VerbatimEB Says So

Julie and Julia - great flick but why it should be more...

2009-09-03T00:10:00.001-07:00

Hey Folks.

I'm like a dog with a bone in a concrete yard. With no place to bury it I must carry it around, protect it, and chew on it until it is used up. Such is my desire to know more about Julia Child and Julie Powell after viewing the film a few weeks ago (Aug. 15). A great flick, by the way. Somehow, I could not get the concept of these two women out of my mind.

As with other things in life, research can be like a splinter under your fingernail. Until you've worked it out, it is a constant reminder that it's there, and you must do something about it, very soon.

The bone is the desire to do, the splinter is the reminder that if you do not "do" soon, you could wind up with a nasty infection. Such has been my quest. I'm driven to know more, and more, and more.

Aside from loving a great flick, I'm an avid reader so the week after viewing the film, I was at Amazon.com looking for books to read on either of these ladies. I would up ordering several:

• Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell
• My Life in France by by Julia Child and Alex Prud'Homme
• Mastering The Art of French Cooking, Volume One (1) (Vol 1) (by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, Simone Beck, and Sidonie Coryn)

I've found the movie did not follow much of the book, in detail. There is always so much more to be gleaned by reading a book as opposed to viewing a film. The film version always seems to cut out details that make the relationships viable in the first place.

A couple of details I learned that were left out of the film:

Julia met Paul Child while both were working for the O.S.S. (Office of Strategic Services) around the time of WWII.
Julie Powell was working for a government agency at the scene of 9/11 when she decided to undertake the "Julie/Julia" project.

Obviously, these are only a couple of things, but there is much more. I suppose it would be redundant to go into too many details here. And it would be boring for YOU, as you are not carrying around a dead bone with a splinter under your fingernail.

I am savoring all three books at the same time as I'm reading one work of fiction and digesting more on cathedrals built in the middle ages (possible posts for another time, eh?).

(ADVICE: If you've seen the film, and want to know more without buying up the store, get this one: "Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously" by Julie Powell - It's FABULOUS!)

And these, in my leisure time, of which, there is precious little. At least I have a variety of books of interest to help wind my mind down from the day to day business of caring for The Russter and working online to make a few bucks to help meet ends around here.

Thanks to Birthday dollars, I had the funds to purchase exactly what I wanted this year, books to renew the spirit... more on this later, maybe.

On Networking Leadership - How To Do It Right (which means MY way)

2009-06-08T10:58:00.000-07:00

Hiya Folks.

It really does not matter what networking platform (mostly) you might be using. It's the leadership that keeps it going strong or makes it a weak endeavor. Do we all agree on that one? OK.

What a good/great leader does to engage people is post information that should be
1 - Global (as much as possible) to the membership.
2 - Interesting and up to date (when it's called for).
3 - Asks a question so the MEMBERS can show off their expertise in any field of endeavor.

Number three being the catch for most network leaders, moderators and board assigned posters.

It's more important to ask the question than to show off your own expertise in any field. Huh? Yep, it's better to allow your members to "help you out" with their words of wisdom instead of always projecting your own knowledge right off the bat. THIS method sets brains to clicking when your members get a chance to show off what THEY feel is an answer to your post, question or quandry.

Everyone likes to feel like they are contributing to a conversation, helping out. GIVE your members that chance and they'll feel much better about posting replies and helping YOU out with what they know. Allow them to show off and you'll have a happy membership.

.02

Connect Your Checkbook To Your Calendar.

2009-04-25T08:22:00.000-07:00

The time of year determines much of what you do in your home life. If you have not made the same connections to your business life you're missing a chance to fill that checkbook by the seasons.

Your website is like a gathering basket for your garden. If you keep your basket close by the door when harvest time comes, you're always ready to hop out that door for fresh tomatoes, zucchini and bell peppers.

If you keep your stats checked on a regular basis you know just where you stand in the whole scheme of things and your ROI can show high or low depending on the seasonal changes of your audience.

I'm a flower picker in the spring when emerging bulbs bring brightness and wonderfully fresh smells to my home. I water and weed during the hot summer months and come late summer and fall, we all enjoy the harvest of our summer labors. Winter brings joyous holidays that we all share.

Although the seasons are filled with holidays, it's the work and play ethic that exists year round that brings ROI from a website. Of the prepare, plant, nurture and harvest cycles of the year, so goes your business preparations for income from any online endeavor.

1 - Prepare - research keywords, key phrases and complete market studies.
2 - Plant - Get your website up and running along with a blog for continuing input and updates.
3 - Nurture - Market your website and blog with social media and incoming linking strategies.
4 - Harvest - If you laid the ground out correctly, you have the traffic and income that connects the calendar to a growing checkbook balance!

As it takes several seasons to see your garden grow so goes the business cycle. Always plan on it taking double (or more in some cases) the time you expect it to and finding more weeds than tomatoes at some junctures.

Have a busy and fruitful year. Consider Buddy Web Design to be your garden helper when you are ready to plant a website and watch it grow your checkbook balance.

The FairTax - One Detail RE: Social Security

2009-04-10T21:21:00.000-07:00

Hey Folks.

I used to be outwardly very political. These days, I am mostly inwardly very political. Yes, we own guns at our house, unfortunately most everyone does. Some of those folks I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley, in a freeway traffic jam or during a heated political discussion. Thus, my OH-pinions are kept mostly for family and sometimes not even then.

There are a few things though that should be brought to light and discussed. Shared, sent on and pointed out until everyone is aware that we, as Americans, have options.

Mike Huckabee says he wants to be the guy who hangs this sign: "Out of Business" on the door of the IRS. That day could make April 15 become a national holiday of real celebration (a second Independence day!) instead of the darkest day of the year.

Perhaps it would also help some officials who seem to have personal tax problems not have to up and quit their jobs. OH, Hah! We might be better off without those folks anyhowsen, eh? We pay their salaries (with tax dollars) and they cannot manage to pay their "fair share." Actually, "fair share" is a tad off center. "Fair share" when it comes to taxes is a flat out lie. No one pays a fair share with the scales our law makers have manipulated since before WWII (the BIG one). I digress.

One of the first questions that came to mind when I first read the first book on the Fair Tax was "what about social security?" Boy oh Boy, I am so close to collecting (only about six years to go, Yippee!) I was worried that the system was going to fail before I could collect my (well deserved, as everyone does) own money that could have been drawing interest for me for uh, all my adult life. Then, if we are lucky enough to have the fairtax enacted, what would happen then? Will I still be able to retire and receive the money I have put in forever?

Not to worry, some really smart people have figured that out too. Whew! Was I glad to know that these guys thought of everything! Geeze-louise, that was a scary few moments. Of course, all I had to do was go to the website and search for social security. I got a list of 'pdf' files and one of those explains it. At least enough for me to be satisfied that those thinking folks did not forget the oldies and those of us getting there fast.

Truth be known, I've read all there is in print (I may have missed an article here or there, so sue me) about the fair tax. I have since found the guy who might be able to pull it off for us folks who have found something political to be in love with (the fairtax, not the guy, he's married, another sigh).

And of course that guy is Mike Huckabee (FOR PRESIDENT, next time) We'll have to wait for at least four more years. But that's not a bad thing, it's just four more years we have to circle the wagons folks! So YeeHaH, let's get rippin' and hooten' 'n' hollerin' for the FAIRTAX and Mike Huckabee.

NOTE: I am not being paid to blog, write, or work for or promote either the fairtax or Mr. Huckabee, I just think "It's the Right Thing To Do!"

Suggested Reading:

Do the Right Thing
by Mike Huckabee
(on sale at Amazon for about $12.00)

The Fair Tax Book: Saying Goodbye to the Income Tax and the IRS
by Neal Boortz and John Linder
(paperback on sale at Amazon for about $6.00)

FairTax: The Truth: Answering the Critics
by Neal Boortz and John Linder
(on sale at Amazon for about $12.00)

Note Too: I don't work for Amazon either. :D

God Bless and don't let the wagon hinges snag your skirt tail!

EB ;)

Is Your Name Your Brand?

2008-12-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

What's In A Name? Is Your Name Your Brand?

My maiden name spurred jokes that were less than desirable until I married a guy named Hoover. Then the jokes about "suc*" became the norm. So the new name took me from one bad joke to another. Ugh.

When I married a second time, Hoover was swapped for Brown. AT LAST! A name that did not spur obscene jokes! Boy oh Boy, a happier person could not be found. It's a name I kept even after the twelve year marriage ended. "Brown"," aside from being a much better personal name has become my professional "branded" name and has stood me in good stead since 1978.

Because I made the transition long before a professional name meant that much for brand recognition, I've never had to worry about the name itself. At least not for a very, very long time. Being branded under "Brown" came naturally. Why would anyone want to make note of this?

It's about branding and what that means. So, as an example let's look at Coke. It's not unusual for company leaders and brand marketers to forget that their brand has such a tremendous impact on a large population. For our example let's remember the "new Coke" that was introduced in 1985. Although Coca-Cola invested $4,000,000 in market testing, the launch of their new product created a public outcry. In less than three months Coca-Cola re-introduced the original formula. What made the difference? Why did they change back? What happened that made the introduction of the new formula such a resounding failure? Coca-Cola focused on the introduction of the new product formula rather than the loyalty of their own brand.

When I changed names from Hoover to Brown, I had no idea that Brown would become a company name. When people think of "Hoover," it's a natural progression to "vacuum cleaners." Perhaps it's the luck of the draw for some of us that we have the business names we do. Nowadays, I have to compete with UPS and their "what can brown do for you?" campaign. This, however is not equal on a scale that equates with the name Hoover. Thank goodness!

So, when you think of your company (or companies) names, how did you make the final decision that helped you settle on a name you could brand? Or was that even a consideration for you? Got a story? Let's hear it!

EB :D

Update for Mother Company - BEK, Brown Enterprises of KS

2008-11-24T23:04:00.000-08:00

Hey Folks.

I don't think I've written much about my companies or even about the big bad Mother of them all. I don't intend (and never have intended) to turn any of my blogs into a place just for advertising my websites, the websites of my friends/associates but this will be more discussion of design and content anyhowsen, so bear with me.

Having a lot of clients is a blessing. Gotta love that part. But it has been a bad thing in that we've had precious little time around here to work much on our own websites. Some are woefully old and uh, they look it. Some have a brave new face with not much to back them up. So, I finally started taking every spare minute to design a new site for BEKansas.com (BEK, Brown Enterprises of KS) our Mother of all Mothers when it comes to websites. I did not want something slick and new looking. I wanted something that was reminiscent of older sites. Lots of newer sites are pretty slick but I wasn't looking for slick. I was looking for traditional. I hope I made that mark.

One thing I also wanted to do was give a lot of credit to the place I live. Wichita is a great town and likewise, my little part of that metro area, Derby, KS. So collecting photos, landmark areas, museum items of interest, has been a lot of what we've been doing around here. Trying to give our towns a premiere place among our own self serving words. Yeah, BEKansas.com is not about trying to sell anything to anyone. It it going to turn out to be a place just to describe our business, show off our SEO abilities a little bit, and of course, some writing (web content) stuff.

Since we opted for older design concepts, it will look older than it really is. The BEK sites and the Buddy sites are new, but of course, we've been doing the work since the www made it's debut on the wider Internet. OK, enough about that. OH, one more point. If you visit that particular spot, it's still in development. Many pages have yet to be uploaded and many more are not even completed yet. If you do though, give us a holler. What do you think of the new watering hole?

Until next time - keep your skis on your feet...

Eileen :D

MIFH - What is that???

2008-01-22T07:31:00.000-08:00

MIFH or Most Interesting Fellow Human is new term. Just made it up today!

I find these folks all the time on the internet. People who are so interesting that I am drawn to their websites time and again. I don't mean for products or writing talent or dynamic personalities. I mean the person themselves. Personal websites that become destinations to bookmark and keep track of. Places to return to, to see what that person is doing today or has been doing. You might say a blog does that but sometimes this is just not so. Some websites are so much better than a blog or ARE a blog. Anyhousen, I found a MIFH this past week and wanted to write about my feelings for some of these people, re: the MIFH's in general.

If you had the resources to travel anywhere you wanted and do whatever you wanted, how would you go about it? Would you play all day with friends? Golf, pool, polo? Or would you advance your personal knowledge base of the peoples of the world? I should reiterate that dynamic personalities are usually famous people. The people I am talking about are normal, everyday folks who are traveling the world, taking photos, meeting people of all nations on a personal level. The P. Hiltons of the world are shallow, limelight grabbers who burn money for fun. None of the folks I am talking about do anything remotly like that. They go about their quiet lives, truly living a dream most of us could not or cannot imagine.

I like to think I would be one of the MIFH folks if I had the resources. Then again, I wonder if I would be a squanderer like some of the dynamic personalities (?). If I were to dream a dream of world travel and meeting common folk, like myself I believe I could truly be happy every day of my life.

Gee, that was a funny thing to say. Because, I am a very happy person. I am happy in the thought that I know what is coming each day, keep a managable schedule; love my family and friends; love my work. I don't find that anything is missing in my life but find that I, I guess the word is admire people who spend the time (and money) getting to know the peoples, nations and religions of the world.

What a wonderful thing to aspire to. I guess it gives me something to dream about. At least for today. The MIFH's of this world should be the ones in the news and interviews and as noteworthy human beans (not a typo) but maybe that is not what they want or what they aspire too. Interesting, don't you think?

Blessings.

SEO Copywriting for the Big Bucks.

2007-12-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

Hello Folks.

Been Blogging everywhere else, but not here. Figures.

Copywriting in general - those long pages about one product, self-help, millionaire or "lose all your weight and be invisible" web pages are in the past (for me) and have been for sometime. Looking at the copywriting blog I have set up (elsewhere) I do wonder why I bother calling it copywriting anymore as I write web site content more than anything else these days.

And to give it a name - SEO copywriting has also been the focus for a very long time. The problem with that is SEO service providers - at least half of them - are just big fat scammers. I look at a web site, analyze the stats, look over the tags and code, check the target market and do all the right things. Without going into a huge explanation here - I am starting to feel like the only person around who:
#1-wears a white hat and rides a white horse.
#2-does no ppc or adwords.
#3-follows up forever with clients.
#4-works well with other webmasters.
#5-gives a fair amount of work-time to each client.
...and the list goes on.

How anyone can call themselves an SEO company who recommends ppc or adwords is just beyond me. I suppose it is all in what your individual business ethics are - and it is business to the tune of Big Bucks for some companies. It's all about target markets, niche target markets and who can afford how much.

Research and study should be the focus for SEO service companies and not "how big is your web marketing budget?"

This should not be looked upon as a rant, but rather a warning and advice entry. Look local for SEO services so you can come face to face with the people you are doing business with or at least know where the offices are in your area. Otherwise you might be asking for trouble and an empty bank account.

Verb.

:)

Do you know how to blog?

2007-10-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

Verb on Blogging.

Active is the word to describe what a blog should be. "Active" as in "moving along". Blog when you have something to say and even when you don't.

I don't know how to blog, so don't ask. If blogging were a real talent, I would not know how to describe blogging to anyone as I am still a novice myself and wonder why anyone reads blogs. Well, I read them when they are interesting, informative and uh, funny.

I don't have a problem with a blank page, I can fill up a blank page (or screen) pretty quickly. But would anyone want to read it? Probably not. And, guess what? No one does. My blogs are various and wide spread. I post in at least one blog a day and to my knowledge, almost none have been read. So, why would I continue to blog? To clear my mind? To haphazardly spew out words and verbs to the stratosphere?

Not really. I just want to add links to my websites. Some blogging places do that quite well. So I blog.

The thing I need to learn is how to do it right. Make my ramblings count for something. If someone had read one of my blogs, just once in the last month, I would have fallen in love. No doodah man.

I suppose one of the reasons (other than the links) that I love to blog is to read my own words on the screen. How stupid is that? Pretty much:

"Stupid is as stupid does." - Forrest Gump

But, I can tell you that it is a necessary "active" part of being a copywriter. Write, write and write some more. I actually don't care that people do not read my blogs - as long as google likes them, I consider myself well read.

Verb

Cyphering on blogging..

2007-07-07T13:45:00.000-07:00

Yo Buddy,

I have been thinking that blogging would be a good thing to do as all the newsletters, e-news, websites and yadda, yadda, yadda ALL say what a business booster blogging can be for your business. I write out my thoughts all the time in about 10 different blogs to keep my hand in on writing in general so I don't sound like a doofuss when actually sitting down to write for something meaningful. It does help sometimes.

It has helped my vocabulary some but I do still sound like a doofuss most of the time. I just type, type, type. I did figure out a couple of things so far.

My last blog entry was geared towards the website of a cyber friend. It is a web site that I particularly like and helped me know a lot about the fellow. I liked him when I started reading his pages. It also gave me the idea of doing something similar for a couple of my websites. Maybe. I don't want to steal someone else's ideas but my thoughts and his thoughts are going to come out differently when written down so I am thinking it will be OK. Plus, what I write about will be my own subject matter and not his.

I did figure out that if I put something in the text of the body on this blog that it will show up in google when you use the tags that are entered. Yeah, granted that is pretty basic information but have you looked? I had not when I set about writing this particular blog. Now, I know that I can blog about something of interest to me and other people might find it if I keep to the subject and tag it correctly. WooHoo! This is NOT new news but knowing (and not guessing) is real knowledge. I guessed it would work that way after reading it about... oh... 1,000 times. HA!

I kept telling myself I would look into it when I had time. I have never had that much time. It seems that until a thing is proven, I hold back to the bitter end. Like with the DVR. I just updated our cable TV last month to include the DVR and the DVR service. When it comes to getting into my pocketbook - I can hold onto a nickel until the buffalo poops. I am not a tightwad, just frugal. Sounds better too.

Back to blogging in general. Since I have a gob of web sites I could have created my own blog area a long time ago. I didn't and still do not want to "spend" the time involved to learn how to build and manage any blogging space on the internet. This site will do just fine and it is free.

I can save another nickel.

I wanted to blog today even if I had nothing (once again) to say - 7-7-7!
21 is my lucky number. If there is such a thing.

Until next time - keep 'ur puck moving.

EB
buddy web works

Funny Web Sites - Part 1.

2007-07-03T18:51:00.000-07:00

I have a friend that I met on a group site. He seems like a very nice fellow and after chatting the in the group with others and posting off and on we saw that we viewed thing very much the same. I sent him my urls and he sent me his so we could look at each others websites.

I love the text and just about every single thing I have read at his site and want to post one thing from one page here. It is a hoot. This guy is a blacksmith, makes knives and swords, sells them on the internet. Cool, eh?

At his site these are the "Ye Olde Shoppe Rules"
(for a blacksmittys shop)

1. Safety First Always !!!!!

2. This shop is neither Idiot Proof or Politically correct. If you have a problem with that, perhaps you should limit your visit to the time spent reading this far.

3. Think before you act. If is sounds like a good idea, it will sound just as good 2 minutes from now. If it sounds dangerous or unsafe, it won’t get better with time.

4. It is alright to be Incredibly Stupid as long as you are the only one who knows. If you do something incredibly stupid and hurt yourself or someone else, I will tell everybody.

5. If you do something incredibly stupid and hurt me, I will notify your next of kin.

6. All metal is hot until absolutely proven otherwise. If you touch metal to see if it is hot, see #4 above.

7. Black iron is hot iron. Red iron is even hotter.

8. If you don’t know ask, if you don’t understand ask for an explanation.

9. Any tool used to handle hot iron also becomes hot. That includes the anvil after a day of hard forging.

10. Beware of the Dragon’s Breath, the almost invisible flame at the mouth of the gas forge.

11. Take the hot cut out of the anvil when you are done using it.

12. Appropriate eye protection when grinding, cutting, welding etc. is a must.

13. Wear a respirator when necessary.

14. Make a list of the things you can do without, left hand, right eye, etc. Now protect the rest.

15. Never work tired.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I loved the rules and of course, knowing nothing about blacksmithing, I had to laugh at some of them. But, I am sure he is quite serious about the rules.

It reminds me of going over to Silver Dollar City at Branson, MO about a dozen times in my life and seeing the place grow but most of all seeing all the crafters and talented people who keep things from the past alive for us today. The backsmiths, broom makers, glass blowers, candle makers and you know, just about anything you can name.

I do want to give you Woody's site url so you can go there and enjoy the many pages of useful, funny and fun text he has at his site. I agree with almost all of what he says and will continue to go there, when I have time and need a laugh.

http://hansoncustomknives.com/index.html

If you sign his guestbook - be sure to tell him "VerbatimEB" sent you. I am jockying to get some special pricing on a couple of knives and this might put a feather in my cap for that.

Later folks,

Verb
www.buddywebworks.com

Notes on Writing for web sites.

2007-06-27T00:10:00.000-07:00

Hello Blogger Buds,

I read a really interesting blog a week or so ago and wonder if I can find it again. I can never manage to hand onto addresses for blogs. Think that is some kind of mind game? If so, I am playing it with myself.

The fellow I was reading had a web site and I found his blog through a link from his site. He was writing about writing for web sites and the funny thing is I already knew most all of what he was talking about and have applied most of it to web sites I have designed, written for and so on. There was one thing though that caught my eye that I did not remember and that is about the length of text for web pages - by length, I mean to say how long across a line should be. Now all the web sites I build wind up having lines that are 60 characters long or there abouts and it is something I was well aware of but just don't think about anymore. It comes automatically when I am writing for a web site.

Let's see if I can put it like he did.

One of the most important ways you can make type easier to read on-screen is to control the length of each line of text. Lots of sites just let text run from one side of the screen to the other, and for those who have high-resolution screens, this can result in lines of text that are so long they're very difficult to read.

You can control the length of your text by creating HTML tables that are specified in pixels, rather than in percents. A good width for a line of text is between 60-70 characters, and this translates roughly into a table that's between 350 and 500 pixels wide.

The easier it is to read your text, the more likely someone is to read it. That's why good sites that have a lot of text, have a lot of blank space on the side, because it's more important to make your text readable than it is to fill every inch of the screen.

That is sort of what the guy was saying and about line length and white space - yes, I leave lots of white space normally except at a few sites that are busy, busy, busy on purpose. White space is a whole other subject and maybe I will save that for next time.

Also when I was at this guys site I realized he was selling software to build web sites, in fact it might have been the whole purpose of his site. I stayed there for quite a while as his writing was good, informative and well organized. I love reading good stuff. I may try to find his site again. I just have to remember what I was searching for when I stumbled upon it. I guess I should have bookmarked it. I do forget to do that too.

I stopped bookmarking a while back when it became more of a hassle to look down the list of bookmarked sites to find the one particular one I needed - as I have about a thousand bookmarked. Yeah, really.

Until next time - keep ur stick on the ice.

verb

An Invitation...

2007-06-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

Hello Blogger Buddies,

In the past I have managed blogs far and wide but I am going to start using this blog for um... probably everything I do. Including but not limited to:

webmaster issues.
SEO - what's good, what's NOT.
ALL my websites and some clients websites (jargon).

And today I am sending out an invitation to you all to join a new group for webmasters and computer geeks as a place to gather and SHARE knowledge. If you are not into SHARING, don't apply to join. I want and need ACTIVE members there. Here it is:

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/WebShoppeWonders

You will need to let me know you found the invitation here at blogger (blogspot) and you must have a yahoo ID profile with information in it. No one gets in without first filling out an application too. Yes, it is a process to get in. Any group worth it's salt always has rules, regulations and a guard at the door. For this group, that is moi.

I have been using Web Easy Pro Professional 6.0 to build websites and would love to have some others folks in that group who are knowledgable about this particular piece of software. Is that YOU? I need help and you may be the person to do that!

Well, off for now - gotta do some HOUSEWORK today - yuck!

Have a great and blessed one!

Verb

:)

Starting Out

2007-06-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

Although I have other blogs I want to centralize most of that and have decided to post about everytihing here.

To start out? Nothing yet today - uh, JUST STARTING FRESH.

Verb