Chief Prognosticator

Google is turning 10 years old and they are celebrating themselves on the Internet with a pretty nifty looking timeline. Check it out here. The timeline is organized by several different types of information:
* Milestones
* Culture
* Products
* Stats
* Image
* Video
* Definition

Check out these great hypotheses on what the next 10 years will bring to technology and Google. One final thing to check out is Google’s Ten to the One Hundred party. Its a pretty nifty idea and might just get you $10 million for your best world-changing idea.

Look, this recent downturn in the financial markets (i.e. Wall Street) has had some dire effects on many of out 401k and IRA balances. Its really a tough time — I don’t even log in to my 401k anymore. What’s the use? I’m not retiring for a few more decades.

But this Wall Street turmoil is only a symptom of a much larger debt problem. The U.S. government and its citizens have been spending more than it makes for decades. How is this possible? Easy — foreign governments and foreign investors have been buying out treasuries and other debt instruments to finance our over-consumption.

But now the party is over! The down turn in the housing market and the decline of global markets means that the end of cheap debt is over. If you are holding a large amount of debt, whether it be in housing mortgages or credit card debt, you should really establish a plan ASAP to get out of trouble. Now is the time to really think about responsible debt management.

Out of control debt is something you want to avoid at all costs. In that scenario, your interest fees grow faster than your ability to pay down principal, with your debts growing month by month with no chance to get out!

Can’t do it on your own? Well seek professional credit counseling services from a company like CareOne. CareOne can connect you with debt management agencies to help you make a plan and get back on track. Now is the last chance you’ll get in a long while to pull yourself out of debt. Give CareOne a call today at 1-800-507-7563 and talk to a live person. They have helped over 4 and a half million people so far — you can be one of their success stories too! Just go for it!

Only in the worst case scenario — you see, the government will hopefully be be exchanging the credit for collateral like mortgages and preferred stock. In that case, when the U.S. economy recovers, the shares owned by the government can actually go up in value. Does that mean Uncle Sam will make money on the financial crisis? No way — all it means is that they may not lose nearly $700 billion at all.

What’s better than a business card in order to stay on the minds of your customers? Corporate Christmas Cards! Think about it — while a business card gets stuffed away in a desk or Rolodex, a corporate Christmas or Holidays card will probably stay on display for weeks. In that time, the client will look at it at least more than once (probably daily) and reinforce your company’s name (and yours). See the value?

Check out the great Corporate Holiday Cards from gallerycollection.com. They are the leaders in professional holiday cards and stand 100% behind their quality product. Here’s a nice one I found on their site:

In the next couple of months you should really make your order for holiday cards and have then in the mail to your clients by Thanksgiving. It is a great idea not just for Sales People, but for Engineers and Managers alike. It can really have an effect on your business’ bottom line.

What I like about the Gallery Collection by Prudent Publishing Company is that they give back to the community on a regular basis. For example, they make sure that each patient at the Texas Children’s Hospital gets a holiday card during their stay over the holidays. These cards are donated to the hospital free of charge. Isn’t that a nice act?

If any of you readers out there live in the ATL, then you know about the gas shortage. People scour the city, calling gas stations, looking for the next shipment in. I swear, I drove past 6 gas stations on the way to work today and all of them were out of gas! To you readers in the North, West, and abroad, do you know what’s happening in the Southern United States this week?? Its really a crisis — if gas doesn’t start flowing inward soon, we’ll start to see cars piling up on the side of the road with no gas! No joke!

Here’s an article about it from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Dog, The Bounty Hunter is pretty much washed up (remember his racist crazy phone call to his son?), but that doesn’t mean you can start your career in nabbing perps and bail jumpers! Just take a look at the kind of cool gear you’ll need from LAPoliceGear.com. They have all the top brands like 5.11 Tactical and Blackhawk. Shop with confidence and pay with your credit card — this site even has live customer support during business hours. Start your bounty hunter career right with the right gear (and hopefully the right training).

One of the nation’s largest Chevy dealers, Bill Heard, has announced that they are closing all of its dealerships — 14 in all. With this closure, more than 2700 people will lose their jobs. Why? Well the perfect storm, of course. Mix high fuel prices with low auto sales (who buys a Chevy anyways?) and you have trouble. Mix that in with more and more banks scared to loan money, and you have a condition where an auto dealer has no choice but to close shop.

Does it seem like thats what all the investment banks are doing these days? Well Uncle Sam (aka the U.S. Government) has not always complied. Just look at what happened to poor Lehman Brothers.

So how about you? Are you hanging in there during this time of financial crisis? Well if you are having trouble making ends meet, secure your financial situation by getting your house in order. For those of us with multiple debts, this means debt consolidation. You can consolidate your debt either through your local bank or you can secure a Personal Loan from a nationwide lender. Check out PersonalLoansLeader.com to find the financing you need. They have a nationwide network of lenders and banks which can get you approved quickly. Don’t let the bills (and late fees) pile up. Get secured lending now and face the future in a good position.

Tired of high gas prices? Well you sure will be even more tired of it when you check out this list. Can you imagine Venezuela?!?!

Easy as, well, pie. All you need these days is a computer. Under federal privacy laws, you can’t apply for a payday loan over the phone, but the Internet lets you apply for a Payday Loan in minutes. Get approval the same or next day. How much can you get? Well you can get up to $1500 quickly to help bridge your cash flow to payday. Of course you can take less — its all up to you. Check out the FAQs at Apex Payday Loan.com to get the full scoop on this easy way to get cash quickly. It’s really that easy.

So when exactly will Web 3.0 hit us? Its been out of the (online) news for a while, which can only mean that its sneaking up on us!

How will we define Web 3.0? Well it will be ushered in when a new wave of online advances take hold.

What could those advances consist of? Well my two favorite hypotheses would be:

1. Semantic Web / Artificial Intelligence - search engines which can actually evaluate search results based on context instead of just algorithmic rules.
2. Natural Language / Intelligent Applications - think about controlling your access to the web using only your voice? Now that’s amazing! You speak and the web responds. Surfing 3.0 for sure!

Ever been faced with this situation? You are plugging away at your desktop and then you get a mysterious error code pop up! Or maybe even the blue screen of death! What do you do? Call expensive tech support? No way — you search the Internet for an explanation of the code and possible remedy. Well here’s a single website which can be your one-stop for all your error code and port diagnostics needs — PC-Library.com. PC-Library.com is the authority when it comes to error codes and diagnostics. They cover every possible code under the sun from “Error 25 - 0×19″ to “UDP Port 135“. Give it a try the next time you are stuck!

Apple Inc. has been a leader in the touch screen techno-world with their iPhone and iPod Touch. The next logical thing for them to do is bring this technology to the computer world. Maybe the next iMac will be a giant display that’s all-touch! Imagine that! Would you even still need a keyboard? Maybe they’d still offer one but that wouldn’t be the point. Anyone else out there believe a touch-screen iMac is the next big secret out of Apple?

Well many of us think the answer is…. at the dealer, but that can turn out to be far from the best. Sure car dealers have access to automakers credit divisions (think GMAC for GM), but they don’t always offer the best rates. Also, when you go this route, the dealer has more leverage over you. The best situation is to come into the dealership with your own lending options in your pocket and be able to weigh all your options. Maybe the car dealer’s Auto Loan is best, maybe not. This way, you get to decide pressure free.

Arm yourself with this powerful tool by visiting BestLeadingLenders.com before you go to the dealer. BestLeadingLenders.com will find you great Auto Loans from lenders across the country and can even get you approve while you sit at home. They also have a great selection of Personal Loan and Bad Credit Credit Cards offers from their network of major lenders. Don’t be left with no options — get the loan you deserve and go to buy your new car with options and confidence!

Think about how cool GPS devices are. Seriously — they are amazing when you think about what they actually do. If you don’t already have one for your car, you are missing a whole lot of fun and a lot less hassle. But what does the future hold for the GPS? Well sure they are now storing MP3s and give real time traffic data (for an added fee), but I’m thinking way beyond that.

I see in the future a GPS that is as thin as a sheet of paper. Flexible, portable, powerful — when you sit in your car, you just slap it on the windshield like a vinyl cling. So what does this GPS resemble? You guessed it — a paper map! But this map actually tells you where you are, which direction you are heading, and how to get to your destination. Amazing!

Have you been getting harassing phone calls from telemarketers, collection agencies or unwanted suitors? Well if so, then you’ve probably tried to track them down to get them to stop. But chances are is these companies are harassing you, then they have their number blocked from Google or *69. So how do you fight back? Esy — you a professional reverse phone lookup service like CallerBase.com. CallerBase.com’s databases and servers have the depth to lookup virtually any phone number and get the owner’s name and address. This reverse phone search service works for any telephone number coming from the United States and Canada. Even if the number is unlisted, CallerBase.com can get the data for you quickly and discretely. The site is also useful to lookup area codes and area code listings by state and prefix.

Have you seen the new Microsoft commercials which star Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld? There have been two made so far and they are both available on YouTube. Check out the second one here: New Family - Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates Ad (Long Version). They are bizarre but funny.

I just heard on NPR that Microsoft is suspending the ad campaign! I also heard it cost about $300 million! What’s up with that? Oh wait, here’s an article: Update: Seinfeld ads end as Microsoft turns to reclaim ‘I’m a PC’ slur from Apple. It seems the Seinfeld-Gates ads phase is ending and part II begins with a look-a-like PC guy from the Apple Ads. This “counterattack strategy” will not directly attack Apple Inc. but instead help show people that its ok being a PC.

Have you seen the new Gnarls Barkley video on MTV or up on YouTube? Well if you have, you know what I’m talking about when I say its intense and deep, yet witty and dark. Haven’t seen it? Well its Gnarls Barkley - “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul?” directed by the remarkable Chris Milk. Check it out and then leave a comment to tell me what you think.

p.s. After 1,873 comments, it still had a 5 out of 5 star rating! Amazing.

Apple Inc just came out with new iPod Nanos and more colors for the Shuffle. Great! But what about all their other products? Will the iMac be next to update or the Apple TV? Don’t buy something that is about to go obsolete! That’s why I check out the MacRumors Buyer’s Guide first and save myself the pain of buying too soon or too late. For example, if you want to buy an iPhone, the guide says “buy Now” since the product has just been updated. An iPod Classic, on the other hand, is long overdue for an update, so the guide says “Don’t Buy Now”! Thanks MacRumors!