Justin Germino Ramblings

Learning how to use god in a sentence was important to figure out which spelling of god to use for a spelling test. 

So my son had a spelling test two weeks ago and while studying for his words he had to spell “God” and god” I realized that I didn’t know how to convey to him a sentence where he would know whether or not to use the word with a capital G or a lowercase g.  I had to look it up in the dictionary myself to learn that when you reference any of the Greek gods or any god other than the Christian and Judaism “True God” you have to reference god with a lowercase g.

God with an uppercase G is reserved when you are referring only to the supposedly “one” god that is the father that Christians and Jews believe in. You aren’t supposed to use the word GOD with a capital G any other time unless you are referencing the one god and it is improper to use a capital G when using the plural like gods since this obviously wouldn’t refer to the Christian god specifically.

This made it easier to explain to my son and I was then able to tell him to spell god as in “Zeus is a god” and he knew to use lower case g.  This was some bit of knowledge I had not known before and filed away in my brain in case I needed it for some future trivia.

-Justin Germino

Most of today will be spent driving the 7 hour trip from Agoura Hills, CA back to Casa Grande after seeing John Pinette live at the Canyon Club last night. I was listening to Stephen King’s audiobook “It Grows on You” which is a collection of short stories and very good.

If you enjoy Stephen King novels and audio books, I highly recommend you pick up It Grows On You and listen to it, all the stories combined are about 5 hours or so of listening time.

-Justin Germino

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My wife and I really enjoy watching the comedian John Pinette, and today we decided to hike a road trip to California to see John Pinette play at the Canyon Club over in Agoura Hills tonight. It is about an 8 hour drive but as he won’t be anywhere near Arizona in his current tour for quite some time we thought it would make a cool adventure.

Here is a sample of some of his great material:

-Justin Germino

There is a rapidly growing trend in the blogging industry that seems to have started several months ago and is gaining at a shocking momentum.  This is the trend of "guest blog advertising".  You will receive emails from people who represent companies who will provide high quality articles which will help your site gain Google traffic in exchange for allowing them to include one or two outbound links in the article.

These are not guest bloggers and are not your fellow peers who are looking to build some readership with their own sites by providing content on your site in exchange for audience and mutual traffic benefit.  These are advertising companies pure and simple, they are selling "backlink packages" to companies and paying writing staff to churn out as many articles as possible to meet the commitments.

The way it works is this, company will charge X dollars to say they will get 200 backlinks for a targeted keyword and site.  They then hire ghost writers who will create a 400+ word article for like $5-10 per article payment (I know these companies have tried to hire me) and then they will look up blogs on the Internet find any with a certain PageRank or higher and contact the blog owner seeing if they are willing to host a "guest article".

Either way you look at it, this is a violation of Google’s ToS in regards to link building, though it is nigh impossible for Google to really find out in this case as long as the article is unique and not a duplicate that is being reprinted across dozens of sites.  Though Google is smart enough to penalize and lower the value of links from unrelated site niches.  Example would be my technology blog with an outbound link to a diet pill site, completely unrelated niche and Google knows this is not likely to be a valid link or related link.

Overall though, for experimentation and curiosity sake I have taken a number of these offers lately for DragonBlogger.com to see the quality of articles and whether or not they are truly written to capitalize on Google Search traffic and actually increase my blog readership.  Out of the 20 or so guest articles I accepted, 2 made it to my top 20 articles based on traffic according to Google Analytics and only 1 of the articles exceeded 1000 pageviews in the last 30 days, the other in the top 20 managed 400 pageviews.  Overall, all 20 guest articles accounted for about 3,000 pageviews which is about 7% of my total site traffic.  Considering though that my site has over 1400 published articles this is a pretty good ratio of traffic for such a low number of guest articles.

So my theory is that if the articles are of decent quality and attract positive comments and traffic than letting an advertiser have a keyword or two as part of providing the article isn’t such a bad exchange in some cases.  I get to steer the content to what I want, and I have full control over what publishes and what doesn’t.   I don’t think it is however cheaper for the companies who are paying these ghost writers, it probably is cheaper for them to contact the sites directly and pay the blog owner to write an article or link to them in a previous article though buying it in packages like this is probably easier from a time management perspective.

-Justin Germino

I was actually editing an article for my site when I noticed that this particular writer only used single spaces after periods and after doing some research I was actually shocked to learn that single space after periods appears to be the standard.  In a heated article over on Slate about Two Spaces it apparently is a relic of the typewriter days to use two spaces after a period when writing or publishing.  The ironic thing is I was taught to touch type in high school and learned on a typewriter, so I type double spaces by default when I write sentences.  It comes as second nature and is going to be a very hard habit for me to break, I still read online and my eyes are trained to expect a double space after a period rather than a single space.

I don’t know truly what is considered the formal or acceptable way but I quickly did some scans from professional online sites like Wall Street Journal and NY Times and there are no double spaces after periods in articles.  In addition I have seen a ton of professional articles that begin a sentence with And after a period.  I remember learning in school that the word “and” must always be lower case and can never start a sentence, but I believe this rule has changed over the years though it still causes me to consider it a mistake when I see it in articles.

How many of my readers use single spaces or double spaces after typing a period at the end of a sentence?  I am curious to know how many also have this “habit” by default.

-Justin Germino

So I didn’t blink when the other week I dropped $70.00 on some additional Nerf equipment which included a Nerf N-Strike Maverik, a Nerf N-Strike Nite Finder, Nerf Big Bad Bow and a Nerf N-Strike Firefly REV-8 which has glow in the dark bullets plus lights up when you fire it.

This now makes my Nerf collection include a Marauder sword, 2 Nerf Warlock Axes and several other guns including the ones purchased above.  My kids who are 7 and 4 years old love nothing more than going to the playground with me where we stage elaborate battles running around firing foam bullets and when ammo runs out we pull our foam handheld weapons and fight until the last man is standing.

The Bow and Arrow has a decent range, I was surprised to find that the strings are decoration and would have liked a real compound bow feel, but the large arrows shoot fairly far and are fun to see.  The most fun was the whistle darts, you load these black tipped Nerf bullets into the weapons and every shot produces a faint whistle from the bullets.  There is something incredibly fun when being shot at and hearing the whistling of the bullets as they pass just near your ear.

I play hard with my kids, even though my kids are computer and Wii gamers and spend hours indoors, we make the time to go hit the outdoors and play some outside games.  Physical activity and running around in staged battles for about 1-2 hours on a weekend is a great way to get everyone active, and my wife claims that I buy the stuff for me more than them.

I really want the Nerf Stonewall Shield and Sword as well as the Battlemaster Mace Axe. Also, our neighbor has the Nerf N-Strike Vulcan which is just incredible how fast it can fire automated bullets, it has amazing range and is just a really fun toy gun to play with.

So honestly, when role playing battles at the playground when it comes to foam weaponry for me It’s Nerf or Nothing!

I highly recommend any of these products to encourage outdoor and active play:

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-Justin Germino

There is no doubt that heating cost is skyrocketing. As a result more austerity measures like using radiators are becoming more prevalent than ever. People are looking for means to cut down their heating bill and the use of radiators always tops the must-do thing.

The truth is that: there are possible and inexpensive means to cut down your bill all throughout the winter season, the use of radiators is one. Plus, you don’t have to go bankrupt first or scammed to learn your lessons because with the following ideas and tips to learn, you will manage.

Practical and Easy to Do Ways to Cut Your Heating Bill

1. Though home improvements can be the solution, cleaning your furnace is a smarter thing to do before anything else. Cleaning your furnace means making it more efficient. This is proven to be effective measure will always remind you how it dramatically changes your heating bill.
2. If your air filter is old, it needs replacement right away. This is connection to the furnace because if your furnace is not clean the air lifter will be blocked and it will cause damage.
3. If you have ceiling fans at home, you should consider using it. For the record, ceiling fans actually draw warm air that will circulate in your home.
4. Again to cut costs, make sure that you use your washing or dishwasher as quickly as possible to avoid more usage of electricity.
5. During the morning, don’t miss the natural light coming from the sun. If you let solar energy in your home, your place will be all warmed up and it is a nice feeling.
6. Make sure that you have insulated the water heater. For the record, there are insulated water heaters that are more energy efficient and if you are not using the latest version, you better opt for a new one.
7. You have to use compact fluorescent lighting as it can be likened to natural light. Compact fluorescent lighting is a good choice if you are not a fan of incandescent light bulbs. Plus they last longer which is good enough reason.
8. Use one of the programmable radiators as they work better and produce better results. Now only will you save or cut down your heating bill but you will also acquire a furniture piece that is set for everything.
9. If you find leaks, you need to seal them all. This can be really frustrating but if you clean deal with your home, you must have to be reassuring about things in life.
10. Finally, if you are using any of the radiators, turn it off if you are done using it. Such final rule is in fact considered the rule of thumb and by using them only when needed you are saving a lot of energy and electricity.

What is there more to learn? You will never run out of things to learn but at least you get yourself immersed with the ten possible ways of cutting your heating bill at your home (interesting to know is that the Dutch term is Energiebesparing woning), plus, radiators will give you a head start.

So I had been using the BreakingNews WordPress Theme from ThemeWarrior.com since October of 2010 on DragonBlogger.com, they allow you to download and use the theme for free but now I am looking for some help so I purchased the theme so that I can take advantage of the Theme support and have access to the Theme upgrades.  The theme was upgraded several times but none of the read me notes show that it fixes my issue in that when you load DragonBlogger.com for the first seconds or so my menu bar shows expanded before it finally contracts into sub menus.  This is a minor cosmetic glitch but it is still a noticeable one and I don’t like it, I am hoping to find support from the developers on how to resolve it.

I do think ThemeWarrior provides some quality themes and I have been extremely happy with how customizable the BreakingNewz theme is, other than this one cosmetic issue the theme was the best decision I have made.  I probably would have used Thesis or Genesis if I didn’t find BreakingNewz, but I am using the All in One SEO Pack for my site’s SEO since ThemeWarrior doesn’t have SEO built in like Thesis does.    This was my 2nd theme for DragonBlogger.com in over 2 years and I typically don’t change themes unless it just doesn’t work for what I need, I had always wanted a “magazine” style theme and BreakingNewz offered exactly the features I was looking for and it was free.

Still, for $29.99 the Theme even at cost was a fraction of the cost of Thesis and is a great value for me.

-Justin Germino

Despite the fears and concerns growing about genetically modified food including vegetables, fish, meat and every other consumable material that is sold in grocery stores and restaurants we continue to see more modified food hit our stores and tables.

The simple fact is that humanity is facing a problem of epic proportion which is that food sources currently taken for granted cannot be sustained in the decades to come.  The human population is expected to reach 9 billion people by 2050 and there simply will not be enough land to raise enough cattle to supply meat, there won’t be enough fish in the ocean left to catch to use as feed.  Even planting and farming is not sustainable without doing something drastic like multi-leveled agriculture where literally you build farms vertically stacking them on top of each other into the sky rather than spread out on a flat horizontal field.

Genetic modification of food is a necessity not an option in order to make sure we can grow plants, fish and other food sources that are faster, more resistant to pests and illness and require less resources.  It is genetic modification of corn, wheat and rice that will end world hunger some day.

It is true that planted food (including farming) wastes less resources and takes up less "space" than raising livestock.  Human beings however are omnivores by genetic design, I don’t think you can exist from baby to adulthood without having some degree of meat in your diet.  Though I think fish will suffice and you don’t have to have beef, pork or chicken.

Companies are trying out genetic modification of foods as quickly as they can figure out the methods because they are trying to one up each other in solving these needs and problems.  I think the science is being applied without safety guidelines or even appropriate tests developed to ensure that there are no harmful side effects.  There just simply isn’t enough funding put into the FDA and not enough independent testing to ensure all of the food hitting the market is safe anymore.  The fact that it takes decades of consuming or drinking food to show "trends" in the masses that may indicate problems makes it even more difficult to rule out what shouldn’t be eaten.

It doesn’t take much to realize that people are wrong too, I mean when I was a kid all I read about was how unhealthy eggs were for you.  My parents would hardly ever let my brother and I eat eggs for breakfast, we were told to eat cereal (ironically we had Lucky Charms, Fruit Loops, Life, and other cereals occasionally) and this was thought to be healthier than eggs cooked on a pan.  Now decades later there are studies showing that eggs are good for you, that the cholesterol in eggs does not translate to higher cholesterol in people and that eggs contain good fat and quality protein.

Like it or not, modified food is a necessity for the future but how can the proper measures be put in place to ensure it is safe and doesn’t cause tremendous health risks later on?

-Justin Germino

Timber doors are some of the most aesthetically pleasing doors you can have in your home. It is for this reason that a lot of people would rather repair their timber doors than replace them. In this article, we will help you understand the basics when it comes to fixing your timber doors. Since the humidity or heat can adversely affect the wood, there can often be a few problems with a sticking timber door.

How to fix loose screws

If the screws are loose on the timber door (therefore causing it to stick), then there is a method to check if the screws are the culprit. Open the door to about 100mm. Pull and push the door, using your arms, towards the door hinges. If there is any movement on the hinges, then the screws are loose. The usual way to tell if there is a problem is to see  if the paint is cracked. You should fix and tighten the screws to help fix the door. If this becomes an on going problem then you might need to replace the hinges.

How to reverse a swollen door

A swelling door is often found when there is a lot of humidity and heat. This is one of the reasons that moisture is being exposed to the timber. If there are any unpainted parts or joints, then the moisture can seep through into those. You will need to take off a small area of the affected swollen area. If there are any bare parts on the door, then they need to be primed and then painted. Since you will need to remove the door, to actually work on it, also check that the hinges are working properly.

How to fix paint build up

If your door is sticking because of paint build up, you normally have to remove the door to fix it. Work out how big the build up of the paint is and how extensive the area of contact is between the door and the jamb. If the area is small you just need to use a screwdriver and some sanding block to get rid of the area. If the area is larger and you do not have the right tools, consult a carpentry professional. If you can do it yourself, you need to sand the door, apply primer and then paint it.

Fixing your timber doors should not be difficult if you know what the reason is for the break. Make you know what the problem is before you implement the solution.