Swollen Pickles

In my eternal quest to make this site profitable I'm trialling a new program called LinkShowOff.

The LinkShowOff program allows you to run a simple javascript based widget on your site (eg. your blog's side bar) and earn money when someone purchases a link in your widget. LinkShowOff is said to be Google safe as all links sold are 'nofollow' as per Google's guidelines.

You can set the price per link to your liking, however the lowest you can set it at is $1. I've decided to leave my price at the lowest possible for the time being at least in order to gauge demand.

For bloggers, LinkShowOff is a good option as they allow all sorts of blogs, including those hosted by blogger (eg. blogspot), into their network. As they say, "as long as you can add a JavaScript widget to your website, you can use LinkShowOff".

For potential advertisers LinkShowOff is worth investigating because the system allows advertisers to buy link spots without the need to go through any sort of registration process.

Here are some of the key FAQ's from the LinkShowOff website:

How long do links stay on the widget?

Links stay on the widget forever until they are bumped off by newer links. For example, if you set a max amount of five links on your widget and you achieve that
number, the next link bought will take the place of the first link, the first link will be bumped down to the second link, and so on. The fifth link would be removed
overall from the widget.

Are there any fees or revenue sharing?

We charge a small fixed transaction fee of $3 on every payout made monthly to our widget users, but that’s it. For example, if you earn a total sum of $100, you will be paid $97.

What are the payment methods?

All payments will be made by Paypal.

What's the minimum payout limit?

The minimum payout limit is $10.

Is there any referral system?

Yes, you will get $3 for every referral that earns $3.

Another good reason to register your blog with LinkShowOff is that upon registration you get a free link in the LinkShowOff directory. The directory is free from the 'nofollow' tag so it's a nice little bonus for those that are link obsessed.

I've only had the widget live for less than 24 hours, so it's early days at the moment. If you'd like to check out LinkShowOff, register your website here.

Gran Torino is the movie of the year. I know that is a bold statement, given that the year is less than 30 days old, but if another movie comes out in 2009 that can top Gran Torino, then it is going to have to be mighty good.

Gran Torino is the story of Walt Kowalski, played by Clint Eastwood. Walt is a retired blue collar worker and veteran of the Korean War. With the passing of his wife, Walt is alone in a neighbourhood he no longer recognises. It is now home to a large volume of immigrants, as well as rival gangs, which leads the bitter Walt to become further isolated and resentful of his neighbours. He keeps his remaining family at arms length and spends most of his days sitting on his porch, drinking beer with his dog. He's the epitome of the angry, bitter and racist old man. Walt makes it very hard for the viewer to like him, but at the same time, it's difficult not to feel a little bit sorry for him.

Walt's attitude towards his neighbours only deteriorates further when his teenage Hmong neighbour Thao attempts to steal Walt's prized, mint condition, 1972 Gran Torino, as part of a local gang initiation. When Walt later whips out his rifle (not a euphemism) and steps in to save Thao from gang reprisal, he becomes a hero to his neighbours, whether he likes it or not.

Thao's family force him to work for Walt, in order to pay off the debt he incurred by attempting to steal Walt's car. Walt begrudgingly accepts, and is slowly drawn into the lives of Thao, and Thao's sister Sue, even if it is somewhat by force. Walt takes Thao under his wing, deciding that he'll teach him what it means to be a man.

When the actions of the local gang impact upon Walt's new found contentment, crusty old Walt decides it's time he cleaned up his 'hood.

On paper, Gran Torino has the potential to be a tired, cliche ridden, feel good story of an outcast gaining community acceptance and making friends. In the hands of Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino avoids these pitfalls and thankfully the film steers clear of soppy sentimentality.

There is some classic Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino. Eastwood has always been a quote factory, ever since Dirty Harry Callahan snarled, "Do you feel lucky, punk?". As Walt, he doesn't disappoint.

Walt (to gang member): "Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a while you shouldn't have f***ed with? That's me"

Gang member (to Walt): "Are you f***ing crazy? Go back in the house."
Walt (to gang member): "Yeah? I blow a hole in your face and then I go in the house... and I sleep like a baby. You can count on that."

Eastwood is awesome in this film. When he say's that he'll blow a hole in a guys face, as a member of the audience, you believe him.

I can also say that I learnt something from the film. The term "Hmong" comes up a lot, and ignorant lil' ol' me didn't have a clue what it meant or referred to. Thanks to Wikipedia, now I do...

The terms Hmong (pronounced [m̥ɔ̃ŋ]) and Mong ([mɔ̃ŋ]) refer to an Asian ethnic group in the mountainous regions of southeast Asia. Hmong are also one of the largest sub-groups in the Miao minzu population in southern China. Beginning in the 18th century, Hmong groups began a gradual southward migration due to political unrest and to find more arable land. As a result, Hmong currently also live in several countries in Southeast Asia, including northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar-Burma.

Source: Wikipedia.

Gran Torino is one of those films that sticks with you long after you've left the cinema. In that respect I would liken it to Children of Men. I'd heartily recommends this film to anyone, although be warned, there's a lot of very un-PC language that may offend. Go watch it.

I give it 5 out of 5 pickles, a rare honour.

RC45 RADIATOR FILTER CAP 72 73 74 75 GRAN TORINO

US $10.43

6h 7m

CV917C PCV VALVE 74 TORINO GRAN TORINO

US $5.71

6h 51m

When I sat down to contemplate what goals I'd set for the 2009 calendar year, I realised that I'd been going with the goal setting thing for two years now. I've read that when you are setting goals, well balanced goals equal a well balanced life. Where as in previous years I've spread my focus across a few web projects, this year I'm going to set some 'life' goals as well. By the same token I'm going to try and keep things a lot simpler!

Goal Number One: Develop Swollen Pickles into a website that can generate $350US per month.

I'm keeping this goal on the list, as it's one I did not manage to achieve last year, but one that I think is within reach. I have to say, that after 2007, I had high hopes for SwollenPickles.com. In many respects though, 2008 turned out to be a disappointment. While I got close to averaging 30,000 a month, SwollenPickles.com did not generate nearly as much revenue as I would have hoped, or expected, given the traffic numbers.

Goal Number Two: Develop Swollen Pickles into a website that receives 35,000 unique visits per month.

I'm increasing the target by an additional 5,000. To achieve goal number one that'd mean the site would have an eCPM of $10, which is perhaps a little optimistic, but I like to aim high.

Goal Number Three: Exercise a minimum of three times per week (30 plus minutes per session).

While I generally walk most places on a daily basis, I wouldn't describe it as strenuous exercise. In order to achieve goal number four, I'm going to have to step it up. With my other commitments, three sessions a week is achievable, if I can maintain the motivation.

Acai Berry FAT BURN Diet DETOX Weight Loss Pill ENERGY

US $22.97

16m

Acai Berry Supreme Diet Energy Weight Loss Pill FREE SH

0 Bid

US $9.99

18m

Rather than just focus on weight this year, I'm going to focus on my BMI. As an indication though, and although I have accurately measured myself, I've just roughly calculated my current BMI as being 29.

Goal Number Five: Reduce my waist measurement to below 94cm.

Based on what I've read, there seems to be some disagreement as to what is more important in terms of good health, BMI or waist measurement. Just to cover both bases, I'm going to set my goal waste measurement to be below 94cm. I have no idea what my current measurement is, so I'm going to need to buy a tape measure.

If you're interested, here's some information from Taste.com.au:

The risk of health problems is increased if the waist measurement (taken at the belly button) is more than 94cm for men and 80cm for women, and substantially increased if it's more than 102cm for men and 88cm for women.

So there are my goals for 2009.

Now, 99% of the people that watch this video will probably groan, mumble something about "nerds" and click themselves to greener pastures. But there's that 1% that will pi$$ themselves laughing when they see this. I don't want it said that I don't cater to the minority groups, so today, this is all about the 1%.

If you've ever played World of Warcraft (that's WoW for the non-newbs), you'll probably have seen references to the "Leeeroy" quest. Well, this is the story behind that spawned that quest. Enjoy.

Just to prove that you can find fame, no matter how fleeting, in almost any way these days, here's an interview with Leroy himself.

LOL! That's right, I said LOL.

I was watching the 20/20 cricket match last night between Australia and South Africa, and besides the jaw dropping debut innings from David Warner, I found myself thinking that there is no way I'd want to be facing up against Shaun Tait.

Tait's first over last night was one of the fastest and dangerous looking bowling performances I've seen in a long while. Kallis was lucky, he should have been given out after gloving one to slip off first ball. A.B De Villiers on the other hand wasn't quite so lucky. After he was almost literally cut in half by a delivery travelling in excess of 155kph he went on to knock his own bails off. The ball clearly hurt, and I couldn't help but think he hit wicket to avoid having to face the follow up ball.

If you missed it, or just don't know what I'm talking about here's a clip.

Tait, also known as the Wild Thing, has a knack for getting guys out in strange ways. (more...)

I've been messing around with Predictify for quite a while now, and I've found it to be an entertaining distraction. I've also made over $40 too which is an added bonus.

One of the latest features Predictify have released for their registered users is the ability to add a badge to you blog, website or social networking profile to 'brag' about your predictive powers.

Here's my little bragging rights button, I'm so proud cause it says I'm an 'Expert'. It's actually quite nice to be called an expert.

Here's a headline you don't see in the newspaper every day... "Stiff sentence for man who filmed himself masturbating".

Yes, the actual new story is as bizarre as the headline itself.

The court heard that the driver:

"had been travelling south along the Stuart Highway, had been smoking cannabis while driving and was filming himself masturbating with a video camera in July last year.

Police measured his speed at 137 km/h, but the court heard he had been driving at up to 150km/h.

He had two pipes for smoking cannabis in the car, as well as an unlicensed two-calibre rifle.

Source: news.com.au

If that headline is the one that the paper decided to go with, I wonder what headlines didn't get over the line?

I can just see the new road safety advertisement now:

"If you take drugs and speed, you're a bloody wanker."

Edit: The Daily Telegraph have run the same story with the headline - "Stiff sentence for masturbating driver".