Thinking and Learning...

With respect to my post last week about how to make budgeting sexy, I made an online poll for my readers. The response did not really give me a large enough sample size that I can make any significant conclusions from the data (N=7) but I can say that the majority of people find budgeting a more desirable topic to bring up during a first encounter than their bowel movements, sexual experiences or fungal infections. Of course this poll was designed with a slight bias - it is totally ridiculous, actually. Its just that there is such a taboo about personal finance that I thought I might point out how "easy" budgeting should be to talk about with your friends and family. A lot easier at least, than poop, fungus and sex.

For those of you that did get a chance to see the poll, here it is (with results) in all of it's glory:

When you meet someone new, what topic(s) would you bring up LAST?

Now, this month I have tried out some new things (while I was thinking) and I would like to share some tips I have learned:

• Barter: Marketing is expensive, and when starting out in the software as a service (SAAS) industry all you have to go on is word of mouth. Until you have piles of venture capitol to pour into marketing your business, you need to spend almost ALL YOUR FREE TIME asking for free exposure. Ask bloggers, ask magazines and ask the newspapers to write about your product. Offer what you have in return - free advertising, links, and other types of useful favors that people will understand as a good gesture.
• No press is bad press: Don't be afraid of critical reviews, comments or advice. Unless someone is completely out-of-line and just slandering your business/service for no reason, be sure that you are able to step back and listen to good advice. The more constructive the critism the more likely you can be the most competitive and offer the best product/service.
• Do follow-up: Any opportunity, and open door, any email - always respond. 9 times out of 10 you may not get anything from the time you spend responding to unsolicited emails, thank-yous, business cards or even complaints, but you will leave a lasting impression on those you do correspond with and every once in a while you will find a golden opportunity that you will be glad you didn't miss out upon. You never know which door opportunity is waiting behind - so don't miss out on opportunities by keeping your doors closed!

In the past three weeks we have had three incredible reviews (1, 2, 3) written about our service and we have received positive and constructive feedback that will ultimately ensure an improved experience for our users! We also met some excellent new friends at the Ad:tech conference, and have made some unexpected partnerships with people in some unexpected places.

This month we hope to expand our user base and keep our users returning by expanding our gorilla marketing campaigns, finishing our mobile WAP application and polling our users for their feedback and advice. I'll get back to you with our progress... wish me luck!

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Facebook - my alternative school didn't have a yearbook

My relationship with Facebook (FB) is rather contentious. I signed up, forgot I signed up, 6 months later a friend asked me if I was on facebook - I went back, looked around and then I became a FB addict (they don't call it crackbook for nothing) for a few more months. I was torn between being a productive human being and getting my daily fix, so I left. I deleted everything and closed my account. Now for the purposes of expanding my community of bloggers, I have returned to FB.

When it comes to blogging, my intentions were flawed, and here is why:

1. My account is under my real name, not my blog's pseudonym
2. I don't know how to find other bloggers and my friends that are remotely interested in this blog are already reading it. Most of my friends just think I am a geek.
3. I have to talk to people that I would never normally talk to, again

There has been some positive. Some of those people I normally would never talk to are important people I forgot about. They are people that I have lost touch with because they live on the other side of the country, even the other side of the globe. They are my friends, and I am a dolt for forgetting.

One friend, whom I've known since high school, chatted with me online today using FB! Wild. We haven't had a real conversation since I was 17. Back then he dressed like a goth and one day he brought a little stuffed unicorn toy to school for me. He thought I would like it - and oddly I did! I had collected unicorns when I was a kid, one day at a fair my Daddy had won me the largest stuffed unicorn, and now I had the little matching one. They even had the same purple faux-hair mane!

So this guy has not changed a bit - well, I assume he dresses slightly differently, but he is still loving and sweet. Right now he is organizing Earthdance in Vancouver's Stanley Park. Then, when he saw my blog, he told me about his friend that has this awesome radio show and website all about sex education, Juicebox Radio. He said his friend was crazy, in a good way. I laughed about it - in a way everyone I knew from high school is crazy in a good way.

I went to the most awesome alternative school - and there we all learned to share and discover. The whole world thought we were kooks and now most of us are crazy smart world revolutionaries. Mr Wing, it was a pleasure to speak to you today, and I can't wait to catch up with more SEEDlings - I guess I'll give my alternative, crazy, cracked-out version of facebook (yearbook) a second chance!

xo BD

Swingers - what were the artists thinking?

I have discussed hilarious pin-up themes in the past, and today I am going to discuss swingers. I want to know what it is? Is it the beautiful feminine form? Is it the idea that you can see up their skirts when they swinging? The upskirt is another popular theme in pin-up art - and cars. The origins of those themes seem obvious to me, and will be the topic of future posts, but what about the swingers?

Petty

Does anyone think that these look the EXACT same?

Baron von Lind

And then there is this "Happy Swinger":

Buell

What about the one below, it's like she is saying "don't come closer, you might see my boobs!" I mean, why be modest when I can see the forest through the tree-swing? This pin-up is appropriately named "barely swinging".

Baron Von Lind

So - sexy? I t must be a matter of opinion. I know there are many sexy inventions that involve swings... perhaps these pictures are subtly referencing that kind of subculture. Maybe it is simpler than that - an object that references the early days of our lives when we would play in the park, or sit on swinging benches with our lovers. Is it a a theme? Definitely. Why? I can only guess... one thing is for sure, the swing is a popular prop in the set of the pin-up artist.

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Pin-up of the week - 34, Ms. Ruby Martini

Ms. Ruby Martini is a fast moving, fresh face to the Los Angeles Pin-up scene. After only 8 months this busy girl has already been featured in Pinup Garage Magazine and the September '08 issue of Motorcyclist, won Miss January at PinUpVixen.com, been featured on MyRideIsMe.com, been featured twice at PinUpPost.com, modeled exclusively for Mario Chavez's hand drawn art, modeled for Sin For Sale clothing, La Pachuca clothing and Tarantula clothing.

Ruby describes herself as a classy girly girl who knows when to put away her pumps, wipe off the makeup and lace up her sneakers. Ruby likes drinking Martini's, baking in the kitchen and watching classic films starring Marilyn Monroe. Her idols also include: Christina Aguilera, Lucille Ball, and Jean Harlow.

If you want to see more this irresistible girl, check out Ruby's Myspace page at Myspace.com/MsRubyMartini. Ruby will also soon be featured in Hot Rods Across America - Part 2 with Paul Le Mat from American Graffiti.

Your Monthly Miracle

I was just given the opportunity to write about something I know A LOT about and I am thrilled.

My masters' degree was entirely about the in-vitro effects of endocrine pharmaceuticals. I would consider myself quite knowledgeable when it comes to endocrinology, toxicology and cellular biology.

Some of the things I learned about during my education were stem cells. Stem cells are special cells naturally produced by the body that have not yet differentiated into a specific cell type (the original cell that is not yet a muscle cell or a skin cell, for example). The primary research into stem cells has been their role into treatment of disease and understanding cancer. While stem cell research has been a controversial issue, harvesting stem cells may have been part of the issue in the past. In the beginning of this type of research, it was believed that the most "useful" stem cells might originate from embryonic cells (in utero) and were called blastocysts. Thus there were many protests into this type of research as it contested the traditional view of the rights of the fetus. Today, it has become clearer that the most useful cells to use for research and disease treatment are referred to as progenitor or adult stem cells. The controversy surrounding this type of cell research is not as large because no destruction of an embryo is involved AND the methods to harvest these cells are generally considered safe.

Today I would like to tell you all about a new type of adult stem cell therapy - well it is sort of new. For millions of years women have been dynamically producing adult stem cells with each menstrual cycle. During the menstrual cycle, the endometrium grows into a thick, blood vessel-rich layer which is an optimal environment for the implantation of a blastocyst upon its arrival in the uterus. If there is no implantation, and no pregnancy, then the endometrial layer is shed during a woman's regular monthly menstrual cycle.

In 2006, evidence of rare cells were identified in human endometrial cell populations and published in 2007 (1). These initial studies have provided the first functional evidence for epithelial and stromal stem/progenitor cells in human endometrium. More recent studies have suggested that these progenitor cells are responsible for monthly endometrial regeneration (2). These studies also provide the impetus to discover specific markers that will enable the prospective isolation of these special cells (1).

C'elle is a private service that cryo-preserves and stores your stem cells. They will provide you with a collection kit that is non-invasive and easy-to-use and then they store your endometrial cells in order to preserve your own progenitor cells. These cells can successfully be used to treat these diseases which effect millions of people around the world. Your cells can help preserve the lives of you AND your family members. Whatever happens in life, be sure you are prepared for what comes before you. When you invest in your personal future and health care, you invest in your family's future and well-being, too.

One client describes why she decided to use C'elle's services here: C'elle Client Testimonial

If I could help more sick people I would try to remove all of the environmental factors that contribute to these diseases (and that is what I do) but realistically I can't. What we can all do instead is help to improve the types of cures and treatments that are available to people that suffer from cell disease. We can do this by talking to our friends about the new treatments available and donating our time and money to promote research and the use of stem cells. Even educating ourselves so that we can enlighten others is helpful. When stem cell treatments become mainstream they will become more affordable and more people will benefits from the made cures available by them.


For more information about: C'elle or About the Science

References:

1. Gargett, CE, Chan, RWS, Schwab, KE, AF Gargett, Caroline E., Chan, Rachel W. S., Schwab, Kjiana E. Endometrial stem cells. CURRENT OPINION IN OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY. 2007. 19: 4 p. 377-383.
2. Gargett, CE, Chan, RWS, Schwab, JE, AF Gargett, Caroline E., Chan, Rachel W. S., Schwab, Jiana E. Hormone and growth factor signaling in endometrial renewal: Role of stem/progenitor cells. MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR ENDOCRINOLOGY. 2008. 288: 1-2 p. 22-29.
   

I've been thinking about this for a while...

I am a busy girl. I do lots of stuff. I go to school full time (pursuing my PhD) and I take care of this blog. I also help run an internet start-up company, which is really my other full-time job. Lately it has been consuming all of my spare time. I get maybe 5 hours of sleep a night.

I have had to learn new skills that I would never have been challenged to learn if I had stayed in my comfortable academic niche. I feel more confident and well-rounded - but I am also getting frustrated and burnt out.

This post isn't intended to be a personal entry about my feelings. Nope.

This post is more personal than my feelings. I have $50,000 worth of student loans. I have some credit debt (less than $5,000). I live primarily off of a small amount of yearly income from a government granting agency to do my scientific research. I am trying to figure out how to finance a divorce. If I did not have a budget, I would have gone under years ago. My budget keeps food on my table and makes sure that my bills are paid on time.

This post is about a specific thought that my business partner and I have been trying to solve for months. How do you make budgeting sexy? Our competitor has done a fairly good job making their product "sexy" looking and fun to use, and we feel that in those respects our product is competitive, but what our competitors have and we don't is mountains of money to run extensive marketing campaigns to get their "word out".

They have so many back links to their website that they rank at the top of every search. I feel defeated before I start sometimes. I have had so much support from people I barely know for which I am grateful, and we are beginning to see momentum. There is investor interest in our product. However there is still one massive problem that I can't get over, and even when we get the huge investment capitol that we expect is coming shortly, I still don't know how to solve it.

How the heck do you get people to start talking about budgeting? If we are going to be competitive, we need to make budgeting the best thing to talk about since sliced bread. Right now, personal finances are not the sort of thing that people want to tell their friends about - maybe it has something to do with the word "personal" - right?

There is a stigma associated with not being as good at money as your friends, or not having as much money - so it is just better to not talk about it. OR, if you do have more money or are just really good at managing your money, it is better not to throw it around in your friends faces.

What I don't understand is why people wouldn't want to share a good thing when they find it - especially if it has to do with feeling good about money. There are times when we all need to know whether we are on track or not - budgeting helps us to keep up. Sharing the wealth, so to speak, is not a particularly common characteristic in the North American culture that I am familiar with.

However, in academic culture, which I have been a member of for the past decade, I have come to understand that the best way to build knowledge and create knew knowledge is by sharing. I truly believe that the same approach can be taken to all things in life so that the people who are most successful are actually the result of a community of success.

When this approach is taken to personal finance, budgeting and other types of money management, people will be able to conquer their fears of failure and move into confident and successful spending habits that they can share with everyone! So start talking about your finances and see if it helps you.

xo BD

Take my poll in the the right sidebar to let me know how hard it is for you to talk about budgeting!

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Bobbie Dawn Original

"Taking a break"

Band of the moment

Right now I can't stop listening to Hercules Love affair. For those of you who know ... then I've got something for you below - for those of you who don't, then get ready to be informed!

Bear with me, I'm learning

For those of you that have had to bear through my recent changes you'll know what this post is about.

For those of you that have had a website or a blog for a number of years, you will know what I am talking about.

I have had a massive learning curve this summer.

I have learned that Google's analytics are not accurate. I definitely don't trust their adsense anymore as I have other ad networks telling me I have more ad impressions than google does. I have learned that Alexa's ranks - while valued by many, are meaningless for SEO and to good advertisers. So is Technorati. Even if I could spend all of my time trying to get a high rank on these sites, it would do me very little good and believe me, I have tried it is hard to make a 100,000 level push in the ranks on these sites.

So what is a poor blogger to do?

I am trying to re-structure my site, re-point my links and get it to function as best as a blogger blog can do, and then I am pulling my ads. I will then strategically put one ad on at a time and see how it goes. I will keep the entrecard and project wonderful because I feel that these are a wonderful way to keep other bloggers like me together in a strong community.

I am also pulling a lot of the widgets. I don't really see why another person should get a link to my site, or get an add on my site without some reciprocity. I haven't gotten a lot of juice from places like fuel my blog, and I've tried to put the izea ranks widget on my blog a gazillion times and it always fails ... ?!?

I am going to back to basics and add linkjuice, linkbait and strength to my page by writing good content my way.The traffic will come and the adds I place will be worth it in the end. In the meantime, bear with me ;-)

BD

Pin-up of the week - 33

Zoe Mozert

How sexually experienced are you?

So I just took this quiz and apparently I am more sexually experienced than the average 31-yr old female. I won't give numbers, because that just isn't befitting a lady such as myself, but I was a little shocked to find out that the average number of people that the average 30 year old has slept with was 8 people. The number seemed a little low to me. Perhaps I run with a fast crowd.

Take the quiz here and find out how experienced you are! just bypass the part where they try to get you to sign up on the mingle dating site...

6-layers meme

I found this on Diana's blog so here goes...

::START::

RULES:
1. Add your blog/s to the list. Feel free to add all your other blogs. It’s okay if you only post these questions in one blog as long as you answer them.
2. Get back to Me {YEN} and I’ll add your blogs to the master’s list HERE!
*Note that you are not ALLOWED to change the link of the "here".
3. Copy from Start to End.
4. Tag as many friends online you know. But you don’t need to be tagged in order to join.

Copy this Participants List: Me and Mine | Creative in Me | For the LOVE of Food | Little Peanut | Pea in a Pod | It’s Where the HEART Is | Around the World | SugarMagnolias | I Am Mommy | All About The Memories | Enchanted Play | Just My Scrap | Whats Up | Simply Me | Kitchen Deelite | A Mothers Horizon | In Depth | A Life in Bloom | Because Life is a Blessing | Digiscraptology | Joys iN life | Life is What we Make it | Photo Blog | Dancing in Midlife Tune | Mommy Talks | Aggie Shoots. Aggie Scraps | All Kinds of Me Stuff | The Salad Caper | Winding Creek Circle | InkBabyStudios | | All Things Me | Feels Like Home | Because Life Is Fun | Blessings and Beyond | Mommy Earns Money Online | Pinay Mommy Online| Clark & Butchay’s Blog | Butchay’s World | Simply Jen | Jenny Said So | My Online World | My Life in this Wonderful World | Biz-N-Honey | Aeirin’s Collections | My Precious Niche |Eds Mommy Life |Just Me.. Eds | My BIG Picture | Merger Guru | Quicker8 | Insights from the Grocery Cart | MindBubbles| LivingtheHealthyLife | VanityKit | Stripe&Yellow | SomethingPurple| Em’s Detour | Joys iN life | Life is What we Make it | Photo Blog | Dancing in Midlife Tune | Ozzy’s Mom | Me,Myself+2 | Kidd Designs | Fun.Fierce.Fabulous | Tints of My Heart | Morphed | when mom speaks | walk on red | kathycot | buhay misis | kathycot cooks | Posh Post Reviews | Flowersbythewayside |The Fab and The Furious | Blog In to Space | Dancing With Butterflies | Twisted Angel | Pieces of Me | Just Let Go | Blessed Chic | Hobbies and Such | My World in My Own Word | Colorful World of Shiela| The Shopaholic Nightingale | Day to Day Miracles | Can of Thoughts | Designs By Vhiel | Anything and Everything in Between | Vhiel’s Corner | Lovin’ Life | BigMoneyList | Crissy’s Library | Crissy’s Zone | Crissy’s Haven | Vis Vires | Amazingly Me | Jenn Was Here | Shutter Happenings | Le Kulitszie Familie | Embracing Myself | BLOGSILOG |Digiscrapz: Captured Memories |Cherry’s Comfort Zone |Thinking Out Loud |Buzzy Me |Wishing and Hoping |My Blog Portfolio |Get Paid to Blog! |PRC Board Exam Results | Teacher’s Corner | Pinay WAHM | Random Thoughts | Explore Manila | My Colorful World | Bermuda or L.A. | celebrating life | my life is peachy | belly, body and beyond |Woman Style | Scribbles of My Life | In This Game of Life | The Shopaholic in Me | The Callalily Space | Juliana’s Site | A Simple life | Mommy’s Little Corner | Life’s Sweets and Spices | Moms… Check Nyo | Simple Delights | Motherhood in a Nutshell | marshimallows | BobbieDawn


LAYER ONE:
– Name: Denina
– Birth date: May 3rd
– Birthplace: Alberta, Canada
– Current Location: Ontario, Canada
– Eye Color: Blue
– Hair Color: Brown
– Righty or Lefty: Righty

LAYER TWO:
- Your heritage: heinz 57
– The shoes you wore today: wedge with blue patent
– Your weakness: My laptop
– Your fears: poverty (I mean real poverty)
– Your perfect pizza: pizza-pizza gluten-free pizza
– Goal you’d like to achieve in life: finish my PhD AND be the COO of my own multi-national corporation in the same year

LAYER THREE:
– Your most overused phrase on AIM: Don't use it.
– Your first waking thoughts: snooze button
– Your best physical feature: My breasts and my smile
– Your most missed memory: none

LAYER FOUR:
– Pepsi or Coke: Coke
– McDonald’s or Burger King: I can't eat either of these
– Single or group dates: Single
– Adidas or Nike: Adidas
– Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: no difference, both have too much sugar and fake flavor
– Chocolate or vanilla: Vanilla
– Cappuccino or coffee: Coffee

LAYER FIVE
– A famous person, dead or alive, would you interview: Marilyn Monroe
– Movie can you watch and say the lines along with the actors: None
– Name two of your passions in life: Singing, Science, Dancing
– Least favorite time of day: Morning

LAYER SIX
– Use hairspray or gel: None
– Your favorite meal: Indian curry, sushi, thai curry, and mexican all tie equally
– Color in the inside of your head when you close your eyes: yellow, pink, white, black/brown
– Listen to classical music: Very occasionally
– Ever said LOL in real life without thinking about it: Nooooo

::END::


I should tag others but I'd like anyone and everyone to take this one!

Eye Candy ... Pin up videos on you tube!

There were so many more that there, visit you-tube and search "pin up" to find tonnes of interesting stuff - I especially like the how-to tutorials to achieve pin-up hair.

xoxo BD

A good ol' fashioned environmental rant

I have been spending a little more time on "digg" lately, and I like to go to the science section. I get annoyed, however, that the most popular articles on "digg" are not useful or informative to me. This is my beef:

1. The most popular articles have no value to human life but prefer to highlight "news" about celebrities. Has it ever occurred to anyone that fueling these peoples' false sense of inflated self and their talent-less careers by talking only about their personal lives and not about anything else actually perpetuates bad acting? Help Hollywood actors and actresses gain balance and self esteem by judging them on their merits and not their personal life choices, OKAY???

2. People do not like intelligence on "digg" - any comments that is longer than 5 lines gets "un-dugg". (unless, of course, you say something clever and mean about a hollywood starlett)

3. Pseudo-scientists rule the science news section. I can't read another article that is a simplified regurgitation of all the other simple articles on "digg". All of these articles are basically summaries of research and facts that every scientist new decades ago. Technology could have moved along so much faster if schools taught Americans the metric system, FUCK! Yes, hybrid technology and alternative energy may be all the rage, but this should have happened thirty years ago - why did all of you psuedo-environmental-science digging-snobs wait until we could actually see the effects of climate change until you got interested? Why now? Now, when the penguins in Antartica and the polar bears in the Artic have lost most of their natural habitat? It is so great that everyone thinks this shit is peachy now.

But my comment for today is:

Psuedo-scientist, jargon-toting, band-wagon jumping, diggers beware!

If there is one thing I have learned from getting a "higher" education eleven wasteful years it is that whatever technologies we choose as the ones that will save us through our current crisis, we can't pick something out of haste even though we are in a climate upheaval.

We could have had decades to refine, test and decide upon the best alternatives that would not leave other damaging effects on the planet, but instead we have backed ourselves into a corner. We have to make choices fast - don't let corporations and pseudo-intellectualism trick you into making a decision that will impact the planet for eons. Do your research.

Thanks.

BD

Top Entrecard Performers

I joined Entrecard about two weeks ago. If you know what it is, then you will understand this post - if not, then go find out. You won't be disappointed.

I definitely love the concept of Entrecard - it brings a community together that has basically always supported itself and facilitates interaction by making an informal blog network - one that has the functionality a blogger would like! Business card dropping, advertising opportunities and a method of travelling through and between blogs to find other bloggers, make comments and strengthen your relationships within the community.

Without babbling the praises of the Entrecard system forever, my post today has to do with what I have seen many other E-card bloggers do: they post the top card droppers on their sites. I think that is great - I want to add my own touch, of course so today I bring you my top performers:

Over 18 days of participation on Entrecard, this is what has shaped up:

Top Card Droppers:

Top Clicks by Widget:

Top Value by Widget (all less than 4 credits per click):

I hope this helps my fellow E-card bloggers - go campaign and drop, drop, drop! I'll post these statistics again in a few more weeks and give everyone an update.