For the sake of updating,... and stuff

I'm missing a solid post today, for several reasons. For one, I'm back to working on the interior door replacement project. I can only share the same repetitive stuff with you so much before boredom causes you to bounce your head off the keyboard.

Time to make the donuts...

I actually do have a post on the back patio misting / cooling system, but the photo's are just plain crummy and I missed a few. I have to re-shoot.

I have fiddled around with the site a bit, adding some favorite story links in the right margin for new visitors.

I've also launched a new side project. I thought I'd chronicle my adventures in learning photography. After a long saving's program, I've finally pulled the trigger and ordered a fancy new DSLR camera. Check out my little side project, AZ DIY Guy's Photography Adventures.

http://azdiyguyphoto.blogspot.com/

I'm not only looking forward to a new camera because I'm a gadget hound with an artistic desire to capture images. It will also help improve blog photos, long hampered by exclusive camera phone use. A tripod and remote will improve my action shots and get me in the frame more often. The kids are growing fast; I'll capture more of that while I still can. Finally, Arizona is full of awesome nature, just waiting to be captured.... or maybe I'm just a gadget hound. Yep that's it.

We'll see what happens with the photography blog. I don't know how far I'll go with it and how much I'll let it cross over here or onto the Facebook page (Please stop by and give it a "like". There's a whole lot more content there that doesn't show up here). Surely, it my inner geek, stupid humor, and style will flow there as well. It's not my focus; this Project's blog is where it's at for me. 

Well it's off to Jury duty, a 15th wedding anniversary with my beautiful bride, and two Meet the Teacher nights this week,... plus, maybe a last coat of paint on this door? Have a great week my friends!

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If you stopped by for some hardcore, rock star DIY awesomeness, and found this drivel instead, check out my last post, it's a hot beast: Installing an Oscillating Ceiling Fan (It's hot up here)

10,000 Visit Milestone - One small step for AZ DIY Guy...



Following an initial launch on Facebook, in August 2012, I launched this blog in December 2012. I've just passed 10,000 views. For my little corner of the interwebs*, it's a milestone. For other elite members of the blogosphere*, it's a good week's worth of visits and in some cases, maybe just an average Tuesday.

I'm just starting to get comfortably broken-in feeling.

Ready for 10,000 more!

I enjoy prattling on about the stuff I enjoy. I'm pleased to have heard from those that enjoy my projects and tolerate my particular brand of humor. The comments and connections made have been great.

It's funny, I can never tell what post may take off in popularity. Review: Kreg Jig Jr. was lightning in a bottle, it's still almost always my daily top visited page, almost half my total visits. I really enjoyed writing the Stubble: The Ultimate Power Tool post; it's popular too. Other top posts are: The "Ted's Woodworking" Scam, Building a Miter Saw Bench - Economical but Beefy! and even the negative Review: General Tools EZ Pocket Hole Jig. I can never figure what's folks will like.

The goofy  How gun control will affect remodeling post? Not as much. The The DIY Guy vs. Dealership Challenge 2013! was one of the most fun ever, to do and to write,... not a lick of interest. Undesired Inheritance from our DIY Predecessors , ehhhhh.....

So early in my "career", I'm humbled to be noticed. One of our projects was the subject of an interview and article on Bankrate.com (and picked up by Yahoo and Fox Business). One of my reviews was featured in a Kreg newsletter. Parts source, Repair Clinic liked a post and wanted to put affiliate ads on the site. I'm even affected by scrapers stealing my articles and posting them on their sites as their own. What's next?

I'm looking forward to the one year mark. I wonder,... in December 2013...

• Will I still be here, beating the massive 1st year blog failure rate?
• Will I still be posting fuzzy, one-handed photos taken with a Samsung Galaxy S III Smartphone?
• What will my shop look like? An added Shopsmith band saw perhaps?
• Will the kitchen remodel actually be underway?
• Will I still have all my fingers? (please?)
• Forget completion, will I get any further on the hallway organizer project?
• Will there be a second season of Elementary? (PLEASE!)
• Will I bump into another amateur  DIY / Renovation blogger out there, who's a dude?
• Will I ever get to 100 Facebook fans before their greed policy pushes us all to Google + or whatever copycat social network a new Apple/Microsoft/NBC/ABC/CBS conglomerate comes up with? Allow me to be the first: Please "approve" me on Yeeeesh!

Come on back, I'll keep the light on for you!

Thank you for visiting my friends!

- John
 

* Achievement complete: Use the words: Interwebs and Blogosphere in a post. Consider me a pro.**

**Achievement complete: Commenting on the fact that I used the terms Interebs and Blogosphere in a post. Rockstar!

Featured on Yahoo Finance!

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Marcie Geffner,  a reporter for Bankrate.com. She interviewed me about the experience with our family room remodel. We talked about the challenges of time, cost, and unexpected surprises in DIY remodeling. It was a fun experience.

This morning I discovered her article on Yahoo Finance. It's exciting to be part of something like this so early in my blogging "career". I guess since I've been dragging my feet on an "About Me" page, the article can serve for now. There's lot more of my personal story here than I've posted thus far on my own.

It's cool to be to be offered as the confident, experienced DIY'er vs. beginners in an article that also includes expert commentary by the authors of Home Improvement for Dummies, especially when I often feel like a Dummy myself when my adventures go awry. Here's their book on Amazon.com.  I haven't read it, but I'd like to at some point; it looks good.

 Enjoy the article:

Bankrate.com: DIY remodeling yields rewards, vexations
Yahoo Finance: DIY remodeling is rewarding when not frustrating
Fox Business: DIY remodeling is rewarding when not frustrating
Hey Fox, What's up with replacing the pictures of me with a a younger looking dude? I'm not tool wielding eye candy anymore?

Oh yeah, before notice it. I really don't run wiring with a big ol' framing nail gun as captioned in the article.

The "Ted's Woodworking" Scam

In the normal course of working on this blog, building readership, I did a search to see how it was showing up on Google. I searched some terms that were fairly unique, like "...too busy kicking old house ass..."   before searching "AZ DIY Guy's Projects". I found this odd little link at the bottom of page one:

Fine Woodworking Plans?

Weird. It clearly referred to my General Tools EZ Pocket Hole Jig review post. Then the next phrase isn't mine. Huh? I thought I'd follow whoever shared my post and kindly ask them for a proper back-link. Here's where it went:

Huh? (Again). I kind of remember something about this from about a year ago. I checked around. Sure enough, this is the scam that Steve Ramsey of Woodworking for Mere Mortals posted several times about. Here's links to a few of the good ones: April 2, 2012, April 7, 2012, April 10, 2012.

Basically this site appears to be a shady affiliate in the Ted's Woodworking pyramid scheme of selling woodworking plans that have stolen from magazines and reputable sites around the web. There's tons of info out there on this huckster syndicate if you want to look for it, and can wade through all the paid advertising with fake reviews. I'm surprised they are still going, but these shadow scam things are hard to stamp out. I've researched a similar tactic from the Build Your Own Solar Panels for your Home scam in the past. It's all crap.

I even followed some comment links and found good old "Ted" AKA "man with gray hair smiling" at iStock Photo. Yep, good old  "Ted" himself is a $29 image from a stock photo house.

Screen capture of iStock Photo

I wonder how the guy who sold his mug to a stock photo house feels about the way it is being used. The poor schlep is likely to be recognized on the street by an angry, wronged woodworker and get socked, unsuspecting in the jaw.

I'm not posting clickable links to this garbage. I don't want to give it any sort direct traffic. Here's where it gets me: how the heck did they embed my story title and text into a Google search?

I searched around a bit and, as near as I can tell, it's coming from paid, automated software that "legally steals" or "ethically steals" back link traffic. What the hell is that? Programmers create this stuff. People behind the sites sell and operate it. Bastards all.

Selling someone's plans without permission or plagiarizing their written word's in an effort to misdirect / or trick the web surfing public into a scam site that sells the stolen plans is stealing. It is unethical. Legal or not, if you take part in this, you are a scumbag, period. You are making money on the art created by the talents of others, without their permission, and from what I understand against their express statements denying permission.

So far, I've only been slightly wronged, maybe a tiny bit of misdirected traffic. I'm angry anyway. This site is barely two months old. Others are probably suffering actual damage. Plus, the artists that created plans that have been stolen have certainly been wronged. Please don't support it by buying this garbage. Do your research. Wait until you hear about the actual product you will receive.

OFFICIAL PROCLAMATION:

I hereby prohibit any of my created works, images, text or media of any kind from being utilized in any form to support the sale of Ted's Woodworking products.

Disclaimer:

This post is written with the research I was able to do on the web. I trust the sources I found, supporting my conclusion, as good and upstanding, and have no reason to doubt their claims. If I am wrong in my belief that the Ted's Woodworking Plans operation is a filthy, scamming, operation of thieving jack-ass-dom, I will remove this post and offer sincere apologies, without crossed fingers, once I see proof otherwise. I invite the scumbags to contact me, since they cannot be contacted directly to inquire.

Back to sunshine, rainbows, and happy projects next time, my friends. Promise.