USC Wins

Cal lost. It wasn't much of a game at all in the second half. USC just made better adjustments and controlled the game. No punts to Jackson and very little in the way of Cal offense. USC made the big plays and showed they were better. If they can beat Notre Dame next Saturday I think they deserve a chance against Ohio State and if they get that far I wouldn't be against Pete Carroll.

Delightful Deliveries

Holiday shopping can be painful -- long lines, crowded roads and parking lots, pushy people, hard to find stuff and then there's the problem of figuring out what to buy for some people on your shopping list. And if you wait too long, you can't even get the gifts you'd like to buy without running all over town looking for them. One way to simplify the job is to buy online, and one place where you can do that is at America's #1 Gift Basket Website, Delightful Deliveries. They've got gift baskets, chocolates, gourmet meals, fresh flowers, corporate gifts and more. They deliver anywhere in the U.S. and have various shipping options plus free gift wrapping. A great choice for your holiday shopping if you've got anyone on your list who likes to eat.

Not sure what you are looking for? Check out their holiday gifts. Last year I had problems buying and shipping things to members of my family who live across the country. If you wait too long, the stuff won't get there on time. This year, I'm going to check out Delightful Deliveries early and get my shopping done the easy way -- online. The Ghirardelli's Greatest Hits looks like a winner for a chocolate lover and you don't have to go to San Francisco to get it, although that would be a nice trip to make.

PayPerPost wedding

I watched the live stream of the PayPerPost wedding at 5:00. The wedding looked fun, especially at the end when Ted counted out $1000 for the bride and groom. The Elvis impersonator did a nice job on his second song, Burning Love. His first number was too choppy on the video stream for me to tell whether it was good. Most of the time the audio went in and out and at times the video stopped completely, but it wasn't too bad.

DUI Lawyer in San Diego

I live near San Diego and drive on the freeways to and from San Diego pretty often. It can be a little tricky to navigate the roads, especially at night. Sometimes, people make poor choices and do things which aren't the best or safest, like drinking and driving. Rick Mueller, the San Diego DUI lawyer, can help you out if you get arrested for DUI. Rick's list of successful cases is a long one, and some of them involve situations which you would expect to be pretty solid for the prosecution. So, if you need the services of a DUI lawyer in San Diego, check out Rick Mueller, the San Diego DUI lawyer.

Cal - USC

I expect today's Cal - USC game to be a high scoring game and as a Cal graduate, I'm planning on Cal coming out on top. I think USC's defense has gotten much better, but they've still got some weaknesses and Cal has more offense than the teams they've played so far. USC gets an advantage since the game is at home, but I think if Cal can come out early and get the lead, they will be in good shape. So if Cal wins, USC is out of the BCS picture and Cal gets back into the top 10. On the other hand, if USC wins and they can also beat Notre Dame, then I think they deserve a chance to be number 1.

SuppliesNet light box

With so many people using digital cameras, you might think that the light box as an essential tool for photographers has seen better days. Maybe not. Plenty of people still have slides and negatives hanging around, and a light box can come in handy for those. It's also nice for tracing and for cutting and drawing when you are working on a scrapbook. SuppliesNet.com have lots of stuff for drawing, drafting, crafting and more. Free shipping if you spend a hundred bucks or more.

Crazy stuff with the PS3

I hate to read those stories about people waiting in line all night only to have some jerks cut in front of them right before the store opens and end up with whatever they were waiting for. Decent people always lose out in these cases. The PS3 thing is probably about greed -- buying it to sell for a quick profit on eBay. And what is with the goofballs who wait in line to buy one, then take it outside and smash it with a sledgehammer in front of a whole bunch of other people who are waiting in line for one?

SEO'Brien blog

Paul O'Brien's blog is a good one to check out if you are interested in search engines and online marketing. He's got lots of practical experience and shares that in his blog entries. Search Engine optimization and online marketing from SEO'Brien is updated frequently and I always find something new and interesting when I'm visiting the site. His most recent entry discusses the importance for webmasters of the announcement that Yahoo!, Google, and Microsoft will all recognize the same sitemap format, making it easier to index websites. Although it doesn't have anything to do with search, I liked the recent entry about the Verrado planned community in Arizona which highlighted some marketing ideas as well as the importance of online and offline networks. The place reminds me a little bit of Celebration, Florida, another planned community where I happened to spend a lot of time some years ago.

PS3 comes and goes at Costco.com

I checked Costco.com last night for the PS3 and it wasn't there. This morning, I should have checked earlier, but came across a link from dealnews.com that Costco would start selling the PS3 online at 8 AM PST. It was already 8:25 when I saw it. I was able to get online and see the price -- $699 for the PS3 with 60 GB drive & wireless model, 1 game, and 1 additional controller. A better deal than the $1079 bundle at Fry's which comes with 8 games. Anyway, I tried for a while but was never able to place an order and soon after costco.com became inaccessible. After about an hour, they were sold out. I guess we could try to find one at the local Costco, but I have no way of knowing if they actually have any and I think at this point I'd rather wait until there are plenty of them and the price isn't inflated.

Waiting for the PS3

Just a few hours before the PS3 will be available. I'm not waiting in line although I would like to get one. Lots of people have been in line for days. I'm sure many will sell theirs for a quick profit, but I won't be buying one for more than the list price. It's okay to wait until everything that's wrong with the first run gets worked out. The $599 model is selling for $1399 and up on Amazon stores. With stores only getting 25 consoles per store, it will be hard to get one after tomorrow.

Need a floor fast?

Looking for a new floor? Check out FastFloors.com. They have a huge selection of flooring materials, including 16,000 choices in ceramic tile alone. It's easy to find what you need -- everything is categorized and you can browse by brand or by price. Fastfloors also provide information about the advantages of each material. Their sales staff are knowledgeable and eager to help you find what you need, whether it's cork, ceramic tile, bamboo or stone. Fastfloors has it all -- check out their Tile and Stone Sale - Fast Floors. And if you don't know where to start, read one of the general articles and get some guidance before you spend your money.

Regents give UCR Medical school the go ahead

After Tuesday's committee approval of the UCR Medical School, today's vote was somewhat of a formality. The UC Regents approved the plans, so UCR can move forward and start planning for their medical school. A final plan will still need to be developed and approved, and if that happens, the school won't open for another six years, but if it does, it will be the first new medical school in the state in 40 years.

Boost your diesel truck

I drive to work in a hybrid car which gets 45-50 miles per gallon depending on how fast I drive. It has very little horsepower (94), so it doesn't do well up a grade and it certainly wouldn't be useful for hauling stuff. Many of the people I see on the road drive diesel trucks, big ones. Most of these are used for work or for hauling things like trailers and carrying dirt bikes. They have power but the diesel performance may not be the best. What most of those people driving trucks don't know is that by using a tuner or chip on a diesel, you can boost performance and improve gas mileage! That's a nice combination. If you could add 100-300 horsepower and still get 20-25 miles per gallon, I think you'd give it a shot.

School holidays are too long

We have had 3 half days in a row now for parent conferences and tomorrow is an off day, then all of next week there is no school too. I don't remember getting all these days off when I was a child in school. Plus we also have 2 weeks at Christmas, then another 2 weeks for Spring break. That stretches the school year well into June. I think it would be better to have a shorter school year since so little gets done at the end, no matter when it comes along.

Waiting for Megaglobe

Waiting for a search engine to launch isn't exactly the same as waiting for the new PS3 which comes out tomorrow or waiting for that new Elmo doll, but somewhere, possibly all around the world, there are people chanting We Want Megaglobe. If you don't know about Megaglobe, it's an international search engine which has an ad insertion system which works something like the ad insertion systems other big search engines have, but this one is friendlier towards the little guy or gal. That is, it's not too expensive so small and medium sized businesses can get in on these ads which are tied to searches and tags and so on. The deal with Megaglobe is that their page doesn't do any searches yet. So if you are like me and you have been to the Megaglobe site a few times, you may be asking yourself if the wait is going to be worth it. I'm guessing that it will and I'm optimistic about that. I'm not impatient yet, but I'd like to see the Megaglobe search in action. Megaglobe makes it sound big, like some of the other search engines. Except for Ask, which sounds personal but not big.

This video is my personal plea for the Megaglobe developers to finish the job and unleash the engine. It may not sound too much like a plea, but I was tired when I made it and it took a long time to think about how many search engines are already out there. This one needs to stand out in order to get some attention.

The poor image quality is thanks to YouTube who like to compress the videos you put there at a setting of about 10% quality. It looked really good on my computer!

Boosters run the school

As if there weren't enough problems with the money that's involved in college football. If boosters at Florida State can persuade the head coach's son to resign by paying him more than half a million dollars, you wonder what other things they are doing with money. The whole thing sounds strange -- he resigned, but he still gets paid for another year at 140k in addition to the buyout of $537,500.

Searching for a credit card?

If your mailbox isn't filled up each week with credit card offers, you are fortunate. These things show up at my house almost every day, it seems. It's better to ignore all that junk mail and seek out your own credit card. Why not use a search engine dedicated to credit cards? The cleverly named creditcardsearchengine.com is a site which helps you findCredit Cards based on whatever criteria you are looking for -- rewards points, interest rate, no annual fee, airline miles, bad credit and more. Actually if you have bad credit, be careful about getting too much more credit until you get your finances in order. It's easy to use and you get all the details you need to make an informed decision. No searching through that form letter in the mail to find out that there's a $99 annual fee and 21% interest rate. Everything is up front and easy to find.

Housing down but not out

Home sales are slowing down in this area. I wonder if the fact that the average price of a home is $410,000 has anything to do with that? The PE.com article doesn't say what percentage of people can afford a home based on their income, but it's got to be a low number. Seven years ago, new homes in Temecula were still available for $160,000. Now you are lucky to find one under $500,000. There's not much land left and the prices are so high and jobs so far away that fewer and fewer people are willing to move out here. Get some local jobs and better freeways and roads and that may change.

Ted the Catfish - a little scary

Ted may have been suffering from a lack of sleep and food when he made this video. I am not really sure what this is about. Is the catfish the new mascot of PayPerPost? Has Ted finally gone over the edge and lost it? We know he's been working too hard, but I'm concerned about his mental health. I was expecting the chamber he's sitting in to fill up and some whiskers to sprout on his face before he started swimming around like a real catfish. How about an impression of a puffer fish? If Ted can pull that one off, then I think I will accept his claim as a master impressionist. Watch for yourself, but don't be too hard on Ted. He hasn't had a day off in a long time, apparently.



PayPerPost has some strange videos.

Honda Fuel Cell Car

I hope the Honda Fuel Cell Car is in production soon and eventually is for sale rather than just for lease. I enjoy driving the Civic Hybrid which gets around 42 miles per gallon, but it's still using gas which is eventually going to be moving back up in price. The fuel cell car would have a huge ripple effect on the whole gas/auto infrastructure and it will take many years for it to be successful, but in the long run, something like that has to be successful. I just hope the car doesn't look like some of these other Honda electric cars which are a little strange and small with an odd shape.

Need a credit card?

Did your spouse site at home one day and run up a big bill on the Home Shopping Network and ruin your credit? That can make it tough to get more credit, but the Orchard Bank Platinum MasterCard may be a way to avoid that problem. The Orchard Bank Mastercard has no up front fees, a reasonable 14.9 percentage rate and an annual fee between 35 and 69 dollars. Using this card and paying it off each month can help you re-establish a good credit rating and even if your credit isn't so great right now, you can get approved for this card and get on your way to a higher credit rating.

CNNSi or ESPN?

I normally prefer to get my sports news from ESPN.com and sometimes I go to CNNSi.com for a few of the writers there. However, the autoplaying video on espn.com has made me more of a cnnsi reader lately. I can't stand that kind of thing -- it's just as bad as someone's site playing loud midi music with no way to turn it off. The espn site doesn't seem to have a way to set a preference so it doesn't play the video every time you go there. Bad design, particularly on World Usability Day.

Woodworking with routers

Working with wood to build your own furniture is fun, especially if you have the right tools and some good plans for what you are trying to build. I have always liked seeing people work with wood routers to create nice table legs and other pieces. If you like working with wood and you use a router or are thinking about using a router, just-wood-routers.com is a site for you. They've got information about routers, bits, lifts and tables, so if you are looking to upgrade your equipment or just trying to figure out what to buy, check it out.

Searching for MacFormat

MacFormat is a British Mac magazine which I have sometimes seen at Fry's and at Barnes and Noble. It's expensive -- $14.99 -- because it's imported, and although it's pretty good, I don't buy it very often. I also like to look through another British Mac magazine, iCreate, which is similarly priced. Last month's issue of MacFormat had an article about how to program your own game of Frogger using Runtime Revolution. They supply the source code on the CD with the magazine. I only came across the article last week on the Runtime Revolution site and have been looking for the magazine since then. No luck at Fry's or 2 Barnes and Noble stores. I did find that Borders Books carries it, but they already have the November issue and told me that the day the new ones come in, they rip the covers off last month's issue and send it back! So I guess it's time to email MacFormat and see what they have to say about finding a copy.

Second Life in Education

CNN says Second Life is being used in classes at more than 60 schools and educational institutions.

The three-dimensional virtual world makes it possible for students taking a distance course to develop a real sense of community, said Rebecca Nesson, who leads a class jointly offered by Harvard Law School and Harvard Extension School in the world of "Second Life."

"Students interact with each other and there's a regular sense of classroom interaction. It feels like a college campus," she said.

She holds class discussions in "Second Life" as well as office hours for extension students. Some class-related events are also open to the public -- or basically anyone with a broadband connection.

- - - - -

Besides improving the quality of distance learning, educators are finding "Second Life" is a good way to introduce international perspectives. In Nesson's course, students as far away as Korea engage in the classroom discussion and work on team projects.

What's great about PayPerPost...

I wasn't sure what to make of PayPerPost when I first heard about it, probably because the way I came across it was a negative review by one of the more vocal critics of the service. I tried it out once and then waited about a week to get my first post approved. Since then I've become a fanatic about it and never miss a day. I've made a number of videos which has been great fun and I've written about lots of websites and services I would never have known about. I guess the idea of word of mouth marketing through blogs is a good one, but for me, trying to learn to write quickly in an entertaining style (at least most of the time) has been what I've liked the most. Yes, I do like getting paid and I wouldn't do it if I didn't get paid, but I think participating in PayPerPost has helped me use the web in a different way -- less aimless web browsing -- as well as improve my ability to compose quickly and get things done. Thanks!

Mobile office

I've been at my job for about 6 weeks now and I'm still waiting for an office and a computer. The computer may arrive next week and then a few days after IT locks it up and installs whatever software I got, I'll be able to get more work done. For now I've been using my computer at home and my 12 inch G4 laptop which seems even smaller when I work on it trying to get anything done that's more than just writing. So it's been pretty much a mobile office because I can't store anything at work, so I haul it back and forth or leave my files online. I may continue to work this way even when I've got my own office.

Treadmills

A treadmill is a basic part of any gym, whether it's a home gym or one of those places where you pay a monthly fee to use the equipment. Fitness Goals for most people can be achieved through some combination of aerobic exercise and strength training. What's nice about a treadmill is that it provides a consistent environment for walking or running -- no worrying about it being too cold, too dark or too wet outside. I bought a treadmill for home for those reasons and also because I can watch television while I'm on the treadmill. There are many brands of treadmills with different features. I recommend getting the best one you can afford because it will hold up longer. My treadmill is about 10 years old and it still works great.

Palomar Observatory and light pollution

Light pollution is not a type of pollution I've ever heard about before. Apparently it's a big deal when you are trying to use a telescope to see stars and other objects in the sky. At the Palomar Observatory, light pollution is making it difficult for astronomers to do their work.

Nicholson said he worries that Palomar Observatory might suffer the same fate as the Mount Wilson Observatory in Los Angeles. In the mid-1980s, the observatory stopped studying faraway galaxies in favor of closer, brighter stars because light pollution had become so bad.

It sounds like Denny's is one of the worst offenders and they don't care too much about it.

As part of a presentation he gave to Riverside County planning officials earlier this year, Garrett showed pictures of some businesses he thought used excessive lighting.

One of them was the Denny's restaurant in Temecula, which, Garrett said, uses 14 high-intensity, wide-angle floodlights to illuminate its roof.

There's no reason to light up the roof "unless you expect customers to land on the roof," he said.

Debbie Atkins, a Denny's spokeswoman, said the lights help draw attention to the business, which is open 24 hours. It also enhances safety and security, she said.

How about some better food as a way to draw attention to the business?

Is this yourkindaTV?

The web used to be mostly one way -- people looked at websites and some people had their own sites, but it was mostly one way. Now there are all kinds of sites where you can post your blog, photos and videos. Sooner or later, someone would be smart enough to recognize that some of this "user generated content" is pretty good. Well, YourKindaTV.com in Britain, has started up an awards show for the people who submit the videos to their site. The YourKindaTV British User Generated Awards 2007 are happening on February 4th and will include categories like the best mockumentary, the best candid clip, most original clip, and my favorite, the most dangerous clip. Check it out and Get involved with the daily news and views from YourKindaTV. You might learn something or see something you won't see on cable or satellite tv. Plus, YourKindaTV is priced right -- it's free.

USC is #3?

I don't understand how USC jumped over Florida in the BCS rankings. It doesn't matter too much anyway, because my other favorite team, Cal, is going to beat USC this Saturday and Florida will move into 2nd place behind the winner of Ohio State - Michigan. Florida plays the tougher schedule, but USC started out the season higher, so who knows. Now that Cal's chances for the top 8 are pretty distant, I'll have to hope that USC loses. If Cal wins their remaining games, maybe they can still get in the top 10.

Hp Coupons for laptops and desktops

Looking for a deal on some HP notebooks or desktops? Check out the HP Coupons at CheapStingyBargains.com. With a name like that, you know the prices are going to be good! The site is updated hourly, so get some HP Coupon Codes and get shopping. Some of the deals start at under $300, so you know they won't last long.

Vibrant's used RS6000 servers

removed due to server error

Blogger Beta

The new Blogger is much faster to save and publish than the old one. It also has the easy labels feature which is nice. The link button still doesn't work right for me -- sometimes I get the link where it should be and other times I get an icon of a link inserted into my text as if I never had any text selected. Overall, Blogger beta is going to be a big step up once it is complete.

Soccer photos

Over the course of the ten game soccer season, I took around 6,000 pictures. Deciding what makes a good one is easy when I'm the only one who will be looking at the photo. In that case, I am pretty picky. If it's not sharp, if you can't see a face and the ball and if the image wasn't taken at the right moment when there is some action or conflict, then it's probably not one that I want to keep. However, since I post my images online for parents to see, I'm much less picky with those. If anyone might find it interesting, I'll put it online.

South Bay chat

I guess there are lots of places called South Bay, since that was what they called the San Jose area when I lived there. Near LA, the South Bay is Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach and cities around there. A very nice area to live or visit. If you are interested in chatting with people about the South Bay or you want to find out more about what's going on, check out the South Bay forums at southbaychat.com. It's a new site and they are running some contests for free meals, pizza and more. All you have to do is sign up...

Dish HD

Our Dish installer came this afternoon and set up a new satellite and receiver. The picture is pretty nice on the HD channels and it does look very good on close ups. Some stuff is still fuzzy and motion doesn't work well with text, but otherwise it seems good. HGHD is one channel I will watch now when I have some time. There is some setting on the TV which is zooming in and cutting off the sides. It's a little complicated to locate that however and I can't figure out how to turn it off yet.

Bank foreclosures

Bank foreclosures are a sad part of real estate booms and busts. I think my neighbor's house may be in foreclosure right now, although there are no signs out front. They just disappeared last weekend and now the yard is turning brown. However, one person's misfortune is another person's opportunity, so I hope someone else will purchase the house and get a good deal. Buying Bank Foreclosures is certainly a way to save some money on a home and is definitely something worth looking around for. This site can help you locate homes in foreclosure around the U.S. by filling out a form to list a home or signing up for a service to locate them.

Chargers come back and win

That Chargers - Bengals game today was one of the best I have ever watched in terms of offense. I turned it on at the start of the second quarter and the Chargers were already down 21-0. They scored a quick touchdown right away and then when I came back a while later, the Bengals had scored again and it was 28-7. But the Chargers scored 42 points in the second half and held on to win 49-41. It was an amazing game. I'm sure the Bengals don't feel so great about their 500 yards of offense in a loss.

Gifts for stargazers

Sometimes it can be difficult to come up with a good idea for a gift during the holiday season, no matter how many newspapers, magazines and television commericals you look at. Some people are just hard to shop for whether they already have too much stuff or they are just a little bit different from the average Joe and Jane. A unique gift is a good way to make somebody happy. How about a buying one of the Meade Telescopes from Optics Planet? These are high quality telescopes, suitable for the beginner who is just getting interested in astronomy all the way up to someone who has been star gazing for years. Optics Planet has a huge selection of everything optical, from sunglasses to binoculars and even digital cameras, but a nice telescope makes a great gift. Any order over $29.95 ships free via UPS.

In addition to Meade, Optics Planet carries other top brands like Celestron, Bushnell, Leica, Tasco and more. They've also got a list of items which make great gifts in a wide range of prices. Why not check it out for the stargazer on your shopping list? There are many moons, planets and celestial bodies out there waiting to be explored and a telescope is a good way to get started.

500+ soccer photos

I guess it is easier to take pictures when you have no rooting interest in a game. I didn't make much of an effort, but took more than 500 shots at yesterday's soccer final. I normally move around the field to get a wide variety of shots, but this time I didn't do that very much. I only stayed on one side the whole time.

I'm going to post the good ones on zoomr, which had a nice deal for bloggers -- a free pro account.