Have you been scouting around for THE easy-to-use ad rotator for your wordpress blog? Do you like the ad rotator you see on Skoyu’s right sidebar, whereby a few ads are rotated in the same number of pre-defined positions within an ad zone? How about getting this plugin for free?

Given the recent blog advertising craze, I am amazed by the lack of blog posts and information about THE ad rotation plugin for wordpress blogs, which prompted me to write this post. I am sure there are many bloggers out there searching for THE solution to their ad rotation needs. Better still, make it a cost free solution! Read on to find out more…

Indeed, there are a few ad rotation tools to choose from - free plugins such as AdRotator, Ad-minister to paid services such as dynamicads. Let’s forget about paid services for now, and concentrate on free plugins (well, we all like freebies don’t we?). What do you notice about the free ad rotation plugins?

Limitations? Yes, limitations. I have used AdRotator and Ad-minister found that they are limited in the most important ad rotation function:

The ability to define an ad zone in your blog, i.e. a few positions (e.g. 6) to rotate a group of ads (e.g. 6)

Yes, AdRotator and Ad-minister only allow rotation of ads at a specific position.

Ok, here’s what you guys are waiting for right? So which free wordpress ad rotation plugin serves the key function stated above? The answer is Got Banners. Got Banners is easy to use, and its working methodology is the same as AdRotator. With Got Banners, users are able to define an ad zone consisting of the same number of positions as the ads defined. This means that if you define 6 ads, Got Banners will define a zone consisting of 6 positions to rotate the 6 ads.

I guess most bloggers are looking for this specific function, rather than what AdRotator offers. Bear in mind though that I have not tried getting Got Banners to carry out the function that AdRotator does, that is to rotate multiple banners in a single position. If you did, please share with me your findings. Well, I guess we can always use AdRotator and Got Banners together for the dissimilar ad zones that we define in our blogs, at least until a free ad rotator that serves both functions appear.

In our pursuit for blogging “success” (which is of course subjective), we also need to take care of our mental and emotional well-being and not give ourselves unnecessary stress. Here are 7 ways to combat stress that may arise from our pursuit for blogging success:

Don’t rush madly in search of stress. Don’t rush through your blogging activities and create a “panic situation” for yourself. The majority of bloggers are part-timers, and spend a few hours maximum blogging each day. With the limited time that we have, some bloggers attempt to “overkill” in order to complete as many blogging activities as possible. They do this by listing a dozen blogging activities / tasks to be carried out each day, and rush themselves into completing the tasks. This creates unnecessary stress for them, and often degrades the quality of the output for those tasks. At the end of the day, these bloggers are merely rushing in search of stress. Worth it? Definitely not!

Research, trial and error, blog. Quite a mouthful, eh? Research. Before plunging in to set up a blog, perform a simple research to gain an understanding of the happenings in blogosphere, as well as get to know the “blogging basics”. By blogging basics, I mean familiarizing with the different channels that you may come into contact with during your blogging career, such as knowing how to manipulate simple HTML code, what programmes / services you need to sign up for and how to go about it and knowing where to get information when required (e.g. blog directories, SEO information or article submission directories). We will want to equip ourselves with blogging basics to reduce the chances of getting stuck and create unnecessary stress. Trial and error. Having armed yourself with blogging basics, do you plunge straight into setting up a blog? I wouldn’t. I would use free blogging services and set up two test blogs, a blogspot blog and a wordpress blog. This will allow me to put my blogging basics into practice, select the blogging service that suits me and at the same time learn. Often, beginners don’t get things the first time right. By going through this phase of trial and error, I am learning how things work but I have removed the element of stress. These are test blogs anyway, so I wouldn’t feel stressed up to get things right immediately. Blog. Having gone through a period of learning through research and trial and error, it is now time to set up your own blog. Having learnt the basics of blogging and familiarized oneself with the different channels, you should be less prone to feeling lost and stressed while blogging.

Prepare blog entries in advance. This is one of the top-notch blogging strategies that I highly recommend. This blogging strategy basically encompasses drafting posts in advance and setting up a blog entries library, for use when required. Most people blog whatever that comes to their mind. This type of on-the-spot blogging may create unnecessary stress should a blogger experience bouts of mental block and is unable to post an entry when one is due. With blog entries prepared way in advance, one will not feel stressed and pressured to “deliver a post by the end of the day”.

Manage your blog post frequencies. Some full-time bloggers can post up to 3 entries a day. Can you? How often do you post an entry in your blog? Once a day? Once every other day? In any case, do you set a realistic target for yourself and allow time for other blogging activities? One of the main culprits of blogging stress is setting unreasonable blog post frequency targets for oneself. Let’s perform a simple time allocation calculation. If you are a part-time blogger who spends on average two hours a day on blogging activities, and takes half an hour to write a unique quality entry that has value-for-time content for readers, that leaves you with one-and-a-half hours for remaining blogging activities, which include networking, commenting on others’ blogs, links building and exchange, blog administration, researching for content etc. Can you manage all these with so limited time? For the lack of posts we put up (say adopting the strategy of one post every other day), we make up with quality. Ensure your blog post is unique and has quality value-for-time content for readers. A well-planned blog post frequency strategy will help ease off unnecessary blogging stress.

Create a blogging schedule. Would you feel more at ease when you are in your neighbourhood or in a faraway country that you have not visited before? I guess being in familiar territory always eases the mind. The same goes for blogging. Having a blogging schedule allows one to “routinize” and get used to his blogging activities, and with some form of familiarity, this helps to ease the mind. For instance, dedicate Mondays for traffic building, Tuesdays for reading others’ blogs and dropping comments, Wednesdays for brainstorming blog entries, etc.

Having said that, you may want to maintain some form of flexibility in your schedules. You will never know the exact time the next thunderstorm will strike. Similarly, you will never know when blogging ideas will come to mind. With a sudden influx of blogging ideas, you wouldn’t want to wait for the next Wednesday to transform your blogging ideas into solid posts.

Automate tasks where possible. Find it a chore submitting articles to article directories? There is available software that allows one to submit articles to article directories through a few clicks. Find it a hassle to manually reply emails to customers or readers? You can always use email autoresponders. It takes time to set up certain automated tools such as autoresponders. However, once it is done, it takes a load off your shoulders and minimise frustration and stress that may build up with such administrative work. If money permits, you may want to consider outsourcing menial tasks to willing parties.

Take a break. Lastly, get away from your computer if you are feeling stressed up over blogging. Simply relax, exercise or indulge yourself in nice ice-cream. Taking your mind off blogging allows your mind to rejuvenate. A rejuvenated mind will reward you with fresh blogging perspectives and enhance your blogging experience. As the saying goes, “Rest now to prepare for a longer journey.” Taking a break not only allows you to relieve yourself off blogging stress, but will also aid you in going the extra mile.

Hope my two cents’ worth helps.

I certainly hope you are, for there are benefits to having fun blogging. Here are 3 great benefits of “fun blogging”, and 3 methods on how we can enjoy blogging…

3 Great Benefits of “Fun Blogging”

1. Humans learn best under two extreme circumstances, when they are either suffering or having fun. When a young child skids his bike and lands hard on his face, breaking a tooth or two in the process, he will learn never to speed again. This is the first form of learning – learning through pain. It is somewhat different when it comes to learning through fun. Our brains focus on the “fun” part while we are enjoying an activity, and that is natural as our brains want to have fun too! What we do not realize often is that we are learning sub-consciously, as we have fun. Our brains are smart enough to capture the information and categorize it for us, allowing us to draw on this information when we need it. The options are clear, and the choice is yours to make.
2. Fun can be addictive and viral. Once you are hooked, you cannot help but to have more fun. See the trend? A virtuous cycle of blog à have fun à blog à have fun is established, and blogging ideas will keep flowing. Congratulations, you are well on your way to becoming the proud owner of a sustainable blog, and will find yourself an avid promoter of the “fun virus” too.
3. When you are having fun, your readers know. How so? It’s not because you are literally telling them, they can witness it through your blogs! Be it your blog design, avatar or blog entries, readers can tell if you are having fun blogging or find it a chore. Well, would you subscribe to the feed of a blog full of “dull and gloomy” posts? I guess not. So, fun blogging can naturally help one regulate his mood, write value adding quality content and attract tons of readers!

3 Methods to “Fun Blogging”

1. Express your creativity. Blogs are one of the best avenues to exhibit your unique talents. Be it unique designs and themes, fresh concepts and features etc, do what you do and like best and show the world your capabilities. Naturally, you will start to have fun.
2. Explore the unknown and test your readers. Another great way to have fun blogging is to first explore an area of interest, something which you have been curious about but haven’t got the time to dig into. A few topics come to mind, such as “unnatural sightings”, “UFOs”, “unsolved crimes”, “weird human behaviours” or even “sex toys”. Once you have enough information, come up with an interesting title and share with your readers. Observe what happens. This can be fun.
3. Embrace reciprocity and interact with other bloggers. Take a more proactive approach and share news, tips, tools etc with other like-minded bloggers. Drop them brilliant comments, not just any comments. Provide honest and constructive feedback, not just any feedback. Offer to guest blog with quality content, not just any content. When someone does something nice for you, return the favour twice. In no time, you will make friends in blogo-&-vlogo-spheres and slowly build a friendly community. You will feel more involved and interested in blogging, and have fun along the way.

Well, if you haven’t start having fun blogging, I hope you will, soon. =)

Semester break is over, back to Photobie tutorials! In this Photobie tutorial, we will learn how to create the “dancing mask” effect using Photobie. You may be wondering if there are any benefits to creating such animated images. The answer depends on their uses and the type of website you have. In my opinion, animated images of this kind serve to spice up “funky” blogs, and enhance click through rates. However, if yours is a “goodie-two-shoes” kind of blog, I suppose images of this nature tend to detract readers? I leave you to define “funky” and “goodie-two-shoes”.

Step 1: Start up Photobie and Import Image. Create a new 250 x 250 pixels white background as usual. Import the image you would like to animate, then resize. I have used the picture of a mask obtained through Powerpoint clipart. Notice the lack of description on how to go about carrying out the above. Readers who have been following the lessons should perform the tasks mentioned with ease. For new readers who have just stumbled on this post, welcome and please read the introduction to my photobie lessons.

My apologies for the sidetrack. Let’s continue.

Step 2: Clone images. Remember that animated images are merely a series of static images being rotated at great speed. Hence, to create the dancing mask effect, we need to first clone and position our images within the 250 x 250 pixels background. You should have “0 Background” and “1 New Layer” as shown below:

Clone “1 New Layer”. Drag the newly cloned layer (2 New Layer) diagonally downwards from its parent layer, as shown below:

Now, clone “2 New Layer” and drag “3 New Layer” diagonally upwards. See the pattern? Rinse and repeat and you should get something like that.

At this stage, I have a total of 9 layers. You can have as many or as little layers as you like. The more layers you have (i.e. gaps between images are small), the more time consuming it is but the smoother the transition of images. Save your work!

Step 3: More cloning? Why aren’t we done? The reason is simple. Whenever you create animated images, you need to picture in your mind how the animation works. Now that we have gone one way across (left to right), we need to come back across (right to left) to complete the animated image. Makes sense? Ok, to do that, simple clone the second last layer (in my case, “8 New Layer”), followed by the layer before it till you reach the second layer (in this example, “2 New Layer”).

Step 4: Getting the individual frames up. Clone the background to match the number of layers you have and merge each background with each layer. Ensure you do not mess up the sequence of images.

Step 5: Animation time. Go to Animation Control Panel and set the time delay for all frames to 200. Save your animated image.

Did you get what I have? If you don’t which step did you not follow? I have purposely left out the specific instructions for various steps, for most readers already know how to navigate and use the Photobie functions to obtain the desired effects. My guess is readers will face some difficulties with Step 4. Please do contact me if you require further elaboration on any steps listed above. I will be more than happy to assist.

Have fun with your design! =)

“Favicon” is the short form for “Favorite Icon”. It is the little image (16 x 16 or 32 x 32 pixels) you see beside the URL in the web address bar of your web browser, and if you open a few browser tabs, it appears next to the web title and description as well. If you are still clueless as to what I am talking about, look below, the favicons are cirled in bright orange. =)

Why is there a need for a “favicon”?

We are using blogger.com as our blogging platform, and the blogger favicon ‘B’ is used by over a million bloggers. How unique is that? Creating a unique favicon will simply make one’s blog more unique. Images are known to capture people’s attention more easily. Hence, a well-designed favicon serves the function of allowing readers to remember our blogs by, or relate to our blogs easily.

Isn’t it too early to get my favicon up?

It’s only lesson two and we haven’t even talked about blog template, layout and title, among other important stuff. Why talk about setting up a favicon first? The reason is simple. It is more fun that way! I wanted readers to join in the fun and design their own favicons. I hope you are enjoying yourself already.

Getting started

Setting up your favicon isn’t all that difficult. All we need is to first arm ourselves with a 16 x 16 or 32 x 32 pixels windows icon (*.ico format). How can we do that? Use any platform to design a simple image (Powerpoint, Photobie, GIMP, Photoshop, Paint etc) and don’t worry about getting the image size right. The only thing you need to take note is to save your image in *.bmp, *.jpg or *.png format. So, here I have, a BCube to represent Blogspot Blogging Basics. =)

Note: If you intend to convert your favicon image to *.ico format, you need not worry about image size. The image converter should convert your image to 16 x 16 or 32 x 32 pixels based on the settings.

Converting between image formats** (skip this step if you prefer to use *.png or *.gif formats)

After getting your design up, you need to access my resources page and look for Imagicon. Download the latest version. It is pretty straightforward (drag and drop) to use Imagicon to convert your saved image to *.ico format, hence I shall not explain. If you have been following my Photobie lessons, you can import your image into Photobie and save the output in *.ico format as well. Else, you can always search for another image converter that is to your liking.

Uploading favicon and obtaining the link

If you are using *.png or *.gif image formats, ensure your images are correctly sized (16 x 16 or 32 x 32 pixels). Else, once you have your image in *ico format, the next step is to upload your favicon to a free image host. I personally recommend Picasa web albums. Else, google “free image host” and you can pick any free host you like. Once you have set up an account, you can start creating a new album and uploading your favicon. There is only one thing to highlight when using Picasa. Once you click on your image, you should see a screen similar to what I have below. To obtain the link to your favicon, click on “Link to This Photo” as circled.

Adding favicon to Blogspot

Finally, we are nearly there! Log in to blogspot, go to “Layout”, “Edit HTML”, as shown below:

Before we proceed any further, you may want to backup a copy of the template (by clicking on “Download Full Template”). This is a good practice, and in case you mess up the codes, you have something to fall back on. At this point, I would also like to highlight something really important. Please note that I have “commented” the codes below (by adding /* */) to ensure that you would see them as they are in your “Edit HTML tab” (just a precaution). If you are not sure what I mean, no worries. Read carefully and copy the right codes. Copy the code below (in red only, omit the /* */ please) and ensure that you have replaced “your favicon link” (in red, bold) with the link you obtained in the previous step.

/* <link href=‘your favicon link’ rel=’shortcut icon’ type=’image/vnd.microsoft.icon’/> */

If you are using other image formats (*.png or *.gif), you may copy the respective codes below and replace “your favicon link” with your image URL.

/* <link href=‘your favicon link’ rel=’shortcut icon’ type=’image/png’/> */

/* <link href=‘your favicon link’ rel=’shortcut icon’ type=’image/gif’/> */

You should see the following line of code (in red) somewhere near the top of “Edit HTML” tab:

/* <title><data:blog.pageTitle/></title> */

Paste your line of code immediately below this line. At the bottom of the page and click on “Save Template”.

Done. Refresh your page a couple of times (usually) and you should see your personalised favicon. It may take a little time for your favicon to load, so relax if you do not see yours immediately. Simply refresh your page a couple of times more.

End of blogspot blogging basics tutorial 2

Yup, that sums up our tutorial on “how to install a favicon on blogspot”. You may view my favicon if you assess my blogspot URL here. I hope you have fun exploring blogspot.

“Happiness is not in our circumstances but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fite. Happiness is something we are.”

- John Sheerin

No, I am not talking about the concept of depth of field in photography. I am trying to illustrate the concept of perceptions. Both photos are taken seconds apart from the exact spot, yet the focus is totally different. The first photo focuses on the hut (shelter) whereas the second photo focuses on the branches and leaves. Imagine Tom, Dick and Harry standing at the same spot and admiring the same view. Oh, did I say “same view”? Would Tom know what images are painted in the minds of Dick and Harry, vice versa?

Perceptions

A common meaning of “Perception”, according to dictionary.com, is “Intuitive recognition or appreciation, as of moral, psychological, or aesthetic qualities”. In other words, it is the output (understanding) of one’s analysis of a situation. The unique feature of human beings is that each individual perceives the “same situation” differently. I shouldn’t even be using the phrase “same situation” because different perceptions would mean different situations for different people. Rightfully, I should say, “The unique feature of human beings is that each individual perceives the event that they witnessed together differently.” And believe me, this is where all the trouble starts.

Misunderstandings

When people perceive an event or issue differently, the result is often one filled with misunderstandings. Let’s analyze how misunderstandings can occur.

The human brain can be loosely classified into three regions:

Neo Cortex – Controls the logic, thinking functions

Limbic System – Moderates the emotional self (feelings)

Brain Stem – Controls the human instincts (reactions)

Imagine the following happening within a split second. When presented with a situation, Tom’s Limbic System “sets” his mood (based on his emotions at that time), and then combines with the Neo Cortex to start him thinking logically to decipher the situation. When the billions of neurons click in his brain in that split second, he perceives the situation in a certain manner, and his Brain Stem orders his body to react accordingly. Can you imagine how the brains of Dick and Harry will function within that split second?

There are infinite ways which people can view a situation, and when they do not see eye-to-eye, misunderstandings may result, leading to unhealthy and more importantly, unnecessary argument.

Proper Communication

The way to go about resolving any differences in perception resulting in misunderstandings is proper communication. Whenever you sense that someone views an issue in a different light, approach the subject objectively. This is often the case at the workplace. It is not about you trying to convince the other party about your proposal or making him understand your point of view. As someone who knows that the root cause is differences in perception resulting in the misunderstanding, you can take on the role as facilitator and ensure that there is a two-way communication channel – Taking turns to speak your minds and thrashing things out.

Proper communication is easier said than done. Often, we need parties to be willing to sit down and approach the subject objectively. It’s a pity that “willingness” is a virtue that not everyone embraces, and taking time off to communicate and solve problems objectively is considered a waste of time for these people. Perhaps they are too self-centered, or are too shallow to even think about such issues.

In any case, be it between spouses, siblings, boyfriends and girlfriends, or friends, we should not take our loved ones for granted. Exercise proper and effective communication when necessary. It will do many people a lot of good, as well as enhance relationships.

Last Note

The next time you feel like “bursting” because your loved one does not understand your situation, take a step back and think through the concepts discussed in this post. I hope my thinking aloud will benefit you in some ways.

What is “Learning”?

Does “learning” mean “understanding concepts and applying the knowledge to specific situations”? Or is it acquisition of knowledge that one has never heard of? Well, “learning” in general means “to acquire knowledge and skill”. However, I would like to highlight a few common misconceptions about learning:

Learning is not about going through the motion of attending lessons in school.

Learning is not about following your sergeant’s instructions and going through the motion to complete tasks in military camps.

Learning is not about remembering what your math tutor taught you how to go solve an algebra problem and regurgitating the solution when you encounter a similar question.

Learning, to me, is in fact about taking the initiative to leverage on, explore and experiment on a subject which you have just been introduced to.

Leverage

One of the most powerful learning tools is tapping and leveraging on your own experiences and knowledge and applying to a subject that you have just been introduced to. Every individual is unique and has unique experiences in life. We can put our experience to good use by applying where we deem fit. For instance, if you have learned how to prepare traditional dishes from your mum since young, and is currently learning how to prepare Italian cuisine from a cook book, you may leverage on your knowledge and cooking style and try to create new dishes. Also, you may add on to or omit ingredients specified in the cook book, based on your knowledge of ingredients that you think complement each other, or feel is healthier for your family.

This is one of the reasons why in a class of 30 students learning the same dish, we tend to get 30 different tastes at the end of the day.

Explore and Experiment

After gaining knowledge on a subject, do you explore and experiment from there? Exploration and Experimentation can be time consuming. However, when you discover new ground through your own exploration, the sense of satisfaction can be overwhelming. Let me elaborate through my Photobie Lessons. In Photobie Lesson 1 – Text Fly In Effect, we learned how to create text effect like the one below (on the left):

Compare the two animated images above and you’ll realise the distinct difference. Have you ever thought of trying out new “stunts” after learning the basics? For Photobie fanatics, you may want to try and create the animated text above (on the right)? =)

Ask Questions

Asking questions is one of the best ways to learn. Perhaps I should correct myself. Asking the right person the right questions is one of the best ways to learn. Ask a hair stylist how to fix a leaking gas pipe and you may end up with an “explosive” hairstyle, literally. Ask him about the recent “In” hairstyles and you may end up with a decent haircut just in time for your friend’s wedding.

Why do people shy away from asking questions? Firstly, some may feel embarrassed by their lack of knowledge in a particular field, and fear being ridiculed by others for asking “stupid” questions, when in fact, the questions they have in mind are valid questions. I personally feel that there are no “stupid” questions. All questions are valid and apply to different people with different levels of understanding and knowledge of a subject. For instance, blogging beginners will ask “beginner” type questions such as “How do I get this plugin to work?” or “How do I gain more traffic to my blog?” whereas slightly more advanced bloggers may ask various questions related to search engine optimization (SEO).

The equation is simple… Ask and you may benefit. Don’t ask and your doubts will remain unanswered.

How do you learn?

Is it sufficient to simply tell myself that I have passion in learning? No, things do not work this way. I am a keen learner, and I adopt the above methods to learn when applicable. I leverage on my own knowledge on a topic I have just been exposed to, and when I lack knowledge in that field, I try exploring and experimenting on my own. When I get stuck during exploration, I ask questions and search for answers.

That’s how I learn. How do you learn?

There! This is what you get when you select the Minima template provided by blogger.com. For those of you who have just joined us, this is where we start out blogspot blogging basics (BCube) series. The blog URL which you can view the most updated “output” for this series is http://blogspotbloggingbasics.blogspot.com/ You may find out more about this series in my introductory post. At this point, I’d like to highlight that I will not only be giving “how to” instructions. More importantly, I will address why we want to make certain changes to our blogs. I have structured my series in this manner such that bloggers who are not using blogger.com as their blogging platform can still pick out relevant discussion topics and hopefully find value in this series.

Well, I am sure most people know how to sign up for an account, so I shall skip all that. All you need is to arm yourself with a valid email address and follow the instructions when prompted to do so. Sign up for a free blogger.com account here.

In this journey of ours, I won’t be able to list all steps down to the minute details. I will however, give the broader picture and provide more details for key changes. Nonetheless, if you need further elaboration on any steps, or have any questions, feedback or ideas, do not hesitate to contact me.

With that, let our Blogspot Blogging Basics Series begin!

Let’s first get the boring but important administrative details done up first. Once you have your account up and running, you should see a dashboard similar to what I have below:

Click on “Settings” under “Manage Your Blogs” and you should see something similar to the screenshot below:

Run through all the sub-tabs and fill in the required information. I’d like to highlight only certain important fields, as summarized below:

Basic Tab:

1. Add your blog to our listings? Yes (Unless you want to keep your blog private)
2. Let search engines find your blog? Yes (Unless you want to keep blog private)
3. Show quick editing on your blog? Yes (For your own convenience)
   

Note: Remember to click on “Save Settings” after editing EACH tab!

Publishing Tab:

1. For bloggers who want others to keep coming back to their blogs, try not to change your blog URL (sub-domain) too often. Settle on one right at beginning and then leave this sub-tab alone.

Formatting Tab:

1. Show 7 posts at the most (showing too many posts can affect your page loading time, especially if your posts are filled with pictures or photos)

Comments Tab:

1. Who can comment? Anyone (Don’t make it difficult for others to comment, or they will not comment at all)
2. Show comments in a popup window? Yes (Help your visitor save time! Visitors need not navigate back and forth to continue reading your posts after leaving comments. All they need to do is close the popup comments window)
3. Enable comment moderation? Yes (Be sure to provide a valid email address. You’d like to filter out unpleasant comments or profanity, don’t you?)

Site Feed Tab:

1. Allow blog feeds? Full (If you want to keep your blog private, select none)

Permissions Tab:

1. Who can view this blog? Anyone (Unless you want to keep your blog private)

Done! Ok, explore around, fill in your “About Me” page and stay tuned to my next post ya? Let’s take things one step at a time. Feel free to contact me if you need any help. =)

“Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Half effort does not produce half results. It produces no results. Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results that last.”

- Hamilton Holt

I believe in putting in my fair share of effort to make skoyu.com tick. Do you?