Nagel Family Website

It’s been 2 weeks since I last ran, and I wanted to get out again, especially since the weather was pretty nice this weekend. Pretty nice in March in Buffalo is not snowing. Yesterday was about 33 but today topped out at 50, so I got out & did my usual 3.5 mile run. It was a little windy in spots, but overall an OK run. My pace was quicker than last time, 9:05 vs. 10:06 but it was a much shorter run. I wish I had someone to run with, as my pace the first mile was fast at times.

Other than that, Friday night we went to a party at a friends house & had a really good time. We played on the Wii a bit (now Laura wants one) and simply enjoyed good company. Many of the people I regularly workout with were there - it was strange seeing them all dressed up (ie: wearing pants).

I spent much of yesterday working on a project for Steve, then went to mass after dinner. This morning, after realizing April is just around the corner, I spent some time planning the garden for this year: picking out vegetables, figuring out planting dates, and sketching where things should go. This should cost us very little, as the only thing we’re buying is the seeds and some potting soil. Other than that, we’re using what we have around the house.

That’s it for now - going to the Bishops for dinner. I guess that should go on Twitter, eh? I still don’t know how to use Twitter the right way, but if you want to, follow me here.

This entry was posted by Eric on Sunday, March 30th, 2008 at 4:21 pm and is filed under Family, Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

I’ve read plenty of theories on Lost, but this one is the most conclusive I’ve ever read.

Remember when I posted a quick theory on time travel, then it was confirmed? Well, this guy writes the same thing, that time travel will only start once a time machine is built, so we can’t travel back in time before the machine is complete. Brilliant.

There really isn’t much more to be said than what’s there - just have a clear head before you start reading it.

This entry was posted by Eric on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 5:38 pm and is filed under LOST. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

Probably the hardest decision for any affiliate marketer, aside from when to quit your day job, is what niche to get into first. It’s a hard choice. One with too much competition and you’ll probably get discouraged quickly. One with not enough volume and you won’t see the potential the industry has. Picking your hobby may just turn your hobby into work, and that’s no fun.

One idea is to look at the Best Affiliate Program of 2007 over at ABestWeb. 4checks.com and CrazyforBargains.com (both on the ShareASale network) are currently in the lead, but there are other choices there, too.

So pick a program, find out what network they’re running on, contact the affiliate manager, and start asking questions. How much does the top affiliate push per month? What sources are the top affiliates using for traffic, and what sources are still untapped?

While you’re at it, check out the other “Best of 2007″ awards.

This entry was posted by Eric on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 9:01 am and is filed under Affiliate Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

Just got notification that my Kiva loan has paid back $102 of the original $150. I lent the money to Venta de Tortillas, a tortilla sales company, back in September and it’s scheduled to be repaid by June. Then I’ll take the $150 and loan it out again.

Kiva allows individuals to make $25 loans to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world (microfinance). By doing so, individuals like you provide affordable working capital for the poor (money to buy a sewing machine, livestock, etc.), empowering them to earn their way out of poverty.

This entry was posted by Eric on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at 9:56 am and is filed under Finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

Reading blogs is probably the best way to find out what’s going on in the affiliate marketing industry. Here’s what’s in my reader (in semi-alphabetical order):

• Affiliate, SEO and PHP Coding Blog - OOOFF.com - Provides actual code and helpful tips. Giving some inspiration to a tracking script I’m currently writing.
• My Internet Journey - I like reading about people learning the process
• 5 Star Affiliate Marketing Blogs - Great for industry info. Quality writing & regular updates.
• Affiliate Marketing Blog - Well, I work with Paul, so I’d better read his blog! Look closely and you’ll find some secrets that he let out of the bag.
• Affiliate Program Advice - I met Jess in Miami last summer, so this is how I keep up with her.
• Affiliate Summit Blog - GOING TO BOSTON THIS SUMMER! Looking forward to this one.
• Blue Hat SEO-Advanced SEO Tactics - It’s not white hat, not black hat, but blue hat.
• CDF Networks - Real-world examples with actual data.
• CPA AFFILIATES - Just generally a good blog to read.
• CPA Share - Harrison’s making too much money & doesn’t have time to keep his blog up. Too bad
• Fraser’s Affiliate Marketing Blog - I work with Fraser on a few projects, and his podcasts are great!
• Google Hot Trends - If you can monetize what’s hot, get the topics delivered right to you
• Jonathan Volk - Another one that’s an overall good read. Keep on eye on this guy - he’s growing fast!
• PPC Super Affiliate Blog - Good info on Google’s quality score hooked me
• RevenueAddict.com - Shane has some good insight into what’s going on. Being from the UK, who I believe are at least a year ahead of the US market, you can get an idea of what’s up & coming.
• Royal Radande - Mentioned on UberAffiliate, has some good (real-life) examples. Just subscribed & looking forward to reading more from him.
• Share Results Blog - A network I met while in Miami
• Skills to pay the bills - Gotta read Shoemoney, or else you’ll have no idea what everyone else is talking about.
• UberAffiliate - Paul went from zero to hero in about a year - and he lives practically around the corner from me! Although highly successful, he took some time out to get some Tim Hortons w/ me one day.
• Winning the Web - It’s all about the contest now… but then what?

These are just my affiliate marketing blogs. I also read some fitness and finance blogs.

What am I missing? What other blogs should I be reading? And I’m not interesting in reading about how wonderful the Amex black card is or what John has for lunch, so don’t suggest them.

And yes, I know my blog is completely unfocused. It’s an outlet for me to write, brag and complain, and a means for my mom to know what’s going on in our house. Hopefully there will be more useful stuff as the year goes on.

This entry was posted by Eric on Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 at 8:16 pm and is filed under Affiliate Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

Our house has been a miserable place lately because we’re all sick. It started with Becca last Wednesday, when she had a fever. That lasted a couple days, so Saturday AM she went to the doctor. Turns out she has an ear infection. Typically this is OK, but Thursday Jason was complaining about his ear, and Friday mine was hurting me. So the other 2 went to the doctor, and they both had ear infections. You know what’s coming next… yep: we’re all screwed up. We’re all on antibiotics, and we’re all miserable.

I’m normally a miserable person, but make my ears hurt whenever I move, hear any noise or feel vibrations and I’m even worse. We really need some nice weather so we can just open up the windows and let some fresh air inside. This is a long winter! I want spring!!!

This entry was posted by Eric on Monday, March 24th, 2008 at 12:59 pm and is filed under Family. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.