Going out to eat for the holidays

  • October 31, 2007 8:41 pm

Well, I just remembered that my brother birthday is coming up this Sunday, so that means I will being taking him out to eat.  But the thing about where he wants to go, besides it will cost me about six hundred dollars, is that last time I, him and one of his friends went their his friend got a tooth ache from eating so much.   It turns out that he was taking a bite out of his steak when he lost a filling in one of his bottom right molars, and boy did it hurt him.  I was looking for something that might help him and found this thing called Dentemp OS. They bill themselves as a one hour temporary dental repair.

So I think I am going to go out and buy some if we go out to eat anytime soon, it is fairly inexpensive when you compare it to the price of having to waste your time to go back to the dentists office and have him repair your cavity. Best of all, even though it is only a temporary solution to your problem, you can eat within 30 minutes as it sets that quickly. So if you want piece of mind with a loose filling or cap you might want to consider taking along some Dentemp OS, it might just save you so extra embarrassment and pain.

Spanish bombers get 40,000 years

  • October 31, 2007 2:56 pm

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Three of the eight bombers who attacked Spanish trains in 2004 have been given a sentence of 40,000 years.  Jamal Zougam, a Moroccan was found guilty of placing bombs aboard one of the four targeted trains, Othman El-Gnaoui, also Moroccan, was found guilty of transporting the explosives and Jose Emilio Suarez Trashorras, a Spaniard, was found guilty of supplying them.  Despite these sentences, Spanish law dictates no one can be imprisoned for more than 40 years.

Hmm..wonder how long they will really serve.  These people are horrible criminals, and if anyone ever deserved the death penalty, it is them!

Story

Husband, then wife arrested…both for drinking!

  • October 29, 2007 9:01 pm

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A Northville couple ended up in jail, both facing drunken driving charges, after Ypsilanti Police first pulled over the husband, who was driving with his young son in the car, and then arrested the mother when she showed up to pick up the boy. Officers said they saw the man run a red light at Prospect Road at Clark Road at about 11:20 p.m. Saturday. When they stopped him, they said they gave him a preliminary breath test that registered 0.11. The legal standard for drunken driving is 0.08.

Police said they told the man’s 12-year-old son to call his mother to pick him up.
But when she arrived with her 9-year-old daughter in the car, police said, she also appeared to have been drinking, and registered 0.13 on a PBT. Both children were turned over to a relative, and the parents held until they sobered up. They were later released pending formal charges.

What a bunch of idiots. You gotta say that when both your parents are drunk it is amazing the kid is not drinking already!

Trunk or Treat!

  • October 29, 2007 8:51 pm

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A church near Flint, MI is continuing its tradition of trunk or treat.  Trunk-or-treating – sometimes called Halloween tailgating – is growing, with events being held all over Genesee County. It’s when churches, schools or community groups select a spot to park their cars and hand out treats from trunks loaded up with candy.  Supporters say that trunk or treating allows parents to keep their children safe and allows them to get more candy.

And we need our children to get more candy on Halloween?  I am not dissing the safety issue, this seems great for this but this also seems like a big issue with obesity, kids have to walk less than they would trick or treating and they are getting more candy!  That just means more sugar, great diabetics and cavities galore!  Although it keeps your child safe, anyways happy Halloween. :)

Story 

Ho ho ho, free cards!

  • October 29, 2007 8:39 pm

Guess what everyone, our friends over at Vista Print are being generous and are giving out either 10 Free Christmas Card, a free wall calender, or a custom promotional pen for FREE. All you have to do is pay the shipping and handling. I just created a set of cards, and will be sending out some to a certain few people, and the lowest shipping availible will arrive to your house the day before Thanksgiving! What great timing, as you can still get your cards out almost a month before Christmas, right…. Well if you want to get on the free items, where you only have to pay for shipping and handling the codes are FreeHoliday, FreeCalendar07, FreePen07. Have fun and get some awesome Christmas cards for your friends. ;)

Firefighters in trouble after hose on hose action

  • October 29, 2007 6:22 pm

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A group of North firefighters got themselves into a predicament after they turned a cold hose on a naked colleague.  This video was posted on Youtube, but once they were discovered it was removed.  The men — believed to be from Middlesbrough — posted the short clip called “Screaming Bob” on the popular video-sharing website.  The stunned victim can be seen trying to protect his modesty and his body from the pummeling while his colleagues roll about in fits of hysterics.

The prank has backfired on the Cleveland Fire Brigade, whom are now being investigated.
Middlesbrough councillor and Cleveland Fire Authority member Peter Porleysaid: “It sounds as if they have gone a little bit over the top, especially by putting it on the internet.
If there is any action to be taken then it will be a matter for the senior officers.”

Hmm..Gay firefighters? Well that would be nothing new in the U.K., but this incident still is totally stupid but yet bizzare and awesome. I am vindicated from this argument, after all the U.K. has some pretty strict laws about sexual content in media…

Story

Search Engines are going nuts

  • October 29, 2007 3:51 pm

Everyone knows that the Google update may still be happening, this site in fact barley held on to its PR 3, which is quite amazing.   I am going to have to work much harder at keeping the number of links I put in down, and try to get some additional links.  Some people have said that Google is looking down upon paid links, which is understandable, but if you want your site to really thrive any more, any where on the internet you have to hire a search engine optimization company
. SEO companies can be a lifesaver, and for the hefty capitol investment you sometimes have to make with them, you can make a ton back.

I have spent countless hours trying to improve my rankings and such with not much success at first, but after reading hundreds of articles and ideas I finally have managed to start increasing things. If you don’t have this time, which I don’t know anyone who does, you can just get an Internet marketing company to help you get your site known. Internet Marketing companies are great, and I have had the pleasure of working with a couple before, not on this site sadly, but other sites.

If you haven’t figured it out yet internet marketing is here to stay. Any good Internet marketing company will tell you that they can help you get to the first page of Google, and believe me it is possible! With PPC, such as AdSense, and banner ads bringing in billions of dollars a year there is no reason not to get your site known. I love blogging, but I also love the almighty $, you just cannot say no to a company that will help you get that $. Don’t sit around and wait for your site to become popular over years, if you run a good blog or website you should be updating it 3 to 5 times a day, at the bare minimum.  That will help those SEO companies get the traffic you want!

Five Grade Fight to the death

  • October 29, 2007 3:42 pm

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Above, a fifth grader, not involved in this accident.

Two fifth grade dads, whose sons were also fighting got into a brawl in the West Broad Elementary School parking lot in Columbus, OH.  The brawl lead to the death of 29-year-old Franklin Jude who was hit by a 23-year-old Grant Reese, although no charges have yet been filed.  A grand jury will be hearing evidence in the case within the next few weeks.  The corner also ruled Jude’s death as a homicide.

This is just sad.  You pummell someone so hard that they die, because they are harrassing your kid?  I can imagine you might want to punch them but killing over a fifth grade fight, what are we savages!  Come on, you need to get your head on Grant Reese, because you might be charged with first degree murder!

 Story

Posting ORDEAL!

  • October 28, 2007 1:53 am

I am so beyond annoyed with Hosting Department right now. So I get on about 5 P.M. EST, 10 P.M. GMT and try to access this site, it doesn’t work. I proceed to flush dns, etc, and finally call GoDaddy, they say everything is fine on their end, now I call Comcast, nothing they can do, they say call DELL! Dell, I didn’t even get through to. You know, I am resorting to posting with a proxy, which I can’t check my cPanel logs with, which might help me figure out what is going on! EDIT: Thanks to beat filtering I am now able to access the cPanel and Blog, thanks to them. Booh to everyone else for not solving the problem.

I just am fed up, more stories coming when I wake up.

Home news…dishwasher!

  • October 26, 2007 10:18 pm

After the dishwasher from hell started to leak again, we finally decided to invest in a new dishwasher. After having to deal with the bullshit from the supplier for eons, we ended up getting our selection of the Frigidaire Dishwashers they offer delivered the other day. Then a friend of ours came over, and tried to cut out the old one, only after cutting into live power twice, but luckily installation was a breeze once you can find the breaker panel! I wish I would of order it from this Krillion engine, they seem to have a good footing on helping you find things like this and maybe they would have been able to get it to my door in under a month! I still can’t believe how horrible the supplier we did use was.

Leopard went on sale today…

  • October 26, 2007 10:11 pm

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Guess who just noticed.  Yes, the “biggest” release in Apple’s history went on sale 249 minutes ago and 9 minutes ago stores closed until morning.  What a sad opening honestly, who would close their stores only four hours after launching a product?  Many stay open 24/7 for the first day and then revert back to their schedule.  It is just another flaw in Apple’s ideas, oh well!

Scientists may soon grow lab eyeballs

  • October 26, 2007 10:00 pm

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A genetics miracle that allows tadpoles to have three eyes may soon help scientists create replacement human eyes in the lab.   If scientists could grow eyeballs in the lab, a whole league of people could have their sight restored.

“If you knew all the genes, and how to turn them on, that you needed to make an eye, you could start with very early embryonic cells and turn on all the right genes and grow an eye in a dish,” said co-leader of the study Nicholas Dale, a neuroscientist at the University of Warwick in England.

Scientists have already found the genes the initiate and direct eye development in amphibians, but how these genes get activated at a specific time in development has been clouded in mystery. In an Oct. 25th study however the journal Nature describes a nitrogen-bearing molecule may set off this process.

Personally, I am quite intrigued by this. This may be too geeky for some people, but hey you gotta love the hard, geeky things in life. Now that just came out wrong….

Story

Recovering from addiction

  • October 26, 2007 9:41 pm

Recently, I found out about a kid from my church that had to be sent away to a rehabilitation facility.   Apparently, the boy whose name is John,  had gotten so bad that his parents felt that he needed help.  I personally know John and have heard that he is/was doing marijuana and may have been abusing alcohol.  Plus, one day someone I knew saw him walk along the side of a road, in the rain!  Luckily, they called me and let me know they had seen John because he had been missing for several days.  I immediately called the police and they sent an officer out to locate him.  They did find him, marijuana and all.   I was so sad that he was abusing drugs, and that he could not look towards God.  He needed help.

Thankfully, his parents who adopted him, as John had fetal alcohol syndrome, had the police put him in a rehabilitation program.  They sent him somewhere up North, not that sure of exactly where it is, but another friend of mine told me the name and I was able to locate it as being near Traverse City, Michigan.  John originally was down at the University of Michigan before he went up to Traverse City for treatment.  He will have to stay in this rehabilitation program for at least 90 days.  He will only be allowed to see his family once a month, which I think might not be a huge issue with him, but it will affect him.  I hope this rehabilitation program does good for John, because he really needs the help. Please do not underestimate the power of addiction, it can cause someone you love or even just like to do horrible things to themselves.  Get them help, let them get things sort out in a treatment program.  If you can’t find a treatment refferal server 4Rehabilitation is a good place to start.

Dallas wheelchair user shoots intruder

  • October 26, 2007 8:10 pm

Dallas police say a man in a wheelchair disarmed and fatally shot a home intruder with the intruder’s own gun.  The shooting happened just before 3 a.m. today at the man’s apartment in the Village Oaks Apartments in the Fruitdale neighborhood, south of downtown Dallas.  No identities have been released, but the police are not planning to file charges.

Way to go wheelchair user!  You teach that dude that you can be just as powerful and you can take control of the situation!

 Story 

Police officer has sex with retarded girls

  • October 26, 2007 7:58 pm

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DUNCANNON, Pa- A suspended Marysville Police officer is accused of molesting 14 girls ages 12 to 17. These children have mental retardation, are mentally ill or may be physically injured.  Robert Pavlovich, has been charged with several crimes including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with minors, sexual assault, indecent assault, bribery and corruption of minors.  Robert Pavlovich was placed in the Perry County Prison in lieu of $500,000 bail by District Judge Daniel McGuire on Thursday morning. 

During Pavlovich’s eight years as an officer in Perry County, seven with Marysville and less than one with Duncannon, it is alleged that he allowed girls to have
marijuana in his presence, he failed to charge a girl after she asked for money to buy crack, he altered the results of Breathalyzer tests for girls at underage drinking parties in Rye Twp., he failed to arrest a drug dealer as a favor to a girl and he encouraged girls to meet him at night after curfew, according to court records.

This is heart breaking.  How can you allow someone like this to even have bond?  He should remain in that jail until he is found guilty when he should be sentenced to 150 years.  He does not even deserve life, as a sentence beyond life is the worst that can be handed down without killing Robert Pavlovich, it is amazing he was not involved in killing anyone!

Story

MyWallst dot Net is still taking up my life

  • October 26, 2007 7:30 pm

I still have been plugging away over at MyWallSt.net. As I have wrote about them before, I’ll give just a brief overview of what you do on their site. Basically, it is a financial simulation game. They let you pick stocks by giving you $100,000 and then you have to pick the shares that will do the best. They limit you to twenty different unique holdings and there are quite a few others restrictions on your trading to make sure that you don’t take advantage of the system, such as there being a minimum time where you must hold onto the shares and orders only being processed during the regular hours the NYSE is open.

Having the community at MyWallSt has shown me that other people can help you pick what stocks will be successfully online, and possibly in real life as well. The best thing about MyWallSt is that it is live, compared to publications like newspapers which are hours old and magazines which can be up to weeks old! MyWallSt has a much faster turn around letting you speculate in a few minutes if it is during when the market is open, just like in real life. If you are thinking about your stock portfolio I’d encourage you to check out MyWallSt, as it has changed my mind on a couple of stocks I wanted to invest in on the game and in real life as well.

Free Tacos from Taco Bell Oct. 30th!!!

  • October 26, 2007 7:11 pm

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Thanks to Jacoby Ellsbury  whose second base steal has earned all of America free tacos next Tuesday.  The “Steal a Base, Steal a Taco” deal by Taco Bell, part of Yum Brands Inc., will allow customers at any of the chain’s participating 5,800 outlets to cash in on a free crunchy seasoned beef taco — valued at 77 cents. Of course, with any free lunch, there’s a catch: Customers may only collect on the promotion between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. local time.

Haha, thank you Jacoby Ellsbury, I do think I will be going to claim my free taco at the local Taco Bell. Don’t forget to cash in your free taco America, that is on October 30th at any participating Taco Bell location between 2 and P p.m. local time.

Story

Spock, not from Star Trek.

  • October 25, 2007 6:58 pm

As I read about thousands of startups per year, I always like the ones that are trying to innovate in search.  I really think someone can do it better than Google, especially with trying to find famous people.   Most of the major search engines do not do justice when trying to find people, but Spock allows you to find them easily.  I decided to do a people search on Adam Curry, a famous podcaster and former V-J at M.T.V. Now the result gave me a ton of information, including pictures of himself, and his wife who looks rather well, different than most women do in America. Plus, it listed details about his podcast, his airplane and even his birthday. So you can get to know Adam Curry pretty darn well right off the bat!

Of course, with any major tech startup you have to have a widget. I am going to embed a widget for Adam Curry at the bottom of this post and see how it looks in a few minutes. The preview on Spock looks cool as it displays much the same information as the regular results page does but in a much smaller space. The one thing that really is driving me nuts right now is that it is difficult to get the widget code to work in WordPress. I have put code tags around it but yet it still refuses to work. This will mean I will have to go into the html, which you usually do not have to for blogs to get widgets to work. Oh well, I’ll try and see if I can fix it, probably not though.

EDIT: Turns out the widget does work in WordPress, it just does not display well on the preview background in the WP-editor. I really like the widget though, wish they would allow some customization of it.

Still Spock is a great piece of software. They combine the best of both worlds by having good search engine technology and allowing their users to tag peoples articles. I think it is only a matter of time before you see them taking a dynamic role in the people search market.

Random Videos

  • October 25, 2007 6:47 pm

I am going to do some random videos as I just found some that were pretty halirious. I guess that is what procrastinating gets you.

Don’t you look away! Bring you the Final Countdown from Europe(Sponge Bob) in honor of John Levens 44th Birthday!

Personally, I was amazed at how this lady could keep her composure, after all her son has just been shot! I was born in Charleston so I also thought this video was cool in that way.

This is a non-youtube video so sorry if the formatting is off. But having a DC-10 fly right past you is pretty freakin cool.

Hope you like this and maybe it will become more of a regular feature!

Talking with breezie

  • October 24, 2007 8:50 pm

I have been talking with Breezie, a fellow blogger who I know really well.  We got to talking about her son Matt.  I then remembered that her son has a truck.  I  was talking to her also about Christmas and how she wanted a digital camera from her son.  Then we got to talking about what she was going to buy her son for Christmas.  I suggested this van rack I found on Google. Her son works in the construction industry and the van rack can help him carry almost anything to his job at the construction site.  Although, my mind is still on end about what I will get her…hmmm.. anyone have a suggestion?

Students use holsters to protest gun restrictions

  • October 24, 2007 8:38 pm

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College students across America have been protesting concealed gun laws this week by strapping on empty holsters.  “People who would otherwise be able to defend themselves are left defenseless when on campus,” said Ethan Bratt, a graduate student wearing an empty holster this week on the campus of Seattle Pacific University. 

“You don’t like the fact that you can’t have a gun on your college campus? Drop out of school,” said Peter Hamm, a spokesman for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.  Colleges have not yet seen this occur, although it is quite possible.  

Why do you need a gun on campus?  You need it to protect yourself.  This is why you have campus police as well as police and usually state police within minutes of a campus.  If you really need protection, get a stun gun.  I cannot justify having students get a concealed weapons permit to carry a gun at school.  It just seems too dangerous and rash.

Story

Fast food king is Wendys!

  • October 24, 2007 8:30 pm

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Wendy’s boasts the best beef, but McDonald’s rules the world of French fries, according to a national survey by Zagat that also had some kind words for Panera Bread Co., Outback Steakhouse and Cracker Barrel.  Who is the lowest?  Chuck E. Cheese, which is not surprising as they really are not much about food.

I like Panera bread a lot, they have some great food that I believe is healthier than most of the burger joints.  Cracker Barrel and Outback are right next to each other here in town, I like both pretty well, although the local steakhouse is much better.  Also, our Lonestar steakhouse shut it’s doors mysteriously in June…whatever they decided to do that for.  However, I recently counted and we have about 90 food venues within 15 minutes.  Most of the majors are in town excluding KFC, which was demolished to build a Panera bread!  Arbys is also a bit off the main strip, more towards the Outback and Cracker Barrel.

Strange…

Overall Scores, All Fast-Food Chains

(1) Panera Bread Co.

(2) Chick-fil-A (tie)

(2) Chipotle (tie)

(4) Quizno’s Sub

(4) Sonic Drive-In

Overall Scores, Fast Food

“Mega-Chains” only

(1) Wendy’s

(2) Subway

(3) Pizza Hut

(4) Dairy Queen (tie)

(4) McDonald’s (tie)

Overall Scores, Full-Service Chains

(1) Outback Steakhouse (tie)

(1) Cracker Barrel (tie)

(1) Red Robin (tie)

(4) Olive Garden (tie)

(4) Chili’s Grill & Bar (tie)

Source: Zagat Fast Food Chains 2007, Zagat Full-Service Chains 2007

Business Greeting Cards

  • October 24, 2007 6:44 pm

I just keep coming up with more and more Holiday related stuff!   I found out that if you can create a greeting card that The Gallery Collection  likes and if you are in High School or College you can win a $10,000 scholarship greeting card scholarship.  This is for people who can actually draw or design a piece of art or a computer graphic that will look good on a greeting card.  That is not me, as I am horrible at art!  The best part is you can win $10,000 for yourself, which is not any little amount of chump change.  The Gallery Collection also does a fair amount of business Christmas cards. They are those cards that you might get from your bank/banker or mortgage lender saying happy holidays and such.

Around here though, they are mostly sent out by your mortgage lender. I get one every year along with a wreath. They just randomly drop it off in front of my house, kind of strange really. The Gallery Collection has some beautiful greeting cards. They offer personal greetings and embroidery on their cards, as well as some rather competitive prices. I might have to look into buying my greeting cards from them. I’ll probably forget to buy some because I am up to my eyeballs in work though, so I better do it right away. Anyways, I would try to enter the contest sooner rather than later. Sure it is open until January 15th of next year, but I am sure you are likely to forget before then.

Google drops a present

  • October 24, 2007 6:33 pm

or a PageRank.  Yes I also am pissed WP logged me out when I had a 300 word post, that didn’t autosave…GRHHH!  Yet life goes on.  How are you?  Did you blog get affected by Google?  You would think that they would have some common sense but it looks like more than my blog dropped…how annoying.  I am just reading through a 21 page thread about it.  I also am considering getting rid of AdSense, because if Google won’t support me, I refuse to support them.  Take that Google!

Christmas presents for my favorite bloggers

  • October 24, 2007 4:50 pm

I was just beginning to think about how I could get some of my blogger friends some great gifts for Christmas when I discovered these iGorumet gift baskets. In a lot of cities around here, it is hard to get some of the finer goods like gourmet cheese and such. Plus, buying this stuff and shipping it myself would costs a small fortune! That is why I probably will pay iGorumet to do it for me, if I decide to give them Gift Baskets. I still have to consider what I want to give them, but I better hurry as Chirstmas is coming up pretty fast. You might want to think about getting a Gift Basket yourself as the sooner you order yours, the faster they can ship it!

Lansing ready for zombies!

  • October 24, 2007 4:41 pm

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket  Lansing Michigan is ready for zombies! Lansing police and fire crews say they’re ready for any attack on our fine city. Officials said Lansing wouldn’t be taken by surprise and in a few hours could be armed to the teeth. “We have been doing mock disasters and cross training for several years,” said Lansing Police Lt. Bruce Ferguson. City officials would not say if they’ve run zombie-attack scenarios. Mayor Virg Bernero could not be reached for comment.

Hmmm Zombies.  Sorry about that I lost the source for this one after the posting got interrupted by my provider rebooting a router.  Lansing people are strange though…

Anaconda pregnant?

  • October 22, 2007 8:22 pm

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Kathleen, one of two female anacondas at the Boston Aquarium  had an ultrasound given to her to determine if she is pregnant.  However, the test is inconclusive.  The veterinarian plans to do exams on the 14-foot snake for the next two months to determine if Kathleen is pregnant.  Anacondas are native to South America. They can grow to more than 30 feet and as big around as a grown man.

Alright…let’s give an Anaconda a pregnancy test!  Wow, this is just strange and I would hate having to be near that thing.  Snakes and my body do not sound like a good idea, or a great combination at all.

Story

Rockies tickets are RED HOT commodity

  • October 22, 2007 8:13 pm

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Colorado Rockies fans swarmed the servers of the ticket providers for MLB and the Rockies Monday.  Fans who tried to buy tickets were mostly unable to, due to the failure of computers at the provider Paciolan.  Paciolan CEO Dave Butler did not know if the demand for tickets caused the crash  Paciolan received 8.5 million hits in a 30 minute period.  That amount of traffic is similar to what a large scale attack on a computer network would be like.  “This is not the Rockies’ fault in anyway whatsoever,” Butler said. “We are working hard to address it.”

“We’re shutting the system down, we’re going to suspend it,” said Jay Alves, a Rockies spokesman who was booed by fans who had gathered at Coors Field. “We’re as frustrated as our fans are.”  Super-fast computers normally used only during emergencies were to be staffed Monday so state employees could buy Rockies World Series tickets online.  Until word of the plan got out, that is.  The computers in the Emergency Operations Center are normally activated during tornadoes, floods, snowstorms and fires. And some are wary about letting people use them to buy World Series tickets.

“Taxpayers did not invest in an emergency response center so that state employees could use it for their own personal advantage and buy baseball tickets,” said Chantelle Taylor, a spokeswoman for Colorado Ethics Watch.  Department of Local Affairs Director Susan Kirkpatrick initially approved the plan, saying she did so to prevent her employees from leaving work to buy tickets. She said her technology department said it would not compromise security.

UH HUH!  We really need to use our emergency computers to buy baseball tickets, the only worse thing is if they would of used the emergency computers to sell tickets and a real emergency occurred!  What a bunch of idiots.  Who would waste such a critical emergency resource.  They should of used it to catch all the porn from Google. ;)

 Story

Using Packet 8 phones for business

  • October 22, 2007 7:58 pm

I have been reading more and more about Business VoIP and I have to say that after Wired magazines last review issue, I am more and more impressed with Packet 8 phones.  Packet 8 used to be trying to corner the home VoIp market, but now they have diversified out and are trying to gain some leverage in Business VoIP.  They have this new solution called Packet8 Virtual Office . It is cost effective to use, with a virtual office including unlimited global calling. It also has no expensive equipment to install, but still their phones are amazing pieces of technology.

Packet 8 is not just for your virtual office though, they want to be part of call centers. Calling to India from the U.S. only costs 10 cents a minute on Packet 8 phones. With Packet8 you do not even need a call center as the system can unify the queue through email, phone, fax and several other mediums. Plus, the phone system makes it easy for the CSR’s to do their work remotely therefore, lowering the entire overhead as you as a company do not have to pay for a building, amazing isn’t it? But don’t thank me, Packet 8 has some really nice phones, I would probably switch to a Packet 8 phone if I still had a land line, but I got rid of mine, darn!

Pillow Spill on I-264

  • October 22, 2007 7:32 pm

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket Drivers on I-264 in Norfolk had a strange occurrence this afternoon.  Some may have thought of it as a blizzard but it was actually a pillow spill.  Police tried to clean up the dozens of pillows that spilled, because drivers were slowing down to avoid hitting them.  Pillows were found up to several miles away.

Well I don’t think it is time for it to start snowing quite yet.  Ha!  You gotta love when their is such a “clean” spill on a highway.  Most of these days it is something toxic or otherwise dangerous.  But pillows, no big deal!  Oh, and the police are still looking for the vehicle that the pillows came from…

 Story

AIM Promote releases new features

  • October 22, 2007 7:01 pm

AIM Promote a CRM company that works in the lead optimization business has released a new set of features for their software. The new software will allow people who own AIM Promote software to get an even better set of features to manage their leads.  If you are a serious advertiser you may want to look into AIM Promote as I would say they have a great product.  I have included the press releases below for your viewing.

Press Release:
Traverse City, MI October 19th 2007 — AIMpromote, provider of lead management and customer relationship management software, has launched a significant upgrade to their CRM offering. The newly added white-label CRM software feature enhances the value that lead aggregators can offer to their lead purchasing customers. The enhanced reselling functionality provides an intuitive interface to completely manage the selling of a privately labeled CRM as their own.

Lead aggregators operate in the highly competitive B2B space, and need ways to add value to their offerings. Michael Myles, President and CEO of AIMpromote said “The significant added value provided by the AIMpromote white-label customer relationship software gives lead aggregators a way to differentiate themselves in what has become a highly commoditized market.” He went on to say that “this product also provides an easy way to leverage existing client bases to more rapidly increase sales.”

The close tie-in between the selling of leads and the powerful sales management functionality of the AIMpromote customer relationship software enables the end-users of the system to easily purchase leads that are then available to be worked directly in the system. There is no importing necessary. Billing is also consolidated, providing an easy way for the end-user to manage their funds and billing profile. The system has been designed from the ground-up to offer high levels of customizability and advanced functionality for everyone involved, while requiring little investment in time.

The CRM reselling and lead sales functions functionality includes the ability for lead aggregators and CRM software resellers to completely customize pricing, including setup fees, discounts, and free trials. This flexibility empowers the resellers of the system to enhance their profit margins as they see fit. The CRM reselling system allows lead aggregators and consultants the ability to brand their system with their own logo and contact information. Integrated Authorize.Net payment processing gives an interface to take credit cards automatically, and have the funds deposited directly into their bank accounts. The advanced accounting and reporting pages in the AIMpromote system give a top-down view of the business as a whole, as well as for each individual account.

The tiered approach that AIMpromote has taken to the reselling of their powerful customer relationship management software gives even the end-user clients the ability to also resell the system. The billing and accounting system automatically takes care of everything for them, even automatically setting up accounts. “The ease of use and flexibility of the AIMpromote CRM for those providing business-to-business consultation services and those selling leads has created an opportunity to significantly improve the bottom line, with very little time or expense,” said Matt Wolfe, Vice President of Operations for AIMpromote. Wolfe added, “The service and functionality of the system is unique in that customers are supported through an integrated support ticket system by their parent account. The end-users of the system will never know that the service they are using is being resold, or that the company from which they are licensing the software are not the actual manufacturers of the software. To them, it won’t be AIMpromote at all, it will be ‘ABC Software Company CRM’, or whatever name the company reselling the software chooses.”

About AIMpromote
AIMpromote leads the market in growth and technology for on-demand lead management and CRM reselling solutions. AIMpromotes enterprise lead management software empowers companies in any industry to more effectively generate, delegate, and report on leads and the teams that manage them. AIMpromote is the only solution that integrates detailed web analytics with sales and marketing analytics to provide a complete closed-loop view of the sales process. The AIMpromote lead management software offers a completely customized solution that can be tailored to fit any organization’s customer acquisition workflow. The unique combination of having the most functionality, and the lowest total cost of ownership, AIMpromote is the most cost effective solution for improving close rates and marketing efficiency.

Students confess to placing 5,000 toothpicks on field

  • October 22, 2007 3:19 pm

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Five teenagers have confessed to putting more than 5,000 toothpicks on a Michigan high school football field.  The five students confessed to placing more than 5,000 toothpicks on the Tawas High School artificial field forcing the game to be moved 37 miles away to Alcona County.  No charges have been filed.

Wow!  I saw this on the news and can’t believe these kids where that stupid.  Why would you ruin a field like that?  You must have nothing better to do with your time than to throw toothpicks all over a field!

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Chatting to support online

  • October 22, 2007 3:11 pm

Recently, I have been noticing that more sites are using a live human chat.  This lets you talk to someone at a much less expensive rate than if the company had a call center, even if it was in India.  After all, everything is cheaper when you don’t have to pay for the infrastructure. I was using Dell’s support chat to ask a question a product just the other day. They do use Indian reps so it is a bit of a disappointment but the software worked much better than I have seen other support chat software, especially some open sources solutions work. I went over and checked out this software called Live Human.

It seems pretty unique, by offering the chat interface with HTML elements, instead of a flash based or java based system. It also changes when the owner is off line, not something really unique but is nice to have in a support system. Chat conversations are also logged on their servers for up to 2 months, great if you need to reference a previous chat later on. Think about it, you can support your website from the comfort of your own computer room, without having to pay for a call center. Great idea for eBay sellers too. Well, I am going to look into it and we will see what comes of adding live human support chat to the site.

Taco Bell: Steal a base, steal a taco

  • October 22, 2007 3:01 pm

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket   Taco Bell would like to let you know that if a base is stolen during the world series that they will let you “steal” one of their tacos.  There has been a stolen base in every one of the World Series championships since 1990.  Taco Bell will announce a Tuesday afternoon where fans can walk in and request a free taco if a base is stolen.  Taco Bell says this offer is open to anyone.  “Millions and millions of people will be watching the Series and hopefully tuning in to see when they are going to get their taco,” said Taco Bell spokesman Rob Poetsch.

Hey, I am game for a free taco.  Someone please steal a base, I’ll take a whole mess of people down to the local Taco Bell to get our free tacos!

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Tool storage units and my foot

  • October 21, 2007 9:22 pm

When I was writing about my mom earlier, I had a flashback. I was at my grandparents house when I was young and in my grandpa’s workshop. I remember just walking around and having a tool storage unit fall on my foot. I can remember the pain of that and how I had to ice my toe for like a week. I don’t know why I remembered that but I thought I would just share it. Anybody else have any stories about their grandparents?

I NEED a vacation

  • October 21, 2007 9:18 pm

This is not not of my mindless yammering about how I want a vacation to such and such a place again, no this is serious I need a vacation. I have been posting so much the past few days that I am even amazed but the thoughts just keep flowing. I found this Maui Vacation Rental that seemed very nice. It is run by a company called Gebhart Properties and has 3 Bedrooms with 3 Baths. I would need to take some people along as well as it has 2,576 square feet of space. For Maui that is pretty darn big, I think that might be right around what my house is as well. Oh well, one can dream!

Digital Cameras

  • October 21, 2007 9:14 pm

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Her digital Camera, think it is a DSC T-100 if anyone wants to know.

I was helping my mom out today with her digital cameras. Our digital cameras as much as she wants to say they are, are not similar at all. Her’s is much nicer and is also about $200 more expensive. It can shoot HD movie and has some of the nicest features I have seen. Mine is rather bulky, but is still a great workhorse. I love to borrow her camera, but I do get quiet mad that the memory cards are not the same between the two.

Wired T.V.

  • October 21, 2007 9:09 pm

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I was reading Wired like every other geeky person should, and saw this really nice ad for flat panel televisions. It wasn’t for any particular company but just had an image of the television in it. It made me think about getting a new T.V. With those updates coming in 2009, iin the United States where all T.V. will be digital there is not really a better time to upgrade. So I am going to go run down to the store and buy a bunch of T.V.’s for the house. Once I get my $1 million check that came in the mail cashed…

Got to get some gold

  • October 21, 2007 2:34 pm

I have been reading some more about Monex recently and they keep telling me that I should be investing in gold that prices are going to do nothing but keep going up. After all gold investing does look like a great activity to be involved in as the world’s gold supply is dwindling as well as the world’s above ground silver supply. American Eagle Gold coins are probably the best investment, they are 10 ounce coins with .9167 fine gold in them. They are legal tender and have a $50 value if you try to use them at a store, although I am sure you will want to keep onto them instead of buying groceries with them.

Grhhhh CHAIRS!

  • October 21, 2007 2:29 pm

I have this rather new chair that I sit in front of the computer on and it is already falling apart!  I cannot believe it.  It was a pretty expensive piece too! Not like some of the discount furniture I have that is holding up better than it! Some of the stuff I bought that was made in China is ten times better than this thing. Oh but I digress as no one likes someone who complains.

Making money with surveys

  • October 21, 2007 2:27 pm

For a while now, I have been a member of several different surveys and panels that have allowed me to earn a  little extra cash online. However, when I took one for XM radio the other day, the survey was the most confusing I have ever taken. Those people in the market research department over at XM need to get their heads checked. They asked how old I was, in a general range of a decade and then asked my specific age about 3 PAGES later. Wow, brilliant!

Missing Mail: Post card shows up 64 years later

  • October 21, 2007 1:46 am

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A postcard that a Japanese soldier mailed from a Southeast Asian battlefront during World War II has reached a recipient in Japan 64 years later, a university whose student helped deliver it said Saturday.  The card was mailed from south Asia but was recieved at an American base after the occupation of Japan after the war.  The American kept it at his Arizona home until he died 25 years ago and was kept by his son — who moved to the Hawaiian island of Maui and then gave the letter to a Japanese exchange student he met through his wife, who taught her sewing, the statement said.

Don’t you love the oddities of how things get somewhere. You have to have a great happy story every once in a while!

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Protecting your password

  • October 21, 2007 1:38 am

These days you must keep super tight control over your passwords.   That is where Symark Software wants to help you.  Symark Software are the leading experts with Password Protection software offering three different types.  Symark PowerBroker, Symark Power Password, and Symark Power Keeper.  They each offer a unique angle on keeping Linux/Unix systems secure.  From root account monitoring to user account password management to secure storage and access to secure servers Symark can help you.  You can not be too careful in today’s environment so be sure to look into using Symark if you are a System Admin or someone else who works in IT.

Indianapolis Colts

  • October 21, 2007 1:29 am

My friend has tickets to the Indianapolis Colts game this coming Monday, however, I sadly have classes. I really wanted to go with him because he says these tickets were extremely difficult to get and they are in an awesome place in the stadium. Plus, I have not ever been to a professional football game before. I have been to baseball, hockey, but not football. Hopefully he can find someone as I would hate for those great tickets to go to waste.

SuperValu loses $10 million in Nigeria 409 scam

  • October 21, 2007 1:26 am

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Tradition, excellence and promise seems to be a very unique phrase from SuperValu. The grocery chain which bought out Albertsons based in Boise, ID earlier this year, wired $10 million to the incorrect account for American Greetings and Frito Lay. The chain believed they received legitimate emails from these companies, but in reality they received spoofs. Luckily, the Boise FBI office was able to capture the money before it reached the scammers. However, the money is in limbo due to ongoing litigation.

But American Greetings and Frito-Lay still want to get paid. They and SuperValu have all laid claim to the money. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill will decide where it should go. In an affidavit, SuperValu’s vice president for legal services, Stephen Kilgriff, said the company received that e-mail on Feb. 28, saying that future wire transfers to the company should be sent to a First Security Bank account in Rogers, Ark. That fraud was also discovered on March 6, when the company called police, Kilgriff said.

WOW! This shows that even a heartless(or maybe they do have a heart) corporation can have a scam happen to it. They don’t have a very good IT department over at SuperValu, no big surprise I guess.

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Maui anyone?

  • October 21, 2007 1:16 am

I am thinking a trip to Maui is in order.   After all, there are some great deals to be had on a Maui Vacation Rental. Gebhart Properties has some of the premiere vacation rentals in Maui and the rest of the Hawaiian Islands. You can get the Hale Nani Loa Maka a 3 Bedroom and 3 bathroom penthouse with 2,576 square feet. Now I seriously doubt that even some of the finest hotels on Maui could match that for their penthouse suites. I am really going to look into going to Maui, after I get enough money for it that is. I anticipate a Maui meatup in 2010, but I better reserve the rental now!

Cufflinks

  • October 21, 2007 1:11 am

I was just searching through my spam emails and I found a site that isn’t entirely spam!  Amazing as that is, I happen to think that they are rather strange kind of agroomsmen gift but cuff links are really coming back. I did not even know what they were until about two years ago when I bought a pair with my shirt, they are actually pure silver. They are awesome, and I really wish I had a picture of them…then again they are a little tarnished so I probably should polish them up first.

Flu shot scam

  • October 21, 2007 1:02 am

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketEvelyn Causer had a funny feeling when a women came into her store claiming to be from Kaweah Delta Hospital and was selling flu shots for $20.  “We looked at each other like, ‘No way she’s going to stick us,’ ” Causer said.”  The mysterious women left Evelyn Causer’s store Thursday without inicdent.  The Kaweah Delta Hospital is conducting an inventory of it’s flu shot supply but it appears none has been taken.  Hospital officials said they are concerned about the public’s safety. Not only do they not yet know what’s in the shots being offered, but people receiving the fake shots may erroneously believe they’re protected by a vaccination in what some believe will be a heavy flu season.

Hmmm. BUSTED!  This women is an idiot if you ask me.  You should never get a flu shot from anyone other than a nurse or doctor, ask them to provide you with documentation if you are unsure.  Visiting nurses are a great way to get your flu shot, and are availible at many locations.  I just got my shot from them today, only took 20 minutes(10 waiting for no reaction), and I encourage everyone to get one, from properly trained medical professionals.

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Moving to another country?

  • October 21, 2007 1:01 am

Although I have never moved to another country personally, I have known people who have.  They have thought they could initially send boxes by the Postal Service or via courier service, however they soon realized that it was much easier to deal with a reputable company of International Movers. Service Network can help you link up with a reputable international moving company that can help you move to pretty much anywhere in the world. Service Network only accepts the most professional movers and has helped over 50,000 so far this year! Just think of the great experience you will have if you find a mover with them.

I am thinking about a new watch

  • October 21, 2007 12:47 am

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I took advantage of being near a outlet mall today and looked into buying myself a new watch. My current watch is almost two years old, and although I love it to death, it has a hard time of keeping the correct time for whatever reason. I was looking around today and saw the watch above for a fairly reasonable price which I cannot remember at the moment. All I can remember is that it is a Hamilton watch. Beautiful as all get out, I’ll update this post when I can remember more.