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Feb 27, 2009

Haiku Friday: (Lack of) Technical Support

February 27, 2009 By
Haiku Friday
Few things in life are
as uber-annoying as
Time Warner Cable

Technical support?
Talk to “Luke”, the guy with an
Indian accent

Back to the very
beginning – “are you sure your
router is turned on?”

More mindless questions –
I think I know more than this
highly trained expert

His conclusion? The
problem is mine, not theirs, so
sorry – have a good day!

My internet still
is wonky – hey WOW cable?
Got any good deals?

We have fought with Time Warner Cable ever since we moved into our house. They are here at least every six months to diagnose a new reason why our internet isn’t working. Our yard has been cut into to run a new line four times now. One tech added a signal booster, another took it away, saying it was illegal now. The modem has been replaced twice, the digital converter box once.

The last tech who came out (after several trans-continental calls to Ian, Steven, and Sandra in India failed to fix the problem) told us that the line was too long, and because the box was so far away from our house, we’ll never get a good signal.

Today, our wireless internet stopped working (nothing had changed with the router), but the router still worked if you connected it to the computer with an ethernet cable. I thought it was a bad router, so we bought a new one, but after setting it up, the same problem happened. How could two routers have the same problem? I explained the entire problem to TW’s tech support, but was informed that because I could get internet with the ethernet cable, it wasn’t their problem, and they wouldn’t investigate further.

I think I’m done with Time Warner. You’ve messed with my wireless internet one too many times, and I don’t take kindly to being cut off from my internet.

To play along for Haiku Friday, follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. What’s a haiku, you ask? Click here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON’T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! I will delete any links without haiku!

Filed Under: Haiku Fridays, rant Tagged With:


Feb 25, 2009

Bribes, Baking and Potty Training

February 25, 2009 By

Cordy is nearly four and half years old, and is still not potty trained. Yes, throw all your tsk-tsks at me, I’ve heard them a hundred times already. We’re not committed enough, we’re not doing it right, we’re letting her control the situation, we’re lazy – those are the primary reasons stated by complete strangers for why our daughter insists on remaining in diapers. As if it really impacts their lives if my kid is wearing a diaper.

But we have been trying, ever since she turned three years old. Many adjectives can be used to describe Cordy, but “compliant” is not one of them. Our long journey through potty training has included several types of potty chairs and seats, pull-ups, plastic pants, training underwear, reward stickers and candy, schedules, potty DVDs and books, potty songs, and many wet spots to clean up. By Christmas I was resigned to the fact that Cordy was likely to be in pull-ups for Pre-K next year.

Part of the problem at first was her fear of the bathroom. It was too noisy, it echoed too much. The toilet and faucet had running water, and she was always scared of getting wet. She didn’t like the feel of her bare bottom on cold plastic, and we’re not wealthy enough for heated toilet seats. Her sensory issues are not nearly as severe now, though – one hurdle down.

However, she also has a hard time knowing when she has to go. Of course, many kids often do this – how often have you seen a kid wet themselves because they were playing too intensely to notice? But she could be doing nothing and still pee without understanding what happened.

They have been working with her at school, and I’m incredibly grateful to her teacher for helping her get over her fear of the bathroom. At first she had to stand by the entrance, then she had to stand inside while other kids were using the bathroom. Then eventually they made her try sitting on the potty. We’d do the same thing at home, and it slowly started to sink in little by little, but she wasn’t consistent enough to try underwear, and she would scream and cry at the mere suggestion of underwear.

Over the past two months, she’s made a lot of progress. And then, a few weeks ago, everything clicked. She suddenly wanted to wear underwear instead of insisting on a pullup, and she made every effort to keep her underwear dry for an entire day.

What’s our secret? We finally found a reward that means enough to her to guarantee her effort in this task:


Baking.

Turns out, Cordy was switched at birth. Or at least she forgot to pick up the part of my DNA having to do with my lack of domestic skill. While I avoid the kitchen at the request of the Columbus Division of Fire, she wants nothing more than to pour, mix, and stir. She even likes cracking eggs! Given the choice of any reward, she would choose baking over anything else.

All photos are of food half-eaten. Sorry, she’s a pretty good baker.

So our new deal with Cordy is that if she can keep her underwear dry until dinnertime each day, she’s allowed to bake something for dessert. We’ve Daddy and Cordy have made cookies, brownies, muffins and cupcakes in celebration of dry underwear days. Cordy says she’s the “Little Chef” and Aaron is the “Big Chef.”

Mira, when she’s allowed to participate, is the “Littlest Chef of All” but most of the time Mira is serving in the role of “Biggest Pain in the Ass Who Tries to Wreck Everything.” That one is my kid for sure.

I can’t explain why it is suddenly working, but Cordy has more dry days than wet days in just two short weeks. She still needs an overnight diaper for bedtime, she still has to be prompted to go to the bathroom, and any chance of #2 in the potty is still far off, but I’m no longer as concerned that Mira would be out of diapers before Cordy.

Baking – who knew? It’s a good thing Aaron suggested baking cookies, because I never would have thought of it. And then Cordy might have remained in diapers until her first home ec class. Of course, I’d probably be skinnier, too – if she keeps baking, I’ll keep gaining weight.

Filed Under: Cordy, domestic zero, growing up


Feb 23, 2009

What is a Blogger Worth?

February 23, 2009 By

When I was at Blissdom 09, one of the hot topics was monetizing your blog. If you were following along on Twitter, you might have seen a flurry of women trying to figure out how much the panelists are making from their blogs. Was there a certain threshold of blog traffic needed to start monetizing? Are ads the only way to make money? How do we deal with PR people wanting to work with us, and do we charge for product reviews?

Yes, it’s been two weeks since Blissdom and I’m just now getting to the topic. I like to take my time thinking these things through. Here are my thoughts:

[Before we go any further, I’ll add that I’m NOT an expert by any definition.]

1. Blog primarily because you love the subject.

Making an income should be your second priority. Write what you know and give something useful to your readers. Care about the community you’re in.

I’m hoping that the majority of these women already had their own blogs, writing about topics they enjoy. Because I think the first lesson of monetizing your blog is to be writing for the love of the subject. If you start a blog with the intention of only making money, you’re likely to get burned out quickly. Have a plan that doesn’t involve money – I write this blog because I love writing about my family, and I have my reviews blog because I love trying out new things and sharing my opinion with others.

2. Use your traffic and your influence to determine your worth when approaching or being approached by advertisers.

Once you do feel you’re ready to add some advertising or reviews to your site, where do you begin? How much do you charge? I remember when I received my first request for a private ad, I had no idea what to charge. Is $5 a month good, or am I selling myself too cheap? If I ask for $25, will I be laughed at?

Thankfully, Dawn from KaiserAlex recently cracked the DaVinci code and revealed a formula you can use to get an idea of what you should be charging. It’s such a simple formula – I wish I had it a year ago! The formula is based on your traffic, and while it’s not perfect, it’s a very good start.

Speaking of traffic: traffic is an issue that many people feel touchy about. Kim Moldofsky recently wrote about being asked for her traffic numbers from a PR company, and how bothered she was that they started this new relationship with a demand for her traffic numbers. It’s OK to protect your traffic stats – you shouldn’t have to give them out to everyone who asks. (Obviously, if you’re joining an ad network or specifically asked to be a part of a PR campaign, you will need to supply your traffic numbers.)

I’m not one to go shouting my traffic stats to everyone, mostly because I feel there’s more to me than the numbers Google Analytics shows me. My reach as a blogger is not completely based on numbers – anyone can have a high traffic month from dumb Google searches for “Paris Hilton naked”. My traffic may be lower than some, but I may have more dedicated readers than someone with lots of traffic.

I also have a decent number of subscribers who read but may not always click through. And beyond my blog, I have other outlets that increase my value: I have a decently large following on Twitter, I use StumbleUpon, I network on Facebook, and I write for other blogs. I also attend blog conferences that give me the chance to network with others and share what I know.

So what am I worth as a blogger? I still don’t know for sure. I’ve figured out an advertising rate I’m comfortable with, and I know how much I’m paid to write at SavvySource. I occasionally am paid for the time I put into product reviews, but that payment is usually an Amazon gift card, and often I’m given nothing more than the product itself. I’m comfortable with the rules I’ve established with PR companies. (Note to self: publish my PR guidelines on my blog soon. Do as I say, everyone…)

3. If you want to make this a full-time living, consider looking for paid blogging positions.

Several people at Blissdom wanted an idea of how much money can be made by blogging. No one was willing to share specific income numbers, and since income is still very much a taboo subject to talk about in our society, I wouldn’t expect them to do that. I actually told everyone on Twitter how much I made in 2008 – not because I wanted to show-off (and it wasn’t an amount high enough to even call showing off), but because this isn’t full-time for me. If I was making my primary living from blogging, I might be a little more cautious about telling the world, too.

I’d also caution readers that I think very few people can make a decent amount of money blogging just through advertising and affiliate programs. I’d bet that many who do make a full-time income writing are making a large share of their money through being paid to write for others. My ad income is enough to pay one utility bill each month – but I make more than double that by writing for others. Mir has pointed out more than once that a lot of her income is from her freelance writing, not directly from her blog.

Problogger has a good listing of paid blogging gigs, but often the ones you’re likely to enjoy the most come from contacts you already have. I found my SavvySource job because I already followed the hiring editor – CityMama – on Twitter. If someone is looking for bloggers in your content area, you’ll find out first from those in your niche.

4. If all you think about is new ways to attract readers for a larger payout, you may have lost your purpose in blogging.

Why did you want to start blogging? What are you giving back to readers? Do you need to step back and reconsider your goals?

You can easily spot a blog that only cares about making a buck – you feel no connection to it, and you are likely to not return. Even some blogs that write about “making money from blogging” are good reads – they offer something valuable to the reader, and care about keeping their reader interested. If I’m not happy with what I’m writing and my heart isn’t in it, I have to wonder what’s wrong. If it’s simply a lost muse, I can wait it out until she finds her way back. But if it’s because my focus has shifted past the writing of my blog, then it might be time to rethink what I’m doing.

So what do you think? Am I way off on this? I’d like to hear your thoughts on the topic.

Filed Under: money Tagged With:


Feb 22, 2009

Bring On The Glitz

February 22, 2009 By

Years ago when we lived in Oxford (Ohio), Aaron and I would host an Oscar party for all of our friends. We’d invite everyone we knew, buy lots of food and drink for the party, design and print off fancy ballot sheets for each guest, and spend all afternoon cleaning the living room.

Then as evening approached, we’d cram as many people as we could into our apartment right before the red carpet coverage started, and begin our evening of entertainment. Each person would fill out a ballot, choosing who they think would win for each category. Ballots had to be completed before the curtain came up so there was no cheating.

We’d critique and criticize each designer dress that came down the red carpet, laughing at some of the poor choices and applauding those stars who had sensible friends to tell them, “Trust me, you’ll look good in that.”

As each winner was announced, some would groan and others would cheer as we updated our ballots. We turned the entire award show into a sporting event.

Our last Oscar party was in 2004. After that we moved to Columbus, had children, and let life get in the way. We still watched the Academy Awards each year, always remarking how we missed our Oscar parties.

Well, now the party is back. Our house will play host to six others to watch Hugh Jackman try to breathe life back into the old Oscar. The drinks and snacks are ready, the ballots are printed, and it’s going to be a fun night.

My predictions? I’ll give you a few. Having seen Slumdog Millionaire, I’m nearly certain it’s the Best Picture winner. And I’m hoping Heath Ledger gets his posthumous Best Supporting Actor statuette.

I’m putting odds on Kate Winslet for Best Actress and Mickey Rourke for Best Actor. (It could be Sean Penn, but I’m pulling for the underdog.) WALL-E should get Best Animated Film.

As for the dresses, I’m guessing Angelina Jolie will look absolutely elegant, and while it’s always tough to predict the train wreck outfit of the night, Cameron Diaz is always a safe bet.

We’ll see how right I am at the end of the night.

Filed Under: geek paradise, more than parents, pop culture


Feb 20, 2009

Haiku Friday: Memories

February 20, 2009 By
Haiku Friday
I’ve been feeling a
bit melancholy lately
thinking of the past

I think I will start
sharing more stories from my
younger, pre-kid days

While chatting over lunch the other day, Aaron had to correct me on my own age. I had completely forgotten an entire year off that number – ha! Little young to start forgetting my age, isn’t it? Since then, I’ve been thinking back on how I’ve spent my almost 33 years.

I’ve shared some stories of my youth before, but I want to dig back into my mind and pull out more of the memories that have been pushed aside in favor of Wiggles songs and the names of the Backyardigans. One resurfaced recently when I read a story of another missing child, and I’m going to make an effort to write down the others when they pop into my head, even the painful ones.

To play along for Haiku Friday, follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. What’s a haiku, you ask? Click here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON’T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! I will delete any links without haiku!

Filed Under: Haiku Fridays, me me me, memories