Charity comes in different flavors

What goes around comes around?

I would rather give money to people than to charities or churches.

For example, on a recent cruise ship vacation, I gave our waiters and additional cash tip as we left. I had already arranged that they receive a bigger tip through our credit card. Somehow that did not seem enough so I was compelled to give a few dollars more.

My point is that we (especally Americans) have so much. Let's be honest. We have tons more than we need. I lost over $100 at the ship's casino over the 3 days and nights. I mean, give me a break. If I can lose money gambling and spend money to rent snorkel equipment, then I ought to give a healthier tip.

Agree or disagree?

Some quick tips for Windows XP users

Want to change your Start Menu?

1. Right click a blank spot on the Start Menu.
2. Select Properties
3. Select "Start Menu" at the top
4. Check or uncheck the boxes as you see fit!






Want to rearrange your Desktop items?

1. Right click on an empty space on your desktop, highlight "Arrange Icons By"
2. make your choices!


How to clean up those Firefox cookies on your computer

1.) Open a new browser window
2.) Click on Tools
3.) Click on "Clear Private Data"
4.) Click on "cookies" and anything else you want to delete
5.) Click on OK in the "Clean Private Data Now"

These are direct links to the Windows help page:

Use a Web graphic for your desktop background

Speed up menu display

Manually put your computer into hibernation
Make it easier to pick up where you left off using your laptop, without shutting it down or draining the battery. Learn how to put your computer into hibernation.

Schedule a task to defragment drives
Is your computer getting slower? Your hard drive may need to be defragmented. Have Windows XP automatically do it once a week to keep your computer up to speed.

Add a shortcut to your desktop
Want a faster way to get to that file or folder? Create a shortcut on your desktop so you can access it quickly.

Create a personal screensaver using your photos
Make a screensaver you'll love with the digital photos on your computer. Windows XP makes it easy.

Add new programs to your All Programs menu alphabetically
If you're overwhelmed by the number of items listed on your All Programs menu, make it easier to find what you want by sorting them alphabetically.

Greg Cryns
All About Paso Robles

SEO - blogging tips

Here are some tips for you on Blogging:

For most Blogs, daily updates are probably best, but weekly or even monthly updates might work just as well, depending on your topic and subject matter.

In either case, stick to a schedule. If you usually post daily but sometimes let weeks go by without posting any new content, you'll lose many of your readers.

Remember SEO principles apply to Blogging too plus you have the added advantage of regular robot visits if you stick to your schedule consistently.

~John Alexander Search Engine Workshops

Greg Cryns
Free Freelance Profits report

15 Nifty SEO Google Alert Tips

You may know that you can get the latest news headline links using Google alerts. Simply go to http://www.news.google.com and put in a search for something you want to know more about.

For instance, I may want to get updates on news about "search engine marketing". After you get the results on that page, drag down to the bottom. In the middle you will see New! Get the latest news on search engine marketing with Google Alerts. Click the link to got to the Alerts page.

On the Alerts page you can tell Google how often you want to receive the alerts (I always choose "once a day" and to which email account you want to receive the alerts (some people have many email accounts to choose from). Then hit the "Create Alert" button and you will start receiving the alerts for the term you searched. Easy enough unless you are lazy like me. See, I never thought to investigate the "Type" of search result I was looking for so I was getting just news. I could also have been getting blog, web, video and groups alerts, You also have the option to receive "Comprehensive" alerts. Now I select that option. You can subscribe to alerts in multiple languages.

You can receive up to 1,000 alerts. Woot!

Here are some ideas about how you can use Google Alerts.

1. monitor your competitors - new products, ideas, financial changes - competitive intelligence
2. monitor your customers and prospects - It would be nice to send them a card when they do something newsworthy
3. track your name and your business name - put quotes around the phrases like "Joe Jones" or "Pete's Pies" - what are people saying about you or your company in the blogs?
4. in the "Advanced Search" page you can narrow you search by geographical location, date and other parameters.
5. Track news about new software releases or version upgrades
6. local news - track the subject and the newspaper
7. Want to know when someone links to your website or blog? Search link:myblogname.com
8. authors - get ideas for a new article
9. niches - more ideas and what is happening in your niche
10. job seekers - think of the many ways to use this to learn more about the job market
11. when is a new page from you blog included in Google? type in a unique line from your article
12. cache- what a page looked like earlier cache:compleatmother.com
13. site: get results from just one website
14. related: what does Google think is related to the site - related:www.wahmsearchengine.com
15. inurl: search for the page URLs - inurl:seo Leave your good Google alert tips in the comments.

Greg Cryns