The word “protein” is derived from a Greek word meaning “of primary importance.”  It is easy to see why.  Protein is essential for the human body to function correctly.  And, as most bodybuilders know, protein is the major source of nutrition for muscle growth and repair.  Protein is made up of twenty-two amino acids, which are basically the building blocks that our bodies need to grow and thrive.  Out of these twenty-two amino acids, eight can only be obtained through the food you eat and outside sources. Let’s discuss the sources of protein so that we can all have stronger muscles and healthier bodies.

One of the primary sources for protein is fish.  Fish contains high levels of protein, and should be a stable for the healthy diet.  Not only is fish a good source of protein, fish also contains oils that keep blood cholesterol levels low.  That would explain all those “fish oil” pills that are seen on the shelves in grocery stores and supplement shops.  In this age of fast food and sedentary lifestyles, everyone is looking for a product that will lower cholesterol.  Fish oil is one of those products.  So, not only will fish provide some much needed protein for the body, it will also help lower cholesterol.  When shopping for fish, I would suggest white fish such as tuna, salmon, herring, mackerel, and canned sardines.  It might be a good idea to stay away from shellfish and catfish.  Although they are good sources of protein, they are much more likely to have high levels of toxicity due to the fact that they are “bottom feeders.”

Another great source of protein is the incredible, edible egg.  Eggs contain high-quality complete protein that all of our bodies need.  It was once popular among body builders to drink raw eggs for their pure protein benefits.  I assure you that you get the same amount of protein from a cooked egg as you do from a raw one; therefore, it is not necessary to down a few raw eggs to start your day.  One large egg contains about 6 grams of protein, which makes it an “eggcellent” source for your daily protein intake.  For those of you who are concerned about cholesterol, it is suggested that you eat only egg-whites.  Two egg whites contain the same amount of protein as one whole egg, which, again, is about 6 grams.

Milk “does a body good” not only because it is the best calcium source around, but also because it is a good source of protein.  One cup of skim milk contains a whopping 8 grams of protein.  Not only is milk a good source of protein on its own, it can be combined with vegetable proteins to make them a much more complete protein source.  No wonder wearing a milk mustache has become so popular!

If you are looking for another food that provides both protein and calcium, look to cheese.  Cheese happens to be very high in protein, and in calcium.  The only downfall of this wonderful food, for those on a low fat diet,  is that it is also very high in fat.  Hard cheeses such as cheddar, mozzarella, and American all contain about 7 grams of protein per ounce.  Consider eating cheese.  It is definitely worth the benefits.

Not only is hard cheese high in protein, cottage cheese is high in protein as well.  And yes, it provides a wonderful dose of calcium as well.  A nice quality of cottage cheese is that it is available in regular or fat-free.  For those of you that are dieting or bodybuilding, it is nice to know that just ½ cup of fat-free cottage cheese contains 14 grams of protein.  Yes, I said 14 grams.  Regular cottage cheese contains 13 grams per ½ cup.  With such high protein content, cottage cheese is something you cannot afford not to eat.  Besides, it is also friendly on the wallet.  You can find a pound of cottage cheese just about anywhere for only a few bucks. It’s also a handy filler for my bodybuilding lunch of friend ground beef, mix some cottage cheese in, pop it in the microwave and you have a high protein and tasty lunch.

A wonderful source of natural protein that we cannot forget is vegetable protein.  Vegetable proteins come in the form of legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds.  Although vegetable proteins are not quite as complete as animal proteins, they are still an important staple of a healthy diet.  Vegetarians all over the world swear by meals of beans and rice, and such meals provide the body with healthy amounts of protein.  Those of the carnivorous persuasion can combine vegetable and animal proteins for a diet super-high in protein that will help them keep a lean, muscular figure.

Last, but not least, comes protein powders.  Protein powders have been used for years by bodybuilders to promote massive muscle gains.  Protein powders provide a large dose of protein, and are commonly used as a meal replacement.  There are three major types of protein powders:  whey, casein, and hemp.  All three provide two to three times the protein found in food, and are a staple in the diet of those who wish to put on a few pounds of lean, hard muscle.

The most popular protein powder is whey protein powder.  Whey protein has the best combination of amino acids out there, and is highly soluble.  Whey protein works best when ingested after a workout and aids greatly in muscle recovery.  Not only does it have all these wonderful benefits, but it comes in just about every flavor imaginable.  The most popular is vanilla, but such flavors as chocolate brownie, cookies and cream, and peanut butter cup make it seem more like a dessert than a nutrient.  On average, whey protein powder is sold in two pound jars that contain pre-measured scoops that deliver a whopping 15-30 grams of protein per scoop.

Another major type of protein powder is casein protein powder.  Casein digests slowly, and works best for the body when taken at bedtime.  Casein helps prevent muscle breakdown, and provides 6-7 hours of protein absorption.  Casein provides close to the same combination of amino acids as whey protein, but does sit in the stomach for quite a few hours.  It is definitely not your morning type of protein, but can deliver all the protein you need while you sleep.

The least popular, and least known, type of protein powder is hemp protein.  Hemp protein is extremely high in fiber, and has a unique nutty flavor.  Hemp protein is the most popular among vegetarians, since it is 100% raw, organic hemp.  The price is a little steep, but hemp protein can be used in lieu of whey protein.  Again, hemp protein is perfect for vegans.  Another added bonus is that most of the manufacturers of hemp protein donate large amounts of their proceeds to promote the use of organic vegetables.

All in all, protein is indeed “of primary importance.”  Our bodies need protein in order to maintain lean muscle, and to recover from the rigors of day to day activities.  So go out, get some protein, and give your body the boost it needs to become strong and healthy.

Paid survey sites have a bad rap. Most people believe that these programs will never pay out, or they will trick you into buying something you don’t want. With all of the people on the internet trying to steal your identity, it can be hard to trust a survey site. To begin to trust a survey site, you need to understand how they make money.

How Do Survey Sites Earn Money?

These sites earn their money in several different ways. The first way is the flat sum they earn for every survey you complete. After they take their cut, they pass down the remainder of the earnings to the survey taker. Companies are willing to pay a large amount of money for market research. In their eyes, it is a small price to pay, to discover what potential customers might want.

Another way that survey sites earn money is through their affiliate programs. They disguise these programs by referring to them as offers, or shopping programs. You will be given a reward for completing offers, or a refund for shopping. When you complete an offer and receive your stipend, you can rest assured that the survey site is pocketing some cash as well. Some of these offers will be presented in the form of free trials. It is important to cancel these free trials before they force you to pay. These companies are banking on the possibility that you will forget to cancel.

How Can You Benefit From This?

Now that you are aware of how survey sites make money, you can use this knowledge to use them to pocket some cash for yourself. Obviously one of the ways to make money online with survey sites is to take the surveys. It can take a while to find a survey that you qualify for, so this may not be the best option for some. If you are able to qualify for a survey, you will be paid approximately one dollar. It can take about fifteen minutes to complete a survey, and you can only take a couple per day. So you won’t get rich taking surveys, but you can earn some extra spending money.

The next option is to complete the offers. It is suggested that you only complete free offers that do not ask for too much information. These generally don’t pay that much, but they are very quick to complete. Make sure that you have a dummy email address set up so it doesn’t matter if you get a lot of spam. These companies will send you a lot of emails, so beware.

The final, and best, option to make money with survey sites is to participate in their referral programs. Since they make so much money on offers and surveys, it is important for these sites to increase their user base. You can earn up to 25% of what your referrals earn. If you refer 2000 people, the amount of money you will receive every month from referrals is staggering.

When you join a survey site, it is important to remember that you won’t get rich this way. You can only hope to add a little bit to your monthly income. Some people make hundreds of dollars every month just through survey sites, and there is no reason that you can’t. Just be careful, and don’t sign up for something that asks for too much information. In the long run, you can make a lot of money through the online survey sites.

>According to the 2004 Standish Group chaos report which assesses the success of software development projects, 54% of projects were late, 18% completely failed, and only 28% were delivered on time and within budget. The average cost overrun was about 100% and the average schedule overrun was around 120%. That is catastrophic planning by anyone’s standards, and yet enormous amounts of resources are applied to get it right.

It is clear that error is endemic in the software estimation and planning process. Despite an abundance of techniques for estimation, projects get it wrong over and over again. One response to this is to attempt to increase the level of detail, the accuracy of individual estimates, the micro-management of schedules, and to apply greater control to individual processes, in an attempt to anticipate problems and respond to them promptly. Another approach is to relax control and modify the whole delivery process into one of incremental functionality. The former seems like control freakery, whereas the latter seems like a loss of project direction.

But why is the problem so difficult, and why do so many project managers find the whole area so perplexingly fluid? And why do our project management methods often fail to shape up to the challenge?

Myths about requirements

Everyone knows how to build something. You decide what it is you want, then design it, then make all the bits and assemble it. Just like a house. Some project managers still have this mental picture of software development and their planning corresponds to a traditional linear process. They create a product breakdown structure, with requirements defined for the whole product and each separate component, until eventually they have a complete set of sub-components with designs that are used to assess the resources needed to make them.

That fragmentation of the product into components is almost never adequate to capture the interconnections between the requirements. Instead it creates the illusion of a product divided and conquered, and the corresponding appearance of project control. With the apparent separation of components, the very connections between them become problematic, hidden, and underestimated, despite the apparent accuracy of the project plan.

The moment any changes are required between components, the interfaces are modified and the effects cascade, sometimes uncontrollably. And change they will, always. Requirements change because we are never in the position of building separate components which will seamlessly fit together to deliver the expected functionality. There is always a compromise. Change is inherent in software development and consequently so is uncertainty. The assumption that requirements can be captured at the outset is a myth and the best that is ever achieved is a partial set with some estimate of the likelihood that they will change.

Sources of change

Any software project that lasts more than a few weeks will see some change in the technology available for development, possible even a change in the underlying platform. As code is developed, it is possible to observe it working empirically and this throws up questions of performance, functionality, scalability, and testability.

That in turn has an influence on the rest of the project, perhaps requiring a reordering of the effort, a change in priority, a change in the scale of effort required, the use of different tools, different methods, more than likely some redesign. Any one of these makes the existing project plan unstable and forces it off schedule. Normally plans include some contingency to accommodate the uncertainty but it is usually used up in the early stages of the project.

During the course of a project it is common to hear mention of future-proofing with questions being raised about the adequacy of the existing designs. Sometimes changes in design become necessary and this adversely affects the project plan. Attempts are made to keep as much as possible of the existing work rather than redesign too much of what is already done. So the efficiency of the design tends to degrade through this process of accommodation, but what can the project manager do? They have a plan, they have milestones, they have sponsors who need reassurance.

Project Manager responses to change

One common response is to try to force developers to stick to the existing schedule and to meet the milestones, to cut whatever corners are necessary to deliver the product, just in order to preserve the integrity of the plan. After all, the financial viability of the project depends on its delivery on time and on budget. Developers can be put under intense pressure to get back on track.

As the implications of the early stage of development become apparent, estimates are seen to be less and less reliable, and so a struggle develops between the developers who are trying to offer more realistic estimates, and the project managers who consistently assume that the estimates are inflated, and consequently try to argue them down.

With some projects, it is possible to adopt a more flexible approach. Typically where the functionality can be delivered incrementally, where the customer accepts such a model, and where the architecture of the project permits a relatively clear separation between components, a more agile approach to development can be used.

This is often highly iterative with the developers committing to deliver a unit of functionality in a given time, and are then left to make the resource decisions for themselves. Where the structure of the project permits this level of developer control, the evidence says that the projects are more successful. Project managers accept a much lighter role as the function is absorbed into the development team itself.

The problem with estimates

An estimate is a calculation and in order for any developer to provide an honest figure, they need to establish some prior data. Until some development work has been done, the developer will not be able to offer any reliable estimate. This work might require a prototype, experimenting with the code for critical functionality, or examining the likely problems of testing. Once the developer has obtained some data, they can offer an improved estimate, but it will necessarily contain some uncertainty.

Any estimate is based on assumptions, some of which will be wrong. Requirements inevitably change during the course of a project, either because they prove infeasible or the customer wants something different, or because the development is constrained to use particular technology or integrate with other systems. Sometimes such changes are required by platform changes and updates. So estimates are critically related to requirements which also contain uncertainty.

The myth of future-proofing

It is common for developers to be expected to future-proof their code. Sometimes this simply means accommodating potential changes to the platform on which it runs, but frequently it also involves some measure of anticipating the integration with other future projects.

Of course, there are multiple possible futures, all but one of which will turn out to be wrong. Since there are substantial costs involved in abstracting functionality to insulate code against change, future-proofing is inherently risky. Instead of anticipating the future and getting it wrong, it is often much more cost-effective to save the expenditure and pay for necessary change when it is known.

The problem with reuse

Once we have designed a house, we can reuse the design many times over to produce more of them. In software development, there is a belief that abstracting functionality into general purpose components enables their reuse. And there have been successful technologies built on such reuse. ActiveX and the COM components of Windows are clear examples of reuse, but they have their problems.

But behind the concept is reuse is the necessary agreement to keep the interfaces to such components constant. So although the code behind the interface can change, the interface itself stays the same. This gives the impression that change can be accommodated. However it is the interface to the component that provides access to the functionality. Any additional functionality therefore requires additional interfaces.

So although components might get reused, they gradually acquire additional interfaces, increasing complexity and the maintenance overhead. Often the time required to develop additional interfaces within the context of existing functionality is not cost-effective and new components are developed anyway, creating upgrade and compatibility problems. Despite the best of intentions, reuse is often not effective.

The problem with historical comparisons

When estimating a new project it is common to look back at previous projects of similar size and complexity and look at the actual time taken. This is assumed to provide the basis for a ball-park figure but it can be seriously misleading.

Even a project only a few years old will have used different development tools, different libraries and even different programming languages, and will have worked on a different platform without current updates. It will have had substantially different requirements otherwise the old project would simply have been revised. Making the assumption that historical projects are comparable can mislead project planners into completely unrealistic estimates.

Indeterminate factors

Performance, usability, and scalability tests almost always require a working system with as near as possible, the actual working loads. This is almost always not cost-effective and so customers experience many system problems in order for developers to be able to identify and fix them. The problem is that there are simply too many variables to control in complex systems, and too much uncertainty to be able to design effective solutions.

Nevertheless, there is constant pressure in a project to adopt an optimistic outlook. Often looking on the bright side early precedes some very dark testing scenarios later.

Linear projects and iterative development

All software development involves a large degree of iteration, whether it is the constant re-testing, or the incremental addition of new functionality. But normally that takes place within some form of linear plan.

Project managers are normally trained in planning methodologies which are linear, starting from product definition and breakdown, through various stages involving designing and building to testing and delivery. And of course, all product development is linear in the sense that it moves from a concept through to a product. Iteration has to take place within that linear progression.

The extent to which iteration is used depends on the nature of the project and although agile development is much favoured by developers who want to mitigate pressure from project managers, not all projects either need or benefit from such approaches.

Those projects which have both vertical and horizontal integration, which require lower layers to have stable and proven functionality, may not be able to accommodate the constant reworking typical of agile development. Some parts of some projects definitely need to be linear.

But the converse it true as well. Fixing designs and code too early can create later rework which destabilizes designs. A balance has to be struck. The agile versus waterfall debacle has served to clarify some of the important issues in managing software projects but realistic managers understand the need for elements of both approaches.

Project constraints

Projects in the real world have to meet financial targets and despite the need for iteration in planning, there are milestones which have cash consequences. No matter how flexible the development schedule might be, normally financial planning is less flexible. There is always a tension between the needs of development, and the needs of the project sponsors.

Adaptive planning therefore has limits, even where the customers are happy to work with an incremental delivery of the product.

On balance

Iterative and linear approaches have to be mixed together on most projects to accommodate the business needs for financial planning and developer needs to accommodate change. Initial requirements, estimates and designs are expected to change so adaptive planning is essential. Neither waterfall nor agile provide the panacea because all software development involves a substantial amount of indeterminacy coupled with linear business needs, so some mixture of approaches is essential.

Estimation is a calculation involving some probability of error which needs to be managed. The use of estimation tools is helpful but not definitive. Future-proofing is often not cost-effective, and reuse sometimes involves costly compromises. Project managers who force compliance with a rigid plan also force compromises in design and functionality which can critically lower product quality and increase risk. The better approach is to accommodate change within the planning process which needs a degree of iterative flexibility.

>At work, we tend to become consumed with our own roles and responsibilities. We can develop tunnel vision and become biased as to how we think things should be done or improved. Our opinions become one-sided. We often attribute delays and poor results to everyone but ourselves. Isn’t it always someone else’s fault, or some other department’s fault? If only other departments and employees could get their act together, our own jobs would be that much easier. Why do we have to suffer because others simply can’t finish on time? Unfortunately, everyone shares this opinion. Someone, somewhere, feels the same way about your work and how you do things. In fact, finger pointing, blaming others, and political games are common in any workplace. It’s this tunnel vision that impairs everyone’s perception. We get so wrapped up in our own responsibilities, and so frustrated by delays and lost time, that we feel the need to blame someone. Of course, that someone always tends to be our co-workers. However, what if there was a way to give everyone another perspective? It’s done all the time, in all kinds of organizations, and the results can be quite impressive. It helps to reduce lost time, improve work flow, and make the overall work process more seamless.

Using cross-functional project teams to improve processes:

What exactly are cross-functional project teams anyways? Simply put, they are teams of employees that come from different departments, and who share a common goal of eliminating down time and improving efficiencies. They are tasked with the responsibility of finding a better way to do things. Cross-functional project teams can also be used to resolve all kinds of issues. Having people from different departments, with different perspectives, is an ideal way to bring fresh new ideas to problem solving. A single representative from each department will come together on a weekly basis to reduce delays, and improve work processes. Knowing these teams can provide a different perspective, what are some of the essential criteria for success?

Management must support the team throughout the process.

Cross-functional project teams are the ultimate problem solvers, but they rely upon management support to succeed. It’s often management who encourages the formation of these teams, until of course their suggestions impact a manager’s roles and responsibilities. Cross-functional teams must be given the freedom to pursue initiatives as they see them. It’s not a prerequisite that all of their suggestions, and their solutions, be implemented. However, they must be given due consideration. The most important support they can receive is the time to review their findings, and an open ear willing to listen to possible solutions.

Work sharing is an ideal way for each team member to get a different view of the problem.

Nothing gives employees a fresh view of problems than to have them spend the time working in a different department and role. How would someone from purchasing handle being a sales representative for a day or two, and vice-versa? Obviously both would come away with a greater appreciation for what each has to deal with. It’s imperative that the members of the team all come from different departments. For these teams to excel, it’s an excellent idea to swap roles to gain a better idea of what each has to go through to get the job done. Exchanging roles and responsibilities is an excellent way to bring new ideas to the table.

Make sure everyone has a chance to become part of a cross-functional project team.

Once everyone sees the results, it’s not uncommon for other employees to want to become part of a team. It affords employees a level of freedom that may otherwise be lacking. It provides a platform for them to express their opinions, and offer suggestions, where they may not have had the opportunity before. It’s an excellent way to open the doors to other possible interests for employees. It’s also a great way to remove the boredom that comes from working on the same things, day after day. For those in management, it’s a good way to evaluate talent and perhaps find someone more ideally suited to a different role.

Having as many employees as possible take part in problem solving is a perfect way to incentivize them to pursue new and interesting roles. In today’s business environment, change is a constant force, and continuous improvements allow businesses to stay one step ahead of their competition. Stagnant roles and responsibilities offer no room for personal or professional development. Employees need a different perspective on how work is handled in various departments. Cross-functional project teams are an ideal way to shed new light on an old problem.

>Blogger is canceling FTP publishing as of May 1, 2010. You’re only options after then is using a blogger sub-domain or a blogger custom domain.

I can’t say that I’m at all happy about this development. I like publishing to my own server and having the flexibility to run sub-folders and sub-domains as I like it. Being able to add some PHP code here and there is handy too. Doing a simple include and having your Apache server parsing .html files for PHP code makes it easy to add custom PHP widgets and give you blogger blog the flexibility of a wordpress blog.

There is less control for me and more control for blogger. It seems I’ll have to keep the nav bar, not something I want. Maybe there is an easy way to get rid of it but I couldn’t find it. Blogger used to have an option to turn it off for your own domain, not it’s no longer there.

I’m not switching to a custom domain. If blogger still wants to proceed then I’ll be going to a WordPress blog. It’s too bad. I’ve really enjoyed using blogger.

Turn on the news and, within half an hour, you’re likely to see a report on the health benefits of omega-3 essential fatty acids. Unlike many food fads, the hype surrounding omega-3s is backed up by solid, decades-long research. These nutrients, sometimes referred to as “Vitamin F”, streamline your metabolism, increase brain function and decrease inflammation. While this may seem too good to be true, omega-3s have been found to make you thinner, quicker-thinking and less likely to develop heart disease and arthritis.

Unfortunately, the Western food supply is deficient in these nutrients. While meat, poultry and fish used to be excellent sources, they are now high in omega-6s, which are found in high concentrations in corn-based feeds. Omega-6s not only increase inflammation and fat-storage but, when eaten in improper balance, prevent the absorption of omega-3s.

The easiest way to add omega-3s to a Western diet is a fish-oil supplement. These capsules contain purified oils that are high in the essential fatty acid. Although they provide the most effective way to quickly increase your omega-3 intake, for the maximum benefit you should also alter your diet to include more omega-3s and fewer omega-6s.

Many nuts and seeds contain high quantities of omega-3s. Walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds and flaxseed are all excellent, omega-3 rich foods to add to your diet. However, these sources do not contain a complete fatty acid, which is comprised of ALA, DHA and EPA. Fruit and vegetable sources only contain ALA, which your body can convert to DHA and EPA, with some difficulty.

To consume a complete fatty acid, you should include protein sources that have been grass-fed or exclusively grazed. Grass-fed animals consume the ALA and convert it to DHA and ARA, saving your body the trouble. It can often be difficult, and expensive, to find grass-fed beef or poultry. Fortunately, there are many varieties of free-range eggs that are very high in omega-3s. If you live in a rural area, contact local egg farms to find out if their chickens are fed corn-feed or are free-range.

Dark-green, leafy vegetables, like spinach and romaine lettuce, are high in omega-3s and low in omega-6s. Many experts believe this is because omega-6s are responsible for fat storage, while omega-3s increase metabolism. Omega-6s are found often in plant seeds, like corn and wheat, while rarely found in high quantities in the leaves.

Fruits are also an excellent source of omega-3s. High-water fruits, such as melons and blackberries, contain very high concentrations. Pomegranates, which are believed to have anti-cancer properties, also contain much omega-3.

As you begin to change your diet, you should research your favorite foods to compare the concentrations of omega-6s to omega-3s. Omega-6s are the most common and found in nearly every food, so don’t worry about not consuming enough. By substituting foods high in omega-3s for those laden with omega-6s and taking a daily omega-3 supplement, you can reap all the health benefits of this essential fatty acid.

Is Rogers Communications Gouging iPhone Users? I guess more to the point are they gouging me? I was feeling a little smug today when my iPhone chimed indicating that I had an SMS message.

I was excited to say the least. You never know who it could be. Maybe my wife had some good news or my sister was looking for some advise on a bluetooth headset. It was a message from Rogers Communications stating that I qualified for a very special deal. So special this deal was that they had immediately activated it on my account.

Rogers svc msg: Pack ur
phone 4 the holidays! ALL
calls made from the US only
$0.99/min. Exclusive offer
already applied on ur account
&urs NOW until May31

I felt quite special and was a little too smug to my friend Dan whose iPhone chimed in about 10 seconds later. “Why is you’re iPhone always so slow with the SMS?” I quipped at him. For some reason his is always behind by a few seconds when we’re on the same SMS list.

Well to my chagrin and Dan’s delight, not only did he receive a similar message, his deal was half of what mine was. Way to kick a guy in his special place!

Not wanting to feel slighted I figured I would call Rogers to see what the explanation was. Not only have I been a Rogers customer for 10 years, it was my boasting about how the iPhone was the next best thing to being Greek that prompted Dan and another guy at work to switch from MTS to Rogers. That iPhone is like an extention of my hand.

My longtime loyalty and good account standing would sway the special US calling rate in my favor, of that I was certain. On top of being a great customer I didn’t go for one of the cheap iPhone plans. I opted instead to simply add the $30 a month 6GB plan onto my existing plan. I actually pay more than Dan monthly.

I placed a call into Rogers’ customer care line and spoke to a very polite person took my call who unfortunately did not know anything about this new promotion. After putting me on hold for a while it sounded like I was getting the worse rate because my account is based on an a-la cart package with a base rate of $10. Forget that I spend gobs of money each month and have almost every feature. I pointed out that I didn’t feel that special considering I spend more than Dan and postulated that Rogers simply feels that they can charge me more.

I’m sad to say there was no silver lining. “Please call again next week when we know about the program. We may be able to do something for you then.” was the only help I received.

I had already figured I was being screwed on the 6GB 3G plan. Yes I have the plan for $30/Month instead of the usual $100/month at the time I signed up for it but I hardly use it at all. Well I use my iPhone all the time but there’s so much free WIFI around that I don’t get to tap into the 3G that much. Even on occasion that I need access to the 3G network the amount of data that is sent with Email and Google maps in minimal.

Since October 2008 I’ve managed to send a whopping 26.9MB and receive a staggering 342 MB of data. I wonder how that cost translates into talk time. The network is digital after all, how much bandwidth is used on voice calls?

I found myself need to download about 30,000 from an Analytics report recently. Anaytics provides some great info but I needed to join up some of the data with a MySQL database to get a more in depth analysis of what was going on with one of my web projects. Much to my chagrin it looked like Analytics will only give 500 lines in a report.

A little sleuthing in Google groups dug up some posts that have a tip on getting past the 500 line barrier. Just add “&limit=50000” to the Google Analytics URL and you’ll have up to 50,000 lines in your downloaded report. I’ve tried more that that’s as much as they’ll give you.

Online gambling is a huge industry with companies like Bodog and Betfred
raking in so much money that the president of Bodog, Calvin Ayre, avoids setting foot in the USA for fear of being brought up on racketeering charges.

Who has the money or resources to start up an online casino? Or even the energy and time to get the backing for one that could compete with the big boys? Why bother when you can do what many did back in the gold rush. The real money back then was selling the shovels not in finding the gold.

History has a way of repeating itself. Casinos, much lick the Klondike of old, have the odds stacked against the gambler that there is virtually no chance that they’ll strike gold. Many gamblers buy “winning” sports picks from various “experts” in a vain attempt to strike it big.

So with that in mind does it really matter if the picks the gamblers get are real, or is the rush and excitement of knowing they’re about to get a leg up on the casino enough to make buying your sports picks.

The traditional way the “experts” run their scam is to send out a bunch of fliers with a free “winning pick” and a number for gamblers (AKA the mark) to call in if they want to pay for a winning pick. The handicappers (or shysters as one legit handicapper I know refers to them) make promises of you making incredible amounts of money on their picks and of course they have a free pick on the flier that will have, if you’re in the correct are code, won.

What you can’t see is that the fliers are different in each area code. For the first run of fliers 1/2 of area codes get one team as the winner and the other area code gets the other team as the winner. Replicate this out to 10 or 20 cities and you’ll end up with one that has a large number of people that saw your steak of “winning” predictions.

The internet and IP to city databases allow you can determine the location of a visitor to your website. You can use this to replicate giving from the same city the same picks just like with the traditional flier method. Assuming you’ve figured out how to get traffic to your website then you can make lots of cash.

Requirements

The most important requirement is that you have no morals at all. You’ll be ripping people off. Running a sports handicapping scam like this is probably illegal but there are so many of them it makes you wonder why no one stops these criminals.

Ironically there are a few legit ones, but their problem is that they can only promise a return of 10% of month over a long term of playing their picks. It just isn’t exciting like knowing you’ll be doubling or tripling your money in a day.

Then you’ll need an IP to city database, some programming skills and a website. Fortunately all of these can be purchased online. There’s a lot of qualified designers and web programmers contracting through eLance that building website should not be a problem even if you lack the requisite skills.

Other than that some links to online Sports Books, AKA Casinos, will come in handy. You can recommend “reputable” sports books where your customers can place their bets. The great part is that you can get an affiliate code and make a commission from people that sign-up and bet on top of the fees for your sports picks. The affiliate links look like the following:

The Payout

Assuming you can get traffic to your website then you could be making hundreds of dollars a day.

At the very least you’ve probably learned not to throw your money away with the shysters.

Google is hiring an army of Quality Raters to help them test the relevancy of their mighty search algorithm as well as help them identify SPAM websites, or anything that is of a malicious nature.

Google’s algorithm is a leading edge, and by far the best, way to search for relevant web sites from “removing hang nails” to “installing a tub surround”. In an ideal world with no one trying to manipulate their pages for higher search engine ranking (and more clicks on advertisements) Google would be providing virtually flawless search results for almost any conceivable search. The only problem is that there are hundreds of webmasters out there employing “Black Hat” SEO techniques to get their built for AdSense websites into the top positions on many popular searches.

The algorithms have a tough time tossing the “fake” sites, so that’s where the people come in. Basically the raters will evaluate an actual website clicked on by an actual surfer and rate that website against the actual search the user performed.

The rating is anywhere from “is the website vital to the search the user performed” “to not relevant”. It can also be flagged SPAM or pornographic among many other possible flags.

I did this job for about a year, working around 8 to 10 hours a week. The nice thing was that the job paid me for surfing on the internet, I could do it from home, or anywhere with a high speed internet connection, and they paid me $18.00 an hour on a weekly basis. It was pretty easy to make an extra $150.00 to $200.00 a week.

The job is pretty tedious, though there were some interesting experiments that I was involved in. They only let you do this position for a year but you can reapply after a 3 month leave.

Requirements

You need to have a high speed internet connection. Be legally allowed to work in either the US or Canada. They want people that have traveled and are tech savvy. In a nut shell they’re looking for people who love the internet and are curious by nature.

Payout

They want you working 10 to 20 hours per week and pay around $18/hour so that brings the weekly haul in around $180 to $360 a week. Plus 4% vacation pay in Canada. They pay via direct deposit weekly making this a very lucrative way to earn extra cash.

The interesting thing about applying for this position is that by nature it’s hard to interview people. If you make the short list you’re given a manual to read and are presented with an exam. Applicants get paid $150 for taking the exam and another $150 for passing it.

You’re not actually working for Google, you’ll be a temp working through a staffing agency, but they do let you put on your resume that you worked on a project for Google which means that you’ll be able to reference one of the most respected and talked about companies in the world on your resume.