Chief Prognosticator

I love hearing during this time of year stories of care and giving across America. Here’s one of those stories and its brought to us by Sears. The Sears Heroes at Home holiday program is all about providing military families in need with a little extra help this year. A total of 30,583 families are being helped by Sears this year and so far over 525,500 people have already donated to the program. Its easy how it works — just visit the website of Sears Heroes at Home Wish Registry and donate. You can donate money right off the cuff or you can dive deep in the website and read each family’s own story. At the story page, you can them view the family’s wish list and decide to donate a specific amount which will help them meet their needs. All contributions are in the end compiled and given equally to each family so you don’t have to worry about “picking” the right family. When you give, every family on their list wins. This is a really nice thing to do for the holiday season and it shows how much we appreciate what these people and their families are doing to protect our country. Thank you Sears for bringing this program around again this year.

Where will the world of pod-casting go next? I love listening to podcasts on my home computer and my iPod. So what’s next? Well maybe you will be able to subscribe to podcasts over Satellite Radio like XM/Sirius. You could download them on the fly and listen to them in your car or maybe even on airplanes. This sort of on-demand listening is the future!

Check out the gear from this online rave clothing store. One of my favorites is this amazing T-Shirt with a real graphic equalizer built in:

Free shipping on all orders over $50 when you use the coupon code “SHIPPING”. Get the coolest fashions online and be the talk of your next party.

What does the future of TV look like? Are we talking about 3D TV? Or what about Smell-o-vision? Nah, I’ve seen the future of TV and I’m going to share it with you now.

Think about this as the past of TV development in the last decade:

1. First TVs got bigger.
2. Then they got flatter.
3. Third TVs went High Definition and were able to hang on walls.
4. What’s next?… WIRELESS VIDEO!

Yes, wireless video. All you will do is hookup for TV to the power outlet and the rest will take care of itself. Your Blu-Ray player or cable-box will wirelessly transmit the high definition signal directly to your TV. No more HDMI cables, no more speaker wires — just wireless reception of signals from your entertainment device transmitted to your TV.

Just a few hours left for the 2008 black friday holiday shopping weekend! Now is the time to take advantage of great last minute deals like this one from Charter Communications. Check out this amazing deal — it’s called the Charter Communications Ultimate Service Bundle and you can get it now for only $165.97. Here’s what you get with this bundled service:

• High Speed Internet Access at up to 10 Mbps.Digital Home
• Charter Digital Home TV including Charter HD, Sports, HBO/Cinemax, Starz/Encore and more!
• Phone Service with unlimited calling
• And as a bonus, a $250 Gift card.

Sounds great right? Well if you sign up today you will be entered into a drawing to win a new XBox 360 video game console. Your chances of winning the XBox 360 are a low 1 of 45 so give it a try now. This deal won’t last long and you don’t want to miss out on these all-time 2009 low pricing.

If you really don’t need all of these services, you can also choose ala carte one, two, or more services and still get really great discounts and savings. Visit the Charter Communications page today and start reading up on this great deal. Make sure you shop before December 5th 2008 in order to qualify for the full array of deals. Good luck!

Here’s what Black Friday 2008 looked like outside of Circuit City:

This year, the results were less than stellar. First of all all the Circuit City stores in my area are closing down and did not have any deals going on. Second of all, when I made it to the stores at 8 a.m. on the Friday after Thanksgiving, I did not see nearly the same size crowds or lines. At Best Best, a store which I visited last year too, there were only lines of about 40 people. Last year at Best Best around the same time, the lines for checkout were wrapped around the inside of the store, approx. 200 people or more!

It seems that Black Friday is continuing strong through the weekend this year. Deals and deal go on and on — need some proof? Check out these deals on Nikon gear. The Nikon Black Friday Promo means you can get the Ultimate Hunter’s Package for a limited time. Here’s what you get in the package:

• ProStaff 3-9×40 Riflescope with BDC Reticle
• ProStaff Laser Rangefinder
• Silent Technology Rangefinder Case
• Mastering a Long-range shot with BDC DVD
• $50 NikonProGear Gift Card

Through Monday you get all this for only $299.95. That’s a savings of over $144 when the gear is purchased separately.If you are a hunter or have one in your family, they will really appreciate this high quality Nikon equipment.

With GM’s stock at a 50 year low and it burning through billions in cash every quarter, the bankruptcy of GM is only inevitable. In lieu of that, a recent CNN.com articles ponders the question to whether GM can survive bankruptcy.

Check it out. The main premise is that GM would find it extremely difficult to get financing for operations throughout the bankruptcy process. Also many car buyers would shy away from buying from a “bankrupt” automaker. What do you think? Would you buy a durable good from a bankrupt company?

Ever wanted to know what the file type nth does? Me too — that’s why I like checking out File-Types.com on a regular basis. They have all the important info you need for a variety of file format types and their database is growing on a regular basis. One day File-Types.com might just have every file extension known to mankind categorized and explained in great detail.

Now back to the nth file type. Well according to File-Types.com, the nth file type is also known as the Nokia Theme File file type. Accordingly, it was created by the mobile phone maker Nokia to standardized the way themes for their handsets are created and distributed. This sort of closed-source method of file distribution has some drawbacks but overall it allows Nokia to control the format closely.

In order to use this type of file, you can download it to your mobile phone using a USB cable connected to your PC. On the other hand you can transfer the file over a Bluetooth connection between devices. Once transfers, you access the file in the phone’s downloaded documents folder.

Interesting enough, right? Well be sure to check out the site on a regular basis to learn more about file format types and what they can do for you.

The Model T came in only one color between 1914 and 1925 - Black. Why’s that? High tech answer - black enamel paint back then dried a lot quicker than the rest and this meant efficiency on the production line. Pure genius. Here are some original specifications of the 1908 Model T:

• 4 cylindler, 4 cycle, 20 horsepower engine
• Artillery wood type wheels
• 10 gallon gas tank
• 1200 lbs weight
• Price $750 from the factory

So what’s the point of debt consolidation? Many — a faster path to eliminating your debt, paying less interest overall, and getting free from harassing debt collector phones calls! Whether you have credit card debt or personal loan debt, debt consolidation can get you on the path to financial freedom.

Visit FastDebtFreedomNow.com and find out the benefits they can provide you. With their debt consolidation alternative program you can reduce your balances up to 50% and save thousands of dollars over the life of your debt. Its a great way to avoid bankruptcy and lower your monthly payments. Check out their site and learn the easy path to living debt free today.

What’s up with the recent stock market volatility? I mean, have you recently heard the saying “300 is the new 30″ (meaning a drop or gain the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 300 is now the new norm)? Well it could have to do with “forced selling”. Forced selling is when brokers sell their clients positions to cover losses even if the client doesn’t want to. When stocks drop to low levels, they get pushed even lower when forced selling triggers and the price follows downwards.

I love the idea of telescopes going high tech. I mean, they have been around for over 1000 years, but now we are really seeing amazing advances in home telescope use. Its not just about looking through an eye-piece any more — now its all about high tech telescopes, connected to home computers and using on board motors to track the sky’s movement.

Check out the latest in telescope tech from OpticsPlanet.com. OpticsPlanet.com has a huge selection of telescopes and telescope related astronomical gear. What I really love about OpticsPlanet.com is that they offer free UPS shipping on your order over $29.95. Telescopes are not small items, so free shipping really helps out a lot in keeping the price low. You can get an amazing Celestron CPC 1100 XLT Professional Computerized 11″ Telescope w/ XLT StarBright Coating 11075 for almost half off retail. This is a top of the line home telescope with full computerized functionality. With the proprietary SkyAlign Alignment Technology, this telescope will help you quickly locate your favorite astronomical bodies and get you looking at them quick and easy. Check it out. High tech telescopes rule. With OpticsPlanet.com’s 100% Satisfaction Guarantee you will never be disappointed with your purchase.

What could the first technological solution to collision avoidance be? The good old car horn, of course! I was reminded of this fact in an article from Slate magazine. The horn was on the first model T when it rolled off the assembly line and its been with us ever since. Low tech? Yes. Responsible for saving countless lives and people from injury? Absolutely! Let’s give a honk for the horn.

So has the U.S. Housing economy finally turned itself around? Well in some places across our land, it really has. For instance, check out these homes for sale in Arizona. The area was overpriced as little as 12 months ago, but now with the drop in housing prices and interest rates, this region has now started to heat up! Compared to my area, Atlanta, you see the difference. In Atlanta, the market never really lost its value. On the other hand, the market here is still really stagnant. Without the drop, there is no recovery. Oh well, check out the hot luxury deals in the Scottsdale Arizona market and enjoy.

It was announced late last week that Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal is increasing his stake in Citigroup back up to 5% of the total value of the company. He originally owned 5% of the company, but that amount fell to 4% in recent months. How? Did he sell shares? No! When the U.S. government injected $25 billion to the company, the overall number of shares increased. This meant the Prince’s stake was watered down by 20%. Yikes!

Have you seen some of the great Black Friday deals this year? How about a 1080p plasma TV for under $1000? Well if you want one, but won’t have the cash until next payday, maybe you should consider getting a payday loan to cover you until then, so you can capitalize on these great deals. Check out PaydayLoansMania.com and see just how easy it is to qualify for a payday loan. PaydayLoansMania.com makes Payday Loans Easy with their easy online application. You can get approved within a matter of minutes, right now, without a credit check or verification. Their service is available throughout the U.S. so no matter where you live you can get the cash you need quickly.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a book and soon to be a new Movie starring Brad Pitt. Ever heard of this book before? Well it was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and first published in 1921. It is the story of a man born in the body of a 70 year old, who ages in reverse, all the way back to an infant. The movie with Brad Pitt comes out in December, but you can read the whole story for free on the Internet over at Wikisource.

Spoiler Alert!

Here is the last sentence of the story. Eerie (and a little sad):

Then it was all dark, and his white crib and the dim faces that moved above him, and the warm sweet aroma of the milk, faded out altogether from his mind.

Do you run a small business? Do you have all the tools you need to succeed? Well if you are still looking for a fast business loan to keep you capital flowing, check out the services from OnlineCheck.com. Their offering includes fast business loans, fresh working capital from creative sources, and cheap Credit card processing services. Having the money to grow your business is one of the most important steps to success. You can’t put the horse in front of the cart without cash and OnlineCheck.com can get you there quickly and without a lot of stress. Check them out and get ready for success.

The auto industry slump and the threat of bankruptcy by GM anf Ford has a lot bigger effect than just on their bottom line. Car Dealerships are suffering worse and they have some new fears to worry about. Here’s a frightening one to ponder:
GM (and other makers) advertise national cash back incentives, like $5000 off a Chevy Tahoe. Well how do you think that works? The dealer sells the car for $5000 less than he would normally, and then asks GM for the money back. Well what if GM files bankruptcy and can’t pay these incentives back to dealers?! Imagine being a car dealership owner and having 50 incentive packages to claim, each at $5000? That’s $250,000 on the line!
I predict that it could come to be that GM offers an incentive and the dealers refuse to honor them, telling their customers they can’t have them! Can you imagine?!

I love working out at home. Being able to watch your TV, not waste gasoline, and then use your own showed after working out is great. How about a new treadmill to work out at home with? Well if that sounds good, start reading up at this great treadmill review web site. Treadmills can be a great tool to get in shape. Walking is generally safe for all ages to use and they can get your heart in shape. Walking even 15 minutes a day can increase your overall health. Think about it.

[ Photo courtesy of TreadmillsGuru.com]

Will the bailout end up costing all $700 billion? 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.

Located in Houston, Texas, the company Petro Wire & Steel is your number one supplier for all things relating to quality metals. Here is just a sampling of their products and capabilities:

• Perforated metal. This sort of product is used for many applications like air diffusers, ventilation panels, and screens.
• Wire and Mesh cloth. From anything like window screens and strainers to industrial grade metal works and screening operations, this versatile products is used in many places.
• Grated expanded metals products. These products are created when a single piece of metal is cut and stretched so that it opens up into a diamond-patterned grate.

They have the experience and quality assurance to provide you the products you need and the price you can afford. They can be your supplier of choice for your production and assembly needs. Check out their site!

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.

Sometimes low tech solutions are the best. In this case I want to talk about the good old Dumbwaiter. The technology have been around for hundreds of years, but you sometimes forget you useful such a contraption could be in your home.

A dumbwaiter is sort of like an elevator for your home. But its not used to carry people from floor to floor. Instead it is used to move goods from floor to floor. A dumbwaiter could be used for:

• Moving food and dishes from a kitchen to a dining area on a different floor of your house
• Moving laundry from the top floor to the laundry room on the bottom floor
• Transport supplies from your basement store room to your kitchen
• Moving Christmas decorations from your basement to your living room

Dumbwaiters are easier to purchase than you’d think. Check out the great selection from  AmeriGlide. Here are some specifics on the popular Express Dumbwaiter model:

• It can carry 100 pounds with ease and some models for up to 200 pounds are available.
• Usually they are 20″ wide x 20″ deep x 30″ high but larger custom sizes are available.
• They all come with a 2/5 year warranty for parts and drive train
• The dumbwaiters are motorized for ease of use and are powered by a standard 115 VAC (120 VAC) wiring.

Sign up to receive they e-coupons for deeper savings throughout the year. They also have a great weekly specials page which has great new deals every week. Dumbwaiters and lifts are a great way to improve your home’s value and utility. Just think about it — have you been to a home lately that has had one installed? Probably not — install your own this month and enjoy the benefits for the upcoming holiday season. Its so easy and fun. Think about it.

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.

As the owner of multiple blogs on the Internet, I am always looking for quality content for my sites. A big part of providing a great online experience for your visitors is to have nice graphics and images to illustrate your content. That’s why I was excited to learn about a new service to provide free blog pictures for anyone who wants them. No licensing fees or payment means you can have quality content for your site without paying through the nose. Its a great alternative to searching for public domain photos and messing through all that uploading and downloading. This exciting new service is offered by Acobox. You don’t have to worry about downloading and uploading images — just find the picture you want, copy the code, and paste it on your site.

That’s it! No resizing or hosting issues here — just great quality images for your blog or website with no cost to you. I signed up recently and found a lot of great content. Here’s one of my favorite photos to use — it will be popping up on this site often. Best of all, it was free! Check out Acobox.com and create your own account. It only takes 3 minutes to register and you can start using the images right away.

.

What is the “Thing Internet”? Well, its an Internet composed of “things”. OK, more specifically its a network of devices which you don’t normally have networked together. In the future it can be a network of smart home appliances, cars, MP3 players, or even houses. These smart devices will share information online and get information from the web. Think about a fridge which can tell you the prices for food at your local grocery store or an MP3 player which streams music from the web. The future is coming.

Ever thought about earning an online degree? Are they for real? Yes - they are! As long as you get it from an accredited higher education facility it will have a lot of value for your career. Find the best online degree programs (and traditional campsus-based degree programs) at DegreeHound.com.

Take it from me, furthering your education can advance your career, earn you more money, and make your life more enjoyable. I got an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management, part of DeVry University, as listed on DegreeHound.com.

The site is well organized with the information organized in several ways:

• Program Areas (like Business Schools, Criminal Justice programs, and Culinary Arts)
• Degree Types (Associate Degrees, PhD Programs, MBA Programs)
• Online Schools
• Campus Schools

Find the perfect school, online or in person (or a mix of both like DeVry), and get your career in high gear! Furthering your education not only increases your knowledge and skill but also shows your current employer (or future employer) that you are dedicated to improving your abilities. This sort of thing goes a long way in an economy like ours right now — check it out and find a couple of schools to apply for. Its free and easy to do — check it out!

Well its both an amazing fact and a sad one — only 12 humans have ever walked on the moon, or any other body than the Earth before. And all 12 have been American Men. All have been white/Caucasian. The lucky ones have been:

1 Neil Armstrong
2 Buzz Aldrin
3 Pete Conrad
4 Alan Bean
5 Alan Shepard
6 Edgar Mitchell
7 David Scott
8 James Irwin
9 John W. Young
10 Charles Duke
11 Eugene Cernan
12 Harrison Schmitt
[care of WIKIPEDIA]

How does Debt Consolidation mean more money? Easy — with debt consolidation you will end up paying less for your debts over the long run and therefore have more money at the end of the day. How does this work? Bills.com explains! When you have a debt and you pay if off over time, you end up paying for the debt amount (the principle) and the interest accruing on the debt (the interest). This means a $1000 debt today could end up costing you $1500 or $2500 after you finish paying it off. Every month when you make a payment, your payment is split, some going to the principle and the rest going to the interest. That stinks, doesn’t it?

Well this is where Debt Consolidation comes into play. You consolidate your debts into a single debt at a lower interest rate. A lower interest rate means you pay less interest each month and more towards the debt itself. You pay it off quicker and have more money in the end! The benefits from this can be lower monthly payment, a quicker path to debt free life, and more money in your pocket! Check it out today at Bills.com.

Bills.com has all the information you need to manage your bills and get back on track. The economy is bad, the jobs outlook is bad — above all, you need to get your bills in order and brace yourself for the future.

The space race is back ON and several new countries have entered the fray. Of course the U.S. and Russia have space programs but hwat about China and India’s recent flights. China has sent their citizens into orbit while India has launched an unmanned orbiter. Who will make it back to the moon first? Well it might be the U.S. but it also might not! The U.S. plans to land someone back on the moon in 2022 — an amazing 50 years since the last human stepped on the moon.

Are you getting harassing phone calls from collection agencies or unwanted individuals? Well this is where a Nationwide Phone Lookup service can help you.

NationwidePhoneLookup.com specializes is decoding the hardest reverse lookup numbers. I’m talking about cell phone and unlisted callers. Call from these numbers just don’t work in most traditional reverse phone lookup services. Get free from those harassing calls!

President Elect Obama really loves his BlackBerry (as do I mine). But changing from a Senator to the President could mean him having to give up his productivity tool. Why? Here’s some potential reasons:

• BlackBerry / cellphone users may be tracked / triangulated and this poses a security threat
• National archive / sunshine laws means the correspondences need to be recorded.
• BlackBerries are easy to misplace and lose!

Simply put, reverse mortgages are financial instruments which are meant to release the equity one has in their home. You basically take out the equity you have in your home and don’t have to pay it back until you die (or move). Not a bad deal, eh? Well learn more about this subject at MyReserveMortgagePro.com. This sort of mortgage is used mainly by people over 62 years old and who have paid off most or all the value of their home. Get a lot of free reverse mortgage information at this site and decide whether it is a good option for you or your parents. It can help you get a steady stream of income from an asset which you already own. Still confused? Well check out the website and learn about reverse mortgage benefits. The closing costs are relatively low and you can start right away. Here’s another way to think about it — instead of making monthly payments which you would in a regular mortgage, in a reverse mortgage it is YOU who gets the monthly payments! Nice work if you can get it. Its also a nice way for seniors to supplement their income while still being able to live in their homes.

Well we all know it sold for $7.5 million back in 2000. So what happened to it since then? Well can you believe the name (and site) sold for about $350 million a few years later. That’s the word from this TechCrunch posting. Isn’t that just plain old crazy? Until today, I never just went to my browser and typed in “business.com” in the URL address field. Why would I? Like the rest of the world, I use a search engine to find information on the web.

Do you own a small business? Do you have the right technology to help you make money? Huh, never thought of it before? Well you’d be surprised about how technology can help your business become more efficient and save money in the mean time. For example video surveillance cameras can help deter employee and customer theft, adding to your bottom line and preventing loss. Touchscreen Point of Sale devices can increase speed and efficiency of your staff and also automate your inventory process. To learn more about these exciting and affordable technologies, visit IT Planet, purveyor of discount hardware for businesses.

Isn’t it difficult to type in search queries on your handheld device? Typing on your BlackBerry or iPhone isn’t easy. This why I am excited about the news out this week that Google has added voice recognition to its search software used in the Apple iPhone. You can ask virtually anything and the technology will translated into a search. It could be the beginning of the future when it comes to how you access the Internet on the go.

Mobile Marketing is really the future of online advertising. Thought Google made a lot of money selling ads online? Well imagine what will happen when 10 times the number of people have access on their mobile phone to the net! This is why you need to get involved with a company like Pepperjam Mobile. They are the mobile marketing specialists — they can set up the right campaign for you and your business, manage the deployment, monitor the metrics, and provide follow-up. Powered by M3 Mobile Marketing, they can take your business to the cell phones and hand held internet devices with Mobile Marketing that works!

Do you know what I love better than playing video games? Getting free information about how to beat them online! No seriously — there are literally hundreds of sites where you can ready walk-throughs and FAQs about your favorite games. All the tips, all the tricks, and all the hints at your disposal.  For the game I’m playing right now, God of War, I turned to the game guides at IGN. Another favorite site of mine is YouTube to check out the best boss battles.

With less than two months to go before Christmas, now is the time to order your Corporate Christmas Cards. No seriously — you want to have them in the mail right after Thanksgiving in order for them to be received by December 1. That way your card gets displayed for almost an entire month — giving your name and company exposure. To order your Corporate Christmas Cards, visit ChristmasCardsDirect.com. They have an amazing selection of Christmas and Hliday cards to choose from. Want a closer look? Well you can request a sample of up to 6 cards for free to see them in person. With over two hundreds card designs to choose from, ChristmasCardsDirect.com is sure you will find the perfect cards to represent your company and product. I love the idea of corporate holiday cards — people who receive them are usually proud to display them for weeks and this means more exposure for your business. They also have a great selection of photo cards. You just upload your photo online and then make the perfect card. I like the idea of having your whole office pose for a group photo and then using that picture. ChristmasCardsDirect.com is a proud supporter of ‘Operation Christmas Tree’ by helping send over 5,000 Christmas trees and Christmas cards to U.S. Military troops stationed around the world. Hearing stuff like that makes me proud to be an American!

President-elect Obama announced today that he will be publishing his weekly addresses in a multimedia format similar to that found on YouTube. Historically Presidents have used radio to braodcast weekly messages. The use of YouTube video to do a multimedia chat would be something new but not uncharacteristic of the President-elect. Senator Obama has made great use of Web 2.0 technologies during his campaign.

In this down economy, you really need to make sure you are in the best financial position possible. Why? Well you never really know when you could lose your job and have to settle for lower pay or have to move to another town. Of course the best position to be in would be “debt free” but that’s not always possible. In most cases, the best position you can get in is one where your debt is at manageable levels and at the lowest interest rate possible. Learn all about Debt Relief solutions are FreedomDebtRelief.com. Its a really information packed site that explains all your possible options. Educate yourself and then decide which one is best for you. At the end of the day you want to be in the best position to weather this down economy. Some of the options listed at FreedomDebtRelief.com include:

• Debt Negotiation or Debt Settlement
• Credit Counseling
• Debt Consolidation
• Bankruptcy
• Credit Card Monthly Payment Optimization

They can help you determine which path is best for you and your specific situation. The best part is that they offer a free consultation without any strings attached. Just good financial advice. Give them a call today at 1-800-544-7211 to get back on the path to security and peace of mind.

With GM’s stock at a 50 year low and it burning through billions in cash every quarter, the bankruptcy of GM is only inevitable. In lieu of that, a recent CNN.com articles ponders the question to whether GM can survive bankruptcy.

Check it out. The main premise is that GM would find it extremely difficult to get financing for operations throughout the bankruptcy process. Also many car buyers would shy away from buying from a “bankrupt” automaker. What do you think? Would you buy a durable good from a bankrupt company?

Do you have plans for the holidays? Are you going to stay at home and visit or are you going to go somewhere on vacation? Well here’s an idea for a great vacation holiday — Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is a once-a year celebration at Walk Disney World in Orlando Florida. Held in the months of November and December in the Magic Kingdom, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is holiday fun for the whole family. Since its the off-season (e.g. winter), you can find discount Disney tickets for simply amazing prices. If you can drive to Orlando, you get the advantage of super-low gas prices (how long will that last) in combination with cheap park tickets. Its really a great deal! Find great discounted tickets to the winter celebration at Orlando Fun Tickets. A superior online provider of attraction tickets, Orlando Fun Tickets has the best discounts around. Best of all, they are a name you can trust to get genuine tickets, delivered safe and fast. No worrying about this year’s vacation — visit Orlando Fun Tickets and get the party started! Give them a call toll free at (866) 225-4712 or visit them online at www.orlandofuntickets.com to get started planning the best winter vacation of your lifetime.

What’s your vote in the running for the greatest Sony Playstation 2 game ever? For me its down to two classic action games. The first is Shadow of the Colossus. With its cinematic visuals and interesting game play, SotC is easily one of the greatest games ever. My second vote is for God of War. An amazing action fighter game, this movie combines quasi-history (mythology) with awesome fighting. What is your vote for the greatest PS2 game ever? Leave a comment and we’ll tally the votes.

I love to travel and I love high tech. That’s why I was really excited to learn about Klean Kateen Water Bottles. They are made from 100% food grade stainless steel. This means that the clean water you put in is the same clean water you get coming out. No contamination or chemicals to leach into your drinking supply. With so much in the news these days about BPA and other plastic chemicals and their harm to drinking water bottles, its good to know you can get top quality water bottles free of danger. Fresh Water Systems is the place to go to get the best Water Bottles and Water Filters known to man. With all the top brands from Culligan to Pur, they are a top seller of quality personal use products. A level higher, they also produce industrial grade water filtration systems for residential and commercial use. Its all about their passion to provide fresh and clean drinking water to you. Check out their full line of Everpure filters and find the perfect high tech solution to your thirst for life! Water Bottles make a great gift for the holidays. Nothing says health and vitality than does the gift of clean water. Its not something to be taken for granted.

The Tesla Roadster was one of the coolest electric cars ever made, but it looks like the company which produces them has hit hard times. Their promises of building an electric family sedan but those planned have been put on hold.

Lets hope the company can pull itself back up and it will restart its ambitious plans to make awesome electric vehicles!

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and the kickoff to the holiday shopping season, is coming. Ready to buy an awesome big screen HD TV? I think some of the best are from Sony. Another good brand is Sharp. Some people say that 1080p isn’t worth the money since you probably can’t tell the difference but I disagree. Have you ever seen Batman Begins in full HD? Its amazing. So how much to pay for that new Sony TV this year? Well I know one thing — don’t ever pay full price for a TV! Instead, get your own Sony coupon for free and save some serious green! Nobody should ever pay full price for home consumer electronics — the only question is how much of a discount is reasonable and how long should you wait for the deal to come along? I like shopping online, finding the lowest price, and then looking for free shipping coupons on top of it! That’s one of the important things when shopping online. You usually won’t pay any tax, but you could be hit up for serious shipping charges. Finding free shipping coupons or offers isn’t that hard — you just need to know where to look.

Why are we seeing my prediction come true?

The idea is simple. Two or more screens which are stacked on top of each other while not in use. When you want a larger display on your handheld device, your flip the two screens out to create one large display! Why are we seeing this for pocket computers and mobile gaming devices?

I drove for several months this summer without a functioning air conditioner in my car and it sucked! Why did I wait so long to fix it? Well, it was expensive, but that’s really no excuse. Driving without AC is horrible. If you need a new AC Compressor, check out 1airconditioning.com. They can get you driving cool again quickly. Best of all, every order and every part comes with free shipping and a full warranty. Buy with confidence and save money on your AC repairs.

What will the Obama Whitehouse website look like? Well considering what he’s done in the past at My.BarackObama.com and now Change.gov, I think we could see something really cool. Think Web2.0 meets the Federal Government. Could people share their opinions on legislation and policies in an online Democracy? What do you think it will look like come 2009?

When it comes to landscaping, I get discouraged easily. I mean, after spending hours in my yard tending to the bushes, cutting and watering the grass, and applying chemicals to stop weeds, I still end up with a unhealthy looking yard. This is why I was really interested to learn about the latest in Artificial Turf. Perfect in hot climates like San Diego Artificial Turf, this turf looks real and stands up to anything the elements can throw at it. Whether you need Orange County Artificial Turf or Los Angeles Artificial Turf (or Atlanta, like me), EasyTurf is easy to easy to maintain. Its safe for kids and pets to play on, it holds up to use, and is environmentally friendly. I don’t know about you, but in my city, there has been a watering ban for the past 8 months. My grass has taken a beating accordingly. I f I only has EasyTurf artificial grass, I wouldn’t have to worry about watering again. That’s good for the environment and my wallet every month. Visit them online, email a customer service representative, or give them a call at 1-866-EASYTURF to learn how affordable this permanent landscaping solution can be.

The Chevy Volt is the all new electric car GM is introducing next year. But with the company’s current financial condition, will they pull the plug? I mean, it costs a lot of money to introduce a new product to market and the Volt won’t be cheap. Let’s hope that GM will continue to push the envelope on this one and make the car a reality.

Check out this great video and article about Dragon Naturally Speaking. Its quite an amazing piece of software. You just talk into a microphone and your computer dictates your words almost flawlessly. Forget the keyboard — this new software can make typing almost a thing of the past. The video is done by a friend of mine, Drew, at the BenSpark.com. Check out the coupon code at the bottom for 25% off Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred or 25% off Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Standard — your choice!

Drew of the BenSpark has put together a great little video demonstrating Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10. Drew has been blogging for quite some time and he might just be one of the best mobile bloggers that I know. He is probably more famous for his picture a day work as he is an excellent photographer. But I can’t help be amazed at how much content he creates and the high level of quality in that content.

He’s definitely a blogger that employs best practices when he finds them, and based on this video, it looks like he might see some potential in Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Now I am not trying to put an endorsement in Drew’s mouth. Time will tell, but I do think he is off to an excellent start.

You’ll notice in his video, that the sound quality of his video is excellent. That’s actually an important aspect for Dragon NaturallySpeaking. I don’t mean that you need good video quality or sound quality in a video to make Dragon NaturallySpeaking work. However you do need a good microphone, and it should be a noise canceling microphone at that. The better the sound quality, and the better able your microphone is to remove other background noises, the better your system will be able to recognize the words that you say as fast as you say them and transcribe them accurately.

Now Dragon NaturallySpeaking comes with a noise cancellation microphone that works very well when you buy it out of the box. Drew is working with a download version that does not come with a microphone, and so he had to supply his own.

As I write this article, I am using a wireless headset microphone from Logitech. I’ve been using Dragon NaturallySpeaking for almost two years now, but I’ve just recently untethered myself from Dragon NaturallySpeaking and started using a wireless headset microphone with noise cancellation capabilities. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 does have the capability of working with Bluetooth wireless microphones, but my particular microphone runs on 2.4 GHz wireless technology. Now if you live in a household or work in an office environment where there are a number of systems or phones or microwaves, you may experience some interference with this particular headset. In that case, you will probably be better served with either a Bluetooth headset or a headset that is capable of being plugged directly into your computer through the microphone plug or through USB. I don’t have that issue, and so I do get excellent quality with little to no interference at all.

So if you take an interest in Dragon NaturallySpeaking and want to try it for yourself, I highly recommend that you get a boxed version of the software which you can order from Nuance online. You can even get a good deal on a Bluetooth wireless headset and a bundled option from Nuance. If you’re looking for entry level pricing, you can start using the software and get a headset microphone for as little as $75 if you act fast and use the coupon code with our links in this article available exclusively to blog readers.

To put that in context, I’ve taken three typing classes over the years to boost my typing speed and spent essentially three semesters practicing at typing. It wasn’t the only thing that I studied, but I spent a lot of time building up my typing skill. With Dragon NaturallySpeaking, you can invest $75, invest an hour installing the software (I’m being very conservative with that time estimate) and as little as 10 minutes training the software to recognize your voice. Then you will be off and running typing at 150 words per minute!

That is pretty amazing, and well worth the value of $75($99 with the exclusive discount coupon code DNSMSBG for 25% off if you use the clickable image in this article, but act soon before the code expires!). Not to mention if you spend a little extra and get a wireless headset microphone, you can pace around your room or your office, you can exercise, or do a number of different things other than sit at a computer desk staring at your computer all day long. $99 basically gives you your freedom with a Logitech headset.

Best regards,
Brett Bumeter
www.softduit.com

My name is Brett Bumeter, and I wrote the article above and 4 1/2 minutes. The article is about 659 words long, and that translates into 144 words per minute. Add in two minutes for editing, and that’s still 100 words per minute!

Nuance is allowing us to offer our readers a 25% Discount Coupon CODE Exclusive for Dragon Naturally Speaking, but you must click the image below and use this code (DNSMSBG) Together. Code will not work from other sources

How nice is it to be President-elect? Well how about the ability to setup your own .gov website in a matter of days. That’s power and coolness combined. Check out President-elect Obama’s new transitional website located at Change.gov. I like the Share Your Story and Share Your Vision part of the website. Here you can write your own part of history and your vision for the future. Who knows — maybe your vision will make it into a blurb in the inauguration speech!

I love going all high tech for Christmas and the holidays. Forget giving regular old cards this year — do what I’ve done for years now and make your own custom Photo Cards. Take a family holiday photo and then send it off to vistaprint.com. Within days you’ll have your own custom holiday cards for distribution to your friends and family. There are hundreds of holiday designs to choose from. I like the 4″ by 8″ design — its something we’ve done in my family for years now and people love receiving them. VistaPrint is so easy to ease its no wonder why more than 15 million people have already given them a try. Upload your photo, select your design, add your text and add-ons, and then order! Its that easy and you will get your cards quickly. Avoid the holiday rush and order your holiday photo cards this week! It will be one more thing you can cross off your holiday list and you’ll feel really good to give them. The VistaPrint Guarantee of Satisfaction means that you have a full thirty days to contact them with your complaint and get your situation rectified, whether it means a full refund or a reorder of your print job.

Have you heard about this new service? There is a mobile phone application called