By Marc D. Ensign (c) 2009 We've all done it at some point in our professional lives. We search a keyword that describes our business only to scratch our head as to how our competitor's website shows up on the top of the líst instead of ours. If you've gone one step further and read about Search Engine Optimization, then surely you have come across the conflicting information online. One artic
By JohnLArmstrongThere is no middle-ground. Either the Bible is the Word of God or it isn't. Here's why the "relative to the time" argument falls apart as a justification for the moral and scientific problems of the Bible.
In continuing the series on debunking these most popular and 12+ pages being too much for one post - here is part 4 of 4 on the series Debunking The 25 Most Outrageous Money Myths. Part 1 can be found HERE. Part 2 can be found HERE. Part 3 can be found HERE.
19. Money Corrupts [...]
In continuing the series on debunking these most popular and 12+ pages being too much for one post - here is part 3 of 4 on the series Debunking The 25 Most Outrageous Money Myths. Part 1 can be found HERE. Part 2 can be found HERE.
13. Savings Accounts Save Money
Having money in a high [...]
In continuing the series on debunking these most popular and 12+ pages being too much for one post - here is part 2 of 4 on the series Debunking The 25 Most Outrageous Money Myths. Part 1 can be read HERE.
7. Closing Your Old Accounts Will Help Your Credit Score
Nope. Closing accounts can never [...]
I thought I’d take WriterDad’s advice in cooking this one up thinking that [My] Baby’s Born in the Rough Draft. You raise it in the Rewrite“. I’ve been working on this post for cumulatively about a month. A change here, a new post here, realization here, but I’m done. I could come up [...]
Will shared resources always be misused and overused? Is community ownership of land, forests and fisheries a guaranteed road to ecological disaster? Is privatisation the only way to protect the environment and end Third World poverty? Most economists and development planners will answer “yes” — and for proof they will point to the most influential article ever written on those important que
Learning Styles. Multiple Intelligences. Blank Slates. Ghosts In Our Machines. Noble Savages. Jewish Popes. These things do not exist. They are products of our minds, and as such hold great weight, even though they are wrong. You know how these things work--something that is not true is said enough, and heard enough, that everyone just believes it, even though the something is blatantly,
When Warner Bros. announced last Thursday that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince had been pushed back from Nov. 21 to next July, hardcore fans immediately entered the five stages of nerd grief. So far we've worked our way through denial, anger, semi-literate Internet ranting, and conspiracy-theorizing. All that's left is acceptance, where we go ahead and watch the movie when it comes out next
In the coming week(s) WE will fact-check this book, attack Corsi’s credibility and discredit him without mercy. Jerome Corsi’s fringe right-wing views are well known — he is a discredited anti-immigrant xenophobe who hallucinates that George Bush is trying to merge the United States with Mexico, a bigot and a racist who has put forward [...]
What IS the Silk Road?
In reality, the Silk Road was, in fact, a real road. It was a trail that connected Europe with China, Persia, and Central Asia, and it was used by travelers and traders for hundreds of years.
Historians believe that traders started using the Silk Road over two thousand years ago. The [...]
- Ali Starzyk and Jeff Luppino-EspositoIn response to IMDB's users ranking 'The Dark Knight' as the number one film of all time.UPDATE: The fans have gone even furtherPlease don't be mistakenFor i enjoyed the movie, you seeBut what brought my heart to achin'Was its status on IMDBI saw the movie at the mallAnd trust I loved the JokerBut what's with Maggie GyllenhaalAnd that random Asian BrokerEvery
There are so many SEO myths out there; I decided to write a short series of articles debunking some of the common myths. This next one may come as a surprise - but it’s true I hear it often!
SEO MYTH # 2: Search engines are not as valuable as other media.
It seems surprising that anyone [...]
- Pay per clíck (PPC) ads will either help or hurt organic rankings. (Organic simply means the process by which web users find websites having unpaid search engine listings.) Debunked: PPC is categorized differently than organic listings. There is no effect, one way or the other, on ranking. - Websites are banned if they ignore Google guidelines. Debunked: While it's a good idea to read Google
Bedwetting when asleep is very common in children, especially those under the age of about six or seven. It is also known as nocturnal enuresis. Bedwetting usually resolves itself by the age of about seven or slightly later. About 1 in 7 children aged five, and 1 in 20 children aged ten wet the bed. [...]
The truth is that many of these beliefs and attitudes that some people hold have about money are nothing but inaccurate generalizations and excuses that keep them from living a truly a happy and wealthy life.In order to truly align your mind to wealth creation, you must debunk these negative myths and really look at the facts.Myth: Having a lot of money will change you (into a bad person).Fact: Mo
By John L Armstrong Does the alleged fanaticism in the face of the alleged persecution of the alleged disciples and apostles prove the validity of Christian belief?If so, does it also prove a variety of other cults and religions who's followers and leaders demonstrated the exact same fanaticism?
In this post I would like to promote another blog which I have just been reading. It is called Debunking Christianity () and it seems to be high quality posts. Here is the authors (there are several different contributors) own description of their blog:"This Blog has been created for the purpose of debunking Evangelical Christianity. We are ex-Christians, ex-ministers, and even ex-apologists for t
"I feel out of my depth." "I know I'll feel overwhelmed." "This is way out of my league." "I am so intimidated by this group, but..." These are just a handful of the emails I have received regarding RSVPing for The People's Party, a pre-BlogHer party I am co-hosting with a handful of bloggers the night before the BlogHer conference at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco this year. Because we n
For some reason beyond me, Linux is almost synonymous with “anti-sex”. I still don’t fully understand from where this notion came from. While I admit that there are some rotten apples out there:
But these people are just giving us a bad name! I mean I am sure anybody could find a dorky doctor, or a [...]
With the plethora of big-business entities jockeying for the money of students on the path to becoming well-to-do responsible consumers with a house, car, and 1.5 children, it's often missed that the US Government is the first place to start when planning student finances.
Scholarships, traineeships, fellowships, loans: Uncle Sam is nothing if not prolific in the diversity of programs available.
A number of third-party blogs are telling people they can speed up Windows Update downloads, and file copy operations, by turning off the Remote Differential Compression (RDC) feature on Windows Vista. This is 100% false. Neither Windows Update or file copy operations use RDC at all.
The RDC feature is simply a DLL that does [...]
There are a number of myths associated with breast implants. Everything from breast implants saving a woman’s life to grave robber’s finding silicone bags in caskets. What’s fact and what’s fiction? Well here are a few things that will help set the record straight: 1. Breast implants DO NOT increase the risk of breast cancer. A committee at the Institute of Medicine (IOM) found e
There is a presumption swimming around in the heads of some people out there that we in real estate like to call the Mazda myth (Mazda as in the car company). This myth is prominent among individuals who have bought a car, but never a home. As I’ll explain, these buyers think of home prices and payments [...]
There’s a group of liberal theologians who meet together on a regular basis to discuss their ideas about Jesus. They call themselves “The Jesus Seminar,” and their mission is to seek the real, historical Jesus behind the Gospels. They believe that the Gospels have been tarnished with stories and myths, additions and subtractions that the Church produced and tailored over 400 years. By reducing the text to what they believe is its original context, they hope to re-discover who Jesus actually was and present Him to the world.Podcast version hereThe trouble is this: when they come across something like the bodily resurrection of Christ which they don’t believe, they pick and pull at the Gospel narratives until nothing is left. Or if Jesus is being critical and judgmental, they say tha
More than 500 climate scientists, meteorologists, economists and others gathered in New York last week to offer an alternative perspective on human-induced global warming.
Eine beeindruckende Person [2] in einer besten Präsentationen [1], die ich jemals
gesehen habe. Hans Rosling erklärt, unterhält und visualisiert Statistiken auf eine
ganz neue Art und Weise. Sehenswert.
[1]
[2]
How many times have you heard that “93% of communication is non-verbal”? So it must be true. Except it’s not. It’s sheer hokum. Or rather it’s a statistic taken massively out of context and repeatedly used for purposes it was never intended.
More: continued here
I was catching up on my weekend reading when I came across this misguided article published at RISMedia that describes the way to succeed in business: find an industry guru and follow his/her formula for success. Stuart Crawford claims:
“Recipes that are provided for our business success are simply directions provided by professionals and others who [...]
"NO ONE SHOULD HAVE BEEN SURPRISED.Not the federal agencies tasked with preparing for catastrophes. Not the local officials responsible for aging levees and vulnerable populations. Least of all the residents themselves, who had been warned for decades that they lived on vulnerable terrain. But when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, it seemed as though the whole country was caught unawares. Accusations began to fly even before floodwaters receded. But facts take longer to surface. In the months since the storm, many of the first impressions conveyed by the media have turned out to be mistaken."
Debunking the Myths of Hurricane Katrina: Special Report - Popular Mechanics
All these myths are created, spread by the journalists who are supposed to dig in to the stories to get the facts. I have been making the case here for years that today's journalists who are brain-washed in libRAT universities are nothing but propaganda tools for libRAT agenda. No, they do not ha
Richard Miniter debunks Conspiracy Theories about 911 and discusses why they linger.
“‘Why do conspiracy theories keep sprouting?’ Persico asks. ‘Neat, suspenseful plots create high drama, while the truth is often messy, contradictory, even dull.’” [Read More]
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addthis_title = 'Debunking+911+Conspiracy+Theories';
addthis_pub = [...]
By: Doug SnarderOffshore banking is predominately for spies and criminals -- This is misinformation spread by those who don't want you to take your money out of there control. Today, with the MLAT treaty in place, criminals and spies can't make much use of offshore bank accounts. Today most of the offshore money is actually deposited by fortune 500 companies protecting their assets and planning their operations for maximum tax benefit.Offshore banking is too complicated for the average Joe -- This is actually true if the average Joe were to do all the legal work himself. Typically an offshore bank account is created in conjunction with an offshore corporation due to many governments taxing worldwide income of individuals. This sounds complicated but a good lawyer will have the entire package done in less than a week.Offshore bank accounts are only for rich people. -- A typical offshore package is less than $2000USD to setup. Once in place an offshore bank account and offshore company
Recently I’ve talked with some people that think that the luxury cruise market is only for the super-rich, or star-struck contest winners that wander around Titanic-like ships with first and third classes. They worry about dress codes, fork placement, the dreaded last-day invoice, and a whole host of possible faux-pas they could make while onboard, like stumbling into the Captain’s personal brandy stash, and being thrown overboard for “bad form”. First, let me put your mind at ease. Luxury Cruises, while being, well, luxurious, are very approachable and very affordable. The staff onboard the ships are used to folks experiencing a higher level of service, food and ambiance for the first time, and they are very happy to help you discover all there is to offer. Here are some suggestions: Relax and Talk to Experts. As you prepare for your cruise, be honest with your travel planner about your concerns. The more information they know about you and what you expect, the better they can
Many of my clients wistfully say a version of, “I just wish [THIS] would happen or work out.” Or “If only someone would help me.” I’ve got news for you boys and girls! These thoughts will just keep you in DreamLand. Just like Santa, the wish fairy doesn’t exist!I lived in a state of wishful thinking when I was a DoorMat. I yearned for what others had without doing anything further and kept hoping that my wish fairy would miraculously appear and make my dreams would come true. Back then my wishful thinking as big as anyone else’s. I’d fantasize about having the perfect man and play out how I’d feel if I could ever find a way to leave my teaching job, which I hated. I wonder what it was like to look in the mirror without hating what I saw. Yet nothing materialized. I waited. And waited. And felt angry and frustrated.It felt like I was destined to be unhappy. Where was that wish fairy I kept wishing for!!?! Many of us are subconsciously in fairy tale mode. Waiting, wishi
Scan Alert or Spam Alert?
As an active professional in e-commerce the issue of “Hacker Safe” by Scan Alert seems to come up on a weekly basis. In fact, I can’t remember the last time a full week has gone by without my phone or a client’s phone ringing from this company or one of their competitors. Their sales pitch tends to be very aggressive and it isn’t uncommon to hear them make outrageous claims about why you need to use their service. This wouldn’t be so bad if I truly believed in their product, but the fact is that their statistics are very stale and for those of use who don’t have large marketing budgets to work with - the funding could simply be put to better use elsewhere (Link Building, PPC, etc).
On to the reason for this blog entry. Per a customer inquiry, I went to Scan Alert’s website today to grab a new site seal to match his color scheme, and I’d like to quote something that caught my eye right off the front page:
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The idea that people are connected through just “six degrees of separation,” based on Stanley Milgram’s “small world study,” has become part of the intellectual furniture of educated people. New evidence discovered in the Milgram papers in the Yale archives, together with a review of the literature on the “small world problem,” reveals that this [...]
Study: Men Talk Just as Much as WomenYou know how they've always said that women talk three times as much as men?Hah!..."An article in this week's issue of Science blasts the popular myth that women are more talkative than men.Researchers outfitted 210 college students — 179 Americans and 31 Mexicans — with devices that automatically recorded them every 12 1/2 minutes, which amounts to 4 percent of a person's daily utterances.The researchers found that women speak a little more than 16,000 words a day. Men speak a little less than 16,000 words. The difference is not statistically significant.Psychologist Matthias Mehl of the University of Arizona says the three top talkers in the study — uttering up to 47,000 words a day — were all men. So was the most taciturn subject, who spoke only 700 words a day, on average.Mehl says he and his colleagues were surprised at the outcome. They had tentatively bought into the popular stereotype that women are the more talkative sex.But they
Many of the weight loss infomercials tell us about Abdominal Machines can Give You Washboard Abs.
The image is familiar: a muscled man appears on your television screen, smiles, waves, and tells you all about his journey from obesity to sexiness. He flashes pictures of his past look: the large tummy, the absent waistline, the flabby abdominals. He then begs you to look at him now: the sculpted pelvic area, the absence of fat, the abundance of raw muscle. He then tells you that he owes it all to one machine.
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Here’s a post from Ali Eteraz’s blog that debunks the claim about the Cho’s phrase “Ismail Ax” being of Islamic origin.
Bunk Attempt To Link To Islam: Virginia Tech Shooter Cho Died With Words “Ismail Ax” On His Arms
Since President Bush is in Brazil this week to talk about ethanol, I though it would be appropriate to present portions of a paper by Vinod Khosla, a venture capitalist who, for those who do not know him was a internet pioneer and a founder of Sun Microsytems. You can view a bio of him here. Kholsa is himself investing millions of his own dollars building ethanol plants. The paper here, is very long and detailed. I am going to present the most topically relevant items based on what the media usually presents.
Much has been said about the energy balance of ethanol:
Kholsa answers:
"Energy balance is not even the right question to answer. It is not the energy balance of ethanol that matters but the energy balance of ethanol relative to the energy balance of gasoline. Dr Wang at Argonne National Labs has built one of the most rigorous and transparent public models for energy balance calculations. His results indicate that corn ethanol has almost twice the energy balance compared to...
An incredible book has just come to my attention. It is all about the mis-use of invented history to bolster current-day beliefs. I knew that Columbus didn't really believe the earth is flat or he never would have sailed West...
Right-wing myths die slow, painful deaths.
Last week, the web magazine owned by the Washington Times, Insight, produced a report that when he was six years old, Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) attended a Muslim “madrassa” in Indonesia. It was picked up by the usual suspects and circulated conservative media.
Yesterday, CNN sent a reporter to the school in question and debunked the whole story. John Gibson, a FOX News commentator, does not believe the story was thoroughly debunked. In fact, he was to egregious lengths to support his conclusion.
GIBSON [W]hat did they see when they went to the madrassa where Barack Obama went to school?
HOST: Kids playing volleyball.
GIBSON: Playing volleyball, right. They didn't see them in any terrorist training camps?
HOST: No.
GIBSON: No. Um, but they probably didn't show them in their little lessons where they're bobbing their heads and memorizing the Koran.
HOST: I didn't see any tape of that, no. [emphasis original]
I'm feeling a little lazy this Saturday afternoon and not quite up to the daunting task of debunking more bear myths. So, I'll let someone else do the heavy lifting... Crossing Wall Street defends the bull.
Playing MMOGs for about most of my college years, I’ve found that gamers can be classified into 5 categories depending on how they interact with other players and the game itself. Note that these descriptions apply to the games I’ve played like Ragnarok Online, RF Online, RAN Online, Maple Story (wth!), Final Fantasy Online as [...]
You’d be hard pressed to find a justification for The Big 2.8 bailout that The Detroit News doesn’t like. But even the hometown paper’s cheerleaders are having a tough time swallowing claims that America’s national security would be jeopardized if GM, Ford and Chrysler aren’t kept afloat. Reporter Gordon Trowbridge provides generous airtime to the [...]
