January 24, 2008
Recently the state of Illinois put into place a new law which required “silent reflection” at the start of each school day. It actually dictated in Senate Bill 1463 that each teacher had to observe this silence but it could not be connected to a specific religious exercise. The legislature just called it an opportunity for the students to reflect. Many citizens did not agree and the law is being contested now.
My thought on this is what the legislators thought the students would be during at this time? Were they supposed to be thinking about lunch or worrying about a spelling test? Obviously these legislatures were making a not-so-subtle inference that prayer would be an option in public schools. I have observed this recently in an elementary classroom and noticed that it was nothing but an awkward silence. Children are unsure where to look, what to do, or what to think during this unusual silent moment in their classrooms and some even nervously laugh because they don’t really know how to respond. I do believe that there are social norms that children need to be taught, however this awkward moment of silence has never really been explained to most children because teachers didn’t ask for it and don’t seem to want it themselves. I feel that this time lost is a silly waste of precious school time to appease some legislator’s constituents. Perhaps they need to come to the schools and explain what this time is to be for exactly.
The only thing that comes close to this in my high school experience was the requirement to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Some students chose not to say anything but did stand. I’m not really sure what would have happened if a teacher demanded that it was said because I never saw it go that far. I wonder what would happen if a student refused to be silent during this new time in an elementary classroom. I also think that there are teachers who aren’t even doing this because they are not seeing a value to their students. One possible solution to this would be if each classroom voted whether or not they wanted to observe this silence, or if a national tragedy or death of family member of a student occurred, then a moment of silence would be given out of respect.
January 22, 2008
Hi
It`s mariah again. Will you ever contact me?
I made those nude pictures especially for you and I wont write to you again!
If you wanna see them just drop me a line at: bmariah4@***.info
January 17, 2008
This week my dog seemed to think it was okay to start randomly puking all over the house. He’s somewhat of a “plump” puppy and when I feed him he hogs it down like he hasn’t eaten in 25 days. Later in the day I seem to find little presents of dog puke from his smorgasbord earlier on.
I was at “the Walmart” last night and saw the Bissell 1200B SpotBot Hands-Free Compact Deep Cleaner Carpet Cleaner
so I picked one up. I figured since I’ve been paying $40 each time to have someone clean the carpets when he does this I will have this thing pay for itself in only a few months. I also got a huge bottle of the Bissell 0799 Pet Odor & Stain Removal Formula - 32oz
you add with it (generic brand pet solution from Walmart).
This thing is awesome. It’s SO easy to use that all you have to do is set it on top of the stain itself and hit one button. Done. It does it’s thing for about 6 minutes and beeps when it’s done. I didn’t want to wait for the area to dry so I used the attached vacuum hose to suck up the rest of the water. FAB-U-LOUS! This is a must have product if you have kids and/or pets, or spill a lot on your carpets!
January 16, 2008
i couldn’t resist
January 15, 2008
Yesterday was my first day of 2nd semester at Western Illinois University. At first when I made my schedule I wasn’t sure if I could handle it. I ended up taking 7 classes, and my days at school are 13 hours long. Yes, that sounds horrific I know, but it actually is a pretty good day. I have (3) 1 hour breaks where I go outside, eat my lunch (pb&j), have a smoke break (150 feet away - thx new IL law :P) and rest my brain. I’m really looking forward to this semester because I get to spend even more time than before in a classroom. I will also have the chance to do some teaching.
I also reached my goal to attend ASW today! I want to thank everyone who bought text links or just donated to the fund. I hope to see you all in Las Vegas and we can say hello! I have my plane ticket purchased 
January 9, 2008
i forgot to update my experience with startsampling.com for my free samples from this post
i have been receiving the magazines Better Homes & Gardens and Games For Windows for a while now 
yay!
i am now waiting to receive an issue of bridal guide magazine (for my friend jenna), hamburger helper microwave singles, and sunsilk anti-flat hairspray !
January 8, 2008
i really can’t believe it’s 2008 already. i have had a pretty amazing year, been very blessed, and have met so many great people from the internet community that will impact my life forever.
when i attended SES NY in dec of 2006, i really learned how amazing the people in this community are. being able to spend time with rebecca kelley, cameron olthuis, rhea drysdale, becky ryan, dave naylor, shawn hogan, frank watson, eddie machado, james fleet, dax herrera, rea hoffman, david temple, jane copeland, daron & brandy, todd friesen, li evans, jessie stricchiola, danny sullivan, vanessa fox, greg hartnett, brian prince, adam sussman, simon heseltine, todd malicoat, marcus tandler, joe morin, and mike jones & brock with the pepperjam crew. i know i left a ton of names out there and i’m sorry but it’s hard to remember back a year without going through pictures galore! just know that all of you influenced me in some way and for that i am grateful.
this year i had the honor of organizing the first two elite retreat events, where i learned so much and started my internet community networking circle. to only name a few, elite retreat introduced me to guy kawasaki, lee dodd, neil patel, kris jones, aaron wall, darren rowse, chris hooley, laura alter, kevin henrikson, suj patel, bruce sutherland, alexander barbara, lisa brown, wendy piersall, and many other attendees that i still keep in contact with.
i also attended the affiliate summit west in las vegas (first time in vegas), where again i met so many great people that are some of my best friends today. all of the guys from wicked fire are what made that such a great experience for me. i cannot wait to go back to see everyone again this year!
my favorite conference experience by far was SES NY in april where my crew was absolutely off the chart! chris hooley, jon heinl, nicola young, cheryl clark, amy tuck, and joe whyte are by far the best people i could have been with. i even made a video of how awesome my trip was. not only was it a trip to a conference, but we had a killer time at spotlight which is the best karoake club in the world, where i got to meet kerry simon (as seen on iron chef) and meet master shake from aqua teen hunger force.
after getting to know my friends from wickedfire (eli, c0ck, smax, jon, crypt, tobsn, voodooman, engaged, darfur, conceptualmind, mwattier) for so long we decided to plan a trip together and hang out again. at first it was scheduled for chicago, and soon got derailed to go snowboarding on mt hood in oregon where eli lives, which most people decided not to go but me and eli. jon waraas and wes came to board with us along with eli’s sisters and we had the weekend of a lifetime.
i have been truly blessed this year because of all of the wonderful people who have become a part of my life. because of the amazing relationships i have made this year, i know my business will only get better and i am looking forward to new projects coming up!
I wish everyone the best of luck in this new year, 2008 should be quite an interesting year for online marketing with all of the changes to come.
January 7, 2008
I had a real decision to make. Was I going to drop out short of graduation this year or try to wade through the student loan brokers to find enough money to finish? It hadn’t been easy. I had borrowed all the government money, had gotten all the grants I qualified for, and was not able to do more than barely get by on the jobs I was able to snag. Trying to finish college after a stint in the work world is pretty hard. Parents had helped early on but they are tapped out and retired. You know, really, how long can they be expected to help? I still had classes left. I was feeling really dead-ended. I found myself trying to figure out a million ways to get this done with no real possibilities!
In December I was chatting online with a recent college grad who mentioned NextStudent and how she finished her degree. I found it easily and began looking through the site. It was pretty easy to locate. Then I found what I really need in understandable language- private student loans! It was simple to apply with my information and got a personal reply quickly from a NextStudent employee. He explained that the private loans can cover the total cost of my last few semesters including books, fees, services, and even travel if it is an educational expense. I never expected it to be so easy and so fast. I am heading back this semester with a load off my mind. I know I can borrow up to $30, 000.00 per year if I need it. NextStudent is easy to understand as a website and easy to apply. Man, tell your friends. This site hooks you up with the cash to finish. Go online to NextStudent and see for yourself! It works.
January 6, 2008
i’ve had a really hard time lately trying to find a good designer and programmer and whenever i ask around people tell me that they know of some but they don’t want to give them up! that is completely understandable, but it’s frustrating trying to find someone to fit your needs. The team at WickedFire, an affiliate marketing forum, have created WickedFire Services, which is a fantastic and thorough job board. The site is currently in beta and i would highly encourage any service providers to get on there asap because it’s only $5 per lead!! People who sign up looking for work to be done it’s completely free!
If you can draw, design, code, or are good with seo, now is the time to get on there and get your name known! There is no doubt in my mind you’ll get more work than you can handle. Everyone I know is always looking for work to be done. Here’s the different categories available:
Design: Logos, Landing Pages, Full Sites, Forum Skins. Wordpress Layouts, eCommerce Sites
Programming/Coding: PHP, CSS / HTML, JavaScript, Ruby, Python, Perl, SQL / MySQL, Windows Software Development, Linux Software Development
SEO/SEM: Full SEO, PPC Management, Directory Links, Link Building, Text Links, SE Submissions
Hosting: Virtual/Shared Host, Business Host, Dedicated, Resellers, Cheap Hosting, Linux Server Management, Windows Server Management
Domains: Parking/Monetizing Services, Bulk Registrars, Domain Investments, Domain Services/Tools, Domains Resellers, Domain Auctions, Domain Brokers
Email Marketing: Email Marketing (Hosted), Newsletter Services, Email List Management, Email Consulting, Email Cleaning, Email Lists/Data, Email Servers/Programs, Custom Email Solutions
Services: Article Writing, Blog Posts, eBook Writing
“Ultimately this is a great way for the consumers to know and finally find at least one provider that will be able to deliver a quality project for them, at a fair price. For the provider they no longer have to compete with extremely low priced quotes by outsourcing firms or low caliber freelancers, and best of all, they don’t have to haggle with the consumer anymore. They can spend more time working on the projects and getting them completed quicker with the same high caliber of quality they’ve wanted to produce for ages now, and thus we get happier clients/consumers who don’t have to worry about who’s hands their projects will fall into or worry about having it delivered on time. It’s a win-win situation for both parties, and for WickedFire, it’s great for us, because it’s created a totally new way for us to successfully monetize our network, without harassing our users or ruining our brand with excessive advertising.”