You may be wondering, a year later after Sean dropped that video. Should I get it if I want to vlog with it?

Watch the video to hear what I think about it and how I got my hands on one of these for about $100 less than regular retail price.

The company I got it from is eGlobal Central. Some people have had less than stellar experiences with them, but my experience was flawless and my friend’s also.

A couple of friends have spent over $ 4,000 with them in various electronics and gadgets without a problem. But the general recommendation is to use Paypal or a good credit card so you have buyers’ protection just in case something goes wrong.

My camera took about 12 days to arrive. I expected that it would take two weeks so 12 days was just about right. 

If you are skeptical of using eGlobal Central, I understand and I don't blame you. I have found this same camera in Amazon for a little cheaper than retail, check it out here for the latest price.

Here's the video: Canon EOS 800D or Rebel 7ti as a Vlogging Camera 

The post About my New New Vlogging Camera, the EOS 800D AKA Rebel T7i appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

I took the kids after school one day to see what was up with them since I hadn't been there in a year, maybe two.

This is what happened during this new #foodieadventure.

There's a reason I haven't been to Bruxie in a while. Or rather, several reasons, only one of those reasons has changed now.

A few years ago Bruxie started to change. I'm not sure if they went through some growing pains, but the quality of the food went down, prices went up and the part that made Bruxie awesome kinda lost its appeal.

I can't quite pinpoint what appeal I'm referring to, but it was gone.

This time around, the food was amazing. I ordered the B.A.M.F. and got the kids some chicken tenders with Bruxie's waffle fries. Check out how everything turned out in the video.

The thing that changed was the quality of the food. I only have tried the B.A.M.F. and what they were serving at Taste of Huntington Beach the other day.

But I can say that the taste and quality are back, that's undisputable. The price, still a problem. Maybe it's just part of growing up, but $30 for 1 "grown-up" meal and one "side order" seems steep.

The post The B.A.M.F. appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

This place was a total surprise for me. Marcie, one of my #ocfoodies friend said it was good, but I didn't expect it to be this good, I got caught up in the food so much I forgot to take pictures and b-roll.

I still managed to make a video so that's what is here today, check it out below the review.

My review of Mai Thai.

I was in a bit of a rush so I didn't get to take it all in. With that said, I thought this was the best Thai food I've had in a long time.

In my own personal best of the best restaurant battles, Mai Thai is a contender for the number one spot for Thai food in Orange County.

Someone asked me where the best Thai food is around here, and I had a tough time picking between Mai Thai and Vientiane Lao Thai in Westminster. I haven't reviewed Vientiane on the blog or video yet, but it's really good.

So it's a tough call, but we can also say that they are both #1 in their own style.

Mai Thai is traditionally Thai as far as I can tell, while Vientiane Lao Thai has a lot of Laos influence and may even be considered more Laos than Thai.

But if we start getting into that level of detail, we have to bring in the Malaysian influence and then the Chinese influence in Thai food, so for now, we'll leave it at that.

Plus you'll easily see and find out I have no idea what I'm talking about.  So there, both are number 1.

If you had asked me the same question, where is the best Thai food in Orange County? just a day before I tried Mai Thai, I would have known the answer right away.

Now I would have to really think about it, Mai Thai is up there, waiting for me to try a few more dishes before I declare it a winner.

Now back to Mai Thai's food.

Oh yeah, you'll find Mai Thai in Fountain Valley, two minutes from the Brookhurst exit off the 405 freeway.  (map link).

I ordered beef Panang curry and the Tom Kha Gai soup (coconut soup with chicken). I think that these are considered some of the most popular Thai dishes besides Pad Thai. Photos by @MarcieTaylor.

The curry was just pungent enough and not oversalted. It's easy to oversalt it but they nailed the flavor perfectly. I ordered it medium spicy, or "level 4-5" and it was hot but edible. Left just a tingle of spiciness on my lips.

The soup was outstanding and I'd go back for more in a heartbeat. Tangy and lemony, --I thought I was making up the word lemony, but apparently not. Grammarly says it's a word.-- with enough sweetness from the coconut milk and enough spiciness to keep you in check.

Another item that won my heart over was the little egg rolls. They came in the appetizer sampler dish, and they were just amazing.

I can't believe I'm raving about eggrolls, but they were delicious. The filling wasn't just mushy overcooked "stuff" and it had a perfectly seasoned garlic-infused medley of veggies and bean sprouts. I wanted more!

I will definitely be back for more soon. While I think that Thai Avenue has the best pad thai I've had, Mai Thai has the best overall Thai food I think so I recommend you definitely check it out.

Mai Thai in Fountain Valley

The post Mai Thai Review – Thai in Fountain Valley appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

I live in Southern California, probably one of the most mild-weathered areas I have ever lived in. We have summer and summer lite. We think it's freezing when temperatures drop to or below 65 F (18 C). So I don't often think about thermal socks or thermal underwear unless I'm going to Seattle, or Vancouver. I wear sandals pretty much 300 days out of the year.

When I first got the package of socks, I thought, I would just put them into the pile of stuff that I receive unsolicited and never makes it onto the blog. But I was pleasantly surprised when I tried them on. Heat Holders sent me a really nice surprise package of thermal socks.

Perfect for Father's day, and they also thought about what's coming up, July 4th. So they sent me 3 pairs of socks: a plain black pair, a woodland-camouflage pair, and a U.S. Flag pair.

These are amazing. And I never thought I would be excited to tell you, in between jokes and trying to figure out why I got the socks, I decided to try them on. I started with the black pair because those were the "lightest" of the three.

I have worn them now almost every night just to hang around the house. When I first tried them on, I thought they were so cool, that I made my wife and mom try them on as well (see video). My mom turned from scoffing and ridiculing the thought of using these where we live to thinking they would be great to use inside the house just to walk around.

heat-holders-2 heat-holders-1 heat-holders-3

My wife really liked them too, but she immediately pointed out that they might be hard to take care of. I agree with that to some degree, these aren't your normal socks and I have been washing them with cold water by hand and then letting them air dry. I would recommend you do the same when you get them.

I never knew there was a rating for these kind of things but apparently these have the highest TOG rating in the market. I liked the medium weight ones (black) because they keep my feet warm but not hot. And walking on them feels like you're walking on a cloud.

I have only bought thermal socks to go camping or to really cold areas, but these are by far the best I've tried.

The prices are about $20 per pair. You can get Heat Holders directly from them, or at another retailer. I'm willing to bet that Amazon's prices are pretty good.

Frankly I wish I would have gotten the longer kind. But you don't look at a gift horse in the mouth! But, I've never been a fan of socks that go half way up to my calf. I like short socks that stay within my my ankle or the longer ones that go up to my knees, like soccer socks.

Thank you Heat Holders for sending them, and if you're reading this, feel free to send me longer socks or some of those slipper socks too.

For all my readers, thanks for checking this out and let me know if you have tried these and or if you would be interested in getting some. Maybe if I show some interest I can get Heat Holders to give a few away to some of my readers.

The post Heat Holders First Looks And Review [video] appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

This is about the Dreamwalker, by Leray. No, this one won't catch on fire. At least it shouldn't because both the battery and the charger are UL certified. And contrary to popular belief, not all hoverboards are created equal.

If you want to get your own, avoid the cheap knock-offs. This one costs about $450 - $570, depending on where you buy it. Amazon has them for $399 on sale from $579 (see link at the bottom). No coupon needed.

So Leray sent me one of their Dreamwalkers and this is what happened. I was hesitant to use it at first because I didn't want to scratch it or damage it. It took me a few days to get some time to try it out.

I also had seen many people on Youtube, and they totally ate it. They jumped on these things like "Hey, I got this!" and before you know it they were on their ass, those falls look painful. Most of them look like they hurt their hips or back and I didn't want to be another one of those.

I thought... what is the safest way to try the hoverboard for the first time? Someone suggested to try it on the carpet. I don't have carpet at home so that wouldn't work.

The best place to try the scooter for the first time

The best way to learn is to try it on the soft rubbery floor at a playground. That's what I did. It worked out perfectly because the rubberized surface gives the scooter great grip so it won't slip from under you and if you happen to fall, the soft ground will soften the fall.

Anyway, enough of me writing about this. Let's get to the video

Review & Commentary

My thoughts on the whole thing are like this. It is a lot of fun to ride it and to use it. The battery lasts a really long time considering how small the device is. And it takes just over one hour to charge fully.

It comes with a nice carrying case, a manual and the charger. You can fit the scooter in the carrying case along with the charger so it's pretty convenient.

The Dreamwalker's construction feels really solid, but if you end up going really fast like I did and have to bail then it might roll and crash into a curb. Don't be like me. Mine has two cracks on the body because it hit the curb pretty hard; I'm surprised it still works.

I have been taking the Dreamwalker out when I "walk" my dog Picasso (the dog), he loves it because we can go pretty fast. I have taken it out all the way to Starbucks a few mornings which is like a 3 or 4-mile round trip.

I even took it to go to the grocery store with the kids pushing a double BOB stroller with them, that was fun. At the store, I just put the hoverboard in the basket under the stroller while I did some shopping. It worked out great. I wouldn't ride it in the store, that's just too risky.

The secret tip! When you get your own, there's something that is not in the manual, the hoverboard has two modes. Normal mode and "secret" mode. I discovered this by looking around on Youtube.

To activate the secret mode, turn it on, then press the power button again quickly, this puts it into an "easy" mode; you'll hear a long beep if you. This secret mode makes the hoverboard a little slower to turn, this is great if you want to go fast but don't want to get the "wobbles" I just wish this was stated in the manual. I could have used this knowledge before I crashed mine into the curb!

Do I recommend you get one?

Absolutely! They're fun and they're a carbon-free way of getting around for short trips. But make sure you practice for a while before you go out on a long adventure. It took me about 20 - 30 minutes of riding time to get the hang of it.

Some people think that it would be good for them because they have bad knees, but I don't think that's the case because the scooter does not have any suspension so any little bump or crack on the road gets transferred to your knees.

Keeping balance on this is a bit of a workout so that's another advantage. If I ride for about an hour when I get off, I can feel my legs, my abs and my lower back like if I had done a moderate workout. Keeping balance and dealing with uneven surfaces is a lot more of a workout than you would think.

If you want to get one or check them out, here are the links:

** Notice, Amazon has pulled these off the shelves so the links above don't work at the moment. However, If you want to check out other hoverboard options, the research team at Reviews.com personally tested and compared seven top models on the market and created this guide: https://www.reviews.com/hoverboard/

The Dreamwalker is UL certified and built with high-quality components and higher standards of manufacturing. Currently, Amazon has them for 399.00 (normally $569.00). Don't buy the cheap ones because those are the ones that risk catching on fire because they use cheap components, and are built with poor assembly and manufacturing standards.

White model -
Red/maroon model -
Blue model -
Black model -

As you can see, the one I have is white and I really like it. Thanks Leray for sending this to me. It's awesome!

The post Hoverboard Unboxing and First Ride on the Leray Dreamwalker appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Update, I no longer endorse the Coco Jack, mostly because they broke a deal we had and never paid me the remainder of the money they owed me. It also seems like the company wasn't in good standing in many other regards. However, the links below will take you to explore alternatives that should work just as well.

The easiest way to do it. If you want to get a Coco Jack use coupon "SWEETCOCO" and save some money! You can get the Coco Jack right here, they make excellent additions to anybody's kitchen and great as gifts.

Found coconuts at the store for 1.49! That's a bargain. And to open them I use my Coco Jack... The easiest way to do it.
If you want to get one use coupon "SWEETCOCO" and save some money! Buy the Coco Jack here.

The post Found Coconuts at a Bargain, and I Open Coconuts Easily With This. appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Recently it was very useful when I went to Affiliate Summit because I could just walk around all day and have my phone available at all times. There isn't one single phone out there that can keep up with me right now so I have to continuously charge it. This is why the Anker battery is really great.

I had it in my backpack and had my phone in my pocket. I had a USB cable running from my backpack to my pocket, and that can be a bit unsightly or annoying but this helped me stay powered up all the time. If you like to do live tweeting, instagram, checking in, getting GPS directions and other power hungry tasks, then I would check this out.

I talk about some of the other benefits in the video so check it out.

Some of the features and highlights of this battery include:

• 2 USB charging ports
• 1 USB Smart port
• 20,000 mAh
• LCD display for current charging status and remaining capacity
• Slim & sturdy aluminum case

My favorite thing is that I can charge this once and it will charge my phone up to around 5 times. You can also charge 3 different devices at once, like your phone, your friend's phone and an iPad and you'll still have quite a bit of battery left over for later.

Anker has quickly become one of the leaders in these types of batteries so check them out. You can find this specific battery here: Anker® 2nd Gen Astro Pro2

The post Anker® 2nd Gen Astro Pro2 Video Review appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Similar to the process I went through with affiliate marketing, I've come to the point where I not only setup podcasts for people on a regular basis, but I think it's time for me to have my own.

I've been playing a little bit around with podcasting for myself over the past couple years. I recorded podcasts for a few blogposts in the past. Now I even got an upgraded microphone.

So as I get more and more into this, I think I'm going to share with you my adventures, findings, tips and tutorials about podcasting so that your journey can be less treacherous than mine was.

Podcast or Broadcast?

One quick tip I wanted to share with you today was about broadcasting. A podcast is a static file that has been recorded in advance before you hear it. But a broadcast is more like a live radio show.

We could get into semantics and long discussions about jargon and specific definitions, but loosely a podcast is saved and you can hear it later. A broadcast is live and you must tune-in to hear it.

So what if you want to do a broadcast on a schedule, and then turn into a podcast? There are a few ways of doing that, but the one I just found recently is probably the easiest I've ever encountered.

Enter Mixlr. Mixlr is by far the easiest way I've found to broadcast sound live. AND they solve the other part of it where you can turn that live broadcast into a podcast for it to be available later on. In fact you could download the recording and then use it as you see fit.

Mixlr was painless to join and setup and start using. I was broadcasting before I realized. The installation, setup and configuration went without a single issue. Installation was simple, straight forward and it just worked.

You get a small little widget on your computer where you can control when you record and when you're offline. To start broadcasting, you simply hit the button and you're live!

Mixlr also gives you a website widget so your visitors to your website can see if you're broadcasting live right now and join it. Once they join a live broadcast, they can interact with you and the little app running on your computer will help you with that.

Mixlr has 3 options right now, the basic, the premium and the pro. You can look at the pricing details here. Compared to other systems out there, these prices are a steal.

I ran into this because I was updating Garage Band, and while waiting for the download and installation I found that Apple removed the podcasting capabilities from Garage Band. A horrible dumb move if you ask me, but then I thought what else are people using?

Somebody in the conversation threads mentioned his setup and he said that he took his "Mixlr" files and turned them into a podcast... so I looked it up and found it. And really it is amazing. This is what I tweeted out to the Mixlr guys.

OMG. @Mixlr. Gamechanger. Brilliant. Classy. Awesome #UX and #UI I think I'm in Love.

— Oscar Gonzalez (@notagrouch) March 29, 2014

So if you're interested in this, give it a try. Start free and then upgrade to one of the paid plans if you find that the limits on the free account are too limiting for you. And don't forget that for your online business, being in the right locations can mean the difference between getting by and crushing it. (And yes, I think you should get into podcasting).

The post Setting up a Podcast? Take a look at Mixlr appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Over time I've learned to appreciate coffee a little more and I now drink it straight black sometimes. I also developed a taste for better coffee. I have tried an espresso and cappuccino in Rome (nothing out of this world). I have tried colombian, costa rican, african and even cat poop coffee. I recon most people don't know good coffee, and like beer and wine, each person's palette is different.

But one thing that I find consistent with coffee drinkers that know their coffee is their appreciation for cold brewed coffee. I didn't know much about cold brewed coffee until about four or five years ago where I saw a blogpost teaching you how to make cold brewed coffee in your hotel room when you're traveling.

Check out the video too:

I have been trying different cold brewed concoctions ever since and most of the commercially available products aren't that great. But let me tell you about the one that I found to be nearly perfect.

It's called Diesel Brew and it's made here in Orange County. In fact it's my friend's company and after hearing all these good things about it for about a year and a half I got my hands on a few bottles of this keep me up till dawn concoction.

I expected it to be a bit rough and I was ready to add sugar to it, but to my pleasant surprise it was so smooth, it doesn't need anything. It also isn't concentrate which is nice because you open it up and it's ready to drink, no mixing, no diluting, no mess.

The bottle is also pretty cool, the bottle is a can shaped into a beer bottle but this won't get you drunk. It has a bit of a novelty just because of the awesome bottling.

I also want to commend Loren the owner for doing this. Diesel Brew is his baby, a labor of love between him and his brother. It has grown from a couple of cases every once in a while to complete distribution throughout Southern California. And like all good entrepreneurs, Loren does it all to make sure things are running smoothly. You know I love entrepreneurship. I think everyone should try it and if you have a good idea and don't like to work for "the man" or don't want to be tied to an office or 9 to 5 job then starting a business is the best way to do it.

Loren's doing it and let me tell you, he's kicking ass. At any given day, you'll find loren delivering cases of coffee to all the different places that carry this amazing drink. And if you aren't in southern California, a quick call or visit to the Diesel Brew website will set you up with a case.

The post Diesel Brew, Smooth Cold Brewed Coffee for the Masses appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Fast forward to today and you'll see gourmet burger joints popping up all over the place. McDonalds, Burger King and other icons of burgerdom are vanishing in exhange for higher quality and even hipster spots. Unfortunately, like most fads and trends, most of these new places are just fancy names dressed with fancy ideas but poor execution.

But when you find a good burger joint, it's like finding gold.

Such is the case with Peter's Gourmade in Tustin. I went to it a couple years back for the first time because someone told me I should try their greek fries and burgers. They were good and the burger was good too but for whatever reason I never reviewed them. So this is my turn to review this up and coming spot.

I went back recently before my trip to Hawaii to have lunch with my buddy Loren from Diesel Brew, Loren's a local guy but when he told me he had never tried this place, we stopped debating where we should eat,  this was it. I asked him after lunch if he had liked it and he said it was a great burger.

Peter's Gourmade has expanded, but something that remains true is their menu and quality. I was pleasantly reminded of how good their burgers are. I have to admit that I prefer my burger a little more seasoned but I'm picky to a fault. In a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate their burger at a high 7.

I ordered The Hermanator ($7.50)which is described in their menu as follows: All-Beef angus patty served on a toasted potato bun with bacon, pepper jack cheese, chipotle mayo, jalapeños, and lettuce. I went with this because I wanted their spiciest option. Unfortunately, this is not spicy enough for me. It was well made, and had a bit of a kick, and the flavor is great but if you're expecting something that will kick you hard, they will have to kick it up a notch.

I added a fried egg on top ($1.00) and it ended up looking like the picture below. Forgive the lackluster picture but I got so carried away chatting with my buddy that I started eating this before I took a picture so I had to re-wrap it and put it back for a shot that didn't show a big piece of the burger missing.

And it looks like this:

The hermanator name comes from the head chef and as I've been told, his name is Herman so it makes perfect sense. The price tip toes on the high end for a burger like this, but the quality of the meat and the made-to-order service would fetch closer to $10 at most other locations in Orange County so it's perfectly reasonable. Adding fries, the egg and a drink put our lunch at a little over $24 for two people. Not bad!

I'm not a huge fan of the shredded lettuce approach, but it works fine in this case, I also wish the yolk on the egg hadn't been throughly cooked; you always want a little runny yolk if you get an egg on your burger. I must admit that Red Robbin's Royal Burger turned me onto the whole egg on top thing and they always do it perfectly, but I can't judge this burger based on this minor flaw because it doesn't normally come with the egg.

I love their new redecorated and expanded location. It feels fresh and well kept and comfortable. The location isn't new, they just took over the shop next door but now they almost doubled their seating capacity so even when you come for lunch at rush hour, you'll have a good chance of getting a seat. We arrived just before the lunch rush and by the time we were finished with our food, the line was out the door and around the corner. All these people can't be wrong so if you want a good burger for a great value then go check them out.

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You'll find Peter's Gourmade easily off the 55 freeway at the McFadden exit. Don't let the surrounding area discourage you, this is a gem you find in a rough spot.  I am almost sarcastic when I say rough spot; I mean, it is south Tustin which is not bad at all if you compare it to a rough spot in South LA. I recommend you beat the rush so you can find a parking spot. When it comes to the location, this is their weakness, there is only a small parking lot that is shared with another half-dozen businesses so it can be tough to find a spot.

Rumor has it that they are looking to expand and if my wishes came true they'd open up a location in Irvine or Irvine/Costa Mesa border because that's where I want to go when I eat so I can meet up with my friends and colleagues. And we all love a good burger.

The post Checking out the Hermanator Burger at Peter’s Gourmade appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

We decided to visit Marché Moderne for lunch. I've heard about it before and I was excited to try it out. Marché Moderne is tucked away in The Penthouse of South Coast Plaza.

It's on the 3rd floor near Canali and Norstrom. If you take the elevator you'll exit and the bistro will be on your left. If you come up the escalator then it's on the right.

Let me get the little things out of the way.

The service is good, but a little lacking in details. I had to ask for water no-ice maybe six different times after I got iced-water with each refill. That got really annoying after, say the 2nd time. Other spots can get away with little details like that. Places like Marché Moderne can't.

There's also something peculiar about this place. Some of the tables are split into a bench seat and chair seating. It turns out that the chairs are about 2 inches shorter than the bench AND the cushions sink all the way to the bottom of the chair. This makes it very awkward to sit. I felt like I was about to kick up my feet with a soda and watch a movie.

I'm not super tall, but I'm not short either. 5"9 and I had to bend my elbows and shoulders in a very awkward position to be comfortable. I commented about this to the waiter and he said, "oh yes, we have cushions for that."

WTF

I look around and I could tell other people were not very comfortable, one couple near us commented about this as well. Here's the thing, if you know that people tend to be uncomfortable so much so that you have a stock pile of cushions in the back to tend to this problem. you're doing something wrong. Time to replace the chairs or re-upholster them or whatever you need to do.

Not only did I feel embarrassed asking for the cushion, but c'mon when you're serving lunch dishes for $44 a pop, in one of the world class malls, you can't let little details like this sneak by you.

With that out of the way, I must tell you that the food was absolutely yummy.

Yes, I just did use that word. You can see why here. In all seriousness, the food was delicious and prepared perfectly.

The server was very nice and described us the menu additions and specials. Everything sounded amazing but all three of us opted for the Prix Fixe, dubbed the Spontané menu.

With the fixed price menu, you get one of two starters, one of two main dishes and the dessert. I got the chicken and so did John, but Marc went with the Trout that wants to be a salmon; it's halloween after all so why not.

The chicken was nothing short of amazing. It was perfectly cooked completely but still remained as moist as it should be. The wine reduction was in point and you could get a hint of the garlic. The mushrooms were cooked perfectly as well, if you do cremini incorrectly you end up with rubbery mushrooms or a mush, but not here.

Despite being a fancy restaurant, the onions and fresh greens kept some of the rustic roots of the dish. To top it off, the chicken was served with an delicious hand-rolled spaghetti. I know people make noodles by hand. I've made udon, regular flat pasta and even regular spaghetti at home with a rolling pin and a machine. But to roll it by hand and have it come out this perfect, well that's why you pay the prices you pay here.

Marc got the trout and by all comments it was also delicious. I didn't try it but it looked really good, here it is.

Doesn't that look appetizing? To finish off the meal we got the dessert. I wondered why a french bistro would be serving an italian dessert, but I went with it. Turns out it was very unique. It tasted like pana cotta nd it had the classic sweet but subtle flavor with the creamy consistency but it didn't feel like pana cotta. Call it what you will, but it a perfect way of closing down the meal.

Ended up pairing that with a cappuccino so I could finish off friday with a bang. Another perfect item, the cappuccino was done right with the right amount of foam, perfect temperature and served with rustic sugar cubes. Classy.

Overall, this place deserves a five star rating. Service was attentive, friendly and professional. The food was, beautifully prepared, seasoned and cooked to perfection and at $25.00 for the fixed price this was a bargain. I can't speak for the $30+ lunch dishes but everyone around me seemed to be enjoying their food and ambiance so it must be good.

The post Marché Moderne Prix Fixe Review appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

The one I had before had the other configuration where there are two longer sections that do the shaving instead of 3 separate heads. Like the one on this picture, except without that squiggly middle part. I just can't find a picture of the one I had.

So while at Costco the other day I saw this on the shelf and looked it up on my phone and it showed that it retails for over $100 at some places. Sometimes for $110 or more. So when I saw it for $89.99 I thought it was a bargain so I got it.

Amazon usually has it at a great price, $78 last time I checked, you can check here now.

Well, it's cheap for a reason. I now found it online elsewhere for less than that too. I haven't read any reviews yet. I wanted to write this review solely on my experience. So I pretty much found this to be a good deal on Costco, bought it and now I'm telling you how it went. I did not check ratings, reviews or anything prior to purchase.

Hopefully you don't make that mistake.

The price is ok on sale, but it could be better. I definitely would not buy it at full retail price. I would gladly buy this for $35 and at that price many of my complaints would probably go away.

Even then, I think I paid that much for my previous one which I really liked. I would still be using that one if I could find it.

I know I sound like a crabby old man saying that the "older one was better." but really it was. So before you purchase this, make sure you research your options. I am sure now that at this price point, there are way better options out there. I'll be returning this item as soon as I can and will buy a different one.

About the only thing that I liked about this shaver is the handle. The grip and the shape of it is nice and it feels good on your hand. The rest kind of sucks. The razor is pretty big, but yet the battery only lasts about 2 shaves, maybe 2.5 shaves.

It does a poor job of shaving if your face is dry. One of the things I like about electric razors is that you can shave on the go, you can walk and shave, or drive and shave. With this razor, forget about that. It really doesn't glide on your skin at all if it's dry.

I tried, dry skin, freshly washed skin, lightly moist skin, and it doesn't work well under any of those scenarios.

I then tried it in the shower under the water and it was a little bit better, but even with water, the shaving wasn't that great. The shaver still gets stuck as you try to shave and it leaves a lot of uncut hair behind. It takes quite a few passes for this to get them all.

The only way this shaver works is if you wet your face and then lather it up with a foam or soap. If the electric razor can glide like soap can make it glide then it works okay. It's even fast at shaving but that's the only way that I got it to perform well.

You know, the instructions say that your skin needs to adjust to a new shaving style so to try it for a while, but I've tried it now for about 10 days and it just isn't cutting it for me, pun intended.

I'm not sure if this is a design flaw specific to this model or if this triple head design is the problem. I see a lot of manufacturers have a similar design so they can't all be this bad. Does that mean that Philips is to blame here? I really didn't think I would get such poor quality form such a good brand name like Philips.

The last thing worth mentioning, and I feel like it's the final nail in the coffin is the battery life. It feels like it doesn't last a long time. It doesn't take a long time to charge to fully charged state. The problem is that after a few minutes of usage it feels tired.

Also in their little guide, it talks about a 5-minute shave, and that's cool and all but it takes like 5 minutes to charge for a 5 minute shave. The problem is that the five minute shave is really about three and a half or so. After that, the device feels tired and it doesn't feel like it cuts anymore.

And going back to the full charge scenario, If you shave twice, you'll really feel it slacking towards the end of the second shave. With such a bulky design you'd think the battery would last a while but sadly it doesn't.

Maybe I got it al wrong. I haven't used an electric razor to shave in about 4 years. When I lost my old one I just moved back to blades. It was recently that I decided to get one of these. As for me and this model, we will be parting ways soon and I'll be looking for something better.

At $89.00 or even $84, this isn't worth it.

Summary:

• MSRP is way too much. Anything over $35 or $40 for a razor like this is too much.
• Nice grip and handle design. It holds nicely.
• Poor battery life, 2 shaves at most before it starts "chugging along"
• Does not glide on your skin at all. Pretty much requires water and lubricant to get the job done.

The post Philips Norelco AT880 Aquatec PowerTouch Review appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

I got a chance to use a much better headset for a while. The Logitech Gaming Headset G330. The sound comparison between my first headset and this Logitech one was like night and day. Clearly I had been missing out. So here it is, the Blue Yeti USB Microphone Review.

I realized that if I wanted to produce better videos and really put out a good podcast this year I would need a good quality microphone. So this is what I ended up buying and I'll tell you about it.

Blue Yeti USB Microphone Review

After a some searching and deliberating, and about a week of reading specs, reviews, and searching for pricing I decided to get the Blue Yeti USB Microphone.

Here are my initial thoughts on the Blue Yeti. And it's just been about 12 hours since I started using it. Later part of the review was completed after using the microphone for about a week or more.

Blue Yeti USB Microphone Review & Sound Comparison Video

If you just listen to my older videos and then listen to some of the new videos I'm putting out, you'll notice a big difference. But to be sure, here's a video I made to go with this review. It gives you an overall look at the microphone and I switch back and forth between two different sources so you can hear the difference.

Let me explain why I needed this

I need a professional sound when recording podcasts and videos for youtube. I needed reliability over portability and I wanted the device to be versatile so I could use it for podcasting, interviews, or group interviews. You see, some people are witty, some people are pretty, some people just have charisma so their videos come out great even without trying.

For the rest of us, I found that The Yeti had the best mix of quality & price. My Blue Yeti USB Microphone Review isn't the first one. This microphone has many reviews and many are positive so I knew this would be a good purchase but I didn't realize it would be so good. But it is this same reason that made me write this review and share this microphone with you.

In case you didn't know,one of the most important aspects of your videos is the audio; the sound quality of your recording should be the best you can come up with. The Blue Yeti recordings I heard online sounded really good in comparison to other mics in the same price range.

To be fair, my review isn't a comparison based review since I did not personally test the other devices, but I thought this was all I needed and I think I was right. And I had the same way to judge all the products available. Pictures, videos, recordings and testimonials.

The Yeti offers very simple operation (I'm not a sound guy), but it gives me four modes that will produce different type of recordings. These are ideal for most situations. Exactly what I need to make my content better and my job easier.

So what about my budget?

At just under $100 this USB microphone promised all that I needed at a price that wouldn't empty my wallet. My budget was $100 from a gift card from Christmas, and about $15 I had leftover in my Amazon account. Really, my budget was zero, but I had that that gift card to use. Thanks Mom! Amazon had the best price anyway, check it out there.

For all intents and purposes the microphone was free for me. So even better right?! Unless you're lucky like that, you'll probably find the best price here.

I didn't expect this for another 5 days, so Amazon wins with early delivery for free shipping which usually takes 3 - 4 days, sometimes up to 7. This was here in 2 days.

Getting down to business.

The microphone isn't exactly portable and I'll tell you the one bad thing about it so far. It's minimal but it's one of those "bummer" things that I wish someone had told me before. And so here is your heads-up if you decide you should buy this microphone.

The unit is very heavy, which is a good thing in most situations, but when you're adjusting it you will loosen the knobs on either side of the microphone, or maybe just one side.

Be careful when you do this because if the microphone is tilted a little bit away from  you then it can easily "drop" past the upright position and it will hit its base. Because the microphone is quite heavy, if you're not careful you could end up like I did, where the microphone tipped over, and hit the base hard enough to chip it just a little bit.

And it just so happens that the shiny ring around the microphone, as seen in these pictures perfectly lines up with the base at the point of impact in the most inconvenient spot to make contact.

That's about the only negative thing I would be able to say about the microphone. Well, that's not true, I wish that Blue would offer a case made for this microphone. I couldn't find one. So I repack it into its original box whenever I am going to take it with me. That's okay but a nice case would have put this over the top even if the case added $20 - $30 to the price.

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After a Week

I've now been using it for about a week and I still really like this microphone. Over all, I would say that my Blue Yeti USB Microphone Review is a positive one.

Here are some of the features of the device:

• Tri-capsule array - 3 condenser capsules can record almost any situation
• Multiple pattern selection - cardioid, bidirectional, omnidirectional & stereo
• Gain control, mute button, zero-latency headphone output
• Perfect for vocals, musical instruments, podcasting, voiceovers, interviews, field recordings, conference calls
• Plug 'n play - Mac and PC compatible

So I can tell you that the 3 condenser capsules means nothing to me. I have no idea what that really means in terms of the components of a microphone, but I can tell you that this design that they claim as a great feature is part of why you get such high quality sound with this mic.

All the other features are nice, and I didn't realize how much I would use the monitor headphone feature. This is where you plug in a normal set of headphones, like from your phone or ipad or whatever into the output of the microphone and you'll be able to hear yourself as you record. It's not that I like to hear myself speak, but in this case I do.

All in all I would recommend that you look at this microphone if you need something better than what you have right now. If you have more than $250 to spend, then maybe another mic would be good but if your budget is around $100 and you aren't looking for light-weight device, then this might be perfect for you.

The post Blue Yeti USB Microphone Review & Comments appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Here's the video from that day.

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The purists of social media will tell you this and that about organic growth, and relationship building, and puppies rainbows and unicorns. But the reality is that you can yap away in Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all day long and get hundreds of people to visit your site. Unfortunately these will be (most likely) the wrong people.

Building a relationship is nice, but it doesn't mean that you'll achieve your goal with that relationship. It is better to attract the right people with whom  you want to build a relationship with. Doesn't that make sense?

SEO is about getting the right people to your site, and the right people are those that are uniquely interested in your content, in your story, in what you have to say. SEO is about getting the right kind of traffic to your site, the kind of traffic that converts. You think your friends and family in Facebook will care about your latest product? Maybe. Will they buy it? Not likely.

This is a Review for

But, there are thousands of people that are looking for what you've got. The trick is letting Google know that you have the answer to those people's problems. You have the information to answer their questions. That you are a valuable resource worth of brining up to the front page.

So what's a blogger to do?

You can spend hours in your Google Analytics and Google Webmaster tools, researching, segmenting and creating goals and whatever else you want. That's good, learn how statistics work, learn how Google indexes your site. That's good, but it's also time consuming, tedious at times, and most often it is not what you want to be doing.

As a blogger, you want to blog. So my advice is to do that. Blog. Blog for you and your audience. Don't worry too much about keywords and keyword density and all that stuff. Instead, write. Write often, write well, but just write.

Then let technology step in for you.

After you've written a few articles or blogposts, you can then take a look at how they're doing. But there's a better way than Google analytics and Google webmaster tools. Well, let me rephrase that, there's a simpler and quicker way. That is HitTail.

How did I find HitTail?

I was hanging out at the masquerade party for Affiliate Summit with John Chow and Syed Balkhi and they kept talking about their long tail. LOL, and not that kind of tail. They were talking about their longtail keywords. It was all SEO talk. And they mentioned a tool called HitTail. So I decided to check it out and it turned out to be one of the best tools ever to come across my radar.

But you don't have to go through this trouble, just go to HitTail.com and check it out.

The Lowdown on HitTail.

HitTail is an analytics tool that you can install on your website. Similar to Google Analytics, or Quantcast or other tracking tools. You install it by adding a small piece of code to your site, or if you have a WordPress based website, like the free ones I build then you can use a plugin. The purpose of HitTail is to show you how people are finding your website. This just makes sense to me. Instead of you trying to guess how people are going to search for you, why don't you just let the facts guide you? Let your content sit out there for a little bit and see what kind of things people are typing into Google and leading them to your website. Then, and only then can you truly optimize your keywords.

HitTail is not a free service, but they have a free trial. After the free trial is over, prices range from 9.95 to 79.95 depending on how many websites and how much traffic there is to be analyzed.

The way HitTail works is that when you install it and it starts collecting information about your site, after a couple days you'll be able to login to HitTail and see exactly what terms people used to find your website. Sounds familiar? Maybe a bit like Google Analytics... But this is way better.

I would say that HitTail embraces the utility paradigm of the Unix philosophy and that's why I like it. Write programs that do one thing and do it well. And that is exactly what they do. There are no convoluted funnels and stats and tracking numbers. There are two statistics. The top ten keywords, and the long tail keywords. Technically they also show you total visits per month, total visits up to date, and forecasted visits for the month, but that's it no complicated segments, etc.

So what are long tail keywords anyway?

Generally when you ask someone what their keyword is, they'll tell you a one or two word keyword. Like "chocolate milk", or coffee mugs. These are regular keywords, and millions of people probably search for that everyday, but guess what? these are super competitive, any one 1-word, or 2-word, even 3-word keyword is most likely a very competitive term. These terms will tend to be dominated by bigger websites with a big operating budget to be on the front page of google.

A better way to start ranking for google is to find the long-tail keywords that relate to those main keywords. For example: organic chocolate milk coupon, or left handed coffee mug. Can you see the difference? Many more people will be searching for the first examples I gave, but the long tail keywords are extremely focused. They're also probably easier to target and try to rank for.

The Reveal.

HitTail will tell you that about 70 - 80% of your traffic comes from the long tail keywords searches, so do you think it is worth looking at? Of course it is. It would be nice if you could be on the frontpage of Google for a single term search, like "shoes" but what are the chances that you'll beat Macy's Zappos and Payless shoes anytime soon? Instead, you can beat them at the long tail keywords.

HitTail will help you in two ways. If you write like I suggest, for your audience, then HitTail will show you what keywords your new visitors are typing to find your site. Maybe there's a phrase you use regularly that is attracting new visitors and clicks and you never imagined that this would be the case. So then you know that you should write more articles using that term. Slowly you keep building up the chain to shorter and shorter keywords.

Going back to the shoes example, a natural progression of building your SEO starting with HitTail could be to find that "orthopedic athletic shoes for seniors" is one of your longtail keywords, then as you improve your rankings, you can aim to make "athletic shoes for seniors" the next "shoes for seniors", and then eventually something like "athletic shoes."

This would allow you to eventually rank for both "regular" keywords and also longtail keywords and you could basically dominate your niche.

But you can use it in the opposite direction too.

But the other way that you can use HitTail is in the "negative" way. Perhaps you'll notice that a keyword is being used very often to find you, but in fact it has nothing to do with your content. It could be a phrase you use, or a popular topic, or a popular phrase in a specific community like a country or group of people. But you'll notice that the people coming in for that keyword just don't convert. HitTail will show you the keyword and then you'll have an "aha!" moment and you'll be more conscious not to use that phrase and find the proper keywords instead and use them for your next article. And then of course, you would want to go back and edit those posts or pages that have the attractive, but ineffective keyword.

This last way of using HitTail is how I recommend you look at it at first, when you start blogging. Do not make assumptions, but let the stats and facts tell you what is working and what is not working. When I started using this tool, I was blown away by how many things I'd missed on my own site.

So all this theory is nice, so what?

Well, you can find this information in other tools too, if you know how to use the tools and can manipulate them to do it and if you do it right. But like I said, HitTail is very easy to use. And the best part about it is that it guides you through an actionable process to improve your site. When you see the keywords in the dashboard, you can move the keywords to a "suggestions" section where you can review them in more detail. Once you decide you in fact want to use one of the keywords to help you optimize your site, or your next article, you can move it to your "todo" section. This simple but powerful system allows you to take action and not just look around.

When you come back to your blog to write, you have an action plan and clear list of keywords that you should be focusing on. Now... that's when you focus on keywords and keyword density and synonyms and all that stuff. One cool thing about HitTail that I haven't used yet is that they also have one more service to offer. After you've moved your keyword from "keyword" to suggestion, to "to do", you could actually request the expert SEO writers at HitTail to write an article for you based on that keyword. I like writing myself, but if you need to ramp up your traffic and ranking for a specific keyword, this article writing service could be an excellent tool for you.

In closing...

Don't let all the mumbo jumbo of the SEO world intimidate you, don't let the so called gurus and SEO experts try to swindle you. Educate yourself on how it all works and you'll be better. Then you can hire someone to help if you need it, but chances are that you don't need them. Try HitTail and see how people are finding you, then you can adjust as needed. The pricing is very decent given the fact this tool saves you time and energy like you wouldn't believe.

The post Confused about SEO? Get Hittail – hittail seo review appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Introduction to the site

When you first visit the website, you are immediately presented with a great slideshow of the results of Moving Mountains Design's work. It takes just about 30 seconds to get a great idea of the type of work you can expect from Michelle and her team. The pictures draw you in and set the expectations high!

Effective Site Design

The website is nicely built and the colors and design are appealing but simple enough to keep the focus on the value proposition. Selling your home faster and for more money. After all, that is why you would stage a home. So that you can sell it for the most money and as fast as possible.

If you don't think staging a home works, take a trip to a new housing development and take a tour of the model homes. I would find it hard to believe if the interior decorations don't make you want to buy the home. After that, try to take a tour of a finished un-staged home, you'll notice the difference.

The site is well targeted

Los Angeles and Southern California are very competitive and desirable real estate markets, so making sure your home is staged and ready to attract the highest bid is important. That's something I noticed from the home page at Moving Mountains Design. This is clearly stated above the fold. They take care of preparing and staging your house to sell. Everyone knows Los Angeles, but the site also explains that they focus on specific cities like San Marino, Sherman Oaks, Pasadena and surrounding areas. All of these areas are hot real estate markets so it's nice to know that you can find a trustworthy and reliable home stager for these areas.

But you could just hire any interior decorator right? I guess you could but I believe you'll have better chances of selling your house if you hire professionals that know the area well instead of just being general interior decorators. They'll be able to match the work to the culture and local trends; it's definitely a plus to hire someone that knows the local market!

Functionally the site is pretty great

The website itself is speedy and functional and provides tons of information about the industry and also showcases the lastest work performed in the blog. The services are clearly listed and easy to find. I found that the blog section could use a few changes. At least in my opinion. I prefer when a blogpost has a date and also an author, I think it gives it more credibility. I'm also turned off by large watermarks in what would otherwise be some terrific photography.

A good feature on the site, and one that I would use if I were looking for a company to stage my house is the estimate request. They have a form that allows you to give some very detailed information about your home so that Michelle and her team can get back to you with an accurate estimate. I prefer this approach instead of the usual "call for quote" method because I know that is just going to take forever and I won't get a clear answer.

With the form they have on there I can submit my information and be on my way while they prepare an estimate. The information I can provide is pretty detailed, things like square footage, number of rooms, whether the home will be vacant or not during the selling process, and other pertinent info. This is a plus for me. Unfortunately at the time of testing, the form seems to be broken. The number of bedrooms input field seems to be broken. Hopefully it will be fixed soon, this little glitch prevented me from testing the entire form submission process and makes me wonder if Michelle has lost any business due to this tiny mistake. update: I let Michelle know about the problem and she fixed it!

The site is social, but needs a little work.

This is one of the first sites in real estate where I see social media connections and I think that is great. I also know Michelle on Facebook and I know she uses Facebook and Twitter effectively to showcase her work and talk about her current projects and satisfied customers. There's a few little quirks that I would change if it were my site, but maybe that's just because I'm picky like that. One would be the social media share bar on the left hand side. I tend to dislike those because they float and follow you around on the page and also tend to block out text if your browser window is smaller than these sidebars are designed for.

The Facebook widget that shows you how many people like your page seems to be broken as it displays "Invalid App ID". This isn't too bad, but it should be fixed soon because social proof is important and the more people that like a page on Facebook, the more chances a visitor will find one of their friends in that list of likes, and this builds a little more trust.

Besides this issue, it is nice to have links to Twitter and Youtube, and also to Michelle's Facebook page; but unfortunately the link to Linkedin is broken. I think Youtube could use a little boost in the amount of videos and a little more promotion would probably go a long way.

I know social media is all the rage now, and these little issues should be fixed but with that said, Michelle and her team are easily accessible via their contact form or directly via phone.

Digging deeper.

Digging deeper into the site, you'll find other sections that are very useful and informative. The FAQ section addresses questions about home staging as well as about the process that Moving Mountains design uses to deliver their service. These are all questions that most inquisitive buyers would have so it's nice to have them there without having to call and ask.

A section with a great portfolio lets you check out the work and several before and after examples are available for the different types of services that they offer.

One of the prominent calls to action beckons you with a question that many homeowners will have. Why isn't my house selling? And the three main factors in selling your house are explained on that page, Pricing, Marketing and Presentation. There is also a Home Staging Savings Calculator available which allows you to calculate how much money you would save if you stage your home when it is listed or if you wait until after you have listed it before you stage it.

Michelle's strongest suit and main service is staging and decorating homes to sell, but she also offers other lesser known services. I was surprised when I read about these because I would not have guessed them at all. For example, Color Consultation, Marital Transition Staging, and even Corporate or Commercial staging. Yeah... I did a double-take too, when I read the "marital transition staging" but once you read what this is, it will make perfect sense.

All in all, the site is good but it could use some work, but it is also effective and does the job. For example, the website doesn't provide a responsive design for mobile devices, or a mobile site. Granted, most people doing research to find a home stager are probably at home on their laptops or computer, but nowadays you can't neglect mobile. If it were me, I'd find a more creative way of watermarking the images or not watermark them at all. If someone wants to use your images for nefarious reasons, they're going to do it... very little you can do about it. But in the other hand, if I want to share your images on pinterest, or facebook or even twitter, I usually won't do them if there's a big watermark on them as it will tell my audience: this is solely promoting a product.

If it were my site, I would make sure all the forms work well and flawlessly since this is the main way for people to contact me. Second I would make sure my social links are active and take me to the right spot.

My closing thoughts.

I think overall the website is great. I don't know of a lot of other home stagers or interior decorators that have a website, much less a functional one. I think the key here is that the website delivers exactly what you need when you need it. Information about staging your house and a reliable, trustworthy company to do it for you. If I were to use these types of services I would seriously consider Moving Mountains Designs as my first choice!

The post Website Review – Moving Mountains Design appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

A little bit of history

I found tagger bags through a website where as a blogger, you can write reviews and get paid for doing so. But I felt that I should approach them directly (the website isn't quite working out for me). So I did and I asked them if I could review their product; I thought they looked pretty cool and the concept is pretty neat.

Peter van Veldhoven created Tagger Bags back in 2005 after coming up with a concept that would allow anyone to create a personalized bag quickly. Tagger bags is a company based in the Netherlands and they make customizable messenger bags, and backpacks. Most build your own bag companies take weeks and weeks to finalize the product. Not Tagger! It took about 4 days for me to receive my bag, by any standards, that is fast.

Another aspect of the bags is that the customization is done through their website, so it's easy and quick to do, but the cool part about the custom parts is that much of the art on the bags is unique and custom made for the bags. It's inspired by graffiti artists (hence the name) and the choices of art on the bags is really great. Boring ol' me had to pick one of the simplest designs. Go figure. So let me tell you about my bag.

My Bag

Notice I called it my bag, because this is truly my bag. Even though my choices for the customization weren't that outrageous, it still matches perfectly with me and the colors of the moment. You'll notice is matches my orange theme that I've got going on on my blog and on Twitter. I got the messenger laptop bag because it seemed like the most practical for me (in retrospect I would have liked to get a different one). I don't regret getting this one and it is pretty stylish, but my practical side tells me I should have bought one of the backpack style bags instead. Everyone I've shown it to thinks it's pretty cool and they like it, they want to know where they can get one, but it isn't until I tell them that they can get their own customizations on it that really sparks up their eyes. I gotta say, that customization thing is pretty cool. I wish that they'd let you use your own graphic though. I suppose that would add a significant cost and time delay to the production of the bags and I don't know enough about the market to tell you if people would even use that feature. I know I would but that doesn't mean anything. So what do I like about the bag... or rather what do I not like about the bag?
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The bad

I usually start with the good when I tell people about a product I like and I try to downplay the bad stuff, but in this case I'll give you the downsides first. There aren't many. I could use a few more divisions in the front pocket, or more pockets altogether. The same could be said for the inside of the big compartment. The cover flap covers the majority of the opening of the bag, but there is no zipper or any other kind of closure to keep things from falling off if you were to accidentally flip the bag. The cover and the bottom of the bag are made of very durable tarpaulin, but in my experience, this material tends to develop creases that eventually may crack. This of course hasn't happened yet and I don't expect it to for at least a few years. Not really a bad thing in my book, but I thought I'd mention it.

The good

Durable, this thing is going to last quite a while. The lack of many pockets and compartments actually simplifies the usability and I think will improve the durability. The quality of the materials and craftsmanship is top notch. It's unique and practical. I like having the bag with me when I go to meetups and to hang out at the coffee shop to relax over a cup of coffee, it's actually quite a conversation starter because it is different. Most people haven't seen this before, the choices are so varied that it would be hard to find two identical bags in the same vicinity.

It fits a lot of stuff. Despite my desire to have a few more compartments (mostly for organization), the bag can carry a pretty big payload. When I first got it I tried to stuff it with a few different things and I was surprised at how much I could fit in there. I actually had my 13" air, and two 15" macbook pros and some other things in it and there was still room to spare.
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More details on the features

All the bags that Tagger carries are customizable. The messenger bag: crew has three parts you can customize, the strap, the bottom and the cover. When you build your own bag, you get to pick the various elements that you can customize and each bag has different parts that can be customized. You can do whatever mix and match that you want. You can buy additional components later too so you can customize it for different ocassions. I went with an orange strap and bottom and a matching cover. Turned out pretty cool if you ask me. But of course I would say that... I built it. If you build your own, you'll love it just as much because it's yours.

They also carry accessories, like containers that would fit in the big compartment and iphone and laptop sleeves, these are purchased separately and I did not get any of those.

The previous bag I was using and most of the bags I've had before always have a weak strap. The strap on this bag is pretty damn tough. I'm sure I could use it to climb down a window in case of a fire or something. It reminds me of heavy duty seatbelts. It's thick and will probably outlast everything else about the bag. The bag itself is made of two different materials.

The strap has a quick release lever system that allows you to easily adjust the length of the shoulder strap. It stays locked and secure once you adjust it to you, but you can (with a little effort) re-adjust it at any time. The strap can also be removed altogether if you wanted to, it snaps into place on both sides of the bag. You could for example switch straps. This is something else that is cool, you can buy the different components of the bag separately so you can really have one bag with multiple looks.
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As you open the flap, you'll find a small outer zippered pocket. Big enough to put your cell phone, keys and other small items. This is where I keep business cards, cell phone cables and a couple of pens. Then as you move to the interior of the bag, you'll find a large compartment that is unobstructed by anything. It's a big rectangular space where you can fit books, magazines, binders or other large and bulky items. This is where I put things like my camera bag, power charger for my laptop and my ledger-style notebook that I carry with me everywhere and I could fit even more stuff in there. As you can see in the pictures, there's tons of space.

The last part of the interior is the laptop compartment. It fits my 13 inch Macbook air perfectly and there is a velcro strap to secure it from falling off, remember what I said about stuff spilling out if you were to turn the bag upside down? This little velcro strap will prevent your laptop from coming out accidentally. The padding that protects the laptop is not going to win any safety or ruggedness awards anytime soon, but it's thick enough and soft enough to save your laptop from everyday nicks and scratches and bumps. As long as you're not playing football with the bag, or tossing it across the room into a pile of rocks, your laptop will be pretty safe.
tagger-bag-capacity-o tagger-bag-flap-open-o tagger-bag-flap-o

The wishlist & final verdict

I wish the main compartment was padded a bit too, at least in the bottom, but that's just because I'm weird and sometimes carry two laptops. I also wish there were a couple more pockets in the front and maybe even on the inside. From a consumer point of view, I wish I could find these at a retail outlet so I could browse through colors and flaps before buying them. The online thing is cool, but with a product like this the touch and feel aspect of it would be awesome.

So would I get the same bag again next time? No, I would like to try out some of the other bagalicious bags instead, the Phatpack comes to mind as being more or less what I would want. At their current price point, they are a little bit on the expensive side, but with the durability and uniqueness of the bag, I think the price is justified. So far the customer support has been tremendous and I even got to exchange a few emails with Peter, the founder. That's world class customer service and it's clear that customer satisfaction is at the top of the list for Tagger bags.

Tagger bags are also hip and sleek, and this culture doesn't stop there. The art work is really cutting edge, but also has a general appeal so nobody is left out. They have something for everyone. The website is pretty sleek too and it's easy to use and understand how you can create your personalized bag. Tagger bags has a blog but  can also be found on Twitter, Facebook and there are quite a few videos on Youtube. And of course, you can find them at Taggerbags.com

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The post IM John Chow Review in Video appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

IM John Chow stands for "Internet Marketing John Chow" not "I am John Chow". And it is a turn-key internet marketing course that teaches you how to start a business online and be profitable quickly, or how to make your current online business more profitable. It is a proven, tried and true system that John has been following for a while now. This is the system that allows him to make over 40,000 dollars a month (trust me, it's much more than that nowadays). Update: I made a video review for IM John Chow, you can watch that too if you want.

The program is one of the best I've seen. It is well structured and well planned. Let's take a look at some of the nitty gritty. The best thing about it is that it is a guided, step by step program on how to make money with internet marketing. In contrast to other systems I've tried or used, most systems give you everything at once. The problem with programs that give you all the content at once is that A.D.D. and shinny new object syndrome kick in and you jump from one section to another and then back and forth. Then after a month or two, you still haven't done anything. IMJohnChow.com walks you day by day to complete each task.

Another thing about the program. I'm a web guy and can't help but notice these things, there are two things I noticed from a technical point of view. One is good and one is not so good. First the not so good... The design and layout wont' get John any design awards, the menus aren't "perfect" for example. I just had to point out for example that I personally hate when a menu item folds into two lines... but that's just me. But overall the design and layout aren't bad, and ultimately they give you the information you need in just a click or two (that's a plus).

In the other hand, the good thing. I was very impressed with and it will help when you start going through the lessons, it's the video portion of the lessons. The lessons have a video presentation that will show you all the material for the lessons, but each lesson is broken down into chapters and it's very easy to see what chapter you're in and where you are in the overall program. I thought this was really great and useful so you can really focus on the task and lesson at hand.

All in all, I highly recommend you check out this course. It's peanuts when you think about the amount of information and more importantly, the source of the information you're getting. For $47 bucks you get all the secrets, step by step guidance, videos, presentations, homework lessons and additional resources.  If you want to just check it out, let John tell you more about it, just visit the program right here.

If you want to know more about what I really think about the whole thing, then read on.

About the lessons

Each day you get a new lesson, and each lesson builds upon the previous one so it is easy to follow. Another thing you'll notice right away is that besides the daily lessons for the 90 day program, you have access to additional resources to compliment the lessons and expand your knowledge.

Each of the lessons has a video explaining what the lesson is about and it is followed by a task or series of tasks that are actionable and will keep you on track. Easy to follow and explained completely so there is nothing else you need but to follow the step by step guided instructions.

Here are a couple of examples that you might find interesting and I also explain a few of the sections. I don't think I can give too much of it away without getting in trouble so I'll just pick two days and summarize them for you.

Day 1 Welcome to IM John Chow

You are introduced to the course, the expectations are set and you have a great idea of what you'll be doing for the remainder of the course. You'll be walked through "The Secret" and the biggest mistakes to avoid when getting started. Then you are shown some of the results that John has achieved with these methods. But this section isn't all about what you're getting, this lesson also explains the type of commitment you need to succeed. If you don't have the commitment to stick to the program, you will fail. If you fall into this category, my advice is to stop reading this review and just move along. You MUST have the commitment to follow through, because as John (and any real business owner) will explain, you can't get rich overnight.

Why doesn't John worry about any SEO updates by Google? He'll tell you why. No matter what Google does, John remains unaffected. In fact (this little tidbit is not in the program),  a few years ago John was removed from Google altogether, but his income and traffic increased instead of declining. Can your website do that? You too would be able to survive any Google update if you follow this method.

In day one, you'll also hear of how John has made tons of mistakes over the past 13 years in order to fine-tune his system. Then he teaches you what works. Forget the "gurus" out there, follow the ones that actually achieve the goals set forth. This is why John's system is the system you need. He's done this, time and time again and he is teaching you how to do it yourself.

Day 4. Researching your Niche

Day four is a really interesting day because I've personally always struggled with this. I am able to do this stuff for other people because I'm detached from their products. I get paid to do the reviews and analysis. But when it comes down to my stuff, my emotions and ego get in the way sometimes, so it was good to learn about this from a student's seat.  It's titled "Researching Your Niche" On previous lessons, you picked a niche and learned how your're going to apply the four step formula. But Day 4 is all about researching the quality and type of niche you've selected. This isn't an easy thing to do when you do it by yourself so I'm glad this section is in there. You'll learn about examining your competition and where to find your competition.

Every week I get people pitching me ideas to help them with their website. they tell me how awesome their idea is and how "nobody's" doing it. But then it turns out that they've never done any competitive analysis. This lessons teaches you how to do the competitive analysis so you can set your expectations accordingly and modify your approach so you can succeed.

Additional days that are extremely valuable are days like: Picking your niche, Picking the name for your domain, Setting up an autoresponder and other questions that people always struggle with. These lessons remove the technical problems and walk you step by step on how to get them done so you can move onto the next lesson and begin making money.

Now onto the extra features and information.

The value on the extra information is in the thousands of dollars. If you were to find lessons for all this stuff somewhere else, or hire a teacher, or even join a mastermind group (with proven results) you'd pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars. How do I know? LOL because if you come to me to learn some of those things, I charge you anywhere from 100 to 140 dollars /hour. So trust me when I say that the information in there is absolutely worth its weight on gold. In fact I am a little ticked at John for including so much information for such a low price. If enough people were to look at that stuff, I could actually lose part of my client base. Why would anyone continue to pay me 100/hour when they can get just as good information (on some topics, not all --thankfully!) for $47?

Overview on the Extra Features

Here are the main sections of the program and a quick summary of what to expect on each one.
Daily Action Plan. Each day you get a 5 - 10 minute video packed with information, followed with an actionable homework that should take 30 - 60 minutes to complete on a daily basis.
Success Secret System. A ton of information to enhance the lessons and your experience with the whole program. Absolutely great amount of information to help you if you finish your lesson of the day quickly or you're ready to take it all to the next level.
Knowledge Bank. The knowledge bank has tons of information about building your website, managing your website and working with WordPress. Basics about SEO are also covered as well as a reinforcement of the 4 step formula.
Facebook Empire. The Facebook empire section is awesome too. Social media is a big component of today's interenet marketing systems and John's site explains how to get traffic and leads from Facebook, and also how to use their ads system. Other "Facebook Gurus" sell you just this information for a couple hundred dollars.
Support. The system wouldn't be complete without support. If at any point in time you need assistance, there is a clear way for you to obtain support to get your issue resolved. So far I have not had any issues with the program... but if you did, John and his team is there to help you.

Overall thoughts and closing comments.

While this is simple to follow and to apply, you must be wondering. If it works so well, why is he virtually giving it away? I asked him that question one day a while back. Why do you give away all your tips and tricks and methods? And he said, most of the people simply won't do anything about it. They will make excuses and have ridiculous expectations, like making a 1000 dollars in their 2nd day. But only a few will follow through, so he isn't concerned with competition I also know personally, that the internet is so big, that there is room for everyone. Trust me, this system works. Check it out and stop making excuses.

If you want to check out IM John Chow, visit it here. Stick to it and you'll make money.

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But first, my thoughts on the book... The book is pretty cool, no, it's badass. It was easy to read but it was packed full of life stories, interesting anecdotes, and it's motivational. You think you want to be like Jeremy? You wanna have Millions in the bank, girls bowing down at your feet? How about your own superhero logo in your massive swimming pool? Does that sound like what you want? Well, it wasn't always so and Jeremy tells you in his autobiography. Jeremy's had a tough life. Tougher than yours, tougher than mine. So be careful what you wish for. I'm pretty sure your life is way better than how Jeremy's life was before he decided to change it. It took a lot of time, effort, sweat, blood and tears to get where he is now. So if you're in a tough spot, this book will motivate you because this is the ultimate rags to riches story and you can do it too. If you're life isn't so bad, this will motivate you because you'll realize how easy you have it, and all you have to do is get off your ass, grab your dream and run with it.

Really, that's all there's to it. DO IT. Don't worry about the haters, don't worry about the perceived obstacles. And when you do it, do it your way. Find the angles as Jeremy calls them. The opportunities that nobody else is willing to take. That's what got him where he is right now. But like I said, his story wasn't always like this. Yeah, he makes millions of dollars per year, and is married to a gorgeous woman that is a doctor. He's respected and admired by millions and contracted by some of the biggest companies in the world. So how did he do this, how has he achieved greatness? That's the Shoemoney story.

The book is written in a very very laid-back tone it's almost as if Jeremy's talking directly to you and just telling you the story. Jeremy hasn't won any writing awards and you probably won't ever see him win any. That's not his thing, just like his blog, Jeremy tells stories. And the stories in the book are total page-turners. You will learn how he went from dirt poor, living in his dad's mobile home trailer in the middle of nowhere, and eating cup of noodles just to be able to survive. Then and racking up thousands and thousands of dollars in debt, while dodging gangster bullets. At some point he's so depressed he doesn't even think he's going to make it pass his 30th year. We've all been down in the dumps and it's tough to come back from that. You need a kick in the ass and a motivator to get you off the couch and change your life. But if Jeremy's story isn't motivating to you then one of two things are true. You're an idiot, or you've already been through a similar path and can now sip mai tais on the beach while your empire brings you thousands of dollars an hour. At the very least, you'll think about your life in a deep existencial way.

The story is riveting it's amazing to see how he went from nothing to one of the top marketers people in the world. He makes millions of dollars now doing what he loves and he achieved that because he just simply wanted to do something different. He calls what he does "finding angles" and he walks a very fine line that will question your own morality, ethics and and it was there certain parts of his life were things clicked and prompted him to take action and get office as stop being bummed out about himself and do something better with his life I'm not going to spoil the book because you have to read it but it is worth every page.

Now, you can go out and buy the book right now, you can get it from Amazon on paperback or kindle, or if you have a little bit of patience, I will give away 3 books over the next 2 weeks. You have to complete the requirements in the giveaway below if you want a chance to win the book. I will mail it to you on on my dime, so you don't even pay for shipping.

The giveaway kicks-off today at noon. I'm running it through Rafflecopter so it should be really easy for you to enter. If you want to be notified sign up to the mailing list on the right. Also, winners will be announced via the mailing list so make sure you get on it. You can enter multiple times, each action you take gives you a different number of entries for the giveaway. Not sure how this giveaway works? click here for a short explanation.

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Really, I think this story is good and it is a story of hope and perseverance and all that comes with pursuing what you want to do. You see the artist behind the art at Art of J.A. Tan, J.A. Tan is the name of the artist is very interesting because J.A. Tan suffers from autism. I first met him at an event to raise awareness for Autism and I was impressed with his art. Totally unique and interesting.

The website is of course, WordPress based and it uses mostly off the shelves parts with customization in design and functionality. The website allows the artist or any member of J.A. Tan's team to make updates to the content. One thing to mention is that when we build a website (and you'll know that this review is a bit biased of course...) we bring the best ideas forward and come up with a vision that hopefully captures the imagination and interest of the client.

Such was the case when we built Art of J.A. Tan. We wanted to display the images in a nice browsable manner so we went with a photo driven theme. Specifically geared towards photographers or artists. This allows us to give the visitors a couple of customized views of the images.

The front page is clean cut, mostly dark and this makes the images of the art stand out. Ultimately the colors are nice, although sometimes I think that we may be way past the really dark background. The rest of the site is easy to navigate with the top menu and you can find the most important sections of the website. The Portfolio, information about the artist, Information about Awards J.A. Tan has received and of course a Blog as well.

The Blog itself is active and has become more active in recent months and definitely has some interesting posts and the posts use a great variety of media. Art of J.A. Tan's blog offers interesting and useful information about events, interesting videos, announcements for speaking engagements and other information about the art and J.A. Tan in general. I also think that the blog should be updated more often. perhaps 2 to three times per week.

Here is where the real part of the review comes in. I would spruce up the Blog section a little bit, giving people some other items to interact with on the sidebar. I would also invite other artists to write and contribute to the blog. I think the combination of art and autism is a great way to celebrate life and also bring awareness to autism. Another way to expand the blog and reach more people would be to institute a mailing list on the side bar and implement a plan to establish a personal relationship with those that subscribe.

For art or for medical reasons, the people that subscribe to a mailing list like this are very targeted. They're interested in very specific art in this case, or they're interested in knowing more about autism. Both of those groups can really bring some nice traffic and opportunities to build community, sell art, bring people together and gaining more notoriety. Ultimately all of these could be individual goals for this website and J.A. Tan's team can certainly tackle them one at a time while improving the overall quantity of content.

Another thing we see with this website. And this was presented as an option (again... insider's information, hehe.), that is to have the art that is official be sold in the eCommerce section. Well, you wonder, what eCommerce section? Did you see one while browsing through J.A. Tan's website? I don't think you did. That's because there isn't one. If you ask me. 9 out of 10 times I will suggest you have a shopping cart selling your own products. It doesn't make sense not to. However, people have their reasons not to sell online and I respect them.

I like to do complete reviews and so that's why I brought attention to this. Perhaps if you comment on this post we can show Marcie, J.A. Tan and their team that it would be a good idea to setup a webstore in their site. I'm starting to work with a lot of artists, and I think for the first time in history, Any artist can make money of their art.

It is inexpensive to list your art on a website. There are many services that will take care of the whole thing for you and all you have to do is upload the images. They take care of prints, framing, shipping & handling, you can even make merchandise.

Many artists (and I'm not saying this is the reason in this case) believe that by selling their art online, they become less desirable. As if they were sell outs or somehow had cheapened their brand. Fact of the matter is that despite this tremendous growth in social media activity, we still lack content. We want new stuff, fresh art. I would always say that you should let the market decide if the market is interested, but never dismiss such an opportunity because you feel it will damage your brand or lessen the value of your art. Any artist can make a decent living if their work is good, which it is in this case. Remember folks, we have over 2 BILLION people online and that number is growing. Chances are somewhere there is somebody that is looking exactly for what you are making. Sell it to them!

I once asked John Chow, so if I had to do one thing to become rich in the internet. What would you tell people to do? Without hesitation and almost as a reflex, his answer: "build and sell your own product"

That applies now as much as it did 10, 50, 200 years ago. If you sell the product that everybody needs to solve one problem then you'll be rich. Plain, simple. So to monetize, this website has everything it needs except the shopping cart. (Shhh, it's already in there for them, they just have to turn it on).

Other ideas that could apply to this website or your own if you're in a similar spot is to develop special sections in the website to help you build community. Build a resource guide for other people with the same interests, in this case, a guide that focuses on topics someone with Autism faces everyday. Explain this from the artist's point of view. Build a directory of vendors, manufacturers, institutions, and other resource centers that specialize in the topic.

All in all, the website is good, of course, I'm going to say that. We built it, but we really enjoyed working on this. You should go to it and enjoy the art. Maybe even send J.A. a message and say hello. Encourage him to sell his art. Or not, but encourage him to go on and to keep at it. I think he should continue in this path he is in, and soon you may just see his art at a Sotheby's auction. I know many people that buy unique and special art to decorate their homes and offices and even their own galleries. which reminds me, I just watched "Exit through the Gift Shop" great documentary about street artists.

All in all, even though we built the site, I think it is a pretty cool site. Showcases the art work and lets you learn more about J.A. Tan, you can see the different art he has created, and you can easily contact him if you wish.

[box type="info"]This is the first review I do in Notagrouch.com -- All views expressed in here are completely my own and I don't intend this to be any kind of legal, business or financial advice. If you'd like to have your website reviewed, please contact me.[/box]

The post Website Review: Art of JA Tan. A story of Art and Autism appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Beautifully written, Robert Kaplan not just catches your attention; no, that's too easy for him. He grabs you and drags you into the book, the stories are palpable and if you pay close attention you might actually feel the smells and ambiance of the stories told. Despite the seemingly dull topic, [pq]Robert has done a terrific job at making your only goal be that of turning to the next page.[/pq]

The Nothing That Is is engaging and thought-provoking. It's mind twisting. In an early chapter, after a short paragraph explaining that numbers are really representations of connections between connections, and they tend to be ghostly, even ephemeral.

...if you say there are seven apples in a bowl, exactly what does that 'seven' belong to? Not to any one of the apples taken singly (not even the last you counted, since you could have arranged them differently), nor to the bowl that contains them, but --to there being just seven of them. Many a fine head has broken on this problem.

Then He goes on to say this about Zero.

names belong to things, but zero belongs to nothing. It counts the totality of what isn't there.

Have you ever heard anyone speak of Zero in such compelling voice? I haven't, but I want to make Zero my friend after reading this book. I want to go places with it, or is it him or her? I want to have lunch together. I am infatuated with it.

Ever since I read this book, I think about zero everyday. I know, it sounds crazy but this is what the book makes you do. That is if you like this kind of stuff. I know I'm a math geek, you may not be. But if you like good story telling and a bit of history then you might like this. I'm one of the few people I know that actually loves geometry and mathematical rules and theorems. They're clear, concise, precise and involve no emotions. To be cliche, math is the universal language and this book gives you a glimpse into one of the numbers we use everyday; perhaps the most important number.

If you want to enjoy this book, you can find it for Kindle right here, or the traditional paperback format which is how I read it.

The post Comments and Thoughts on The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of Zero appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

I was blown away by the latest book I read. This book, much like Sam Harris' really made me think. Overall, this book gets a thumbs up.

When speaking of religion:

Even the men who made it cannot agree on what their prophets or redeemers or gurus actually said or did. Still less can they hope to tell us the "meaning" of later discoveries and developments which were, when they began, either obstructed by their religions or denounced by them. And yet --the believers still claim to know! Not just to know, but to know everything.

Although reading some of the history in there made me cringe, the author points out how terrible some of the faith-based laws and regulations actually are killing us. Religion Kills is the title for another chapter and it is named appropriately. He talks about Yusra al Azami. . .

"[She] was shot dead in April 2005, for the crime of sitting unchapperoned in a car with her fiancé. The young man [the fiance] escaped with only a vicious beating.

Allabu Akbar means God is Great, and this is where the title of the book comes from God is not great, How Religion Poisons Everything. Lately books are working hard on keeping your attention with catchy subtitles, but this is not just a gimmick, it really sums up the body of the book. After Hitchens lays down the groundwork, and poses some faith shattering questions, he dives head first into the major areas of our lives and humanity. Then makes some very compelling arguments to explain How Religion Poisons Everything.

He also points out how our youth are abused, the kids that undergo unsanitary, terrifying "medical" procedures in the name of faith. I also learned what a Mohel is, or rather who is a Mohel. It is so disgusting I won't even talk about it here. Young girls also are often subjected to horrifying ordeals, also in the name of god. In a very matter-of-fact point of view Hitchens points out the very questionable argument for a Grand God Designer.

. . .it is hard to imagine anything more grotesque than the mutilation of infant genitalia. Nor is it easy to imagine anything more incompatible with he argument from design. We must assume that a designer god would pay especial attention to the reproductive organs of his creatures, which are so essential for the continuation of the species. But religious ritual since the dawn of time has insisted on snatching children from the cradle and taking sharp stones or knives to their pudenda.

A few of titles of other chapters in the book should give you a great idea of what to expect if you read the book. A Note on Health, touches on both physical and mental health and some things I didn't know had a name like schadenfreude. In the chapter: Arguments from Design, creationism is addressed. Some of the book would be better understood if you have at least an understanding of some of the events depicted in the "good book." The Nightmare of the Old Testament and The Evil of the New Testament show goes over contrasting differences between the "old law" and the "good news." Before I read this book I knew little of the origins of the Qu'ran or Koran; to explain some of the history of this book, Christopher added a section that covers this often overlooked historical fact: The Koran is Borrowed from Judaism and Christianity.

There are nineteen chapters to cover all that would fit in one relatively short book. The book that I read is a hardcover edition with 283 pages in addition to the Acknowledgment, and the references table and a very nice index.

This book is excellent, I would highly recommend it to people in all walks of life. Its not light reading. It is based on reason, free-thinking, our nature and drive to explore the unknown and to make logical decisions based on facts instead of blind religious faith. Whether you are a staunch atheist, or a devout Muslim, Christian or even a practicing Buddhist, you should read this.

You can buy this directly from Amazon: God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

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The Year of Living Biblically. One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible.

A.J. Jacobs is hilarious, this medium sized hardbound will keep you reading if not for its insights, at least for its light tone and comical nature; its hard to put down. It is a funny memoir that takes Jacobs, and sometimes his family through a year of radical changes in lifestyle. You are quickly exposed to the determination that AJ musters to bring you the results of this crazy experiment.

I must admit that the wide range of topics in this book touch on a lot of recurring themes in my life. The search for truth, the notion of spirituality, the reason behind ancient customs, to name a few all surface constantly in my life. Until I was 12 or so, I was raised Catholic, the whole shebang; kneel, sit, stand, pray, sing, eat crackers, rinse and repeat. Then after several years of freedom from religion, I chose to become a Christian. For over four years I was a firm believer in Christ. I participated in a non-denominational Christian church extensively, to the point that you could find me with some friends on the corner of Main street preaching to anyone that would listen and some that wouldn't about Jesus. That's all in the past now and perhaps topic for another discussion later on, but I wanted to point out that I'm not unfamiliar with religion, especially Christianity and Judaism. It is perhaps this familiarity with religion, faith and all that comes rolled up in that pacakge that sparked the desire to read this book.

The book has a strong contrast to Sam Harris' book, The End of Faith which advises us (and I agree) to stop believing everything you are told without demanding real evidence from a source other than that which demands your faith. A.J. on the other hand must follow almost everything he is told by the Bible and his wise guy circle as I call it --a large group of experts that help him clear up some cryptic biblical stuff. Lots of times he is told to just go along with it. A.J. opens up by explaining how he's going to do exactly what the title implies; live biblically for a year. Each chapter is a month and the whole book is narrated in journal style highlighting the most important days. Jacobs constantly is at odds with things that the Bible tells him to do and how he feels about it.

He takes us through his visit to the Holy Land, to visit his crazy uncle Gil, all the way to a meeting with Jimmy, a snake handling preacher in Knoxville, Tenessee. I love the way he enthusiastically tells a story and I lost count of how many times his narration of the ordeals made me laugh out loud. Having lived under rules from the Bible for years at one point, I can only admire Jacobs for actually completing a full year and then some of this grueling project. Julie, his wife also deserves credit if only for putting up with the lunacy of this undertaking, most of it while pregnant with twins! That's love right there.

I don't want to tell you much more about the book, it truly is worth reading, it all goes by quickly because of the way it is written. He begins with 72 pages and 700+ rules collected after reading the Bible from beginning to end. Towards the end of the journey, he collects over 100 books on biblical law, tradition, cooking and other relevant topics that help him discern these nutty laws. I think this is a great insight into what your life might be like if you truly tried to live in accordance to the Bible.

Here's one of my favorite days. Simply because of the way it starts:

Day 181, afternoon. I was on the subway today, sitting a few seats down from a Buddhist monk. He looked at me, with my white raiment and bushy beard, I looked at him, with his orange robes, and we exchanged a knowing nod and smile.

It was a great moment. I felt like I'd been let through the velvet rope at a holy nightclub.

On another one of my favorite passages he actually stones --if you can call it that, an old guy in NY. It cracked me up.

I think the great sense of humor the A.J. displays is a big part of what gets him through this endeavor. Coincidentally as I found out just today when I finished this book, he is also the author of another book that has been in my sights, The Know-It-All, and the now famous article My Outsourced life. If you haven't read that article, I recommend you take a peek, I read it a long time ago on Steve's website, and it is definitely funny and informative. On a side note, lately have been actually testing the whole concept of outsourcing your life; mainly thanks to that article.

Two thumbs up for this book and its author, I now want to read his other book, The know-It-All.

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Into the Wild was touching, sad, inspiring, and most thrilling throughout. At the end in a couple of parts, I must admit that my eyes swelled up. Krakauer does a great job of explaining what Chris must have been thinking. I enjoyed the narrative of the book and how Jon mixed in his own memoirs into the story. I can't help but feel compassion and comradeship towards Chris McCandless.

He did what we all talk about around the water cooler, but very few of us ever do or even try; live our dream. Unfortunately for him, his adventure as you find out in the book was not successful. At least not by most standards. Please don't think I'm spoiling the story, his tragic ending is revealed before the book even starts in the Author's note in the First Anchor Books Edition, Feb 1997:

In April 1992, a young man from a well-to-do East Coast family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. Four months later his decomposed body was found by a party of moose hunters.

As I read the book I kept thinking to myself "I know what he must be thinking now" or "I bet I know what he felt right then" and the truth is that Jon's writing makes you believe this; he makes you think you can understand what was going through Chris' head. In all reality, few of us will probably fully understand the thoughts and emotions driving Chris as he sets off in a canoe down the Colorado river, or when he embarks on his last trip into the wild.

The book is easy to read and I found myself immersed in it right away, I was almost a third of the way into it when I put it down for the first time and I completed it in a couple more sittings. Some of the chapters begin with a simple map of the area which you are about to travel through. Constantly I found myself flipping back to review the maps to see where McCandless was and this gave me a great idea of the relative distances he traveled. Sometimes he made his way through on foot, other times hitchhiking but I absolutely think that if he had the choice, he would have used his little Datsun all the way to Alaska.

Half a dozen pages over 200, the book is definitely easily digested in a weekend and I definitely recommend it. Most of the books I like to give me a new piece of the puzzle to the great experience of life; this was certainly not an exception. I'll spare you the details of the emotions stirred and the dreams that it evoked in me, but I can tell you that I would recommend it to anyone.

Seems like I feel that about all the books I actually finish reading. Besides the new perspective in life that it presented, I was introduced to a new author. Jon Krakauer also has written other well-known books that have now been added to my list, namely Into Thin Air, and Under the Banner of Heaven.

There are a lot of pictures on Flickr on the topic of Chris McCandless, and the story that became this bestseller. Here are links to some of the ones I found interesting; read some of the comments to understand more if you haven't read the book.

by Akfirebug, Into the Wild set

by Chriso2000, Chris McCandless. Jon mentions this picture on his book, and this flickr member has several other ones on there.

There's also a movie for the book Into The Wild, here's the trailer.

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I spent the next hour or so reading the last 60-70 pages. I actually was going to read only a few pages, but little did I know that I would spend the next hour reading through until the last page sans the footnotes.

This book is awesome. Sam points out so many fallacies in our belief systems, our traditions, our political structure. In addition to pointing these out, he holds no punches when describing the absurdity of certain ancient dogmas that have been passed down from generation to generation. A huge part of the book appeals to the logical nonsensical little voice inside of all of us, while the rest of the book is used to enlighten us in what can be done to remove many poisonous creeds that are deeply ingrained in our societies. He closes the book with an invitation to challenge yourself, and those systems that are hurting us as a whole, and with an apocalyptic warning: If we don't change these things, humanity could very well will cease to exist as we know it.

I highly recommend this book to everyone, it uses reason to make its arguments and it does it well. Whether you believe in god, God, many, or none, whether you are a man of science or a mix of all of the above, this is good reading and it is bound to expand your mind. It uses reason and facts to do this; not fairy tales or imaginative folklore. In fact the last quarter or so of the book is made up of footnotes and references, expanding and making cross references to all the facts that Sam Harris uses to support his view points. Check back in a week or so for a complete review and commentary. I just wanted to let you know I finished it.

If you want to see the other books I'll be reading soon, visit my reading list post.

The post I finished the first one! The end of faith. appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.