666

The number of the beast, the ominous 666, has been pondered by many, and all kinds of explanations have been opted. But most of these explanations are mere guesses and fail to view 666 as an element of Biblical Scriptures. When we let the Bible explain 666 the result is surprising. It may even be that we’ve been fearing 666 for no good reason.

Have a look: What is the number 666, and should we be worried?

Voyages, Photo Gallery

I’ve been a sailor for twenty years and I’ve been the world over. Lately I’ve been a fan of digital photography, also because it allows me to share those baffling vistas I get to see almost every day.

For now ‘Voyages Gallery’ features photos of the last few years but soon I will scan and upload earlier work. As I do so I remain diligent to preserve some degree of artistry and not turn this gallery into a snapshot album.

Please enjoy: Arie Uittenbogaard Voyages.

The Inauguration of Holland America Line's ms Eurodam

What is Triond? How does Triond work?

Anybody who’s ever wanted to make money online has come across Triond.com, a publishing service that allows writers to publish their articles on ad-studded pages for 50% of the revenue. Since I am as greedy as I am curious, I joined and submitted 14 articles in a span of three weeks.

So far I’ve had about 1000 views. My most viewed article (200 views) is a piece on ghost companies that imitate famous urls, and my best earning article (30%) is an all revealing survey on Smiley.

You should also know that pages from my primary website (abarim-publications.com) are viewed 22.000 times a month (verify this here) and that the home page has a page rank of 4. I link to each of my articles from the home page, and to this blog from every page of the Abarim site.

I’ve social-networked myself silly, bothered all my friends and family with emails urging them to read my stuff. The grand result: So far I’ve made $1.80 from Triond.

Triond’s Hot Content

The only people that make some semi-serious money of Triond are those listed on the coveted Hot Content list. That list is shown everywhere, and its titles subsequently draw the most viewers.

Nobody knows how to get on Triond’s Hot Content list but as far as I can tell, it’s composed primarily after the articles revenues (makes sense). But I’m also pretty sure that this list is manually manipulated by the invisible editors at Triond. One article that actually dealt with this Hot Content list (tips on how to get on it) was listed only hours after it was published.

If all your articles combined make some serious money, your pen name might make it to the Hot Users list. As with the Hot Content list, your name is shown everywhere. Clicking on it will show your titles, and more readers are yours.

Thus Dies the House of Content Writing

The Internet is turning into a farce. Millions of people churn out their blog entrees, Triond articles, social network messages, like there is no tomorrow. Many millions of readers flick from link to link, skimming titles and keywords and hitting their delicious- and digg-it buttons to show others (who?) how far they’ve gone.

Bots prowl blogs and websites and index and list stats. Ads target content and flash their shiny lures at visitors. There are no readers anymore, or so it seems. There are now even companies (such as Quick Article Pro) that sell software specifically designed to write articles after a few key words you type in. So you can post it, ad it, draw more bots and stumblers, and turn this web into a billowing stew of babble.

What about me?

So what will I do? Will I create more articles to offer on this searing altar? Will I succumb to producing poor prose because I need to mention my key words (like Triond, in this case; I’m sure you’ve noticed)?

I guess I will. As baffled as I am with the sheer numbers of this industry, I’m intrigued with this most senseless Benjamin of human productions. I believe that some day this Internet will sort itself out. Search engines will become more intelligent and there’ll be a grading system that goes far beyond the mere quantity of tags or visitors.

I’m predicting that this toddler we call Internet will develop a grading system that is as complex as the grading system human use to assess another person. It will consist of thousands of parameters, weighed against each other and against the use of the masses.

I am convinced that our generation will be envied for centuries. We were there when this new and marvelous mirror of ourselves rose and turned wise.

Or as they say at McDonald’s: I’m loving it!

Some Baffling Optical Illusions and How They Work

They’re all over the Internet, those images that seem to move but aren’t. If you have ever wondered how these pictures work, you will want to read this article:

Some Baffling Optical Illusions and How They Work

Twelve Words That Should be in the Dictionary But Aren’t

A logomorph:

Don’t you have that? You’re writing a fabulous piece but then there’s something you want to say and there’s no word for it! Here’s a list of words that I was forced to invent, and that should have been in the Webster ages ago:

Twelve Words That Should be in the Dictionary But Aren’t

Unequalled female beauty

Check out this majestic survey of the mysteries and graces of womanhood:

Excursions Into Womanhood: The Nine Most Beautiful Girls in the World