Using Google Keywords is the way to unlock the sales potential of your business. That's the story today over at the Brisbane Times. I thought this was pretty interesting as I've been playing with keywords a bit myself, so it got my attention when I saw it in a mainstream media outlet.
I guess the article itself is basically advertising. It gives an example of a small business that worked with a Adwords reseller to build their business. They picked their niche and chose their keywords and kept optimising - all the steps in a good SEO approach (which is being taught over at Smart Online Profit Systems). Still, it was basically an ad for the two companies mentioned. More good marketing!
Anyway, I just thought this was a good example of how website optimisation is going mainstream.
We went to Toowoomba over the weekend for a friends birthday. It was a lovely weekend away, and as part of it we went to the Empire Theatre on Saturday night and saw Queen - Its a Kinda Magic. It was so much fun! I'm not a huge Queen fan, but I do own one of their greatest hits albums, so I did know the most of the songs they played. I used to listen to Queen quite a lot when I was a teenager but I haven't listened to them much in the time since then. Bohemian Rhapsody is a favourite of mine (well, really, who doesn't like that song??) but their other hits such as We Are the Champions and We Will Rock you always get me going too.
The show went for just over two hours, with encore. The lead singer, impersonating Freddie Mercury, had an incredible amount of energy and stamina. I don't know how he managed to keep going for so long at such a pace. His energy and performance really made the show come alive and got (a few) people out of their seats.
The other cast members seemed very young, but were very good all the same. The music just cut straight through everything else with an energy that was just a little bit irresistible.
The lighting did give me a few headaches, since they insisted on shining some very bright lights straight at the audience. They looked like car headlights, stacked in rows on the platform supporting the drum kit. Every so often they would just blind us - now I know how animals feel on the roads at night! I guess it gave an authentic '70s/80s stadium concert feel to it all, though. The rest of the lighting program certainly added drama to the show.
It was a bit of a tough crowd, though. Apart from a few people - die hard fans who danced and sang along for the whole concert - most others stayed seated. We did too, but we'll blame peer pressure for that! Even though it was a one-night-only show there were still plenty of empty seats behind us. The whole audience did get to their feet for one or two songs, but mostly just sat back and enjoyed the show. I don't know how that makes the performers feel, but they didn't let it affect their performance.
Anyway, it was an excellent show. I had a great time, and even sang along for a few songs. It's a good thing the music was so loud, that's all I can say about that.
I've just finished re-reading Infinity's Shore by David Brin and I still love it. It's the second book in the Jijo/Uplift trilogy and is just as good as any of the previous books he's written. Brin is one of my favourite science fiction authors and he doesn't disappoint with this book.
This is the second book in the trilogy and it continues the story started in Brightness Reef. Streaker, the dolphin-crewed starship, is still stuck on Jijo and is being hunted now by the Jophur. In this book the familiar characters from Brightness Reef (Alvin, Huck, Sara, Lark and Dwer etc) are joined by the dolphin crews, neatly tying this book in with the previous Uplift trilogy.
Brin obviously has a knack for creating believable characters, alien species and cultures as well as settings. The Uplift universe is in my opinion one of the best fictional universes. The writing is excellent and the characters believable and interesting. This book, and this series, just drew me in and captured my whole attention.
The alien species and characters in this book seem real to me, and don't feel like dressed-up humans which unfortunately is the case with a lot of science fiction.
For a start, I think the basic idea behind the series is a great one. Uplift involves older intelligent species deliberately genetically engineering pre-sapient species so that they also become intelligent beings. In this series, humans have uplifted dolphins and chimpanzees to full intelligence, while thousands of alien species have also gone through the same process and created a galactic culture based on this idea. It's a fascinating concept and one that I would like to see happen in real life, eventually.
The other main idea is that humans are only a minor, weak and persecuted race in the wider galaxy. This seems like a pretty realistic idea to me, too, assuming that we ever do get off this planet and into space.
Overall I think this is one of my favourite science fiction series and this book is a great addition to it.
It turned out to be a tough weekend, which was definitely not the plan. In light of the dramas that happened yesterday at home I thought I'd revisit an old post.
Self-inspection. It should have been a great weekend. It was my partners birthday yesterday and all I had to do was make sure the day went well. I thought that a family lunch would be nice, except that I ignored all the warning signs and some very unsubtle hints in the last week that some family members were just not welcome. That led to fireworks - lots of fireworks.
It's my fault - like I said, I ignored the warnings. But that's just me, really, plan something and hope for the best. I thought a birthday should be a family occasion.
So I came across a post I did here over a year ago on self-inspection. It's still pretty accurate - my character traits really haven't changed. I still have communication issues, and lots of them. That just made things worse yesterday as I really didn't know how to handle things after it all went wrong. I couldn't say exactly what I meant, and still can't. My partner is quite fiery so I always come off second best in an argument.
I guess the two traits that stand out right now in that list are: second guessing and self-sabotage. I'm always second guessing myself and always have doubts about what's the best thing to do. Right now I'm trying not to second guess myself about this relationship. I want it to work, I really do, but I still seem to be constantly screwing it up. Self sabotage in spades. Sometimes I'm just o blind that I walk into things without really understanding the consequences and so I screw them up unwittingly.
And that's what I did this weekend. I managed to turn the focus from a happy birthday onto problem relationships. Not good, not good, not good. And I don't know how to recover from here.
Anyway, I've got to go home tonight and talk to my partner and try and work things out. That will involve talking, but I've got no idea what to say.
I have to say it - I hate Brisbane traffic! The whole city is either a road work site or grid lock. Driving around this town is a horrible experience. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration. Outside of peak times it's not too bad, but try driving around the city in the morning or afternoon peak and you're in trouble.
My pet hate is the Inner City Bypass to Riverside Expressway link. It is totally random and can take either five minutes or 30 minutes to get through and there's no way of predicting in advance which it's going to be.
The road works don't help. The whole city is a road work site. From Ipswich to the Sunshine Coast, you can't drive anywhere without running up against road works. I know that this is a good thing, in the long run, but right now it just makes for a nightmare commute, every day.
The government has been running a trial over the last month with some government workers doing different hours or working from home. This has made a noticeable difference in my morning drive, but very little difference in the afternoon. I hope they continue this in the future because I do think it's a good idea and it is helping.
Still, the traffic in Brisbane shouldn't be as bad as it is. the city really isn't that big and other cities around the world don't have this many problems.
Anyway, that's my whinge for the day. Rant over :)
We've got a new project underway - check it out at the Home Stylers website and blog. I've just posted for the second time over there. This post is all about blinds and drapes, just giving a bit of a personal overview of my experience when I moved into my first home. Nothing spectacular, but it does just highlight the need for planning!
It's been over a year now since I stopped this blogging experiment. In that time life has become very interesting, and all in a good way! It's been a year now since I met the person who has since become my partner. After spending all of my 20's as a single man it's been quite an adventure to have someone else around so much. We are now living together and everything is great.
Having said that, relationships turn out to be a lot of work! Life may have been simpler as a single guy, but it wasn't as satisfying.
Anyway, this last year has been a adventure on a very personal level. It has involved some travel, and lots of relationship and family stuff. Now I'm thinking it's time to get this blog back on the road. Let's just see how it goes...
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