic" button below that. This will bring up a box with the code to enter on your blog. You can only put one box on a blog or the coding will get confused. Grab the code and enter it in one of the sidebars on your blog. If you are not comfortable with inserting code there are buttons to help you with Blogger, or Facebook. I'm off to grab one for this blog right now! B Stir Dynamic Widget

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.08 Adgitize $.88 Project Wonderful $.03 ______________________ Total: $.99 Total to date in April $-3.75 Total in March $4.88

Project Wonderful - Connects Advertisers with the Web

Project Wonderful uses a complex algorithm to manage a system of bidding for ad space on web sites. Users don't really have to understand it very much, once you get used to the idea that it really does work.

When I first signed up at Project Wonderful I put the minimum amount of money in an account ($5.00) and bought a few ads to see how it works. You select a publisher based on categories of ads they have requested, minimum daily price, traffic patterns, etc. You also select a maximum bid and an amount of time you want your ad to run.

The publisher may choose to accept or reject your ad. Some will accept any ad, some will accept repeat ads from previously approved sites, and some will ask to approve any new ad. Once a publisher accepts your ad then the computerized bidding kicks in.

The computer will compare your maximum daily offer against the other bids for ads on a particular site on a regular basis. If there are two ad slots, the first two ads will come in at the minimum bid, which might even be $0.00. Talk about reasonable advertising! But the third request that comes in will force the price for one slot up to $0.01. And so on...

When you sign up to accept ads you must first be approved. If the site is a blog it should have 30 quality posts before applying. Once your site is approved you create boxes to hold the ads. You can choose to accept one or more of seven different sizes of ads, and just follow the instructions to create your widget, which you insert on your web site.

For sites which average about 100 hits a day you are likely to get bids in the range of 1-3 cents a day. I have seen sites that command nearly a dollar a day for an ad, but I don't own one of those yet!

Note that sites which get very few hits and haven't had any bids for 5 days will be automatically delisted. You will be notified if this is in danger of happening.

I received personal emails quickly in response to questions. The system seems to run quite smoothly, and historical earnings and performance data is easy to access.

So far I'm pleased with how well Project Wonderful connects advertisers with small time bloggers. As soon as this blog has enough posts, I plan to apply to add it to the Project Wonderful network.

Project Wonderful

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $1.03 Adgitize $.78 Project Wonderful $.02 ______________________ Total: $1.83 Total to date in April -$4.75 Total in March $4.88

Filipina Blogger’s Birthday Celebration Contest

It's Jade's Birthday at Life of a Filipina Blogger. She is celebrating by hosting a big contest with cash prizes as well as EC credits, ads on blogs with PR rank, and some other miscellany.

At the post, Filipina Blogger's Birthday Celebration, she explains all the prizes, and all the ways to earn points for entry to the contest. The more points you amass, the greater your chances of winning. The contest began on March 21, 2009 and will end on April 30, 2009 11:59 P.M. (Singapore Time). Winners will be announced on May 5, 2009.

See Life of a Filipina Blogger.

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.03 Adgitize $.88 Project Wonderful $.22 ______________________ Total: $1.14 Purchase Entrecard Ads -$10.00 Total to date in April -$6.58 Total in March $4.88

Intex Swimming Pools

Intex Swimming Pools are the above ground inflatable swimming pools which are very easy to Install and maintain. An Intex Swimming Pool is great value for the money and can be installed and ready for filling with water within 20 minutes. Intex Swimming pools come in various shapes, sizes and colors, giving you a lot of options to select from. In addition to being relatively easy to install, an Intex swimming pool is quite inexpensive. You only have to spend just a few hundred dollars. Intex Swimming Pools are a great way to enjoy the summers with your family and they give you and your kids an opportunity to enjoy swimming at your backyard. Now you can buy an Intex Swimming Pool of high quality, online, at reasonable prices.

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.10 Adgitize $.92 Project Wonderful $.02 Intex Pools 200 EC credits ______________________ Total: $1.04 Total to date in April $2.18 Total in March $4.88

Getting Started with PepperJam

Thanks to the recommendation of a web friend, I signed up today with Pepperjam Affiliate Marketing. They are a site which allows you to place ads for specific products on your blogs and web sites. I am going to like that because Google Adsense doesn't always do such a great job of targeting their ads as they claim.

The signup process so far has worked, with a couple of glitches. First of all you have to enter a tax ID # (which may be your Social Security number) on an insecure page. I did it, taking a chance that the likelihood that someone was sitting there waiting for that one little transmission was low, but I wasn't happy about it.

The other oddity is that if you click to be paid by PayPal a pop-up appears saying that you must download a form and fax or mail it to Pepperjam. But there is no form??!!! (Don't know why I didn't see the form. Pepperjam has subsequently contacted me and sent the form by email.)

Affiliate marketing is a real business, so you will have to enter real-life information, name, address, telephone, business web site, and that tax ID number (and VAT number if you are in the EU). You choose up to three ways that you want to display affiliate ads. I chose blogs and web sites, but the list includes things like coupons, email, loyalty programs, eBay, Squidoo, comparison shopping and more. I don't even know what some of the choices might mean. And then you must choose up to three categories, labeled "company categories." I am assuming that means the categories of products you wish to promote. This is the normal type category list. At first glance, hiking and outdoor equipment seems to be missing, but I've seen Pepperjam ads for those products. (That's part of the reason I'm choosing Pepperjam.) Therefore, I'm assuming they are in Sports / Fitness.

I promptly received an email with a verification code. Now I need to wait, up to 72 hours, for the application to be processed and hopefully approved.

I'll keep you posted.

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.11 Adgitize $.75 Project Wonderful $.01 ______________________ Total: $.87 Total to date in April $1.14 Total in March $4.88

Traffic Exchage Business- Update

I've been a member of Traffic Exchange Business for five days now, and I'm really pleased.

One day I had Traffic Exchange Business and Blog Explosion side by side in two tabs, and TEB is definitely faster, and you get points faster. In those five days, with some dedicated clicking, I've earned my way up one level so I now get even more points.

I've added a second blog to the site too. In that time my sites have received 80 hits. I also have banners and text ads running, and have received one click from those. Like all similar traffic generators you need to remember to convert your points and clicks into impressions for your own site, but this is really easy to do in the Members area.

The one thing that is lacking is more people to sign up there! With enough sites to make it pay, this could be an excellent traffic generator. Right now it's top heavy with make-money-online type pages. But that can change quickly as more bloggers sign up.

It is to anyone's advantage to get in early if you would like to try this sort of thing. For every day that you surf 125 pages you get an entry into a drawing for a free month at a higher membership level.

Click the graphic above, or text below, if you would like to try it out. The basic membership level, nicknamed Executive, is free.

Traffic Exchange Business
See Trying Out Traffic Exchange Business

web ad income today (4 blogs, 2 web sites): Adsense $.05 Adgitize $.20 Project Wonderful $.02 ______________________ Total $.27 Total to date in April $.27 Total in March $4.88

My Shared Reviews

This post is not going to be a review of the Shared Reviews web site, but rather a list of all the reviews I have written for them, organized in a way that makes sense to me. (Not necessarily in the way Shared Reviews categories has them) So far I have 100 of my 279 reviews entered here.

Shared Reviews is a community of writers who review products, specifically by sharing their personal experience. I have 279 reviews over there, so it will take me a while to get them all listed here!

KITCHEN

• Recipe Collector Notebooks- Durable and Practical
• Good Cook Timer/ Stopwatch- basic utility
• Rolling 30Q Storage Bin protects dog food
• Bradshaw Silicone Scraper- value at a low price
• Bradshaw Mini-Storage Boxes- nice size and shape
• Old Hickory- Save $100s, Sharpen Them Yourself

SMALL APPLIANCES

• GE 169100 Toaster- Finally, a Good Toaster

STORAGE ITEMS

• Highland Heavy Duty Bungees- Don’t Believe It!
• Keeper Bungee Cords- a classic keeper
• Bradshaw Mini-Storage Boxes- nice size and shape
• Sterilite 3-Drawer Unit- inexpensive organization

BEDDING & LINENS

• Dan River Bed in a Bag- Disappointing

LAUNDRY SUPPLIES

• Febreeze Laundry Odor Eliminator- simply the best!
• Biz Laundry Booster- gets out heavy dirt!
• Febreeze Fabric Spray- absorbs odors well

CLEANING SUPPLIES

• Clorox for Tough Toilet Stains- good but no star
• The Works Toilet - Thick formula- my favorite
• The Works Toilet Cleaner- not as good as Thick
• Zud- got rust? This will beat it!
• Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom Cleanser- not so great
• CLR Cleaner- Great on Lime, otherwise mediocre
• Lysol Concentrate- the standard in disinfectant
• Endust for Electronics- the name says it all
• Nice’n Clean Anti-Static Wipes- handy but wet
• Soft Scrub with Bleach- better than I thought
• Drano Plumbing System- pipe treatment, not clogs
• Soft Scrub Gel- can’t deliver on its promises
• Murphy Oil Soap- gentle effective cleaning
• Dawn Ultra Concentrated Dish Soap- the best!
• Scotch Brite Kitchen Cloth - So Good I Pay Cash

AIR FRESHENING

• Oust Air Sanitizer- Good Product, Good Price
• Neutra-Air Air Sanitizer- Lysol quality- good!

CANDLES

• Country Dreams Honeydew Candle- Wow!
• Seville Row Candle- OK, but disappointing

HOME HEALTH

• Comfort Shampoo Cap Works!
• Band-Aid Blister Block- moderately good, pricey
• Corn Huskers is the Lotion for lotion-haters!
• Gold Bond Athlete's Foot Swabs- Best I’ve Found

NON-ELECTRONIC GAMES

• Uno Attack - Randomness Improves the Fun
• Quiddler- the Perfect Game for Word Lovers

ELECTRONIC/COMPUTER GAMES

• The Neverhood- the PC game I wish I’d invented!

OFFICE SUPPLIES

• Paper Items
  • PrintWorks Labels- laser print: poor results
  • Hot Chocolate Spiral Pad- cute, functional
  • Ampad Pastel paper assortment- acid free economy
• Writing Implements
  • Staples Gel Mini Pens- bright, cute, smooth
  • Bic Wite Out Extra Coverage- As Good as Promised
  • Pilot G2 Pen- Bold Point- mixed review
• Storage and Filing
  • In Full Bloom Accordion File- standard, but pretty
  • Staples Black Wire Mesh CD Holder- Versatile
  • Meijer Sheet Protectors- low quality
  • Oxford Sheet Protectors Clear Economy- archival
  • Century Photo Pro Album- wonderful portfolio!
  • Rubbermaid Snap Topper Box- secure sealing lid
  • Sterilite 7 Drawer Cart- Handy Storage or Sorting
• Other Supplies
  • Quartet White Board- pricey but sturdy & practical
  • Staples One-Touch High Capacity Stapler performs!
  • Royal eX3 Scale- perfect for weights to 3 pounds
  • Casio FX270 Calculator- Powerful but Didn’t Last
  • Offi-Bind 21 D Comb Binder- perfect for light use
  • TV Top Shelf- Does Not Work On All Monitors

ADHESIVES

• Shoe Goo - I Am Amazed

ELECTRONICS

• GE Handheld Cassette Voice Recorder- Doesn’t Work
• CanoScan 8800F- Worth the Price

BAGS / LUGGAGE

• Duluth Trading- Hard Working Essentials
• Samsonite Camera Case- Cute But I Never Use It

SOFTWARE

• Stickies 6.0- Freeware but worth a fortune!

MUSIC CDs

• Planet Squeezebox - Fun and Variety
• Concert Accordion Artistry of Robert Davine- fair

BOOKS- GARDENING

• Moss Gardening- Beautiful and Instructive

CAMERAS / PHOTO ACCESSORIES

• Samsonite Camera Case- Cute But I Never Use It

TOYS / GAMES

• Light-up Bouncy Sonic Balls- inexpensive fun
• Electronic Darts- All Good Except “Beep, You Lose”

OUTDOOR REC EQUIPMENT

• Boating
  • EMS Dry Pack- practical for portaging
  • EMS Transparent Dry Sack- ideal day use bag
• Footwear & Related Products
  • Smiling Mink Waterproof Dressing- it works!
  • Trukke Snowmotion Boots- Simply the Best!
  • Montrail Torre Boots- Probably Good, not for me
• Water Purification
  • Sweetwater Filter- No “Beaver Fever” For Me!
• Tools
  • Swiss Tech MTCSS 6 in1 Tool- small and handy
  • Coghlan’s Pocket Saw- light duty they really work
  • Pocket Chain Saw- handy, strong, useful
• Winter Sports Equipment
  • Ski Bones- an elegantly simple device!
  • Manzella Liner Gloves- Warmth, Fit, Good Price
• Miscellaneous Equipment
  • Unique Sports Products Bat Grip- durable
  • Outdoor Products Internal Frame Pack- Too Cheap!
  • Silicone Water Guard- good spray-on waterproofing

CLOTHING

• Work Clothing
  • Work Gloves for small hands
• Underwear
  • Simple Pleasures Sports Bra- comfort for everyday
  • No Fashion Statement- Just Pure Cotton Comfort
  • Gitano Socks- Soft and Comfy
• Pants
  • Levi Signature Khakis- Classic, Neat Fit
• Shoes
  • New Balance 608- great all-purpose shoe
• Accessories
  • Manzella Liner Gloves- Warmth, Fit, Good Price

PETS

• Pet Health
  • Hartz 2 in 1 Flea & Tick Dog Spray - doesn’t work!
• Pet Care Accessories
  • Rolling 30Q Storage Bin protects dog food
• Pet Toys
  • Pedigree Frame Ball- best dog toy, hard to find
• Pet Food
  • Maggie says “Buy Main Choice Plain Biscuits NOW”

CRAFTS

• Instructions
  • Easy Rugs to Crochet: good designs & directions

GARDEN

• Bonide Poison Oak & Ivy Killer- effective economy
• Mole Patrol- persevere and you can control moles

PEST CONTROL

• Safer Pantry Moth Traps- Not Up To Big Problems
• Mole Patrol- persevere and you can control moles

YARD CARE & SNOW REMOVAL

• They Said No Snow-Blower Would Do Our Driveway!
• Malibu Solar Walkway Lights - Nobody Stole Them

FINANCIAL PRODUCTS

• Foremost - Older Mobile Home Insurance

Shared Reviews