Showing posts with label images. Show all posts
Showing posts with label images. Show all posts

Thursday, July 4

Happy 4th Of July and Start Of Summer


Today it's the 4th and we like to celebrate it. Fireworks, water, alcohol, food on the grill, and being outside is the idea for the day.

My roommate and I are going to dine-in with burgers and such from Red Robin because we live in an apartment without room to grill. We are thinking of riding our bikes down to Coyote Point and spying on the fireworks across the Bay around the area by the Harbor around 8pm.

Are you going? Where do you go to watch?


Remember to keep your pets indoors and comfort them if the fireworks are too much. They shouldn't be outdoors for any reason! They won't understand our celebration but can pick up on our excitement.




As you can see I do love my GIF files. Lol!

I hope you have the best 4th with friends and family! Since it's a long weekend cycling will be in our plans quite a bit. 

I am going to have both of my knees replaced on August 26th so I only have so many days to ride until I'm laid up recovering. I look forward to it because I have a deformity in my knees called "Windswept Knees" which will be fixed along with the replacements. Just as I'm social online about my biking and life so will I be about the surgery. More later, this is a holiday.

Have a great weekend!


Sunday, June 9

Older Than Dirt!

That pretty much sums up how I felt at turning 65 in May. Dirt can be pretty darn old.

We all deal with getting older differently as we are unique individuals but one thing stays true, it surprises us all. One day you look in the mirror and all is changed. When that happens we become a senior citizen almost overnight.

Of course, it doesn't really start overnight but time (which used to be on our side) is fickle. We realize it's moving at an alarming rate. Soon there's no time for anything! Time starts to pass us by.

That's not all! If single, (like me) love and romance get put on the sidelines as time feels like it's running out. One day the men who used to look at me with interest in their eyes start to ignore me. They stop looking and I'm confused. Where are all the men I ask myself? They can't all be married and needing Viagra!

While I'm trying to figure out where the men are and how to sign up for Medicare I become aware that people are putting me into a niche. That's when I start hearing the term, "for your age," added to sentences where it wasn't before.

When you start hearing this term added to everything people say about you, then you've become older than dirt. 

"You have great hair, for your age!" (My hair is my greatest asset it runs in the family and has been there my whole life.)

"You're in great shape, for your age." (Not the fact that I workout and exercise daily, eat the right foods, and get 8 hours of sleep a night.)

"You have a great memory, for your age." And so on and so forth.


No one knows this but when I find the right phone booth on a night when I've had way too many drinks I become Super Sanchez, a female Hulk/Superman mixture. When Super Sanchez shows up you better look out!
  
It really starts to grate at me. That, and being called, "ma'am" everywhere I go. Is there a rule that when you get grey hair you must be called ma'am? I still have a name last time I checked.

You better be careful what you say around us seniors some of us have super-powers.


Hell yeah!


Keep On Bloggin'!

Wednesday, January 31

Super Duper Blue


Super Duper Blue

The moon plays tricks
with a lunar eclipse
eyes to the skies
the full moon comes soon
twice this month is nice
number two is blue
tipping and slipping
under the earth’s umbra
invitingly in syzygy
this blood moon makes us swoon.

© Rebecca Sanchez 2018

Yes, I did rhyme syzygy, look it up. Lol!

A Blue Moon is when two full moons happen in the same calendar month; lunar eclipses occur when the moon passes into Earth’s shadow; and supermoons happen when the moon’s perigee — its closest approach to Earth in a single orbit — coincides with a full moon. In this case, the supermoon also happens to be the day of the lunar eclipse.

The second full moon and the lunar eclipse will occur on the night of Jan. 30 or the morning of the 31st. And the supermoon will take place on the night of Jan. 30, which is technically one day before the moon reaches peak fullness, but even NASA is willing to call the event a supermoon nonetheless.

I watched it last night on my patio it was awesome! My picture isn’t great, but it’s the only camera I had (cell phone.) This was when the moon was fully eclipsed and was orange.


This is what it looked like (although this isn't from this year.)

I don't know if you saw it but it was totally worth getting up at 4:30am to see. At the time I had no idea I'd be able to watch it from my patio. Once I figured that out, I got in a chair with a blanket and had a great view. A one of a kind viewing last seen in the 1800's.

I'd love to hear if you saw it or not so leave me some comments. If you want to write a poem of your own in the comments please do.


Have a good hump! Take care!

Wednesday, October 31

Welcome Home And Congratulations To The SF Giants!

The SF Giants won the World Series in 2010! Awesome!
In 2012...



The SF Giants win the World Series; again! 




They dominated the season and took no prisoners!

Go  

 
Thank you for all of your hard work, but it wouldn’t be anything without your hearts behind it. You are definitely a team with heart! Relax and enjoy what you have reaped. Go SF Giants!

Friday, December 2

Some Helpful Tips For Blogging Success



I have been blogging for over 10 years, my first website Bekkie In Wonderland (this very website), was started at Windows Live Spaces and later moved to Blogger after Live Spaces ended. My biggest problem was writing posts that engaged my readers' encouraging comments and discussion.

Doing research on popular blogs I came to the conclusion that if I wanted to be successful at blogging I needed to do more than just talk about myself and my day. It takes hard work, clever planning, a sense of humor, brilliant writing, and the right moves to become a successful blogger. We can always improve, can’t we?

Remember it's not just what you write either. Do the extra work and make your site something to look at. Make it entertaining and fun. Do some research on using color and movement to engage your readers. Watch what fonts you use for your site what looks good to you might be hard for others to read which would ruin the whole idea of having people read what you have to say.
Most of all, you should have fun with it and look forward to it. If you aren’t enjoying yourself maybe blogging isn’t for you.

Tips For Blogging Success

  • Publish Consistently
Daily posts are important! Content should be consistently posted because readers like predictability and will look forward to new posts from you on a daily basis. Figure out a publishing schedule you can live with and stick to it. Once a week or twice a month, whatever your blogging time permits stick to it. You are only as good as your last post.
  • Co-Blog with A Partner
Regular posts for blogs can be a hassle for some bloggers to manage solo. If you know you will not have the time to blog yourself, invite a co-worker or a friend who shares the same passion and dedication as you and ask them to co-blog. It keeps your regulars on your website instead of looking elsewhere and a different perspective never hurts.
  • Get Your Site On The Search Engines
When you start a blog fifty is a magic number in blogging terms. I don’t know why the number 50 was picked but after 50 posts your website will start to be picked up by the search engines and the page views will begin to increase. The page views will grow exponentially with the increase in search engine queries. The more searches your site shows up in the better. 
  • Use Original Photos Or Images
It has been reported that blogs with original photos earned twice the number of page views than those articles with license-free images. Take the time to pick the right images to complement your blog content and your blog will bring even more page views. I find that using animated GIF files grab people's attention immediately.
  • Use Keywords In Your Titles And Captions On Photos
Keywords (or labels) help people find your posts through your photos and captions give an extra anchor for readers because humans are naturally visual animals. It’s a little extra work but before you upload a photo for your blog, title each image with a keyword or label. It ensures that the search engines optimize these keywords so your website can be found by either the photos or posts on your blog. Do a search on yourself to see how you’re doing.
  • Comment On All Comments
Be social and grateful to your readers that leave comments. Most readers will not respond to blogs, even if they like them. I receive a lot more page views than comments because readers take the information and move on. So when you get a comment respond promptly. Address them by name, add to the discussion and invite them back. Thank them for their time and readership.
  • Read And Comment On Other People’s Blogs
Following someone’s blogs isn’t enough. You expect your Followers to read and comment on your blogs so it’s only fair play to visit, read, and comment on your Followers blogs. Do this on a daily basis and they will return the favor.
  • Publish An Honest, Complete Profile
When you like a website the first thing you wonder about is who's writing this stuff? Websites introducing some facts about the author's work or life you're Following seem more legit than those with a frivolous profile page. People like to know things like where you’re from, your interests, around what age you are, where you live, etc. Don’t be shy, I can tell you from experience that an honest profile with a real picture of yourself goes a long way.
  • Guest Bloggers
Find a blogger that you think is brilliant? You can learn from them by asking them to guest blog on your site. Ask them to write about a certain subject or leave it up to them. Thank them for participating, give them credit and a link back to their website. Guest bloggers can help you with exposure. When you link to that blog, many of their Followers will come to check out your site. Depending on the number of readers they have it’s a great way to boost your page views or find new Followers yourself.
  • Be Interesting
Readers want to find fresh, valuable, entertaining and remarkable information. Make an effort to deliver more than just the facts. Make it about your subject matter, not you. It doesn’t hurt to be personal but avid blog readers won’t find blogs that talk about the weather everyday sound that interesting. Just like you, they want some meat on those bones.
  • Get Your Point Across
Style, grammar, spelling, layout, all count for nothing if your audience doesn’t get your meaning. Make yourself clear and understood. Watch your spelling and use a friendly font on your posts that's easy to read.
  • Hold On To Passion
Keep the fires burning, don’t let your blog subject turn into a chore. It’s important to recognize when you need to scrap a blog too, sometimes they just aren’t good enough to post. Learn the difference.
  • Make A Good First Impression
Do new visitors know what your blog is about in under 10 seconds? Can they navigate your website easily? Make sure your blog is set up professionally so that your readers can clearly understand your subject matter and find what they are looking for.
  • Build Momentum And Optimize Your Posts
Keep posting daily and take advantage of popular subjects that your readers like. It's not easy to do but pick a writing schedule you can deal with and keep it up. If you tell your readers to expect daily posts about a certain subject in the future and they don't show up that's a bad thing. It takes less effort to keep going than to stop and start again. Your readers are what makes your website popular so do what you can to keep them coming.
  • Look Good And Be Unique
Appearances count, in terms of your blog design and your posts. Make your content stand out by using the template designer in the advanced mode and make it your own. Make your color and font choices easy to see and read. Pick great images or better yet supply your own artwork.
  • Using Blogs Of Note For Ideas
Look at your Blogger Dashboard for “Blogs Of Note” and check out the blogs there. These blogs are the crème of the crop and have loads of Followers on them. Find the ones that interest you or are similar to your blog and learn from them.
  • Monitor Your Stats
Stats tell you the health of your blog and where the traffic is coming from. Keep an eye on your statistics to make sure you are writing content that brings new readers in while keeping your old ones. Your stats will also tell you if your blog strategy is solid or if you need to make some changes.
  • Communication Fascination
If you love your subject matter then let your readers know it. If you share your enthusiasm it becomes contagious and makes your readers excited about it too. Give them a reason to want to leave a comment.
  • Explore And Experiment
Blogs that make an effort to stretch, to break the mold or provide something unique are the blogs people flock to, chat about, and return to. Be inspired to have your blog under “Blogs Of Note.”
  • Poll Your Readers
Run different polls, the results are newsworthy and fun. Have a fixed date for the poll to be finished and blog on the results. Find out what your readers think about the subject you pick. Make your poll fun and interesting so your readers take part in it and want to know the outcome.
  • Join Forums
Break out of your blogging bubble. Network by meeting potential readers online, discuss cool subjects and make new friends. You can learn a lot depending on the forum you are taking part in and you may find something awesome to blog about at the same time.
  • Get More Experience And Develop Expertise
Do new things, broaden your horizons, practice your writing and stretch your limits. Practice makes perfect. In no time you will learn what works for you and what doesn’t. You will develop a good idea as to what to write about to bring the readers to your website (blog).
  • Toot Your Own Horn
You worked hard for it, your blogging success will grow as you do and you’ll have more Followers then you ever imagined. Good for you!

As I've said for years. Keep On Bloggin’!

Thursday, September 8

Illusion Carpet in The Game Store


This optical illusion carpet spotted in a Paris video game store provides an illusion of a vortex floor. The effect is achieved by printing bent lines in a chaotic manner just like what we have already seen in Apple’s executive garden. Not only does this carpet mess with your mind, but it might also make you trip while trying to walk across it!


If you see the woman spinning to the right you are using the right side of your brain. If she spins to the left you are using the left side of your brain. Practice seeing if you can use both sides of your brain to make her spin both directions.

With Monday being a holiday this week is going even faster! Soon the weekend will be upon us again, it’s already Thursday! Hope your week has been great!

It really works, try it!

It's a trick. The dots at the edges of the GIF are already moving faster than the center. If you block the center with your fist, all you see are the outer dots which are already moving faster making fooling your eyes.

Pretty cool huh?

Keep On Bloggin’!