ClayCazier.com

Useful SEO Tools

By clay | 2009/06/25 18:05 Posted in seo, tech | Comments (0)

Everyone’s preferred group of SEO tools varies from pro to pro… but there are a few pieces of software and subscription services that I think are on the “must have” list. What did I forget? These useful SEO tools have served me well time and time again:

DreamHost - The first part of any website effort is finding a low cost web host. Dreamhost has a great user panel that makes it easy to manage huge numbers of domains and sub-domains with relative ease. Their customer support is mainly email based, but they’ve been responsive and knowledgeable in resolving my past trouble tickets.
KeywordDiscovery.com - This keyword research tool has what I’ve found to be the most accurate results. I prefer the Historical Global Database…
IBP Search Engine Tool Suite - this is still what I use at home. It has good human emulation features and a frequent update program.
BestoftheWeb Directory - is a rock-solid directory for advertising websites and building authority.
Go Copywriting - Quick and cheap, but make sure you run a few sentences through CopyScape

I’m sure I’ve forgotten things.

Updated VW Pics

By clay | 2009/05/30 12:15 Posted in thoughts | Comments (0)

The VW is pretty well finished. I figured out the last few problems with the door solenoids and seem to have it running pretty well. The front driver’s wheel has a positive camber that needs to be fixed… so here’s a summary of the car at present.

70 VW Bug - Side View	70 VW Bug - Front View
2110cc VW engine	berg breather box
custom oil pump fittings	closeup of oil pump fittings
valve cover fittings	oiling system from below
canton mecca oil filter	breather box & fuel bulkhead fittings
interior shot	original front seats
front trunk detail	billet mirror closeup

Wow, it’s been way too long

By clay | 2009/05/13 16:06 Posted in thoughts | Comments (0)

Talk about getting behind… I’ve got so many projects going, all of my blogs have been neglected. So what’s new around here?

Oooh, I got rid of the Infiniti G35x and replaced it with a 2005 Cadillac CTS-V. 400hp… it’s a 4 door Corvette, very nice.

2005-cadillac-cts-v

That’s not my car pictured, but it’s the same model. It’s a blast to drive, that’s for sure.

The house is good… pets are good (we got a new cat - an orange tabby).

New projects? Hmmm, like I say, everything has been neglected lately. My main hotel reservations site has fallen to page 6 for “hotel reservations” - that’s no good. I still enjoy having the crawfish site to sell boilers, seasonings and cookbooks - take a look and buy a crawfish cooker if you’re so inclined.

Misc thought: Curb Your Enthusiasm is the best TV show ever.

Converting to AN Fittings

By clay | 2008/09/14 17:34 Posted in car parts, thoughts, vws | Comments (0)

It started with the external oil filter, but I recently decided to convert all* of my VW’s fuel lines to -6 AN fittings… you know, those red and/or blue aluminum fittings on the end of stainless steel braided line? The advantage is that they’re very secure, leak-free connections. The downside is that it’s very, very expensive to get all of the line and hose ends and connectors and adapter fittings. (Expect to pay over $10 a foot for your line and $6-$30 per fitting.)

Here’s the Canton Mecca oil filter with -8 lines.

Holley fuel pressure regulator run under the rear tray. Notice the two -6 bulkhead fittings run into the engine compartment…

A closeup on the bulkhead fitting with a red+blue 90 degree fitting on it. Above is the breather box.

A view of the whole thing. Fuel fittings on each side of the engine, ready to connect to my dual Weber 44s

*technically, the fuel line through the body is still original steel fuel line.

Chrome Redirect

By clay | 2008/09/07 10:14 Posted in seo, tech | Comments (0)

– I never finished this, should probably delete –

Google has issued a new web browser named “Chrome” and, as I was blogging about it on another site, it crossed my mind that the world needs an updated JS browser redirect that accommodates all the latest browsers. So I developed a browser list (Chrome, Flock, Firefox, Safari, IE and Netscape) and came up with the following.

[DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO THIS. THE REDIRECT ISN'T COMPLETE.]

browser-redirect-with-chrome

I will revise this as I find the official browser names in my logfiles and test.

Staycation is the new Chipotle

By clay | 2008/08/10 08:01 Posted in thoughts | Comments (2)

It used to be that everything had chipotle in it… now, I’ve grown similarly tired of “staycation”

VW Spin On Oil Filter

By clay | 2008/06/29 12:23 Posted in car parts, vws | Comments (0)

I bought a new A1 “sidewinder” exhaust system for the VW. Top of the line… the thing is, my oil pump has a spin on oil filter that interferes with the new exhaust. So I purchased a PermaCool oil filter relocation kit from Summit Racing and upgraded to a larger, remote oil filter.

[UPDATE: I didn't go with this solution. I need to photograph the pump/pump cover with AN in- and out- ports.]

I haven’t totally connected everything or tried to lasso the oil lines (to get them as out of the way as possible) but I think the filter location is good. The shock, shock tower, etc. should protect it pretty well. I think I’ll end up bringing the lines out of the spin on filter adapter with 90 degree AN fittings… Up about 9″, another two 90 degree fittings to point the lines through the engine compartment wall near the carb… Into the rear fender well and to the filter.

Displaced Southerner

By clay | 2008/05/25 09:06 Posted in thoughts | Comments (0)

This time of year, being from the South but living up North, two things occur to me:

I don’t miss the Southern heat.
I do miss crawfish.

Firing up the crawfish cooker and putting on a good crawfish boil on a sunny day really can’t be beat. Being the displaced southerner I am, every once and a while, I’ll fly up a few pounds from LACrawfish.com and put a pot on to boil. I have to say, the quality is always top notch.

I decided to set up a site dedicated to the whole crawdad boiling process at Boil-Crawfish.com. The thought is that there are people out there like me who will enjoy a convenient place to buy their supplies. The site isn’t set up to connect to www.lacrawfish.com yet but I’ll find a good live crawfish vendor soon. Take a look!

Technorati Tags: crawfish

No Fail Clay Projects

By clay | 2008/05/14 15:02 Posted in thoughts | Comments (1)

Hilarious… so (of course) I track where people come from and what they typed in to reach this site. Today, I spotted an incoming search from Yahoo for “no fail clay projects“. *L*, yeah! I rock that keyphrase. PolymerClayProductions.com, in #2 and #3, can eat my dust.

Soon, It’ll All Be Product Liability

By clay | 2008/05/10 19:12 Posted in legal, thoughts | Comments (0)

Just a misc thought that, as health care gets better and better and humans’ lives are increasingly prolonged by artificial means, won’t there be a point where nearly all death will result in a product liability lawsuit? Some support mechanism will fail… or a drug won’t deliver as promised… etc. There’s a point where I’d agree that product manufacturers ought to be held liable for their devices if they fail but (I suppose implicit to my question) where will legal intervention and our ability to “beat” disease cross?