hosting service providers

Seems there's a whole host of hosts out there to give your website a home on the web. What's good for us is that the more providers there are, the cheaper the service - it's basic supply and demand. Host208 - Webhosting Services offers competitive plans from $4.50 per month including a user-friendly control panel interface, 3 hosted subdomains, dedicated 24/7 customer support, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Anyone tried Host208? If so, leave me a comment about your experience.

continuing ed...

I waited until the last minute to take my real estate continuing education classes this year. I met the deadline, but next year, I should probably try to go right after the first of the year when the schedule comes out. The classes are designed to educate licensed real estate agents of changes in laws and to give them a refresher in a back-to-basics approach so they can meet the state requirements to renew their license. I remembered most of the material, but some of it was new. I could take part of the course online and only have to be in the classroom 1/2 the day, but I'd have to take a test - the classroom classes don't require a test; they only require you to be there and basically have a pulse and breath air, so I'll probably do the classroom again next year, and knowing me, I'll probably wait 'til the last minute...

high tech pens

I was looking around for some new ink pens today and ran across some that would make the NASA $12 Billion Zero-Gravity Ink Pen look like a crayon. Of course the 12 Billion -dollar ink pen story is an urban legend, these are real. I saw one pen that has 1 GB storage built in and other pens with calculators built in - that would come in handy when you're balancing your checkbook. I usually use just your regular, run of the mill, ball point or roller ball pen, but these high tech pens have this pen freak drooling just a bit...

to be so lucky...

People who live near water are lucky and the ones who actually live on the water I'm even more envious of. It would be a dream to be able to grill out on the deck with a beautiful view of a slick as glass lake or to watch the people go by with the backdrop of the waves crashing on the sand. One day, maybe we'll own a piece of NC waterfront property. It might be a modular home on a duck pond, but I'll take what I can get...

packed and ready...

I have my bags packed and I'm ready to go. No, I don't have a bunch of luggage, just my laptop bag, purse and a bag of stuff I cleaned out of my office. I moved some stuff around in here today because I can't stand it one way for too long. Only 15 minutes to go and I'll bust through those doors like Seabiscuit coming out of the gate...

design your new bathroom online...

Over at HGTV.com, I found a section of the website where you can use their 3-D tool to design your own custom bathroom. As a real estate agent, I know that the main selling points of a house are the kitchen and the bathrooms - especially the master bath. If you're thinking of doing some real estate investing, don't skimp in either of these areas. Spend a little more to get the higher end kitchen and bathroom faucets, fixtures, and appliances because you will benefit in the end...

tinkering around...

My Dad loves to tinker with things. He's extremely mechanically inclined and could probably make a rocketship out of old golf cart parts. Speaking of golf carts, I'd love to be able to afford to buy him one so he could ride it from the house to his shop and around the pond. It's not that far, but it's all uphill coming back to the house. Right now, he and Mom ride the lawn mower up and down the hill, but being near the golf capital of the world, I ought to be able to find a cheap used one - maybe I could even get him one he could fix up - he'd probably enjoy that...

kitchen gadgets

We all have them in our kitchens - the special appliance or gadget that we see on a late night infomercial that we cannot live without because its going to make our life so much easier or because we'd finally be able to make our own bloomin' onion. The gadgets that really get used are few and far between and most of the ones I've bought take up space in my cabinets for a couple of years, then they either get donated to Goodwill or go into the yard sale pile. My advice, stick with your basic 20 piece cookware set, get some good knives and utensils and leave the Ronco 12-in-one slicer, dicer, chopper, mincer, processor, blender, steamer, broiler, fryer, baker, chiller, freezer in the TV where it belongs...

Ditto on the Do Follow Policy

I read a post tonight on Tricia's Musings about commenting on Do Follow blogs or D-list blogs. I agree completely with her post in that anyone who wants to leave a comment should do so in a meaningful way; don't leave a pitiful little comment just to get a link back to your blog - give me some content - some meaningful relationship to my post, please. Thank you!

Microsoft Surface

I first saw this advertised when I was in Spartanburg, SC earlier this month. It's the Microsoft Surface Table PC. What? At first glance, it looks cool, but then you have to think, how much does something like this cost? I wonder...

If you're thinking about getting one of these one day, check out this video...

PPAP Information

No, I didn't type it wrong - it's not something you have to go to the "big hand" doctor for your yearly physical...

It's Production Part Approval Process or in QA speak, PPAP, one of the many, never-ending acronyms we use on a daily basis...

I'm working on a Level 3 PPAP for a new product for an OEM customer. For those of you who aren't familiar with what a PPAP is, check out the PPAP article on wikipedia.org. If you're familiar with a level 3 PPAP, you know I have a lot of work ahead of me and less time for blogging...

I've been working on a better way to create the PPAP book, yes, the information gathered will fill a 3" or 4" ring binder to the max. One thing that I'd really like to develop is a meaningful spreadsheet or database that interprets dimensional tolerances for different types of callouts on prints. Anyone have any ideas?

YouTube Running Slow...

Anyone else experiencing extremely slow uploads and/or video processing on YouTube? How long is it taking your video to become live? I uploaded a video about 1:00 AM and it's still not live as of 8:30 AM this morning. This was on the YouTube blog:

Monday, June 11, 2007
Videos processing slowly

We're currently experiencing a very high volume of uploads, causing upload times to be significantly longer than usual. This issue should be resolved shortly and all videos that have been uploaded will become live on the site soon. If your video is in the processing stage, you don't need to reupload it. Thanks for your patience!
Posted by Colin @ 2:47 PM

Instant Hot Ice - Cool Video

This cool little video that I found shows you how to make Instant Hot Ice just in case you're bored and need to whip up some. For more cool videos organized by category, go to i-am-bored.com to kill some time and find out what you can do with instant hot ice and if you're so bored, look around and find out why you shouldn't mix diet coke and mentos...



Make Instant HOT ICE ! - video powered by Metacafe

Whogets? You Decide...

Vote for who you think should get the prize at whogets.com. They run an online sweepstakes site where you decide who gets the prizes. Anyone can enter to win a prize - all you do is signup which is free, then find the prize you want and enter the contest's semi-final pool. If you're chosen as one of the finalists, you can plead your case to the voters who discuss the finalists and give their 2 cents worth on the contest's products and sponsors. Get the most votes, and take home the prize. Registration is free and there's no spam. Check out whogets.com for more info and to see what you can win!

Do Follow Badge

As a product of having BAD (Blog Addiction Syndrome), I was peeking around a few blogs this morning and found a neat little 'do follow' badge. I clicked the badge and wound up at randaclay.com where I found a nice post explaining the 'no follow' tag and why you should try to remove it from your blog in order to be able to spread comment love. There are also some badges available in several colors promoting comment link love for those who'd like to add to their site or blog...

Webroot Spy Sweeper Software

Several months ago, my teenage daughter came to me and told me that her computer wasn't working. Not working, how?, I said. To which she replied that it would come up, but wouldn't do anything. I asked her if she'd visited any new sites or downloaded/installed any new programs, but she said she didn't. It was then that I had an icky feeling in the pit of my stomach because I know enough about computers and teenagers to know that this was going to take awhile...

It's one thing to work on your own computer - you know where you've been and what you've done, but it's a totally different thing to try to work on someone else's pc because you don't know what they were doing, where they'd been and they're sometimes reluctant for one reason or another to give you that info.

If you ever have to work on a teenager's computer, the first thing to do is install Spy Sweeper which is a spyware removal program. Kids don't realize how much spyware there is out there in file sharing programs and exchanging other files like music and photos promotes spyware infection. My daughter had a ton of spyware on her pc, so much that none of the programs would even start up. After installing, updating and running the Spy Sweeper program, her pc began to function normally. This program is a must if you spend any time online. It works continuously to detect, remove, and block spyware utilizing an extensive spyware database which is constantly updated and delivered to the user's pc through regular automatic updates.

PDF to HTML to DOC - Oh My!

I am experimenting with converting Adobe Acrobat .pdf files to either .doc or .xls in order to import them to a database.

Here's myproblem: The inspection program that the company I contract for requires me to run does not allow it's users to print any information to text files including open inspections or history regarding completed orders. I'd love to be able to keep information on properties I've inspected previously in a database or at least a spreadsheet or word document so that I could refer back to it once I receive a request to complete another inspection on the same property. Mainly, so I could quickly see a photo, remember what the property looks like and where exactly on a particular street it's located, and the condition it was in at the time of the last inspection. Basically, I'd like to have all the information in one place and the software provided to field inspectors does not allow you to lookup any info on previous inspections except for date completed and order number.

I was thinking, though, if I got my order list converted from .pdf to .doc or .xls format, then I should be able to import that information into a database. Once there's about a month's worth of data is in the database, I should be able to maintain it with little effort which would save time and effort on my part of going through the same iterations of printing, cutting, pasting, scanning and re-printing every few days.

So, while perusing my options, I discovered that GMail allows you to convert a .pdf to .html quickly using their 'See it now' feature. All you do is this:

1. Login to your Gmail account and compose a new email
2. Put your own gmail email address in the 'To' field
3. Attach the .pdf file you want to convert to .html and click 'Send'
4. The message will appear in your Gmail Inbox. Click it, then choose to view the attachment as .html
5. One step further and you can convert that to a .txt file. While viewing the .html file from step 4, just click 'File' then 'Save As' and choose to save the file in .txt format

Neat little feature - and the best thing is, you don't have to install any new conversion software and it's free!

PayPerPost.com Birdo Release

With the latest release, PayPerPost.com has made a pretty big change in the way they're marketing their business model. There are some new interesting features in the latest release, but one of the biggest, most interesting feature has to be the concept and implementation of PayPerPost Direct. In the past, posties like myself sifted through opportunities that were available on the PayPerPost website. But with the latest site update that took place last night, posties can now market their own blog to advertisers via the PayPerPost Direct feature.

The concept should be a win-win for advertisers and bloggers alike. For advertisers, it goes beyond segmentation as another way for advertisers to target the blogs and audiences for which they'd like their products and services marketed. The Direct concept should also prove to be cheaper for an advertiser since PayPerPost Direct only charges the advertiser a 10% fee (which mostly goes toward covering transaction fees) unlike competitors like ReviewMe who can charge 50-100% markup for the same exposure. For bloggers, PayPerPost's Direct tool allows the blogger to advertise their own blog and to negotiate with the advertiser concerning advertiser requirements. In addition, PayPerPost is handling the transaction which saves the blogger time and money.

It's a great plan which may draw more advertisers to PayPerPost. If you want me to
blog ads for your product or service, click on the "Hire Me" badge in my sidebar.

UPDATE on TiVo Bug

After reporting about a possible TiVo bug, I've got my TiVo communicating with my wireless network again. I had to unplug the wireless adapter and the TiVo unit itself. Then, I plugged the adapter back in then plugged the TiVo unit back in which reset everything. The unit then hit the network and I was able to make a connection and get updated programming data. It seems that this happened while I was out of town, but I did notice that the last successful attempt to contact the TiVo service was on May 15th which was the same day that they released a new update to make TV more searchable. Coincidence?

Anyone else experiencing this? Better be safe than sorry because you might not notice until you're nearly out of programming data...

TiVo Bug?

I'm not sure if this is a bug or not, but wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this. I've noticed that my other networked TiVo unit disappears from my "Now Playing" list. It's happened twice since I've had 2 TiVo units networked. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with service updates from TiVo since there was a new update on my TiVo when I returned from vacation - the new search feature. I haven't looked into the problem since I don't normally use the transfer option, but last night I noticed my other TiVo unit was not showing up in the list. I'm going to check into it further tonight if I get a chance. Anyone else having this issue?

Truckload of Plasmas for $9999

WHAT? 50 Plasma TV's for under $10 grand? There has to be a catch. The deal is that there's a semi truck loaded with over 50 TV's that were damaged during shipment with the insurance claim on most of them being "broken screens". Now, I don't have a clue how much someone could salvage from all those broken TV's, but I do know that a Pioneer 50" Plasma costs around $2,000 and there are 10 of them (including a 60") and a Panasonic 42" Plasma retails for about $1500 and up and there are 29 of these on the truck ranging from 42" to 58" models. Wow - if only 5 or 6 of these 50+ TV's worked and just had minor cosmetic damage, you could recoup the cost. What's more is that the seller has 100% positive feedback rating which is outstanding for a wholesale distributor - or, anyone else for that matter.

Can anyone out there loan me 10 grand?

TiVo Desktop and Windows Vista

I just downloaded TiVo Desktop so I could transfer some shows that I haven't seen this week over to my new laptop and found out that TiVo Desktop does not yet work on computers running Vista. Dammit! Oh well, I'll just be further behind when we get back from our vacation. This is probably not going to be the only compatibility issue I'll find with Vista, it's just the first...

Netvibes Customizable Homepage

It's been around for some time, but those of you who are new to the net or are new to having multiple computers may find Netvibes a useful tool. It's a customizable homepage that you can access from anywhere (if you register which is free).

Welcome to Netvibes!

This is your personalized page, you can now modify everything: move modules, add new RSS/ATOM feeds, change the parameters for each module, etc. Your modifications are saved in real-time and you'll find your page when you get back on Netvibes.com. If you want to be able to access your page from any computer, you can sign in (at the top right) with your email and a password.

Cool! My buddy Ron told me about this site and I'll be spending some time setting up my custom home page.

New Laptop

I finally broke down and ordered a laptop last week. I didn't want to put a whole lot of cash into it since I'll be using it for my part-time inspections job, so I've been looking around since January for a good deal. Last Thursday, I found a nice little setup at BestBuy.com that has a 15.4 inch widescreen, wireless, dvd/cd burner, 1.5 GHz, 60 GB hard drive, 512 of RAM for $399. That's a tough deal to beat, but you can also find Best Buy coupons and coupon codes for other major merchandisers offering discounts on products, services and shipping to save even more!

It does have Windows Vista pre-installed, so I don't know how that's going to work out, but I mainly need it for inspections and general Internet usage, so it should be fine - I'll keep you posted...

Everex StepNote Notebook with Via C7®-M Processor
Model: NC1501

• Via C7®-M processor with 400MHz bus, 128KB L2 cache and 1.5GHz processor speed
• 512KB PC4200 DDR2 SDRAM for multitasking power, expandable to 2GB
• Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support records up to 8.5GB of data or 4 hours of video using compatible DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media

Viper's Video Quicktags *UPDATE*

Yes! Finally, I have video on my WordPress blog, the easy chair, thanks to Viper's Video Quicktags plugin. If you can't get video on your WordPress blog, try these simple steps to get and use this effective little plugin:

• download the plugin then upload it to your server (FTP) into the 'wp-content/plugins' folder
• Go to WordPress then click the 'Plugins' tab in the WP admin area
• Find the Viper's Video Quicktags plugin in the list and click 'activate'
• Click the 'Options' tab from the WP admin page and configure the plugin
  

After I activated the plugin, I tried to edit a post to include a video, but the buttons weren't there in the WYSIWYG editor. I cleared my cache and refreshed and the buttons appeared and I was able to embed the video into the post. w00t!

AccuWeather.com

I just created a weather widget over at the AccuWeather.com website. It was really easy to do since you just pick from drop-down lists and put your zip code in to customize and generate the code for the widget. You choose the unit of measure (degrees in F or C), the language (English or Spanish), your zip code (over 3 million locations) then choose from 9 different sizes, pick your color or theme and voilà - the code is generated for you and you have a nifty little weather widget to place on your website, blog or myspace page. Check my sidebar to see how it looks. I literally completed the whole process in less than five minutes and best of all, the widget is free!

Viper's Video Quicktags

I just uploaded Viper's Video Quicktags which is a plugin for WordPress users to make video's from sites like YouTube.com and Google Video work. I'm anxious to see if the plugin will do what I need it to do - I'll let you know...

Zeiss Conquest Binoculars

My husband and I do quite a bit of fishing, but not as much as we'd like. If you know me or read any of my blogs, you know that I love the outdoors and just about any type of electronic gadget. I've been looking for a new digital camera and am leaning toward one with a Zeiss lens, but I didn't even know until I did a search that there are zeiss binoculars, too. I was looking around Eagle Optics website and noticed they offer the Zeiss Conquest 10x25B T*P* Binoculars which are compact and waterproof - two essential qualities you look for when you're going to store them in a bass boat. I'd really like to have a pair of binoculars for the boat, because you never know what you might see when on the lake, and next time I see some birds diving for bait fish, it would be nice to see if there was a school of fish churning the water under them.

Free Sudoku!

I was searching around the web and found a site that offers billions of Sudoku puzzles available for free online. I hadn't fallen victim to the Sudoku craze, but I worked my very first Sudoku puzzle - it took a while to finish it, but it's pretty cool. I can see why so many have been consumed by these puzzles - it's very addictive...

Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing. Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit. So must every column, as must every 3x3 square.

VoIP Forum

VoIP is Voice over Internet Protocol, or a phone that's connected through your Internet Service Provider (like your cable provider). Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is a technology that allows you to make telephone calls using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line. One of the most popular providers of VoIP is Vonage and I've found a website that provides information, faqs, news, and forums all related to the Vonage VoIP Service. The VoIP variety of phone service is usually much cheaper than traditional landline service and has better packages and plans for local, long distance and international calling...

YouTube Video Plugin for WordPress

I was going nuts trying to get a video to embed over at the easy chair (my WordPress blog) last night. Each time I would paste the embed video code into my post, the beginning and end tags would shift instead of being around the code for the embedded video. I've found this plugin called Viper's Video Quicktags and am going to try it out to see if it helps...here's the skinny:

Tired of copying and pasting the embed HTML from sites like YouTube into posts on your site? Well then this plugin is for you.

Just simply click one of the new buttons that this plugin adds to the write screen (rich editor included) and then paste the URL that the video is located at into the prompt box -- easy as that. You can fully configure how the videos are displayed (width, height, alignment on the page) and much more. Best of all, it won't break your page's (X)HTML validation.

Currently supports these video sites:

* YouTube
* Google Video
* IFILM
* Metacafe
* MySpace
* Vimeo

SecureZip

I have many files on my PC which I often transfer from one PC to another - from work to home PC's and back again. I sometimes use a jump drive to transfer files, but often I like the convenience of using Microsoft Outlook to email files that I use on multiple PC's as well. Many people just assume that the process of transferring files from one place to another is safe merely because of the security of our networks, but everyday there are hackers trying to figure out how to get your information. All it would take to steal someone's identity or empty a bank account would be to decrypt a single file like a tax return or bank statement, but with an app like SecureZIP, you can transfer files through MS Outlook with confidence and security.

SecureZIP - The next generation of ZIP sets the standard for desktop data security. It is the best solution for protecting email messages and attachments, as well as data stored on hard-drives, laptops, and portable media. SecureZIP is a true security application, providing file level security that is as strong as any security application in the world, while it continues to leverage all of the benefits that come with compression.

Right now, the full version (not a trial) of SecureZIP is available for download here.

DoFollow Plugin for WordPress

I have a couple of new WordPress blogs that I've been working on - one's called the easy chair and it's got quite a bit of content. The other is a brand new blog called Great Day for Fishing which I'm still in the early stages of developing the theme and getting the kinks worked out. One thing I found was a plugin for WordPress called the Dofollow plugin which gets rid of the rel=nofollow attribute from your comments.

Perspective — Upon learning that search engine firms and blogwares endorsed the rel=nofollow attribute, I had some doubts the stratagem would ultimately lead to less comment spam. And from the looks of this interview with a link spammer, I'd even suggest you should get ready for more spam, not less.

Check out the Semiologic plugin

Stolen Laptop

Boy that would really make me steamed if someone stole my laptop, but it's occurring more and more since people are using them more publicly in coffee houses and airports with wifi hotspots. I was configuring a system (**dreaming**) at Dell's site and noticed that they have an option to add-on LoJack which is security software that runs in the background.

Computrace® LoJack® for Laptops is a theft protection service that tracks, locates and recovers stolen laptop and desktop computers.

Software installed on your computer works behind the scenes to silently and securely contact our Monitoring Center, and if stolen, reports its location using any Internet connection.

Our Recovery Team then tracks your computer’s location and partners with local law enforcement to get your computer back. If your stolen computer is not recovered in 30 days, you’ll receive a full refund for the purchase price of the software.

Cool, huh? Their website states that they recover 3 out of 4 stolen laptops. I know I was impressed and you can get a year for about $50 bucks which is cheaper than most of those extended warranties. The software can also be installed on desktops and tablet PC's.

Photoshop

Okay, I've installed Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Elements photo/video editing software on my computer, now what? I'm looking for some good tutorial websites to help me on my quest of mastering, or in my case, getting started with the software. Who's got some good links? Please leave me a comment about where to go for some info...

BestBuy and Coupon Chief

I am a BestBuy-aholic! My friends and my husband hate it when were shopping and I want to "run in BestBuy for a minute" because they know that I'll be in there for much longer than a minute. The closest store to me is located in Southern Pines, NC, but it's not as big as some of the other ones like Fayetteville, NC or some of the larger cities. I love to check out the new stuff and hot deals offered online. I've been looking for a deal on a laptop recently and BestBuy sometimes mails out coupons, but you can also find coupons, deals and special offers online at couponchief.com. They offer online coupons for BestBuy and many other merchants, too. If you're planning on spending your tax refund online, check out couponchief.com first to make your hard-earned dollar go farther.

USB Turntable

I stumbled upon this at ThinkGeek.com - it's a USB Turntable that allows you to convert your vinyl over to electronic media so you can preserve all those now defunct LP's you just couldn't get rid of. If you're like me, you probably have some out of print albums that you'd like to be able to put on your iPod or mp3 player - now you can with this cool tool. It retails for $149 at ThinkGeek and would make a great gift for someone who was around when albums were and now is entering into the digital age...

jv16 PowerTools from Macecraft

I'm a clean freak - especially when it comes to my computer - I want to make sure that it's optimized and secure. Our family PC could sure use some maintenance in the form of software like jv16 PowerTools from Macecraft Software. It's a Windows Optimization Suite complete with a registry cleaner, registry manager, and software uninstaller. The software is $29.95, but there's also a free demo download available as well. I might just put this to the ultimate test - my 18 year old son's pc - I'll let you know how it fares. If you've used this product, please let me know your thoughts.

Speedtest.net

If you want to know how fast your Internet connection is, then visit Speedtest.net and test your connection. You can see how fast your download and upload speeds are and compare the data with your ISP's stats. Mine looks a little low for the $42 bucks per month I'm paying considering other subscribers on the same ISP seem to be getting better service. Hmmm.

Amazon Unbox on TiVo

Today, I stumbled upon a new service for TiVo users that allows you to download video from Amazon to your TiVo box. It's called Amazon Unbox on TiVo and using a Series 2 or 3 TiVo box with broadband service, you can have your videos download while your at work so they'll be waiting for you when you get home. Not only can you download the latest movies, but you can also download episodes of your favorite TV shows as well. If you sign up by April 30th, you get a $15 credit in your Amazon Unbox account.

21 Must-Have Firefox Add-Ons

I read a great little post today about 21 Firefox Add-ons that gives you a short description of what each add-on does and links to get each of the add-ons. I'm very interested in web design and how different colors marry up with each other to create a striking web page, so the ColorZilla looks right up my alley. The Google Notebook should help me keep track of interesting tidbits I find while surfing that I'll want to remember to share with readers later. There's plenty more - 19 to be exact, so go check them out for yourself.

Make Firefox Quicker...

But don't go overboard! Make sure you read this entire post and comments/updates about this tweak that will make pages load faster in Firefox, but be careful with it or you could shoot yourself in the foot!

CSS Cheat Sheet

You may already know that I'm working on a new blog on my on website at thedawnster.com. I'm learning new things every day and I finally have a theme installed that I can live with for now. I want to change some things about it, but I'm new to WordPress, CSS and web design and need to learn a lot more about CSS first. I found a CSS Cheat Sheet that should help me get started, so I thought I'd share...

Start Stumbling!

I installed Stumble Upon in my browser to see what interesting things I could find out there on the 'net and I like this little tool. It has a thumbs up or thumbs down ratings system sort of like my TiVo and you can send sites you find to your friends via email. You select categories to stumble into from a list provided at signup and just start clicking the Stumble Upon toolbar to find things related to your interests. I've already bookmarked several sites I found today and this tool will help me find interesting things to share with my readers.

Video Conferencing Benefits

In today's global market, one of the most important and critical assests a company can have is good communication. Communication with customers, consumers, and vendors is key to the businesses ability to meet schedules, demands and deadlines and is a vital part of customer satisfaction. Phone conversations sometimes suffice, but the evolution of video conferencing allows businesses to be able to educate, demonstrate, illustrate and communicate at the same time.This allows businesses to build a good reputation by competing in a global marketplace and being able to deliver quality products on time which can ultimately lead to increased market share, sales and opportunities.

Amy's Wireless, Now!

Yesterday, Amy got her shiny, new hp laptop - very nice and she got a great deal on it direct from hp with 12 months, no interest financing. Last night, Amy picked me up and we went to Wally World to pickup her wireless router. Her daughter has an hp desktop computer which she uses mainly for college and surfing the 'net and email, and Amy's laptop will be used mainly for 'net and email apps. She went with the Linksys Wireless Broadband Router which was only $59 and I set it up for her. The setup was pretty quick and painless and the router came with easy, on-screen instructions to follow. I set it up so it's connected to the desktop and Amy connects wirelessly. I have to say that I was relieved that the setup went so smoothly (patting myself on back)...

Best RockStartup Ever!

I can relate to the RockStartup Episode 11: Can't Hardly Weight the best since I've been on a weight-loss program since August 2006. I'm what I consider a perpetual dieter since I seem to have a fat gene in my family and the office-wide weight loss, diet, and exercise program is a cool idea. We actually have a gym where I work, but I don't use it very much because I'd rather walk outdoors than on a treadmill. I have a treadmill in my garage that has dust on it - thank God I only paid $25 bucks for it at a yard sale. Anyway, RockStartup is a very cool reality tv web program that gives you a little insight to the minds behind the PayPerPost concept and allows us posties to feel more connected to the people we are working for to get the word out. I love to see what goes on behind the scenes at the company - who does what and who comes up with all these crazy, great ideas and concepts. It's like a marketing course on crack! The confessionals are great; we get to find out what's going on with everyone and how they really feel about things, who's cheating on their diet; I guess V's confession in this particular episode lets me know that the struggles I've faced in my plan are the same struggles that a lot of people face in the weight-loss battle. It does help to have a buddy system for diet and exercise and with the entire office "involved" in the plan, it sparks a bit of competition - I think these guys and gals are full of competition, so this should be interesting! I love the show and can't wait to see if the Heidi Klum diet and Thermabubbles work for Britt and Veronique. Gimme more, gimme more, gimme more...

Check out the webisode I liked best, here...

Online BillPay, Credit Cards & Late Fees - LOOKOUT!

If you have a credit card and use BillPay or mail your payment, you need to read this, NOW! It may be that I'm just paranoid, but I could definitely see this happening...

Cha-Ching!

If you're new to the blogosphere, did you know that you can make money off your blog? Have you heard of PayPerPost? Well, if you haven't, crawl out from under that rock and listen up! My other blog turned 1 year old last month, and just since August of last year, I've made over $3K with my blogs thanks to PayPerPost.com and their creative marketing strategies. Can you believe that? The incentive of making money blogging just makes me want to become a better blogger and deliver posts content that is both interesting and informative for readers who've surfed over or stumbled upon my little corner of the web. If you've arrived here, I want to let you in on a new affiliate program being offered by PayPerPost.com which allows you, the reader, to review my post - this post, and in the process, will allow you to make your first step into blogging for PayPerPost which is the best game in town to monetize your blog. The review allows me to promote my blog, too. Sounds like a win-win situation, huh?



The PayPerPost folks have released a new beta version of their interface, some parts of the release weren't exactly painless to say the least, but it should be duly noted that they're a new company and are still learning - er - ironing out issues. Anyway, the affiliate program allows the reader to review my post which earns the reader $7.50. But, the $7.50 does not come instantly as you must signup, submit your blog for approval (takes about a week), then once the post you made is approved, you'll be paid via PayPal 30 days from the day you originally submitted the opportunity. It would probably be better if PayPerPost could allow the $7.50 to be instantly transferred to the reader's PayPal account so that the newbie postie could get a "warm and fuzzy" about PayPerPost and not have to worry whether they would ever see their cash.

Motorola RAZR V3C Battery

I have a Motorola RAZR V3C and lately I've been noticing that the battery goes dead (from a full charge) every afternoon. I bought a new battery since I thought that the one that came with my phone may have developed a "memory" but that one does the same thing. I think that it has something to do with the lack of signal available inside the building where I work, or perhaps it's constantly searching for an available network, so yesterday I tried turning the phone on "Home Only" network setting and the battery lasted all day until 10 PM last night. I don't really want to have to keep switching between Home and Automatic networks - has anyone else had this issue? Is there a way to put the phone in powersave mode?

e-cards

Today, for the first time ever, my husband sent me an e-card for Valentine's Day. I almost fell out of my chair and knocked over my cubicle wall when I saw that I had an e-card from Jennings! He's learning, bless his heart. He's the total opposite from me when it comes to computers - I had to teach him how to double click - LOL - now, he's sending me e-cards. He didn't send me the one where you hear hear Cupid's best pickup lines, but a more sweet, loving card. Egreetings.com has some very funny e-cards for birthdays and Valentine's Day that are funny, risque and animated that you can personalize your own message and send to your buddies who have a sense of humor and like funny stuff like me. You can get a yearly subscription for $13.99 (which is probably less than what you'd spend on stamps) and with membership you can schedule when your cards are sent so you never miss that special occasion again. Don't wind up buying a plastic rose and cheesy card at the local convenient store at the last minute - give 'em what they want - a good laugh!


Wanna hear Cupid's pickup lines?


How 'bout some inbox cleavage?


Who wouldn't want Singing Chins in their inbox?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello Blogosphere and Happy Valentine's Day from NC! I hope you all have a nice, romantic Valentine's Day with your special someone. I got just what I wanted for Valentine's Day - A brand-spankin' new fishing rod and reel - I know it sounds crazy coming from a girl, but I'm a low-maintenance kinda girl - no chocolates and flowers for me - just grill me a steak and give me a rod and I'll be happy! Heh.

Lead Generation with Leaddogs.com

As my previous post stated, our company has a problem tracking the sales leads that are generated by customer service reps. It's up to Sales to look at the leads and determine the priority of the leads, identify market needs, and go after the sale. Right now, there's a problem with Sales being able to analyze the data in some form then targeting businesses and distributors to sell our products and services. Lead Generation can be tricky because of the you need good data to support legitimate sales calls, expensive trips, website modification, and sales & marketing promotion. Leaddogs.com specialized in getting high-quality B2B sales leads that are more apt to turn into a sale. They identify businesses that are ready to seal the deal and develop future opportunities. I don't see why we can't try a service like leaddogs.com to outsource some sales functions - our company has already trimmed so much fat during restructuring that we don't really have the workforce necessary to handle all the leads; we're no stranger to outsourcing either. It's the primary principle of business - you need to spend money to make money...

Sales Leads Database

My ex-boss at work who used to be in Quality (and had a hand in everything else), is now in Sales and has decided to take on the task of creating a sales lead database for all the customer service and tech reps to keep track of calls. He decided not to use some of the existing software that the company had purchased, but to make his own. Jimmy may have to use this database, so I'm sure I'll be hearing about it from him and the others - I'll let you know how it's working...

Flucidity for Real?

I ran across an interesting new concept today which involves one thinking and acting on certain ideas, needs and wants to promote achievement of your personal goals and objectives. The concept is called Flucidity and is coined by the author as the Theory of Everything. The basic steps of the thought process are representation, structure and measurement, potential energy, then interaction and association - pretty simple when you think about it, or look at the examples, but the mind is very complex - and the power of human thought is even more complex. This is an interesting theory which shouldn't be overlooked or dismissed. I'm a firm believer in the power of positive thinking, and Flucidity may just take that a step further - I'll have to think about it...

the whole enchilada...

There's been a lot going on over at the whole enchilada blog, from me being evicted from my office to seeing why I need 9-1-1 on speed dial. Oh yeah, I was PayPerPost.com's blog of the day, too! You probably should check it out just to keep up with me and what's going on - it can be entertaining. If you haven't checked out Spicypage.com or MyBlogLog.com yet - you should - you can link to all your friend's blogs there and find some new blogs that might interest you.

E-M-A-I-L

Email Marketing can be one of the least expensive and far-reaching marketing tools of bringing your product or service to light to consumers and businesses alike. I am connected to my email nearly all-day everyday, and so are many other people that I know, so how much more audience does a business need than one whose connected to the lifeline of their product for over 70% of the day.

Here's my video...


This post sponsored by MindComet.com

Free Podcast Hosting Site

If you're like me, you have quite a bit to talk about. I'm sure you've been surfing around and stumbled on some podcasts somewhere out there on the 'net since podcasting is becoming a popular way for businesses and bloggers to deliver media content about their site or services or whatever to visitors and readers. It's convenient to watch podcasts to since you can download them to your iPod or PC and listen whenever you want, unlike streaming audio. If you want to start doing your own podcasting for your site, MyPodcast.com is a Free Podcast host that lets you record and host your podcast for free!

How Much Is This Blog Worth?

This is pretty cool. This blog is relatively new in the blogosphere, but it already has some value! I was surprised to see what my blogs are worth with this cool little app from business-opportunities.biz

My blog is worth $3,387.24.
How much is your blog worth?

Check out my other blog's worth here...

What's a Podcast, You Ask?

A podcast is a media file that is distributed by subscription (paid or unpaid) over the Internet using syndication feeds, for playback on mobile devices and personal computers. Like 'radio', it can mean both the content and the method of syndication. The latter may also be termed podcasting. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster. The term "podcast" is derived from Apple's portable music player, the iPod. However, known synonyms for the word pod are capsule, case, container, hull, husk, shell, and vessel. A pod is obviously a container of some sort and the idea of broadcasting to a container or pod correctly the describes the process of podcasting. More about the name itself can be found in the History of podcasting article.

Though podcasters' web sites may also offer direct download or streaming of their content, a podcast is distinguished from other digital audio formats by its ability to be downloaded automatically, using software capable of reading feed formats such as RSS or Atom.

Source: wikipedia.org

Please, No Flowers...

It's nice to get flowers sometimes, but I've always told my husband not to get me flowers for anniversaries, birthdays, or Valentine's Day. They're beautiful for a few days, but then they just wilt and die. I'm a pretty low-maintenance kind of gal when it comes to flowers, candy, and candle lit dinners - just grill me a steak, and clean up the kitchen! Now, when it comes to my electronics, give me the best because I do love my gadgets! My problem is, if I asked for some nifty little gadget for Valentine's Day like one of these pink, personalized thumb drives, my husband wouldn't even know what I was talking about! He is technologically challenged to say the least. But anyway, maybe he'll read my blog and get the hint!

What celebrity do you look like?

What celebrity do you look like? Well, to find out, you need to go to myheritage.com - it's a way cool site where you can do this fun experiment for free and find out about how to research your family history...

Here's my daughter's celebrity collage...

All About Home Theater

I bought my first surround sound system about 10 years ago and it consisted of a Sony Pro-logic receiver and some mini Sony speakers for the center and front. I rigged up a subwoofer, later and I was content for awhile. About 4 years ago, I sold that system at a garge sale (it sounded pretty good and brought $300) then bought a new Sony System complete with center, front and rear speakers, a subwoofer and a Sony 5-disc DVD player. The system works great and sounds great, but I would love to upgrade my system so I've been looking around at some Home Audio Theater Reviews. A friend of mine just bought a 62 inch HDTV and I have to admit, I'm jealous - and it's just in time for the big game, too. I don't know if I could bear the rejection of American Idol wannabees on a 62 inch screen, or take the excitement of all my favorite shows coming through some new JBL speakers, but I could sure give it a try!

spicypage.com

Spicypage is a relatively new site that allows the users to vote and share their fave sites with friends and others who have things in common like location, topic, etc. If you want to join, it's free and you can get stats on your blog as well. Pretty cool idea and site...what are you still doing here? Check it out, NOW, but come back here, too!

Vote for this blog here

And My Whole Enchilada Blog here

When Will iPod Phone Be Available?

Want an iPhone? Want to know when the Apple iPod iPhone will be available? Me too! I can't wait to see the iPhone in action and I'd like to be one of the first to test it out, live and in person! Click the link and you can find out how to sign up to get email alerts on when the Apple iPhone will be available for purchase sometime this summer. To tempt your gadget tastebuds, here are some more pics...

Sharper Image iPulse

Today, I read the CNET review of the Sharper Image iPulse for your iPod. It's a cool little docking stereo system with a subwoofer for your iPod that has a neat-o light show. CNET gave the gadget a "very good" 7.3 rating. Check the full review here.

New Motorola Phones

Last year, I upgraded to a Motorola RAZR v3c from a Kyocera slider and I have to say that I am very happy with the RAZR by Motorola. Years ago, I bought my first cell phone and it was a Motorola StarTac. That was a quality phone that had great sound, was durable, and had great signal strength for those days when towers were few and far between. I had almost forgotten how good of a reputation Motorola has and going from the Kyocera, which was a decent little phone, to the RAZR was like going from a Pinto to a Lexus. I love the customization you can give the phone and it's power-packed features including the still/video camera quality - very nice. Motorola has a couple of new offerings including the Motorola K1 and the The Motorola Z3. The MOTOKRZR K1 is a flip or clam style phone like the RAZR that takes crisp photos, offers entertainment and helps you make the most of your time. The MOTORIZR Z3 is a slider style phone with features that you can access when the phone is open or closed. Listen to music, call a friend, play a game or use the full screen viewfinder as a digital camera.

Spammers Beware!

I hate spam, who doesn't? I'll tell you who doesn't hate spam - the scumbag spammers who try to gain your personal information for profit, that's who. I'm so glad to see that some action is beginning to form to deter criminals from using the Internet to trick people into scams. The first person in the US has been convicted under the anti-spam law, called the 2003 CAN-SPAM Act and he faces a sentence of up to 101 years in federal prison. Here's the press release detailing the spammer's conviction.

LA-area man first in nation convicted under anti-spam law
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - A man faces a sentence of up to 101 years in federal prison after being the first person in the U.S. convicted under a federal anti-spam law, authorities said.

Jeffrey Brett Goodin, 45, of Azusa, was found guilty Friday of running a "phishing" scheme that tricked people into believing they were giving personal information to a legitimate business. Prosecutors said Goodin then used the information to go on a spending spree.

Goodin is the first person in the nation convicted under the 2003 CAN-SPAM Act, the U.S. attorney's office said. The law forbids e-mail marketers from sending false or misleading messages and requires them to provide recipients with a way to opt out of receiving future mailings.

During trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Goodin used several compromised Internet accounts to send e-mails to America Online users. The e-mails appeared to be from the company's billing department and told customers to update their billing information or lose service.

The e-mails referred people to one of several Web pages controlled by Goodin where they could enter their personal information, prosecutors said.

In addition to the anti-spam conviction, Goodin was convicted of 10 other counts, including wire fraud, misuse of the AOL trademark and attempted witness harassment.

Goodin is scheduled to be sentenced June 11.

Achieve Planner

I am a list-maker. I have at least 5 lists of "Things to Do" somewhere on, or in, my desk at home and work right now. There are things I want to blog about, stuff I need to do at home, things I need to take care of at work, grocery lists, stuff to gather to do our taxes, and the lists go on and on. Sometimes, I make so many lists, I think I need to make a list to keep track of my lists. If I spent less time making and looking for my lists, I would have more time to get things marked off my lists. Today, I read about some time management software that might help get rid of my lists, or at least make them electronic. With the Achieve Planner, you can capture, organize, and manage your projects and tasks, plan your week with the weekly schedule, and manage contacts. And, you can even set, plan, manage, and track your dreams & goals with the Goal Setting features.

Dugg Anything Lately?

Digg.com is a very cool website where surfers submit news from the far reaches of the 'net. You can check out all the latest interesting stories arranged by the number of diggs and you can even submit news from wesites and blogs you find interesting or newsworthy or even cool so that others can digg it, too. There's also a blog feature which allows the user to blog the stories as well. If you have been under a rock, you need to digg yourself out!

Get Connected!

Today, I stumbled upon a cable company that can get you connected no matter what your cabling needs. I have a surround sound system that we use very often, and recently, my subwoofer started cutting in and out. I purchased a new cable and realized that when you have a good system, you need good cabling to support the integrity of the signal - it sounds much better, now. While at the site, I found out that TCA offers a product that allows you to connect multiple HDMI appliances to one monitor with their own HDMI switch. Get connected with TCA-Inc.net

Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol

Just in time for American Idol Season 6, there's Karoke Revolution Presents: American Idol. So, if you don't want to watch those silly idol wannabe's make fools of themselves, do it yourself with the game that Gamespot gave a 7.3 "Very Good" rating! From CNET's Reviews Section: Konami's Karaoke Revolution series and the talent-search phenom American Idol seem like such a natural match it's surprising that the publisher has taken this long to pair its prolific singing franchise with the smash-hit TV show. Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol arrives just in time for the start of the program's 2007 season, and while it hits most of the high notes you'd expect from a game with the American Idol license--authentic venues, video clips of famous performances, (mostly) celebrity judges--the trappings of the television show make the game feel a little lackluster overall. Luckily, that fact doesn't really impact the underlying karaoke gameplay, which is just as entertaining and accessible as it's been throughout the last several versions of the franchise.

Norton 2007 Site

I have a friend who recently bought an HP for her daughter mainly for school, but you know how teenagers are, or at least I do. I found out the critical importance of installing antivirus software and keeping it up to date years ago when I was on dial-up and was struck with a virus that kept rebooting my PC. The PC that Amy bought runs Norton 2007, and she's been asking a few questions about the antivirus and included security programs. I stumbled upon a site that has loads of helpful information including screenshots and help and support forums. Take it from me, if you surf the web or read email, you need antivirus software and you need to keep it up to date!

Surf the Net and Create Your Lanscape

How? With a very cool program called packetgarden that takes data based on where you go and what you do on the 'net and creates your own personal world you can explore complete with hills, valleys, and plants and who knows what else. You just need to go ahead and check it out.

Wirefly: Top 10 Cell Phones of 2006

My husband is not one to want the latest cell phone, computer gadget, or software; we are different in that way. Just last week, his screen on the inside of his flip phone stopped working, so now he can't see what number he's dialing. He can still see who's calling him on the outside of his phone, though. That would drive me nuts and I would look at it as a good opportunity to get myself a new phone! Not him, he said, "I like this phone." Anyway, I think it's beyond repair and he'll probably have to get a new phone. I bought the RAZR last year and I love it. Wirefly announces the Top 10 cell phones of 2006 and I can see why the Motorola tops the list. Motorola makes some tough stuff and the RAZR is sleek and durable, and most importantly, I can HEAR on it, too!

Netflix Offers Movies on Your PC

Today, Netflix announced that it's getting into the download game. Although the service won't be available to all Netflix subscribers immediately, the company should have everyone online to enjoy movies on their PC by June 2007. Check out the press release, here.

I recently placed my Netflix subscription on hold since my son started working at the local video rental store - he can get all the movies I want after they've been out for 2 weeks, so I just decided to save a few bucks. I might have to try this out, especially if you can get TV shows as well - I never have enough recorders!

Restaurant Finance

Jimmy and I have talked about opening a restaurant, but have not really considered how much it would cost to create "the place to be." Not only do you have to have the right space, equipment, furnishings, and staff, but you also need a strong web presence, marketing, branding and a ton of advertisement to make your brand stand out. Guess what, it takes money to do all that - and a lot of it! I ran across ARF, a company who specializes in short term, working capital loans for small to medium-sized merchants. I also found out that by getting a working capital loan, the interest you pay is tax deductible which will give you a quicker ROI. I'm bookmarking them in case we take the plunge one of these days...


***This post sponsored by advancerestaurantfinance.com***

Restaurant Branding

Since I blogged about opening a restaurant, I've been looking around for some good companies who can creatively provide services from website design to branding to marketing. Today, I stumbled upon SPROKKIT which has a very cool website and it looks like they provide the web presence that one would need to be seen on the WWW. I also found a cool restaurant blog to help anyone thinking of opening a restaurant think again.

Netsimplicity Scheduling Software

Meeting-Crasher Syndrome: Have you ever walked into a conference room to attend a meeting and realized that there was already a meeting in progress which you weren't invited?

Ball-Dropper Syndrome: Have you ever forgotten to do an important task because you
jotted it down on a sticky note, then it fell off what you stuck it to?

If you've suffered from either of these conditions, you need to check out Scheduling Software from NetSimplicity. NetSimplicity offers software that will help you overcome Ball-Dropper and Meeting-Crasher Syndrom by simplifying the not-so-simple day-to-day office administration tasks by offering management and scheduling of rooms, equipment, and resources. They even offer a free 30-Day product trial.

***This post sponsored by netsimplicity.com***

B2B Defined

B2B, or business-to-business is a fast-growing marketing strategy on the web. Sure, you can go online and buy just about anything you want, but have you ever thought about where businesses get their products? The web is a huge marketplace for businesses, now and the market is fairly young and due to outpace B2C, or business-to-consumer sales in the near future.

From Whatis.techtarget.com:
On the Internet, B2B (business-to-business), also known as e-biz, is the exchange of products, services, or information between businesses rather than between businesses and consumers. Although early interest centered on the growth of retailing on the Internet (sometimes called e-tailing), forecasts are that B2B revenue will far exceed business-to-consumers (B2C) revenue in the near future. According to studies published in early 2000, the money volume of B2B exceeds that of e-tailing by 10 to 1. Over the next five years, B2B is expected to have a compound annual growth of 41%. The Gartner Group estimates B2B revenue worldwide to be $7.29 trillion dollars by 2004. In early 2000, the volume of investment in B2B by venture capitalists was reported to be accelerating sharply although profitable B2B sites were not yet easy to find.

Restaurant Design Service Online

My husband is an excellent cook - I call him Emeril, Jr when he gets all his dishes out to prep the meal. He should have gone to culinary school, I guess it's never too late. Anyway, he often talks about how he would like to open a restaurant, but the town we live in would probably not be the best place to start since most of the people here try to escape on the weekends. But, just up the road about 30 minutes away, there's a well-known, booming, golf/horse/retirement area called Pinehurst, NC that has several great, independent restaurants that are top shelf. I stumbled upon a website that specializes in Restaurant Design and bookmarked it in case we get ready to take the plunge. Thought I'd share since the restaurant industry is so difficult to be successful in, you really need industry professionals with experience to help with your business plan, strategy, concept and branding. Visit the Restaurant Design website for more information.


***This post sponsored by quantifiedmarketing.com***

TiVo Without a TiVo Box?

I just saw a blurb come across my Google Reader that mentioned TiVo was now available as a software platform. Seems that Comcast customers will have the TiVo software in the Comcast's DVR, cool. I'll have to do some more research on this to see what it entails, but that's really cool for Comcast customers because TiVo is the best. Now, why couldn't Comcast have bought out Adelphia? Dang...

Get Your Own SpritePimp!

Ok, this was easy and only took a few seconds - I made one and you can get your Free Custom Video Game Sprites from spritepimp.com. I chose Mario from Mario Brothers because I used to play that game until my fingers hurt. Yes, I'm a child of the 80's. They are planning some upgrades to the site that will allow the user to right click and save image, but right now, you just create and copy/past the code. You can put whatever text you want in the balloon like your website name. Here's how it looks...




***This post sponsored by spritepimp.com***

GP2X Gaming

My son has a video game addiction, so I try to keep up with the latest on gaming platforms, news, tournaments and reviews. But, I read about the GP2X today and it sounds like it would be a good toy for MOM! The GP2X is an open-source, Linux-based handheld video game console and media player that's created and sold by GamePark. The GP2X was released in late 2005 in South Korea and it's designed to play video and music files, view photos, and play games. One feature the GP2X has is the capability of running emulators which enables the user to run software from another system on the GP2X. Gamepark Holdings, creators of the GP2X just released the GP2X value pack which you can get for a mere $209 from http://www.gp2xstore.com. The Value Pack bundle includes the console, 4 games, video tutorials stored in memory, rechargeable batteries, hand strap, console pouch, and set headphones. I'll have to research this system some more, but at first look, it doesn't sound like a bad deal for $209 bucks, huh?

Please feel free to comment especially if you have one of these - I'd like to know!






***This post sponsored by gp2xstore.com***

What Will Your PR Be?

OMG! I'm so happy! I've been really concentrating on networking with other bloggers, researching, reading all the lastest news and attempting to write quality posts in my blogs. It's finally starting to pay off. My My Whole Enchilada Blog went from a Google PR of 0 (ZERO) to a 2 today!!! And, I just checked the Google PageRank Prediction tool which predicts my blog to be a PR4 in the future. Check out this nifty little tool to see into your blog's PR crystal ball!

Blog of the Day = Mine!

Today has started off well! I made a promise to myself this morning that I was going to get some things done before logging in to my blogs, payperpost, etc, because like my friend Amy, I spend to much time once I get into the blogosphere. Things were going along productively, then my friend, Ron stopped by to tell me that my blog is featured as the "Blog of the Day" on the front page of PayPerPost.com! Hot diggety dog! Leave me some feedback and please take a moment to visit what I like to call, My Whole Enchilada Blog! Thanks, PayPerPost!

Looking for Binoculars

My husband and I do quite a bit of fishing, but not as much as we'd like. If you know me or read any of my blogs, you know that I love the outdoors, photography and electronic gadgets. I'd really like to have a pair of binoculars for the boat, because you never know what you might see when on the lake, and if we had the binocular model that has a built-in digital camera, that would be really cool. I'm not sure how far the technology has come, and haven't a clue about the best brands - I may look into the Eagle Optics website for more info, but I know the next time I see some birds diving for baitfish that it would be nice to see if there was a school of fish churning the water under them.

Automotive Accessories

I work for a manufacturer of automotive accessories for the OEM and Aftermarket industry, so I thought I'd post a link to the website. We manufacture rear parking aids, backup camera systems, cruise controls, heated seats, transmission solenoids, transmission modulators, transmission wiring harnesses, and speed sensors to name the major ones. Check the website and give the Sales department a call if you see something you like or need to locate a distributor.

iPhone on FOXNEWS & Picture! WOW!

Apple was the hot topic all over the news today by unveiling the iPhone! WOW! I want one of these, but I'm hearing gen 2 is already in the works...


As displayed on the Apple Computer website

HP and PayPerPost Scavenger Hunt

I have searched the world over and I can't seem to get my brain to contemplate where the hidden PayPerPost & HP puzzle pieces are, but I have found some exclusive pieces out there that weren't opps from PPP. Anyway, I have piece number 14 here for your viewing enjoyment.



You see, Veronique took a trip to Europe and brought back some photos that she took with her HP camera, because I think she's a Digital Camera Picture-takin' freak like me! The guys at PPP made her photos into a collage, split it into puzzle pieces (because those crazies at PPP do stuff like that), then posties like me scour the net looking for them (because us posties are crazy like that, too). The first one who reassembles the puzzle and takes the BIG OPP gets $1000 bucks (not so crazy, now are we?)!!!

??? HELP!!!

I need some help figuring out how to get my blogs off blogger and livejournal, but I am clueless...

HELP!

UPDATE! I've received confirmation from www.bluehost.com that my website has been deleted and my account credited! Whew - I'm not quite ready for my own domain, but it's going to be coming soon...

B2B Internet Directory

One of the most important things any business can do for itself is get out there on the web. I mean, what better way to reach the masses at a relatively low cost. Every business owner must take some degree of risk to make money and the Internet is a great way to maximize the reach and scope of any business. How many times a day do you say or hear someone else say the word, "Google?" If I'm looking for something or someone that's one of the first places I look. But how do those businesses get up there in the search hits list? That's where business owners need help - we're not all web developers, right? I've found a Business to business internet directory that offers many products and services to businesses to help them get located during searches, promote site traffic and keep up to date on what is happening in their industry. Contained within this directory is a wealth of business information including press releases, case studies, podcasts, opinions, job openings, new products, new services, business events, company profiles, brochures, presentations, and management bios.

Leadmaverick.com gives you incredible depth to find exactly the business you are looking for in your area. They offer a better way to generate leads from search engines which will help others find you more easily by optimizing, formatting and placing your content online for search engines to find. You don't need to hire an SEO consultant - you get real-time reports. I found the information on the website interesting as I am trying to get more traffic to my blogs...

From Leadmaverick.com's website on Content...

Lead Maverick has 12 tools to help you easily add information about your company. We automatically format it and place it online on our search engine optimized websites. Each tool is specifically designed to help you promote and advertise your company, both locally and nationally, by placing your content on websites that help potential customers find you.

Commentary
Similar to blogging, our commentary tool allows you to share your thoughts and opinions on trends and events happening in your business industry. With this tool you can establish yourself as a thought leader for their business needs.

Press Releases
Creating and distributing a press release can be intimidating. With this tool we provide a simple form for you to add your press release. Don’t worry about editorial review, just place your information online to keep the public updated.

Job Openings
Are you looking to hire? Need a way to attract job hunters online? Then this tool is for you. Lead Maverick makes it easy to post jobs online for search engines to find. And best of all, the contact form is built right into the tool.

Presentations
Place all of your presentations online so that potential customers can learn more about your business. If you are like most companies, you have a variety of visual presentations about your business. Put them online.

Company Profile
This step by step form will help you highlight the unique qualities of your company. From the products and/or services you offer to the management team, this simple form will let your describe your company in detail.

Management Profile
Your management team is important. Prospects who want to do business with your company want to know more about the leadership. With our Management Profile tool you can easily post biographies and pictures of your team online.

Events
Are you hosting a public event? Are you a member of an organization that wants to promote its event? The Event tool provides a centralized event calendar in your area so that customers can find the events to attend.

Brochure
You spent a lot of money on your brochure, isn't it time people got it! Our Brochure tool makes it simple to upload your brochure to the web so that potential customers can easily find it. Place as many brochures online as you like.

Case Study
Often cited as one of the most important pieces of information that a prospect uses to make a purchase decision, our Case Study tool provides a step by step form for you to place your case studies online.

New Product/Service
Do you sell a product and/or service? Our Product/Service tool will help you detail the unique aspects of your product/service and helps you target specific types of individuals who will benefit the most from it.

PodCast
Podcasting is a new method for distributing your rich media files on the web. Once added, this information can easily be retrieved and viewed/listened to by millions of people who use RSS readers or services like Apple iTunes.

Search Engine Exposure
At the heart of the Lead Maverick concept is the idea that as you post your content, it is added to our premier directory website. As indicated earlier, this site is highly optimized to make it easy for search engines to find your content.

Desperate Housewives on PC

Well, we've all heard of "chic flicks," but I wonder what the new Desperate Housewives PC game will be called - perhaps a "dame game" - I don't know, but I might buy it just to see what it's like. I love the show, and GameSpot gave the game a Good (6.5 out of 10) rating saying that "Desperate Housewives isn't much of a game, but it does a pretty good job of telling an original, interactive soap opera story in the quirky tone of the hit show." Sounds like a "dame game" to me!

HP Puzzle Challenge

HP and PayPerPost have teamed up to bring the posties another puzzle challenge. In this challenge, the posties are scouring the far reaches of the Internet to try to find puzzle pieces to make up the collage of Veronique's, aka the Flaming Tamale, trip to Europe. She recently returned from a week-long trip over there and I hope she'll share all the tons of pictures she took with her new HP M527 digital camera. HP has some really good deals out there if you're looking for a digital camera. I saw an HP Digital Photo Printing package advertised around Christmas that was only about $150 bucks that included a 5 MP HP camera and a compact photo printer to boot - now, that's a deal that would be hard to beat!

Payperpost.com took some of her trip photos and made a collage then split the collage into 30 pieces. The pieces are going to be distributed on blogs throughout the internet and the first person to find all the pieces can grab a $1000 opportunity! Here is puzzle piece number 48 for your viewing enjoyment!



Brought to you by HP

Firefox 2.0

I've just downloaded Mozilla's Firefox 2 web browser and at first glance, it seems very fast and the import of my IE bookmarks and other content was lightning fast. I'll keep you updated on how this browser performs...