Central Perk

luni, 7 februarie 2011

SEOmoz Daily SEO Blog

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 02:11 PM PST

A quick introduction - I’m Rob and I work for Distilled in the UK office. This is my first post here on SEOmoz, so I hope you find it useful and I look forwards to your feedback.

Running well planned training sessions can be a great way to build the credibility of SEO at the same time as educating your organisation. But if you don’t put the effort in it can look unprofessional and sloppy. Who’s likely to care about implementing good SEO if you don’t even look like you care about it yourself?

Whether you work in-house, or provide training for clients and colleagues at an agency, here are my top tips for SEOs when it comes to planning and delivering effective training sessions.

Identify SEO Needs

SEO is becoming increasingly broad and complex - not everybody in your business needs to know the granular details of SEO from one end to the other. For example, a developer may be on your course to find out how to build SEO friendly sites, but they probably don’t need to know a wealth of link building strategies.

Call or email the potential attendees and identify what they are hoping to get out of the course. What are the key processes in their working day? How can you make them more effective or efficient through education? Don’t deliver a one-size-fits-all SEO course across your whole organisation - use these insights to build a course which addresses the needs of the attendees.

Prepare

There’s absolutely nothing worse than showing up at someone’s desk with no prep and trying to deliver some training off the cuff. They’re unlikely to actually learn anything, and it will not be a positive experience for either party. Make sure you prepare well in advance - give yourself time to create something truly effective.

Set up a good environment

The middle of an office is rarely a good place for training, so make sure you book an adequate room where you can set up an environment that is conducive to learning. You should also:

Ensure you have the right equipment (e.g. projector, laptop) set up before the session starts
Have all of your handouts printed and organised
Put out notepads and pens in case attendees have forgotten them
Making sure the lighting, temperature etc. is appropriate
Get some drinks, water, and biscuits - people love biscuits.

Essentially you should make sure that attendees have everything they need so that they aren’t distracted.

You should also make sure that the room is arranged appropriately for the type of course that you’re delivering. If it’s going to be technical you may need to show examples on-screen, so ensure people are facing the screen and have a writing surface for notes. If you’re doing a creative session (e.g. linkbaiting ideas, content strategies) you could encourage sharing and conversation by arranging the room so that attendees are facing each other. Finally, if attendees will be undertaking team tasks, small clusters may work best.

Training Room Layouts

Structure

Build your training session around a handful of key learning outcomes - these should be relatively easy to identify if your needs analysis was successful. For a course about optimising blog posts, they could be:

How to use keyword tools
How to identify good target keywords
Where to use keywords in an article.

In addition, Aristotle’s (simplified) ideas on giving a speech are a useful guide for structuring training:

Tell them what you’re going to tell them
Tell them
Tell them what you told them.

I usually use this to structure the course as a whole, as well as for each key learning point. It helps keep the attendees on track and clearly defines different sections.

Finally, if the course is an interactive group session I’d recommend using an ice-breaker to get people sharing and talking. For some ideas, check out these resources:

Combining the all of the above, your session may look something like this:

Training Session Structure

Slides

Powerpoint slides should be clean, minimal signposts for your session - an indication of how the training is progressing. You shouldn’t be filling your slides with text and reading it word for word (although there are some exceptions - if you’re teaching someone how to build an XML sitemap, you’ll probably need some XML up there). Light-hearted images can help to maintain a relaxed atmosphere, but don’t overdo it.

Effective learning won’t come from your crazy powerpoint skills, but it will come from...

1) An Engaging Presentation Style
If you’re not a natural presenter practice in the mirror, in front of your family, in front of your dog - whatever works best for you. The more you do it, the better you’ll get and the more you’ll relax.

If you’re a really nervous speaker, try to develop a routine before you start (e.g. setting up the room, hooking up the projector) that will provide a distraction.

2) Interactive Exercises
Teaching other people, sharing ideas, relaying tasks back to the group can all contribute to a deeper understanding of a subject and higher retention rates.

Exercises could be as simple as writing ideas for link targets on a board and explaining them back to the group, or using computers (if you have a training room that allows it) to research keywords in teams. You can also give attendees a short test on what you’ve just covered, although try to keep them fun.

I’d recommend working at least one exercise into each key learning outcome.

Learn about learning styles

Different people respond best to different methods of teaching. Honey and Mumford’s work on learning styles is well known and identifies 4 main categories:

Activists (those that learn from doing)
Reflectors (from reviewing)
Theorists (from making conclusions)
Pragmatists (by putting ideas into practice and experimenting).

These are usually identified by using a questionnaire, but I’ve seen very experienced trainers spot these traits on the fly and address them accordingly. For an SEO implementing their own training sessions this might be beyond the call of duty, but some reading about learning styles is another step on the path to becoming a training ninja.

Feedback & Follow Up

Finally, the one thing that I would absolutely recommend to all SEOs who want to get better at training is to ask every attendee to fill out a feedback form when the course is over (I've put together a generic feedback form you can use). Try to make the process anonymous so that you get their honest thoughts. It can be hard to take criticism at first, but you should look at each negative comment as an opportunity to get even better.

Soon after the course send a follow-up email with your contact details, soft copies of course materials, links to resources, and a thank you to the attendees for taking the time to come along.

Hopefully this post will give you some information that you can go away and use to deliver better training courses to your colleagues and clients. Of course, I’d welcome any feedback and suggestions in the comments below, or you can always catch me on Twitter.

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Seth's Blog : How should you treat your best customers?

[You're getting this note because you subscribed to Seth Godin's blog.]

How should you treat your best customers?

Here's what most businesses do with their best customers: They take the money.

The biggest fan of that Broadway show, the one who comes a lot and sits up front? She's paying three times what the person just three rows back paid.

That loyal Verizon customer, the one who hasn't traded in his phone and has a contract for six years running? He's generating far more profit than the guy who switches every time a contract expires and a better offer comes along.

Or consider the loyal customer of a local business. The business chooses to offer new customers a coupon for half off—but makes him pay full price...

If you define "best customer" as the customer who pays you the most, then I guess it's not surprising that the reflex instinct is to charge them more. After all, they're happy to pay.

But what if you define "best customer" as the person who brings you new customers through frequent referrals, and who sticks with you through thick and thin? That customer, I think, is worth far more than what she might pay you in any one transaction. In fact, if you think of that customer as your best marketer instead, it might change everything.

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duminică, 6 februarie 2011

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Egyptians Banks Open, Customers Line Up 100 Deep for Cash; Short-Term Interest Rates Expected to Hit 12.5%; Egypt About to Become Net Oil Importer

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 01:50 PM PST

The Egyptian stock markets will remain closed until February 8, but banks are now open and customers have queued up 100-deep to pull out cash. Withdrawals are limited to $10,000 a day and 50,000 Egyptian pounds (about $8,500 and falling fast).

Please consider Egyptians Line Up for Cash as Banks Open, Pound Falls

Hundreds of Egyptians queued outside banks to withdraw funds as lenders opened for the first time in more than a week amid protests demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. The pound dropped to the lowest level since 2005.

The pound weakened 1.3 percent to 5.9330 against the U.S. dollar, the lowest level since January 2005, at 5:07 p.m. in Cairo, from 5.857, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The central bank published on its website a list of more than 200 bank branches resuming operations today between 10:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Customers are allowed to withdraw up to 50,000 Egyptian pounds and $10,000 a day.

Yields on Egypt's bills may surge about 30 percent, said Shahinaz Foda, the head of treasury at BNP Paribas Egypt. Credit Agricole CIB expects the pound to slump 20 percent in the "short term." The currency's three- month non-deliverable forwards rose to a record last week, suggesting the currency may fall more than 7 percent against the dollar.

Yields on three-month treasury bills should be "not less than" 12.5 percent in upcoming auctions, up from 9.5 percent last month, Cairo-based Foda said yesterday. The yield on the one-year bills may climb to 14 percent from 10.6 percent, she said.

John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi Credit Agricole Group, said in a note Feb. 3 "Over the short term we expect the Egyptian pound to fall by 20 percent, which would require the central bank to intervene on several occasions."

Egypt to Become Oil Importer

The Oil Drum had an interesting article last week about Egypt's energy and fiscal situation. Please consider What's Behind Egypt's Problems?

We have all been reading about Egypt in the newspapers, and wonder what is behind their problems. Let me offer a few insights.

At least part of Egypt's problem is the fact that in the past the government has threatened to reduce food subsidies. Now it is planning to hold food subsidies level and raise energy subsidies, but it is not clear that the dollar amount of subsidy will be enough. The government is taking steps to make food and energy affordable for most, but there is worry that the steps being taken will not be enough.

Egypt's Declining Financial Situation

There is a good reason why one might expect Egypt to shttp://beta.blogger.com/img/blank.giftart running into problems with energy and food subsidies. Its own financial situation is declining at the same time that the cost of food imports is soaring. If we look at a graph of Egyptian oil imports, exports, and consumption (using a graph from Energy Export Databrowser, which graphs BP Statistical Data), we find that Egypt's oil use has been rising rapidly, at the same time the amount extracted each year is declining.

Starting about 2010 or 2011, Egypt will change from an oil exporting nation to an oil importing nation, if there are imports available on the world market. The catch is that Egypt isn't the only one with declining oil production–world oil production has been approximately flat since 2005, and the countries that produce the oil are using more and more of it themselves. The result is that there is less oil available for export, even as countries like Egypt need more.

The oil that Egypt exports provides funds for the subsidies that it offers, so reduced exports mean less funds are available for subsidies.

...
Egypt is reported to be the world's largest importer of wheat. In 2010, the oil minister stated that Egypt imports 40% of its food, and 60% of its wheat. The problem this year is that world wheat production is down (at least in part due to weather problems in Russia) so world exports are down.

The Oil Drum article also addresses natural gas, energy subsidies, population growth, and other Egyptian budget pressures. It's an excellent article, well worth a closer look.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Sunday Funnies 2011-02-06 Reflections on U.S. Real Estate; Hu Jintao Meets Obama

Posted: 06 Feb 2011 10:13 AM PST

In case you missed it, please see Phoenix Property Scam Targets Australian and New Zealand Buyers

Hu Jintao Meets Obama

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Seth's Blog : Are $300 headphones worth it?

[You're getting this note because you subscribed to Seth Godin's blog.]

Are $300 headphones worth it?

A friend wanted to buy Dr. Dre headphones. They list for about $300.

Any audiophile can tell you that they sound like $39 headphones. Instead, consider these. We can prove they sound better!

But of course, that's not the question. It's not what sounds better, it's what's worth it.

The Dre headphones come with admiring glances at no extra charge. They come with self-esteem built in. You can argue that this is a worthless feature in a device designed to reproduce sound accurately, but you'd be wrong. After all, the whole reason you're listening to music in the first place is to feel good. To be happy. If the Dre's make you happy, and your happiness is worth $300, then they're worth it, no?

For others (put me in that category) I get more happiness knowing that I didn't fall for a clever marketing ploy, and I buy the ones that I believe sound better. Of course, that's a clever marketing ploy too--persuading me that better sound is worth this much. But don't tell anyone. That would make me feel manipulated.

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sâmbătă, 5 februarie 2011

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

California Group Seeks to End Collective Bargaining; Why Collective Bargaining is Extortion
Phoenix Property Scam Targets Australian and New Zealand Buyers
What's Inside the BLS Magic Black Box?

California Group Seeks to End Collective Bargaining; Why Collective Bargaining is Extortion

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 09:49 PM PST

Unions are upset and protesting mightily about an effort by Ohio State Senator Shannon Jones that would ban collective bargaining in the state of Ohio. The bill would also abolish salary schedules for public employees and instead require merit pay.

I praised the bill in Ohio Bill To Kill Collective Bargaining for State Employees.

Shane Atwell picked up on my post and added some great comments in his article Good News: Efforts in Ohio and California to Abolish 'Collective Bargaining'

One thing he noticed that I had not heard yet is a measure in California that will also end collective bargaining. The Sacramento Bee discusses the situation in Group aims to end collective bargaining for public employees

A Santa Barbara-based organization that wants to end union representation of California government employees has revved up its campaign contribution collection machinery for a run at putting the idea to a statewide vote.

Lanny Ebenstein, UC Santa Barbara economist, head of the California Center for Public Policy and president of the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association is named in the state filing as the reform group's treasurer.

If his name seems familiar, it's probably because Ebenstein authored "Reforming Public Employee Compensation and Pensions." a report that purported to show that California public employees' pay and benefits are "unjust."

We spoke to Ebenstein a few weeks ago. His group wants to put up a ballot measure that would end collective bargaining for all city, county, regional and state employees in California. The reason, he says, is that unions have too much influence and the pay and perks their members receive are leeching money from government services, like education.

There is precedent for this: At least 18 states forbid collective bargaining for some categories of government workers, according to the Wall Street Journal. Virginia and North Carolina prohibit it for all public employees. And GOP governors in Wisconsin and Ohio are threatening to change state collective bargaining laws if they don't get union concessions.

Collective Bargaining is Extortion

I certainly commend the efforts of Lanny Ebenstein and the California Center for Public Policy and will support the group as best I can.

I also want to direct your attention to Shane Atwell's rock-solid rationale as to why collective bargaining is extortion.

'Collective bargaining' is not what its name indicates. In fact, it means exactly the opposite of what you'd guess. Collective bargaining refers to the obligation of an employer to recognize the elected representatives of a group of workers and his further obligation to negotiate with those representatives. This last part is what makes 'collective bargaining' extortion.

Under collective bargaining laws, employers have to recognize an elected union and have to negotiate with them.

Imagine if the tables were turned and employers had the right to 'employer bargaining', under which the employer could demand whatever pay reductions or workday increases he wanted, the employees had to negotiate with the employer, and employees couldn't quit!

[Such an arrangement] could only be classified as slavery.

The right to terminate the employer-employee relationship is a fundamental right of both employer and employee. Employment should be mutually beneficial to employer and employee and open to termination by either when it becomes non-beneficial (limited of course by any voluntary contractual agreements).

Collective bargaining laws have achieved two things for unions and union members. First the negotiations strongly tend in one direction until the employer moves his operations offshore [or to another state not subject to collective bargaining]. This ratcheting is inevitable given that employers are forbidden their ultimate tool: terminating employment.

Second, the misnamed [term] 'collective bargaining' has given an aura of moral righteousness to the unions who pretend to be fighting for true American values like the freedom of association. [However], they are fighting for values quite foreign to [the United States], values that come from Marxist collectivism, i.e. the expropriation of the property of employers and the negation of their rights.

[Therefore, wages and benefits garnered under collective bargaining arrangements are fraudulent in nature and should therefore be subject to revision.]

Contact your representatives and urge them to fight collective bargaining. [Please] support ballot initiatives [to restrict or eliminate collective bargaining] when they appear.

Any text in brackets above is mine. Thanks Shane. And good luck to Lanny Ebenstein in his mission to help right the wrongs in California.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Phoenix Property Scam Targets Australian and New Zealand Buyers

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 12:20 PM PST

A friend in New Zealand is inquiring about "hot property deals" in Phoenix. Greg writes ...

Hello Mish
I am concerned for a friend and I wonder if you can offer any comments. I am not sure how I will approach her but she may be getting into a high risk investment.

Seems an opportunity arose to travel from Australia to Phoenix Arizona. My friend has noted "a tremendous opportunity" to buy sure-thing investments as depicted in the video below.

Seems way too good to be true. I don't know if I can stand by and watch a friend (a solo mum, no less) drop tens of thousands into a high risk gamble, and make a bad choice.

Thanks
Greg
Wellington, New Zealand

Alleged Hot Deals in Phoenix

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j-l9R8DJdU&feature=player_embedded

First Rule of Investing

Hello Greg, the cardinal rule in investing is "If it sound too good to be true, it is."

This is what I want you to ask your friend

What the hell can you possibly know living in Australia about this operation and alleged opportunity, that locals in the US who avoid this like the plague don't?
Have you ever managed rental property or been a landlord before?
Have you ever managed properties 7,500 miles away?
Do you know anything about water problems (lack of it) in Phoenix?
What makes you think those growth estimates are accurate?
Do you know anything about the city's fiscal problems, other problems?

If these deals were any good, it would not take someone 7,500 miles away to spot them! However, it might take someone 7,500 miles away to get suckered into one.

If there are bargains to be found (and perhaps there are), who is going to find them? Some starry-eyed person from down under comparing Phoenix prices to prices in Sydney, or a local property professional in the Phoenix area who understands the Phoenix market and already makes a living buying distressed properties?

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

What's Inside the BLS Magic Black Box?

Posted: 05 Feb 2011 01:49 AM PST

Inquiring minds have asked "I'm curious if you can translate the -339 birth/death adjustment this quarter. It seems completely out of context."

I believe I can shed some light on the overall process and the finalized numbers. However, the black box itself is impenetrable.

Here is the process: The BLS takes seasonally unadjusted numbers for jobs and seasonally unadjusted model-derived birth-death numbers and meshes them inside a magic black box. The box slices and dices the numbers, then spits out the seasonally adjusted "establishment number".

As a side note, when tossing the unadjusted numbers inside its black box, rumor has it the BLS employees collectively sing Oh Ho Ho It's Magic. I cannot confirm that rumor officially. Nonetheless, here is a fitting tribute.

In the monthly "Ta Da!" the BLS cleverly gives us the seasonally adjusted commingled result (that's the official monthly establishment number). The BLS also gives us the not seasonally adjusted birth death model number.

It makes as much sense to subtract those numbers as it does to subtract 3 bananas from two oranges, yet people keep trying.

It would help if the BLS divulged the black box methodology or the unseasonably adjusted jobs number, but it doesn't. This rightfully arouses suspicion.

Interestingly, the BLS cannot give us the seasonally adjusted birth death number because it does not have the number to give! It's all crunched together in the impenetrable black box.

January Effect

The January phenomenon is interesting. The birth-death number for January is always a huge negative number. Do businesses have a propensity to go out of business precisely in January (and only January), come hell or high water, recession or not?

It must be so because for 5 years (until November 2010), the only other month I recall seeing negative a birth-death number is in July.

Flashback December 4, 2009: Jobs Contract 23rd Straight Month; Unemployment Rate Drop to 10.0%

Birth Death Model Revisions 2008 - April thru December

click on chart for sharper image

Birth Death Model Revisions 2009

click on chart for sharper image

In 2008 and 2009, smack in the middle of the recession, the BLS said more jobs were created by new businesses than lost by businesses going out of business, every month but January.

Here is a table I produced that shows the same thing in 2007 .

Presumably, NET new business job expansion occurs like clockwork (except for January). This mysteriously changed for the first time I recall in years of watching, in November of 2010.

Flashback December 3, 2010: After All the Hype, Jobs Up an Anemic 39,000; Unemployment Rises to 9.8%; Quicksand of Stimulus

Birth Death Model Revisions 2010

click on chart for sharper image

I am actually shocked to see birth-death adjustments not only back in the solar system, but also back on planet earth. I cannot recall the last negative number in any month but January or July.

Curiously, smack in the middle of an expansion, we now have one isolated case of net business contraction, although we had NET new business job expansion every month the entire recession, except January.

Hold Your Horses

Please note the BLS revised their model this month, and something entirely new and exciting is happening: The latest revisions show we now have net birth-death job destruction in January, July, September, and November.

Let's take a look.

Flash Forward February 4, 2011: Labor Force and Unemployment Statistical BS

Birth Death Model Revisions 2010 (as reported last month)

Birth Death Model Revisions 2010 (as reported this month)

Once again, this is all massaged inside the BLS black box. All we know is the whole damn thing did not make any sense then, and these revised negative numbers out of the blue now sure do not correlate with anything we have seen before.

I suppose all those self-employed business owners selling trinkets on E-Bay may have collectively tossed in the towel this year, but otherwise it is hard to explain.

Quarterly Benchmarks

The BLS has taken it's black box to the next magic level - quarterly instead of annual benchmarks. Please consider Introduction of Quarterly Birth/Death Model Updates in the Establishment Survey

Effective with the release of preliminary January 2011 employment estimates in February 2011, BLS began updating the Current Employment Statistics (CES) net birth/death model component of the estimation process more frequently, generating birth/death residuals on a quarterly basis instead of annually. This will allow CES to incorporate Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data into the birth/death model as soon as it becomes available. This more frequent updating will help to reduce what is known as the "post-benchmark revision" in the CES series. There will be no change to the timing or frequency of the current CES monthly or annual releases. Benchmarking to the QCEW will continue to be done on an annual basis. The first monthly estimates to be affected by this change will be for the reference month of April 2011.

2003-2010 Birth-Death Model Annual vs. Quarterly Benchmarks

In fairness to the BLS, the latest revisions (assuming they are correct), only subtracted 405,000 jobs in 2009. That is a decent-sized revision, but not a massive one. This lends credence to the idea that too much attention is given to the birth-death numbers.

Regardless, the quarterly process does seem much more reasonable than anything we have seen before.

Moreover, it would have been interesting to see month-by-month revisions for 2009. Perhaps we would have seen some more negative months. That may have made some of the 2009 months look as if they were from this solar system instead of Bizarro World.

Summation

The BLS refuses to describe the magic in its black box magic. Suspicion will rightfully remain until that happens.

The way the BLS reports these numbers (purposely or not) makes it impossible to do math on the monthly numbers. This leads to confusion and wild assumptions.

Quarterly benchmarks appear to be a significant improvement.

Looking back at the data presented above, year in and year out (even the positive years), the weakest and therefore the most likely negative birth-death months going forward are in order January (a lock), followed by November, September, and July.

The January effect may be explainable, the rest is somewhat curious.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Damn Cool Pics

Twilight Landing At LAX (Cockpit View)
Aerial Photos of Stadiums Around the World
Chicken Hotel
World’s Biggest Cave Discovered in Vietnam
Star Wars Photoshoot by Robin Cook
Is Your Computer a Boy or a Girl?

Twilight Landing At LAX (Cockpit View)

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 10:41 PM PST

Landing at LAX International Airport via the SADDE Six Arrival.

The song is "Los Angeles" by Sugarcult. If you like the song please use one of the links below to buy it so maybe progressive bands like Sugarcult will let us continue to use their music on our homemade non-commercial videos. Mahalo!

Aerial Photos of Stadiums Around the World

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 10:12 PM PST

These are aerial photos of stadiums from all around the world. It is absolutely amazing what man has built just to play some games. However, the photos are incredible and beautiful. The stadium's seating capacity is also amazing.

Cape Town stadium, South Africa

PETCO Park - San Diego, California

Penn State's Beaver Stadium

Estadio Cicero Pompeu De Toledo - Sao Paulo, Brazil

Three Rivers Stadium - Pittsburgh

Shea Stadium 1986 World Series

Duke vs UNC @ Duke Stadium 1943

Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay

Mackay Stadium - Nevada

California Memorial Stadium

Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, Mass

Soccer Stadium - Port au Prince, Haiti

Memorial Stadium - Minnesota

Doyt Perry Stadium - Bowling Green, Ohio

Neyland Stadium - Tennessee

Minute Maid Park - Houston, Texas

Bank of America Stadium - Charlotte, North Carolina

PITT Stadium - Pittsburgh

Qualcomm Stadium - San Diego

Michigan Stadium - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Sun Life Stadium - Miami, Florida

Kenan Stadium - North Carolina

Estadio de Maracana - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Old Yankee Stadium - New York City

Olympic Stadium (under construction) - London, England

Chicken Hotel

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 09:56 PM PST

It's a hotel - but with a major difference. Instead of booking in guests in human form, Cornwall's newest hotel only takes chickens. The aptly-named Chicken Hotel recently opened for business at Boskenwyn, Helston. The venture was set up to give chicken owners a place to check-in their birds while away from home.

David Roberts, a maths teacher who keeps his own chickens as a hobby, runs the hotel. He said: With more people looking to escape the rat race and move out in the country with a little bit of land, keeping chickens is becoming more and more popular.

World’s Biggest Cave Discovered in Vietnam

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 09:24 PM PST

The world's largest cave passage was discovered deep within a remote Vietnamese jungle. The Son Doong cave measures 262 feet by 262 feet (80 meters by 80 meters) and at least 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometers) deep, making it the largest single cave passage ever discovered, according to National Geographic News, where the discovery was announced. The previous record holder, Deer Cave in Malaysia, is 300 feet by 300 feet (91 m by 91 m) in parts, but is only about a mile (1.6 km) long.

By contrast, explorers walked 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometers) into Son Doong, in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, before being blocked by seasonal floodwaters—and they think that the passage is even longer.
In addition, for a couple of miles Son Doong reaches more than 460-by-460 feet (140-by-140 meters), said Adam Spillane, a member of the British Cave Research Association expedition that explored the massive cavern. Spillane was in the first of two groups to enter the cave. His team followed the passage as far as a 46-foot-high (14-meter-high) wall.

"The second team that went in got flooded out," he said. "We're going back next year to climb that wall and explore the cave further."

Source: nationalgeographic

Star Wars Photoshoot by Robin Cook

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 09:05 PM PST

Photographer Robin Cook put together an epic Star Wars Photoshoot with a bunch of fellow Star Wars geeks.

Is Your Computer a Boy or a Girl?

Posted: 04 Feb 2011 09:02 PM PST

It's pretty easy to find out what gender your computer is.

Follow the instructions inside the post and you'll see.

1) Open your notepad
2) Type or copy paste: CreateObject("SAPI.SpVoice").Speak"I love you"
3) Save as computer_sex.vbs
4) Run the file.

If you hear a male voice, congratulations, you have a boy if woman's, well, it's a girl.

I have a baby girl :)

What about you?

luni, 7 februarie 2011

SEOmoz Daily SEO Blog

SEOmoz Daily SEO Blog

Identify SEO Needs

Prepare

Set up a good environment

Structure

Slides

Learn about learning styles

Feedback & Follow Up

Seth's Blog : How should you treat your best customers?

How should you treat your best customers?

More Recent Articles

duminică, 6 februarie 2011

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Seth's Blog : Are $300 headphones worth it?

Are $300 headphones worth it?

More Recent Articles

sâmbătă, 5 februarie 2011

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Damn Cool Pics

Damn Cool Pics

Pagini

Persoane interesate

Arhivă blog

luni, 7 februarie 2011

Identify SEO Needs

Prepare

Set up a good environment

Structure

Slides

Learn about learning styles

Feedback & Follow Up

More Recent Articles

duminică, 6 februarie 2011

More Recent Articles

sâmbătă, 5 februarie 2011

Pagini

Persoane interesate

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