Granny's Rants

Knowledge Pearls... it has a nice ring to it doesn't it?

2007-04-19T10:50:00.000-07:00

This is a domain name I have paid for twice (um, duh, Granny... you paid for a domain for two years in a row and still didn't USE it???) and finally got it up online day before yesterday.

Managing *anything* that requires me to write, or expend any more energy or time than I already do (I work four jobs) seems to be daunting for some reason. But finally, thanks to a wonderful 'coach' of mine John Hostler, owner of Internet Renegade (fantastic copywriting services) I decided to get my arse in gear. He has encouraged me to write my business plan (what an emotional roller-coaster ride that turned into - it's going to be a huge tome of a blog post in and of itself) and to start focusing more.

Exactly what my dear friend Liz Tomey said to me, too. She is constantly involved in new projects... she just opened up an Adsense Training Videos For Newbies website yesterday, and it's kick-butt (like everything she does). Anyway, she advised me quite awhile before I met John about the power of FOCUS and she epitomizes it.

About those Knowledge Pearls? I turned it into a blog and actually made three posts in two days. I'm trying really hard to take the advice from successful entrepreneurs, and for now, Knowledge Pearls Blog is sharing resource information about free cool stuff and/or very affordable stuff I've discovered besides sharing a few pearls of knowledge as the title implies. :-)

One huge Pearl Of Knowledge I will reiterate is to FOCUS... decide what it is you want out of your online business and focus on only the things that get to the end result concerning that business. Anything else should be discarded or placed on hold, because if you lose your focus, you're losing money.

Enjoy your day,
Donna
(aka Granny)

FreeIQ is too good not to share!!

2007-04-15T15:45:00.000-07:00

If you haven't *yet* joined FreeIQ - why in the world NOT????

This site is honestly just so cool, created by Brad Callen the SEO King.... so you know whatever you post there is going to get lots and lots of traffic. I don't know about you, but I'd guess you can love free traffic, and all you've invested is a little time setting up your author page and uploading some of your own free OR paid products you want to rave about (and make some sales, too, hopefully)!

At Free IQ, the best content appears at the top of every search, based on actual reviews. Learn more and sign up now: Join FreeIQ For FREE

In a nutshell, what they do is base their search result rankings on the feedback and reviews by people just like you and me from all around the world. (In fact, Free IQ has more than one patent pending, just based on the way in which the very best ideas rise right up to the top of our search results.) What a boon to have YOUR ideas or services at the top of the searches. I can hear the ka-ching right now!

Free IQ asks you: "Do you have knowledge and ideas to share?" Who doesn't, for pete's sake? Golly, I hope you will not let this window of opportunity pass you by... people are already getting some of the better endings on their freeiq urls: http://freeiq.com/bizunlim (that's mine... I got in early and got some really good ones for myself) so hurry over to FreeIQ and start getting that free traffic for your 'goodies' - even if you only have something free to give away!

Are your fabulous ideas presentable in a video or audio format? How about an e-book or an article? No problem, once you sign up, you get to add your cool stuff and get it promoted by a traffic & SEO genius for absolutely nada. It's all here: Go Promote Yourself OR Anything You Want To Promote - Absolutely Free Of Charge!

Whatever your choice of media (video, audio, or print), Free IQ is the place to offer (or should I say present?) your knowledge to the world. And they will host all of your materials and stream them – all for absolutely free! It is simply one of the easiest ways to promote your products without hassles like so many other so-called free sites that we all have experienced before!

This is why, when you want to learn more about almost anything, Free IQ is rapidly growing into the ideal place to learn from the world’s best experts – again, all for free. Promote you! Show off your products or expertise for free!

Here's what else Brad's Team says: "We believe that internet video offers the best way to learn what you want, when you want – and the best thing is, it’s Free!" You gotta love that word 'free' - especially in this old world full of hands extended toward you wanting your hard-earned moolah. Brad asks for nothing... and I'm grateful.

Go ahead and try it. Search for any topic you’re interested in learning more about – from business management to marketing to software to your favorite hobby – and discover all the experts and authors and speakers on that subject.

Their patent pending search algorithm causes the best information to appear at the top, based on the reviews of the free information by other people interested in that same topic. In fact, other Free IQ users all over the world screen all the available information for you, so when you want to know something, the best video and audio presentations come out on top.

Now that is definitely a fantastic free marketplace to promote yourself with - and it costs you nothing but a few minutes of your time. I had my author page completed in less than five minutes with a photo included! Here's my FreeIQ author page just so you can look first and see how cool they are.

See you on the flip-side! Or should I say the "FreeIQ Side"? Rather just be an affiliate, that's do'able too. GO Right Here for the FreeIQ Affiliate Program.

Donna

Oh, BTW, I just redesigned my site at AffordaSoft to fix all the broken links, so let me know what you think of the new easier-to-navigate site? It's here: AffordaSoft.com and thanks so much for reading this post. I definitely do appreciate your valuable time!

Warmly,
'Granny'

Why We All Can't Be Rich (it's not what you think)

2007-03-15T17:07:00.000-07:00

We struggle, we strive, we try SO hard to get wealthy, but the old, tired, shopworn mental schtuff that sits in our subconscious is what holds us back.

It's from a book review I found on Amazon for a law of attraction book by Harv Eker (one of my heroes, btw):

1. Rich people believe "I create my life." Poor people
believe, "Life happens to me."

2. Rich people play the money game to win. Poor people
play the money game to not lose.

3. Rich people are committed to being rich. Poor people
want to be rich.

4. Rich people think big. Poor people think small.

5. Rich people focus on opportunities. Poor people focus
on obstacles.

6. Rich people admire other rich and successful people.
Poor people resent rich and successful people.

7. Rich people associate with positive, successful
people. Poor people associate with negative or
unsuccessful people.

8. Rich people are willing to promote themselves and their
value. Poor people think negatively about selling and
promotion.

9. Rich people are bigger than their problems. Poor
people are smaller than their problems.

10. Rich people are excellent receivers. Poor people are
poor receivers.

11. Rich people choose to get paid based on results. Poor
people choose to get paid based on time.

12. Rich people think "both." Poor people
think "either/or."

13. Rich people focus on their net worth. Poor people
focus on their working income.

14. Rich people manage their money well. Poor people
mismanage their money well.

15. Rich people have their money work hard for them. Poor
people work hard for their money.

16. Rich people act in spite of fear. Poor people let fear
stop them.

17. Rich people constantly learn and grow. Poor people
think they already know.

Just take what you want from the above, it's the old timeworn mental stuff that holds most of us back from ever getting truly wealthy - so ponder and grow... and be happy and healthy above anything!!!

Donna

We all love bargains, including Granny!

2007-03-15T16:47:00.000-07:00

You can go grab a 20% discount ONLY until the end of April.... get something nifty for you or for your pets - it's a very worthwhile website I enjoy visiting:

Just click the coupon and take advantage.

To your good health (or your cat's, your dog's health...etc)

Granny

Don't Become A Victim Of High Pagerank Domain Fraud

2007-03-05T15:08:00.000-08:00

Jerry West of WebMarketingNow.com has opened up a previously closed & private article simply to help protect innocent victims from this nefarious scheme by domain brokers that are criminals instead of honest businessmen. Read and heed - it absolutely could save you untolled agony and thousands of lost dollars if you're in the expired-domains market. Don't let this window of opportunity pass you by simply because you think you don't have time to read.. it just takes a couple of minutes. Please - do it for YOU!! ~Donna~
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It Has Probably Already Happened To You by Jerry West, SEO Analyst
Posted March 2, 2007

This article covers the rising rate of fraud in the industries of selling expired =domains and selling used domains. This article was previously only available to our paid members of the SEO Revolution, but we are releasing it as a public service due to the high level of fraud that is currently in the market.

Recently I purchased some domains from a broker that were good domains and looked to be well established (they had good PageRank). However, when I "got them home" so to speak, they were far from what I thought I had purchased. In my investigation into this, it was clear that many of the domains being sold today from brokers and especially on eBay are littered with fraud.

Domain names are investments, and any investment should researched. Never make the assumption that the domain broker has done this research for you. Chances are, they haven't.

Just as there is fraud in PPC, there is fraud in domain purchasing as well. Remember that. Just because the toolbar says a PageRank 5 doesn't mean it is.

If you would rather watch a 13 minute video show casing the fraud and how to research potential domains buys - complete the form below.

Note: Due to bandwidth issues, all requests will have their email addresses verified. Incomplete or incorrect email addresses will not receive the link for the video.Visit Jerry's site to sign up for the video: http://www.webmarketingnow.com/

First, let's discuss the process and how the con artist works. Most SEOs and knowledgeable webmasters know the value of a high PageRank site. And how it can take months - even a year to get a solid PageRank 5 site. So, many SEOs and webmasters turn to domains being sold to get a jump start on the process. Their thinking is, "If I spend a few thousand on this site, it will shave months off my work schedule."

The thinking is sound, but unfortunately, the bad guys know you are thinking this and they take advantage of a "loophole" in the system that isn't known to most SEOs.

The Google Toolbar. Google really didn't know what they were starting when they first introduced it back in 2002. Now, millions of webmasters all have "Green Bar Addiction" and they watch their PageRank values as closely they do the stock market.

The Loophole: In order to protect their algorithm from their competition (Yahoo! and Microsoft) and "black hat" marketers, they publicly show "delayed" PageRank. Much like the free stock quoting tools online are 15 minute delayed, the Google Toolbar is delayed too. Only, it isn't just a few minutes, but 3-5 months!!

So, the PageRank you see displayed, is actually the PageRank the page had back in October, November or December of last year! I am sure you know where this is going now.

Google updates their toolbar about once every three months. So, the con artist does one of two things usually. The first is that they will hijack the PageRank on another domain. I won't go into how this is done, so amateur thieves can't replicate it. The second way they do this is that they will buy or beg for temporary links from other sites or networks, drive up the PageRank to a 5, 6 or 7 and once the toolbar updates, they cancel all the bought links which lowers the real PageRank, the actual one, to zero. You see, even though Google "delays" the showing of the PageRank by a couple of months, they use the current values in their ranking process.

So, even though the site can "verify" it is a PageRank 5, the actual value is 0. You basically bought a "vapor domain." Here is a systematic way to check to ensure what you are being sold is genuine. Your "Gotta make sure this Rolex is really a Rolex" cheat sheet:

1. The first thing to do is to just go to the site directly and see if the PageRank is the same as advertised. Sometimes the con artist gets lazy and doesn't realize a toolbar update happened and their "PR5" site is actually displaying "PR0".

2. While you are there look at the site. Is the domain online? Is the site still live or is there a "placeholder" page? If it is a placeholder, the domain is probably dead.

3. Next you want to look at the site's history. When was the domain registered? To whom? Where is it hosted? Is it on its own IP or is it sharing with hundreds or thousands of other domains? What was the site before?

A great place to start your research is http://DomainTools.com . There you can find key information of when the domain was registered, where it is hosted, and if the domain has its own IP address or not. If it is sharing an IP address, you can access the Reverse IP Tool and often you can uncover networks of sites. This does require at least a Silver Membership which runs $15.00 a month. It will also tell you if the domain is on any black lists.

To find out what the site was before, you can use the Way Back Machine at http://www.archive.org . The reason you want to do this is if the domain you are wanting to acquire is currently a viable site but back in '01 was a child porn site, you will want to pass for obvious reasons.

4. Is the site listed in the Google index? Just because it has PageRank, doesn't mean it is still listed, so check. The best way to do this is to check the Google Cache. Do a query in Google for - cache:domain.com (home page check) cache:domain.com/subpage.html (sub page check). Please note that if there are no results that come up, the site could not allow Google to cache the site. If that is the case, use the site: command instead. I like using the "cache" command first as that allows me to see the most recently indexed page and what it looked like. If it is different than what is currently displayed, that could be a red flag.

5. Verify the PageRank is legit. In the domain buying space, PageRank is often faked - especially on eBay or other auctions. I have been a victim of this in the past.

So, how can you protect yourself? Easy. You can use a free tool over at SEO Logs. Just type in the domain and it will check. If it comes back and verifies that it is valid, are you safe? Not quite. One more check.

Use the PageRank Predictor from iWebTool. It will give you a prediction based on current link counts from MSN. You should also check Yahoo!'s Site Explorer. These are two great resources because they update their links on a weekly basis, whereas Google updates theirs about once a quarter.

That was a lot to digest, I know, but this is how I make sure that I never get taken when buying domains. Getting ripped off is never something that is pleasant - and domain fraud is a killer as your ability to recoup your loss is slim to none.

Now you have the knowledge that you need in order to verify what is being presented to you is real.

If you found this article beneficial, I'd appreciate a link from your site to this article. The more this information spreads, the fewer people will fall victim to this type of fraud.

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© 2007, WebMarketingNow.com
Jerry West is the Director of Internet Marketing for Web Marketing Now. He has been consulting on the web since 1996 and has assisted hundreds of companies gain an upper-hand over their competition. Visit Web Marketing Now for the latest in marketing tips that are tested and proven.
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Donna's Tip:
Why not build your domain empire the safest way starting at $8.95/year for a quality dotcom address? Visit DomainCondo.com and grab a 2BHot domain today! Affordably! That way nobody can rip you off, ever, because you build it from scratch (like I'm doing at LinkCondo.com) and you know it's real when you earn your PageRank by doing the work instead of trying to buy "instant PR" that those domain brokers purportedly are trying to sell you. :-)

Today Was Mostly A 'Researching' Day....

2006-08-03T15:38:00.000-07:00

And OH BROTHER, what eye-opening stuff I found. I'm getting more and more sure that I don't believe anything anyone says anymore... not the government, not the people in the world, and especially not people in politics or powerful positions. Those are the ones we SHOULD be able to trust, yet, apparently money talks louder for them than any kind of ethics seem to. This is regardless of religion (or lack of) and ethnicity or color or location on the planet.

It's getting scarier and scarier to be a part of this very unstable world. Television, movies and video games are destroying our youth's values and the availability of weapons, drugs and evil are far too abundant. Gone are the simple days of youth... when toy guns were filled with water and did not LOOK like real guns, and there was no such thing as an RPG where you freely killed your fellow human beings without respect or regard for human life...

It's very sad what I've seen happen to our beautiful Earth over my sixty years of living, and the website I found today is food for thought along the demise of the earth vein... I'm not sure what I think of many of her site's other opinions, but the page Dr. Day wrote about the MEDICAL fabrications about bird flu is fascinating. This is the page that really got me reading and reading so much so, that I got nothing else done this afternoon: http://www.goodnewsaboutgod.com/studies/birdflu.htm

My goodness! What if she is right??? Now that's scary!

Some websites call her a quack... I say she's either totally insane or she is bloody brilliant. You will have to decide what you think.

Granny

Cookies With REAL Meaning (NO, not computer cookies!)

2006-04-12T15:34:00.000-07:00

It isn't often you find something very nifty to share... something that Grandmas and Grandpas can use to foster closeness with their grandchildren, as well as teach them about our Saviour. With Easter coming... it's SO appropriate to share this cookie recipe!

EASTER STORY COOKIES

A great cookie recipe that explains the true meaning of Easter. One to share with your children.

Ingredients:
1 cup whole pecans 1 teaspoon vinegar
3 egg whites Pinch of salt
1 cup sugar Zipper baggie Wooden spoon Tape Bible

Directions: Preheat oven to 300¡ F. Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested he was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.

So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 c. sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isa.1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matt. 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matt. 27:65-66.

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matt. 28:1-9.

HE HAS RISEN!

I hope that you enjoy and benefit from it... I also posted a wonderful Easter story in my other blog... Go read that one, I almost promise that you'll get teary-eyed. I know it touched my heart immensely.

Happy Easter Everyone,

Donna (AKA Granny)

Hurricane Katrina Scams - what next???

2005-09-10T16:17:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Katrina Scams: Updated Friday September 9, 2005 Be sure you read this website, as you might get sucked in by someone playing with your heartstrings, too.... what a stinking shame...

Unfrikkin' believable... how is it that the scum of the earth always surface during a crisis and then try to feed off the loving hearts of the salt of the earth?? How DO these folks even look in a mirror and love the image that peers back at them? Or do they even have mirrors?

Grrr!

Granny!

Join The Healing Meditation Sunday PLEASE...

2005-09-09T19:36:00.000-07:00

This wonderful email was sent to me by John Assaraf... and it *will* have powerful impact if everyone participates. I hope that you will. I know that I will. Here's John's message:

Please join as many as a million people around
the world in a healing meditation and prayer for
those affected by Katrina. Sunday, September
18, 10:00 pm Central Daylight Time.
Meditation and prayer powerfully affect our world
in ways we may never understand. And when
two or more join together the effects are
exponential. Lives will be saved, emotional
trauma healed, families reunited, hearts soothed,
and normalcy returned. Miracles will happen.
1) Everyone will meet in meditation and prayer at
the same time on the same day. Simply meditate
or pray in your own space, and imagine
connecting with everyone else, as described
below.
Sunday - September 18, 2005
11:00 to 11:30 pm Eastern Daylight Time
10:00 to 10:30 pm Central Daylight Time
9:00 to 9:30 pm Mountain Daylight Time
8:00 to 8:30 pm Pacific Daylight Time.
To coordinate with your time zone, visit:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html
If you are only available for five minutes, please
do what you can.
If you cannot join us at the appointed time,
please do your meditation and prayer at any
time, and imagine your energy joining the group.
2) Consider doing the following meditation:
* Breathe slowly and deeply.
* Focus on your heart, and see your heart filled
with the beautiful, warm, golden, healing light
of the sun. Feel the limitless healing energy of
love filling your heart. Magnify the feeling
inside of you. See the energy. Hear it.
* When you are ready, imagine all of the people
who have been affected by the hurricane, all of
those who are giving so much to assist, each and
everyone one of them wrapped in this warm,
beautiful, light of love and healing. Imagine
them perfectly restored. Imagine them in a
beautiful, loving setting, free of any pain or
sickness, happy, healthy, their lives fully restored.
Use all of your senses. See, hear, and feel them
filled with hope, health, and happiness.
* When you are ready, feel the love energy
growing as your love and compassion joins the
love energy of millions of others around the world.
* Hold this picture for as long as you can (5
minutes, 30 minutes, one hour)
* When you close your meditation, imagine this
beautiful healing light of love expanding to
envelope the entire world, every country, every
man, woman and child. Hold this vision and know
with complete confidence, with all your heart and
soul, that this healing is taking place and be
thankful for the love of the world.
* Express your thanks to God, Jesus Christ,
Buddha, Muhammad, your spiritual guide,
universal love energy, to that which is
appropriate and meaningful for you.
(This particular meditation was suggested by
healer and teacher Chunyi Lin, creator of Spring
Forest Qigong. Feel free to meditate or pray in any
way that is right for you.)
3) Please dig deep into your pocket to donate
money to help those affected by Katrina. For
a listing of ways to donate or volunteer, visit:
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/katrina/help.center/
4) Please send this email to as many people as
you can. To friends and colleagues, clients and
vendors, any lists you have, members of the media,
your church, anything and anyone that comes to
your mind. Post it on discussion forums. Consider
getting together in groups, or coordinating telephone
conference calls for everyone you know.
Thank you for joining us, for your support, and for
your love.
Sunday - September 18, 2005
11:00 to 11:30 pm Eastern Daylight Time
10:00 to 10:30 pm Central Daylight Time
9:00 to 9:30 pm Mountain Daylight Time
8:00 to 8:30 pm Pacific Daylight Time.

Most Sincerely,
John Assaraf and Murray Smith
OneCoach

Relief For Katrina Victims - They WILL Get ALL Your Help!

2005-09-09T10:52:00.000-07:00

Hi, Everyone,

Granny's Rants is going to start by asking you to consider the victims and evacuees from hurricane Katrina. If you've been following the news at all, Dr. Phil, Oprah, and many other caring folks are helping any way and every way that they can.

If you haven't yet given from your heart of hearts to the tragedy in southern USA... please do consider it, or rather just DO it. It could have been you or me, that's what keeps going through my mind.

If you want the biggest percent of your donation to reach the victims of this vicious hurricane, always research where you are giving. See if the entity is someone trustworthy, that's why I usually use the bigger companies like the Red Cross that everyone has heard of.

Go here: http://RedCross.org and Please Give Generously! Remember, it could have been you or me or someone we love dearly whose total known existence was destroyed.... or even worse, lost their life in that devastating monster of a storm.

In love for our fellow man, woman, and child,

Donna Maher RN