Got an invention?

These days just about everybody has a good idea or two which just needs some backing to turn into a real product. Protecting your idea is an important part of the process -- just think about Apple licensing the look and feel of the MacOS to their friends at Microsoft to understand the value of protecting your work and investment. Invent-Tech: Invention Patent Help for Inventors is a unique approach to working with inventors. Invent-Tech’s proprietary invention licensing approach is so unique, innovative and effective, that they have recently applied for utility patent protection themselves. Using this proven new methodology, Invent-Tech, in association with their patent attorneys and licensing subsidiary, has secured more than 100 licensing agreements for individual inventors from manufacturers and marketing companies. It's only available from Invent-Tech, and this method represents a tremendous shift in the status quo throughout the entire invention development industry. Check it out.

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Getting things done

I listened to the Merlin Mann discussions with David Allen about procrastination and GTD this morning. Interesting stuff with a nice pace. David Allen sure knows his stuff and Merlin Mann does a good job as an interviewer.

Waiting for more info about the GTD app forthcoming from the Omni Group.

Increase your HGH

HGH has been in the news quite a bit lately since it became popular among professional baseball players as an alternative to performance enhancing drugs which could be detected by testing. HGH is pretty expensive and you can't get it legally, but Sytropin HGH is actually a legal supplement which can improve the body's ability to produce natural human growth hormone. It comes with a 90 day guarantee and doesn't require a prescription. You may not grow new hair or get really muscular, but it could improve your overall well-being.

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Red iPod nano

That red iPod nano looks nice. I didn't catch the Oprah intro though and I guess this guy Bono has some clout if he can make stuff like this happen.

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Like to play with dolls?

Virtual Dolls are great -- you can design your own, pick out clothes and accessories, and use them in chat rooms or in doll competitions. Dress Up Games and Dollmakers are the name of the game at The Doll Palace, an online meeting place for all things related to virtual dolls and avatars. They've got tools for making your custom dolls like the Hippie Dollmaker, the Mermaid doll maker, and the Emo Dolls and Avatars Maker. Each tool is browser-based and uses an easy to use drag and drop interface. Pick a body, then add props, costumes, hair styles, gloves, hats, tools and more. In no time you will have a custom virtual doll ready to represent you in online chats, on MySpace or to participate in various contests. Right now, with Halloween just around the corner, you can create a Halloween doll and enter the Halloween Pumpkin Contest. The Doll Palace is a fun site where you can get creative quickly and easily. Everything is easy to use, but if you get stuck, visit the chat room and ask for some help. The site is very popular, with more than 2 million doll people signed up and lots of activity. More than 25 million dolls have been made! If they could vote, they could swing the California election for governor.

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Merlin Mann's GTD podcasts

Merlin Mann has the first two of his podcast series with Getting Things Done guru David Allen available on 43 folders. I'll be listening to those on the way to work tomorrow.

Swiss blogger with Guy Kawasaki podcast

The start-up and Innovationsszene blog visited Silicon Valley recently and interviewed Guy Kawasaki for his podcast. Guy is a recent blogger and is famous for his work at Apple and for his many books including the Art of the Start, and his speeches. He is a great speaker and has certainly mastered the art of conversation, plus he's the start-up guru as well as a great motivator as you will discover in the podcast. You'll also learn that Guy has been to Switzerland where he went skiing and made a deal. The podcast covers entrepreneurship, laying people off at Apple (not me), and some highlights of Guy's life, the Mac, and whether or not he would go back to work at Apple for Steve Jobs for a million dollars a year (only with a million dollar bonus). The podcast is about 12 minutes long. Check out Podcast: #7 with Guy Kawasaki. It's an interesting interview.

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HDR images

Backing Winds (not Breaking Winds), a blog about photography and some other stuff with great taste (same theme as this blog), has a detailed intro to making your own Professional HDR Image using Photoshop. It's a pretty cool technique. I need to try it when I have some time to go out with my tripod.

Find an activity partner

Are you one of those people who longs to hike the great outdoors or kayak down a river or climb a mountain or just play dominoes with some friends but doesn't have the friend or friends necessary to do it? Lifeknot may be just what you need. Visit their site, sign up, state your interests and preferences and you will be matched up with people who'd like to be doing the same stuff as you, but who need a buddy just like you do. It could be a great way to make some new friends and to get going with some activities you've always wanted to do but just haven't gotten around to doing for lack of a partner.

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Mets win

I was a Mets fan as a child. I lived in New Jersey and my family started rooting for the Mets when they became a team in 1962. Most of my childhood, the Yankees were terrible, but the Mets were worse, except in 1969 when they magically won the World Series.

I haven't really been a Mets fan since I left New Jersey years ago, but I'm glad to see them doing well again. Beating the Cardinals would be great, but playing the A's in the World Series would be the ultimate, although a long shot at this point for the A's.

Glenwood Springs Colorado

Glenwood Springs is in Colorado and they have a unique method of promoting their town as a tourist destination. Sure, you can go online and see photos and learn about what's going on in Glenwood Springs, but you can do that at their community weblog for Glenwood Springs residents and visitors. They've got a Flickr Photo feed and a pretty active blog going back to September 2005. You can contribute to the site in three ways -- add a comment, write an article or become an editor.

Glenwood Springs is a great place to visit anytime, but USA Today included the town among the top ten great places to visit in the fall. With lots of fall colors, it's a great place for photography, hiking or just hanging around. The town has an interesting history going back to 1879. With great places to stay like the Glenwood Canyon Resort, located in the Rocky mountains right on the Colorado River, Glenwood has lots to offer the visitor. Hiking, rafting, mountain biking, skiing, fishing and more are right there.

Check out the Roaring Fork Wiki for another perspective on this part of Colorado. You can learn more about the tourism possibilities in Glenwood Canyon and surrounding areas.

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A's lose again

I heard part of the A's - Tigers game on the radio and the A's were ahead for a little while, but their pitching didn't hold up and they ended up losing 8-5. Too many home runs for the Tigers. With the series going back to Detroit for 3 games, the A's will have to win 2 out of 3, which could be tough. I think I'd like my chances if I was Detroit at this point. What an amazing turnaround they have made after nosediving at the end of the regular season. I'm not sure what happened, but they are not the same team that ended the season losing three in a row to Kansas City.

Women's Marketing Virtual Summit

For women business owners, or even potential women business owners, the upcoming Women’s Marketing Telesummit 2006 from October 18th to 20th promises to be a great chance to learn effective but low-cost methods for marketing your business. The event will include live roundtable discussions with marketing and business experts who will help participants learn to use various marketing techniques like podcasting, direct mail and easy-to-produce information products to promote their business, how to price for profit, create multiple passive streams of income, and how to set up a high-impact, sales-generating business website at low cost.

The Women's Marketing Telesummit happens via teleconference so you won't have to travel to participate. A ticket costs $145 or 75 British pounds. Just call in, sit back and listen and learn. There is a long list of women in marketing and business ready to share their expertise and experiences with you. You'll also get access to a learning archive including audio recordings and written transcripts of the sessions, so you won't miss out on anything and you'll have material to go back to as needed. Satisfaction is guaranteed -- if you don't get one "breakthrough idea" from the telesummit, you can get a 100% refund. You can't beat that -- no risk. And sometimes just one great idea is all you need to really make a change in what you are doing and take off.

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make your own font

Gina Trapani at LifeHacker has a nice article today about making your own font using an online service. -- http://www.lifehacker.com/software/diy/geek-to-live--make-your-own-font-206685.php

I made my own font in 1986 on a Mac using ResEdit to draw each pixel of each letter. Fortunately it has gotten a little easier than that.

Learn the rules of poker

As with any sport or game, knowing the rules can be an important part of playing well. In the case of poker, there can be some tricky things you might overlook and end up costing yourself some money. Check out the poker rules at info.bet365-today.co.uk so you can play better poker. They have the rules organized by game, so you can learn about Omaha poker, Texas Hold-em, 7 card stud and more. Each entry has an introduction which covers the history of the particular game and the objectives, plus a How to Play section, Strategy and a Glossary (coming soon).  Once you've learned how to play a game, you can get started playing for cash prizes right away.

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A's lost

I've been an Oakland A's fan since way before I lived in Oakland going back to their teams in the early 1970's. Lately they have not made it out of the first round of the playoffs, but this year was different. I still like their chances against Detroit, but they didn't get off to a good start with their 5-1 loss. I think Oakland has better pitching overall and that will win it for them.

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Be a Ninja one day out of the year

For less than $50 you can live out your Chuck Norris fantasy and be a Ninja for Halloween. Karatedepot.com has a nice selection of ninja costumes with everything from the uniform to the slippers and socks. The deluxe ninja outfit even comes with a hardwood bokken, so if anyone touches your Halloween goodies, you can whip that out and get some quick respect.

Actually, nobody will mess with you when you show up at houses in your ninja outfit. Lots of candy corn, licorice, and Mars bars will be coming your way as you go door to door. Don't wait too long to order, but you can get your costume shipped the next day, with $2.95 for ground shipping.

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Better Results

I really like those I'm a Mac and I'm a PC commercials and I like the two actors. I think the Better Results commercial is the best one yet. The PC guy says he made a home movie and what do you know, so did Mac. Mac's movie appears as model Giselle Bundchen and then PC's movie is a man dressed in the same dress as Giselle. Pretty funny.

Get a free satellite radio

I don't get good radio reception in my car between home and work, especially in the evening. I have to switch stations several times on the 40 mile commute, so I have been thinking about getting satellite radio to take care of that problem.

So how about this deal -- Get a Free Sirius or XM Satellite Radio! SatelliteSweeps.com, part of Gulfstream Internet, gives away a free Sirius or XM satellite radio every day with nothing to buy or do other than enter the contest. Sounds like a good deal! They have already given away 1500 free satellite radios this year.

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Can't install software

I haven't ordered my new work computer yet, so of course I don't have it, but when I do get it, I won't be allowed to install any software on it. That has to be done by the IT department. This is an alien concept to me. I've never not been in control of my computers at work. Each time I want something new installed, I'll have to call for help. I guess the idea is that the system will stay secure that way, although it seems a little more unfriendly than that. Maybe more like I'll just be using the computer temporarily.

Check out Mayline Furniture

I am sitting at a desk with a glued on brown and black faux wood finish in a plastic desk chair that's falling apart, but you can do better! Check out the Mayline Furniture at BizChair.com. A nice set of office furniture can make your workday more enjoyable and it also says something positive about you, and not just that you spent a bunch of money on your furniture. Whether you are working at home or starting your own company, high quality furniture is worth the investment. Bizchair sells more Mayline Furniture than anyone -- executive desks, chairs, conference tables and computer furniture. All with free shipping. Mayline has some great looking conference tables and chairs and their office furniture is well built, with metal to metal threaded connections at all joints. Quality construction like this will last a long time. You can set your office up with cabinets, LAN racks, reception areas and even mailroom furniture. Everyone works better and longer in a nice environment with ergonomically designed work furniture. Mayline furniture looks great and will complement whatever you've already got or you can just start over with some of their stuff. Take a look at some of the great furniture they've got available and upgrade your office today.

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Working with the PC

I got my used PC at work and now I'm online and working. A big improvement. Still not sure about using Windows or Mac for my new machine but I need to decide tonight.

National Lampoon DVD of the Month

If you like funny movies, National Lampoon has something for you. They just started a monthly DVD club -- you get one funny movie a month for less than $5.00. The movies are funny ones you might have missed, like The Rage in Placid Lake and Bad Taste, by Peter Jackson, the director of The Lord of the Rings.

National Lampoon is known for their own funny movies, so their DVD club is bound to keep you laughing every month.

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Pete Wright responds to Jason Calacanis

Jason Calacanis is one of the most vocal anti-PayPerPost critics around. I find his argument a little hypocritical, although like many arguments, there is some truth to what he says. However, I think Pete Wright does a nice job rebutting Calacanis' points on his blog.

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Precharge for safe transactions

preCharge is an ecommerce provider who helps merchants maximize their transactions by preventing chargebacks before they happen. Precharge's fraud screening uses 180 parameters and their system is growing every month.  Ensuring a valid, fraud-free transaction is their goal, and they use the largest shared negative database on Earth. I hope I'm not listed in that one! Anyone who wants to spend their time processing orders without worrying about the rampant fraud online should check out preCharge.

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Extremely Sharp knives

Few things get you in touch with yourself, your shortcomings, and your ability to survive in the world like a little camping in the wilderness. Having the right tools when you are camping makes a huge difference in your experience. The right knives can be essential for preparing food, cutting rope and twine, and carving wood. Extremely-sharp.com is a great source for knives like the Bushman Premium Survival Knife, favored by Navy Seals and an excellent choice for a camping trip. Their selection of folding knives is great -- check out the Delta Five Combat Folder designed by Shane Sloan, a steal at only $12.95.

If you need a knife for diving, Extremely Sharp has some great choices. The Shark Hunter II would serve you well if you need to clean any fish you catch while spearfishing.

Pen knifes are handy when you need a knife but you can't carry one. These look like the pens you use to write, but they actually contain a knife -- check out the marbled pen knives or the lipstick knives which look like a lipstick case but contain knife blades instead of lipstick.

Extremely Sharp also provide tips like how to take care of your knives. Whatever kind of knife you need for your next outdoor adventure, you can find it at a good price at Extremely Sharp.

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Google Reader

The Google web-based RSS reader, suprisingly named Google Reader, is actually pretty nice. David Chartier, at TUAW, does a nice job talking about switching from NetNewsWire to Google Reader, something I may or may not do, but I'm sure going to make use of Google Reader once they provide me with a computer and Internet access at work.

Luggage - get a deal

Luggage just doesn't seem to last no matter what you do. If you buy expensive luggage, those baggage handlers go through it to see what other nice stuff you've got, and if you buy the cheap stuff, if falls apart on the luggage carousel and displays your underwear for everyone to admire. Why not get some discount luggage sets -- good price and good quality at the same time. Luggage-Sets.net has all kinds of luggage - brand names like Zero Haliburton, Victorinox, American Flyer, and American Tourister. You can get nice style with durability at a good price by buying through Luggage-Sets.net.

Luggage-Sets.net is a nice site run by two Canadians (who can you trust more than a couple of Canadians?). They work hard to provide you with as much useful information about luggage as they can.

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Mac or PC

I started a new job today and one of the questions is whether I want them to buy me a Mac or PC. I'm mostly a Mac user but just about everything I will be doing could be done on either platform. Of course, I can run Windows XP on an Intel Mac, so I could do both there. I am still not sure which I will get, but it's either a Dell laptop or a Mac laptop. I'll check the prices and see if the Mac is really as price competitive now as they claim.

Conflict-free diamonds

Diamonds are a girl's best friend, as the saying goes and as my wife likes to remind me around this time of year when our anniversary is coming up. A conflict-free diamond is one which is guaranteed to come from socially and environmentally responsible sources and have no connection to violence, human rights abuses, or environmentally unfriendly activity. And you thought diamonds were just crushed coal. Brilliant Earth, a San Francisco company offers Canadian diamonds which are conflict-free. They sell over the phone and online and offer all kinds of beautiful products, including engagement and wedding rings, as well as loose diamonds. You can also learn about their socially and environmentally responsible business practices. And keep a look out for the December movie with Leonardo DiCaprio which highlights human rights issues in the diamond industry. You can learn more about blood diamonds and some of the bad stuff associated with the diamond industry. Brilliant Earth gives 5% of their profits to African communities hurt by the diamond trade.

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New job tomorrow

Tomorrow morning is my first day at my new job. It will be an adjustment going back to a 9-5 schedule, or at least something close to that. I think the first day should be pretty low-key, but I hope to get some things done this week and have my work set out for the rest of the month so I can be productive. I want to have a work blog, but I have a feeling that the technology systems there may not be ready for that. We'll see.

Check out the Riskmaster

There can't be too many catchy songs about entrepreneurs, but The Riskmaster by Tim Draper is one. It's actually pretty good -- it may not make the top 40 and you probably won't be buying the CD at Tower Records (woops, I think they went out of business), but it's listenable. Check out the lyrics and listen at TheRiskmaster. Available for download.

Raiders blow it again

I'm still not a Raider fan, but I felt bad watching them fall apart in the second half today. Interceptions, a blocked punt, a fumble -- you name it, they found a way to give the game away. The absolute worst was the lateral pass which Lamont Jordan swatted down and then watched as a 49er picked it up and strolled into the end zone. 49ers win 34-20.

Badder Adder

Don't you wish someone else would do the tedious work involved in keeping people up to date with changes to your MySpace account? Computers are supposed to make your life easier, aren't they. Well, Badder Adder isn't a Scottish punk band, it's a MySpace friend adder which automates many of the tasks involved in keeping your MySpace page up to date. It's designed for bands and promoters and anyone else who needs to send out frequent updates, add friends and send invitations from their MySpace account. BadderAdder does all that for you on as many MySpace accounts as you like.

With Badder Adder you can add friends based on zip codes, so if you are a band and have a show coming up, you can easily select and notify your friends in the area. Badder Adder has instructional videos which show you how to do the various things it can do -- add friends, post bulletins, and send comments. They've also got an FAQ page which lists many of the common tasks that people want to do with Badder Adder and how to do them.

Badder Adder is $47, much less than competing products and considering it works on multiple accounts, it's a bargain. Try it out free for 30 days.

Yankees lose

I was so sure the Tigers had no chance against the Yankees that I didn't even watch the first two games at all. I was sure the Yankees would sweep them. Like many other people, I was wrong. I'm not a Yankee fan, and I don't like the idea of buying the best players, and this does show that having a team of all-stars isn't always the best team. I'm still rooting for the A's, a team anyone could support.

ACCSelect.com

Interested in ACC Sports? They have the best men's basketball in the country as well as excellent football, soccer, lacrosse, baseball, field hockey, and more. On ACCSelect.com you can watch live webcasts of ACC games. Try it out with the 15 day free pass.

Soccer

I have been taking photos at my sons' soccer games for about 5 years now. At the end of the season I put the best ones on a DVD as part of a slide show/video and I also post them online each week. It takes some work but I have learned quite a bit by doing this. I haven't tried to make any money in the process though.

Last week, the older brother of one of the players on one of my sons' teams videotaped the game. He edited it down to about 35 minutes and gave out copies on DVD. He did a great job. He was back this week and will be doing the rest of the games but will be charging a small fee for the DVD. It made me wonder if I might be missing out on an opportunity, but generally I feel guilty about trying to get money out of soccer parents. But this season I think I may create some kind of team collage or life poster and offer that for a few dollars.

HostingZoom Clustered cPanel Failover Hosting Technology

I have had several headaches related to my web host over the past month. My site was down for 3 days with no communication from the host. It cost me time and money. No fun. Hosting Zoom has what sounds like a great solution for problems with downtime. They offer a redundant and reliable system which will switch you to another server in the event of a server failure. I wish my host did that! They switched me to a 404 page! This page explains how HostingZoom's system works.

This is a good deal. Their plans start at $7.95 a month for 5 GB of disk space and up to 20 sites.

PayPerPost

I didn't realize that PayPerPost allows you to post 3 times a day on each approved blog. I have two approved and have been only doing 3 total per day. Boy was that dumb. I should be able to increase my earnings by about 40% per day if I use both of them. That's 12 posts per day, but I should be able to do that.

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Stock Xchng free stock photos

The Stock XCHNG site is a great resource for free stock photography. Some of the shots have limitations on how they can be used, but I use this site all the time for personal projects -- videos, presentations, etc.

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Audi Cars

If you are interested in new luxury cars, Audi must be on your list. Audi have a cars of all types, from sports cars like the R8 to station wagons like the stylish A4 model. Audi cars are known for their high quality engineering under the hood and inside the passenger compartment. Bose sound is available in some models at no extra charge. You can even use the Audi Configurator to build your own model with the accessories you like. For those with extreme security needs, bullet proofing is also available. Audi cars are synonomous with quality and they are fun to drive. I've been in a couple of them and they are impressive machines. Even better, they last a long time.

 

Get savvy with PokerSavvy

PokerSavvy is a great site for anyone interested in Online Poker. They've got reviews of online poker rooms, bonus codes to save you money, links to online tournaments, and articles about poker. All in a very slick interface, easy to read and fast. Check out the Texas Hold Em Odds Chart. A great place to get started with your online poker playing.

New way for kids to write on the walls

The Drag Draw light emitting pen from Phillips looks like a great toy. You can use it to write on your walls without leaving a permanent image. I'm not sure how it displays or for how long, but it could be an interesting thing to have.

VGA Recorder Pro

It may look like a fancy toaster oven, but the VGA Recorder Pro is actually a device which allows you to record VGA, Video and Audio signals into an AVI file. It works with any VGA source, so it is useful for recording presentations and training sessions as well as for monitoring and surveillance applications. The device can be configured three ways -- as a desktop unit, a 4U rack mount chassis or as a portable laptop. Check out the VGA Recorder PRO Technical Specifications or some sample video output. The VGA Recorder Pro costs $8000 plus shipping and taxes. It supports a variety of resolutions, from 640 x 480 up to 2048 x 1536, with variable capture rates from 2 to 28 frames per second depending on frame size. Set up is simple -- just six steps.

 

free eBay selling tool

If you've ever sold anything on eBay, you know it can be a little confusing for the beginner, particularly when it comes to adding images and making your listing look good and stand out. List'd Express is a free online tool for eBay sellers which offers free Templates, free image hosting and will even schedule your listings when you want, also for free. This  eBay listing tool simplifies the process of getting your auctions going and making sure they look good. Just fill in a form, add your images, pick a template and you are ready to go. Check out these instructional videos to help you get started. List'd is a tool for the non-powerseller, someone who doesn't use eBay all the time, but still wants to get their stuff sold quickly.

No future as a lumberjack

My 77 year old neighbor and I cut down a 30 foot tall palm tree in my backyard yesterday. The tree had gotten too large and was pushing over the fence separating my yard from another neighbor's. Although the job only took about 2.5 hours, I am still feeling the pain 24 hours later. I haven't felt this sore since my first day on the job as an orange picker in Deland, Florida many years ago. I thought a chainsaw was a labor saving device, and it is, but operating one for that long is very draining, especially for someone whose normal tasks involve typing at a keyboard. I'm resting up for another day before cutting down a second tree. There are actually 4 trees that need to go, but 2 will have to wait until we figure out how to get rid of all the branches and stumps which are taking over my backyard.

KVM2USB

KVM2USB from Epiphian Systems is a portable frame grabber which works with Windows XP and Windows 2000 laptops. It's designed for system administrators and serves as an affordable device which replaces a "crash cart" for administering servers and other headless machines. Instead of hauling a PC, monitor, keyboard and mouse around on administrative site visits, you can use a laptop and the KVM2USB. You connect the VGA output of the headless device to your laptop. It also simulates the laptop's keyboard and mouse outputs. The USB 2.0 device requires no power, so with a charged up laptop, you are really mobile, with no need for all the other stuff you might be hauling around otherwise.

It will work with just about anything which has a VGA output, including Windows, Mac and Unix servers and computers, various medical devices, ATM machines and slot machines. With the KVM2USB and your laptop, you can get your work done quickly and easily without worrying about power connections or carrying lots of equipment with you. You can buy one directly from Epiphian for $399.95 plus shipping and tax. The product also includes the hardware and necessary cables. If you want to customize it, a software development kit is also available. Check out the KVM2USB Technical Specifications to learn more about the device.

Soccer Tabblo from Saturday

The match between the Terminators and the Revolution on Saturday, September 30th was a great one. The Revolution had a record of 4-0 and were in second place based on goals allowed. The Terminators were 1-2-1 but were coming off an 8-0 win and had played better than their record. The match was close, 2-2 at halftime after some exciting play and a goal on a corner kick by the Revolution. The Terminators countered with a long goal from near midfield. The Revolution scored early in the 3rd period and then held on to win 3-2. ... See my Tabblo>

Trivia but not trivial

If you like trivia, or you just like training your memory to remember interesting pieces of information, the Aviva Trivia Blog is for you.  What I like about this blog is that the trivia is embedded in an interesting essay on a particular topic, which is a much better way to learn than to read a list of isolated facts. Putting things in context makes them more meaningful. For example, Cool Facts about Killer Bees has all kinds of info about killer bees, but it's also interesting to read. Did you know that a single sting from an Africanized bee can lead hundreds or thousands of other bees to come and sting the victim? Scary!

The Complete Coffee Compendium will teach you the history of coffee and more. Check it out!

$900 on PayPerPost

I just broke the $900 mark on PayPerPost, approvals pending. It's been a slower week in terms of the kinds of opportunities available. Quite a few low-paying with lots of work items. I haven't seen any video opportunities in weeks, but maybe things will pick up tomorrow.

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VegasPokerPro for poker players

For many people, poker is more than just a way to bet and lose money, it's a sport and a lifestyle. Last night when I switched on ESPN Sports Center, one of the features was about the most recent World Series of Poker. The winner took home twelve million dollars! That is an incredible amount of money and I'm sure that winning it must have been an exciting experience. The Internet has really changed the number of people playing poker and how they play it. A couple of years ago, Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker after qualifying through an online poker site. That gave hope to thousands of other would-be professional poker players and led to the rise of online sites which train you in the ins and outs of poker with professional players. Guys like Phil Ivey have become celebrities because of their poker playing and the influence of the Internet.  If you are looking for a one stop center for poker information, VegasPokerPro is your place. They provide an active online community with  promotions, useful poker information and links, and many poker players looking for action seven days a week at all hours of the day and night. Poker forums are a great place to interact with other players and learn some tips. You can also find help with poker strategy, locate free poker sites and play Full Tilt Poker. Whatever you need to know about poker, VegasPokerPro has got it. If you want Party Poker, Absolute Poker or if you just want to learn the rules of poker better in order to understand the bluffing and strategy, it's there.

VegasPokerPro also has a store with lots of poker related stuff, and lots more for you to explore. If you like poker, check it out!

Testing Bleezer

Bleezer is a free blogging tool. It's written in Java, so it takes a little while to start up, but otherwise seems fine. It supports a number of blogging systems and runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Not bad.

However, when I went back to edit this post, I got an empty window and couldn't update it, so I went back to Qumana to make the changes.

Technorati: blogging bleezer

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Another Soccer Tabblo

I made a new Tabblo:

See my Tabblo>

If I could do one home improvement

I think I would re-do the kitchen in my home if I could do one home improvement. A new floor, new counters and then I would refinish the cabinets. Our home has all the lowest-end choices, made by the original owners. The tile in the kitchen is white and really hard to keep clean, and the floor would be much better with tile. Although the kitchen would be the place to start, I could see doing quite a bit more throughout the house. Even the lawn could stand some re-doing in the backyard.

Bad Metaphor

Last week, ABC commentator Brent Musburger got some people mad by revealing a signal that USC's quarterback used during the game with his receivers. During yesterday's USC - Arizona football game, there was a moment where the coverage went to Jack Arute, the sideline reporter. The game was closer than expected, and he said that people thought the game would "be like clubbing baby seals" but it hadn't turned out that way. Huh? Did he come up with that on the spot, or did he think of it ahead of time? Either way, it seemed like a bad metaphor.

Dieting

It is a real challenge to lose weight and keep the weight off. Exercise and the right diet make all the difference, but you have to find something you can stick with over time. Low carb diets, such as the Atkins diet plans have worked for many people and are worth considering. There has been some controversy about the long term impact of low-carb diets, but with the right resources and planning, you can lose weight and keep it off using this approach. Low-carb diets are usually good for diabetics also, especially when they limit the amount of refined carbohydrates in the diet and concentrate on complex carbohydrates. Check out the Atkins Diet Plan n' Recipes to learn more about low-carb diets.

Total Gym 1700

I used the first $400 of my PayPerPost money to buy a Total Gym 1700. It arrived earlier this week and I've had a chance to set it up and use it several times. I had a standard Total Gym model for about 10 years and it was starting to wear out a little bit, plus it was missing a few features that the new model has, including a weight bar, dipping handles and a wider base and better padding on the main area where you put your back. Not sure what that's called. Overall, the 1700 is a much higher quality product. Each piece is more solid and the whole thing works well. The weight bar is nice to have and you can really feel the difference when you add some weight (up to 75 pounds total).

However, there are some negatives with the new model. It's heavier, and as a result it is more difficult to put away. The original was very easy to slide back into a smaller unit and move out of the way. The new one is a pain in the neck in that regard. While I like the dip handles and the weight bar, you can't really use them both at the same time. The weight bar gets in the way of the dip handles if they are both attached. Taking the dip handles on and off is easy, but the weight bar uses a bolt which has to be attached underneath the unit, so it's not so easy to take on and off. Also, while the new model has new features, none of them are reflected in the exercise manual. In fact, it's identical to the one I had for the older model. There's no video or DVD either.

I like the new one and I think it's a well made product which will last for many years, but in a few instances, they could have thought things out a little better to make it easier to use.

Fantasy Football Podcast with Josh and Jason

Check out the Ultimate Fantasy Football Podcast with Josh and Jason. One of the ugliest and least readable web pages I've looked at in some time, but the podcast is great for fantasy football owners.

Fantasy Football

It's hard to believe, but fantasy sports leagues have been around since the early 1960's. The Internet has accelerated interest in fantasy sports and helped make these leagues a multi-billion dollar enterprise in the United States. More than 15 million people play fantasy sports each year! That's a lot of people drafting players and keeping a close eye on their performance each week.

Fantasy Football is now the most popular fantasy sport. The American Fantasy Football League is a fantasy league which offers cash and prize payouts to participants. Projections for this year put the grand prize at more than $80,000. If you are a serious fantasy football player, that's a nice prize to win!

You can check out the AFFL's message boards to see what's going on, or visit their home page to see the big checks won by last year's winners. 

Chargers look good this year

The Chargers don't play this week, so we'll have to wait a little while for their next game against the Ravens, but they look like a very strong team this year. I had my doubts about letting Drew Brees go in favor of Philip Rivers, but Rivers has looked very good in his two starts. The Chargers are strong everywhere, both on offense and defense, so it's just a matter of how they hold up against the strong teams and whether or not Marty Schottenheimer plays things too conservatively at the end of games.

No Mo for Dodgers

So much for any momentum following that great come from behind win on Monday night. The Dodgers lost last night to the lowly Pirates, putting them a half game behind the Padres, who won. It should be an interesting race to the finish, but it looks like there is a good chance that both teams will get into the postseason, especially since they don't play each other again.

Chris Berman and sports nicknames

Chris Berman on ESPN is known for the sometimes ridiculous nicknames he comes up with athletes. Many of them are references to songs from the 60's or to celebrities like "Jake "Daylight Come, and You Gotta" Delhomme, C.C. "Splish Splash, I Was Taking" Sabathia, and Scott "Supercalifragilisticexpiali-" Brosius". However, he refers to tight end Todd Heap of the Baltimore Ravens as the "Stormin' Mormon" which seems to be a little over the top even for Berman.

The All Car Garage

If you are interested in Cars, check out the All Car Garage, a weblog which follows automotive news. I really like blogs like this one, where you can keep up to date on a topic because of the effort of others to search out the latest information on a topic they are passionate about. It's like having your own research department, in this case, about everything automotive. Entries are categorized by company, so if you are a Honda person, you can jump right to a list of relevant items. Blog entries all have images with them, so the presentation is appealing.

Too Slow to Post

I had a feeling this would happen at some point, but today was the first time I lost out on one of the PayPerPost opportunities because all the spots were taken in between the time I clicked on take this opportunity and when I finished my post. I had a problem posting it, so it took a few more minutes than it should have, but it was a bit of a letdown to put in the time to get it right (and I did a nice job, if I say so myself) only to have it go for nothing. It seems like it might be better to have the opportunity locked for a certain time period once you take it, or maybe it's wiser to complete the whole process first, then go back and edit the entry before it gets reviewed.

In the case of the entry that got done too late, I even emailed the site to point out a typo on their home page...so much for my good deed.

Brand Name Shoes

If you need to Save On Brand Name Shoes, check out ToeCovers.com. They offer a great selection of shoes with free shipping and free returns. Sure, you can't try the shoes on online, but you can buy a couple of pairs and return the pair that doesn't fit at no charge to yourself. Nice deal. The site also has information about buying shoes and foot health.

They carry shoes for nurses,  athletic shoes, women's slippers, shoes for kids and even vegetarian shoes! Check out this page of men's athletic sandals, my favorite type of shoe -- I'm wearing some right now! Those vegetarian shoes are non-leather. You don't have to eat them...and you don't have to be a vegetarian to wear them.

Those new ipods

I already have a couple of ipods, but the new ones Apple showed today look pretty good. It's just like almost anything else with technology -- things get cheaper, smaller and have more storage. So you can always wait for the next generation and get more for your money.

Estelle.tv goes to Kuaui

Tags: payperpost, estelle.tvThe closest I've been to Hawaii was a phone interview where the people interviewing me were in Hawaii and I was in California. After watching the segments from Estelle.tv about Hawaii, I sure wish I had gotten that job there! The short video segment about Waimea Canyon is really incredible. The footage is amazing and must have been shot from a helicopter because you are crusing through the canyon, which is about 10 miles long and up to 3000 feet deep and very green. Estelle mentions that Mark Twain called it the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, and it is easy to see why after watching this clip. Wailua Falls is a remote waterfall around 80 feet high located on Kuaui. It looks fantastic and was featured in the opening sequence on the television show Fantasy Island, which I think was the one with Ricardo Montalban. The Estelle.tv website is a great resource for videos and information about travel destinations from around the world. The video segments are taken from the television show hosted by Estelle. She also offers a daily video podcast which you can subscribe to and watch on your computer or iPod. The site is really a great educational resource if you are interested in getting a local perspective on some fabulous destinations. Estelle frequently interviews locals who have the kind of knowledge and information about these places that you might otherwise miss. For example, in this photo, we see Estelle with some Hawaiian locals after she went for a swim in a secret cave on Kauai’s northshore. In some of these locations, the locals don't really like too many visitors to crash their party, but these guys look pretty friendly! Here, Estelle takes a nice walk on the beach in Kauia before jumping in for another swim: Hawaii is known for great surfing, and here we see Estelle hitting the surf near Princeville, Kauai (Hawaii). Is there anything Estelle can't do?: Estelle.tv should be in the bookmarks of every Internet traveller, whether they are going to be visiting the places in person or just online.

vizaweb coming back to life

Something is happening at vizaweb.com, which is an improvement over the past couple of days. I can access my weblog although it still has mysql errors. I am optimistic that they will resolve everything by tomorrow, but I'm sure that many of their customers will leave them and that they will lose other potential customers because of this. As with most cases where things go wrong, the bad thing was made much worse by the absence of any information from the people in charge.

Need to rewind your hose?

I have an automated sprinkler system in my yard, but I still need to use a hose just about every day to water some areas which don't get enough water or get too much sun, or for various other plants. Managing the water hose is a pain in the neck, but ReelSmart makes a water powered hose rewinder which would really make hose management much easier. Their weblog has lots of info about Hose Reels as well as other garden-related things. I liked their article about how to prune your roses, something I need to do.

Zookeeper

More than 20 years ago I used to play the arcade game Zookeeper pretty much every day. I worked in a bowling alley and the game was right across from the front desk where I worked. It was a great game, but I never noticed it being available on any other platform. It turns out there is a $2000 arcade game system you can buy which comes with 100 games, one of which is Zookeeper. I played it for a little while and was surprised that I still remembered the game very well even though I had not played it in more than 20 years. I did a little more research and Zookeeper is available for the PS2, PC and XBOX as part of Taito Legends for around $20. I think I'll save myself $1980 and buy that.

Bridal Shower invitations

If you are having a bridal shower for your wedding, take a look at this  Bridal Shower Invitations page.This page has some good ideas, nicely organized, with additional links related to bridal shower invitations.Tags: payperpost, "bridal shower invitation"

Discussion about Vizaweb

Anyone who would like to chat about the vizaweb outage/problem -- I have set up a discussion here:

http://www.quicktopic.com/37/H/PLrBXbHiBp6Q

You don't have to register or sign in, and you can choose to receive
email for newly posted messages -- just click the Subscribe button
when you get there.

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Vizaweb going from bad to worse

My weblog at brian.reillyville.com doesn't show up at all now, and Vizaweb goes to WhatsYourDomain.com. I am hoping that this will get resolved tomorrow and that part of the reason things aren't fixed yet is that this happened over a weekend. However, I have gotten no replies from vizaweb since Friday afternoon, and there seems to be no way to get any information about what's going on. They've got a problem with their databases and maybe their domain name registration. On the other hand, maybe they didn't pay their bills and they are out of business. It's hard to tell.

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What happened to vizaweb?

Vizaweb.com is the host of my personal site, www.reillyville.com. Since yesterday, I have had all kinds of mysql errors on my weblog there and my photo site is not working. Pretty much anything which uses a MySQL database doesn't work. Vizaweb's support responded earlier yesterday, but not last night or today, and now their site is not accessible and displays an error message which says "This count has been suspended". I know that Vizaweb got hacked this week, so maybe that is the source of the trouble, but it's a little troubling not knowing what's going on or if the problems might be resolved soon.

Interesting video

It says that Noah took a picture of himself every day for 6 years (so far). That's dedication! The thing that gets me about this is that he never looks very happy in the pictures.

Most famous person from Winchester, CA

Adam Gadahn may be the most famous person from Winchester, which is next to Temecula and has a population of around 2000 people.

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MacZot Story Zot

I bought my first mysteryZot last night. It was $5.95 for 3 unknown applications, although TUAW had said that one of them was going to be KIT - Keep it Together -- which seemed like a useful tool. The other two turned out to be RooSwitch and Hawkeye, two things I probably wouldn't have bought otherwise. RooSwitch lets you maintain different settings for an application. Seems useful for software developers and testers. Maybe there will be some way I can use it. Hawkeye has a nice icon which seems to have nothing at all to do with what it does, which is to create DVDs. It may do some transcoding of video formats or recompression, but I haven't tried it yet.

Qumana Blogging tool

I had no luck getting MarsEdit to work with Blogger, but it looks like the free Qumana does work automatically. I didn't have to do any work to set it up. Not bad.

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Cal Bears ranked #9 to start the season

For most of the time I was a student at Berkeley, the football team was not too good. They had some good players but never a big season. Now, with Jeff Tedford as the coach, they have become a perennial powerhouse and this year are ranked ninth to start the season. Tomorrow's game should be a good one against Tennessee.

Apple to sell movies online

According to Business Week, Apple will start selling movies for $14.99 and $9.99 through the iTunes Music store later this month. Wal-Mart doesn't like the idea because the price is lower than what they can charge, but that seems to be the case only because Disney is the only studio which has made a deal with Apple, and Steve Jobs is the largest Disney shareholder.

I'm not sure that I will be buying too many movies for $15. I'd rather rent them from NetFlix because there just aren't too many movies I would watch more than once.

"Bush 3.0 issues patch for Iraq war"

Earlier today I noticed a headline on www.cnn.com which said "Bush 3.0 issues patch for Iraq war". It's gone now, but it seemed like a very strange thing to find on a news site which at least tries to be non-partisan. The story is still there: http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/08/31/bush.terrorism/index.html -- and they do mention Bush 3.0, whatever that is.

Local fires

There is a big fire in San Bernardino right now. Things look pretty dry around here and we are going to be going through several more very hot weeks, so I hope that we don't end up with some big fires in Temecula. I have noticed that many of my neighbors have burned out areas on their lawns from the extreme heat this summer. And that is with daily watering. I bet the guy in the neighborhood with the astroturf lawn is saving quite a bit on his water bill this summer.

Lady drives sons to tagging locations

Some people will do almost anything for their children.

Smoke Detector with personalized message

Woot is selling a smoke alarm where you can personalize the message. 2 for $15 today only.

I need more links

I can't post to Blogger from either of my blogging applications and it doesn't support any editing features in Safari, making it difficult to include a link other than to do it manually with html.

Karr

I never thought that guy Karr was involved in the Jon Benet Ramsey murder. The only thing that seems odd is that four letter abbreviation and the fact that he had used it elsewhere, even in his high school yearbook. Maybe he used it later because he knew it was on the ransom note, but it seems like an odd thing.

Monday Night Footbal is on ESPN

I think that is going to take some getting used to, but I bet it won't be that different than it was in the past.

Where did it go

I am having some trouble posting from MarsEdit. Not sure what the problem is.

short film using a still camera

This is a pretty interesting short film done using the burst mode on the camera:

ed-tech job search & best education blogs

The new issue of e-School News highlights a number of websites, and also includes their first educational weblog awards. One of the highlighted sites is the Consortium for School Networking's Career Center. The mention that jobs seekers can track up to 100 jobs and get notifications using RSS. They may be a little ahead of themselves there -- the site doesn't have a single job listing yet.

The four winners in the 2006 Education Blog Awards are:

Assorted Stuff by Tim Stahmer - Best Instruction Blog for Teachers (for some reason, this link does not work, but you should be able to go to http://www.assortedstuff.com - it's there, although the link generates an error)

Applied Science Research by Frank LaBanca - Best Classroom Instructional Blog for Students

Moving at the Speed of Creativity by Wesley Fryer - Best Education Theory Blog

EduWonk by Andrew Rotherman - Best K-12 Administration Blog

The only one of these I've read is EduWonk, but the others sound good, so it's time to check them out.

Super Bowl MVPs - no Joe Montana

I thought the segment of the Super Bowl pregame where they had previous most valuable players run out was going to take forever, but I guess they couldn't get them all to do it. Joe Montana, the only three time MVP, was most notable among the missing.

My sons found the Rolling Stones to be a little creepy during the halftime show. In other words, they were way too old looking to be out there.