14-Dec-2006 - Competitor clicking on Google Adwords

As many of you know, I sell flashing t-shirts on my website. I also run a Google Adwords advertising campaign to promote it. However over the last couple of days something interesting has happened.

At first I noticed an unusual trend in the statistics of the web logs that I keep. After having a closer look it appears that the same person (on maybe a couple of different machines) is searching for the same phrase repeatedly in google, and then clicking on my advertisement forcing me to pay the advertising costs.

I have their IP address in my logs, so I checked it out and it is someone in Victoria. I also just recently notice (this week) that a new seller of flashing t-shirts has started selling from a place out of Victoria, and is competing against me in certain online marketplaces and even using my images.

So I did some more research, did a whois on the domain name of the t-shirt supplier, and found the name and address of the individual involved. I wont name names on this blog, but i'm pretty annoyed at this guy's dodgy behaviour.

I have read about the possibility of competitors clicking on ads in Google, but it still comes as a surprise when it happens to you.

11-Dec-2006 - Cycling from Parramatta to Ashfield

Its been months since I did this ride, and i've never bothered to post the pics on this blog so I thought its about time :-)

A few months ago I went for a trek out to Parramatta on the train with my bike. I took my camera because there are a bunch of cool industrial areas that I wanted to take photos of.

Starting from Parramatta station I rode straight to Parramatta river and started the long ride back along the river.

An old bridge just east of Parramatta CBD

When I used to live at Croydon Park I rode out to parramatta along the rivers and cycleways a couple of times, so I knew the path back towards the city. Its a very scenic ride and worth doing if you have a good bike.

A lot of the ride is along the Parramatta and Cooks rivers. Shortly after going past this bridge pictured above I saw a RiverCat ferry. I had already put my camera away, but quickly got it out to take a photo. Only just got it before it went behind the bushes!

Parramatta RiverCat travelling up the river

Now one of my favourite places in Parramatta is an industrial area next to the river. It looks very run down and pretty cool. There is a huge Shell oil refinery (which looks awesome at night with all the lights lit up on all the pipes and smokestacks), a truck repair shop, some place which is turning waste into energy, and a cargo containment storage place among other things.

I love industrial areas for some reason. They seem really cool and are lots of fun to explore. Railway tracks go through the entire site and cross some of the roads.

Looks like a scene out of Counter Strike!

Rusting metal, unused sheds... the whole place looks like a deserted city from Mad Max. And there is noone around - no people on the streets, and only the occasional semi-trailer driving past.

Rust and railway tracks

Even though everything was empty and quiet, there was still something going on in one of the buildings. Thick white smoke was pouring out the top, and it didnt smell too good. I think the sign said it was something to do with yeast manufacture or something.

Smoke is flying out fast. Photo doesnt do it justice

I couldnt go through the industrial area without making a trip to the Shell refinery. I'm guessing these days they are on higher alert due to terrorism and all that, so I was a bit nervous taking photos of the refinery :-). I quickly took a couple when there were no cars on the road, although I had the feeling security was watching me from a camera somewhere. Maybe i'm just paranoid!

The Shell refinery. Looks awesome lit up at night

By now I had finished touring the industrial zone and it was time to continue my ride back towards the city. To cross parramatta river you need to go over this very thin bike/pedestrian bridge. The staircase is very steep and there are huge pipes attached to it. It still felt weird with noone around on a bright sunny day.

Damn... gotta take my bike up that!

When I got to the top of the bridge I turned back and saw a huge mound of rubble behind the fence. Maybe its a cement recycling place? Who knows..

Lots of rubble

Well while i'm on the bridge and theres noone around, lets take a photo of the bridge!

So I did. Look at my gleaming bike :-)

On the other side of the bridge the bike track continued along the river towards the city.

Standing on handlebars permitted

I rode and rode for a while longer, not bothering to take any more photos. Until I came to an impasse. Years ago there was a stretch of river right next to some warehouses. It had a gravel track and was very deteriorated and unloved :-). But I loved it!

But when I got to that section all the warehouses had been demolished and a new bike track had been built. However it was blocked off. Just my luck! The sign read:

"Due to delays in approvals the foreshore pedestrian cycleway will remain closed until late 2006. Please continue to use the alternate facilities provided"

Too bad there was no sign saying where the hell the "alternate facilities" were.

Not a very useful sign

After searching around a bit I found another way around. I guess that was the "alternate facility". At this point I got lazy and rode all the way to Croydon Park without taking any more photos :-). I had a bit of a rest in Bicentennial Park at homebush on the way and had a bite to eat.

Some of the paths that I had ridden on when I was living at Croydon Park had changed, and so at some points I had to try and find my own way around the changed parts.

When I got to Croydon Park I saw a bird on the fence having a sunbake. I also felt like a rest so I stopped and took a photo :-)

Sunbaking bird

There were two options now - either continue to Tempe which would be quite a long ride, or ride to Ashfield and catch a train back. Feeling lazy I took the easier way out and rode to Ashfield.

All in all it was a nice ride, and a great day for it. I havent been on a ride that far since, so I should get off my butt now that summer is here and do another one soon

Bye!