Justin Germino Ramblings

Earlier this week I wrote two articles in a series on how to build an Amazon store in WordPress on my technology blog.  This 2 part post series talks about using the Affiliate Easel for Amazon plugin which allows you to insert Amazon Affiliate products in pages, posts or even add entire articles based on Amazon products with simply 1 line of shortcode.

You can add search and default results pages which also all display on your site, so a user will actually search for amazon products yet all the results will always be on your site.  They will only be taken to Amazon.com directly when they actually click to go to purchase the item itself.

For anyone who has ever wanted to know how to incorporate and leverage their Amazon affiliate offering with their WordPress blog I encourage you to read the two part series below:

Build an Amazon Store in WordPress Part 1

Build an Amazon Store in WordPress Part 2

Feedback is always welcome and let me know if you have specific questions or need help.

-Justin Germino

So after watching Nova: Dogs Decoded I admit that I am amazed and much more impressed with the biological and apparently evolutionary connection between humans and canines. In Nova: Dogs Decoded
scientists around the world show how dogs have evolved the ability to read human emotions from visual cues that rival the intelligence level of chimpanzees. Dogs instinctively know to read a human’s face looking at the left side of the face first to determine emotion (apparently only other humans do this). Dogs are also the only animal that almost instinctively understands pointing at an object that a human is conveying for them to look or get that object.

In no other symbiotic relationship in nature dose “pointing” exist and they tried repeatedly to get chimpanzees to understand when humans pointed at something but they were not able to grasp the concept.

One segment of the show was showing when dogs were “domesticated” and how domestication might have occured, and DNA evidence shows domestication starting around 100,000 years ago which conflicts with archaeological research showing domestication starting at only 10-12 thousand years ago. They show amazingly how wild wolves cannot domesticate just by raising pups from 5 days old and that domestication is something that has to be bred into the species.

In the example, they had wild wolves that were raised from cubs alongside dogs, cats and humans and hand feed. At every stage of the wolves life it was simply not even close to being domesticated, it did not ever look at humans faces or eyes for visual cues, had no ability to understand or care for anything other than its own concern for feed and shelter. When the wolf grew big enough that it was becoming a danger to the family and other pets they had to bring it back to the preserve and return it to its pack where it immediately integrated as if it was never raised elsewhere.

The most interesting study was on how over 50 years foxes were bred to be domesticated and it took only about 7 generations of foxes to breed out the aggressive trait and for foxes to become domesticated. Domesticated foxes even changed physical characteristics as part of the selective breeding for domestication. The lead researcher mentioned that a domesticated fox can make an ideal pet having all the individuality and self sufficiency of a cat with the undying loyalty of a dog. I might want one if they become available for the general public!

The science behind why humans and dogs bond so well was analyzed at a hormonal level and the same hormones that a mother releases when breast feeding a baby are released when petting a dog, the same type of hormone releases for the dog while it is being pet as well. This creates strong bonds at a much more familial level which explains why people consider dogs like family members.

If you are a dog lover or have a fascination about dogs and human interaction, I highly recommend you pick up Nova: Dogs Decoded
. I was utterly fascinated and you can also watch it live on Netflix right now where it is streaming.

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-Justin Germino

I often promote that IZEA is among my top companies that pay bloggers to earn money from their blogs and Twitter accounts and I like to backup my claim with some hard proof.  Here is my 2010 1099-MISC from IZEA showing my earnings from SocialSpark, InPostLinks, PayPerPost and SponsoredTweets combined since they are all from the same parent company you get one 1099-MISC which makes it easier when filing your taxes.

$1266.77 for one year from one company may not seem all that much but remember this is but one of more than twenty online companies that I use to make money online and you can read more about them.  If you use say 10 companies and each one gives you an annual 1099 like this then you can easily be making some 12k+ per year from your blogging efforts.  This isn’t bad from a blogging hobby that I spend about 20 hours per week on and this doesn’t even include that I earn at least as much from AdSense and selling advertising space on my blog. 

SocialSpark by far earned me the most for my blogs in both 2009 and 2010 and the average of $15 – $25 payment for a review with a couple of reviews per month kept my income steady and spread out.  The highest quality and biggest name brand advertisers can be found on SocialSpark as well.

So while I don’t make enough money to quit my day job, I have no intention to.  I blog because it brings some extra income to help with bills and to help treat the family and myself to some fun stuff.  I always enjoy taking the kids to the movies and paying for it with blog earnings, or buying a new DVD or video game with my blog earnings.  I have even used my blog earnings for taking my wife out on a date or paying for part of our Las Vegas getaway.

In just over two years I have pretty much reached a point where I earn no less than $200-250 per month blogging and it can only go up from here, this is something I can be proud of.  The best thing is that if I was able to reach this than anybody can, I really don’t consider myself doing anything in the blogosphere that anybody else can’t do.

-Justin Germino

Chipotle is one of my favorite places my wife and I go to eat as of late, and it isn’t uncommon to see us frequent the local Chipotle’s twice a week on some weeks.  Their fresh ingredients and ridiculously delicious guacamole and barbacoa keep me constantly coming back.

So I challenge myself with new burrito creations each time and I always get a barbacoa burrito while switching out and altering the fix-ins.  The fajita peppers with pinto beans and the awesome jasmine rice is a great start, from there I build further by adding pico de gallo, corn, gu0acamole, shredded lettuce and sometimes shredded cheese.  I vary the amounts of each mixture but recently with my fix-ins I reached my largest burrito combo of all time.

This behemoth was so large that the lady assembling this monster couldn’t fold the burrito closed without wrapping it in a 2nd layer of tortilla.

When it was finished we are talking about a monstrous burrito so big, so grand that it stood on its side like a tower.  It had to be eaten from the top down and couldn’t be picked up by human hands!

This my friends was a Chipotle Barbacoa Burrito that would make Adam Richman from Man vs Food proud.

-Justin Germino

For those who waited until the day of Valentines day to decide to get flowers, make a restaurant reservation or do something special I say good luck.  When I called some places weeks ago they had only a few slots open for V-day, I imagine it would be almost impossible to get in at a fancy place if you haven’t made plans weeks in advance.

For those who only do something special on Valentines day, you really are missing the whole point as well.  Waiting one day a year to show your partner how special they are doesn’t have much value if you ignore them the rest of the year.  Appreciation, respect and love should be given often and I don’t mean spending money or breaking the bank, but simple appreciations can mean the world to some people.

This is your chance to try and make up for forgetting other dates, misplacing priorities and working too much or too late and not spending the extra time cozying by a fireplace or curled up to play a board game or watch a movie.  Make a pact to treat your partner to at least 1 special night each month, and Valentines day itself won’t seem like such a momentous thing because at least every month you have a special day that means just as much.

I will be honest and say it was much easier dating my wife before we had kids, now it requires more planning to try and get a date night alone so we can coordinate Grandma to babysit.  That doesn’t mean we still don’t spend time together, and rarely a night goes by that we don’t spend at least 2-3 hours together doing something.  Typically it is watching TV curled up on the couch together which is my idea of the perfect evening…(almost)

PS.  Happy Valentines day to my lovely wife Shona who means everything to me and is the source of all that is right in my world.  This is our 15th Valentines day celebrated together and I would do all 15 years again just to still be here at her side. 

I tend to not like most pre-packaged trail mixes as they mix in candy like M&M’s or yogurt raisins and other "bits" of sugar I tend to not like in a trail mix.  So recently I decided to craft my own trail mix and I created a really good combination with the following.

• 1/2 cup Multi Grain Cheerios
• 2 oz dried cranberries
• 2 oz dried blueberries
• 1/4 cup of walnuts (halves or quarters)
• 2 oz raisins

Toss together in a bowl and eat by the handful it makes a tasty treat.

I could even jazz it up with another 1/4 cup of almonds or sub some ingredients out if you prefer one to another.

-Justin Germino

At some point everyone in their lives has to think about their death and what they want their family or loved ones to do with their remains after the pass on.  The burdening expense of burials being in the tens of thousands when you throw in a fancy coffin can financially overcome some families.  Even cremations can cost a few thousand which is cheap compared to a burial in a coffin but still could be costly.

My wife and I don’t particularly have any religious beliefs in how a body should be laid to rest, we don’t need to waste land by putting our bodies in a permanent coffin in the ground taking up space.  Nor do we feel our ashes should be kept in an urn or scattered.  This is why we made the decision to donate our bodies to science and research purposes.

Biological Resources Center is located in Arizona and Illinois currently and we both signed up for them to handle our bodies after deceased.  At no cost whatsoever should something happen to either my wife or I they will take care of our bodies and use them for scientific purposes.  This will spare my kids from having to pay any costs at all in handling our remains and hopefully the research will help benefit the medical community in some way and it can be a contribution to science as a result of my passing.

The one good thing about the Biological Resource Center in Arizona is that they cremate the bodies and will return them to the families if that is an option and selected as desired by the donor.

Some benefits of the Biological Resource Center is that it offers to their donors and their families:

• No cost for the cremation process

• No cost transportation of the body

• No cost for the completion and filing of the death certificate

• No cost for the dignified urn

• No cost for the return of the urn to the donor’s family

• Return of the donor’s cremated remains within 30 days of the donation

Note, this is isn’t a paid review or testimony, I am just informing my readers that our family has decided that it is worth not spending tens of thousands of dollars for dealing with handling our remains and have opted to donate our bodies to science instead.  This is a personal choice for any family and as someone who believes in scientific research and donation this is one way to help serve the scientific community and save your family money after your passing.

-Justin Germino

I always enjoy trying new K-cups for my Keurig machine which I received as a Father’s Day gift back in 2010 and have had about 3-4 cups of coffee every single day ever since with it.

So the other week when I picked up the Gloria Jean Cappuccino flavored coffee K-Cups I was excited to try something different.  I normally enjoy French Vanilla or Hazelnut varieties.  The Gloria Jean Cappuccino K-Cups are medium bold flavored and have a very pleasant aroma and taste.  Great hot but I also discovered if you pour them over some ice it makes for a delicious iced coffee treat.

I enjoy the Cappuccino flavored drink after Dinner or as a dessert beverage and it pairs well if you are eating cookies or crackers.  If you are a Keurig owner and are looking for a new K-Cup flavor this is one of my highest recommendations.

-Justin Germino

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Yep, this little dog comes with some pretty interesting quirks and not just that her name is Donut.  She is an absolute food addict and will not only hoard any treat given to her but will go so far as to steal a bone from our other Boston Terrier Porky’s mouth and take it back to her cushion and growl and snap at him so he can’t take anything back.

She never growls or snaps at people, for instance myself or the kids can just go and take the bone right out of her mouth (but she usually tries to run).  She just is very possessive with the other dog.  She will also go and hide the treats in couch cushions or under blankets throughout the house and the other dog will sometimes just get too close to her stash without realizing it which causes her to charge at him and chase him off.

It is funny, Porky who is bigger and much younger at 2 1/2 years old could easily take Donut if they really went at it.  But now he wanders looking for a place to lay down and it is almost as if he don’t know if he is going to step on a landmine and have her attack him.  He literally deliberates on whether he wants to jump on a couch or whether he should lay somewhere.  She has him always nervous that he is going to set her off like a trap.

The only time he gets even is when they play tug of war, where she deliberately dangles the rope toy in front of him and encourages him to take ahold and fight back.  He is of course stronger and I have seen him drag her across the floor, when he gets the rope toy he will hide it.  Outside he goes and hides them in rose bushes knowing she has a hard time trying to get them without getting pricked by thorns. 

Funny little game, my wife and I call them "Pinky and the Brain" with Porky definitely being Pinky and Donut being the Brain except she doesn’t want to take over the world she just wants to take all the food in the house and claim it as her own.

-Justin Germino

Okay, so Dungeon Siege was a game I used to play with my wife and was one of my favorite alternatives to Diablo II back in the day.  Very similar in style I liked the LAN aspect of it and used to spend countless hours pillaging dungeons and loading my pack mule to the bring of collapse with treasure.

I was extremely excited to see that Dungeon Siege III is set to be released on May 31st and that it is being put out by one of my favorite game companies Square Enix the makers of the famous Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series of games among others. The game is from the creators of Knights of the Old Republic and Fallout: New Vegas and certainly has me excited at the potential the game could have.

The game looks positively stunning and is probably a good one to pick up for those waiting for Diablo III, here is some gameplay video from last year:

Hopefully I will have my newer core computer components as the game looks graphically intense and probably requires an upgrade of my video card to take advantage of the visuals. You can pre-order your copy of Dungeon Siege 3 today and make sure you have it for when it releases.

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