Well, let’s see how this goes…

Yay! I can actually upload images.

On the downside, the plugin I wrote for putting the Hot Blogs in the sidebar isn’t quite happy with the upgrade. The two just don’t get along, which is why you don’t see any Hot Blogs in the sidebar right now. On the plus side, my other plugin is still working, so those Hot Blogs are still in rotation at the top of the page.

I also had to disable the Popularity Contest plugin. I was kind of waiting on it before upgrading, but it’s beginning to look as though it’s never going to get upgraded (hasn’t been touched apparently since last year) and I decided I really don’t need it anyway. So, I just moved along without it!

Hopefully nothing else is broken that I haven’t noticed yet. It would be hard to downgrade once I’ve gotten a few more posts up and comments in.

(For more wordless posts today, visit Wordless Wednesday.)

Okay, so I cheated a bit. That’s not an actual photo. But the blue sky color is from an actual photo. I just didn’t like how the clouds turned out in my digital photo. But, would you have known if I hadn’t told you?

Today, on GateWorld, I read their interview with Michelle Morgan, who guest starred in a couple episodes of Stargate: Atlantis.

You know what impressed me?

The lack of cursing.

Seriously, I’ve read a number of different interviews, and it just seems these days as though everyone throws the f-word around. It just slips in, as though it’s just another word to be used in your everyday vocabulary. F-this, f-that. Are you upset? F-yes. Are you happy? F-yes. Are you sad? F-yes. It just gets tossed around often for no reason whatsoever.

It’s become that word that can mean anything. As a result, it really means nothing anymore. It’s as though you don’t have the vocabulary to express what you really feel, so you just f-it.

And, it’s not just men. Used to be that it was always the men that swore, and women would just mutter under their breath if they did something like hit their fingernail with a hammer. But, nowadays, everyone seems to be eager to toss around the f-word like they were tossing a salad. And, it’s not limited to times when you’ve hurt yourself or when you’re angry. Nope, it can be used in any circumstance.

It wouldn’t be difficult to believe that a couple, or multiple couples, have gotten married to the declaration of “F— yes!” rather than “I do.” Such is the state of things these days.

So, it’s impressive when you see someone that isn’t dropping the word every time you turn around.

And, that’s sad.

You may be familiar with the concept of making money using other people’s money to reduce your personal risk, as well as to have more money available to you than you might otherwise.

But, did you know you can make money with other people’s content too?

Don’t worry. I’m not talking about plagiarism. I would never encourage that in any way.

What I am talking about is using other people’s content with their permission.

You might have been curious as to why I chose to review a forex site earlier this week. Besides that being a paid review, I had a secondary motive as well. Go back to my post and check out the forex site. Seriously. Go there and read a couple articles, or at least skim over a few. Pay close attention to the end of the article, where you may see a little author bio of sorts.

I’ll wait…

Okay. Did you notice anything? You probably noticed that the author’s area has a link to another website or blog, usually another forex site.

You see, what those authors are doing is a little article marketing. Andy Crofford wrote about article marketing earlier this week, so check out his post for some background.

It’s a win-win situation. The author gets links to their site when someone uses their content, and a website gets free content to use.

You’ll note that the forex site I reviewed is running AdSense on their site. So, basically, they’re getting their content for free, so any money they make is an extra bonus. Granted, they have to pay for their hosting, but hosting can be cheap these days, so if you have many sites like this, and can get some good traffic, your AdSense earnings should at least cover your hosting, and anything above that is profit.

Of course a strictly Made-for-AdSense (MFA) site isn’t a good idea, especially for long-term growth. If you look at the forex site I reviewed, you see that they’re putting all their eggs in the AdSense basket. But, with a little diversification, you’ve got the potential for a good little money maker.

Certainly, there are affiliate programs for currency trading and other topics in the foreign exchange niche that they could be offering. Put some original content in the mix too. Since these free articles can be used by anyone, if you use only those articles, you are not offering your visitors anything unique. Now, combine the best of these free-to-use articles with your own original content, and you give visitors an experience that cannot be matched elsewhere.

Bear in mind, of course, that these free-to-use articles may have restrictions, so you’ll want to read carefully the terms of use from whatever article directory you download material from. In most cases, it’s a simple matter of keeping the author’s “resource box” intact. After all, they are writing the article in the hopes of getting visitors to their site, so it’s important to them to have their link in there.

Consider how using other people’s content can help supplement the material you write yourself for your blog or website. Pulling your hair out trying to come up with fresh content on a regular basis? Make use of these available articles when you’re stuck with writer’s block!

Even though some 60% of Americans are overweight or obese (as I mentioned last week), many of the individuals within that 60% aren’t comfortable with the fact. You may not want your picture taken or to be on TV because you’re not what you see when you close your eyes and think of yourself. To some extremes, some people may become completely withdrawn and avoid any social interaction they can.

Of course, if health reasons don’t provide sufficient motivation to start some kind of weight loss program, how about financial ones?

Beyond your future health care costs, there are more immediate financial considerations. And, no, I’m not talking about the money saved by buying less food!

I’m talking about putting your photo on your business website!

You see, there are claims that placing your photo on your website can help increase sales! It gives the buyer someone they can visualize and (hopefully!) trust.

If you can increase your sales simply by putting your photo on your website, isn’t that worth a try? Couldn’t you use the extra money?

But, wait!, you say. Weight loss is hard!

But, it doesn’t have to be. You can take small steps to help lose weight. For example, drink a glass of water before a meal. Water has no calories and will help to make you feel full faster, so you’ll end up eating less. Don’t gulp down a soda or beer before a meal; that’s not the same! Soda and beer and other beverages do have calories! Drink water instead. Also, don’t add cream or sugar to your coffee or tea. Or at least reduce the amount you add!

There are a lot of everyday tips like that for losing weight. In fact, if you head on over to the Weight Loss Assistance Center dot Com, you can signup for the mailing list and receive a free copy of 101 “Everyday” Tips to Lose 10 Pounds!

So, you can lose weight, feel more comfortable about yourself, put your photo on your business website and start fattening your wallet! And, best of all, you can get started for free!

Of course, before starting any kind of weight loss program or fitness regimen, you should consult with your doctor.

“You need money to make money” is something we’ve all heard at one point or another in our lives. In the case of Currency Trading, it is literally true.

You may have heard of Forex before, or seen it mentioned in ads on popular blogs you may visit, and wondered what it is. Simply put, it is foreign exchange, or the exchange of one currency for another. Like investing in stocks, dabbling in the forex can be risky, but it can also be profitable as well, if you are knowledgeable about what you’re doing. One source of forex information, and the subject of this paid review, is FabForex.com.

FabForex.com offers a variety of articles on forex and related topics. Scanning their home page, you might wonder what articles such as “A Report on Human Rights in Cyprus” have to do with the foreign exchange. The answer is simple: Currency exchange is somewhat complex. You see, trading in foreign currencies isn’t entirely different from the stock exchange. You’ve no doubt noticed that stocks may rise or fall based on factors other than sales volumes and other business issues. The health of a CEO may be cause for concern, for example.

The same is true of foreign currencies. A nation’s stability, as well as other internal factors, all play a role in how much a currency will be valued at. Knowing what’s going on, beyond just the financial markets, will better enable you to make smarter decisions in which currencies to trade.

FabForex.com offers a variety of topics to better arm you for participating in the forex. The only downside to FabForex.com, and something they must remedy in order to build a reputation as a valuable forex resource is the lack of updates and new content. The foreign exchange is something you have to stay current on in order to make and continue to make smart trading decisions. And, to do that, you need up to date information.

If you are looking for information on forex, FabForex.com is a good place to start looking around. Take a peek today, and see what they have to offer.

Take your guesses what this was for.

For more wordless posts today, visit Wordless Wednesday.

Just a thought…

Wouldn’t it be interesting if Obama picks Al Gore as VP and McCain picks Lieberman?

Or maybe weird would be more like it.

Anyway. Think about it…

You’ve probably seen that a good number of times. A company promotes their products or services by donating a portion of the proceeds to charity.

I hate that. Here’s why…

People may see that as “corporate responsibility” or some other pseudo-intellectual nonsense. They may praise the company for taking an active role in their community, or the nation, or the world. Certainly, it is good “corporate citizenship” for businesses to “give back,” right?

Here’s what is really going on… They are taking your money and giving it to a charity of their choice. And then the company, not you whose money it was, is the one that reaps the rewards!

Think about it. Let’s say that you buy a $100 item from this company and they give $5.00 to charity. Wow. Isn’t that nice?

But, wouldn’t it be better if they charged you $95 for the item? Because, really, if they can give away $5 to charity on your purchase, they are overcharging you $5. They’re saying, we didn’t need this money to pay our employees, we didn’t need this money to invest in research and development, we didn’t need this money for business operations, we didn’t need this money for our shareholders, we didn’t need this money that we overcharged you!

Which is better? Paying $100 for an item and having $5 go to a charity of their choice, or paying $95 for an item and having that $5 left over in your pocket to do with as you please? Maybe you can give it to the charity of your choice. Maybe you could use it to pay off debt, or feed your kids. The point is that it’s your money; you should be able to do with it as you please.

Why should a company be praised for overcharging you for the products you buy so that they can give your money away to a charity you may or may not have otherwise donated to?

If a company feels it’s making too much money, why not lower prices? Why not invest it in making better products? Why not pay their employees more, maybe attracting better ones in the process?

Because, that’s not what it’s about. What it is all about is making themselves look better by being seen as “charitable.” But, it’s a trick. They are using your money to make themselves look good.

Keep your money. Make yourself look good with it if you are so inclined, but don’t fall victim to these marketing ploys. Buy from companies that make better products, provide better service or give you the best prices. Don’t buy from the ones overcharging you to make themselves look good!

Let the people keep their own money and do with it as they think best. Power to the people!

Last week, I posted a picture of Elvis to which I digitally gave him a black-eye. This was in response to Michelle’s post, expressing her love for Elvis.

Google expressed their opinion of Elvis too.

As you know, when you use AdSense on your site, Google AdSense scans your content and places relevant ads alongside that content.

So, when they scanned my post with Elvis, what did they determine to be the relevant ad for that content? See for yourself:

You just can’t make this stuff up! (And I didn’t!)

Don’t be cruel, Google, don’t be cruel!