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Monday, June 30, 2008
The Elvish Name Generator
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Today's Quiz: Tribond Triple Play
Tribond Tripple Play, is based onthe popular Tribond game which asks us "What do these 3 things have in common" In tripple play you solve 3 tribonds, the answer to which form a new tribond. For today's warm-up, can you figure out what these things have in common. If you do it right you should be able to use the answers to solve another tribond leading to the final answer. Good Luck !
Saturday, June 28, 2008
The Basics Of Getting Things Done
GTD or Getting Things Done is a set of strategies designed to help improve your daily Productivity.
In this article by the MacIntosh weblog, we see a nice summary of ideas as presented from David Allen's book "Getting Things Done"
A very interesting set of ideas indeed.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Makana Different Game An Experience For All
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Where's the iHype?
Shhh ! I have a secret for you. Do you own your own company, and have recently launched your own website? Many years ago the company I used to work for launched their website. It took us a long time to build a steady stream of quality traffic to our site. We did search engine optimization (SEO) had the address on all our business cards, and conducted webinars. We watched our traffic like crazy, an increase in traffic meant an increase in profits (in theory). But always there was this question hanging over us. What can we do to get more visitors, more traffic?
I was the system admin, and part time web developer. I had some ideas and helped out a little to build traffic, but I figured the real magic was up to the marketing gurus. If only I knew then what I know now.
Today everyone has a blog, and wants to be a reporter. Many of these blogs are very popular and receive lots of raffic. So if you have a new website and want to get the word and generate a buzz - this is an excellent opportunity. Today we have sites which combine bloggers and business together, and the best way to maximize this opportunity is to join as early as possible to these programs and get in on the ground iHype.com Launches such a service.
So what does all this mean for you? Simple! Invest your marketing budget into iHype and let bloggers generate buzz for your business automatically. Before the popularity of blogging, there were really only 2 options - a) Emailing webmasters related to your product/service and asking for links and b) Web advertising which can be expensive. Now it just a few clicks, you can have a large network of bloggers review your products and services and post them to be read by their readers.
There are of course, other similar programs, however, as these sites get popular, they can also get more expensive. Therefore, the best time to get in the begging so here's your opportunity. I'm sure once you've tried it you'll see how much easier than traditional website marketing tactics.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday Warm--up: Complete the Pattern
It forms the basis of how we learn about the world, we expect certain things to remain constant, other things to change, and to be able to function we need to be able to differentiate between the two. We need to make educated guesses of what comes next.
When a baby or toddler sees its mom taking its cup to the kitchen sink, he/she learns the answer to "what comes next"
In todays warm-up I ask you to complete the pattern. Follow the link below and look at the 4 grids. Can you determine the pattern - How was it created, what would a 4th grid look like?
Tip: Those of you with kids just starting school might have a better chance. Show this to your kids and see if they can figure it out ;-)
Enjoy !
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Mommy Meltdown
Amy Jane writes an excellent article here on the joys of being a parent (or more "The life of a mom") Don't get me wrong, I love my kids. They are one of the best things about life. But you have to respect those, who, like my wife, I am sure an relate to days very similar to what Amy is writing about. Me? I really only have the kids for the entire day on Sundays and just that one day can sometimes be very hard on my patience. So a special thanks to my wife, and those like her who can keep it all together in the midst of what the rest of us can't even begin to imagine !
Monday, June 23, 2008
R2-D2 DVD Projector
This is a rendered video by Nikko and I'm not sure that you can actually buy them. It shows "limited edition"
Find out more at StarWarsShop.com
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Jobs that sound cool, but maybe not
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Learning about Father's Day
Friday, June 20, 2008
Microsoft Vista - The next generation bloatware
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Where is the missing ten dollars?
Today's quiz teaches us that things may not always be as they seem. In life, we are often confronted with things that seem so logical. So correct, but we are fooled. Have you ever been fooled into believing something was true? Just because it sounds right? Logic can be a dangerous weapon when used incorrectly. Here's a quiz to test out just how powerful that can be
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Health Insurance vs. Socialized Healthcare
Kevin Freking has written an interesting 7 part article over on ehealthhelp.com. His article discusses the pro's/cons of Health Insurance Plans vs a socialized system. Freking specifically discusses the various platforms of the political parties (and differences within the party) of America, and what they hope to accomplish.
I live in Canada, and we have socialized health care. Although, I am not very clear on how there health care works. I cringe at the idea of possibly dying because of an inability to afford health care. Canada is actually in the process of working out a 2-Teir health system. It is an attempt to leverage both benefits of health insurance and socialized health care.
One of the drawbacks, we face in Canda (as compared to the US), is very long wait times in our hospitals. Since health care is funded by our taxes and available to everyone, it gets a lot of utilization, and certains costs (such as Doctors salaries may have limits. Regardless, I still feeling extremely lucky to have our health care system, and I don't mind one bit the taxes that go to help ensure each an every Canadian has the same right to quality health care.
I find it very interesting, that as Canadians attempt to move toward a 2-Teir heath system, combining both private and public health care. The US system is working towards helping make health care available to more Americans. I can't help but wonder if we will eventually reach the same conclusions?
I often have a hard time understanding the notion of why "socialized health system" is looked at so negativily. Freking gives us the example of two people working on an assignment. One person puts in 110% and the other person slacks off and does nothing. Is it fair, that they should both get similar grades?
My problem with the analogy, is the attempt to compare individual accomplishments (skills, attitude, knowledge) with health and welfare. Sure some people work harder then others, does this automatically mean they have more of a right to live and breath as someone else? Perhaps, they deserve to accomplish more in life, perhaps they deserve better health, and more happiness. But does a "slacker" diserve to die because of their poor life choices? This seems a little harsh to me. The bigger question is what about those to are working 100% but just don't have the talent as others, or just has 'bad luck'. Do these people diserve to die for the cards they are dealt in life?
Anyway, check out Frekings views at the link below. Go Universal Health Care !
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The Strangest Items Ever To Sell (Or Not Sell) On EBay
As many of you might already be aware, I have recently become an E-Bay addict.
I love selling stuff on this site. I'm not making a lot of money, but it's still great.
So when I came across this blog entry over at bligit. I just had to share it.
People will try anything to sell stuff at ebay.
If you want to give it a try youurself please sign up at bwebcentral.com/ebay.
Monday, June 16, 2008
My name is Brad and I have SDS (Sarcasm Deficiency Syndrome
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Test your hearing and music knowledge
Saturday, June 14, 2008
You don't have to ditch the Day Job
Friday, June 13, 2008
How It Works | The PC Decrapifier
Have you recently purchase a new computer? If so you may have noticed a wide variety of junk that is pre-installed. Toolbars you don't need, software you don't want. Trials of programs that expire in 30 days and keep nagging your end after end. Why does all this junk even come preloaded on your machine? It's simple really. This distributor makes money for each piece of software they pre-install. Since the markup on the hardware usually isn't very high, the distributor/retailer can make a few bucks installing a lot of useless software and trialware and calling it a "value add" or 'bundle package. Then you need the PC Decrapifier. This litle FREE program scans your computer for the common bloatware that comes initially installed with your computer, and will ask you what items you want to remove and what to leave alone. Quick, easy, and just the tool for newly purchase computers, to make them run like they *should*
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The discovery of Tobacco
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
IWK Telethon - Don't foget to give
Specialized hospitals for sick children are a very important aspect of our society. Health care costs are really expensive, and in Canada we are lucky to have many costs paid for through a universal health system. However, it is particularly tragic when one of our kids acquires a critical disease or illness. Regardless of whether you've had kids or not, you probably know of someone near you who required specialized treatment at one of these hospitals, and unfortunately government funding just isn't always enough.
Every year, these hospitals, such as the IWK hold telethons. Various fund raising occurs through out the year. Both individuals and business contribute. Call centers, television, radio stations and hundreds of other volunteers devote their time to help raise money for this needy cause.
The IWK is one of these hospitals and is located in Halifax Nova Scotia, but many other hosptials through out Canada generally hold similar telethons around the same time.
If you can, please donate via the link below our check out our Donation database for more donation ideas.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Virtual Island - Historical PEI The living archives
Don't have the resources to visit PEI this summer? You can now do it all virtually !
You can login as:
-loginuri http://137.149.66.236:8002/
For more information check out
OpenSIM Instructions
Monday, June 09, 2008
The missionaries and the Cannibals
Sunday, June 08, 2008
BWebCentral - MyMiniCity
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Deal of the week - June 6
Oh how I wish I could own this combo PDA/GPS. This is certainly a cool item. It's an ALL-IN-ONE swiss army PDA. I've looked at these things before and they are easiy over $500. But here are some refurbished ones on ebay for 50% of that price. Plus it looks like many of them come with the whole car kit, and accessories.
I've always wanted to try Geo-caching, and this would be an excellent device for it. Plus with bluetooth, I could send my location information from my cell phone (or maybe find my car when I loose it in the parking lot !)
I paid over $300 for my last PDA which did not have the integrated GPS, How much more could they possibly stick in these things anyway.
I really love the 'turn it on it's side view and it looks just like any other GPS.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Understanding Movie Prices
If you're like me.. [besides being a bit crazy]..you would be growing more and more annoyed at the advertisements being played in movie theatres !! Haven't seen them yet? If not please let me know, where you live, so I can start going to your movie theatre :-) After paying $10.00 for the movie, plus $15.00 for concessions, then sitting through 30 minutes of adveritsing, finally I get to watch my movie. What's up with that?
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Funny Out-Of-Office E-Mail Auto-Reply
Out of Office auto-replies can be great when you are on vacation, and you want to let others know you won't be checking your email. Here 10 great Out of Office autoreplies you should consider the next time you are heading out on vacation (If you have the guts that is) 1. I am currently out at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position. Be prepared for my mood. 2. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn't have received anything at all. 3. Sorry to have missed you but I am at the doctors having my brain removed so that I may be promoted to management 4. I will be unable to delete all the unread, worthless emails you send me until I return from vacation on 4/18. Please be patient and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Going GaGa over JaJah
The other day while listening to one of my favorite podcasts, they happened to mention a service called JaJah so I decided to check it out.
JaJah is a long distance service provider that offers cheap calling ll around the world. Plus, calls are free between JaJah users up to 150 minutes per week!
Calls are usually made using Voice over IP or (VOIP) technology, but in a differnt way then other services such as Skype or Vonage.
With Skype, calls are made through your computer, and not through your normal phone. Vonage calls do use a normal phone, but you need to buy a special adapter and sign-up for their monthly service plan.
JaJah calls work simply by logging into the JaJah website, and entering the number you want to dial. The system then calls your local phone (or cell phone!), and then calls your long distance number and connects the 2 phones together.
I don't have to stay on the JaJah site. Once connected, the call does not use my internet connection so I can shut down my computer and still continue my call
Plus I can use my JaJah account anywhere. So let's say I'm travelling and in a hotel I can call home from my JaJah account and give the local number of the hotel. Sometimes, I want to be able to make a long distance call from my cell, but cell company long distance charges are crazy!. So I can use JaJah on my cell as well.
So currently, I'm paying about $0.03/minute to make long distance calls, but I can make these calls free if others are also using JaJah. So why not sign-up and try a few calls and maybe tell a few friends so that everyone can benefit.
One word of caution though calls are only free to other JaJah users that have been iniated on the JaJah website. If you start the call from your cell phone it still costs money, but it's stil really cheap. Also be careful if you are roaming with your cell phone, as the cell phone company may charge your extra $ in addition to JahJah. So there are a few times, like cell phone roaming, where it might still be a good idea to just use a long distance pay card, but your can't beat free calling with no extra equipment or plans right?
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Brinking your Banking Online
When I first started online banking, I was very skeptical about the idea. Sure some websites are secure, and use encryption, but how comfortable do I feel sending my money around on the internet?
There is a carefull balance to be maintained between convience and security. In the end however, I decided to open up savings accounts and give it a try.
There are so many features provided today for onlink banking. Let us consider Wamu as an example. With a secure internet connection, you can check your balance, pay your bills, and get alerts about your accounts. Plus with paperless banking you are helping the environment as well.
One of the best ideas is the ability to automatically have money transferred to say a high interest savings account. Automatic savings is a great way to buld a little nest egg. Just set it and forget it.
Account alerts are also a cool feature. I am not aware of other banks that can do this. When you reach a certain balance, or a large withdrawal, you can be notified of this happening and keep better track of your financial situation.
If you want more information you can checkout the Wamu online demo
Finally, they have a section of tips and tricks in the Learn and Plan section of the site. The link below will teach your more about onlinking banking. I also suggest checkout out there budgeting information which can be very useful as well.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Get the Office 2007 Compability Pack
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Keep the end in mind
