Ruminate this site

Success From The Nest

2007-02-28T17:59:00.000-08:00

Success From The Nest

My wife brought Success From The Nest to my attention and I'm glad that she did. Success From The Nest is a place for home-based entrepreneurs to hang out, get some great information, share a laugh and share their experiences, trials and tribulations. It's almost like an online Cheers, without the beer. :(

I really like the writing style of the authour of Success From The Nest. It's very down to earth with a good dose of common sense and humor mixed in. If you are a home-based entrepreneur or want to be one, Success From The Nest is a good starting point and well worth book marking. Bravo, I really like your site!

My rating for this site - 5 nyuks :)

Credit Card Processing 101

2007-02-22T16:05:00.000-08:00

Credit Card Processing 101, An Insider's Report

OK, I'll be right up front about Credit Card Processing 101, An Insider's Report. This is my site and this is a totally self serving pimpage of my site.

However, if you own your own business or are about to open your own business and either take credit cards now or plan to take credit cards, then you owe it to yourself to look over my site.

Am I selling something? Yup. I was in the bank card business for fifteen years and I put all of my experience, know how and things that the processors don't want you to know into a report. And I'm selling the report.

Wanna know the price of the report? Seven bucks. That's it. If you fall into one of the categories I mentioned in the first paragraph, I'll save you that much in your first month of processing after reading my report.

Don't just read it though. USE IT! It took me nearly a week to condense fifteen years of information that the processors don't want you to know into that report. Give yourself an even playing field with the big boys. Use the information that I have given you in that report to your advantage.

My rating for this site: Ummm, what do you think? 5 nyuks :)

tomawesome's infosnacks

2007-02-20T14:05:00.000-08:00

tomawesome's infosnacks

The author of tomawesome's infosnacks took me up on my offer to Ruminate his site. And I'm glad that he did. Reading through tomawesome's infosnacks is like sitting next to your grandfather, sipping lemonade on warm summer afternoon, listening to cherished stories of his past.

Part funny, part informational, part historical tomawesome's infosnacks is a plethora of, as its name implies infosnacks. The author knows that in this day of sound bites and newscrawls, where apparently not many people have the time to sit down and read a book, he presents us with little snippets of info in a fun sort of way.

I hightly recommend bookmarking tomawesome's infosnacks and give it a good read from time to time, you'll thank me for it.

My rating for this site - 5 nyuks :)

8 Wishes

2007-02-08T16:09:00.000-08:00

8 Wishes

My wife brought 8 Wishes to my attention and it is a site that needs a well deserved shout out in a major way. A man by the name of Paul Sanchez set out on a 10,000 mile bicycle journey and 8 Wishes to help children with dyslexia and learning differences. His 8 wishes all tied into raising money for scholarships for children with dyslexia and learning differences.

This is such a worthwhile cause and he has worked so hard and he needs a bunch of help from us. There are three ways that you can help:

1. Make a monetary donation called "chipping in". (My wife already did via PayPal, it's very easy)
2. Spread the word about his blog and myspace page.
3. Write to the people listed below.

Here are his eight wishes:

1. Raise $1 million dollars. All proceeds will be donated to the Dyslexia Awareness Resource Center (DARC) and the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA). So far he has raised only $4,500, so he really needs your help.

2. 100 million views of the 10,000 Miles and 8 Wishes video. Generate the greatest amount of visibility with minimal funding.

3. Be interviewed by Oprah. She has the power and the audience to make a real difference. Here is another way that you can help. Please write to the Oprah show and send her the links to his blog and myspace page. Here is the link to email the producers of her show: http://www.oprah.com/email/reach/email_showideas.jhtml

Secondly, I have started a group on Oprah's message board. I have to wait for approval and activation. But once it is approved, I will post the link here. Please post in it for Oprah to interview Paul on her show.

4. ~~Interview Paul Orfelea, founder of Kinkos with dyslexia.~~

DONE! :)

5. Interview Sir. Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin with dyslexia. You can help by getting the message to Sir Richard Branson. Here is the link to contact him http://www.virgin.com/Contact/ContactVirginCom.aspx

6. Interview Charles Schwab, who also has dyslexia. You can also help by contacting Mr. Schwab using this email address: public.relations@schwab.com

7. ~~Be on 88 blogs and websites. Together, we can prove the power of the internet and social media.~~

DONE! :)

8. All in 88 days! I want to keep this fun and exciting, while creating a sense of urgency surrounding this issue. The deadline is March 8, 2007, so we need to get moving people.

Please view his video on his myspace.com page. If you aren't moved by his dedication, then check to see if you have a pulse. If you can't afford to "chip in", then please write to Oprah, Sir Richard Branson and Charles Schwab.

About Paul Sanchez

Paul Sanchez, age 30, has suffered from dyslexia and ADD his entire life. In second grade, he tested positively for a learning disability but results were not strong enough to be placed in a special learning faciltity. Therefore, he was put in a regular schooling, where he “suffered through nearly 18 years at California public schools.

After attending numerous city colleges, Paul finally tested positive for dyslexia and ADD at Santa Barbara City College. Under a program that provided much needed assistance, Paul was able to earn his Associates Degree from the College in 2004 at age 28.

Following graduation, he set out on his mission to create a documentary about dyslexia and learning differences and the struggles of children around the country. From July 7, 2004 to February 2, 2005, Paul completed a 10,000 mile bike ride around the perimeter of the country. During this trip, he met 13 children with dyslexia or learning differences in 13 different major cities. He is now living in Santa Barbara, CA working to promote and raise funding for his documentary, Soloride, through the 8 Wishes initiative.

My rating for this site - 8 nyuks (on a scale of 1-5) :)

Earth To Dave

2007-02-07T08:38:00.000-08:00

Earth To Dave

I came across Earth To Dave, quite by accident. He sent me an email wishing my wife and myself a happy Anniversay (see post below). So I decided to check out his site and found it funny enough for me to review.

His site is one of those irreverant, self-depreciating sites that makes you laugh despite yourself. He tells us of his "gypsy" childhood in a freak show and despite his less than advantageous station in life, he has achieved quite a bit. His is a licensed pilot and runs a non-profit organization called On Wings of Eagles Foundation

But I digress, his Earth To Dave (I think there is a double entendre in there, but I'm not sure) site is a hoot and is well worth a look to start your day off with a chuckle. It's all PG rated material that is worth bookmarking. Give him a look see, I guarantee you a laugh or two.

My rating for this site - 5 nyuks :)

Happy Anniversary

2007-02-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

I'm taking a quick break from ruminating about sites to ruminate about tomorrow. Tomorrow my wife and I will celebrate our 18th Wedding Anniversary. Tomorrow is also Superbowl XLI. So what's a good husband to do? I am into football in a rather large fashion. My better half is not.

Sensibilities tell me to do whatever my bride wants. If I've leaned anything in 18 years of marriage it is that "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy". But she does like to watch the Supe commercials, so there is hope! :)

Happy Anniversary My Angel.

Making Money On The Web

2007-01-31T17:25:00.000-08:00

How To Make Money On The Web

Making Money On The Web is not at all what I thought it would be. What it isn't is another of one of those sites that has all the answers on how to get optimized, how to get a million hits a day or how to figure out the Google adsense algorithm so that you can get a top ranking.

Quite to the contrary I was pleasantly surprised to find out Making Money On The Web actually has nuts and bolts information on how you can make money by actually working for it! The author, Johnny Cash (gotta love that name) lists a ton of good information on the "how to" for folks that want to write for other blogs and sites and other blog traffic related information. All in all an excellent compendium of material for people who want to make money in a way either other than adsense or in additon to adsense. Not that there is anything wrong with adsense. Hell, I have adsense on this blog. It's just another weapon for your overall iternet arsenal. Excellent job, Johnny Cash.

My rating for this site - 5 Cashew Nyuks :)

Venture Blogalist

2007-01-29T17:57:00.000-08:00

VentureBlogalist.com

This is how the author, Rob Finn describes his blog. Ventureblogalist comments on technology and various industries from the viewpoint of an associate at Edison Venture Fund, an expansion stage venture firm. My firm invests in IT business solutions.

Ahh, but he sells himself short. I spent quite a bit of time boring into the meat and potatoes of Ventureblogalist and while more than a fair share of the posts are about venture capital (VC) issues and while that may, in fact be your cup of tea (I have to admit that some of it went way over my head), there is a good block of information about other applications that convey well to weblogging, e-commerce and more.

With almost a year's worth of posts under his belt here is the list of categories (with the number of posts in parentheses) on Ventureblogalist. This is good stuff!

Categories
Advertising (22)
Blogging (9)
Books (3)
Design (1)
ecommerce (8)
education (4)
Entrepreneurialism (8)
Environment (1)
ERP (1)
Feature-itis (5)
Fintech (3)
Gaming (4)
Google (5)
Government (2)
Ideas (10)
IP (4)
leadgen (1)
Management (2)
Marketing (9)
Media (8)
mobile (3)
Music (8)
news (1)
Noteworthy (6)
Opensource (2)
Pricing (5)
RSS (2)
search (4)
Services (4)
socialnetworking (2)
Software (22)
Storage (1)
Technology (5)
Telco (1)
Travel (1)
trends (1)
tv (1)
Uncategorized (10)
Venture Capital (18)
Web Applications (26)
webanalytics (2)
WineNdine (1)

This is also one of the most professional and well written anything that I've read in some time. This site is well worth your investment in time to look around and see something that may impact you, your investing or your business. It would be hard to come away from his blog without finding something of value. Great job Rob!

My rating for the site - 5 VC Nyuks :)

101 Cookbooks

2007-01-28T17:43:00.000-08:00

101 Cookbooks

Holy moley! 101 Cookbooks is such a diverse and exhaustive abstract of food, wine, eating, restaurants and of course recipes. The author has so much information on 101 Cookbooks that I doubt I'll be able to do justice to what a professional, clean and sharp site 101 Cookbooks is.

A sampling of recent recipes:

Curried Noodle Patties

Cauliflower Soup with Gorgonzola

Simple Butternut Squash Tart

Yummy!

This is one of those sites that you must simply not only bookmark but check out thoroughly. Take your time and trust me on this, your tummy will thank you!

My rating for this site - 5 plates of nyuks :)

Code Pink Women For Peace

2007-01-28T17:05:00.000-08:00

Code Pink Women For Peace

Whatever your politics are you have to hand to the author of Code Pink Women For Peace. She doesn't just blog about her feelings on bringing an end to the War in Iraq, she was at the much ballyhooed march in our Nation's Capital on January 27th. She posted some nice pictures including one of actor Sean Penn and the Reverand Jesse Jackson.

She also has an amazing amount of excellent links on Code Pink Women For Peace, under the categories of:

Blogs By Soldiers/Family

Daily Addictions

Peace Links

She also has a little of this and that including some recipes, family and words of wisdom. Her writing style is clear and concise and both she and her blog are visually, easy on the eyes.

My rating for this site - 5 big nyuks :)

eMarketing A to Z

2007-01-28T16:19:00.000-08:00

eMarketing A to Z

eMarketing A to Z is another excellent source of information for those venturing out in the wild blue yonder of emarketing. The author reveals to his readers excellent articles and links to the type of information that all of us in the blogosphere are looking for.

eMarketing A to Z also illustrates the very distinct differences between search engine optomization and social networking. Social networking tends to be more "now" oriented and best of all it's free!

My rating for this site - 4.5 nyuks :)

IdolBlogLive.com - Season 6

2007-01-26T21:42:00.000-08:00

IdolBlogLive.com

Here goes another selfish review. One of my secret pleasures, watching American Idol, the audition mode. This is my favorite part of American Idol, once they go to Hollywood, I don't watch with the same fervor as I do when Idol is in train wreck mode. I watch it anyway because my lovely wife is an Idol freakazoid and if you are too, then IdolBlogLive.com is the place for you.

IdolBlogLive.com is if not the, then one of the most complete AI sites that I have ever seen. The author has everything from audition videos to rumors to a weekly poll. And this blog is hot, getting tons of traffic and lots of viral participation. I guess that it's an AI thing, it just affects people that way.

Even if you only have a passing interest in AI, then you simply must bookmark and read IdolBlogLive.com. It is all that and a bag of chips!

My rating for this site - 5 AI nyuks :)

SEO For Free

2007-01-25T14:37:00.000-08:00

SEO For Free

Mark H., the author of the site, SEO For Free has five blogs that he authors, if you want to check out his other blogs click here. Of his five blogs I decided to review this one simply for personal reasons. SEO is a subject that I have more than a passing interest in.

Well Mark doesn't dissappoint. Although he only has a handful of posts at SEO For Free, they are very thorough and his writing style is easy to understand, even for those who are techy challenged. He peppers his posts with links to great information on various subjects about the ins and outs of the interent. I like your site Mark and I'm looking forward to reading more of your posts.

My rating for this site - 5 nyuks :)

Fuelmyblog.com

2007-01-21T19:01:00.000-08:00

Fuelmyblog.com

Fuelmyblog.com is one those sites that is just really cool. So cool in fact that it has gone beyond viral now. It seems that word has gotten out about the site and starting next week the owner of the site will have his own radio show, interviewing bloggers on the radio each week! How cool is that? Check in at Fuelmyblog.com for the most current info.

The site itself is a virtual wall of blogs, each square being 40 by 40 pixels. You simply find a square to your liking, click it on, fill out a little information and voila! You have nearly instant free advertising for your blog. A really cool feature is that you can mouse over a picture and it will give you a thumbnail sketch of what the blog is about. I love this place!

My rating for this site - 5 nyuks :)

The Florida Blog

2007-01-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

The Florida Blog

While this blog has only been around for a couple of months, The Florida Blog is most definetly a blog that you should bookmark whether you're planning a vacation to Florida, you live in Florida or you just want some neat information about the Sunshine State, The Florida Blog has it all.

The author of The Florida Blog not only posts about the everyday happenings in her life in Florida with observations about issues and places to visit. She also has an exhaustive tome of resources, attractions, and information about Florida.

Whether you're planning a trip to Florida or you are a "native" Floridian, this blog is worth checking out. I can't wait to see what else this creative author will post next.

My rating for the site 5 nyuks :)

Stirring The Pots

2007-01-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

Stirring The Pots

I came across Stirring The Pots, expecting to find a Martha Stewart type blog of recipes and handy household tips on cleaning my toilet bowl using a concoction of stewed lemon rinds and water (this is an actual tip by the way, you may want to write this down - six lemon rinds (juices squeezed out) and four cups of water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for ten minutes. Let it cool, strain out the lemon rinds and pour the liquid into a spray bottle. Works wonders as an all around household cleaner.) However much to my surprise what I found is someone who likes to play with double entendres.

While Stirring The Pots does have recipes on the blog (they look yummy) the owner has also posted her observations of life and her feelings on such matters as bitchy soccer moms and the death penalty. Hence the double entendre - Stirring The Pots.

I like the writer'r writing style and the recipes. She also has some links up on subjects that she appears passionate about. The only thing that I can fault the owner on is: not enough posts. Come on, we want some more of your recipes and your views on life!

Should the owner decide to put more time into this blog, I think it is very worthwhile to bookmark Stirring The Pots and check back and she what the author has to say.

My rating for this site 4.5 nyuks :) (I reserve the right to come back and give her a 5 if she adds more salacious content.)

The Sideshow

2007-01-20T16:02:00.000-08:00

The Sideshow

A friend of mine asked me to review this site as she thought it to be worthwhile to get some exposure for The Sideshow. If you are looking for a place that has everything a left leaning, card carrying Democrat could ever want, then I suggest you make The Sideshow your own personal playground.

This is one hell of a concise blog. The owner posts her opinions and musings of the day. Whether I agree with her politics or not her posts always have links to back up her opinions.

Additionally she has one of the most comprehensive lists of resources that I have ever seen. It must have taken her days to put all those links up there and kudos for having such a compendium of information.

I also like her writing style. She doesn't mince words and gets to the point without nuance. One other feature that I like about her site is the little checkbox in the upper right hand corner. If you check the box, then every link you click will open in a new window. There is nothing I hate more than websites or blogs that think they need to keep you on their page. It shows poor design and lacks critical thinking. If you don't open into a new window and you start boring into several pages of whatever site you are on, it is a huge pain in the butt to get back to the original page. When a link opens into a new page, your original page stays there and then a person can easily just go back to that window. I like The Sideshow. Good job!

My rating for this site 4.5 nyuks :)

The Political Brawl Hall

2007-01-19T19:43:00.000-08:00

The Political Brawl Hall

As its name implies this message board is a place to mix it up with your political opponents. If politics is your thing, then The Political Brawl Hall should be on your short list of bookmarked sites.

This place is not for the faint of heart. The board is, for the most part, unmoderated and therefore there is randy language from time to time. The owners of the board pretty much let their members mix it up and at times there are good old catfights with some bare knuckle brawling thrown in for good measure.

The Political Brawl Hall was established only six months ago as a phpBB message board, yet they have some fairly impressive numbers for such a new board. They boast 117 registered users with nearly 25,000 posts as of this writing.

While it seems that most of the 117 members lean towards the left, there are enough conservatives at the site to keep things interesting. And if you are coming to talk about politics make sure that you bring your lunch. If you start posting about something, with no facts to back up your opinions, you will be called on it and slapped with a wet noodle.

While politics is the meat and potatoes of the board, there are other sub forums that deal with issues from food to entertainment. These forums are much less heated than the political area, as one might expect. It's kind of hard to get worked up over a casserole. All in all, it seems that the owners have put together a nice little community with a bright future in a niche market.

My rating for this site - 5 nyuks :)

If You Could See What I See, the blog

2007-01-18T15:18:00.000-08:00

If You Could See What I See.

I came across this quaint and quirky little blog. It is an eclectic fling filled with personal experiences at fabulous restaurants and hotels such as The Biltmore Estate, Miss Molly's Tea Room, the restaurant at the Hotel Italo, Maracay, Venezuela and The Ritz in Paris, France.

This girl knows what she likes and her writing is extremely engrossing. Bringing me right into the main dining room of the Ritz as if I were a part of some extravagant dinner party, while I nosh on my escargot.

If You Could See What I See also has for the well heeled reader, a short review of the period piece movie Daniel Deronda, based on the novel by George Eliot. She's also had the pleasure of meeting Leonard Cohen and she comments on his movie Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man .

And on top of everything else, she is monetizing her site! A girl after my own heart. Nothing like doing what you like and getting paid to do so. But I must ask - "where the hell is your adsense ads?". ;-)

This blog is less than a month old and in my estimation is worth putting on your reading list. I can't wait to see what she sees next!

My rating for this site: 5 Nyuks :)

SweepstakesAdvantage.com

2007-01-18T08:46:00.000-08:00

SweepstakesAdvantage.com

SweepstakesAdvantage.com is a niche website devoted to people who love to enter sweepstakes. It used to be (and from what I read, still is to some extent) that you would see an advertisment for a sweepstakes on anything from a cereal box to a televison commercial in which you would have to send a 3 X 5 card with your personal information and mail it off. No more! This is the 21st century after all.

SweepstakesAdvantage.com has an extensive sweepstakes listing of over 4,500 sweepstakes! They are arranged by various categories from type of entry (daily, weekly, one time, etc.) to type of prize (cash, computers, DVD's, etc.)

SweepstakesAdvantage.com also has a thriving phpBB forums connnected to the site where members talk about anything from what they've won to what to wear to a party. SweepstakesAdvantage.com ranks high with all the search engines with the keyword sweepstakes.

Apparently sweepstaking is a very serious hobby and people seem to love the way the site is laid out and the tools available to them, all at no cost. This site seems to have everything that a sweepstaking fanatic would be looking for.

My rating for this site: 5 nyuks :)

PennySocial.com

2007-01-18T08:10:00.000-08:00

PennySocial.com.

PennySocial.com at first glace seems to be just another rewards site. Do an offer, get points, collect enough points and you can order something from the site. However, PennySocial.com upon further inspection is a notch above the run of the mill rewards site. They have been around only two months but are getting some decent traffic as evidenced by their Kickoff Sweepstakes in which they gave away a PlayStation2. There were almost 2,000 entries for the prize.

For starters, they not only offer rewards, but have drawings for prizes on a weekly and monthly basis. More prizes = more visitors. More visitors = more monetization. They also have the state of the art vBulletin forums where it seems that no topic is off limits. The owners seem to allow members to post with little moderation.

Then there is the rewards area where members can complete offers to gain points. Here is another little wrinkle that the site offers. When a member accumulates a certain amount of points, they have the option of using the points for the aforementioned weekly and monthly drawings of prizes or they can use the points to get cash via PayPal or Amazon.com Gift Certificates.

It seems the owners have a passion for the site. They have readily admitted in their forums that the site isn't working exactly like they would want. They do however seem dedicated to fixing some of the glitches that many new websites encounter.

All in all, PennySocial.com is a place where you can win prizes, earn cash and socialize and depending on your multi-tasking abilities, simultaneously.

My rating for this site: 5 Nyuks :)

Cool Steals and Deals Online

2007-01-18T07:52:00.000-08:00

Cool Steals and Deals Online

Cool Steals and Deals Online is one of the most comprehensive shopping sites that I have ever seen. The fact that it is a blog and not a website is even more mind boggling. It is obvious from the content on the blog that this blog owner puts in a lot of time searching out great deals. Honestly, I have no idea how the owner finds these great deals but it is obvious that she has the knack to "fish 'em out" as she states on her blog.

It not only has great deals and I am serious when I say that they are great deals, Cool Steals and Deals Online also offers a whole seperate blog page just for coupon codes, which are hot in the online retail world.

Watch out Brad's Deals, it looks like Cool Steals and Deals Online is here to stay and offers some unique niche shopping deals in the crowded and ultra competitive online retail world.

My rating for this site: 5 Nyuks :)

Ruminate

2007-01-18T06:20:00.000-08:00

ru·mi·nate Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[roo-muh-neyt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation verb, -nat·ed, -nat·ing. –verb (used without object)

1. to chew the cud, as a ruminant.

2. to meditate or muse; ponder. –verb (used with object)

3. to chew again or over and over.

4. to meditate on; ponder.

Such a diverse word and one of my personal favorites. I have always been on the lookout for websites and blogs that are irreverant, off beat, offer something of value, make your life easier, gee whiz or are just so cool that I want to tell others about them. So I decided to create this blog, where I will ruminate, marinate, muse, ponder and tell you my opinions about websites or blogs that I feel deserve to get a shout out.