Att Call Conference

Two Internet marketers were in the bar of a hotel swapping stories about their online successes. Each were trading examples of their success, bragging how good they were at making money out of the web. That was until, the younger, less experienced chap said he wasn’t impressed by the size of the older marketer’s ezine mailing list.

The older chap put his drink down and said: ‘Look, I know you’ve not been at this Internet marketing lark for very long, but you will come to realize that it is a numbers game. The more people you get to your site, the more people you have on your list, the more people who you get as associates or affiliates, the better you will be.’

But the younger marketer simply supped his drink and said: ‘So how much is each person on your list worth to you? What is their value?’

The older person thought for a while and said his list was over 150,000 names long and he brought in $750,000 a year, so that meant each person was worth $5.

The younger marketer now put his drink down and said: ‘I only have 5,000 names on my list and I made $600,000 last year which means they are each worth $120 to me.’

What the young Internet marketer had realized was the fact that numbers are not the game you should be playing on the Internet. Far too much attention has been given to getting traffic, links and mailing list sign ups. If you get large numbers of visitors to your site, you are wasting your bandwidth. If you get huge numbers of people to sign up to your list, you are having to work very hard to convert any of them in to buyers.

Our older Internet marketer had to work far harder to get his $5 per person than the younger chap. Why? Because the younger marketer concentrated on getting people who were really interested in buying.

There’s a maxim in Northern England that is often used by market traders: ‘Do you want it or what?’ In other words, if you’re not going to buy, the trader will move on and find someone who will.

In the world of Internet marketing, far too few people take the ‘do you want it or what’ approach. Instead they try to generate traffic and mailing list sign ups in the mistaken belief that if you have a large list, you’ll generate enough income. True, you’ll get income, but the return on your investment will be low.

Instead, adopt the UK market trader’s approach. Only sign up people to your list who are actually going to buy from you. To do that, your web site needs to ‘pre-qualify’ your mailing list. That means having a web page which only generates real interest - not ‘free gift chasers’. The people who sign up for your free gifts will help swell your mailing list and therefore impress the people who think size is everything. But the big mailing list will not help your bank balance. Like most things in life, quality not quantity is what you should aim for.

Graham Jones is a psychologist who has investigated the way people use the Internet. His research can help you make the most of the Internet, particularly if you are hoping to make money online.

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Since 9-11 the United States has spent billions in the war on terror and brought forth new innovations and concepts to prevent International Terrorist strikes on our Homeland. In 2005 critics complained that we have not done enough and that we are not protected. Proponents simply have pointed to the scoreboard and said, well we have not been attacked since them have we? Indeed, good points on both sides of the debate. Are we really any safer now then we were then? I believe we are and let me tell you why.

Currently we have a citizenry in our civilization who is on the look out. We have additional security at airports and more border patrol. We have been placing more and more sensors in strategic places to detect things like explosive residue, WMD, anthrax and other biological weapons. We have finally gotten our law enforcement to talk to each other and communicate important information. We have constant briefings on all sorts of possible International Terrorist plans and intelligence information coming from over seas from many different countries thru their intelligence and law enforcement services.

In 2006 expect more robotic surveillance and better systems which at along our open stretches of borders, at checkpoints, truck scales, ports, airports and along our highways as well. Expect more aerial surveillance using robotic aircraft or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). Expect better intelligence coming out of the Middle East and more International Terrorists to be caught and apprehended before attempting to make the journey to our country. You will see much more of this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

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In The Quest of the Holy Grail, a uniquely alchemical tale, the sword is seen as a fiery serpent. It is the sword of King David, made by the wise Solomon (Sol Om On) with a pommel stone of all the colors of the earth, with two rib hilts, one made from the fish of the Euphrates and the other the serpent.

It is said to resemble the sword of Arthur, which itself is said to be serpentine in the Dream of Rhonabwy. When Arthur’s sword is drawn it was said that two flames of fire burst out of the jaws of the two serpents, and so wonderful was the sword that it was hard for anyone to gaze at it. It is necessary for Arthur to maintain ownership of the sword, whether it is the sword from the stone or Excalibur, as it ensures his victory and his life. Malory indicates again the brightness of the sword and its fiery aspect, writing: “but it was so bright in his enemies eyes, that it gave light like thirty torches.” But the sword in the stone does not last long and the Lady of the Lake gives Arthur his Excalibur, and also a serpent scabbard, which ensures eternal life. Malory states quite clearly “for whiles ye have the scabbard upon you, ye shall never lose no blood, be ye never so sore wounded; therefore keep well the scabbard always with you.” It is only when Arthur’s half sister Morgan le Fay steals the scabbard and replaces it that Arthur becomes susceptible to the deadly blows of Mordred. The once prized sword is then returned to the water, the home of the Lady of the Lake - the serpent spirit.

There is a remarkable resemblance between the tales of Arthur’s sword and an unsuspecting Chinese legend. A hero from the 6th century BC named Wu Tzu-hsu threw his sword into a river “It shot forth like a spirit-glow, sparkling brightly as it thrice sank and thrice came to the surface with a great gush and then hovered above the water. The god of the river . . . heard the swords roar . . . he rolled in the waters in a great and frothing frenzy . . . Dragons raced along the waves and leaped out of the water. The river god held the sword in his hand and, frightened, told Wu Tzu-hsu to take it back.” (Mair 1983, 141 and 286.) This story, related in the 8th century AD simply cannot differ from Malory’s tale of the sword. In China there were tales of great swords such as Dragon Spring and others still that leap into the waters surrounded by dragons, which churn up the water. Wu Tzu-hsu’s sword is also called Dragon Spring.

But is there any archaeological evidence for the existence of a real sword or swords, which, were seen as serpents? Well we just so happened to find such evidence in the Catalogue of The Fourteenth Park Lane Arms Fair. Lee A Jones authored a fascinating article entitled, “The Serpent in the Sword: Pattern-welding in Early Medieval Swords,” which immediately made the hairs on the back of our necks tingle. (see http://www.vikingsword.com/serpent.html)
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The sword first appeared around 4000 years ago and immediately became the pre-eminent weapon, preferred by the warrior class. Recent metallurgical studies have shown how the complex piled structures or layers improved the sword from as early as 500 BC. Little wonder that the smithy was an important part of legend and folklore, as the skill implied in the making of these swords is substantial. Several rods are welded together down the length of the blade, joining the various levels of metal together. Heated and then pounded into shape, this sword making was an awesome task. Smaller rods that were carburized (improved carbon) were introduced to increase the hardness. This formed steel, an alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon, which was introduced into the edges of the blade as it was stronger and more effective.

Through the 5th to 10th centuries AD sword smiths actually managed to manipulate this piled structure to create wonderful designs within the blade. The method remained virtually unchanged even into the 20th century as can be seen with the daggers of the Nazi’s, who utilized it extensively.

The patterns (seen above) are seen from the varying degrees of trace elements within the different rods, showing alternating shades. The rods are invariably twisted down the shaft, forming a spiral effect. These “twisted” swords are seen as early as the 1st century BC in the La Tene period, although more effectively used from the 3rd and 5th centuries - the very early period of Arthur. Cassiodorus was a secretary of Theodoric and in 520 AD he wrote to a northern Germanic tribe regarding a gift of words praising their skills, especially the shadows and colors seen in the blades, which he likened to “tiny snakes.” In the 10th century Kormaks Saga says concerning the sword Skofnung: “a covering goes with it and thou shall leave it quiet; the sun must not shine on the upper guard, nor shall thou comest to the fighting place, sit alone, and there draw it. Hold up the blade and blow on it; then a small snake will creep from under the guard; incline the blade and make it easier for it to creep back under the guard.” It is the considered opinion of some scientists that this implies that the dew would reveal the pattern of the serpent upon the sword, giving the impression that a serpent is emerging from the sheath.

This inclusion of the serpent in the blade was eventually replaced with iron inlaid letters and symbols, and Christian phrases such as In Nomine Domini (In the name of the Lord). The remarkable archaeological fact of serpents appearing in the designs of 5th century swords links perfectly with the time of Arthur. As the Pendragon or Head/Chief Dragon Lord he would certainly have been seen with such a device and in the stories mentioned above there are textual links in the legend.

About the Author

Philip Gardiner is the author of the best selling The Serpent Grail, The Shining Ones, and Gnosis: The Secret of Solomon’s Temple Revealed. He does talks, lectures, has his own radio show and does tours across the world via www.powerplaces.com

Philip has a degree in marketing and 9 diplomas ranging from etymology to holistic medicine. He is hosting the Philip Gardiner’s Forbidden Knowledge Conference UK (FKCUK) in July 2006.

www.philipgardiner.net
www.gardinerosborn.com

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