Lundquist Takes Top Spot | Professional Bowlers Association

Lundquist Takes Top Spot | Professional Bowlers Association

Read all about the 2009 PBA Regional Players Championship, one of two Majors on the regional tour. This link has the full standings as of the end of qualifying.

Get Paid to Read Emails, Take Surveys, and More

Who out there is looking for ways to make additional money on the internet? I am definitely one of those people, and I have tried many different approaches. I started with writing online articles for a whole host of websites, and it has done pretty well. Recently, I was looking for other ways to make money, and I came across a website that pays you to read email offers and take surveys. I decided to give it a try, and I am glad I did. Now I am not going to tell you that this is a get rich quick scheme, but it has definitely been worth it. The website I signed up for is called InboxDollars. Basically, when you sign up, they give you a 5 dollar bonus before you even do anything! Then they send you email offers on a daily basis and when you read these offers they pay you. They also have the option to take surveys as well which can pay anywhere from 50 cents to over a dollar. This may not sound like much, but it adds up. Plus, you can shop online for items you use everyday anyway, play games, and so much more. If you participated in all the website has to offer, you could really start to see the money going up. Plus, they have a referral program setup that when you sign up others, they pay you a percentage of the earnings they make as well. You can make money without doing anything. All you have to do is convince your friends to sign up and on the site. Now for the best part. After you obtain gold status, which means you receive your first payment, you get placed into a pool and when people sign up to the site that were not referred, they assign these people as if you referred them! This site is really great and I am really excited about the earning potential. If you want to learn more, or if you want to sign up, click on the link to your right and check this site out!

2009-10 College Football Bowl Schedule

Are you looking for the 2009-10 season college football schedule? Well the best place I have found to view it is on ESPN. The link is right here:

Bowl Schedule


Now here comes the big question. Who is going to win all of those games? Well I can tell you this, witihout a doubt in my mind. Alabame is going to be your national champions. I really do not think the Longhorns is going to be able to stop the Crimson Tide. Especially if they play like they did versus the Florida Gators.

How Do You Make Money With Adsense?

I have spent the better part of the past two years of my life signing up for almost every website out there that pays you money. Some of the sites have worked out pretty well, most have been a failure and waste of time. Despite by efforts and small earnings to show, I have not given up. The problem I have had with most websites is there is a middle man. If you contribute to a website that has a revenue sharing model, they are not sharing much with you. That is why I decided to start a few blogs and use Adsense to make money. With adsense, there is no middle man. There is only you and Google and the amount of money you can make is great, but how do you do it?

Well I hate to break your heart, but you have not landed on a magic page that will tell you everything you need to know to make lots of money. However, you have come to a place where I think you will gain some useful knowledge that could be beneficial to making more money.

The first thing I will discuss is the actual ads. It is very important that your ads blend in to your webpage so viewers don’t run away as if they are virus links. Make sure the background and text of your ad blocks closely matches your page so readers may be more inclined to click on the links.

The second topic I will discuss, and one that I have yet to master, is proper use of keywords. Some people have a niche for this, others like me, do not. However, using proper keywords is the difference in whether or not you will see good traffic on your site. This does not mean, however, to water down your article with too many keywords. Using Google Adwords, you can find goo quality keywords, and use them in your title, and maybe a few times in your article. This will give you good search results, without confusing the Google Bot.

Finally, a great way to increase traffic, and thus increase earnings, is backlinks. Every so often, Google scans the internet world to update its indexing for all the pages it crawls. One of the ways your site’s index will increase is to have lots of backlinks. This would be a great time for you to start socializing your website or blog through sites such as Digg, Yahoo Buzz, and countless others. The higher your index, the earlier your site will show up in search results.

I hope this article will inspire you to practice different techniques, and find out what works best for you. Remember, do not give up. There is a lot of money out there to be made on the internet, and I vow to be one of the few that have great success. Good luck!

Pure Entertainment: Mug Shots

How often do we find ourself sitting in our favorite chair, drink nearby, and cruising the internet to pass time? All too often, I find myself in this position, trying to find the next funny video, picture, or story to email my friends. Well I have recently become an addict. If you thought the picture of Nick Nolte getting a DUI was hilarious, then you are on my side. Looking at mug shots can be a great way to pass the time on a boring night. Here are a couple of sites where you can check some out:

http://www.muggn.com
http://www.killsometime.com/mugshots

And for some right in my hometown:

http://local.gastongazette.com/lockup/

Why the Barcode on Google Search Page?

Most of you probably have this answer already, but if not, today marks the 57th birthday of the barcode. And believe me, this was quite an achievement that changed the way people shop today. My only question is was it really that important than some other discoveries that Google ignores? Sure, Google is a technology company, and their main focus should be just that, but I can think of tons of electronic inventions that did not make the spotlight. Was there a picture of a phone on Google's main webpage to signify Alexander Graham Bell's great discovery on March 10th of 1876? How about the birth of wireless technology, like cell phones? This would seem pretty close to Google's heart with the upcoming release of the Google phone. Bear in mind, this is no boycott or slamming of Google, I just thought it was interesting they chose this day, this invention, to be showcased, when so many others are skipped over.

By the way, if you are wondering, if you place the bar code into a reader, the message is "Google".

2016 Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeiro: Good try Mr. Obama

Despite the efforts of our current Commander-in-Chief, the 2016 Olympics will be held in Rio De Janeiro. President Obama has also been wildly criticized for supporting this effort. It is no secret these days that our country has a lot of problems that needs working on between the mortgage crisis, the economy, unemployment, health care, and many more issues that need to be addressed. With all those issues, should President Obama spend the better part of a day travelling to Chicago to help out with this cause? The Republican answer was of course not. There were many more pressing issues that he should have been dealing with, and he was just doing this to show favor to his hometown. However, if the Olympic committee decided to have the Olympics in Chicago, money would have poured in to rebuild the local infrastructure and many jobs would have been created, which would be great for the economy. Tourism would have gone through the roof, and that produces lots of tax revenue, simulating the local economy, as well as the country’s economy. My honest opinion is that I understand why he chose to help out, but I think with his trouble convincing the public, and congress, his health care changes, maybe he should have stayed in DC and worked on these pressing issues. Now don’t get me wrong. I am not an Obama-hater that thinks everything he does is wrong. After all, he did say Kanye West is a jacka$$!

Jake Delhomme or Matt Moore? The Carolina Panthers Better Figure It Out

After watching the Carolina Panthers get beat up by the Philadelphia Eagles this past Sunday, I became officially depressed. It looks like it is going to be a long season. But hey, at least we did not lose by 5 touchdowns! I have long been a Panthers fan, and have always supported all members of the team, including Jake. But after Sunday's game, I am surprised he was not named the Eagles most valuable player. Don't get me wrong, however, as I do think Jake is a talented quarterback, but I think it is time we move on and start developing a new QB for the future, and who better than Matt Moore? Comparing in game 1, he only threw 1 interception versus Jake's 4, and has a QB rating of 33.5, much better than Jake's 14.7. But ignoring stats, I just thought he looked more comfortable in the pocket and other than that interception, really impressed me. With a little more playing time, I feel like he could really develop into a great asset for the team. Because of this, I am going to make a bold prediction. I think if the Carolina Panthers give Matt Moore a chance, I think we will win the Superbowl. You can call me crazy all you want, but I just have a good feeling about that kid and think he can do some big things given the chance. No matter what happens, however, I hope we can turn this season around. Next week is not going to be much easier playing against the Atlanta Falcons, who has the beter record overall and for some reason, always seem to beat us when I watch the game. Maybe I will make Sunday a day to watch golf instead.

Opening Week of the NFL Season For the Carolina Panthers

Opening day for the NFL season starts Thursday, September 10th, and although I cannot wait, the more important day for me is Sunday September 13th. This is the day that the Carolina Panthers first take the field of battle against the Philadelphia Eagles. Why could we not start out by playing the Detroit Lions? Four words come to mind. Donovan, McNabb, Michael, and Vick. Although our record versus Vick is not that bad, he has had some pretty good luck facing the Panthers. And versus the Philadelphia Eagles, they lead the series 4 – 2, so they have had pretty good luck against us as well, including a win in the 2003-2004 NFC Championship game. I really hope that we can find a way to start the year off with a win, but I am a bit nervous. However, in any event, we are on the dawn of yet another exciting NFL season, and I am so excited I had to write about it! Go Panthers!

Recycle Plastic Bottles: It Only Takes 5 To Make a Jacket

Tonight I was watching Extreme Mega Factories on the Travel Channel, and they began a segment on a factory in my home state of North Carolina. The factory was in Yadkinvillee and it was Repreve, which is the largest factory in the world that deals with recycled plastics. They were talking about all the different things that can be made with recycled plastic bottles, and then they said something that amazed me. Do you know how many plastic bottles it takes to make a fleece jacket? 5. No that is not a typo. The next time you recycle 5 plastic bottles, you just recycled enough to make someone a fleece jacket to stay warm this winter. I could not pass the opportunity by to use this information as a reminder that recycling is a very important step towards making our planet a better place to live for our children, and their children, and so on. Please go the extra mile and recycle to save Mother Earth!

Adding Affiliate Links to Your Blog to Make Money

There are many people out there that are jumping on the blog bandwagon, and they are probably wondering how they can make money with their blog. Well, currently I am using Adsense, and it is wonderful. But perhaps your are looking for other creative ways to make money. Well, in my opinion, affiliate links is the way to go. Most companies, however, have strict guidelines on whether you can participate in their affiliate program, and if you are a new blogger, you may not have the required traffic to be accepted into their program. For this reason, I started doing my research and it led me to one place. Shareasale. This is a compilation of almost every type of affiliate link you can think of, it is incredibly easy to sign up for, and with a few short steps, you will be on your way to having affiliate links on your site. To see an example of affiliate links, you can view my bowling blog. Here I have an affiliate link to a website called bowlingball.com. If anyone gets to my blog, it is safe to assume they like bowling. If they click on my banner and make a purchase, I receive 3% of the price of the merchandise. Now all I have to do is sit back and watch the money come in! TO sign up for Shareasale, which is a free program, click below and I promise you will not be disappointed. How can you be when it is free, easy, and makes you money! Good luck!

Refinance Your Mortgage: Should I or Should I Not?

There are many people out there that want to refinance their mortgage, but are not sure whether it is the right move for them. There are many things to consider when making a financial decision like owning a home and refinancing your mortgage, but with a few small tips, maybe I can get you closer to that decision. Here is an article I wrote about refinancing and some things to consider:

How to Decide if Refinancing Your Mortgage is Right For You

How to Reduce Stress

It is no secret that we all feel some sort of stress on almost a daily basis. The problem us, many of us do not know how to relieve that stress. Well I am no doctor, but I can tell you that I know a great way to manage stress with one simple act, and it does not involve saying goosefraba!

How to Reduce Stress with Bowling

Funniest Car Commercial Ever!

This is by far the funniest car commercial I have ever seen! It almost makes me want to buy a volkswagon!

And check out this link for more funny videos!

Bathing a Newborn Baby

I just recently became a father and I am learning something new every minute of every day that I am with my son. One thing I am learning is that it's not as easy to bathe a newborn as it is a toddler or an older child. For this reason, I have put together an article with some tips and techniques on bathing a newborn child that I think could be very helpful. Check it out at the below link:

How to Give a Newborn Baby a Bath

Guitar Hero Country Music

I am one of the biggest Guitar Hero fans you will see. I might not be able to play Dragonforce Through the Fire and Flames, but I can play a lot of songs on expert. I have heard some rumors recently, but nothing that has seemed to pan out. I love country music and I would love to play Guitar Hero Country Music edition. I wonder if they are even planning on making it. A couple of songs that come to mind that would be good for the game would be “Rock My World Little Country Girl” by Brooks N Dunn. If you can think of any other songs that would be great for this game please leave a comment. I have absolutely no power, nor do I know anyone high up in the Activision food chain, but with enough interest, maybe they will take notice and make a great Guitar Hero Country Music game!

Pay Off Your Mortgage

One of the big issues that caiused the recession we are in, and hopefully getting out of, is the housing market. Many people have had to foreclose on their homes due to job loss, or possibly an increasing payment due to the ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage) that they signed up for. Now is the time to place yourself in a great situation if you have the ability. Paying off your mortage early by paying extra principal can add equity to your home. This money can be used down the road if you get into a jam. Here is an article on a few easy ways to pay off your mortgage earlier than the planned amortization schedule.


How to Pay Off Your Mortgage Faster

STOCK MARKET HITS YEARLY HIGH!!!

Today the stock market is as high as it has been all year, and that makes me feel wonderful. I am far from retirement, but I had a lot of my retirement fund in high risk stocks and I lost a lot of money. I actually have sold a few stocks lately and made a little money! It feels great! I do not know if I would call this a bull market, but things are certainly starting to look better. From what I have read, unemployment had an unexpected drop and a lot of companies are starting to post pretty good profits, many much better than expected. Maybe we are getting out of this bear market and recession and it is time to start making money again! Here are a few articles on buying stocks that you may want to check out:

How to Buy Stock Direct From a Company and Make Money

How to Buy Stocks That Will Make Money

How to Get More Traffic to Your Blog

I have been blogging for a long time. I definitely do not consider myself an expert as the first blog I started was a washout and failure. This time I am trying something a little different. I want to make sure that what I blog about is interesting and informative, and in some cases, good entertainment. This way I can get lots of traffic to my blog so people can find out what is going on in my thick skull. One easy I am trying this time is to periodically check Yahoo's main webpage. At the bottom right corner of the page is a box labeled "Today's Top Searches". It is a quick way to learn what Yahoo users are searching for, and there may be something in that list you feel passionate about, or can write about. Doing this is one way to increase traffic to your blog. Also, although I am guilty of getting lazy, you must post as often to your blog as you can, maybe even everyday. Keep fresh material on your blog. Remember, the news changes everyday. If it didn't, nobody would watch it.

Use Your Grill All Year Around

Summer is almost over, but that doesn’t mean you should put your grill away. Even though we are coming up on colder temperatures in the next few months, you can still have an indoor barbecue. Just don’t grill inside, especially with charcoal. That can be very bad for your health. The heat from the grill will keep you warm, and trust me, the smell of searing meat on a grill smells just as good in the cold of winter as it does in the heat of summer. Check out some of these grilling recipes I have put together for your cookout.

How to Grill a Pork Tenderloin

How to Grill Chicken Kabobs

How to Grill the Perfect Hamburger or Cheeseburger

Barack Obama is at the helm and the big thing he is trying to push through now is healthcare reform. I think most people can agree that reform is needed. We cannot continue at our current rate or the cost of healthcare will bankrupt our government. However, some of the changes that are currently in the bill certainly need to be changed. If a public option exists, what is to stop companies from dropping their private insurance they offer their employees to save money? Will this affect small businesses? How much will it cost in the short term? All of these questions have yet to be answered and the initial bill that has been released is full of stipulations I completely disagree with. Part of the problem is also that politicians will not work together. Right now Democrats have control in the Senate and White House, so Republicans are doing everything they can to make them look bad instead of coming to the table to work together and come up with a viable option. In a way, however, I cannot blame them as if you read how the bill is currently written, I can bet you over 90% of Americans would not vote for it until some changes are made. This is not a way for me to poke at Democrats, this is my poke at the whole system. Let's all work together and come to a conclusion that a vast majority agree on that will be beneficial to this great country we live in!

Zac Brown Band Live

I have been to quite a many concerts, but few have been better than going to see the Zac Brown Band at Coyote Joe's in Charlotte, NC. It has been two months since going, but I came across this picture on my phone and it reminded me of the event. These guys are awesome! I even heard a rendition of Charlie Daniels Devil Went Down to Georgia on the guitar! If these guys are coming to a venue near you, I recommend you see them. This is by far the best Country music concert I have even beer to, and maybe the best concert ever! I cannot wait until these guys come nearby me again so I can go down a few cold ones and hear some awesome country music.

Here is a link to their official website.

Stewart Cink Beats Tom Watson in Playoff at Open Championship

Boy was I wrong about Tiger Woods. It is not often that he does not make a cut for a major, and a 59 year old possibly winning a major. Unfortunately, however, Stewart Cink beat Tom Watson in the playoff to win the Open Championship, his first major title. I was really rooting for Watson, as his win would make him the oldest player in PGA Tour history to win a major by some 11 or 12 years (I believe the oldest was 48). In any event, it was another exciting weekend in the golf world and cannot wait for next weekend!

Photo above from PGA TOUR Official Website

British Open and Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods did not have the best day of his life. He struggled all day and finished at one over par. However, Miguel Jimenez did not struggle as he birdied holes 17 and 18 on his way to a final round 64, or six under. Does Tiger have what it takes to make a comeback from a seven stroke difference after day one? That will be up to Friday and the rest of the weekend to decide, but as for my guess, I think he will win his 15th major and come one more closer to the most coveted record in golf, Jack's 18 major wins. For more information on the Open Championships (which used to be called the British Open) and to view the full leaderboard follow the link below.

http://www.opengolf.com/ChampionshipGolf/TheOpenChampionship.aspx

Professional Bowlers Are Really Good

I have been an avid bowler nearly all my life. I have been bowling for close to 25 years. After all that time I finally realized part of my dream and became a professional bowler. I thought I was awesome. The first PBA tournament I bowled in was a PBA regional in Surfside Beach, SC. In the qualifying round, I shot 1564 over a span of 8 games and missed the cut by only 21 pins. I thought I was the man. Now, I have bowled in 9 total tournaments, I only average a little less than 180, and I have never made a cut or made money. The problem that most people do not realize is that the PBA bowls under different conditions you bowl on in your typical house shot league. Most typical house shots have around 40 feet of oil and are very forgiving. You can actually miss your target by quite a bit and your bowling ball be redirected to the pocket and strike. This is actually inflating your average quite a bit. When bowling on a PBA pattern, you do not have this luxury and spare shooting becomes a must. Bottom line, you are not going to strike near as much on a PBA pattern. Also, spare shooting becomes more difficult as your bowling ball reacts differently on different parts of the lane, and the typical way you shoot at a corner pin can make you miss drastically if you try and hook your bowling ball to pick it up. Do not think that just because you average over 200 you can beat the guys that bowl on Sundays on ESPN. I can promise you they are better than you think. If you do not believe me, go to Youtube and search for trick shot videos from the PBA tour guys. What they can do with a bowling ball is none other than amazing. If you really want to get better, you need to learn about bowling ball characteristics, how you should layout your bowling ball, what type of surface to use, how to play the lanes, and a whole lot more if you want to be a successful PBA bowler. Good luck if you have the same dream as me to hopefully one day be bowling for a PBA Tour title!

To read more about bowling, check out my bowling blog here!

Judge Sotomayor Hearing

One of the major headlines in news recently is the appointment of Judge Sotomayor by President Barack Obama, and what this means for the Supreme Court Justice. Of all the reasons that I have heard why she should not be confirmed, the one that stands out the most is her stance on the Second Amendment of the Constitution. This amendment gives all American citizens the right to bear arms. Her statement was that this Amendment is a federal and fundamental right, but states and local governments can exercise reasonable restrictions to this right when deemed necessary. This scares many people into thinking that she has the power to take your right away, but this is not the case. This statement is already in place in the example that a convicted felon is not allowed to have a gun. I do not know how you feel, but if someone is a convicted felon that has committed crimes such as armed robbery, or possibly worse, that they are not allowed to purchase a gun when they get out of prison. I feel this is an extreme case where you have lost your right to bear arms through your own actions. I feel in now way that she would allow any state to infringe on your right to bear arms if you are a law abiding citizen. I am not stating that I have made my final decision on whether she is the right person for the job, but I do believe that the Second Amendment is not a valid argument to her confirmation.

Erin Andrews Hit By Foul Ball

Who is not in love with Erin Andrews? How can you go wrong with a well-spoken, knowledgeable sports caster that looks like she should be walking the red carpets instead? Well, unfortunately last night, she was struck in the face with a foul ball hit from Alex Cora in the fourth inning, giving me yet another reason to hate the Mets. Fortuantely she is ok, her only injury a bruise on her chin. College football on Saturday would just not be the same without her colorful commentary and beautiful face.

Photo is courtesy of http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com

Steve McNair Murdered

The sports world was greatly saddened last week when Steve McNair was discovered dead. He was an amazing quaterback with the Tennessee Titans and almost converted me to a fan. When first reported, I think most people assumed he had been murdered and girlfriend Sahel Kazemi had killed herself, having bad financial reasons as a possible motive for the shooting. I have been through my share of rough times, but I am not sure what could be going through your mind that would make you murder someone you care about, and then take your own life. Maybe I have just not been in the same situation as she had, and I certainly mourn the losses for the family of both. I guess what I am saying is that I wish someone could have helped her before she made that tragic decision. Anyone out there who are having thoughts like she was having should seek help before it's too late.

Sarah Palin Resigns as Alaska Governor

Sarah Palin has officially resigned as Governor of Alaska on July 3rd, 2009. Many are calling this a bad move for her career, as she was possibly a front runner for the Presidential Race in 2012. As a conservative, I was pretty excited when she hit the front pages of local and national newspapers across the nation, but the Republicans have had some pretty bad luck in the last election. With Sarah Palin now possibly out of the picture, who will be the savior of the Republican Party? Your guess right now is as good as mine, however, I doubt Rush Limbaugh is the answer we are looking for. Here is a copy of the story from the Washington Post:

Sarah Palin Resigns

The Lonely Island

If you are anything like me, sometimes a great video on Youtube can really turn a day around. For this reason, I often frequent the official Youtube site of The Lonely Island. They are some of the funniest guys around. Here is a list a few of my favorite vidoes they have produced:

Like A Boss

I'm On A Boat

We Like Sportz

Jizzed In My Pants

Motherlover

The Bu

If you are in need for a good laugh, visit their official Youtube site and look at all their videos by following the below link

The Lonely Island @ Youtube

And check out this link for more funny videos!

Most Amazing Golf Shot Ever by Phil Mickelson

I have seen some pretty cool things in my days, especially when watching golf on Sunday while lounging around on my couch. However, I have never seen anything quite like what Phil does in this Video. You have to check this out if you like golf!

Backwards Golf Shot

Worst Job Ever

Have you ever wondered who has the worst job in the world? Well I found the poor unfortunate soul who has the absolute worst job ever. Check this funny video out!



And check out this link for more funny videos!

Trying to Make Money Online

There are tons of different ways to make money online, from filling out surveys, to writing “how to” articles, or to writing articles in any format. I have spent the last two years of my life trying to find the magic formula for making money. I have not figured it out yet, but I am not giving up. A good friend of mine has written an EBook on how he makes money online, and it is filled with great information. If you would like a copy of his FREE EBook, follow this link:

Nethopperz EBook

In my experience, I have had the best experience with two sites. They are Ehow and Bukisa. Ehow is a site where you simply write articles in a “how to” format and they provide Adsense, among other advertisements, and give you a portion of the revenue they make. A link to my Ehow profile can be found here:

Clark711 Ehow Profile

Bukisa is a site that works similar, but you can write articles in a “how to” format, or any other format, post videos, or audio clips and they pay you per unique page impression. They also use a revenue sharing model that when people sign up under your referral link, they match a portion of the income they make and give it to you. This is also a great way to make money online. A link to my Bukisa profile can be found here:

If you have any other ways to make money, please do not be shy! If we work together, maybe we can quit our day jobs and sit back and earn easy money!