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Remember that time in the cave?

rdshome — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:23:47 +0000

Who Stands to Gain

rdshome — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 01:33:24 +0000

Who Stands to Gain

Who stands to gain

From the pain that

Comes with the rain

Who spins the wheel

That picks the meal

That begins to heal

The pain that the poor feel

I’ve seen the answer at

The bottom of a bowl

I didn’t know what it was

So I just ate and ingested

And later in life when I heard the buzz

It was too late because the answer was digested…

…I had it again

It was in my notes

I had written it down

I found out the reason it floats

It was clear to me for that one moment

It was clear to me what those rocks at stonehenge meant

But then again with the flick of a pen

The words that I wrote

Became just marks of a chicken

And I knew that my life which had never been clear

Would be cloudy again

Would be not without fear

The fear that exists in the back of my mind

In the pit of the places that only I find

The irrational scare that can start from a tear

A nick in the fabric

That makes a healthy man sick

Sick in the head

Sick in the soul sick in the heart

And loose his control

So out on the streets

Out on my ass

Out in the rain

To feel the pain

The pain that came with the rain

And flooded my being

And of course the answer was me all along

I caused the pain

I take responsibility

But do I stand to gain?

A Poem for my Dad

rdshome — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 03:48:23 +0000

It Doesn’t Matter Where You Are

by Jeremy Pokorski

Maybe I didn’t get your chin or your skin
Maybe unlike you my bones are thin
But what I got I need, I use
My humor, my wit, they amuse
There’s another thing you gave me
Its more important than traits or skills
It heals, it warms, it soothes, it fills
Its love and that will last until
Or way past the end of time
Past the time my humor’s gone
Past the time my wit is wrong
When my physical traits are seemingly changed
My face, my features rearranged
Your love, I’ll feel as long as I live
Your love I feel even when you’re not right here to give
I just know its there like the air we breathe
Because you’re my Dad
And from my heart you can never leave.

Seven tips for writing copy that connects with your visitors and motivates them to take action

rdshome — Fri, 21 May 2010 01:44:18 +0000

1. Know Your Audience—If you’re running your own business, you should know your audience by this point. However, it never ceases to amaze how many websites fail to connect with their target audience. Too many companies use stiff, robotic corporate speak rather than conversational copywriting that engages their audience. You need to interact with your target audience just like you would if you were talking with them face-to-face. Talk like they talk. Think like they think. This is how you will get results.

2. Stop Keyword Stuffing—Keyword stuffing is NOT the same as SEO copywriting. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what many “SEO experts” pass off as website copywriting. Rather than focusing on writing results-driven copywriting that engages and motivates, they’re consumed with achieving optimal keyword density. The result? Their copy might end up ranking well, but potential customers don’t feel motivated to buy. There is nothing wrong with using keywords in your website copy, but just don’t make the mistake of focusing too much on pleasing the search engines.

3. Create Compelling Headlines—The headline is the first thing people see when they land on your page. Did you know you only have around 8 seconds to keep a new visitor on your page? If you headline is bland and boring, they’ll click back immediately. On the flipside, if your headline poses an interesting question or sells a unique benefit, they’ll be inclined to stick around and read through the rest of the content.

4. Focus on “You” Rather than “We”—What’s the most important word in copywriting? You. See, consumers are inherently selfish. They want to know what’s in it for them. They don’t want to read a bunch of self-interested copy where the company goes on and on talking about themselves the whole time. Make sure your website copy includes the word “you” more than it does “we.”

5. Make Easy to Scan Content—Multiple studies have shown that people tend to read content differently online than they do traditional print materials. That’s because a computer monitor simply isn’t the best medium for reading long blocks of text. Eye tracking studies show that online users tend to scan content rather than read it word for word. What does this mean for you? It means your website copy needs to be easy to scan. You can accomplish this by using short paragraphs, bulleted lists, bolded headings, and ample white space throughout your copy. Your goal is to make it so that someone landing on your page can scan through your content and understand the main points in just a few short seconds.

6. Sell the Benefits—This is Copywriting 101. It’s all about selling the benefits not the features. Benefits tell the reader exactly how they will benefit from your product. Features are the boring, technical things that make your product different. Here’s an example: A feature of an external hard drive would be that it has 500 GB of storage capacity. The benefit would be that your customers can backup and protect all of their important files without ever running out of room. Focus on the benefits.

7. Close with a Good Call to Action—The call to action is what seals the deal. If you’ve successfully done all of the above points, your readers are almost ready to take action. But they still need a little pushing. Don’t beat around the bush here. Tell them exactly what action you want them to take. If you want them to buy your product now, tell them to do so. If you want them to fill out a form for a free consultation, tell them to do that. Keep it simple and straightforward.

At the end of the day, your internet marketing campaign will only be as successful as your copywriting allows. Focus on writing great website copy, and everything else will fall into place.

Mother’s Day Poem

rdshome — Sun, 02 May 2010 16:28:13 +0000

Mother is the word for God

by Jeremy Pokorski

The first we see.

The first to console.

The first to give peace

in a new world out of control.

You are everything.

It must be amazing to be a mother.

You give nutrition.

You give discipline.

You give comfort

both on the outside and within.

You are the one.

It is the most awesome responsibility.

Even now that I’m older;

Even now that I’m a father;

Even now that I pray to our God;

I look to you, my mother.

Mother is the word for God to all children and I am no different.

You can find more of my poetry at JepokPoetry

And find a gift for Mother’s day here on RedDonkeyshop.com.

Five Benefits of Enrolling Your Child in Sports

rdshome — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 05:30:02 +0000

Now, let’s get one thing straight from the beginning: this article is not about forcing your child to play sports. Despite how much you might love sports, if your kid truly hates it, don’t make him or her play.

With that out of the way, this article is for the parent who is on the fence about enrolling their child on sports. You might be worried if it will interfere with his schoolwork. Or, you might be concerned about it making him overly competitive. Both of these concerns are understandable.

However, I believe there are certainly several ways your child can benefit from joining an afterschool sports team. Here are 5 benefits to consider if you’re debating signing your child up for sports.

1. Learning the value of teamwork—Whether you sign your kid up for baseball, basketball, football, or soccer, one thing is certain: he will learn the value of teamwork quickly. See, one player can’t carry an entire team throughout a full season in any of the sports mentioned above. So, your kid will learn that he needs to work together with his teammates if he wants to be successful. This is a valuable skill that will carry over to many other aspects of life, from building friendships in school to working together will co-workers as an adult.

2. Improving self-confidence—Numerous studies have found that kids who play sports are likely to have positive self-esteem. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, a child who plays sports is likely to be healthy and not overweight. This creates a positive self-image. Also, just the simple act of belonging to a team and feeling like a valued member is enough to boost a kid’s self-confidence. Playing sports really can help your kids be happier and avoid depression. That alone is reason enough to consider enrolling your kid in an afterschool sports program.

3. Staying active and healthy—Too many children today are content staying at home in front of the TV for hours at a time. As a result, childhood obesity is at an all-time high. One reason playing sports is such a good idea is that it forces your kid to stay active and in great health. Between the practices and the games, your child will get the daily recommended exercise he needs to remain healthy. And these health benefits aren’t just physical benefits. Healthy kids are able to focus better and perform better academically than those kids who are sluggish and tired.

4. Blowing off some steam—Many parents don’t realize their kids are under a lot of pressure and stress. Just because they don’t have all the responsibilities of an adult doesn’t mean they can’t get stressed out. For this reason, your child needs a good outlet to blow off some steam. Sports and physical activities are the perfect medium for doing this. It’s a nice carefree outlet where your kid can just have fun, like a kid is supposed to do. Without such an outlet, your child might start acting out, directing their aggression in a non-constructive manner.

5. Developing discipline—Every child can benefit from learning some discipline. Discipline is what will make them responsible students who do their homework and take care off their obligations. Discipline is what will teach them to respect those in authority as well as their peers. Discipline is what will teach them how to work toward a long-term goal without giving up. See, being on a sports team requires a commitment to practicing regularly and being ready for every game. Your child will learn how to set and achieve goals. They’ll also learn that hard work is the only way to accomplish their biggest dreams.

Hopefully, you can now see some of the benefits of signing your kid up to play sports. Sure, every situation is different and sports aren’t right for everyone, but there really is a lot your child can gain from joining a team. By playing sports, your kid can improve their academic performance, gain valuable social skills, and learn how to work toward their biggest goals. Whether you like sports or not, I think we can all agree that these are benefits we all want for our children.

Top 7 Fat Burning Exercises

rdshome — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 21:26:37 +0000

Burning fat. That’s one of the most common goals of people who workout on a regular basis. Everyone seems to have their own method for burning fat. Some insist on doing workouts that target the abs; others believe in simply running the pounds off.

All of this leads to one question: What is the best exercise for burning fat? The truth is there isn’t really just one exercise that is the absolute best for burning fat. To truly get rid of all that stubborn belly fat, you should use a variety of exercises that target different areas of your body.

For this reason, we’ve come up with this list of the top 7 exercises to burn fat. By following these exercises, you just might be able to finally get rid of those stubborn last 10 pounds that everyone struggles with.

1. Running—To many, running is still the gold standard of cardio workouts. Running is great for burning fat because it gets your heart rate up to the target zone and it burns a lot of calories in a short amount of time. In just a half hour of running, you can easily burn 300 calories or more. The best thing about running is you can do it anywhere. You don’t have to go to the gym if you don’t want to. Instead, put on your running shoes, and take a few laps around the neighborhood or wherever else you want to go.

2. Walking Lunges with Dumbbells—This exercise provides the perfect combination of resistance training and cardio. To do this exercise, you should have a dumbbell in each hand by your sides. Step forward with your first leg, landing on your heel then your forefoot. Lower your body until the knee of your rear leg is nearly touching the floor. Push yourself up, and repeat with other leg.

3. Stair Machines—Using a stair machine or running/walking up and down a flight of stairs is a great way burn calories quickly. For those new to this exercise, start by simply walking slowly on the stairs. Even walking will make you start to burn in those muscles you’ve never really targeted before. Over time, you can build up these leg muscles and begin to start running on the stairs. This is when you’ll really start to burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time. Also, stair exercises are a great workout for revealing your ab muscles.

4. Kickboxing—If you’re looking to have some fun while you burn fat, cardio kickboxing is the perfect solution. Most gyms offer kickboxing classes, and on average, you’ll burn around 400 -500 calories per session. Cardio kickboxing is a unique blend of boxing, martial arts, and aerobics. This high intensity workout targets virtually every area of your body, helping you burn more fat.

5. Lifting Weights—When most people think of burning fat, they only focus on cardio exercises. This is a vital mistake. Lifting weights and adding muscle is one of the best ways to burn fat. See, most people get caught up in the low number of calories burned during lifting weights. But that’s not important. Lifting weights adds lean muscle to your body which burns fat better than anything else.

6. Cycling—Whether you use a stationary machine or you decide to explore the outdoors on your bike, cycling is a great way to burn stubborn body fat. The key to getting the most out of your cycling workout is to take the intensity up a few levels. Don’t just coast around slowly on your bike. Instead, challenge yourself by riding up inclined surfaces and doing sprints. An intense cycling workout can easily burn 400 calories in a half hour.

7. Walking—While even regular walking will burn calories, if you’re really serious about burning fat you should do power walking. Power walking is done at a brisk pace to increase the intensity of your workout, thereby burning more calories. To burn even more fat while walking, try going up hills and walking intervals at various speeds.

The bottom line with burning fat is this: it’s all about getting your heart rate up into the target zone. Any exercise that gets your heart pumping will help you burn calories and fat. Mix your exercises up regularly to avoid the plateau and boredom.

8 tips on Maintaining Top Mental Health

rdshome — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:43:05 +0000

1. Interact with others—While you might not realize it, having conversations is an important mental exercise. Not only do you get to hear other people’s points of view, but you also force your brain to work quickly to think of quality responses on the spot. That’s why physical conversations are more stimulating mentally than online discussions where you have plenty of time to formulate a response. Of course, to get the most out of this exercise, you need to engage in meaningful discussions. In other words, not the typical “how’s it going?” mindless chatter.

2. Learn a new skill—Whether it’s learning a new language or learning a new instrument, picking up a new skill can help expand your mental muscles. After all, we use the same skills day in and day out. It becomes so routine that our brains go on autopilot. Focusing on learning a new skill causes your brain to truly work hard.

3. Memorize a poem—As we get older, one of the first things to go is our memory. Most people just assume it’s part of aging. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Most of the time, our memory worsens because we don’t put it to use. These days, everything we need to know is on our cell phone or computer. There’s no need to memorize anything anymore. Keep your memory muscles strong by memorizing short poems or other passages. This will help you remember truly important information later on.

4. Complete crossword puzzles—Crossword puzzles are more than just fun little games that help you waste time in the bus or in the waiting room. They are actually great brain teasers that force your brain to dig deep and to think outside of the box. Even if you can’t complete the crossword puzzle, at least give it your best shot each day.

5. Expand your vocabulary—One of the best ways to improve your mental fitness is to expand your vocabulary. Most people stop learning new words when they get out of school. As a result, that portion of their brain doesn’t get exercised at all for many years. Consider spending a little time each week learning a few new vocabulary words. Of course, don’t just learn them then forget them. Quiz yourself and try to incorporate these new words into your every day conversations.

6. Eat properly—Just like with physical fitness, mental fitness requires a proper diet. Your brain needs healthy fats. Good brain foods include salmon, walnuts, olive oil, cacoa beans, and berries. A healthy diet can go a long way to helping you stay in good mental health.

7. Exercise regularly—Not only does hitting the gym help you build physical muscles, but it also helps you stay mentally sharp. Exercising on a regular basis helps fight depression, improves sleep quality, boost self-confidence, and reduces stress. All of these benefits lead to a stronger, more focused mind.

8. Read every day—Reading is a great way to keep your mind sharp, but I’d like to place an addendum on this tip: read something different every day. In other words, if you typically enjoy reading fiction books, try reading a non-fiction biography. If you usually read about history, try reading the business section of your newspaper. Switch it up. This prevents your brain from settling into autopilot, keeping you mentally sharp.

At the end of the day, mental fitness isn’t much different than physical fitness. Both require a consistent effort on your part, and there are no shortcuts. However, if you’re able to continuously work at it, you can achieve spectacular health benefits. Consistently practice these mental exercises, and you’ll have a sharp mind capable of fighting off many of the common age-related mental issues.

The Top 10 Summer Vacation Spots for 2009

rdshome — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 02:53:37 +0000

Nothing can bring the family closer together, creating warm memories that last a lifetime than a wonderful summer vacation. This year, many will forego their annual summer travel under the fire of ludicrous gas prices and air industry difficulty. With the media hammering home in what poor state the economy is in, there may be many families who decide that this year would be best spent at home, enjoying the meager joys their towns have to offer.

If, however, your family has decided to buck the trend and get out on the open road this summer, you’ve come to the right place. As every year, the United States is packed with summer vacation destinations just waiting to steal your heart and leave you with lasting impressions you’ll talk about for the rest of your life. If need an adventure this summer, here are ten destinations sure to make your family vacation one for the record books.

#10. California Gold Country

On a recent survey, Americans named California as their number one summer travel destination, and it’s not hard to understand why. With its picturesque beaches and the lure of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and other wildly cultural and exciting destinations, California seems to have a little something for everyone. Put that together with its warm climate and historical importance, and California is naturally a state that jumps to mind when it comes to vacation spots.

Rather than focus on the obvious, however, we’ve chose California Gold Country as our number 10 vacation spot. A visit to California Gold Country can take you back to America the way it was in the 1800s, when pioneers and settlers from all over came to the Golden State to seek their fortunes. Visit Columbia State Historic Park, a town that has been preserved in much the way it was left in the nineteenth century. Take a trip down to Grass Valley, where you can tour gold mines and see how miners made their hard but profitable living in the days before movies, television, and even radio. If you want something a little more contemporary, Palm Springs is just a hop, skip, and a jump away, with its beautiful mountain scenery, and the lure of a ride in the Aerial Tramway.

#9. St. Augustine, Florida

The country’s oldest city is our choice for the number nine travel destination for families this summer. You might think a visit to such an historic area might tend too far toward the educational (and thus, boring), but you would be wrong.

There are a plethora of fun adventures in St. Augustine, with delights for each and every member of your family. First of all, it’s right on the beach. Secondly, there are a number of historic places to visit, such as the Castillo San de Marco, or the Ponce de Leon Fountain of Youth.

When you’ve had enough history, head over to St. George Street, a beautiful long walk full of merchant shopping, lunchtime restaurants, and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum. At night, head over to the Old Jail to begin your trek on a St. Augustine Ghost Tour, which is certain to thrill the kids and adults alike.

#8. Orlando, Florida

Since it’s just a ways down the road, we went ahead and put Orlando in our number eight spot for the top ten summer vacation destinations. It would be ponderous and repetitive to name all of the things your family can do in Orlando, but we’ll give it a brief overview of the highlights.

The name of the game, of course, is theme parks. Disney World itself comprises four different parks, including The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Then there’s Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for those that want a little more thrill to their theme park experience. Theme parks aren’t the only things Orlando has to offer for family vacations, though. Have dinner at Medieval Times, and visit the Wonderworks Museum, which is both fun and educational.

#7. Atlanta, Ga

Atlanta doesn’t get mentioned a lot when it comes to summer travel destinations, but there’s plenty to do and see, especially if your kids have grown out of the Mickey Mouse holiday.

You can tour the CNN building where the cable channel hosts and brings the news to you on a twenty four hour basis. There is Atlanta underground, a lush shopping area for the bargain hunter in your family. Then there is the Atlanta zoo, one of the few places in America you can see real life Pandas. Just a short trip down to road will bring you to Stone Mountain, where you can see a laser light show while looking at one of the United States’ oldest and most venerable monuments.

#6. Asheville, NC

If you’re in the mood for a cooler climate, as well as some of the most breathtaking scenery anywhere in the world, Asheville might be your preferred summer vacation getaway. Get a hotel underneath the towering Blue Ridge Mountains, and enjoy your vacation with a little rest, relaxation, and peace. Warning: you may never want to leave.

#5. Williamsburg, VA

Colonial Williamsburg is a popular summer travel destination, rich with history and alive with beautiful green scenery and the calm peacefulness of a town at rest. Here you can stroll the streets of Williamsburg, one of the first settlements in the New World, and interact with actors playing the parts of the early colonists.

When you’ve had enough of the history, head down the road to Busch Gardens and thrill your family with both monster coasters and the taste of Europe.

#4. Cedar Point, Ohio

Speaking of monster coasters! Cedar Point is one of the most famous and extravagant thrill parks in the world, and a lifetime of theme park enthusiasm is not complete without at least one trip through its gates. It offers an unprecedented seventeen roller coasters, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

If you’re looking for lodging, you can’t do much better than Castaway Bay, Cedar Point’s amazing resort that is part hotel, part water park.

#3. Washington, DC

What would make a better summer vacation than a trip to the nation’s capital! Visit the White House, the Capitol Building, and the Lincoln Memorial to get a sense of history and place, and learn a bit of what you might not know about this country’s government. You might even get a glimpse of some of the country’s most prominent politicians!

Washington is also the home of the Smithsonian, which is absolutely one of the most amazing museums in the world. The Smithsonian, in and of itself, could eat up a week’s worth of vacation time.

#2. The Grand Canyon

What can we say about the Grand Canyon that hasn’t been said a million times? It’s beautiful, and it has to be seen to be believed. More than a summer vacation spot, this is one of those natural wonders you should make it a point to visit before you die. Bring the kids and give them something to remember for the rest of their lives.

#1. New York City

When you think of summer family vacation spots, New York City doesn’t usually spring immediately to mind. However, if you have children who are quickly on their way to adulthood, the theme parks may not be getting it anymore. That’s why we’ve chose NYC as our number one destination.

To say there is something here for everyone is an understatement of the highest magnitude. Broadway plays, the Statue of Liberty, The Empire State Building, the list could go one for another ten pages, even without expounding. If you want a city that can give you a summer vacation you will talk about for ages, New York should be the apple of your eye.

How to Speed Up Your PC

rdshome — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 21:43:08 +0000

If your computer is running slowly, you know how frustrating it can be. Even the simplest tasks, like opening a document, can become a total pain in the neck. When your computer starts dragging in speed, your first reaction might be to think it’s time to buy a new one (or to thrown your old one out of a window from frustration). But that’s not always the case.

Often times, there are simple steps you can take (in just minutes) to significantly increase the speed of your PC’s performance. Following these tips can save you money and reduce the stress of dealing with a slow computer.

Here are some tips to help you get your PC back up to full speed.

* Eliminate unnecessary start up programs—One reason your computer could be running slow (particularly during startup) is that you have too many programs starting up each time you turn on your computer. Just take a look at the right hand side of your toolbar. All of those icons represent hardware devices that launch during startup. Are there any that you don’t need? If so, check the properties/options of the programs you don’t need, and set them not to launch at startup. If you don’t use these devices ever, consider uninstalling them all together.

* Clear temporary internet files—One thing to note before clearing your temporary internet files: make sure you have all of your stored login information for various websites memorized or written down somewhere. Once you do that, clearing your temporary internet files is fast and easy. Go to startècontrol panelèinternet optionsèdelete browsing history and cookies. This will wipe away those memory consuming temporary files that have been clogging your hard disk.

* Delete unused programs—Everyone has files or programs on their computer that they no longer have any use for. In fact, most computers today come pre-loaded with extra trial programs and other memory-consuming devices that you’ll never even use. So, start doing some digging on your hard drive to see which programs you can get rid of. If you haven’t done this in a long time, you’re bound to clear up quite a bit of hard drive space by the time you’re done.

* Perform disk cleanup—In Windows, there is a program called “disk cleanup” that will suggest programs and files for you to eliminate. Windows determines which programs you don’t use and can do without, and then, you simply confirm which ones you want to delete. To perform disk clean up, go to startèall programsèaccessoriesèsystem toolsèdisk cleanup. Choose which drive you wish to cleanup (most likely C: drive). Once Windows is done scanning your system, a list will come up of potential programs and files to delete. Tick the boxes next to the ones you wish to delete, and you’re all done. I recommend running a disk cleanup at least once a month. It can free up a significant amount of space on your PC.

* Run disk defrag—After running a disk cleanup, it’s time to run disk defragmenter. This program is designed to speed up your access to data. See, files become fragmented, making your computer search the hard drive for all the pieces to put it back together each time you open it. Obviously, this can be time consuming. Disk defragmenter consolidates fragmented files neatly so that you can avoid this process.

Running a disk defrag is simple. Go to startèall programsèaccessoriesèsystem toolsèdisk defragmenter. Choose the appropriate drive, and click analyze. Analyzing the drive first lets you know how long defragmenting will take. Once the analyzing is complete, you can click defragment to begin.

To achieve optimal performance on your PC, it’s recommended you set disk defragmenter to run once a month. This will help you keep your computer’s performance as fast as possible.

If there is one common theme among all of these tips, it’s regular maintenance. None of the items on this list are one-time solutions. You need to follow each of these tips at least once a month to keep your computer running at its highest level. Routine maintenance will help you avoid the headache of a painfully slow computer.