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Monthly archives for December, 2006

Fun Website: Gender Genie

Dec28
2006 Written by Editor

I was just browsing through another blog and I came across a post about the Gender Genie website. The Gender Genie is a tool that uses an algorithm to determine the gender of the author.

I thought this sounded pretty interesting, so I visited the Gender Genie site and pasted some of my recent blog entries into the box. Out of four tries, the Gender Genie was accurate only 50% of the time in guessing that I am female. I wasn’t really surprised, though, because my writing is often mistaken for a male’s. For instance, if I post on forums or message boards, people tend to assume that I’m a male until I reveal otherwise.

What did surprise me is that the Gender Genie tabbed my reviews as male writing and my promotional posts as female. Weird!

Anyway, it’s a fun site, so check it out!

Posted in Websites

Adventures in Home Buying

Dec28
2006 Written by Editor

If you ask most people about their experiences with buying a home or purchasing other real estate, you’d probably find that there are more horror stories than good experiences floating around. Most of the time, that can be attributed to the realty company or real estate agent that you deal with.

For example, I remember when my friend Susan was in the process of relocating from Washington, D.C. to Atlanta, GA. Long-distance moves like that are difficult to pull off anyway, but SUsan’s was made even more complicated by the fact that her real estate agent didn’t listen to a thing she said regarding her wants and needs. The agent was more worried about his commission than anything else, so he kept trying to sell Susan homes that were way out of her price range. As a result, her relocation took six weeks longer than anticipated!

Perhaps if Susan had read some Atlanta real estate articles before attempting her move, she would have had a more positive experience. She would have had a better feel for what was going on in the area and she could have ditched that other agent for someone more in tune with customers.

At least the story turned out well. She did find a nice house in the end and has been living in Atlanta for more than six years now.

Posted in Services

Boston Legal 1×02

Dec28
2006 Written by Editor

denny_crane.jpg I’m going a bit crazy this month because all of my favorite television shows are on hiatus right now. I hate watching reruns, so I’ve been looking for alternatives to help get me through ’til January. As I mentioned before, I received the Season One Boston Legal DVD box set for Christmas and have been watching those episodes. Here’s what I thought of 1×02.

After a strong pilot, episode two felt like kind of a letdown. There were two cases featured in this program, but neither of them was very interesting. First, Alan helped an ex-girlfriend get out of a mental institution. The kicker: she was in there for trying to kill him! That case didn’t last very long, and once she got out, she turned into a weird stalker chick. It looks like she’ll be sticking around Boston, so I doubt that’s the last we see of her.

The second case featured Denny Crane defending a doctor in a malpractice suit. A woman was suing because the doctor caused emotional distress by the way he told her that her husband had died during an operation. Although the case itself wasn’t interesting, there were a few nuances going on, such as the other partners wanting to see Denny bomb in court so they could get rid of him.

So far, Alan and Denny are the only two characters that I have a bead on. I barely even know the names of the other lawyers, but I hope they’ll get into the action soon.

I give this episode 6 stars out of 10, and am crossing my fingers that things will be better the next time around!

Posted in TV Shows

IT Chargeback Software

Dec28
2006 Written by Editor

In order for business to operate at maximum profitability, it’s critical for managers to know exactly how resources are being consumed, and in what quantity. Armed with this knowledge, managers can then identify problem areas and implement programs that will resolve these problems.

Sometimes, it takes the expertise of outside consultants to identify potential liabilities. That’s where a company like Acorn Systems comes in. Acorn Systems can provide your business with the tools you need in order to derive maximum value from your resources. For example, they have some IT chargeback software that can make it easy for your firm to allocate and predict costs, which in turn can help you understand the relationship between your IT consumption and IT expenses. This information can lead to better profitability in the long run.

If you think your organization might be able to benefit from IT chargeback software, check out the Acorn Systems website today!

Posted in Products

My “To Read” List

Dec28
2006 Written by Editor

Since I just posted a short list of future movie reviews that you can look forward to, I thought I’d do the same thing for upcoming book reviews. Here are the next five on my list:

  1. The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie (just finished today; review should be up in a bit)
  2. Money by Martin Amis (about 1/4 of the way through thus far; kind of stalled, though)
  3. The Ambassadors by Henry James (this is a long one, so who knows when I’ll finish it!)
  4. Scoop by Evenlyn Waugh (started this months ago, but haven’t quite finished yet)
  5. Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie (short stories featuring Tommy and Tuppence)

It should take me at least six weeks to get through these books — probably even more since my regular television shows will be starting up again soon. So stay tuned!

Posted in Books

My “To Watch” List

Dec28
2006 Written by Editor

A couple of people have written in and asked me how I choose movies to watch and review. I think I’ve said this before, but just in case, I’ll throw it back out here for everyone: it’s a random thing. I go into Blockbuster and rent whatever catches my fancy. Right now I have about 5 movies on my “To Watch” list. They are:

  1. Oliver Twist (Roman Polanski version)
  2. In Her Shoes (with Cameron Diaz)
  3. Guess Who (with Ashton Kutcher)
  4. Casino Royale (going to the theather on Friday Night)
  5. Robots (with my son)

I’ve already rented everything except Casino Royale, so I definitely have to watch them. If there’s anything else that you think I should see (preferably something already on DVD), leave a comment or shoot me an email.

Posted in Movies

Hitch — Will Smith, Kevin James

Dec27
2006 Written by Editor

hitch.jpg Did you know that the 2005 movie Hitch starring Will Smith is the highest-grossing comedy of all time? Yep, it grossed $177 million here in the United States. I actually did know that prior to renting the DVD tonight, so I had high expectations going in. Unfortunately, these expectations weren’t met.

Smith stars as Alex “Hitch” Hitchens, a date doctor in New York City. What does a date doctor do? He goes around helping transform poor slobs like Albert (Kevin James) into romantic, charming men who can hook up with women that are way out of their league. In Albert’s case, we’re talking about Allegra Cole (Amber Valletta), a good-looking heiress who apparentlyl doesn’t mind dating overweight, boring accountants.

Ironically enough, Hitch’s advice doesn’t do anything to boost his own love life. He spends most of the movie trying to impress a gossip columnist named Sara (Eva Mendes), but she’s a cynical, seen-it-all career woman who can’t be won over that easily. So Hitch just tries harder, and, well, this being a movie and all, you can probably take a wild guess as to whether or not he ends up with the girl.

I read a lot of reviews saying that Hitch was “refreshing” and “original,” but I didn’t feel that way at all. There weren’t any surprises in the script and I could guess what was coming from a mile away. Smith was charming as usual, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the lack of an interesting story. Maybe if his love interest had been a little more sympathetic I would have been more vested in the success of their relationship, but I didn’t care what happened to them.

Overall, I give this movie 3 stars out of 5.

Posted in 3-Star Movies, Love/Romance/Rom-Com

Website for Loans and Mortgages

Dec27
2006 Written by Editor

My husband and I set reasonable limits on our Christmas spending this year, but as usual, we disregarded those limits when we saw high-priced presents that we knew our friends and relatives would enjoy. So now we’re faced with sky-high credit card bills and the exorbitant interest rates that go along with carrying a balance.

We’re really thinking about checking into short-term loans in order to pay off our credit card bills. This might sound like the old adage of “robbing Peter to pay Paul,” but it actually makes sense when you think about it. For example, if we can find a couple of personal loans at interest rates lower than our credit cards, then we would end up saving money in the long run. We might even go all out and start looking at second mortgages so that we can pay of more than just our credit card bills. Decisions, decisions!

Posted in Websites

American History X – Edward Norton

Dec27
2006 Written by Editor

american-history-x.jpg You know how some movies seem really great the first time you watch them, but then lose some of their punch upon a second viewing? That’s exactly what American History X was like for me. I first saw this film in the theater when it came out back in 1998. I remember thinking that it was one of the most powerful movies I’d seen up to that point.

I decided to watch it again the other day to see how well it has held up over time. I noticed that it’s one of the top-rated movies on IMDB.com, ranking #44 out of 250 based on user votes. I was anxious to see how I would feel about the themes and content of this movie eight years later.

Unfortunately, the film lost a lot of its punch the second time around. Perhaps that had to do with the fact that I knew what was coming at the end, which made the scene lose its full impact. But that wasn’t the only problem I had with the movie. It just seemed as though there wasn’t a heck of a lot going on up there on the screen. The filmmakers took a single message and pounded it home over and over again.

Don’t get me wrong: I still think American History X is a very good movie. Edward Norton turns in an unbelievable performance, and Edward Furlong was solid as well. But it isn’t the masterpiece I thought it was when I first saw it.

My current rating for this movie is 3 stars out of 5.

Posted in 3-Star Movies, Drama

Online Flower Delivery and Gift Baskets

Dec27
2006 Written by Editor

Christmas might be over now, but that doesn’t mean you should forget about all the useful websites you may have come across while doing your holiday shopping. Valentine’s Day will be here before you know it, and after that there’s Easter, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day. All of those are occasions when you might need to send flowers or a gift basket or two to a few special recipients.

Personally, I’m going to try to take advantage of online flower delivery services like the one offered over at DotFlowers. That site has a wide selection of fresh flowers as well as gift baskets, candies, and gourmet foods, which means I’ll be sure to find something appropriate no matter what the occasion.

This is a definitely a site that you’ll want to keep handy, so bookmark it now!

Posted in Products
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