Jay Gaulard Blog

Unreal 2 - The Awakening

Friday, December 28th, 2007

For Christmas, Laura asked for a video game. She likes to shoot things and get fierce. In the past, she has shown to really enjoy Unreal. I liked that game too. It had 39 thrilling boards with great graphics and awesome sound. We would get sucked in for hours.

Since we liked that game so much, I decided to get her Unreal 2. The reviews of this game weren’t nearly as good as the original, but we aren’t freaky game junkies or anything. Some people get way too far into these things. Some of the complaints were that this version only has nine boards and the gameplay isn’t as good as the first one. I will admit there is a lot of fluff at the beginning, with the “setting the stage” so to speak.

Just last night, I got to the part where the beasts start killing me off. I already was taken care of a few times and can’t seem to get past one spot. Laura hasn’t started playing it yet, because she is still playing “Planet of the Apes.”

Photoshop CS3 Save For Web Color Problem Fixed

Friday, December 28th, 2007

I fixed my little save for web color issue I was having. I adjusted the color setting in the save for web palette. I found the answer on this blog, if you want to take a look. There are lots of great responses.

Open Source, Ubuntu, Windows Vista and Gmail

Thursday, December 27th, 2007

The Flexibility of Open Source

One of the things that has been a strong point of Open Source Software (OSS) for years, even if it hasn’t been held at the forefront of the battle, is the flexibility that OSS offers.

The Economist: Ubuntu is the source of Linux’s rise

The Economist makes three technology predictions for 2008, two of which concern web surfing and the third of which concerns everyone, whether they surf the web or not. The Economist’s third prediction is that the technology world will open up:

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 RC1 vs. Shipping Vista

Microsoft just rolled out the first publicly available release candidate for SP1 of Windows Vista, and we snapped it up, eager to see if it’s faster than the currently shipping version of Vista. To test its speed, we ran a series of benchmarks on exactly the same machine, first with the original version of Vista, and then with the RC of SP1

2007 In Numbers: More People Using Yahoo Mail Than Gmail

Suprising but True …. at least according to this research….

Top 20 Linux Apps for 2007

It seems like every blog on the internet has one of these, so here’s my picks for the top 20 Linux applications. I’ll be covering programs from all different categories that I think stand out and shine as true wonders of Linux and will be presented in no particular order.

Top Free Classifieds Websites

Thursday, December 27th, 2007

I thought I would put a small list of the top free classifieds websites out there. This is straight from Google, so I am not influencing this at all. If you have more to add, please post them in a comment.

- USFreeAds
- WebClassifieds.US
- DomesticSale
- BuySellCommunity
- ClassifiedsForFree
- Recycler
- ClassifiedAds
- Adoos
- FreeAdsCity
- BestWayClassifieds

Free Classifieds Website Just Released - AdLeeg.com

Thursday, December 27th, 2007

I just finished putting the finishing touches on my latest creation, AdLeeg.com - Free Classifieds. The URL is http://www.adleeg.com. This is a feature packed free classifieds website.

There is a bit of a twist with this one. The way it works is to register for an account. Initially, you give some company (or whatever) information to be viewable under your category(s). Then, you are able to place as many ads as you want under that one listing. Those ads are called “products.” It’s very simple.

Go ahead, give it a shot.

Problem With “Save For Web” Colors in Photoshop

Thursday, December 27th, 2007

I am having a little issue. Whenever I try to “save an image for web” in Adobe Photoshop, the colors seems to be a little off in the save for web palette. If I open a photo in Photoshop, the colors are fine. When I go to save it for web, the colors in the photo aren’t the same as when I opened it. What the heck is going on? This had been happening for some time. I have the latest version of Photoshop (CS3).

I thought if I put this out there, someone can help.

Christmas at the Red Lion Inn, Stockbridge, MA

Wednesday, December 26th, 2007

Well, we got back from the Red Lion Inn just a few hours ago. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas night there. It was a pretty nice little getaway. What was especially nice was actually staying at the inn, at last.

We have been there so many times before for dinner or just stopping by, but never for an actual stay, so that was exciting. After we checked in, we went up to our room on the third floor. There are 101 rooms at the inn, so finding it needed some direction. What caught me immediately after entering the room was the fact that the old inn was showing its age. Let’s just say that things have “settled” over the years. It gives the place its character. I think people like that because the place is always very busy.

Back when I called to make the reservations just a few weeks ago, I asked if the dining room and tavern had dress codes for the nights we would be eating there. The front desk informed me that men didn’t have to wear jackets in the dining room on Christmas Eve, because dinner was for guests only, no outsiders. Also, on Christmas night, I didn’t have to wear a jacket because we were eating in the Tavern and there was no dress code in there. As it turns out, I was supposed to wear a jacket for Christmas dinner, no matter where we were eating. This took me by surprise, because I didn’t bring a jacket.

We got in the car and shot up to “Prime Outlets” in Lee, MA. We went in a few store looking for a sport coat. No one had any…until we saw Brooks Brothers. We went in there to find a bunch of sport coats. I picked one out and bought it on the fly. By the way, I had other (nicer) clothes for dinner, not the ones I was wearing. Whoa, that was close.

So, one of the main reasons we went up to the Red Lion Inn for Christmas was to visit Williamstown, MA. We wanted to check out the town as a potential place to live. We are always doing that. It’s part of me being annoying.

We decided to drive North on Rt.7, through Pittsfield, MA to Rt.9 West and onto Rt.8 North. We drove through Adams, MA and into North Adams, MA. This was a good thing, because I always wanted to visit these towns too. I hear a lot about them while listening to NPR. One big famous thing we saw was Mass MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) (Blog) up in North Adams. We didn’t go in, but we did pass by to grab a few good shots of the place. This one was the best one.

It was a good thing we visited these areas, because we were able to cross them off our list of places to live. I am sure there are a bunch of nice people and some good culture, but it wasn’t for us.

We took Rt.2 West into Williamstown, MA. I have to say, this is a very nice town. Everything was really clean and neat. We drove down Spring Street and around a few roads. I did notice that the whole town was empty. It was Christmas, but we only saw one other person in the whole entire town. This creeped us out a little bit. As we were driving down Rt.7 back into Pittsfield, Laura turned to me and said, “We would really have to like one another to live in that town.” Not that it wasn’t very nice, it just seemed lonely when college wasn’t in session. Take a look at the photos of Spring Street.

There was one last thing I wanted to see on the way back to the inn. It was Pontoosuc Lake. On Google Earth, someone posted a really cool photo of the lake through some pine trees on the south side. There is a little park off Hancock Rd. This is a really pretty lake, so I got a nice shot too.

The Berkshires are a nice backdrop.

We made it back to the inn for another dinner. As usual, it was delicious. I did manage to grab a few nice photos throughout the time we were there. Some of them came out blurry, but others didn’t. Here they are.

At the inn, there is a store called, “Country Curtains.” They have a very nice display in one of the hallways.

This is me sitting in a nice chair near the rear entrance. I thought I looked hot, so I made Laura take a picture.

And that’s it. Overall, it was a very nice vacation.

Article Submission Website Open For Business

Monday, December 24th, 2007

Ok, it’s finally finished…my latest Article Submission website. It’s called “ArticleLeeg” and it’s a very simple site to use.

If you would like to submit an article to promote yourself, your business or your website (or whatever), just register for an account and start submitting. It’s that easy.

Why would you want to start submitting articles at these types of websites? That’s easy…promotion. They are great ways to write nice content about yourself and stick some links to your websites in the articles. These articles get spread around the web and bring you visitors.

So…get going.

Visit ArticleLeeg.com.

WordPress vs. Drupal

Saturday, December 22nd, 2007

I have a domain name and hosting account sitting there just burning to be used. I purchased a script a few days ago that looked like it had lots of promise. After installing it, I learned that it was nothing but full of bugs. Since I didn’t have the time or patience to fix someone else’s mess, I asked for a refund, which I got. Really, if a script gives me issues again and again, I can just imagine the emails I will receive when real people start using it. Sometimes these computer dudes really don’t have a clue.

Anyway, I have been looking into Drupal lately. I have heard so many good things about it. Obviously, I use WordPress already (for this blog). As I research Drupal, I am noticing many similarities between the two applications. I am reading that WordPress is great, but Drupal can do what WordPress does and a whole lot more. I have even heard that you can use Drupal for a social networking script (by the way, I did find THE social networking script, but it costs $20,000 per year for licensing).

So my question is, what exactly are the differences between WordPress and Drupal? Which one is older? I know they both have very dedicated and large communities of developers and followers. Will they both end up being the same thing as they grow through the years? Can I set up Drupal to be automated…like a link directory or an article submission website?

So many questions…

Monetizing, Apple, Firefox and Open Formats

Friday, December 21st, 2007

101 Ways to Monetize Your Blog (Without Irritating Readers)

Blogging is big business these days, with some bloggers reporting six-figure or even million-dollar incomes. There are a number of ways that these bloggers earn such large paychecks, and the best know how to do it in a way that won’t scare off readers. Check out 101 ways that you can earn money from your blog.

Apple has sold 5 million iPhones

Apple has sold 5 million iPhones, according to 9 to 5 Mac, an Apple rumor site. At the iPhone’s launch, Steve Jobs set a public goal of selling 10 million iPhones — next year. With the iPhone only on sale for six months, that means Apple’s already selling its sleek smartphones at 2008 speed.

Firefox 3.0 Beta 2 Is A Win For Linux

Mozilla has released the latest beta of Firefox 3 today, and the Linux efforts behind it are starting to show even more. This release, being a beta, is surprisingly stable. Here’s the killer that makes this beta release amazing: true GTK support.

Norway mandates use of open formats: HTML, ODF and PDF

Government, state and regional agencies, authorities and services may also publish in other formats, but they must always publish in one of these formats. The decree is retroactive, and by 2014 all documents published prior to this decree must have been converted and made available in one of the three formats.

10 great Web site designs/redesigns of 2007

We pick 10 of our favorite site designs and redesigns of 2007.

8 Bold Predictions on Google’s Next Moves

There’s little doubt that Google Inc. is indeed king of online media. In August 2007 alone, Google captured 57% of worldwide market share among search engines, with more than 37 billion search inquiries. Not surprisingly, this dominance has led to endless rumors about where Google is headed next?