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Excerpts From A Dog's And A Cat's Diary

My son-in-law sent this to my daughter who sent it on to me since we're all dog and cat owners. I hope you get a chuckle from it like we did.

Excerpts from a dog's diary:

• 8:00 am Dog food! My favorite thing!
• 9:30 am A car ride! My favorite thing!
• 9:40 am walk in the park! My favorite thing!
• 10:30 am Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
• 12:00 pm Lunch! My favorite thing!
• 1:00 pm Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
• 3:00 pm Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
• 5:00 pm Milk bones! My favorite thing!
• 7:00 pm Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
• 8:00 pm Wow! Watched TV with my master! My favorite thing!
• 11:00 pm Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

Excerpts from a cat's diary:
Day 683 of my captivity:

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape... In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the floor.

Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of.

However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am. The audacity! There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of "allergies." I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released -- and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded! The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicating with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. The captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe....... for now....

-------------------------------------

While we don't own any birds I do have a fish. I doubt our cat thinks the fish is an informant however I have arranged protective custody for him so he is safe...for now...

Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into your pets thoughts.

To Your Success,
Susan

Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,Transforming the yard to a winter delight.The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then thesure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,And I crept to the door just to see who was near.Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child."What are you doing?" I asked without fear,"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..To the window that danced with a warm fire's lightThen he sighed and he said "Its really all right,I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night." "It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,That separates you from the darkest of times.No one had to ask or beg or implore me,I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',And now it is my turn and so, here I am.I've not seen my own son in more than a while,But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,The red, white, and blue... an American flag.I can live through the cold and the being alone,Away from my family, my house and my home.I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.I can carry the weight of killing another,Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..Who stand at the front against any and all,To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,Your family is waiting and I'll be all right.""But isn't there something I can do, at the least,"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?It seems all too little for all that you've done,For being away from your wife and your son."Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,To stand your own watch, no matter how long.For when we come home, either standing or dead,To know you remember we fought and we bled.Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The message below was attached and signed.

PLEASE, Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S.service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq.

Dads Are (Harried) Parents, Too!

In a recent mailing I included the statement:
"(The mind is the first thing to go when thereare young children around and it's followed quickly by money.)"

The next day I received an email from a subscriber telling me about an article she had written because the statement hit close to home and reminded her of the article.

The article had been written for Father's Day but I think it's true for all parents all the time so I am putting it here for your enjoyment.

--------------------
Dads Are (Harried) Parents, Too!

My husband thought he was immune to the apparent "Lost-Mind-Syndrome" that had afflicted me during our childrens' toddler years. What, you haven't heard of "Lost-Mind-Syndrome"? Okay, so maybe it's nothing more than being scatter-brained from having ten thousand things to do each and every day! But read on to see that even the most practical-minded man is no match for the beleaguered mind-weariness of parenting!

I think it was during our toddler invasion years (we had three at home) when I realized that losing one's mind--particularly a portion of the memory feature--was an unavoidable by-product of parenting. Why didn't the baby books warn that lost car keys, lost eye glasses, lost bottles and pacifiers--things that turn routine days into triathlons--would become par for the course? There is probably a specialized branch of the government mothers should work for. Who else can conduct a frantic search for vital home security items in less than a minute--and still make it to the pediatrician's office on time?

My husband has hinted that "lost-mind-syndrome" (or, LMS, as we affectionately call it) after parenthood can only happen if one is prone to it in the first place. In other words, that I was really just plain nuts and parenting was bringing it out. Ha! Little did he know that his day would come!

I admit that I had been displaying grave signs of the malady: There was the time we were traveling with two friends when we had to stop so Mike (my husband) could check the engine. Climbing back into the driver’s seat he complained that he'd gotten some antifreeze on his bare arm. Instantly a wayward maternal instinct leapt up in me like an alarm and I blurted, “Don’t lick your arm!” To peals of laughter from the backseat, my husband thanked me profusely for reminding him not to lick his arm since, of course, he was in a terrible habit of doing so.

Another time we were visiting friends and I spotted a pretty lamp, which our hostess explained was a "touch-lamp," the kind you simply have to touch to turn on. They were NEW at the time, and, impressed, I gushed, “Oh, so it’s good for blind people!” For the split-second the thought was in my head until I spoke it aloud, it actually had made sense. Acute LMS in action.

Fortunately lots of parents display symptoms of the syndrome, so I never feel alone. For instance, at the supermarket you can always spot the harried parents at the checkout: they are the ones rocking the shopping cart back and forth. No matter that baby is home—they don’t even know they’re doing it.

Or the 19 mothers in the department store who turn their heads simultaneously when a young child cries "Mommy!" The brain affected by LMS always thinks, "that could be my child!" So what if we left the kids home with Dad? Reality has nothing to do with it. Yup, and friends tell me I am not the only one who has offered a visitor a nicely warmed bottle of milk instead of the tea they were expecting. And I've actually seen other people begin to chop meat into teensy, tiny little pieces--for their spouse.

Often, when bottles or Binky's were missing, my husband would shake his head. "Didn't we just buy a few?" he'd say. I could answer that yes, we had, without even thinking about it--we were ALWAYS just buying a few.

One evening I had just finished bathing our two older kids. As I walked past the den Mike spotted me and asked, worried, “Is the (baby) gate on the stairs closed? Make sure it’s closed!” I saw that Matthew, our youngest at 16 months, was safe for the moment, but I checked the gate anyway. It was closed.

When I passed Mike again shortly afterwards, he fretted, “Did you leave the bathroom door open? Matthew could be getting into the bathroom!” He was worried that I had left water in the tub, and that Matt might be at risk. I had not left water in the tub and stopped in my tracks, suprised to see Mike getting even more indignant. I hadn't even answered the question when he demanded, “Where is Matthew, anyway? WHERE IS HE?!”

I gazed at my husband, shaking my head softly. In a gentle voice I broke the news to him: ”Honey, you’re feeding him.” I felt sorry for the guy as he looked down at Matthew on his lap, sucking quietly from a bottle, and it hit him: He, too, had lost his mind!

Ah, isn’t marriage and parenting great? Give the dad in your house an extra big hug this Father's Day. He deserves it!

Linore Rose Burkard writes Inspirational Regency Romance as well as articles on Regency Life, Homeschooling, and Self-Improvement. She publishes a monthly eZine "Upon My Word!" which you can receive for FREE by signing up at her website quickly and easily. Ms. Burkard graduated from the City University of New York with a Magna Cum Laude degree in English Literature, and now lives in Ohio with her husband and five children. If you are a faith-based writer and would like to contribute to her textbook project "Revelations" go to: http://www.linoreroseburkard.com/RevProject.html for more information

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linore_Rose_Burkard

---------------------------

Hope you enjoyed the article and Thank You Linore for sharing.

To Your Success,
Susan

"Oh well, let's make the best of it."

On August 9, 2006 I asked my readers what they thought of the high price of gasoline and 1 of my subscribers included some information concerning the "Oh well" syndrome.
Here is an excerpt from the newsletter with my response to his information -

-----

What upsets me more than the gas prices is another thing Darell included in his message, "... one of the editors at our paper wrote a column in the paper recently about the "Oh well" syndrome. It told that today, no matter what happens, if a mistake is made no matter what size the answer is Oh well. He went on to say, that what bothered him was that it was accepted as an answer, with little or no after thought. Oh well."

While I do agree that no one needs the extra stress of worrying about things we have no control over and can't change - I also contend that there is very little in this world we have no control over and can't change. We can't control the weather or whether or not the sun will shine and as single individuals we can't control inflation, gas dependency, or the high cost of health insurance.

And maybe that's the real problem - we all think like "we're only 1 person" so we have no control. But Thomas Jefferson was only 1 person, Mohandas Gandhi was only 1 person, Winston Churchill was only 1 person and Florence Nightingale was only 1 person. Yet all of them and many more did make a difference by showing us that we can take control.

I am glad none of them had the "Oh well syndrome."

Sorry - now I'll get off my soapbox.

-----

Now I was going to leave this subject alone and move on however after the disturbing call I received from my youngest daughter last week, I've decided it's time to make a stand on both the "Oh well" and the "Let's make the best of it" syndromes.

Just so you'll understand why I've included the "Let's make the best of it" syndrome here's a brief description of why the call was disturbing -

-----

Background:
Daughter getting married and putting photos in invitations. Invitations are done like a scrapbook so photos must be included.

When pictures were to be taken the studio did not give them the place or opportunity to check appearance or choice of backdrops.

When proofs were shown they were so small and fuzzy they could not be seen however the photographer insisted it was the old computer and the pictures were all quite good.

When they picked up the pictures my daughter kept saying she didn't like the pictures but the photographer and her fiancé stated they were acceptable.

While she was assembling the invitations she asked her friends and they didn't think the pictures were good either but she should "make the best of it." And when she talked to her fiancé he stated the same thing.

Call:
Daughter in tears because the pictures made her face look distorted and she was ashamed to send them out.

Side Note - Although I am a biased mother, my daughter is very attractive and photographs well. Every professional picture taken to this point has made her look like live porcelain doll with large blue eyes. She also looked good in home photographs.

Also, weddings are 1 of the most important events in a woman's life and 1 where they want everything to be perfect or at least the best they can be.

-----

Not being a person who subscribes to the "Oh well" or "Let's make the best of it" syndromes I immediately told my daughter, "You paid for something you didn't get so stand up for yourself and have them do it right."

I also explained that this should have been done immediately either when they saw the proofs (she said they could not see them well enough to know at that point) or when they were picking the pictures up. She agreed and was then hesitant to do anything because these times had passed.

I then urged her to call the studio manager and explain everything as she had done for me and tell him how upset she was. She didn't have to get mad, just express her true feelings. (Sometimes you do have to get mad but that's a last resort and doesn't have to be done often.)

She did as I suggested and the result was - free retakes.

According to her the new pictures are so good they even ordered more.

Now back to my soapbox.

In all matters of your life you do not have to accept everything as "that's the way it is so let's make the best of it". You have the right to expect and get a certain degree of excellence.

Examples:

• If you go to a restaurant and they undercook or overcook your food you have the right to send it back and have it prepared properly.
• If you purchase a defective tool and it breaks the first time you use it (you should be using it properly) you have the right to return it.
• If you purchase a food item before it's "sell by" date and find it bad you have the right to return it.
• If you pay for a professional service and don't get professional work you have the right to either get a refund or have them do it right.

You have all these rights and more!

The "Oh well" and "Let's make the best of it" syndromes are ruining the quality of products, service and life for everyone.

When the majority people don't demand good quality and just accept what they're given, quality goes down for everyone and only those who are willing to say "I want what I paid for." will get it.

Living in a world where people will say -

• "Oh well, let's make the best of it and fill up on mashed potatoes since the chicken is undercooked." or
• "Oh well, let's make the best of it and use a dinner knife since the new screwdriver broke." or
• "Oh well, let's make the best of it and snack on our dry cereal since the milk was sour when I bought it." or
• "Oh well, let's make the best of it and see if Mom can trim the uneven hair in back."

should not be acceptable to anyone because everyone deserves some degree of quality.

As an individual I've had every one of the above lack of quality experiences however I didn't say "Oh well, let's make the best of it." I've gone back, expressed my concern and have been given refunds or the product/service with the amount of quality expected.

Did I expect perfection? No. Nothing is perfect however things should be at least satisfactory.

Did I get made and yell? No. Acting calmly and friendly is the best way to go.

Did I get what I expected? Yes. I had to point out what was expected and they agreed and gave it to me.

The first step to improving the quality for everyone is for you to join me and take a stand to not be an "Oh well" or "Let's make the best of it" person. While 1 person can not change the world, if we act together and become the majority, the quality of things must conform to the demands of the majority and things should get better for everyone.

Will you join me? Will you start standing up for yourself and the rest of us and demand good products and services? I sure hope so because it's been a lonely battle for a long time.

To Your Success,
Susan

Laugh and Learn

While doing some research this morning I ran across this great video clip done by Tom Asacker.

Tom is known as a "marketing guru" and knows a lot about branding. He's also a fantastic public speaker as you'll discover when you watch this video.

There's no sales pitch and nothing to sign up for - just some good laughs as Tom shares some insights into the world of marketing and branding.

So enjoy, learn and post a comment to let me know if you like this type of post.

To Your Success,
Susan

Save The Internet

One of your fellow subscribers, Martin, sent me an email with the above title
as the subject line. He included the following information.

"The internet is being "killed" by some big company. You can read the full
story here

http://civic.moveon.org/alerts/savetheinternet.html and sign a
petition to the government here

http://www.civic.moveon.org/save_the_internet/ to save the
internet."

So I did some checking to see what's happening.

Here's how one site describes the problem -

"Congress is pushing a law that would abandon the Internet's First Amendment -- a principle called Network Neutrality that prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work best for you -- based on what site pays them the most. Your local library shouldn’t have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to have its Web site open quickly on your computer." read more...

And if you want to read more about it, here are some more places to visit:

http://www.networkworld.com/edge/news/
2006/022106-internet-neutrality.html

http://www.pcworld.com/resource/article/
0,aid,124654,pg,1,RSS,RSS,00.asp

http://www.freedomworks.org/newsroom/
press_template.php?press_id=1662

http://telephonyonline.com/broadband/
regulatory/telecom_neutrality_nets_scapegoat/

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/
2006/04/verizon_neutrality.html

http://www.technorati.com/tags/
Internet+neutrality - blog postings

You'll notice I've put a banner on the blog to support network neutrality because I am not ready to compete with Google and Yahoo and pay for internet users to access my sites.

Are you?

To Your Success,
Susan

A Christmas Warning

This week 2 subscribers, Lisa and John, sent me this
warning and now I would like to share it with you.

I'll warn you that the message comes with audio
and the audio buttons are at the bottom of the
page.

See the Christmas Warning at:

http://www.friendswhocare.us/christmas2.htm

You've been warned,

Susan

ANNOUNCING The 5th Annual Internet Toy Drive!!

Help Us Help Children!

We are proud to be a partner with the official U.S. Marines "Toys for Tots" program in The 5th Annual Internet Toy Drive. It's a sad fact that millions of children in the United States will NOT have a singlegift to open on Christmas Day! We aim to change that and make sure EVERY child has at least one present 'from Santa' under their tree. Help a needy child in YOUR community right now:http://www.internettoydrive.org

We hope we can count on You to Help Kids this Christmas!

Have a Wonderful Holiday!

Susan

A Good Bumper Sticker

While in Kansas City last weekend we happened to stop behind a car that had a bumper sticker with the following:

The problems we face today cannot be solved by the same minds that created them.

When I first read these words, I got a chuckle and thought, "Boy, isn't' that the truth." I then read it to my husband who was watching the traffic signal. He also chuckled and stated, "They got that right."

Of course neither of us was thinking about any of the problems caused by any of our actions but were applying the message on the bumper sticker to others, specifically the those who make the decisions for our nation and big corporations.

Having now had time to reflect on the message displayed, I think I would like to add the follow so that it would read:

The problems we face today cannot be solved by the same minds that created them unless they adopt a new way of thinking.

Let me know what you think.

To Your Success,
Susan Carroll

How To Track All Your Website Traffic For Free

Tracking your site's visitors is extremely important and many don't do it because they don't think they have the budget for it.

Today I found an article written by Louis Allport that not only explains why it's important but also how you can do if for free.

Susan

--------------------

How To Track All Your Website Traffic For Free
Copyright © 2005 Louis Allport

Do you know:

* Exactly how many people are visiting your website?
* How long they're staying on your site before they move on?
* Exactly where those visitors are coming from, each day?
* How much of your website traffic is repeat visitors?
* The exact paths people take as they click their way through your website?

Here's what I'm getting at:

If you don't know your visitors, it makes it *very* difficult for you to improve the performance of your website and turn more visitors into customers - AND - get more quality traffic. For the simple reason that you're effectively working blind.

Without knowing how people visit your site and what they do on your site, any attempts at growing your traffic and improving the profitability of your website is working with one armed tied behind your back, at least.

And unfortunately - the web stats that come with your web-hosting are generally not enough these days.

Depending on your web host, chances are you've either got Webalizer, Analog Stats, or AWStats installed on your server. Here's how that software works:

It takes the "raw" (unreadable to the human eye) information your web server stores of everyone that visits and presents this in an easy to understand way.

Unfortunately, due to a number of technical reasons, this information is often presented in quite an inaccurate way.

And in my personal experience, these software packages don't present this information in a particularly helpful way either for someone trying to improve the conversion ratios and profitability of their website.

What I personally do, and what I would suggest you do is use a "Tracking Solution" that accurately tracks and reports all your visitors in an easy to read and understand way. These solutions come in two forms: Software & Services

Both these options have their pros and cons, but what they both do very well is present exactly what's happening on your website right up to the minute, and in a way that's very helpful to you for making good (and profitable) decisions for your business.

To start with here's a software solution you can install and use for free on your website:

Now before you go and install it, you should of course be familiar with installing software on your server. If you're not comfortable installing software on your website, a tracking service (which I'll come to in a moment) would probably be best for you.

And it's also important to note that installing software on your website can often put more strain on the server. This is particularly true if you're on shared hosting.

I've personally used the following free tracking software and it works well. See what you think. Go to http://www.curve2.com and look for "TrackPro". As I write this, version 2 is in Beta and is downloadable from the site at the following address: http://www.curve2.com/trackpro.php

You'll also find many further free tracking software solutions at http://www.hotscripts.com.

But personally speaking, what I've found works very well and avoids putting any increased strain on my existing websites is using a third party tracking service.

The only things really to worry about when using a third party service are:

* How long will this service be around? (If they stop their service after a year, you wouldn't be able to access your past data and will have to change all your tracking codes on your pages too.)
* What is their privacy policy regarding my web stats? (Are they honest and trustworthy in other words. You don't want the service owners studying and then duplicating your successful business plan.)

Over the past month I've been using ecommStats (http://www.ecommstats.com). Now, this service isn't free, but at this time they give you 50,000 free page views per domain, and depending how busy your site is those page views can last you a very long time.

The service works great and is very easy to add to your pages -- simply add three lines of code at the bottom of each of your pages (you can easily do this with Server Side Includes if you're comfortable with that) and all your visitors get tracked accurately and in great detail.

Alternatively - an entirely free (at this time) and very established service is StatCounter (http://statcounter.com). It even has a rave review from Tucows.com (one of the largest download sites on the internet) which speaks for itself and adds a lot of credibility to the service.

And just in case you're wondering how a free service like StatCounter makes money, well - since it's such a popular service with many webmasters logging in every day (and many I'm sure even more than once a day just like me) that it's made it very easy for them to sell a lot of advertising on their site. They also offer an upgrade to their advanced paid service.

But thinking beyond free services, as your business grows you may choose to upgrade to high end paid services that provide even more in depth information about your visitors...

Services like Urchin (Urchin.com - owned by Google) or Deep Metrix (DeepMetix.com). However, to help you grow your business to that point you need to keep a close eye on what your visitors are doing and where they're coming from, and free tracking software and services is a great way for you to start to do this.

--------------------

Louis Allport is an online product developer and marketer and recently revealed a simple and *proven* four-step formula for creating best-selling products practically on demand: http://www.friendswhocare.us/createoffers.htm

Determination Is A Key Ingredient

Normally I don't post articles from my weekly newsletter
on this blog but this week I'm making an exception
because of an unforseen event. An event that is
described in the article and affects many of my subscribers.

If you happen to be one of the affected subscribers and
you would like to continue receiving my mailings, please
visit the newsletter site and re-subscribe.

If you are not a subscriber please feel free to visit
the newsletter site and join us at FriendsWhoCare.
We are always looking for new online business
friends.

Here's this week's article -

Determination Is A Key Ingredient

Today I received the following email from one of my autoresponder services. It was sent to their customers on September 14 but due to a misspelling in my email address, I didn't get a copy until they responded to a service request I sent yesterday.

----------

Dear DemandMail Customer,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your patronage of the DemandMail system. We have been providing the best quality autoresponder marketing system for over three years and I hope it has been a benefit to you.

As I am sure you are aware the email marketing environment has become very challenging recently because of the mis-use by some and the continuing new laws regarding the transmission of email.

First we had the enactment by the US Government of the Can-Spam act and most recently the enactment of laws by Utah and Michigan called the child protection laws. These later laws allow anyone to bring suit against someone who sent an email to a child in their state that contains prohibited material. The problem is that the there is no definition of what prohibited material is.

Additionally, they do not freely publish "don't email" list. You can wash lists through their system but at a cost per email that in our opinion is prohibitive.

Because of these developments we have determined it is too risky to provide the DemandMail service and take the risk of multiple lawsuits, fines, and imprisonment that this legislation provides.

So it is with great sadness that I must inform you that DemandMail will be closing it doors on October 1, 2005. It has been our great pleasure to serve you over these many years and I personally want to thank you for your business.
...
----------

I am sharing this message with you because I used this service for more than 3 years and had more than 4/5 of my subscribers located there.

Now even though I have backups of my subscriber lists and can import those names into a new autoresponder the impact of losing a fundamental business service is not inconsequential.

I know this from experience.

You see, a little over 3 years ago, I had this same thing happened to me with a different autoresponder service.

Because spam was becoming such a big issue and the service I was using had received enough complaints about various customers they decided to close down early and avoid the rush.

Since double opt-in was a way to avoid most spam complaints, I chose that route when I imported my list to a different service. Unfortunately, unexpected confirmation requests are usually deleted so I experienced a 96% loss of my subscribers. Because I again won't be able to tell my subscribers to expect a confirmation request, I expect the same type of loss.

With all the new legislation and legal threats it looks like double opt-in autoresponder service providers are running scared and I don't think their fears are unjustified. I do think that many legitimate service providers and users will suffer more than those who are causing the problem.

But this tip is not an editorial about spam and it's impact on online business. It's about determination.

You see, if I wasn't determined, now would be a great time to give up.

But I am not giving up. Instead, I'll salvage what I can, try to implement a plan to avoid going through this a third time and go on.

Remember, if you are going to succeed online you must be determined. You must be able to recover from things like your website being down or hacked, losing your hosting or autoresponder service, receiving "not nice" email, being accused of spam and a host of other things that can and do happen everyday to legitimate online business people.

To Your Success,
Susan Carroll
FriendsWhoCare Newsletter

This Is Not An Urban Legend

As a subscriber to the Newbie Club Newsletter,
I was sent information today that everyone who
cleans their equipment with "canned air" should
know. Pease read the posted report and pass it
on to as many people as possible because it
reveals yet another risk to the lives of our
children and grandchildren.

http://www.snopes.com/toxins/dustoff.asp

Susan Carroll
FriendsWhoCare Newsletter

PS If your not a member of the Newbie Club I urge
you to check it out. Membership is free and they
provide a lot of useful information.

http://www.friendswhocare.us/newbieclub.php

Hurricane Katrina Info

I just finished sending the following message
to my subscribers and am posting it here
because of its importance.
----------
Hi,
Yesterday I was going to write you about the
lack of email I'd seen concerning Hurricane
Katrina. Fortunately, I didn't get it sent and
today I see that the online community is again
evolved in the helping of those who have and
are suffering from a disaster.

At the bottom of this message you will find
several links that point to different organizations
accepting donations to assist those affected by
Katrina but before I give them to you I wanted
to pass along a warning.

In all aspects of life there are those who try to
take advantage of others. This is unfortunately
true when people are suffering and in the most
need.

Right now there are many legitimate places you
can go and make donations to help the victims of
Hurricane Katrina. Likewise, there are many
places that are using this terrible disasterto make
money.

Here are 2 known scams that you should avoid:

1. Any site asking you to enter your email
   address to get information either about the
   hurricane or offering to tell you how you can
   help. This information is free - just go to
   Yahoo and do a search. You do not need to
   get on someone's mailing list because you
   want to help.
2. Any site offering to donate part of their
   profits from a sale. If you want the product
   you may want to buy it but you have no way
   of knowing if they will actually donate any of
   the money to the cause you want to support.

The 3 links below all go to non-profit sites setup to
help the victims of Hurricane Katrina:

http://www.usafreedomcorps.gov/

http://www.fema.gov/press/2005/resources_katrina.shtm

http://www.redcross.org

For those of you who would like to make your
donation through PayPal, Dr.Mani Sivasubramanian
has set up a site that accepts donations through
them. In addition he does offer a free PDF report
(no information required to get it) just for visiting
his site. While I don't agree with his"Firesale"
wording, I am including the link because he has set
up a way to donate through PayPal and know this is
the preferred method for some.

http://www.reach-n-relate.com/katrina.htm

Please take a few moments from your busy
schedule and visit one of the above links to
make a donation.

Thank You,
Susan Carroll

In case of emergency : I C E

Until Joe sent this information, I had
not heard of I C E. Please take a moment
to read it. Joe has included a link
where you can get some background
information and I although I found
several other links, most of them had
the same news article so I've just included
1:

'ICE' Cell Phone Plan Would Help Rescuers
__________

In case of emergency : I C E

Paramedics will turn to a victim's cell phone for
clues to that person's identity. You can make their
job much easier with a simple idea that they are
trying to get everyone to adopt: I C E.

ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. If you add an
entry in the contacts list in your cell phone under
ICE, with the full name and phone no. of the person
the emergency services should call on your behalf,
you can save them a lot of time and have your loved
ones contacted quickly. It only takes a few moments
of your time to do and could potentially save your
life and those you care for.

Paramedics are learning what I C E means and are
beginning to look for it immediately.

ICE your cell phone NOW then spread the word!

I just Did and I think your loved ones would
appreciate it too.

Please pass this one along Please!
http://simplewealthplan.com/mp.cgi/JH1965/index.html

__________

Thanks, Joe, for sending this information
to us.

To Your Success,
Susan
http://www.friendswhocare.us

The Iinfo-Security 6-day mini-course - Free

Recently I signed up for a mini e-course on security
because is said that if I sold digital products I needed
to know this information.

Well, guess what. They were right. Everybody who
is selling digital products on their site needs to know
this information.

Some may already know some of the things taught
in this free e-course. Some may not know any of it.
And some may be like me and should have known
but never thought about it.

In the second day of the e-course, they point out
how people can find all your download links
because you've neglected to do 1 simple thing.

I confess, I was guilty of making this mistake and
took action immediately.

So if you're like me and sell digital products on your
site, protect yourself and get the information in this
free e-course. Of course the report will try to sell
you something - they all do. But this report gives some
very valuable free information that you need to be
aware.

Get the report today.

The Iinfo-Security 6-day mini-course.
FREE for a limited time
Learn how you could be getting ripped off
and how to avoid it.
If you are selling digital products,
you need to know this information

Protect Yourself And Your Products,
Susan
http://www.friendswhocare.us

TEN THINGS GOD WON'T ASK ON THAT DAY.

The following was sent to me by my daughter
and she received it from one of her friends.
None of us know who wrote it.

I have this posted on one of my "Fun" pages but
since Sean like the previous posting, I thought
would put it on the blog to get a little more visability.


TEN THINGS GOD WON'T ASK ON THAT DAY.

1... God won't ask what kind of car you drove.
He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't
have transportation.

2... God won't ask the square footage of your house,
He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your
home.

3... God won't ask about the clothes you had in your
closet,
He'll ask how many you helped to clothe.

4... God won't ask what your highest salary was.
He'll ask if you compromised your character to
obtain it.

5... God won't ask what your job title was.
He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of
your ability.

6... God won't ask how many friends you had.
He'll ask how many people to whom you were a
friend.

7... God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived,
He'll ask how you treated your neighbors.

8... God won't ask about the color of your skin,
He'll ask about the content of your character.

9... God won't ask why it took you so long to seek
Salvation.
He'll lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven,
and not to the gates of Hell.

10... God won't have to ask how many people you
forwarded this to,
He already knows your decision.

----------------------

Remember, success comes in many forms.

To Your Success,
Susan
http://www.friendswhocare.us

WILL I EVER FIND GOD?

I've copied a story that was sent to me
by Joan, a fellow subscriber. As she warned
when she emailed it, "This is a little long,
but so terrific I had to share with you."

-----
John Powell, a professor at Loyola University in Chicago writes
about a student named Tommy in his Theology of Faith class:

Some twelve years ago, I stood watching my university students
file into the classroom for our first session in the Theology of Faith.
That was the day I first saw Tommy. My eyes and my mind both blinked. He
was combing his long flaxen hair, which hung six inches below his
shoulders. It was the first time I had ever seen a boy with hair that
long. I guess it was just coming into fashion then. I know in my mind
that it isn't what's on your head but what's in it that counts; but on
that day I was unprepared and my emotions flipped. I immediately filed
Tommy under 'S' for strange, very strange.

Tommy turned out to be the "atheist in residence" in my Theology
of Faith course. He constantly objected to, smirked at, or whined about
the possibility of an unconditionally loving Father/God. We lived with
each other in relative peace for one semester, although I admit he was,
for me at times, a serious pain in the back pew.

When he came up at the end of the course to turn in his final
exam, he asked in a slightly cynical tone, "Do you think I'll ever find
God?"

I decided instantly on a little shock therapy.
"No!" I said very emphatically.

"Oh," he responded, "I thought that was the product you were
pushing."

I let him get five steps from the classroom door, then called out,
"Tommy! I don't think you'll ever find Him, but I am absolutely certain
that He will find you!"

He shrugged a little and left my class and my life.

I felt slightly disappointed at the thought that he had missed my
clever line: "He will find you!" At least I thought it was clever. Later
I heard that Tommy had graduated, and I was duly grateful.

Then a sad report came. I heard Tommy had terminal cancer. Before
I could search him out, he came to see me. When he walked into my
office, his body was very badly wasted, and the long hair had all fallen
out as a result of chemotherapy, but his eyes were bright, and his voice
was firm for the first time, I believe.

"Tommy, I've thought about you so often. I hear you are sick," I
blurted out

"Oh, yes, very sick. I have cancer in both lungs. It's a matter of
weeks."

"Can you talk about it, Tom?" I asked.

"Sure, what would you like to know?" he replied.

"What's it like to be only twenty-four and dying?"

"Well, it could be worse."

"Like what?"

"Well, like being fifty and having no values or ideals; like being
fifty and thinking that booze, seducing women, and making money are the
real biggies in life."

(I began to look through my mental file cabinet under 'S' where I
had filed Tommy as strange. It seems as though everybody I try to reject
by classification, God sends back into my life to educate me.)

"But what I really came to see you about," Tom said, "is something
you said to me on the last day of class."

(He remembered!)

He continued, "I asked you if you thought I would ever find God,
and you said, 'No!'which surprised me. Then you said, 'But He will find
you.' I thought about that a lot, even though my search for God was
hardly intense at that time.

(My clever line... He thought about that a lot!)

"But when the doctors removed a lump from my groin and told me
that it was malignant, that's when I got serious about locating God. And
when the malignancy spread into my vital organs, I really began banging
bloody fists against the bronze doors of heaven, but God did not come
out. In fact, nothing happened. Did you ever try something for a long
time with great effort and with no success? You get psychologically
glutted; fed up with trying. And then you quit. Well, one day I woke up,
and instead of throwing a few more futile appeals over that high brick
wall to a God who may or may not be there, I just quit. I decided that I
didn't really care about God, about an afterlife, or anything like that.
I decided to spend what time I had left doing something more
profitable."

"I thought about you and your class, and I remembered something
else you had said: 'The essential sadness is to go through life without
loving. But it would be almost equally sad to go through life and leave
this world without ever telling those you loved that you had loved
them.' So, I began with the hardest one, my Dad. He was reading the
newspaper when I approached him.

"Dad."

"Yes, what?" he asked without lowering the newspaper.

"Dad, I would like to talk with you."

"Well, talk."

"I mean it's really important."

The newspaper came down three slow inches. "What is it?"

"Dad, I love you. I just wanted you to know that." (Tom smiled at
me and said it with obvious satisfaction, as though he felt a warm and
secret joy flowing inside of him.)

"The newspaper fluttered to the floor. Then my father did two
things I could never remember him ever doing before. He cried and he
hugged me.

We talked all night, even though he had to go to work the next
morning. It felt so good to be close to my father, to see his tears, to
feel his hug, to hear him say that he loved me. " It was easier with my
mother and little brother. They cried with me, too, and we hugged each
other, and started saying real nice things to each other. We shared the
things we had been keeping secret for so many years. I was only sorry
about one thing - that I had waited so long. Here I was, just beginning
to open up to all the people I had actually been close to. "Then, one
day, I turned around and God was there! He didn't come to me when I
pleaded with Him. I guess I was like an animal trainer holding out a
hoop; 'C'mon, jump through. C'mon, I'll give You three days, three
weeks.'

Apparently God does things in His own way and at His own hour. But
the important thing is that He was there. He found me. You were right.
He found me even after I stopped looking for Him."

"Tommy," I practically gasped, "I think you are saying something
very important and much more universal than you realize. To me, at
least, you are saying that the surest way to find God is not to make Him
a private possession, a problem solver, or an instant consolation in
time of need, but rather to open up to love.

You know, the Apostle John said that.

He said: 'God is love, and anyone who lives in love is living with
God and God is living in him.'

"Tom, could I ask you a favor? You know, when I had you in class
you were a real pain. But (laughingly) you can make it all up to me now.
Would you come into my present Theology of Faith course and tell them
what you have just told me? If I told them the same thing it wouldn't be
half as effective as if you were to tell them."

"Ooh ... I was ready for you, but I don't know if I'm ready for
your class."

"Tom, think about it. If and when you are ready, give me a call."
In a few days, Tom called, said he was ready for the class, that he
wanted to do that for God and for me. So we scheduled a date, but he
never made it. He had another appointment, far more important than the
one with me and my class.

Of course, his life was not really ended by his death, only
changed. He made the great step from faith into vision. He found a life
far more beautiful than the eye of man has ever seen or the ear of man
has ever heard, or the mind of man has ever imagined.

Before he died, we talked one last time. "I'm not going to make it
to your class," he said.

"I know, Tom."

"Will you tell them for me? Will you... tell the whole world for
me?"

"I will, Tom. I'll tell them. I'll do my best."

So, to all of you who have been kind enough to hear this simple
statement about love, thank you for listening. And to you, Tommy,
somewhere in the sunlit, verdant hills of heaven - I told them, Tommy,
as best I could.

If this story means anything to you, please pass it on to a friend
or two. It is a true story and is not enhanced for publicity purposes.
With thanks, John Powell, Professor Loyola University, Chicago

-----

Thank you Joan for sharing. You can visit
Joan's site at:

http://www.locoweedproductions.com

where she offers "Fine Gifts and Home Decor"

To Your Success,
Susan
FriendsWhoCare

IMPORTANT - Do You Publish With MP3

Gaida, a fellow subscriber, asked if I had received the
warning about making and selling products using
MP3 from Louis Allport.

I had but just in case you didn't, Gaida, from
http://www7.OnlineMasteryGold.com
and I want you to know so you can protect yourself.

Here's the warning we received with a link to
more information.

----------
Hello Susan

I've only known about this for a few days, and it's got me
very worried...

If you publish any kind of MP3 audio online, there could be
a team of very high-priced lawyers after you soon.

Sadly, I'm not joking either.

I'm right now in the process of converting all my audio into
a different format, and if you publish any kind of MP3 audio
online I would strongly suggest you do the same.

The simple fact that I've become aware of in the last few
days is that MP3 audio is NOT free to distribute. Expensive
licensing fees are due to a billion dollar corporation.
And they're clamping down on this hard now.

To make online publishers aware of this issue, a press release
was sent out in the past 24 hours by online copywriter and
publisher Joe Robson.

He's also made a free report available to help guide you
through this situation and to help you get working with new
audio formats ASAP (these new formats do NOT have any
licensing fees of any kind, ever).

You can read the press release and download his free report
at the following address:

http://www.ogginfo.com/

Sincerely,
Louis Allport

----------

If your selling or creating products using MP3, please
heed this warning.

To Your Success,
Susan Carroll
http://www.friendswhocare.us

Announcements - Raffle Ticket And Syndication

This message was to go out on June 23, 2005.

Hi,

If you've come to the blog to find out why you
haven't heard from me since Wednesday, June 22,
the answer is - the responder system I use to send
you mail has been down since Thrusday morning.
Some subscribers were able to get this message
on Thursday but most didn't.

So in an attempt to keep in touch until the responder's
technical difficulties are resolved, I am posting a
slightly edited version of the email I was trying to send.

----------
I am sorry to say that none of us won the raffle last
night. The wining ticket numberwas 492233 and was
held by Terri M. the mother of 2 swim team members.
So to everyone who bought one or moretickets, I am
sorry but we do thank you foryour support.

Also, I am thankful because unlike Terri, I didn't have
to purchase 44 tickets to make sure we sold our 50. I
also have a surprise gift for everyone who bought 1 or
more losing tickets but you have to read this whole
note to find out what it is.

On Wednesday I mentioned I was working on
syndicating my newsletter articles. Well I am all done
except for putting some finishing touches on the article
page template and putting the syndication information
on some of my existing pages. So today, you get to be
the first to see what I've been up to.

Go to http://www.friendswhocare.us/classifieds.htm.

After the Marketing and Advertisting box you should
be able to find an FriendsWhoCare Internet Marketing
Feed area where there are3 articles listed.

Now I haven't had time to get a page put together to
tell you how you can use this article feed on your site
but the information is available on the pages with the
articles.

When you go to a page with an article you'll notice that
there is a yellow area at the top and under it there are
words that say "RSS Feed Sponsor." One of the
finishing touches to the template for these pages is to
put in an ad rotator. As soon as I get that rotator in
place, I would like to offer my losing raffle ticket holders
a spot in this rotator - one spot for each of their losing
tickets.I can't tell you how long it will be in the rotator
just yet since I am still working out the details but I can
tell you that it will be for at least 1 month or longer.

So consider this an advance warning. If you bought 1
or more raffle tickets, you better start working on some
small text ads. When I get the rotator in place and know
the exact requirements for the ads I'll let you know.

If you didn't buy a raffle ticket I will be selling ad space
on these pages but that's even further off since I haven't
worked out the details for that either.

That's it for today and I hope you like the new feed that's
now available from FriendsWhoCare.

To Your Success,
Susan Carroll
FriendsWhoCare Newsletter

PS - By the way, our team did great last night. Austin got
2 1st places, 2 2nd places and 1 3rd in the 7 events he was
entered. Brianna unfortunately didn't win a ribbon in any
of her 5 events but she'll do better next time.