New way for kids to write on the walls

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

VGA Recorder Pro

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

 

free eBay selling tool

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

No future as a lumberjack

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

KVM2USB

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

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

Soccer Tabblo from Saturday

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

Trivia but not trivial

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

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

$900 on PayPerPost

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

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VegasPokerPro for poker players

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

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

Testing Bleezer

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

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

Technorati: blogging bleezer

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Another Soccer Tabblo

I made a new Tabblo:

See my Tabblo>

If I could do one home improvement

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

Bad Metaphor

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

Dieting

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

Total Gym 1700

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

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

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

Fantasy Football Podcast with Josh and Jason

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

Fantasy Football

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

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

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

Chargers look good this year

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

No Mo for Dodgers

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

Chris Berman and sports nicknames

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