Eric Steinberg

Soapmaking

Eric Steinberg — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:25:45 +0000

I want to make my own soap. I’ve been buying natural soap that contains none of the nasty chemicals found in commercial store bought soap. It’s a bit pricey, over $5 a bar. So I figured I’d try making my own. I bought a book on Amazon, Smart Soapmaking. The book is a quick read, very simply explaining the soapmaking process. The author, Anne L. Watson, provides all the information needed to get started. She suggests hitting the thrift stores for the basic hardware required to make soap safely (the “cold process” method of soap making involves using lye to saponify the ingredients, and lye can burn you). So I hit the local Goodwill and Salvation Army thrift stores, as well as a local community garage sale with a few dozen sellers. Came up pretty empty as none of these had the necessary bowls or pots needed. I did, however, get a couple of nice pitchers that should be handy for measuring and pouring ingredients. I ended up at the local Wal-Mart store and found several items that completed my list. Last week I ordered the main ingredients from an online store and should have them in a few days. With those, and a borrowed stick blender, I’ll be able to start making my first batch of home made soap!

Nice Guys Finish Last?

Eric Steinberg — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:39:55 +0000

I’m a nice guy. That’s what people tell me and that’s what I believe I am. Sometimes it’s tricky being a nice guy though. Peter Shankman wrote about nice guys recently in Never confuse “Being a nice guy” for “Weakness”. Peter writes “At the end of the day, being “a nice guy,” when well thought out, can propel you into the stratosphere of success, and you don’t have to be “the assh***” to get there.” What catches my eye in that sentence is the “when well thought out” part. I don’t have to think about being a nice guy. I just am. And sometimes over the years it had caused me to get stepped on. Which could be considered “weakness”. At some moments in the past when I knew I wasn’t being treated fairly I retaliated, sometimes violently. I’ve since learned to calm down. Being a nice guy doesn’t mean I can’t be assertive and avoid getting stepped on. And as I’ve grown older I’ve learned that being a nice guy can be way more powerful than being a jerk. I have a new favorite book, The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea. One of the reviewers of The Go-Giver writes “shifting the focus from getting to giving and putting the other person first is the key to business success and personal fulfillment” and I believe that wholeheartedly.

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Tsunami Warning

Eric Steinberg — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 22:18:20 +0000

I’m watching the Hawaii tsunami warning on CNN which is occurring as a result of the earthquake in Chile. It seems almost like waiting for a hurricane, something I have experience in living in south Florida. Lots of fear and anticipation in Hawaii.

There are multiple cameras showing the coastal areas. The weather is clear and sunny but nobody is near the beaches. Apparently the arrival calculations are not an exact science and they really don’t know when the tsunami might make landfall.

As the tsunami is hitting, the water rise is minimal at first, but they don’t know how high the water will ultimately rise as the next few hours go by. Here is where the similarity to a hurricane might end, the forecasters usually know the wind speed & storm surge height during a hurricane but for this tsunami they don’t seem to know how high the water will get.

WordPress for Blackberry

Eric Steinberg — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:59:39 +0000

I’m trying out the Blackberry WordPress app. You can get it from Blackberry App World. Just search on there for “wordpress”. So far it seems to be working well and I hope to get some mileage from it being the Blackberry addict that I am. It has spell checking, but I don’t see a word count. Maybe they can add that in a future version.

One thing I like is that I can save the “Draft” and it’s saved online so if I want to go back to work on it from my computer it’s right there for me.

I’m quite busy lately so maybe this will help. Lots of things to pull me away from the task at hand, which is to work on internet marketing skills and generate income. I’m taking the John Thornhill Masterclass but it will only be helpful if I apply the course work. So far it has been fun when I can work on it.

Number One Post

Eric Steinberg — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:45:50 +0000

This is my number one first post on my blog. I now have the challenge of posting frequently and keeping it interesting. I say “challenge” because it is a challenge for me to think about what to write about. And at the same time keeping the word count up and keeping it interesting and not redundant. I’m hoping I can get some inspiration by reading other people’s blogs and also by checking out some blogs that relate to blogging, like ProBlogger and CopyBlogger. And just now, while writing this post, I found Writing Roads which also promises to be interesting and perhaps provide food for thought (and writing!).