Make Money Blogging at PayPerPost

Lot of people are hoping to make money blogging so they can quit their jobs and work at home in their pajamas. Well, earning money from your blog ain't that easy, especially if your blog doesn't get a lot of traffic.

That's why I dig PayPerPost, which pays bloggers to write reviews, commentaries, and other blog entries about companies and services. PPP has plenty of opportunities to write about, and while you can make more money if you have a very popular blog, even blogs that don't get a lot of traffic can choose from a number of paid posting opportunities.

The best thing I like about PPP is that I get to choose the opportunities I want to take. I'm never forced to write a sponsored post for a company I'm not interested in or feel is incompatible with or inappropriate for my blog. The money I earn goes right into my PayPal account, so I can either transfer it to my bank, or leave it in PayPal for when I want to make a purchase from there (like my random, at-a-whim purchases of cool things I see on eBay!)

As a freelancer who's always looking for new ways to earn money, I appreciate that PPP gives me cash for writing about things that I want to write about.

Tracy Morgan Drinkin' & Gropin' in the A.M. -- Life Imitating Art?

Late last week Tracy Morgan of "30 Rock" was accused of groping a radio host at a station in Florida, where he was to be a guest on the host's show. The host claimed that Morgan smelled of alchol and in her police complaint said that he "inappropriately groped" her (now can someone explain to me what "appropriate" groping would be?)

Is this a case of life imitating art? I mean, Morgan's "30 Rock" character is an out-of-control entertainer who seems saddled with substance abuse problems and a tendency for bizarre behavior and outbursts. And just as the TV character has a team of handlers/bodyguards to keep him from going too far over the edge, Morgan apparently had a couple of staff members with him at the radio station to do damage control.

With all the odd goings-on with female celebrities--Britney, Paris, Lindsay, etc.--it almost seems like a relief to see the guys taking a turn at public self-humiliation.

Plan Your Entire Trip Online and Save Money

The Internet has made a lot of things easier, including travel. You can research destinations, reserve airline tickets, book a hotel, plan a resort vacation, and more--unfortunately, you might have to go to a different site for each ot these steps.

I love travel, but not planning travel. I recently heard about a site that offers hotel reservations and a lot more. Like other travel sites, you can rank hotels by price, quality, best value, and more. You can get maps and information on the amenities each property offers. And the site’s prices are competitive with other online travel sites. (In fact, the site says you can get discounts of up to 70% by booking online, and even get special Internet rate reservations over the phone.)

Despite its name, HotelReservations.com goes beyond just hotels. On this one site you can look for flights, get a hotel or motel, book an entire vacation package, and even find a vacation rental. You’ll find bed and breakfasts and condo rentals, too.

Another thing that makes this site different is that it can help you plan your business trip or dream vacation not just in the U.S. and Canada but in the Caribbean, Europe, Central and South America, Asia, or Australia. Even better, travelers from outside North America can set up the site for their specific country and currency.

Not sure where you want to go? Check out the site’s city guides to get the lowdown on leading spots around the world. Or if you’ve got certain types of recreation in mind and want to learn where you can enjoy them, head straight for the site’s Destinations & Interests guide. There you’ll find details on beach vacations, quaint B&B getaways, family fun, trips to gambling destinations, golf vacations, classic road trips, and spa getaways. In each category you’ll find a list of HotelReservations.com picks.

When it comes to vacations, I like to take it easy--and that includes planning the trip as well as taking it. Handling all my travel needs on one Web site sounds like a great idea to me.

Curiosities from the Job Hunting File

When I entered the job market more than 25 years ago, looking for a job meant mostly perusing the classifieds in the Sunday paper and cold-calling companies whose numbers I'd looked up in the phone book.

Today, of course, there's Monster.com and other job boards, job listings on company Web sites, and my current favorite, Craigslist. Because the Craigslist job ads are cheap or free, the jobs there range from the high-end positions you'd find in the New York Times to the low-brow listings that appear in your local weekly rag.

I've cast a wide net in my job search, so regularly check the ads in the New Yrok City Craigslist "ETC" section, which are jobs that don't fit into any other category. Here are some of the oddities I've found in that section this last week, in no particular order:

• Expert bra fitter/lingerie specialist
  
• Adult phone operator
  
• Sales for nonprofit cemetery
  
• Drivers needed for escort service
  
• Escorts needed--incall, outcall, travel-- very busy-- $1000+ a night
  
• Tree pruning
  
• Make $130/hr at fetish roleplay studios
  
• Yoga instructor for summer day camp
  

There was also a listing for a "Eurobungy operator." At first I thought this was a mispelling, that it must be for Eurobuggy, which must be some kind of pedicab or something. But it turns out that "bungy" is the appropriate spelling, and that this is some kind of adventure/exercise equipment to demonstrate to potential customers. You really do learn something every day (whether that something is totally useless or not is another matter).

Angelina Jolie Adopts Entire Nation of Vietnam

Serial child adopter Angelina Jolie has decided to streamline her child acquisition efforts by adopting the entire nation of Vietnam. Jolie has had to undergo a lengthy process in adopting her children, with the massive paperwork involved for each adoption and the endless scrutiny of the paparazzi at every turn.

So Jolie realized that she would need a new strategy for adoption if she had any hopes of catching up to Mia Farrow. Farrow, the former companion of filmmaking legend Woody Allen, has adopted at least a dozen children from different countries.

Adoption experts and relief officials were puzzled and skeptical about Jolie's mass adoption. They questioned why Jolie would seek legal custody of an entire country's population, most of which are adults, and wondered what she knew about being a "parent" to adults.

When asked about this the dazzling, puffy-lipped superstar snapped, "Hey, I was married to Billy Bob Thornton for three years, and he was, like, 20 years older than me. I know plenty about adopting adults."

New CRM Software Simplifies Sales Management

Software for customer relationship management (CRM) can help businesses in managing leads and sales... but like many powerful software programs, it can be complicated and have a steep learning curve. A CRM program I recently heard about called AIMpromote seeks to change all by making the software quick and easy to implement.

The people who created AIMpromote know that many of the features of typical CRM software don't get used, so they've enabled you to use only the features of AIMpromote that you really want. AIMpromote takes the best elements of CRM software and presents them into one seamless application that lets your sales force concentrate on making sales, not on learning applications.

AIMpromote can help you streamline the sales process, as well as improve follow-up with sales force automation and sales management features.