PayPerPost takes over the Today Show

In a move right out of the Guerilla Marketing handbook, PayPerPost.com scores some awesome TV cover on the Today show.

Unknown to the Today show staff the PPP team provided tee shirts and signs to the people waiting in line to be on the Today show. The signs were an awesome design that allowed the guests to write their own messages while still showing the PPP logo and name. I don’t know who came up with the idea, but it was a great way to build brand recognition, as well as get “free” airtime on a major TV network. The guys and girls behind PayPerPost continue to amaze me at the way they are tackling this entire marketplace. Way to guys, keep it up.

For some behind the scenes video be sure and check out the PPP blog at blog.payperpost.com

New way to fight spam

We’ve begun to see a rise in spam getting past our filters both here at work as well as at home. This new spam is basically and embedded picture with nonsense text to fool the Bayes filters. A new way to beat this is currently be developed. If you are using SpamAssassin (the best open source solution in my opinion) then you need to check out the FuzzyOCR plugin. This plugin will use OCR technology to scan the image for text and will mark it is spam. Additionally it store this information so that in the future it will not need to expend the resources to rescan. It is also set to run last, and only if the message has not already been tagged as spam. It is working well in our test.

In Car Entertainment from the UK

We’re thinking about a new stereo system for one of our cars. It has no CD player at all, and the speakers rattle and grate. It’s surprisingly bad, actually. Most music listened to in that car is done via an iPod. But now that we are thinking about in car audio systems, a stereo with a CD player would be wonderful. We were just checking out new systems on a UK site: Dixons. Its in-car-entertainment site is completely on-line now. They have many brands to choose from: Panasonic, Sony, Pioneer, and more. If you want to buy from the UK or just check out what’s available, there is a lot to find here.

I love my gym

Three months ago I joined a gym. Never thought I would, but since having our second child I just haven’t been able to exercise. I used to love going to our community’s exercise room. It was small, had no classes, and there was zero available staff beyond the person at the sign-in desk, but it was already paid for as part of our community fees. But what I needed was childcare. I found that in a gym that opened near our house two years ago. I try to go three times a week. I should do more, but I am also walking our elementary schooler to school most days so I get more exercise during the week with that. And between the walking and exercise classes I do take, there just isn’t time for anything more. But, I love my gym. Even though I don’t weigh any less, I know that I am stronger, I sit straighter and taller, and I feel good about myself.

Funny Stuff – Zits, Sherman’s Lagoon – 11 books each!

OK. Two of my favorite comic strips each came out with their 11th book compilation of strips respectively. Weird coincidence, yes, but the frustrating thing is that I didn’t know about their first 10. Just saw the reviews of both books on the smartly-named SeriousComedySite.com. Read the reviews on the comedy site, but here’s a bit about each strip…

Zits is an amazing cartoon delving into the life of a teenager and his two middle age parents. The concepts are fresh, the writing is on point, and the drawing shows the imaginative genius of Jerry Scott and Jim Bergman. I am not trying to flatter anyone. I and my 4-year art degree are continually floored by the visual perspectives, the visual freedom, that is used to convey the storyline. The writer and parent in me also love how smart it is. Oh, and it makes me laugh.

Sherman’s Lagoon is also amazingly funny. The humor is less intellectual, but down right hilarious. Sherman the shark and his friends and family are a great group to watch each week. Jim Toomey must be having a great time.

So turn off Comedy Central and check out these strips in the Sunday paper, in the books, in the reviews. And laugh.

Killian’s, Oxford, Sierra Nevada

As I type, I am treating myself to a beer – yes, just one. I have alcohol very rarely, but the idea of it seemed to go well with the leftover chili I was having and the good TV show I was watching (Studio 60… more on that in another post, I’m sure!). I don’t like most beers. Killian’s Red is one that I do like. I also had a Baltimore-made beer, Oxford Raspberry (Oxford beers are now brewed by Clipper City), that a friend recommended. It was excellent. This one I’m enjoying now is also quite good: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. If you don’t usually like beer, but want to have a few you can enjoy, try these. But be responsible – even conservatively responsible. Only if of age. Just one at a time please. And try them at your own house where you don’t need to get in a car in order to get home.

Why Blog? To vent, preach, and make a buck now and then

One of the fun things about blogging, besides being able to vent when I need to and preach when I feel so called, is being paid now and then for writing a post. PayPerPost.com connects bloggers with companies that want to get word out about their website and what they have to offer. They want to advertise on blogs; we want to write blogs. PayPerPost brings it all together. PayPerPost even has their own blog where you can read fun profiles of other bloggers and link to individual websites. It’s worth checking out.

Tea for Two

You may or may not have realized this, but our blog is run by a husband and wife team. We both write our own posts, so it’s interesting to see what the other writes. I, myself, am new to blogging. I still need to learn how to post a picture or other cool stuff like that, but we haven’t had time for any further tutorials just yet. Two kids, work, and lots of volunteer projects keep us very busy. Did I mention that we have two kids?

College Reunion and Business School

Our college reunion is coming up in a couple of weeks, and even though we are not going to be able to go, it has gotten me thinking about going back for a Master’s degree. My undergraduate degree was in Industrial Management and Economics, and I’ve been thinking about going back to get an MBA. While my wife did this by going full time for her MBA, I’d really have to be able to get my business degree online because of the flexibility to work around my work schedule. I’ve been looking at Capella University which is fully accredited on-line University. They also offer degrees in things as diverse as Information Technology and Psychology. I really think that it might be the way for me to actually pursue getting a Master’s degree, but I’d love to hear from anyone who has actually done a program with them.

GPS and Sat Nav Forum

Here is another forum and information site – this one is a Sat Nav and GPS form. It has two groups within the forum – one for global users, the other for UK users. Lots of informative posts – some fairly technical. There are posts relating to GPS units for vehicles, hand-held units, and even some used for fitness. Another good resource.

Corny site has good info on Sleep

The National Sleep Foundation has a comprehensive site discussing sleep for all ages. The site is full of good articles, survey results, recommendations, and more. The only thing lacking on the site is its look and feel; it’s down right corny. Despite this, it’s worth checking out if you want to know more about sleep for yourself or your family.

VoIP Forum & Info – Independent discussions about Vonage

We’re still looking at switching to Internet Phone Service or VoIP. Here is a VoIP forum that discusses topics relating to VoIP and in particular the provider Vonage. This is an independent site, not related to Vonage just about Vonage and its service. Read post from folks considering whether to switch to Vonage, folks sharing ideas about how to make their setup work better, and even posts from folks having problems with their service.

Tonsils, Sleep Apnea, IQ, and Kids

Johns Hopkins just came out with a study last month about Sleep Apnea in children. About 2% of younger kids and teens have severe sleep apnea. While a common symptom is snoring or breathing through one’s mouth at night, the consequences run much deeper. These kids were found to have noticeably lower IQs and signs of actual brain damage. It’s not known yet if these effects are reversible. Further study will show how the kids do after the sleep apnea is treated. Treatment usually involves removing tonsils and adenoids – something that seems to be much more common these days. If you suspect your child might have sleep apnea, talk to your pediatrician. Below are 2 articles on the subject.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=50204&nfid=rssfeeds

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_37682.html

The Ultimate Hawaii Vacation Condos

In keeping with our Hawaii travel theme, I’ve come across some truly amazing Hawaii Condo that you can rent. These properties available from Gebhart Properties are truly first class. The amenities in these vacation homes are beyond what you might find the some of the finest hotels. For example their 2 bedroom 2 bath corner unit condo at Mahana at Kaanapali Resort in Maui is beautiful and only feet from the beach. If you are looking for that once in lifetime experience on your Hawaii vacation, then start and end your search with the ultimate in luxury and style at these vacation condo’s offered by Gebhart Properties. Visit their website for floor plans, virtual tours, and pricing and available.

Thumbs down for Sliding Scales

Alan Dean Foster’s latest novel, Sliding Scales: A Pip & Flinx Adventure was a major disappointment. In the story, Flinx is encouraged by his ship’s AI to take a vacation on the out of the way planet Jast. Just like Flinx, this book certainly takes a vacation. It does almost nothing to advance Flinx’s story, and after finishing it I wondered if I had wasted my time. Like most of the Foster’s work it was easy reading, although the alien terminology was a little overdone and distracting. The book did help bring some humanization to the AAnn and that may prove useful in the future, but that future doesn’t seem any closer or clearer after finishing the book. 1.5 out of 5 stars.

Log Homes – Informative Site

If you smile when you see a log home and think about owning or building one someday, check out this site all about Log Homes. There are good, to-the-point articles on a range of topics (like how to decide if you should act as your own building contractor), plus lots of links to other log home sites where you can find designs, contractors, and more.

Budgeting by Percentages

There was a good article in the Washington Post on September 10 about creating a budget. The different thing about this article was that it actually gave percentage ranges for spending on different things. For example, housing costs (rent or mortgage, insurance, and related taxes) should be at approximately 27% of your annual take-home or after-tax income.
The article uses recommendations from Money Management International. I can’t vouch for them, but the information seems like a good place to start and something to shoot for.

Time for VoIP – Internet Phone Service?

We’ve been looking at our budget, and we are considering switching our traditional local and long distance phone service to Internet Phone Service or VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). Even though we searched around a few years ago to find long distance and local phone service providers with the best rates, we would save a lot more now by switching to VoIP. The biggest hindrance to VoIP is if you don’t have a reliable internet connection; when that connection goes out, so does your phone service. We have a few friends who have switched to VoIP, and only one has had problems with their connection; everyone else has been very happy. They all have cell phones they can use as a backup if needed. They all are happy with the price. Maybe it’s time we joined them too. If you want to find out more about VoIP, click on the link above to visit a site that explains how it all really works.

Another week, another bag of trash

It’s Monday! Time to pick up the trash. Walked our child to school today and was amazed at how much trash had  accumulated. Thankfully I had a few bags stashed in the storage area of our younger child’s stroller, and on the way home I pulled one out and started filling it up. While we were still close to the school, a mom behind me mentioned that she needed to start bringing a bag to pick up trash. I asked if she would like one, that I had a few with me. She was very happy, took the bag, and was picking up trash immediately. We were at a corner where our paths parted, so between the two of us our neighborhood is a lot cleaner today.

The thing about it is that I felt a little funny picking up trash in front of other families walking back from school. But then I realized that if the trash just disappears, then they won’t think about it. But, if I picked up the trash in front of them, then they might keep an eye out for litter and people littering, they might remind their kids to put trash in the trash cans (and there are some along the way), and they might be more careful themselves. That was my thought, but the surprise and blessing, was having another parent volunteer themselves to help pick up what does get carelessly or intentionally dropped on the sidewalk and street. Whoever you are, dear person, thank you!

The Tooth Fairy

We knew the time would eventually come for the Tooth Fairy to visit our house. If all goes well she will be visiting our house in the very near future (maybe even tonight). Yes, the oldest has her first loose tooth. In fact she has two of them, and they are her bottom two middle teeth. Back in my day I think I got a dime or maybe a quarter for each tooth. From what I hear today, the going rate is $5 for your first tooth and $1 for each one after that. I know it’s been 30+ plus years, but boy talk about inflation.