Blue Star Chronicles

I have come to accept that the writers, producers, directors and actors of Lost are sadists. The teasers, cliffhangers, twists and turns are endless and excruciating. At the same time, you don’t really want it all to end, which probably means that those of us who watch it are masochists. Now they are making us wait another week for the ‘evening of Lost’ that will be the season 4 finale.

Last week’s episode left us with some understanding of how the various people who end up as the Oceanic 6 came to be the ones to get off the island. It didn’t seem like some of them to have gone ahead of others, so how did that happen? Jack, for instance, it wouldn’t be like him to get on a rescue boat before the others. Last week it started making sense. Different ones in different places all being lead to the same end.

I’ve read some spoilers, but I’ve heard false spoilers have been leaked on purpose to keep the surprises coming. I guess we’ll find out. I’ll not include the spoilers here - you can find them online if you want to know.

1. Sun and Aaron are the only Oceanic 6 who are on the freighter. Last week ended with Jin sending her, holding Aaron, out of the boiler room that is rigged with explosives. I sure hope that Jin doesn’t get blown up on the freighter!
2. Does anyone on the freighter live? Michael kind of deserves whatever he gets, but what about Jin and Desmond?
3. Jack and Sawyer are together. They were at the helicopter but left to go to the Orchid to get Hurley. We know Hurley and Jack survive - what about Sawyer? I know he probably chooses to stay, but that leads us back to the question as to whether or not the people on the island survive.
4. Hurley made a statement in the last episode about moving the island would mean that all the freighter people trying to kill them would be moved too. Does that mean that the world on the island goes on, even with the bad guys there?
5. Most of the Oceanic 6 have had visions that they have to return to the island. That makes me believe that the island is still there … somewhere.
6. Surely we’ll find out who is in the coffin in the finale. I read a spoiler about who it was. I had thought it was probably Michael after I saw him on the freighter. I figured he’d get killed on the freighter and he would certainly be someone that no one would be too upset got killed after his betrayal of everyone.
7. Jack is a bona fide emotional mess. He’s now found out that Claire was his half-sister, which means that Aaron is his nephew and yet he still has difficulty being around Aaron. I think its because he’s guilty ridden about something.
8. It seemed to me that everyone in the plane leaving the island were not happy with Jack. They were in shock, but Jack was telling them what to say and they all seemed to be irritated with him. How’d that come about? Does that have something to do with why he feels guilty about Aaron?
9. Sun takes control of her father’s company and tells him he is one of the two people responsible for Jin’s death (I’m still hoping Jin doesn’t really die!). Who is the other person? Does she blame Jack? Is that why she was giving him the evil eye in the plane? What happened as they were leaving the island that created tension between everyone else and Jack?
10. The Others have shown back up and taken Kate and Sayid by gun point. We know that both Kate and Sayid survive. Does that mean that The Others really are the ‘good guys’ as Benjamin said when he let Michael leave the island with Walt?
11. What’s the deal with Benjamin and Whitmore? I wondered if it was a struggle between good and evil - but which one is good and which one is evil. With those two it would be hard to tell. Maybe they are both just evil.
12. Does Desmond survive whatever happens on the freighter? If so, does Benjamin use him to get to Penny to get back at Whitmore for the murder of Alex? (If you can follow that sequence of events then you are a really a Lost fan!)
13. I think the Oceanic 6 will somehow have to resolve their differences and return to the island. They all being called back. Why are they being called back if the island was safely moved? Why are they having to keep what really happened secret? It has to be a reason strong enough that they are all willing to keep the secret. How will they get back? Will they go back together or separately. What about Aaron?

Anyone who watches Lost knows that there are a LOT more than 13 mysteries in the show. Well, the show is built on mysteries and is a mystery in and of itself. I just started watching Lost recently and basically watched the first 3 seasons in a marathon over a period of about 3 months. Since I so recently watched the previous episodes I remember some things I probably would have forgotten if I had watched it over the last 3 years.

Anyway - here are a few random things I wonder about Lost in no particular order and with no particular importance other than that they are the first 13 that come to mind as I write this.

1. What happened to Michael and Walt? They left in a boat that supposedly was not made for ocean travel. Remember when Michael and Sawyer were on the remains of the raft after Walt was kidnapped by The Others? Sawyer said the boat couldn’t be taken far off the island. So Michael and Walt have been gone a long time now and nothing is known about them. They obviously didn’t make it back to the real world or they would have heard of the Oceanic 6. Nothing, Nada. Where are they? Did they drown and is that why Walt has appeared to people on the island every once in a while?
2. The obvious question is WHO IS IN THE CASKET? I just don’t know. I’ve thought maybe it was Benjamin. But then I can come up with theories about how it could be several other people. Locke? Juliette? Michael?
3. Why did Hurley apologize to Jack for leaving with Locke and since Hurley left with Locke HOW did he end up back in the real world?
4. Why is there an Oceanic 6? Where is everyone else? What happened that only 6 are back in the world? Which leads to the next question ….
5. What’s the big secret that Jack was worried Hurley would tell? What happened on the island before they came back?



6. Who are the other 3 of the Oceanic 6? We know Kate, Jack and Hurley are back in the world - who are the other 3? Sawyer stayed with Locke, but then so did Hurley and he’s back so maybe one is Sawyer. Sun and Jin? Kate told Jack that ‘he’ will wonder where I am when she met Jack at the airport at the end of last season. Was she referring to Sawyer?
7. I wonder if the show starts a story line and abandons it or if they’ll come back to it at some point. What about ‘Adam and Eve’? The skeletons found in the caves early on in the show. The survivors started staying in the caves and no one ever mentioned Adam and Eve again. I actually wondered if they are the future of Jack and Kate - like in a time shifting kind of scenario.
8. Why is the island calling the Oceanic 6 back? Who needs them? Who are they supposed to go back for? The other survivors? Why did they leave them to begin with? If they are still there why don’t they send rescue for them? Etc. Plus, why is the island calling them one at a time. I guess it makes for more drama - but it would be so much simpler if the island had them all have the same idea at the same time rather than having to fight with each other about going back.
9. Who was Naomi and the group she brought to the island? Why didn’t the island heal Naomi from her wounds like it does everyone else who is wounded and not killed?
10. What will Penny do now that she knows Desmond is still alive and on the island? Since she has seemingly unlimited resources is she going to try to find him and the island? If the Oceanic 6 got back and Desmond isn’t one of them, is Penny still looking?
11. Who/what were the bodies in the plane that was found on the ocean floor that verified all the passengers of Oceanic 815 had been killed in the crash?
12. How did one of the Dharma polar bears end up in Tunisia? Why was its skeleton all that was left of it (and the Dharma collar, of course!) and why was Charlotte excavating it?
13. Most importantly …. am I the only one that thinks Sawyer (Josh Holloway) is enough reason to watch the show every week? I’m just saying …..
14. BONUS: Would you have followed Jack or John Locke?

I realize that all my Thursday Thirteens lately have been about Germany. What can I say - it was a big trip for us. I’ll try to make this my last one. How about observations from our trip.

1. Germany is very cold.
2. Germans walk around outside and do a lot of outside activities regardless of how cold it is.
3. Christmas Markets are a blast.
4. German beds are hard, but I love the covers they use.
5. I found myself starting to understand some of the conversations by the time I left - at least I thought I was understanding them.
6. The Germans seemed like they had a good time no matter what they were doing.
7. Christmas was VERY different, but was absolutely delightful.
8. The retail world would go absolutely broke if Americans did Christmas like Germans do - unless they do more capitalistic consumption on December 6th.
9. Germans are very friendly and seem to like Americans.
10. The Germans I met loved talking about American politics and most loved George W. Bush (LOVED!).
11. Germans have a very different sense of personal space than Americans that takes a little bit of getting used to.
12. Nudity is no problem for Germans, that took a little getting used to as well.
13. Germans drink a LOT of beer. That deserves repeating. Germans drink a LOT of beer.

We are getting ready to go to Germany and will be celebrating Christmas in Germany with our son and daughter-in-law. They are getting married just a few days before Christmas. We are excited at the prospect of going and are looking forward to our time there. I have spent some time reading about German traditions on the internet - I guess that’s obvious since my last several Thursday Thirteens have been about German traditions. There’ll probably be more so deal with it! LOL.

1. According to legend, on Christmas Eve in Germany rivers turn to wine, animals speak to each other, tree blossoms bear fruit, mountains open up to reveal precious gems, and church bells can be heard ringing from the bottom of the sea. Of course, only the pure in heart can witness this Christmas magic. All others must content themselves with traditional German celebrating. There are plenty of traditions so even those who aren’t pure in heart get to celebrate.



2. Christmas starts on December 6th, Nikolaustag, St. Claus day, in part to have time to adhere to all the traditions. On the eve (December 5th) of children place a shoe or boot by the fireplace. During the night, St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children, hops from house to house carrying a book of sins in which all of the misdeeds of the children are written. If they have been good, he fills the shoe or boot with delicious holiday edibles. If they have not been good, their shoe is filled with twigs.
3. Gingerbread - that traditional German treat - is used for gingerbread houses. These were created back in the 1700s and have become more elaborate and intricate over the years. Germans make beautiful gingerbread houses and cookies. The German Christmas tree pastry, Christbaumgeback, is a white dough that can be molded into shapes and baked for tree decorations.
4. In Germany the traditional visitor is the Christkindl who is the Christ Child’s messenger. She is a beautiful fair-haired girl with a shining crown of candles who visits each house with a basket of presents.
5. There is also a Christmas Eve figure called Weihnachtsmann or Christmas Man, he looks like Santa Claus and also brings gifts.
6. December 21st, supposedly the shortest day (longest night) of the year, is dubbed St. Thomas Day. In parts of the Sauerland, whoever wakes up late or arrives late to work on that day is issued the title “Thomas Donkey.” They are given a cardboard donkey and are the subject of numerous jokes throughout the day. But this gentle abuse ends deliciously with round, iced currant buns called “Thomasplitzchen.”
7. The primary excitement is Christmas Eve. Prior to the evening feast, is the presentation of the tree. The Christmas tree, as we know it, originated in Germany. It has a mysterious magic for the young because they are not allowed to see it until Christmas Eve. While the children are occupied with another room (usually by Father) Mother brings out the Christmas tree and decorates it with apples, candy, nuts, cookies, cars, trains, angels, tinsel, family treasures and candles or lights. The presents are placed under the tree. Somewhere, close to the bright display are laid brilliantly decorated plates for each family member, loaded with fruits, nuts, marzipan, chocolate and biscuits. When all is ready a bell is rung as a signal for the children to enter this Christmas fantasy room. Carols are sung, sometimes sparklers are lit, the Christmas story is read and gifts are opened.
8. All presents are opened on the night of December 24th, because the gift-giving should be done and complete before the family focuses completely on the Christ child. They go to a midnight mass, and then the 25th is focused on Christ, and on spending time with family.
9. “Dickbauch” means “fat stomach” and is a name given to the Christmas Eve because of the tradition that those who do not eat well on Christmas Eve will be haunted by demons during the night. So the opportunity is given to enjoy dishes such as suckling pig, “reisbrei” (a sweet cinnamon), white sausage, macaroni salad, and many regional dishes.
10. Christmas Day brings with it a banquet of plump roast goose, “Christstollen” (long loaves of bread bursting with nuts, raisins, citron and dried fruit), “Lebkuchen” (spice bars), marzipan, and “Dresden Stollen” (a moist, heavy bread filled with fruit).
11. Christmas, or as the Germans call it - “Weihnachten“, is a quiet time in Germany. People are in a thoughtful mood. Town streets and business offices are decorated with Christmas lights and branches of pine-needle and fir-needle trees. Everything appears in red and dark green - the colors of “Weihnachten” in Germany. Houses are usually scarcely decorated. You might see some lights in a window, or figures painted on windows with snow spray, but usually nothing too fancy. Christmas is the most cheerful and important season of the year.
12. Christkindlesmarkt, Christmas markets.
13. The custom of trimming and lighting a Christmas tree had its origin in pre-Christian Germany, the tree symbolizing the Garden of Eden. It was called the “Paradise Baum,” or tree of Paradise. Gradually, the custom of decorating the tree with cookies, fruit and eventually candles evolved. Other countries soon adapted the custom. Charles Dickens called it “The Pretty German Toy.”

This may not be the most creative Thursday Thirteen I’ve ever done - but, hey - its the best I can do tonight!

1. Denise’s Den - 13 things about Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria. She has a lot of interesting historical information on her blog.
2. The Library Lady Rants - 13 things she’s fixin’ for Hanukah. Whens dinner?
3. Echos of Grace - Thirteen Christmas memories. Helping get us in the spirit!
4. Writer’s Cramps - Thirteen Quotes about family. She’s also decorated for Christmas! I’m really getting in the spirit!
5. Thoughts from Miller Manor - Thirteen things you should NEVER name your child!
6. Comedy Plus - Tacky Christmas gifts!
7. Just for Fun - Thirteen problems with the flyer left on our car window.
8. While Sleepwalking - Thirteen Customs of Slava.
9. Yellow Roses - Random thoughts on the holidays.
10. Cozy Reader - Odds and ends and fun.
11. One Old Green Bus - hilarious stuff you can buy from the shelf.

I suppose that I should add the caveat that I think the shows are stupid. Apparently there are plenty of people who like them because they are still on the air. I don’t mean to disparage any of the shows and don’t want anybody to sue me so I want to be really clear about that.

These are shows he watches that I just don’t get. I THINK he watches them. Its really more like he lands on them periodically as he flies through the channels. I guess its a man thang.

1. ANY Clint Eastwood spaghetti western. I’ve seen them all I think. Lately, its been Hang em High. Its been on almost every night and we’ve watched at least parts of it every night. I like westerns as much as the next person. I just don’t get why he’ll watch a nanosecond of some show I’m interested in and say ‘We’ve already seen this’ as he’s changing the channels but we can watch Hang em High repeatedly and he seems to enjoy it just the same every time. Here’s a few clips of our conversations during any of these movies: Him: ‘Lee Van Cleef is a great bad guy.’ Me: ‘uh-huh’. The end.
2. Ice Road Trucking. I’m not kidding. I’ve actually watched this with him. I didn’t know such a show existed until I saw him watching it one night. I don’t think he knew it either but his thumb lifted up off the ‘go through the channels as supersonic speed’ button for a second and he saw truckers trucking over ice. Now we know about these guys, their lives, their families, who got sick in the last season. Sadly, this is a true story.
3. The Riffleman. I believe I’ve seen every episode.
4. Survivorman. Actually, I don’t mind this one too much. The guy that does this show is pretty funny and he is out in the wilderness literally by himself with some cameras. He’s got tonsillitis this week and he’s up near the arctic circle. It looks miserable. I’ve learned how to make fire out of nothing from this guy and fishing line out of rope. You never know when you might need to know things like that.
5. Boxing. Any kind, any where, any time. Old reruns of old boxing matches. I’m not kidding. Here’s how the conversation goes during a boxing match from 1950 something. Me: ‘Do you know who is going to win this?’ Him: ‘Yeah, the guy in the black trunks.’ Me: ‘Then why are you watching it?’ Him: ‘Because I like it’. Me: ‘But you already know the outcome’. At this point he clicks me off and doesn’t hear me anymore.
6. The Essence of Emeril. Any cooking show actually, but he really likes Emeril. He once saw him make some garlic potatoes on television and decided to make them himself. He didn’t bother to write down the recipe, it just looked good to him and he decided to make it. He figured that if a little bit of garlic make it tasty a lot of garlic should make it fantastic. I will just leave it at that the potatoes were inedible. He ate some just to prove a point. But they were really inedible.
7. Shows about how things are made. I’m not kidding! He watches shows that take you through the entire process of how candy is made, or tomatoes are canned. I’m really not kidding. I’ve asked him why he watches those shows and he says its interesting! Go figure!
8. Dog the Bounty Hunter. I’ll just leave that at that for now.
9. CSI Miami. Don’t ask me why. He likes that better than the other CSI shows. He LIKES the side-headed guy.
10. Those shows that show people doing really stupid stunts and crashing. I can’t think of the name of it.
11. Hockey. He was raised up north and was a hockey player from childhood through university. I was raised down south and knew nothing of ice hockey. I do get to hear his hockey stories while he’s watching hockey. That’s good.
12. How to make rifles and guns. I can’t think of the names of those shows either. But there are a bunch of shows about guns and how to make them and what they do and all that stuff.
13. History channel, science channel, and more. I’m running out of space to put them! lol

I’m still preparing for our Christmas trip to Germany to attend my son’s wedding to his Deutsche Fraulein. She and I have had a couple of miscommunications over understanding the different traditions. Each of us thinking the other was talking about one thing when we were talking about another. For instance, when I asked her about what the grooms parents were supposed to be doing she told me her mother had already bought the porcelain. I had no idea what porcelain had to do with a rehearsal dinner. She had no idea what I meant by a rehearsal dinner.

We got it all figured out, but I have been reading about traditional German weddings on the internet so I won’t be quite so ignorant when I get there. I thought I might share a few of the ones I’ve learned about here. There are so many interesting traditions that are different than ours that I may do another post on them.

1. Polterabend - this is an informal (informal dress and food) party the evening before the wedding where plates and dishes are smashed (the broken pieces are thought to bring good luck to the bride). The bride and groom have to clean up everything. Now I understand why she was talking about porcelain!! She told me they broke the porcelain, but I didn’t understand her explanation about why and the circumstances around breaking porcelain. Sounds like fun!
2. Wedding in a special place - It is a rule to choose a “special” place for the wedding, rather than the general rule in America of always having the wedding at the bride’s family church. Now I understand why she was so stressed out when his deployment was extended several times and she ended up having to plan a winter wedding. She had a place picked out that was only available in the summer.



3. The Bridal Cup is a tradition that dates back to 1450. It represents a the start of a life long union between man and woman and is a symbol of faithfulness and good luck.
4. The bride carries salt and bread, the groom carries grain - Bride should carry salt and bread as an omen for good harvest, and the groom - grain for good luck and wealth
5. Flowers - besides the flowers for the bride and in church, the hood of the wedding car is decorated with lots of flowers.
6. White Ribbon - the bride carries lengths of white ribbon with her bouquet, and after the church ceremony is over and the guests are leaving the church, she hands each driver a ribbon that they tie to the radio antenna.
7. Car Procession - after the wedding a car procession is formed and drives through town honking their horns - others honk back wishing the couple good luck.
8. Wedding Cake - the wedding cake, mostly a large cake with lots of ornaments, has to be cut by the bride and the groom together.



9. Wedding Shoes - another tradition is to collect pennies for years and buy wedding shoes for the bride with this money.
10. Dance - the first dance is danced by the bride and the groom, it is traditionally a waltz. The next dance is only for bride with her father and groom with mother, while bride’s mother dances with groom’s father.
11. Veil Dance - this is a popular game for a wedding evening. Every woman or man who wants to dance with the groom or bride, has to pay for it. This could get expensive!
12. Wedding Evening - at the wedding evening a lot of games are played, speeches are held (the first normally from the father of the bride), sometimes a wedding newspaper is handed out. Songs are sung, and so on.
13. First Night - to make the first night as difficult as possible, friends of the couple do lots of funny or sometimes cruel things. They fill up the rooms with balloons, hide lots of alarm clocks in the bedroom, take apart the bed, and so on. My son tells me that he and his fiance covered the floor of a friends room with over 200 dixie cups half full of water among other things on the friend’s wedding night.

Bonus: Kidnapping of the bride - in some areas (mostly in small villages) friends kidnap the bride and the groom has to find her. Normally, he has to search in a lot of pubs and invite all people in there (or pay the whole bill). I’ve read this ritual can end badly, although I don’t know what ‘badly’ means in this instance! My son tells me he has participated in kidnapping the bride before and that the search for her can go on for hours. They mean it when they say that the groom has to search for her!

My Soldier Son will be getting married in December in Germany when he returns there from Iraq. We are eagerly anticipating him rotating out of Iraq (after 15 months!) and also his wedding to his beautiful Deutsche Fraulein. I think being in Germany over Christmas will be just perfect and I can’t wait. I’ve even been trying to learn a little German, but that’s been a disaster! Mostly, I can’t wait to see my son. I’ve seen him VERY briefly 2 times over the past 3 years. Its time to see him and actually spend more than a few moments with him. I started to write that he needs a hug - but I need a hug from him.

He keeps asking me what I want to see and do while in Germany, so I’ve been looking around the internet to see. I really just want to see him, but he’s anxious to show me where he’s been living the last 3 years (other than Iraq).

The Bavarian Alps
Whoops. How’d that picture of my Soldier Son and his fiance get in front of the Alps!?!?

The Bavarian Alps
Ah - here are the Bavarian Alps!

Neuschwanstein Castle
Ludwig II of Bavaria was known as The Swan King and this is his castle. Even though Neuschwanstein Castle was only built in the 19th century, it looks like a story-book image of a medieval palace. It was the model for Walt Disney’s fantasy castle and was used in the famous children’s film “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”.

The Rhine

Munich
The Siegestor (pictured above) translates to Victory Gate in English. It is in Munich, Germany and was originally built to commemorate the Bavarian army. After World War II it was intentionally not fully restored to stand as a reminder of what war brought to Germany.

Frankfurt
Justitia Moon is a statue of the goddess of Justita in downtown Frankfurt. We’ll fly into Frankfurt, of course.

A Winter Sleigh Ride

Kreuzburg Monastery
Apparently this Monastery sits on the peak of Kreuzburg which is called, holy mountain of the Franconians, and is one of the oldest settlements in Europe.

A Christmas Market

The Autobahns
Of course we have to drive the autobahns, but who will drive and how much xanax should I take first? (j/k)

A Bavarian Church

Inside a Bavarian Church

The Most Important Sight to See

Today is the 30th anniversary of the death of The King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. After all these years, he’s still The King. No one comes close. He was one of a kind.

1. With my son when my son was at Fort Knox in Officers Training School
   
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1. Be realistic, plan for a miracle.
2. Successful people give more than they receive.
3. Happiness is a choice.
4. Trust your instincts.
5. The things you own end up owning you.
6. Spend your time with admirable, successful people.
7. The most important job you will ever have in your life is raising your children.
8. Forgive everyone and everything, including yourself.
9. Confront your fears. Overcoming them reaps rich rewards.
10. Let go of trying to control things you have no control over.
11. You can travel as far as you want, one step at a time.
12. Allow yourself to wallow in positive thoughts.
13. If you lay down with dogs, you get fleas.

I’ve been struggling with some personal issues that when boiled down to the bottom line could be explained as a struggle between integrity and making a living. I’ve had a very successful business life. The problem is that I made money for other people. Silly, I know. Ridiculous really. I traded my time, intellect and labor for a set amount of money. No matter how much money I generated, I continued to make the same amount of money.

A number of things have happened recently that have made me very aware of just how deeply I want to free myself from my dependence on the business world to make a living. So that got me to researching and thinking of how I can go about doing that.

The answer was right in front of me as I researched. I already have an established blog and there are ways to make money on the internet. I enjoy surfing the net and spend most of my ’spare’ time doing just that. What if I could start bringing in some income through the internet?

The problem is, I’ve heard of people doing that and I’ve heard a lot of reasons NOT to do that. So I thought I would examine some of those reasons/excuses for this weeks Thursday Thirteen. As I figure it all out, I’ll keep you posted

1. I’m not a computer geek. Well, you might be more of one than you think. You already figured out how to make a blog and in doing that you’ve learned CSS and HTML. You’ve learned how to make a blog and webpage templates. You’ve learned more than you realize. If you decide you want to learn, you can learn. You don’t have to know how to make a computer from scratch or to write a computer program from scratch to learn how to use programs and software that will help you generate an income.
2. I don’t know where to start. Who does? This is just an excuse. You didn’t know how to do the job you do now until you started doing it. There is nothing you have learned in life that you knew how to do before you learned it. Start by looking around and figuring out what other people do. Then take it from there.
3. It will devalue the cause I’m supporting on my site. Oh really? I’ve been around the business world enough to know that the people others listen to are the ones with the best record of success. You can be a brilliant writer who articulates great insights into curing all the ills of the world. If no one comes to your blog it will only serve to get it off your own chest. The tree falling in the woods only makes a sound if someone is there to hear it. If you really value your own work than get the word out there. This is an excuse someone uses when they are really afraid to make themselves vulnerable to the reactions others may have to their work.
4. Other people don’t like ads on blogs. Other people aren’t supporting your family.
5. I don’t have enough time. People have time for what they want to have time for. If you spend an hour watching TV at night you are choosing to do that rather than to spend that hour exercising or working on generating more income on the internet. It is a choice. If you don’t have time to work on generating your own income that simply means that it is not a high enough priority for you. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just a choice you make. Would you rather watch American Idol tonight or tweak your template to incorporate a program that has the potential of generating a couple hundred dollars for your family this month? It’s about choices.
6. My spouse gets aggravated when I spend too much time on the computer. You are on here anyway, so make some money at it. Once the income starts showing up in your bank account I’m willing to bet your spouse will get over it.
7. I don’t have the money. You may not have the money to start depending on your internet income right now. So you work towards that goal. You start increments until you build your internet empire (smile) to the point that you can kiss your boss goodbye! Just like with most other things, it’s the choices we make. Working on developing an income base on the internet doesn’t have a start-up cost, but doing it full time will take some time. All you have to do is start, set your goals and work towards them.
8. That’s not why I started blogging. That’s all the better. If you started your blog just to make money, most people will see that and won’t be particularly interested in what you have to say. Unless, of course, you are successful at it, then people will flock to you. It’s good to be passionate about what you are blogging about. That’s what makes your site work. Making a living through something you are passionate about is even better.
9. I only get a couple hundred dollars a month on my adsense ads. DIVERSIFY. There are literally hundreds of programs that you can use to generate income. Wade out into the vast world of the World Wide Web and find them. You can have income coming in from multiple sources. A hundred here and a hundred there starts adding up. There are literally millions of dollars out there for the making. It might as well be you making it.
10. What if I fail after announcing to the world that I’m giving it a shot? You haven’t lost anything. Fear of failure is really fear of success. We are generally afraid that if we are successful more will be expected of us and our excuses are no longer believable. But if you want to succeed badly enough you will. It’s really okay to be successful. That doesn’t make you a bad person. Get out there and try.
11. I don’t get enough traffic on my blog to make any difference. In that case, which is the case for most of us bloggers, part of your success plan is to drive more traffic to your blog. There are multiple ways to increase your traffic and linkage. That in turn increases your ranking with the various ranking systems (technorati, google, alexa, etc.)
12. I don’t have a website or blog. Having a base of operation is a definite plus, of course, but it’s not the only way. There are many income generating avenues that don’t require a website as a base. Many publications pay for writers to submit articles, for instance. Get out into the WWW and explore the possibilities. You will be surprised.
13. Why should I listen to BSC? Don’t! Find out for yourself. I’m just learning myself. I’ve blogged for a year and made chicken feed on this blog. But then, I haven’t really tried before. If I can make money for other people, I can make money for myself. I will continue to post on my progress and if I can do it anyone can. So we’ll see how I do. I’ll let you know.

Random Yak has 13 postal service slogans