If there is one thing I need, and need desperately, it’s a vacation! A real, get away, something we’ve never done before, totally unique experience.

Manta could very well be that “most unique of all” experience. For roller coaster lovers and sea life fanatics alike, SeaWorld Orlando is putting these two experiences together, literally turning it (and you) on its head!

With (at this writing) less than 22 days and 17 hours to go, Manta (ride the flying ray) opens at their Orlando location.

For those making summer plans, consider Manta. For those wishing they could, head on over and participate in their contest.

Either way, enter to win “front of the line” passes, just for visiting their website and clicking on the “Participate & Win” yellow button.

You’ll be asked to create an account and add them to your Twitter. Then you have three shots at taking a few questions quiz (took me three tries). All the answers to the questions are right there on their web site. It’s like a treasure hunt

Don’t let this quiz keep you from trying because:

1. It’s not that long (the quiz)
2. You’ll learn some amazing facts
3. You’ll truly enjoy hunting for the answers
4. You can watch some incredible videos^*
5. It’s not a large website so looking for clues isn’t hard.

^*You do not have to watch the videos to get any of the answers – but the videos are tons of fun to watch

So if hoping to plan a super cool vacation when school lets out or just want a unique experience to share with someone special, this just might be your summer ticket to fun!

Enjoy!

You’d think on a Sunday I’d just be sitting back enjoying a truly pleasant, slightly chilly, day here in Las Vegas. But, truth be told, that is far from the truth. I’ve been working my buns off.

However, I did find something of real interest to anyone doing anything online or offline. If you get the Sunday paper, and read the Parade magazine, and follow Marilyn vos Savant, then you most likely already saw this… if not keep reading. (I’m going to paraphrase, but the message is the same.)

While there are loads of people out there only too willing to get rich quick, losing money to scammers may not always be your fault.

Turns out the con game played by (financial) swindlers is beyond devious, and the example given is for stock market swindles (but use your imagination and you’ll see how this could easily translate to just about anything online).

Person X tells and/or emails 1000 potential clients that a particular stock will go up on a given day. In the meantime, he or she is also telling 1000 OTHER people that the particular stock will go down.

He or she has a 50-50 chance of being right, so… once he/she determines which side “won” this person concentrates on that group. Digging around Person X comes up with another stock (or whatever) and hits the group of 1000 that “won.” But, the twist is this time, out of those 1000, he/she tells 500 this new stock is going up; while telling the remaining 500 it’s going down.

The more times he/she repeats this pattern, Person X eventually ends up with a list of people who will believe anything he/she tells them.

Unfortunately, in this case scenario, too often those on the “winning” (read lucky) side, often cough up their entire life savings thinking there is no way this person can be wrong.

The information is then summed up with this:

While this ruse isn’t a pyramid scheme, it does illustrate how easy it is to concoct ways to trick people by preying on their wishful thinking.

The long and short… back to what we continue to advise (and I was once told by a financial advisor) – making money or not is a 50-50 flip of a coin. You can do just as well as the “expert” in predicting what’s hot out there (online or off) as the next guy – if you’re willing to do your homework first.

Stay safe, be happy, enjoy your Sunday!

Related articles

• Whom Can You Trust With Your Money? (abcnews.go.com)
• Financial Scams On The Rise As Economic Suffering Spreads (huffingtonpost.com)
• Planning a Retirement Without Dividends (nytimes.com)

I found the most extraordinary site this evening, totally legitimate, that actually trains you how to be a hacker but more “in reverse.” In fact, it’s all about IT Security.

I don’t know about you, but I’m a huge fan of the show NCIS. Computer forensics is fascinating to me, I just wish it had been around in my day (though it’s never too late in life to pursue your dream).

The website I discovered is EC-Council University, and it is absolutely amazing!

I’ve spent about an hour or more looking around with my focus on our son about to graduate from high school. He has a huge interest in all things computer, and this is one field that is not going down the tubes with the current economy. Unfortunately (for now) for us, you need to have a minimum bachelors degree to enroll (or at least that’s what I believe I am reading) to start taking their training and get accredited.

Your ultimate goal appears to be to fulfill the requirements to get a master’s degree (levels) in IT Security and Information Technology. You can accomplish this in under two years! Online – meaning you learn at your own pace, worldwide, anytime, anywhere. Yes, in the process, you literally become an “ethical hacker.”

Now more than ever, there is a call for computer specialists. But, until I explored their website I never contemplated the term “ethical hacker” before. Let’s face it, most of us think of hackers as the nefarious individuals out to cause wreck and ruin.

To be honest, I had to go put the search phrase “ethical hacking” into Google to get a clear definition. Wikipedia states:

White hat hackers, also known as “ethical hackers,” are computer security experts, who specialize in penetration testing, and other testing methodologies, to ensure that a company’s information systems are secure.

So yeah, I was right… in fact my reference above to NCIS was a good one. If you’ve watched the show (yes I know they are actors), they do amazing things with computers to track down the bad guys.

Training through the programs at EC-Council University can set you up to be that guy or gal in shining armor… the one that saves the day for corporate and government and even smaller businesses. Best of all, your skills (your role in IT security) would be in high demand!

Yes, a field still wide open for those willing to take the time and get the proper training! A paying field in high demand even in these tough times.

Honestly, to fully translate everything on their website would be impossible (and most likely illegal), so I’d like to give you one direct quote about getting training in IT security:

You will be able to access courses and resources using the Internet, anytime, anywhere. Download assignments, read and contribute to class discussions, review faculty feedback, and more at your convenience.

EC-Council University will provide you with an easy-to-navigate and rich volume of digital libraries and services. As a part of the Online learning system, you will be able to interact with other students enrolled in your courses so that you may share ideas, debate issues, and access messages left by your faculty. You will constantly be provided feedback on your progress by your faculty.

If you’ve been reading our blog for any length of time, or newly arrived, you’ll know we are always trying to find you the right “get paid to” programs, and what better way to get paid then to earn a respectable, useful, paying degree in a field that is never going away. The dinosaurs would have to return before IT is no longer needed.

So stop and rethink your priorities. Training is available to you, right now, online in:

o Security fundamentals
o Ethical hacking
o Penetration testing
o Computer forensics
o Disaster recovery
o Secure programming.

My ONLY regret is that my son could not start immediately (again he’s just graduating high school), but if you have struggling “kids back at home” or looking for retraining or a new job that has endless possibilities, be sure to visit their website for more information soon!

IT Security

EC-Council

A long time ago, I listed myself in Guru as a writer. Being as busy as I am I have yet to bid on, nor take (obviously) any new jobs via their website. “Scott” on the other hand signed up as the seo/marketing type so we do have a great balance of what our combined “portfolio” is all about… content and seo (we’ve been doing it for others and ourselves for years now).

This post, however, is about an interesting email I received this morning from Guru. It’s a Promotional Newsletter with the subject line, “Save more green by going Green.”

What the heck does an online go-to spot have (other than being web-based) that’s green? The answer should be obvious…

… Talent!

Their email byline is “Freelancers can help you save money and help save the Earth.”

Now as badly as I’d like to “sell” Whole Hog Blogs to you, or even our word-of-mouth OIMConsulting (use the contact form over at My Wizard Ads if you need top-level marketing assistance for your brick and mortar business trying to make its presence known on the web since OIMConsulting is really word of mouth only), places like Guru and eLance also have a huge pool of talent to use. (Great run-on sentence there, sorry.)

Their “going green” message has to do with hiring Virtual Assistants, and their reasons why this is green include:

1. Reduced training costs
2. Less turnover in your brick & mortar business
3. Using less energy since you don’t supply office space
4. Less paperwork invoicing – they have an “escrow” payment

Everyone is talking about reducing their “carbon footprint” (but if you pay attention to Linda over at Forcedgreen and Barbara’s blog GoalForTheGreen, you’d understand it’s not so much carbon as perhaps methane giving us all fits and starts with global warming – follow them on this, they are the experts), and any time you outsource your advertising of course you’re doing your part to save the world – plus getting the job done right.

Five additional reasons why outsourcing is a great idea (paraphrased of course) are:

1. Gas consumption is reduced
2. Lessens the need to build new roads
3. Less energy consumption heating and cooling buildings
4. “Minimizing run-off and disturbance in natural habitats”
5. Reducing pollutants and greenhouse emissions.

(Frankly #4 has me slightly stumped, but I assume they mean you don’t have to add on that extra building to house more employees.)

Do NOT get me wrong! With unemployment this high, and our household a victim of these unfortunate times, too, I’m not taking all this “go green” stuff lightly.

By going green you’ll naturally cut down the costs of just running your own household.

By hiring green, you’re also doing your part to make this planet a healthy, even safer, place to live – not to mention cutting your business overhead costs thus increasing your bottom line.