I’m going to apologize ahead of time for getting off topic, but it’s not really too far off topic. One of the things you can easily let go of when blogging all day is your health, and so I guess this fits in okay.

I’ve decided to create a team for the Memory Walk and to sponsor myself as a walker. It was easy to become a Team Captain, all you have to do is fill out your registration form and pick a name for your team. My team is named ‘Stars’. I will be getting my boys involved and hopefully some other family members. I set it up so that anyone can join the team in hopes that I can reach more people looking to help. The walk I signed up for is nearly 2 months away, so I think that will give me enough time to gather a great team.

If you would like to sponsor my team, please click here. We will be very greatful to have your support. You may see I haven’t donated yet, but I will. I need a bit of time to look at how much I’m able to give.

The Alzheimer’s Memory Walk is a great way to raise money because it not only raises awareness, but it also helps people like me, who work on the computer all day, to get up off our butts and do something. Not just something, but something that can and will make a difference. I’m not sure what my purpose in life is, but I do want to spend as much of it as possible helping other people be as great as they can be. 

How important is your domain to you? If you own a company, it can be likely that it’s very important. If you own a personal blog, you may just really like the name. But what if one day you went to your site and all of a sudden saw some random other site?

Jay, from Domain Tools, has deciding he’s going to offer a new one-of-a-kind service for domain owners. Domain Insurance. My first thought when I read this was, “What idiot thought this up?” I really like the Domain Tools services, I use the Whois service on a daily basis. I like some of the sneaky services they offer, too, like the Reverse IP lookup, so you can look up every website on a competitor’s server. To me it feels like you’re evil if you’re paying for a service like this, but back when it was free I think I used it from time to time. I even used it a few times to see who was still using my server.

But is a domain name so valuable that you have to insure it? With registrar lock and the mandatory authorization code it’s can’t be that easy for someone to steal your domain name, can it? Apparently it happened enough to make Jay mad enough to do something about it. At this point, after offering domain services for 5 years, I’ve never had a domain hijacked.

There are a lot of questions about who will be underwriting these policies and of the possibility of fraud. It may be a service worth looking into if you’re making your millions from your domain name, but it feels like a waste for the domain savvy to me.

As a pro blogger you make money blogging. For most of us, it doesn’t make us rich, but it allows us to live a more comfortable life. One thing you normally don’t think about being related to blogging is travel, but it is definitely a part of blogging.

When you travel you don’t want to have to spend any more money on the hotel room than you have to. I know when I’m out I’m more concerned with the good food and nifty items I can buy, but at the same time I must have a room with internet access and I don’t want to pay an arm and a leg.

HotelReservations.com can help you spend as little as possible on great rooms. Hotel Reservations are extremely expensive, especially if you’re going to a highly saturated area like Las Vegas during Postie Con. With HR.com you can find a room during Postie Con for as low as $91/night.

Right now they’re offering a rebate coupon for those purchasing multiple nights. You can earn up to $100 with this rebate, depending on how many nights you book on their website. Or if you’re not comfortable with sending your information over the internet they also allow you to order over the phone and receive their special online rate as well. I personally prefer calling to reserve rooms because I like to ask questions and because it feels more real when you’re talking with a person.

HR.com doesn’t stop at hotel reservations, they also help you reserve flights and cars. If you’re heading to Vegas this fall to meet your fellow bloggers, you’re going to need a way to get around. For fun I went to the Vacation Packages and entered the information for me to get a flight to Vegas, plus a hotel room and rental car for 5 days. I came up with a package for $878 and another for $894. Wow, what a bargain!

A lot of people have gotten on Pay Per Post, but I haven’t yet. I’m not entirely sure why, but I hadn’t tried it. So I decided if I was going to list is as a possible way to make money I needed to get an idea how it works. I’ve signed up for Pay Per Post and I’m currently waiting to be accepted.

I did notice that people have images on their websites for PPP Direct. It’s on a lot of websites and the image isn’t too attractive. So I thought I might mention that with PPP you can customize the image you use to match your design, or just to look better. Jenny, over at The So Called Me, has her own custom PPP Direct image and I’ve noticed that it is much more attractive and less bothersome than the image they provide.

If you’re using the image PPP provides for you, consider that you may sell more direct posts by using your own custom image.