Luis Rocks » Thoughts

Luis Rocks » Thoughts http://luisrocks.com/blog Implementing Sound Ideas --Measuring Results Mon, 12 Jul 2010 07:45:09 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 WordPress Admin 500 Internal Server Error Fix http://luisrocks.com/blog/2010/05/21/wordpress-admin-500-internal-server-error-fix/ http://luisrocks.com/blog/2010/05/21/wordpress-admin-500-internal-server-error-fix/#comments Fri, 21 May 2010 13:15:25 +0000 Luis http://luisrocks.com/blog/?p=621 Continue reading →]]> After performing a manual WordPress upgrade my .htaccess was in shambles and I didn’t realize it until I tried to login to the admin side and got a 500 Internal Server Error. Having dealt with this a billion-and-two times and never really mentioning it on here, I just thought I’d post the super simple fix for most of these cases.

A) Open .htaccess file

B) Add these three lines:

Options All -Indexes

AddType x-mapp-php5 .php

AddHandler x-mapp-php5 .php

And enjoy.

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]]> http://luisrocks.com/blog/2010/05/21/wordpress-admin-500-internal-server-error-fix/feed/ 1 Supervision Q & A with Ivan Silva – Issues with Listening Styles and Attention Spans http://luisrocks.com/blog/2010/03/19/supervision-q-a-with-ivan-silva-issues-with-listening-styles-and-attention-spans/ http://luisrocks.com/blog/2010/03/19/supervision-q-a-with-ivan-silva-issues-with-listening-styles-and-attention-spans/#comments Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:32:31 +0000 Luis http://luisrocks.com/blog/?p=613 Continue reading →]]>

Question: Diversity also applies to listening styles and attention spans; how have you dealt with folks who can’t handle people’s differences? Do you embrace the jargon lovers, or keeps things as simple as possible?

a. This goes back to you as the supervisor and leader, your must set the bar, the example of what is acceptable in the working environment. You must delineate expectations and guidelines very clearly and have a very open and working relationship with your HR department so that you are always on the same page. The HR department is typically the one who deals with issues that are requiring paper work to be filed and or reported and if the employee has concerns about their rights being violated so when any issues like this come up you should keep the HR representative abreast of what is going on even if you are not ready to formalize the concern. This ensures that you are inline with company policy and also with the plan the company has for you as a supervisor. You must create an environment that is pleasant but balanced out by the rules that inappropriate, harrassive, rude and illegal behavior is not tolerated and will be dealt with disciplinary action, which may include up to termination. There are many tools you have at your disposition such as suspending employees, cutting hours, citing a report in their records, counseling, coaching and even bringing in outside help for the entire staff to teach them to work together better and enhance work place communication and minimize issues within the staff.

b. Jargon lovers; each person has a manner in which they like to speak. They find it more comfortable; however if the manner in which they speak is crude and/or lewd you must be proactive once again and bring it to their attention before another employee is made upset or insulted by it—these situations can escalate into legal matters or you as a company can be liable for not having provided a workplace free of threats or harassment. Employees expect to come to an environment that is free of negative things such as those previously mentioned. If a person is using language that is too technical and tends to confuse others around them creating a disruption or to where it affects productivity then you should speak to those people on their own and let them know that they may want to reevaluate the words they use because they are creating confusion or are causing a problem in productivity. The job at hand is not only supervising staff but to ensure that your staff is productive and company goals are being met. It is important that you keep your communication at a level that the average employee you bring can understand. Remember you are the one who hires people and you set qualifications—you know where your employees stand and should not create an environment that is not within the standards you requested.

About Ivan Silva: Ivan holds a BA Journalism with an emphasis Advertising/Public Relations, in years leading up to now he spent nearly all of his work life in middle management overseeing hundreds of employees. You can find his resume on his site, http://www.IvanSilva.com

About the interview: The multipart interview took place this January as part of the curriculum for a management course I (Luis) was enrolled in. It was good enough to earn me an A and high praise, so now it’s yours to read.

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]]> http://luisrocks.com/blog/2010/03/19/supervision-q-a-with-ivan-silva-issues-with-listening-styles-and-attention-spans/feed/ 2 Supervision Q & A with Ivan Silva – Personal Complaints and Grievances http://luisrocks.com/blog/2010/03/19/supervision-q-a-with-ivan-silva-personal-complaints-and-grievances/ http://luisrocks.com/blog/2010/03/19/supervision-q-a-with-ivan-silva-personal-complaints-and-grievances/#comments Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:23:15 +0000 Luis http://luisrocks.com/blog/?p=605 Continue reading →]]>

Complaints and grievances can’t be avoided, but as a supervisor, how do you handle conflicts between individuals when they are personal and not work related?

The key to functioning in a supervisory role is to maintain a proactive role in that capacity; you must be aware of the staff you are over seeing, numbers, performance, evaluations and you must also provide clear expectations for the staff you are managing. As a leader in the work place you must act as a model or patent for your employees to emulate – if you have provided clear expectations and outlined behavior that is frowned on and/or not tolerated explicitly employees are less likely to act outside of your expectations nor are they to be confused about what it is that you are expecting from them. When a grievance is filed or brought up that in nature is personal you should first of all stay objective listen to the grievance and refer to your HR guidelines and also explain to the employee that those guidelines are there to protect them and create a positive working environment; however you should ask direct and specific question regarding the issue they have raised so as to allow them a chance to reflect on the grievance and identify if the nature is valid or just on a personal level. If it is a personal issue you may ask if they feel a resolution between them and the other party is foresee able and if they would like the opportunity to speak them on their own and come to an agreement or if they would like to have your or an HR representative mediate the meeting to further understand the issue. It is in my experience that often times these issues arises from miscommunications and misunderstandings that are easily resolved by having open and direct communication. Having an open door policy and creating an atmosphere of trust and respect enables employees to raise concerns but also be more willing to address them within themselves and not find issue elsewhere.

Complaints and grievances can’t be avoided, but as a supervisor, how do you handle conflicts between individuals when they are personal and not work related?a.The key to functioning in a supervisory role is to maintain a proactive role in that capacity; you must be aware of the staff you are over seeing, numbers, performance, evaluations and you must also provide clear expectations for the staff you are managing. As a leader in the work place you must act as a model or patent for your employees to emulate – if you have provided clear expectations and outlined behavior that is frowned on and/or not tolerated explicitly employees are less likely to act outside of your expectations nor are they to be confused about what it is that you are expecting from them. When a grievance is filed or brought up that in nature is personal you should first of all stay objective listen to the grievance and refer to your HR guidelines and also explain to the employee that those guidelines are there to protect them and create a positive working environment; however you should ask direct and specific question regarding the issue they have raised so as to allow them a chance to reflect on the grievance and identify if the nature is valid or just on a personal level. If it is a personal issue you may ask if they feel a resolution between them and the other party is foresee able and if they would like the opportunity to speak them on their own and come to an agreement or if they would like to have your or an HR representative mediate the meeting to further understand the issue. It is in my experience that often times these issues arises from miscommunications and misunderstandings that are easily resolved by having open and direct communication. Having an open door policy and creating an atmosphere of trust and respect enables employees to raise concerns but also be more willing to address them within themselves and not find issue elsewhere.

About Ivan Silva: Ivan holds a BA Journalism with an emphasis Advertising/Public Relations, in years leading up to now he spent nearly all of his work life in middle management overseeing hundreds of employees. You can find his resume on his site, http://www.IvanSilva.com

About the interview: The multipart interview took place this January as part of the curriculum for a management course I (Luis) was enrolled in. It was good enough to earn me an A and high praise, so now it’s yours to read.

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]]> http://luisrocks.com/blog/2010/03/19/supervision-q-a-with-ivan-silva-personal-complaints-and-grievances/feed/ 0 McAllen Metro Jobs – 475 visits from 15 countries http://luisrocks.com/blog/2010/03/14/mcallen-metro-jobs-475-visits-from-15-countries/ http://luisrocks.com/blog/2010/03/14/mcallen-metro-jobs-475-visits-from-15-countries/#comments Sun, 14 Mar 2010 07:49:13 +0000 Luis http://luisrocks.com/blog/?p=595 Continue reading →]]>

This weekend marks the launch of my brand new joint project –McAllen Metro Jobs. McAllen Metro Jobs is a local solution to job hunting in the McAllen – Edinburg – Mission metro area.

Bridging the gap between local job seekers and employers McAllen Metro Jobs launches regional employment website and job board

Local graduates and entrepreneurs recognized that finding a job becomes a job in itself with no pay and a high cost, their site provides an answer.

Rio Grande Valley, TX, February, 2010: McAllen Metro Jobs opens its web site in its initial beta offering to job seekers who are hungry for an easy, efficient and local venue for finding the right fitting job. “Local working solutions – a fit for you in the McAllen area.”

Looking for a job is hard and expensive. You have to become your own staffing agency and your own recruiter – MMJ offers: FREE resume submissions, FREE job searches, allows employers to place job listings targeting local candidates, resume service (review, do-overs, creation and customizing), professional advice and job market insight, career and job related blog which provides data on local job market as well trending career topics.

McAllen Metro Jobs is off to a great start; two days into our launch we’ve already received 475 visits from 15 countries (admittedly 97% of those are from the McAllen metro area, which is awesome!) and have gotten great feedback from some of our hundreds of social media friends and fans. Cutting the ramble short, I’ll direct you to McAllenMetroJobs.com and invite you to follow us on Twitter, Myspace, or Facebook; and to visit the other working half of this project Ivan Silva at IvanSilva.com

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]]> http://luisrocks.com/blog/2010/03/14/mcallen-metro-jobs-475-visits-from-15-countries/feed/ 0 Stop Junk Characters ‘â€TM’ from Appearing Instead of an Apostrophe http://luisrocks.com/blog/2010/01/06/stop-junk-characters-aetm-from-appearing-instead-of-an-apostrophe/ http://luisrocks.com/blog/2010/01/06/stop-junk-characters-aetm-from-appearing-instead-of-an-apostrophe/#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:11:34 +0000 Luis http://luisrocks.com/blog/?p=554 Continue reading →]]>

After my latest WordPress update (which as a manual one, with a whole lot of mysql issues!) I finally got my blog up and running again, only to find all my apostrophes appearing as “â€TM” –stupid junk characters. After going into panic mode for about two minutes, I figured out the solution, at least in my case.

It was quite simple, jump in my wp-config, and comment out two lines.

# define(‘DB_CHARSET’, ‘utf8′);

# define(‘DB_COLLATE’, ”);

And just like that, all was normal again. Hope this helps someone.

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]]> http://luisrocks.com/blog/2010/01/06/stop-junk-characters-aetm-from-appearing-instead-of-an-apostrophe/feed/ 7 If I Could Make the World a Little Better http://luisrocks.com/blog/2009/09/20/if-i-could-make-the-world-a-little-better/ http://luisrocks.com/blog/2009/09/20/if-i-could-make-the-world-a-little-better/#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 03:14:12 +0000 Luis http://luisrocks.com/blog/?p=547 Continue reading →]]> maketheworld

maketheworld

There have been a few too many times in life where people around me speak about winning the lottery, or coming into a large amount of cash some other way (rich-uncle on the verge of kicking it?) Each time folks get into this sort of conversation I sit and listen. Everyone has dreams, hopes, and simple aspirations –I know I do. Everyone always starts with the “I’d buy…” list, and then some move into the “I’d start my own…” list, and when its folks my age there’s always the “I’d get out of college and…” [ruin their life, I’m sure] list.

My list also has most of that, I would buy myself a nice car right off the bat, I’d also start my own business, I wouldn’t leave college, but there’s more. From an early age I was taught that without an education (or some damn good skills,) you simply aren’t worth the air you breathe.. As I grew older I found that to be more and more true, so leaving college is out of the question.

Now here comes the part where I wish I had a few million bucks to spare. I’d love to go out into my community and others, to help empower folks. No cash give-aways, no free cars a-la Oprah, no PC’s in the classroom or libraries, no parks down the street –all of which are good, don’t get me wrong, but not what I’d do. At this point you might be wondering what on earth I have in mind, so here it is: Micro loans, small business training, angel investments, and guidance. Truly empowering folks to help themselves and help their communities for a long period of time.

If I don’t win the lotto some day, or I don’t make it big, I really hope I can accomplish some of what is on that list. Some I can start now simply based on what I’ve learned about business administration, start ups, marketing, and advertising –among other stuff I know and love. I try to go around looking or opportunities to help on a small scale (sometimes as small as helping with a simple press release); but there are a whole lot of thoughts that just spin in my mind after I ask myself how I could possibly make the world a little better…

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]]> http://luisrocks.com/blog/2009/09/20/if-i-could-make-the-world-a-little-better/feed/ 0 Running from left, to right, to the right of center; Political madness on every end; Parties hijacked by the extremists; Annoyance builds. My thoughts. http://luisrocks.com/blog/2009/09/18/from-left-to-right-parties-hijacked-by-the-extremists/ http://luisrocks.com/blog/2009/09/18/from-left-to-right-parties-hijacked-by-the-extremists/#comments Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:19:00 +0000 Luis http://luisrocks.com/blog/?p=533 Continue reading →]]> It seems I can’t get away for the Republican label, which around here (DEEP South Texas,) seems to be a bad word of sorts. Being a stubborn person, I tend to stick to my guns, and usually just try to ignore people who view my politics in an un-friendly manor. Those folks usually spend time trying to explain to me how I’m so wrong about everything. Needless to say, it gets old. I can open up to them about the things I hate about MY party (the Republican Party,) but that’d be opening a can of worms. I could go off on THEM and their liberal, borderline socialist views –but that might be too much for people to handle. I could explain the type of Republican I am –but that might take too long. So, now –I blog.

As a kid I grew up a Democrat, and from an early age everyone around me seemed to paint the political parties in a black or white, rich or poor way. Democrats help poor people, and the middle class; Republicans are all rich white people who only help their selves! –Two concepts that I bought into for the first decade of my life and never questioned. And then at the ripe age of 11, I realized there was more to it than folks had led me to believe.

During the 2000 elections, being a kid (Yes, I’m really THAT young,) I really had no political view. I supported George Bush because I thought he’d been cool as Texas’ governor, and because it was fun to play devils advocate (one of my favorite pastimes,) with the other kids, during their in-school mock elections. At some point I got darn curious, so I got online and read everything I could about what each party stood for. Education, abortion, taxation, and national security, as I took a closer look at what each party was trying to accomplish, I felt I was more in line with the Republican party. It was just that simple, from that point onward, I was a Republican; a quiet Republican. The terrible attacks of 9-11 only solidified this for me during the months ahead –national security got a bigger chunk of my awareness, and will always be the most important aspect of my political views.

turningpoint

By 2004 I remember being in my history class, and being asked who I supported during the democratic primaries. My answer of “George Bush” took my teacher and class by surprise; my first taste of liberal hate. (‘Liberal hate’ tastes a bit bitter, and pretty moist –which I attribute to drinkin’ haterade.)

Little has changed since then, I usually try tell them (the haters) why I lean right, and why I support the candidates I do, but they rarely listen. I also try explaining that I will vote for a Democrat if they are the better candidate –which is completely true, but they dismiss. So then I ask if they’ll ever vote for a Republican, and I usually get a “No!” or “Hell no!” –So much for open minds. If I have time, I tell them how I came to my position on the political spectrum. But it’s a long story, and at some point I’m usually interrupted before I am done.

Meanwhile, as time goes by that story gets longer and longer. At this point, I’m officially a Republican, but my views aren’t in line with those heading up my party, setting the agenda, and making MY party less inclusive instead of more. Years ago when I ran from the far left, I ran to the far right; while there, I realized it wasn’t the place for me. At this point, I’m just annoyed.

I’m annoyed at the way that my country, my party, and my vote aren’t what they should be. I’m annoyed with my new president, I’m annoyed with congress, and I’m annoyed by those in my party who only play inside party lines, as well democrats who do the same. After an elections dominated by promises of hope, change, honesty, and openness… almost no one is rising to the occasion. I’m frankly saddened by our government getting deeper and deeper into all of our lives, and all the bureaucratic nonsense to come. Like I said, the annoyance is building as our political parties are hijacked by the extremists.

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]]> http://luisrocks.com/blog/2009/09/18/from-left-to-right-parties-hijacked-by-the-extremists/feed/ 0 Luis Rocks just like Gregory House? http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/12/19/luis-rocks-just-like-gregory-house/ http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/12/19/luis-rocks-just-like-gregory-house/#comments Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:45:37 +0000 Luis http://luisrocks.com/blog/?p=381 Continue reading →]]> 250px-housegregoryhouse

250px-housegregoryhouse

So I was having one of those conversations where I can’t shut up about how I’m totally into watching way too much TV, and when I was listing my favorite shows the first one was Fox’s House.

Before I even managed to get to the second show on my list, I got a response that I didn’t exactly expect. My buddy says “House reminds me of you, a total smart-ass who’s a dick with people.” I wasn’t sure how to feel about this. On one hand, House is effin’ awesome. On the other, he simply doesn’t seem human in terms of giving a damn.

So now I’m just wondering how many people think I’m a smart-ass who’s also a jerk. I’ve been called an asshole by my closest friends plenty of times, the same friends who know I’m pretty damn reliable. I’m also right often and can be cocky and don’t shy away from saying “I told you so.” But is that really so wrong?

I digress.

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]]> http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/12/19/luis-rocks-just-like-gregory-house/feed/ 1 My New President (Elect) http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/11/05/my-new-president/ http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/11/05/my-new-president/#comments Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:04:00 +0000 Luis http://luisrocks.com/blog/?p=346 Continue reading →]]>

Barack Obama is my new president, and It sucks. John McCain was the better choice and I feel sick to my stomach about having him lose. He was the strongest, smartest, and most patriotic. He gave up so much for this country and the country couldn’t look past the mans party and see the man and what he’s given for all of us. Un-liked by his party, loved by almost no one –a true maverick.

Now I suppose nothing can be done. I hope that Obama can rise past being the most partisan and liberal senator and realize that he represents a diverse and CONSERVATIVE America. John McCain said our best days were ahead of us, I know he is right. I’m just not sure our best days will be within the next four years.

I’ll stand by our president as I’ve stood by Bush and I’ll be optimistic, but with the same breathe I’ll speak up when I feel he’s wrong and I’ll talk to people about him. This year I got a handful of LIFE TIME Democrats to vote for a Republican –there are others out there who will do the same.

Now I’m left feeling empty but with a sense of urgency to seriously figure out if I should follow my true passion in life –and enter politics.

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]]> http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/11/05/my-new-president/feed/ 0 Live Results and Insight http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/11/04/live-results-and-insight/ http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/11/04/live-results-and-insight/#comments Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:57:54 +0000 Luis http://luisrocks.com/blog/?p=332 Continue reading →]]>

pres

It’s just about noon here and I’ll be starting my live blogging in a moment and once again it’s sure to be fun. Through the night there are a few key states I’ll be paying more attention to. Pennsylvania is at the forefront with its 21 electoral votes that can make McCain – Palin victory or simply make it even tougher. There are other states I’ll mention during the night like Ohio, and Florida but to keep things simple on here I’ll talk about it later. So now, I’ll be waiting and hoping for McCain to win knowing fully well that this is too tight and simply anyone’s guess.

I already feel the tension building up and it’s bitter-sweet. If Obama wins the world isn’t going to end, I’m not moving to Canada and the sun will shine tomorrow, but frankly –It’ll suck. McCain has a shot and I’m going to be watching the numbers all night and blogging live.

From the White House in DC to out elected officials in the RGV –I’m covering it tonight. McCain – Obama. Cornyn – Noriega. Cuellar – Fish. I’ve got it covered.

[To catch-up on the last thing I posted refresh your broswer and this post will reflect the updates]

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]]> http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/11/04/live-results-and-insight/feed/ 3 I’m a Marketing Major, Damn it! Some thoughts on life, Politics, and even Paul Newman. http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/09/27/im-a-marketing-major-damn-it-some-thoughts-on-life-politics-and-even-paul-newman/ http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/09/27/im-a-marketing-major-damn-it-some-thoughts-on-life-politics-and-even-paul-newman/#comments Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:24:07 +0000 Luis http://luisrocks.com/blog/?p=326 Continue reading →]]> For years and years I was the go-to guy for a lot of peoples PC problems, I honestly can’t get away from people thinking I can fix their problems. Don’t get me wrong, I can fix just about anything and I’ve been able to take apart or build a pc with my eyes closed since I was 12, but that’s besides the point. I don’t like doing it, I don’t wanna spend time doing it, and it bores me to death. This brings me to my next point;

People always ask what my major is, when I tell them I’m a marketing major they tend to look at me. They stare and say something along the lines of, “why not something with computers?” with a puzzled look on their face. It seems like I can’t get away from people second guessing my career choice!

It gets annoying but I deal with it. But I do wonder what they’ll do if I go through and actually go for a double major –the other most likely being journalism or poli-sci. Yikes!

Meanwhile I missed the first presidential debate last night, (long story involving pre-syncope, ha!) But I caught the end and after debate coverage along with the C-Span rerun. I honestly thought McCain and Obama did well. McCain should have and could have hit harder (not that he was easy on O). Obama was too text-book sounding and as always, was hesitant when things were trying to made as clear as possible –AS ALWAYS. With no clear winner, Obama is the winner simply for not being knocked the hell out of the ballpark.

So today, Paul Newman died. He’s been such a part of American culture for so long it really sucks. I hated his politics, especially his support of Ned Lamont against Senator Joe Lieberman in ’06. But he did a lot of good during his golden years, so he was cool in my book.

And finally, I end with a question. When will people wise up? There’s more to politics than rich and poor, Republican and Democrat, Red and Blue, and right and left. I’ve been a Republican for a long time (be-it a somewhat liberal one as far as Republicans go.) But I still get people looking at me as if I’m an idiot. The fact of the matter is I know more about politics than most people who I talk to on any given day. I can identify just about every big-shot political player by looking at them, Republican or Democrat. I know a lot of bills major senators have passed in recent years and I know what they are for. I don’t open my mouth based on bullshit or what I’ve been told to believe, after all I come from a long line of Democrats. I’m simply doing what I know is right and supporting who I believe is right for the ever important job of representing me. I invite any one to debate me on any political matter just don’t demonize me, call me a “traitor,” “hater,” snob, jerk, or idiot. All of which are popular lately. Substance is everything.

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]]> http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/09/27/im-a-marketing-major-damn-it-some-thoughts-on-life-politics-and-even-paul-newman/feed/ 0 Not Going Green but Greener is Good http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/08/10/not-going-green-but-greener-is-good/ http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/08/10/not-going-green-but-greener-is-good/#comments Sun, 10 Aug 2008 09:14:23 +0000 Luis http://luisrocks.com/blog/?p=287 Continue reading →]]>

savecash

“Going green” isn’t easy. Over the past couple of months I’ve taken steps towards being a bit nicer to my host, otherwise known as planet earth. While reading The Monitor today I found out that a new wind farm is going up in Kenedy County and I think it’s great. So I decided to share some of what I’ve personally done to help clean up our increasingly mucky planet.

I’ve switched to an all-renewable electric provider and there is A LOT of them to choose from and even if you’re simply trying to reduce your energy bill alone you should checkout www.powertochoose.org; which is a service by the Public Utility Commission of Texas which compiles info about electric providers, their prices and renewable energy content. Visit the site, compare providers and lock in a good rate and opt for 100% renewable energy.

If you’re too lazy you can visit Green Mountain Energy –they have decent prices per kWh.

I’ve also gotten all my electrical junk and plugged them into power-strips and when I’m not around I’ll unplug the whole strip and kill all wasted energy. There are some disadvantages to this with some electronics being “reset,” but for the most part you don’t need all your junk sucking juice out of not only the grid but your wallet!

I also unplug my PC’s when not in use, this one was hard to adapt to but once again a power-strip means only one thing being plugged in (ideally.) Any reduction in power use helps, even that damn light on your pc junk! I also realized I didn’t need my laptop plugged in and on all night, which means I don’t sleep within a few feet of a PC just waiting to be used for hours on end.

Over a year ago I switched to energy-saving light bulbs, the switch took over 70 bulbs and was pretty costly but worth it. While on the bulb subject, do you really need a working bulb in each socket? Energy saving or not un-screw bulbs you don’t really need.

I’ve also tried to reduce my use of my hand-dandy clothes dryer. While it leaves our clothing nice and fluffy… it’s an energy hog. I’m at the point where I’m using good old-fashion clothes lines and sunshine. While this is a pain in the –uh, neck. It’s really a great step to take and it’ll reduce your power consumption dramatically. I will admit towels were really hard to get used to, getting out of the shower and not having my usually fluffy towel was scary for a while, its worth getting used to. It worked for as long as people have had wet clothing (for ever,) so there’s nothing wrong with using nature to do your laundry drying.

I also take it easy on the A/C, living in South Texas this is a major pain, but do you really need to have your home at a chilly 74 degrees or lower? 78, 79, 80 degree temperatures on the all feel fine in a well insulated home with ceiling fans and stuff. A programmable thermostat also goes a long way but I’ve been a fan of all digital for a long time and haven’t made that leap yet.

There are a few other small things I’ve done but those were the most important. Month after month I’ve gotten better and better at saving power. I’ve also gotten my family and friends to think about making changes in their life. Power consumption at home has gone down about 30 to 35 percent. Being a heavy PC user and TV addict I’m looking into getting solar panels for those items alone, a solar water-heater is also on the list.

While I’m not totally green and won’t ever be, I’m just trying to kick some bad habits and save some cash.

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]]> http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/08/10/not-going-green-but-greener-is-good/feed/ 1 Blogging For Cash: No Tips or Tricks, Just a Rant http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/08/03/blogging-for-cash-no-tips-or-tricks-just-a-rant/ http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/08/03/blogging-for-cash-no-tips-or-tricks-just-a-rant/#comments Sun, 03 Aug 2008 12:58:03 +0000 Luis http://luisrocks.com/blog/?p=283 Continue reading →]]> Fox and Friends just had a segment about making money off blogging. While that sounds fun –it really isn’t all that easy.

While I’ve almost screamed “CONTENT IS EVERYTHING”, there’s more to it than that. You need a good looking blog and something that makes YOU stand out. Judging by the amount of comments I get, I haven’t found my niche, but I don’t need to. This is my spot on the web to rant and establish an online reputation for myself in a subtle way.

I know I get hits, I keep track of it, the lack of comments doesn’t mean there is a lack of readers; yet, lack of comments can turn away a new commenter.

blogging is simple and complicated at the same time.

Ehhh, I’m running on no sleep, I’ll stop typing now.

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]]> http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/08/03/blogging-for-cash-no-tips-or-tricks-just-a-rant/feed/ 0 As Things Clear Up http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/07/26/as-things-clear-up/ http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/07/26/as-things-clear-up/#comments Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:59:05 +0000 Luis http://luisrocks.com/blog/?p=273 Continue reading →]]>

As things clear up in South Texas the destruction that was left behind by Hurricane Dolly is more and more apparent. There are still many people without power, and some running low on food and essentials. The local media is doing a pretty good job reporting everything going on.

Meanwhile, local, state, and federal help is flowing in and besides minor problems and a lot of complaining –and rightly so in some cases while maybe not all. A lot are being helped and there’s a lot more help on the way.

The thing that gets to me is the fact that no one died is being downplayed. Property can be replaced, and the poorest will most defiantly get help along with the others in need. Things could have been worse and there is a lot to be grateful for –life, for instance.

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]]> http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/07/26/as-things-clear-up/feed/ 0 Flash Back – Fool’s Garden – Lemon Tree http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/05/06/flash-back-fools-garden-lemon-tree/ http://luisrocks.com/blog/2008/05/06/flash-back-fools-garden-lemon-tree/#comments Tue, 06 May 2008 10:33:27 +0000 Luis http://luisrocks.com/blog/?p=226 Continue reading →]]> The song came into a conversation at my grandmothers birthday party this weekend, I could hardly remember the damn song but its pretty entertaining.

From Wikipedia:

” is a song by German pop band Fool’s Garden from the album Dish of the Day, which was released as a single in 1995 and became a major international hit in 1996. The single reached number 26 in the UK charts and remained at number 1 for several weeks in Germany. It also reached number 1 in Ireland, where Dustin the Turkey recorded a parody called “Christmas Tree”.

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