Designing a blog or website that looks good, is easy to navigate and one that is tops in search engine optimization is not an easy task. I am not satisfied with the look of THE MEDIAN SIB. I love the colors, but the fowers at the top just don’t seem to “flow.” So I started looking online for ways to improve it, and I came across this web design blogStylish Design is a blog, too. It has information and advice about not only web designing but lots of other stuff related to web design. In looking through some of the posts I found information on backup and recovery of data, how to effectively utilize keywords to improve Google page rankings, web design basics, how to create successful AdWords ads, information on web directories, website templates and so much more.

Right now I will be spending more time reading the SEO information at Stylish Design. Then I might see if they have anything about getting rid of those flowers at the top of my blog.

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This morning when I was getting dressed for work, RT called me to HURRY into the great room to see something on TV. HURRY before it’s gone! (He hasn’t learned how to work the DVR remote yet to pause whatever is on the screen.) So I hurried in there - RT was laughing - and he pointed to the TV where there was a close-up of the image on Dick Cheney’s sunglasses. On the news report the image looked very much like a naked woman. And THAT particular issue has been a top story in the news all day.

 
The debate is whether or not the reflection is a naked woman or an arm holding a fly fishing rod. Hmmm.  The two images are so similar.  I can understand the confusion.  Everytime I see someone flyfishing, I certainly have to look twice to make sure it’s not really a naked woman.  Look at the photo above.  Naked woman or soneone fly fishing?  So hard to determine.You can’t tell it from that particular photo, but when I saw the original photo, my first thought was what a nice smile Cheney has. I looked around and found the photo below that shows his entire face.  Don’t you agree that he is a nice looking man with a warm smile?  Well, considering what people are saying he’s looking at, maybe there’s a good reason for that smile.

By the way, the image doesn’t look like a naked woman to me.  Actually it looks exactly like an arm and a fishing rod.  But if Cheney wants to fly flish with a naked woman, then that’s fine by me.

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I started playing around at VistaPrint this afternoon and ended up designing car door magnets advertising my cooking website, Cabbie’s Cooking.  VistaPrint provided plenty of templates to choose from - or I could have uploaded my own graphics.  I used one of their templates to make the magnet to the left.  I think it’s really cool, and I believe it would get a lot of attention on the side of my car. 

I’ve really like VistaPrint.  Two years ago I designed my custom business cards at VistaPrint for the past couple years, and I LOVE my business cards - professional but one-of-a-kind.   It’s fun to just play around at their website designing various customized items.

VistaPrint offers a wide selection of printing services such as announcements, checks, rubber stamps, business cards, and now they have CAR MAGNETS!  You see car magnets all over town.  If you use a car or a truck for your business, then this has got one of the least expensive methods of advertising.  Your car or truck becomes a moving advertisement - your business is on display as you take care of errands around town.  The best thing, besides the great price, is that you can customize the items that you order.  I love personalized things because they make things so . . . . well, personal!   And when you order, for example, a car door magnet, they show you examples of other coordinating personalized items such as labels, rubber stamps, etc. 

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Jane at Cozy Reader had  this yesterday, and I loved it.  Click on over and check out all the other great stuff at Cozy Reader.

The Bible in 50 Words!

God made
Adam bit
Noah arked
Abraham split
Joseph ruled
Jacob fooled
Bush talked
Moses balked
Pharaoh plagued
People walked
Sea divided
Tablets guided
Promise landed
Saul freaked
David peeked
Prophets warned
Jesus born
God walked
Love talked
Anger crucified
Hope died
Love rose
Spirit flamed
Word spread
God remained.

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Click the link and visit my new blog, Cabbie’s Cooking, for some fantastic recipes!

Most bloggers want to know how their blog’s rank compares to other blogs.  Until now Google page ranks and Alexa have been the main players in the rankings game.  Rank becomes important because our blog’s rank determines how much value it is to advertisers.   A good rank can mean money for the blogger.  The worst thing about the past ranking systems is that they can be so ambiguous.  Bloggers are in the dark about how to improve their ranks.  Google and others have worked to make the ranking system not vulnerable to those who would artificially increase their ranking.  However, there are still inaccuracies that leave bloggers frustrated with the systems.

Now there is a new ranking system at IZEARanks.com that is based entirely on a blog’s true ranking as compared to other blogs.  IzeaRanks takes into consideration a blog’s traffic which indicates its popularity.  IZEARanks is updated each day so that it makes it easier for bloggers to keep track of how their blogs compare to the other blogs in the IZEARanks system.  They call it the RealRank, and that’s exactly what it is - a REAL ranking system.  The rank comes from a piece of javascript that collects and reports the ranking based on the actual blog traffic.  And, as a blogger, you can select how to display the page views, visitors and your RealRank.

When I looked up my blog at the IzeaRanks site, it displayed my blog information along with a cool screen shot of TMS.  The Median Sib’s RealRank for today is 315.

The IzeaRank site is easy to understand and navigate.  I enjoyed keying in other people’s blogs and finding out their RealRanks, too.  And GOOD NEWS!  During February, they’re busy building their database, and so they are giving away $1,000 each week to the blog that’s ranked #1 for that week in the RealRank system.  So go sign up and get your blog into the system and see what your own RealRank is.

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I’m such a sucker for stuff like this. I used to dream when I was little that I could breath underwater - and that I could fly. I’ve often thought it would be cool to be invisible - see what’s going on and what people say when I’m not around. So I guess my results for this quiz fit in with my personality. You can click the link to find out your super-powers

Your Superpower Should Be Invisibility

You are stealth, complex, and creative.You never face problems head on. Instead, you rely on your craftiness to get your way. A mystery to others, you thrive on being a little misunderstood. You happily work behind the scenes… because there’s nothing better than a sneak attack!Why you would be a good superhero: You’re so sly, no one would notice… not even your best friends Your biggest problem as a superhero: Missing out on all of the glory that visible superheroes get

What Should Your Superpower Be?

Tiara-tip to CalTechGirl at Not Exactly Rocket Science - I saw this at her place first.

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It’s been awhile since I’ve had time to browse through my blogroll and feature some great posts.  Here are a few that you would enjoy.

Ruth at Ruthlace writes about “Life After Life.”

Martin at My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy provides some quotes from Hillary Clinton, along with his own commentary.  Here’s a sample:

Seriously, who buys this garbage?

Stroking the 4-year-old girl’s head, Clinton said, “I feel so strongly that if we don’t take care of our children, we don’t take care of our future.”

Really? Do you also feel strongly that we ought to teach them well and let them lead the way? Perhaps show them all the beauty they possess inside?

Hot Air features a wonderful “Quote of the Day.”  I love it!

Ms. Corneliu at A Shrewdness of Apes has some advice for principals to be.

Beth at Blue Star Chronicles has wedding photos.

Utenzi discusses Sunday night’s episode on The Amazing Race in which Jennifer was finally eliminated.  Without a doubt, the woman is toxic.  I hope the guy doesn’t marry her.  I can’t imagine the hell of living with her.  I disagree with Utenzi, though.  I don’t want TK and Rachel to win.  I’m rooting for either of other two teams.  I want an “older” player to win for a change.

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My blogging buddy, Greatfullivin, has given me “the Daily Dose” award.   I’m very proud to have The Daily Dose graphic on my sidebar!  Xandra originated this award at Heart-of-Service to pass out to blogs you can’t live without.  Here’s how she describes the award:

“So here’s to all the blogs that you’ve discovered that you can’t possibly live without. They make you laugh, cry, think and feel connected every time you read a post. They give you a thrill as you see them loading into your browser and you get an equally satisfying thrill when you see that they have commented on your blog.”

 So now I must select five blogs I read every day - blogs that are interesting, that make me think or laugh and that  always seem to have something new.  I hope no one feels that I’m being prejudiced be selected blogs of people who are in my family.  However, they ARE the blogs I read more than any others - even when I don’t always agree with what they write.  Check them out - the click will be worth it.   Here are my nominations:

Beth at Blue Star Chronicles

Terry at Alone on a Limb

Ruth at Ruthlace

Joan at Daddy’s Roses

Jane at Cozy Reader

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It’s New Year’s Day, and people are bloggin’ up a storm.  Here are  a few good reads for in between the black-eyed peas, bowl games, news and greens.

Texas Fred talks about what has already happened in 2008. 

Terrell has photos of a visit to the Georgia Aquarium. 

Joan is a disparate housewife (and no, that is not a misspelling or typo). 

Dr. Sanity found an incident where the new year was started off right.

Woman Honor Thyself writes about seeing the ball drop in NYC on New Year’s Eve.

Beth at Blue Star Chronicles is talking about Ron Paul - and she is definitely not a Paul supporter.

Little Green Footballs is talking about Ron Paul, too.

Jane at Cozy Reader has a cartoon that still has me chuckling.

Ed at Captain’s Quarters live-blogged Mike Huckabee’s bloggers conference call.

Agent Bedhead has a rather unusual and picky resolution.

And Rightly So offers proof that the AP is blind or biased.  There’s a great photo illustration to prove the point.

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