Get Indexed

Putting a story on Digg is an easy way for your website to get indexed by Google. If your just starting out chances are Google doesn’t crawl your page very often. However, Google crawls Digg constantly. Every time my site gets submitted to Digg it gets indexed within a day. In addition to getting indexed quickly the link also helps your keyword rankings. Combine this with some clever SEO and you’ll see traffic from Google in no time.

You Still Get Traffic

Believe it or not you don’t have to get onto the front page to get traffic from Digg. I get daily traffic from stories that were submitted over a year ago and never got over 30 Diggs. The trick as always is to use keywords wisely. Someone will search for the keyword on Digg, and they will run into your article.

Invaluable Experience

Just because you aren’t hitting it big now doesn’t mean that you won’t in the future. With each attempt you make you’ll learn a little bit more about how to market your website. People don’t become SEO/Marketing guru’s overnight. You need experience, and active participation on Digg is a great way to learn.

It’s Fun

Who said you have to get massive amounts of traffic to enjoy blogging or Digg? Getting a story to the front page of Digg is an adventure in and of it’s self. Enjoy it!

I think Digg is one of the greatest websites out there, but it could be even better. Here are my recommendations to fix some of the current problems on Digg:

Improve The Upcoming Stories Section

So much crap gets submitted to Digg each day there’s no way that anyone could possibly hope to wade through it all. It’s just not worth it. That’s why most users only surf the front page. Even if a user is more daring they rarely venture beyond the top 10 in the upcoming section. The result is that unless you get a bunch of quick Diggs to put you in the upcoming section your story is sunk. The upcoming section should be completely revamped to encourage users to find new stories that nobody has seen yet.

Remove Shouts

I can see what my friends are submitting, digging, and adding to their favorites. Shouldn’t that be enough? I like the fact that they are trying to encourage more user interaction, but all shouts do is encourage spam. It’s like “hey I’ll read your spam if you read mine”. It’s rare that you are added as a friend simply because that person knows you, or likes the content you provide. Friends on Digg are completely hollow attempts by users to promote stories to the front page.

Favor The New

The current system has become far too favorable to the already established. There’s not a day that goes by that you don’t see a story from The Huffington Post taking shots at John McCain. It gets old, and we’re still months away from the election. There used to be a time when Digg was a great way to find fun new articles. A place where you see information and opinions that you don’t see every day. Now the whole site is being held hostage to a small array of select groups.

Bury Brigade

The Digg user base needs to realize that the bury button is there for a reason. Far too much content hits the front page that has no business in being there. Eventually everyone got sick of hearing about Ron Paul all the time, so they buried it. So what’s stopping us from doing it now? The bury brigade needs to start doing their job again!

The Truth About Basement Cat

Good souls go to ceiling cat. Bat souls go to the basement where they are dominated by the supreme ruler of the basement, Basement Cat. Some people claim that Basement Cat is simply a myth, but I can assure you from personal experience that Basement Cat is as real as it gets. He lurks in your staircase quietly waiting to drag his next victim into the depths of the basement.

Basement Cat Desires Your Soul

Do not let basement cat trick you with catnip playthings. All he wants is your soul. Many have fallen victim to his subtle traps. Yes, he may appear to be cute and cuddly at first, but Basement Cat is pure evil. He must be avoided at all costs for unlike his arch nemesis, Ceiling Cat, Basement Cat will do more to you than just watch…

Basement Cat Is Evil

Let no one deceive you. Basement Cat is pure evil! The staircase to the basement is the path to misery and woe. Believe me, for I have walked that path before. I cannot even begin to describe the horror of the things that happened to me during my visit to the Basement. Please do not make the same mistakes I have. Save yourselves now, or forever be under Basement Cat’s control!

So here’s the problem. I HATE THAT SONG. Yeah, it was great at first, but people just wouldn’t leave it alone. I can’t get in the car without that stupid song playing. Of course I can always change the channel, but that doesn’t help either. I’ll switch channels and the other station is playing it too! I just can’t take this anymore. You’ve ruined one of the greatest songs ever!

With that in mind I’d like to introduce you to a small little web app project I’ve been working on. It’s nothing complicated. Just a simple list of songs. Anybody can add a song to the list. So please try adding one right now, and tell me what you think of it.

Check out the song list now!

ALL HAIL TECHNOVIKING! - Watch more free videos

Technoviking Has Moves!

The caption for the video states that technoviking does not dance to the music the music dances to technoviking. I did not know that music could dance until I saw technoviking. Technoviking’s dancing skills are beyond comparison. True the music dances to technoviking, but despite how cool the song at the beginning is no music could ever do technoviking justice!

Technoviking Could Beat Chuck Norris

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. Even I thought it was heracy when it was first mentioned that perhaps he was greater than Chuck Norris. However, after further investigation I really believe that this could be true! First off look at this guy. He’s absolutely ripped. It’s making some of the straightest guys I know melt! His mere presence demands respect. All he has to do is point his finger and even the elements will obey him! We can also see from the video that he has the skills. Look at how quickly he is able to move his hands. Watch out when he gets both of them going! Certainly with skills such as these he could make quick work of Chuck Norris.

Technoviking’s Look

The first thing I thought when I saw Technoviking was “hey we have similar hair”. Really think about it. We both have blond Norwegian looking hair. We both have the same hairloss pattern. I probably have more fine hair, but I think I could pull it off. I just need to grow out the back of my hair, and take a shot at growing a beard. This does not mean however that I could ever hope to achieve the same glory and sense of style that Technoviking has. He has boots that can crush diamonds, and the towel is just a really nice touch. I am also quite a fan of the many artifacts he sports around his neck. I am starting to wonder if they give him special powers.

Hans Shlepkopper Is Technoviking?

I’ve searched around quite a bit trying to find out this guy’s name. It appears that the internet hasn’t quite caught on. In fact if you search for his name you only get one result on youtube. I cannot completely confirm that this is truly his name. However my research has led me to believe that his name really is Hans Shlepkopper. Apparently he is a storekeeper as well, and I throughly plan on visiting his shop someday. If anybody else knows ANYTHING about this guy, let me know!

Please leave your comments with your thoughts and impressions about Technoviking!

So of course when I read the ABC news article I was somewhat skeptical. In fact I think the article shows a distinct liberal bias from the writer. Everything said in the article helps to further the environmentalist cause and gives absolutely no time to detractors of the global warming theory.

I also had a problem with some of the statistics. All of these facts are given without any kind of context. They don’t mention what the averages are so we have nothing to compare them with. How does 69,000 square miles compare with the average decline in a week? ABC named their source as the National Snow and Ice Data Center. So I said hey why not just e-mail the NSIDC and ask them? So that’s what I did.

Here is a copy of the e-mail I sent to the center just to give you context:

There’s a story currently on ABC news stating that 69,000 square miles of Arctic ice has melted within the past week or so. I am wondering what would be the average amount of ice melted in a week around this time of year, and what would be the record for most ice melted in a week? I’m looking for information to compare this statistic with so that I can find out how significant this really is.

I am pleased to report that within a day I was contacted by scientist Walt Meier. I thought his answer was great.

First, the rate of decline varies quite widely - from year to year and even day to day within a given year. It depends on (1) how fast ice is melting from above-freezing temperatures, and (2) how the ice is moving around in response to winds and currents. So it can be quite variable. By this time of year it would not be unusual for the ice extent to start increasing. But on average, around this time of year 20,000-25,000 square miles

The rate of decline generally is fastest in July, ranging between 200,000 and 250,000 square miles in a week. This years melt was the most extreme seen, particularly in early July, when the sea ice decreased over 500,000 square miles in one week.

So what exactly does this mean? To be honest I was hoping to hear something that would completely debunk the ABC story, but that just isn’t the case The ice is melting at over double the rate it usually does this time of year. Normally only 20-25 thousand square miles are melting, and this year it’s to 69. In fact this year completely smashes the previous record from 2005. I believe that ABC has accurately presented the statics.

However, my efforts were not all in vein. The thing that really got to me about the story was the whole size of Flordia thing. You all have to admit, when you see that title it perks up interest. The title just screams “OMFG! GLOBAL WARMING IS GOING TO KILL US ALL!” Yet when you put that 69,000 next to the average yearly high of 200,000 and this year’s high of 500,000 in a week it kinda makes you wonder what ABC was thinking doesn’t it?

I must also mention that the institute didn’t exist prior to 1979, back in the global cooling days. Given that the warmest year on record was 1934 one must wonder what we would know if we had the technology to measure ice melt back then. I think it’s entirely possible that 2007 hasn’t been the biggest ice melting summer in the past century.

Finally before I go I have to give this final disclaimer. I believe in full disclosure. I can’t be completely fair and balanced, so I tell you before hand what my agenda is. I do this in the hopes that it will help your critical analysis of my articles. I’m not really a fan of the whole green movement. I do believe the Earth is getting warmer. However, I’m not convinced that mankind is the source of this phenomenon nor am I convinced that it will continue. I’m willing to admit that I could be wrong, after all there’s still a lot for us to learn. It’s just to hard to say either way. I also don’t agree at all with some of the green policies some are trying to enact at the government level. I highly doubt it will make the slightest dent in the problem, and will only stunt economic growth.

TWD’s PHP Colors

Huge explosion in St Petersburg

A pipeline of some sort blew in Russia creating this massive explosion that could be seen for miles away. It was a truly massive flare.

I’m in ur side

This is by far my favorite lolcat image ever. I’m saving it so I can use it on some unsuspecting female in the future.

microwave stuff!

All sorts of things in the microwave. The eggs are the best!

Tons of Ajax and JavaScript Demos!

I haven’t started to filter through all of these things, but I’ve never seen a list quite like it. I’ll certainly be using it in the future when I dive into JavaScript.

CPU Temp PHP Script

I’ve done some work on making code snippets look nice on the page. I just created a new script for a server homepage I’m making, and I thought it would be a great way to show off the new code snippets.

Adsense Ad

I’m also messing around with Adsense more. I think I’ve finally gotten an ad that works well for my page.

Please tell me what you think in the comments about the PHP script, and advertisement.

Underwear Is Difficult To Make For Dragons

There’s lots of things that get in the way with making underwear for dragons. For one thing dragons have lots of spikes, and spikes have a tendency to rip material. You could just try making holes for the spikes to go through, but since every dragon is different it would have to be a custom job for each pair. Dragons also have really big tails.  These aren’t things you can just cut a hole for like you would a monkey.  These are full out weapons of mass destruction.  There are also problems with material. You need to have a fabric that is very durable. Dragons are also pretty big, and hence it’s very expensive to get enough material to make dragon underwear.

Dragons Don’t Need Underwear

Dragons are flying creatures all of their reproductive organs are internal like most birds and fish. There’s not much down there that needs to be protected or covered up. There’s no need for a brassiere because dragons generally do not have breasts. Of course one may argue that dragons would use underwear to be sexy. However, thongs just don’t work out as well for dragons (refer back to the whole tail thing).  Most dragons would prefer to see their mate nude.

Dragons Don’t Like To Wear Underwear

Of course all of these things are obstacles that could be overcome. I guess it really comes down to the fact that dragons just don’t like to wear underwear. Dragons find wearing any kind of clothing to be quite uncomfortable, and think the entire idea is just strange in general. No self respecting dragon would ever wear underwear in public as it would attract public ridicule. The whole idea is just silly. I mean seriously dragons wearing underwear?  Are you for real?  Why am I even posting about this!?

Also please don’t send me pictures of dragons in underwear…