richelectron

Submit your site to 99 back link directories (Free)

2009-11-11T22:15:00.003+02:00

SEO (Search engine optimisation) is ultimately all about getting your site to show up as number 1 in search engines for keywords that will generate leads for your website or business. There are a bunch of technical tweaks that can be implemented on your site to improve your search engine performance which I won't touch on here.

But I've gathered together a list of 99 resources that you can use to build links to your website (I will probably keep growing this list). I've broken them up into clumps of 10 for 'link building sprints' because submitting links can be quite a tedious task. But all of these links are free (or they were at the time I used them last) and they do not require reciprocal links - so you don't have to add any 3rd party links to your website.

Please feel free to comment or add more directories in the comments. You can establish a benchmark for yourself using these tools before you start:

Google Page Rank SERP Checker

Backlink watch

Happy link building :)

www.dmoz.org

www.blurbblogdirectory.info

www.myprimebuyersguide.com

www.domaining.in

www.blueboomerang.com

www.wezp.com

www.webworldindex.com

www.pegasusdirectory.com/

www.linkcentre.com

www.infingnos.com

www.jayde.com

www.viesearch.com

www.pedsters-planet.co.uk

www.somuch.com

www.autowebdir.com

www.scrubtheweb.com

www.whatuseek.com

www.freewebsitedirectory.com

www.01webdirectory.com

www.linkcentre.com

www.zeezo.com

www.amray.com

www.thalesdirectory.com

www.sonicrun.com

www.info-listings.com

www.infotiger.com

www.wlinker.com

www.burf.com

www.cipinet.com

www.allbusinessdirectory.biz

www.alexa.com

www.wikidweb.com

www.anoox.com

www.arakne-links.com

www.searchengine.co.za

www.amfibi.com

www.clickey.com

www.a1webdirectory.com

www.topsiteswebdirectory.com

www.seagency.net

www.walhello.com

www.webdirectory.co.in

www.acoon.com

www.homerweb.com

www.myahint.com

www.towersearch.com

www.orangesubmit.com

www.the-search-site.com

www.shoula.com

www.websquash.com

www.unasked.com

www.evisum.com

www.dinosearch.com

www.searchwarp.com

www.mixcat.com

www.bestyellow.com

www.search66.com

www.addurlpro.com

www.113dir.com

www.cosmodex.com

www.freewebdirectory.us

www.www.blog-search.com

www.rssmicro.com

www.millionrss.com

www.rss-network.com

www.feedage.com

www.feedbase.net

www.goldenfeed.com

www.gob.phaeba.net

www.blogoriffic.com

www.eurowebdirectory.net/

www.jordomedia.com

www.redtram.com

www.lazysubmit.com

www.dreamdirectory.org

www.albeh.com

www.freeglobaldirectory.net

www.incorp.us

www.lazyurldirectory.com

www.lazydeeplinks.com

www.lazyblogdirectory.com

www.abcde.us

www.easyweblistonline.com

www.intwebdirectory.com

www.lblogdirectory.com

www.ldeeplinks.com

www.onlineconfirmed.net

www.prwebdirectory.net

www.urlblogdirectory.com

www.usaweb-directory.com

www.verifieddirectory.net

www.webcaredirectory.com

www.webcontroldirectory.com

www.webdealdirectory.com

www.weblinedirectory.com

www.weblink.us

www.webofficedirectory.com

www.webpointdirectory.com

www.webreviewdirectory.com

How to control user access to Fireboard/Kunena Joomla! Forum Categories with JACLPlus

2009-06-17T20:37:00.005+02:00

I am glad to be able to share a complete post on "how to control user group access to Fireboard/Kunena Joomla! forum categories with JACLPlus". I have been battling with this problem for a while now, but I've managed to work out a fix for the Fireboard or Kunena Forum Joomla components - I am using Fireboard for the purposes of this how to.

You will need to have the JACLPlus, Fireboard/Kunena components and the corresponding Fireboard/Kunena/JACLPlus patch (also from ByosTech) installed.

Set up groups and access levels in JACLPlus ('Level1' and 'Level2' for example)

Create Fireboard categories with desired access levels.

Set the 'Include Child Groups' setting to 'Yes' for the 'Registered' category in Fireboard to include the 'Level1' and 'Level2' groups.

Now when a 'Registered' user logs in they will have access to the 'Everybody' and 'Registered' categories.

A 'Level1' user will have access to 'Everybody','Registered', and 'Level1'.

And a 'Level2' user will have access to 'Everybody', 'Registered' and 'Level2'.

So you can now control forum category access at a user group level :)

You may need to flush your `jos_fb_sessions` table if you don't see any changes, but I hope this gets you on track...

How to speed up ActiveState Komodo Edit

2009-06-16T11:03:00.000+02:00

I use ActiveState Komodo edit for most of my coding work under windows - It's not mind blowingly awesome, but it is free and it's pleasant to use for most text based files. My only gripe is that it is fairly heavy and can take an unreasonably long time to start up.

Fortunately though, it is easy enough to 'thin it out' to your requirements, using the simple add-ons interface. Simply click the 'Tools' menu, followed by the 'Add-ons' drop down in Komodo Edit and you will be presented with the ''Add-ons/Extensions/Plugins" Dialogue.

From here you can disable any extensions/plugins for languages that you don't need, restart Komodo Edit and you should notice a significantly faster load time (depending on how much you disable) - Alternatively you can prolong your startup time even further by installing any of the numerous additional Add-ons.

Google Chrome versus Mozilla Firefox?

2009-05-26T22:00:00.006+02:00

I am not concerned with Chrome’s market share - It’s silly to use a browser just because ‘everyone else does’ and it’s silly to swear loyalty to a specific browser when there is nothing forcing you to use just one. I actually quite like Google Chrome, not because it is ‘better’ than Firefox, but because it is different to Firefox.

My initial exposure to Chrome was curiosity driven, I installed it to just ‘check it out’ like most people and my first impression was ‘nice… But I can’t use this, it doesn’t support all of the Firefox plugins that I need’.

First impressions last, and it’s true that Chrome doesn’t offer all the bells and whistles that Firefox does in the form of plugin support for just about anything and everything… But what Chrome does offer you instead, is stream lined speed and efficiency without any “bolt-ons” to hold it back.

I stumbled across the hidden joys of Chrome by accident during routine browser compatibility testing. My workstation has limited resources to be straight, and I think this is why Chrome has really come into its own for me – I won’t try and convince you that Chrome actually loads websites faster than other browsers (in spite of it’s boasted Javascript performance). But there is no denying that it starts up really fast and is less demanding on system resources, which contributes to a more pleasant work environment for me on a rather average workstation.

I don’t have access to Firefox extensions all the time any more but If I do need something extra like Firebug then I simply fire up Firefox and no one gets hurt. I don’t think it has to be a case of either Firefox or Chrome and if Google does introduce plugins and customization for Chrome, to try and make it more like Firefox, then it may well lose it’s appealing speed and efficiency – The very characteristics that differentiate Chrome and stop me from chucking it on the ‘just another browser’ pile. So, Google have carved themselves an interesting niche on this one. For efficient every day browsing, I find Chrome hard to beat.

What I like most about Chrome:

Superb startup time
Minimalist design (in that simple and beautiful Google way)
"Ctrl+B" hides/shows the bookmark bar
Full screen support has been introduced in Chrome 2.0 (F11)
Removable tabs are an awesome feature (especially with dual monitors)
New tabs offer you “Most visited”, “Recent bookmarks” and “Recently closed tabs”
Search directly from the address bar
Linux and Mac flavours are now available (Chromium)
Efficiency - it’s just so quick and easy to get to where you want to go

I know that Chrome presents its own issues like Google privacy concerns and rendering issues I have noticed particularly when check boxes are concerned. But no browser renders every page on the net perfectly. The world’s most imperfect browser has the highest market share and Microsoft’s IE6 was voted the “the eighth worst tech product of all time” by PC world in 2006. By contrast, Chrome is a fair browser offering already and I'm sure that Google will continue to polish all the blemishes out and make it even more shiny.

I don't know how significant an impact Chrome is going to have on the browser market, but it’s superbly efficient and I like it. Give it a try – you might find it a pleasantly relaxing browsing experience.

Update: I am most impressed with the speed of the new Firefox 3.5. I am probably going to start using Firefox more again where I can enjoy custom extensions as well as speed :) I love good, solid competition!!! Now if only Firefox could get detatchable tabs...

Cannot connect to SMTP server

2009-01-30T14:11:00.001+02:00

Not being able to send mail using your outgoing mail server of choice is frustrating! Particularly when you consider that the problem is probably a result of your *ISP deciding what is best for you. Whether you are connecting from home, work, school, university, college or a WIFI hot spot at an airport or coffee shop, you are at the mercy of their firewall policies which may prevent you from establishing certain connections, such as to your outgoing mail server. They do this to try and prevent spamming from their networks, despite it being a rather antiquated method. No matter, there are several ways to get mail out and if at first you cannot connect, try one of these other options:

*Please note that in this article I have used the term 'ISP' in a very broad sense, referring to the entity that is providing your Internet connectivity at the time you would like to send your mail, not your personal or home Internet service provider in all cases.

1. Send mail through your *ISP's outgoing mail server on port 25 (default)
This is the simplest solution. Your ISP SMTP server details will be something like mail.isp.com or smtp.isp.com on the standard port 25. These settings should be readily available on your ISP's website or from tech support.

This solution may be perfect for your home desktop PC that is always connected to your ISP's local network, however you may find this sort of setup irritating when used on a laptop as your ISP may block incoming connections from outside networks on port 25. i.e. You may be able to send mail provided you are sending mail through your home connection, but then not be able to send mail from a coffee shop access point.

2. Send mail through a different port
If you cannot contact a mail server on port 25, then you can also try port 465 or port 587. A quick way to check if these ports are open on your connections' firewall is to use telnet from the command line. Select, 'Start', 'Run', and type 'cmd'. This will open a command line window. Now type 'telnet smtp.isp.com 465' where smtp.isp.com is your mail server and 465 is the port. Yahoo! accepts outgoing mail connections on port 465 (SSL) so we'll use it as an example.

If the port is not being blocked by your providers firewall you should be presented with a blank screen and blinking cursor

Alternatively, if the port is blocked or you make a spelling error (smtp.mail.yahoo.co.zz) in the server address you will receive the following error

Gmail accepts outgoing mail connections on port 587 (TLS).

You should see feedback similar to the following if you telnet into the Gmail server successfully.

Port 587 and 465 connections provide secure connections and you will need to authenticate if you want to send mail through one of these ports. i.e. You will require a valid account with a user name and password for the server you are using - Gmail, or Yahoo! mail etc...

But, a successful telnet connection indicates that you can alter your outgoing mail settings to send mail through the corresponding port.

This is a nice solution as it should allow you to send mail from most networks and will save you having to change your mail settings or experience trouble every time you try and connect from a different network - a most handy configuration for mobile connectivity.

3. Send mail through a non-standard port (80 for example)
Port 80 is the port that browsers use to connect to websites, so it is a pretty sure thing this port will be open on most firewalls. This means that you should be able to send mail through port 80 under most circumstances - provided that you can actually find a mail server that accepts outgoing mail connections on port 80 of course. One example of such a mail server is Secure SMTP Server, which is unfortunately a paid service - as I am sure most outgoing mail servers with a port 80 configuration will be.

You may also find that your ISP is configured to accept outgoing mail on a non-standard port (other than 80,465 or 587). Port 2525 is sometimes used as a substitute, though this will be ISP specific and you should contact your ISP's technical support to find out.

4. Send mail using web based interfaces
By this point, you are running low on solutions and if the above options are not working for you then chances are that access to web based email sites like hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo! Mail will be blocked too. You may get around this by using a more obscure site such as Free082SMS to send your mail.

Otherwise try to access your ISP's mail server from your browser - the address will look something like http://mail.isp.com or http://smtp.isp.com. There should be a 'log in to my account' link or something similar on your ISP's website, otherwise contact your ISP's technical support for help.

Free Vodacom4me SMS

2009-01-04T00:50:00.008+02:00

This post is for anyone who wants to send free Vodacom4me SMS or email to Vodacom SMS in South Africa.

Vodacom is the most generous mobile carrier in SA when it comes to free text messages - they allow subscribers to send up to 20 free smses every day from the Vodacom portal website - Vodacom4me. However, this feature is only available from desktop computers and users are redirected to a mobile version of the Vodacom4me site (excluding the free sms option) when they access it from a cellphone.

But you can send Free Vodacom SMS with Free082SMS :) - A mobile interface to the Vodacom4me SMS website or email to sms to send your free messages on the go! The site is built around a simple text based structure for optimal performance on most web enabled phones, but it works great on PCs too! Check it out...

You can also use Free082SMS to send free SMSes to Vodacom users who are roaming in other countries! And on that note if you are leaving the country, you can enable Vodacom SMS roaming by SMSing 'roamon' to 123 before you leave SA. You'll need to SMS 'roamoff' to 123 when you get back to reactivate cheaper local rates and regain access to advanced network features like voice, GPRS, MMS etc...

How to install a front loader car audio head unit

2009-01-03T20:24:00.001+02:00

Recently I replaced the rather embarassing Panasonic cassette tape player in my Mercedes 190E with a new sony CDX-GT270 front loader head unit. I was concerned to find that the wire harness supplied with the sony unit did not look exactly like the Panasonic's harness and my enquiries at the electronics shop were met with an attitude of "if you have to ask you really should get someone else to install it for you". But it only required a little research (just to err on the side of caution) and I managed to get it working and save myself a little cash too.

The process was pretty simple in fact, all I needed to do was:
1. Disconnect the negative terminal of the car battery
2. Slide the Panasonic cassette player out of the console using the release keys
3. Cut the wires off the old Panasonic harness one by one and crimp them onto the matching colours on the sony harness
4. Plug the harness into the sony head unit and connect the antenna
5. Slide the sony unit into place
6. Reconnect the car battery

I can't believe I almost paid someone else to do it. You don't even need to know exactly what colour wire does what, but for the sake of being thorough - the car audio wiring standard is as follows:

white : front left (+)
white/black striped : front left (-)
grey : front right (+)
grey/black striped : front right (-)

green : back left (+)
green/black striped : back left (-)
purple : back right (+)
purple/black striped : back right (-)

black : negative / ground
blue : antenna up/down
red : igntition (+)
yellow : battery (+)
blue/white striped : AMP on/off

Useful car audio links:
Sony XR4950X Car Stereo Installation
Home and Car Audio Answers

Download Sony CDX-GT370/s CDX-GT270/s CDX-GT160/s manual
Download Sony CDX-GT370/s CDX-GT270/s CDX-GT160/s installation

The shadowland of dreams

2008-06-03T22:29:00.001+02:00

The shadowland of dreams is where fantasy dwells. Whether it’s been dreamt, achieved, or discovered is up to you. It exists to give people the will to go on. Everyone needs to escape from reality, everyone needs hope. The land of dreams is a beautifully plastic place that is only bound by the limits you set and is as real as you allow it to be.

This place as anything you make it and it is always hiding, in your mind. All there is to fight it, is reality. Once you enter it though, the land of dreams becomes reality, and no matter how insane the creature hunting you is, you will always wake with a cold sweat and a sudden panic, that prompts your heart to start beating again. Dreams give people hope, excitement or guidance. They are a channel of communication for God.

There are lots of people, and lots of dreams. Some dreams are crazy and weird. Lots of dreams make sense and some people will swear they dreamt the future. Dreams are things you want to happen - your hopes for the future, goals and ideals. But they are also entirely new worlds into which your fatigued brain throws you, and over which you have no control, so your mind can rest from the boring routine of reality. It is important to live in both worlds equally, or else you’ll be nobody. You will just have big dreams unless you are bold, and go forth into the real world and grab hold of your dreams.

In the same way though, the real world can disturb and limit your dreams in such a way that you no longer dream. You just live a boring life, full of routine, driving to work, eating broccoli, and washing the dog. Dreams open our minds to help us realise what we want. They help us visualise the goal posts and give us the desire to go for it!

Ultimate dreams are made of strange circumstances, unseen worlds, weird surroundings, and often just loneliness. Dreams are also cool when you dream of your ‘world’, except things are different, brighter, bigger, and more possible. It’s annoying when I wake up from a good dream. I swear it’s the best dream I’ve ever had, but once I’m pulled back into the real world - I can’t even remember it.

To wake up dreamless is dull and weary.

Porn IS bad, and here's why...

2008-05-28T22:31:00.001+02:00

Maybe I am naive, but it's too easy to live in the blindness that society casts on us concerning pornography. People believe that porn stars live the life - They are paid to have sex all day! And they are revered as legends, with throngs of fans who worship them through fantasy and pay to watch them!

I used to buy the sex and money facade that porn kings want people to believe. But I've become aware that porn is based on lies - The audience must believe that the porn stars are loving every minute of the perverse acts they are involved in. That's what makes porn 'okay' after all - It's fine to watch porn, as long as it involves consenting adults and they are enjoying themselves, isn't it? No one is getting hurt after all, it's legal... so what's the matter?

Porn is wrong because people do get hurt. The woman of porn do not enjoy 'it'. They do it because terrible life circumstances have forced them to make unfortunate decisions. They have perfected the art of separating themselves from their bodies, surrenderring to degradation for viewer pleasure, and they are high on drugs to numb themselves, both physically and mentally.

They are harmed as they are forced to participate in unspeakable acts. They feel dirty from the stinky, strange men and they live in constant fear of contracting (multiple cases of) sexually transmitted diseases. Can you blame them for turning to drugs? Can you blame them for taking their own lives? They must smile and sign autographs for fans as they are interviewed by TV magazine show hosts – They are living the exciting life of a porn star. But it’s all part of the act. They have to appear to ‘enjoy’ it, in spite of actually being broken inside, or they will lose their appeal and spoil the fantasy for their fans. Belladonna, a "hardened" porn star cried on national TV when she was asked about her smile.

But don't take it from me - You can read the true stories of many porn stars/strippers at http://www.oneangrygirl.net/myth2.html and Shelley Lubben (an ex-pornstar) has an entire website dedicated to helping porn stars out of porn and people out of porn addiction. I find our light hearted approach to “porn star” branded T-shirts and jokes quite disturbing – It is evidence of how we have embraced the deception; the lies that porn stars choose their 'profession'; that they love being filmed in promiscuous and perverse sex; that they enjoy it for real and that porn is acceptable.

Porn is unacceptable, even without involving religion in the debate or exploring how it affects viewers. Girls don’t want to be broadcast with their legs open to some stranger on the internet. They are being raped! And people are watching and enjoying it! The audience is made to believe that the girl is consenting and enjoying it – That's the lie. They don't show you the porn star getting high, throwing up or crying from pain - The truth.

99% of guys are exposed to this stuff and it must affect the way they relate to women. Their heads are full of these lies. I want to stand against this deception and encourage men to treat the gentler sex as ladies. I want to encourage men to protect ladies with their strength, rather than use it to force them into submission. I call all real men to rise up and respect ladies as men should and fight against the abuse of precious women who should be properly loved and not treated like worthless meat.

Porn is not acceptable.

Get help here
Dead porn stars

Jebo R338 Fire Hazard - Recalled

2008-04-29T23:09:00.003+02:00

I stumbled across this picture posted in the practicalfishkeeping.co.uk forums by "JoJoJo" today. A burnt out Jebo R338 fish tank in the living room (original Hong Kong news report). I have posted problems with my lighting hood before, including a "fix". But don't be too alarmed unless you purchased your unit in Asia specifically, where it has been recalled.

Overcoming Glandular Fever

2008-04-22T17:25:00.001+02:00

More than a page of facts, this post is to share my fight with glandular fever in order to encourage and hopefully help other people through it too.

You probably already know that glandular fever or infectious mononucleosis (mono) is caused by the Epstein-Barr Virus and is often referred to as “the kissing disease”, because the virus can be spread in saliva (though kissing is not the only method of transmission). Most people are exposed to the virus at some stage in their lives without even knowing it. However, the older you are when you contract it, the more severe the symptoms are and the more your body struggles to get over it. I was forced to drop out of university for a year to battle through it. Unfortunately my mother contracted it too and she was admitted to hospital for two weeks – the doctors were even looking for cancer before they finally figured out what was actually wrong with her – Idiots!

No doctor offered me constructive help or treatment – They pretty much said: “There is nothing you can do, just stay at home until you are better. It could take anywhere from two weeks to two years and some people never get better... ”. While this is true, it is probably only true because this is what all the doctors tell everyone who is suffering from glandular fever. A positive mind set is the most important weapon to combat the virus, so don't let doctors rob you of hope. Glandular fever is notorious for “feeding on stress”, “flaring up” or relapsing even years later, during intense periods such as exams, year end, etc. Whatever you do, do not dwell on negative thoughts, even if it’s a medical doctor who is putting them in your head – The doctor can’t/won’t do anything to help you anyway. Your health is in your own hands - The more you can soothe yourself of stress, the sooner you will recover.

Symptoms

As the name is supposed to imply, classic glandular fever presents as fever and swollen glands; lots of illnesses cause this arbitrary disease state, which makes the name pretty silly and the crazy thing is that I didn’t experience fever or especially swollen glands while I was ill. Symptoms include any combination of headaches, sore throat, nausea, loss of appetite, fever, swollen lymph nodes, crippling fatigue and probably more. A blood test confirms the presence of the virus and makes it official...

The disease can linger for as little as two weeks, or remain with you for the rest of your life if it spirals into full blown chronic fatigue syndrome. The fatigue is not mere laziness, but a heavy tiredness that actually results in physical pain.

Glandular fever started off as a throaty cough for me but soon matured into aching muscles, incapacitating fatigue, complete inability to hold down much food, and a horrid tenseness throughout my body and mind as if I was always on the edge, about to jump. Up until the time the doctors figured out what was wrong with me I actually thought I was going crazy, so I was quite relieved that there was something wrong with me, just depressed that there was apparently no treatment or remedy for how ghastly I felt.

Cure

But I did overcome glandular fever and I am so glad that I can now look back on the terrible experience and really appreciate that life is so normal again. Fair enough, there is no magic potion that you can take three times a day for a week that will cure you, but I have identified the behaviors that helped me to get better.

Take it easy, seriously...

As inconvenient and frustrating as I know it is, you need to remove yourself from as much as you can, everything if possible. Don’t try and be a hero and carry on or push through. Stay at home in bed and sleep properly until you feel well rested. Ideally, until you stop worrying about everything – though I know that in this state it is very difficult to stop worrying, but you must believe that you are one of the people that will get better – if you do, then you will recover.

Glandular fever is a tricky disease to understand and there will be people who show you no sympathy. Avoid them, and don’t let anyone abuse your “free time”. Encourage the people around you to learn about glandular fever, to help them understand what you are going through and how they can help you. The idea is that you get some time to rest in a stress free environment.

Vitamin B injections

This is as close as it gets to a “magic potion”. I would recommend you go for a vitamin B injection (the big neurobion one) every two weeks (alternating butt cheeks), from the time you discover you are ill, until you have recovered. Vitamin B injections have a reputation for stinging a bit, but in truth they aren’t that bad and wow they make a difference! Whether it’s a result of the placebo effect or not.

Fight with a positive attitude

Perhaps the most common advice concerning glandular fever is “not to fight it”. While I agree with this on a physical level, you must not give up in your mind. Remain positive about the situation and believe that you will recover. But at the same time remember that rule number 1 is “Take it easy, seriously...” Don’t let the idea of maintaining a positive mindset stress you out if you aren’t getting it right, it will get easier and start to come naturally as you keep at it, get more rest and learn to relax.

General Health

Even if you are not targeting the glandular fever directly, there is a lot you can do to help yourself feel better. Get enough sleep, drink lots of water, and avoid excessive amounts of junk food and alcohol. All the clichéd good health stuff will go a long way to improving your condition. And listen to your body! Sleep when you need to and only eat what you can manage. Red meat was off my menu and I found that not drinking milk made me feel much better too. So try and weed anything out of your diet that may not agree with you. Treating your symptoms will help too; take a pill for your headaches and antacid for heartburn. Ha ha, and try and shower at least every second day.

As you feel stronger you can try to exercise, but don’t overdo it! You are even weaker and less fit than you imagine. You might not be able to get out of bed the next day, you will feel completely worn out and it will take you a good few days to recover. But don't be discouraged. It was more than a year before I began running around, playing soccer with friends again. But I had to ease into it slowly and could initially over exert myself very easily. I am fine now.

Good People

It pains me to admit that most people will not understand and will leave you behind as you place your life on pause while they carry on with theirs. Even your family will not always understand what you are going through, but I hope there will be at least one good person that you can count on to stand by you to help you through the disease. Don’t let relationships stress you out, rather avoid anyone who makes you feel worse – You really need to look after yourself for a while, as selfish as it may sound.

I am very fortunate to have the most amazing girl who could easily have left me for someone else when my life fell apart. But she didn’t and I know it was hard for her, but her companionship and encouragement meant the difference between me staying sick forever and getting going again. I am very grateful to her for helping me through the trials, even when I was completely overcome with irrational paranoia at the mercy of the virus.

Divine intervention

I can only pray that you will become desperate enough to turn to Jesus. You can “cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7) . I am not talking about religion. The stress of religion and doing “holy” things because other people think/tell you you should (Isaiah 29:13), will only keep you sick.

The truth is, you don’t have to do anything. God loves you whether you know him or not (Romans 5:8) . No matter what you have done or who you are. God’s love is unconditional, completely independent of your actions. He cares for you and he has a special plan for your life (Jeremiah 29:11). He wants you to know him so that you can walk with him and he can guide you to realise the purpose that he has chosen you for. It is not His plan for you to be sick.

You will find peace, rest, safety and healing in the arms of Jesus. A ccept Him into your heart and He will bring you hope and look after you.

Today, I have finished my studies and am working a demanding job as a manager with high stress and long hours, but I have left glandular fever behind... Praise God!

Glandular fever links:
Wikipedia
iol.co.za
James David Chapman's website.
health24.com
glandular fever , mononucleosis, post viral fatigue
personal and individualised help for sufferers of glandular fever, mononucleosis and post viral fatigue.

Sync your cell phone/mobile for ubiquitous access

2007-08-29T22:32:00.002+02:00

The ability to truly make use of mobile e-mail is usually hampered by the fact that you aren't sitting comfortably in front of your day to day PC with access to your contacts in your favourite e-mail client, unless you are happy to use GMail or Yahoo!Mail from your phone's browser - But that's not as convenient as using your phone's mail client. It's far from rocket science and you don't need the most cutting edge cell phone to send mail on the move – even my trusty old NOKIA 6230i is well up to the task...

Outlook will probably sync with your cell phone by default. And if you don’t use Outlook then Nokia Synchronisation is a fantastic Thunderbird extension (only available in windows) that enables Thunderbird to sync with a Nokia cell phone. Thunderbird “Display name” corresponds to the “Contact name” on your phone and the “Work number” field in Thunderbird is used as the default contact number on your phone. “E-mail address” is straight forward and you have the option of a secondary e-mail address for each contact too.

This is where I introduce PLAXO – The on line address book that integrates fully with e-mail clients, both Thunderbird and Outlook. The advantage of using PLAXO is that your contacts are backed up on line and the details of your contacts who also use PLAXO are automatically updated if they change their information on line. This means that as long as you have the bare minimums of an Internet connection, you have access to all of your current e-mail client contacts, via your cellphone, a university/work machine or your friends laptop, just in case you need to retrieve the odd contact or two that you haven't synced to your phone yet.

Now, I further recommend ZYB as a tool to backup all your cell phone information. Create an account on the ZYB website and (provided that your handset and service provider are supported) you will be sent the settings to enable syncing of your cell phone contacts and calendar with ZYB from any location with coverage. You can use the ZYB web site via your PC to alter your contacts and calendar on line and sync with your phone to update the changes, or vice versa. The service provided by this website is priceless in the event that your cell phone is lost or stolen and it also facilitates easy and complete handset migration.

The ultimate would be for Plaxo to provide a “ZYB like” phone sync for complete and seemless phone–PC contact integration, but never the less...

Valid and accessible contacts make it possible to catch up with anyone via e-mail from your phone, anywhere – You just need to set up the mail service on your phone.On my NOKIA 6230i the mail settings are accessed in :"Menu, Settings, Configuration, Personal configuration settings, options, Add new, E-mail".

Typically you need your e-mail user name and password, pop3 server (something like mail.server.com for receiving mail) and smtp server (something like smtp.mobilecarrier.com for sending mail) – Ask your ISP/carrier for these settings if you don’t know where to find them on your desktop/laptop.

Sometimes these settings will require fine tweaking but if you set this up correctly you will be able to make use of the native e-mail client on your phone - More than likely very basic, but also very handy and certainly faster than browser based e-mail. Delete some of the pointless cellphone apps from your phone if you experience mail storage space issues.

As far as native cellphone apps go, the Nokia browser is putrid! It won't load the PLAXO or ZYB websites, but point your phone browser to mini.opera.com immediately and download Opera Mini (free) for a faster, more reliable, more compatible and more user friendly mobile browsing experience.

The number of websites that will load on your phone thanks to Opera Mini is incredible. The start page features a standard address bar, Yahoo! search bar, Dictionary.com/IMDb/Wikipedia search bar, your customised bookmarks and history listings.

You can skin the browser in classic red, girly pink, plain white or deep blue. Opera Mini can even keep track of your RSS feeds and display them by feed or by date. Turn off "load images" for an even faster (and cheaper) browsing experience.

One of your bookmarks in Opera Mini should be a link to Google bookmarks (create an account at www.google.com/bookmarks) as this will give you access to your favourite pages and RSS feeds on your phone.

JEBO R338 aquarium fish stock

2007-06-10T15:17:00.001+02:00

My JEBO R338
aquarium is currently stocked with:

- 5 White clouds
- 1 Otocinclus catfish
- 3 Clown loaches
- 1 loan Neon tetra :(

The White clouds were the first fish that went into my tank to cycle it after it had been left running for about a week with no fish. The tank cycle is the process by which nitrifying bacteria establishes itself in the filter to facilitate waste removal. White clouds make excellent cycling fish as I didn't lose a single one in the process. The tank cycle had completed and was ready for more fish within 3 weeks.

The oto cat is an excellent little algae eater - busy and small and not as unsightly as a plecostomas - quite cute in fact. The Clown loaches have proved to be the most difficult fish to cultivate in my aquarium but they seem to cope well with a temperature of about 29 degrees C and addition of non-iodated salt with water changes. The Neon tetra is the sole survivor of his school, shame.

I feed all my fish on TetraPrima and the Clown loaches love it especially.

JEBO R338 aquarium light maintenance

2007-06-10T14:48:00.001+02:00

Recently (after about a year of use), the plastic light mounts perished and almost allowed the aquarium light to drop into the tank - but this is the only real trouble I have experienced with my JEBO R338 aquarium.
At the same time I noticed for the first time that one of the bulbs had blown, but replacement was very straight forward.

I "repaired" the problem by making 4 holes in the grey plastic sides of the light chamber and using cable ties to hold the light in place. It's a good idea to cover the globe contacts with insulation tape before you replace the plastic cover.

The plastic light mounts must have worn and become brittle as a result of heat from the light. It's probably not a good idea to put anything on top of your JEBO that will limit ventilation as this could contribute to weakening of the light mounts. I will also have to watch that the cable ties do not become brittle and break.

JEBO R338 aquarium

2007-06-10T02:34:00.002+02:00

When I bought my JEBO R338 aquarium it did not come with any instructions. Assembling it was not difficult but this post covers my cleaning routine and could be useful in aiding with assembly. I have had this fish tank for about a year now and so far I have been very impressed by its low maintenance requirements and excellent water quality.

Basic specifications:
- Range of colours available.
- Silent operation
- Curved edges for panoramic viewing
- Integrated light and power filter
- 40 Litre capacity
- 400 Litres/hour FLMax.
- 380mm x 270mm x 440mm
- Bio-Chemical Filtration system

Cleaning Routine

Every week I replace approximately 25% of the water with tap water that has been left standing in a soap free bucket for at least 24 hours to allow for chlorine evaporation. Once a month clean the gravel using the following procedure.

Unplug the heater, light and filter at the wall. Place the front part of the cover with the light on top of the back part of the cover to allow for easy access to the inside of the tank.

Remove the plants and decor and clean the gravel using a gravel vacuum. Detach the powerhead from the pump to make vacuuming easier.

Vacuum until the water level drops just below the body of the pump.

Clean algae off the glass using a sponge on a stick. Leave some algae behind to discourage new algae growth. I never clean the back panel because it is difficult to get to and the dark back hides the algae (though it has shown up very well in the pictures with the flash). Of course a plecostomas or group of otto cats will also help keep your tank looking clean.

Reposition your plants and decor and reconnect the powerhead.

Fill the tank (with water that has been left standing for at least a day in a soap free bucket) so that the water level is at the level of the bottom of the rim. This will allow the filter to run quieter and for the tank to look prettier.

It is a good idea to rinse the filter sponge in some aquarium water. The sponge sits on top of the grid, on top of the porcelain blocks. If the trickling noise from your filter becomes loud or louder than usual or the water flows over the side of the filter chamber, then it's a good idea to actually clean the outlet holes of the filter to allow for easier flow. My elbow does not "click" onto the filter chamber because if I click it on, then the pump cannot attach to the glass with its suction cups and the vibration is noisy. You can also see my heater power cord in this picture feeding across the top to the right side.

This picture shows the trickle filter in action.

Turn on the heater, pump and light. Your tank may look a little murky directly after cleaning. I usually do a water test at this point. You can also add about a table spoon of non-iodated salt now.

Within an hour or two, the water will clear and your tank will look nice and clean again and your fish will be happy!