I’m still alive… The reason for less updates is simply because my current workload is of the hook! It’s a good thing and I’m really appreciative to all my clients. Hopefully in the nearby future I have more updates here on mindplunge for you though…

Claude Lelouch filmed this high speed drive through Paris with a film camera mounted on the front of a Ferrari 275 GTB. At the wheel was a Formula 1 driver, who was a friend. And no, he did not have any permits for this. It gets pretty gnarly about 3/4 of the way through and the ending is lovely…

C’était un Rendez-Vous from Thom Graves on Vimeo.

This weekend I’ll be running my first half Marathon in my life. Although I’m pretty excited I’m also a bit scared. Who wouldn’t before a first race (1/2 Marathon none the less)! My training schedule fell apart the last month so another reason to be scared… But I will finish! I feel prepared, maybe not for the full 100% but I’m certain I can do this!

I’ve received the last notifications of the organization and all forms are filled out. For those who can’t make it to the South Bay there is an actual live webcam! Visit www.rnrsj.com to view the finish line! The magical race number to watch: 7179. I expect to run a 2:30hr time so with the start at 08:00AM I should cross the finish line around 10:30AM.

And for those living near San Jose come see me finish! Start and Finish is at the Plaza Cesar Chavez and since this is a Rock and Roll ½ Marathon event, tons of entertainment is offered. For the runners there is a live band every mile (13 bands). At the finish line there is the Festival. Lots of bands, beer and an expo!

Of course I will follow up on this post with the end result and how things went. I’m excited! Now I have to compile a Marathon playlist to accompany me on my race…

I can’t believe I just wrote this title… I’m not trying to sell you anything (again… a line you’ve probably heard a billion times). The reason I’m writing this post is to warn you! As you might know I’m ‘tweeting‘ throughout the day. This morning I see an alarming number of tweets: ‘Is working online at home the new gold rush?’, ‘google wizard’ etc. For the obvious reason I’m not providing you with a link simply because it’s a scam.

These websites claim you can earn money by working with Google. It looks like a legitimate article written by a newspaper but it’s all geared towards the so-called: ‘Google Money System Kit’. One word: SCAM. Simple and plain and for one reason…Google does NOT pay people to work from home. They just don’t. It’s false advertising and a possible infringement of Google’s intellectual property.

So what’s this Google Money System anyway?

You know what the funny thing about this Google Money System is though? I’ve never seen any one particular program identified as the Google Money System. It seems as if there are so many different variations of the same scam. There is also a lot of different names for this program.

• Easy Google Cash Kit
• Google Treasure Chest Kit
• A “Google Business Kit” showed up in my email this morning.
• Google Money Tree System
• Google Cash Kit
• Google Money Machine
• Google Home Business Kit
• Google Money Profits

You are being kept in the dark as what the actual program is. ‘Posting links on Google’, that’s their explanation. Shouldn’t it be: ‘Posting links for Google’ in the first place? The kit will include a free CD. You pay a low shipping fee (anywhere from $1.95 to $3.95) and they will send you the free kit. The CD will tell you all about Google Adsense (explained below). The program is free to sign up to once you meet the requirements so these scammers are wrongfully exploiting the program by charging people for information which is freely available from Google themselves!

Here is what Google had to say about the situation.

Of late, we’ve received a few emails from new AdSense applicants about not being accepted into the program despite paying a specific amount of money or buying a CD package.

We’d like to take this opportunity to state that we’re not affiliated with any third-parties that solicit payment to join the AdSense program or that sell CDs with money-back guarantee offers. AdSense is a free product offered to publishers by Google Inc., and there’s no cost or obligation involved. As a result, we recommend that prospective publishers exercise caution when presented with such offers.

Google has two programs called Adwords and Adsense as part of their Advertising Programs for website owners. In most cases you use one or the other although there are many people who use both.

With Google Adwords, website owners pay Google to list their ads for them. These ads are created inside Google’s Adwords interface where the website owner has an account. There are many legitimate programs online that will teach you how to use Google Adwords to generate a full time income and there are many people including myself who make money using Google Adwords.

Google Adsense is the other half of Google’s advertising programs. The ads that advertisers create using Google Adwords are placed on websites owned by persons who have an agreement with Google to be paid for their participation in the program.

So Google actually does pay people…BUT…the income depends on a lot of factors such as how popular the website is, the topic of the website etc. Its definitely a work from home opportunity but more of a website monetizing practice.

So there is no way I can make money on the Internet?

Ok, so if you’re reading this and you’re thinking, “Everything’s a scam. How do I really make money online then? Could you point me in the right direction?” Well… the thing is when it sounds too good to be true it probably isn’t. If someone promises you $5000.00 for 2-3 hours of work weekly they are flat out lying.

I make some money on the Internet. It’s not a lot but it pays my hosting fees and a juicy gourmet burger once in while! I’m sure when I would spend more time in Google’s Adsense program I could raise my numbers but it means I have to work harder. I simply don’t choose to do this. I’m a freelance web designer and SEO specialist. That’s what I love doing. I don’t wanne get too much involved in the Ad business. So Google Adsense is bringing in some money.

Another ‘adsense kinda thing’ is Chitika. The thing I like about Chitika is that the only display ads when people are coming to your website via a search engine. If they clicked a link or a bookmark and visit your site they won’t see the ads! Brilliant, because I don’t want my loyal readers to overload them with ads. Deep in our hearts we all hate them, but hey, it pays some of my bills.

You can join Chitika here. By signing up I could even earn 10% in revenue. If you don’t like this you can type in the url yourself. Again, I’m not trying to sell you anything, I’m just giving you some option on how to make money on the internet. Don’t expect to be rich in a few months, it doesn’t work like that. My last advice is to write compelling content! If you write content people want to read you will get your traffic. The more traffic, the more people will click on your ads. It’s a s simple as that! For me content is still KING!

Happy surfing and stay away from scams!

Temperatures are soaring in Northern California and having a pool is a blessing. Especially for my dog who is huffin’ and puffin’ these days. when in the Netherlands she wasn’t the swimming kinda type of dog. All of this changed once we’re in the US. She loves it now. The only problem with the big pool is getting out of it. Aleisha and I trained her within a day to use the little ladder to get out of the pool. See for yourself!

My Swimming Dog from Richard Lemon on Vimeo.

I grew up with the music of Michael Jackson. Didn’t we all? When he earned his title ‘King of Pop’ back in the ’80′s I was captivated by the person of Michael Jackson. I remember watching the countdown of his music video ‘Thriller’. It was announced all week and we all huddled up in front of the television to see what this much anticipated video was all about. It didn’t disappoint me. The next day I bought (then still only available in vinyl) his album. I played it day in, day out… Billy Jean, Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’, Human Nature…

A few days ago while reading about the death of Farah Fawcett (another icon) my twitter stream report that Michael Jackson has been taken to the hospital with a cardiac arrest. A few minutes later TMZ reports the King of Pop has died. From there I was surfing from CNN to LA Times, TMZ, Facebook, Twitter and every possible social media type you can think of… Like many others the internet came almost to a complete halt due to a spike in traffic.

So here we are. I’m playing MJ songs all weekend long. Loaded my iPod with his songs just to listen to the many, many memorable songs he has written. The following quote was found on reddit and it reflects what I think the majority of people can identify with. The original quote unfortunately is lost. If you know who wrote this please lemme know so I can quote this properly:

Michael Jackson was a tragically sad individual. Say what you want, the man was severely abused as a child, and went on to retreat completely into his fantasy world, where he’d never have to grow up or face what happened to him. His wealth allowed him to surround himself with yes-people who never questioned him, and never encouraged him to seek help. He alienated the people who truly cared about him, because they reminded him of his hurtful, negative past.

The real tragedy came when he went on to perpetuate the cycle of abuse with other children, whom he did truly, truly love … but not in an age-appropriate manner. He really saw himself as a child, and wanted so desperately to be one again, that he fell in love with everything about young children.

I’m not defending pedophilia, I find what he did to be wrong and not at all appropriate … but the only thing I can find myself feeling about his whole situation is sadness.

He was an extraordinarily talented individual, and it’s sad that all of the allegations and atrocities that came out of the 90′s will eclipse all of that. He gave us some industry-changing music, some of the best pop-music of all time. This whole situation is just really, really awful.

Right after the death of Michael Jackson spontaneous dance parties and flashmobs were held throughout the world. I collected some pictures of how people are celebrating the live of Michael Jackson.

(photo: Brian Siskind) The scene outside the Apollo theatre NY the night Michael Jackson died.

(photo: Louis Seigal)

(photo: Jennaphoenix) Trafalgar Square, London

(photo: Tanja N.) A flashmob takes place to pay tribute to Michael Jackson. It was organized in just a few hours via social networking sites Twitter and Facebook. The concept had been to moonwalk, although lack of space meant simply dancing had to suffice!

(photo: Andy Tanguay) Ann Arbor’s ‘Michael Jackson Guy’

(photo: Ernest Morales) Notre-Dame, Paris

(photo: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) Piper James, 38, holds up his copy of Michael Jackson’s landmark “Thriller” album as he makes his way down Hollywood Boulevard soon after hearing of the pop star’s death. James said it wasn’t his favorite Jackson album, but he knew it was his most recognizable.

(photo: J. Sinclair O’Garro) Harlem Mourns the Death of Michael Jackson

(photo: Ernest Morales) Notre-Dame, Paris

(photo: J&R Photographie) Thousands of fans have met today June 26th, in front of Notre-Dame, in Paris, for a last homage to Michael Jackson.

From TMZ at 14:20 PST

We’ve just learned Michael Jackson has died. He was 50. Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. We’re told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back. A source tells us Jackson was dead when paramedics arrived. A cardiologist at UCLA tells TMZ Jackson died of cardiac arrest. Once at the hospital, the staff tried to resuscitate him but he was completely unresponsive. A source inside the hospital told us there was “absolute chaos” after Jackson arrived. People who were with the singer were screaming, “You’ve got to save him! You’ve got to save him!” We’re told one of the staff members at Jackson’s home called 911.

Michael is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince “Blanket” Michael Jackson II.

Last but not least: Michael waving goodbye to his fans.

(photographer unknown)

One of the guys I’m following on Twitter is @Jason_Pollock. He’s a Filmmaker, Writer, and Activist. On June 3rd he got the news that his movie ‘The Youngest Candidate‘ will see it’s world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival in Westwood village. So if you’re in the neighborhood go check out the movie!

Movie Synopsis

‘The Youngest Candidate’ is a feature length documentary film directed by Jason Pollock. It is produced by David Letterman’s company, Worldwide Pants, in partnership with Oscar winner Lawrence Bender (producer of ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, etc..) and Balance Vector Productions.

It follows the story of 4 teens that ran for public office in America. Funny, inspiring, poignant, and ultimately uplifting, ‘The Youngest Candidate’ is not just a film about running for office. It is the coming of age story of four idealistic young adults who dared to confront the corrupt political systems in America. Through their journey these young candidates learn about fair play, leadership development, racism in politics, the importance of family, and many other lessons that they will carry with them throughout their lives. In the face of great adversity, these four young adults braved all the odds to make it to Election Day to show that regardless of the outcome, it didn’t matter… It’s all about how you play the game.

In “Food, Inc.,” filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that’s been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation’s food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, insecticide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won’t go bad, but we also have new strains of e coli–the harmful bacteria that cause illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually.

We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield Farms’ Gary Hirschberg and Polyface Farms’ Joe Salatin, “Food, Inc.” reveals surprising–and often shocking truths–about what we eat, how it’s produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

Visit the official Food Inc. Movie website and sign the petition!

Without realizing it I became a ‘One Hour Runner’. For a long time I was just running 5K’s a few times a week. Lately I’m extending my runs and last week I ran my first 10K. It wasn’t planned but somehow on my regular run I decided to take a left instead of a right… and I kept on running. I ran towards the Lake, turned around and headed back home. When I finally stopped workout on my iPod I clocked 10K with a time of 01:03:24 hours. Wow… I just ran over 1 hour!

When I started running in May ’08 my goal was running a 5K in 30 minutes. One year later I’m running 10K in an hour! I’m feeling (physically and mentally) so much better than last year. My next goal is the San Jose 1/2 Marathon and I’m convinced I can do this! Wanne start running as well? Here some links to get you off the couch:

• C25K Program
• OHR Program

My advise is to start slow! You don’t have to run fast!

I’m raising the bar on my running regime. I’ve set a pretty high goal and this goal is approaching relatively fast! I intend to run the Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon in San Jose CA. The run will be on October 4th so less than 4 months… More about this ambitious plan in my next post. For now just a talk about running in general.

As you might know I started the C25K (Couch to 5K) last year. Basically a program to get you running a 5K within 12 weeks. Since I’ve completed the program I’ve been running 5K on a regular basis. I’m extending these runs lately and for the past two weeks I’m running 8K (Kilometers) almost daily. You can find my full schedule at twiike, runner+ and the Nike+ running websites.

The challenges on the Runner+ website are a great motivator as you try to outrun your fellow runners. It’s quite competitive but I must say that the running community, although always on the run (pun intended), is a pretty relaxed. You know what I’m talking about once you become a runner.

My favorite time to run are the early mornings. No traffic, cool breeze and it is just stunning to see the sun come up. I’m privileged to run in California. Not only for the weather but the views are amazing. I run through walnut orchards towards a dormant volcano (Mt Konocti) and passing some vineyards. Yes, I’m blessed.

So yeah… 4 months to go. San Jose, here I come!