Inevitably, we get into a little bit of a credit card debt crisis and need to figure out how long it will take us to pay off that credit card and get back to consuming conspicuously.

Fortunately, the Conspicuous Consumer is here for you. I’ve created a quick little tool that will allow you to quickly calculate a monthly payment for your credit card so that you can pay the card off in the time you want to. It’s not fancy and it’s not very pretty - it’s about as basic as it gets, to be honest.

If you’d like to quickly figure out how to pay off your credit card, download Quick Credit Card Payoff Calculator.exe today.

Chris’ book isn’t another get rich scheme or “work 5 minutes a day and make $500,000 a year” type gimmick. While the title includes the word “lazy”, don’t let that fool you - in order to make money using Chris’ system, you will have to do some work. The difference between Chris’ system and many others is that his system emphasizes generating passive income - you will do a good bit of work to get your mini-sites up and running, but after that you won’t have to touch them very often.

Focus on Desperate Buyers

The first, and most important part, of Confessions of a Lazy Super-Affiliate talks in great detail about how to target and attract visitors to your site that are eager to make a purchase. In fact, the real focus is on developing a never ending stream of this type of visitor.

The first and most detailed part of the ebook is centered around building a mini-site (20 pages) targeted completely on customers who are eager to make a purchase. According to Chris, this is how you make money in the affiliate marketing business.

Unlike many programs that preach writing lots of content aimed at convincing people to buy, Chris’ system is built around getting in front of the right audience and simply pointing them to the product they already want to buy.

According to the eBook, Chris’ mini-sites earn him $250 a day or more.

A Complete Business

The most important thing to remember about Confessions of a Lazy Super-Affiliate is that the process is only beginning with that first 20 page mini-site. There is an entire process that begins with research and testing with a simple mini-site, expands into multiple mini-sites, includes the development of freeware applications (NO, you DON’T need to be a programmer) for viral software marketing, to creating your own “feeder” products, and (ultimately) a full network of mini-sites and a “mother” site that allow you to effectively take control of your niche and maximize your profits.

Outsourcing: The Lazy Solution

One of the common themes in Chris’ eBook is the trends towards outsourcing as much as possible. Obviously, talented individuals could do most of the work themselves, but Chris outlines how he does things and explains the process of outsourcing most of the work involved in developing these mini-sites, freeware applications, and “feeder” products.

Confessions of a Lazy Super-Affiliate will jump start your business thinking and show you how to create a logical affiliate business structure, in which each action you take provides powerful leverage, boosting other parts of your affiliate business, and boosting your “hands-off” sales.

Get Confessions of a Lazy Super Affiliate-Affiliate here

To many people, wine should just be poured and drunk. Sadly, when we do that we miss out on a great deal of the complexity and character of the wine. There is so much you can learn about a wine just by looking at it in the glass before the first sip ever passes your lips.

Check out Tips and tricks for wine tasting from CVN Home.

Access movies, your music library, family photos and HDTV programming from your Media Center PC and stream it all to your living room TV or home theater. New Linksys Media Center Extenders give you access to the entertainment content on your Microsoft Windows Vista Premium or Ultimate PC to enjoy in the comfort of your living room. Pause or rewind live TV, record sporting events or episodes of your favorite TV shows and save them for later viewing. Quickly navigate through elegant menus and programming guides. Access online movie, music and other Internet services to expand your entertainment options. The Linksys DMA2100 streams your digital music, movies and photos to any TV in your home without running wires. With elegant and easy-to-navigate menu screens, you can play DVDs, view family slide shows, browse your music collection by cover art, listen to entire playlists or choose from a vast selection of Internet Radio stations from all over the world. The Linksys Media Center Extender and your Windows Vista Media Center PC give you a complete PVR solution - allowing you to watch, pause, rewind and record live TV (PC-embedded or optional TV tuner required). In addition to traditional TV, you also have access to a broad set of popular Internet video services that enable you to download the latest movie releases or stream the latest releases from Showtime, Fox Sports, Nickelodeon, and more. Leveraging the robust bandwidth capacity of dual-band Wireless-N, the DMA2100 has been engineered to quickly stream rich, high-definition content directly from your Media Center PC to your HDTV and surround-sound system. Let the Linksys DMA2100 bring your digital media collection out into the living room for the whole family to enjoy.

Linksys Media Center Extender

Here are a few good choices that you can find for less than $9:

La Vieille Ferme Cotes du Luberon Blanc 2007

This is a nice white wine from the Rhone Valley in France received an 86 from Wine Spectator. It’s a good, inexpensive wine to enjoy and can be had for around $7.99 a bottle.

La Vieille Ferme Cotes du Ventoux Rouge 2006

While it is usually priced just over $9.00, I included this nice Rhone Red because I believe that it is still a very good value. Wine Spectator rated the 2006 as an 86 out of 100. For a sub-$10.00 wine, this is a very good buy.

Columbia Winery Gewurztraminer 2007

“Bright, zippy and off dry, with tangy grapefruit, nectarine and pineapple flavors that show restraint even as they linger on the expressive finish. Drink now.”
Wine Spectator

These are 3 quality wines that can be had for less than $10.00. To find more quality wines in this price range, follow this link: Find More Wines Under $10.00 at Wine.com

Healthy gourmet food sometimes seems to be a misnomer - too often when we think of gourmet food we think of rich sauces made with cream and butter, heavy in starches, and loads of things that are both tasty and fatty. Fortunately, that attitude seems to be changing and gourmet food is rapidly becoming “healthy”.

The simplest way to cook healthy gourmet food in your own kitchen is to do what chefs around the world are doing: Focus on whole foods and simple preparations. By simply shifting the focus of a dish away from those rich sauces and focusing more on the ingredients themselves, a meal almost instantly becomes healthier.

Take my dinner this evening, for example. I’ve lapsed somewhat on my vegetarianism (just can’t do it 100% - sometimes I just really want a nice lean cut of beef or fish) and was craving a staple of home cooking: Beef and Green Peppers. My mother made this all the time when I was growing up and it is a dish that is just too satisfying to abandon completely. The way I typically see it prepared is heavy on soy sauce, salt, etc. Instead of preparing it that way this evening, however, I went the healthier route and skipped the soy sauce entirely and simply did a stir fry of yellow bell pepper, green bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, and lean top sirloin. I used 0 calorie olive oil spray instead and, at the end of cooking, added about half a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce for a little extra flavor.

So, instead of loading up on the sodium by using a large amount of soy sauce I avoided most of it by simply using a small amount of the Worcestershire and let the real flavors of the dish come from the peppers, tomatoes, and beef.

The first step is to figure out your budget for the trip - I’m not planning to go overly extravagant, but certain things like the location I stay at and restaurants are non-negotiable.

Usually, when I travel to New York I stay at the Hudson Hotel near the Time Warner Center. The Hudson is an amazing boutique hotel with plenty of amenities and a very popular bar (The Hudson Bar). However, this time I’m looking at maybe trying out the W in Midtown. Selecting a hotel in New York is all about location and amenities - unless you’re going to spend a small fortune and get a suite, your room is going to be little more than a place to sleep and shower since the rooms are usually VERY small, so remember the first rule of real estate and think “Location, Location, Location”.

Since I’ll only be there for a couple days, I’ll have to think pretty hard about what to do during the day and what restaurants I want to go to in the evenings. More than likely, I’ll spend part of one day doing some shopping and wandering around since I just love walking in the city and just hearing, seeing, and experiencing life in this incredible city. Beyond that, I’ll just look to see what exhibits the museums have going and plan accordingly - I’ve seen most of the touristy places and don’t even want to mess with them on this trip.

Here are 5 tips for how you can still eat gourmet food while maintaining a healthy diet:

1. The hand rule
The “hand rule” is one of those old standards that never really goes away. Why? Because it works. The basic idea behind the hand rule is that it allows you to determine portion sizes appropriate for your body size - a salad should never be larger than your two hands put together, meats should be the size of the palm of your hand, and a handful of fruit or vegetables is an appropriate serving.

2. Buy high quality ingredients
When I go to the supermarket, it amazes me the number of people I see buying the lowest quality meats, poultry, and fish. When you’re buying beef, opt for higher quality grass fed beef instead of corn fed beef because grass fed beef is lower in cholesterol and fat. Buying free range poultry allows you to avoid the hormones and chemicals that are given to most farm raised poultry. Yes, these higher quality products are more expensive, but keep in mind the hand rule and realize that your portions are going to be smaller - you won’t have to buy as much.

3. Opt for better carbs
Carbohydrates are an important part of every diet. Yes, there are some diets that achieve a great deal of success restricting carbohydrate consumption. However, if you are not going the “low carb” route, simply avoiding things like white flour products, potatoes, and items high in sugar and replacing them with better options like sweet potatoes, yams, or brown and wild rice.

4. Use fresh herbs for flavor instead of heavy sauces and condiments
Herbs are extremely low in calories, fat, and carbohydrates. In fact, the chopped herbs that help flavor a dish rarely add any nutritional impact to the meal. So, instead of using heavy sauces and condiments, garnish or rub your meats with fresh herbs before grilling to add additional flavor.

5. Grill Meats and Bake Fish - Never Fry
As good as fried fish or fried chicken may sound at times, it is rarely a healthy alternative. Do what most gourmet chefs do - grill your meats. Grilling properly allows fats to drip away from the meat, lowering the fat content in the finished meal.

So, there you have 5 easy tips that can allow you to enjoy gourmet food while still keeping your diet healthy.

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh or frozen cod fillets
• 1 large bunch of fresh spinach
• 1/2 shallot minced
• 2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed citrus juice (blood orange, orange, key lime, etc)
• 1-2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions

For the vinaigrette, place the shallots, vinegar, and citrus juice in a small bowl. Let sit for approximately 30 minutes to allow the shallots to macerate. After 30 minutes, whisk in the olive oil.

For the cod, spread the fillets onto a baking pan and drizzle the fillets lightly with a small amount of the citrus vinaigrette. Bake the fillets uncovered in a 375° oven for 20-25 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

For the wilted spinach, remove the stems from the spinach leaves and discard the stems. Put a few teaspoons of water into a sauce pan with the spinach over high heat. Lightly shake the pan over the heat until the spinach is wilted.

Serving: Plate a generous portion of the wilted spinach on 4 dinner plates. Rest one cod fillet on each serving of spinach. Drizzle the remainder of the vinaigrette over each serving. Add salt and pepper to taste. For some additional color, lightly sautee some julienne red and yellow peppers and place a few of each on top of each cod fillet.

Serves 4


]]> http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/cod-on-wilted-spinach-with-citrus-vinaigrette/feed/ http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/cod-on-wilted-spinach-with-citrus-vinaigrette/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheConspicuousConsumer/~3/lTnEXhsWMuU/ http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/nobus-new-style-sashimi/#comments Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:43:11 +0000 TheConspicuousConsumer http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/?p=42 Chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa of Nobu is known in gourmet food circles for his sushi and Asian inspired dishes. One of his most famous dishes is his New Style Sashimi. Nobu’s “New Style” sashimi departs from traditional sashimi because a hot mixture of sesame and olive oil is poured over the fish right before serving.

Here is the recipe for his New Style Sashimi:

Ingredients

• 8 - 12 oz. Sashimi (Atlantic Salmon)
• Tablespoons Minced Garlic
• Julienne fresh Ginger
• Julienne Scallion
• 12 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
• 4 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
• 4 Tablespoons Yuzu Juice
• 2 Tablespoons White Sesame Seed

Preparation

Cut the fish fillet into paper-thin slices. Fan out the slices in a circle over 4 dinner plates. Scatter some of the minced garlic and some of the ginger and scallion julienne over the fish; sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Sprinkle on the soy sauce and yuzu juice.

Combine the olive oil and sesame oil in a nonreactive small saucepan. Set over moderately high heat and bring almost to a boil (about 200°); the surface will shimmer. Remove from the heat and immediately pour one-fourth of the sauce over each serving of fish. The hot oil will sear the fish as you pour it on. Serve at once.

If you’d like to see more great recipes from Chef Nobu, check out his cookbook Nobu: The Cookbook available on Amazon.com


]]> http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/nobus-new-style-sashimi/feed/ http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/nobus-new-style-sashimi/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheConspicuousConsumer/~3/uQImcehPzOM/ http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/the-conspicuous-consumers-guide-to-buying-wine/#comments Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:56:25 +0000 TheConspicuousConsumer http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/?p=39 To many, the prospect of buying wine for a dinner party, social gathering, or simply to enjoy with that special someone can be a daunting task.

It’s easy to understand how it can be intimidating to look at the wide variety of wines available in most wine shops and that’s why I’ve prepared this basic guide to buying wine, aimed at wine novices and those who wish to expand their horizons.

In most places, it is possible to buy wine in supermarkets, specialty wine shops, liquor stores, and even in gas stations. Specialty shops usually carry a wide range of wines, but your local supermarket will also usually have a good selection of inexpensive, but lower quality wines.

Let’s first take a look at the two most common places to purchase wine: Supermarkets and Specialty Wine Shops.

Supermarkets

If you’re just looking for inexpensive wine, a supermarket is usually a fairly good bet. Most supermarkets do not stock a large variety of higher quality or more expensive wines. The selection is usually limited to choices from large commercial mega-wineries like Kendall Jackson, Robert Mondavi, or Beringer.

Typically, at a supermarket or bulk store you are not going to find someone who is very knowledgeable to assist you in deciding which wines to purchase. Also, in many cases the wines are not properly stored (keeping the bottles upright), which can lead to the cork drying out and potential spoilage of the wine.

Specialty Wine Shops

A quality wine shop is one that will typically have the following:

• Good selection - A good selection of wine will range across types of wine, regions of origin, and price. Note that as you become a more dedicated drinker of wine you may “outgrow” a selection that once seemed perfectly adequate.
• Expertise - Expertise means two different things. It means that the wine seller has firsthand knowledge of the wines int he store (he or she knows its tastes and qualities). If you ask a wine seller about a wine and receive an answer about its “ratings” rather than its qualities, then that wine seller has no expertise. Another sort of expertise is the ability to recommend wines based on your preferences for taste, structure, or texture, or simply based on other wines that you’ve liked. If a wine seller consistently recommends wines you don’t like, you may want to find another wine seller.
• Proper Storage - Wine should be stored in cool, dry, dark, constant conditions. It should not be placed in direct sunlight, or near a cooling or heating source. In addition, wine should be stored lying down as opposed to upright. If the wine you buy from a wine seller consistently tastes bad, move on to a different wine store.
• Good prices - A happy fact for most food wine store owners is that wine buyers tend to care less about price than selection, expertise, service, and storage. Of course, you should do some comparison shopping and avoid wine stores that sell at exorbitant prices. But many wine lovers are willing to spend an extra dollar or two out of loyalty and appreciation for a wine seller who really knows and cares about wine and customers.

After you’ve selected your wine shop, the next thing you need to understand about buying wine is the way that wines are rated. This system is not infallible and one reviewer’s opinion may be vastly different from another’s. All in all, the system of rating wine that is most often used can be a good indicator of whether the bottle you are thinking about buying is a good buy or an overpriced wine.

Most wine ratings use a 100 point scale to rate wines, with the following being the general rule for these ratings:

• 95-100 - Extraordinary
• 90-94 - Excellent
• 85-89 - Very Good
• 80-84 - Above Average
• 75-79 - Average
• 70-74 - Below Average
• below 69 - Poor

Price Limits

When setting out to purchase wine, set your spending limit before you walk into the wine shop. By letting know the wine seller what you are willing to spend up front, it will make it easier for him to assist you in finding the right wines that meet your quality and price requirements.

Expanding Your Horizons

The best way to expand your horizons and find the fine wines that best suit you is to experiment - pick up a highly recommended bottle and see if you like it. However, if you want outside help to point you in the right direction, there are a variety of ways to find new wines and and develop your own taste in wine:

• Tasting Rooms - Whether you are in the Napa Valley or the Loire Valley of France, visit several wineries and sample a variety of wines. There are many areas of the United States that grow wine, so if you’re near a winery, pay them a visit and see what they have to offer.
• Wine Shops - In addition to an expert staff, most wine shops will offer tasting nights or seminars where you have the opportunity to taste various wines. These tasting sessions are often themed (for example, there may be a night dedicated to New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs) and will often include food.
• Ask a Friend - One of the easiest ways to expand your wine horizons. If you have a friend who enjoys wine, ask them to recommend some of their favorites. Or, go even further and have a tasting party with a group of friends and ask them to each bring a favorite bottle.
• Wine Clubs - Many vineyards in California and other areas have wine clubs. Membership in these clubs often includes monthly or quarterly shipments of wine, as well as newsletters. These are a great way to keep your wine rack stocked with quality wine and also give you a good sampling of the wines a vineyard produces.
• Magazines and Review Sites - Magazines like Wine Spectator can be a tremendous resource in finding your next wine purchase. These publications are full of reviews and listings of wines, with ratings. Online, a site like eRobertParker (Robert Parker is one of the top wine reviewers in the United States) can also be a great resource.

Finally, just keep in mind that wine is something to be enjoyed and experienced. Don’t get stuck in the ratings hype and 98 point wines. If a friend tells you about a $9 bottle she found at the supermarket, grab a bottle and see if you like it. Just because Wine Spectator doesn’t consider it a “great wine” doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy it.


]]> http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/the-conspicuous-consumers-guide-to-buying-wine/feed/ http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/the-conspicuous-consumers-guide-to-buying-wine/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheConspicuousConsumer/~3/4JytRWxCk3U/ http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/cant-eat-gourmet-food-on-a-diet-wrong/#comments Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:39:50 +0000 TheConspicuousConsumer http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/?p=36 Many people think that you just can’t eat gourmet food while trying to lose weight or diet. While it is more difficult, great gourmet food is available for just about any diet you may be embarked on.

Over the next few days, weeks, months, and decades (ok, maybe not decades!) I’ll post some of my ideas on where to find gourmet food for any diet or lifestyle.

My first suggestion is this:

Use a Food Delivery Service
I’m not talking about diet programs like Nutrisystem, although I have heard good things about their product. What I’m talking about is services around the country that focus on delivering their clients high quality, healthy meals on a daily or weekly basis.

These companies usually only deliver within a local area. For example, SunFare only delivers within the Los Angeles and Phoenix areas. However, if you live in or near a major city you should be able to find a food delivery service that can cater to your needs and provide you with meals for your diet. A quick Google search or check of your local business directory should help you find a food delivery service in your area.

The downside to these services is that they are usually fairly expensive. For example, SunFare’s Vegetarian program can cost almost $70 for a single day’s meals for one person.

On a side note, check out some of the food delivery service web sites as some do offer free recipes for some of the meals that they prepare and deliver. Usually this involves signing up for their mailing list.


]]> http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/cant-eat-gourmet-food-on-a-diet-wrong/feed/ http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/cant-eat-gourmet-food-on-a-diet-wrong/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheConspicuousConsumer/~3/DgsV0H6ghEg/ http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/first-impression-google-chrome/#comments Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:26:45 +0000 TheConspicuousConsumer http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/?p=33 Ok, I know what you’re thinking… The rest of the tech geek world has already used and abused Google Chrome and moved on to the next target. I actually have been toying with Chrome for a few weeks and have had very mixed feelings about this new fangled web browser from the good people at Google.

Most of the time, I use Flock for my personal browsing and Internet Explorer 7 for business (since my corporate intranet requires IE 7, I’m fairly stuck). The reason I like Flock is because of the features and ready availability of Firefox plugins.

The area that Google Chrome truly delivers is in its speed. Man, is that browser fast. I can literally load Chrome, access my email, log in, and read my first email before Flock even finishes loading. That’s seriously fast. I like it’s stripped down feature set - avoiding burdening itself with tons of features, plugins, and graphical whiz bang really lets Chrome fly.

While Chrome’s speed is a tremendous benefit, I have to admit that I do like to have some bells and whistles. For my use, this is where Chrome falls behind. Personally, I’m willing to sacrifice some of that speed to be able to take advantage of the built in social networking features, access to Firefox plugins, and interface that a browser like Flock provides.

Still, for a first foray into the browser world, I have to say that Google did a very good job. Chrome is sleek, slim, and delivers exactly what it promises - fast browsing without a lot of fluff.


]]> http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/first-impression-google-chrome/feed/ http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/first-impression-google-chrome/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheConspicuousConsumer/~3/W7JIpD0VN2c/ http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/struggling-vegetarian/#comments Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:47:18 +0000 TheConspicuousConsumer http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/?p=20 About two months ago, I made the decision to become a vegetarian. Not that I am some sort of off-the-deep-end animal rights person that thinks people are wrong for eating meat - to be honest, I like meat. I really do. What made me choose to become a vegetarian was the health benefits of a diet that doesn’t consist of 3 or 4 meals a day full of fattening, artery clogging foods like beef, bacon, etc.

So, two months in, I can say with all honesty that I really don’t miss meat all that much. Yeah, I’ve cheated a couple of times and had a buffalo burger when I was in Park City, Utah a few weeks ago and some chicken on a salad at a restaurant last week. In fact, I’ve felt better than I can ever remember since I stopped eating meat on a daily basis…

In fact, I’ll come right out and say that companies producing vegetarian and organic frozen entrees are consistently producing some of the best pre-packaged meals I’ve ever had. Kudos to Amy’s Kitchen for enabling me to eat healthy meals even when I only have about 5 minutes of prep time.

All that comes before is wonderful, but it brings me to the “struggling” part. I love to cook. I consider myself to be somewhat of an amateur gourmet. The problem with vegetarianism is that your protein choices just don’t give you too many options for high quality, gourmet meals. Yeah, I can make a mean tofu stir fry or tofu scramble, but what I can’t figure out is how to use something like tempeh or tofu to replicate some of my favorite animal protein based dishes like my sauteed salmon on top of homemade gnocchi with my infamously fattening (but good) pink cream sauce.

Consider this a cry to the vegetarian masses…


]]> http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/struggling-vegetarian/feed/ http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/struggling-vegetarian/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheConspicuousConsumer/~3/rpmzK8U1Sow/ http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/expensive-beer-yeah-thats-right-up-my-alley/#comments Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:59:38 +0000 TheConspicuousConsumer http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/?p=16 Saw this post today and just had to add my two cents. Yeah, I’m into the fancy stuff. I like the dark, $9.00 a bottle stuff that most people take one sip of and make a face that looks like they just ate a sour candy and chased it with lemon juice.

But, is a $1,000 bottle of beer just a little bit ridiculous? Is it really that much better than, say, a $38 bottle of beer? Either way, once I get an extra $1,000 sitting around I may just figure out how to get myself some of this stuff.

Check out the Top 3 Most Expensive Beers. I have to admit, I really want to try the Tutankhamen Brew and that, while I haven’t had the Sam Adams Utopia, I have had some of their other high end beers - they’re good, but I’m not sure I’m willing to drop $100 on a bottle of Sam Adams.


]]> http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/expensive-beer-yeah-thats-right-up-my-alley/feed/ http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/expensive-beer-yeah-thats-right-up-my-alley/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheConspicuousConsumer/~3/O39cyqjIRo0/ http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/welcome-to-the-conspicuous-consumer/#comments Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:23:30 +0000 TheConspicuousConsumer http://www.theconspicuousconsumer.com/?p=5 After several adventures in blogging, running web sites, and just being a general internet nuisance I’ve decided to delve into a new adventure… a blog about me and the things I actually LIKE.

To start, I’d just like to talk a little about myself. My name is not “Conspicuous Consumer”, but many of my friends would probably agree that it’s a good nome de plume for me. By day, I am an account executive for a Fortune 100 company but my true interests lie in areas like technology, travel, and what The Robb Report calls the “Luxury Lifestyle”. I currently run a couple web sites on topics that I enjoy, particularly history. These sites are by no means household names or even very popular, but it is enjoyable to me to know that students around the country are actually using my sites and research for their own studies.

When I’m not on the road selling or working on a new web project, I am often taking a trip to one of my favorite vacation spots like New York, Park City, or the Napa Valley.


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