Mother’s Got A Dot Com

Wondering what to do this weekend? Visit these lovely people!

- And you might want to pop in here as well:

The 4 oldest Brats are getting to that age when they have to consider a career. It’s not easy - there are so many possibilities.

It’s not easy to advise them either. We can come up with suggestions and ideas, but at the end of the day, they have to make that call themselves. Their plans are quite diverse, and we think that’s wonderful - after all, what would the world look like if we all had IT jobs…

#1 Brat is heavily into music at the moment, and is enjoying a year at a music academy. I think it’ll be just the one year - she wanted to explore herself and her talent. It may come to something, or not. She wants to travel before she’s stuck with a mortgage, a steady job and kids, and I don’t blame her. She’ll probably be working for a while next year to save up for a trip around the world. I shiver at the prospect, but I understand… As for an education - she’ll get one. When she figures out what she wants.
#2 Brat wants to be a designer, and has done two years of dress design already. She’s still at it, but this last year of high school is more academic, to improve her chances of getting into the schools she wants to attend, in Denmark. Slightly less alarming, but she’ll probably have to take some punches along the way.
#3 Brat wants to be a carpenter, and is well on the way. He needs to find a place to do his apprenticeship as of next year, and has started looking into it already.
#4 Brat is going to high school next year - at the moment she wants to be a psychologist. A daunting prospect, but we’ll be backing her if that’s what she wants.

I’m glad I’m not 18 anymore - I guess I’ll never quite figure out what I’ll be when I grow up, but I’m glad I’ve got my life (at least partially) figured out. And the Brats - well, if they’re happy, I’m happy. They’ll have their share of bloody noses - that’s life - but I hope they’ll be able to find their own ways to happiness without too much grief along the way.

With all these rave reviews, are the so-called “superfoods” really as efficient as they’re made out to be?
I’m innately sceptical, and when a product (like Lipovox) is supposed to burn fat, rid you of acne and reduce wrinkles - all in one pill - I immediately start thinking of fairytales.
Still - I also believe that a healthy diet can help with most health issues. The difficulty, of course, is knowing what really constitutes a healthy diet. (And don’t tell me you know, because experts disagree so much, it’s ridiculous!)
In those circumstances, one might as well start listening to Oprah. Hm. One yo-yo dieter to another: does it really work?

I found this over at Comedy Plus’s place, and I thought I’d give it a go. So i did. Some of these things I knew (JFK met with his fate in Dallas 4 days before I was born), most of them I did not. I’m so happy about the bit on television remote controls though…

In 1963 (the year you were born)

Lyndon B. Johnson becomes president of the US The atomic powered submarine, Thresher, sinks in the North Atlantic killing 129 A civil rights rally held by 200,000 blacks and whites, features Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech President John F. Kennedy is assassinated as he rides in a motorcade through downtown Dallas Betty Friedan publishes The Feminine Mystique, launching a middle-class feminist movement Michael Jordan, Quentin Tarantino, Conan O’Brien, Johnny Depp, and Brad Pitt are born The Beatles receive their first #1 hit single, when “Please Please Me” tops the charts in the UK Astroboy (known as Mighty Atom in Japanese) Japan’s first ever anime was launched NBC expands its evening network news program to 30 minutes The television remote control is authorized by the FCC

Now it’s your turn!

Two days ago, just about 22 months after I started blogging, I reached $50 on Adsense. Half the minimum payout… Give me another 22 months, and I’ll get my first check in October 2010.

Wonderful prospects. Maybe I’ll save up my other blog income, buy a trip to las vegas nevada, and just go crazy. You know, spend it all at once…

I did get a cheque the other day though. If you’ve noticed the Savvy Source widget/quiz thing in my sidebar - it paid off, and I got my first ever bona fide US dollar cheque for $44,16. The widget has been up for 3 months or so. The campaign is over now, but they’re working on finding a new sponsor, so I’m hopeful…

Do I give up on Adsense? No way. I’ll stick it out - don’t want to lose my 50 bucks. They will turn into 100 bucks - eventually. I hope.

I’ve been slacking with the Entrecard dropping lately. I drop when I feel like it, and I buy ads when I’ve got the credits. I don’t feel I can take the time to “powerdrop” anymore… I feel I have more time for actual blogging that way (you know - posting, visiting blogs…) and when I see a widget, I drop.
Thanks for advertising everyone - and the rest of you, go clicking!

Oh, yes, and…:

I don’t know what it’s like in other countries - here, the powers that be speak fancy and idealistic words about the environment, and do very little.
For example - we know that motor companies work hard at making more enivironment-friendly cars. They have to, as their customers become more savvy and aware.
Cars are a fact of life, the number will increase, and to reduce CO2 emission from engines, the only way is to develop new technology within the cars themselves.
Mercedes-Benz Blue TEC is one example of motor companies doing their bit for the environment. More information can be obtained at the site, but they claim to have developed the cleanest diesel engine in the world. I don’t know much about these things, but I find it highly improbable that Mercedes-Benz could afford to tell lies about something as important as this.
BlueTEC reduces nitrogen oxides by up to 80%, and it’s the only engine that meets the strict exhaust emission standards of the future.
OK - this is wonderful. I’m sure it’ll cost a bundle though, certainly in this country. Just to put you in the picture - when a new car is sold over here, about 1/3 of the price goes to the state. Around $20000 dollars on average, depending on motor size and the motor company’s pricing.

So - in the spirit of the good of the environment, one would have thought that the hybrids and the engines that emit less toxins would be exempt from some of this tax, no?
No. Safer cars? Same tax. Less CO2? Same tax.

Mercedes-Benz may well be mapping out the future of environmentally sound automotive engineering. They probably are. I wish they’d rally their lobbyists over here too!

#2 Brat has entered a dress she’s designed in a designer competition, and she’s passed the first test, which means that she’s going to be modeling it on the catwalk tomorrow.
So - it’s a girl’s trip to Oslo, complete with an extensive make-up kit, shoes ans stockings, and a stomach full of butterflies.
I haven’t actually seen the dress - she’s used her grandparents’ basement for a studio, and the dress itself is already at the venue, but I’ll see it tomorrow, and post pics from the event.
The first prize is a state-of-the-art sewing machine, and to a designer in the making, that’s something indeed.

I think I’ve found my niche. Not for this one - no one in their right mind would call this a niche blog. No - for my relatively brand new Norwegian one, that I’ve named the equivalent of Work With A Blog, where I’ve approached the subject of Working At Home.

Read the rest of this entry »

I must say I wondered how it was possible.
But when I read up on it, I realized that forwardOn.com really did have a point. When you get all those funny emails from your friends and colleagues - you forward them, right? Ever wondered how many viruses you’ve spread? How much bandwith these attachments “steal” from you - and the friends you forward it to? How they affect your storage space?

Join forwardOn. Instead of forwarding the email directly to your contacts, send it to forwardOn after you’ve deleted all unwanted text like company names, email adresses an so on. They’ll scan it for viruses, post it on their site, and send you an instant reply with the link to your email. That way, you can forward the link to your friends and family, and spare their inboxes and computers. Good thinking, right?

Now - how about the “Go green” part? Well, there’s two ways to go green. By reducing the amount of bandwith and storage, you also reduce power consumption. You can’t do much on you own, but with millions of people doing it, it can make a big difference. Also, you collect points every time your email is viewed. You can redeem the points and donate to Go Green charities, or you can exchange them for gift cards for great free rewards for yourself.

In the process, you can have fun with the site. You get access to loads of amusing stuff that others have posted, and you can share it on facebook, myspace or even on your blog. You can invite your friends, which will earn you points also.

Sounds fun to me… and it makes sense too.