Learn "Spanish" in under 60 seconds. Really!

Ready? Go! Say... S as in "Scam" P as in "Put-on" A as in "Asinine" N as in "Nonsense" I as in "Idiot-proof" S as in "@&%#" H as in "Hey, this ain't funny!" There. Learned it. It takes a liiiitle bit longer to make a Squidoo lens. It takes no time at all to make a Squidoo Zazzle Gallery Showcase!

Introducing "Me" - a new slide show!

Make your own - on slideshare.net!

Me - Chef Keem

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: chefkeem squidoo)

Fresh from the Tsiu River - Alaskan Silver Salmon

You know what? I don't really like salmon. Never did. Until... ...I had my first freshly caught silver from the Tsiu River in SE Alaska. This is good eating! My favorite cooking method is a quick saute in butter and spices, finished in a hot oven. Watch this video from my Alaska lodge kitchen for a demonstration of my way of cooking silver (coho) salmon fillets.

Alaska is calling - and I come...

Next Sunday, I will hop on the planes. Yes, it will take four planes to get me to my Alaska lodge kitchen: Austin - Seattle - Anchorage - Cordova - Driftwood Lodge. I've been cooking for our guests - fly fishermen from all over the country - for the last 10 years. The Driftwood Lodge operates only during the silver salmon (coho) season from mid-August through mid-October. The fishing is awesome, the duck hunting is great, and my food is quite popular. Let me show you how I like to prepare wild duck breast. I made a little video, directly from my lodge kitchen.

Chef Keem for President?

Have you "wordled", yet? What a fun little toy!

Check this out - "wordle" any text or web page and create a cloud with the most prominent words of the content.

You can play with the layout, fonts, and colors, too.

Boy, is this fun! >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Wordle!

I "wordled" my Squidoo Lensography. (Photo)

Greetings from your new Giant!

I'm proud, I'm humbled, I'm thankful. After 5 months of making content-rich squidoo pages - most days until 2 a.m. - I have been honored with Giant Squid status. On January 29, 2008 I started out as a newbie in most things related to internet business, SEO, blogging, website building, etc. My activities on Squidoo.com gave me an invaluable education, a new business direction, many new friends, and a super jolly good time. And it didn't cost me one cent. I do recommend it with all my heart that you check out your opportunities with Squidoo.com. I can't even begin to list all the friendly and generous folks that have helped me along my path to Giant Squiddom. However, I'll point those of you visitors who haven't tried Squidoo yet into the right direction. That's what my friends would want me to do, anyway. After you've signed up for free, read what the founder of Squidoo.com, Seth Godin, has to say about your reasons to make a Squidoo page - then, go right ahead and make your first page (on Squidoo, a page is called a "lens"). You'll find help everywhere you look - in the forum and on many Squidoo tutorial lenses. Good luck and good sleepless nights. You're gonna love it. Thank you - Squidoo.com HQ (Seth, Megan, Gil, Anne, Corey)! Thank you - Giant Squid organizers (Bonnie, Robin, Patti)!

Am I a statesman?

Funny question, huh? Me? Li'l ol' me - a statesman!?

Yet - according to a thought-provoking blog post by Seth Godin, no less - I have to ask myself this question every day:

As a small business owner - am I a statesman, a lawyer, a marketer?

I manufacture and sell "Agasweet" flavored agave nectar. Aside from a thriving wholesale business, I operate my own retail outlets at a couple of local farmers markets. Twice a week, I get invaluable insights about my customers' needs and desires.

Am I pushing for a sale no matter what the customer really wants? Am I a lawyer/marketer advocating my viewpoint only?

My flavored sweetener is more expensive than the unflavored version of agave nectar. It is wonderful when enjoyed in its purest form as a healthy sweetener for your beverages, cereals, yogurts, fruits, etc. - as a glaze for meats, or as a dessert sauce for cakes and creams.

When a customer wants to buy larger quantities of agave nectar, using it mainly for baking and cooking, I recommend buying the unflavored version (which I don't offer) at the local Whole Foods Market or other gourmet groceries. Yes - my product would work, too. But the subtle flavorings might disappear under prolonged exposure to heat. It wouldn't be fair to persuade the customer to pay more for the added value of high-quality flavorings - if it's irrelevant to his or her current needs.

What usually happens is - the customer trusts me and considers more open-mindedly what I have to say about the many delicious applications of my flavored nectar. The customer's mind joins me on my creative journey exploring the many incredible benefits and uses of my Agasweet product. After all, we're friends now - my honesty has been established.

90 percent of the time, my customer buys a bottle (or more) of my flavored agave nectar, happy to have learned something new, and eager to try all the yummy suggestions we have discussed.

Even if I lose a sale, I gain something of a much higher value - my customer's respect for me as an honest partner in culinary adventures. That's priceless, don't you think?

Wouldn't it be nice if our politicians had a similar attitude?