I have been working on a new book for InDepthInfo. It is a History of Modern Europe. It came out of a couple of classes I taught to homeschoolers on the subject. I had made webpages to go with each lecture, and by the time I got done, I decided that I had enough for a book.
Once, I started putting the pages together, I decided that the work would benefit from some artwork. I have executed about 6 or seven portraits of historical figures which I did free hand based on photos of paintings. But I have gotten to the chapter on Louis XIV – the Sun King. His visage has been eluding me all day. To get a better understanding of the king’s features, I decided to download an image and then trace the contours using a freehand drawing tool and an airbrush. I thought the results were worth posting.
The World At My Fingertips
An article on page six or seven of yesterday’s Wall Street Journal announced that Google has, after many long years, announced the percent they pay to publishers of revenue from ad click throughs. I find it interesting that the stuff I always think is most important is stuffed into the back pages of newspapers. Be that as it may, 68% of click-throughs is not bad pay. It is no wonder that Google has so many people on the adsense payroll. I admit that it is the biggest part of my income. This is because I set out to create websites that inform, not sell, at least no so much.
Google, when they came out with Adsense, changed my entire revenue model. Before Adsense I was always trying to sell books, magazines or bread machines. In fact, I still do all of those things. But I find information to be a more stable commodity and though it does not always pay as well, I find it works out better for me in the long run.
I think I should state clearly that I do not create websites for Adsense. My main idea is to provide readers with clear, concise, and accurate information. It just so happens that Adsense rewards me for doing just that.
I had to update my php quiz code because I think there might have been a security flaw in it. The script uses a form that inputs information directly to the script that gets reprinted on the answer page. Someone could, in theory, use the form to input html or even php to the script by creating their own form.
I believe this may have happened on one of my websites and has caused no end to problems for the last couple of days. Hopefully, my change will eliminate the problem. I actually added some code that strips html tags or php from all input. My apologies go out to all of you have used the code previously. If you find any other security problems, please let me know.
Well, it is May and like Sara Teasdale’s poem of the same name, I feel as though I have been jilted. Well, it really isn’t that bad. More like a reliable old backup has decided they would rather be number one elsewhere.
What happened? Chitika told me that all my websites were no longer fit for their premium ad network, and at the same time they eliminated their e-mini malls. Which effectively means I can’t put Chitika ads on my sites anymore. The reason they don’t want me anymore is that I always used them where I did not want to put Google ads, which basically meant that those ads were always in the least productive position on a page or on pages that never converted well anyway. I suppose it makes sense. They get rid of guys like me who are making their stats look bad because they want to show their advertisers that they have good conversion rates.
So really, it is my own fault. In tests Google always performs better for me, so I have to stick with the girl who meets my needs. The other thing is that most of my websites are not involved with content that is in big demand from advertisers. I write stuff like how to drywall or how to stop bedwetting. I like to write about useful stuff that people need to know. I am not into how to get rich quick. I guess Chitika is looking for someone a little more flash and a little less solid. I hope it works out well for them.
Yes, it is an exciting subject. I have found over the years that life is what you make it and the same goes for any subject that you can create a website about. I just finished FoldNapkins.com. It was quite a project. It took me over a month to put it together, and really, I have to eventually add some more napkin folds to it.
Ain't that bunny cute!
Okay, stop yawning. I for one am excited about it. I never thought the subject could be so interesting. Yet, it was right in line with many other websites I have built over the years. Especially one on table manners. Don’t forget that I am also author of the Real Man’s Cookbook. So what is a real man doing folding napkins? You see, I am willing to take on anything that seems like a (reasonable) challenge. Besides a real man is not afraid to show interest in things that seem incongruous.
I often debate over buying websites or creating my own. I do buy an occasional website or domain. But in most cases I find that I am not satisfied with other people’s work. Hey, I am often not satisfied with my own. That is one reason this site took so long to produce. I was trying to make it just right. The other reason - I was working on several other projects at the same time and even (contradicting my previous sentence) bought another website and got it on line somewhere in that time frame.
Speaking of domain names. I simply registered FoldNapkins. I was somewhat surprised to find it available. It can be difficult to find good domain names in the .com TLD. I guess they are still out there. I haven’t failed yet to find a good one for the subject of my choice.
Well, if you’re looking for a napkin folding pattern, be sure to visit the site.
En Passant in Chess is a pawn move where if a pawn moves two squares and ends up in a square next to another pawn, he can be captured by the opponent’s pawn. The opposing pawn does this, not by moving into the square of the captured pawn, but one square behind it. Of all the moves in chess, this one is probably the most confusing. It is certainly hard to describe, so I am placing an image to help explain.
- En Passant Move
The reason the en passant rule was developed was because originally pawns could only move one square. When they were given the power to move two squares (in order to speed up the game) it was thought that this new power should be equalized.
I was playing against the computer the other day and I thought how similar this is to real life. That is the opportunity to make a move en passant, or in passing. It seems opportunities are fleeting things. They do not last forever. But at the same time, just because you have the option to do something does not mean that you should. I have noticed that most of the time good players (as well as the computer) seldom take advantage of the en passant rule. This is likely because the opponent has taken the possibility into consideration already, and provided for it.
All things being equal, I will usually take an en passant move, if only because it is fun to make an seldom used move. (Unlike castling, which happens all the time.) The only problem is, it is seldom that all things are equal. In the end, en passant is merely another tool in the little bag of the chess player, and one more little trap to be wary of against a strong opponent. In life, I find, it is also wise to scrutinize opportunities closely!
I just got a new Toshiba laptop for work. I love Toshibas, and one of the things that I always liked about them was that the delete key was down near the space bar. Well, naturally, the engineers at Toshiba had to move it up to the corner, about as far as you can get from the where the real word processing takes place on the keyboard.
The first thing I thought was, “Hey, I’ll just move the key!” It certainly is not as simple as taking the actual key and switching it – as anyone with common sense could tell you. I thought there would be some utility on the control panel that would do the trick. No. there is not. I then found that Microsoft has a utility that you can download. It would not remap any of certain reserved keys. Of course, the one I wanted to change was one of the reserved keys.
Finally, I searched the web for the way to do it and ran across SharpKeys. I downloaded it and it worked great. Re-mapping only took about five minutes including the download. I donated a little something for the gentleman’s troubles (the software was free) and I am as happy as can be.
I thought about moving the INS button back down near the space bar to where it was on the old keyboard. But truthfully, it was just in the way down there. I would hit it by accident once in a while and suddenly I was wiping out previous work. Better to leave it out in the cold.
I’m just glad to have my delete button back from exile.
