I got thinking today on my proposed New Years Resolution, I come up with one around this time every year, but only stick to it for one or maybe two weeks max! Both my parents have stuck to theirs of no smoking, so as I don’t smoke, I have come up with the resolution of not drinking! Drastic as it may sound, I believe it should be an easy task:

1. I don’t drink heavily in the first place, I may have one or two on the weekend, or on an evening off.
2. If I find other things to spend money on, it will mean I won’t have the money to spend on alcohol.
3. I’d rather be the designated driver at the end of the night! I like waking up the next morning and remembering the night before.
4. I like my health!
5. Drink is so expensive now, that I’d be better off nursing a coke for the night and leaving with my wallet still intact!
6. I may not be as sociable, but a lot of my friends don’t drink either.

Some good points I think, and valid enough for me to persue the resolution fully. I won’t give up alcohole completely - instead I will only have celebratory drinks etc… I think everyone is entitled to a treat every now and again :lol: .

www.impulseblogger.com passed onto its new owners today, I’m sorry to see it go, but with the sale comes my chance to redeem myself. I’ve registered a domain, that should be of interest for fellow bloggers - www.bloggingbucks.biz has been registered to serve as a resource for bloggers to visit to get advice on services available to them to earn money through their blogs. PPC, Inline post advertisements, Sponsored posting services, etc…

It will be fairly low maintainence - unlike Impulse Blogger which would have been a very high maintainence blog in my opinion, and at the time I hadn’t enough time to spend on this place let along another blog! Bloggers will know that it takes a great deal of effort to write for their blogs, you have to think up articles and posts to write, in some cases enticing titles, and keep up-to-date with advancements in the field in which you’re writing about. And on top of that you’ve bills and SPAM to keep on top of!

I’ve a few more ideas floating about up there - but I’m going to focus on getting present websites online and generating revenue and traffic before I commence registering more domains!

www.webmasterdiscounts.biz - discountinued, as courtesy towards a friend who runs the .com extension.

Entrecard is the new Business card! (Business Card 2.0!) It is a widget, that you place on your blog, and when fellow bloggers visit they can ‘drop’ their card in your widget and it will appear in the rota. Everytime someone drops a card on your blog you gain a credit, and anytime you drop a card on someone else’s blog you also gain a credit. These credits can be exchanged in your Entrecard dashboard for advertisement space on other users widgets. It’s a simple, fair system, and is a great way to gain traffic and prospective subscribers!

When I first got refered to Entrecard by a friend of mine around two months ago, I didn’t think much of it. Few bloggers were familiar with it, and even fewer used it. I signed up, and forgot about my account. But as time has lapsed, Entrecard has grown and grown and word has spread across the Blogosphere.

So I decided to utilise this, as a tool for traffic, subscribers and potential link exchanges. My card isn’t a masterpiece, something I knocked up in Photoshop in a hurry - does the trick and gets my message across.

It has one keyword there, Money, which as you know, us bloggers are quite fond of - especially if it’s coming from an online resource like our own blogs, or non-time consuming methods. I know I don’t write enough on making money online, but I do intend on extending that side of the blog come 2008! - I’m still recovering from 2007! And the ‘one step at a time’ meaning, I don’t like doing everything at once, I’m still learning at this earning online lark, but I couldn’t fit in that you’ll need plenty of patience when working with me! :razz:

This online business card stuff has just reminded me that I need to update my real business cards…one step at a time! :arrow:

I went out today to partake in some retail therapy, spending my hard earned money is often a difficult task! However, I did manage to part with nearly €400 today, on stuff that wasn’t really needed. Out in Ashbourne I bought a Graphics Tablet (with stylus and mouse), Belkin Mousepad with cool blue LED lights and 4 port USB Hub, and a new Logitech keyboard, it’s layout is simular to that of my old Laptop and it doesn’t make a sound which is what I wanted for those late night online sessions!

I also bought myself a new mobile phone, after setting my mind on the 6300 on Vodafone, I eventually settled on the Sony Ericsson K800i - the salesman recommended it over the Nokia for a number of valid reasons, maybe its more pricey, but it has more features like 3.2MP camera, expandable memory, Radio, MP3 player, etc…

I was considering the N73, or perhaps the N70 - but I am not a fan of Nokia Symbian mobile phone technologies, they’re too confusing and in my opinion make the phone slugish and will inevitably cause more problems in the long run. I just want a bove average mobile which is what I got. The only problem I’ve encountered is, that over two hours later the Vodafone sim still hasn’t activated - I ported from O2 to Vodafone for a number of reasons, one being I’ve more contacts on Vodafone than O2, and for my use Vodafone has better tariffs.

Now, I’m off to try to figure out this Graphics Tablet - I tried writing my name on it earlier and ended up with some mental looking modern art of just lines going from top to bottom! Could be because I’m a lefty and have my wrist resting on the tablet.

I know I said I wouldn’t be posting until the 27th, but I have been bored out of my skull the past three days! So I need something to take up the slack! Christmas so far has been good, as usual Christmas is boring as there is nothing to do, except sit at home, or perhaps visit some relatives. My family chose the sitting at home approach as this year we hosted Christmas dinner at our house.

Christmas Eve was spent cleaning (took me 3 hours to get through my room!), I did a small bit of work, and vegged out for the night. Went to bed around 3:00 (ish) on Chrtistmas morning, my sister was up at 3:30 eagerly awaiting her haul from the big fat man. I didn’t roost from the bed until 6:00, when I eventually got up, I found my way downstairs, opened my presents, gave out mine, shuffled around for a bit and went back to bed.

Got a decent haul this year I must say! I went all out this year too, so far I’ve received:

• The PC,
• Driving Lessons,
• iPod/FM Wirelsss Transmitter,
• Automatic Chess thing,
• A Car Airfreshner (from my sister :???: ),
• Usual Smellies,
• Vouchers, and around €300 in cash from Aunties, Uncles, Grannys, and Grandads!

Not a bad haul. My sister got so much stuff it would be impossible to list, althugh I’m very thankful to my uncle who got her an Electric Guitar…that coupled with a Karaoke machine…I’m in for a peaceful 2008…not likely!. I’m easy to buy for, either a voucher or cash . My Dad got a fair few bits - loads of Podge and Rodge stuff, Portable DVD player, Car CD Player, Recordable DVD Player, Ordinary DVD Player, Smellies, a good haul of CD’s and DVD’s. My Mam got a new phone, camera, perfumes, handbags, and a few other bits, I got her a few toiletries my Gran recommended.

Christmas Dinner was my favourite part by far! Turkey, Roast, and Ham with all the trimmings, polished it all off and made sure to save room for desert. I can’t remember much of Christmas night except watching my uncles camero on ‘Inside I’m Dancing’…he played the Vantastic driver who ‘delivered‘ the rebelious Rory, other than that I can’t remember much one minute I was on JD & Coke, the next I’m waiting up a 3pm on the 26th with a headache and writting this post - but I might do it again tonight, after all it is Christmas and you’re suppose to overindulge .

I’ll head out to the sales in the next day or two, pick up a few bargains. I’m in need of a new phone, desk and TV! Was considering the K800i as an upgrade for my present K750i, they’re pretty simular, except the K800i has a 3.2 MP camera, and more features. Along with a phone upgrade will be my port to Vodafone - O2 have been good to me, but Vodafone has better deals and prospects for me :evil: .

Well that’s my Christmas todate. Normal services shall resume soon. :idea:

It might seem a little premature - although not if we’re in ‘Tesco Time’, I should have wished you all a Merry Christmas back in October…. Anyway, I’m wishing you all a Merry Christmas this evening, as I am logging off for the festive holidays - Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and St. Stephens Day (Boxing Day).

Everyone deserves a holiday, I want a break away from the internet in general at Christmas. Of course I’ll login to check emails, and make sure the websites are ticking away nicely, but I won’t be making any posts until the 27th of December.

I’m just tying up loose ends on the website front, any jobs that needed doing I’ve been doing today - I did take 2 hours off to watch the Great Escape (such a brilliant film!), and making sure I’ve no overdue bills that could get me cut off over the festive period - although any hosting company that would cut you off on Christmas must be heartless money grabbing philistines!

I’m hoping that 2008 will indeed be prosperous, and present many lucrative business proposals and a nice stream of online revenue! I’m cutting down my present portfolio, with intentions to extend it - as regards time spent on individual websites. 10 websites could generate more revenue then that of 100 websites -if the time, and effort is spent on the 10 initially. So my target is to reduce my portfolio weight, but focus my time on the remaining websites and undeveloped domains. This blog is okay to tick along nicely by itself, but other websites need the intial push, as most websites take off by themselves pending they are marketed correctly and have an active presence for their first month.

So for the next three days I’m taking it easy. No thinking of a great website idea, and going straight online to register the domain then and there. I will simply write it down and do anything I have overdue from Christmas on the 27th and no earlier!

I’m not expecting any surprises on Christmas morning - it will probably be the last year my younger Sister will be in the ‘Santa’ phase, so this will be the last real ‘family Christmas’, as always there will be a big gathering. It’s usually in my Grandmothers house, but as she’s working on the nights of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day - yes, my granny is Airport Police!, so this year for a change it’s being held at my house - all 16 of us! Will be the first time Christmas dinner will be held in the new house, so should be fun.

I’ve already recevied my main present, which was Birthday / Christmas present - the new PC. I’m incredably difficult to buy presents for, I never need anything, nor want anything. My Dad is the same, and shopping for my Mam is the worst - I’m a male, she’s female. Men tend to run into the first shop they see in a panic, and pick up the first ‘girly’ thing they see, and then have a shop assitant help them (that’s how I do it…). So I’ve since told her to give me rough ideas of what she likes, and if she wants something specific - it’s better that way!

So have a Happy & Safe Christmas, and I’ll see you before the new year (hopefully!). Here’s a Christmas classic - Merry Christmas Mr. Bean.[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etUq95XKGiw[/youtube]

I’ve only really been into earning money online these past few months - and mostly I’ve only been earning ’small change’ just enough to cover my expenses and perhaps buy a few luxuries on eBay. I have tried setting up large websites, but I usually cannot manage them due to either expenses or the sheer demand of them - and often I sell them off before I reach my maximum potential with the website.

Whereas, if it were a business partnership, between two or more persons, management and motivation of the website would be increased - I know this through existing websites I’ve partnerships in, you’re more motivated to keep on progressing with the website, as you don’t want to let your partnership down from your side of the dealings.

Another advantage of business partnerships would be reduced cost to individual, and more of a likelyhood for the website to succeed. Two minds are greater than one, I have a number of good ideas and resources, and I’m sure other people do too. If ideas and resources were compiled, there is more chance of greater profit, although it would be reduced in a partnership compared to a sole webmaster - still you’d have a greater chance of earning revenue in the first place if there was a team/group effort.

Hence why I’m stating my case for forming partnerships with budding ‘internet entrepreneurs‘ like myself, come the new year. I want 2008 to start off my serious money making ideas. If anyone is interested in my proposal, you can contact me, or add me to MSN: donohoe14 (at) oceanfree (dot) net.

I thought for my own personal reference, and just to ramble on as I’ve nothing better to blog about -it’s getting pretty busy in the run upto Christmas! I’m presently busy getting a new venture on its feet - Joozo.net, just a small forum, I’m mainly doing it as I had ’surplus resources’ available, so this was used to fill them up - the only thing I’ve to pay for is Hosting which is $4 a month which isn’t bad!

Anyway, I’ll get back on tracks. My Christmas tests weren’t too bad, nobody likes them but they have to be done - it’s really the only means of evaluation in my school, except general classwork which isn’t really anything to go by.

English: First exam, didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. I got through all questions and had 10 minutes to spare at the end of a 2 hour test which wasn’t bad. The only reason I think I could have done better, is the test was entirely composed of John Keats and Macbeth. If you’ve ever studied them, you’ll know if you lapse for a minute you’re already out of the game, ‘Ye Olde English’ is a royal pain in the hole - Thou Shitith Thy Not!

Irish: The teacher screwed us! We were told that we were guarenteed a story on ‘Timpiste a Chonaic Mé’ (An accident I saw/witnessed). So once I heard that, it was my main focus. I thought if I did a good story (we had to chose two or four), a decent second, and answered the poetry section I’d do well. It turned out that she screwed us by not including a story on ‘Timpiste a Chonaic Mé’, which I had prepared a pretty good, phrase filled story for. Luckily, I’m good enough at Irish to waffle on, and scrapped by!

Maths: I’ve only recently released myself from the ‘clutches of Conroy’ and gone back to my old friend Fergie O’Flatherty. The only downside to this, is I haven’t yet done half of the present course. Invisible numbers etc…, so I made sure I tried my best at the stuff I didn’t know and made the stuff I did know airtight (Simulataneous Eqn’s etc…). I don’t think I did too bad.

Accounting: Had to take my theory test, so can’t comment on it.

French: The biggest disappointment so far. I’m dire at French, and I’m the first to admit that. I’d love not to have to do French, but it’s a requirement to get into college, I’d love if Irish became a recognised European language - I’d be laughing then! I did okay in the reading and translation sections, and completely fucked up on the personal writing sections - Write a paragraph about myself, friends, area, school etc… and Write a diary entry (didn’t even do it - the teacher has yet to complete a whole diary entry in class!)

History: Easiest test by far, my original teacher was taken ill, his replacement known as ‘Junkie History Teacher’, due to him looking and acting like he’s wasted! He got is by, but then we had another replacement who treats us like we’re twelve (I’m not complaining). Anyway, we’ve only had him for two classes, so the test was just on what we covered for those two classes, three sources and around 12 questions to answer on them and the final question was refering to Cultural Nationalism and the three major associations in relation to it, and what they did for Irish culture. Finished the test in 20 minutes…but had to sit out the whole 1 1/2 hours .

Business: Did okay in this test, wasn’t too difficult. Most of the business course is common sense, I didn’t have to do any study - just have a glance over the notes of the topics to be covered for the exam. Questions were on Contrast Groups in Business, Enterprise, and Leadership - Maslows theory. Did okay, my mind went completely blank when a question on the 1990 Industrial Relations act came up, so I couldn’t answer it.

In my mind, I did 50/50. I wish I could have studied more, and gotten better marks on the exams. I suppose it’s motivation for the next Midterm test, or Summer Exams.

I’m delighted to say that I passed my theory test with flying colours - 39 out of 40 correct :razz: . I know the exact question I stumbled on, which was the only one I really had to put any effort into answer.

Q: (Picture of a car in Fog) - What are the road safety issues pictured:

The green ones are the answers I answered, but on consideration after the exam it could possiblybe the one highlighted in red. It was a bit of a trick question or one of those ’stupid questions’ in my previous post. The image did not show any rain, only fog - therefore there would be no immediate danger of ‘aquagliding’, but instead a danger of being dazzled by oncoming head & fog lights.

My appointment wasn’t until 2 o’clock, but I was in town at 12:00 to get some shopping out of the way. But considering I’m highly impatient, and can get irritated whilst being barged about in large crowds of grannies and other feckless male shoppers, I got everything over and done with in the one shop (with the help of a shop assistant), and was done at 12:20. A problem as I had nothing to do for the next hour or so…

So I just went rambling, and got loadza freebies. Including a disposable camera when I bought a bottle of Lucozade, and a free Lynx giftset when I bought all my other prezzies.

Went to the DTTS center on Parnell Street (Dublin’s China Town) around 1:30, guy there told me I could have come anytime before my schedualed time as there weren’t many bookings. Got served straight away and in 15 minutes was done and waited for the outcome. Was thrilled with my results, and two people who were waiting with me offered congratulations - so I thought it was only fair I waited around until they got out to offer my congrats.

My advice for anyone going on their theory test anytime soon is to buy the CD, instead of the book. the test is exactly the way it is on the CD, and most of the questions are the same or simular. It’s an easy test to do, but futher advice is don’t bring anything more than what you need. Leave your shopping until you’re complete with your test, as you’re prohibited from taking anything except yourself and your passport into the examination room - luckily I only had a few bits in my backpack!

So I’m off to get my Eyesight report tomorrow, and to apply for my provisional license. Although I probably won’t receive it until the new year

I’ve done a bit of reshuffling on the blog, I’ve messed around with some of the code (tidying it up), added an advertising space (for more see here), added new bits and pieces and removed some redundant ones. I’ve been considering making a logo, but I haven’t the time right now, so I’ll probably get around to it during Christmas.

What do ye think of my quicky advertise here button? Not bad for a few minutes in Photoshop (for someone who only knows a bit more than the basics!)

Edit: Robert pointed out that the comment box was near on impossible to see, I’ve since edited the stylesheet to resolve this. Thanks Robert.

I have my Driver Theory Test tomorrow, at 2pm. I’m not worried about the whole ordeal, I’m confident in my knowledge of the rules of the road. But I am worried about those stupid questions I’m bound to get asked! I’ve passed most of my ‘mocks’ using the CD. I failed once, due to the ’stupid questions’ whos answers are completely rediculous and incompetent!

One I failed on in my ‘mocks’ was something simular to this: Your right rear taillight is out. How can you tell that it is out?

A. Your footbrake pedal becomes heavier (?), B. Your left taillight becomes dimmer, C. You get another person to check at the rear of the vehicle (!), D. Your left taillight becomes brighter.

Now I would (and did) guess B, as the circuit would be broken. And anyone hazard a guess at the correct answer? That’s right C! How stupid is that question, designed to trip you up!

If I don’t get tripped by any ’stupid questions’ I should pass. Anyone is capable of passing apparently. The Irish Driver Theory Test seems to be one of the worse constructed systems I’ve encountered! Firstly, they never inform me of my booking! I had to ring them up to confirm they got my payment and when the date was - a week before it! Secondly, they have the most stupid barely driving related questions. They should put down proper questions - Speed limits, Stopping Distances, and General Road courtesy stuff.

I’m just a little agitated today, Irish & English exams didn’t go so well. Both teachers screwed me, most of the stuff they focused on never appeared. Me being a sucker, I looked over the stuff they were concentrating on and only glanced at the other stuff…and guess what came up on the test! I soldiered through, I did okay, but not as good as I had hoped!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLSTesNHDNs[/youtube]

Sorry for the lack of postings recently, I’ve been busy with other websites, and preparing for the next week of tests! Both in and out of school! For most of next week, I’ve exams, I didn’t have any last year (incase you couldn’t tell!), so I’ve been looking over some stuff I’m not to fresh on. I don’t intend on doing proper ’study’ until the night before the exams - I’ve two most days, except Wednesday and Friday.

The other exam I’ve to limp through is my ‘Driver Theory Test’ that has been book for Tuesday 18th of December, for 2:00 - I’ve to arrive 15 minutes prior to book in and sit twiddling my thumbs like an eegit for 10 minutes! It’s probably the only exam I don’t have to study for, I’ve a good knowledge of driving and the rules of the road - even if most of the test is basic general knowledge. Nevertheless, I’ll still do some practice tests on the CD. I got 40/40 on my first go, so I’m optimistic I’ll have no trouble with the test! The hardest part by far was booking the thing! For some reason they ‘forgot’ to contact me regarding my details and booking number. So in the end I had to ring them to confirm my payment was recieved!

The only thing is, my theory test clashes with my Accounting exam. And I can’t reschedual my Theory test, as there’s no open appointments in the centre until mid-January! :eek: . I’ll sort something out, I’m handy at Accounting (not as good as Shay though!), so I’ll see if I can rearrange another sitting.

For those of you who will be sitting their theory test shortly, or drivers who want to test themselves to see if they’ve still got it, ISM have an online Mock Theory Test you can try out!

I’m back after having a few days rest from blogging and the internet. Mainly as I’ve been focused on a few other projects, and other bits and pieces.

I’ve been busy running around since Saturday, we got ourselves another bus, an Ex-London Transport Leyland Titan that used to work around the Coolock, Kinsealy, Swords area. Ended up being roped into helping out tiling a floor (with big f**k off slate tiles!), and later that evening repaneling a bus…I wasn’t much of a help as I was fucked and wanted to go home…as you do!

Sunday I spent mainly coding and editing photos, and making headers and various other jobs I’ve been putting off for ages! On Sunday, I made the decision to free up my portfolio, by selling most of my projects/websites. A drastic move, and my online income will be severely reduced, but I believe that it would be for the best.

Considering, I will have more time to focus on websites I’m keeping online - futher their development, earning potential and rankings, etc… Monthly expenditure will be reduced, I will recoupe the costs of setting them up (and possibily gain a small profit), I’ll have more time to focus on things other than online activities, such as starting a career, spending more time acquiring and restoring vehicles for preservation, futher my other skills like photography, programming, etc… So selling most of my websites will benefit me for the better.

It also gives me the opportunity to develop new projects futher along the line. I made the mistake many people make, by jumping into too many projects too quick and not having the time to spend developing them properly. Some of my latest projects like Blogger Hub and Impulse Blogger
have been abused and abandoned. They offer great potential, but I simply haven’t the time to spend on them - so these will be my priority to get sold, as they’ve the most potential and could turn a profit :twisted:

The above Blogger Hub and Impulse Blogger will be sold alongside Irish Humour Blog, Joozo.net, LooseHosting, PictureStorer.com, and Whatsmypagerank.net & Whatsmypagerank.org. They’re a mixture of domains, developed sites, blogs and forums, and opened but pretty much undeveloped websites.

Any person who wishes to make a reasonable offer before they are listed for public sale shortly should contact me ASAP. Bear in mind I want quick sales, so sensible offers please!

Had a spare half hour this evening, so knocked up a quick (I mean quick!) website for the domain: www.aarondonohoe.com that I registered a while ago for use as an online portfolio, and maybe a blog…

Has a Web 2.0 header, and buttons I roped together in Photoshop. I suppose it will do for the time being. Comments welcome!