Monday, November 19th, 2007
Blogger takes Honda’s $10m hydrogen fuel cell FCX Clarity for a test drive
What would you do if Honda handed you the keys to a $10 million car that emits only water vapor? Everything legal, that’s what. Read AutoblogGreen’s first in-depth review of a car some lucky people will be able to lease next summer. When will the rest of us get to drive a hydrogen car?
Broadband speeds days numbered?
Enjoy your speedy broadband Web access while you can. The Web will start to slow down as early as 2010, as use of interactive and video-intensive services overwhelms local cable, phone and wireless Internet providers
Think Recycling Computers Is A Good Thing? Think Again
Most people think they’re helping the earth when they recycle their old computers, televisions and cell phones. But chances are they’re contributing to a global trade in electronic trash that endangers workers and pollutes the environment overseas
Is AMD Doomed?
Can a $622M dollar cash infusion plus reasonably profitable GPUs give AMD enough breathing room to prove its gamble on true quad core was a good one? The jury is still out, but the portents are not very encouraging. The tech world really needs a scrappy, nimble CPU company like AMD, just like it needs a scrappy, cool computer company like Apple.
Why Car Salesmen Think its Okay to Screw you, And what you can do about it!
This is a good article on common arguments a car salesman may throw at you during the buying process. Very informative, kind of funny, but SO true!
Related posts
Posted in Current Events, Internet, Websites | 1 Comment »
Saturday, November 17th, 2007
Google offers API for Outlook migration to Gmail
Google took a giant step on Friday to make it easier for companies to migrate any e-mail system over to Google Apps Gmail by offering an E-mail Migration API targeted at corporate developers and e-mail administrators.
Become an Internet Legend in Your Free Time: Tips from Internet Celebrities
“The Internet moves very fast,” says Gary “Numa Numa” Brolsma. “Your video has to be funny, or get to the point, very quickly. People are clicking all the time. If you don’t hook people in the first 15 seconds, they’ll move on.”
Top 30 websites that still are using tables as layout structure
You won´t believed how many they are. Some of then are your daily web routine. Stop hunting those IE CSS tricks and bring back your Frontpage 98 my friend designer, we are still in web 0.8889
How Top Bloggers Really Promote their Websites
Simple question: “If you had 2-hours a day to devote to no-cost, off-blog (even off-line) marketing for your blog, what would you do?” I posed this very question to a collection of some of the world’s top bloggers and social network marketers…and here’s what they revealed.
15 Unreasonably Useful Websites
A list of 15 websites that are either useful or entertaining.
Related posts
Posted in Blogs, Current Events, Internet, Websites | No Comments »
Saturday, November 17th, 2007
I have been going back and forth for some time on this issue…whether or not to go video. I know I take a lot of photos for this blog and that seems to be working out well. I just think that people would enjoy video a whole lot more.
The benefit is that people can see much more through video. They can hear me talk and hear the birds chirp. They can get a real feel for things. Image watching TV as a slide show. Not so much fun. I think video is where it’s at.
I was thinking that I can get a little Sony hard drive video camera and upload the videos to YouTube.com. Depending on the software I get with the camera, I can add my URL in the bottom corner of each video to promote whatever website the video is going to be posted on. Then, I can simply pull the code for the video in from YouTube to my website. Sound good?
Ok, since I really know nothing about video cameras, I am going to have to do a little research. I saw one at Circuit City for decent price. Maybe one of these days I will go grab it. I am sure my family would like to watch these videos, or maybe I am just being a little narcissistic. Nah, I think they will like it.
Related posts
Posted in Blogs, Entertainment, Internet, Websites | No Comments »
Sunday, November 4th, 2007
Many Consumers Are Unclear What “Online Tracking” Even Means
A study released this week shows that a huge percentage of Americans don’t grasp just how intensively their online habits are tracked, analyzed, and used to serve ads back to them.
Top 10 Events for Bloggers
Blogging can be a lonely business. And if online blogger communities don’t satisfy you desire to mingle, this is a list of the top 10 events in the real world where you can participate in, meet with fellow bloggers, and share experiences.
OpenSocial - What a Difference a Day Makes Google Beats Facebook
Facebook vs Google Open Social
Google Purchases Shortest Domain Name Ever
Google has purchased the shortest possible domain name to make it easier for Chinese users to find Google: g.cn.
Google OpenSocial Now Live!
We’ve been waiting all day for Google’s OpenSocial site to start working, and it has finally happened. The site contains the official OpenSocial API documents, developers blog, featured community gadgets, and featured videos. Unless you’re a developer dying to see the inner workings of the APIs, there isn’t really much new information up there;
Related posts
Posted in Blogs, Current Events, Websites | No Comments »
Monday, October 29th, 2007
This is getting rather entertaining. Well, I think it’s entertaining because nothing beyond some sites losing PageRank has happened yet. I don’t think anyone has lost any traffic. One thing is for sure, there are more than a few people who have lost faith in the whole PageRank thing.
I was reading this great article today called, “Google Drops PageRank For Many Sites : Paid Links or New Algorithm?” It’s a pretty good read.
Take a look at the article and click on some of the links in it. Ones like WashingtonPost.com and Forbes.com. What’s really interesting is their new PageRank. They are now “5″ and “4″ respectively. What happened there? My own blog lost a point and is now a 5. So, does that mean that I am right up there with WashingtonPost? I think not. WashingtonPost has 64,300 backlinks. Ok, there goes that relationship.
There are a lot of theories out there on what happened. I think, if you are interested in the whole thing, you should start looking at the sites that gained PageRank and not the ones who lost. That’s where you are going to find some answers.
PS - Some say that “Google PR” stands for “Public Relations.” If so, Google is doing a mighty good job of it. They are succeeding at dangling the carrot out there. If you follow that logic, you would think that bloggers would be rewarded with the whole PageRank thing, instead of being the main ones hit with the latest update.
Related posts
Posted in Blogs, Internet, Websites | No Comments »
Monday, October 29th, 2007
I was reading again about the whole Google PageRank thing (which is getting rather nausiating) and came across a fun blog post called, “Six Common Punctuation Errors that Bedevil Bloggers.”
I try to proof read my posts, but I am sure that I make mistakes. The best ones are the ones that I don’t even know I make. I know that I use the “…” a lot. I am always sure to put the punctuation inside the end quote. I think I do a pretty good job with commas. People might disagree with that one because they don’t get how I write. Basically, I put a comma where I pause when I speak. I guess I write in spoken English. From what I have heard, people seems to like that.
Anyway, if you think you need to clean up your act…or your posts, you might want to take a look at the link above. If nothing else, it will make you feel smarter.
PS - Here is one I absolutely love. It’s when people use “I” incorrectly, such as, “Jeff and I at the mall.” or “Look at Jeff and I.” I think the whole “I” thing has been pummeled into people’s heads way too much.
Related posts
Posted in Blogs, Education, Websites | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
I get flattered pretty easily. If anyone notices anything I do, I am impressed. Perhaps that is because I bring stuff up so often, I get a lot of eye rolls, but when someone else brings up something I do, my heart nearly gives out. You have to see the reaction I get from poor Kevin and Paul here at work when I show them ugly pictures of some beam in my basement twice a week. Yeah, gotta love that.
I started this blog to write some stuff about my new house. It has served that purpose, along with some other topics. Just check out my category list in the right hand column. I like to write, and think I have done a fair job at expressing my thoughts here. As you may have noticed, sometimes I lose steam towards the end of a post and kind of just end it. I suppose that’s common with a lot of us.
This post really has nothing to do with anything, but I thought I would write some things about this blog. If you are at all interested, the most popular post here is one about “The Satan Caves in Brewster.” That one was really fun to write. Another popular post is the one about “Installing Our New Harman P38 Pellet Stove.” Those posts are pretty informative and are localized. People probably get nostalgic about the Satan Caves and I think the timing (Autumn) was good for the pellet stove post. One that I always try to push is the “A Car Named Linda” post. I am not sure why. Maybe it’s because that one might describe me the best…a kind of frustrated at society, but victim of it at the same time kind of guy. People who know me probably call me nuts because of my antics (probably?).
By the way, here is a photo of me getting my old dog Mickey ready for a motorcycle ride.
One thing I REALLY love is when I find out that someone reads my blog…someone who I would’ve never guessed. I like that. I found out the other night that my best buddy’s fine little lady likes to read this thing. Yeah, that’s right, you know who you are. Remember we secretly met at Dave and Busters? I don’t know why, but I get a thrill out of that. I remember on one of my first posts, “Visiting Block Island, RI,” I got my first comment. Someone probably “Googled” Block Island or something and stumbled across my blog. I am so happy to see that the visitor had a chance to see some good shots of the island.
Whenever someone comes up to me and says anything about my writing, I get real shy. It might be because I portray one side in person and am actually quite normal when I write. That’s a real perk of the blogosphere…you can hide. Of course, I take great care not to provide any real information here…there are some crazy folks out there. I don’t really mention names or addresses or anything like that because I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.
Sooo…back to the title of this post. I know there are some people out there who are bored at work and maybe check this out from time to time…just to waste a few minutes as the clock ticks closer to 5PM. I may have known someone way back when…or whatever. I don’t really know…well, because I don’t really dwell on that stuff. But, if you are one of those people who enjoy reading what I have to say, keep on reading. Maybe you have wanted to leave a comment every once in a while. If so, go for it. Use a fake name or something. No one will ever know who you are and I will have some inspiration for next time.
Related posts
Posted in Blogs, Ramblings | 4 Comments »
Saturday, September 23rd, 2006
I just read a great article stating that in March of 2005…at that point in time…there were 40,000 - 50,000 new blogs created PER DAY. Ok, that’s a lot of blogs. Granted, most of these blogs are set up, posted to a few times and then fall into the abyss. This whole revelation got me thinking about what we are supposed to be writing in these things.
As you may have noticed, I like to write. I really enjoy the fact that I can have an experience, share that experience and maybe, just maybe, someone out there will get a kick out of something I wrote. People look at blogs for so many reasons, but I think I like it most when I bring back a memory of something someone experienced along the way. My Block Island post is a good example. With as much fun as I am having, there is still that nagging feeling like I am doing something wrong. I think that someone is going to read my posts and see that I am not following the “Proper” format or, I don’t know, screwing something up. I’m not the most experienced blogger out there. Some blogs I have read have archives back to 2000. I spoke with Paul the other day about this and he said that what I am doing is fine and that I should just write what comes to mind. I seem to remember, though, him mentioning a while ago, something about “Blog Etiquette,” which is something like “Netiquette.” (Who makes up these words?) I trusted him, but verified through a search. He was right and here is what I found:
“It seems like every human on the planet now has a blog. As with any other public display, there is an etiquette to having a blog that is appreciated.
The first thing to remember is that this is going to be public knowledge - not just today, but for the rest of your life. There are enough scanners and archivers and printers out there that even if you take down words after one day, those words can be part of your permanent record. Things that you feel are really nifty to say at age 16 can be incredibly damaging to your professional career when you’re 22 and looking for a job.
This isn’t a matter of censorship - it’s a matter of giving mature thought to each thing you publish. You are publishing to a world audience. The world will, in fact, judge you, and not always fairly. It’s a fact of life that we all have to accept. Be prepared for the consequences - and accept the responsibility - for each thing you choose to publish.
This leads into a second point. Always be accurate. Lies have a way of always being discovered. A blog’s reputation - and indeed a person’s reputation - is built on how well it can be trusted. If one lie is found in past blogs, it can destroy all the work you’ve put into blogs since then. We can find numerous examples of this happening in other media situations.
Use a spell checker on your content. Yes, the web is casual - but if people have trouble reading your content, they won’t come back even if it’s interesting. The easier you can make your content for people to read, the more readers you will have. Every person has a different tolerance for spelling problems. You might not mind certain errors, but laugh out loud when you see others. You need to consider that some might consider your own errors in the same manner.
Finally, be yourself. Speak with your own voice. Write about how you feel about the issues. There are plenty of “straight news sites” out there. There is only one you, coming from your own background and history. Share your insight and feelings on the topics you love. That will draw in people who appreciate that view and who want to hear more.”
I think that was very well written and verifies what Paul said. We all want original and insightful content for people to enjoy. There seems to be some limitations on what I can write about though. I have to admit, I don’t know if I like having to think so hard about everything I put here. What if I am in a bad mood on a certain day and my way of venting is to write hard and fast and what if I don’t necessarily want to cross my Ts and dot all my Is? Is that going to follow me around my whole life? Oh man, if it does, someone might actually find out that I am…HUMAN and not some blog writing robot. Boy, I wonder what my future employer will have to say when they find that out. But wait…what if someone actually judges me? What will happen then? Perhaps the very non-judgemental world we live in will spin out of orbit.
My advice: go ahead and write about what you want to write about and stop worrying about all the rules stiff people make up for us. Just be prepared to be called on it someday. Have a good comeback line. The most entertaining stuff out there is non-rehearsed and you know we all love a good scandal. I’m not sure Einstein cared too much about what his neighbor though of him.
Now that I have that out of the way, let me give you my opinion. I think this is the best blog out there. I think it should win awards and be praised on the evening news. After doing an extensive search, I have not found any others in the world that compare. With that said, I am now giving the opportunity for all you, YES all of you, to steal what I write about. You may have noticed some new buttons hanging out in the right column all about RSS and feeds and news and all that. Those are for you. Just click the one that relates best to you and go have a ball. You really have to like my golden nuggets of wisdom though, or else…well, that’s just silly.
I am sure this post had a point somewhere. I know I had one when I started. Oh well, I guess this is what happens when I am given too many toys to play with. Till next time…
Related posts
Posted in Blogs, General, Ramblings | 1 Comment »
