Raise your hand if you’ve NEVER had a speeding ticket!

If you’ve got your hand raised, go away, I hate people like you. Driving under the speed limit at all times, keeping the rest of us from getting where we’re going on time. To the rest of you, come closer, my kindred brethren. My last ticket was in 2006, shortly after I moved to my new home. Welcome to the neighborhood, here’s a $150 fine for not noticing that speed limit change! I almost went to court to fight it, but I didn’t know how to fight a speeding ticket. I wasn’t very confident, so I paid my ticket and went on my merry way, albeit a bit slower. I sure could have used TicketBust.com - it’s a new website that will help you fight your traffic tickets, and if you DON’T get your ticket reduced or dismissed, TicketBust.com refunds the money you’ve paid for their services!

I don’t plan on getting a ticket anytime soon, but my lead foot husband chalks them up like he’s starting a collection. I forsee using the site very soon…he’s about due for another ticket!

The 2008 budget hasn’t been approved for my department yet, so until it is, no one is traveling anywhere. Doesn’t sound like a big deal, right? Well, I just completed my annual review, and one of my goals was to attend a certain training by 4/1/2008. Our budget should be approved sometime in February, but if it’s not, I need to figure out another way to get that training in, without the expense of airfare and a hotel in another city.

We’ve done web conferencing a few times for various meetings, but I’ve never set up my own web conference. According to the trainer at work, the software makes it easy and it’s all self explanatory. Sounds good to me - with the pressure of the training I’m planning to take, I don’t need my web seminars to carry a big learning curve!

I love a good after Christmas sale, and this web hosting special definitely qualifies as a great deal! How would you like to have:

• 250 GB of disk space
• 3000 GB of bandwidth
• unlimited MySQL databases
• PHP4
• webmail
• a free domain, for LIFE
• and professional web design tools?

Sound good? It’ll sound even better when I tell you it’s available for a ONE time payment of $95. But hurry! You’ve got to be one of the 1st 1000 people to sign up for the Rudolf plan in order to snag this deal. I’d take it for the unlimited MySQL databases alone - I hate hosting plans that limit those! This plan is normally $60 a year, but you can get it for LIFE for only $95, and that includes the free domain. They take care of the renewal fees, for as long as you stay with THC.

If you’ve been thinking about starting your own blog, a new blog, or a website for the new year, this is a great deal to take advantage of. Sure, it’s a little more upfront, but you’ll be saving money each month when you don’t have to pay for your server space!

I found a blog today, written by a money making blogger after my own heart. The $10,000 Blog Experiment site was launched by Brian Longest in September of this year, with a goal of making $10,000 a month by September of 2008, AND letting others know how to do it. Brian is not only looking into every aspect of blog monetization out there, but he’s letting readers know what works, and what doesn’t via his blog. Everything is completely transparent - from the income he’s made each month ($2.36 in September, $6.60 in October, and $48.71 in November) to his rankings and the marketing tests he’s run on various affiliate programs and advertising networks.

First of all, two big thumbs up for Brian’s blog design. All of the pertinent information is displayed right at the top - mission statement, how his blog started, and most importantly - his income so far. Below that, you’ll find posts Brian has done on various money making opportunities and affiliate programs. The site is organized and laid out well, and although the theme is quite different from what most of us are used to seeing in a blog, I like it.

I mentioned that Brian’s money making progress is completely transparent, and his November marketing analysis illustrates that. At a glance you can view Brian’s blog stats, his income, and expenses. Brian’s goal isn’t just to make money for himself - he’s also trying to educate bloggers on what works and what doesn’t work. His reviews of affiliate programs and other methods of blog monetization are unbiased and clear. He’s saving people a lot of time and headache by sharing his success and failures so openly. Given that his income has started to increase exponentially (it’s doubled each month since his blog launched), I don’t think Brian will have any problem meeting his goal by next September.

We’ve been hearing about GPS in personal vehicles for a few years now - more & more manufacturers are offering built in GPS as an option to car buyers, and you can also buy a GPS as your local electronics store and install it on your own. For me personally, I’ve got a good sense of direction. I pay attention to the direction I’m headed in, I look for landmarks, and I eyeball street signs. That probably explains why I get so easily disorientated when we’re out on the water. When you’re boating or enjoying a day on a personal watercraft, there typically aren’t landmarks, or signs telling you which way the marina is. You’ve got to pay attention to nautical charts and the shoreline and buoys to figure out how to get from point A to point B on the water.

GPS technology is now being used to provide boats with marine navigation made easy! Planning a trip from Tampa down to Key West in your cabin cruiser? Stow your nautical charts and use NavQuest.com to plan your trip. Simply input information about your vessel, where you’ll be starting, and where you hope to end, and NavQuest.com will provide you with a custom trip plan that you can email to yourself or export to your marine GPS. The site also provides information on marine conditions, trip checklists, points of interest, and up to date marine charts. You’ll be able to easily find places to stop along the way, or sights to see with the points of interest locater. Download marine charts or check the radar before planning a day on the water to ensure a safe & fun time for all. This won’t get me behind the wheel of a boat anytime soon, but it make me feel safer about being directionally challenged on the water!

I came across an SEO blog this week that I hadn’t seen before. I read blogs like this from time to time when I’m looking to make tweaks to my blogs…I find angles and strategies I usually haven’t even thought of, and this SEO advice is no exception. I wanted to share this article on how to increase StumbleUpon traffic with you - if you’re not using StumbleUpon to drive traffic to your site, you’re missing out. This article does a great job of explaining the basics behind using StumbleUpon to get traffic to your blog, or specific landing pages / articles, and the author is getting 50-100 visitors a day from the service. StumbleUpon is one of the highest referrers on each of my blogs, and I’ve received as many as 250+ visitors per day using it. Read the comments generated as well, because several readers shared their own StumbleUpon experiences.

I came across a new search engine today. I’m not sure why people attempt to take on Google, but the guy who developed the TigerTom search engine did a a reasonably decent job. I looked one of my blog names, and was #3 on the results list. Not too shabby, but when I use Google, I come in at #1 for the same term. TigerTom gives you the option of searching the web, news, images, shopping, or audio. I attempted an audio search, wondering it it would actually direct me to download an MP3, but I couldn’t find results for any of the terms I used. The query archive doesn’t work, and the searches are slow. I guess I’m left wondering, why not use Google? I’d need to see the benefit to using a site like this.

While Stumbling this morning, I came across this great article on how to maximize your profits on eBay. The author has been buying and selling on eBay for 8 years, and he wanted to share what he’s learned along the way. I don’t agree with all of it, but that’s not to say he’s wrong and I’m right. Different items on eBay attract different audiences, and you may need to tweak his tips to maximize your return.

For example, he recommends listing the item on a Sunday. I’ve found that it doesn’t matter what day that I list an item on, as long as I list it for 5 or 7 days, and I end it on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, with Thursday equaling a nice bidding war.

He also suggests researching your items - YES! Don’t list something without checking out what it’s going for. You may be surprised to find out that the value is double what you thought it would be.

What about eBay add-ons, like the special backgrounds and display options like bold font? He says avoid ‘em, and I agree. But don’t skimp on the gallery listing. For an extra 35 cents, it makes your item appear in search results and attract more attention.

Check out the list for the rest of his tips - it’s a good read for eBay’ers old and new.

If you’ve ever visited some of the websites for major newspapers, you may have been asked to register to view the content. And if you’re like me, the last thing you want is one more password to remember for a site you probably won’t return to. BugMeNot is a neat little tool that you can use to get a password for these websites, without forking over your email address. It can provide you with a working user name and password to access sites like this - and basically, it’s a shared user name and password, available to anyone else on the site as well. For example, if I registered for the NYTimes website, I could then add that user name and password to BugMeNot, so that others could use it to access the site. For that reason, never use a user name and password that you would normally use - make it pretty generic, since you’re putting it on the web for millions to see.

If you’re not using the StumbleUpon extension for Firefox, you’re missing out. It’s social networking, and so much more. For anyone who has ever thought that he’s reached the end of the internet, StumbleUpon will introduce you to a few exits and on ramps you missed in your travels. You can use the Stumble button to find websites, videos, photos, and connect with friends - even see what they like. Anytime I need a laugh, I stumble. This morning I found pictures at just the right angle, how not to use a ladder, and the biblical curse generator (for those times when a simple “screw you” just won’t do!

I’ve got 2,000 MP3’s, at least. Remember the good old Napster days, before 11 year old girls started getting sued for downloading music? I had a cable connection and I downloaded a LOT of music. When I stopped using that computer, I burned it to a CD. Now I’m downloading music again, mostly from ITunes (all legal) for my new IPod. I’d be seriously bent if I lost that music, especially after paying $1 per song for it, but I really don’t want another stack of CD’s with MP3s on them. What’s a girl to do?

Online backup is the answer. I can store up to 2GB of photos, music, files - anything - for free! Ooh, that’s a good idea - storing virtual copies of W2’s and tax paperwork, instead of having it all here in my filing cabinet! Or making backups of your online banking, or your Quicken program. Since IDrive is secure (encrypted with 256 bit AES), your important and personal documents are safe. Online backup isn’t just about saving those cute pictures of the kids, it can be a great tool to reduce the paper trail through your home office!

I know of more than one photographer on Flickr that uploaded work, only for it to be stolen and used elsewhere, without permission. I know of others who want to use Flickr to sell their work, but they can’t figure out how to make the process easy. FlickrCash is a new service that lets you find photographs on Flickr that you can purchase and use, while letting sellers give you the licensing to use that specific picture. I decided to sign up for a free account and see what the buzz was about. (Note: In the next week, the site will be leaving beta, and a monthly fee will be charged. If you sign up now, before the change, you’ll avoid the fee and remain free for life!)

I logged in and was able to search on any term, with the type of licensing. There’s a “find-tool” for image buyers and a “sell-tool” for image sellers. Here’s an example search: Purple Flowers - found by FlickrCash. You can even create a shareable lightbox for clients to give a yay or nay to your photo suggestions. I was able to see previews of pictures, and then create a lightbox, and create a license for the selected picture.

Some of the websites I see on the internet look like they haven’t been touched since 1997. I’ll admit, I was one guilty of creating a homepage on Geocities (cringe) with a theme-y background and cutesy graphics and…*gasp*…an embedded midi file. But I have changed my ways, and I have seen the light.

Check out this little video I made about how NOT to design a website, and then check out osCommerce Templates for some really great, sleek, professional looking templates. I absolutely love what I see!

Calling all geeks, Mr. Wizard wannabes, and Bill Nye types! If you’ve got a passion for science, creating a clock that runs off a potato, building computers from spare parts, or you’re just a plain old geek, this new social networking site is for you. It’s just for technology and gadget geeks, sci-fi fans, or those of you who follow the world of science. (Admit it - you’ve got a science project going in your garage now, right? Just for fun?)

The site is sort of a MySpace for geeks - finally, a place where geeks rule, and the popular kids drool! Make new friends, hook up with old friends, create polls, quizzes, play games, start a forum, share pictures. You can even publish science or technology content and get paid for your contribution! The site is brand new and just waiting for you to unleash your inner geek.

At times, the internet can be a very impersonal place. Oh, I know we all have blogs, and websites, and we put up pictures of our families, and share information like we’re long lost cousins…but, when it comes down to it, we’re all strangers communicating with each other via a modem or a cable connection. I’m not sure that email will ever replace a hand written note of thanks, or a phone call to a friend who needs some support. And personally, I hope it doesn’t!

If you want to do your part to make the internet a bit more warm and fuzzy, here’s a neat idea called MyLiveSignature.com. You can add a real signature to all of your outgoing email - not just a bunch of links and your name, but a real, handwritten signature. Not only can you add it to email, but you can also use MyLiveSignature.com on blogs and forums! I signed up to see how it worked, because I was a bit confused about how I could choose a signature that was similar to mine, or something that reflected my personality, without actually using my own signature.

After creating an account and logging in, I had the option to create a new signature. If you want to really use your OWN signature, you have the option of choosing to use a scanned image. I don’t want to put my real signature on the internet, so I chose to use the signature creation wizard. I put in my first name and was shown a huge selection of fonts (120!), several of which I recognized.

Side note - did you ever stare at a word over and over, until it didn’t look like it was spelled correctly? Looking at your name in 120 different fonts has the same effect.

I picked my font (#78) and chose the size I wanted for my signature, as well as a color and slope. Voila:

If you want to animate your signature, that’ll cost you, and the prices start at $19.99. A bit steep, considering anyone with a bit of knowledge in PhotoShop can do the same thing. Would I pay for the service? Nope, but it was fun.

This is a sponsored review.

I have the StumbleUpon toolbar installed on Firefox, and I use it at least once a day just to amuse myself online, or find new things to blog about. It doesn’t seem to be working today though - did I break StumbleUpon? Is that possible? I’m going to shut down Firefox and start it up again to see if that corrects the problem, and then I’ll try reinstalling the toolbar to see if that fixes things.

Isn’t it irritating when something worked fine hours ago…and you can’t figure out what happened to make it not work?

(Very technical term there - “not work”.)

Moving is a royal pain in the patoot. Since getting married in 1996, I’ve moved 5 times in 11 years. Wow! The biggest issue for me personally, when moving, is packing up my computer stuff and office. I have everything just so, and I have to break it down, pack it, and then put it back together in a new spot. In our last move, I was so desperate to get back online that I set my laptop and phone and modem up on a card table in the den, and sat on a step stool. Now that’s an internet addiction!

If you’re considering a move soon, it’s always good to learn moving tips and get advice on planning your big day. I’ve helped friends and family to move and it’s amazing what people will leave to do until the last minute possible. This moving company blog has plenty of advice to offer - over 25 moving guides on their site in fact! (They have a blog - how cool is that! I love when regular companies have a blog…it makes them seem so much more user friendly.) This blog entry points out that a lot of people choose to make their moves in the summer. That’s what we did, and it makes sense if you have kids in school. We wanted our kids to finish our their school year before we moved. Everyone else had the same plan, because we had a heck of a time finding a moving truck to rent!

Ever think of running a business from your home…parking cars?

Go anywhere near Raymond James Stadium on a day when the Tampa Bay Bucs are playing. You’ll find enterprising homeowners selling their yards for $20 a car. Some homeowners have the parking plan down to a science, and they can get as many as 50 cars in their front yard on game day. That’s $1000 a season! Quite the cottage industry…and it’s not just happening in Tampa, Florida. Property owners everywhere are realizing that they can provide what they have - space - and help a motorist out when space is limited. There’s even a site that’s been launched to allow you to rent a parking space in London. If you have an empty garage or driveway, you can rent it out and earn money without doing a thing. Sporting events are just one use - what about people living near a train station? Let someone going on vacation leave their car at your house. A nurse who works at the hospital may want to use the space in front of your house. Everyone can benefit from this, whether you’re a home or property owner looking to make a few extra dollars, or someone who travels to a congested area and needs a safe and easy place to park!

I get a kick out of saving money, and finding good deals. (I also get a kick out of SPENDING money, but that’s a topic for another blog entry!) I use coupons, I turn off the lights when I leave the room, I keep our a/c set a few degrees higher…I’m not a miser, but I enjoy knowing I’m not wasting money. Which is why EVERY year when it’s time to renew our car insurance, I go online and get new quotes. I absolutely love that I can get insurance quotes from the comfort of my own home…and without talking to anyone on the phone! The last time I switched car insurance providers was because I had called to get a quote. Keep in mind, this was before you could do the same thing online. We were on vacation at Disney, and here I was, using my cell phone to get a new quote on car insurance. (I do know how to have a good time!) I was so excited when I found out we’d save $1000 a year by switching! I was probably more excited about that than I was about being on vacation!

One such site where you can compare insurance quotes online is FoxQuotes.com. And they don’t just offer car insurance quotes - you can get a quote for home insurance, health insurance, or life insurance. Kind of your one stop shop for insurance, huh? Trust me - a few minutes of your time before your policy renewal is worth it. You may be pleasantly surprised!

I have a MySpace page. Doesn’t everyone? I have a few too many blogs to keep up with, so I keep my MySpace basic. I don’t have time to figure out how to code a MySpace page - I’ve got too many other things in my head to make room for that. I found a great site tonight with tons of code to help you customize your Myspace page. There’s a blurb explaining what each code does, and where to place it on your page. It doesn’t get much easier than that!