Our Monmouth Blog

Welcome to the third installment of the Sunday Coffee Cup. I sincerely welcome your comments and feedback.

This week really felt like spring. You know the summer must be coming because gas was up over 20 cents in what seemed like a week. I just filled up my Subarau Impreza and it cost me 42 bucks. With all of the rising costs of basic staples its no wonder why people are defaulting on loans and our nations economy is weakening.

Worth Repeating:
Liberty State Park to create 234-acre refuge for wildlife
by Brian T. Murray/The Star-Ledger

A fenced-off, long-contaminated chunk of Liberty State Park is about to get a face-lift to become what federal and state officials are calling an urban wildlife refuge.

The $32 million project is not a cleanup. It’s a green makeover, with 234 acres of wasteland in the middle of the 1,100-acre park getting remodeled into a mixture of freshwater wetlands, grasslands, hardwood forests and a salt-water marsh.

Now It’s the $6 Loaf of Bread
As prices soar, food has replaced oil as the big threat to the long-running global economic expansion.
By Rod Nordland and Daniel Gross | NEWSWEEK

It may seem insensitive to discuss the impact of high food prices in a wealthy economy in which obesity is rampant. But higher grain prices are having a serious economic impact in the United States. As the U.S. economy slips into recession, the Congressional Budget Office projects that a record 28 million Americans will require food stamps this year. And since this year’s allocations are based on prices as of last June, federal aid won’t go as far. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the prices for staple groceries have risen sharply in the past year: white bread (16.3 percent), milk (13.3 percent), eggs (29.9 percent). Americans don’t starve, says Stacy Dean, director of food assistance at the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “but we have a very significant chunk of the population that isn’t able to eat a bare-bones, basic healthy diet.” Food pantries across the country are feeling the sting of rising food and gas prices. Barb Prather, director of the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, estimates that her group’s food bills have increased 30 to 40 percent in the past year—at a time of rising demand.

Blog of the Week:
Small Fuel Marketing
10 Clever Ways To Wow Your Clients by Dave Navarro

But how do you turn an ordinary client into a raving fan? All it takes is a little understanding of their wants and needs – and some creative strategies for exceeding their expectations. Here are 10 ways to create raving fan customers who give the word-of-mouth marketing that your business needs to succeed.

Coffee Break:
5000+ Resources to Do Just About Anything Online
by Sean P. Aune/Mashable

Since May 2007, we’ve [Mashable] been bringing you resources and tools to be more productive on the web. Due to popular demand, we’ve brought all these lists together into one gigantic meta-list: 5000+ Resources to Do Just About Anything Online.

Inspirational Quote:

“Failure is success if we learn from it”. - Malcolm Forbes

Find out what I am doing on Twitter.

Welcome to the second issue of the Sunday Coffee Cup. I sincerely welcome your comments and feedback.
Last week I missed this post because I was drowning in a Internal Server Error that was intermittently occurring on the site. While I was eventually able resolve the error it was extremely stressful and took a sleepless night to work through it. The moral of the story is to make sure your websites are properly backed up and you have a plan in the event of a technical emergency.

Worth Repeating:
Online Sales to Grow 17 Percent in ‘08

NEW YORK (AP)– Online spending is expected to rise a robust 17 percent this year, despite a sluggish economy that has bruised many brick-based retailers, according to an annual survey to be released Tuesday.

Retail sales online, excluding travel purchases, are set to grow to $204 billion in 2008 from $174.5 billion last year, fueled by sales of apparel, computers and autos, according to a survey conducted by Internet analysis firm Forrester Research for Shop.org, the online arm of the National Retail Federation trade group. That projection is below the 21 percent increase seen in the prior year, but industry officials attribute it to the maturing of the business, not the sluggish economy.

Blog of the Week:
Historical Marker Database

This website is an illustrated searchable online catalog of historical information viewed through the filter of roadside and other permanent outdoor markers, monuments, and plaques. It contains photographs, inscription transcriptions, marker locations, maps, additional information and commentary, and links to more information. Anyone can add new markers to the database and update existing marker pages with new photographs, links, information and commentary.

There is a post on the Route of the 1776 British & Hessian invasion in Tenafly, NJ.

Coffee Break:
Geni

Geni lets you create a family tree through our fun simple interface. You can expand your tree by adding relatives’ email addresses. They will be invited to join your tree and can add other relatives. Your tree will continue to grow as relatives invite other relatives.

Inspirational Quote:

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined”. - Henry David Thoreau

Find out what I am doing on Twitter.

This is the first edition of what l plan to be a regular weekly posting. The Sunday Coffee Cup has a few personal thoughts about the week followed by a some highlights that I think are worth sharing. I welcome your feedback.

Today it felt like spring. I am really looking forward to the coming warming days and time spent out doors with my family. Far too often we get overly wrapped up in our work or worries of the day. This week I set a personal goal for myself to get out and run 3 times this week. I not only feel energized but the time spent running allowed me time to think and release some tension. Sometimes you just have to say work can wait until tomorrow and do something for yourself today (especially on a Sunday).

Worth Repeating:

New Jersey State Park Closings
This story got my attention today. The Associated Press reported that “Nine state parks may close under budget ax” part of cost-cutting measures forced by Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s austere budget. 80 park workers would also face lay-offs as part of the cost cutting measure.

Blog of the Week:

Abundance Highway
This week Suzie posted about “Taking The Abundance Highway To New Heights” and was she ever right. Suzie contemplated how she was going to achieve her goal. It makes it a bit easier if Problogger Darren Rowse mentions your blog post in one of his own! Was it a case of a self-fulfilling prophecy? Best wishes Suzie your the blog of the week!

Coffee Break:

Pop Life Art
Developed with an interest in what in what the author calls, “Pop Culture Art”. “That is, artwork done by celebrities (actors, singers, musicians, etc), artwork in which celebrities and athletes are the primary subjects, and other entertainment related art and collectibles.” The website to be a one-stop resource for information about celebrity art and artists, entertainment art and memorabilia.

Inspirational Quote:

“The ability to concentrate and to use your time well is everything if you want to succeed in business–or almost anywhere else for that matter.” - Lee Iacocca

Find out what I am doing on Twitter.

Enjoy Sunday and have a productive week!