I’m getting a bit tired of the plain-Jane look of my current WP theme, so I’m going to spend some time this weekend looking for another one. I think I’m going to change to three-columns so that I can put more blogrolls and useful links up on the front page. I really want to work with a designer to get a custom theme made, but that won’t happen soon. In the meantime, I hope I can find something decent from one of the free WP theme sites out there.
Monthly archives for March, 2007
Punk’d Series Ending?
I just read over on Zap2It that the Ashton Kutcher TV show Punk’d will be ending after its eighth season. Of course, if you’ve followed the show then you know that this rumor has been spread before. Some people think Kutcher and Co. purposely talk about the end of the show in the hopes that celebs will let down their guard, thereby making it easier to punk them.
I actually liked watching Punk’d (I just view clips on YouTube instead of trying to figure out MTV’s ever-changing schedule), but I would be happy to see the show end its run. Recently the pranks have been kind of boring and repetitive (and sometimes just plain mean-spirited), so it wouldn’t be a major loss, IMO.
Resources for Real Estate Agents
I know a couple of people who work as real estate agents in my area. One person does this as a full-time job, while the other does it on a part-time basis to supplement her family’s income. In both cases, the agents’ biggest concern is making sure that they reach as many prospective home buyers as possible in order to keep a steady stream of clients flowing through their doors.
Of course these days the approach to home buying is completely different. Traditional real estate advertising methods such as classified ads and radio spots don’t deliver the kind of results they used to. Instead, home buyers are more likely to make preparatory searches on the Internet, which means that targeted search engine marketing campaigns would be much more effective for giving you the exposure you need in order to stay competitive.
If you’re interested in launching an ethical SEO campaign that will improve your rankings in all the major search engines, then you should definitely check out the CustomerMagnetism.com website or call toll-free 1-866-798-3862 for a free keyword report and a custom proposal.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Book Cover
Did you hear that the cover art for the seventh and final installment of the Harry Potter series was unveiled today? I’ve seen three different covers so far, one for the children’s edition in G.B./Europe, one for the children’s edition in the U.S., and one for the adult edition. The one below is the U.S. children’s edition. I think all of them look great, and I can’t wait for July 21 (the worldwide release date, of course).
The Backgammon Tiger
It goes without saying that different websites take different approaches to marketing their products or services. Obviously, some of these marketing techniques are more successful than others, which is why some websites prosper while others go down the tubes in a relatively short time. One of the best means of marketing these days is through short, interesting videos that are capable of generating sustained buzz across the Internet, and it’s clear that the site BackgammonMasters.com understands precisely how viral marketing works.
BackgammonMasters.com is the premiere destination for backgammon players of all skill levels who want to get in on some online games or tournaments. I’ve been hearing a lot about BackgammonMasters recently (even though I’m not a player myself) thanks to their popular video series featuring an animated tiger named Jean-Claude, who happens to be the world’s #1 backgammon player.
These Jean-Claude videos are designed to illustrate the widespread appeal of backgammon to people of all walks of life — and in this respect, I think they’re a success. As if the blinged-out street-smart tiger in 70′s clothes wasn’t enough to keep people coming back to the site, BackgammonMasters.com has many other attractive features for their players. For example, you can win prizes by answering trivia questions about Jean-Claude’s videos or for suggesting great script ideas, and of course you can play exciting games online, including backgammon, poker, and Perudo (Liar’s Dice).
Interested? Then check out an example of one of these Jean-Claude videos by following this link (and be sure to take a look at BackgammonMasters’ 3-in-1 download too!).
24 6×15
The episode of 24 that aired on March 26, 2007 featured events that took place between 8:00PM and 9:00PM. Here’s a quick recap of 6×15.
Jack: There was plenty of Jack this week as he was out in the field following up more leads on Gredenko’s whereabouts. We were introduced to a couple of new characters, a man named Mark who works as a security specialist (or something) for a nuclear power plant and his autistic brother Brady, who is a computer whiz. Well, Mark has ties to Gredenko, who calls him and orders him to hand over some schematics for the power plant. CTU intercepts the call, and Buchanan tells Jack to get to Mark.
Mark gets shot when CTU storms his house, so Jack has to use the autistic brother to draw Gredenko out in the open. Mark calls Gredenko and says he won’t be able to make it to the handoff, so Brady will do it instead. When Gredenko arrives, he can sense that something’s up since Brady appears so nervous. He orders the young man to be shot as soon as the plans are done uploading, but Jack overhears and is able to have his men take down Gredenko before Brady can be harmed. Now Gredenko is in Jack’s custody and is about to be questioned.
CTU: Some random guy who knew Doyle in Denver handed him a device that proves Nadia wasn’t the mole, but isntead that someone accessed her computer from the outside. This evidence could land Doyle in a lot of trouble since he jumped the gun on accusing Nadia. But the guy owes Doyle a favor from his Denver days and decides this is the way to pay up. He won’t say anything about the device and will let Doyle cover his ass.
After the two return to CTU, the guy from Denver (sorry, I didn’t catch his name) approaches Milo and tells him that he gave Doyle evidence that will clear Nadia but that Doyle is suppressing that evidence in order to protect his job. Milo immediately runs up to Doyle and starts accusing him of wrongdoing, but then Morris pipes up and says Doyle gave him the evidence to verify that it’s authentic. So Doyle managed to get out of that situation intact.
Oh, and after that, Nadia is finally released from the holding cell and Bill convinces her to stay on the job. Then, Milo grabs her and kisses her right there in CTU… by way of apology, I guess.
White House Bunker: Karen convinces Sandra Palmer to order the doctor to wake Wayne up from the induced coma. VP Daniels gets word of this and tries to intimidate the doctor into not going through with it, but the doc does it anyway.
Meanwhile, Daniels is still meeting with Lennox and other officials about the proposed nuclear strike against Assad’s unnamed country. Daniels wants the strike to occur within the hour, so some general or other starts moving the necessary ships into position. However, just when Daniels gives the order to strike, the general reports that the ships have already been ordered to stand down. Who gave the order? Wayne Palmer, who is miraculously awake, aware, and running the country.
Daniels isn’t going to take this lightly. As soon as he hangs up with Wayne, he orders his assistant to get the Attorney General on the line. Daniels doesn’t think Palmer is competent, and wants to have the President removed from office.
My Reaction: I thought this episode was okay — not too good, but not too bad either. I liked the misdirection with the Doyle setup (maybe the guy isn’t as bad as we’ve been led to believe) and wonder what he has in store for the dude who tried to frame him. Milo and Nadia? Meh, not interested. At all.
The Jack action was decent. It was nice to see him show a human side with the autistic man, and I’m glad Brady was able to make it out of the situation unharmed. Now let’s see what Jack can get out of Gredenko!
Still not interested in the political angle of the show, although I have to say that I thought Powers Boothe (VP Daniels) was awesome tonight! His expression after hearing Wayne’s voice on the phone for the first time was just priceless. I’m not even going to comment about how improbable it is that Wayne is awake and coherent….
Compare Online DVD Rental Services
On average, I’d say that I watch between 3-5 movies per week. That probably seems like a lot to you, but I need to do this in order to keep posting new reviews to my blog. Up until now, I’ve been renting my DVDs the old fashioned way by going out to local stores to browse through their selection and hope that they have what I want. However, I’m getting tired of that method and am thinking about switching to an online service that will deliver DVDs right to my mailbox.
I don’t know anything about the various companies that provide online rentals, so I had to do some research first. That’s when I came across a website called Bilihost.com and discovered all the information I was looking for right there in one place. Bilihost.com compares the pros and cons of the major online DVD rental services in detail and lays out the most important information in easy-to-read tables. This made evaluating all the different plans a snap, and now I’m pretty sure which company I want to sign up with.
Speaking of signing up, I can do so right on the Bilihost.com site, which is yet another point in their favor.
Overall, I think Bilihost.com provides a useful service. I found their reviews helpful and unbiased, and will sign up with an online DVD rental company based in part on what I read on the Bilihost site. If you’re in the same boat I am, you might want to head on over to Bilihost.com right now to study their reviews.
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
I usually don’t read many nonfiction books these days, but I’d heard such good things about Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods that I couldn’t pass it up. The book was first published in 1999, so all the real buzz about it has long since dissipated. I didn’t even really know what the book was about, except that it had something to do with nature. At any rate, I picked up an electronic copy for my PDA and managed to get through the whole thing.
As it turns out, A Walk in the Woods is about the author’s attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail. First of all, I had no idea that such a trail existed (call me ignorant, I guess), so I was glad that Bryson took plenty of time to explain the “AT” in such a thorough fashion. Basically, it’s a man-made hiking trail that extends from Springer Mountain in Georgia all the way north to Mount Katahdin in Maine — a total of 2,174 miles (give or take a few). Apparently, this is a very popular hike among hard-core outdoor enthusiasts, and lots of people attempt to do the whole trail, which can take three months or more.
That was Bryson’s ambitious plan, and A Walk in the Woods records the highlights (and lowlights) of his attempt. He was joined on this journey by Stephen Katz, an old high school friend that Bryson hadn’t had much contact with in the years preceding the hike. There was definitely an interesting dynamic between the two men, and that really helped carry the story along.
Even though this is a nonfiction book, there were basically two different plots throughout. First was the one dealing with the actual hiking saga. But there was also a second one that really gave a lot of background information about the AT, as well as info about the various governmental and non-profit agencies that have been in charge of preserving and maintaining the AT over the years.
I found that the parts of the book that covered the actual hike and the interactions between Bryson and Katz on the trail were funny, touching, and interesting. I blazed through those chapters and couldn’t wait to read more.
But then, Bryson and Katz (unexpectedly, given the nature of the book) decided that they simply couldn’t do the entire AT after all. From there, the book went downhill in terms of interest. That’s when Bryson starts giving long histories of animals and plants found along the trail, as well as information about various conservation projects. Plus, he lets loose with several long-winded tirades against the the National Park Service, the Army Corps of Engineers, and other agencies, all of which I found extremely boring.
Finally, in the end, Bryson ends up driving around (solo) to different points of the trail, hiking for a day or so, then going back to his car to find another section to hike. Even though I don’t know anything about the AT, I think I can safely assume that it wasn’t meant to be “hiked” in that way. After a long absence in the middle of the book, Katz makes an appearance at the end. But it’s depressing in that he continues to act like a noob (throwing away essential food and water because his pack was too heavy) and ultimately causes the two men to quit without reaching any of their goals. How Bryson could write that they “hiked the Appalachian Trail” is beyond me, because it seems as though they fell short of every single goal they set.
Overall, I have mixed feelings about A Walk in the Woods. On the one hand, I liked the way Bryson capture the adventurous spirit of setting off on such an incredible journey and the way he dealt with the reality of how difficult hiking the AT really is. On the other hand, as soon as the book deviated from that path and went off on tangents concerning the governmental agencies, it became a snooze fest. So I’m going to give the book 6.5 stars and recommend that if you do read it, you just skip past the pages that don’t deal with the actual trail. Trust me, you won’t be missing out on much!
Prison Break 2×21
The Prison Break episode that aired last night (March 26, 2007) was called “Fin del Camino” and was the penultimate ep of Season Two. That’s right, there’s just one more left before the summer hiatus and I think at this point it’s still up in the air as to whether or not FOX will be bringing PB back for a third season. I don’t even want to think about that now, so let’s just get to the recap of episode 2×21.
Panama City: Almost all of the major characters descended on Panama City for this ep, and it was nice to see everyone together again. Michael starts off by spying on T-Bag in his hotel room, and then notices that there are two armed men waiting around outside. They look like feds, but Michael can’t be sure. Then, as he’s still waiting around trying to figure out his next move, he runs right into Sucre — with Bellick half a step behind. Sucre quickly explains the situation to Michael (about how Bellick hid Maricruz away somewhere) and Michael agrees to help get the money in exchange for the girl.
Michael, Bellick, and Sucre come up with a plan to flush T-Bag out of the hotel. Bellick pulls the fire alarm, and sure enough, T-Bag soon appears with the backpack full of money. He starts walking away, with the two armed men following a short distance behind him. Michael, Bellick, and Sucre join the posse at the back, and then we see Mahone come out of a doorway to get in on the fun. Just then, however, Linc also appears and takes Mahone down.
Michael and his gang manage to get the best of the two guys following T-Bag. They duct tape the men to some pipes outside a building, then go in to see what T-Bag is doing. As soon as they walk in, Michael feels like it’s a setup. They can hear police sirens in the background, and then Teddy suddenly makes a run for it. The building is indeed meant to be a trap. The doors don’t work and there’s a dead body in the closet. Michael is finally able to break one door down, and he and Sucre go after T-Bag. Bellick is left behind, gets shot in the leg, and then gets picked up by the cops.
After that, some more things happen: T-Bag stabs Sucre with a screwdriver, then Michael spears T-Bag’s good arm to the ground and leaves him for the police. Michael then walks off to the Christina Rose with the money only to find that Linc is gone. He then gets a call from Linc, who has somehow been overpowered by Mahone. Mahone demands the money and the boat in exchange for Linc.
Chicago: We see Kellerman polishing all his Army medals, and the first thing that ran through my mind was A Few Good Men when Markinson commits suicide. And wouldn’t you know it, that’s what Paul was going to do. But his service pistol jammed, so now he’s decided to turn over a new leaf. He’ll start by testifying at Sara’s trial. She was just about to accept a 12-year sentence, but Kellerman’s testimony might change that.
My Reaction: I thought this was a great episode just because so much happened in it! It finally feels like we’re moving forward and getting somewhere. I liked seeing Scofield, T-Bag, Sucre, and Bellick all together again, and I was absolutely THRILLED to see Bellick get shot/captured. And T-Bag, too. Let’s just hope he can’t worm his way out of this predicament as well.
Ok, we all know Michael’s going to trade the money and boat for his brother, so I’m not sure why that was built up to be a cliffhanger. Let’s just see what Mahone does. Is he going to leave his family? I can’t imagine that. But how is he going to get to them in Denver before Kim does? I hope next week’s finale answers some of these questions!
Appetite Suppressants
Back when I was in college, I was extremely concerned about gaining weight. I had heard all about the Freshman Fifteen, which of course is a reference to the fifteen pounds that most freshmen can expect to gain thanks to the buffet-style food service at school, and I was determined not to let that happen to me.
Unfortunately, my willpower couldn’t always hold out against the pizza, burgers, fries, chips, and beer that everyone else freely consumed, so I ended up trying an appetite suppressant. I didn’t have access to Phentermine or anything like that back then, so the product didn’t really help very much. I think I tried the suppressant for a couple of weeks, didn’t notice any change in my hunger pangs, and stopped using taking the pills soon after.
So now I’m wondering if modern appetite suppressants are any better. Do any of you have experience with stuff that’s on the market today? What do you think: are they worth the money or not?