Money Money Money yeah yeah

I learned something very interesting yesterday: I actually make money from my blogs.
Ok it's not a lot, but it is something.  I have known for a while that I could make money from blogging, but I didn't really know what the most effective methods to do that were.

Well I can now say with great certainty that I have even more understanding of the process.

First Google ads.  Admittedly this is not a big source of income for me, in fact so far I have not seen anything, but one day Google will send me a check for $100 and I will be happy.  At the rate that I post it will still take a few years, but I have no doubt that they will send me a check.  (I have a formula to know how much Google will pay if you're interested, it's something I concocted myself, but I think it seems pretty close so far)

Then one day I decided to take my money making to the next level, And voila, I joined Helium.  Helium is different in that you can actually make money for each article that you write, especially if you follow a few criteria and participate in their site.  And yes they have actually sent me some moolah. Not much, but more. Here again, I know the pattern, and I know I could be making more, but I haven't been very faithful to it. But it can be guaranteed. And it can be fun.

But what I have found to be the best money in blogging is Kindle Publishing (from amazon). I write my blogs and they publish them.  The main thing here, is that you have to have a topic that people will actually pay to read (I think I have two but I have only been using one). But the second part is also important, you have to write consistently enough that people will keep their subscriptions. It turns out that people have been reading my blog on the kindle (no not this one, my other one).
But I have been slothful,  and not a wise blogger (and busy, let's not forget busy), and people have been canceling their subscriptions.  When I started, I was pretty sure no one was reading it, so I didn't do much with it, but now I know differently, it's starting to make it's way into the world.

Because I now have a greater appreciation for consistency, I am looking for volunteers.  Well not exactly volunteers. I don't know that I myself could actually write consistently enough to keep people happy, but I think if a group of us banded together we could totally make things work.  Being as this is a new venture, I am not sure how I would share the profits, or even if there would be a good way to do that. However, I do have a few resources that I can share.  So to start things out I am willing to share what I have.

So what do I have? Well I have a video projector.  It's pretty cool, and it makes for a great party, or date or whatever you want to do with it. I also have two blogs that need some consistency (thank goodness for the option to schedule a blog to post on a certain day).  The first blog is 5000 Questions. This is the blog that I have already published.  The Second blog is the Utah Food Review; This is the blog that has been sorely neglected and thus not published.  I would like to see each of these blogs published way more consistently, so I offer a very simple proposal.  If you help me write 3 blogs, I will let you borrow the projector.  You can write for either blog... The Utah Food Review is basically a restaurant review blog, and 5000 Questions is about gathering/ creating questions that a couple could use to get better acquainted and have a better relationship.

If you pick the first one just review any dining experience in or near Utah, and be sure you give it a rating from 1 to 8 spoons (with 8 being the best). 

If you pick the second one I think 3 posts of about 25 Questions each would be nice. (Unless you pick a different kind of post, then things would be different).

You can email me the posts, and I can add them or I can add you as an admin, if you think that would be good.   My email is my last name [dot] my first name (the whole thing) the-at-sign Gmail etc.

Of course if you would like to post out of the goodness of your heart you are welcome to do that too. Ü
Have  a great day,
W.

Et Tu Brute?

"I could be well mov'd if I were as you.

If I could pray to move, prayers would move me.

But I am constant as the northern star

Of whose true-fix'd and resting quality There is no fellow in the firmament

The skies are painted with unnumber'd sparks;

They are all fire and every one doth shine But there's but one in all doth hold his place

So in the world; t'is furnish'd well with men And men are flesh and blood and apprehensive

Yet in the number I do know but one That unassailable holds on his rank Unshak'd of motion:

and that I am he.

Let me a little show it even in this

That I was constant"

It seems somewhat ironic, that Caesar was proclaiming his constancy
while Brutus was in turn saying Ceasar, to me you have outlived your worth.

And said Caesar 'What even you?'

I've thought a lot about this lately.
Sometimes a friend is just a friend, they pass through our lives, and our lives just pass through them.
Still there are other times, sometimes rare, where a friend is something more. They are constant.  They are true. They really are a friend.

As I've thought about this I realized that true friends tend to have some similarities, here are some of the things that I think they tend to be.

A true friend is: Optimistic and Loyal
At first this may sound a little odd, but I really believe it is true... at least in some ways it is.
When I think of my true friends,  they believe in us. They know that we can do great things. True friends do not judge us or try to find fault. They do what they can to give the benefit of the doubt.  And yes they even stand up for us when others may not. They don't just assume the worst, because someone says it, or even when things don't go quite as planned.  A true friend is one who stands by you when times are good and when they aren't. A true friend is someone who cares about you, even when you're not around.


A true friend is: Enduring
This I think is an extension of the first point.  True friendship is a friendship that lasts. I think it lasts in large part because of the things already mentioned. I think it lasts because true friends care more about their friends than the little things that could tear them apart. And yes sometimes even the big things.  My best friend and I have been friends for almost 20 years, (if you read this in a few years we'll be really close to 20 years). I can't say things have always gone as I planned, but I can say this. We're still good friends.  We still talk every now and then. Time and space have not pulled us apart.  I'm not sure anything could (though I'm thankful his wife did not try.  Ü Instead she welcomed me too, and now I have more friends). A true friend remembers you as a friend and why they are your friend, and they do what they can to make things endure.

A true friend: Doesn't expect anything
I guess it's ironic in a way, a true friend doesn't really expect anything from you, but they are the ones who are most likely to receive things.  It's not about what they can do for you, just that they are there for you, and they would still be your friend if circumstances were different.  I had a friend that came to town a few months ago, sadly we did not connect. It would have been fun to see my friends, but our friendship is unchanged.  We are still good friends, and we will hope for better circumstances in days to come. But neither he nor I expects the other to bend our plans so we can meet up. This is not to say that many times we do not bend our plans, because usually we can, and such occasions are great, but sometimes things don't work the way that we would like, and that's ok.  We are not friends because of what we get from each other, but because we get each other. True friendship is not self-serving or one sided, it's something that enriches you on a deeper level, where everyone can be benefited.


A true friend: Gives and Forgives
A true friend may not actually have the capacity to give much, but a true friend would give whatever they could to a friend in need. Sometimes we can't and that ok, but sometimes we can and that's ok too.  There are many things that we can give but perhaps the one thing that we have to give is forgiveness. As I mentioned before a true friend will give you the benefit of the doubt.  And even still still times we mess up.  Sometimes we forget.  And sometimes we are mean.  Sometimes we don't even know that we messed up. And sometimes we do. I love what Joseph said when William W. Phelps came back to him and the church, "Come on dear Brother since the war is past, For friends at first are friends again at last."  True friendship does forgive. We all mess up, but our friends are the ones who still know who we are. The ones who still find good things about us. And yes the ones who stand by us and stand for us.

A true friend: Cares
This is the crux of the message, a true friend is one who really cares.  One who thinks about you, and understands you.  This is I think the most important section of this message, but it is also the one that is hardest to express. This is also the message that can be found throughout, each section here mentions some things that deal with caring. In a way true friendship has to be selfless and Christlike. It is hard to express what exactly this means, but perhaps even harder is actually doing it.  But this is what a real friendship is about.

Of course it wouldn't  be my blog if I left off the bit about how important communication is, but that is a blog for another day. Needless to say I think that any true friendship involves communication.

Thanks to all of you who are my friends. I know I'm not perfect, but I'm glad I have you. I really do appreciate all that you are to me. I truly have an amazing wealth of good friends in my life. Thanks to you for being my friend.

ShufflePalooza Coming soon to a backyard near me.

That's right ShufflePalooza is coming soon.
Saturday the 17th @ 2:30 pm
more details and maybe even a video (if I get a little time) will be found at the official ShufflePalooza
website shufflepalooza.blogspot.com

Feel free to bring...
people (and or persons (singular or plural))
Food (singular or plural)
Coats, jackets, socks, mittens,  gloves, Shoes (you know real shoes not those fake-open-toed-my-feet-are-cold types of shoes)

Snuggies or blankets
Really good movies,
Bocce or lawn darts
Chocolate,
anything coated in Chocolate,
Bacon wrapped sausages  Ü (they were excellent last time)
yourself,
any or all of the above
etc.