Are you having a mid-summer crisis?

It’s the last day of July and you’re just realizing summer is quickly coming to an end.  What’re your plans for the last month?  What do you want to achieve before falling back into the monotonous rituals of school time.  Make a list of the things you still want to do.  Then make sure you take time out of your schedule to actually do the things on your list!  No one ever looked back and said “Wow, that was a really productive summer in ‘05!”.  Get up and make some memories with your friends and family.  You never know when your time is up, so make the most of today.

Share your summer plans below.  New ideas are always exciting and appreciated!

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Increasing Traffic To Your Website, Part Two

Welcome to my five part series on how to drive more traffic to your website.  I will be posting ways on how to increase the traffic to your website over the next few weeks, so stay tuned.  You can subscribe to my RSS feed by clicking here. This week, I will be talking about keeping your readers engaged.

Keeping your Readers Engaged

First things first: You want to have a reader come to your blog.  Next, you want to keep them around; a blog isn’t any good if people come, take one look, and then leave.  You want to keep your reader engaged in something.  For example, my five part “Increasing Traffic to Your Website” keeps people coming back, knowing that I’ll keep updating my site.  This way, people subscribe to my RSS feed (which you can do in various places around my site) or bookmark my site.  They keep coming back, which in turn keeps earning me money with Adsense.

Polls

If you’re using Wordpress, which I highly recommend, you should install the WP-Polls plugin.  It lets you not only inject polls into your posts, but it also lets you add a poll (or rotate your polls) to your sidebar.  It is very user friendly, and I highly recommend it.  If you’re not using Wordpress, then search around and try to find a program that will actually get your readers involved.  This way, they will keep coming back.

Newsletter

Again, Wordpress users get an advantage.  The Newsletter plugin by By Satollo is a great addition to any website.  Every weekend, I send out a newsletter filled with SEO information, marketing tips, and sites where blogs and other businesses can gain backlinks with.  This way, I can give a service to my readers while keeping them in the loop of new posts and other exciting things from my site.  Plus, now that they have given me their e-mail address and name, I can send periodical newsletters out about exciting contests and new series.

Subscribe to my newsletter by filling out the form below. Our newsletter includes weekly tips to increase traffic to your business, marketing tips, and ways to optimize your website.  You will also receive the E-book "The Seven Great Lies of Network Marketing".

A confirmation email will be sent to your mailbox: please read the instruction inside it to complete the subscription.  After your email is confirmed, the ebook will be available for download.   

Your name
Your email

It keeps people coming back to my site.  Offer some type of incentive– I offer a free ebook with each email, as well as my expertise at Search Engine Optimization.  Play around with it.

RSS Feeds

RSS feeds can be extremely helpful in bringing traffic back to your website.  As you can see, I have multiple RSS locations around my site.  Here are some examples.

&

RSS is just a way to keep up with your favorite websites without having to check them day after day for new posts.  It makes it easier for people to keep track of your site!  I have all my favorite blogs on my RSS feed.  You can even run contests with your RSS feeds.  For example, give away a free ebook or advertisment for a month to someone who subscribes to your RSS feed.  That way, it is an incentive to subscribe while costing you absolutely nothing!

Your Feedback

How could I not do this?

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

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I came across this story on Digg.  Watch it; you’ll be shocked.  Then, voice your opinion on my poll, or leave a comment on this thread.  The story is completely outrageous, and I hope you are as angry as I am about it.

After watching the video, now we want to hear back from you;

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

It’s completely outrageous.  That man could have died, and never once did he even ask what was wrong or if anyone was even in serious medical need.  Unbelievable.

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What are the Warning Signs of Suicide?

Would you be prepared?  Suicide usually comes as a shock to families.  I want to make sure people are educated and ready for anything.  Some times the signs are there, but if you aren’t paying attention, then you will never notice and you could miss an opportunity to save a life.  First off, 121 million people worldwide suffer from depression (The World Health Organization).  Next, untreated depression is the number one cause of suicide, and suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers (TWLOHA.com).  The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that each year approximately one million people die from suicide, which represents a global mortality rate of 16 people per 100,000 or one death every 40 seconds. It is predicted that by 2020 the rate of death will increase to one every 20 seconds.

If you haven’t already helped support suicide prevention by clinking the “Help Now!” link in the sidebar widget supported by SocialVibe, please, take a moment and do so.  It’s free!

Warning Signs of Suicide (According to save.org)

• Ideation (thinking, talking or wishing about suicide)
• Substance use or abuse (increased use or change in substance)
• Puposelessness (no sense of purpose or belonging)
• Anger
• Trapped (feeling like there is no way out)
• Hopelessness (there is nothing to live for, no hope or optimism)
• Withdrawal (from family, friends, work, school, activities, hobbies)
• Anxiety (restlessness, irritability, agitation)
• Recklessness (high risk-taking behavior)
• Mood disturbance (dramatic changes in mood)

Additional Warning Signs of Suicide

• Talking about suicide.
• Looking for ways to die (internet searches for how to commit suicide, looking for guns, pills, etc.)
• Statements about hopelessness, helplessness, or worthlessness.
• Preoccupation with death.
• Suddenly happier, calmer.
• Loss of interest in things one cares about.
• Visiting or calling people one cares about.
• Making arrangements; setting one’s affairs in order.
• Giving things away, such as prized possessions.

What are some Common Misconceptions about Suicide?

I found quite a few misconceptions about suicide.

“People who talk about suicide won’t really do it.”

Not True. Almost everyone who commits or attempts suicide has given some clue or warning. Do not ignore suicide threats. Statements like “you’ll be sorry when I’m dead,” “I can’t see any way out,” — no matter how casually or jokingly said, may indicate serious suicidal feelings.

“Anyone who tries to kill him/herself must be crazy.”

Not True. Most suicidal people are not psychotic or insane. They may be upset, grief-stricken,depressed or despairing, but extreme distress and emotional pain are always signs of mental illness and are not signs of psychosis.

“If a person is determined to kill him/herself, nothing is going to stop him/her.”

Not True. Even the most severely depressed person has mixed feelings about death, and most waver until the very last moment between wanting to live and wanting to die. Most suicidal people do not want to die; they want the pain to stop. The impulse to end it all, however overpowering, does not last forever.

“People who commit suicide are people who were unwilling to seek help.”

Not True. Studies of suicide victims have shown that more then half had sought medical help within six month before their deaths and a majority had seen a medical professional within 1 month of their death.

“Talking about suicide may give someone the idea.”

Not True. You don’t give a suicidal person morbid ideas by talking about suicide. The opposite is true — bringing up the subject of suicide and discussing it openly is one of the most helpful things you can do.

Again, these come from Save.com.

What about you?

Please, share your stories about suicide or attempted suicide below, whether you helped a family member deal with depression, attempted suicide yourself, or had someone close to you attempt or commit suicide.  Help to educate our readers.  If you feel like this post is worth wile, please Digg or Tweet this post and help spread the word to prevent suicide.

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I am now offering a free weekly newsletter devoted to building a high traffic blog.  Each and every week, I will send out the newsletter containing an e-book that will help tweak your site in the right direction.  This will include not only tips of my experiences, but also Search Engine Optimization tips, links to current sites to SEO your blog, tips on jump starting your Google adsense, other ways of earning income from Google, and so much more!

Also, I will send out links to FREE sites to advertise your business or website.

Subscribe to my newsletter by filling out the form below. Our newsletter includes weekly tips to increase traffic to your business, marketing tips, and ways to optimize your website.  You will also receive the E-book "The Seven Great Lies of Network Marketing".

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The heat is really on: Who is hotter?

Let the battle begin between the two sexiest people in Pittsburgh!

First, we have B-Laire from the Block!

This stylish giant eats a steady diet of young children and clams.
She spends her days sleeping in dumpsters and eating out of trash cans behind fast food restaurants.

Once a spokesperson for Jenny Craig, this skinny woman has turned back into the lard-ass that we all know and love.

Next, we have Nick!

This A&F Model is one of the smartest people on the planet.  He could solve two rubex cubes at the same time by the time he was five, making him even smarter than Einstein.  He was offered a job modeling for a nationwide agency, but turned it down to help feed poor, starving, disadvantaged homeless children in Africa.

It’s ugly verses beauty, stupid verses brains, who will the readers choose to be their savior?

A stunningly beautiful man with great looks, a great personality, and a great mind?

Or a heartless whore who only thinks of herself and doesn’t wash her hands after using the ladies room?

Let the battle begin!

Edit:

The Battle Concludes!

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Please Digg this post!

The LGBT Series: The American Family Association Opposes Pepsi and LGBT Equality Workshop

This is the letter that I received from the American Family Association earlier today.  They are opposing Pepsi’s very generous efforts to support equality.  Please, send this link to others and spread the word.  Let us show the AFA that we do NOT support hatered.

Dear Nick,

The organizers of the workshop say they are inviting “Political leaders and activists interested in understanding the impact of the equality movement in the workplace.”

In fact, homosexual activists continually tell corporate leaders (including PepsiCo) that it is impossible for an individual to leave the gay lifestyle. By helping fund the meeting, PepsiCo has decided to support that premise. PepsiCo gives thousands of dollars to promote homosexuality, but not one penny to help those who want out.

In becoming a sponsor of the Out & Equal conference PepsiCo has once again refused to give any support to those who are hurting and want to come out of this destructive and aberrant lifestyle.

PepsiCo has given thousands of dollars to become a sponsor of the homosexual “Out & Equal Workplace Summit” scheduled for Oct. 6-9 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Florida.

The Out & Equal Workshop meetings are designed to show corporate leaders how they can promote the homosexual agenda in their corporation.

I can’t understand how they can say that the homosexual lifestyle is destructive and aberrant.  I think it’s quite arrogant to say that.  Who are they to say that it is destructive?  And why are they so up in arms about a privately owned company such as Pepsi sponsering workplace summits?  And since when is promoting equality a synanym for promoting the homosexual agenda?  I love how the words they use have such a negative connotation to them.

It makes me sick.  Help support equality and forward this to your family and friends.  I really do encourage you to sign up for the AFA’s newsletter.  You’ll be able to stay in front of the hatred by knowing what the AFA is saying behind our backs in an effort to undo all of the work we have done in the past few decades.

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Charge reduced for 76-year-old fatal crash driver

By DEBRA HAIGHT – H-P Correspondent

NILES – Criminal charges have been reduced for a visually impaired Galien man blamed for a fatal car accident last October.

Berrien County Trial Court Judge Scott Schofield on Monday ordered Edward Tuholski, 76, to stand trial for negligent homicide for the Oct. 29 death of Nicolette Allen, 18, of Three Oaks.

A conviction could bring up to two years in prison. Tuholski had been charged with manslaughter with a motor vehicle, which brings a prison term of up to 15 years.

Tuholski was driving his pickup truck west on U.S. 12 when he attempted a left turn onto Dayton Road in Bertrand Township and struck an eastbound car driven by Allen.

Schofield’s order came at the end of a preliminary hearing that took place on parts of three days since mid-May. The order followed arguments by Assistant Prosecutor Mary Malesky that evidence doesn’t support the more serious charge.

“I’m taking into account his statement at the time of the crash,” she told the court Monday. “He said he simply did not see her.”

The main element of negligent homicide is ordinary negligence and not gross negligence, which is required for a manslaughter charge.

Malesky said she initially thought Tuholski suffered from macular degeneration and that he knew he shouldn’t have been driving, which could have helped prove a manslaughter charge.

She said her presumption was not supported by Tuholski’s optometrist, who testified in late May. The optometrist said Tuholski was tested in May 2007 and was found to have good enough vision to drive.

A test done in December 2008, after the accident, found that his vision had deteriorated to where it wasn’t legal for him to drive, she said.

Malesky said she spoke with a Grand Rapids-area doctor Tuholski had consulted in 2008 before the accident, who said he had not advised Tuholski that he shouldn’t be driving.

The first part of the hearing featured testimony from Tuholski’s nurse, two sheriff’s department officers and a witness to the crash.

The nurse testified she had a growing concern about Tuholski’s ability to drive, given his eyesight, and had talked to him about it.

Defense lawyer Gary Hosbein did not offer witnesses or proofs.

The trial is scheduled for Aug. 26-27.

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Ongoing Subjects: Nikki Allen (the Asian Ninja)

These are two videos that are dedicated to an amazing woman and a personal best friend of mine.

BUCHANAN – The Berrien County Sheriff’s Department has identified the victim of a fatal traffic crash that occurred on Wednesday, Oct. 29, as 18-year-old Nicolette “Nikki” Allen of Three Oaks.

She died after a two-car crash on U.S. 12 near Buchanan.

Police said Allen was not at fault, but the accident was still under investigation as of Thursday, Oct. 30.The crash occurred at 9:44 a.m. at the intersection of U.S. 12 and Dayton Road in Bertrand Township.

Police said Edward Tuholski, 75, of Galien, was driving west on U.S. 12 in his 2002 GMC pickup truck and attempting to turn left onto Dayton Road when he hit Allen, who was driving east on U.S. 12 in a 1994 Ford Tempo. The truck smashed Allen’s car on her driver’s-side door.

Buchanan Township Fire and SMCAS medics freed Allen from her car. The young woman died en route to the hospital, Sheriff’s Lt. Don Goulooze said. Tuholski was treated at the scene for minor injuries by SMCAS medics and was released. Alcohol and speed were not factors in the crash, Goulooze said.

The road conditions were clear, and both drivers were wearing their seat belts. Allen was a 2008 graduate of River Valley High School, where she played softball and ran on the track and cross country teams. She was a freshman at Southwestern Michigan College, studying to be an archeologist.

Allen was driving Wednesday to visit friends for a study session, her family told police.

You can also find an article I wrote earlier this year about Nikki by clicking the link here.

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