Private Investigator Tricks

I really love old detective movies, and lately I have been doing some detective work myself. I wanted to track down a girl who used to be in the same classes as me, and I figured there must be some kind of detective techniques I could use to find her.
I was actually quite successful - I found her. Using the skip tracing techniques on this private investigator website I managed to track down several leads, one of which revealed her phone number. I sent her a text message, and we are meeting up next week!

Buying and Selling on eBay

Buying and selling stuff on eBay can be a real headache. I've bought stuff in the past that looked like it was local, but ended up shipping from Japan - it took weeks, and then I got stiffed for duty when I finally got it.
I've been reading up on some eBay selling tips before I sell my old CD collection. No need for that anymore now that I have an iPod (also bought off eBay!) I might sell some of my old computer gear too. Hopefully I will make money from these sales so that I can buy a new mac book. Guess where I will buy that from? That's right - eBay!

New Business Support

If you are about to start a new business then you are going to need support. Often businessmen like to call themselves entrepreneurs; entrepreneurs are businessmen with a new idea or a twist on an old idea.
Entrepreneur Support aims to take care of the boring side of business and to leave the entrepreneur with more time to develop new ideas and new business. If you have questions about business finance, tax, or employer obligations then this is the place to go.
There are heaps of business articles on the site, and recommendations for magazines and books about business that cover every aspect of this wide topic.

Search Engines and Black Hats

A friend of mine (who shall remain nameless - protecting the not-so-innocent) claims to be making thousands of dollars per day using Black Hat SEO. Black Hat SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the art of manipulating search engines into giving you a higher ranking position than you deserve by using 'sneaky' techniques.
The Internet Search Engines FAQ gives a good rundown of Black Hat methods, listing some of the methods such as doorway pages which redirect visitors to the 'money page' or main page. The required code to create a doorway page is included on the site. Many Black Hat SEO's use blogger to create doorway pages as blogger subdomains rank quickly, especially on MSN.

Tactical Gear from Fort Liberty

Check out this tactical gear at Fort Liberty, some of it is really cool. I'm loving the camouflage clothing, and chicks look really good in it too. Seriously though, there's some useful stuff there, functional military watches that are tough and have special features to help you out in a tight situation.
I have seen night vision goggles for sale on eBay before, and always wondered how good they would be. The ones featured on Fort Liberty are the real deal; proper military grade kit here, no rubbish!

Expat community

When my Mom goes over to Spain she is going to find out what it means to be an expat. Leaving behind all the things that are familiar to you, family and friends, local shops, the way people drive - everything is different. I know she says that she is going to try and make it more than just a holiday home, but I reckon she will be back here pretty quick.
It is always nice going on holiday and leaving the stress of everyday life behind for a few weeks, but when you move somewhere then you have to build a life there - without your normal support network.
Finding out about expat jobs, health and tax. etc can be pretty hard too, especially when you don't speak the lingo!

Annoying Polly Pocket

I keep finding these little dolls in different places around the house. My annoying little sister Amy collects dolls called Polly Pockets. They are really small and can fit almost anywhere as Amy keeps trying to prove. She has even snuck them into my shower bag that I use for football, I got laughed at for that on by the guys and had trouble explaining it!
Anyway, I reckon I can get her back. Every Polly Pocket I find now I'm going to put up for sale on eBay. Let's see who's laughing when Amy sees my Polly Pocket eBay sale!

Anonymous Surfing

My pal Jim Bob is really crazy into computers and the internet. He has what he calls a 'tin foil hat' which means he is paranoid that people are going to find out all kinds of things about him by tracking his activity on the internet. He uses something called anonymous surfing.
Anonymous surfing is when you mask or disguise what you do on the internet so that no-one can find out. I reckon that hes crazy and that no one would really be interested, but he is sure that Google and the other search engines and stuff track what you do to sell you stuff and build up a profile of you. Crazy fool.

Edinburgh Trip

I'm taking a short break in Edinburgh later in the year. I'm actually a big theater fan (some of you may not have known that!) I'm going to stay in the city for a couple of nights and take in a show at the Edinburgh playhouse, as well as having a night on the town!
Theatre breaks in Edinburgh are really popular these days - some hotels even do packages. We are staying at The Bruntsfield Hotel, right in the middle of the action. The Bruntsfield has an excellent reputation, a friend of mine stayed recently and really enjoyed himself.
The Kings Theatre also has The Goodies showing but I don't think my girlfriend will be keen to see them :)

Credit Card for my Business

A serial entrepreneur like me needs access to quick funds when my business needs demand it. That's why I have chosen chase business credit cards. They offer some excellent advantages including cashback on your business purchases (3%), no annual fee, and (for me the best) a $35,000 credit limit, which is pretty high going by most of the limits imposed by other credit cards.
The 0% introductory balance transfer offered on these credit cards for small businesses will be a big draw for some people too, but my company doesn't have any existing borrowings to move.

Different Certificate of Deposit Products

There seems to be too many CDs (Certificate of Deposit investments) to choose from. I'm trying to invest some money I have gotten in a windfall for a 'rainy day' but I'm struggling to choose a bank to go with.
Should I just look for the highest CD rates? or should I be looking at the penalties attached if I decide to withdraw the money early (for example, to buy into my brothers business, or maybe buy a new car :))... it is so hard to decide on a product.
I found some good advice on the RateTrackr website, defining what you want and need is the important thing, deciding how long you can lock the money away for, and what your ultimate aims are for the money.

Watching TV in Europe

Now that Mum's getting this place in Spain I'm trying to persuade her that it is a good idea to get a Sky TV subscription. I don't want to go anywhere that I can't watch my favorite TV channels. Most European TV channels suck, and I only speak English so I need my Sky TV.
She thought that we wouldn't be able to get Sky TV in Europe, but I know that the internet holds the answer to everything, and a quick search found this website that sells Sky HD subscriptions to Europe. I'm really looking forward to getting over to Spain now that I know I can watch proper TV when I get there :)

Holiday Home in Spain, Nice :)

So my mother has gone with her fella to look at buying a holiday home in Spain. They're excited, and so am I! As well as being able to go on holiday to this place, with its own pool and everything, it means that they will be away quite a lot so I get to kick back and party here. They have gone on a spanish property inspection flight with the Overseas Property Shop. Apparantley Spanish property is a great investment too, mother keeps rabbiting on about my inheritance. Good on her eh?

Bee keeping

As you know I'm kind of a random surfer. I don't know why or how but I was on this little site about bee keeping, you know honey bees and all that, and I quite fancy it as a hobby! You can buy something called a nucleus, which is like a small bee hive with a queen bee and some workers and stuff, and set it up in your garden(!) They will even mail bees to you so you can get set up. Hope I'm not allergic to bee stings, think they can send some people into shock. Think it will send my mother into shock when she sees a bee hive in the back garden lol

Buying a New Monitor

So I want to get one of those big badboy Apple monitors for my computer setup. Thats why I have been investigating personal loans and stuff. I found a place that compares secured loans for you, it is really quick and easy to use. Just put in a few details (none too personal) and away it goes. For a couple of mins work you get a comparison of 250 different secured loans. I'm really happy with the results from the site. The other great thing is that they don't perform a credit check, so you can run it as many times as you like (its free too).

Loans, Credit Cards :: UK Government

I've found some more really useful informational sites from the UK government.
Advice Guide is another website from the Citizens Advice Bureau which provides practical information on tricky subjects such as benefits and housing as well as financial matters like credit cards and loans.
Consumer Direct promises 'clear, practial consumer advice' and has a large section on money and finance. The advice here includes tips for security shopping online with your credit card, and buying from overseas.

Money Made Clear

If, like me, you're not too good with money, you could do worse than check out some of the government websites. The 'money made clear' website from the UK Financial Services Authority has infomation you should read before taking on any new credit cards or loans.
Other grat financial websites from the UK government include the Citizens Advice Bureau (although you're more likely to use this one if you run into problems such as missing loan repayments), and the Money, Tax and Benefits section of the DirectGov website.

Grokodile Regional Blog Directory

Looking for somewhere to get your new blog listed? Need a good high PR backlink to get it indexed? Want to network with local people in your area? Then you need to get over to Grokodile regional blog directory and grab your free listing.
Grokodile is a community focused blog directory specialising in grouping people together by location. It isn't just blogs either, local businesses with a website can get listed there too.
Grokodile is manually edited so there are no junk sites in the directory and sites have to be submitted to the correct region.

Paid Posting :: Cash For Comments

I spend a lot of time on forums so I was interested to learn about paid posting. Paid blog posters and paid forum posters can register for free at paid posting and search through the jobs listed. There is no charge for the service, which is pretty important to me :)
You can also receive email notifications of jobs that match your profile so that you don't have to check the site every day - jobs you are interested in come straight to you. There is also a RSS feed so new paid forum posting jobs and paid blogging jobs come straight into your feed reader.

Wicked Wordpress Themes

I'm loving these awesome Wordpress themes. Some good original stuff there. Hope some get ported to blogger :)