Before going to Blog World Expo and PostieCon earlier this month, I ordered business cards. I knew that I’d be meeting a lot of people in a short span of time, and business cards would be the best way to get someone to take home my email and URL with them. Aside from that, expos like this typically do lots of drawing and door prizes, which require you depositing a business card into a fish bowl. Who am I to turn down the chance to win things just for donating a business card?

I knew before I ordered that I wanted unique business cards - something that wouldn’t be tossed into the trash at the end of the day. I also wanted my card to represent ME. Since I’m a blogger, and my work is virtual, I opted to leave traditional contact details like an address and phone number off my card. Instead, I included my name, my email, and the address of my main blog. In addition, since I had gained a bit of space by deleting the address area, I typed up a short blurb about myself and my blogs. I chose bright, contrasting colors (orange and green) to make my card stand out, and added a bit of visual interest with a small logo of a computer. This gives people a clue as to who I am and what I do even without reading the text.

The end result was an eye catching business card that covered who I am, what I do, and how to contact me. I exchanged quite a few cards at the event, and I’ve had quite a few people contact me since receiving my business card. I didn’t win any of those door prizes though!

What does your business card say about you?

Ever wondered what Mike Arrington would look like if his picture was put on LOLCats or I Can Haz Cheeseburger?

Your days of wondering are over…I’ve done all of the work for you, and you can see it for yourself at my most recent post on Simple Kind Of Life, entitled “How Low Can He Go?” I’ve taken a lesson from Mr. Assington’s…opps, ARRINGTON’s book…and figured out that by insulting him, I can increase my blog’s traffic. After all, that’s why he goes after PayPerPost so often…right? It’s certainly not because he’s trying to report on NEWS and newsworthy happenings in the blogosphere.

Isn’t it amazing what the internet has done for all of us? It’s given people like me a way to meet new friends, be entertained, solve problems, and spend money - all from the comfort of my own home. When I think about how just a mere 10 years ago, I was forced to leave my home to order Christmas cards, or go out to playdates for us to meet new people - well gosh, I’m sure glad the good ole’ World Wide Web is here.

And the internet has also given a lot of us the platform to talk about the things we love the most, be it family, technology, or even shopping. I always longed for a place where I could talk to people about the great deals I found on the endcaps at Target, or how I got up at 5am one year to go shopping on Black Friday. Or how about just a place to find out about great products and shopping you didn’t know about previously? ShoppingAddicted.com is just the place - a place where you can read just a few entries and be inspired by the gift ideas presented, or learn why the PS3 is different from the PS2. The site features reviews on both products AND websites, and even where to find the best prices on featured products.

This shopping addict gives it 2 thumbs up!

We’re slowly but surely wrapping up our Christmas shopping…I know, I know - it’s not even December! I’m never on the ball like this. We purchased Guitar Hero III (with 2 guitars) for the kids, and I’m thinking about getting them Rock Band as well. It’s a Guitar Hero-ish game that has room for a guitar player, a drummer, and a singer. See that - 3 players in the game, and I have 3 kids. Perfect! My only issue is that the game requires a lot of “stuff”. You need the guitar, the drum kit, and the microphone. Unless I can use my Guitar Hero guitar with it, that means finding the money and space for more stuff.

I’m going to have to investigate further before making a decision.

With each year, my son gets more and more interested in video games. We gave the kids a Playstation 2 for Christmas last year, and while the girls do play on it, it’s my son who plays it the most. On his list for Santa this year, he asked for an Xbox, and I had to break the news to him that Santa isn’t going to bring him a second gaming platform.

Santa IS going to bring him more games and gaming accessories though. Last year, shortly after we got the PS2, I bought myself a wireless controller so that I could play from the couch. A few months after that, it was Guitar Hero, and a wireless guitar to go along with the game. This year, we’re adding Guitar Here III to our collection, with TWO guitars. What’s next? Probably something like this AudioFX Pro 5+1 Headset. Designed by BenHeck, this headset features surround sound in a sturdy unit, which is especially important when an 8 year old will be one of the primary users. It’s got a microphone which will let him enjoy multi player games down the road, or I can borrow the headset now and test out that feature on his behalf. (Call of Duty, anyone?)

At the very least, it will keep me from hearing the noise of his games, especially his latest - Kill All Humans. That game is working my very last nerve, and I’d very much like to hear it silenced, without him missing out on any game time.

My friend Ang had an article written about her that’s gaining quite a few Diggs. The piece was originally published on CNET News.com, and was republished by a blogger who got it on Digg.

Aside from the asinine comments a few assclowns have left on the Digg.com link, it’s a nice little piece, and highlights the fact that it’s not just A-list bloggers making cash online. Many people are paying their mortgage, or enjoying vacations, or having a debt free Christmas, thanks to this relatively new found blogging income!

While I was stumbling last night, I came across a blog entry about Jeremy Schoemaker (aka Shoemoney) and a huge Adsense check he earned 2 years ago. How huge was it? How about $132,994.97? Nice payday, huh? I wondered how one guy made that much cash with advertising in a month, and the answer dropped into my lap this morning. Shoemoney is the guy behind NextPimp.com, a site devoted to supplying users with completely free ringtones. It’s quite the success too, with 3 million ringtones in the database, and half a million users of the site.

I’ve been paying upwards of $3 for ringtones, so I checked out what the site had to offer. You’ll find free ringtones for Nextel, Sprint, Cingular, T-Mobile, & Verizon phones. I’m assuming since Cingular is now AT&T, I’m covered. So are these crappy midi tones that no one wants…not even for free? Not even close. I found ringtones featuring the Black Eyed Peas, Ludacris, Guns N’ Roses, and Maroon 5. Sweet! Amp up your free membership by becoming a premium member and enjoy access to more features, options, support, and exclusive downloads.

It’s the kind of site I wish I had thought of first!

With vacation and such, I was out of the office for a few weeks. I wanted in this morning, much to the amazement and delight of my coworkers, only to find that some assclown had dirtied up my desk while I was gone. For pete’s sake - if you’re going to borrow someone’s personal space, at least have the decency to throw away your nasty coffee cup, and clean up the coffee rings you left all over my desk!

Also, whoever took my wastebasket, please return it. If not, I will begin throwing my trash at random coworkers.

I had the pleasure of calling our pediatrician this weekend, and it was after hours, which means I got his answering service. Why do these companies always make me feel like I’m a pest for daring to call the doctor after 5pm? Just for once, I’d like to get an answering service on the phone that has their act together, and judging from the feedback on this telephone answering service, they’re out to impress. The 1-800 We Answer Answering Service has been in the biz for 35 years…and they’ve impressed thousands of clients, and no doubt thousands of people like ME who call the businesses they represent. They offer:

• Telephone answering
• Fax
• Mail
• Call center services
• Virtual office services
• and COURTEOUS operators!

Don’t let your bad answering service give your customers a poor impression of your business!

You have to wonder what stupid kids like this did before the internet. Before, their acts of complete stupidity were limited to an audience of a few friends and classmates, but now, with the world wide web, we can all point and laugh. (I’m just happy none of my kids have tried something like this yet!)

Kid Sticks Face In Fire Ant Hole - Watch more free videos

Our neighbors have started putting up their holiday light displays, and some are pretty amazing. We’ve got one neighbor who is a little OCD about his lights, and everything is even, symmetrical, and laid out with a careful plan. We’ve got another neighbor who has 3 lit trees in his yard that are hooked up to music, and the lights on the trees go off and on and change color with the beat of the music. It’s pretty amazing! Our own light situation isn’t so great - in fact, out lights are painfully sad. They’ve fallen down off the roof twice already due to the rain and storms, and I’m sure we’ve broken a few bulbs. I’m ready to toss them all and start off fresh with the new LED holiday lights I’ve seen in the stores. They last longer, use less electricity, and they don’t get hot, so the house won’t burn down. LED lights are encased in a special expoxy plastic bulb that’s virtually indestructible, which is just what we need with the weather we’ve been having.

Until we get our lights hooked up (again), I’ll just enjoy everyone else’s. I’m definitely getting a lot of great ideas on how to take our holiday display to the next level.

I’ve spent entirely too much time playing Tower Blaster here today. It’s the perfect game for killing a few hours on the last workday before a 4 day holiday. Mindless, quick, relatively simple…

and oh so addicting!

Each month, I get comments and emails from bloggers and blogger wannabes asking me for advice on how to set up websites or new blogs. I can set up a new Wordpress blog in my sleep, but it’s been a long time since I’ve set up a non-blog website. Try ten years! And back then, I used FrontPage or hand coded my HTML pages. My, how times have changed!

Now there are site building programs that work with a PC or a MAC that allow you to set up your own website in a matter of minutes, for less than $25. StirSite, for example, gives you a free website builder software trial so you can see if you really like the program before you buy. Set up a website for your business, start a store, create a team homepage, or give your non-profit a web presence quickly and easily. You’ll find features within StirSite like:

• Easy to change layouts
• Links page
• Photo albums
• Multimedia - upload videos or music
• Custom feedback form
• Message board
• Calendar
• Mailing list
• And more!

Those things may sound simple to set up to those of you who have the know how to do so, but if you’re new a techie, a product like this gives you a professional looking site quickly!

I was dismayed to get to my hotel in Las Vegas last Wednesday and find out that wireless internet would cost me $10 a day! Thanks to a little utility on my computer, I was able to locate other connections in the area and see what was the strongest, and which were unsecured. The hotel next to mine was offering free wifi to their guests, so I simply logged into that wifi instead of paying for the one at my hotel. The signal was a bit weak, so I only used it for a day or so, but it sure beat paying daily for wifi!

I’m sitting in my family room, doing something I’ve never done before. I’m wireless on my laptop, surfing the web, and sending updates to Twitter, while watching TV. I don’t know why it took me so long to combine my two favorite interests, surfing the internet & television, into one fun pastime. I finally decided tonight that I didn’t need to walk from the family room to the den to check email and IM’s.

The one thing keeping me from doing this all the time is the lack of a mouse. I hate using the touch pad on my laptop. It just doesn’t feel right! I’d feel much more comfortable if I had my mouse and mousepad here at my side…but at that point, it’s not much different from sitting at my desk in the other room!

I started my Christmas shopping this weekend. The first weekend in November is definitely a lot later than I would have liked to start my shopping, and what I did buy wasn’t planned. I happened to be out with my oldest daughter, buying her a few new things, and saw the perfect gift for a family member, AND it was on sale. Once I bought it, I realized I really need to get my rear in gear, because Christmas is in less than 2 months! With our trip to as Vegas this week, I don’t see myself getting any more Christmas shopping until the middle of November, but that’s ok. I’ll have a bit more cash then, so I won’t need to take out a loan to buy what my kids want from Santa. I won’t need to spend the mortgage money either! And, I won’t be using any of my credit cards to buy gifts this year. It’s a little thing I like to call a “debt free Christmas”, and it’s important to me. In fact, we’ve made a pact not to spend as much on junk the kids want, and the bulk of their gift will be a January ski trip. Memories are so much more precious than things!

(And speaking of memories, on my geeky mom list is a digital picture frame for my desk. Hint, hint!)

I’ve discovered Twitter.

When I met with Ted and Ashley and Travis last week, as part of Blog America Tour, I noticed that Ted kept typing what he was doing into his cell phone. It looked like he was texting someone? After throwing him onto the ground and threatening him with his life, he filled me in about Twitter. I went home that night and jumped onto the bandwagon.

I’m trying to keep it real. I know that no one out there wants to read my Twitter and know when I’m going to the bathroom, or to get a drink. I don’t want to read that boring nonsense either. It’s a downer! But for a trip like Blog Tour America, or even MY trip to Las Vegas this week, Twitter is a neat way to keep people up to speed on what you’re doing, without needing to blog.

So yes, you can follow my Tweets on Twitter now. Bow down and follow me!

I love trying new things…especially when I can try them for free, or with someone else’s money, and even make a bit of money in the process. I found out another a freebie from BidVertiser tonight just for bloggers. BidVertiser is a pay per click network that pays you for clicks on ads placed on your blogs. Now you can also sign up for a BidVertiser account, and make money when others sign up for their OWN accounts. And, you’ll get $20 in free clicks! When a user signs up as an advertiser, you make money, and when a user signs up as a publisher, you make money!

The minimum to get paid, vis check or Paypal, is only $10. (Take that, Google Adsense!) Click Here to Signup as a BidVertiser Referral! For more information, read their press release:

BidVertiser is used by tens of thousands of bloggers to make money from their blogs by showing the BidVertiser ppc ads. Anyone can join BidVertiser either as a publisher or an advertiser, but we would like to share a new opportunity that not everyone is aware of:

BidVertiser now opens the the opportunity for bloggers to join as a referral, and as a unique benefit - a $20 coupon of free clicks is included with every referral account! This coupon can be shared and passed on to anyone - by placing a referral button on the blog, by adding the coupon link to a newsletter or even to an RSS feed

Once you signup as a referral, you get your unique referral link which will give $20 in free clicks to anyone that clicks it, adding great value to your blog as well as being a great benefit to your readers. Referral earnings are tracked online in the referral control panel and payments are made monthly, via PayPal or check, with a minimum of only $10.

If you choose to also activate your publisher account, you will also be able to get access to a new set of referral links that will both give your readers $20 in free clicks and will enable them to advertise directly on your blog via BidVertiser, increasing your earnings even more!