Solving the flea problem

My daughter wants to keep a cat. I had to refuse as I know from experience that keeping a pet is not that easy nor cheap. Moreover we plan to go back to Malaysia after 4 years and I won't want to have a situation where we might have to leave it here in the UK.

Anyway, one of the problems associated with cats as well as with dogs are the flea problems. If your dog or cat has fleas you better do something quickly as they can affect us too. It is dangerous if you have kids as flea bite can be really itchy and there might be secondary infections too.

I found out that besides flea shampoo there are many other ways to get rid of fleas. If you want to know more, visit the "Flea Control Guide", which has information and links to everything you need to know about flea problem and the solutions.

Blog with an interesting title

Was just going through the "'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves" blog. That's an interesting title for a blog. In case you are wondering what it means, I guess you better refer to the meaning of the poem "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll.

I couldn't find out much about the blogger as he/ she doesn't have a about me page and there's nothing in the Blogger profile. Some bloggers to prefer to remain anonymous and it's their choice.

Slithy Toves has been blogging since October last year, about random things that the Blogger found on the net. The blogger seeks to increase the Blogs PR (don't we all). Joining various social networks (for example, MyBlogLog, Spicypage )and forums on the net might help. You may have great content but people won't come if they don't know about your site.

I would also suggest that he ( I am assuming that the blogger is male) either replace or modify the generic Blogger template used. There are thousands of blogs with the same template. Doesn't exactly make your blog stand out, if you know what I mean. Maybe the blogger can think of modifying it with a personalised top banner. I can also see a minor spelling error in the description of the blog. Assume that it was supposed to be a "the" instead of "teh."

In his post "Starting to understand this whole blogging thing", Slithy Toves has mentioned some of the steps he has taken to improve his pr. Hopefully this review should bring him some more visitors.

Going to the Microsoft MGX - get special rate at resort

Are you part of Microsoft's salesforce or you are one of those lucky guys who got invited to MGX (Microsoft Global Experience), one of the must-attend Microsoft events?

Initially it was supposed to be held at New Orleans but has now been moved to Orlando. According to a report by ZDNet, an estimated 14,000 people attend MGX.

Anyway, if you are one of those guys going there for the event, you are probably looking for an affordable place to stay. Well you are in luck as International Plaza Resort and Spa in Orlando, Florida is offering a Microsoft MGX Special Rate of only $119 per night.

This luxury hotel is located within walking distance to convention center where the MGX is being held. Another great news for tech people (I don't like to use the word geek) is that there is free wifi access throughout the resort. Of course you won't be spending all the time at the event. if you would like to visit some of the popular theme parks nearby, the resort provides complimentary transportation.

That really does sound nice. Now here's hoping that Microsoft sends me an an invitation.

Blair steps down

Just watched on TV, Tony Blair step down as UK prime minister after a decade. When he became the Prime Minister in 1997, he was the youngest prime minister in nearly 200 years. He won an unprecedented three elections in a row for the Labour party.

He was instrumental in ending the conflict in Northern Ireland and getting the opposing sides to sign a peace treaty. He also helped end the genocide in the Balkans. Domestically, he is attributed with bringing the crime rate down. However, in the end he spoilt it all by supporting Bush's decision to invade Iraq.

Though he offered condolences to the families of fallen soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, he was not apologetic about his actions:

I know some may think that they face these dangers in vain; I don't and I never will. I believe they are fighting for the security of this country and the wider world against people who would destroy our way of life.

However, Military Families Against the War said:

He will not be allowed to forget the suffering he has caused

Blair - you are a failure!

Blair will now take over in his new role as envoy to the Mideast peace mediators.

The former Chancellor and Gordon Brown has now moved into 10 Downing Street. As soon as he arrived there he announced:

This will be a new government with new priorities, meeting the concerns and aspirations of the whole country. Let the work of change begin

Janna ripped to shreds

I am not going to do one but two blog reviews today - both owned by Blogger Janna. She says:

I’ve told him to go ahead and rip me to shreds

Well Janna, here goes.

First, Jantics I guess the title is a combination of Janna and antics or is it lunatics. ;-)

I am a fan of clean and minimal blog templates and this happens to be one of them. The first thing that caught my eye was the beautiful banner. It's lovely. Maybe I am biased because I used to be a forester. I also like the "25 Things About Me"

The blog has a lot of short and interesting posts. But as I said in my last post, interesting and longer posts do get more linkbacks and comments. It's also nice to see a blog without any ads on the sidebar for a change. Some pics to accompany the posts would be nice.

Nothing much to criticize about apart from one small thing - I am not sure what that "www.yoursite.com" is doing up there.

Now for The Jannaverse - from Janna + Universe? It's a PR 4 blog - Impressive for a young blog. It took me more than 4 years to get my PR 4.

Again a clean, tidy layout. Some really interesting expressions:

It's not a pretty sight, me, rolling naked on the floor while foaming at the mouth and ripping my hair out, screaming curses at the dead ancestors of my ISP provider.

FYI, this blog is not an adult site. Read "What on earth do they think I WRITE???"

Yes! She's a great writer. I am only concerned that some old people with poor eyesight may find the text size a bit hard to read.

Both blogs seems to quite similar - general without any particular theme - much like my own blog here. I feel that Janna should choose a particular theme or segment for 'Janatics' while keeping 'The Jannaverse<' for personal rants and thoughts. Just a suggestion.

Lisa's ramblings

Following my offer to do Free blog reviews, I have had quite a few people taking it up. This is the first review.

My thoughts, ideas and ramblings is the personal blog of Lisa, a work at home mom from Illinois. Though she just started blogging in April last year, the blog has an impressive Google PR 4.

Most of her posts are short and easy to read. It is a matter of preference. The debate about the merits and demerits of long posts is still on. However, I have noticed that longer posts generate more linkbacks as well as comments.

What would I like to change on here blog? Nothing much except that I would definitely like to see more pictures Talking about pictures, the blog banner could do with a redesign with sharper images. That would definitely make the blog more attractive.

As indicated by the "U comment, I follow" badge, she has turned off the nofollow in her comments. Go visit her blog and leave comments.

Business coaching site

I subscribe to the idea of lifelong learning. Education doesn't have to end with school or after a degree. Actually I have realized that besides renewing what I already know, I need to take classes to keep myself up to date with the new skills and knowledge to enable me to achieve my personal goals.

I recall that I was in awe of a friend during my MBA. He was a medical doctor who joined the corporate sector and had become the managing director of a group of companies and I wondered why he needed to get an MBA. Later during one of our courses, I learnt of Maslow's 'Hierarchy of needs' and how we move towards self-actualization after we have satisfied our other needs starting with the physiological needs.

There are various educations institutions providing executive-level coaching for individuals and one of the leaders is Prosper, Inc. Started by owners, Ethan Willis and Randy Garn, Prosper, Inc. is a global leader of coaching and distance training and provides mentoring in Real Estate Investing, Stock Market Investing, Business Marketing, E-commerce and Personal Finance.

Here is the LinkedIn profile of prosper learning.

I was quite impressed with the real success stories in the testimonials from former students. I guess this is the reason that they were named as 2005 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

However, it should be noted that membership is by invitation only so if you are interested, contact a Prosper consultant now to find out if you are eligible.