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My Pick for Super Bowl XLVI

By tony garcia | Published January 23, 2012

Super Bowl XLVII am only a fan of the game. I have no favorite NFL team to cheer for though the Dallas Cowboys were the team one side of the family jumped for. On the other side was the New York Giants. Either way I was always more about the game. All the fussing and fighting was a bit much.

Watching the New England Patriots for the past 10 years you think they would have won a few more Super Bowls. This Super Bowl Forty Six on February 5th 2012 showcases a man from a popular family of quarterbacks; Eli Manning. Again in the Super Bowl ready to try and show up the man many make out to be invincible, another Superman; Tom Brady.

Anything I say here and the outcome of the game would be totally coincidental if anything I mention in fact happens.

I have watched both Eli and Brady progress through the last quarter of the season. The Patriots are on a 10-game win streak and you have the Giants with not only a star quarterback but a sick receiving core and a highly capable defense that covers everything with a madness their offensive teammates are very thankful for.

That is not to say the New England Patriots are hurting on defense. Like many know, throughout the regular season the Patriots’ D was questionable. Brady was able to go over 5,ooo yards passing because of the many high-flying games incurred; many blame on the defense.

Here we are now and the Patriots’ defense has held their own against tough opponents. This past weekend the Baltimore Ravens had their chances. To me all 4 championship games this weekend were defensive masterpieces on all sides. I don’t really want to mention the Denver game. Tebow can do big things in his future. It just wasn’t going to start against Tom Brady and the Pats.

Watching the New York Giants beat the San Francisco 49ers the way they did gave the younger Manning more of my attention. (not that it matters) The general consensus is that the Giants stunned the defending Super Bowl champs Green Bay Packers. Why couldn’t it have just been because Manning & co. were confident and had it in them the whole time to surprise all of those who weren’t New York Giants fans. Sounds good right?

Now it is time for me to give my pick on who I believe is going to win Super Bowl XLVI coming up on February 5, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium. You get Tom Brady and Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots (13-3 reg. season) against Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin of the New York Giants (9-7 reg. season).

“Drum Roll Please….”

I have to go with Brady and the Patriots this time around. The last time they met luck played a major roll in the outcome, not that it won’t this time. I am in no way downplaying the athleticism and capabilities of today’s athletes but sometimes the stars align in ways they usually wouldn’t. Manning and the Giants are fully capable of upsetting New England fans. I am from the Northeast and will be happy with whomever wins. Not being a gambler is a Plus, too.

Who do you think is going to win Super Bowl Forty Six? Notice I didn’t mention 2007?

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North Haven Connecticut Gets 9 Inches of Snow

By tony garcia | Published January 22, 2012

North Haven Snow 2012Hello people. It is Sunday now and the snow has passed. The road outside seems to be OK though I live on a major road. My girlfriend got a call saying one of the town people did a measurement in the center of town and came up with 9 inches of snow for North Haven.

I had a blast shoveling yesterday and have a bit more to do today. The funny thing is the kids are sitting in the living room watching movies. If I am going to be shoveling they are going to be cold playing in the snow. I am kidding.

My uncle Nutcase is going up to the New England Patriots game against the Baltimore Ravens. The weather people say it is 16 degrees here. I can only imagine what it is going to be like in the stadium. He says he has his choice of being indoors or out with the box seats the casino hooked him up with. I would rather watch it on TV and will.

What is it like where you and your family are here in Connecticut? If you find this post, let us know what’s going on in your neck of the woods. Thanks for checking us out.

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Video Games Keeping Kids & Adults Close

By tony garcia | Published January 15, 2012

I grew up in the time of Atari, Intellivision and other video game makers. Now with my PS3, Xbox 360 and the Wii for the kids how do we compare them all. Parents I believe would know more about the ‘retro’ gaming systems and the popular games of the time; Tank, Pong, Defender, Frogger and others. Before I had a console I visited what was once a popular destination for kids; the video game arcade.

Kids today and for generations to come will no longer really care to visit an arcade when the technologies used today basically envelop the player into realistic worlds traveled using real life mechanics through a joystick. As an adult I want to say I envisioned the progress I have seen BUT definitely can’t.

I have met a few people in their mid-twenties who admittedly cannot live without the internet. When it comes to gaming only the most recent and most popular game titles and systems are recognized.

The title of this post though has more to do with the fact that gaming in general has helped many families overcome struggles associated with “alienation” issues with kids to adults, kids to kids or even adults to adults. The fact that video games of today can suck a player subconsciously at least for a little while into these games allows for relationship building on a whole new scale.

Very easily through playing team oriented games or even games where both must be competitive with the other relationships can be built; “want to play again?”, “wait Dad, let me get a drink.”

I am definitely an advocate for keeping kids outside and showing them that staying off the couch is a good thing. At the same time for those families that are into the technology thing I believe and suggest taking advantage of what you have in your hands so regularly. Get the family together, your friend or your significant other. Figure what system may be right for you. Then go about figuring what games you like and can play together. Of course we all want our alone time to play but this is about togetherness for all involved.

I am not the best writer but I mean what I say in this post. I have my stepdaughter and her uncle playing Black Ops now on the PS3. We all play and have a blast. My stepson plays the Xbox with my son, they like NBA 2K12, Both step kids love to play the dancing games together on the Wii. Point is there is a lot of love through video games.

I hope it is the same for you in your household. If it isn’t, think about some of the things I mentioned. Maybe it can get you all together over there. Take care.

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Paid Links through Blog Posts

By tony garcia | Published October 13, 2011

Ever hear of people paying to have blog posts written that include links for needed keywords? How about people paying anywhere from 1$ to 1000$s of dollars? It happens regularly. Bloggers will “review” a website then write a blog post that contains external links that use needed keywords the company or organization is looking to promote at the time.

I am not an expert and don’t claim to be. Anything written by Tony Garcia is purely my opinion. I stress, Research to all. Anything I mention can be argued.

Why do people do this you ask? What goes into how you pay for having a blog post written about your company or organization? Search engine optimization companies, webmasters and website owners alike are looking for a few different things when attempting to purchase what I call Blog Links or Pay for Posts. The biggest reason for those paying for the service at least in my experience is page rank.

Here are a few….

  • Traffic expected (If you are on a highly popular blog your link may get clicked BUT there’s traffic and then there is how many people actually purchase something after the click)
  • Google Pagerank (It obviously costs more depending on the number. YES people pay for it. There are many Blog Review companies that allow pure JUNK blogs into their database BUT they have high page rank.)
  • Alexa Rating (Believe it or not. If you could tell me why it is so important to some let me know.)
  • Quality of Content (Not many seem to pay attention to it, there are many Blog Review companies that allow pure JUNK blogs into their database.)
  • In another post I will get more in depth.

I don’t want to name any companies here but can say that in many studies I have seen where it can help certain industries when looking for better placement for specific keywords. Local search seems to be the popular choice when strategizing the use of paid links through blog posts. There are budgets I have heard of in the 10s of thousands per month. We can bet there are many that pay much more.

Is itBlog Review Links beneficial in the Long Term? I wish I could say definitively but I can’t. IF someone out there does say they know positively, Good for them. The page rank thing is only good for however long the writer(s) of the blog update with new posts. In most cases the posts were gone within 4-7 days. Of course there are those that last a bit longer or a bit shorter in terms of time.

Of course we have to assume that the more popular blogs are ‘spidered’ a bit more in turn giving any, if not all pages a lot of pull in terms of rankings and page rank in the long run. I personally am not into the practice of paying for blog posts with links. I have my own blogs obviously and have relationships with various contributors for other blogs I have.

The popular choice is getting as many nice page rank links as possible for the lowest amount possible (in terms of dollars) in no way thinking about or caring about where posts are placed or from where the search engines are finding their links. Whatever though, if it floats your boat and you believe it helps I can’t tell you it isn’t. For the little guys out there I would just try to get a bit more time at the computer working on my own SEO. Start a link campaign of your own, create a sitemap, write some good content, change up the stale tags you have going and things can Start moving.

Pay for Posts; would you do it?

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Hamden Tree Services: New Website

By tony garcia | Published October 11, 2011

North Haven Tree ServicesA guy I know well; Woody, owns a tree service company in North Haven, Connecticut. I have actually written about him before. Things have changed since then with his outlook on the internet and its power when it comes to local businesses.

The new website; Stumpbusterllc.com is up and running. The new logo says it all. With easy navigation, big pictures, a cool slide show and an elegant overall design. Included are individual pages for the towns of North Haven, Wallingford, Cheshire and Hamden in CT. Woody and his crew primarily work in these communities.

There is and will be more individual pages showcasing past and recent jobs in chronological order; from start to finish. Get information about the different Connecticut tree services offered by Stumpbuster LLC., see them At a Glance from the homepage, check them out on Twitter and Facebook or follow their soon to be regularly updated blog connected directly to the website.

Woody has been in the tree services game for over 25 years. His expertise and dedication to customer care and satisfaction will come out of him as he talks to you during the first visit. Depending on the service you need; stump grinding in Cheshire, North Haven tree pruning or yard makeover in Wallingford. Woody will make sure to guide you on the best but least expensive path while not taking away from what Could Be. You’ll get a free estimate, too.

Be sure to check out the new website; Stumpbuster LLC. Like them on Facebook or Follow them on Twitter. Woody will be updating the blog and his social media accounts as much as he is able. He would love to hear from you, too. Contact them with your opinions, suggestions, like or dislike. A Hamden Tree Services company.

Stumpbuster LLC
Woodward Harding (Woody)
cell: (203) 824-0000
office: (203 288-8733)
44 State Street
North Haven, CT. 06473

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Steve Jobs Dead at 56

By tony garcia | Published October 5, 2011

Steve Jobs DiedSteve Jobs has really died this time unlike past exploits by individuals in the recent past. The Apple Inc. co founder is dead at 56 after recent health issues including pancreatic cancer.

The former CEO is best known for his uncanny ability to produce and sell some of the highest selling mobile electronics in the world including things like the Ipod, Iphone and the Ipad. He also helped make Apple Inc. the world’s largest technology company surpassing Microsoft.

I am sure there will be more news out there soon.

R.I.P. Steve Jobs: you will surely be missed by millions of people across the world.

Updated Steve Jobs News

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Link Exchange Directory vs 1 Link Partners Page

By tony garcia | Published October 3, 2011

Link ParterWhat is the difference between having a 1 page full of outgoing links and a directory of categorized pages with hopefully less than 20-25 outgoing links? For those who are used to maintaining directory type link sections on their websites you must notice the many websites that have tried to move over to a 1 page format filled with all of the links that were originally split up into categories.

I have not researched the question myself before writing up this post. I do work in the industry myself. Depending on the industry, at times I will use a 1 page format. The number of reciprocal linking opportunities varies between industries. The amount of link partners you find in say the baby industry or furniture industry you are not going to find as easily in the electroplating or mining equipment industries. That doesn’t mean that I am going to place 100 links on a page because I do find needed link partners. My personal limit is usually 25 or less on a page.

There are many people out there who say reciprocal links are a thing of the past in the SEO industry. In past and present experience it is still working for me and the clients I have implemented the strategy to. Those clients range in industries from safety gear and first aid supplies to vehicle graphics and acting auditions in New York. I am in no way saying reciprocal linking or linking in general is the way to go for all SEO campaigns. I am no expert and don’t claim to be but do talk from my own experiences in the industry the past almost 7 years.

I still believe that if remaining relevant and conducting ethical link exchanges with likeminded individuals can be a good thing. I personally do not like anything automated, link exchange emails not using proper English or webmasters that don’t prove in their email they actually visited the website of mine they are looking to exchange with. IF I have to choose a winner between the 1 page and link directory formats when working link popularity into a client’s SEO campaign either one has worked for me in the past.

Even with the recent Panda updates I personally and the company I work for have survived in a big way when it comes to our clients overall search rankings in all of the major search engines.

  • Stay Relevant
  • Forget Fully Automated Link Programs
  • Seem Personable When Emailing
  • Add Before Requesting
  • Be Fair

1 page or link directory; good luck with your link popularity efforts. We can all have a place at the top. Hard work and patience will help you get there.

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Affordable Gifts: Gift Shopping for the Holidays

By tony garcia | Published October 2, 2011

Affordable GiftsHolidays are coming. Gift shopping season is going to start and all of those great places to buy affordable gifts are going to be streaming with impatient customers, stressed out staff, many sold out items you wanted when you went out and other issues that only those who care think about.

Finding affordable gifts isn’t really that hard anymore. Gift shop online and your time and patience get to relax for the rest of the day or night after the 30-45 minutes or much less it takes for you to pick, choose and buy all of the gifts you wanted. Gifts for kids, baby gifts, personalized gifts, home and garden gifts and tons more for you to choose from are available through the Tonyandjohngarcia.com Gift Shopping category.

We try to only list website offering the best products, lowest prices, nice selection and of course affordable gifts for you to buy for friends and family during the holidays. We also accept submissions from the same gift companies I speak of that are looking for a great place to have their company represented. We are a 6 year old directory with over 1200 great link partners helping us come up for all sorts of great keywords. We want to make finding affordable gifts an easy task with the variety of gift shops available on our pages.

Everybody you can think of that deserves the gift of giving from you including grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, friends, coworkers and everyone else are covered when gift shopping online. Tonyandjohngarcia.com would like to provide the gift resources you need while searching online. Gift shops and online stores offering gifts are welcome to contact us for inclusion in to our always growing gift shopping and business directory.

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North Haven Youth Football: Sunday Oct. 2nd 2011

By tony garcia | Published October 2, 2011

I just came back from a 4th grade football game between two disciplined and athletic teams of kids. The North Haven Indians vs. the Clinton Huskies played in North Haven, Connecticut.

The Indians ended up losing 27-19 but that is not to say that any of these North Haven kids should bow their head about. It is a battle of the unbeaten; Clinton was for 5-0 coming in and North Haven was carrying a 4-0 mark due to a bye week. I have been around the buildup to this game firsthand because I know the head coach of the Indians personally. Him and everyone around him have been talking about this game since last week.

I don’t know how the Clinton side felt coming in but if they thought they were coming in to route another team their plans surely got reversed. North Haven was able to get the ball on downs on more than one occasion and their running game was superb as it usually is. 3 key misses in the passing game meant a lot to the scoreboard.

It was a back and forth grudge match between the top teams of the league and you could tell. Clinton had a decent passing game that seemed to befuddle Indian defenders where the Indian’s running game was able to get passed the great defense of the Huskies. In the end the kids had a blast. Both sides did what they had to do and North Haven in no way can be laughed at when the Huskies get back to Clinton. The game was surely close enough for the Huskie’s coaches to remember they will probably be meeting this same North Haven Indians 4th grade youth football team in the playoffs.

For the kids and adults involved with the sport of Youth Football, you are all great to come out and support these kids. I have to give a shout out to the cheerleaders as well of both teams that dance and sing for their home teams. Coaches and staff don’t have to do this. Their time and dedication shows in the production of their players on the field.

Congratulations to the Clinton Huskies for an awesome win. Congratulations to the North Haven Indians for doing what you had to do to keep the game interesting throughout. I wish sometimes when I was a kid I was able to be involved with these types of things. At the same time I have the pleasure of watching mine and others grow through youth sports.

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Whitewater Rafting: Rogue Klamath River Adventures

By tony garcia | Published September 29, 2011

With 30 years experience the owRogue Riverners and their staff run an awesome whitewater rafting operation in Medford, Oregon. Their website Rogueklamath.com, offers everything you need to plan an adventurous rafting trip with friends and/or family whether on vacation, on a local day trip or maybe you want to plan a team building expedition with your staff. Oregon rafting at it’s best, the Rogue Klamath River Adventures website is your source for the ultimate in whitewater rafting experiences when searching online.

One of the most known waterways in the area; the Rogue River is a preferred choice for many visitors. You have the 14 mile Gold Hill section and the Recreation section that flows 16 miles from where it flows with the Applegate River in Grant’s Pass to Galice. Go on a 2-3 day trip and you can hike through the Rogue River canyon. Watch animals run in their natural settings while areas that seem uninhabited can be found everywhere.

Get picked up at your hotel, motel or bed & breakfast to be on your way to take a run on the Upper Klamath class IV+ run from Spring Island to Copco Lake. The first spot to maybe run you off the raft is Hell’s Canyon Gorge that is said to be the start of an 80fpm drop. From there you run into another 40+ sections of rapids from one called ‘Caldera’ to none other than the ‘Bermuda Triangle’. That is not to say that you don’t have time take in the natural wonders that you will surely pass throughout your trip whether on the water or on the road.

The Lower Klamath River according to National Geographic Adventure Magazine in 2008 was considered one of the top 10 family adventures. You get Class III whitewater, waterfalls, unending natural wonders on all sides and plenty of history to go around. The staff will surely provide you with answers to all of your questions about the area. Moving 184 miles from the Irongate reservoir to the Pacific ocean, the Lower Klamath is long, long, long. Take advantage of all of it.

You can check out the Owyhee River, too. This is a high desert canyon trip that consists of a true ‘wild and scenic’ river. 8 hours from Portland, 2 hours from Boise, Idaho and 4.5hrs from Reno, NV you get to enjoy the experience of a lifetime in what seems like the middle of nowhere.

That was 3 rivers to get you started in terms of choice. The people of Rogue Klamath River Adventures to also introduce you to the 19 mile Class V Cal-Salmon river and another 18mile Class IV section on the Scott River. The Scott drains from both Marble Mountain the Salmon-Trinity Alps.

Rogue Klamath River AdventuresIf I had the time or ever appreciated whitewater rafting I would surely take the trip with my fiance and the kids. If you are a nature buff or are tired of only seeing it on television or in the movies Medford, Oregon has this little company named Rogue Klamath River Adventures that is waiting to provide you the experience of a lifetime in terms of natural surroundings while having a blast. They also have salmon and steelhead fishing trips available. Make your reservation today by visiting Rogueklamath.com.

205 Garden Row | Gold Hill, OR 97525 | 800.231.0769

 

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