AdaptiveBlue Christmas – Next Week At Wordout!


Have a Blue, Blue Blue Blue Christmas!

Next week is AdaptiveBlue Christmas week here at Wordout! We’ll start off Monday with a quick intro to find out just who AdaptiveBlue is, and what they do. Then on Tuesday, see some of what sets AdaptiveBlue apart in the interview with Fraser Kelton, Director of Business Development. He discusses the team, the products and the vision that’s helping to usher in the next age of computing, the Semantic Web.

And that’s just the beginning. Throughout the week, we’ll be looking at SmartLinks, BlueOrganizer, SmartLink feeds and the dozens of widgets AdaptiveBlue has to offer.

The Semantic Web is something we hear alot about lately. Is it a good thing, a great thing, a scary thing? For that matter, do we even know what the heck it is? Clickback to Wordout next week and find out more.

I am Jon, and I’m looking forward to seeing you there.

You Can Finally Follow The Money

You know the old saying, “Follow the money”? Well, now you can. The new USA Spending.Gov is online, open and free to the public. If you go there, you can quickly find out where all those billions are being spent and who, exactly is getting it.

From the Washington Post:

“The story began late last year, when two other political opposites, Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), sponsored legislation requiring the federal government to set up a searchable online database tracing federal budget spending by Jan. 1, 2008.

The goal was to make both the executive branch and Congress accountable for their spending decisions by allowing regular taxpayers to follow the money.

The legislation was the realization of a dream long held by a coalition of libertarians and liberals, fiscal conservatives and social-justice types, all of whom believe that greater budget transparency is the ideal way to achieve that accountability.

The government already provided some information, but it was scattered among agencies, confusing and largely inaccessible.”

The editorial on Digital Journal gives us this background:

“What made this possible was the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, which was sponsored by Sen. Barack Obama, (D-Il) and Sen. Tom Coburn, (R-Ok), which requires a single searchable website, accessible by the public for free that includes for each Federal award:

1. The name of the entity receiving the award;
2. The amount of the award;
3. Information on the award including transaction type, funding agency, etc;
4. The location of the entity receiving the award;
5. A unique identifier of the entity receiving the award.”

And finally a bit more from The Examiner from December 13th:

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK, the original sponsor of FFATA, was the featured speaker this morning at a news conference at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, which is responsible for creating and managing USASpending.gov.

Coburn lauded bloggers as “the key group in getting this done,” and predicted that “somebody is going to correlate FEC reports, the earmarks database and this database, and that’s what this is about, holding us accountable.” He encouraged bloggers to “get out there and start using this. I think it’s going to be a wildfire.”

In a separate joint statement with Coburn, Sen. Barack Obama, D-IL, who was the first co-sponsor of FFATA, said the site “helps us achieve a very simple and powerful vision, a vision that in a democracy, people ought to know how their government is operating. This isn’t a Democratic vision or a Republican vision. It’s a vision that rejects the idea that government actions and decisions should be kept secret.”

I am Jon, and I found this kinda interesting, wanted to pass it along.

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Feast Of Sacrifice – Eid al-Adha

Feast Of Sacrifice

One of the three most holy times in Islam is Eid al-Adha. It’s a celebration of an occasion that Muslims, Jews and Christians all share as basic tenets of their faiths. You’ll recall the story of Abraham, and that he was directed to sacrifice his son. Abraham’s faith and his obedience are pillars of all three of these religions. This is part of our common ground.

For those of you who may not know the story, let me give it to you briefly. The God of Abraham called him to take his son and go onto a mountain to sacrifice, but to take no animal with him. When Abraham reached the place he was going, his God instructed him to lay his son on the altar as a sacrifice. Abraham complied and only just as he was to plunge the knife into his son’s chest, his God called to him and stopped him. Instead, Abraham was supplied with a perfect animal which he sacrificed instead.

Eid al-Adha ( Adha Eid )
The celebration lasts 3 days, beginning this year(2008) on December 8th. This bit of information comes by way of About.com:Eid

“This is the auspicious day of sacrifice. The day on which Hazrat Ibraheem (Alayhis-Salaam) was tested to sacrifice his beloved son, Hazrat Ismaeel (Alayhis-Salaam). To commemorate this event, Muslims have been directed to sacrifice animals on this day so that all Muslims can remember this incident and learn a lesson from it. Hence, this day, the 10th of Dhul Hijjah, is known as Eid-ul-Adha.

‘Eid Al-Adha’ is a symbol of obedience. It signifies submission to Allah. On this day, we commemorate together the acts of obedience and submission performed by Prophet Ibraheem and his family when he was commanded to take Hajar and their son Ismaeel to an uninhabited, barren, distant land and leave them there alone. He submitted and obeyed. When Hajar realized what was happening, she cried out, “Ibraheem! Are you going to leave us in this valley where no people live?” She repeated the question yet she received no answer, so she asked him, “Did Allah order you to do this?” He replied, “Yes.”So she said, “Then Allah will not let us perish.” Thus she submitted. Furthermore, when his son Ismaeel became older, Ibraheem received a command from his Lord to sacrifice him. He submitted and so did his son. The family of Ibraheem was a family of obedience and submission. They were tested and tried again and again, but the result was always submission and obedience. Both ‘Eid al-Adha’ and ‘Eid al-Fitr come after performing a pillar of Islam and an act of obedience. Hence ‘Eid Al-Adha and ‘Eid al-Fitr are annual reminders that this life is a test and we must be obedient if we wish to be successful.”

From the KUMC.edu website:

“Eid al-Adha or Feast of Sacrifice is the most important feast of the Muslim calendar. It concludes the Pilgrimmage to Mecca. Eid al-Adha lasts for three days and commemorates Ibraham’s (Abraham) willingness to obey God by sacrificing his son. Muslims believe the son to be Ishmael rather than Isaac as told in the Old Testament. Ishmael is considered the forefather of the Arabs. According to the Koran, Ibrahim was about to sacrifice his son when a voice from heaven stopped him and allowed him to sacrifice a ram instead.”

For more, check out “Inside The Eid“, where we learn:

“…it is the Sunnah to make the Eid a joyous occasion. To that end, some mosques will rent out a hall or the local YMCA so the children can celebrate freely and to accommodate larger-than-usual crowds. They also set up activities and candy booths and will distribute toys.

Children are not the only ones having fun at the Eids. Adults enjoy games after the religious ceremonies as well: The highlight of some celebrations may include a basketball game or Islamic trivia games.”

We’re all brothers in the beginning; we’re all brothers in the end.

I am Jon, and I don’t think it mattered much to Abraham which son it was…

Image 19

.Thanks to Maurice for the reminder.

Nerdfighter Power Project For Awesome!

Thanks to ReadWrite Web for pointing us at this neat story about Brotherhood 2.0, two brothers who decided to communicate only through online video for a year:

Hank, who is an environmentalist and the chief geek at EcoGeek, and John, who writes for young adults and is the author of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katharines, and the upcoming Paper Towns (September 2008), decided that they were going to go 365 days with only textless communication (which means no email, no instant messaging, no texting, but very infrequent phone calls for logistical purposes) by using their video blog, Brotherhood 2.0, and posting videos back and forth. 11 months and 18 days into their experience, they launched their “Project for Awesome.”

The Project For Awesome turned out awesome. The plan was this: take over the 4th most popular destination on the internet in a 24 hour period, and generate as much cash donations to charity as possible. Well, it happened, just as they planned. Brotherhood 2.0 has taken over YouTube. Watch this video, called Nerdfighter Power Project For Awesome, to see how 2 brothers orchestrated the taking over of YouTube in a 24 hour period.


Brothers

UPDATE: It’s been over two days since they took over, but looking at today’s page, it seems to still be going strong.

I am Jon, and I think the brothers is cool.

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Dude, Where’s Your Fridge?


Dude!

Isn’t life grand, here in 21st century America? For most of us, it’s a wonderland of technology. We’ve got our internets, our Tivo’s, our superhighways, air conditioning in the summer and automatic heat for the winter. Truthfully, we have it made in lots of ways.

So when a friend of mine, whom I haven’t seen in awhile, walks into my kitchen, it’s a natural question to ask. “Where’s your fridge?” It’s at the office, I tell him. Along with the microwave and the other things you’d expect to find in my kitchen. I don’t use these things at my home. It has very little to do with money, and very much to do with the future. My childrens’ future, and their childrens’ and theirs.

Just Hippie Schlock?

I’m a holdover from the 60s or the 70s, I can never tell which. Back then, I started reading about conservation, renewable resources, all that stuff that now is mainstream and at the forefront of our consciousness. I could see back then that this was not just more hippie schlock, but was indeed real. I made a deal with myself to do something about it, even if it was a small thing I did.

So when I moved into my office a few years ago, I decided that the fridge should be there, along with everything else in the kitchen. If it wouldn’t fit into to break room at the office, I gave it away. Why the office, instead of my home? There are several reasons. I’m single. I work all the time, which usually puts me at the office. I don’t date (much). If you actually see me in the flesh, it’s probably going to be at the office. So the amenities should be there, and not here(I’m writing this at home).

This does have an impact on my lifestyle, assuming my life has style. I eat out every meal. I don’t go to the grocery store, ever. Toiletries and such are bought in one of 2 bi-annual trips to the local “dollar store” where I buy a dozen toothbrushes, 48 rolls of tissue, about a gallon of shampoo and maybe 20 bars of soap, among other things. I am not a “good” consumer. Shopping is alien to me. (Makes Christmas kinda hard.)

The Cost Factor

So with all that eating out, I must be spending massively on food, right? Not really. The cost of food in the house is more than just the cost of the food. There is the electricity to store the food in the fridge, the cost of cooking the food, the cost of cleaning up the cooking, the cost of dishes, pots and pans… the list could go on. I have none of those costs here at home. A small container of dishwashing soap lasts me over a year. I need it because, although I am willing to give up my food-at-home, I really want my coffee. So I do have a coffee maker in the house.

And what’s my monthly food budget? I spend around 500 dollars a month to put chewables in my mouth. That’s actually a bit less than I spent when I cooked at home. Adding in the savings on electricity, water and the drudgery of washing things up, I think I’m looking at a profit.

Not For Everybody

Now, if I was married, or had kids at home or a roommate, I probably wouldn’t be able to live this way. I can do this alone, but I’m not sure it would be accepted as a way of life for anyone else. I’m certain it would be unjust for me to expect anyone else to accept it. So this lifestyle may not be for you, or anyone you know.

Then again, if you’re single, work alot, are not trying to impress anyone with all the stuff you’ve got, maybe you should think about it. Done well, this can save quite a bit of money and time. Of course, you’ll have to be ready for the inevitable question, and the strange looks, and the reputation for being, well… weird.

Does It Make A Difference?

If it doesn’t make a difference, then it’s just pointless. Looking around the net, you can find alot of sites that will calculate your “carbon footprint” and compare it to averages for your state or country. In checking mine, I found that my footprint is less than half of the average for North Carolina, and about a quarter the average in California.

This is a lousy estimate, in my opinion. For one thing, this site didn’t bother asking me how many computers I have running at any given time. That answer alone would bump me right up there with the worst of them. My TV may never be on, but I have at least one PC running all the time, sometimes 3 or 4 at a time. So my household output of about 5 metric tons of CO2/year is not quite accurate. Add to that at least another 5 metric tons due to the office. That gives me about 10 tons of carbon output per year. That’s about what the average household in NC produces. But if you add in the computers, the amount explodes. My impact seems to be quite small.

But at least it is something. I’m toying with the idea of closing the office and moving everything into my house. It will be a tight fit. I’ll lose the “move-around” room I have, and will have to deal with customers in my private space. But it will eliminate about half of my real carbon footprint. I think that’s important.

What do you think? Do you know your carbon footprint and how it compares to the rest of the world? How about your computer, do you know it’s footprint? Do you think all this talk about footprints is just hogwash? Let me know, I’m curious.

I am Jon, and I’m thinking about bringing the fridge home.

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What Will I See When I Look Out The Window?


Window Ride

Tune in tomorrow for an article about hippies, alternative lifestyles, saving money while eating out every meal, 48 rolls of tissue, conservation, reducing your net effect on global warming and washing pigs.
Dude! Where’s Your Fridge? Only at Wordout, tomorrow morning when you wake up.

Meanwhile, have you ever wondered what your children are doing in the back seat when they’re actually being Good? Chances are, they’re staring out the window at the scenery passing by. Click the link below to see what the world looks like from the inside of a Ford SUV, through the eyes of boy growing up in New Mexico. This is re-publlished from awhile back, but the video goes full-screen this time. I think it adds a bit to it. Maybe it’s just me, but after watching for a minute, it seems quite artistic…

I am Jon, and I’ll remember that.

.Flash footage courtesy of Evan from a long time ago….

Psychedlic Cat! The “Tied Stick” Theory

Psychedelic Cat, That’s Where It’s At!

By now you’ve probably seen on TV or read in the news about the “glow in the dark” cats, cloned in South Korea. Beyond the aesthetics, this has real implications for treating some genetic maladies afflicting humans, in the future. From the Associate Press:

“Cats have similar genes to those of humans,” said veterinary professor Kong Il-keun of Gyeongsang National University. “We can make genetically modified cats that can be used to develop new cures for genetic diseases.”

Keitaro Kato, a geneticist at Kinki University in western Japan who has cloned fish, said the research could be significant if it eventually helps treat people with hereditary diseases.

“People with genetic disorders usually have to receive treatment throughout their lives that is very hard on them,” Kato said. “If these results can help to make their lives easier, then I think it’s a wonderful thing.”


psychedelic cats
“This picture taken through a special filter in a dark room shows, a cat, left, possessing a red fluorescent protein that makes the animal glow in the dark when exposed to ultraviolet rays, appearing next to a normal cloned cat, right, at Gyeongsang National University in Jinju, south of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2007. South Korean scientists have cloned cats that glow red when exposed to ultraviolet rays, an achievement that could help develop cures for human genetic diseases, the Science and Technology Ministry said. (AP Photo/ Yonhap, Choi Byung-kil)”

Cat Lovers?

On the other hand, the New York Times reports that 60 million Americans are infected with the Toxoplasma gondii parasite, which, among other things, makes the host more susceptible to being eaten… by cats. From the NY Times article:

“The basic facts: Toxo can infect many species, but it undergoes sexual reproduction only in cat digestive tracts. Once the parasite reproduces, the cat passes it in its feces, where the next unwitting host picks it up by digesting it (intentionally or unintentionally). Then the cycle starts again. In the long run, Toxo must find its way back to a cat’s stomach to survive. So the parasite has evolved a complicated system for taking over its hosts’ brains to increase the likelihood that they’ll be eaten by cats.”

In case you’re thinking that this is just funny, check this out. According to the Times article, research has shown that “people infected with Toxo have slower reflexes and are 2.5 times as likely to get into car accidents.”

The Conundrum

Which brings me to this question. Are we using the cats, or are the cats using us? They have developed this parasite to control our minds. There is a possibility, however slim it may seem, that those South Korean cats were exposed to some very powerful hallucinogen in the past, liked it, and decided they wanted to be psychedelic. Truthfully, wouldn’t you like your partner to glow in the dark sometimes? Why not the same for a, kitty?

I am Jon, and I’m wondering how tight that stick was tied.

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Google Adsense Makes No Sense

Riddle Me This

I just want to call your attention to the Google Adsense ad down on the sidebar here. (You only see the ads on the main page, not the single post view. To get to the main page, click on “Wordout” or “Home” up above.)

Awhile back, I thought it would be nice to show you who around the world was looking at Wordout, so I put the “Getting Wordout, Around The Earth” cloud over there in the sidebar. A few days after that, my Google Adsense ads became pointless. It seems that with cities like Øksendrup(Denmark), Umeå(Sweden) and Skövde(Sweden) displayed on the page, Google chooses to serve up ads in foreign languages.

And it’s not just cities. When the article “Festival of Lights” was published here, suddenly there was an inordinate number of Hanukkah ads, displayed quite properly in Hebrew. Even though Hanukkah has finished for this year, the ads still appear. (And I still can’t get the Hebrew translations to work!)

At first, I didn’t mind ads written in languages that not only I, but many of you cannot read. It was something of a novelty. But it’s starting to borderline on just plain dumb. Each day Wordout pages are viewed in several different languages. I see that in my stats from Feedburner and Google Analytics. But the overwhelming majority of readers view this site in English. I’ve been able to translate some of these ads using Russian as the base language.

They’re Getting Clicks… Or Are They?

So why are the overwhelming majority of my Google (image) ads served up in Russian, or Hebrew? In context, less than 1% of the text on this site has been written in a language other than English. Plus, I’ve noticed (through MyBlogLog stats) that even though these ads are getting clicked, Google says none of them are clicked. Ever.

I didn’t expect to make any real money through Adsense, but it makes me wonder: Is something wrong with Google’s monitoring? Or is MyBlogLog just making it up? Somebody’s lying about it, that’s for sure. One thing I do know for certain:

Google Adsense just doesn’t make sense.

I am Jon, and I’m just saying…

Wordout Gone Wayout – 5 Ruff Days To Go!


Wayout… as in What the..?

UPDATE: Go to The Thinking Blog and vote for Wordout!
Just click the link above and it will take you to the voting page. It’s free and it will really help me out! No registration, no email required, just your vote for Wordout, Entry #33!

Okay folks, it’s T-minus 5 days and counting. I’m talking, of course, about the deadline for entering the RuffPC Laptop Giveaway sponsored by The Thinking Blog and RuffPC. This is driving me nuts, so bear with me for a few minutes… follow my Wayout journey into the abyss and back out again.

I thought I had written a reasonable article on this way back in November. I was still learning how to use SmartLinks and SnapShots to enhance the reader’s experience, and only some of them did what I wanted them to do, but, all in all, it wasn’t a bad read. I had used proper sentences, for the most part, and had some success with the link drillers. I felt pretty good about it, thinking I had used quite alot of what was available to create something unique and fun.

Video Killed The Drilling Star

Then I saw Narendra’s YouTube video over at TechTreak. Man, was I bummed. My first thought was to embed it in my post (just kidding). I realized that to have a chance at this uber-machine, I was gonna have to out-video that video. So my search began.

It led me to Animoto, which provided a good resource for another article as well. You guys saw my first Animoto there, several days ago, in a video I had themed “With A RuffPC I Can Rule The Galaxy“. I thought that graphic of me ruling the galaxy was pretty good. I didn’t draw that, I don’t know who did. I wish I could give them the proper credit for it. The photo just before the ending graphic is a picture of a fountain, taken by my niece, Stesha. (Thanks Stesha!)

I Have No Life

Anyway, I worked on these RuffPC videos for hours on end. I think at one time there were more than 50 of them in my account at Animoto. And through it all, one thing became very clear to me. I want my RuffPC! It’s not that I need to login to Wordout from 3′ under water, or that the sprawling metropolis of Reidsville is going to be subjected to some really strong EMP or other radiation, but, well… you never know, you know?

So with that in mind, I present you with a few of the fruits of my efforts. You’ll recall that I was using a song freely available on the Animoto website before, called “Beautiful Freak”. I have included a couple using that music, and also a few using original material, just to up the ante as best I can. You can click the blue title below each video for a full-screen viewing, or just click the play arrow in the player.
I hope you enjoy…

The Video Parade



Freak
Gets off to a slow start, but picks up a bit at the end.
Okay, here I’m just starting to get the hang of this Animoto machine. I’m starting to think there’s
only so much you can do in 30 seconds when so much control is taken away from you.

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Final Freak
Snaps right up in your face and grooves the whole way through. Yeah, I said that. “Grooves”
By now I’ve given up on the “can’t do that” concept and just thrown myself into it headfirst. I think I came up with this about 4am or something. Somewhere around 3am I realized that the system could be controlled to some extent, and I was pushing it to see how much control I could get. This one splashes right up in your face and doesn’t disappoint, all the way to the final fade to black. Definitely one for the full screen.
(I especially like the reverse logo.)

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Dog Bark
Heavy Metal beat with the RuffPC logo (not-so)subliminally imposed from the background.
You know, I got to thinking a few days later when I saw Narendra’s face show up on my site… I’ll bet he’s gonna do an Animoto! Wow, what if it’s better than mine? So I decided I had to take this to the next level.
Way back in the 90s my friend Pearson and I were recording some righteous tunes, and I remembered one I had affectionately called “Dog Bark”. I dug it up from the archives and hey, it fits.

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You Can Run
Slides in with a Progressive beat, more Ruff sublims in the background.
Not to be outdone by myself, I decided another old tune we did would fit in for the “heady” crowd.
A nice little rep called “You Can Run”, with more of Pearson’s screaming guitars.

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You Can Run
Progressive beat without the subliminals, uses a “push” to highlight the views.
By now I’m just fooling around with different techniques. This is one that pushes the pictures right at you.

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Dog Bark
Heavy Metal beat with a “many screens” effect.
I like that “Dog Bark” beat.

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You Can Run End
Not really spectacular, but the ending turned out great.
More fooling around with control of the process. Used a fast pulsating on beat at the end.
Worth watching, just for that.

There’s lots more, but there’s only so much RuffPC you can look at before you just, go, nuts. You want one. You can’t sleep. When you do sleep, you have nightmares about Narendra. That wakes you up. And all you can think about is, I want that laptop! So you go to the computer, pull up the site and what do you see? Narendra! He’s been here! Your shoulders hunch down, your head peers forward, your eyes narrow and your head starts pounding again. Then you smile. He can’t sleep either.

Heh. Hehheh. Hehhehheh.
Hehhehhehhehhehhehhehhehahhahahhahhahhahahhahahhahhahahhaaaaaa……sigh….

I am Jon, and I really want that laptop.

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Firefox Setup, Nice and Easy

The information in this post applies specifically to Firefox versions up to version 2.0.0.16.

First Things First – Get Firefox!

According to what I read and hear, Firefox has garnered between about 12 and 20 percent of the browser market so far. But from what I can see in these little charts from Feedburner and Google, more than two-thirds of Wordout readers are using Firefox. Not all you guys are up to date, though, so the first thing to do is to make sure you have the latest version of Firefox.


. .about2

Click The Thumbnails for a Full Size View
(if you need to).


To find out if you are running the latest and greatest, click on the Help menu. All the way down at the bottom of the list, click About. A window will appear. You want to look at the very last thing written there, a number. As of December 10th the current number is 2.0.0.11, so if your version number is lower than that one, you need to upgrade. (If you have any doubts, select the option “Check for Updates” in the Help menu.) If don’t have Firefox installed yet, or if you need to upgrade, click here and download it to your desktop. Or you can just choose to run it from it’s current location, if you have that option.(Vista owners, just click through all the warnings and confirmations and whatever, as long as you’re installing Firefox from that link.) If you downloaded the file, run it now.

As you’re installing Firefox, the installer program gives you a few choices. It’s safe to simply click through these choices, leaving them at their defaults. Once the installer is finished, Firefox will start. The first time Firefox runs, it will ask you if it is the default browser, and if you want to import any settings from Internet Explorer (or whatever your default browser was). Saying yes to both questions is fine with me, and ensures your favorite sites and your homepage will travel to Firefox with you.

“Firefox Is Ugly”

You’ll notice that Firefox, without customization, is rather ugly. I’ve heard that repeated alot over the last couple of years. But that’s the thing about Firefox. It expects you to mess with it. There’s very little more than raw “Go” built into it when you first get it. Luckily, messing around with Firefox is pretty easy. You go to a page and click a big button that says “Install Now“. Then another window appears and you can see it countdown your place in line. As soon as the file is available to you, the second “Install Now” button appears, you click it, and you are good to go.

Add Ons – Not Just Another Useless Toolbar

Below is a list of links that not only spruce up your new browser, but add real functionality to it as well. Trust me, none of these are just another useless toolbar to clutter your screen. (Except for one. Can you guess which?) Go ahead and click each one with your MIDDLE mouse button (that scroll wheel is a button, too), so they open in new tabs without having to leave this page. You can open them all, one by one. Note: If you click your middle mouse button anywhere but a link, your screen may start scrolling in the direction of the mouse. Just click the middle button again to stop it.

Noia Extreme – My favorite way to look at Firefox.
Adblock – I have it, but I see no need for it.
BlueOrganizer – The best way I know to store your bookmarks.
Forecast Fox – Gotta have my weather.
FoxClocks – You might know somebody somewhere else.
Foxy Tunes – Full control over music players like Winamp, Media Player.
Homeland Security (cynical) – Normally yellow bar that usually says “Scared”.
Homeland Security – Normally yellow bar that follows the DHS color scheme.
Pong – Who knows when you want to play?
Quicknote – Perfect for taking notes while you’re researching on the net.
Session Manager – Never lose a session, even when you crash.
Text Size Toolbar – For tired, old eyes. And tired young eyes.

Feed Me!

Adding feeds is easy, too. Just click the link below and go to the page. As you go to each page, look at the address bar up above. Over to the right, just before the “Go” button, you’ll see an RSS icon. Just click it, and tell it to always use “Live Bookmarks“. As you OK each one, you’ll see it appear on your Bookmark Toolbar, below the address bar. You can type in your own abbreviated names for these feeds as you’re approving them. If you forget, and want to change them later, just right click on them and select Properties. Remember, in the future you can subscribe to as many RSS feeds as you want this way. Go ahead and click these with your middle button, too. You’re getting quite a few tabs opened by now.

CNN . AP . Reuters . Wordout . F-Secure

Over on the far right of your screen, just above the top of this window, you see all your tabs and a little arrow pointing to the right. Click the arrow to get all the way to the last tab. Once you go to that tab and get the RSS feed, you’ll want to just close that tab by clicking on the little “x” on the right side of the tab. When that tab disappears, the next one will be in front of you. Go ahead and subscribe to all the RSS feeds you chose, and then install the add-ons, one by one. The last one you’ll get to is Noia Extreme, and it requires you to do a bit more.

Noia Extreme is a Theme. You can have many themes installed, but you have to select which one you want to see. When you click to install Noia, a different kind of box appears. Just agree with it. Then, in the add-ons box, under themes, you will find Noia 2.0 Extreme. Click the “Use Theme” button and close that window. Then restart Firefox.

noia
Click To Enlarge

Just The Way You Want It

You’re going to think something has gone radically wrong. Nothing has taken this long since you accidentally downloaded that… well, we won’t discuss that here… but don’t worry about it. Firefox takes a bit of extra time during this startup. We’ve just added alot to it, and it needs just a moment to get its face on.

It will need your help. Several of these add-ons are going to need some information from you to work right. Forecast Fox will present you with a list of options, one of which is your zip code. Without at least that much, it can’t do its job. There are also options for how it should display itself, and where. I usually like it up top, towards the right of my Menu toolbar.

Look through all the options in all the add-ons. Take your time, there’s no real hurry here. You can choose to set some of them up later if you want to. There’s nothing wrong with that either. This will take some getting used to, and you will probably change things around a few times before you get it just the way you want it.


customize

Once you’re done with the configurations, and all you have open is Firefox, you want to place your mouse kind of between the address bar and the bar above it, and right click. Select “Customize“, and the Customize Toolbar will appear. Here you see many of the features you just installed. You want to grab them with the left mouse button and drag them onto one of the toolbars up above.

mod
Grab And Drag

The first thing I usually do is grab the Google Search bar and drag it onto the top bar, so that the address bar and the search bar are stacked. Then I grab a couple of Flexible Spaces and place them on each side of the search bar. I cram FoxClocks all the way to the top right and throw a Print button up there too. I drag the Bookmarks, Downloads, and History and place them on the left, bottom toolbar, beside my feeds. Then I grab 2 more of those Flexible Spaces and put them on either side of my feeds. I like to have the Text Size Toolbar on the right, beside the feeds.The Session Manager goes right beside my Go button, and the Undo Close button goes to the right of that. I put my BlueMark in between the Home button and the address bar. While you’re in there, you might want to change the size of the icons, and either add or remove the text. When you’re done dragging things around, close out that window.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Click on the “G” inside the Google Search Bar. All the way at the bottom click “Manage Search Engines“. In the little window that pops up, click the link that says “Get more search engines”. This will open a new tab with a list of different search engines you might like to have right at your fingertips. I like to have a dictionary, at the very least. The Mycroft link at the bottom of that page will take you to even more selections.

By now you should have something that looks similar to this:


search3
Click To Enlarge

Don’t worry if it doesn’t look exactly like mine. On 3 different computers, I have Firefox setup in 3 different ways. Once you get a bit more familiar with these add-ons, you might find that you like them better some other way. And that’s okay. That’s what Firefox expects. Once you’re comfortable with it, go back to Firefox and look through the add-ons. See if there are more you might like. Trust me, these only scratch the surface.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask away. Either leave a comment or click the AskAway! button at the top of this page.

I am Jon, and Firefox is my browser of choice.

Merry Christmas From Microsoft!

Microsoft Tuesday!

Like clockwork, on the 2nd Tuesday of every month, Microsoft releases its latest batch of security updates. This Tuesday brought a banner crop. According to the guys at F-Secure, there are at least 7 updates you might need, so if you haven’t updated yet, be sure to head over there and get fixed.

You’ll have to pull that old Internet Explorer out of the garage to get there. They’ve got guards at the gate who don’t like strange animals like Fire Foxes. But that’s okay. You need to take her out every now and then or else she’ll fall apart. And as closely tied to your Windows as she is, well, you just wouldn’t want that, I assure you.

In keeping with the transportation motif, I offer you this little puzzle. Those were the days, eh?


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I am Jon, and I’m taking the old Explorer out for a drive… a short drive.

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w00t! Not Just Another 4 Letter Word!

w00t!

Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year for 2007 has been announced, and the winner is a 4 letter word with no vowels. There are 2 consonants at each end, separated by double zeros. It’s pronounced to rhyme with “hoot”, and a hoot of a word it is. It had some tough competition this year, from words like “facebook”, “conundrum” and “quixotic”. In all there were seven candidates for the honor, which was decided by voting at the MW website. There was a bit of speculation that “facebook” would win the day, but short and sweet little “w00t” took the honor by a “vast majority”. From the announcement at MW:

This year’s winning word first became popular in competitive online gaming forums as part of what is known as l33t (“leet,” or “elite”) speak—an esoteric computer hacker language in which numbers and symbols are put together to look like letters. Although the double “o” in the word is usually represented by double zeroes, the exclamation is also known to be an acronym for “we owned the other team”—again stemming from the gaming community.

W00t follows in the steps of some words that, just a few years ago, weren’t heard much. In 2004 the word was “blog“. In 2005 it was “integrity“. Last year, thanks to Colbert Nation, it was “truthiness“. It is, as far as I know, the first word in the dictionary to have numbers instead of vowels. Of course, it’s just the online dictionary, but who knows, maybe w00t will soon find itself in the complete unabridged version?

I especially liked this, from the MW website:

“w00t (interjection)
expressing joy (it could be after a triumph, or for no reason at all); similar in use to the word “yay”

[usage:] w00t! I won the contest!”

If you read my last post, then you’ll understand why I like that usage example. Hopefully, that’s the title of an upcoming article here at Wordout.

I am Jon, and, well… w00t!

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Gift Ideas – 30 Bucks – Animoto!

UPDATE: Go to The Thinking Blog and vote for Wordout!
Just click the link above and it will take you to the voting page. It’s free and it will really help me out! No registration, no email required, just your vote for Wordout, Entry #33!
To see the entire RuffPC Video Parade by Wordout, click this link!

Visual Energy

Check out Angela Hayden’s site. I’m a big fan of hers, and I go there nearly every day. On Sunday, she posted an article about Animoto, a nifty little program that combines your pictures with music you choose and then auto-magically creates a music-video styled montage. You can see one of hers right there on her blog. Click on the link above and check it out, it’s only 30 seconds.
(Then hit your Back button and come back here, okay? Read the rest of this…)

So what makes Animoto so professionally slick? The guys at Animoto have the background and the award winning credits to make this happen. From the Animoto site:

“Animoto Productions is a bunch of techies and film/tv producers who decided to lock themselves in a room together and nerd out.

Credits include: The 2003 Video Music Awards (MTV); 2004 Video Music Awards (MTV); Shelter From The Storm: Katrina Benefit (ABC, NBC, CBS); The Showbiz Show with David Spade (Comedy Central); Viva La Bam (MTV); Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn (Comedy Central); Crank Yankers (Comedy Central); Stankervision (MTV2); Worlds Aids Day Concert (MTV); Need For Speed (MTV2); The Big In ’06 Awards (VH1); Dr. Keith Albow (Warner Brothers); The Daytime Emmy Awards Pre-Show (ABC); The Constitution (ABC); Alanis Morissette Concert (Viacom); Peter Jennings: The Kennedy Assassination – Beyond Conspiracy (ABC); Peter Jennings: UFOs – Seeing Is Believing (ABC); Steep: A Documentary of Extreme Skiing (The Documentary Group).

Their first release is Animoto, a web application that automatically generates professionally produced videos using their own patent-pending technology and high-end motion design. Each video is a fully customized orchestration of user-selected images and music. Produced on a widescreen format, Animoto videos have the visual energy of a music video and the emotional impact of a movie trailer.”

Animoto is incredibly easy to use. Everything is done through a simple interface that looks like this:


Animoto Screenshot
After you upload your images, you can drag them around and re-arrange them until you have just what you want.Then click “continue” and add your music or choose from some selections they already have.

Here is something I did in about 10 minutes, using photos from the article(go read it!) I posted awhile back on the free laptop giveaway sponsored by The Thinking Blog and RuffPC. They’re giving away a great laptop and all you have to do is write about it! (Maybe now I’ll win that new laptop I’ve been dreaming about. Then I would be in control of the entire galaxy!).


With A RuffPC Laptop, I Could Rule The Galaxy!

Animoto is free, as long as you plan to make only short (30 seconds) videos. But for just 30 bucks you can make videos with no size limit at all, for an entire year. If you know someone who is really into their photos (you know somebody like that?) and has a bit of a creative mind, this will definitely put a smile on their face, over and over. Isn’t that what we all want?

It’s easy to give Animoto. Just click this link, and fill out the form. Then watch for the smiles…

I am Jon, and somebody I know is getting Animoto!(and maybe a free RuffPC!)

.this article edited: added RuffPC video

Back To Work

For those of you who don’t know, I have been very sick lately. Some kind of influenza found its way inside me and just ruined my life for the past week and a half. It was one of those “hurt all over” flus. There were entire days last week when the only time I’d get up would be to either go to the bathroom or drag myself over here to this computer and post one of my backup stories. I had about 8 of them finished when this started. I wrote them in November, knowing that in December my workload would increase. They were supposed to get me through the next 2 weeks. They are gone. Oh, well.

It’s Monday, and I’ve been steadily feeling better since Sunday morning, so it’s back to work for me. I’ll be running my geeky head off today, trying to catch up to all those people I didn’t get to last week. (To them: I really appreciate your patience while I’ve been laid up. It means alot to me.) I guess today will be about a 200 mile day. That’s a biggie when you consider that no single trip will be more than 30 miles. I hope I am up to it.

So what does that mean to you guys in Los Angeles or London? Well, it means that today I may only have time for this little article on why you aren’t getting more than this little article.


How about this? Since so many of you liked that little puzzle yesterday, here is another one, this time with a Fall season motif. And I promise that sometime this week I’ll deliver “Firefox Setup In Easy Steps” and the review of SnapShots from the reader’s perspective.

Do you like these little puzzles? Would you like them to be a regular thing? Got any other ideas or comments? Leave a comment or drop me a line through the Contact button above. I want to know what you want.

I am Jon, and I hope I’m up to this..

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The Site: A Progress Report


This incarnation of Wordout was launched November 1st, and it’s been quite a job to get the things into it that I wanted. Here’s an update on where I am with it.

I really wanted that translation widget to work. As it turned out, the problem was that there was a maximum file size for the translation. Showing more than 2 articles per page returned the white screen I was seeing. Well, I had always wanted to have only 2 or 3 posts per page anyway, but the theme I had chosen didn’t have a built-in function for doing this and providing a “Previous Page” link. I could limit the number, but then you’d have been stuck here. The drop down menu for the Archives always seemed to leave out some entries and trapped you there.

It was a problem. I think I really stopped understanding programming languages with DOS 6.2, and this php was kicking me around. I couldn’t find any little widgets that would do what I needed, and I was forced to actually learn a little bit of scripting for myself. It worked, and I was able to write the tiny script that presents you with the option to go back and forth between pages. With that, the problem of navigation was solved, and by fiat, so was the problem of the translations. Except, the Hebrew and Japanese still do not work reliably. And the drop down menu still displays yhe choices in English, instead of the native language. I’m not sure if these are things I can fix, or if the problem is with the service. Like it says above, I’m working on it.

I was also able to create a working Archives page. You’ll see it listed in the menu at the top of the page. So now you can look at a list of all the titles published on Wordout. Or you can look at everything in a particular category. Even though it works now, I will probably be going in there and changing the way it looks, when I get the time.

Over to the right, you see a cloud of cities. I just thought you might like to see who else is reading Wordout. Same goes for the MyBlogLog visitors you’ll see below in the sidebar. If you like reading blogs, or you’re ever looking for information on just about any subject, click a MyBlogLog link and search for it. There are some real experts listed there, and the info is almost always free.

I’ve been watching the statistics on monitors closely. A great many of you are viewing Wordout in a 1024 width. The majority, by about 1.5 to 1, are using a 1280 width. Wordout was originally put together on a 32″ Visio widescreen, using a resolution width of 1280. I will probably leave it that way, unless I get negative feedback.

Well, there you have it. I plan to add a little area somewhere around here with little games you can play, simple things like the jigsaw puzzle you see below. That will come when I can get it done. This time of year, my workload increases, and I am still trying to recover from this flu. But look for it before the end of the year.

If you can think of anything you’d like to have on Wordout, or have a question you need answered, or a subject you want me to write on, or whatever reason you come up with on your own, drop me line. Just click on the Contact button up above.

I am Jon, and I’d like to know what you think.

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Festival Of Lights

You can ask around, I’m not really big on celebrating days. It’s not that they aren’t special to me, it’s just that I prefer to mark them within myself, if you understand what I mean.

Also, I’m not from Israel, and as far as I know, my family has no connections to Jewish tradition or Judaism, other than that normally found within the confines of a Christian faith. Members of my extended family practice many different beliefs, including Islam, atheism, Buddhism, pagan, wiccan… well, you get the picture. We’re a diverse crowd. Much the same, I would guess, as your crowd.

That said, I’d like to present you with a small gift in celebration of Hanukkah, which started this year on December 4th. From Wikipedia:

“The Menorah is … a symbol closely associated with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. According to the Talmud, after the desecration of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, there was only enough sealed (and therefore not desecrated by idolatry) consecrated olive oil left to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days which was enough time to get new oil as well as finish rebuilding the Temple. The Hanukkah menorah therefore has not seven, but nine candle holders. The eight side branches represent the eight-day celebration of the miracle of oil, while the central branch, called the “Shamash”, is used to light the others. While this type of menorah is called a “hanukiah” in Modern Hebrew, it is also often called a “menorah” by non-Israeli Jews.”

Happy Hanukkah!
Click on the image above and it will expand into a 51 piece jigsaw puzzle. Join the pieces together by dragging them with your mouse. Thanks to the guys at JigZone for the puzzle.


A long time ago I had a father-in-law who was born Jewish, I think. Even allowing for memory time-distortion, Reuben was probably the wisest man I’ve ever known. I just wanted to mention his name. He was a good man.

I am Jon, and I guess that today, I just feel like giving you something

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2007 Nobel Prize For Literature

A Story Written To Be Read Aloud

Doris Lessing was unable to attend the presentation of her Nobel Prize for Literature. But she was able to deliver a remarkable acceptance speech by way of her editor. I admit, I had never heard of her before today. But after reading her speech, I think I should find one of her books.

The Guardian has presented her entire speech. I highly recommend heading over there and reading the whole thing. Here are just a couple of excerpts to raise your eyebrows.


“What has happened to us is an amazing invention – computers and the internet and TV. It is a revolution. This is not the first revolution the human race has dealt with. The printing revolution, which did not take place in a matter of a few decades, but took much longer, transformed our minds and ways of thinking. A foolhardy lot, we accepted it all, as we always do, never asked: “What is going to happen to us now, with this invention of print?” In the same way, we never thought to ask, “How will our lives, our way of thinking, be changed by the internet, which has seduced a whole generation with its inanities so that even quite reasonable people will confess that, once they are hooked, it is hard to cut free, and they may find a whole day has passed in blogging etc?”


She tells a great story of literacy struggling to survive surrounded by incredible poverty in Africa. It’s a strangely sad and uplifting tale, and one I recommend you read (click the link above), but I will not reprint it here because it is so long. It’s a story she wrote to be read aloud to those who would reward her for accomplishments accrued over 88 years. She tells of her own life as a young girl, living in a grass hut of 4 rooms, a house filled with books. She spellbinds us with images of other young people, following in her steps, with a craving for education and books… books of any kind. And she draws a distinct and dark line between that vision and the abject disregard for the printed word we find in many “civilized” cultures today. Finally, she warns aspiring writers, and indeed, all of us, to beware of our successes, to guard that special spark that makes us, us.


“Writers are often asked: “How do you write? With a word processor? an electric typewriter? a quill? longhand?” But the essential question is: “Have you found a space, that empty space, which should surround you when you write? Into that space, which is like a form of listening, of attention, will come the words, the words your characters will speak, ideas – inspiration.” If a writer cannot find this space, then poems and stories may be stillborn. When writers talk to each other, what they discuss is always to do with this imaginative space, this other time. “Have you found it? Are you holding it fast?”

“Let us now jump to an apparently very different scene. We are in London, one of the big cities. There is a new writer. We cynically enquire: “Is she good-looking?” If this is a man: “Charismatic? Handsome?” We joke, but it is not a joke.”

“This new find is acclaimed, possibly given a lot of money. The buzzing of hype begins in their poor ears. They are feted, lauded, whisked about the world. Us old ones, who have seen it all, are sorry for this neophyte, who has no idea of what is really happening. He, she, is flattered, pleased. But ask in a year’s time what he or she is thinking: “This is the worst thing that could have happened to me.”

“Some much-publicised new writers haven’t written again, or haven’t written what they wanted to, meant to. And we, the old ones, want to whisper into those innocent ears: “Have you still got your space? Your soul, your own and necessary place where your own voices may speak to you, you alone, where you may dream. Oh, hold on to it, don’t let it go.”


And I also found this quote attributed to her. I really like this point of view.

I do not think writers ought ever to sit down and think they must write about some cause, or theme… If they write about their own experiences, something true is going to emerge.”


Many thanks to Nick Carr over at Rough Type for pointing me in the right direction. Other sources include NPR and The Guardian (referenced above).

I am Jon, and I’ve still got my space.

Milkomeda – Galactic Mergers Getting Personal

The Milky Way Meets Andromeda

Yeah, you thought this was gonna be some serious ripping on huge corporate mergers, didn’t you?

Well, surprise! Thanks to Wordout’s time traveling superpowers, I instead present you with this short, 1 minute video, showing the eventual merger of the Milky Way with our nearest neighbor in the universe, Andromeda. Not to worry, there’s still somewhere around 4 or 5 billion years before we get there. But it sure is beautiful, from this far away…

What’s that? You wanted more? Well, do you have more than a minute but less than, say… seven? Check out this (Quicktime) movie, complete with a really nice soundtrack and multiple perspectives, courtesy of the University of Toronto, Canada. You’ll have to click and go there… Snap Shots doesn’t support Quicktime files yet. But it’s worth it, if you have the time.

Enjoy!

I am Jon, and I’m heading over to Galaxy Zoo to find some real galactic mergers!


this post edited for punctuation and spelling

Snap Shots – 5 Great Ways To Drill Your Links

Link Drillers

Snap Shots is of a class of scripts called Link Drillers. They have the ability to drill into the link to reveal more information about the link. There are a couple of main reasons why you might want to do this, depending on your perspective (whether you’re currently an author or a reader).

As a reader, you might drill into the link to see if there’s anything else you want to do with it. Maybe you want to click it, maybe not. Maybe you want to do something entirely different with it. You might never know unless you can get at whatever it is that’s inside that link.

As an author, you want to provide the most engaging content possible. You want your reader to keep reading your stuff, whether you’re already on the so-called A-list or not. You know that you have to be distinctive, with a voice that’s not only all your own, but entertaining to your readership. They gotta wanna come back. Today, I will focus only on the author’s perspective.

The Author’s Perspective

As a tool for the author, Snap Shots is superb. There are 5 basic ways an author might use it.

1.Instant Reference/Clarification – The author can provide a quick definition for unknown words or concepts without the reader ever leaving the page. You can see an example of this use in the 1st paragraph above, with the word “scripts”. Or, the author might rather choose to clarify his choice of words, so that the reader is more certain of the contextual meaning, as shown in this screenshot.

Rabidly2

In this instance, the author used a word that, in context, could have been exactly what you see or could have been a typo (rapidly). The Snap Shot clearly shows the author’s intent.


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2.Punctuation – The author can “punctuate” his writing with images that evoke emotional responses in the reader, expanding artistic styling capabilities. Satire, irony, and other forms of nuanced speech can be illustrated with instant imagery.

Humor2

Images become a tool for the author, much like a punctuation mark or a comma, enhancing the ability to convey emotional intent with perfect clarity.


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3.Allusion – The author can now use working video and audio, allowing literary tools such as “allusion” to be developed further. By showing the allusion to those not familiar with it, a greater and more rounded appreciation of the topic is won by more people.

HillStBlues2

The author can pinpoint the source of his allusion, introducing some readers to new sources of understanding and providing a moment of nostalgia for the informed.
Allusion becomes real.



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4.Presentation – The author can provide an instant image, video or audio as a reference, or example of a topic.

AdVsCon

This post was all about this video, so here it is without even leaving the page.


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5.Enticement – The author can “tease”, to entice the reader to actually click the link.

Tease2

Here the author is teasing the reader. Notice the mainly black website inside the Snapshot. Look at the words the author wrote, teasing readers that they “really ought to click that Foreigner link”.
(Go ahead, click it with your scroll button…it’ll play forever….)


And The Band Plays On

We’ve seen how a judicious use of Snap Shots can add value to the content in our sites. We can instantly clarify our meaning or provide a source of reference. We can stir emotions, we can take our readers back in time to a place they have, or perhaps, have never been. And we can get personal, play around a little and generally just have fun with our readers like old friends.

Is this manipulating our readers? Sure it is, much in the same way that Hemingway manipulated his readers by naming a book “For Whom The Bell Tolls”. With just 5 words, he told us the story, and made us want the details even more. Did we get offended by that? No. To the contrary, it became required reading.

Using link drillers can add another dimension to our writing, and help us to create our own, easily recognizable voice. In this constantly evolving world of internet publishing, technology is finally beginning to enable the artist in all of us. Some of us will embrace it, some will “leave well enough alone”. If we ignore the advances we see available to us, we run the risk of being left behind. Once that happens, to partially quote John Donne:

“…never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee…”

Feel free to look through Wordout at the many ways link drillers are used. In a couple of posts you will see them on almost every link. I’ve left those posts untouched, as examples of how NOT to use drillers. Judiciously used, they are great. But overusing them, or using them in places where they simply are not needed will drive visitors from your site like a wailing banshee. Remember: Link drillers are like exclamation marks, or that silly internet phrase, “LOL”. Too many and they mean nothing. Too much, and we lose our credibility.

BTW, I’m sure you noticed those little blue boxes in some of the images above. Those are link drillers, too, but those are oriented more toward the readers than the authors. I’ll cover them soon, in upcoming pieces on AdaptiveBlue.

But before that happens, I’ll be covering Snap Shots from the more important reader’s perspective. After all, it’s all about you guys, and me, when I’m one of you. Without the readers, this would all be pointless.

I am Jon, and… is that the starting bell I hear?

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this post has been edited for content and style.