domain

Yoh Engineering is seeking a 3G Network Engineer for a contract to hire opportunity in Atlanta,

2009-04-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

Location: Atlanta, GA Job Description: Yoh Engineering is seeking a 3G Network Engineer for a contract to hire opportunity in Atlanta, GA. Responsibilities: Must possess expert knowledge of 3G technical requirements for re-home supported activities. 3G support includes, but is not limited to: RAN support for Ericsson/Lucent, includes the ability to write and implement scripts in support of Node B/RBS definition and create removal scripts to maintain RNC integrity. The ability to write scripts and augment existing databases in support of full RNC re- home or installation of new RNC. The ability to write scripts in support of RXI changes or additions. MSC support for Nortel, includes the ability to write and implement scripts that will define the Node B/RBS on target MSC and create removal scripts in support of MSC integrity. The ability to write scripts and augment databases in support of RNC and RXI definition within the MSC. Job Requirements: 5+ years of prior switch translations experience. Must have working knowledge of Cell Site translations for Ericsson, Siemens, Nokia or Nortel MSC. Proven ability to effectively communicate and resolve technical issues verbally and in writing, strong project management and leadership skills. Knowledge of GSM and UMTS technology. Discover all that's possible with Yoh Engineering. Type: PermanentLocation: Atlanta, GACountry: United States of AmericaContact: Yoh Managed ServicesAdvertiser: YohReference: JSJ8D4R7773YN2DYY3TMF

同一個搜索引擎優化公司

2008-06-01T14:36:00.001-07:00

尋找一個搜索引擎優化（ SEO ）公司做的廣告及宣傳，為您的網站嗎？最佳徐行是非常忙碌且昂貴。搜索引擎安置需特殊技能和知識。這篇文章將幫助你開始與一些徐秘訣。目標是西區，以獲得高的，在搜索引擎上的排名為某一個關鍵字。不過，最重要的是關鍵字，你是優化，為獲得高流量。如果您不知道如何找出什麼關鍵詞在你的利基獲得最大的交通，然後徐諮詢，可以幫助你這樣做。搜索引擎提交單獨不會幫助你的網站都沒有。你的網站需要有自己的聯繫，從其他網站上攀登，在搜索引擎的結果頁（ serps ）。您可以隨時購買鏈接或按次付費點擊廣告，但不會讓你的長遠有機西區。最好的徐在公司一定會全身心投入真正回到環節，從網站上已經名列前茅，在Google的。有很多方法可以做到這一點，如與新聞發布，社會書籤，獲得博客寫起伏條營銷。好運與你的網站，並記住搜索引擎優化只是其中的一部分，網絡營銷！

検索エンジン最適化会社と仕事をする

2008-06-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

探して検索エンジン最適化（ソ）会社の広告とプロモーションを行うためにお客様のウェブサイトですか？企業の最良の徐在応は非常に忙しいと高価だ。検索エンジンに特別なスキルや知識を紹介します。ヘルプこの記事は、徐在応いくつかのヒントを得ることを始めました。徐在応は、目標の高さを取得するためには、特定のキーワードを検索エンジンのランキングです。しかし、最も重要なことは、キーワードを最適化するためにあなたが高いトラフィックを取得します。お持ちでない場合はどのようなキーワードを確認する方法を知っている中で最もトラフィックを取得してニッチその後徐在応のコンサルティングをしていただけるようサポートいたします。検索エンジンの登録だけではお客様のサイトですべてのヘルプです。お客様のサイトのニーズを持つ他のウェブサイトからのリンクを登ることで、検索エンジンの結果ページに表示する（ serps ）。いつでも購入することができますリンクや広告のクリック単価が取得していない場合は、長期的に有機ソ。徐在応は、最良の企業を必ず正規の背面に集中することは既にランクの高いサイトからのリンクをGoogleです。これを行う方法はたくさんあるようなプレスリリースでは、社会的なブックマークを、取得してブログの記事を書くとマーケティングのUPSです。幸運を覚えてお客様のサイトに検索エンジン最適化とはただ1つのインターネットマーケティング部！

如何做Web 2.0的發展與內容管理系統（合作醫療）

2008-06-01T08:36:00.001-07:00

danogo.com ，一個web 2.0創業階段的公司，是建立在完全使用PHP開源內容管理系統。檢查出的一些工具我用，以建立網站，沒有什麼編程和開發時間。有這麼多的免費開放源代碼合作醫療制度，可說，最大的問題是選擇最佳的。這裡是一個名單的Web 2.0應用和技術danogo.com用於網站的發展：主要博客-在W ordPress 社會網絡-寧社會書籤-p ligg 遊戲-a rcadem房間腳本問及答案-p hpmyfaq topsites -a ardvark 分類信息-諾亞的分類 danogopedia -t wiki 論壇-簡單的機器聊天室-p hpfreechat 就業局-j obomatic 商店-亞馬遜商店最佳整體合作醫療是joomla我已用於客戶端的項目。其實，如果我知道了它的時候，我開始danogo我會用它作為主要的框架而不是在WordPress 。不過，我開始了業務作為一個博客而已。但是當我開始網志的Web 2.0技術，我想實際體驗出來，就是如何本網站的不斷增加，越來越多！它確實可以幫助我在一個網站管理員，有豐富經驗的應用程序開發和網頁設計。我需要做相當多的定制軟件， HTML和圖形。但是對於大多數使用內容管理系統，可以讓我把重點放在營銷，並建立一個Web 2.0的社區。我請你來嘗試所有的路段danogo.com ，可於右導航的這個博客，給人一種感覺：對各種CMS應用。隨時與我聯繫上的社會網絡，論壇或電子郵件聯繫網頁，如果您有任何疑問或需要諮詢。照顧和好運與您的Web 2.0網站！丹鄰網站管理員， danogo.com

HITBSecConf2008 Dubai

2008-06-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Dubai!

The two-day HITB Security Conference just ended (today) and I've got lots of cool stuff for you.

Ero Carrera, Zynamics GmbH: Day one with "Malware — Behavior, Tools, Scripting and Advanced Analysis" presented a Python extension for Bochs, an open source CPU emulator that can be found at bochs.sourceforge.net. According to Ero, some malware such as Storm usually make a call to some ancient APIs. It uses the return values as part of its decryption routine, which cannot be reproduced by sand-boxing and therefore doesn't end up in the decryption part of the malware. Using a full emulator such as Bochs, can bypass most of the anti-vmware tricks.

Jim Geovedi: "Hijacking VSAT Connections" was an update on a previous HITB presentation called "Hacking a Bird in The Sky: Hijacking VSAT Connections". Jim presented ways to defeat detections from local government agencies and also added that this hijacking can also be done via MACs, not only IPs.

Dino Covotsos from Telspace Systems practically showed various method of exploiting Bluetooth technology with some freely available tools. Imagine an attacker that can read and send SMS and make some premium phone calls without your knowledge. He even mentioned F-Secure a few times in his presentation, "Hacking the Bluetooth Stack for Fun, Fame and Mayhem".

With Bruce Schneier, as keynote speaker on day one tackling the feeling of security and Jeremiah Grossman on day two with some nice yet scary statistics on website hacks; this has been a great two-day Security Conference here in Dubai.

Signing off,
Jojo

On 17/04/08 At 04:39 PM

Cambridge, Tampere and Turku

2008-06-01T07:43:00.001-07:00

On the topic of Universities and academic research… here are two recently published theses that are relevant to antivirus research.

Mikko Suominen's master's thesis from the University of Turku:
Searching for Win32 File Infectors — The Possibilities and Limitations of Static Structural Heuristics
Full disclosure: Mikko works in Helsinki Response lab nowadays.
Timo Hirvonen's Bachelor of Science thesis from the Tampere University of Technology:
Antireversing Techniques
Full disclosure: Timo's reverse engineering examples in the thesis include three infamous Assembly Khallenge programs written by Kamil from our lab.

Interesting stuff.

Then the bad news; only the summaries of these documents are in English. Sorry.

And while we're still on the topic: I'll be giving a lecture at Cambridge University next week. Hey, that's going to look nice on my bio.

Drop by if you're in the neighborhood. More info from talks.cam.ac.uk.

Signing off,
Mikko

On 17/04/08 At 07:58 AM

DDoS Anniversary

2008-06-01T07:16:00.001-07:00

There was a "cyberwar" in Estonia one year ago. Civil unrest, protests, and rioting culminated in DDoS attacks against Estonian government websites. What started on the streets moved online with those that couldn't be physically present taking part in DDoS attacks that lasted for more than a week.

We blogged about the attacks here (April 28th), here (April 30th), and here (May 9th).

There were plenty of DDoS tools distributed during the attacks:

The anniversary of the riots haven't generated any activity as of yet and we don't expect anything significant later.

More recent failed examples appear to indicate that a good deal of offline heat is required before online attacks catch fire.

An "e-jihad" planned for the 11th of November never materialized.

And earlier this month a DDoS attack planned against CNN resulted in only random outages, mostly in Asia.

Anti-CNN tools were distributed… but without street protests to really capture people's attention, nothing carried-over to online attacks.

On 28/04/08 At 02:34 PM

Fly Phishing

2008-06-01T04:13:00.001-07:00

Some phishing gangs have a new technique. They're using trojan-spy applications.

Last week we received the following e-mail message:

Notice that the message doesn't mention anything about providing an account-name or password.

Instead, it attempts to convince the recipient that they need to install a Digital Certificate for enhanced safety.
(Anybody want to buy a bridge?)

The message links to a site with the following:

It's basically a page full of jargon designed to overwhelm the potential victim. What happens if the victim falls for the bait and installs the "certificate"? A trojan-spy will be installed.

So now the phishers don't need to ask for passwords anymore, they can just take them.

This technique keeps the classic element of phishing by mimicking the trusted institution — the bank. What they've adjusted is the part that people have become skeptical of, which is giving away their password when requested by e-mail.

Update: Here's a brief video that we captured last week when the site was online. You'll find it on the Lab's YouTube Channel.

On 25/04/08 At 06:12 PM

US Air Force Colonel Proposes Skynet

2008-06-01T04:12:00.001-07:00

This month's issue of Armed Forces Journal features an article by Col. Charles W. Williamson III titled:

Carpet bombing in cyberspace — Why America needs a military botnet

It's a provocative essay… that fails to convince us of the need for an AF.MIL botnet.

Quoting the colonel:

"The U.S. would not, and need not, infect unwitting computers as zombies. We can build enough power over time from our own resources."

In that case the AF.MIL botnet might be missing a key element of success. Criminal botmasters don't use their own resources. Criminals steal resources from geographically diverse locations. Their crimes are international and they can be exceedingly difficult to trace back to their origins. They often avoid resources in their own countries so as to avoid local law enforcement action.

"The truly difficult problems come in defending against attack from devices adversaries have captured from U.S. or allies' civilians."

This isn't just difficult — this is likely to be the main problem that any credible cyber-threat would present. Using the criminal's model of success, an enemy nation-state will just infect resources belonging to others. And in that case an AF.MIL solution would be fuel for the fire by cannibalizing its own and/or other nation's networks without counterattacking the true source of the threat.

In his essay, Col. Williamson uses a fortress analogy. He suggests that the military age of the fortress is over because air power can travel over fortress walls. Military forces respond to such threats by attacking the enemy's airfields from which the attacks are launched. So to extrapolate, AF.MIL botnet would attack the locations from which DDoS attacks are being launched.

However, Col. Williamson seems to have overlooked something from his own essay:

"Homer's epic poems describe how fortified Troy held out against the united Greek armies for 10 years until Troy finally fell when it foolishly brought the threat inside its own walls by falling for the enemy's masquerade in the form of a giant wooden horse."

Trojans are precisely the point. Social engineering, exploits, and trojans are used to create the enemy within. The enemy's launch point will be from within the fortress walls.

It's quite possible that any threat big enough to warrant the use of an AF.MIL botnet would largely come from within the borders of the United States.

Let's take AKILL for example. Owen Thor Walker, an 18 year old bot herder from New Zealand was arrested as a result of last year's Bot Roast II. He controlled a network of one million computers. A failed botnet update resulted in a DDoS on the University of Pennsylvania. The failure led to the arrest of a partner and then Walker himself.

Now let's suppose that instead of Walker being some Kiwi kid interested in making lots of money, that he was an enemy of the state bent on attacking the USA. Do you think his arsenal was located in New Zealand? It wasn't. So what's the military target? UPenn?

"[A smart enemy] could even craft his packets to make it appear the attack was coming from inside U.S. military networks so that if we merely captured the apparent source IP address and used that to aim the attack we would fire our botnet at our own computers."

A smart enemy might not need to spoof US military networks. A herder known as SoBe, whose real name is unknown since he is a juvenile, pleaded guilty in February for helping to herd more than 400 thousand computers along with Resjames. He also admitted to damaging US military computers.

If SoBe can infect the military, a "smart enemy" will do so as well in an attempt to win the cyber-battle before it's even fought.

"The best defense is a good offense" may not apply very well to cyber-threats if you're really planning to play by the rule of law.

What do you think? Does America needs a military botnet?

Comments are welcomed.

On 13/05/08 At 12:27 PM

SQL Injection Attacks Becoming More Intense

2008-06-01T03:44:00.001-07:00

The mass SQL injection attacks we've mentioned here and here are increasing in number and we're seeing more domains being injected and used to host the attack files. We believe that there is now more than one group using a set of different automated tools to inject the code.

Previously, these attacks have primarily pointed to IP addresses in China and we've seen the following domains being used in addition to the ones we've mentioned previously:

   www.wowgm1.cn
   www.killwow1.cn
   www.wowyeye.cn
   vb008.cn
   9i5t.cn
   computershello.cn

We've now seen other domains being used as well such as direct84.com which is inserted by an SQL injection tool (detected as HackTool:W32/Agent.B) distributed to the Asprox botnet. SecureWorks has a nice write-up available. The direct84.com domain fast-fluxes to several different IPs in Europe, Israel and North America.

The injected link eventually leads to a backdoor detected as Backdoor:W32/Agent.DAS.

This is a good time to again mention that it's not a vulnerability in Microsoft IIS or Microsoft SQL that is used to make this happen. If you are an administrator of a website that is using ASP/ASP.NET, you should make sure that you sanitize all inputs before you allow it to access the database.

There are many articles on how to do this such as this one. You could also have a look at URLScan which provides an easy way to filter this particular attack based on the length of the QueryString.

On 13/05/08 At 11:20 PM

Press Release Optimization - Choosing Online Distribution Services

2008-06-01T03:02:00.001-07:00

Press release optimization can be used effectively to aid in extending exposure of your company's press releases, if approached correctly. I've compiled an overview here to give you an idea of the benefits and limitations and how to find free press release distribution sites that suit your needs. Keep in mind that free press release distribution is meant to supplement your press initiatives, which should also include efforts to target your audience directly.

Online Press Release Distribution Overview

Online press release services generally function by allowing you to post your release on a page on their site. The pages of these sites are optimized structurally to rank high in search engines, so your release can show up for keywords it is targeting in the copy. Rankings may show quickly and last for 30 days or so. Sometimes, other news sites may syndicate your release posted on the service, resulting in your release showing up in other places, too. However, this is rare with unpaid services. Wire services are much better for this, as many industry news services draw all their feeds from wires (Businesswire, PR Newswire, MarketWire), so your release can end up everywhere and rank for much longer. However, the free distribution sites will allow you to gain a few spots in top rankings without the $200+ fee of wires. These sites usually offer optional increased exposure for paid posting, but I have yet to find one that is as effective as a wire service or PRWeb (which is now $80+).

Evaluating Free Press Release Distribution Services

Free press release distribution sites can play an important role in your press release optimization strategy, especially as a supplement to other ongoing efforts. Look for press release outlets that offer the following benefits, and keep in mind that you'll need to constantly evaluate their offerings.

Are links supported?
Some services will activate http-format links included, others will support text links (even better). It's a great value to have the backlinks, as it not only lets people follow them to your site, but it helps with overall search engine rankings for your site. Sites that allow you to post html are best for this, as all of your links will be activated automatically.

Presentation
How does your release look on the site? Are there any damaging factors like ads within the text? Some allow you to upload a logo image, but many charge for this. Some services may allow you to log in and edit releases even after submitted - great if you spot an error at the last minute or see that something is displaying funny.

Exposure
Does the service usually rank high in search results? Does it support standards that increase likelihood of inclusion in news engines like Google News? Are there options for targeting industries/geographic areas? Are stats available? Does it support social bookmarking/tagging? With many free services, these may be available as optional add-ons for a fee. However, with fees like $30/link to activate text links and $30 to select a geographical target on PR.com, the benefits of using a "free" service soon disappear. You're better off using a wire service when you start paying for these add-ons.

Lead time
Many require a 2-day lead time, others publish immediately. Some may not even publish your release if the operator abandons the service - and you won't receive notice.

Effort required
Posting can be very time consuming, as extensive web forms are required for each service. I usually prepare a file containing all the required information beforehand (headline, summary, body, contact information, keywords, links, html version), but each service may have different requirements, such as maximum headline length, that require modification of the release. Targeting 3 services should give a good balance of time cost versus benefit.

Ongoing evaluation
The services may change what they offer for free as they attempt to move toward a paid model or their operators abandon them. Each has its pros and cons, and sometimes new services are discovered that offer good value. Some of the press release distribution sites I had preferred until just recently have introduced new constraints, such as limiting number of words allowed for free. So this means that the 3 services you used for your last release will need to be evaluated the next time you go to use them for press release optimization, as well.

The Winter print copy of Search Marketing Standard magazine contained an article on press release optimization that provided some great tips for using your keywords, even showing a sample release. I couldn't find the article on their site, but you may find it useful to subscribe to their publication to get their print issues in addition to reading posts on the site.

Seed Newsvine

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Graphic Designer Turned Web Pro - An Interview with SEO Advantage Art Director and Webmaster Gaby Zapien

2008-05-14T12:11:00.005-07:00

University of Florida advertising/journalism student Maria Rubio contacted me recently to interview me about copywriting for a class assignment. She also needed to interview two others, so I referred her to speak with our web design team leader, Gaby Zapien, since copywriters often work very closely with graphic designers.

Here are Gaby's answers, revealing some great professional insights. Enjoy!

Maria: What does your job entail?

Gaby: Keeping all our sites and clients' websites up to date and working properly.
Posting any necessary edits, making sure the code is up to the current standards, and also that the visuals are appropriate and eye-catching.

For new projects, I research competitors and the requirements for the site, then build and test, starting with a creative concept that I work on usually with a copywriter at SEO Advantage.

Maria: Walk me through your day.

I start checking emails, because this is the way I receive all the tasks.
Then I prioritize and start tackling one at a time!

Maria: How do you feel your role as a graphic designer enhances SEO Advantage's or any other company's website?

Gaby: SEO is mostly based on content and the architecture of the site. But let's face it, no one likes an "ugly" site. I feel that if the content is presented in the best possible way, the user is more likely to spend more time browsing on the site. Graphics and photographs make content more memorable and help prospects better understand the content. In this way, graphic design supports the goals of the web site by engaging the prospect once the SEO brings the traffic to the site.

Plus, nowadays, designers should also be responsible for site usability and standards compliance. This means I have to make sure that the design and functionality works across browsers and that navigation through the site is clear and the actions we want a site visitor to take are supported by the design and layout elements.

[Ed. note: I love this about Gaby! Many designers I've worked with in the past are focused on making your site "pretty" but give no thought to usability. Gaby has a very good sense of how to direct traffic through "paths" on the site and where emphasis needs to be to achieve the business goals of the site.]

Maria: What is your favorite book? Song?

Gaby: There are too many books I like. Fortunately, some of the tasks I perform allow me to listen to audiobboks!

Maria: Do you work from home? If so, do you find it difficult?

Gaby: I do work from home in a sort of "virtual workplace". Our teams use online tools to communicate and coordinate. I really like it, but it requires a lot of discipline. And sometimes it gets lonely. It does have a lot of advantages, but I think it's not for everyone.

Maria: What computer software do you swear by to help create your best work?

Gaby: Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver.

Maria: Where do you get your inspiration for creative content? If not creative, then where do you get your inspiration to create designs that produce traffic to the site being created?

Gaby: I find inspiration online just browsing other sites. I also notice things in magazines that can give me ideas, but really, inspiration is everywhere. As a graphic designer, I naturally notice how shapes and colors are used no matter what I'm looking at.

Maria: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Gaby: Still in this field. This is something I love. I would definitely be designing, but you may see me building a bigger design group for SEO Advantage employing other designers who can help with production, while I focus more on the creative aspect.

Maria: What is your personal motto, referring to your work style?

Gaby: "Everything can be done. Some things just take a bit more time."

Maria: If you have one word to describe your personality and work style, what would it be?

Gaby: It would be hard in one word...

I think whoever likes graphic design is really lucky - it's the kind of job that doesn't feel like a job, and most times gives you the flexibility to work from home or any place you like!

Marketing in a Slow Economy - Why SEO Becomes a Priority

2008-05-14T12:11:00.003-07:00

Several reports I've come across lately have reinforced what today's online marketers already felt to be true: when the economy slows down, look for those marketing activities that will bring in a higher return with less cash outlay.

Enter search engine optimization. If you're not already optimizing your site and every page on it, there's no better time to start.

Why is SEO a good choice in a recession?

1. SEO costs less per qualified visitor than pay-per-click ads and it adds long-term value to your site.

2. Professional optimization can start showing the effects of traffic within a few months.

3. Optimization for the search engines can benefit desired on-site actions by your site visitors. Research shows that when consumers encounter the search terms they used to find your site actually used in the copy on your site, it helps them to feel more at ease about remaining on your site and can even increase conversion rates.

4. SEO is the most cost-effective way of establishing your company as an authority (or maintaining that status). It has been documented that people automatically attribute more trust and authoritative status to those with web sites that display high in the search results. Organic search results are perceived by users to be better indicators than the paid or sponsored ads which may also appear on the page.

5. SEO lets you focus on helping people find you when you they want your products/services, rather than force feeding it to them through advertising. In today's online environment, it pays more to be "findable" naturally than to plaster your ads everywhere, which is also more expensive.

I'm sure there are more reasons, but that's the gist of why SEO becomes a priority during an economic downturn or recession.

See how SEO Advantage is helping companies market strong even when the economy isn't at its best with graphic design, copywriting, and specialized SEO services.

The Effect of Search Engine Rankings on Brand

2008-05-14T12:11:00.001-07:00

As consumers check out their options on Google, the position of your listing can influence how they perceive your brand. Enquiro recently conducted a study with Google to test brand perceptions of Honda according to where it fell within the first search engine results page.

A few key points were discovered when Honda appeared in the top organic spot and top sponsored ad simultaneously.

a) Brand recall more than doubled versus appearing in top sponsored spot only.

b) This also resulted in a 16% greater brand association for Honda when participants were asked what brands came to mind when they thought of fuel-efficient cars.

c) Brands that did not appear in the results experienced a 42% lower brand association than Honda.

Key takeaway: By appearing in both top spots on Google's results pages, a company not only gains points but also edges out competitors in the consumer's mind.

Similar studies have long been conducted to test the effects of print advertising on brand recall and association, demonstrating that companies both advertising in a magazine and also enjoying a mention in an article in the same issue enjoyed magnified recall and favorable impressions among readers. It only make sense to see the same happen online, as humans often seek the fastest way to evaluate their choices and create that "shortlist" of options.

Get the white paper here

Other Updates :: RE: Wireshark updated

2008-05-05T05:46:00.001-07:00

Author: AplusWebMaster
Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:43 am (GMT 0)

FYI...

- http://www.wireshark.org/security/wnpa-sec-2008-02.html
Name: Multiple problems in Wireshark®versions 0.99.2 to 0.99.8
Docid: wnpa-sec-2008-02
Date: March 31, 2008 -?-
Versions affected: 0.99.2 up to and including 0.99.8 ...
Impact:
It may be possible to make Wireshark crash by injecting a purposefully malformed packet onto the wire or by convincing someone to read a malformed packet trace file.
Resolution: Upgrade to Wireshark 1.0.0 or later.
If are running Wireshark 0.99.8 or earlier and cannot upgrade, you can work around each of the problems listed above by doing the following:
* Disable the LDAP, Roofnet, and X.509sat dissectors:
o Select Analyze→Enabled Protocols... from the menu.
o Make sure "LDAP," "Roofnet," and "X509SAT" are un-checked.
o Click "Save", then click "OK"...
- http://www.wireshark.org/download.html
"...current stable release of Wireshark is 0.99.8..." (03.28.2008)

- http://secunia.com/advisories/29569/
Release Date: 2008-03-28
Critical: Moderately critical
Impact: DoS
Where: From -remote-
Solution Status: Unpatched
...The vulnerabilities are reported in various versions prior to 1.0.0.
Solution: Fixed in an -upcoming- version 1.0.0.

_________________
AplusWebMaster
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Religion :: RE: Stem cells from skin cells Bush right media won't care

2008-05-05T05:40:00.000-07:00

Author: sundog
Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:02 am (GMT 0)

Quote: I'm waiting for the day we have no ownership over our own DNA anymore, and thus belong to some company..

I hope the corporations try this one soon. At the moment there is a chance the world backlash will cause the laws on such things to take into account that describing something which already exists is not ownership of it or it's description.

I can even hope that there will come a push to describe existing DNA as public domain and thus all things buy from it must include include reference and payment to the owners. (perhaps even requiring permission and continued open source uses).

Just kidding myself aren't I
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Burning a candle for my brother who took his own life so short a time ago. It is his birthday

Medellin - Medellin, Colombia

2008-05-05T03:36:00.001-07:00

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Medellin, Colombia

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Spring Break in the Caribbean - Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Isl.

2008-05-05T01:46:00.001-07:00

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Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Isl.

10 jours de soleil et mer turquoise...

Berlin - Berlin, Germany

2008-05-04T23:53:00.001-07:00

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Berlin, Germany

This morning I put on the top I bought in Moscow with the hope that I could get rid of my tan lines from earlier on the trip (so I wouldn't have lines for Angelina's wedding. Unfortunately the weather did not agree with me and it was overcast and dreary.  We met at the hotel lobby to catch the tram and were in downtown Berlin at the Alexanderplaz in no time. Here we walked to a park and met our guide for the morning. The guide was an American girl who was a student in Berlin and did tours in her free time... and she was amazing! You could tell she was following a script at times, but she didn't have any papers with her and was crammed full of interesting facts! When she first met up with us she gave us a lot of history on the city of Berlin, which included the Second World War and the Berlin Wall era. We also got all of this information in front of a statue of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels... so it seemed somehow apropos! As we began the tour it started to drizzle out, and only about half the group had umbrellas. I still had my slightly damaged Dutch umbrella, but ended up lending it to Kristy and sharing an umbrella with Rhian.

The tour was a walking tour through Berlin. The first stop was the Bebelplaz. Here we looked at the memorial to the 21,000 books burned by the Nazi's. The memorial is simply a room with empty bookshelves, symbolizing the books that were burnt. The room itself is underground and you can see it through a glass pane in the ground. As we had been walking that morning, and even the day before, most people in the group had noticed the Walk/Stop lights, or as we called them, the "Stop-Go Man". These had been the traditional lights in East Berlin, and after unification when signs would stop working they would be replaced with the traditional West Berlin Walk/Stop lights, as normally West Berlin was seen as having the 'better' way of doing things. The East Berliners were not impressed with this idea, and argued to have the cute little Stop-Go Men used instead... and the city relented and now we have the cute little Ampelmännchen all over the city.

The next stop on the tour was a metro station that had been closed for some 28 years when the Berlin wall was up. The Berlin metro had ran throughout the city, and when the wall went up there was a problem about what to do with the metro. The people in the East decided to board up the stations, and the trains would run from the West, through the East without stopping, until they were in the West again. These stations were known as ghost stations, and even now seem somewhat 'darker'. Although perhaps I just heard the story and was seeing the station through jaded eyes!

We wandered on to Pariser Plaz where the Brandenburg Gate is. This is also the location of the Adlon Hotel, which is where Michael Jackson dangled his baby off the balcony, and our tour guide even pointed out which balcony that was. Here we had about 15 minutes free time, and the slight drizzle had turned into rain. Kristy and I decided that we better buy umbrellas (mine was not holding up well with 3 spokes poking out), so we went to a souvenir shop and got umbrellas. I even got one that said "Berlin" on it... although though it cost another 2 Euro! (Apparently I've got money to burn!) With the rest of our free time we went to Dunkin Doughnuts and grabbed a coffee and I had a doughnut. Even though it's a well know American chain, neither of us had ever been to one, and it seemed at least a little more exotic than Starbucks! I was going to throw my broken umbrella out, but I thought it would be nicer to see if some umbrellaless soul in the group would be able to use it. I asked David if he wanted it, and he said no. I was a little surprised so asked again, just to be sure, and again he said that he was fine. At this point I didn't understand, and made it clear that I was going to throw the thing in the garbage, and David finally agreed that he could use it!

From here we walked to the Jewish Holocaust Memorial. The memorial is a bunch of grey, granite blocks, in row upon row, that start off smaller (waist height), and become bigger towards the middle of the memorial (double or triple me). The monument is designed to make you feel oppressed, and being there on a dreary, rainy, grey day, they had the intended effect. We had time to walk through on our own, and it was easy to get lost in the blocks and feel small and insignificant. Kristy and I walked through, and even though there's nothing dramatic at the monument, I still felt that it was moving and poignant.

After the Holocaust memorial we walked to Hitler's bunker, which is underneath a residential complex! Here we were told about Hitler's last days, the discovery of his bunker and the discovery of his remains, which are currently in Russia. We also learned that in Germany it is illegal to basically exhibit Nazi or Hitler-loving behaviour. Our guide told us that a man had been jailed for naming his dog Adolph! From the bunker we walked past bullet-riddled walls to the Topography of Terror (big painting) and we saw another portion of the Berlin Wall. Our tour ended at Checkpoint Charlie, where people had the option of heading back to Alexanderplaz with the guide, or going off on their own. Several of us decided we needed pictures of ourselves at Checkpoint Charlie. Kristy and I also wanted to go into the museum, but the wait was over an hour, and we only had the afternoon left in Berlin, so instead we hit up a souvenir shop, where I managed to buy myself a Russian jumper! Also, in a 'believe how much I spent on the two jumpers!!! Since I was a little cold I decided to put on my fancy new Russian jumper, but was stopped by Reky. I'm still not sure why, but Reky would not let me wear my Russian jumper because it was Independence Day. It made no sense to me, and I stared at him in total bewilderment for a good 30 seconds before placing my pretty red jumper back in the bag and pulling out my Berlin one instead. Luckily it was as cozy as my Russian one, so I was only sad for a minute.

By this time it was past 1pm and we were getting hungry. We had been told there was a revolving restaurant at the top of the TV Tower in Alexanderplaz so we decided to go there to eat, and grabbed the train. It took a couple minutes to figure out which train we needed, but eventually we found one and started to get on. The doors began to shut, and we saw Rhian and Troy standing on the platform. One stop later we got off and waited for the next train, where we rejoined the boys! On the train ride to Alexanderplaz, Kristy, David and Rhian decided to talk in a made-up language for the duration of the train ride. I can't remember any of the sayings they used, but they insisted it was normal Aussie slang. At this point I gave up trying to understand the millions of words and phrases that consist of Aussie slang, and settled on just overusing my three favourite words: random, heaps, and nackered. I also became convinced that someone would make up sayings "fair dinkum" other than when they try to pretend to us Canadians that they actually use it, and also, really, can you ever be hungry enough to eat the crotch out of a dead Leper's undies!!! (thanks for the visual David!!)

When we got to the TV Tower, some people were worried about the price of the food in the restaurant, and the cost to go up the tower. After a lot of standing around, we finally got to the top of the tower, although only Jenn, David, Stacey and I made it on the first round. The four of us got a table, and tried to get a table for the last five, but something was lost in translation and we got our table and the others had to wait in line. The prices on the menu were reasonable, and we all ordered a drink and our food. While waiting for the food I went to check on the others, and Kristy, Rhian, Tom, Reky and Troy were enjoying the view on the other side. The view from the restaurant was pretty good (worth the 8 Euro to me), but the restaurant itself was spinning a lot faster than I'd expected! You could actually see it moving! At one point Jenn was standing and leaning on David's chair, and within five minutes she had almost fallen sideways! The food was good, and we enjoyed the break from the rain and all the walking we did that morning.

After lunch several people decided they were going to go back to the hostel, and the rest of us decided to take the train to the Reichstag. We got off at one stop, and saw a sign that said "400m Reichstag" and pointed in one direction. So we followed that sign and a little while later saw a sign that said "600m Reichstag" ... something was not working! We reversed directions and eventually made our way to the Reichstag. Again the line looked too long to walk to the top, and we'd just been to the top of the TV tower anyways, so we just took pictures. Then Stacey and I wanted to go to the Jewish Holocaust Museum, and the others wanted to go back to the hostel, so the two of us broke off on our own. Again my impeccable sense of direction came into play, and I led us in the wrong direction. Luckily I had a map and figured it out after a block! At the memorial we walked through, and couldn't seem to find the entrance to the museum! It took a while, but we eventually located it, and then waited in line. While in line it really started to rain, and the line wasn't moving. After about 20 minutes we looked at our watches, and realized that by the time we got in we weren't going to have much time in the museum before we would have to go. So we gave up on the museum and took shelter in a souvenirs shop for about 15 minutes. I also got the last of the souvenirs I needed to bring home. As well, I got myself a Stop-Go Man door sign (like in hotel when they have a door sign that says "Do Not Disturb"). Kristy and I had seen one earlier, and joked that we'd have to get one and put it up that night when we got home from the bar. I saw one at the shop, and it was a little too amusing ... so I decided I had to buy it... just in case we needed it that night (plus it's cuter than a sock on the doorknob!!) After our shopping Stacey and I walked to the train, took the train to Alexanderplaz, and then found the Tram to go back to the hostel. And we didn't get lost once! Although we came close when we were near the hostel as there are two stations that have almost the same name!

At the hostel Kristy was attempting a nap, but by the time I got out of the shower she'd decided that it wasn't going to work, and got up and got ready for the Berlin Dinner and Nightlife tour. That night I had a fat moment, and couldn't find anything I wanted to wear out! I hadn't bought many bar clothes since I quit smoking a year ago and gained a bunch of weight... so everything looked horrible on me! I picked something, and Kristy was decked out in the dress she bought in Warsaw, and we were ready to go! We took the tram downtown, and had a long hike to our restaurant, which was a crazy potato place! We sat down, and were joined in the restaurant by the Eastern Road tour. At supper, David was sitting beside me and as usual bugged me about taking so long to eat my meal. When he went out for a smoke we all got dessert, and I had eaten most of mine by the time he got back in. I commented to David that I was finally going to finish a meal before he did, and he laughed and said he was sure he'd still finish first. I looked at him and said, "No you won't!" and crammed the rest in my mouth... all 4 bites! My mouth was so full I could hardly chew, and David's laughter did not help with the swallowing! I finally swallowed it down, but not before a moment or two when I thought it might come out my nose! After the meal we had time for photos with all the tables, and then went outside for shots of Peach Schnapps before our first bar. Jenn was helping pour the shots, and ended up holding the empty bottle with no garbage bin in sight... so she wandered through the streets of Berlin with a bottle of grog in true lush style!

Our first bar of the night was a Turkish Sheesha lounge. Most people here ordered a sheesha and within 20 minutes the place was filled with a distinct smoky haze. With all the sheeshas around me I was reminded of my trip to Egypt and had a nostalgic moment or two where I happily gazed around and saw the pyramids on the Giza plateau rather than my tour mates in Berlin! I also sat beside Ryan for a bit at the bar and we ended up having a great chat! Ryan had been on the Scandinavia tour and was one of the first Scandi people (along with Dane) to actually integrate with the group as a whole. Beyond small conversations here and there I hadn't talked to Ryan much, but after our brief chat at the Turkish bar I wished I'd gotten to know him better.

The next bar we went to was a little trendier, and here we enjoyed some slushy shots and many more pictures. Reky and I also had what was probably my first and only work related conversation of the tour. I'd had a couple drinks by that time, so probably wasn't as coherent as I could have been, but I think I managed to hold my own in an intelligent conversation! I think I also may have surprised Reky a little, because I know I tend to come off as an airhead, but am actually quite educated, and this may have been the first time he saw that side of me! We chatted about the effect of the sub-prime mortgage sector, specifically as it related to new construction (Reky's a civil engineer), and it's ramifications on the U.S. and international economies. We chatted for a while at this bar, and then we were on to the third bar of the evening, which was a funky little pub with a live band. The singer was good and took requests, which included Happy Birthday for Kenny and American Pie. Here we met Tom's little brother and his friend, and is he ever like Tom! The kid was hilarious, although by no means as cool as Tom! Then we were on to the last stop of the night, which was a nightclub where we could dance the night away. The nightclub was a lot of fun, and we all danced and drank a lot. We also met the Eastern Road tour here, so the place was crowded and subsequently really hot. I could only dance a couple songs in a row before I would start to die from the heat. I spent a lot of time in the bathrooms, not because I have a small bladder, or that I was praying to the porcelain gods, but because it was the only place in the bar that seemed air-conditioned! During the night Tammy, some others and myself were sitting in an un-crowded area of the bar, and started talking to two German guys. The two guys were from the countryside, and really nice. They were also there with Mona, who was from Berlin, and it was her birthday! We ended up talking to her and dancing with her for most of the night and she was absolutely hilarious and a lot of fun to hang out with!

Slowly everyone started to leave, until it was only Kristy, Troy, Rhian and myself. We all wandered out and found a Kebab place that would satisfy our after bar hunger. Rhian and Troy got some kebabs, and Kristy and I each got a Cheeseburger and fries (with heaps of mayo for the fries). After loading up on food we went to find a way home. I'm not sure why, but we were sure that we could take the tram home, even though it was about 4am, and we found a tram with the right number and tried to get on. Since it was locked up tight we eventually gave up and grabbed a cab back to the hostel.

Warsaw to Berlin - Berlin, Germany

2008-05-04T23:02:00.001-07:00

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Berlin, Germany

The spread for breakfast was phenomenal again this morning, and after breakfast we jumped on the bus to head to Berlin. Warsaw was a great city, and I was sad that we were leaving so soon after we got there. One day was not enough time to see everything the city had to offer, so as the bus drove out of Warsaw I decided this was one place I needed to see again, and rather than saying good-bye to this fabulous city, I decided to say "See you Later". Today was a long day on the bus, and there weren't any historically interesting sites to see, so most of us took the time on the bus to try and catch up on sleep and relax.

Just after 5pm we pulled into Berlin, and our first stop was the Berlin wall! We were let off the coach and had time for photos and to look at the wall. Then we walked down the wall for about half an hour to meet the bus, which was filling up with gas. Walking along the wall was interesting, and it was neat to stand beside a part of history. Even though I was young when the wall came down (9) I vaguely remember the event, although mostly what I remember are my parent's reactions.

After we got back on the bus we headed to a Beer Hall for a traditional German meal. We parked the bus and walked through the parking lot to where supper was. On the way I started to cross a road and noticed a large bus heading straight for me. I figured that rather than walk the three steps back to the side of the road it would be smarter to cross, so I quickened my pace to walk across, and halfway across I dropped my purse!! At this point I froze, then screamed lightly, picked up my purse and dashed across the street! After the bus passed everyone bugged me about why I would walk in front of a bus, but I didn't hear most of what everyone was saying because I was waiting for my heart to return to normal!!! We had a bit of time to wander, and the Polish Twins (aka Stacey and I in our matching Polish jumpers) got a photo. We were going to do some souvenir shopping, but it started to spit rain out so we decided to head to the restaurant. Supper was technically included in the tour, but rather than include the same supper for everyone we got each 10 Euro and could spent it however we chose. I decided to get a small stein of beer and a Bratwurst with Sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. When my beer came a couple of the guys gave me grief about my child sized beer (everyone else was drinking the massive German steins). Reky and Troy decided this would be the perfect opportunity to take a photo of themselves and my beer... with Reky looking like a midget. It was quite comical! Supper came, and was delicious. At first I thought there was no way one sausage would fill me up, but at the end of the meal I could barley get any more food in me! Although Maddie and I decided we did have enough room to share an apple strudel... and it was well worth our while!

The entire meal was a lot of fun, and we spent a good part of the evening talking, laughing, and taking photos! After the meal Reky called on Katya and Che to thank them for everything they had done for us on the tour. Also after the meal Troy went out for a smoke or something and left his camera on the table. We decided to do boob shots of all the girls and let Troy figure out who was who later on. When it came time for me I wouldn't agree because my tattoo would give me away instantly. So Reky somehow convinced me to get an ass crack photo. Although I don't think it turned out well since I was laughing, while Laura V was pulling my pants down and Reky took the photo! The guys even got in on it, adding some 'boob' and ass shots to the mix. Later when Troy noticed the photos we cracked up laughing, and the look on his face when he got to the first guy was priceless! We had a bit of free time before we had to be back on the bus, so Kristy, Laura and I decided to wander over to a church across the road. Then we went to a souvenir shop and bought a couple things, and suddenly it was time to board the bus.

The bus ride from supper to the hostel was the most animated bus ride we'd had all tour. Most of the group was up dancing in the isle... you could tell that everyone had enjoyed a couple steins at the bar! When we arrived at the hostel we unloaded our luggage and checked in. Originally we were supposed to be in rooms of four, and Jenn and Stacey had signed Kristy and I up to room with them. But somehow when we got to the hostel things had been switched, and we ended up in double share rooms, so it was just Kristy and I! The elevators were taking ages, since there were so many people trying to get up, so when one finally arrived, we crammed all of our luggage on with Tammy and ran up the four flights! In our room Kristy and I changed out of our grimy traveling clothes and David and Rhian came over and we enjoyed some Russian vodka together (well, Kristy and I enjoyed ours... but David and Rhian were still drinking Dodgy Serge's rocket fuel, so I don't know if 'enjoy' is the correct word!). After a couple drinks we went to the hostel bar. When we got into the bar most of our Contiki group was already there, and several drinks ahead of us! The bar was busy, but filled with 16-year-olds, and really hot. It was also really hard to get a drink, so I didn't end up staying too late, and was in bed by 2:00 (it's amazing how one's definition of 'late' changes during a Contiki tour!)

We have flown to Ecuador - Quito, Ecuador

2008-05-04T21:22:00.001-07:00

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Quito, Ecuador

Arrived at high altitude for the first time on this trip!

Arrived in Quito yesterday at 2850m, and it really is noticeable. My contact lense solution squirted out like an oil strike when I opened the bottle because the air lacks so much pressure. Noticeably harder to climb stairs, and reading out loud I can`t get to the end of sentences without pausing for breath!

Kyoto back for the festival - Kyoto, Japan

2008-05-04T20:24:00.000-07:00

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Kyoto, Japan

To be continued

Spring Break... - New York City, New York, United States

2008-05-04T18:41:00.001-07:00

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New York City, New York, United States

So I am back dating a bit :)

Warsaw - Warsaw, Poland

2008-05-04T17:49:00.000-07:00

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Warsaw, Poland

The breakfast at the hotel this morning was fantastic! The hotel had a massive spread and everything was very tasty. We even got bacon! After breakfast we got onto the bus, and toured the city with our local guide Jacek. Jacek was an older man and an amazing tour guide. We were driven around the city, and our first stop was the Chopin monument. We walked into some beautiful gardens and then stopped for a bunch of photos with the monument. When we walked out we went past a demonstration of the Warsaw nurses. Apparently the nurses in Warsaw were on strike and they were camped in tents all along the road. There were also a bunch of policemen there... and are the Polish police ever handsome!
 
The next stop on the agenda was the Warsaw Ghetto monument. After reading Mila 18 last fall I was looking forward to coming to Warsaw and seeing the Ghetto. (By the way, Mila 18 is an amazing novel about life in the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII written by Leon Uris.) Since the war everything has been re-built, and you don't see many reminders of what happened there less than a century earlier. I took a look at the monument and then wandered off in the park behind by myself. I wanted some alone time to contemplate what had gone on during the war, and the ten-minute walk I had in the park by myself was exactly what I was looking for. After the Ghetto we saw the Warsaw Uprising monument. The Warsaw Uprising began on August 1, 1944 as part of a nationwide rebellion with the objective to drive the German occupiers from Warsaw. During the urban combat approximately 25% of Warsaw's buildings were destroyed. The uprising lasted for 63 days, and following the surrender of Polish forces on October 2, German troops systematically burned the city, block by block. Together with earlier damage suffered in 1939 and during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising over 85% of the city had been destroyed. Even now, all over Warsaw, you can see a symbol that looks like an anchor with a handle at the Top.  The anchor combines the letters "P" and "W" which are the initials of Polska Walczacd, or Poland Fights.

After the ghetto, we were brought to the Old Town. Jacek brought us through the streets and to a church and then finished our city tour at St. Anne's church where we would meet later for the Chopin recital. Then was had free time, and the first thing we wanted to do was eat! Che had talked about a Polish delicacy that none of the Aussies had heard of... perogies!! I couldn't believe these people had never eaten a perogi before! But even some of the Americans hadn't ever had one. I was shocked! Kristy and I wanted to eat in the Old Market Square, and everyone else was just standing around and fiddling their thumbs. Finally we started walking away and I yelled out that we were going to the Old Market Square for lunch. Everyone turned and followed us, and Kristy and I laughed at how all they needed was someone to decide something! We made it back to the Square, looked around and found a place where all of us could sit together... and a place that had perogies. Laura and I had talked these up, so everyone had to try some... and they sucked! I think the place was a fancy place, because the perogi choices were Partridge or Sauerkraut and Mushrooms. And they weren't even as good as the perogies I make! And I'm not a good cook! Laura and I tried to explain to everyone that these were not as good as normal perogies, but I don't think anyone cared!
 
After lunch we wandered around and shopped at some of the stores near the Old Market Square. Unfortunately it was a Monday, and all the museums were closed for the day, so there wasn't much to do other than shop and wander, which we did! Then we wandered towards St. Anna's Cathedral. Kristy and I were planning on going to see the castle nearby, but somehow had spent too much time shopping, so we just went to St. Anna's and climbed to the top of the cathedral. It was a long way up, but we all made it, and were rewarded with some fantastic photos! Then we headed back down, and had a little bit of time to wander through the markets.

 Then it was time to meet up for our Chopin recital. We got onto the bus and were brought to a beautiful palace. We sat down and got to listen to Chopin being performed just for us! It was very relaxing... although considering I was pretty tired I don't think I really needed to be relaxed! At intermission we had some champagne and then listened to the last half of the recital. After the recital we went outside and were able to look at the grounds and the peacocks before wandering back to the bus.

We were bussed back to the old town, where most people headed back to the hotel. Donna had told Laura and Tammy (who didn't go to the recital) that she would meet them at the bus drop off, but since we were half an hour early they weren't there yet. Kristy and I had decided to stay in town, so we sat beside St. Anna's and waited with Donna. Around 6:00 Laura and Tammy showed up. Donna had wanted to head back to the hotel, but none of the rest of us did, so she left to catch a bus and the rest of us wandered back to the Old Square. Laura and I walked past a Perogeria and were both intrigued. Tammy wanted to find a new pair of flip-flops, and Kristy wanted to shop, so the four of us split into two groups. Laura and I checked out a couple restaurants around the area, and then ended up walked back to the Perogeria, where we had some amazing perogies! They had a huge assortment of different kinds of perogies, and you could choose a mixed plate, which is what we each had. I chose cottage cheese, meat, spinach, and potato and cheese, and Laura substituted the cottage cheese for mushroom and sauerkraut. The food was amazing! And even though neither of us was hungry when we walked in, we both polished off our plates.

After we finished we walked back to the bus stop and caught a bus back to the hotel. Initially we were supposed to meet everyone at the hotel lobby at 8:00 or the swinging bench bar at 8:30, but it was already 8:10 and there was no way Laura and I were going to make it to the benches (a 10 minute walk) in time! Luckily we ran into Donna and some other people on the way, and told them we'd be there at 9:00. We asked Donna if Tammy and Kristy were back yet, assuming we were the last, but they hadn't been seen. We quickly walked the rest of the way to the hotel, and checked Tammy and Kristy's room, but there was no sign of them. We each headed off to get ready, and shortly after Tammy knocked saying they had just gotten back and would be ready to leave at 9:00, but had run into some other people heading to the benches and told them we'd meet them by 9:30... only an hour late! In the mean time I was actually almost ready, so I did some laundry and re-packed my bag, and also attempted to look nice for the night. Shortly before 9:00 I headed to the lobby and ran into Reky who had been waiting for about half an hour. Apparently he had mixed up the message and thought it was 8:30 at the lobby and was slightly irritated thinking everyone had ditched him! The rest of us made it down, and we headed to the bar, arriving around 9:15. Once there we took a couple photos, and met Kosta, who was on the Eastern Road tour that was in Warsaw the night. Kosta had actually been on the Scandinavia tour, and had hung out with Ryan, Nicole, Steph, etc. Che had been sitting with the Eastern Road tour (in the same bar), and came over to say they were heading to a bar he knew about if we wanted to join... although there was no guarantee that we would be able to get in with so many people. Even though his invite was appealing (note sarcasm), after the Propaganda incident, and considering we only had a couple days left together, we decided to hit a bar Kristy had found in a tour book.

We ended up going to a bar called Folksal, which was on Folksal street... cunning, isn't it?!? On the way over to the bar several people really had to use the washroom, as we hadn't gone at the last place since it wanted to charge for the use of the facilities. Tom in particular had to go, so when we got in he made a beeline for the basement and the toilets. Ryan was right behind him, followed by Donna, and myself and we watched Tom take a quick left and enter a washroom, followed by Ryan. Then Donna and I walked up and saw the sign that said "ladies". We both followed Tom in, and Donna pulled on a door handle. The door opened... and Donna got to see Tom... mid-stream! Donna was not impressed as she didn't enjoy the view, and there were only two stalls in the ladies room, both of which were being used by men! Finally the guys finished and I got a nice photo of the guys and I in the ladies room! I actually hadn't needed to go to the toilet, but instead, I needed a sink because I got dirt or something under my contact lens. This had happened just outside the bar, and was mildly comical as several people thought I was crying (my eye was watering quite badly), and I lost the lens and had it in my hand and was subsequently having vision issues! Lucky for me Tammy had eye drops with her, and within about ten minutes I was able to see correctly again. At Folksal we enjoyed some drinks and enjoyed the evening. They even had mock-tails for Reky to enjoy! (Yhea Tammy for being one of the most thoughtful people in the world!)

After a while the group decided it was time to head to the next bar. We got to the exit, and saw that it was raining, but Kristy ensured us that the bar was just around the corner. We all dashed outside, down the street and around the corner, then hid in an archway while the navigators tried to figure out where the bar was. Then we dashed from archway to archway, down the street, losing Tom in the process. Rhian and I ended up an archway behind everyone, and then with Kosta, Nicole and Steph. The five of us dashed around the corner of the street we'd seen everyone head down only a minute earlier, but there was no one in sight! We figured they were in an archway ahead, so we slowly kept dashing down the street. Eventually we lost Kosta, Nicole and Steph, as they had more energy than we did (I'd given up on 'dashing' arches ago and was limiting myself to a quick walk). After about 15 minutes going down the block Rhian and I figured we would never find the rest of the crew. We didn't know the name of the bar we were trying to find, and it had started pouring rain, so we attempted to get a cab back to the hotel. Oddly enough, earlier when we didn't need a cab they kept stopping for us, but now that we wanted one, none would stop! Finally we got one and headed back to the hotel looking like two drowned rats! The next day we found out that the bar everyone had gone to was just around that first corner, through a courtyard and in a basement, with no sign. So no wonder we didn't find it!!  As well, everyone assumed we'd taken a cab back to the hotel, so no one looked for us. Apparently the bar was a good time, although the owners were strict about not taking photos and Jenn's camera was dropped and assumed broken for some of the night.

Belgrade - Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro

2008-05-04T11:47:00.001-07:00

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Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro

The journey to Belgrade was to be my first experience of the overnight sleeper carriage and, as I sat there on the  cold platform in Budapest and watched the ancient-looking Beograd Express creak into view, a momentary wave of dread passed over me. Yet despite its inauspicious arrival, it was with great anticipation and excitement that I boarded the train, and as the attendant escorted me to my compartment he informed me I'd have the two-bed birth to myself. Though I'd been starved of company in Budapest, I was not unduly concerned by the continued solitude, as it was already approaching midnight and any potential conversation would quickly have been curtailed by the desire to sleep. The compact compartment had a cosy feel to it, with a bed that would be unsuitable for anyone taller than my 5'10 frame, a table and chair in one corner and a cleverly concealed sink in the other. It was also impeccably clean, and a goody bag of soaps, towels and refreshments had been left lovingly on the table. I collapsed into the chair and smiled contentedly - my previous train journeys had been fleeting affairs, but this was the romance of rail travel I had come in search of.
 
Though I was tired, I stayed up for a while in order to savour the experience; when I did finally retire to bed, the romance began to unravel. Under the hushed darkness of my bed-sheets, the carriage became like a furnace, and the hot air could neither be cooled nor turned off. I tried opening the window, but this only seemed to let in light and noise. My recumbent posture, meanwhile, seemed to absorb every twist and turn and brake of the train, yanking me unsubtly one way then the other like a favourite toy in the hands of an excitable child. After a restless few hours, a knock at my door drew me from my faux-slumber and signalled passport control. For a moment, as the imposingly-dressed Serbian border guard leafed suspiciously through my passport, I thought he was going to take issue with all my Arab visas. But, with a warm smile, he said simply "Welcome to Serbia", before disappearing to the next compartment. By the time the train arrived in Belgrade that morning, I had managed no more than a couple of hours sleep. Yet, the romance of the sleeper carriage would just about live on for now. 
 
                                                                    *
 
The walk to the hostel was a confusing one, as I was unable to match the street names that I'd scribbled down in my directions with the Cyrillic street names around me, and I owed my timely arrival to blind chance. Along the way, I passed by two bombed-out buildings, which lay like rotting carcasses of the war-ravaged Balkans of the 90s, and leant intrigue to an otherwise monochrome landscape of soulless office blocks and apartments. The hostel lay in the courtyard of just such an apartment block, and was similarly uninspiring. Inside, I found the receptionist asleep on the couch, strewn prostrate in the kind of drunken pose from which one rises with the surety of a hangover, his out-stretched arm suspended in rigour as if his last drunken action of reaching for the nearby ashtray had been frozen in time. Oh no, I thought, another bad hostel. Elsewhere there were no other signs of life, and I prepared myself for the probability of solitude in another capital. 
 
My exploration of the city that day was as frustrating as it was interesting, the Cyrillic signage perplexing me at every turn, yet punctuating my blind wanderings with serendipitous discovery. After several wrong turns I finally found myself in Republic Square, the focal point of Belgrade's pedestrianised city centre. As with much of the city, it seemed bereft of attractive architecture, the bland uniformity of the Communist era facades still clogging the cityscape like a dull sky on a drizzly day. Yet the streets were abuzz with local shoppers, vendors and eaters, and I could barely believe it was just a normal weekday morning, so vibrant was the scene. And the insipidity of the buildings, meanwhile, was more than compensated by the exotic beauty of Belgrade's women who flanked the sidewalks in improbable numbers, their dark, ethnically-mixed features launching me into involuntary bouts of lechery throughout the day.  

Further along, I came to Kalemegdan Citadel, the city's Celtic fortress. The grounds of the citadel revealed a delightful expanse of lawns, trees and walkways perched peacefully above the suburbs, but incongruously interspersed with scaled-down military memorabilia; and below lay a sweeping panorama of wintered forest through which the Sava and Danube rivers cut lazy zigzags before converging at the foot of the fortress. It was an unexpectedly bucolic scene, and for a while I sat contently amidst it, charmed by its easy silence, and spurred by the crispness in the air.
 
Back in the city, I found myself at a sports cafe where I harboured hopes of catching any of the Australian Open tennis semi-finals (three of the four involved Serbian players). I figured I'd grab a bite to eat, rest my limbs from the ludicrously hilly street-walking, and absorb some fervent, sporting patriotism all at once. Upon enquiring as to whether they might be showing such a match, the waiter replied simply, "I not know much of sport. I know only of women and money, my friend". How helpful, I thought, as I gazed around the sport-filled room to make sure I'd not stumbled into a brothel by mistake. I gave him the kind of laddish smile and pat on the back that such a comment craves then headed out for some street food instead.
 
Re-energised by pizza and burek, I headed down to the train station to buy my onward ticket for the next morning. Upon announcing my desire to travel on the Balkan Express to Sofia, the ticket lady gave me a rather disconcerting "are you sure?" look, but I persisted nonetheless. She quoted me a price and, realising how cheap the fare was going to be, I enquired as to whether there was a first class carriage. This time she shot me a wry smile that said "you'll be lucky if your carriage has wheels" before announcing in an embarrassed tone that there was no first class. While she processed my ticket, I enquired as to whether there was a dining car on the train, though by this stage I could have guessed the answer. Her wry smile had progressed to a barely contained snigger in response to the food question, and I felt it did not bode well for tomorrow's trip that the lady had found the concept of food or comfort so laughably at odds with whatever lay in stall for me on the Balkan Express. 
 

Back amid my blind wanderings, I took in a couple of churches and the parliament building before stumbling upon the Nicola Tesla museum. Now, my knowledge of Tesla (the real inventor of the radio who discovered, among other things, alternating current) had been shamefully minimal given the importance of his discoveries, and in fact derived almost exclusively from having watched the film 'The Prestige' in which Tesla is portrayed by a certain David Bowie (no really). The museum turned out to be an unexpected highlight, as it offered an interesting short biopic of Tesla, and an interactive array of his inventions made into simplified models for laymen like me. At the end of the tour, the guide gave each of the group an unattached fluorescent tube light and told us to hold it up in our hands while he switched on the Tesla machine (made famous in 'The Prestige'). Suddenly, crackling beams of electric lightening spewed forth from the top of the machine, like something from a sci-fi movie (or the opening credits of 'Quantum Leap'); then the bulbs in our hands began to glow by the power of our own bodies. It was all rather cool and, as I stood there waving my glowing fluorescent tube light in the air, I realised this was as close to a Star Wars light sabre fight as I was ever going to get.   
 
Back at the hostel that evening there were still no signs of backpacker life and, having spent my remaining local currency on food supplies for the train journey, I reluctantly decided to call it a night. As I reflected on my all-too-brief visit to Belgrade, I realised I would leave with mixed impressions. On the one hand, my appetite for grand old buildings had somewhat reached saturation, and so the city's fairly uninspiring and bleak architecture seemed insignificant in my overall assessment. What I had found most intriguing about Belgrade, though, was its vibrancy. Its streets - grey and lifeless at first glance - were in fact awash with people of all ages all out enjoying their city. It had had a carnival feel, yet I'd merely sampled a mid-winter's weekday like any other. And therein lay the frustration of my visit. Such vibrancy had hinted at the party atmosphere and nightlife scene for which Belgrade has become famous, but in my solitude I had failed to embrace it, and it too had failed to reach out to me. And so I would leave Serbia with tepid memories, but equally with the feeling that on another day I might just have had the craziest fun night of my trip. And that's enough to make me pencil into my imaginary diary a separate trip to the Balkans in the future. 

Salta - Salta, Argentina

2008-05-04T10:48:00.001-07:00

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Salta, Argentina

Salta

2 March - Chiang Mai - Chiang Mai, Thailand

2008-05-04T09:59:00.001-07:00

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Chiang Mai, Thailand

We took the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.  Second class on the way there.  It was pretty comfortable overall, though the ventilation of the sleeping compartments hasn't been designed to cope with the effects of Thai curries.

Our first night we wandered down to the Sunday walking market.  A huge popular event with all sorts of goodies, we had lots of fun until a swarm of moths descended over the entire town.  Everyone around started choking on them.  We went for a late Japanese dinner and maggots were still falling from J's trouser legs.

The next day, we take a cooking class with the sister of Mai Kaidee (a well known cooking personality in Bangkok).  Was very informative and lots of fun.  At the trip to the market we learnt plenty of interesting facts about chillis, eggplants, mushrooms, banana flowers, etc.  In 2 hours we made 12 yummy dishes including curries, soups, spring rolls, etc.  At the end they expect you to eat it all, so we gave it our best effort but admitted defeat and took the leftovers home.  Unfortunately we couldn't face eating them and ended up throwing them out a day or so later and kept away from Thai food for a few days until we recovered.  Sometimes you can have too much Thai food! 

We spent an afternoon wandering around some of the many temples in the old city.  Chiang Mai is very well known for its abundant supply of temples, especially in the old part of the town.  All very impressive, but there does seem to be a lot of focus on who has the biggest, shiniest, most revered golden Buddha effigy, coupled with a subtle sense of wanting in the energy of the place.  Doubt Gautama the Buddha would be impressed with all this idolisation is his name.

We try out a few of the local massage specialties.  First up, J opts for a 1hr massage from the blind at a bargain rate of 150 Bhat.  The lady pretty much just pressed five points on each foot repeatedly for an hour while talking very loudly with the other 6 blind masseuses in the room.  There were no other clients.  The next day we decide to make use of one of the rather dodgy sounding activities listed in the Lonely Planet.  We both visit the Woman's prison for 1 hr traditional massage by inmates! It was the best massage yet and at a very good price.

Chiang Mai's night bazaar, would have to be the best, as well as the streets there are buildings with shops of home decor.  Eager to add to our meagre package waiting to be shipped back home we buy a wooden decorative carving and some large lamps.  It was going to be fun trying to take these back to Bangkok.

5th March is Louisa's birthday, so to celebrate we venture over the road for a nice breakfast then take a rickshaw into town to the markets.  Bit of shopping then find a spa where we both get 2hr treatment including herbal steam, body scrub and aromatherapy massage. 

For dinner we head to Riverside bar and restaurant for their river cruise.  We make our way over the rickety pier, noting that they mustn't have OSH in Thailand.  We were rushed to order food so they could cook it before we set sail.  Then they deliver all three courses at once, including ice cream dessert! Manage to send that back...  Sink a bottle of wine enjoying the sights along the river.  When we arrive back at the pier, we depart and J attempts to take a photo of the boat of L from the wharf.  Leaning against a bamboo balustrade it gives way.  Somehow J manages to avoid tumbling into the river with the camera, impressing the patrons sitting outside who are witnessed the entire event. 

Recapturing our breath we head inside and the restaurant / bar covers band started up with a superb rendition of a Joe Satriani number.  We settle in with another bottle of wine purely to calm those nerves.

Louisa spots girls from the big night out on Koh San Road and they join our table.  By request, the band plays happy birthday and another birthday girl is identified in the audience - 51 year old Sara, a teacher who lives in Chiang Mai, and her three daughters.  Louisa breaks the ice, their table joins ours and the party really gets going. 
Great music from the 2 covers bands including numerous Radiohead songs, the best version J's ever heard of "With or Without You" by U2 (even better than the original he reckons!).. and great rendition of " Little Wing" by Jimi Hendrix.  J almost in heaven.  But they don't know Radiohead "Creep".

At Sara's suggestion, we head to "Bubble", a club a few blocks away.  Dance a couple of hours away to trashy techno and neon strobes.  It seemed the night would never end.

Finally a rickshaw home with the Khoa San Rd girls, who we discovered were staying opposite us.  Louisa befriends a very cute but who-knows-where-its-been dog.

Slightly hungover we meet the girls for breakfast the next morning and spend the rest of the afternoon at the local cafe making use of their wifi before heading off to catch the train back to Bangkok.

Phew glad birthdays only happen once a year, it generally takes a year to get over the last one.

Thankfully we took first class on the way back - the extra room came in handy for all our extra purchases in Chiang Mai.

Peru at last! - Piura, Peru

2008-05-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

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Piura, Peru

After two months in South America, we have FINALLY made it to Peru! The border crossing was easier than we thought it would be, and the differences between Ecuador and Peru are more distinct than we thought they would be. There is a whole new sort of learning curve with vocabulary, practices, customs, money, even transportation.Just when we thought we had the hang of it! :)

I am sure that this will lead to some good (mis)adventures. Stay tuned!

Cantwell and the sled dogs - Cantwell, Alaska, United States

2008-05-04T07:54:00.001-07:00

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Cantwell, Alaska, United States

So I started out the morning early hopeing to see the sun come up and make some cool shadows on Denali, unfortunatly couldn't see Denali yet but I still got some cool photos.

Then, after some breakfast, I headed to this spot to do some snowshoeing. As I was getting ready this guy pulled up with his sled dogs and told me about a trail where I wouldn't have to use my shoes. So I said thanks a bunch and headed off. Well as I passed him he said, "well you could just ride wt me on the sled for a bit, only a mile or so cause then I gotta let ol Eli ride cause he's old and needs the rest"...so I said Hell yeah I'll ride wt you in the dogsled!!!...so he hooks'em up and off we go ....so we get about a mile into it and i'm having a ball...and he says well you could just finish the loop with us and if Eli gets tired we'll just toss him on your lap there in the sled.... ...so for like three hours I got to ride on a dog sled all over. We went down a canyon , which was sweet and pretty much straight down at one point...then we went along and on a frozen river for a spell...then we went around a mountain and up out of a canyon. It was Awesome!!!

After some lunch I did a bit of snowshoeing, which was harder than I expected,  but fun enough. I got to see some great vistas and play in the snow...30 inches of snow.

Then after cooking myself dinner and resting for a bit I headed back to the dog sled jump off point to check out the norther lights. ...which were amazing. Even cooler though was the fact that as I was standing there checking out the lights I started to hear what I thought were footsteps...quadraped footsteps...then out of the corner of my eye I saw what was making the noise...Caribou...they were all around me...apparantly they were crossing the road where I was parked...I couldn't get any pictures because it was pitch black...but they were everywhere!!!

7 Months - Trujillo, Peru

2008-05-04T07:06:00.001-07:00

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Trujillo, Peru

Day 2 at the beach and want a new hostel as ours is pretty horrid - and the window won´t shut! Good security! Alex and Michelle find a nicer hostel to more to, then its back to the beach! Somehow, Sven, a day behind us, manages to find us on the beach - i think its our fantastic panama hats!  We didn't get round to surfing, just swimming in the sea, body surfing, and tasting all the food and ice creams as the vendors trundle up and down the beach. Alex made a boat in the sand - i think the idea was it would be a sand sculpture, but a slightly strange Peruvian family got very interested and started joining in, so we all did too!  Then for a beer to watch the sun set over the pacific, as the tide came in to get us! Then to test a few of the bars along the strip.

Next day, tickets for the bus for that night, and then back to the beach. Need to keep the Churo man in business buying is dulce leche sweets! The surf and current is much bigger today so more fun in the sea, although we did see one resuscitation, he got up and walked after. Then the pleasure of being salivered on by an immense dog - i´m not sure i found it quite as funny as the others! A vendor tried to sell us his bracelets for about an hour, and then found us at the bus station at 10.30 - full marks for persistence. Odd to Trujillo now.

Thursday meet Owen on the bus and all head to Huanchaco, a nearby beach town. Then to Chan Chan ruins, halfway between the two towns. Its an adobe city in the midst of the coastal dessert.  Fascinating maze of rooms and ceremonial chambers, as well as a pool from a well. To the museum and rainbow temple, then totally shattered from all this culture we need some food, bus tickets can wait. There's a fiesta on the street in Huanchaco, some interesting music...a few cocktails and connect 4 championship for us in the bars!

Friday, we get our tickets for another night bus :-(, this time to Huaraz in the mountains. We check out Trujillo, with a beautiful centre, and great ice cream more importantly! We even manage to persuade the bus stewardess we should have the film in English!

Saturday arrive in Huaraz and check it out. Alicia has quit secret garden and returns to us tonight! The four are reunited!

Minsk to Warsaw - Warsaw, Poland

2008-05-04T06:24:00.000-07:00

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Warsaw, Poland

This morning we got onto the bus and had to say good-bye to Minsk. I'm sure that I'll never make it back to Belarus again, as there are too many places in the world I want to see, but I really enjoyed my brief visit to this picturesque country. As we were driving towards the Polish border, Rhian was not feeling very well, and at our first break of the day he made a mad dash to the bathroom. We had about 20 minutes at the rest stop and some people tried to use of the last of their Belarussian rubbles. David and Rhian had taken out about 50 Euro... and had thousands of rubbles left over. At the rest stop they looked, and they could have purchased a tire if they wanted! For myself, I took out 15 Euro worth of rubbles, and still had a little left over, after buying snack food for the day, about 4 drinks the night before, a metro ticket, and McDonalds!

Our first sightseeing stop this morning was at the Brest Fortress, which was absolutely beautiful. The Brest Fortress is one of the most important Soviet World War II war monuments, commemorating Soviet resistance against the German invasion on June 22, 1941. Approximately 7,000 Soviet military personnel gave their lives over the course of several weeks defending the Fortress, where the resistance "ceased to exist with the building itself". Because of the valiant efforts of the people who gave their lives, the Brest Fortress has been given the status of Hero Fortress, which has only been awarded to a total of twelve Soviet cities. Jenn and I decided to go to the souvenir shop before looking at the Fortress so we could spend the last of our last rubbles. Jenn also needed to buy a bottle of Brest Vodka for her brother-in- law who was originally from Brest. I had 2,500 rubbles left, which is about $1.25, and couldn't figure out what to spend it on. I though perhaps I could buy a bottle or two of beer, and when I wandered to the alcohol counter I saw a bottle of white wine for only 2,400 rubbles... sold! As I was trying to point to the bottle I wanted the lady kept grabbing at the bottles around the one I wanted. Finally when she got my bottle I nodded, and she gave me a look that seemed to be disgust coupled with "how stupid are you?!?" Once back in Canada when I drank the wine I understood the look. The wine tasted like a combination of bad port mixed with rubbing alcohol! After we had our booze, and were out of rubbles, we ran into Tom and walked to the Fortress. We only had about half an hour here, and could have used a lot more time! The memorial is large, and there's a lot to see inside it.

After our short visit we were on our way to the Polish border! Che warned us that this was the worst border crossing of the entire trip, and we had to be prepared for a long wait. The longest he had heard to take crossing the border was 16 hours, and the shortest was 3.5 hours. In Moscow, Galina had arranged for us to meet a Belarussian fellow who was going to help us bribe the right people and get through faster, but it was still anybody's guess at how long it would take. As we were waiting on the bus, Reky decided to start a pool on how long it would take. We had to pay in 50 Euro cent, could choose a ten-minute block. If we crossed the border during that time we won the pot! Pretty much everyone got in on the pool and it helped the time go by. At the border we all had lunch (from the store the day before), and sat outside and chatted. Rhian still wasn't feeling very good... and it was probably a good thing that we had a long border crossing, as he was able to spend a lot of time in the bathrooms! After about 3 hours at the crossing we were all told to get back on the bus, and it looked like we were going to get into Poland in no time at all. Laura V had 3 hours to 3 hours and 10 minutes, and it looked like she was going to win, until we had to turn back to get a road pass. Her time slipped by and Troy was up next. We slowly inched forward, and around 3 hours and 15 minutes we passed into Poland and Troy won the pool! As for myself, I was hoping we would take another hour... but sadly we went through too quickly!

We arrived at Warsaw and checked into our hotel around supper. The hotel in Warsaw was beautiful and I was really impressed! We had an amazing supper that night, and then a group of us went across the street to grab some money from the ATM. When we got back, I wanted to use the Internet quickly, and Jenn showed me to the hotel next door that had a computer. You had to pay for the Internet, but the guy at the front desk didn't have any change, so he let us go on for free! I checked e-mail quickly, and wrote mom a quick message, then Jenn did the same and we headed back to the hotel to wash up before meeting with everyone.

A bunch of us met in the lobby, and headed out to see what there was around the hotel. We walked past the central train station and saw a live band that we listened to for a song or two. Then we headed over to an outdoor bar that had swinging benches and we had a drink there. After the bar some people were heading to "Lemons", but I was in the mood for an 'early' night, and Reky was heading back, so we walked with everyone to the bar, then headed back the long way to the hotel. (I say 'early' because I think it was midnight at that point.) Reky and I chatted the whole way back, and somehow ended up talking about our flaws (I'm too cheerful... he's too protective), and relationships (both have commitment issues), and a bunch of other random topics! Our walk probably took about 45 minutes, but it was a nice relaxing time. Reky is a great guy, and I'd enjoyed getting to know him along the tour.

Alajuela Costa Rica - Alajuela, Costa Rica

2008-05-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

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Alajuela, Costa Rica

The bus journey from Granada Nicaragua to Costa Rica was a long 10 hours. All the border crossings
up to now have been fairly painless. Not this one!! It only took half an hour to do the formalities to leave Nicaragua but when we reached the entrance to Costa Rica there were at least 500 people in thé line.
We had to wait out in a big yard under the sun. I felt like I was in one of those Japanese prisoner of war
camp movies. One and a half hours later I reached the desk for a stamp that took one minute. Then it was back in the bus for another half an hour wait until the border police came to check the baggage. Out of 50 passengers
guess who was the only one they picked on to open her bag. Yes well I really look like a drugs or arms smuggler.
The other passengers commisserated with me afterwards,saying I was a symbol- not quite sure what they meant by that.
Anyway I am now staying in a lovely town-Alajuela -in Costa Rica,s Central Valley-half an hour from the capital,San Jose, and only a few minutes from the airport. It has a lovely leafy central plaza where I shall enjoy
chilling out. I am also in a bit of culture shock having spent the last couple of months in 3 very poor countries.
Costa Rica is much more developed and the shops here are full of consumer goods. I popped in a nearby supermarket last evening and it was on a par with anything in the States or Europe. My eyes were on stalks.
I was hoping to visit the caribbean coast of Costa Rica but haven´t left myself enough time. I think I have packed quite a lot into these 3 months but of course only scratched the surface of Central America and Mexico. You often get people posting questions on the lonely planet thorn tree forum asking if 2 weeks is enough time to see Central America. What ARE they thinking!!
Yesterday I did my last excursion of the trip to Volcano Poas=the second largest accessible volcanic crater in the world= and also to a beautiful coffee plantation and a waterfall park. The scenery on the way was stunning. Lush green rolling hills very reminiscent of Europe with herds of jersey cows and sheep but also with large coffee and tropical fruit plantations.
The crater was at about 9000 feet with a small lake in its centre which was steaming away at a temperature of 40 degrees centigrade. They keep a close eye on it for eruptions and last year it had to be closed for a while because it was getting quite active.
The waterfall park was beautiful with a huge aviary and separate butterfly and hummingbird enclosures. I just regret I don´t have longer here in Costa Rica.
On Sunday I begin the long journey back and hopefully arrive in Lanjaron Tuesday afternoon tho whether my luggage will be with me is a moot point. I am due to fly into the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow which opened yesterday before flying on to Madrid.I hear however that the opening was an absolute disaster with lots of baggage missing. Oh well not to worry.
This is my last post and to all of you who have been reading them thanks for being on my trip with me.

Budapest - Budapest, Hungary

2008-05-04T03:31:00.001-07:00

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Budapest, Hungary

Getting off the train in Budapest I felt instantly on my guard, as a plethora of sellers gathered quickly around me like vultures over carrion. Old women barked at me and tried to sell rooms, taxi drivers hawked the scene and tried to sell rides, all before I'd reached the end of the platform. I made my escape and headed for the hostel. Arriving there a half hour later to find it deserted, I was informed by the (Cockney) shop owner next door that it was shut for renovations. He gave me a city map and circled another hostel around the touristy Vaci utca down by the Danube that he had heard was good. With no plan B in mind, I thanked him and headed off in search of it. I arrived there after a twenty minute walk and, after initially failing to spot it, I realised to my dismay that it was inside a dilapidated building right in front of me. I looked around and saw no signs of life and, unimpressed by the wrecked facade of this town house and unconvinced the hostel was even open, I decided I'd take my chances elsewhere. I picked out a couple of alternatives from the guide and headed off toward their general vicinity. My efforts eventually brought me towards the city's other train station, a built-up and commercial area that seemed less well-located than the previous areas. After another frustrating hour of searching, and with the light now fading, I found a hostel. It was as obscurely located as the previous one, similarly occupying a single floor of an old town house. As I made my way up the dank stairwell, it dawned on me that this town house style of hostel was very much the norm for Budapest, and I regretted having not just stayed at the first one and saved myself two hours of sweaty anxiety and frustration.
 
Inside, the hostel itself was very homely and clean. Too much so in fact, as it felt rather like I was intruding in someone's own living space and it was all rather too quiet. I dumped my bags in the dorm and, as I looked out the window into the cold evening darkness, I let out a long sigh of relief that I had a roof over my head at last. I took a long shower to wash away my little ordeal, and found upon my return to the dorm a room mate. I offered him an enthusiastic hello, but received in return only a cold silence and a look that said "don't you know this a hostel for people with absolutely no social skills?" I sat on my bed and observed the implied silence. Outside, a chilly wind was stirring, and I wondered if it might offer me more warmth than this unfriendly dorm. After an unproductive little wander around the city that first evening, I returned to the hostel and retired early to bed with my Theroux. It was a lonely existence, and would come to characterise my time in Budapest and much of the rest of trip. 
 
I awoke the next morning to a sterile winter sky, but was determined to make this my day of sight-seeing. Of all the cities I visited on the trip, Budapest's sights seemed farthest and widest spread. And while I had grown fond of aimless wanderings, so too had nine days of endless walking taken their toll on my limbs. I still covered fair distances by foot in my two and a half days, but I also indulged heavily in the city's superb public transport system, which I found to be a delight of convenience and reliability. Such wanderings that first morning brought me to the Great Synagogue. Despite its inauspicious surroundings next to a large and busy traffic junction, inside it maintained a silent elegance, while the adjoining museum housed a harrowing photographic account of the Holocaust. I felt rather like an imposter, though, having been instructed to wear a skullcap inside the synagogue.
 
For lunch I headed to the Great Market, which a Hungarian friend back home had recommended as a good place to get a cheap and authentic meal. This grand indoor market lacked the elegance and labyrinthine intrigue of the bazaars and souqs of the Middle East (to which I have become so accustomed), but it captured within its harsh metallic shell the sounds, smells and routines of local life, and I floated gratefully within it. As I sat enthusiastically slurping my goulash, I noticed too that I seemed to be the only tourist in the market, which in that moment was a welcome change.  

In the afternoon I headed across the Danube to Buda, the picturesque half of the city. There, in spite of a sterile sky as its canvass, the city seduced me for the first time. The beeping sounds of city traffic and the nagging pollution it brings were replaced by the serenity of the Old Town, its narrow roads spared of cars and people, its monuments and palaces stood in perfect stillness and its air as clean and crisp as the lush mountainside on which it stood. Even commercial Pest, from Buda's towering eyes, inspired a prolonged gaze; the city's many landmarks rising like grand reflections from the Danube. The Chain Bridge, elegant and historic, joined the city as one, and beyond it rose the great dome of St Stephen's Basilica; further along the river bank stood the Houses of Parliament, their neo-gothic turrets strangely reminiscent of Westminster; and perched in the depths of the Danube was Margaret Island, wintered but inviting, literally half-way between the old and the new, between history and modernity.  
I spent the remaining daylight in an aimless ramble around Margaret Island. My feet were shot by this stage, but the sheer enjoyment of feeling so far from the big city (yet only five minutes from it) spurred me on through its considerable depths. My only regret was that I was not there in spring when the park would regain its life and colour and I could have lay down amid its vast spread. But I contented myself in the contentment of others; kids playing football, hand-clasped couples in their own worlds, winter-clad pensioners wiling away the hours with chatter. It was beautiful scene.  
Later on I headed to the Terror House, a kind of interactive museum documenting Hungary's fraught past under occupation. My general policy at museums in the past has been to take the cheap option and avoid audio-guides. Yet, I found myself convinced by the ticket-man into paying extra for such an audio guide on this occasion, a decision I would come to bitterly regret. I found the whole experience of the museum deeply frustrating. On the one hand, it was highly innovative, interesting and informative, and each room of the museum documented the various stages of Nazi and Soviet occupation, and offered succinct worksheets to read as supplements (which off-set the need for the audio-guide). On the other hand, the 'interactive' elements of the museum, the noises, video footage and archive tapes, simply gave me a headache when combined with the audio-guide I'd been duped into purchasing. It just turned into an assault on my senses. If I could go again, I would steer clear of the audio-guide, read the worksheets instead and fully appreciate the aural and visual accompaniment of the museum.
 
Back at the hostel that evening, I hoped to find more stimulating company than the loser of the previous night, but none was forthcoming. I dined alone again and, after taking some notes for my blog, I retired to bed once again with my Theroux and, as I read, found myself enviously wondering how it was he always found himself in stimulating company. The complete lack of companionship was the bitter disappointment of my time in Budapest, as it is a city known for its nightlife; yet without initial company from the hostel, I never felt confident to go out and sample such a scene. 
 
The next day, awaking to a perfect blue sky, I had only one firm priority: to sooth my aching body at a thermal spa. First, though, I headed to St Stephen's Basilica to see it from the inside, having seen its beauty from distant Buda the previous afternoon. Afterwards, I headed back down to the Great Market for another generous portion of Goulash. As I sat with my head buried like a cave man in my bucket of goulash, I heard the broad Canadian tones of Saskatchewan. I looked up with pleasure to find both him and CSI-bashing Brummie Mike (whom I had last seen at a wine bar in Vienna) standing over me. It was such a welcome relief to see some familiar faces from my travels. I had known that Saskatchewan was in town, as he was following me to Budapest after an extra day in Bratislava, but Mike's presence was unexpected. My pleasure at seeing them, though, was tempered by my disappointment that I only met them on my final day - had the original hostel (which we'd made tentative plans to meet at) been open, I would have had Saskatchewan's company sooner, and could perhaps have enjoyed a real night out in Budapest. We sat and talked a while, and it transpired that they'd bumped into each other at a different hostel and had arranged this day to go on a caving expedition. My disappointment deepened, as I knew I couldn't realistically go on this trip and be back in time for my train. We said our good-byes for the final time, and I headed off to Heroes Square and to City Park beyond it where lay waiting the thermal spa.
 
Heroes Square, with its arched monument and grand museums, was a picture. Later, when I passed back through it after the spa, I found the sun setting in the distance, and the square basked in the unmistakable amber-purple of a dying winter sun. City Park too was inspiring, housing at it's centre the kind of castle conceived of a child's imagination. And from a distance, vast puddles of melted snow drew perfect reflections of the castle, and added to its fairy tale mystique.   
 
Within the park lay the thermal spa I had picked out. It was one of the more expensive options in a city replete with spas, but I had taken one look at it in a brochure and vowed to go. It did not disappoint. And, for once on this Euro trip, the winter setting seemed to add rather than detract from its beauty, as outside the harsh air created clouds of steam from the hot pools, while the low sun bounced effortlessly off the yellow facade of this grand building. As I crouched in the warm water and watched the steam build around me, I was awash with childhood memories of trips to Centre Parcs. They seemed apt recollections, as those trips had always been shared with my closest and oldest friends, who are themselves of Hungarian dissent. I spent several hours soothing myself back to health in the 15 or so pools, as well as the steam rooms and saunas. It really could not have come at a better time, as I was truly exhausted physically from my trek thus far through Europe and the ten-plus days of continual walking.
 
Both the spa and its idyllic setting were a perfect end to my time in Budapest, but in truth I did not enjoy my time in the city as much as I had hoped. Perhaps beyond all other destinations on my itinerary, I had most been looking forward to Budapest; but it left me feeling slightly disappointed and underwhelmed. However, I would attribute my disappointment more to my lack of companionship than to the city itself, though the entirely incomprehensible language added to my sense of isolation. In terms of the city itself, I felt most content when in the higher reaches of Buda away from the bustle and the throng, rather than the noisy, often-unattractive streets of Pest. But, should I go back (and I would love to do so again with friends), it is the noisier aspect of it, and Pest's social scene, that I would wish to sample next time around. 

GGGRRRand Canyon! - Flagstaff, Arizona, United States

2008-05-04T02:19:00.001-07:00

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Flagstaff, Arizona, United States

Very expensive place to stay but we had no choice. A bit like for Niagara Falls, there are tourists everywhere!!!

We had a glimpse at the Canyon yesterday but the dogs were our first worry... remember Fletcher's adventure in the "mare aux crocodiles", so we are doing it today... leaving the dogs in the trailer with air conditioning.

We checked the weather in Bromont and saw that around the 10 will be about 10 degrees, so we should be home for this date.

Road from Cantwell to Anchorage - Anchorage, Alaska, United States

2008-05-04T01:43:00.000-07:00

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Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Made it to Anchorage

Playing tourist in Toronto - Toronto, Ontario, Canada

2008-05-03T20:19:00.001-07:00

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Today we took advantage of touring Toronto as tourists. Bonnie, Derek, Shelley and Diana and I went tothe CN Tower around 11AM.
We took the elevator up to the observation deck for a 360 degree view of the city.

Later in the afternoon we met up with cousins Mathew and Samantha and we went to the Royal Ontario Museum. It was a great museum with numerous exhibits. We started by viewing their large display of dinosaurs. They also had good displays of Greek and Egyptian artifacts.

We took an hour siesta back at Bonnie's place in the late afternoon before heading out for an out-of-towners dinner at an Italian restaurant.

For dinner we went to an Italian restaurant with 22 family members. The food was delicious and we all ate too much!

The big joke of the day was that when I woke up I discovered that I hadn't packed any boxer shorts for this trip. My mistake was that I had been packing for this trip and next week's Peru trip at the same time and as a result I packed boxers for next week but not this one. Of all the days to not have boxer shorts, today just happened to be Good Friday which meant that no shops were even open! When we visited the CN Tower in the morning we joked that maybe we would find a pair with a large tower on the front. At the end of the evening after dinner, Diana spotted an adult Love Shop. Here I am entering the store with my wife, sister and cousin in hopes of finding boxer shorts. I think we found everything except that!

Netware 4.1, VMware, and What to do?

2008-05-03T13:41:00.001-07:00

Here's the deal, I have an old Novell Netware 4.1 server and it is dying a slow painful death.

I have a ghost image using Ghostcast in a .gho format and copies of all the data files I need. Also I have all the user info in an Access database I can spew out at will easily. So restoring the essential data is not an issue.

My current incarnation of this server works, the hardware is roughly 10 years old and we've been having drive issues lately. It's using 2x 9gb SCSI drives with a small DOS and larger Novell (I assume) partition. Unfortunately the program that it serves over the network is essential to our operation. The unlimited user version of the btrieve database included with 4.1 is essential to our software. It will be replaced, but not for a few months (ugh years?). You might think, upgrade to 4.2 since it's supported or a current version. No can do, this system is planned to go away thus little to no money is there to upgrade.

I have copies of VMware Server and ACE Workstation, plus other older versions.

My dilemma is how to make Novell 4.1 work in VMware. If I install from CD it comes up with issues saying there are no accessible disk drives. I can't seem to find any sort of walkthrough on how to install.

Re: ESX 3.5 new patches released

2008-05-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

Keep in mind that if you are running DRS and are leveraging update manager, you may want to modify the default memory cap;

http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003638

Excerpt-

Starting with ESX Server 3.5 and VirtualCenter 2.5, VMware DRS applies a cap to the memory overhead of virtual machines to control the growth rate of this memory. This cap is reset to a virtual machine specific computed value after VMotion migrates the virtual machine. Afterwards, if the virtual machine monitor indicates that the virtual machine requires more overhead memory, VMware DRS raises this cap at a controlled rate (1MB per minute, by default) to grant the required memory until the virtual machine overhead memory reaches a steady-state and as long as there are sufficient resources available on the host.

For VirtualCenter 2.5, this cap is not increased to satisfy the virtual machine's steady-state demand as expected. Thus, the virtual machine operates with an overhead memory that is less than its desired size, which in turn may lead to higher observed virtual machine CPU usage and lower virtual machine performance in a VMware DRS-enabled cluster.

I hear that they are going to address this in VC 2.5 SP1

ESX3 Virtual Disk Modes - Performance, Snapshot and Backup

2008-05-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

Hello,

I'm using ESX 3.5 and all our VM's were created with Independent -> Persistent disks because we believe that this was the best practice concerning performance.
Now we wish to backup the .vmdk's files online but in order to do so we need to create snapshots (with the memory option) so that the vmdk can be accessed by the backup software.
I believe that this can only be accomplished by changing the disk mode to snapshot (removing the check from "Independent" in the disk properties of the vm). So my questions are:

1. Is there any other way to backup the files without changing the disk mode?

2. And if we do have to change the disk mode, what effect could that have in the VM's performance? According to this: http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi_performance_tuning.pdf in page 9 says: "Independent Persistent - Changes are immediately and permanently written to the disk, so they have high performance."

Best Regards

Re: Any suggestions?

2008-05-03T07:56:00.000-07:00

To update the story so far, we ended up getting Cisco involved since they monitor our WAN and they saw no problems with congestion or anything like that. I then opened a Support Request with VMware just to see what their recommendations would be. After it is all said and done, the problem seems to lie with our WAN in that it is a frame relay network. Apparently this network topology is not conducive to good RDP performance. We are scheduled to upgrade to MPLS and refresh the WAN routers but that is still a few months off. We looked into the solution from Expand Network but the prices involved were just too much for an unbudgeted expense. Come to find out...a company called Circadence had just opened an office here in Tupelo, MS and their specialty is WAN acceleration. We have met with them twice now and are preparing to test their technology to see if it will improve the RDP performance next week. I really hope this solution from Circadence works out, if not, we are going to be forced to bring Citrix back into the mix.

Grant

Regular Expression Pocket Reference

2008-05-03T03:29:00.001-07:00

Michael J. Ross writes "When software developers need to manipulate text programmatically — such as finding all substrings within some text that match a particular pattern — the most concise and flexible solution is to use "regular expressions," which are strings of characters and symbols that can look anything but regular. Nonetheless, they can be invaluable for locating text that matches a pattern (the "expression"), and optionally replacing the matched text with new text. Regular expressions have proven so popular that they have been incorporated into most if not all major programming languages and editors, and even at least one Web server. But each one implements regular expressions in its own way — which is reason enough for programmers to appreciate the latest edition of Regular Expression Pocket Reference, by Tony Stubblebine." Read below for the rest of Michael's review.

Does It Suck To Be An Engineering Student?

2008-05-03T02:08:00.000-07:00

Pickens writes "Aaron Rower has an interesting post on Wired with the "Top 5 Reasons it Sucks to be an Engineering Student" that includes awful textbooks, professors who are rarely encouraging, the dearth of quality counseling, and every assignment feels the same. Our favorite is that other disciplines have inflated grades. "Brilliant engineering students may earn surprisingly low grades while slackers in other departments score straight As for writing book reports and throwing together papers about their favorite zombie films," writes Rower. "Many of the brightest students may struggle while mediocre scholars can earn top scores." For many students, earning a degree in engineering is less than enjoyable and far from what they expected. If you want to complain about your education, this is your chance."

Why Microsoft Won't Have Blu-ray on the Xbox

2008-05-03T01:41:00.001-07:00

Ian Lamont writes "Ever since Toshiba stopped production of HD DVD players, many Xbox 360 owners have been wondering when Microsoft will offer some sort of Blu-ray option for the Xbox 360. The answer: Probably never. Microsoft's product manager for the Xbox 360 has told Reuters that Microsoft is not in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association. Why not? The Industry Standard points to HDi, an obscure Microsoft technology that was part of the HD DVD interactivity layer. HDi may be dead on physical media, but it could potentially be applied to other Microsoft HD-compatible technologies such as Xbox Live Arcade and Windows Media Center, and be part of a long-term play to own a big share of the market for HD content delivered over the Internet."

Vampire Weekend live on SNL

2008-05-03T01:13:00.001-07:00

For those of you who were away from a television set a couple of weekends ago {or for those of you attending the festival where Vampire Weekend was supposed to be playing} here are the two tracks that they played that night on SNL. I know that SNL is a rather limiting venue as far as live concerts are concerned and I wonder if the boys in Vampire Weekend have more fun with their songs when they’re not under the scrutiny of a million plus viewers.

mp3 : Vampire Weekend - A-Punk (Live on SNL)
mp3 : Vampire Weekend - M79 (Live on SNL)

Both tracks sound great live, but I seem to dig M79 a bit more. It just sounds great live. And for anyone still interested below is the entire touring list for Vampire Weekend in this current year. {Dates without a country listed are assumed to be in the USA}.

Apr 03 - The Triple Rock Social Club - Minneapolis
Apr 04 - The High Noon - Madison
Apr 05 - Turner Hall - Milwaukee
Apr 06 - Metro - Chicago
Apr 11 - Brown University Campus Green - Providence
Apr 25 - Coachella - Indio
May 01 - Anson Rooms - Bristol, UK
May 02 - Birmingham Academy - Birmingham, UK
May 03 - The Liquid Rooms - Edinburgh, UK
May 04 - ABC - Glasgow, UK
May 06 - Northumbria University - Newcastle, UK
May 07 - The Cockpit - Leeds, UK
May 08 - Manchester Academy - Manchester, UK
May 09 - Camber Sands - Minehead, UK
May 12 - Wedgewood Rooms - Portsmouth, UK
May 13 - Electric Ballroom - London, UK
May 15 - Great Escape Festival @ Concorde - Brighton, UK
May 17 - Orangerie - Brussels, Belgium
May 18 - Luxor - Koln, Germany
May 19 - Le Trabendo - Paris, France
May 20 - Melkweg - Amsterdam, Holland
May 21 - Motolow - Hamburg, Germany
May 22 - Magnet - Berlin, Germany
May 23 - Atomic Cafe - Munich, Germany
May 26 - Circolo degli Artisti - Rome, Italy
May 27 - Bologna Rocker Festival - Bologna, Italy
May 28 - Mascotte - Zurich, Switzerland
Jun 07 - Park Ave CDs - Orlando
Jun 07 - The Social - Orlando
Jun 08 - Cafe Eleven - St. Augustine
Jun 12 - Bonnaroo - Manchester
Aug 09 - Summer Sonic - Tokyo, Japan
Aug 10 - Summer Sonic - Osaka, Japan

+ twf hype elbows site myspace amazonmp3 itunes
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The Joy Formidable

2008-05-03T00:44:00.000-07:00

I’ll admit it, usually I stray away from the most hyped path. I don’t really associate with the most popular of all popular artists {I need to reserve some indie credibility} and many times I don’t even like what everyone else is calling the most influential band since The Beatles {you know, that one band your roommate just won’t let go of until you’ve heard every terrible minute of their twenty seven minute debut self-recorded opus to pet names}. But on rare occaisions there exists a band who has massive hype and yet retains a lot of their musical integrity {these guys don’t even have a website, only a myspace. What more could you want?!}.

I’m not entirely certain who these three kids from London remind me of. There’s a trace of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs {if they were happy all the time} and a dash of The Dodos due to their penchant for sounds built from the ground up on bombastic drums and walls of guitar. One thing can easily be said though, their name accurately depicts their sound. This trio creates an infectious blend of sounds that, and I write this with a straight face, could be described as inducing formidable joy {akin to the joy found on the latest Of Montreal album for those of you still musing}. But that’s enough, just listen to these tracks.

mp3 : The Joy Formidable - Austere
mp3 : The Joy Formidable - While the Flies
mp3 : The Joy Formidable - The Butterfly’s Last Spell (Stegosaurus Remix)

I really can’t pin down the familiarities I hear in these tracks {the first two are from what will most likely be their debut album and the third is a remix by Stegosaurus from Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, or TEED}. There seem to be glimmers of everything from Shout Out Louds to U2 to Pete Yorn. It’s as if they took the best part of dance, pop, rock, and a truly live sound, put it in a blender, pushed the button marked fun, and ended up catching it all on tape. It’s just brilliant, and oh so much joy.

+ twf hype elbows myspace {you really can’t buy this anywhere}
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kde dies right after login

2008-05-03T00:19:00.001-07:00

I am running kubuntu 7.10 on a new dell (this has been a battle to get this distor working), I rebooted because kde had repeatedly crashed, and now after the login screen kde is dying, during the "loading the window manager step".

Any one offer help?

How to find the time a filesystem was mounted

2008-05-02T23:50:00.000-07:00

Hi,

Im running RHEL. How do I find the time a particular filesystem was mounted?

Please Let me know

Thanks

How to find the time a paritcular file system was mounted

2008-05-02T23:24:00.001-07:00

Hi,

Im running RHEL. How do I find the time a particular filesystem was mounted?

Please Let me know

Thanks

LXer: Microsoft Told to Pay Tax on License Fee for Software

2008-05-02T20:17:00.000-07:00

Published at LXer:

In an ironic twist of fate, Microsoft's own End User License Agreement could force the software giant to pay taxes in India for selling their software due to their products being "licensed, not sold."

Read More...

VSFTP not reading config???

2008-05-02T19:36:00.001-07:00

I need to have this site working to get support for something else but don't want to leave it wide open for them. (my logging isn't even working!)

It seems like VSFTP is not reading the config file. I'm trying to set chroot_local_user=YES but can't get it to work. (I've tested and still have access to things outside the home directory.) I've tried restarting the service (which is standalone i believe) and even the system itself. Could there be a permission problem with the config file? I've also created a sym link in /etc in case the file was expected to be there.

Any help is appreciated

Server hangs when transferring files

2008-05-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if this is the right section for this post. The server I am referring to is listed in my sig. The problem I am having is when I transfer files that are over 600MB to my server. When I do that, the server hangs, and the transfer stops. I then reboot, and everything is back to normal. It was working perfectly for roughly 6-7months, but now its acting up. It works real well as a webserver, and when transferring smaller files, but the large ones (which I primarily transfer) do not go so well. I have tried transferring to both the array with 80GB drives and the array with 250GB drives, and the same thing happens. One of those 250GB hard drives in the array is an older drive that I picked up for cheap. Does it sound like a bad hard drive? Whats some good tests I can run on it within Fedora? What are the other possibilities? Sounds like a hard drive to me, but I wanted a second opinion. Thanks in advance!

HELP: Feather on usb not booting (very basic help)

2008-05-02T15:37:00.001-07:00

Hi
I'm completely new to linux but since I have this new 8GB stick, and i use public pc's alot at college i wanted to put feather on this stick.

So i followed all the steps. formatted the stick. extracted feather0.7.4usb to the stick. extracted syslinux-2.11 to C:. (i'm working in vista btw) then i open the command line and that's where i get confused. some walkthroughs tell me to use syslinux F:, others say syslinux.exe F: ... so i tried both. the first gave a message telling me that something was trying to acces my hard drive blabla security. the other (with the .exe) seemed to work. the light on my flash drive flashed a few times and no warnings or nothing. i check the flashdrive but ther's no syslinux.exe on there. but that's how it's supposed to be i guess? (i don't understand why i just can't copy the syslinux.exe normally to the flashdrive, so did that too, but the following problem persisted).

Now here's the real problem. I boot from my USB Hard Drive, and all it gives is a black blank screen and in the top left corner a flashing cursor. And that's where it stops... I have to turn of the computer.

Please someone help i'll be forever grateful. I will even carve you name into my brandnew 8GB flashdrive. :D (ok i made that last part up ^^)

thanks

Feather on usb drive not booting

2008-05-02T13:47:00.001-07:00

Hi
I'm completely new to linux but since I have this new 8GB stick, and i use public pc's alot at college i wanted to put feather on this stick.

So i followed all the steps. formatted the stick. extracted feather0.7.4usb to the stick. extracted syslinux-2.11 to C:. (i'm working in vista btw) then i open the command line and that's where i get confused. some walkthroughs tell me to use syslinux F:, others say syslinux.exe F: ... so i tried both. the first gave a message telling me that something was trying to acces my hard drive blabla security. the other (with the .exe) seemed to work. the light on my flash drive flashed a few times and no warnings or nothing. i check the flashdrive but ther's no syslinux.exe on there. but that's how it's supposed to be i guess? (i don't understand why i just can't copy the syslinux.exe normally to the flashdrive, so did that too, but the following problem persisted).

Now here's the real problem. I boot from my USB Hard Drive, and all it gives is a black blank screen and in the top left corner a flashing cursor. And that's where it stops... I have to turn of the computer.

Please someone help :) i'll be forever grateful. I will even carve you name into my brandnew 8GB flashdrive. (ok i made that last part up ^^)

thanks

sftp problem.....

2008-05-02T13:18:00.001-07:00

We are using RHEL ES4 in our office network of 50PCs. When i tried to login in to another PC using sftp some systems are allowing but some systems are not allowing. What would be the cause?

LXer: Future operating systems to remain as Windows and Linux

2008-05-02T11:07:00.000-07:00

Published at LXer:

Gernot Heiser, professor of operating systems at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has stated that Windows and Linux will remain as the future of desktop and server operating systems. In an interview at the recent Linux.conf.au in Melbourne, Heiser said "the operating systems of the future will be called Windows and Linux, no matter what they look like". "You can't really introduce new operating systems in the desktop and server space", he added.

Read More...

Partitioning question

2008-05-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

I've been running Suse 10.3 for a while now and love it!!! BUT I've been wanting to try other Linux distros out on the same machine while keeping my current Suse 10.3 untouched. I have enough space on my 320 Gig HD to do that, but how? without having to format the whole thing :newbie:???

Thank you in advance !!!

Here's my fdisk -l info (I've tried to run Gparted, but it just shows me my 2 SCSI Drives 160 Gigs each with unallocated drive space):

# fdisk -l:

Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x69205244

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 2201 17679501 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 2202 6118 31463302+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda3 6119 6380 2104515 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda4 6381 38914 261329355 83 Linux

Disk /dev/sdb: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/sdb doesn't contain a valid partition table

Disk /dev/dm-0: 320.0 GB, 320083722240 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38914 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x69205244

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/dm-0p1 1 2201 17679501 83 Linux
/dev/dm-0p2 2202 6118 31463302+ 83 Linux
/dev/dm-0p3 6119 6380 2104515 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/dm-0p4 6381 38914 261329355 83 Linux

Disk /dev/dm-1: 18.1 GB, 18103809024 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 2200 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/dm-1 doesn't contain a valid partition table

Disk /dev/dm-2: 32.2 GB, 32218421760 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 3917 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/dm-2 doesn't contain a valid partition table

Disk /dev/dm-3: 2155 MB, 2155023360 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 262 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/dm-3 doesn't contain a valid partition table

Disk /dev/dm-4: 267.6 GB, 267601259520 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 32534 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/dm-4 doesn't contain a valid partition table

Tab setting in vim editor!!!

2008-05-02T10:03:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

I am a newbie to the vi editor. I use vi to write AWK progs and perl scripts. I am facing a problem of indentation. When I press enter after writing a line, the cursor is going back to the start of the line. But i want the cursor to be placed at bottom of the above lines beginning, i.e., if I typed some code from 16th column the next line should start from 16th column only, unless i change the indentation.

RT61 Wireless Card Configuration

2008-05-02T09:36:00.001-07:00

Hi people! I am here again to bring to you a new problem.
I have recently installed a D-Link AirPlus G DWL-G510 wireless card, and I have followed the following steps:
1- uninstalled network-manager
2- removed rt61pci module that was currently inserted into the kernel
3- compiled the rt61cvs driver
4- installed the driver with make install
5- copied the "firmware" files to /etc/Wireless/RT61STA
6- rebooted
7- configured the interface with Yast2
8- rebooted again

After all this, nothing works. I ping my wireless router and no reponse. Ping returns "Host is unreachable".

When I execute the ifconfig command it returns me this info of wlan0:
Code:

wlan0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:19:5B:EC:03:D5
 inet addr:192.168.1.100  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
 UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
 RX packets:204 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
 TX packets:2146 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
 collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
 RX bytes:17928 (17.5 Kb)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)         Interrupt:18

And iwconfig returns the following:
Code:

wlan0     RT61 Wireless  ESSID:"linksys"  Nickname:"linux-amd"
 Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Bit Rate=54 Mb/s
           
 RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
           Encryption key:off
 Link Quality=0/100  Signal level:-121 dBm  Noise level:-79 dBm
 Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
 Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

What I see here is that "Link Quality" is 0. I also have Windows XP installed and my network functions properly with the same network values (ip addr, net mask, gateway).

Does anyone know what could it be the problem?? If anyone needs more information about the situation, don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks in advance!

My server slow or not responding Help!!!

2008-05-02T07:21:00.001-07:00

i found the server do not respond, or down

it is hard to load a website What can I do?

Would it be wrong to do this?

2008-05-02T06:53:00.000-07:00

Say I head over to any Forum, okay not just any Forum, but one where the focus is Making Money.

Say I search for Adsense posts because I want to learn how to make a ton of money with almost no work at all using Adsense.

Say I click on some genuises 5 tips or 10 tips or whatever the hell many tips they are saying.

And after I digest all the "make your ads blend in" and use the 336 rectangle crap I decide to do a little test.

So I click the SHIT out of every Adsense Block on the site. I just love the new drop down feature. I can unload about 30 clicks in 2 minutes. And that ought to be enough don't you think.

Boy that will sure make him feel good to see all that money piling up in his account so fast.

Would that be wrong? I mean I don't want to get anyone in trouble with the might customer service team at Google. They love those MFA sites don't they?

So would that be wrong?

Or would that just be fun?

Domains with Traffic - April 12th, 2008

2008-05-02T06:27:00.001-07:00

Domains with Traffic

AEDSAFETY.COM - $90.00 - PR 0 - 126 Uniques per Month
AHLIALFUJAIRAH.COM - $40.00 - PR 0 - 241 Uniques per Month
AMELIE-ESCORT.COM - $10.00 - PR 0 - 222 Uniques per Month
ANALPORNO.US - $10.00 - PR 0 - 139 Uniques per Month
COMMERCIALREALESTATETOURS.COM - $210.00 - PR 2 - 319 Uniques per Month
CORBIN-BLEU.NAME - $30.00 - PR 1 - 124 Uniques per Month
CORTISOLCONTROLSHOP.COM - $10.00 - PR 0 - 130 Uniques per Month
CUF-TZ.COM - $10.00 - PR 0 - 150 Uniques per Month
DANDYSURF.COM - $10.00 - PR 0 - 328 Uniques per Month
DAYANDDATE.COM - $10.00 - PR 0 - 106 Uniques per Month

Domains with PR - April 12th, 2008

2008-05-02T05:58:00.000-07:00

Domains with PageRank

CTOVIM.COM - $5.00 - PR 1
DAVEDEREES.COM - $5.00 - PR 2
DAVISWNELSONLAW.COM - $5.00 - PR 1
DEPRESSION-UPTODATE.COM - $5.00 - PR 2
DESIGNSBYLYNN.NET - $5.00 - PR 1
HAYATTEK.COM - $5.00 - PR 1
HISTORIETAS.INFO - $5.00 - PR 1
HOMEBIZTRAVEL.COM - $5.00 - PR 1
HUILIY.COM - $5.00 - PR 1
HUAYCAN.ORG - $5.00 - PR 2

Classified Internet Advertising

2008-05-02T05:31:00.000-07:00

Internet Classified Advertising

Phase IV Marketing Group. Years of research and study in the search engine placement that Google, Yahoo, MSN, WindowsLive, Ask.com and all the other major search engine spiders use, is the precise reason that Butch Hamilton, SEO Master and CEO of Phase iV Marketing Group, has the success rate that he, and his qualified staff have on the search engines. There are no magic buttons to success on the net, no matter what you may have read or heard. Basically, the way to obtaining top positions on Google comes directly from writing keyword specific articles, press releases, blog posts, forum posts and then relaying this vital information successfully to appealing and informational websites. Butch Hamilton has brought to his esteemed seo organization, one of the most noted internet classified advertising executives known, Mr. Jim Skelton. Jim has worked on the internet for the last 20 years. His expertise in the whys and hows to gain traffic to sites is unparalleled in the industry. He has literally cracked the code to successfully gaining massive traffic and unique visitors to any site that he decides to promote. The added benefit of this new addition to Phase IV Marketing Group leads the potential seo client down an entirely new road to success online. While neither Butch Hamilton, nor Jim Skelton, will ever guarantee sales, the will guarantee improved search engine rankings and traffic.
_________________________ The general consensus of people working on the net seem to think that internet classified advertising is not effective. Phase IV Marketing Group would highly disagree with this statement. The fact of the matter is that most people, have not a clue how to write appealing copy, nor conduct significant keyword research to place those ads to high traffic areas where there is traffic. Internet classified advertising is a very effective traffic gathering element, when approached from a scientific area. This is why Jim Skelton has the success rate that he does in placing successful ad campaigns. The actual stats from just one of the new sites brought onboard by Jim Skelton, proves the fact that internet classified advertising is valid, and needed by online marketers.
________________________ Monthly Statistics for March 15 2008

Total Hits 8365
Total Files 6541
Total Pages 962
Total Visits 630
Total KBytes 53097

Total Unique Sites 452
Total Unique URLs 73
Total Unique Referrers 38
Total Unique Usernames 1
Total Unique User Agents 31

. Avg Max

Hits per Hour 21
Hits per Day 522
Files per Day 408
Pages per Day 60
Visits per Day 39
KBytes per Day 3319
_______________________ These realtime stats were formed by a totally new site. This is almost unheard in the seo industry. Most new sites must go through a testing phase before Google even releases their information. This process known as sandboxing can go for days or months. This new site has already far exceeded the expectations of the owner.
_______________________ Phase IV Marketing Group stands at the ready to assist you in successfully promoting your website to any keyword category found on Google today. The expertise and depth of Butch Hamilton and Jim Skelton, make for a powerful promoting team. Internet classified advertising will be the solution of no traffic to your site. The expertise and knowledge of Butch Hamilton, Jim Skelton and the entire staff of Phase IV Marketing Group will amplify your chances of success on the net.
_______________________

Butch Hamilton-SEO Master-Phase IV Marketing Group
From Domain Purchasing Through Website Construction and Effective Promoting on Google
806-874-3314
806-205-0648
fax 806-874-0036
Office Hours: M-F 9-6 CST http://butchhamilton.com
http://superior-seo-services.com
http://avirtualoffice.com
http://seosubscription.butchhamiltonseo.com/
____________________ Jim Skelton-Classified Ad Specialist
Skelton SEO Services
http://classified-s.com
http://seo-2008.com
50321 State Route 14, East Palestine, Ohio 44413
(330)426-3229 (800)292-0232
jim@jimskeltons.com

Timeshares Leads

2008-05-02T04:03:00.001-07:00

Timeshares Leads To gain an overview of the core meaning of timeshares, we turn to the Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia.

"Timeshare is a business model whereby a company buys something and sells small timeslices of it to customers. This concept is most frequently used for vacation condominiums/homes, but it has also been used for high end private jets. In general, "timeshare" refers to the former rather than the latter.

Use their usage time
Rent out their owned usage
Give it as a gift
Exchange internally within the same resort or resort group
Exchange externally into thousands of other timeshare resorts
Sell it either through traditional advertising, online advertising or by using a licensed broker

Recently, with most point systems, owners may elect to:

Assign their usage time to the point system to be exchanged for airline tickets, hotels, travel packages, cruises, amusement park tickets;
Instead of renting all their actual usage time, rent part of their points without actually getting any usage time and use the rest of the points;
Rent more points from either the internal exchange entity or another owner to get a larger unit or more vacation time or at a better location;
Save or move points from one year to another.

Some developers, however, may limit which of these options are available at their properties.

Timeshare owners can elect to stay at their resort during the prescribed period, which varies depending on the nature of their ownership. In many resorts, they can rent out their week or give it as a gift to friends and family.

Timeshares offer owners the possibility of exchanging their week, either independently or through several exchange agencies, to stay at one of the thousands of other resorts worldwide. There are many exchange agencies, of which the two largest are Resort Condominiums International and Interval International. They have resort affiliate programs and members can only exchange to affiliate resorts. It is most common for a resort to be affiliated with only one of the larger exchange agencies, but it isn't rare to find a dual affiliate resort. Together they have over 7,000 resorts. The timeshare resort one purchases determines which of the major exchange companies can be used to make exchanges. RCI and II charge a yearly membership fee and fees for when they find an exchange. They also bar members from renting weeks for which they already have exchanged.

Timeshare owners can also exchange their timeshare with the smaller independent timeshare exchange companies. Dial an Exchange, Trading Places, Hawaii Timeshare Exchange, Platinum Interchange, The San Francisco Exchange, Timex and Redweek.com are the main independent exchange companies. Owners can exchange with these independent exchange without needing the resort to have a formal affiliation agreement with the companies.

Timeshare owners may also arrange a direct exchange. This requires locating a timeshare owner with the location and weeks both mutually desire. This form of exchange is rare but since it can save in exchange fees it is often sought after. Several bulletin boards have been created to help timeshare owners meet others and swap.

Timeshares take different forms depending on the seller. The vast majority consist of one week of ownership, i.e. 1/52 year, but some developers sell point based systems that are a different form of vacation currency that allow hotel stays, car rentals, and stays at large networks of resorts."

Looking for timeshares leads is an important step in finding just the right type of vacation getaway. In fact, the timeshare program can enable the individual to gain access to primo property for a fraction of the cost that it would take to purchase that property.

People look to timeshares to maximize their vacationing experience, and to save money while in the process. Finding a truly good timeshares lead is like uncovering a diamond amongnst the rubble.

________________________

There is also much controvery amongst the timeshares that are available on the open market. One must be careful in choosing a timeshare lead carefully before investing money.

In talking about finding a great timeshare lead, I might also add that there may just be another type of business organization available where the person can make a right investment in the financial future, hedging themselves against the ravages of a dwindling business economy.

ItsGoodBusiness.net is an organization of dedicated and committed individuals that seek to make impressive returns on money spent, rather than chasing about for the perfect investment. Though this organization deals with the new paradigm shift to the home business industry, this innovative approach to online business, leads the individual in the right direction to become involved with a solid business plan for investing futures.

It makes perfect sense in today's economy to find the best possible of investment opportunities on Google for the long haul. Unlike other internet businesses which tout claims of instant success and wealth, ItsGoodBusiness.net uses specific strategies and techniques that have been road tested over a six year period. For more information concerning ItsGoodBusiness.net investment group, simply fill in your name and email below.

____________________________

Rather than wasting valuable time looking for top level timeshares leads, it makes better use of your time searching for a way to make money by wisely investing that money in a solid business for the future.

____________________________

Timeshares Leads

Butch Hamilton-SEO Master-Phase IV Marketing Group
From Domain Purchasing Through Website Construction and Effective Promoting on Google
806-874-3314
806-205-0648
fax 806-874-0036
Office Hours: M-F 9-6 CST
http://superior-seo-services.com
http://avirtualoffice.com
http://seosubscription.butchhamiltonseo.com/
____________________ Jim Skelton-Classified Ad Specialist
Skelton SEO Services
http://seo-2008.com
50321 State Route 14, East Palestine, Ohio 44413
(330)426-3229 (800)292-0232
jim@jimskeltons.com

Buy Passport to Wealth Leads?

2008-05-02T03:37:00.000-07:00

Passport To Wealth Leads

Passport to Wealth Leads In the world of mlm companies, there arises a powerful business system known as Passport to Wealth. This business is designed to assist people in building a successful home business by utilizing downloadable ebooks that can be used for resell. Many people claim success to the nth degree by using the Passport to Wealth business system. Psssport to Wealth leads are needed to build a sustainable business on Google. These expensive, and most ineffective leads are responsible for many online marketers to fall short of their expected financial gains. When one considers the act of buying leads that do not produce ROI, the whole system begins to breakdown. MLMers begin the slow and steady process of leaving the business to find more lucrative internet programs. Passport to Wealth in itself may be a viable MLM business, but in actuality, the owners of the business seem to make the money, while the distributors simply try to tread water, struggling and straining to make even small amounts of money. The facts are clear here. Most MLM companies are concerned with finding other distributors to join the business, and not paying customers. This leads to an overabundance of business owners, and very few people buying products. This is the downfall of MLM marketing. People simply miss the entire picture of how to build a solid business on Google. You must have a customer base which continually purchases your products. In other words, you cannot build a business based on business owners alone. Without exception, most, if not all MLM companies are based on the same theory. The upper echelon make all the money, and the unwary marketer gets the short end of the stick every time. ________________________ How would you like to find a business where this is not the case. What if you could build a rock solid business based on just buying already paying customers? Does this make sense to you? What if you also could gain real-time knowledge on search engine optimization, search engine marketing, building effective lead capture pages, and have access to the most powerful internet marketing system that exists on Google today? ________________________ Enter http://itsgoodbusiness.net In this business organization, only one month into effect, has already produced over $20,000 in volume. Hundreds of online entrepreneurs who have been down the rocky road of internet marketing are seeing ItsGoodBusiness.net as their salvation. _____________________ Continue down the path with buying expensive Passport to Wealth leads, or join the business organization that is geared for your success. We teach the average man or woman to become internet warriors. When you join this success oriented business, be prepared to get rich SLOW! Passport To Wealth Leads _____________________ Butch Hamilton-SEO Master-Phase IV Marketing Group
From Domain Purchasing Through Website Construction and Effective Promoting on Google
806-874-3314
806-205-0648
fax 806-874-0036
Office Hours: M-F 9-6 CST
http://superior-seo-services.com
http://avirtualoffice.com
http://seosubscription.butchhamiltonseo.com/
____________________ Jim Skelton-Classified Ad Specialist
Skelton SEO Services http://classifiedad-s.com
http://seo-2008.com
50321 State Route 14, East Palestine, Ohio 44413
(330)426-3229 (800)292-0232
jim@jimskeltons.com

Work From Home

2008-05-02T03:04:00.001-07:00

SHARING SUCCESS SOLUTIONS FOR THE LITTLE GUY:

I and many of us have been teaching online for years. Our goal has been to help the little guy and gal learn the many skills to achieve financial success on the Internet.

This has rarely had anything to do with MLM. But it has had everything to do with the mindset of many MLM failures. Were do you want to be in 2 years? We offer a new solution that we promise, you will never look back after you grasp our methodology.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. So visit our site at: http://itsgoodbusiness.net/

Thomas PrendergastThe Godfather

http://itsgoodbusiness.net

____________________

XANGO LEADS

2008-05-02T01:55:00.001-07:00

Xango Leads

XanGo^? Juice boasts a proprietary whole fruit formula, harnessing a concentrated rush of xanthones?a vigorous family of next?generation phytonutrients. Sounds complex. But here's the straight scoop. Research shows xanthones possess potent antioxidant properties that may help maintain intestinal health, strengthen the immune system, neutralize free radicals, help support cartilage and joint function, and promote a healthy seasonal respiratory system.* Xango is the all natural jungle juice that is both appealing and healthy. Without a doubt, drinking all natural Xango juice will boost the metabolism and gives that overall feeling of well being. People report that all natural Xango is the best way to improve and optimize health immeasurably. The attractive purple bottle houses the rich juice that contains essential phytonutrients not found in average diet. Free radicals take their toll on the human body. The way to arm yourself against the damaging effects of the environment in which we live is to drink all natural Xango dailty. Incorporating this into the daily diets of people across the planet, is a positive step to optimal health and healing. XanGo ensures exceptional product quality standards from the mangosteen tree to the bottle of XanGo Juice. Each bottle meets strict ISO standards and passes hundreds of quality tests before the premium dietary supplement is served to consumers worldwide. While XanGo^® Juice revitalizes some, just tasting it makes us wax poetic. Want a description of the flavor? We're overachievers.
_______________________ Mangosteen man?go?steen? n. 1. an evergreen tree native to Southeast Asia that has leathery leaves and large edible fruit. Latin name: Garcinia mangostana 2. the fruit with a hard, reddish-brown rind and sweet, juicy pulp produced by the mangosteen tree. Also known as "Queen of Fruits."    To read more about mangosteen research, studies and history please visit www.thewholefruit.com. ___________________ For those pursuing a career in promoting Xango, its necessary to gain leads to talk with to promote your business. LIke most mlm companies, Xango leads are a risky business at best. Even for the people who are buying these leads, only a certain number of sales will be made. The cost of Xango leads varies from company to company, but its a well known fact that the ROI from any leads is marginal at best. _____________________
Let me ask you a very important question here. Had you rather buy expensive leads and have a marginal chance of making Xango sales...OR...had you rather buy existing customers to build a business. You are probably not aware that you can in fact, buy customers to promote a business. And, you can do it very economically because the money that you spend will produce immediate income. I know that you are curious, so here is the place to go to learn more: http://itsgoodbusiness.net ____________________ Come and listen to the most innovative and income producing system known on Google today. All that you really have to do to build a significant business is to write a check every month. These customers that you are buying are already buying, and loving, the product. The result? You make money from their purchases. In other words, the more customers that you buy, the more money that you make. ___________________ Continue to drink and enjoy all natural Xango. Build a business that will last a lifetime using: http://itsgoodbusiness.net where you will never have to buy expensive Xango leads again. You will never have to make cold calls to people and you will never be concerned with bringing people into your business. You will discover the art and science of creating sustainable wealth by utilizing state of the art systems. ___________________ Butch Hamilton-SEO Master-Phase IV Marketing Group
From Domain Purchasing Through Website Construction and Effective Promoting on Google
806-874-3314
806-205-0648
fax 806-874-0036
Office Hours: M-F 9-6 CST
http://superior-seo-services.com
http://avirtualoffice.com
http://seosubscription.butchhamiltonseo.com/
____________________ Jim Skelton-Classified Ad Specialist
Skelton SEO Services
http://seo-2008.com
50321 State Route 14, East Palestine, Ohio 44413
(330)426-3229   (800)292-0232
jim@jimskeltons.com

--
Posted By Butch Hamilton-SEO Expert to What Is Search Engine Marketing? at 3/22/2008 04:09:00 AM

Premiere Internet Marketing Training System

2008-05-02T01:49:00.001-07:00

Hey, Time to Rock and Roll with Veretekk!

Happy Easter from the guys that run Veretekk™!

Do you have faith?

If you live a few years like most people wont, you will live the rest of your life like most people can't

This was from Daily messages and boy is it true. It applies to my life. I live by the creed that delayed gratification is the rule. I have gone without for many years to build Veretekk™.

Now as I finish up more than tens years of work with Veretekk™, I am able to start marketing both Veretekk™ and my MLM business. Both are now starting to grow which means in the very near future my income will start to expand at a greater rate. I have grown great responsibility in this discipline of living a very frugal life style. Primarily paying off my debt and putting my money back into building Veretekk™. Don't get me wrong, I still have debt but it is a fraction of what I inherited from my divorce.

As wealth becomes my reality I have developed a respect for wealth through this process. I wont be running out to buy a new car or buying a big house on the beach. I will build a retirement fund as well as continue to invest in assets. (Have you watched, "What you Buy on Payday) in your Sohomatic site?

This is the discipline that will put you into lifestyle that most people only dream of, but don't make the sacrifices to achieve.

I see most people buying lotto tickets and hoping against all odds that this will be their savior. Winning the lotto destroys people's lives. I know this as I knew a guy that was an accountant living a modest life won the million-dollar lotto in California about 8 years ago. He bought a fancy house. Got a fancy car. Stopped working his business and started partying all the time.

He started cultivating druggy girl friends and doing drugs. As his money started to dwindle he started dealing drugs. He got busted and spent the rest of his money getting off from the criminal charges. Only to return to dealing again and got busted again. This time he lost and while on bail he took off and now hides from the law. What a waste, but very typical.

So I ask you, do you have what it takes? Are you willing to reach past your abilities and sacrifice for the years required to work hard building a future with a good plan? If you do, have faith and are willing to live a tight life while you build for the future, then you will have that future most people only dream of.

May you be very blessed as we celebrate the greatest sacrifice in the History of mankind, the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

He has Risen….He has risen indeed!

See you this Sunday.

Thomas Prendergast
CEO
Inetekk.com, Inc.

http://itsgoodbusiness.net

It's BONUS TIME!
Do you want to earn $500, $5000 or more by April 01!

Bench Mark bonus update. Three quarters the way through the month and the bonus stands at $880.00. It fluctuates with cancellations, account failures and restores and new upgrades.

Here is how it works. At the beginning of the month we set the number of Gold subscribers as the Bench Mark then subtract that from the end of the month and if there is a positive growth, we multiply that times $20 and pay that bonus to the subscriber that had the most Gold accounts increase in their front line.

Why are we doing this? We want to give you an incentive to connect with your Silver accounts in your front line. Talk to them, introduce them to all the new Silver changes and get them to engage in all the teaching videos now throughout the Silver Intro system.

We know once they see how it works, they will want to upgrade to Gold.

See you this Sunday!

Thomas Prendergast
CEO
Inetekk.com, Inc.

Silver Limited is done.

The conversion of Silver to Silver Intro is complete.

All areas now contain detailed videos of how and why these systems work for the purpose to educate and illustrate the power and function of Veretekk™. This has been done as the final phase of building Veretekk™ Silver so new prospects can educate themselves on the power Veretekk™ Gold represents so the can make an educated decision to upgrade.

The Veretraining™ section has also been upgraded. The new Calendar in the Silver Veretrraining™ section has been segregated so that the Veretekk™ trainers can determine who can enter their classes. Like Butch Hamilton's very valuable information regarding SEO knowledge classroom is now only available to Gold subscribers. Training that is necessary to understand the Veretekk™ Gold system will continue to be available to the Silver subscribers.

We have also added Dr. Raymond Jewell's Economic analysis of Veretekk™. Dr. Jewell has 30 years as an economist expert and holds a Bachelor, Masters and Ph.D. in economics. Ray made this for me without being asked. It is his way of thanking us for Veretekk™. Well, I want to thank you Dr.Ray Jewell.

This is all being done in preparation for the new $10 per month Silver SEO release. Find out more this Sunday!

Bully Pulpit Upgrade
Your Bully Pulpit email captures are about to load as fast as lightening

I have rebuilt the Bully Pulpit database to run from a master server and slave server SQL system. This will make your Bully Pulpit load like lightening.

As it stands we have had to expand the table from 26 to 700+. Doing this is necessary to guarantee your access to the huge expanding email_capture database loads like lightening. So it will probably be another week. I am a perfectionist and want this load to be fast. not just now. but for the foreseeable future.

To find out more about this, come to this Sunday's conference.

Let's pack the house!

Mike Darling
President
Inetekk.com, Inc.

Cindy McAsey Column
How to Make Your Name Stick

In our fast paced world, we are constantly bombarded with marketing messages that many times turn into just one big blur. To top it off most of us have a very short attention spans, your marketing message needs stand out and get noticed in a short amount of time. Names are often the best tools and sometimes the only ones for accomplishing this effectively

To brand your company or product, your name should stick firmly in the mind and grab attention. It's important to be unique, but there are other factors to consider too. So, here are some simple rules to follow when choosing a name for your company, service, or product.

What Does the Name Do?

To make a company or product name truly memorable, it should convey its main feature or benefit. If I give you the word "Die Hard" for instance, you will think of a battery that dies hard. If I say "Jiffy Lube," you will naturally assume that it's a garage offering oil changes in a jiffy. If I say "Band-Aid," you will picture an adhesive bandage that comes to your aid. Names that do not convey at least the basic nature of a company will be easily forgotten. This includes hard-to-pronounce words, abbreviations, and acronyms such as "BFD Holdings Limited." It also includes self-titled companies such as "Jones Enterprises"

Benefits are particularly effective because such a name would make a company, product,or service appear as if it had some added value. When placed alongside a competitor offering an identical product, a benefit-based name positions itself above the competition in the mind. As a result, the name will thus be quickly remembered when people make their decision to buy.

Rhymes Move Minds

Since the invention of the printing press, the written word has made it easy for us to forget names. In the same respect until recently, the process of rhyming has gradually declined. But strangely, what we remember the most are, for example, the nursery rhymes that we were told as children. In today's memory management courses, people are told to use rhymes and word association in order to improve their memory. Rhyming is therefore effective because it is pleasing to the ear and helps to hook words easily in the mind.

Besides being easy to remember, rhyming also tends to add credibility. Psychology professor Dr. Matthew McGlone has found that rhymes not only make a phrase more memorable, they also make it more believable. As he points out, "People often attribute the aesthetic quality of a rhyme to the statement's validity, which suggests that people may unknowingly relate beauty (a rhyme's singsong quality) with truth." In other words, rhymes have a greater sense of credibility.

While some names can easily rhyme since they use multiple words (e.g., "Blinds of All Kinds" or "Ronald McDonald"), most names are made up of only one word. If they can not rhyme at least within themselves (e.g., "Coca-Cola", "barefootmom.com"), then the job would be conferred unto their taglines -- those small sentences that follow and complement names.

For example, if I said "It takes a licking but keeps on ticking," you will probably remember this phrase if not instantly recognize the product with which this tagline is associated. And if the tagline rhymes with the name (such as "When you need an edge, use Pledge", "Cinch the inch loss plan", "the Land of And"), the name will stick even more effectively as a result.

Repetition Expands the Power

What do "Saran-Wrap," "Willy Wonka," "GI Joe," "Barbie," "Barefoot Boss," "Crispy Crunch," "Blockbuster," and "Green Cream" all have in common? Similar to rhymes, the repetition of consonants give a name that pleasant and effective singsong quality. Repetition makes a name more memorable by making the pronunciation more simple. In other words, it is definitely easier to remember a string of similar sounds than it is to remember a combination of totally different sounding words. Did you "see the softer side of Sear's" lately?

Through my research I discovered rhymes and repetitious consonants used in order to make a name more memorable are called mnemonics. (My english teacher would be proud!) Mnemonics are not only useful but also effective, especially in the branding process. From the simplest product to the most complicated technical service, a memorable name helps to make the company, product or service memorable as well.

Cindy McAsey
Marketing Strategies Coach

http://cindymcasey.com

Cindy McAsey is a well known Veretrainer™ and can be found training in the Veretraining™ Calendar.

_______________________________

Butch Hamilton Column

When I say that all my roads lead back to Veretekk™, this is not a statement that I take lightly. After watching and working with this most powerful internet marketing system, I find that the results I derive from being a part of this system is incredible.

I am currently watching the enfoldment of a record breaking new business model. Using Veretekk™ as the core lead generation and search engine optimization system, I find the results are incredible. Tom Prendergast and Mike Darling have indeed created the most powerful marketing system on Google today.

When you begin to learn to use this system to full benefit as I have done, you will witness astounding results in all areas of your marketing. The complete marketing package, from building backlinks to promote your business, to creating appealing and attention getting autoresponder letters using Veremail™ and even in the tracking of your marketing progress, no one has what we have within Veretekk™.

I now own and operate seven gold systems. I am planning on upgrading additional systems in the very near future. Having the power of promoting any keyword phrase I choose to the top of Google, ie, free, google, free google, work from home, leads and others within my system, I have unmatched and unequalled promoting power like the net has not yet seen before.

Stand and watch the promoting power of this system go to work for you, when you decided to become fully committed to using this system. I stand ready to assist you in my advanced seo training classes each and every Saturday at 6 PM PST. I look forward to mentoring you in the art and science of creating wealth, using the Veretekk™ System.

Butch Hamilton-SEO Master

Butch Hamilton is a well known Veretrainer™ and can be found training in the Veretraining™ Calendar.

http://butchhamilton.com

http://phaseivmarketinggroup.com

____________________________________

Pat Hoffman Customer Support Tips

VereCare™ LIVE Online Support

VereCare™ LIVE Online SupportCannot FIX TECH Problems BUT can help you determine if it is a TECH Problem at Your End or with the Veretekk™ system. If it is determined that the TECH Problem is at your end VereCare™ LIVE Online Support cannot fix it or be of any real TECH Help but if you have read the home page of the VereTraining™ area and checked out the information in the Support Links and you still have a TECH Problem at your end and need help it is suggested that you ENTER the FORUM.

Before you start reading the posts you will see at the top under the heading GENERAL, the words, 'READ FIRST'. This is where the administration will post known issues and alerts. Take time to read this 'READ FIRST' then move on to reading the forum looking for a post that may reflect the same TECH Problem you are experiencing. However, if you are unable to find anyone with a fix for your TECH Problem in the Forum and you are still looking for help from Veretekk™, Thomas Prendergast, the CEO of Inetekk and co-creator of Veretekk™ makes himself available via phone and Skype. In all probability he will be able to help you or at least point you in the direction of getting the Pesky TECH Problem Fixed.

Now say you come to the VereCare™ LIVE Online Support with a TECH Problem and we are able to determine that the TECH Problem may be a Veretekk™ system problem. Again, VereCare™ LIVE Online Support cannot fix TECH Problems but can only help you determine if it is a TECH Problem at your end or with Veretekk™. So we conclude it may be a problem with Veretekk™. What to do then?

Well, the Forum comes into play again because with TECH Problems that may be Veretekk™ System Problems either Mike or Thomas must fix them and the Forum or Skype are how they learn of these Troublesome System TECH Problems. So ENTER the FORUM and remember to read the 'READ FIRST' section. Remember, this is where the administration will post known issues and alerts. Take time to read this and if the TECH Problem is mentioned you know it is being worked on. If your TECH Problem is NOT mentioned in either the 'READ FIRST' or the main forum then you will need to POST what you are experiencing in DETAIL! I also suggest you Skype Inetekk a 'FYI' that you posted a TECH Problem in the Forum. Remember, when you Skype a message to inetekk, include your Veretekk™ username.

Well, that pretty much takes care of TECH Problems issue. To summarize, you have to determine if the TECH Problem is at your end or a Veretekk™ system problem. If it is at your end, follow the PC tips in your Veretekk™ system and if all else fails get in touch with Thomas. If it is determined that it is a Veretekk™ system problem, then go to the Forum and check to see if it is being worked on or does another member have a fix for it and post your TECH Problem if necessary.

VereCare™ LIVE Online Support Chat HOURS: (Mon-Fri, 8 am - 5 pm PST) and (Sat and Sun, Noon - 5 pm PST)

Pat Hoffman
VereCare™ LIVE Online Support Person

Pat Hoffman is a well known Veretrainer™ and runs our VereCare™ support. She can be found training in the Veretraining™ Calendar.

_______________________

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!
LETS PACK THE HOUSE!

To join the conference, just login to your Veretekk™ system and go to Veretraining™, then just click on the Conference room link. The web conference begins at 6pm PST on Sunday.

Veretekk™ State of the System Address
Sunday, March 23, 2008 6pm PST

Sincerely,

Mike Darling, President
Thomas Prendergast, CEO
Inetekk.com, Inc. (Veretekk™)

E is for Early Birthday Cake

2008-05-02T01:43:00.001-07:00

Last night my sister and my friends came over to drink some wine and help celebrate my birthday. I got an adorable sheepy card from Nicci and Aaron and Natalie brought me a bottle of wine. Jeremy got me an awesome cake, chocolate with chocolate and white chocolate truffle filling. I made the mistake of looking at the nutritional information that came on the cake and it clearly stated that no less than 25% was pure fat. Now that’s a cake!

I would have pulled out the tripod to try to get a good, low-light shot of the whole thing, but the rate at which those candles were burning and dripping made it impossible. I loved the candles!

Jeremy also gave me Some Kind of Wonderful on dvd. I used to have this movie on tape (I taped it off the tv) and watched it practically every day. I can’t even remember the last time I saw it, so I’m really excited to watch (and recite) it tonight. Interesting story: When I was in grade seven my class went on a field trip to the Chum City Building down on Queen W. and got a tour of the building as well as watched them tape Toronto Rocks. That day they happened to have Flesh for Lulu in the studio. At this point I hadn’t seen the movie yet and didn’t realize that I should have been really freaking excited. But I got my mug on tv for a few seconds while they panned across my class and we all cheered and waved.

Anyway, my actual birthday is on Tuesday and I will be 33.

Concrete Jungle

2008-05-02T01:40:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of batts I made recently. These contain corriedale and icicle (nylon - the sparkly stuff). The grey corriedale is commercially dyed, but I dyed the green stuff and the icicle myself. The photo below shows the batts after I stripped and pulled them into roving. Most of the time when I spin from batts I don’t bother to pull them out, instead I spin woollen from chunks I rip off. This time I spun a semi-worsted yarn, from woollen prep and a mixed woollen/worsted technique. The yarn is finished but I haven’t got a photo of it yet.

I’m dyeing up a lot of yarn and fibre for the Frolic, and the thing that’s slowing me down is the fact that I have no place to dry it all! I have to work every day in relatively small batches. I’ve got stuff drying in my office and in the laundry room, and as soon as something is almost dry, I start a new batch.

I’ve got new yarns to offer, starting with the Frolic. One is a superwash laceweight yarn that I’ll be selling in large 4oz., 980 yard skeins. Two skeins will make a huge shawl. This yarn is a very soft and lofty 2-ply. I’ve also got a gorgeous 3-ply fingering bamboo blend; 70% superwash merino, 20% bamboo, 10% nylon. It makes a beautiful and strong sock yarn, but it’s also great for shawls and pretty much anything else. The bamboo gives it a nice sheen and makes it incredibly soft.

I’m also dyeing up a bunch of fibre, and hopefully I’ll get enough dyed up so that I can update my shop next week! I’ve got lots of nice superwash merino, as well as some regular merino.

Top 15 American Idol performances ever

2008-05-01T22:02:00.000-07:00

Let me begin by saying that I don't like American Idol so I don't watch it. I'll keep my reasons to myself.

Those of you who watch it and have been watching it since it started probably have your own idea of the best performances and chances are that not everyone will agree.

A selection of the Top 15 American Idol Performances Ever has been made:

15. RUBEN STUDDARD, ''Superstar'' (Season 2)

14. TRENYCE, ''Proud Mary'' (Season 2)

13. DAVID COOK, ''Billie Jean'' (Season 7)

12. CLAY AIKEN, ''Solitaire'' (Season 2)

11. CARRIE UNDERWOOD, ''Alone'' (Season 4)

Below is a link where you can find the other 10, plus watch any or all of the 15 performances.

'Idol': 15 best performances ever | American Idol | 1 | Video Gallery | TV | American Idol | Entertainment Weekly

Review Pages - Affiliate Marketers GoldMine!

2008-05-01T17:59:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone

Review pages are an affiliates Goldmine!
They even more effective when you offer a bonus if they purchase through your link.

why?

Reason 1 - You want to educate your prospects so that they already know what the product offers and if it's any good so when they click your link it increases your chances of making a commissions.

Reason 2 - People want to know what's the product about and if it's good and what flaws the product have. Tell them what they want to hear and lead them on by telling them that your Bonus will fix these small flaws and make the product perfect!

Reason 3 -It Builds you credibility as your prospects see you as an expert in that niche and that you have already bought the product (which you should have) and that you know what you're talking about.

Reason 4 - The main reason, It makes you much more money with a little to No Refund rate as they already know what they bought.

Reason 5 - If you applied proper SEO tactics to your review site and have "cherry picked" your longtail keywords you will be receiving free Search Engine Traffic which will then make you money on autopilot! :-)

Those are only 5 of the benefits, another quick one is that if you do PPC and target it to your review page and use those same cherry picked keywords that you optimized your site for, you'll have a "Great" Quality score resulting in extremely low Cost Per Click Which is what we all want!

Review pages are by far the BEST method of promoting an affiliate product, I suggest you start now if you have not done so already!

To Your Success
Jameel Mukadam

Dev Shed Forums - Social Networking Portal

2008-05-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

Date: March 28th, 2008 06:37 PM - curious07 - Social Networking Portal Post: Which is the best PHP social networking portal out there. I.E. Hand Shakes and the likes. Can some one tell me the pros and the cons. Thank you....
Web Based IT Support Simplify the Support Process with LogMeIn Rescue. Get a Free Trial.

Available Domain Names #48

2008-05-01T17:53:00.001-07:00

Things have been hectic the past few days and as a result I haven’t been able to post as much as I’d like. I hope to be back to a normal routine next week which will result in more available domain lists.

Another nice domain auction turned up on my Ebay Domain Names page. Quit.org is up for auction. There is an unknown reserve set and the domain appears to have been developed in the past. In my opinion, this is a very versatile domain name and I believe it fits the .org extension well. It’s worth checking out.

QUIT.ORG best 4 letter domain for anti tobacco group
US $1,625.00 (6 Bids)

On to the list. As always, all these domains were available for registration at the time of this post. Please be considerate and limit your registrations to 5 domains per list. Thanks.

Unregistered Domain Names #47

2008-05-01T17:51:00.001-07:00

Welcome to another edition of the available domains list. For first time visitors, the basic purpose of this blog it to provide unregistered domain names for development or investment purposes. The service is free as are my email lists which are sent out a few times each month. You can also subscribe to the RSS Feed to get timely updates when new lists are posted.

Domain Names Available for Registration #46

2008-05-01T17:47:00.000-07:00

Here is another batch of available compound keyword domain names for your review. Just to clarify, I’m not selling these domains. They’re all unregistered and can be purchased at the domain registrar of your choice. I still get emails asking me how much I want for them whenever I post lists.

You’ll find the usual mix of brandables, geos and product or service related domains in today’s list.

Available Domain Names List #45

2008-05-01T16:06:00.001-07:00

It’s time to get back to work after a short getaway to sunny Las Vegas. It’s amazing how a short break can refresh you and provide new motivation for projects that have been sitting on the sidelines. Then again, maybe it’s the money that I left out in Las Vegas that’s fueling that motivation.

Before I get to the available domains list, here’s another premium domain, Blowout.com, that was recently listed on Ebay. Blowout.com is currently sitting at $5k and hasn’t reached the reserve price.

No items matching your keywords were found.

And now for the domains. All were available at the time of this post. Please limit your registrations to 5 domains per person, per list. Thanks.

[FatWallet] ASUS 9600GT $144 AR or $124 AR+GCO Free Shipping at buy.com

2008-05-01T14:53:00.001-07:00

Rating: 0 Posted By: ruartur Views: 10 Replies: 0 $164 - $20 rebate = $144or $144 - $20 rebate = $124Free Shipping$20 of $100 GCO worked for me today!Hey, this is my first time posting, so please be nice. I found this card by browsing through the cards on Buy.com. This card is not labeled as ASUS, but when you look at the details the model #, it is in fact ASUS EN9600GT/HTDI/512M which is on Newegg.com for $149AR right now, and has great reviews. I almost bought the palit 9600gt card, but did not want to deal with the $40 rebate. Here, it is only $20 rebate, and it's from ASUS as opposed to worldwiderebates.com. This card even includes dvi to hdmi adapter with sound pass through with the helpof s/pdif connector which is also included. Moreover, here you pay less up front, if you use GCO, as the shipping is free.Here is the link:http://www.Buy.com/prod/pci-express-2-0-geforce-9600gt-512m-ddr3-engine-clock-650-mhz-memory/q/loc/101/207538777.htmlHere is the same card on Newegg for $149 after rebate which is the next lowest price on pricegrabber.com:http://www.Newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121229More Online Coupons from Fatwallet.com.

Box Office Update 3/14-3/16: Hears the Box Office Call

2008-05-01T14:18:00.001-07:00

Family Animation rises to the top.
The family film always has the opportunity rise to the top and when that family film is a computer animated tale there is an even better chance that it will succeed at the box office. Besides hitting a wide range of demographics, it is, as a family film, much more likely to bring out the family as a whole, opposed to picking it apart with an R or...

Music Review: Ramiro Musotto -

2008-05-01T14:16:00.001-07:00

Don't fight it and don't try to figure it out. Submit to it.
I'm walking down a long corridor in my head and the doors are all closed. I'm listening to my iPod. 17,000 are in my left front pocket and I want to talk about them but I don't know what to say. Ramiro Musotto's Sudaka was waiting for me in my mail box when we returned from our trip to Columbia, South Carolina. I felt a rush of...

Presented By: Did you know... How to disable the prompt for deleting Task List User Tasks? - #173

2008-05-01T14:12:00.001-07:00

Did you know... How to disable the prompt for deleting Task List User Tasks? - #173 So after yesterday's tip, you've probably created a few tasks and deleted them, and noticed that annoying prompt.Â Here's how you can get rid of it. On each user task, you'll see the delete command on the context menu, as shown below. And you'll get this prompt To disable this prompt, go to Tools - Options - Environment - Task List, and uncheck Confirm Deletion of Tasks. Technorati Tags: VS2005Tip,VS2008Tip >> Subscribe to Feed Ads by Pheedo

Troubleshoot and Monitor Registry Changes with RegShot [Featured Windows Download]

2008-04-12T15:36:00.001-07:00

Windows only: Find your system running a bit different after installing that last program? Want to see if you can change how a program functions by tweaking one or two of its registry settings? RegShot, a free Windows utility, makes monitoring your registry as simple as using a Polaroid camera. Take a snapshot of your registry before installing, then take another after you've put the new app in place. RegShot tells you what's changed in your registry, and can also monitor folders you specify for new and changed files. For getting to the root of a problem with Windows software, RegShot is a good tool to keep handy. RegShot is a free download for Windows systems only.
regshot [via Digital Inspiration]

Best Reader Life Hack Final Faceoff [Lifehacker Faceoff]

2008-04-12T15:11:00.000-07:00

For the past two weeks, we've given out over a dozen autographed copies of our new book, Upgrade Your Life, to readers who submitted their best life hacks to us and saw them featured here on Lifehacker. Now we want to know which one of the winning hacks you thought was the coolest and most useful.
Thanks to everyone who wrote in with their ideas, projects, tricks, tips, photos and screenshots.

Password Your Web Server Pages with .htaccess Editor [Web Utilities]

2008-04-12T14:19:00.000-07:00

Running a home web server and need to lock it up? Want to set up standard hosting for multiple sub-domains? Don't worry about tinkering with Apache server's arcane .htaccess file, just tell the .htaccess Editor webapp what you're looking for. The site's interface is a good deal better than many of its ilk, meaning you can usually guess what it's asking for and why. For budding web tinkerers and those with their own storage space, .htaccess Editor is a time-saving tool worth checking out.

.htaccess Editor [via MakeUseOf.com]

Create Animated GIFs from Video Files [How To]

2008-04-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

Animated GIF images get a bad rap as throwbacks of the web of yesteryear, but they can also be a neat way to show a quick existing video sequence without having to worry about formatting and compatibility. A Ubuntu enthusiast offers a simple guide to creating slick-looking animations using two free, cross-platform software tools, MPlayer and the GIMP. While the first installation command is for Ubuntu Linux systems only, the other steps should be easy to follow along with in Windows, Mac, or Linux. Grab a favorite DVD, pick a scene that works without sound, and share a moment with friends—or the whole world.
Making Animated GIFs With Free Software in Four Steps [via Ubuntu Forums]

I Can’t Just Raise My Prices

2008-04-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

Oh, if I could only just raise my prices.

If business is slow and I don't have any new prospects or projects, I could just raise the prices I charge my current clients. And even if I do have enough business, I could still raise prices each time I send them an invoice, as that would surely increase my revenue. Well, for a short period of time, as eventually my clients would become suspect of what I was doing and look elsewhere. And its not that I would be changing my services or products, I would just be charging more for them.

As you might have guessed, the preceding was sarcasm. And if you didn't guess that, it was! Ask any entrepreneur and as much as they would love to do that, the reality is that would never work, and clients and customers would surely leave. Instead, we strive to continuously add value through new and improved products and services, continuously seek out new clients and customers and work feverishly to keep costs down. Call it the independent spirit, or just call it the reality of the world.

Why restate the obvious? As much as I try to keep The Hot Iron non-political and solely focused on tech and business (and when I do stray I get reminded of why I strive towards this), when small businesses are impacted I am compelled to address it. The sales tax in the city of Chicago will be increasing to 10.25%, the highest in the nation. For those who don't know, the sales tax in the Windy City is comprised of 3 portions, for the city, Cook County and the state. The city portion is increasing a quarter percent and the county portion will increase 1 percent, with the money going to bailout debt-ridden public transportation and hospitals. However nowhere in these increases are there any cost-cutting or efficiencies or increases in services. This Wall Street Journal editorial on the tax increases said it best, "…the county is “not only refusing to tighten its belt, it’s acting as if it doesn’t have to wear a belt.” Then again, it’d be business as unusual if patronage were somehow extracted from Chicago’s machine politics. Too bad for the city’s actual businesses and residents."

Yes, too bad indeed. And as easy as it would be to just raise my prices, it's more fun to run with the independent spirit, even if it takes me elsewhere.

Proud To Be An SOB

2008-04-12T07:07:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to me and my little blog, The Hot Iron, for being an SOB! And it's not what you think – it stands for Successful and Outstanding Blogger. I recently received this designation by Liz Strauss, a business relationship consultant and blogging expert. As that description doesn't begin to do her justice, read her bio at her blog, Successful Blog.

Liz is also the founder of the SOBCon conference, and the second annual event will be held on May 2-4 in Chicago. Visit the Web site for more information and to register.

[FatWallet] ASUS 9600GT $144 AR or $124 AR+GCO Free Shipping at buy.com

2008-04-12T03:43:00.000-07:00

Bind Papers Together Without Staples or Clips [How To]

2008-04-12T03:04:00.000-07:00

Lifehacker reader and blogger Clara posts a tip she picked up from a Taiwanese life hack television show on keeping papers together without using staples or binder clips. The technique requires scissors, a steady hand, and the patience to really learn the method on one's first few tries, but Clara notes that she's kept up to 15 sheets firmly together with the trick. Not applicable to documents you can't afford to have clipped, obviously, but it makes for an eye-grabbing way to deliver documents, and perhaps a shot at a MacGyver moment if you find yourself without office supplies—the two notches could be hand-ripped, after all, if you were crafty about it.
How to bind papers without staples or clips [Bloomize]

Download Any File or Web Page with Opera Mini 4.1 Beta [Featured Mobile Download]

2008-04-12T00:48:00.000-07:00

Opera has released a new beta version of their Mini browser for cell phones and PDAs that includes pretty serious improvements for anyone who's serious about their hand-held browsing—namely, actual file downloading, uploading to select online services like Flickr and Gmail, and saving of web pages for offline access. Previous versions of Mini, like most mobile browsers, could only handle files that the browser or the device itself knew what to do with, but Mini now lets you save files and web pages to the device's storage, assuming it has a working version of the JSR-75 access protocol running in the background. Opera also threw in page-based "Find" searching and claims its server-based page cache is running 50 percent faster in recent tests. Opera Mini 4.1 beta is a free download for most devices that work with Java.
Opera Mini 4.1 Beta [via Google Operating System]

Get Google-Related Desktop Notifiers with Google Talk Labs Edition [Featured Windows Download]

2008-04-11T23:45:00.000-07:00

Windows only: For some time now, Google Talk has been more appealing as a web app than in its rarely updated desktop version. That changes, somewhat, with the release of Google Talk Labs Edition for Windows. The desktop client, which looks a lot like its web counterpart, includes the same group chat, emoticons and tabbed talking as the web, and puts pop-up notifications for Google Calendar, Gmail and Orkut events in the corner of your screen—which is a nice, consolidated way of getting that Outlook-like functionality. The big trade-off, however, is the lack of voice calling or file transfer through the Labs Edition, so if those are regular features, you'll likely want to stick with whatever version you're using now. Google Talk Labs Edition is a free download for Windows systems only.

Google Talk Labs Edition [via Googling Google]

Is Windows XP Here To Stay?

2008-04-11T19:29:00.000-07:00

Despite efforts by Microsoft to push its Vista operating system and get users to stop using Windows XP, the previous version isn't going away. Why? With the performance and compatibility issues of Vista, plus the stability of XP – not to mention the fact there is little need to spend the money to upgrade – XP remains popular. But don't just take my word for it.

As a self-professed Internet Generalist, I keep abreast on all elements as much as I can, from hardware to software. One source that keeps me in the know on all issues regarding Microsoft operating systems and software is WServerNews. They provide both expert opinion and detailed information, with a touch of humor.

In their latest edition, interestingly #666, they talk of the upcoming release of Windows XP service pack 3, or SP3, as well as link to a detailed comparison of XP and Vista.

So will XP go away? Not for a while, and not for a while on the computer where this was written!

My Take-Aways From The Book Purple Cow

2008-04-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

When I read the book Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin, it reminded me of one of his previous books I read, Purple Cow. But was it just the content of the book, or the fact that the book arrived to me several years ago in a milk carton?

The premise of the book Purple Cow, published in 2002, is about being remarkable. Godin's point is that in an age where we are deluged with images and messages, these have reduced their overall effectiveness, and to get your message out there, your product or service needs to be different or unique in its own way. The first example in the book is driving through farm lands and seeing cow after cow and they all look alike, but a cow that is purple will stand out and be remembered, thus remarkable.

So is remarkable something you put on top of a product or service? Not necessarily. The book gives examples of how L.L. Bean and Sears Craftsman line of tools are remarkable in their unconditional return policy. Ikea is remarkable in how they sell low-cost, assemble-yourself furniture that is extremely stylish. Dr. Bronner's soap is remarkable in its unique labeling.

My greatest takeaway is that remarkable is not a gimmick. From the above examples, what makes them remarkable are attributes that have lasted for years. Gimmicks may drive sales, but not over the long term. Gimmicks are also not considered sincere.

Another takeaway is that you may already be remarkable. When many entrepreneurs venture out on their own, their catalyst is often they can do what they do better or in a more unique way from where they previously worked. They may not have been able to do it, whatever it is, when they worked for someone else and have the conviction to do it themselves. This was part of my own motivation for starting Dunkirk Systems, LLC.

The book Purple Cow does not over-do it with examples and is an energetic, quick read. If you are venturing out on your own, or taking a strategic look at your business I recommend reading the book as it will definitely inspire you, and you may get some ideas from it as well.

Nerdcycle Mounted Monitor Exercise Bike [Lifehacker Book Contest Winner]

2008-04-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

Here's our final winner in the reader contest to win an autographed copy of our new book, Upgrade Your Life. Thanks to everyone who submitted!
Reader Martin is determined to not let the exercise bike next to his computer desk just sit there and gather dust. Instead, he wants to cycle while he surfs, and decided to start building his "Nerdcycle" by mounting an extra monitor to the stationary bike. Martin writes in:

I bought an exercise bike on Craigslist for $100. I rode it five times. It then became my footrest while I surfed the net, as it is next to my computer desk. Recently, I decided enough was enough, and I had to make it fit into my lifestyle. So, some hacking was in order.

After the jump, follow along through a photo tour of Martin's ambitious project.

Exercise bike before:

Monitor I haven't been using for anything, plus an old mount I rescued from the trash:

Wiring doesn't seem too complex...

Needed to dremel off the book holder ledge and drill new holes for the wallplate:

Since a monitor was going to be replacing it, I needed to relocate the control unit. Decided on down by my left hand. Here's a mount mockup with PVC and a paint stirrer.

I was going to make a metal one after work sometime but this one is actually sturdy enough that I think I'll stick with it until/unless it breaks. The ergonomics of having the controls here is actually way better than the stock location.

However, the stock wires are only 12" long...not NEARLY long enough. Thirty butt connectors later...

...and I've got a 4' harness instead of a 12" one.

Moment of truth....yay everything works!

Here's the bike as I left it last night:

So for now Martin's got the bike control unit relocated to by his left hand and the monitor mounted. He's not done yet; here's what Martin's got on the Nerdcycle to-do list.

Still to be done:

Loom the wires and ziptie them so I can't trip and die

Figure out what source I'm going to use for this (most likely: rig up a laptop shelf/slot)

Make an adapter plate to raise the monitor 3" (my knees hit if I'm peddling vigorously)

Come up with a workable keyboard solution

Make a matching mount by my right hand for a mousepad

Eventually I'm only going to allow myself to surf the internet while on the bike. Even if I'm not at my peak heart rate, some pedaling is way better than sitting like a lump.

Indeed! Even though it's not a complete project yet, Martin gets an A for his first efforts, plus an autographed copy of Upgrade Your Life. Congratulations, Martin! Be sure to send in photos of the final product once you get your laptop and keyboard hooked up to the Nerdcycle.

Thanks to everyone who sent in their best life hacks for the contest. You rock!

Features Specific to the Mac (or PC)? [Ask The Readers]

2008-04-11T13:22:00.000-07:00

Reader Tim is thinking about the great Mac versus Windows debate. He writes in:

Without starting a holy war, I was wondering: What features does the Mac operating system have out of the box that Windows doesn't? What can you do in Windows by default you can't do on the Mac? It seems that feature convergence is happening across modern platforms (even Linux!), so it's harder to say what (if any) OS offerings are truly unique. Can we make a list?

We sure can make a list! Here are a few operating system-specific features off the top of my head:

The Mac can save any document in any program to PDF from the Print dialog. (Though you can get this feature in Windows with a program like CutePDF.)
The Mac can look up words in its dictionary from newer Cocoa programs using a keyboard shortcut.
Windows can auto-hide its taskbar and clear your desktop entirely, where the Mac's menubar is fixed.
Windows Vista has an awesome one-click monthly calendar in the taskbar; on the Mac it takes a few clicks or some tweaking to see today's full date easily.
The Mac offers Unix command line tools built into the Terminal, which Windows does not (though you can get them by installing something like Cygwin.)

Surely I've missed dozens of other platform-specific features. So let's hear it, Windows and Mac users—what can you do that the others can't? Remember, fanboys and girls, keep this discussion clean and respectful—OS wars are SO 1999. (And don't forget to check out our complete guide to Mac/Windows interoperability.)

Consolidate Multiple Email Addresses with Gmail [How To]

2008-04-11T11:41:00.001-07:00

The following post was originally published in Chapter 1 of our new book, Upgrade Your Life: The Lifehacker Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, Better.
You've finally decided to move all your email online to Google's web-based service, Gmail. Great! But what about messages still going to your old email address(es)? You don't have to notify all your contacts that your email address has changed—again. Gmail is not only an email host, it's an email client, which can fetch mail from any number of external services and consolidate it all right there in your Gmail inbox. Here's how to move your email to Gmail without missing a single message from an existing account.

Receive messages for other addresses in your Gmail inbox

There are two ways to receive email from other addresses in Gmail: using Gmail's Mail Fetcher feature or by forwarding your other addresses' mail to Gmail automatically.

Option 1: Set Up Gmail's POP Mail Fetcher

Most likely your former email provider offers POP (Post Office Protocol) access for retrieving messages for it. Gmail's Mail Fetcher feature can retrieve those messages via POP and display them in your inbox alongside messages that come directly your Gmail address, too. You can fetch email from up to five other email addresses via POP in Gmail.

To use Gmail's Mail Fetcher, your old email account must offer POP access. Not all free addresses offer POP, but most do. Check the other account's settings or contact customer support to find out if POP access is available on your non-Gmail account. You'll need three settings: the POP server address, port, your username and password. Also, if you haven't already, you'll need to sign up for a free Gmail account at http://gmail.com.

Once you're logged into your Gmail account, configure Mail Fetcher to retrieve messages from your old account. Here's how.

From the top of any page within Gmail, click Settings.
Click Accounts.
In the Get mail from other accounts section, click Add another mail account.
Enter the full email address of the account you'd like to access, then click Next Step.
Gmail will fill in the username, POP server and port fields when possible, based on the email address, as shown. Enter your password.
If Gmail will be the single place you check mail, uncheck the box labeled "Leave a copy of retrieved messages on the server." If you want to access the other mail from other software (or if you're just using Gmail as a backup), do check this box. You can also set options to use SSL (a secure connection) to retrieve mail (some servers support this, others don't) and whether or not to label or archive incoming messages.
Once your options are set, click Add Account. Gmail will issue an error if your username, password or other settings are incorrect. Once Gmail can fetch messages successfully, it will give you the option to set up a custom From: address. (See the section below for more on that.)

Note: Gmail checks for new messages at different rate, depending on previous mail fetch attempts. You can't customize the default frequency of mail fetches.

Option 2: Forward messages to Gmail automatically

If your old address doesn't offer POP access—or you have more than 5 addresses you'd like to consolidate in Gmail—you can set your former address to automatically forward messages to Gmail instead. The exact way to do this will differ depending on your email account, but if your provider offers auto-forwarding, it will most likely be listed in your account options area.

For example, to auto-forward email from your Hotmail email (which does not offer POP access), click on your account options, and under "Manage Your Account" click on "Forward mail to another email account." There you can set your new Gmail account as the destination address.

Update: Several readers point out that Hotmail does not allow you to auto-forward email to any address outside of Microsoft services. Sorry for the error! Thanks, Josh!

Write messages from non-Gmail addresses

Now that you've got email addressed to several different accounts arriving in your single Gmail inbox, you may want to use those various From: addresses when replying to those messages. For someone who maintains several different online personas - but accesses them all in Gmail - the option to use various From: addresses when sending mail is crucial. Here's how to set up multiple From: addresses once you're logged into Gmail:

Click Settings along the top of any page, and then select the Accounts tab.
Click Add another email address in the Send mail as section.
Enter your full name in the Name field, and the email address you'd like to send messages from in the Email address field.
Click Next Step >> and then click Send Verification to complete the process. Gmail will send a verification message to your other email address to confirm that you'd like to add it to your Gmail account. If you are already receiving this mail in Gmail, it will appear in your inbox. Click the link in that message, or enter the confirmation code in the Accounts section of your Gmail account, to complete the process.

You can add several possible From: addresses to your Gmail account, as shown.

Set one as your default for new messages, and you can also set the From: name and a different reply-to address if you'd like (by clicking "edit info.")

Once you've verified that you'd like to add the address to your account, you can start sending messages using your custom 'From:' address. When you click Compose, you can choose the From: address to use from the dropdown list, as shown.

Note: Your Gmail address will be included in the email headers of your message in the sender field, to help prevent your mail from being marked as spam. Most email clients do not display the sender field, though some versions of Microsoft Outlook may display "From customaddress@domain.com on behalf of yourusername@gmail.com"—unless you're using Gmail for your domain.

With Web Sites, Something Is Better Than Nothing

2008-04-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

Many times when I meet people and tell them I develop Web sites, a common reaction is the person starts apologizing for their own Web site. They say they have a Web site, but it sucks! They then continue to say how it was something done by themselves or on the cheap and it needs to be more robust and have a better design.

However when I eventually look at their Web site, I often have a different reaction. Where some of their points are valid, I am looking at the Web site from multiple viewpoints. As a Web developer, I look to see if the Web site is technically sound and has a clean design. I then put myself in the shoes of the consumer and see if I can find sufficient information on the entity, such as if I can find their phone number or hours.

When I circle back to the person, I pass along my quick evaluation, and tell them it's better to have something than nothing at all. If you're a new business and haven't created your branding or marketing plan, simply have a 1-page Web site with your name and contact information. When you do develop these, ensure the design of your Web site allows for iteration, where you can add content and functionality over time, as you have the time to create it.

This is the beauty of the Web – you don't have to do it all at once as with a paper brochure.

Qwitter Harnesses Twitter to Help You Quit Smoking [Smoking]

2008-04-11T07:22:00.000-07:00

The only thing worse than constantly reaching for your phone to Twitter at social occasions is a constant need for a nicotine fix, and health organization Tobacco Free Florida must sense their linked nature. Every so often, post an update with the number ("X") of cigarettes you've recently smoked to their Qwitter applet like so:@iquit X. You can also send diary-style entries to chronicle your progress, and see a graph of your cigarette intake at the Qwitter site. For those whose mobile extroversion is a lot stronger than their willpower, it's an elegant craving substitution.
Qwitter [via Twitter blog]

See You At The Great Chicago Networking Extravaganza On May 8

2008-04-11T04:10:00.000-07:00

I have just registered for the Great Chicago Networking Extravaganza, to be held on Thursday, May 8 in Lombard, Illinois. Yes, I will be venturing out to the suburbs of Chicago for this event, and I am looking forward to it.

This is the seventh such event put on by Lillian Bjorseth and Jason Jacobsohn. I have gotten to know Jason over the last couple of years, first virtually through our own blogs then in person. His blog, Networking Insight, is an excellent resource for information and tips on business networking. He offers straightforward, practical advice without hype, thus making it a popular resource for people not just in Chicago but worldwide.

With those credentials, this event will surely be an effective platform for meeting colleagues. Hope to see you there!

What's Your Perfect Sleep Haven? [Ask The Readers]

2008-04-10T22:20:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows how hard it can be to unwind and get to sleep after a long day, so Reader's Digest online suggests 12 steps toward creating the perfect sleep haven to de-stress after a hard day's work. For example:

Chill Before Bed. Lower the temperature of your bedroom before you climb into bed, says Becky Wang-Cheng, M.D., a medical director at Kettering Medical Center in Ohio. Lower temperatures signal your body it's time to sleep. If your bed partner objects, just tell him to bundle up.

The post offers several more conventional tips, like shutting the drapes or sleeping naked, but since Lifehacker readers have probably spent more than their fair share of time setting up a sleep paradise, let's hear your tips for creating an environment where you're out as soon as your head hits the pillow. Photo by decor8.
12 Tips to Create a Sleep Haven [Reader's Digest]