• I *HATE* preschool carpool pickup!! HATE!! #

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If there’s one thing Amy and I need to do more of its relax. She’s always after me to give her back massages, foot rubs and anything that will help her relax (she bought me a couples spa package last Christmas as a way to get herself more spa time…). The problem is that I give decent massages but I don’t know the correct technique to give a good massage and to give a long massage (my massages last about 5 minutes). I’m considering investing in a good video guide like the Hand Reflexology Video available from VideoShelf. I think it’d be a good way for us to get some quality us time in.

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Thats right. You too can win great prizes from Blog about Your Blog (hows that for a name?). They’ve teamed up with Bidvertiser to give away around $200 cash and a couple of reviews. Its easy too, all you have to do is subscribe to their rss feed and let them know you did. Couldn’t be easier could it? You could even put that money towards Chrysler 300 accessories or your troll doll collection.

You can also earn more chances to win by blogging about BAYB and bidvertiser. For more information check out the bidvertiser promo

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Hillary Clinton has released a new ad in Iowa where she calls Bush’s economic reforms a trap door for Middle Class families to fall through. As I sat there and read the article and watched the ad (which has no facts in it what so ever) it occured to me that you hear the Left talking all the time about the Middle Class. They talk about helping the middle class with handouts. They create plans and programs that appeal to this supposed “middle class” but they never really do anything to help the middle class become the upper class.

It appears from where I sit (which according to most econ professors is the Upper Middle Class) it looks like the democrats aren’t as concerned with helping the “Middle Class” achieve more in life as they are with keeping the middle class happy and complacent through programs (like national health care, social security, baby bonds and more) which lead people to depend on the government more. They (the democrats) talk about how we’d benefit from a national health care plan (never mind the fact that its not working in Canada or in England) or they promise $5,000 savings bonds for every child born in the US (forget about those who have already been born…) or how we need this or that (like a museum commemorating woodstock). When asked about how they’d pay for these programs they respond by saying they’d raise taxes on the rich (which seldom works).

In her ad, Clinton says its time for a change in economic policies as well as other policies and for once I do agree with her. It is time for a change but not one towards larger government reach and higher taxes. No, we need the opposite. We need less taxes and less government control. We need less meddling by people who claim they know whats better for our well being than we do. Its time for a change from traditional politics of Right Vs. Left.

In the formation and operation of every great country there’s a natural ebb and flow cycle. The last one in the United States started after the great depression and its been building to a tipping point. Its time for the cycle to renew itself (like a fiery phoenix). What this country needs is a good revolution right now. We need a way to gut the political system of the bad and rebuild it with good but until the citizens of the US regain that rugged individualism of the old west I’m afraid it really won’t happen.

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Anyone who has ever tried to host and run a wordpress, movable type or typepad blog on their own knows how frustrating it can get. Kernel upgrades, mysql issues, php resources. Where to go and who to turn to can be a big question when it comes to hosting. Fortunately there are hosts out there that specialize in blog hosting.

Whether its a movable type, wordpress, joomla, drupal or other platform that you’re looking to host, aqhost most likely has a plan to fit your needs. Some of their Wordpress Hosting plans are fairly inexpensive for a future (or current) blogger looking to run things on their own domains. With plans starting at $6.99 a month you can be up and running with everything you need. Wordpress, mysql, fantastico, php and more. Plus its easy to move up from there if you feel the need.

There are several hosts out there offering custom blog hosting packages geared towards bloggers. We recommend that you take your time and research.. Find the company thats best for you (what works for me won’t work for everyone…). When you have a blog running, let us know, we’d love to link to you.

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In order to boost participation here at Delusions Of Grandeur, we (and by we, I mean me) are having a contest for the rest of the month. In the 12 or so days that are left, the visitor with the most GOOD (which is entirely subjective and up to me) comments will receive a $30 gift certificate to Amazon.com on November 1st (so you have through midnight on October 31st). All you have to do to win is visit the site often and make good comments (by good comments, I mean more than “good post” type comments). Should be easy enough. No?

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There’s a really good article on improving your About Page and its importance in increasing the credibility (and there by increasing the readership) of your blog.

The article had several good points such as adding a picture to the about page:

I know it seems odd, but if the blog is about you, or one specific product, for example the Nintendo Wii, it doesn’t hurt to put up a picture of yourself or that product. When it is your picture you are putting up, the image can help you in creating branding

It makes sense. Its like adding nice cabinet hardware to your kitchen cabinets to spice it up. Plus, the photo on your about page helps your readers view you more as a real person as opposed to some mind numbing twat who rants about the jackass at the stop light this morning (or your boss’s pointless requests).

Some of the other suggestions include stating a purpose, writing with power (feeling), infusing your personality to the about page. It shouldn’t be a resume. If people want that, give them a link to your CV (thats for you brits), instead make it fun and interesting. Also, its a good place to provide a list of some of your better or more popular posts.

If done right, the About Page can be one of your best traffic boosting pages.

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