calzro blog

Making a Perfect Christmas Tree

calzro — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 02:27:50 +0000

Our tips on the next pages will give you ideas for setting up your tree, lighting it, keeping it fresh, and decorating it to be beautiful.

Keep Your Tree Fresh and Green

Cut the stump of the tree with a fresh cut and set it in water immediately. A fresh-cut tree will absorb several quarts of water right from the start. So it’s important to check and refill the water level several times a day for the first week. You can cut down on frequency later. Be sure to place you Christmas tree in a stand that has a large water reservoir and keep it filled.

Christmas Tree Preservative

You can prolong the life of your Christmas tree by mixing up a concoction of 1 quart water, 1/2 cup light corn syrup, and 1 teaspoon liquid bleach. You can also read information on caring for Christmas trees.

Putting Lights and Decorations on the Tree

When decorating your Christmas tree, put lights on first, then garlands, then the ornaments.

Work From the Inside Out

Start arranging Christmas tree lights on the branches near the base of the tree. Weave strings of lights along the branches “inside,” then move to the outer edges of the branches.

Placement of Ornaments

Don’t hang all your ornament on the tips of the branches. Place ornaments and other decorations ‘inside’ your tree to add depth and interest.

Basic Ornaments for Fill

Start by arranging the “filler ornaments” evenly spaced around the tree. This would include basic solid color balls that are easily found at discount stores in a wide range of colors to coordinate and enhance your decorating scheme. You’ll need about 20 “filler ornaments” for every 2 feet of Christmas tree.

Special Themed, Collectible Ornaments

Mix one-of-a-kind special ornaments between the basic ornaments. Plan to use at least 10 special themed ornaments for every 2 feet of tree. As your collection grows, put the special ornaments closer together.

Cut Loads of Energy While Doing the Laundry

calzro — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:23:35 +0000

It’s easy to cut your energy costs for laundry. About 80%-85% of the energy used for washing clothes is used to heat the water. You can reduce this cost by using less water by washing full loads and using cooler water and cold-water detergents – switching the temperature setting from hot to warm cuts a load’s energy use in half. . If you are in the market for a new washer, look for the ENERGY STAR and read EnergyGuide labels. You can reduce drying costs as well: clean the lint filter after every load to improve air circulation, and don’t over-dry clothes. Use the cool-down cycle to allow clothes to finish drying with residual heat. Also, periodically inspect your dryer vent to ensure it’s not blocked. Consider buying a natural gas dryer, the cost per load is less than an electric dryer.

Lower Your Lighting Costs

calzro — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:20:59 +0000

Increasing your lighting efficiency is one of the fastest ways to decrease your electricity bills. Turn off the lights in any room you’re not using, or consider installing timers, photo cells, or occupancy sensors to reduce the amount of time your lights are on. Use task lighting; instead of brightly lighting an entire room, focus the light where you need it. For example, use fluorescent under-cabinet lighting for kitchen sinks and countertops under cabinets. Consider three-way lamps; they make it easier to keep lighting levels low when brighter light is not necessary. Finally, use compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs); they are much more efficient than incandescent bulbs and last 6 to 10 times longer. CFLs are more expensive than incandescent bulbs, but they pay for themselves by saving energy over their lifetime.

Keep Your Energy Bill Out of Hot Water

calzro — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:18:38 +0000

Water heating can be expensive, but there are a number of ways to lower your costs One way is to use less water. Repair leaky faucets immediately and use low-flow shower heads. (A family of four, each showering for five minutes a day, uses 700 gallons of water a week; you can cut that amount in half by using low-flow aerating showerheads.) Insulate your hot-water storage tank and pipes, and drain a quart of water from your water tank every three months to remove sediment that impedes heat transfer and lowers the efficiency of your heater (follow the manufacturer’s instructions). Lower the thermostat on your water heater to 120 degrees; water heaters sometimes come from the factory with higher temperature settings than are necessary. When buying a new water heater, compare EnergyGuide labels to find an energy-efficient model.

Saving Fuel Costs

calzro — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:15:45 +0000

Don’t Let High Fuel Costs Drive You Nuts

Whether you drive an economy car or an SUV, there are plenty of ways to improve your gas mileage. Avoid aggressive driving and observe the speed limit. Speeding, fast acceleration, and hard braking wastes gas. Lighten your load by clearing your car of extra weight, and remove roof racks or carriers if not used frequently. Keep current with car maintenance—clean air filters can improve gas mileage by as much as 10%. Properly inflated and aligned tires will improve gas mileage by 3%. Using the wrong grade of oil can reduce mileage by 1% to 2%. For longer-term savings, consider a high-mileage vehicle for your next purchase.

3 Reasons I Haven’t & 3 Reasons I Really Want to Quit Smoking

calzro — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:12:12 +0000

Smoking Reasons

1. I like it! When I’m not standing in the freezing cold, or up to me knees in water, I just plain enjoy smoking. I’ve put down and picked up my smokes a number of times now, and I always find it easiest to stop smoking over the winter months.
2. I need it when I’m drinking! Ask any smoker who drinks socially, there’s something akin to a strong nuclear force which binds your drink of choice to that smoke you can’t put down. In fact I’ve known people who don’t identify as smokers to light two or three up during a night of drinking.
3. It’s bloody hard! The biological addiction to nicotine may pass in 3 days if you’re quitting cold turkey, but that’s never been the hard part for me. It’s all about the psychology of the habit.

No Smoking Seasons
1. I hate it! Yep there’s definitely a love/hate relationship for me and smoking. As much as I love a good smoke, I also recognize the power it has over me, which is why I want this winter to be the last time I quit smoking.
2. I’m almost 35! I used to be really physically active, cycling was a passion both road and trail. Even if I’ve always had a bearish build, I knew I was good for cardio. Since entering the white collar work force my level of exercise has been on a steady decline. At one point I promised myself to be in a gym and have that extra padding turned to extra muscle by the time I turned 30. I’m 3 years past that point and even if discovery of bear culture has shed a lot of body image issues, I know I need to be paying attention to my heart and smoking certainly isn’t helping there.
3. More Money! Even though I’ll probably never really register the extra cash on a day to day basis, $2000 a year has to help somewhere.

Smoking is a funny habit. You know it’s bad, you hate the smell, the way you feel in the morning, that each cig you spark up is another nail in your coffin. Yet there you are standing in the rain grabbing that quick smoke between lunch and heading back to work. Crack ain’t got nothing on this shit. If I don’t quit soon and for good I feel like I’m never going to put out my last smoke. So I set out to chronicle what I aim to make my final, successful attempt to quit smoking for good right here on my blog.

You Need a Blog Strategy

calzro — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:06:03 +0000

The first lesson – and the thing too many people skip – is creating a blog strategy.
Gone are the days when launching a blog was enough; the web is too crowded. You’re going to have to work your tail off to be successful – as you know from reading Problogger – so you better have a good reason to be doing something this hard.

In other words, you need a strategy with clear goals.

Thinking tactically – writing a one-off post, promoting yourself, optimizing for search, building links – is all well and good, but won’t matter in the end unless it moves you towards the right goal.

Here are 6 different strategies for a blog (though there are plenty more). You don’t need to fit yourself into just one bucket (I don’t), but you’ll be more successful the more singular your focus.
1) Spread an idea
There might be one idea you’re passionate about, and you want to reach as many people as possible with that one idea. Maybe you’re into going green, want to get an official elected, or think people need to stop writing making-money-online blogs.
Though ideas are a fine reason to blog, if it’s the only reason, a blog might be the wrong format. If you’re all about the idea, you’re better off spreading it where the people already are – other blogs, magazines, newspapers, and street corners. Building an audience ain’t easy.

2) Learn
It’s hard to talk about ideas in a way that can change people’s minds. By writing a blog about your ideas, you help yourself develop your ideas beyond what could happen in your own head. If you can get readers to give you feedback, you’ll be challenged to defend your ideas.
Blogging makes you smarter.

3) Build a podium
Having any sort of “media channel” – meaning a place where people go to consume ideas – is a powerful asset. A blog gives you the ability to direct attention (of humans and of search engines) to anything that matters to you.
People talk about the power of networking in business – a wide network of peers lets you tap into a variety of skills and opportunities. The golden rule of networking is to not want anything… which means you need to network before you need the network.
Building a podium is the new networking, and you also have to build it before you need it.
Though networking is as powerful as ever, the ability to direct attention to ideas is a whole new layer.
We are in the middle of a gold rush for attention, and though it might feel like you missed the boat when you read Problogger, you should realize that even if 10 people read your blog, you’re ahead of the vast majority of humanity. Since the bubble burst, people have been too bearish on the web. There is massive untapped potential, so build your podium now.

4) Build authority
Your blog doesn’t need to be an income stream to make you money. In Darren’s recent poll, 85% of you said you made less than $1,000 in October (an annualized $12,000). That’d put 85% of you below the U.S. poverty line if you were “pro” bloggers.
I’m convinced that the best use of a blog is to direct attention to the other projects you work on that do make you money. Even if your blog does make money, look at the success Darren has had by cross-promoting TwiTip, Problogger, and Digital Photography School.
TwiTip wouldn’t have 2,500 subscribers today if it weren’t Darren’s web property. You could dismiss this as the power of celebrity, but Darren isn’t exactly the Britney Spears of the web (that would be Kevin Rose). This is niche authority.
But a niche doesn’t have to be subject-based, it can also be location-based or social group-based. Because of my blog, when friends — and friends of friends — have ideas for websites, they talk to me. Strangers use my contact form to ask about consulting. None of that is because I’m a famous blogger; it’s because I’m the only person they know that has an authority blog.

5) A resume
Until the recent sharpest downturn in the economy, I was getting unsolicited job offers multiple times a week because of my blog and social networks like LinkedIn.
Getting the job of your dreams requires being a qualified and compelling candidate. Most people spend all their time worrying about the qualified part without working on the compelling part. Who cares if you graduated summa cum laude if no one actually bothers to read your resume.
Writing a blog on your subject of choice helps to qualify you, but more importantly, it makes you a compelling candidate that stands out from the crowd.

6) A legacy
Follow the advice of Merlin Mann and Gary Vaynerchuk: act as if you’re writing to one person you respect, and think about the message you’re sending to your future grandchildren (who will see everything you leave on the web).
Just because your blog is built around another strategy doesn’t mean you can ignore your legacy. Don’t do anything you aren’t going to be proud of.
Sometimes that means skipping opportunities that look like short cuts. There are no short cuts to greatness.

Why bother?

Everything else you do must come from your strategy. Without a strategy, you won’t have focused content, a powerful layout, metrics to track, or any idea of when you’re succeeding and when you’re failing.

The point of defining your blog’s strategy is so you’re not shooting blind.

Your blog’s strategy informs what you should be doing (and what you should not be doing). Without strategy, you’re just creating another blog that will die off when you lose your passion next month.

If you don’t come up with a reason to care about your blog, no one else will.

5 Reasons Why Starting a New Blog

calzro — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:00:39 +0000

Here is 5 reasons we starting a new blog :

1. To Keep Fresh – perhaps the thing that I’ve enjoyed the most about the process of starting TwiTip is that it’s given me energy. While I love ProBlogger and DPS and they do give me energy – there’s something special about new blogs. The excitement of launching, the gathering of a new readership, exploring new topics, seeing how readers respond to your posts, connecting with other blogs in a niche. Starting a new blog can give you energy and keep you fresh.

2. To Explore New Tools – I’ve found it harder and harder to keep up with the latest plugins and tools available to bloggers in the last year or so – simply because my main two blogs have gotten to a point where they are quite stable and don’t really need too many tweaks. TwiTip has allowed me to play with some new tools/plugins, techniques, features that I might not have tested otherwise. In a sense TwiTip has become a live testing ground for new techniques – some of which will probably be incorporated in my other blogs.

3. To Explore New Design – In a similar way – TwiTip has been fun for me to explore a new way of presenting content with a new theme. I’ve enjoyed the Thesis theme a lot and have played a little with some of its features. In coming weeks I hope to unveil a new design too which again will be fun to present.

4. To Experiment with New Voices – Sometimes when you have been writing a blog for a few years it is easy to fall into patterns in the way that you write. The patterns might not be bad (they could work well for your audience) but it is easy to become a little dry as a result. A new blog gives you space to explore new styles of communication.

5. Extra Income Stream – I didn’t expect it to happen quite so quickly but in December TwiTip welcomed its first ever sponsor – SitePoint. I’ll write about the process of this at some point soon – but it essentially happened as a result of building a decent daily readership and while it’s not big dollars – it certainly is a nice extra income stream.

Hello world!

calzro — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 13:34:13 +0000

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!