Now in Chicago

Conspiracy Revealed, Yelp and Google are in Bed Together

I recently discovered a disparaging fact, Yelp and Google are manipulating search results for the sake of commercialism, or so it appears.

Yelp boasts itself as; “the ultimate city guide that taps into the community's voice and reveals* honest and current insights on local businesses and services on everything from martinis to mechanics.”

Google says, “Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.**”

So, what is the truth? Let’s start with Yelp. While the Yelp idea sounds great, there is a curious dent in their mantra. It all started with a review I posted about Cirque road show, Kooza, which is now playing in Chicago (see original post). A fellow Yelper discovered this dent;

(Yelper): so if anyone wants to play yelp conspiracy theory for a minute... or rather, just to see what exactly money can buy...context...  kooza is the sponsor of this week's yelp newsletter....now google “Cirque Kooza Road Show a Bore” in quotes (SEE RESULTS);  it doesn't come up in google.  (the text does come up from the "recent conversations" list in the sidebar of items that were indexed, but not a link to the thread itself). Google any other topic name in quotes.  It more than likely comes up.  I was able to find one topic that didn't come up as well... "$4 a day" ...and I have a feeling it has something to do with the $ or just the shortness. (filter google results to only show yelp results if you want by putting site:yelp.com in the search).
 
Yelp-relating Resources: Yelp-Sucks | I Hate Yelp

Is this odd? YES! How is Google involved in this mess? I then decided to Google my blog post (SEE RESULTS) about the Cirque show in Quotes, “Cirque du Soleil Road Show is Boring” (original blog post) and it comes up with a different post. This led me to believe that Google is involved in this conspiracy. I decided to do the same test with other posts on my blog; they all came up high in search rankings on Google.
   
Google Resources: Google Watch | The Biscuit Report
 
So, why has the not-so-positive Kooza post being suppressed? Unfortunately, I can only speculate that Cirque invested money to have these negative posts hard to find, replacing the old search results with more positive listings. But, if Yelp and Google manipulated organic searches that are supposedly built on a foundation of integrity, then we have trouble. Be aware consumers, user-generated content may not exist, as the almighty dollar can seemingly fix anything.

I contacted Yelp and Google about my findings. Yelp has responded (7/24/2008): they did not address the Yelp ranking issue, but spoke to Google's proprietary algorithm.
 
* If it is true, and businesses are allowed to pay and maniuplate organic listings, this comment is false.
** I do not find it universally useful when I input an exact search for a title and it does not appear in the results.

What is Your Body Type, and Why Should You Care?

There is an ancient Ayurvedic philosophy called Tri-Dosha, in which the five elements combine in pairs to form three dynamic forces called doshas (that which changes, governing principles that every living thing is characterized by dosha, type). Through this philosophy one can discover how their particular dosha is effective by these elements, thus create an algorithm to promote wellness within their life.

Why should you continue reading? Much research has been done to the relationship between your dosha and your personal environment. Hence, if you have a good understanding of your dosha mix you can manipulate your environment/the elements for enhanced well-being.

The Three Doshas
The most important variable in researching your body type is to understand what elements bring balance to your life and what elements disrupt your balance. The brief descriptions below can help you discover your body type and how you can effectively achieve balance in your life. You are a combination of two doshas, but one outweighs the other. Understand that throughout life your body type changes between variances of each and you can change your body type slightly, but never the core of your primary dosha.

Vata Dosha: Vata is made up of the elements of space and air. People characterized in the Vata dosha are often thin, slender frame, and prominent joints. They often have high levels of energy. Learn more about the Vata Dosha.

Pitta Dosha: Pitta is made up for the elements of fire and water. People characterized in the Pitta dosha are often of medium proportions, their frame is neither small, nor large, and they often have fine hair. Pitta people are sharp in thought and quite ambitious. Learn more about the Pitta Dosha.

Kapha Dosha: Kapha is made of the elements of water and earth. People characterized in the Kapha dosha have larger proportions, with large frames and are easy going. Kapha people tend to be quite loyal. Learn more about the Kapha Dosha.

Once you learn about your current dosha mix you can then discover those elements that bring balance to your life for optimal wellness.

A great resource that I have used in the past is a book called, Spiritual Nutrition. This book helps you define your body type then defines a habit of eating that best suits you. Read at Google Books.

  Chicago Ayurveda Resources

 
• Ayurveda Meet UP
 
• UIC Medical Center
 
• Chicago Practioner
 
• Upcoming Event in Chicago

Life Lesson #36: Take more lessons

Going through a funk? Bored? Take a lesson!

It is easy to stay within a routine; one that keeps you from being challenged, hence a stale existence of in-creativity. The solution is simple, learn something new. Studies have proved that that perceptions of achievement increase self-efficacy in adults (Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning). This is essential for any adult aspiring to advance, not only professionally, but socially as well; you have more to offer when you expand your horizons.

Where to begin? Start in your neighborhood. Meetup.com offers a plethora of listings of groups of common interest; surf around and see what looks to be a good fit. But, if nothing else, dedicate a least an hour per week to learning something new; the benefits will surprise you and will most definitely lift you above any stagnant phase you may be in; I know, been there, done that. Good luck.

World Clock

I saw this clock on a friend of mines blog, check it out; it features up-the-second count of the world's population along with births, deaths, oil production, animal species extinctions, and a whole bunch of other categories

Manifest Reality

This is in response to the latest ScottDBlog.com post. If you know me, you know that I say, “I will make it happen” often; and, I have learned that this commitment I have made to my abilities has manifested success in my life.

Move to Chicago
A little bit over a year ago I started making moves to make my way to Chicago…by any means necessary. I was lucky in that I had some good connections, but I put it in my mind that I was a Chicagoan, and that my life was going to change dramatically…I was committed...I was going to make it happen.

Still in Maine, and not moving for a couple of months, suddenly, all within 24 hours, I had landed a sizeable client (retainer in the mail), and a place to live. So, let’s jump back about two years; during one of my many visits to Chicago, I went to a party; pimp pad. As I walked in, I was like, “Man, if I move here, this is the kind of place I want to live in,” Well, today I live in that place…I made it happen.

Make a Movie
Another point; I have always been involved in entertainment. As a child I was involved in theatre, always loved movies, and just entertaining and being entertained. As I grew older, I became interested in writing. I wanted to get better, so I went to college (again) to study Media with a writing concentration as a 32 year old, Ha! I was committed, I made it happen. During that time in college (as an old fart) I wrote my first screen play, dozens of poems, and a number of short stories. During all this writing, I kept contacting my buddy Scott, “Let’s make a movie.” I bugged him for years…well, we are shooting our first movie next weekend…I am committed…I am making it happen.

Grow My Business
I work for myself, Mark Interactive, Inc. I am continually working to build my business. In October of last year things got a little interesting, revenue was not coming in as I would have liked, and so I was hustling to make it happen. Well, suddenly, a past vendor of mine contacted me, flew me out to Toronto, expressed interests in bringing me on as a consultant for their business (they market independent schools, and I have vast experience in this market). A week later, we sign a contract, and boom, I am back on track...making it happen.

Every since then, with this seed planted, I have been able to grow my business through word-of-mouth. My next step was to reshape my business around ventures, getting involved with like-minded people to develop solutions to make people’s life easier, or more entertained. I feel this seed growing. I water it daily, and (as Scott mentions in his post) my thoughts are flowing downstream…these like-minded people are contacting me, wanting to partner up…I am committed…I am making it happen.

Conclusion, this stuff works. The impact of writing this alone created serious emotions for me. There is nothing like creating positive vibrations, and walking in awareness of personal greatness. I am not trying to be cocky, but I am confident in my abilities, as should everyone reading this should be. My life is expanding because these variables;

• I live life, and love it
• I am deliberate
• I am happy, and cherish being alive
• I desire to experience as much in this life as I can
• I believe that I have zero limitations

Want to be involved in working together to make life happen as you wish? Let’s do it. Contact me, as I am working on putting together a venue to discuss exactly this…the more the merrier. While things seem to be moving in the right direction for me, I still struggle with staying focused, and having consistency; and with like-minded people around, I feel I would have some tremendous gains.

Making Scents of All

A Chicago scent tour…

If you have ever walked the streets of Chicago you are fully aware of the variety of scents that caress your nostrils. Here is a scent tour of my walk down Grand Avenue heading West;

The first wave is that of a musty bouquet of dust and cement from the construction on Grand and McClurg; soon there after, a dash of urine joins the mix and causes me to hold my breath until I can reach the corner for a new aroma.

Depending on the humidity level, wind variance, time of day, and other miscellaneous potentials, once might experience a variety of fragrance. Today, it was humid, early morning (Jimmy Johns had not started cooking its bread yet, so not fresh bread scent as of yet.), and high wind; this equals a less pungent blast to the nose, but nonetheless, the walk down Grand towards Michigan is packed with must, urine, and oil. Although, spring has arrived and horticulturists furiously plant aromatic flowers to great subsequent masks along the journey; this is a nice break from the pungent balm of city air, but much like a drive down a dirt road; can be and even vibration, but often heaves create uncomfortable bumps along the way.

Decision; walk under Michigan, or head North to Ohio. Walking under Michigan is a risk for the sensitive nose, but quicker and may get lucky as the wind funnels through sometimes carrying scents from the chocolate factory; under Michigan it is; no chocolate.

Once on Michigan your nose seems to forget, as your eyes tend to take priority over the other senses, thus pushing scents aside while the scope of your vision tracks the scurrying professionals.

South on Michigan and my eyes are still in control of my capacity, but the river approaches, and soon the old smeller kicks in; smoke, a cigarette here and there, oil, body odor, and water create a curious stew of scents as I hustle across.

The next stretch is interesting; for about a mile the stench gets stronger, seemingly through the volume of people, hence more waste and pollution, but soon the parks arise, and oxygen expenditure from nature dulls the putrid tang; relief, but only momentarily, as the park is not my destination; I must turn right down Lake and head to the loop, where undoubtedly the scents will strengthen even more, as the El dashes above all day.

My faculty served me well and prepared me for the blow; making it easier to cope, and finally acceptance resided and I decide to walk hand-in-hand with Chicago’s scents, feeling that I can welcome this trait, as the rest of Chicago is magical!

When trying to make scents of it all the best potion for sanity is to hit the burbs once a month so that you can soak in the fresh air; clean the lungs, and prepare them for the next stint of downtown living.

The Secret

Law of Attraction has always been an attractive idea to me, even before my introduction to The Secret. What The Secret does is work as a tool, by offering real-life examples of those who have used the Law of Attraction to gain wealth in every aspect of their life. This template empowers viewers to apply specific practices to achieve the same affect as those they are viewing. This stuff works, but where’s the proof?

Proof lies in awareness. Understanding your attitude during specific moments is the only way to measure the effectiveness of using the Law of Attraction for gain. In other words, one needs to be able to step back and distance themselves from the past situation and become a third party observer, and then evaluate how they handled themselves. What was their attitude? And, in comparison to other attitudes during relative situations, what was the outcome? Analysis of attitude is the only way to measure if Law of Attraction works. But, in my own life, in moments of awareness, I know for a fact that this practice works. But, I also know this; it does not come easy; it takes consistent effort and belief, but once it becomes commonplace, the universe is yours. Below are some phrases I remind myself of on a consistent basis;

• Not events, but outcomes. Visualize outcomes.
• Not the cracking of the bat, but gliding over home plate.
• Not the inking of the deals, but the kind of life you'll lead.
• Not the scale, the diet or food, but the admiration you have earned.
• And not the whens, the wheres, and hows, but the laughter, high-fives, and wows.
• Not events, but outcomes. Visualize outcomes.

Take it or leave!