LA Library photo website

The LA Times has an interesting story about photos made available on the LA Public Library website. 70,000 photos are already online and more are put on each week as staffing permits. There are some by Ansel Adams and other photos of celebrities and local sights.

Although library officials say they don't track which photos are being viewed, what people are ordering says a lot about Los Angeles' appetite for its own history.

True-crime images, especially those involving the Black Dahlia murder, Robert F. Kennedy's assassination, the Hillside Strangler case and the Manson family, are "cyclically popular," said Matthew Mattson, photo imaging consultant for the library. "Every year, on the anniversaries, we get a lot of requests."

Other kinds of photos are perennially popular, Mattson said: The Hollywood sign, especially when it was "Hollywoodland." Shots of downtown, notably from the 1930s and '40s. Airplanes. Trains.

The library charges a nominal fee for printing images or distributing digital copies; commercial ventures are also charged a usage fee.

Although Cole encourages people to take the pictures from the website for personal use, she said the L.A. city attorney stands ready to defend the library when bloggers and others take the library's images for their own sites without permission.

But she also understands the intricate push and pull of the Web. Van der Leun, for example, did not draw legal action for placing the Adams photos online. His actions, said Cole, "called attention to our archives. And the conversation is a literate one."

Hmm, I wonder if I can put one of their photos here to point to their site...it's not clear from the article. They charge for almost every use -- even educational use costs $25. Also, although I'm sure the collection has some great stuff, to find things, there is no way to browse. The only point of entry to the collection I could find is the option to search by either keyword or by photographer. Since I don't know too many photographers from that time period, I'm in the dark there, beyond just searching for Ansel Adams.

Here's a photo direct from the site. It's the Tower Records on Sunset Strip, which like all other Tower Records stores, is in the process of closing down (if it's still there). Photo taken 1980 by Roy Hankey.

Take back the Capitol

If you think it's time for a change in government in Washington D.C., specifically the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, you should enjoy Take Back the Capitol! It's a short video with some commentary about current issues and the Republican's control of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives over the past 6 years.

Personally, I've had enough of the Republicans, their scandals, and the Karl Rove style co-opting of political language to paint anything other than the Republican party line as evil.  Although I'm not sure there is a huge difference between Republican politicians and Democrat politicians, I do thing it's time to get some new people and new ideas in there.

Look for the "stay the course" segment, which President Bush is now in the process of disassociating himself from by saying that's not what he really meant. Of course not.

Dropping into sixth, passed by a green woman

I had a pretty secure hold on 5th place all week in the PayPerPost standings, but this afternoon I dropped down to 5th when Stefanie jumped ahead of me. She got $200 for painting herself green and walking around a mall with 3 PayPerPost signs. $200 would be nice, but this is one opportunity I won't be taking. Now, if I could paint my sons green and have them walk around with the signs, I might do that.

Restoring Vail Ranch

Vail Ranch is the historical center of Temecula's history. It was the hub way back when Temecula was known for pig farms and cattle ranches. Vail Ranch once encompassed most of what is now Temecula. The biggest irony is that it now sits on land surrounded by a shopping center and nothing has been done to restore the site or make it accessible since the shopping center was built a few years ago. The Press Enterprise says a group is ready to do that at a cost of $7 million.

Arteco's preservation plan calls for the restored buildings to be used for commercial uses that could include restaurants, coffee shops, an ice cream parlor or retail stores. A two-story building would be constructed on the site. It would be designed to blend in with the existing historical structures, two of which would likely be adapted to meet the operational needs of the eventual commercial tenants.
The Vail Ranch preservation group plans to use part of a previously moved and restored barn for a museum and periodically hold special events at the site. Farnbach said the preservation group has already acquired two stagecoaches, a hay wagon, a vintage tractor, a Model T automobile and other historical items for use and display.
A water tower that once anchored another section of the sprawling ranch will also eventually be moved to the site, he said.
"I think the community is silently waiting," he said.

Google Analytics plugin for WordPress

I came across Joe Tan's WordPress plugin which will help you manage your Google Analytics and Feedburner data. It's easy to install and set up and will give you lots of information. More info than I was getting by going to the Google Analytics page. It's free although donations are accepted and it's very nicely done.

Steve Lyons and Insulting Latino baseball players

Gustavo Arellano has a great opinion piece in the LA Times today about the Steve Lyons things and how there has been a long history of insulting Latino ballplayers in different ways.

It seems no one can possibly gain anything from this mess. Not Lyons, who lost his network job (though not his part-time Dodgers gig). Not Piniella, whose lame Spanglish deserved mocking — Sweet Lou described an Oakland A's player as being en fuego (geez, Lou: I didn't know that cliche translated into español, también). Not Fox Sports, which now must answer to accusations of political correctness from its frothing news division. And not even the nation's alphabet soup of Latino advocacy groups — MALDEF, LULAC, NALEO, MEChA — can use the incident to thunder about the plight of their wards before a rapt, donation-ready audience, because the remarks were so mild.

...

Insulting Latinos — the nation's largest minority, with billions in spending power, blah, blah, blah — is a cherished tradition among baseball writers and analysts.

The best part of his essay is the last paragraph which recalls an incident from a couple of years ago that I had forgotten about:

Besides, Psycho got it all wrong. All real baseball fans know Latinos steal Derek Jeter's glove, not wallets. Just ask Ruben Rivera.

I think the whole thing was ridiculous, and as Arellano points out, not too much was made of Arnold Schwarzennegger's comments about Latinos recently which was way over the line. That issue came and went pretty fast, but this Lyons story was less important and is still around

Empty post

Something used to be here but is not here any longer. If you were looking for it, you got here a little too late. If you don't know what it was, you are better off not knowing. If you think this is a strange entry, you are right.

Convert to PDF

With Mac OS X, PDF became the default file format and there is a built in print to PDF function, so every application can generate PDFs. Great for saving things for distribution later. On Windows, you can do the same with Adobe Acrobat, but that costs some money. I was looking for a free alternative and came across PrimoPDF. It allows you to print to PDF from any application and it is totally free. Can't beat that.

SEO'Brien

If you are interested in online search, advertising and marketing, you should be reading Paul O'Brien's Search Engine optimization and online marketing tips and lessons at SEO'Brien. His blog covers all kinds of interesting things like How to get readers to your blog, where to get links, and shopping and searching online. Paul has experience with everything related to online advertising, so you are sure to pick up a few valuable tips by checking out his site. He keeps it updated frequently and many entries point to tools you can use right away. Part one of his ongoing ten part series on search engine optimization provides some practical ideas for web designers to make sure their sites are accessible to search engines -- things like organizing and optimizing your URLs, including a sitemap, and making sure the user experience is the best it can be.

Virtual Dashboard

Macupdate stole the whole idea of one piece of software on sale for a day only from MacZot, but a little competition means more choices. Today's deal is Virtual Dashboard, which lets you group widgets together in sets. At $5.99 it's 40% off today only. If that's not for you, they'll have something new on Monday -- they don't have any offers on the weekend, although MacZot does.

Color Schemer

MacZot is offering Color Schemer Studio today for $29, a $20 savings. It helps you match up colors. I guess it's mostly for web pages, but I wonder if you could use it to paint and decorate your house. I have to try it out before I decide if it's worth the $29 but it looks like it could be useful.

Bob Knight signs contract extension

Bob Knight, coach of Texas Tech men's basketball, is going to sign a contract extension through 2006. I think he's about 65 years old, so it's nice to see that the university has confidence that he will still be able to do the job past 70. I hope to get that old someday and still have the option to work. The strange thing about it is that his son Pat, signed a deal last year which makes him the head coach when his dad retires. I wonder if the idea of waiting another 6 years to take over is what he had in mind. I think Donn Nelson signed a deal like that with the Dallas Mavericks to take over from his dad, Don Nelson, and then never did.

Let's go Mets!

The Mets game starts in a few minutes. I'm going to miss the first few innings, but since this is game 7, I'm rooting for the Mets to win and get in the World Series for the first time in a long time. No Cleon Jones or Bud Harrelson this time, but I think this group can do it and win it all. If they get Orlando Hernandez back for a couple of games, they will be in good shape.

Free Halloween sounds

I like to hook up my iPod to a speaker on my front porch on Halloween and play creepy sounds. It can be hard to find the right kind of sound to scare people away, but Adam Pash at About.com has done that for everyone this year. He's got several links to scary Halloween sounds. Best thing -- all are free! Check it out and get ready for Halloween.

Peer to peer lending at Utopialoans.com

Utopialoans -- www.utopialoans.com -- is a unique source of funding -- a peer to peer loan service which works a little bit like eBay. Borrowers and lenders list and bid on loans in an auction style system. The site has been operating for four months and has set up more than 150 loans for almost a million dollars so far. There is also a public element to the site where your late payments are available for lenders and others to see on a kind of outcasts page. They call the site Utopia because their aim is to help everyone get what they need without discrimination. If you are a borrower or a lender, UtopiaLoans is  worth checking out.

Mets win, looking good for game 7

I think you have to like the Mets' chances tomorrow night after their win tonight. They've got the home field advantage, a little bit of momentum, and much more offense than the Cardinals. As always, it will come down to pitching and both teams are a little shaky with the starters. St. Louis may have the edge with Jeff Suppan, but the Cardinals have not done well against left handed pitchers and the Mets are starting a lefty, Oliver Perez.

Give a VoiceQuilt to preserve some memories

About ten years ago I bought a talking photo in Las Vegas. My wife and I recorded our voices and it was stored in a little metal thing which was embedded in the frame around the photo. A novelty, but nothing great. VoiceQuilt takes that idea to a whole new level.

You and your friends can call in over the phone to record a greeting a story, whatever you like. You choose a keepsake to deliver the sounds and the recipient gets that along with a playlist. You can also choose electronic delivery. I can think of many ways this could be used, but since my new boss of 1 week is retiring next week, something like this would be nice to record some memories for a retirement gift. Some of his co-workers could record favorite stories about him and he would have that to remember his years at the job. Pretty unique.

Mets need to do something different

I thought the Mets had the advantage last night with Tom Glavine going against Jeff Weaver. Weaver does not have a good record under pressure and although Glavine also has a less impressive postseason record than his regular season work, I figured he would do well against the Cardinals. It was a close game, but again the Cardinals won. Jayson Stark seems to think it's a huge upset if the Cardinals win, but the remaining games are in New York and I think the Mets still have a pretty good chance to win it. However, I don't think either team will beat the Tigers who will be well rested and have a much better pitching staff than either the Mets or the Cardinals.

Get MS Project training face to face in the UK

I work for an organization which does much of its business providing IT training to all kinds of people. Almost all of it is done face to face and live, which seems to be much more effective for most people and would be my personal preference in most cases, assuming the instructor is engaging and knows her stuff. Online training has some significant benefits, but it works better for people who have the motivation to keep going on their own. Often, that is not everyone. Face to face training allows you to interact with an instructor on the spot to resolve any problems or confusion you have, and it seems to take less time to learn this way. If you need to learn Microsoft Project and you are in the UK, Best Training offers management microsoft project training in London and elsewhere. MS Project training will help you get going with a fairly complex piece of software, but one which is widely used to manage people and projects. Courses are offered frequently and can even be customized to meet your organization's needs. You can even sign up online. If you need to learn MS Project and you want to maximize your time, check out Best Training's courses in the UK.

University of Phoenix stadium

Although it is the largest private university in the United States, I don't think the University of Phoenix has any sports teams. It's not that kind of university -- the students are primarily working adults and many of the courses are online. So it seemed strange during the Arizona Cardinals game tonight when the announcer kept saying "University of Phoenix" stadium. It turns out that the U. of Phoenix bought the naming rights last month to the stadium for 20 years, just like Fedex Orange Bowl and PacBell/AT&T Park.

Bidwill said, "When you look at University of Phoenix, that's what they're really about: They're about technology and improving people's lives. It's a very good, wholesome product, and we're proud to be associated with it."

The school's founder, John Sperling, is considered a pioneer in for-profit education and online education, although the school does have its share of critics, especially among traditional educators. Apollo also has had its share of challenges the past two years, the most recent of which is an investigation into its stock-option grants.

The naming rights cost $7.7 million a year for each of the 20 years of the deal.

Painkillers can be addictive

Painkillers are sometimes really important for people to recover from surgery or other health issues, but in many cases, they generate a new problem. I've known several people who ran into problems with painkillers, including one who broke into a neighbor's house to steal his pain medicine when he was out of work for back problems. Not a pretty situation.

If you know someone who has become addicted to painkillers, you know it can be an expensive habit to break. Rehab can be costly and it takes a month. A new option is the Meditox Method which uses 1 on 1 work with the client plus drug detox using a new medicine called Suboxone. This method allows you to deal with the problem at home, which can be preferable for many people. Check out some of their success stories. They have centers in Palm Beach, Florida, Dallas, and Beverly Hills. The Meditox Method may be just the way to help someone get rid of their addiction to painkillers.

Peter King

I watched the Monday night football game between the Chicago Bears and the Arizona Cardinals and it was a very strange game with a bizarre ending. Peter King of Sports Illustrated calls it one of the biggest choke jobs in sports history. I think Peter King is an excellent writer and I enjoy his column, but he may be jumping the gun a little bit with this one. The Cardinals are not a particularly good team, and the Bears were 5-0 entering the game, so even though it was a huge collapse, I'm not sure it's up there with the Yankees letting the Red Sox come back from a 3-0 deficit, or Mike Tyson losing to Buster Douglas, or the U. of Virginia men's basketball team losing to Chaminade. Those were real choke jobs. Yes, the Bears had six turnovers and no offensive touchdowns and won the game, but I think Peter may have had a little too much coffee before he wrote that column.

Mystery

The former post has recently been removed to eliminate any confusion which might exist regarding what it was about and who it was intended for and why I wrote it and actually if I even wrote it and whether or not I might have written it twice, using almost the same words, but in a slightly different order to mask the fact that I hadn't written it twice but only once and borrowed from it the second time despite the fact that it had been suggested that it would be in my best interest not to employ any of the same words the second time and to just drop the whole thing after the first incident so that I would not be harmed in the process. That's all.

Center for Citizen Media

Dan Gillmor at the Center for Citizen Media had an entry about PayPerPost last week called PayPerPost: A Cancer on the Blogosphere, or Merely Semi-Sleazy? What comes up in just about every one of these kinds of articles/blog entries is the idea that some people feel that other people being paid to write about products on their weblogs is okay as long as they explicitly disclose that fact. In many of these cases, the people complaining the loudest about PayPerPost don't follow their own advice and let everyone know that when they are writing about a particular product that they may have been given it for free or may have some connection to the company they are writing about. To me, some of this seems like endorsements of products made by radio hosts. For example, Leo Laporte "endorses" a variety of products on his KFI radio show each weekend. (By the way, why do radio stations have some of the ugliest websites around, with all kinds of stuff flashing and huge graphics and too many items on their home page?) He may or may not use these products or even believe they are good, but an advertiser is paying him to say some nice things about the product. He doesn't say that he really uses all the products (he does say that he uses some of them), but it's clear that the advertisers are paying for his voice to be associated with their product whether or not he actually uses it. This seems to be very close to what PayPerPost does. If I write about something, the 2 or 3 people who read my weblog can see by the tags that it's a PayPerPost entry, so they should be clear that it's something like an advertisement. I'm obviously not Leo Laporte, so it's still not clear to me whether there is a real benefit from my endorsement, but that's the way the system works.

Pushchair guide

A pushchair is British for stroller and the Pushchair Guide is a website which will tell you all you need to know about all kinds of pushchairs. The site has a great, child-friendly color scheme, although most children in pushchairs won't be reading it. Their parents, however, will find all the info they need - models, brands, and user reviews. A good stroller makes a big difference when you are setting up and putting it away several times a day, so it's an important purchase when you need to move your young children around in comfort. Much better than carrying them on your back! Check out the strollers and buggies at Pushchair Guide.

Beach Cruisers

Just about anyone likes to ride a bicycle, and nothing is easier to ride than one of those Beach cruisers. You do see them at the beach, but they are easy to ride and can go anywhere. Maybe not ideal for going up a steep hill, but they are great for around town and casual bike riding.

XYZ bikes sells beach cruisers at good prices. They've also got a weblog with news about bikes and related things.

Digital Storytelling in 10 steps

J.D. Lasica of OurMedia has a 10 step program for digital storytellers at TechSoup. It looks good and it starts with the story, not the media...

Comparison shopping for Healthcare

Don't you wish there was something like Froogle for healthcare? Doctors and hospital stays can get pretty expensive and if you don't have good health insurance, it can be a choice between your mortgage and your healthcare sometimes. Vimo will help you find the best deals on healthcare -- surgery, dentists and doctors, and even health savings accounts. Vimo was started by some of the people behind WebMD and I think it really fills a need. Even if you've got health care, there can be huge differences in pricing between hospitals and other service providers. Check out Vimo and you may be able to save some big money on your healthcare.

Temecula weather has gotten colder

It is much colder now in the evenings here and we will soon need to turn on the heat. It's funny how quickly it can change from extremely hot to much cooler, but just about every year, there will be some strange hot period in the fall, so it may not be cold for too long. It's also dark so early that soccer practice has to end by 6:30 now unless there are lights on the field.

Testing with MarsEdit

Checking to see if I can post with MarsEdit to a Blogger site.

A's dump Ken Macha

You never know what's going on behind the scenes and considering that the A's got to the American League championship series this year, it seemed like things were going well. However, this SFGate story paints a troubling picture of A's manager Ken Macha. He comes across as a guy who doesn't get too close to his players and doesn't have much empathy for anyone.

Get more done with templates

Creating a nice looking website is a lot of work, especially if you do everything from scratch. Knowing how to manipulate HTML, DHTML, CSS and how to use a web editor like DreamWeaver takes a lot of time and if you don't do it frequently, it's tough to keep your skills current. I like to use templates for my web sites because they allow me to get my work done much faster than if I started over every time and designed a site from the ground up. The templates can easily be modified for particular needs and they save you lots of work. Just add your own logo, photos, graphics and other content, and you have your own unique site in a fraction of the time it would take to do from scratch. Here's a solution for your web site design needs -- The osCommerce cafe is a subscription based web template site for web designers. You can join for three months, six months or a year and during that time you can download as many osCommerce templates as you like (there are currently 70 available, with more being added all the time). The templates are organized by category -- Pets and Animals, Art and Photography, Flowers, Sports and more, and they are visually appealing and complete, so you will be up and running very quickly. Tutorials will help you use the site, so it's easy to get going right away. They've also got an online button generator to help you customize your site easily. The FAQ will tell you everything you need to know about how the site and the membership works. You can even modify and re-sell the templates if you want to start your own customization site, but if you are in need of some web designs and you don't want to do all of the work yourself, starting with a template from the osCommerce cafe is a great way to start.

Tags: PayPerPost

Dell 20 inch monitor

The new Dell 20 inch monitor looks like a bargain. It might be time to start keeping an eye open for those famous Dell coupons which cut the price down.

Analyze your firewall with AlgoSec

A firewall is like the security system in your home. Without it, you could be at risk for intruders. Keeping your doors locked is one thing, but knowing that you are safe is a valuable thing. The same is true for your network. Without a good firewall, there are all kinds of unscrupulous characters out there who will try to attack your computers and your network. You need to know that your sites are secure before something bad happens.

AlgoSec will do the dirty work for you -- checking your firewall and analyzing it to point out potential problems you didn't even know about, before something bad happens. You could pay a high priced consultant to do this work for you, or you could run the Algo Sec Firewall Analyzer which will audit your system for you, in five areas:

1. Change Management
2. Risk Management
3. Automated Audits
4. Advanced Management
5. Policy Optimization

If you are interested in protecting your firewall, check with AlgoSec for a price quote. It runs on a Windows PC or Linux machine. Also, check out some of the customer testimonials to see how other organizations are keeping their firewalls doing what they need to do using AlgoSec's software. AlgoSec guarantees your satisfaction and offers a 30 day money back guarantee.

Tracking Shot

There seem to be lots of these online video and image editing sites cropping up lately. Tracking shot lets you combine photos and music with zooming and panning and some montage elements to create a nice slide show in Flash. Looks pretty good. http://trackingshot.com

Putting Wikipedia on your iPod

Matt Swann has a Perl script which lets  you put all or part of Wikipedia on an iPod, without the graphics. I think I'd like it better if I could pick specific articles, but I need to give it a try.

HDTV info

Tags: PayPerPostOne thing I'd like to purchase with my PayPerPost money is a new television. One of those flat screen HDTV models would be nice, but it's very confusing figuring out what to buy. LCD, Plasma and Rear Projection are the types of televisions I see in stores and online, but I'm still not clear on the advantages of each one. I've looked at Consumer Reports, BestBuy and Circuit City for information and on other sites for customer comments. The TVNinja site has some good information about HDTV televisions and related products like remote controls, projectors and mobile devices. It's a weblog, so it's easy to read and each entry is illustrated witha  photo. I don't think I'll be able to afford the 60 inch Pioneer Plasma TV they mention, but there are some other items which look to be within my budget.

Support problems

I went with Vizaweb because Leo Laporte used and recommended it. When Vizaweb had all kinds of problems about 2 months ago, I noticed that Leo was no longer using them and of course he wasn't endorsing them. They probably got too big too fast because of Leo's recommendation.

I see that Leo's site, TWiT.tv had problems on Friday. He described the poor support he got from his current provider, The Planet and has already switched over to Softlayer. I'm still using Vizaweb, but I think I'm going to have to switch. They haven't responded to either of the problems I sent them yesterday. Even though the problems seem to have been resolved, it would be nice to know that they actually cared about them enough to acknowledge them.

Powered by Qumana

A's lose -- season over

No fun watching the A's get swept by the Tigers. I figured the A's pitching was as good as Detroit's but the A's were dominated. Not much offense other than Milton Bradley. I don't think Frank Thomas got one hit in the series. The A's suffered from some missing players, but that wouldn't have made up the difference. Detroit managed to come back from their end of the season nosedive and they have really played well. I think they have to be the favorite in the World Series considering the very poor pitching staffs of the Mets and Cardinals.

Steve Lyons fired by Fox

Steve Lyons was fired by Fox for remarks he made during Friday's playoff game. I was wondering what happened to him yesterday.

In the second inning, broadcast partner Lou Piniella was talking about Oakland's Marco Scutaro and the success the usually light-hitting shortstop had at the plate during the previous series against Minnesota.

Piniella compared it to finding a "wallet on Friday" and hoping it happened next week.

Piniella also said the A's needed Frank Thomas to get "en fuego" — Spanish for on fire — and that he was currently "frio" — cold.

Play-by-play announcer Thom Brennaman said, "The bilingual Lou Piniella."

Lyons then said, "Lou is habla- ing some Español there, and I'm still looking for my wallet. I don't understand him, and I don't want to sit close to him now."

The three announcers laughed.

But after the game, Ed Goren, president of Fox Sports, informed Lyons he was being suspended for a game. Lyons flew home Saturday, and after arriving at LAX he called his girlfriend, who told him there were reports he had been fired.

I met Steve Lyons once, near the men's room at a Macy's in San Diego. I like him as a commentator and I think Fox overreacted here. I hope Steve doesn't lose his job with the Dodgers. I think Lou Pinella has some trouble with the English language, so trying to speak Spanish was a little bit of a reach. I'm not sure how what Steve said was offensive, but who knows.

Qumana not working so well

I've been using the free blog editor Qumana because it worked well with my Blogger account. Lately though it just hangs up and never finishes posting my entries. I have to force quit and I lose my work. Bummer. It's happened on two different computers and I haven't upgrade either the software or the computer, so maybe something changed with Blogger. It sure is frustrating though.

Another loss in soccer

Our team lost again, 6-1, this morning. That makes us 0-7 on the season. The boys played pretty hard but the other team had too much speed and several bigger players who could put the ball in the net from way outside the goal box. The field was a little wet, and several goals came when our goalie couldn't hold onto the ball and an opposing player kicked it in after it got loose. Three weeks to go in the season now and although it would be nice to win one, it may not happen. It makes it tough to keep going out there each week, but a few breaks here and there and we can win one of these games.

Need a website fast?

If you are a small business and need a nice looking web presence, websitesin48hours.com can set you up and having you running in no time (48 hours actually). They have several plans to choose from, starting at $99.99 and with each one, your custom built site will be up and available in 48 hours. You can include e-commerce features like a shopping cart and choose from multiple web templates to design your site -- up to 2000 templates on the Platinum plan. The Platinum plan comes with 8 web pages, 350 megabytes of hosting, and a free domain name for $19.99 per month plus a $999.99 start up fee. So if you are in need of a business site and you want to get started right away, have a look at what websitesin48hours.com can offer you.

Having problems again

Something must be wrong with my hosting service again. My weblog entries seem to be having trouble although I can see them fine. Something's not right and it's a pain in the neck.

Yummy Tumi Computer Case

I haul my fancy laptop around in a slightly padded backpack. I don't think it impresses anyone, but it has done the job okay. Think how nice it would be to carry your equipment in style with a top of the line Tumi laptop case on wheels. It's made of ballistic nylon fabric and uses inline skate wheels, so you know it's going to last longer than a Peter Jackson movie. Check out Tumi at Luggage Online.

Soccer and rain

No news on the soccer site, but it looks like the games may be cancelled due to rain. It's not raining now but it did rain overnight and they almost always cancel games when the fields are wet. We'll see.

Healthy Comparison shopping

In the United States, just trying to get healthcare can be a pain in the neck -- expensive and filled with roadblocks on the way to getting the treatment you need. Vimo - Comparison Shopping for Health is a unique site which can help consumers with healthcare in an interesting way. It offers comparison shopping for healthcare -- things like visits to the doctor or dentist, surgical procedures, health insurance, health savings accounts and more. You can compare what it would cost to have the same surgery at different hospitals in the U.S. Who wouldn't like to have that information? Healthcare can be very expensive, so any information that can help you reduce costs and get the treatment you need is a good thing. You can even rate your own doctor and get a nice looking free t-shirt. I'm going to do that -- I like my doctor and he deserves a good rating.

Tags: PayPerPost

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.

Tags: PayPerPost

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.

Tags: PayPerPost

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.

Powered by Qumana

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.

Tags: PayPerPost

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.

Tags: PayPerPost

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.

Tags: PayPerPost

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.

Tags: PayPerPost

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.

Tags: PayPerPost

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.

Tags: PayPerPost

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.

Powered by Qumana

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.

Tags: PayPerPost

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.

Tags: PayPerPost

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.

Tags: PayPerPost

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.

Tags: PayPerPost

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.

Tags: PayPerPost

Powered by Qumana

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.

Tags: PayPerPost

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.

Tags: PayPerPost

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.

Tags: PayPerPost

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.

Tags: PayPerPost

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.

Powered by Qumana

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.

Powered by Qumana

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!