Real-Time Blog Traffic Feeds
Posted on December 11, 2008 by Ching under Blog, Web.
I’m usually against cluttering the blog with useless crap. I’m deviating from my usual MO this time, though. FEEDJIT doesn’t seem competely useless. 🙂
The live traffic feed on the bottom right corner of the page tells me where the last ten visitors are from. Pretty interesting info. Plus, isn’t this map thing kind of neat? Okay, so it will be neater once the visitors start registering on there. =P
I also added the WassUp WordPress plugin, but you can’t see it because I didn’t enable the widget. I’m just gathering data right now. I’ll process all that info later. Mostly it’s just for my own use. So I don’t think I’ll be adding the widget at all. The charts and stuff are cool. I like the mini one that appears in my dashboard. All that info is just strictly for me, though. No need to share it with the rest of the world. 😉
[ Jenni: Let me know if you want me to load the plugin in your WP also. The database can get huge for sites with lots of traffic so, if you decide you want it, please be sure to set the database to automatically empty the tables on a fairly regular basis immediately after activation. Come to think of it, let me know if you want any of my plugins and I will load them in your plugins folder also. ]
Speaking of traffic and stats, I think I broke something on my web site because my Awstats haven’t worked since the end of May. Not that it matters any. I can count the number of people who visit this site in one hand. I just want to be prepared with data gathering tools for when traffic starts piling in. =P
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Funny if it weren’t True
Posted on December 10, 2008 by Brian under Life.
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It’s a Chingism!
Posted on December 10, 2008 by Ching under Family, Food and Drink.
So Brian and I stopped by the mall on the way home from work today. It’s that time of the year when I have to take my wedding ring to Zales for a check up (usually June and December is when this happens). While we were waiting for the sales associate to return my ring, I asked Brian where his parents were going to dinner tonight… (I had gotten out of work a few minutes later than usual and he was on the phone with his dad when I got in the car. He mentioned that they were on their way to dinner.) He told me they had decided to go to Outback Steakhouse.
“And you didn’t want to join them?” I asked. I remembered that I had a $10 off coupon to Outback somewhere in the abyss of a purse I carry around with me. “Call them and ask them if we can join them,” I urged.
Much to my chagrin, I found out that the coupon is only valid from November 1 to December 1. I am sadly over a week too late to redeem the offer. Of course, we still met his parents for dinner. I had to tell them about being excited about going to Outback at first because I finally had reason to use my coupon, which I didn’t realize was already expired. It’s still nice to have dinner with them, but it would have been nicer with a $10 discount on our meal. LOL.
So we had regular dinner conversation, along with a few tweets in between (I can’t help it; I have twitterrhea or so Brian says). All the while they kept complaining about how slow our server was. They had asked him for more bread and he came back with it ten minutes later when our food came. And then Brian asked for steak sauce, which took forever. My extra side of rice took forever. The refill on Donna’s coffee? You guessed it. That took forever, too.
Needless to say, we weren’t very happy with the service. However, we weren’t upset enough to say anything either. I think everyone in the guy’s section received the same sort of lack luster service. David said that the lady next to us had asked him for tartar sauce, and he didn’t bring it until after she was finished with her meal. Naturally, he was oblivious to her “It’s too late now comment.” My very observant father-in-law picked up on it, though.
So when it finally came time to pay, I wrestled with Brian to put my coupon in the billfold. He’s like, “Baby! Quit it! It’s expired!”
“If they take it, they take it. If they don’t, they don’t. No harm, no foul.” I kept trying to get him to put it in there. Half joking, half serious because you know me. I’m the queen of coupons.
Brian actually won that argument, but I had to make the following comment as I waved the proverbial white flag: “You all said he was slow!“
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2008 Halloween Poker Cruise Photo Book
Posted on December 9, 2008 by Ching under Projects, Travel.
The 2008 Halloween Poker Cruise photo book is finally complete! Hurrah! It is available here for purchase.
I just ordered mine today and I’m hoping that it will arrive in time for Christmas so I can show it to the rest of the fam. It is a little pricey because I selected the largest size possible and also opted for premium paper and the book consists of a hefty 64 pages.
I’m trying to figure out how to change it back to standard paper as type this. I think if I switch it to standard paper, it will be $10 cheaper. Anyway, let me know if you order one so I can say thank you. 🙂
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Low/No Cost Gift Ideas
Posted on December 9, 2008 by Ching under Blog, Life.
Brian told me about one of his coworker’s recent experience while searching for “cassette tapes” at a store. His coworker (who will remain anonymous so as not to embarrass him anymore than he already is) told him that the store employees laughed at him. Of course, the teenage employees probably have no idea what a “cassette tape” is or what it looks like. LOL.
When we were cleaning out the garage over the summer, we had trashed a bunch of my old tapes (I had brought most of them with me when I moved to the US from the Philippines in the early 90s back when CDs first emerged but I wasn’t cool enough or wealthy enough to afford them). Of course, the tapes were thrown in the garbage only after I was ridiculed by Brian not just for owning such primitive audio storage devices but also for my apparent lack of musical taste.
“What did his coworker need cassette tapes for?” I wondered. Brian thought he must be attempting to make a mix tape for someone. I’m like, “Hasn’t he ever heard mix CDs?” The quality is so much better than their analog predecessors.
Anyway, that got me thinking of low/no cost gift ideas. Remember a few years ago (five to be exact), I wrote about the gift of blog and how I had gifted it to Matt and Logan that Christmas? It cost me nothing. Matt actually tried to blog for a year or so before getting bored and giving it up. I wish he would have met his wife Jennifer then, I think she might have put the gift to better use. She is an avid blogger like myself. Then again, I can’t really complain because the gift didn’t cost me a dime.
The ideas that I’m about to share are along those same lines. They shouldn’t cost anything at all. Even if they do, the cost to the gift giver is minimal.
Let’s start with a mix CD since we were just talking about it. This could consist of music that you think the other person would enjoy or maybe music that you enjoy that you would like to share with the recipient. If you are a musician or musically talented in some way, this mix tape could consist of your music. [spoiler alert] Kind of like what Edward made for Bella, which I thought was really romantic. [end spoiler]
Bake cookies and other treats and wrap it in colorful, festive cellophane. If you are not musically talented, but are talented in the kitchen, this would be right up your alley. Actually, you don’t even have to be an expert chef so long as you can work in the kitchen without setting it on fire. Hey, food that tastes good is a bonus. If it’s not quite perfect just remind yourself that it’s the thought that counts. You could always cheat like my coworker/friend Lance does. He enlists the aid of his wife. Her goodies are always delicious.
Brew some beer and share it. Okay, so this one takes some investment. However, you could have all the men on your gift list covered in one shot. Unless, of course, they are allergic to alcohol (like Brian). Check out @chadsmith’s web site BEER Dad for more info. From what I gather, he is an expert at this sort of thing.
Create art. This is ideal for those like me who are no good in the kitchen. Not that I’m artistic or anything, but at least if I give you something that is not edible there is less risk of food poisoning. You could write a poem (or copy your favorite one) on fancy stationery or cardstock. You could draw or paint something and frame it (the dollar store has many inexpensive picture frames that will be suitable for this). Take some photos and create a photobook. The list is endless.
Compile your favorite recipes and create a recipe book. This is perfect because then the recipient can learn how to make your favorite dishes. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, and one that you will certainly benefit from for years to come. LOL.
Pass along a book. Speaking of books, this one is a good idea. I’ve always been reluctant to buy books because I never know what to do with them after I’m done reading. We have boxes upon boxes of old books collecting dust. Nowadays I just opt for either borrowing books from the library or reading ebooks. If you are an avid book collector, though, this will give your old books a new purpose. Give your favorite book to a friend so they might also experience the magic for themselves.
Offer your services like babysitting, massage, shoeshine, housecleaning, dog-walking… You get the picture. Create little coupons or certificates for the giftee to redeem at a time of their choosing.
These are just some ideas. There are so many ways to demonstrate thoughtfulness and show that you care without going broke. I will add to this as I think of other ideas. Please feel free to post your own suggestions in the comments section also.
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