STRESS

Are you in stress? Everybody experienced stress. Maybe at work or maybe at home. I received an interesting article about stress from my colleague. It's a long informative and well written article describing about stress management. I shall share some of the insights, which I adopted from the article.

Which of these is stress?

* You receive a promotion at work.
* Your car has a flat tire.
* You go to a fun party that lasts till 2:00 a.m.
* Your dog gets sick.
* Your new bedroom set is being delivered.
* Your best friend and his wife come to stay at your house for a week.
* You get a bad case of hay fever.
* All of the above.

ALL OF THESE ARE STRESS

If you are used to thinking that stress is something that makes you worry, you have the wrong idea of stress. Stress is many different kinds of things: happy things, sad things, allergic things, physical things. Many people carry enormous stress loads and they do not even realize it!
WHAT IS STRESS?

We are all familiar with the word "stress". Stress is when you are worried about getting laid off your job, or worried about having enough money to pay your bills, or worried about your mother when the doctor says she may need an operation. In fact, to most of us, stress is synonymous with worry. If it is something that makes you worry, then it is stress.

Your body, however, has a much broader definition of stress. TO YOUR BODY, STRESS IS SYNONYMOUS WITH CHANGE. Anything that causes a change in your life causes stress. It doesn't matter if it is a "good" change, or a "bad" change, they are both stress. When you find your dream apartment and get ready to move, that is stress. If you break your leg, that is stress. Good or bad, if it is a CHANGE in your life, it is stress as far as your body is concerned.

Even IMAGINED CHANGE is stress. (Imagining changes is what we call "worrying".) If you fear that you will not have enough money to pay your rent, that is stress. If you worry that you may get fired, that is stress. If you think that you may receive a promotion at work, that is also stress (even though this would be a good change). Whether the event is good or bad, imagining changes in your life is stressful.

Anything that causes CHANGE IN YOUR DAILY ROUTINE is stressful.

Anything that causes CHANGE IN YOUR BODY HEALTH is stressful.

IMAGINED CHANGES are just as stressful as real changes.

Let us look at several types of stress -- ones that are so commonplace that you might not even realize that they are stressful.......

Emotional Stress

When arguments, disagreements, and conflicts cause CHANGES in your personal life -- that is stress.

Illness

Catching a cold, breaking an arm, a skin infection, a sore back, are all CHANGES in your body condition.

Pushing Your Body Too Hard

A major source of stress is overdriving yourself. If you are working (or partying) 16 hours a day, you will have reduced your available time for rest. Sooner or later, the energy drain on your system will cause the body to fall behind in its repair work. There will not be enough time or energy for the body to fix broken cells, or replace used up brain neurotransmitters. CHANGES will occur in your body's internal environment. You will "hit the wall," "run out of gas". If you continue, permanent damage may be done. The body's fight to stay healthy in the face of the increased energy that your are expending is major stress.

Environmental Factors

Very hot or very cold climates can be stressful. Very high altitude may be a stress. Toxins or poisons are a stress. Each of these factors threatens to cause CHANGES in your body's internal environment.

Controversy mars United win

Manchester United flew home clutching a priceless Champions League lead and left behind a storm of controversy that included a furious Lille coaching staff, who attempted to haul their players off the pitch before the final whistle. Lille keeper Tony Sylva was still lining his wall up when Ryan Giggs calmly stroked his free-kick into the top corner seven minutes from time to secure a 1-0 win. Read more about it (Adopted from soccernet.com).

Google Now Reporting Subscribers

I noticed recently, a few blogs such as JohnChow.com, LiewCF.com and Earningblog.com have their readers increased drastically. I commented about the increased in Johnchow.com readers yesterday. Today, I read LiewCF.com post about the reason his readership increased. I gaved some of the reasons and one of it is adopted from feedburner.com blog.

Starting with our Saturday February 17th subscriber reporting, FeedBurner publishers will be able to see how many Google Reader and Google Personalized Homepage subscribers they have. (Thanks, Google!) This information will show up in tonight's subscriber reports (meaning that most of you will start to see the data on Saturday morning, U.S. Central Time).

What does this mean? This is one more data point to help you understand how many people have asked to receive your feed (aka "subscribers"). For those who are interested in the particulars, the number that Google is reporting is the total number of Google users who've subscribed to your feed in Reader or with Personalized Homepage.

While the subscriber number reflects overall interest in your content, keep in mind that there are plenty of other metrics within FeedBurner that help you more fully understand distribution and consumption. Now would be a good time to remind you that you can track clickthroughs for each item in your feed, and each item will show a breakdown on an aggregator-by-aggregator basis to help you understand which clients drive the most traffic to your site. Our TotalStats service measures Item Views (actual reads of your feed items) and Reach (number of unique people who viewed or clicked on your content). And our free StandardStats website metrics will provide you with numerous additional details on your inbound traffic from aggregators.

Want to build your subscriber numbers with Google's services? Make subscribing easier for your visitors. Look for the Google subscription button as an option in both our BrowserFriendly and ChickletChooser services for FeedBurner feeds in your account. Both give you the ability to offer Google as a subscription option in your feed and on your website with just a few clicks.

John Chow's Blog Supremecy

I visited John Chow's blog today and could not believe the number of readers/subscribers who stay loyal reading his content. In December 2006, I discovered and immediately felt very attached reading his blog. If I'm not mistaken, he has about 1200 - 1300 readers that time. Now, mid February, there are already more than 2200+ readers. What a magnificent progress he has achieved. An achievement that other bloggers truly desire (including me).

I'm still green in the blogging world. There are tonnes of information and traffic strategy for me to catch up and put into practice. I found John Chow's blog the best place to learn everything about successful blogging. The Review My Blog and Get A Free Linkback concept is a brilliant idea. Generally, it helps average and beginning bloggers (like me) gaining some exposure.

I’m so impressed with the commitment and dedication displayed by John. Just imagine multiple posts a day. And the posts are excellent, even when he is rambling or sharing his fine dining experiences. Is he having a fine dine everyday?

As a full time chemical engineer, I hardly have the time to surf. When I do have the time, Johnchow.com will always be the site I check out after opening my Google account. It has already become a daily routine for me, so predictable even to my wife. For other bloggers out there, if you have not heard or notice the emergence of John Chow, a.k.a Dot Com Mogul, I highly recommend you to visit his site. You won’t regret it.

John, thanks for providing us such a fantastic blog!

My Wife's Blog

Surprisingly, my wife is now interested in blogging. She now have her own blog entitle zakizura.blogspot.com. The blog is basically about all her thoughts, our story, her feelings and family too. Part of the blog name is my name, and the other half of the blog name is my wife's name.

Beckham Makes His Old Trafford Return

As a ManU fan, I'm receiving the official newsletter from Manutd.com. The following post is also taken from Redview 15th February 2007, Issue 144.

David Beckham will be back at Old Trafford next month after being named on the all-star Europe XI squad list to face United in the Jubilee Charity Match on 13 March.

Becks, who gave the Reds 11 years' service before departing for Real Madrid in 2003, will be joined by Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.

"I'm happy I'm going to play on March 13th," said Becks. "It will be something special to go back to Old Trafford, and I'm really looking forward to it."

The special match marks two jubilees: Manchester United's half-century of involvement in European competitions; and the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which laid the foundations for a united Europe.

It is being staged by the Manchester United Foundation and UEFA, with support from the European Union. All the proceeds from the celebration match will go to charity. Click here to book tickets.

Ronaldo Loves Life At United

For your info I'm a Manchester United die hard fan supporter and I'm a member to the Manchester United Fan Club. Therefore, I'm also receiving the official newsletter from Manutd.com. The following post is taken from Redview 15th February 2007, Issue 144.

Sir Alex Ferguson has urged United fans to ignore any speculation linking Cristiano Ronaldo to a move away from Old Trafford.

Barcelona and Real Madrid have been touted as possible destinations for the Portuguese winger, but the United boss says he can't see it happening.

"I'd dismiss it, to be honest with you," Sir Alex told MU Radio. "Cristiano loves it here.

"He's in his best spell, he's improving and progressing fantastically as a footballer. He's a great lad and there's no way you could see him not being happy here. Without question, he loves it here."

Sir Alex was quick to point out Ronaldo's contract runs until 2010 and slammed those who claim the 22-year-old needs to be on a bigger stage.

"Why would we sell Cristiano? We have as much right to be at the top of the footballing tree as Barcelona. We have the same ambitions as them.

"We may not have a 90,000-seat stadium but we do have 76,000 in every week. I don't know if there's another club in the world like it. There are so many positives about Manchester United. You wouldn't want to leave here."

Bye bye Netscape and IE. Welcome Mozilla

I am so happy today that now I am using Mozilla Firefox as my internet browser. I don't know what's wrong with my internet explorer and Netscape navigator. The problems on using those 2 browser makes me really mad and crazy!!! Luckily my cleaver and lovely wife took the initiative and downloaded the Mozilla Firefox. Now, all the problems that we face earlier while using the internet has disappeared.

Chinese New Year and Fire Cracker

Tonight is the Chinese New Year night. As expected, at 12.00 midnight, there were a lot of fire cracker being fired-off. Our house location seems to be strategic as we can see a lot of colourful and wonderful fire crackers ignited and exploded in the air. We enjoyed it very much and do not need to pay anything to view and witness the beautiful scenery.

Blog Feed

Feed by feedburner or other feed tools are essential to reach our readers. I'm using it as well, and I'm still learning to fully utilize the feed burner. Below is an article from the Inside Adsense
Team regarding feedburner.

Does your site have a feed? If not, you may be missing out on a substantial number of repeat visitors. An increasing number of users are using feed readers to keep up to date with their favorite websites. You've worked so hard to create that quality content, and feeds can
help you grow your audience as well as let your current readers take your site with them wherever they go.Google Reader and the Google Personalized Homepage are examples of feed readers that allow your users to keep track of updates to your site -- and starting today, it's
now possible to track the number of users subscribed to your site via these two feed readers.

Here are just a few examples of AdSense sites
which also offer feeds:
- Information resources NewsMax and Hybridcars.com publish feeds of their most recent stories.
- Taquitos.net, a specialty site focused on snacks, publishes feeds with the newest snack reviews. - Blogs like Inside AdSense publish feeds with the latest posts.There are many resources online to help you implement feeds on your site. You may wish to start with sites for Atom and RSS, the two standards compatible with most feed readers. Many popular CMS and blogging
platforms like Blogger.com already have feed functionality built in, so your site may even have a feed without you knowing it. In order to provide the best experience for your users, the Google Reader team has also put together some tips for feed publishers. This document covers feed best practices, common implementation pitfalls, and various ways to promote your feeds. Whether you're creating your feeds from scratch or have been publishing them for a long time, we encourage you to take a look at our tips to make the most of your feeds. If you have any
questions, please get in touch.

Posted by Nick Baum - Google Reader
Product Manager

Massage

As usual, everyday is a tiring day for me especially when I'm involved in a bad traffic jam after a long day hectic work. I'll be very exhausted and will surely asked my wife to massage me. It felt good whenever her soft finger run through my head and body. The blood circulation flowing inside made me feel very relax and in somewhere else. I loved when she run her fingers and rubbed it on my face. It also strengthened and solidify the bond which has been established earlier within us. Thanks my dear. Do your wife massage you? Do you massage your husband?

Pasir Gudang Kite Festival 2007

It has been a long time since we went out for leisure in a one unit family. We went to this Pasir Gudang Kite Festival 2007 yesterday. There were a lot interesting and attractive kites flying in the Pasir Gudang Park air space. It was an extraordinary scenary. Various shapes, creativity and speed can was displayed. Check out the official site: www.kitefestpasirgudang.com.
Check out other photos in Ikhwan's, Marsya's, and Alya's site.

This was taken by our bibik (maid). Simply to show that we've been to the Kite Festival in Pasir Gudang. We'll there were a lot of people and you can see it from the background.

This brilliant photo was snapped by my lovely wife. Even I could not manage to get this angle when I attempted to snap her photo.

See, I could not get a good shot on the photo. I failed to get a good photo of my wife. It's about the timing, angle and luck. The one in yellow cap and dark t-shirt is Ikhwan, my son. The one in red cap is some chap who's enjoying the day whom we don't know. Well, there were a lot of people there....

They just brought down this giant kite. It took them at least 15 minutes to get it touch the earth surface, and a lot of people too.

My wife and kids, Ikhwan, Marsya & Alya...

Making Money From Blog

The power of bloging can be magnificent. It would not just let you enjoy posting, but it also can give you some lucrative side income!!! Just see JohnChow's blog. His blog is simply fantastic and his commitment in providing great content in just amazing. If you want to see how much John Chow made last December, read the following:

With traffic down by over 145,000 page views, you think income would be down by a proportionate amount. However, I’m happy to report that despite the huge drop in traffic, the blog still beat the record $2,123.93 November income. Here is the December earnings breakdown.

• Google AdSense: $693.36
• Vibrant IntelliTXT: $420.73
• TTZ Media: $152.91
• Text Link Ads: $508.50
• FeedBurner Ads: $345.60
• ReviewMe: $200
• Direct Ad Sales: $105.00
• Affiliate Sales: $195.00
• Free Stuff: $168.95
• Grand Total: $2,790.05

Read more about his comment, analysis and tips about his experience HERE.

Refer users to new products to generate more revenue

I adopted the following article from the Google Adsense Help Center in order to help myself and others get some info on how to generate more revenue from referral Google referral products.Hopefully we can gain some useful tips and input from it.

Referrals is a feature of AdSense that allows you to increase your revenue while increasing your users' awareness of useful products and services. By adding a referral button to your site, you can direct users to products like AdSense, AdWords, and Firefox with Google Toolbar. When your referral connects a user to one of our referral products, you can generate more earnings while helping new web publishers improve their internet experience.

Our step-by-step instructions make it easy to add a referral to your site in minutes. Note that the referral products available to you may vary depending on your location or language - you can find a full list of the referral products available for you by visiting the AdSense Setup tab and choosing Referrals as the product.

Tips for successful referrals:

1. Actively endorse the products you refer. Unlike with AdSense for content ads, we encourage you to endorse referral products by calling attention to the button or text link. If you believe in the quality of the product that you're referring, feel free to let your users know! Of course, in line with our policies, you may not click your own ads nor encourage conversions for deceitful reasons.
2. Treat referral units as site content rather than traditional ad space. By integrating text links or buttons into related content on your page, you can improve the experience users have on your site, enabling them to easily find the referral buttons you discuss in your content.
3. Experiment. Try various text links and button designs to see which performs best on your site. Our policies allow you to place one referral unit per product, for up to four products total, on any given page.
4. Customize your text links. Our policies allow publishers to alter the font and size of the text link using standard HTML "font" tags around the link. However, the font size changes must be reasonably necessary to match the theme of the site. Unreasonable or abusive changes will constitute a violation of our program policies.
5. Choose relevant products to refer. For example, if you have a site about blogging or web hosting, an AdSense referral unit may work best on your site. The referral product that is most relevant to the content of your site will always perform best.
6. Rotate referral units when you rotate content. Always check to see that the relevance of your referral unit is not diminished by your change in content.

Kid's Blog

I thing yesterday is one of the most important and significant day in my life and my family's life. Nothing big had happen except I created three blogs for three of my small children. I just got the idea yesterday night and I quickly implemented it. I can post what ever activity, progress, drawing, photos, videos of my kids inside their individual blog. Later, when they grew older and understand, I will handover the blogs to the respective person. For the time being the blogs are all very new and only contain their very basic info. The blogs are IkhwanFirdaus, MarsyaSyazweena and AlyaHumaira.