Mama Used To Say: More Than One Way To Skin A Cat

After my last blog entry on connecting the hardware for a home network, I ran into technical difficulty that others have already experienced in getting one of most readily available network adapters to work with Tivo.

 

Instead of returning the USB adapter to Wal-Mart tomorrow and looking for an older network adapter that may not be readily sold anymore, I totally reversed the original plans and switched the hardware to operate our desktop computer via the newly purchased USB adapter and used our existing ethernet cable to directly wire the new Tivo box.

 

Lo and behold, Tivo recognized the network connection immediately and before I could sit down and grab the remote, a message appeared which indicated that it would not need or use the telephone line to connect and update the Tivo settings.

 

Hallelujah!!!

 

Although I had to connect and reconnect the DSL modem from its previously-often difficult-to-reach-in-times-of-trouble location under a sofa, and there is still a possiblity that our daughters or pet cat Missy might accidentally tamper with the DSL modem, today's purchases have finally coincided with plans made a long time ago.

 

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together as desired?

 

One late entry into the game was another piece of hardware purchased a long time ago (and fortunately still sitting in our storage room) in the form of an USB ethernet adapter which allowed the ethernet cable to plug into the USB ethernet adapter which connected into the USB port on the Tivo unit.

 

There were multiple messages that have indicated that Tivo is working very well with our new home network and there are going to be some features that our previous first-generation Tivo box did not have that we will enjoy deeply.

 

So I am thoroughly excited about our new Tivo ownership experience!

 

Peace and Goodnight!

Home Network Finally Created

Yesterday I mentioned that I would wait until next week before buying the necessary equipment to take advantage of the home network features built into the second generation TiVo boxes/units.

 

After further thought, I went ahead today and bought the necessary home network hardware pieces manufactured by Linksys which is owned by Cisco.

 

The initial setup attempt required telephone calls to our ISP (Bellsouth) and Linksys.  Somehow our DSL connection failed right before or during the telephone call to Linksys and their attempts to offer assistance ended there.

 

A second call to Bellsouth was what the doctor ordered and the rep gave me great assistance and although there was a method to connect the router via an automated method through Linksys' website, the Bellsouth rep earned my trust and we proceeded to go through the steps to successfully get everything working in order.

 

My next move this evening is going to result in connecting the TiVo box to my home network and broadband connection in order to be able to move files from the TiVo box to my desktop computer and even program our TiVo unit remotely.

 

I will post the details later and I hope that everything goes well after the time spent on the phone receiving technical assistance already.

 

I know that I should wait for another day but when it comes to technology, I am a sucker for punishment if it is going to lead to a cool techie breakthrough;)

 

Now I cannot wait to buy or get other computers to use the wireless home network that now exists within our home.
 

Peace!

Our new TiVo unit arrived today!

This evening upon returning home, I discovered that our new TiVo unit (a second generation unit at that) had arrived.  It was just ordered on Tuesday evening, so its FedEx delivery was extremely fast.

 

My wife Wyteria had not mentioned anything about this afternoon before she went to work.

 

I had left most of our connections in the same place from our previous unit and just had to remove the old unit/box from our entertainment center.

 

The connections went pretty smooth and I had already planned to buy a wireless USB device to make sure that the new box could take advantage of any network connections.

 

Since the box has arrived so fast, I will probably wait until next week before buying anything.  The initial setup of the new box has already been completed and it appears to be fully functional.

 

I can already tell that I need to add our specific channel lineup and adding the capability to control the tv via the TiVo remote as well.

 

But being that the delivery has pleasantly surprised me, life is indeed good;)

 

Peace!

It Has Been A Great Birthday Today!

Today is my birthday and it has been a great one!

 

My coworkers since late April had purchased 2 birthday cakes, a card, and balloons plus songs and well wishes to help me celebrate the day.

 

Then I met my wife and daughters for a great dinner at Olive Garden and we had another cake and ice cream upon returning home.

 

As one of my gifts from my wife and kids, I received a nice replacement wallet for the one that had received a beating over the past year.

 

I treated myself last night to buying several books on music theory and composition to help provide some greater resources in creating songs.

 

Overall, it has been a fantastic day and I am thoroughly tired and look to remember this birthday with fondness.

 

I am going to burn a little sleep time that I hope to avoid in the future through buying another TiVo unit which was ordered online tonight.

 

I am going to look at the season finale tonight for CBS' program "The Unit".  I may be a little red-eyed tomorrow, but this show is great.

 

Peace!

1st Pay Day in New Job and Going Solo Out of Initial Training Next Week

I have just finished the initial training for a financial services company with offices in Alpharetta, GA and the experience has been great.

 

The first payday just occurred and each new employee is going solo with our customer base next week.  More experienced personnel will be available as needed.

 

It is Mother's Day weekend, a festival is taking place within downtown Atlanta, and I am currently scheduled to conduct a house blessing and teach Sunday School as well.

 

Clearly God has been blessing us richly and deeply in 2006 as we took steps to not confine ourselves but to proactively share the blessings that we have been blessed with.

 

Since there is little time for rest, I hope to go to sleep at the same time our daughters will be tucked in and grab needed ZZZZZs for myself.

 

Although I could be a little more tired than I currently feel right now, I know without a doubt that we are being blessed.

 

Have a great weekend and do something special for the mothers that are near you.

 

Peace!

Series 7 License Renewed

Today I found out that my series 7 license was renewed as of May 8, 2006 and I am thoroughly ecstatic about the situation.

 

Once you leave the securities industry, your status of having successfully passed the series 7 exam (and more importantly not having to retake the exam) expires after 2 years.  Although I still had several months before mine was to expire in mid-December, I am glad to have the clock get reset as I launch into a new career with a more reputable company with both its clients and employees at heart.

 

One ironic thing is that I never knew how much how my previous employer had damaged its own reputation until I was no longer employed with the company.  Sure I saw websites that did not express love for the company prior to leaving but such websites have to be consumed with a grain of salt.

 

Even changing the name of the company is in vain if the same traits, characteristics, and fundamental issues still occupy its primary motivations.  The former employer still does not have any true value for the customer or the marketplace which is tragic.

 

But I am on to bigger and better things, places, and situations now and although the journey has not always been a pleasurable one, I will say that I would repeat the mileage to get to where I am now positioned without a doubt.

 

Finally, there is some peace, joy, and hope as a new perspective and potential is getting closer everyday.

 

Peace!

MP3 Spring 2006 Sermon: Is That A Hemi?

Here is the link to immediately listen to or download (for later listening) the sermon that I delivered this past Sunday (April 2, 2006) as we are continuing to spring forward entitled "Is That A Hemi?".

The sermon was delivered at Bethesda Baptist Church in Austell, GA which is led by Pastor Charles Goodman.

The length of the MP3 file is 36:17.

It is my hope and prayer that the message blesses you, your household, and challenges you to continue within the blessings and empowerment that you shall experience throughout 2006 and beyond according to the will of God.

Peace in the name of Christ Jesus!
 

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Thank God for Recovery!

Over the weekend, I found a floppy diskette that apparently has a ton of early music I composed between 1999 and 2001.

 

The finding is significant because the various midi data and music notation can now be saved in a more permanent arrangement and the music can be further reworked since I have better equipment than I did when the songs were first created.

 

My music ministry did not reach the public until 2001 and I have learned that there is a huge difference between composing music with a R&B sound versus creating music tracks with a hip hop style to rap to.

 

Hip hop has more of a war anthem or battle drums as I see it and now that I have rediscovered the tools that had the lyrical stylings to combine with the rhythmic capabilities currently available, there is about to be a substantial advancement musically for me.

 

Thank You Jesus!

 

Peace!

Various Personality Test Scores

I put the results of a personality test within this blog, but the resulting pages' format was thrown off so much that I had to remove it.

It now appears on my music related MySpace blog.

Woman Googles Man, Discovers He Is On A Most Wanted List

This story is rich!

I definitely recommend Googling anyone to discover their best and worst if they appear not to have a track record you can easily locate.

Has Anyone Else Heard Prince's New Song "Beautiful, Loved, & Blessed" Yet?

Hello All,

I just heard a new song by Prince entitled "Beautiful, Loved, & Blessed" and it really pleasantly surprised me. 

The song appears as part of a 2-song CD entitled "Black Sweat" and is available for download from most online music stores.

The song is a romantic love song to Christ but I did not hear Christ or Jesus mentioned directly within the song.  But the lyrics include a reference to "the Blood on Calvary".  It contains numerous biblical references as I heard.

It is more like a declaration song as in "I am beautiful, loved, and blessed" to more I listen to it as well as a statement to uplift or encourage someone else.

I heard the song on Napster.  A young sister named Tamar also sings on the song.

The main song "Black Sweat" is traditionally Prince though;)

What are your thoughts regardless of whether you have heard the song or not yet?

Peace,

Roney Smith
http://www.anointedbelievers.tv
http://www.myspace.com/seedoflife
http://blog.roneysmith.com

Firefox Has A Ton of Cool, New Extensions

Last night I downloaded a ton of new extensions compatible with the latest version of the Firefox web browser.

There are so many new extensions available that it is like being a kid in a candy store and I am still trying to get a feel for them all.

Some are related to downloads, various websites often visited, a color picker (or identifier for web design purposes), using Gmail, and a host of other concepts.

I know that I will probably not use them all on a regular basis, but anything to minimize the number of new programs needed in addition a web browser I am for.

Advertising, Consumers, and A New Business Model Appearing on the Radar

I just saw Thomas Hawk's blog entry on Yahoo! asking a question while proposing an offer to people to use their search engine versus Google and receive a potential discount to use Netflix as a reward.

In my household, we have not tried Netflix yet although we have received literature and coupons from them within the mail.

But Yahoo's approach strongly reminds me of my recent blog entry on the autosurf industry.

I saw on yesterday's afternoon news an irresponsible segment done by consumer advocate Clark Howard which made me question his research into autosurf companies individually and collectively since he trashed 12 Daily Pro in yesterday's segment (probably nationwide at a minimum) without mercy.  He did not even mention StormPay whatsoever.

The business model that Yahoo! is proposing has been executed as well by other companies and it is the same identical business model that 12 Daily Pro and other autosurf companies are using.  This same business model is clearly going to grow worldwide and become accepted by consumers and product and service providers worldwide.

Why?

Because this new, global, business model lowers the cost the obtaining, acquiring, and keeping a customer by allowing the customer to identify themselves as being a candidate to use the company's products and services.  The business model also lowers the cost of advertising since it focuses the advertising budget directly to those significantly interested within the advertisers' industry (and products and services) versus spending irrationally (on advertising) without knowing whether the right targets were ever reached.

The business model also has a direct implication for customer service issues because it will rapidly identify which customers are no longer customers and provide companies a fast-response mechanism to find out what has displeased the customer and whether there is temporary or long-term issue that needs to be addressed.

The new business model that I am referring to is the transfer of payments (direct and/or indirect, financial or barter) from product and service providers to consumers.

To a certain extent, this model has already been in existence wherever consumers have been asked to send proof-of-purchases to companies in exchange for rebates, discounts, or any other free offers.

Yahoo! is willing to pay Netflix to send free or discounted DVD rentals to identifiable customers in exchange for the customers using Yahoo! as a search engine.

Why is Yahoo! willing to part with their financial capital in this way?

Because Yahoo! clearly plans to resell access to the customers who accept the offer and in some cases, Yahoo! might even sell its ability to undoubtedly identify such customers.

As a result of this new business model, it will not be Yahoo! who ultimately directly funds or pays the customers or Netflix, but the advertisers that have paid Yahoo! to advertise their products or services.

The autosurf industry does the very same thing but since its usage of the internet is still primarily not mainstream yet, attorney generals of various states and consumer advocates such as Clark Howard are more than willing to improperly classify such companies as fraudulent, illegal, and/or unethical within their operations through their own vested interest of "protecting the public".

There are other companies who have directly or indirectly used the same business model and these companies consist of any company that has used an affiliate or referral based program online as well as any company that has paid someone somewhere directly or indirectly for advertising.

Does this new business model have a name yet?  I do not exactly know and in lack of a clearly, identifiable name, I will call this new business model the PAID CUSTOMER or PAID EVANGELIST or PAID VIRUS or COMPENSATED CONSUMER method.  Take your pick of the various names and let me know which one sounds most accurate.

Within a conversation with my wife Wyteria after Howard's television segment, she used the quote, "If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck..."  To this I simply replied, " This is indeed a different animal because of the presence of the advertisers".

Without the presence of the advertisers (or traditionally the higher parties on the food chain), then the rushed judgments would be absolutely correct.

The upgrade of members simply works to qualify which participants are short-term users (the free, unpaid surfers) or dedicated, long-term participants within the industry regardless of the products or services advertised.

The companies (including the autosurf industry) using the new business model will have to be able to charge their advertisers a high enough advertising rate while delivering to the advertisers the needed reviewers of the company's products and services and have enough funds left over in order to directly or indirectly compensate the customers for their participation within the process.

One interesting aspect of such a business model is that it does require some effort on part of the participating consumers to know which companies are indeed interested in staying open for business for a very, long time versus those companies within the intent of getting rich quick.

Another aspect of the business model which eventually will entice the major financial services to participate within the new business model is that the payment processor or treasurer within the process has to be full of integrity, able to process large volumes of multiple transactions easily, and the ability to keep its doors open regardless of other events going on within the world.

Once these components are in place, you will begin to see compensated consumer business model more rapidly adopted worldwide.  The benefits to each party are clearly visible and attainable while each party must be committed to staying at the table for life.

I am going to participate within this new industry and here is one page that I have created already.  With the power of the internet, the compensated consumer business model experiences less friction than other business models have experienced offline.

Peace!

Interesting Article/Blog Entry on the Future's Impact on the Heart of Today

The following link is to an article/blog entry that reports some interesting but not yet totally foreign news to comprehend that the heart is affected in real-time to events about to occur.

Study Proves that the Heart Responds to Future Events

Personal and Professional Thoughts on the Autosurf Industry

http://www.wysiwysell.com

After reading the latest news from StormPay and 12 Daily Pro, I decided to create a blog entry on my thoughts about the autosurf industry overall.

From a historical perspective, every industry or endeavor faces a moment of truth which is a crossroads between turning back or moving forward. 

As those of us who are participating within the autosurf industry have just recently witnessed, there were some companies that have experienced great and extreme difficulties in even deciding if the stress and pressures of dealing with StormPay or continuing their operations were too much for them to handle.

If we put ourselves within such companies' positions, we too might throw in the towel if it appeared that we were involved in an endeavor that might not withstand the heat of governmental scrutiny or legal actions against us.

We also might feel great stress if we had to find an alternative payment processor when such thoughts were far removed from our daily lives.

With this being said, there is no better time to start participating within the autosurf industry.

Why?

Because the worst is clearly behind us no matter what happens in the future.

With the adjustments and corrections that will undoubtedly occur within the payment processor segment of the industry, the worst is indeed behind us and the various autosurf companies will clearly band together to create and provide some type of industry oversight and lobbying against governmental pressures that are now closer to taking place than ever before.

The governmental pressure that is coming next has already started within North Carolina and Georgia supposedly as stated within the recent StormPay and 12 Daily Pro news release.

Various states and their attorney generals will clearly test the waters to see if the autosurf industry is another derivative of the various ponzi schemes and multilevel marketing plans of the past.

But being that the autosurf industry essentially contains elements of a dynamic business model that ponzi scams and multilevel marketing could only dream about while not being able to execute.

Simply put, the autosurf industry allows every participant the opportunity to benefit without being the first one in line.  The last person to upgrade their membership has the same probability of improving their financial position as the person who either created or joined the autosurf company first.

Within no other multilevel or network marketing company have I observed or been a part of has this characteristic been truly and consistently possible.

As a result and just as soon as most autosurf companies determine which payment processor they will be using most consistently, it will time to fully dive head first.

The newly discovered confidence and potential of the autosurf industry will never be higher.

In addition to the people who are already on the internet every day, the autosurf industry has great appeal and potential for people who have participated within multilevel and network marketing in the past.

Why?

Because the autosurf industry completely fulfills the promises that many had witnessed to be broken in their past by the network marketing companies and the upline sponsors intentionally or by circumstances beyond their control.

The autosurf industry may even be more appealing to those who have failed at network marketing in their past because those who were successful within network marketing may not be able to make the adjustment to doing business in a way that everyone can truly succeed. 

Their past success more than likely will completely blind them or not allow them to see the autosurf industry as being anything other than a ponzi scheme.

This is where I stand and from this position will I move forward.  There is no greater risk than what has recently happened.

I still cannot get over my feelings to leave StormPay out of the equation no matter what 12 Daily Pro can possibly say going forward.  StormPay's recent desire to be the only payment processor is a completely broken, systematic mindset in my opinion.  The mindset was first broken by PayPal in my opinion.

Every Autosurf company will have to choose multiple payment processors even if a single payment processor is more effective and cost-efficient.

The risk is too great otherwise.

The autosurf business model is one that requires either blind faith (without trying to understand it at all) or an absolute trust within the system in order to make it work.  This is only because the business model is more complex than witnessed within any other industry without years of secrecy, private club gestures, and handshakes.

Even with my MBA degree and work history, I could not have been able to fully comprehend how an autosurf company could actually succeed for itself and its members without the months I spent studying the forex industry on my own.

Even though some autosurf companies do not invest within the forex markets, the same skill set and mindset is required to invest within the forex markets as well as some of the financial derivatives and shrewd strategies available to those investing within other financial markets.

Some strategies were first learned through the studies required to pass the series 7 exam by the NASD.  The months spent in 2004 are now only able to bear fruit it seems.

But American Express Financial Advisors did not expand the new understanding or allow its advisors to apply any of the lessons learned whatsoever.

I will end this message while looking forward to preparing a message for the type of person that will most quickly benefit from the autosurf industry with the lowest learning curve time frame.

I also now realize that everyone does not want to really be successful or financially abundant.  Or I should better say that everyone does not get into the water to play and/or swim or get on the dance floor at the same time.

There are different levels of risk-taking and I already had a spreadsheet years ago entitled (Set It Off) to express the differences.

With the water and dance floor examples given, you will already begin to get the overall idea of what I mean.

It will take the observation of the fruits of our new success to loosen and break the conservative nature of many people or get them over the hump of forgetting or moving in spite of about their past failures.

As a result, it is my recommendation that we keep our enthusiasm limited to sharing the URL of our websites and pages to publicize our participation within the autosurf industry.

Word of mouth, phone calls, and most other ways of promoting and advertising will simply not work because the autosurf industry is too new out of the gate for most people to get their minds around.

I do love Terry's suggestion of putting our URL on business cards and I will expand the idea by including the URL within my signature within any e-mails that are sent.

Other than showing your new car or other purchases or new ability to make money, you will be wasting your time, effort, and energies trying to get people to understand and/or participate within the autosurf industry.

http://www.wysiwysell.com

Coretta Scott King Homegoing Program PDF Online

Hello All,

The physical copies of the homegoing funeral for Mrs. Coretta Scott King are limited and probably have already run out.  But you can download the digital file of the beautiful program online:

http://alt.cimedia.com/ajc/pdf/kingfuneral/funeralprogram.pdf

Forward the link to anyone that may be interested in this piece of history.

Peace,

Roney Smith
http://blog.roneysmith.com

SuprGlu Seals Up Numerous, Potential Loose Ends!

I just discovered a new Web 2.0 application this morning and it is totally super cool to use in conjunction with any online activity that features XML/RSS feeds in a more digestible format for viewing.

SuprGlu compiles all of your feeds in a very easy to use, graphical centralized website from multiple websites and their competitors (or coopetition) such as Flickr, Digg, Del.icio.us, Blogger, and Last.fm among a few others that I am currently not using.

If you have control of the content and its respective feed, then you can add to your free pages within a SuprGlu account.  Otherwise, you risk losing your account if a copyright holder objects to you syndicating their content without their permission.

Since I feel that I generate enough content on my own from multiple sources, it will not be necessary to add any other feeds at the present time.  Therefore SuprGlu will essentially help a person write or speak with a single voice in a centralized location online.

What makes SuprGlu cool in my opinion is that it removes needing any detailed knowledge about XML/RSS feeds out of the equation just like Apple has done with the iPod and other devices.

Check SuprGlu out and my SuprGlu page is already online and automatically constantly updated.

Interesting Wiki entry regarding potential activities that support conspiracy theories

The Wiki entry on Operation Northwoods is enough to make anyone a conspiracy theorist.

I never heard of some of the events that happened before I was born in 1965.

"Who gave the order?" asked Wyclef on his "The Preacher's Son" CD.

9-11 Things That Make You Go Hmmmmmmm

If there was ever a story to break the silence within an empty room, then the press release which appears on Yahoo via PRWeb from various experts who claim that the events leading up to and after 9-11 are a hoax fulfills the bill.

I have always felt that the day itself was a little too clean cut and clearly convenient in spite of the lives that were lost.

Read it for yourself and any comments for or against are welcome.

Teaching An Old Dog A New Trick: Making Money Online

A few weeks ago, a good friend turned me on (or more accurately returned me on) to an internet concept that I had initially ignored for probably a couple of months or years.

The concept was so different when I first heard it that I could not see any real value in doing it.  I could not understand why somebody would pay for the service as well.

The missing link was actually observation since both reading and hearing about it did not increase my understanding at all.

But once I saw the simple steps involved and got myself into the daily habit of making the right moves, there is no turning back;)

The process is so simple that I now have been keeping it as one of the first things that I do whenever I get on the internet daily.

The fallacy of thinking that I know it all was probably picked up when I started working at AT&T in 1990 and everyone can see where such thinking has gotten them (acquired by a former regional Baby Bell--SBC who then assumed the AT&T company name as its own).

But one thing that I have gotten sharper at with additional age is knowing when to turn around.

So as a result, pride gets shown the door very often.  I am still a work in progress though.

In the meantime, if you would like to see and learn how others are making money online without buying the kits, without the meetings, and just earning money then click on the link below and get some cash in your pocket for yourself:

http://www.wysiwysell.com

Peace!