Taco Bell’s New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature

Why would they do this ? OMG, Has The Onion Gone too far this time ?
how many folks will see this and think, This is real. hopefully not too many; as this has just totally made me shake my head..

Do You Think that this is actually the real plan of the Fast Food Chains ?
Ultimately to recycle their garbage into sellable/edible menu items that the mindless public will just suck down without a clue as to what they are composed of really ? Oh God Deliver Me from That Day.

I try to avoid fast food, and taco bell is not one of my favs;  since my mexican is 1000 times better than that swill they push out the window.

• I wonder if Taco Bell will put out a press release about this video ?

• would you if you owned Taco Bell ?

Comments Please, A Blog gets Lonely without them..

Michael Jackson was unable to sing ahead of concert tour

UPDATE 10.25pm: MICHAEL Jackson was so unwell he could no longer sing, even though he was due to play dozens of comeback concerts, according a press report.

According to a report in Britain’s Daily Mail, Jackson would have been unable to sing at any of his 50 concerts scheduled in London over coming months.

The tabloid quoted an aide to the star as saying that Jackson was able to stand after recent medical treatment, and would even be able to dance “once he gets in better shape”.

“He just can’t sing,” said the aide, adding that Jackson would have to lip-synch to get through the show.

“Nobody will care, as long as he shows up and moonwalks.”

The report also said that Jackson had been offered well over $120 million to play Las Vegas for six months.

“He said no, but his people are trying to force it on him. He’s that close to losing everything,’ said the source.

Earlier, it was revealed that Jackson was virtually bald, riddled with needle wounds and weighed just 51kg when he died, according to a leaked autopsy report.

The Sun said Jackson’s stomach held only pills and his body was scarred by at least 13 cosmetic surgery operations.

The needle holes were a legacy of Jackson’s addiction to painkillers, injected three times a day “for years” The Sun, which has obtained the details from a leaked autopsy, said.

Pathologists said Jackson was wearing a wig which covered just “peach fuzz” on his head and that several of his ribs were broken as a result of frantic attempts to revive him after he suffered a heart attack in his Los Angeles apartment on Friday.

“Michael’s family and fans will be horrified when they realise the appalling state he was in,” a source told The Sun.

Experts also expressed their amazement at the way Jackson was treated on his death bed, with one of four attempts to inject adrenaline into his heart missing its target and noticeable damage caused by oxygen masks and tubing inserted during resuscitation attempts.

The star’s personal physician Dr Conrad Murray is also under fire for attempting to resuscitate Jackson on his bed, rather than face-up on a hard surface as per basic CPR guidelines, a mistake which could have cost doctors “vital minutes”.

Despite Jackson’s condition, the preliminary examination also found he was recovering well from a skin cancer operation.

The New York Post reports that a rehearsal for his scheduled London shows was filmed the day before his death and will be released as part of a tribute DVD.

Meanwhile, the mother of two of his children has claimed Jackson is not actually their father, saying “I was his thoroughbred”.

In an interview with the News of the World, Ms Rowe, the mother of Prince, 12, and Paris, 11, said the children were conceived by artificial insemination from an anonymous donor.

Ms Rowe was a receptionist at a Beverly Hills dermatology clinic when Jackson told the world he was expecting his first child with her in 1996.

“Michael was divorced, lonely and wanted children. I was the one who said to him, ‘I will have your babies’,” Ms Rowe said.

“I offered him my womb – it was a gift. It was something I did to keep him happy.

Ms Rowe said she was “impregnated” like one of the mares she now keeps on her property, saying: “I was just the vessel. It wasn’t Michael’s sperm.”

“It’s just like I impregnate my mares for breeding. It was very technical,” she said.

“Just like I stick the sperm up my horse, this is what they did to me. I was his thoroughbred.”

Ms Rowe said she was never a good mother and did not want custody of the children.

“I got paid for it, and I’ve moved on. I know I will never see my children again.”

The couple married at the Sheraton Hotel in Sydney in November 1996 while Rowe was pregnant with Prince.

Ms Rowe, now 50, said she never had sex with Jackson throughout their marriage and parenthood and that their entire relationship was a sham.

She also told the NOTW that Jackson wanted nothing more to do with her after the painful second birth left her unable to have any more children.

She said it was at that stage the Jackson ended their relationship and paid her $9 million over nine years in exchange for custody of the children.

Speculation is now mounting over who would take care of Jackson’s children, with the most likely candidates now his 80-year-old mother Katherine and the children’s nanny, 42-year-old Grace Rwaramba.

A lawyer for the late singer’s family today said that grandmother Katherine wanted to be the children’s guardian.

“She will seek custody of the children. She loves them dearly,” Londell McMillan said on the sidelines of the Black Entertainment Television awards in Los Angeles.

Katherine Jackson has been looking after the children since the sudden death of their superstar.

“(Michael’s) children are in great care with Mrs Jackson,” Mr McMillan said.

“They’re in a loving environment. She’s a great grandma.

“I couldn’t think of anyone better for these children than a grandma like Miss Katherine Jackson and the loving support of family of the Jacksons.”

Mr McMillan said the Jacksons had not yet seen the late superstar’s will and was unable to confirm if one even exists.

He said if Jackson had not left a will, his assets would go to his next of kin under California law.

The mother of Jackson’s third child, Prince II, has always remained a mystery.

Meanwhile, a lawyer for the doctor who was with Jackson when he died said the singer collapsed in front of his eldest son, who thought his father was joking around – but soon stood “in a trance” watching frantic efforts to revive him

MICHAEL Jackson’s children asked to see their father’s body after they were told he was dead, it was revealed.

Edward Chernoff – lawyer to Dr Conrad Murray who was at Jackson’s home when the star collapsed – said he consulted a psychologist when the children asked to see the body.

Prince Michael Joseph Jackson, 12, Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson, 11, and Prince Michael Jackson II, 7, were placed in the temporary care of their grandmother, Katherine Jackson, by a Los Angeles judge.

A 2002 will by Michael Jackson divides his estate between his mother, three children and one or more charities, the Wall Street Journal reported last night.

But his father, Joseph Jackson, apparently does not feature, the story said.

Police tracing drugs that may have killed Michael Jackson

THE mystery over Michael Jackson’s death took a dramatic turn after police began tracing the drugs believed to have killed him.

Prescriptions appear to have been written in several names – including members of his entourage.

This raises the prospect the 50-year-old singer set up an illegal supply chain to satisfy a dependency on painkillers his doctor would not prescribe.

Inquiries are focusing on a bodyguard who was at the Los Angeles mansion where the star collapsed on Thursday.

It is now known his doctor claims not to have been able to make an emergency 911 call because he couldn’t remember the address.

The inquiry was being conducted against a backdrop of increasing anger from Jackson’s family as they struggle to arrange his funeral, launch a legal battle over his money, music and children, and try to unravel what took place in the 12 hours before his death.

The bodyguard, in his 20s, was one of up to 15 individuals often staying at Jackson’s mansion. He shared it with a circle of aides, friends and Nation of Islam minders.

If it can be proved drugs were obtained for Jackson in someone else’s name it would become a serious criminal matter. It could also go some way to answering questions about what happened.

The TMZ celebrity news website reported that a “drug overdose” was the most likely cause of death.

A funeral date has yet to be set. The family is waiting to hear details of a second, private autopsy.

Dr Conrad Murray denied giving Jackson the drugs believed to have caused a cardiac arrest, insisting he never prescribed or gave Jackson either Demerol or Oxycontin.

Dr Murray said that when he found Jackson in bed, he still had a pulse. He tried to revive him but struggled to find anyone at the mansion to help him call 911, his lawyer Edward Chernoff said.

Once he realised cardiopulmonary resuscitation was not working, he dialled 911 on his mobile phone.

But Dr Murray, who moved into the house weeks ago as Jackson’s personal physician, says he did not know the exact address. None of the house phones worked “for privacy reasons”, so he ran round looking for help.

A security man, Mr Chernoff said, eventually dialled 911.

CPR, he said, was done for 25 to 30 minutes before emergency teams arrived. Their efforts also failed.

Dangerous Drug Found in Jackson Home

Posted Jun 30th 2009 11:39PM by TMZ Staff

Sources tell TMZ an extremely dangerous and potent drug used for surgical anesthesia was found at Michael Jackson’s house after he died.

We’re told the drug Propofol was discovered at the residence. The drug is used to put people under anesthesia before surgery. It is an extremely powerful drug that is only available to medical personnel. As one source said, “There is no conceivable way this drug can be properly prescribed for home use.”

The drug can only be administered with an IV. Interestingly, Propofol burns and the drug Lidocaine is used to reduce the pain associated with the Propofol injection. As we first reported, Lidocaine was found near Jackson’s body.

One of the major side-effects of Propofol is cardiac arrest if it’s taken in combination with narcotic painkillers, however, Propofol is so powerful it can stop someone’s heart on its own.

A registered nurse has come out and said Jackson begged her for the drug Diprivan — the brand name for Propofol. She says he needed it for insomnia but she declined to supply it.

Sources say the drug is so inappropriate and reckless for home use, if a doctor facilitated it for Jackson, he or she could be prosecuted for manslaughter.

Today we are in another STATE Of SHOCK – Because news just hit that Michael Jacksons’ Dermatologist was the father of his children; NOT MIKE. Damn..

The Story is below the Video so you can Oooooooo and Aaaaaaaahhhh too; my crazyasshubby always said that the kids belonged to “Conway Twitty”; so I guess he was right after all.

Have Mercy ! these kids are not even Jacksons.. by adoption.

so what will really happen to them. that’s a helluva question and wow – why did he do it ?

Michael said that the kids were African American – and we can all clearly see that the kids are Caucasion. Damn Mike, WHY ?? he told martin bashir in his rebroadcast interview from 2002′ last nite; that “My Father Joseph has Blue Eyes, so the kids could have gotten their color from his side of the family; I have vitaligo so maybe they are just a product of GOD.” MIKE Please, 2 lies in one..

Michael Dear You Sure Left a Mess for Everybody Baby,, Damn instead of Blanket Should we be callin that baby JACKET? SMDH

WHEW !!! I’m Through Now Y’all smdh

Michael Joseph Jackson 08/29/1958 ~ 06/25/2009

Dermatologist Is Father of Michael Jackson’s Kids!

June 30, 2009

By Ani Esmailian

It seems like all the skeletons in Michael Jackson’s closet are slowly making their way out and into the limelight.

Earlier this morning we reported that Michael wasn’t the biological father or the sperm donor for any of his kids, and Debbie Rowe is not the biological mother of the two kids she had for Michael. She was simply used as the surrogate, and paid to carry the children to term.

Now we’re learning through Us Weekly that the biological father of Michael’s children is Arnold Klein, Jackson’s L.A.-based dermatologist and Rowe’s former boss.

“He is the dad,” says a Jackson insider. “He and Debbie signed an agreement saying they would never reveal the truth.”

Debbie admitted a few years ago that she carried his children as a “favor” to Michael, but would not confirm that the marriage was ever consummated.

According to TMZ, Michael never officially adopted his three children and although he is presumed the father, it’s not conclusive by any means.

Michael’s mother Katherine has already been granted temporary guardianship of his children, but their fate still lies in the hands of the judge. We hope this dermatologist doesn’t come out of the woodwork and try and fight for custody now that Michael has passed.

Michael Jackson was more of a Phenomena than Person;
if you met him, you remembered him. I met him as a young motown singer, passing through town. he was sweet, quiet and well mannered as were all the Jacksons.

It would be the later years, that would mould a distinct impression of Michael Jackson aside from the Jackson 5; and make us all want to create our own tributes to him – upon his final curtain call.

we’re going to update this page as we feel it, and provide links to all kinds of Michael Jackson Memorabilia. as well BadGalsRadio will be spinning 100 Michael Jackson Hits over the next 7 days. every hour you will hear at least “3 Michael Jackson hits” – No Diggity.

we remember the man in the mirror this way, because he made us all look deep into that mirror; and recognize who we are.

” Long Live the King – Long Reign the King of POP ”

Michael Joseph Jackson 08/29/1958 ~ 06/25/2009

Michael Jackson was more of a Phenomena than Person;
if you met him, you remembered him. I met him as a young motown singer, passing through town. he was sweet, quiet and well mannered as were all the Jacksons.

It would be the later years, that would mould a distinct impression of Michael Jackson aside from the Jackson 5; and make us all want to create our own tributes to him – upon his final curtain call.

we’re going to update this page as we feel it, and provide links to all kinds of Michael Jackson Memorabilia. as well BadGalsRadio will be spinning 100 Michael Jackson Hits over the next 7 days. every hour you will hear at least “3 Michael Jackson hits” – No Diggity.

we remember the man in the mirror this way, because he made us all look deep into that mirror; and recognize who we are.

Michael Jackson Bio Part 1 – 6 (consecutively posted below)

it was his step away from the Jacksons, that presented a new and more interesting Michael to the music world.

he was an instant hit. it’s his ability to dance, sing and think on his feet that endeared us to him. Thriller – his best selling album, is the worlds best selling album still to this day. now that is quite a mark on history.

Even those of us who thought he was slipping away from reality, watched to see what would happen. he was so charismatic that he could draw a crowd wherever he went; it just magically happened..

he was a superstar if ever the word could be used justly..

Michael Was the King of Pop – and He Earned that Title, Righteously through a sacrifice of blood, sweat and tears.

His many strange peroids were usually punctuated with a new and undeniably hot tune or album. he never made a album that didn’t sell at least 1 million copies. his albums still sell like the day they were released globally on cd, and now again on Vinyl – from the early motown reissues. he has been in the spot light his entire life.

This Comeback was anticipated to be the greatest show he had ever planned. the rehearsals in Los Angeles were going well; even with reports of an occassional tired day here and there.

Michael was a trooper to the end in everysense of the word..

maybe he knew better than any of us, the sacrifices it takes to create a legacy that recovers from such scorn as was heaped on him in his later years. Michael perservered and pushed on – never looking back and making plans always for more and better.

that, I am sure – is why we loved him so..

” Long Live the King – Long Reign the King of POP ”

Michael Joseph Jackson 08/29/1958 ~ 06/25/2009

BREAKING NEWS: Singer Michael Jackson, 50, has suffered a heart attack and died,

- gossip website TMZ reports.

Paramedics were unable to revive him.

TMZ were told: “when paramedics arrived, Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back.”
Jackson is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince “Blanket” Michael Jackson II.

The website reports he had been taken to hospital in Los Angeles after CPR treatment by paramedics who were called to his home.

Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics were first at the scene of the singer’s $US100,000-a-month rented home in Holmby Hills near Sunset Boulevard about 12.12pm (local time) to find him not breathing, the Los Angeles Times reported.

He died at UCLA hospital.

Jackson was reportedly planning a comeback and was living in LA while rehearsing a series of 50 sold-out shows in London, the Los Angeles Times has reported.

‘King Of Pop’ Michael Jackson Dead At 50

Jackson Was Not Breathing When Paramedics Arrived, Officials Say

Dave Hogan/Getty Images Michael Jackson

LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted child star who rose to become the “King of Pop” and the biggest celebrity in the world only to fall from his throne in a freakish series of scandals, died Thursday.

He was 50.

Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Ed Winter, the assistant chief coroner for Los Angeles County, confirmed his office had been notified of the death and would handle the investigation.

The circumstances of Jackson’s death were not immediately clear. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m., Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times.

The paramedics performed CPR and took him to the hospital, Ruda told the newspaper.Jackson’s death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music’s premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.

His 1982 album “Thriller” — which included the blockbuster hits “Beat It,” ”Billie Jean” and “Thriller” — is the best-selling album of all time, with an estimated 50 million copies sold worldwide.

The public first knew him in the late 1960s, when as a boy he was the precocious, spinning lead singer of the Jackson 5, the music group he formed with his four older brothers. Among their No. 1 hits were “I Want You Back,” ”ABC,” and “I’ll Be There.”

He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched voice punctuated with squeals and titters. His single sequined glove, tight, military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks second only to his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.

“For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don’t have the words,” said Quincy Jones, who produced “Thriller.” ”He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.”

Jackson ranked alongside Elvis Presley and the Beatles as the biggest pop sensations of all time. He united two of music’s biggest names when he was briefly married to Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie, and Jackson’s death immediately evoked that of Presley himself, who died at age 42 in 1977.

As years went by, Jackson became an increasingly freakish figure — a middle-aged man-child weirdly out of touch with grown-up life. His skin became lighter, his nose narrower, and he spoke in a breathy, girlish voice. He surrounded himself with children at his Neverland ranch, often wore a germ mask while traveling and kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles as one of his closest companions.

“It seemed to me that his internal essence was at war with the norms of the world. It’s as if he was trying to defy gravity,” said Michael Levine, a Hollywood publicist who represented Jackson in the early 1990s. He called Jackson a “disciple of P.T. Barnum” and said the star appeared fragile at the time but was “much more cunning and shrewd about the industry than anyone knew.”

Jackson caused a furor in 2002 when he playfully dangled his infant son, Prince Michael II, over a hotel balcony in Berlin while a throng of fans watched from below.In 2005, he was cleared of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him, and of engaging in strange and inappropriate behavior with other children.

The case followed years of rumors about Jackson and young boys. In a TV documentary, he had acknowledged sharing his bed with children, a practice he described as sweet and not at all sexual.Despite the acquittal, the lurid allegations that came out in court took a fearsome toll on his career and image, and he fell into serious financial trouble.

Jackson was preparing for what was to be his greatest comeback: He was scheduled for an unprecedented 50 shows at a London arena, with the first set for July 13. He was in rehearsals in Los Angeles for the concert, an extravaganza that was to capture the classic Jackson magic: showstopping dance moves, elaborate staging and throbbing dance beats.

Singer Dionne Warwick said: “Michael was a friend and undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest entertainers that I fortunately had the pleasure of working with. … We have lost an icon in our industry.

“Hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital as word of his death spread. The emergency entrance at the UCLA Medical Center, which is near Jackson’s rented home, was roped off with police tape.”Ladies and gentlemen, Michael Jackson has just died,” a woman boarding a Manhattan bus called out, shortly after the news was announced. Immediately many riders reached for their cell phones.

So many people wanted to verify the early reports of Jackson’s death that the computers running Google’s news section interpreted the fusillade of “Michael Jackson” requests as an automated attack for about half an hour Thursday evening.

In New York’s Times Square, a low groan went up in the crowd when a screen flashed that Jackson had died, and people began relaying the news to friends by cell phone.”No joke. King of Pop is no more. Wow,” Michael Harris, 36, of New York City, read from a text message a friend sent to his telephone. “It’s like when Kennedy was assassinated. I will always remember being in Times Square when Michael Jackson died.”

Associated Press Writers Derrik J. Lang in Los Angeles and Virginia Byrne, Nekesa Mumbi Moody and Jocelyn Noveck in New York contributed to this report.

Today we touch on SPLOGS..Un Huh WE Go There

this post is all about defining the term Blog v. Splog

Many of us don’t use the words Splog, or Splogger when we should and today we are aiming to define and clarify that fine line between a Blog and a Splog

first lets give the definition of a SPLOG :

What is Splog

“Splog” is short for Spam Blog. Spam blogs are blogs that don’t provide any real content for users. They exist solely to game the search engines. These splogs may exist just to have links to other websites or, they may have ads on the blog itself. The content on splogs are auto-generated, either from some other source or a list of useless keywords.

The simplest definition for splog is as follows:

SPAM + BLOG = SPLOG

Splog is a terrorist to our blogosphere and needs to be stopped. This site was created for “good willed” bloggers to report splog in an effort to help to clean up the blogosphere of splog. It was spurred by the called to arms of Mark Cuban here and then followed up by a post on Somewhat Frank.

Check out these recent article mentions:

Red Herring – 12/27/05
Spam Plagues Blogs

WebProNews.com – 11/07/05
Blog Wars: Attack Of The Splogs

The Toronto Star – 11/06/05
Advanced ads, or attack of the splog people

Wired News – 10/27/05
How to Fight Those Surging Splogs

Wall Street Journal – 10/19/05
‘Splogs’ Roil Web, and Some Blame Google

eWeek – 8/17/05
Blog Search Engine Threatens Ban of Blogger Blogs

(-  end of clipping -)

Okay now we know that Entrecard is a Chief Splog Unit.

Why ?

that’s what we are trying to get to the bottom of this week.  Why do these UnBlogs seem to clutter the Blogosphere ?

In the case of Entrecard – it’s for the Points and Cashout system.

this is the worst way to destroy a blog – add cheap cash or loads of unrelated ads.  there are so many ads on some of these Splogs that their pages take forever to load, and when they do, it’s hard to even locate the Entrecard Widget on the page; tossed in with all the various and assorted cash generators.

Home | Take Action | News | More Information

What is Splog

“Splog” is short for Spam Blog. Spam blogs are blogs that don’t provide any real content for users. They exist solely to game the search engines. These splogs may exist just to have links to other websites or, they may have ads on the blog itself. The content on splogs are auto-generated, either from some other source or a list of useless keywords.

What is Wrong with Splog?

Splog clutters the internet with useless content. Web search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN, and blog search engines such as Technorati, IceRocket and Bloglines serve to manage the huge amount of information available on the Web. Splog makes it much more difficult to find the useful information.

Take Action Now!

(end of clipping)

When reading Blogs are you bothered by all the miscellaneous clutter ?

Oh I am – and I am going to give a few examples of blogs that have this very issue – so that we can see from live examples what Is a Splog -

these are randomly chosen pages from my Entrecard Inbox from today, that are SPLOGS;

I suggest You take a look at them and decide for yourself, as I am not going to link to them and give them any additional fuel to burn out a real blog. the problem is these folks are doing this because they don’t care about the value of real blogs. they are just using any vehicle to get a few pennies out of real bloggers by dropping cards enmasse on Blogs to fill their accounts with cash out credit. the articles, if you call them that are all about One Link to a Paid Article Generator – Am I Wrong ?

We can’t say that entrecard is wrong for trying to monitize.  it just seems that the monitization rules, have increased the spam load on entrecard at least 5 fold; in the most recent months. before the cashout policy was announced – there were splogs, but not the amount we see now.

When these sploggers gather enmasse to attack a blog – they normally use one viewpoint and post remarkably similar comments; indicating that there is a Hive Mentality in Play.

wouldn’t it be better to go to others splog instead of blogs, for these folks ? I surely think so, since most of them in the case of entrecard spend less than three 3 seconds on your page- Wham Bam and no thank you mamm..

From WIKIPEDIA

Spam blogs, sometimes referred to by the neologism splogs^[1], are artificially created weblog sites which the author uses to promote affiliated websites or to increase the search engine rankings of associated sites. The purpose of a splog can be to increase the PageRank or backlink portfolio of affiliate websites, to artificially inflate paid ad impressions from visitors, and/or use the blog as a link outlet to get new sites indexed. Spam blogs are usually a type of scraper site, where content is often either inauthentic text or merely stolen (see blog scraping) from other websites. These blogs usually contain a high number of links to sites associated with the splog creator which are often disreputable or otherwise useless websites.

There is frequent confusion between the terms “splog” and “spam in blogs“. Splogs are blogs where the articles are fake, and are only created for search engine spamming. To spam in blogs, conversely, is to include random comments on the blogs of innocent bystanders, in which spammers take advantage of a site’s ability to allow visitors to post comments that may include links. In fact, one of the earliest uses of the term “splog” referred to the latter. ^[2]

This is used often in conjunction with other spamming techniques, including spings.

In the blogging world, Reading Is a Must and Commenter’s are Winners

these sploggers don’t bother to read, anything that requires any length of attention or thought to process. this is evidenced by their quick hit and run attitude coupled with their excuse for attitude response of:

” me for example : I have four(4) blogs so I need to hurry up to four drops in one of your blog, so.. the ending should be comment time but sometimes your topic is not my interests , sorry.. but that is what i feel , so.. in consideration that you drop EC I’ll dropped you back and thats all..but…..if you left me comments I’ll comments you back..my english is not good but I understand very well and I’m trying to be good.”

yes this is an actual comment left on one of our blogs. Can you Imagine ?

such curt rudeness, and lack of simple consideration for the blog and the time the blogger spent to compose their thoughts.

then there is this similar comment – also actually left on one of our blogs:

I question to you? do you always Leave a comment on all the Blogs you visit? Lets say 100-300 blogs. I find something time is limited and it is hard to do this. However I have visitors who have never left any msg, but I know they read or leave my EC to buy ads. I know it is hard to feel rejected but some of us are not rejecting just reading and moving on.:-)

Co’mon, You Come Here for One EC and don’t have time to read ? what kind of nonsense is this ? you come to a blog but not to read or comment ? ooiiiiii,,,, damn.  (sorry I had to get it out)

one of our Real Readers left this very smart comment in the same post, so we realize that the content was very commentable:

Tis I once again….after reading everyone’s comment…I think it is safe to say that we all have our priority list and we all have that right…no matter which order they are placed.

We have all sorts of Bloggers with different reasons for blogging.

Some of us feel that leaving a comment is in fact very important and a show of respect.
Some feel that just dropping in is also important and a show of respect.
Some blog strictly for the $$$$bling.
Some blog for return hits.
Some blog to learn.
Some blog to share.
Some blog to copy and paste (naughty)
Some blog to meet new people from all over the world.
Some blog out of boredom.
Some blog to feel good that they have done their 300 ec drops.
Some blog to see how many followers they can get.
Some blog for the fun of the contests.
Some even blog just to get someone to say hello in their shoutbox.

I have seen also groups that basically just visit one another and keep a circle of friends going on.
All of these reasons are acceptable as they should be because everyone has a right to blog.

We also have a right to voice our opinions on who comes into our blogs..similar to who walks into our homes.

This commenter put it on the plate, and made it as clear as water.
I think we have seen the parallels clearly enough to know the difference between a Blog and a Splog.

This is a BLOG, Not a Splog. there are no teats here to milk;  and this blog will not instantly begin to follow anyone who leads it toward ad and virus laden pages, filled with graphic overload akin to a bad disco nightmare masquerading as a blog, but no real content.

Content is KING and We are the readers who decide if that’s a fact or just a hack. for us, it’s a fact. we don’t dilly dally with these splogs anymore and when they litter our cbox on our other site, we erase their comments and make sure to ban them. it rarely helps as they find it to be a game to come back and again spam in a foreign language. WHY ?

that is the biggest question of all, Why do they do it ?

My Theory is simplistic – they are unable to comprehend their level of disrespect and or curtail their actions due to their addiction to of all things the US Penny. yeah, penny because each drop is equal to less than a penny; because of their proliferation of splogs.

Have they even considered their part in the desecration of the blogosphere or the ec economy ?

Sadly I lament, the answer is apparently NO.

they are Hit and Run Accidents happening simultaneously all over the blogosphere. truly it’s sad.

what can you do to prevent them from treating you like a Goat ?

well there are those who think that leaving Entrecard is the answer. maybe it is in some extreme cases; but we think the real answer is to Read Good Blogs, Comment and Fill your Friends Queue with Real Blogs and Forget That Inbox – because that’s the green pasture of these sploggers.

So Today we call on all good entrecarders to Skip That Inbox; and Forget about the Sploggers.

Form Real Reading and Commenting Relationships with BLOGGERS. let the sploggers choke themselves on pennies; and eventually they will have a cheap gas attack. then hopefully those pennies will shower back into the global economy, instead of more cheap splogs.

*note to sploggers – forget commenting and making stupid remarks as I am going to monitor this post for such, and will just delete them since they will undoubtable be worthless space wasters. if you have a constructive discussion item then add it – otherwise, copy the post and share it in your circle so you know who’s aware of your hive, and isn’t phased by you at all.

- Death to Splogs -

LONG LIVE BLOGS

Do You Twitter ?
I found this neat new application to build twitter followers.

BTW, You Can follow us on Twitter by Clicking HERE

I follow Mashable in rss feed, and this nice application was featured. I Love Twitter so I jumped on it. Boy Am I Glad I Did.

Check this out, from Mashable

In an utterly predictable development, services are springing up to become the junk traffic exchanges of the Twitter era. Take, for instance, TwitterHIT, which has resulted in hundreds of Tweets today.

Promising to “Boost your followers”, TwitterHIT is a way to automatically follow masses of people on Twitter, with the hope that “20-30%” will follow you back. You enter your Twitter username, password and some keywords, and TwitterHIT scours Twitter for Tweeters mentioning those words and automatically follows them. It also, up until recently, would automatically subscribe all users to Tweets from the “Twit_hit” Twitter account, which has now been suspended by Twitter.

Finally, TwitterHIT Tweets out a message on your account along the lines of “I have just used TwitterHIT to follow 28 very interesting people in 60 seconds. It actually works…” And of course you can later unfollow the 70-80% of people who didn’t follow you back by using a tool like FriendorFollow.

TwitterHIT isn’t the only one, it seems: a service called “Twitter Traffic Machine” appears to be in the same market.

History Repeats Itself

This is wholly reminiscent of Web 1.0 traffic exchanges: for every 5 webpages you view, we’ll send one visitor to your site! Except that nobody was in it to find interesting sites: they just wanted the traffic for their own sites, leading them to set up botnets to automatically view sites (or click banners) all day.

The marketing of TwitterHIT suggests the same motivation: it’s not marketed as “find and connect with interesting Twitter users”, but rather with the tagline “Boost your followers”. Will these new followers be voraciously consuming your Tweets all day, or are they simply in it to boost their own follower counts?

On the upside, these services can’t do too much harm: Twitter tends to limit the number of people you can follow to 2000 unless a similar amount of people are following you back.

Some of you may recognize this letter as one I’ve sent and posted before – if you see yourself in this role – then put your name in that space.

Hello Rolling Dropper: – who has 6 exact copies of the same blog – and drops 6 cards a day on each of my blogs; but never spends more than 10 seconds on my blog; according to what my stats show me from their visits.

I am hoping when you read this you will keep an open mind. I have received your drops for a few weeks now, and to be honest, never one comment.

there is nothing on your 6 blogs that to be honest I can comment on except that your pics are all the same on all your sites; and you seem to be catering to the pinay crowd.

1. I am not Pinay; but I like Pinays.
2. I am not interested in Family Parties; I am a Political Blogger.
3. I am not interested in people who care nothing about my blog and only want to get One EC from my Time. never bothering to even read a story and or leave a single comment, on anything.

I have three blogs in Entrecard, and you’ve never left a single comment on any of them, but you keep making my bounce rate higher. NOT NICE.

please don’t misunderstand, I think blogging is great but I want READERS; I do NOT WANT droppers, Who Leave me with a high bounce rate.

So Rolling Dropper, it would be so nice if you would pick one of your blogs to drop on me ONLY. Because your drops make the bounce rate rise, and never a comment makes it even harder to swallow.

if you think I am being Hard – then dont’ bother to drop at all. sorry but I am so tired of the return drops to non commenters, who purposely do not read or care about what is on a blog – only the ONE EC DROP.

trust me there are better ways to make friends and to get money, on the internet.

btw I will be posting this to my blog tonite so you can see it when you DROP – and Yes It will be clearly written to you, so you know.

Peace to You,

Happy Juneteenth – To You and Yours from Us and Ours

Juneteenth History -

Juneteenth Celebrations Across the Nation

Visitors to The African American Museum in Philadelphia, which reopens today on Juneteenth, listen to life-sized 3D characters speak fervently about their lives, beliefs and aspirations in 18th-century Philadelphia. The exhibition, Audacious Freedom: African Americans in Philadelphia, 1776-1876, also features an interactive timeline documenting more than 100 years of entrepreneurship, environment, education, religion and family traditions in the African-American community. For more information, please visit gophila.com/pressroom. (PRNewsFoto/Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, George Widman Photography)

To many, the words Juneteenth signify freedom, and a time of joyful celebration; others aren’t familiar with the term and have no idea what it refers to. Also referred to as Freedom or Emancipation Day, Juneteenth is a combination of June 19th and is the day that celebrates the abolition of slavery in the state of Texas, however for 31 states, Juneteenth is recognized holiday, in fact, Juneteenth is the oldest holiday that celebrates the abolition of slavery, with its first observance dating back to June 19, 1865, well over a century ago.

The date of June 19, 1865 is significant due to the fact that Texas was the last state to free her slaves. General Gordon Granger issued the order more than two years after President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation; the first order of the Emancipation Proclamation was signed on September 22, 1862, the second on January 1, 1863. Though the Emancipation had legally granted Texas slaves their freedom, many were not freed until that infamous day of June 19, 1865 when General Granger and his army declared an official end to the Civil War by proclaiming order #3:

“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer.”

For many, Juneteenth is a time of celebratory fun, as well as a time for painful reflection. The fact that many are still unaware of Juneteenth shines a light on the importance of the need for a great voice in the African American community. Many feel that Juneteenth should be a national holiday, celebrated, as one would honor those who gave their lives in service to this country, others simply feel that racial inequality that took place several centuries ago is a thing of the past. So like many unofficial holidays, Juneteenth is highly praised and celebrated by some, while completely ignored by others.

States that have an official observance or have declared Juneteenth a state holiday include:

Alaska
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
The District of Columbia (not a state, but the nation’s capital)
Florida
Idaho
Illinois
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Michigan
Missouri
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Oregon
Texas
Tennessee
Virginia
Washington
Wyoming

More Information

Juneteenth World Wide Celebration
History of the holiday, registry of organizations and commemoration events in the US and internationally, ideas on how to celebrate,and more

JUNETEENTH History
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.

NATIONAL JUNETEENTH HOLIDAY CAMPAIGN
“Juneteenth” or “19th of June”, is considered the date when slavery ended in America.

Juneteenth History and Celebrations

Juneteenth in the News

Annual Juneteenth events mark turning point in nation’s history

Art exhibit showcases African-American history

Why should Juneteenth be marked by celebration?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhh I want this as soon as it hits the market, ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…..

Everyweek we get fresh flowers or a plant to freshen the deskspace. this would be wonderful, and entertaining at the same time. better than virtual pets as you could watch them grow and enjoy the interaction with your real fish on your desk.

- IMPORTANT  NEWS – For Our FORMER LINK PURCHASERS -

Due to Widespread Problems with Google PR for Many Folks we’ve decided to DE-Link our Friends. that should help your pagerank climb; as well as ours.  If you’d still like to be linked to our site, hit us up on our comments from this post and we’ll get right back with you, on the possibilities.

Thanks for Understanding – because we only wish our friends the best

Do You always have a Plant or Flowers on Your Desk ?  how about a desk pet ?

what fun !

Floating Garden Freshwater Aquarium Concept Uses 100% Vegitation Filtration to Keep Fish Happy [Aquariums]

By Adrian Covert on Green

If this aquarium doesn’t qualify as green innovation, then I don’t know what does. Because using a small garden to filter out nitrates from your freshwater fish tank is pretty damn eco-conscious.

Designed by Benjamin Graindorge and Duende Studio, this tank not only looks nice, but uses some simple ingenuity to accomplish the task of water filtration.

Here’s how it works: nitrate-heavy water from your fish tank is pulled up into the garden, where it is passed over a layer of river sand, which uses bacteria to convert impurities into nitrates. The water is then passed over some plant life, which naturally absorbs the nitrates as nutrients. Then the purified water is thrown back down into the fish tank, where your gilled friends can swim at ease.

CoolHunting says there are plans for the Floating Garden to go into production in 2010, both in plastic and ceramic iterations. [Duende Studio via CoolHunting]

These Lil Devices make our lives so much more complicated, yet we do not want to live without them. have you considered what the secret life of your cellphone really is ?

Take a Moment and Tell Us What You Think

we want to get the work savers, and sync masters to put our data in align; as well as make it easier to just do what we do, daily. let them do their work; While We Also Do Our Work. That’s Synchronicity. it’s been proven that a properly sync’d phone and pc add to the confidence and cool factor immensely.

we all need to keep our data in Sync, Right ?

First lets check out the phone goodies :

Take a Look at These Updates for the IPhone and 3G

• iPhone 3GS Complete Feature Guide
  The ‘S’ is for Speed! The main feature updates include a better camera, faster 3G support, Nike+, longer battery life, and a compass.
• ‘Find My iPhone’ Lets You Ping, Remotely Erase Your Lost Phone (If You Have MobileMe)
  They’re awesome features, but no one has MobileMe.
• At Long Last, the iPhone Gets Voice Commands
  You can tell it who to call, tell it what music to play, ask it who’s already playing, and tell it to “play more music like this” for a little help from the Genius.
• 8GB iPhone 3G Will Sell for $99 Alongside 3GS
  The price for an old 3G iPhone’s not looking too shabby.

Opera 9.7 Beta Brings Turbo Mode to Windows Mobile Phones [Downloads]

By Kevin Purdy on Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile: Opera’s released an early, partially-featured beta of its Mobile browser that brings the server-side browsing speed-ups of Opera Turbo to touchscreen phones.

Our phone-happy compatriots at Gizmodo give the Turbo feature of Opera Mobile 9.7 Beta a qualified thumbs up, noting that it brings considerable reduction to web page load speeds with “not that bad” image compression. Still, while Turbo is on, the browser itself gets a bit flakier. Opera itself notes in release notes that downloads just won’t work with Turbo enabled, and fans of Opera’s Widgets have to turn off Turbo when switching over to them.

Google Gears functionality and full Flash support aren’t in this beta either, but are expected. You can check out what’s already happening in Opera Mobile in this explainer video:

Opera Mobile is a free download for Windows Mobile 5/6 phones powered by touch screens. Be sure to read the release notes at the link below, as keyboard input and other issues have been noted with certain phones.

This is not New, but still a great reminder of the things you can do on the go with Google, For Free. Save a Buck and Stay in Sync.

The Maintenance could have been easier, if we had initially been using this  lil nifty tool. NasBackup, is one everybody should have and use nightly. it will prevent you having to do these special ops maintenance jobs, such as the one I’m presently engulfed in.  just think, you set it up to back up your new data to either your network, or even the same machine. it’s the best way to handle preventing data loss and confusion.

NasBackup Makes Incremental Backups Easy [Downloads]

By Jason Fitzpatrick on Windows

Windows only: NasBackup is an easy to use interface for the powerful rsync backup utility.

You can use NasBackup right out of the box and easily schedule backups from your machine to another machine on your network. Underneath the GUI is still all the power of rsync, if you’re familiar with rsync commands you can edit the main.phase file in the NasBackup directory to including any rsync tweaks you like. Even if you never get under the hood and mess around however, NasBackup is quite capable. Once you select the data you want backed up, the destination on the remote computer, and tell NasBackup how frequently to back the data up, from there out it works in the background incrementally backing up your data to the remote disk. If you’re interested in shopping around for a backup solution, make sure to check out our previous Hive Five on best backup tools. NasBackup is open source, Windows only. Thanks Mike!

And finally, what are the most dangerous words to search for ?

have you ever considered the damage you can do to your PC or Smartphone searching for certain terms ? and then the result of finding them ? it can be a real mess to clean up after.

take a look at this,

The Web’s Most Dangerous Search Terms [Malware]

By Jason Fitzpatrick on Securty

Many people use the “I don’t search for warez or porn” defense when it comes to avoiding malicious software and links online. It turns out that the most dangerous search terms are often much more benign.

McAfee, of the anti-virus fame, had their researchers comb through thousands of popular keyword searches. After analyzing the frequency with which they found malicious software at each link they compiled the results. Surprisingly the common “bad” searchs that people associate with a guarantee of getting malicious software like searching for pirated software or pornography rank fairly low on the risk scale. Apparently the people behind malicious sites like to cast a wide net and use things like lyrics to popular songs and free screen savers to lure people in.

Check out the white paper at the link below for the full charts and more information about the study. Extra paranoid now? Make sure to check out our Hive Five on best malware removal tools and best anti-virus scanners.

Day Three takes us back to the Phone side of this upgrade odyssey.

check out these nifty lil devices, as you may well want to get one for your own use. I’m sure I’ll be looking into at least one of these; as I already have the battery back up charger for non pluggable situations.  those are the things that make modern technology such a triumph in the green age. plus you use Your Power or Solar; to repower your phone for a quick call.

my phone came with two batteries, and two chargers. that makes it perfect to use anywhere. the ac charger is also a usb charger. the phone does it all, and then some. it also holds two sim cards. which means when you use two different lines, you can use one phone, and get all your calls on one phone, Voila !

this is a dream for me, as it also syncs to usb and holds up to 8gb of data on it’s internal memory. it also came with it’s own 2gb micro sd card. this is the best phone buy I’ve made in years.  the internal camera and video cam are of such good quality that I shouldn’t really need to carry a seperate camera; unless I’m video taping a long session. this Smartphone is a dream for a tech who travels. it eliminates the need to have to carry a seperate gps; and the usb sync and bluetooth make it a flash to share files, literally. no more dragging that laptop. it’s all flash drives and cards for me from now on, when I hit the road.  who needs onstar, when you have a smart phone.

The Power Pump Charges Your Cellphone With Air Pressure [Cellphones]

By Sean Fallon on Power pump

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for green technology—so long as physical effort is not required. That’s where the Power Pump cellphone charger from Orange falls a bit short.

Should you find yourself with a dead battery when you need to make a call, the Power Pump can provide emergency power via a turbine driven by a foot pump. Apparently, you can generate around 5-minutes of juice in the same time it would take to inflate a standard-sized pillow.

The device is set to be presented at the upcoming Glastonbury Festival (a proving ground of sorts for new technologies in the UK), so it would have to make a big impression there before any real world product would be considered. The way I see it, there are already eco-friendly products in the pipeline that provide a more efficient, less physically taxing form of alternative power. [Orange via Red Ferret via OhGizmo]

Q-Sound Solar Bluetooth Headphones Are Pleasingly Future-y [Headphones]

By Sean Fallon on Solar powered headphones

I’ve got to give this Q-Sound headphone concept from Shepeleff Stephen top marks for its design. Not only does it look great, it is also innovative in its use of solar technology.

After all, it makes sense to power Bluetooth headphones with a small solar panel stretched across the headband—an area that could be easily exposed to the sun. Outside of that, the Q-Sound would also be able to handle calls or plug into a 3.5mm jack should the need arise. All-in-all the Q-Sound is a great idea—a concept I can definitely see transitioning into a real-world product. [Ecofriend via Gizmag via Ubergizmo]

And I am certainly ordering this tomorrow – No Doubt,

Solar Portable Power Station for iPhone 3G & iPod

Click on the thumbnail to preview.
To see the full size, click on the preview image above.

Price: $ 28.89

Dispatch in:

Quantity:

---

This is a 100% Solar Energy Emergency Recharger, it charges your mobile devices anytime and anywhere! With solar energy absorbing panel, it protects the environment friendly with clean and effective solar energy power.

The charger is compatible with Apple iPhone, light weight, compact size, easy to use, easy to carry with and it has high solar energy converts efficiency with more than 15%.

Specifications:

• Weight: 42g
• Dimensions: 60 x 53 x 12 mm

yes it’s that time.. recommended whenever a drive gets excessively slow; or exhibits signs of damage. just cleaning it up and reformatting it, can save you the expense of buying a new drive; or heaven forbid a new computer.

I actually used windows back-up on the first machine; as I am doing three drives; on two computers. at the same time, I’m actually assembling a brand new machine for the radio station, so that’s part of the reason for the sudden attack of techitis. 3 clean fast Computers with superspeed cable internet, finally. yes comcast comes on monday afternoon and we’ll be off that at&t koolaid after 5 years. Thank The God of Cable, those asses at at&t finally pushed that button with me the other day when I called for something simple like a password reset. that was it. I knew it and I made my move.

when I did, that also meant a network upgrade and machines getting their spring bench visits. yes I do all our work, in house. I must admit that the feeling of accomplishment when I’m finished working on the machines or the network; is infinitely much better than if I’d called “those folks” from geeksquad.

it’s something about those white short sleeve shirts and that black tie that reminds me of an fbi agent; regardless of the fact that they are driving cute lil beetles. everyone knows that those are some witless folks.

besides I don’t know where their tools have been. lol. and they don’t wear lilac nailpolish either, damn it.. (Yes Ladies wear nail polish even when working on computers, because we protect our natural assets; and we like to look good, doing what we do good)

Keep It Green and Do It Yourself – It’s as Easy as 1,2,3.

Five Best Alternative File Copiers [Hive Five]

By Jason Fitzpatrick on Top

If you do any serious file copying on a Windows system, you’ll quickly discover that there are substantial limitations to the default file copier. Ease your file copying frustrations with these five alternative copiers.

Photo by NathonFromDeVryEET.

Copying a few documents from your hard drive to your flash drive doesn’t stress out the default copier too much. If you’re dumping gigabytes of data from one drive to another, however, you’ll quickly find that the default copier is sluggish and unreliable. The pinnacle of frustration: When Microsoft’s default copier putters out while you’re transferring tons of files and you’re left with no indication what was copied and what wasn’t, leaving you to pick through the file lists on each end or starting from scratch to ensure a clean copy. The five excellent alternatives below all succeed at alleviating the many shortcomings of the default copier.

FastCopy (Windows, Free)

FastCopy isn’t pretty, but it is, as the name implies, quite speedy. FastCopy integrates with the system shell and is the only copier listed here which allows you to select which individual commands will appear on the right-click context menu. FastCopy allows you to specify actions based on a file’s age, size, and name, among others. You can also enable secure overwrite, where all moved files are securely deleted from the source directory upon completion of the move. FastCopy can be made portable by copying the FastCopy.exe and FastCopy.chm from the installation directory.

RichCopy (Windows, Free)

RichCopy has been around since 2001 but was only recently released to the public; prior to that it had been an internal Microsoft tool. RichCopy offers all the functionality of the popular command line file copier, RoboCopy, but it’s wrapped in a radically more user friendly GUI. RichCopy has a single but significant shortcoming: It lacks integration into the Windows shell. Despite functioning only as a stand alone tool, it earns its spot in the Hive Five by offering an enormous amount of granular control. You can apply dozens of variables control your file copying, including filtering files by name and extension and selectively applying file attributes. RichCopy is the only copier in the Hive that has profiles, a must for this app given how many variables it allows you to change. You can create a profile for every copying task you can think of.

SuperCopier (Windows, Free)

SuperCopier is a strong candidate for your flash drive. It’s the only alternative copier here that makes itself the default drag-and-drop handler while the program is active. You can turn SuperCopier into a portable application by going into the Advanced menu and changing the Settings Location to “.ini file”. SuperCopier, like RichCopy also allows you to specify if file attributes and security settings will be copied.

TeraCopy (Windows, Basic: Free / Pro: $21)

TeraCopy is one of the best known alternative file copiers, winning people over with an interface and functionality that one might call “just advanced enough”. TeraCopy integrates with the Windows shell for drag-and-drop support and includes a solidly laid out right-click menu. It doesn’t overwhelm you with a plethora of settings or options, but it provides enough advanced functionality to speed up file copying, notify you when files don’t copy correctly, and allow you to bulk approve overwriting, renaming, and skipping of duplicate files. TeraCopy is also available in a portable version. The $21 Pro version adds the ability to select files by extension and remove files from the queue without having to start over.

CopyHandler (Windows, Free)

CopyHandler is another candidate with a ton of customizable options. While RichCopy specializes in granular control over things like file names and attributes, CopyHandler allows you to get as picky as setting custom buffer sizes based on whether a file is being copied to the same physical disk, disk to disk, disk to optical drive, and so forth. You can integrate CopyHandler into the Windows shell and the right-click menu, and you can even instruct it to perform tasks like shutting down the system when the copying is done. CopyHandler is also the only alternative copier listed here which allows you to pause your queue transfer, shut down the computer, and then start the queue up again upon logging back in.

This week’s honorable mention goes to RoboCopy a powerful command line utility originally offered as part of the Windows Resource Kit and now included in Windows Vista and Server 2008. Even with the GUI add-on it’s not pretty or remotely easy to use but it’s quite a powerhouse if you love the command line.

Whether it’s your first time trying out an alternative copier or you’ve long since swapped out the old and busted for the new and streamlined, we want to hear about it in the comments below.

Whoopie, we just got a brand new Phone and a Brand New Harddrive. so we’re looking at customization and Fun.

Today is Day One of Seven Days of Tips Tweaks and Tools.

If you have a Tip to help customize our new i9+++ Phone We’d Love to Hear it.

Top 10 Wallpaper Tools & Tweaks [Lifehacker Top 10]

By Kevin Purdy on Wallpapers

A good wallpaper provides a pleasant backdrop to productivity. A great wallpaper changes your whole computer experience. See some of the best image sources, software, and usability tweaks we’ve come across and rolled up for your downloading pleasure.

10. Wallpaper that looks like a desktop

Computer engineers spent all that research time making PCs resemble real-life workspaces, so why not indulge them a little while cleaning up your work space? Desktop wallpapers, in the strictest sense of the term, use visual representations of a wooden desk, a document stack, sticky notes, and other tools you’d use to organize a real desk to give you a place to put program icons and loose documents. Gabriel’s layered desktop on Flickr is a prime example of such a spatial hack, as is ksieve’s compartmentalized desktop, and it’s a good starting point for creating your own divided desktop.

9. Relive your time-wasting past (or present)

Nothing particularly tricky about this item, just a pointer to some pretty amazingly detailed, stylish, and joy-evoking wallpapers. DeviantArt member Orioto paints wallpapers so fresh and eye-catching, we’ve highlighted them twice. They’re note quite as stylized, but DesktopGaming has a wide-reaching collection of wallpaper sized just right for your system.

8. Match it with a custom theme

What good is having a slick, minimalist black background if all your program windows have to be cartoon-y, Windows XP blue? Break out of the blue/gray/Windows 98 lockdown by using Jason’s guide to custom themes, which cracks open XP and Vista’s theming restrictions and allows you to change your entire desktop’s look and feel and integrate your wallpaper into a smooth, stylish whole.

7. Embed a calendar

A lot of apps can overlay a calendar on your desktop—Raindlendar comes to mind—but BigHugeLabs’ Wallpaper tool does the job nicely, with no added software and a pretty clean look. Load up images from your system, or point to images elsewhere on the web, and you’ve got quite a lot of resolution, placement, and font options to pick from for embedding a calendar directly to your wallpaper’s image file.

6. Find a great source

You can spend all day hoping to find a green-ish, abstract image through Google, Flickr, or other means that fits your 1440×900 and 1680×1050 monitors. Alternatively, you can try that search on one of our readers’ favorite multi-monitor wallpaper spots, or give our top 10 wallpaper, font, and icon sources a go. Need more? We’ve also pointed out a great 70-wallpaper roundup that could play the perfect matchmaker between you and the wallpaper of your dreams.

5. Make your iPhone wallpaper productive

Your desktop’s not the only place where a background image can do more than just be covered up. gCalWall and Wallpaper Labeler, two free App Store finds for the iPhone or iPod touch, add calendar events, customized notifications, and almost any other text you’d like to see on your device’s “Slide to Unlock” screen. Check out our screenshot tour to see if you’d benefit from having a very expensive reminder note in your pocket.

4. Use multi-monitor images with UltraMon or DisplayFusion

We have a hard time choosing between these two little Windows software bundles, both of which offer a lot of functionality in their free versions, yet enough of an upgrade to make paying a small bit worth it. Whichever way you go, these Windows apps make it easy to manage separate images, or stretched giganto-images, across two, three, or however many monitors you’re rocking. If you like to rotate, images, pull from Flickr, or otherwise mix up your images, well, they’ve got you covered there, too.

3. Rotate your wallpaper

Save your right-click finger some stress and keep your desktop fresh by rotating your background images automatically. We like how freeware apps Wallpaper Clocks and Desktopia shift wallpapers to match clock faces or the current amount of sunlight. For Windows users, Wallpaper Juggler is a free, open-source app that can automatically grab and download wallpaper from great sources, but we really love John’s Background Switcher, which plugs into any service from Flickr to Facebook to keep your desktop fresh. Linux users have quite a few rotation options. The key to a great, time-sensitive wallpaper is having a good set of images. When I’m rocking Ubuntu Linux, for example, I sometimes keep the Dawn of Ubuntu set loaded to provide a background awareness of just how long I’ve been working (or having a great day).

2. Add killer customizations

They go way beyond wallpaper, but some of the best total desktop packages we’ve seen ’round these geeky parts—the Enigma, Lightning at Sunset, All About the Icons, and many more—are fully explained by their authors. That means links to the wallpaper sources, yes, but it also means the customizable clocks, text displays, and other features that look so perfect paired up with their chosen wallpaper can be easily added to your own desktop. You only have to go as far as you want, and there’s lots of room for customization.

1. Roll Your Own

Want killer wallpaper that’s really hard to find? Make it yourself. We’re not suggesting you bust out Microsoft’s Paint and paint your own landscapes (though feel free, really), but try some of the more intriguing wallpaper generators out there. Repper flips any image into striking wallpaper suitable for tiling. Collagr makes classy, well, collages from Flickr sets, and Top Draw generates abstract graphics on the fly. Want more fine-grained control? We like how Mike Matas used iPhoto and a plug-in to make a “Life Poster,”, but the look can just as easily be accomplished in Picasa, and sized for the desktop instead of the office wall.

We Started covering this story by saying that the President and First Lady were going to have a date on the night that this decision was to go into action. we felt it was highly inappropriate to ignore this impending crisis. but apparently, it Looks Like Datenite was the Rightnite for the Katrina Victims to get Shelter.

Sista Obama, if you whipped that thang around like that, lawd have mercy on the man when you start talking about the real issues that are coming up;

can ya say “Work It Like it’s Jelly“..

Katrina Victims Will Not Have to Vacate Trailers

Hurricane Katrina victims around the Gulf Coast who were told to vacate their temporary trailers by the end of May will instead be allowed to buy them for $5 or less, White House officials announced on Wednesday.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will also give the 3,450 families still in trailers or temporary housing — including many elderly, poor and disabled people — priority for $50 million in permanent housing vouchers. The money for the vouchers was appropriated by Congress last year.

Some of those living in trailers are destitute and have no other housing. Others, including many people in New Orleans, are living in trailers outside their damaged homes, while waiting to complete repairs that would allow them to move back. The May 31 deadline set off a panic among both kinds of residents and raised an outcry because so much of the housing destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has yet to be replaced.

Residents were overjoyed to hear that they would not be evicted. “Are you serious?” asked Belinda Jenkins, a disabled woman living in a trailer in front of her house in the Seventh Ward of New Orleans. “Oh, wow. That’s a blessing.”

Ms. Jenkins and her husband had stored their clothes and important papers in their car, out of fear that they would come home to find their trailer gone.

Obama administration officials also said they would allocate additional money for case managers to help people find permanent housing. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has twice offered money to the Louisiana Recovery Authority for that purpose, but the program never materialized. This time, a senior administration official said, federal agencies will manage the program and hire experienced workers who will visit clients in person.

Advocates for Katrina evacuees were warily optimistic about the announcement, which Obama administration officials have characterized as an effort to fix a messy situation they inherited.

“It is a tremendous step in the right direction,” said Laura Tuggle, a housing lawyer at Southwest Louisiana Legal Services. “This is kind of an acknowledgment that there may have been some missteps along the way.”

Martha Kegel, the director of Unity of Greater New Orleans, a homeless service agency, said vouchers and case management were desperately needed, though she said she remained cautious.

“It’s been such a long history of FEMA making announcements in the media,” Ms. Kegel said, “and nothing much in the way of assistance has ever trickled down to the elderly and disabled people trying to repair their homes.”

The administration official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the subject, said trailer residents would be notified of the change in policy within a week. The official said families that had already left their trailers because they were afraid of eviction would be eligible for the vouchers if they met the income requirements.

And FEMA said no one would be forced out of a trailer. “No one will face evictions from a temporary unit while these new measures are implemented,” said Clark Stevens, a spokesman for the emergency agency.

Because of the severity of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the complexity of rebuilding, the temporary housing program lasted far longer than anyone anticipated. At the beginning of May, FEMA notified trailer residents that they had until the end of the month to vacate or legal action would be taken against them. An agency official said at the time that the trailers would be auctioned off or sold for scrap.

Almost two-thirds of those still in trailers are homeowners who are trying to complete their repairs. Many said they had been bilked by contractors or had received grants from the Road Home, a taxpayer-financed program to help rebuild houses, only in the last few months.

Susan Mangipano, a waitress living in Lacombe, La., said that after many false starts and a fight with her insurance company, renovations of her home were 75 percent complete. She had previously been told she could buy the trailer she was living in from FEMA for $9,000, a price far out of her reach. Ms. Mangipano, who had put all her things in storage in case the trailer was removed, said she would probably buy the mobile home for the giveaway price, but worried that it would be expensive to move it when it was no longer needed.

Mobile homes will be sold by the government for $5, and smaller “park model” travel trailers will go for $1. The smallest travel trailers, which do not meet the government’s definition of “manufactured housing,” and any units whose formaldehyde levels exceed safety standards, will not be sold. Of the 3,446 trailers now in use, about 1,160 are eligible to be sold. Families living in trailers not for sale will be able to apply for one of several hundred trailers that the agency hopes to donate through nonprofit groups.

Ms. Mangipano said she had been told that she would have to buy insurance and dig a new septic tank to qualify for a donated trailer.

The housing vouchers will help those who were renters before the storm and who make less than 50 percent of the area’s median income. The $50 million is enough for about 6,800 families.

The trailers were only one part of FEMA’s housing assistance program. Tens of thousands of other families moved into apartments that were paid for by the agency. There were also vouchers for the eligible among those families, but thousands have gone unused because of a bottleneck at the housing authorities that are supposed to be processing them. That program, which currently houses more than 16,000 families, was extended until Aug. 31.

Can You Forget What happened to the folks in Nawlins, and along the Gulf Coast; following Hurricane Katrina ? Neither can we, because some of them are family..

check this out, and Please take a Moment Today and ACT -Click This Link to Tell President Obama to Stop the Evictions scheduled to begin on Saturday May 30, 2009.

I Think since Mr. Obama and Mrs. Obama claim to be interested in helping where there is a genuine emergency, maybe they can take a moment and check out what’s happening to these folks who are still suffering from their predecesors promises of restoration.

So Today on F^cked UP Friday we’re askin the First Family, Do Ya Have enough Bedding for the Rest of the folks who are about to become homeless, due to your lack of attention, Mr and Mrs Obama ?

Hurricane Katrina Part 3- post Katrina Mississippi

We’re Gonna Keep our Attention Focused on This Issue this weekend and report basically on this because we know there is a real mess and somebody’s gotta fix this right now,, not later NOW.

“I need the trailer. I ain’t got nowhere to go if they take the trailer…This storm broke me. I need some help. And I got a long way to go.”

Ernest Hammond, 70, on pending FEMA trailer evictions

Dear KIN Folk,

FEMA is at it again and we need your help.

The agency has announced that on May 30, 2009, it will act to evict thousands of residents from FEMA trailers in the Gulf States in spite of the fact that these residents have had limited support and lots of barriers in their efforts to find permanent housing.

Please act now to stop this travesty.

Mr. Ernest Hammond is a case in point. Hammond, a 70 year old, former New Orleans homeowner, could not get financial help from Louisiana’s Road Home program for his triplex since the housing structure was ineligible for a grant. To help himself, Mr. Hammond has collected almost $10,000 in aluminum cans but that won’t even begin to cover the costs to rebuild his home in the 7^th Ward. His FEMA trailer is keeping him off the street while he struggles to return home.

Mr. Hammond is one of thousands of families living in FEMA trailers because they are either caught in a web of deeply flawed, bureaucratic home repair grant programs, a victim of all too rampant contractor fraud or simply priced out of a rising rental markets where affordable housing is being demolished or gentrified.

No one chooses to live in a FEMA trailer, but it is better than no home at all. Evicting residents without providing access to safe, permanent housing will only lead to homelessness and further destabilize families.

Thursday, May 28th is a National Day of Action organized by the US Human Rights Network to turn this around. Together, we helped keep survivors off the streets. Please take a minute to click and send an email or make a call to let the Administration know that evictions are a bad idea.

Tell President Obama and Congress to extend the May 30^th FEMA trailer program deadline!

Say NO to FEMA’s decision to forcibly evict residents from trailers!

Tell President Obama and FEMA that they must stop FEMA’s plan to forcefully evict Gulf Region residents from temporary trailers.

The Facts:

• Nearly 5,000 FEMA trailers continue to provide housing to residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina
  • 2,800 FEMA trailers in Louisiana, with 1, 000 trailers located in Orleans Parish, LA
  • 2,000 FEMA trailers in Mississippi
• Most FEMA trailer occupants are elderly and/or disabled persons in desperate need of effective support and case management services to stabilize their housing and wellbeing.
• FEMA trailer occupants are displaced homeowners and renters still struggling to rebuild their homes or secure affordable housing after Katrina and Rita.

Human Rights Begins at Home!

The United Nations’ Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement is a human rights policy that, for several years, has guided our government in providing temporary and permanent homes for people in foreign countries displaced by earthquakes, typhoons, and flooding. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton only recently announced that the U.S. will apply the UN’s standards to assist displaced persons in Pakistan.

Please act now to stop this travesty.

Hurricane Katrina displaced over a million people, many of whom have yet to fully recover as a result of governmental actions that are contrary to the UN’s standards and human rights treaties ratified in the US. Gulf Region residents, both renters and homeowners, have worked tirelessly to access safe, permanent housing, and should have the support that our government provides to foreign countries under the Guiding Principles.

Abrupt removal of residents from their only source of shelter is unacceptable!

Hold our elected leaders to their promise of Gulf Region recovery, and demand equal protection under the same human rights policy that the U.S. government applies to displaced persons in other countries.

Tell FEMA to provide an extension to all homeowners and renters living in FEMA trailers to allow them sufficient time to repair their homes and/or find alternative housing.

Additional time would allow:

• Louisiana homeowners to appeal denials of Road Home grants, or go to a Road Home closing.
• Mississippi homeowners to be matched with available Katrina cottages that sit idle.
• Renters more time to obtain rental assistance or other permanent affordable housing.

Demand Action Now!

Call the Obama Administration and FEMA to demand action now! Tell our government not to carry forward yesterday’s short-sighted policies and to apply the same human rights standards to displaced persons in the Gulf States. Demand a stop to the FEMA trailer deadline and the guarantee of safe, permanent housing in the Gulf Region.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan (202) 708-0417

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano (202) 282-8000; (202) 282-8495

FEMA Administrator Fugate (202) 646-2500

Thank you for making a difference and please forward this note to others. Our voices matter.

In Solidarity,

The KIN Team

REFERENCES

That of course is Harley the Mancat from Daisy and Harley. He’s a fine specimen of Handicat so we just had to feature his toolbelt today. LOL

Notice his strong grip on that Power Tool, He is In Control – No Doubt.

Privateer Knot

By TimAnderson on knot

The privateer knot is the quickest way to tie cars, d-rings, or other attachments to a sail.
Zan Armstrong demonstrates how to put grommets on the edge of a sail and tie on cars for a mast track. She uses straps of scrap leather to do the job.

Here’s the finished knot, front and back views.

It took us a couple of hours to grommet the sail and tie the cars on this way. The other methods would have probably taken a couple of days.

In his book “Sailmaker’s Apprentice”, Emeliano Marino says: “Use heavy, well-oiled latigo leather, cutting an experimental piece to determine the length you need. No not make the slit too close to the end of the leather, and finish all slides equidistant from the sail edge. This is a salty and durable method.” This is the best sailmaking book I know of.

By: TimAnderson

and as a Bonus because we really Love Tim Anderson’s stuff, we include his super useful How to Repair Power Tools FAQ – which we Have Used and can vouch for wholeheartedly. it put our tools back in circulation instead of in the recycle bin. Thanks Tim

How to Repair Your Power Tools
This is Eric and He’s into his Tools; It’s easy to fix power tools, just take them apart, and hopefully put them back together. Watch here how to do it. Visit our community site for more info
http://gardenfork.tv

Power Tool Repair Made Easy

By TimAnderson on dewalt

Get power tools for free and save the earth at the same time!

It’s super-easy to fix power tools now. Thanks to online manuals, part searching and ordering, you can get the replacement parts you need and install them in mere minutes of labor.

Dead power tools are free in the trash if you can spot them. Get known as a scavenger and people will give them to you.

Power tools die only in certain ways. Usually it’s one of these:
Brushes
Switch
Drive Belt
Power cord

Here’s how to fix one of each.
If you’ve got a tool with a dead Nicad battery pack, here’s how to zap that back to life.

Tool Repair is Easier than Ever Before
The ease of finding, getting, and replacing these parts represent a whole new economic phenomenon.

In the past the economies of mass production VS. hand repair drove a trend where manufacturing got cheaper and cheaper and repair got more and more expensive. So broken devices were getting dumped and replaced instead of fixed.

But now the labor savings of e-commerce and online manuals make repair a real cheap option. Design-For-Manufacturing (DFM) practices such as snap fits and single-type fastener assemblies can speed repair as well as manufacture.

Woohoo! Could we be seeing a correction of the mass-produced trash problem?

By: TimAnderson

(end of clipping)

Remember – if it’s yours, and it’s broke – You Should FIX IT.
you’re the master of your time, and your household economy. take it into your workshop, pull it apart and make it Live Again..

You’ll Feel Better when you get it back working, trust me.

We have a Ryobi Power Tool and it’s the base of the Jewelry workshop; when it went out, we were miserable for months. now it’s humming along and we’re buying parts and accessories to make it the star once again.

you’ll see the jewels before they ship out to the trunk show, which is on hold until we get the order packed up and shipped. (OOPS) we’re in the workshop more and more now, and hopefully you’ll be seeing the fruits of our labours in the next few weeks.

We’d also like to thank Harley for his Handicat Duties.

Thanks for Taking a Tool Break with us today,

Now go Fix Something,

We love beautiful new things, from cool older things. yupper,,
so we found this fabu vid from our friends at Instructables.
WE just love that place, honestly We subscribed the first time we were there, and we suggest you do to.

on to the video, and then we’ll talk a lil bit about the coolness factor

Voila, now isn’t that like the most Fabulicious tip for today ?
There’s a great instructable showing a bunch of Videos and how to’s on this award willing craft. I suggest you find a few mins and go swoop the set up so you can get your Knotty On;

the best part is knowing that you can whip it out anywhere and just get right to it, and have a finished piece while you are being emotionally tested. yes this is a stress relief craft, and also instantly gratifying; that’s why we love it so.

now how bout you ? are you a Knotty Fashionista ?