Reviews by Cole » life

Home, Home on the Range

Cole — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:42:45 +0000

I never figured I was much of a house person. Too much room. Too many places I might want to be. Too much extra space to fill with furniture and decor. Shopping and paying for homeowners insurance. More areas which need cleaning. But after spending some time at Jenn’s, I’ve kind of come around to the idea. There are definitely perks, like having your own washer and dryer in your home (and not having to pay in quarters!) or having a garage. And having front and back yards where you can have patio furniture, grill out or decorate for holidays is pretty alluring, too.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not entirely sold on the idea and am in no position to go out and buy a house, anyway but I am coming around to the idea and it might be a goal sometime in the future. And when/if that time comes, I am sure I’ll have a lovely time with maintenance and repairs, homeowners insurance and neighbour’s kids and dogs. Like any residence, there are perks and disadvantages to the situation.

When Cole is Away

Cole — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:09:41 +0000

she doesn’t play. she cleans her mom’s house. And is jealous of space. and nice carpet. and ceramic tiles. she also has a really hard time using someone else’s computer which is why her typing sucks shit. She apologizes. It’s hard to care when you’re dead tired from running after a 7 year old.

So how’ve you been?

Cole — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:43:53 +0000

I’m sitting here bored, playing Yahtzee on Pogo (I just won the round!). I’ve got lots of things to review but I just don’t feel like doing it this very second, okay? We bought a TV around Turkey day and it showed up at the end of last week. Ryan is very happy, I am.. getting used to it. You can expect a review of that, of course. I posted our old one on Craigslist and we got a call today which became a sale before heading off for Phantom’s annual shots. He was such a good kitty, it really made me happy. I’m starting to get sick again; my sinuses and throat aren’t so happy and it totally sucks. So I’m typing between blowing my nose and checking my junk mail folder (but there’s nothing good, just fake messages from Wal-mart and natural weight loss pills ads).

Oh! I’m looking for a nice set of flannel sheets in white/off white that can fit our 17″ mattress. Suggestions?

You and Me, Both

Cole — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:46:38 +0000

Earlier I was talking to Jenn and we were commiserating over our dislike of cleaning. She was scrubbing her grout, a job I particularly hate and skim over (oop!). I’m not a big fan of scrubbing anything, period. The practical part of me never wants tile anything but the part of me which appreciates design cannot help but look at some of the options available for tile flooring or walls or showers or what-have-you and say “I want that!” Some of the options they have are so unique/gorgeous and really blow our basic shower tile out of the water (haha). Good thing it’s all out of my price range and I don’t own my home, eh?

Already?

Cole — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:06:46 +0000

A close friend of mine (yea, that’d be Ashe) is dealing with the consequences of her father’s heart attack. It makes you think, really. I asked if they had insurance to cover the bills because there’s certainly been many racked up in the past week or so. It makes one really wonder about cheap insurance. It also makes me wonder if this is just the start of parents passing away in my generation. I don’t think I’m ready to deal with that yet.

“If this is an Emergency, Please Hang up and Dial 911″

Cole — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:41:42 +0000

And if you’re stupid enough to be calling the hospital when you think you might, I don’t know, die, then you deserve what’s coming to you. On the other hand, I felt the way I was routed through countless menus and back around to the original menu was pretty damned unfair and annoying. I’ve been trying to call the on base hospital for a girly appointment and had to go through the main menu multiple times because I kept being interrupted (calls, Fedex, cats) but they couldn’t hook me up because of special circumstances. They gave me two numbers to someplace – who knows where – and they couldn’t help me either. In turn, they gave me another number which took me through yet another menu which rerouted me to the first one (well, the second time. The first time it didn’t even do anything after it rang!). Finally, I got ahold of someone who said I cannot call to make my own appointment but I need a referral from my regular doctor so I had to call and make an appointment.. to make my appointment. Yea, okay.

I know there’s not some inbound call center with an endless bank of phones with folks to man them and that nurses and doctors and clerks have shit to do. I get that. I don’t get why everything has to be so difficult, though. Or why I need an appointment to make an appointment.

Make Money Online: Sell Advertisments

Cole — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:06:46 +0000

A while ago, I intended to do a series of poss about making money online. Unfortunately, I got sidetracked and only ever managed to write one post, about using Context/Inline Ads to make money. In it, I covered the services which insert ads/links into your content whenever you use a keyword. It’s a relatively passive way to earn revenue and I continue to use it; however, I use less services now than I did before.

Today I’d like to talk to you about using text and banner ads services like those provided by Adsense, Bidvertiser and Adbrite. Of course, even if you never think twice about this type of advertising, you’ve heard of Google’s Adsense service and maybe of Adbrite, too. All of these networks allow publishers and advertisers to easily find one another. Generally, as a publisher (blog owner), you don’t do much besides submit your site and let the advertisers come to you. You can manually approve individual ads if you choose but I always set to automatically approve ads and, if I really find an ad offensive, can ban it from the site. That hasn’t been an issue, yet.

These ad networks typically have more than one form of ads. For example, Adbrite has full page ads, inline ads (as I’ve previously discussed) and the focus of this post, banner and text ads. You can see an example of both of these on my site, currently. In the sidebar is a block of text ads and between the posts, on the main page, are 468 x 60 standard sized banners. Of course, these are only two styles of many which are available from the different ad networks. The size and style of ads can be changed to best suit your site’s layout and content. The ads featured in these blocks generally change when your content does but sometimes the relevance is dubious.

Here’s a quick rundown of my experience with these services.

Adsense is, unarguably, the largest ad marketplace probably due to the force behind it (Google). This makes it a great option for both advertisers and publishers. It has a clean control panel which is similar to that of other Google services and allows you to easily edit account information, your ad zones, see your profits, et cetera. Good ads tend to look the best, in my opinion, with the little “Ads by Google” border around many of them. It’s also very customizable. Adsense widgets are also available through Blogger and perhaps even WordPress.

In terms of relevance, Adsense was pretty good. I remember posting a cat litter review and, for the next week or so, most of my ads focused on cat and pet products. Of course, some content just doesn’t seem to have as many relevant ads and sometimes I would see ads about things that I only touched on very briefly (like weight loss). Ultimately, I was pretty happy with the type of ads showing up.

The one big downside to Google’s Adsense is that they have such a high payout $100 (there are several payment options but check seems to be the best). This may not be detrimental if you run a large, well known site but smaller site owners and bloggers such as myself may find this to be more of a road block. I was nearly at the payout line, after almost a year, when Adsense suddenly terminated my account because they no longer want my site in the network. Unfortunately, all ad networks really get choose whether or not your site is acceptable but I am unhappy with Adsense nonetheless. All of the funds I had earned – and I was only a few dollars away from payout – were returned to the advertisers. Essentially, they got free ads. I can never join it again, no matter if I want to try to use the network on another site and they didn’t give me a specific reason.

Adbrite is the site I have had the most success with. It’s less known but still fairly popular when it comes to banner and text ads. It’s interface is a little more sloppy or, perhaps, web 1.0 compared to Adsense but it’s functional and easy enough to edit account information or your ad zones, including blocking specific ads as I mentioned before. The ads, in general, don’t seem to be quite on par with the quality of ads from Adsense but the payout is much less: only $10 in one month, I believe. Although I am not making as much as I was with Adsense, overall, I’ve already been sent two checks from Adbrite and one will be processed at the beginning of next month. Adbrite has been fairly consistent for me and it is currently the only ad network I use for anything. Unfortunately, check is the only option for payment and some people might prefer Paypal.

The relevance of my ads through Adbrite is rather hit or miss. Currently, I have many ads for making money online as well as some for a specific Facebook game. They don’t really relate to my comment; although, I suppose they will after I post this entry. ;)

Bidvertiser may be the least well known of all three of these networks. Like Adbrite, you can choose inline ads or a variety of text and banner ad sizes. I used to post text ads from them on the lower left sidebar of my blog. I found that Bidvertiser offered fewer links, probably because it is a smaller marketplace. However, the clicks were all worth more, individually, than clicks at either Adsense or Adbrite. Because of this, I think it would have taken me longer to reach payout – a minimum of $10 for Paypal. The option to use Paypal also boosts the credibility of the network, in my opinion. Bidvertiser’s site was a bit more confusing than the other one, but not so much that it was impossible. It’s also rather attractive. The ads themselves fall in between Adbrite and Adsense in terms of attractiveness.

Because the Bidvertiser network seemed so small, the ads were probably not as relevant or varied as I would have liked.

While there are more ad networks that are similar to these, Adsense and Adbrite likely make up the majority of ads you see on the internet and it’s little wonder why. For publishers or advertisers who have had issues with Adsense, I would recommend trying Adbrite or Bidvertiser, but not to expect as much possible revenue as Adsense might offer. While I am unhappy with how things turned out with Adsense, I do think it had the most potential of all the ad networks I’ve used whether it was text and banner or other ads. Given the reality, I am happy that Adbrite has been consistent and also has a lower payout than other sites.

I

Cole — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 00:20:57 +0000

Seriously. I would die without it. It was bad enough in Misawa when we just had our fans, desipte the fact that it wasn’t nearly as hot or humid. And I know it’s not design friendly but I love ceiling fans, too (sometimes a little white noise isn’t bad in itself). I can’t imagine ever living in a house which doesn’t have ceiling fans; actually, we have no lighting fixture on our bedroom ceiling at all. Isn’t that weird? If we didn’t have A/C, I would definitely start shopping for discount ceiling fans and install one myself, if I had to.

All Cooped Up

Cole — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:23:11 +0000

I was listening to the radio the other day (and maybe I mentioned it) on my way to Wal-mart. A couple morning shows were on and some hosts were discussing staying inside to avoid the heat. The woman was previously from the North and felt relieved because it allowed her to be lazy without feeling guilty. I, on the other hand, simply feel restless. Part of it is because Ryan is gone, of course but even I have a limit for being lazy. ;) So instead of relief, I feel guilt, like I need to be stocking up on the diet pills and whatnot because leaving the house kills me. )=

The Phantom Menace

Cole — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:43:00 +0000

We have occasionally called Phantom a menace ever since we got him. As a hyperactive kitten and now a curious cat who loves to chew holes in the cat food bags, he has given us a fair share of grief. I love him, still, of course. As I speak, he is sniffing around the desk. Maybe he’ll bug his brother and they’ll knock the phone off again (I hope not). Oh yes, the food bags? I have to put them in plastic Wal-mart type bags to cover all the holes. As I was doing this the other day, the entire bottom fell out because Phantom chewed complete through it. There was more “hole” than “bag”. Guess who gets to go shopping for pet supplies to find a food bin? You guessed right, that would be me.