Photo-A-Day #571 10/31/06

Tonight Allison and I went to visit Amy and Ryan and Mason for Halloween. Mason is the coolest kid. He's so full of energy (could have been the sugar last night) and he was so excited for Halloween. He would run to the door every time someone came trick or treating and shout "Halloween" or "Happy Halloween" or some version there of.

We brought over some cookies that you could color on for Mason. He and I colored at the table in between knocks at the door. The color cookies were pretty neat, they came with markers that had food coloring in them and you could color in the black and white image. I had as much fun as Mason did.

Then it was time for Amy, Ryan and Mason to go trick or treating. Mason was a Doctor and even had a custom made lab coat (courtesy of Amy's Mom) that had his nametag and everything. He had the Fisher Price doctor's kit and he was on his way. Ryan came home from work and was in his suit so it looked like he was the young doctor's lawyer. Allison, Jen, Amy's mom and I manned the door for trick or treaters while they were gone. Amy's mom told us a ghost story about the missing Bobby from the photos. (Not sure if it was meant as a ghost story but turned out to sound like one) Allison was still a little freaked out when we drove home. I don't blame her that was freaky.

After Ryan, Amy and Mason came back we had some pizza, watched the wonderpets and then Mason went to sleep. Ryan and I played Marvel's Ultimate Alliance on X-Box while the girls played some board games in the dining room. They sounded like they were having a ball. Ryan and I had our butts handed to us by Mephisto (sp). It was a good time, I even got dressed up.

Lame, but it cost nothing and took 2 minutes to make.

Do you see what I see?

Binoculars are not always the easiest product to buy. At Optics Planet.net you can find all the information that you are looking for to purchase your next or first set of binoculars. Optics Planet.net has a how to buy binoculars tutorial. They carry all types of binoculars but they specialize and carry a large selection of binoculars by Nikon, Bushnell and Leupold. And binoculars are as varied as the activities they are used with. OpticsPlanet has binoculars for Hiking, Birding, Opera, Theater, Sports, Hunting, Astronomy Observations, Marine and Military. For all orders over $29.95 the shipping is free.

As a kid I used to use the binoculars that My grandparents had at their house. I would use them to see when grandpa would come home from fishing. I loved being able to get up close to something and not have to be right there. I also had this binocular/compass/some other cool tool as a kid. They have the most binoculars I have seen in one place. All of your needs for binoculars and the lowest prices around are at Optics Planet. You should really look here before you buy your next pair of binoculars. Check out this site for all of your Optical needs. Optics Planet.net has more than binoculars too, just search through the site for digital cameras, night vision items and much, much more.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone. Here are a few fun things for alloween that I have found for you to play with. First is a trivia quiz through AOl. It is about what TV characters wore in Halloween Episodes.

The next is a list of the worst cosutmes. I can't believe that some of these were actually made.

And If you have yet to actually carve your Halloween Pumpkin... well first, what are you waiting for. And second if you don't have an idea you can take a look at Extreme Pumpkins.com.

Classic Cars in the fun Florida Sun...

The Hot Rod / Muscle Car Show in Daytona Beach florida is coming up. It will be held from November 22-26th in Daytona Beach Florida. This event is also home to the 33rd annual Turkey Run. I would love to be down in Daytona Beach Florida to see the Hot Rod / Muscle Car Show. I remember going to a car show with my father once in Boston when I was a kid and seeing those cars was incredible. The classic cars, the muscle cars, and the car girls were worth the trip. If I could be in Daytona Beach Florida on November 22-26th I would certainly take advantage of seeing the Hot Rod / Muscle Car Show. The website DaytonaBeach.com that I am linking to has hotel and accomodations information, the full roster of events and a link to the 33rd Annual Turkey Run. If your family is not into cars then there is always the beach for them. Everyone wins.

Photo-A-Day #570 10/30/06

Today Allison and I were at the Cape. We slept late and had a wonderful night of sleep. It is so great to sleep down there. Despite the wind I, as usual, heard nothing and slept so well. Two pages of my book Tyrannosaur Canyon and I was out like a light. This morning I eased into the day by reading six or seven chapters. It is great to have a night og good sleep and where you actually wake up refreshed the next morning.

Allison took a walk on the beach and picked up a few shells that had gotten blow onto the beach by the big winds of last night. She even found a good piece of sea glass.

We had lunch at the British Beer Company with Dad and then made our way home. Later in the afternoon we headed over to the hospital to visit Derek and Michelle and baby Nicholas. The baby is adorable. He slept like a little angel a little while after we had arrived. So we got a chance to talk with the new parents. They are so excited and we are so excited for them. We'll go over this weekend with some food that Allison is making and I'll take a few baby pictures. I didn't want to disturb Nicholas while he slept.

We stopped at Fortune House on the way home. I can't get enough of that place. No other Chinese food is good enough anymore. It all pales in comparison to the Fortune House.

Find a new Myspace Layout

With www.everylayout.com you can get yourself some brand new Myspace Layouts. The site design is easy to navigate and there are hundreds of selections for some new Myspace Backgrounds. If you want to tweak your Myspace account and add a professional or wild look then check out EveryLayout for your Myspace Needs.

PPP Disclosure Policy

I created my PPP disclosure policy today though DisclosurePolicy.org. I have already stated why I am doing PPP on this site but here is a more spelled out version. I am also adding this image at the bottom of the site (In the widget wasteland) PPP articles will remain in Green so you can read them or just go to the Photo-A-Day stuff.

Disclosure Policy of The BenSpark.

This policy is valid from 30 October 2006

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. Those advertisements will be identified as paid advertisements by their green font.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content, which might present a conflict of interest.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

The Need for Speed....

I remember going to the drive in up in New Hampshire with my family back when I was a kid. We would pile into the Station Wagon with our footy pajamas and sleeping bags and watch some great movies. Then Drive-ins started to disappear. There is still a working one near me in Woonsocket, The Rustic Drive in, but it is pretty crummy. We have gone there and you can't help hearing other movies when you are trying to enjoy the movie you've come to see.

SPEEDtv will be featuring Speed's own "Lost Drive-In" Marathon on Nov 25 at 3pm EST featuring Grand Prix and Rebel Without a Cause. I like Rebel Without a Cause, it is an interesting movie. I'll be tuning in to check it out.

This post sponsored by Speedtv.com. Speedtv is on demand and features all things fast including Street Racing. Please see my disclosure policy on paid posts.

Photo-A-Day #569 10/29/06

Today Allison and I drove down to the Cape to catch the end of the Cape Cod Marathon. I got a chance to use my new telephoto lens and camera. The spot is definitely on the senor of the camera. So it looks like I have to send it in to get fixed. Luckily it is under warranty. A couple of years ago I ran the first leg of the Cape Cod Marathon as part of a relay team. This year I just came up for a visit to cheer on Tara’s boss Jack. Jack ran his best time ever 3 hours and 30 minutes. That was with probably the windiest day ever for this race. We were getting blown all over the road during our ride up to the Cape.

I now have about 100 photos of random runners because I had to keep testing out the camera and see what it could do. So I got some great shots of runners, and I have no idea who they are. But I was pretty sure Tara knew some folks so we’ll sit down and go through the pictures and see whom she knows. I love how the camera performed (despite the spot). I had it on the action mode and the runners are in perfect clarity while the background is blurry.

At the end of the race we walked down the road to the Roobar for lunch. Along the way there were these great little pumpkins that were made out of wood. Each one was oversized and bolted to the ground. Some were pumpkins and others were made to look like Jack-O-Lanterns. The different faces of the Jack-O-Lanterns were fantastic. Someone had taken a lot of care to make these decorations for Main Street. I kept stopping along the way to take a shot.

For lunch I had a fish and chips dish that looked very well designed. I took out my camera to get the picture and the chef behind the bar shouts over, “That’s copyrighted!” And we all got a laugh out of that one. For lunch it was Allison and I, Tara and Shelby, and Mom and Dad. Allison got a very tasty chicken, apple wood smoked bacon and avocado wrap with a Chile lime mayo. I shared a bite of that and it was delicious.

After lunch Allison and I went to visit my Grandmother and Grandfather. Tara and Mom came over a little while after us and Tara finished a knitted blanket that she was making for her friend who is having a baby. We spent about a half hour there talking with Grandma and Grandpa and then we went to the house. The ride along the water gave my car a sandblasting. The wind was so strong and the beach got blown into the road.

We hung out with my Dad for a bit and we watched a couple of football games. The sun began to set at the beach so Allison and I went over to get a few pictures of the water and the sky and the sunset. While reviewing the pictures I was cursing that sensor spot but I did manage to get a few god shots that I could crop the spot out. Luckily I know where it is going to show up and can try and compensate for it. As long as what is behind the spot is dark in color I can usually hide it in the picture. I know the spot is on the senor because it shows up when both lenses are used.

I did try to get on to the Internet to upload the Photo-A-Day but I wasn’t getting any network connections and I wasn’t able to get the pictures off the memory card. The memory card is 4GB and the laptop I have cannot read that size card. However I realized later that I had the cable to connect the camera directly to the laptop with me so I then was able to pick out the pictures for this post and crop them. The only thing I could do to get on the Internet was to dial into work and get my mail. Other than that I was stuck. I picked up two networks but couldn’t actually get to any sites.

Later on I made my way to Shaw’s and got some chowder and stuffed clams for Allison and I and some tollhouse cookies to bake. They were the Turtle kind and they were good. I tired out very quickly and went to bed early. I read two pages of my book and then feel asleep holding the book. I remember reading the first paragraph of the chapter and then I guess I made up the rest of what happened in that chapter because when I opened my eyes up I was still holding the book and I was still on the first page of that chapter. The wind blew pretty hard all night but we were very comfy in our bed and we kept very warm. The house only has heat on the first floor but we have vents to let the heat come to the second floor. We were more than warm enough.

Search Engine Marketing

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Congratulations Derek and Michelle

Our friends Derek and Michelle are now parents of a beautiful baby boy. Nicholas was born last evening at 11:09pm. He is 8lbs 15oz and 18 inches long. Mom and Baby are doing well. We look forward to visiting them and meeting baby Nicholas. And we know they are going to be great parents.

But I have to say....

This guy is a Dad now.

Just kidding you Derek, congrats to both you and Michelle. Can't wait to see you guys.

Free Ink Catridges

Who couldn't use some Free Printer Ink Cartridge Samples? Have you seen the cost of buying new refills for your printer? I for one use my printers fairly infrequently for very mundane things like printing maps from Yahoo maps or recipes for some dish off the food network. I don't think a full price ink cartridge is really needed for such things as that. When I print out my photos I make sure that my Photo Printer has the best ink possible. But for those other times you could use some Free Printer Ink Cartridge Samples that you can get from Print Country.com. they have refurbished ink cartridges for a deep discount. And if you have a Brother, Cannon, Epson, Okidata, Sharp or Xerox printer than your model printer may qualify for Free Printer Ink Cartridge Samples. It is worth a look.

Pizza and friends

Tonight Neil and Andrea came over and they brought some Wrentham House pizza with them. Wrentham House is like Paul's Pizza but much bigger. It is some tasty stuff. We lost power today so when they arrived we had quite a few candles burning and they were greeted by flashlight. About 15 minutes after they arrived the power turned back on.

Andrea was excited to check out my new Nikon D80 Digital SLR camera and she discovered something that I now have to get fixed. It seems that there is something on the Digital sensor that puts a ghost object into my pictures. I didn't see it until she pointed it out and now I see it in every picture. Observe.

Do you see the spot?

Well there is a spot right in the middle of the top of the picture above the picture that is in the picture, got it. That is something on the senor. I can try and clean it but I have a year warranty so I can send it back to get cleaned. I will have to learn more about switching lenses to prevent dust and dirt from landing on the sensor. I think that is what happened at some point where I switched lenses, or it may have been there all along. I do not know. It is always in that same spot but can only bee seen when a light solid color appears in the picture.

Free Health Products

I found this site called Healthy Free Stuff where users can sign up for free samples of many healthy items. In addition to getting free items from the site you can also read in-depth articles about the different products. The Free Product Samples are shipped to you free. Once you register you can choose different Free Product Samples. Some of the categories are Foods, Beverages, Vitamins & Minerals, Sleeping Aids and Insomnia Products, Diet & Weight Management Products, Pregnancy and Women's Health Products, Vitamins & Supplements, Dieters Counting Calories and Carbohydrates , and Natural and Alternative Health Supplements.

For each section there are links to many articles, as well as support groups for the different conditions. This site does require a registration in order to participate but then again every single site out there now requires a legitimate e-mail address in order to participate. You should also note that this is only open for users who are 18 years old and older. I suspect that is because some of the free samples like sleep aids can not be shipped to children.

So if you would like to get Free Product Samples shipped to you free, plus access to great articles and support groups online then you should check out Healthy Free Stuff

Photo-A-Day #568 10/28/06

Today I finally got to play with a few things. I've been on the road for two weeks and during that time I had my new Nikon D80 Digital SLR camera arrive, and I also had 2 new Transformers delivered and I picked up two other Transformers two weeks ago in New Hampshire. And I hadn't had the chance to transform them and play with them a little. So I caught two birds with the same net. I used my Nikon D80 Digital SLR camera to take some pictures of the house including the Transformers after I got to transform each one of them. I think my favorite out of the bunch is Bumblebee. I never had the original Bumblebee toy, but this one captures the spirit of Bumblebee. You can just see from the smirk that he's a fun loving guy.

In the Transformers TV show (the original) Bumblebee was the Transformer who was closest to the human characters. He was also a spy. Since he was small and he was often overlooked because of that size, he made for a great spy. Transformers are Robots in Disguise and Bumblebee was very good at that. I like the addition the jetski trailer that transforms into a jetpack. That was a great touch. But I think the best part is the face. It is perfect Bumblebee.

I also took pictures of Rodimus (Hot Rod, name is no longer a copyright of Hasbro), Optimus, Megatron and StarScream. There are some great galleries already online for these toys but I wanted to play with the macro lens on the Nikon D80 Digital SLR camera to get a good close up of each robot's face.

Optimus

Hot Rod (Rodimus)

StarScream

Megatron

I also used the Nikon D80 Digital SLR camera to get a couple of nice shots of Duncan.

Halloween Kitty

Duncan peering out.

Halloween is coming.

Handy Household Hints...

I found this great site with information about making over your home and doing your own home repairs. Have you seen Extreme Makeover Home Edition? Handy Household Hints is hosting their own $50,000 Extreme Home Makeover contest. You simply enter the $50,000 Extreme Home Makeover contest at the Handy Household Hints website. This site has many topics on home repairs, DIY, remodeling, and home makeover.

There are also some Handy Household Hints about painting, wallpapering, decks, flooring. Since we are going to have to do many of those types of home repairs, Handy Household Hints is going to be a bookmarked site that we are going to use as a reference. One of the great things about the site is the way that users can read the articles and leave their own comments and hints for other readers. Why reinvent the wheel when you can use the knowledge that hundreds of other people are sharing to do your own home repairs?

We will soon be painting a room as well as putting down hardwood floors. There are some wonderful articles about how to do both of these types of projects. There is also an article on how to clean your kitchen to make it a healthier place to prepare and eat your food. There are many hidden bacteria in your kitchen and some of the most highly looked over places for cleaning are spelled out in this article.

Chicken Little

Allison and I watched Disney's Chicken Little this afternoon. It was certainly a cute little movie and we were very entertained. I loved all the little details int he movie like the house of chicken little and his rug looking like a fried egg, the house looked like a house but a chicken coop with chicken wire and metal roofing. Then there were other little touches like a bull being an owner of a china shop. So many plays on words. I also loved the voice actors.

You know already that I have nothing but admiration for Zach Braff's work. He was fantastic as the voice of chicken little. Joan Cusack was also fantastic as the ugly duckling and Steve Zahn as Runt of the Litter. Kids will love the action and the great animation and colors and characters, adults will be entertained by the dialogue and the movies message. I loved it.

Avast Mateys, Visit The Old Gift Shop

While searching for PPP opportunities I came across Old World Gifts and Collectibles. This unique site has fantastic gifts and collectibles that you will not find anywhere else on the Internet. Some of the categories include: figurines, tapestries, steins, miniature landmarks, ship models, western, ancient Egyptians, ancient Romans, ancient Greeks, Vikings, medieval, samurai, pirate, and nautical.

If you are a history buff and would like museum quality items to display in your home then you should look into Old World Gifts and Collectibles. I found a few items that I really liked from the Viking and Pirate collections. Maybe you like the history of the Civil War. Old World Gifts and Collectibles has some great Civil War items for you to see. Old World Gifts and Collectibles is a nice site for some truly unique gifts and collectibles for many diverse collectors.

Photo-A-Day #567 10/27/06

Today Allison and I spent a much needed day off together. We caught up on all of the shows that I had taped this past week and enjoyed each other's company. We watched heroes from the past 2 weeks. That show is really starting to get better. We watched LOST, another stellar episode. And we watched The Nine. That show is also getting better and better.

Tonight Andy and Rondi came over for some sushi and Chinese food. I made a little ice cream dessert and we enjoyed a game of The 80's game. I won but narrowly beat Rondi.

WordDisplay, what is it about?

Check what is Smart and what is Stupid on WordDisplay today. WordDisplay is an interesting site where users uplods a pictures associated with keywords. the image is then in turn linked to a resource. So I am assuming that if I posted a picture for the word benspark I could link back to this site. WordDisplay has an interesting concept. I need to look further into this. So why don't you check what is Smart and what is Stupid on WordDisplay today.

PayPerPost Podcast on TechCrunch.

I downloaded and listened to the TechCrunch podcast titled PayPerPost Raises 3 Million: with Ted Murphy from PayPerPost. First off I had not heard of TechCrunch before learning about PayPerPost. The blogger associated with it was pretty uppity. Mike Arrington, who are you and why should I care? That is the thing I can’t stand about ‘A’ List bloggers, who put them there and why should they be ‘A’ list? The guys were slamming Ted and PayPerPost because they found it unethical to have people write about something and get paid and not disclose that information. If you are getting paid to write a review then yes you should disclose it. Should PayPerPost regulate that you need to disclose that information, I'm not sure about that. I write about things for PayPerPost and I don’t think anyone who reads my PayPerPost blog updates is under some illusion that I do not get paid to write about these things. I make my PayPerPost posts a different color so that my readers can choose whether or not they want to read my PayPerPost posts.

This post was supposed to be for the opportunity to tell people about that podcast but that opportunity was gone this morning. Had I stayed up past 12:00am I could have posted about this last night and gotten $10.00 for the post. However I missed the opportunity, but felt strongly enough about the subject that I am writing about the podcast anyway.

I’ve been shouting it to the rafters that I am getting paid for posting blog messages. Heck it has been about two weeks and I have posted enough to make almost $200.00. I’m not making that kind of money from the Google Ads, nor am I making any real money when someone clicks through and buys a book from Amazon. And I read those books or own that merchandise and write about it and give free advertising to those items. I like getting paid to blog. I like having control over my own blog and choosing what I blog about. I choose my own opportunities from PayPerPost and I discard the ones that are crap. And there are ones that are crap. When an advertiser deliberately says not to mention that I am getting paid for the post or not to mention the site that the link goes to then I don’t take that opportunity, it is shady. I as a blogger can rate opportunities and I always rate those ones with a low score so maybe others will not take those opportunities either and the advertisers will be more honest with the consumers.

I have always tried to be open and honest with the things that I post on this blog. I am now blogging for money as well as for the fun of it. And why not, I am doing work on behalf of and advertiser and they should pay me. I am letting my readers know that I am getting paid and giving them choices to read or not read my posts. I check out every website and opportunity that comes along and try to write from an informed perspective abut the advertisers.

I think that Ted Murphy and PayPerPost is a genius thing. It lets the little guy or gal blogger, like me, make a little money from something that we already love doing and giving us control over how we make that money. Will I stop posting Photo-A-Day because of PayPerPost? Nope, I am committed to Photo-A-Day and have no desire to stop. I want that to reach as many people as possible and over the past week I have driven more traffic to this site than ever before. I want people to read this blog, enjoy the photos I put up, read my opinions on things, read my airport rants, and maybe buy a thing or two from my Kodak gallery and if you are going to buy from Amazon anyway why not start here to make your purchase.

I don’t feel that I’m being at all unethical about what I do on this blog. I appreciate all of my readers and friends who humor me and come here. Thank you all.

What am I going to do with the money? First off I hope to raise enough to pay off my new camera and buy additional equipment. From there I hope to get a couple extra bucks in my pocket for toys, comic books and other things that I will use and write about on this blog. So basically the money is to reinvest in making this blog better overall. If you are interested in signing up for PayPerPost please use me as a referral and my e-mail address of abennett96 @ gmail.com.

Need Nutritional supplements?

With N101 Nutrition, Health & Sport you can order your nutritional supplements and have them shipped to your door quickly and easily. N101 Nutrition offers volume discount pricing on their products and they have the top names. I went over to their site and took a look around. This site has more nutritional supplements than I have ever seen in a GNC or Vitamin world.

After some poking I came across an option on the site to create a Custom Bar sampler pack. With N101 Nutrition you can choose 12 different meal replacement, power and nutritional bars and create yourself a sampler pack. Maybe you want all to try a bunch of bars without having to buy a whole box. You can do that easily with the Custom Bar Sampler.

All over the N101 Nutrition site I found evidence of a well thought out and executed site that is focused on customer service. The site is easy to navigate and is full of information and products, but they are easy to find within a few clicks. You can tell that N101 Nutrition prides itself on giving their customer's a good experience when ordering products. They even have a customer points program you earn 1 point for every dollar spent and you can even earn additional points by referring friends to the site. You can use the points for discounts on your order of for products themselves. Alot of time and effort was put into creating N101 Nutrition. And the site continues to update you with ingredients, and supplement facts, something that other sites do not keep up with. Check them out.

Read the comments, they are fun

If you are not reading the comments you really should. This is a great one from my friend Andy.

"PAIL
a pail is a water tight cylindrical vessel, open at the top and fitted with a handle.

Bucket
a deep, cylindrical vessel, usually of metal, plastic, or wood, with a flat bottom and a semicircular bail, for collecting, carrying, or holding water, sand, fruit.


Is would seem that both terms are interchangable. However in common usage pails tend to be smaller and the definition includes a handle. The bucket does nto require a handle.

It also seems that the term pail is used more in the North East while the rest of the country tends to jsut use the term bucket

Since people seem to interchange I am going to clarify with my own definitions which all should follow

Pail: a small cylindrical container with a flat bottom that has or once had a handle. A pail must be able to be filled with water and carried in one hand by an 8 year old boy without too much stuggle

Bucket: A cylindrical container with a flat bottom. If a handle is added to a small bucket so that when filled with sand or water a 8 year old boy can lift it with a single hand the bucket becomes a pail and ceases to be a bucket. Once the handle is attached the bucket is forever a pail even if the handle is removed. You can go from bucket to pail but not pail to bucket.

There is no upper end size limit on a bucket."

Weird facts of the Internet

Did you know that through the Internet you could soon be on your way to buying a property in Spain. It is true. I came across this on PayPerPost as one of their opportunities and they had a site that could help you with buying a property in Spain.

I myself do not need any Spanish property and I don't think that anyone else from this site is going to be buying a property in Spain, but I'm throwing it out there to my readers as a possibility. I hear that it is beautiful in Spain and we really don't hear alot about Spain in the news these days. Maybe it is quiet and sunny and worth a look, maybe it is not. I can tell you that is probably much better to be in Spain than in West Monroe, Louisiana at the moment. It is dirty and gross here. I'm not so thrilled, and I am glad I am leaving this afternoon. I'm just glad I can cross this State of my list of State's I've been to.

Photo-A-Day #566 10/26/06

Well, I am sitting in the Monroe Airport waiting for the security gate to go up. I should have known that I would have had plenty of time to get to the airport and to catch my flight. The place only has 3 gates. And there is no wi-fi access in the airport, surprise. Airports, you really should think about putting wireless networks in at your terminals. Since everything else about air travel is a hassle shouldn’t the waiting at least let people be productive. There isn’t even a gift shop or bookstore here. I should have stopped at a Borders or something before I got to the airport. I wasted my time trying to find the Harley Davidson shop and taking many wrong turns in the rain just to get there and find that they did not have a pin, but rather they had the standard circular oil dot. But they gave me one free so that was nice of them.

So, I’ve been to Louisiana, and yes that is about the extent of my excitement. It was wet and rainy, the demo wasn’t as smooth as I wanted it to be and I can’t wait to get home.

The bright shining part of my day today was going to R.J. Gators. This restaurant bills itself as a Florida sea grill and bar. I got an order of their buffalo wings and my bottom lip is still burning a bit. I also ordered their seafood bucket, which was like a seafood platter with fish, shrimp and clams, but it was served in a… bucket. Actually a metal pail, I think buckets are bigger. Andy, what is the difference between a bucket and a pail? They also served soft rolls with a garlic and parmesan butter on top. Those were dangerous and tasty. I couldn’t finish nearly half of the meal because the portions were so huge. I expected a few small chicken wings and they were monsters. And for the price I expected a small portion of fish and shrimp but that too was huge.

The atmosphere of the place was very fun. They had classic rock and older heavy metal playing. It was like a bar out of the movie Roadhouse, and you know how much I liked that movie. There was a wall of fire where you could try the different hot sauces. They had alligator themed decorations all over the place. This fella (above) got stuck in the wall… while flying, yeah that’s the ticket.

So at the Monroe Regional Airport, Hair Care and Tire Center I was delayed for about an hour. I hope to be getting to Atlanta in enough time to grab something to eat and catch my flight. Most importantly to catch that next flight. And I get to go into Boston instead of Providence. So I will most likely be crawling into bed around 12:00am.

This airport is so small it only has three gates. There is one security line that doesn’t even open up until the plane that is landing is about 10 minutes out. And yet people are still so stupid that they wonder if they are in the right place for their flights. There are only three airlines, they only go to three places. Chances are you’re in the right place. And why do people ask me if they are in the right place? Almost always someone asks me if they are in the right place. I was tempted to tell the guy that no, in fact he was at the wrong place and boarding would begin through the tire center. A free set of radials if you get through security without a pat down.

I ended up getting home about 12:20am. The flight from Atlanta to Boston was delayed. I did end up having enough time to grab a piece of Sbarro pizza and a drink from the most pleasant woman in the world. I also had enough time to grab me some garbage reading. I picked up Douglas Preston’s Tyrannosaur Canyon. Why do I call it garbage reading, well I knew nothing about the book and just picked it up. If it was garbage then I just recycle it after I read it. However the book is pretty good and I look forward to finishing reading it.

Fix your laptop power jacks

File this under, I didn't even know you could do this. Do you know who to turn to to fix your laptop power jacks? PowerJacksOnline.com can fix many broken laptop power jacks. I'm not talking about the cord and power supply that comes out of the laptop but rather the jack that the power cord plugs into. I figured that if that goes I'm pretty much out of a laptop but PowerJacksOnline.com can fix your laptop power jacks quickly and easily.

The process is pretty simple to get your laptop to PowerJacksOnline.com. You simply ship the laptop to PowerJacksOnline.com (about a $10 charge via ground shipping) they use their desoldering, soldering and rework tools to remove and install your laptop power jacks. The fee is about $149.00. Even with laptops costing downwards of $499.00 it is worth getting your laptop fixed by PowerJacksOnline.com. Check them out.

Keen Pumpkin Festival

My friend Becky went to the Keene, NH Pumpkin festival and she posted many pictures of the event. There are some fantastically creative pumpkins out there. I especially liked the Frankenpumpkin. That must have taken forever to create. The ideas that some people have for their pumpkins are amazing. Check out Becky's photos of the event here.

Keene Pumpkin Festival

Show 'em how it is done...

Have you ever just wanted to be able to give someone a video about exaclty what to do ont he computer. If you are like me then you are probably the computer tech for your family. And sometimes your less technical relatives need some help with thier computers and you may not be around physically to show them what to do. Enter Camtasia Studio 4.0 Screen Recording Software. Camtasia Studio allows you to record what you are doing on your computer and then record a soundtrack to go along with the video.

Imagine that you want to show someone how to save an image that they see on the internet. You just need to set up Camtasia to record your mouse clicks and you can record a voice over of the steps that you are taking. Then you burn that video to CD or DVD and give it to your relative who needs some help. Problem solved! And then you never have to explain how to do that simple task ever, ever again. This software is a lifesaver.

Domino's and Fudgems

So I get into Monroe Louisiana late in the evening, the only thing I want to do is go to my hotel. It is raining, I'm driving a ford Taurus, thanks National (sarc). I have gotten to my hotel by way of a lake in the middle of a shoney's parking lot. The Fairfield Inn that I am staying at is one of those where the front desk is in an entirely separate building. And the doors open right to the outside. I'm not that thrilled with that.

My hotel room smelled of smoke despite being a non smoking room and my toilet has yellow/brown water. Or it still has the pee from the last guy who stayed here. Actually it is the water because I flushed it and the water stayed the same color. Oh Happy Day, I am glad I ordered 4 bottles of water from Domino's.

I'm tired, I had a long day of flights and I am ready for bed. But I haven't eaten anything of substance yet today. And the trend continues. I didn't feel up to going to a restaurant so I ordered Domino's. With my order came a free 10 piece of the New Oven Baked brownie Squares. They are not good and they are not terrible either. They are adequate. Don't be fooled by the commercial with the cute messy square Fudgems character, these are just poorly baked brownies cut into squares with chocolate sauce to dip. Don't dip the pizza in it either, that is gross.

I must sleep.

Hawaii Tour '06

Paul Wright has posted a new Vlog about his recent tour in Hawaii. Although he did not go to any Maui Wedings he did spend time out on the islands. He was even there when the earthquakes hit. If you don't know Paul Wright you should take a listen to his music. Here is a link to his Vlog.

This song is not his but if you go to his myspace page then you will be able to hear some of his music. He's fun.

Internet Woes...

Last night I stayed at a Fairfield Inn. I like Fairfield Inn, Courtyards and Residence Inns because they offer free wi-fi access. What really burns me up is that full service Marriotts do not offer this free service, rather they charge up to $15.00 a day to use the Internet. Now airlines may be getting into the wi-fi business and that is fantastic, as long as it is free. The problem I have with a pay service is that every airport or carrier is going to have a different service and for someone who travels all over the country on every different airline it is totally impractical to sign up with multiple services for wi-fi. I am sure that there has to be a way to get that money for the service from the consumer without charging $15.00 a day. If airline companies are going to start offering wi-fi that should be free and added to the price of the ticket. With free wi-fi I could be very productive while I sit in the airport waiting for my next flight. I have to be at the airport anyway so why not get something done while I am there. Now with PayPerPost I can be earning money from my days of Internet productivity with free wi-fi. That would be worth it.

Photo-A-Day #565 10/25/06

Palm Springs, dried up and dusty.

I'm in the Palm Springs Airport, Sonny Bono Terminal, and it is an interesting building. This is the only airport I've ever been to where you can sit outside in the open air and where there is an atrium area with a fountain that you can sit around and enjoy the sunshine. And it is protected so if you end up having a rainy day then you will be dry.

Speaking of dry, it is dry and dusty all over this place. It is of course a desert so it will most likely be dry but there is dust blowing all over the place. I got engulfed in a cloud of it on my way to the airport. Staying out in San Bernardino wasn't that bad but I would have rather have stayed in Palm Springs proper. I really wanted to find something to do there but instead I spent extra time at the hotel and then drove to the airport. Big excitement for my day. Now I have about 5 hours of flights ahead of me. First stop Houston. From there I head to Monroe Louisiana. This will be my first trip to Louisiana. Of course I am blowing in tonight at 8:00pm and heading out at 3:45pm tomorrow.

I am now forced to rent my cars from National Car rental. They suck. When I started we rented cars from Budget and then moved to Hertz and now to National. Did I mention that they suck? I had a Chevy Impala and it was a terrible car. Who puts the shift on the steering column anymore and it was easy enough to blow past Drive and get into D3. Does anyone actually drive in D1, D2, or D3? I have never had the need for that. It is just something to ponder.

When I returned my car, which by the way bounced and vibrated all over the highway, the rental return line was stopped completely. There were two cars without drivers and one woman moving them. Then all the car companies had their own lanes that were packed in together. I was in the National/Alamo line and then was directed to the Avis line. I pulled around and they blamed me for paring in the wrong line. Hello, you just directed me to the wrong line. Then the person who comes to scan your car and give you your receipt could not come to my car for some reason and so I had to go in to the airport to stand in line and get my receipt. That is always fun because they only have one person behind the counter. And let me give you two guesses on the speed with which they do their job. Fast and efficient isn't one of them.

I finally got my receipt and made my wait to the Continental ticket counter. This is the first time in 5 years that I have had to fly Continental. I didn't realize that they still existed. But they do exist and I was able to get my tickets and switch my frequent flyer miles to Delta. At least I'll get something fairly useful for this flight. And it looks like I'm going to be on a little jet for the flight so at least I shouldn't be totally crammed next to anyone. But that remains to be seen.

At the Palm Springs Airport they have two painted big horn sheep. I took a picture of each one of them. I liked how they had very nice paint jobs with a desert motif. I tried to get some good pictures in Palm Springs but there was nowhere to stop and the air was really crappy so the mountain pictures were not going to come out. I did snap a shot of the windmill farms that are all over the highway. They are really impressive to see when the wind is blowing.

Here is a shot of the windmill farms from the car...

And here is one from the air...

The one thing I do not like about the Palm Springs airport is that they have only one restaurant and it was jammed with people. There was no way to get a seat or to get to a counter to order something. Say all the bad things you like about McDonalds but at least you can get something to eat there in a reasonable amount of time. Since I wasn't able to get anything at the restaurant I'm making do with some Cheez-Its and peanuts and water. Maybe I can snap something in Houston before my next flight, but that will be tight.

I ended up grabbing some McDonalds before my next flight. With 3 minutes to spare to eat my makeshift dinner. Food kharma got me because I am feeling a little sick right now. I got to Monroe. I finished my book and I found my hotel in the driving rain. And that included taking my car through what could only be considered a small lake in the parking lot of a Shoney's or something like that. I am at my hotel now and have my high speed internet and blogger is down. What a day.

The Flaming Tamale Spills her guts

PayPerPost (the site where you are paid to blog) has a very special employee, and she goes by the name of the Flaming Tamale. Tamale is having a very stressful time dealing with everything and all the people who are paid to blog.

However, that is the life of someone working at a startup, especially something as ambitious and innovative as PayPerPost.

Here is her video confessional from the PayPerPost Blog.

She is having a tough time and is feeling under appreciated. However the bloggers appreciate you Tamale, we really do. We know you are working hard. It is too bad that once you paid off your car you lost your license, that is just terrible.

And don't worry about Ted taking Brit everywhere, you'll get your day. You've got that librarian glasses thing that fanboys and geeks love. Things will brighten up soon. The 'Posties' love you!

Some site additions

You may have noticed that I've added something to the site. It is the My BlogLog service that shows who is reading this blog. You can sign up for MyBlogLog as a reader and that allows you to leave messages and intereact with other readers of this blog. I signed up for this and added it last night after I saw it on the PayPerPost Blog. It looked pretty sweet so I checked it out. I now have a three day trial service and if I want to keep up with it I can purchase a year subscription for $25.00. Not a bad price for all it gives me. My BlogLog gives one of the most comprehensive looks at what is happening on this blog. Who is visiting, there are they coming from and what are they clicking while they are here. I'll see how things go in the next few days and decide if I want to keep this going or not.

Make your own Logo with LogoStick

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CBS cares...

CBS cares because they offer some of their signature TV shows as full episodes online. The service is offered through InnerTube. I was able to watch last week's CSI episode that I had forgotten to tape. And this morning I was able to watch last Monday's CSI Miami episode that I didn't tape. I did want to catch last week's episodes of How I met Your Mother and The Class.

I really like how some of the stations are setting up the episodes online. I think they should at least leave them up for 2-3 weeks in case you really need to catch up. CBS and ABC have full episodes online. You can catch up on Lost very quickly. However NBC doesn't keep their episodes online as long. You can catch Monday's episode of Heroes but not last Monday's episode. I am two episodes behind but I did tape them.

I think it is pretty sweet that you are able to catch up with these shows easily and online.

Postie Patrol

The payperpost Postie Patrol is on the prowl. The Postie Patrol is where Ted comes to your house and offers if you can complete a task set forth by Ted. The fist Postie to get visited by the Patrol was Victor. Victor was given three choices and each one was progressively more money. You can watch the first Postie Patrol video here.

I liked the cab driver in the video he was in awe of the T-shirt. I would like to get me one of those t-shirts and would like it even more if the Big Blue Monster comes by my place. I would really like to get a picture in or near the Big Blue Monster.

Dining fun...

I went to the Elephant Bar for dinner tonight. There is an eclectic mix of Pacific Rim dishes and African decor. It is an interesting place. I wasn't very hungry and wanted to leave room for Cold Stone Creamery for dessert so I got a coconut shrimp skewer appetizer and a lettuce wedge salad for dinner. Some good stuff.

The presentation of the shrimp was beautiful. So I snapped a shot of it to share with you. And it did taste as good as it looked. The service was a bit slow but good overall. The lettuce wedge salad was not anything special.

After dinner I walked over to the Cold Stone Creamery. Oh my word that place is awesome. I made a sweet concoction of exactly what I wanted in my ice cream. I said to the person behind the counter that I was going to make it up as I went along. She smiled at that and said, "Show me what you got." I started with a base of Strawberry ice cream. I decided on the ""I love it" size (medium) and picked heath bar as my first Mix-in. Oreo was my next choice and I wasn't stopping there. I asked her to put in roasted almonds and white chocolate chips and then real strawberries to round out the creation. All of that served up in a waffle dish. And It tasted delicious.

The emphasis in this place is on fun. And I had alot of fun making my creation as well as eating it. I think I have my new favorite ice cream place.

Landscaping/Gardening Site...

I came across this website about landscaping ideas. The site has hundreds of pictures of different landscaping projects that will help you give you landscaping ideas. By checking out the pictures on the site you may become inspired about your own landscaping project. I clicked on Retaining walls quickly because of our project last year and there were a bunch of really great pictures of other retaining wall projects. The site has many landscaping ideas for you to choose from including Flowers, Trees and Shrubs, and Patios and Decks. There are so many landscaping ideas on the site you won't have time to see them all. So before your next landscaping project check out landscapingideas online.

Photo-A-Day #564 10/24/06

I'm out in California right now and I took a ride out through the desert to Joshua Tree (The town not the national park) It was an interesting ride and again the scenery looked better from the road. There was this smoggy haze all over so what I was able to see while out there on the road was pretty obscured overall. I caught a couple of Harley shops too and was very excited because one had a diner, however it was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. So lunch as a run for the border. Not so good.

Today the staff art show opened and my photos went up. So there may be some folks visiting this blog who went to the art show. Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of the exhibit. I can't wait to hear how Allison, my parent's, Tara, Neil and Andrea liked the show. (I'm sorry if I left anyone out who went I wasn't sure on who exactly was going.) I was unfortunately not able to attend and I'm a bit bummed out about that. I would have liked to have seen the show and to have gone to dinner with my folks and Allison after the show. If you want to know more about the exhibit I am talking about you can check out my past post on 500 photos ... 500 days.Here is another photo from today.

Blast your site to thousands

With Blast Engine Search Engine Submission Service you can submit your website to over 1,000,000 search engines and Internet directories. I was not aware that there were that many search engines out there. That is good to know if you are only concentrating on just a few search engines. But using Blast Engine Search Engine Submission Service you can get your website out to many, many more people for a much wider audience.

As someone who has created websites and attempted to promote them on their own I think this search engine submission service would have been invaluable to me. I would look up a search engine and then submit the new website for them to review and add, this took hours, days even. But with a search engine submission service you need to only write up some information about your website and the search engine submission service will do the rest.

Search engines look for updated content and with Blast Engine Search Engine Submission Service your website will send out constant activity to search engines. There is a META Tag Generator, a simple single form to fill out and Blast Engine Search Engine Submission Service will send your website to those 1,000,000 search engines and Internet directories each and every month. Check out Blast Engine Search Engine Submission Service and get your website into a premiere spot on the web.

Blast engine has a simple sign up process that uses one easy form. All of your website surveillance is totally free, that would be your website downtime monitoring. And blast Engine is the real deal, not false claims like other seo companies. Bundle all that with a service cost that is less expensive than the competition and you have yourself a great tool to promote your website.

Wakeboarding

Andy sent me some pictures from the wakeboarding that we did back on September 8th. As you can see I was pretty terrible doing that. I never quite made it to an upright position. Once I got practically standing the board would dip down and I would get sucked down into the water.

Wakeboarding was pretty fun overall but I liked it very much once we got out there. I liked taking pictures and videos much better than actually trying to wakeboard.

Anyway here are those images up close and personal.

What is PayPerPost?

For those of you who have spent alot of time here at the BenSpark checkout our the Photo-A-Day you may have noticed that since October 14th I have been posting messages about beach bikes, martini glasses and these weird little puzzle pieces. All of that stuff is because of PayPerPost. I learned about PayPerPost from Allison. She saw something about it on TV one morning and said to me, "You should look into that." So I looked into it and now we have posts from PayPerPost on the site. I think she saw when PayPerPost invaded the Today show.

And I will be paid for each of those posts an average of $5.00. Not a heck of alot of money but I can place up to 3 posts a day and if they each average $5.00 that is $15.00 a day and potentially $450.00 a month. I've been posting for 10 days now and the money that I am to receive from PayPerPost is totallying $135.00. What am I going to do with this money? Well for the most part I need to pay for that sweet new camera that I bought. And the great thing in my mind is that I bought that camera to enhance the quality of the photos that will be on this site. So I am thanking PayPerPost for a service that will help me raise a little bit of extra income.

I like the opportunities from PayPerPost alot, but I am frustrated by the slow approval times. I am waiting on 14 of my posts to be approved. But I know they will eventually be approved. I only started this 10 days ago but one of the people who started around July 5th has already made $1500, that would have taken the whole camera payment and allowed me to but the macro lense and macro lense flash I still want. So maybe on January 24, I'll be at that level.

With PayPerPost you, my readers don't have to do anything. I will post about things I like and get paid and you can choose to read those posts or not. It will not change what I do here on this blog whatsoever. I will still post my Photo-A-Day, I will still talk about TV, movies and books I like and I will still update you with the trials and tribulations of air travel. Also I am making the PayPerPost message a green color so if you are upset with me for using PayPerPost you can just choose not to read the post.

Photo-A-Day #563 10/23/06

Had dinner tonight at BJ's Restaurant Brewery. For the East Coasters: no, the giant warehouse club does not have a restaurant. This is a pretty good little brewhouse that has an pizzeria Uno feel to it. I wasn't up for a beer because I still have a lot of work to do tonight but I did order one of their Chicago Style Pizzas. The restaurant is right outside the door of my hotel so the walk was very quick.

There are some beautiful views but again the best ones are from the car. I'll try and get some shots of the area tomorrow when I'm, hopefully not as stressed out.

Today's travel did me in a bit. I hope to run through the demo a couple of times tonight and refresh my memory before tomorrow.

While I was on the plane and in the airports I had lots of time to write up some posts and I posted them up along with three PayPerPost entries. That got me a little relaxed.

Want to win some Office Space?

Is your current home office terrible? Are you even able to get work done in that home office of yours? Enter The Home Office From Hell contest. If you are The Grand Prize winner you will receive 12 months of rent (up to $12,000) at any location posted on Offices2Share.com plus a paid trip to New York City to have lunch with Donald Trump's right-hand man and former Co-Star of The Apprentice - George Ross.

Sorry Maureen it won't be Bill Rancic.

This is sponsored by Trump university and Dell Computer. Many of the top prizes come from Dell as well. I wouldn't mind winning myself a Dell laptop. Maybe I'll take a picture of our little home office before the new flooring goes down and try my luck with The Home Office From Hell contest.

Wake up Call 4:00am please :-(

This morning we received a call at 4:10am. The call did not wake me because I was in the shower getting ready for my drive to Canton for a 5:00am pick up for my 7:00am flight to Palm Springs.

I was in the shower so poor Allison had to take the call. But by the time she got to the phone no one was there, and a message had not been left. So when I got out of the shower I called back the caller ID number. After shouting at the voice recognizing menu of options (which made me repeat everything TWICE!) I got through to a person. The call was to let me know that my 11:33am flight from Salt Lake City, Utah to Palm Springs was delayed till 1:45pm.

Don't get me wrong I like to know when a flight may be a potential problem, but it was 4:10a-freakin-m. How about this for a solution DELTA, since you have about SEVEN HOURS to correct this delay. How about you correct the problem. How about you let me leave for my flight from Boston (which was not delayed). And how about as I take the 5 hour flight in seat 44A (next to some jerk who thinks he is a fricken rock star (sunglasses at 6:30am in the pitch dark, honestly)) and you get another plane for that leg of the flight that is not going to be delayed two hours. Fix the problem! Don't give me information I can do nothing about! And let my wife sleep! Oh yeah and leave a message! And get rid of your voice recognition phone menu, it is useless and frustrating!

After all that Delta called back at 5:00am to let me know the flight was not delayed. I of course had left the house at 4:24am and this call woke Allison again. We shall see what happens in Salt Lake City.

Well, now I am in Salt Lake City and it looks like I will be here for another 2 ½ hours because, and I know you won’t believe it, my flight actually was delayed to 1:45pm like the 4:00am phone call said. Oh you have to love the state of our airports and air travel these days. It is terrible and unreliable and just plain worthless. So now I’m going to land sometime around 2:24pm PST. I am now at Mountain Time. If I am still awake when I land I have about an hour drive ahead of me because the hotels in and around Palm Springs were too expensive and I have to stay all the way out in San Bernardino. I’m living the life of a first class passenger. Yep life is wonderful.

I finally arrived at my hotel at 3:30pm PST. Delta ended up getting another plane to take the passengers to Palm Springs for a 1:00pm MST departure. It left around 1:20pm MST but hey they finally did something. And just getting under the wire… what a great company… I’m all sunshine and lollipops now.

Great Tablet PC site

I found this great Tablet PC Reviews site. If you are considering getting a tablet PC or know someone who has been talking about getting one then Tablet PC Reviews is the site for you. They have a ranking of the most popular Tablet PCs as well as a support forum and news about new Tablet PC's that are coming out.

When I demonstrate I see that many hospitals are going towards the use of Tablet PC. My Primary Care Physician's whole office uses them. They have a pretty sweet system at the office where the nurse comes in, puts her Tablet PC into a docking station, asks me questions and records them onto the Tablet PC and then the doctor comes in with his Tablet PC and he already has all the information I just gave the nurse. That is a really efficient system.

I think I'll tell him about the Tablet PC Reviews website the next time I see him.

Coincidence is a strange thing.

And sometimes it is a convenient thing (like in movies and other works of fiction.) Today on my flight to Palm Springs coincidence caught up with me.

Yesterday, Allison and I went to 8:00am Mass (a little late because we still thought it was 8:15am Mass). At Mass, Deacon Joe's homily mentioned an ossuary inscribed with 'James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.' Now I am not totally sure exactly what an ossuary is physically (as I write this, but I'll be looking it up) and yesterday was the first time I had heard the word.

On page four of Cross Bones, my latest Kathy Reichs novel, I was presented with those same words. In fact this novel is very much a fictional shot at telling this story. Just a weird little coincidence for my plane rides.

An ossuary is a stone coffin that the bones are placed in after the body has decomposed in a tomb after a year. The book is getting really good. Different than her other works and I like it a lot.

Moving? Need Storage?

If you are moving and need to store some of your stuff for a while check out Self Storage Directory - Moving.bz. This website finds all of the storage locations in your area and allows you to get competitive quotes from those companies all on one easy to view page. So you do not have to go and drive to every one of the places near you and price shop on your own.

I know that we have alot of stuff that we would like to store. I looked at Self Storage Directory - Moving.bz myself to get a space for some of the stuff that is in the way around our home. It looks like all of your moving needs are available in one place at Self Storage Directory - Moving.bz. Check them out today.

Blue Monster Revealed

PayPerPost.com has a new marketing campaign out. It is called the Blue Monster and is a gigantic blue truck with a PayPerPost paintjob. It took hours to scour the web, trade with people and refresh, refresh, refresh. But here is the almost complete puzzle of all 192 (except for 9) pieces.

I found (all but 9) of the pieces today and put them together in a 600 x 800 image and the 192 (minus 9) image fit perfectly. Needless to say I did not stay up late enough to win the $500.00. I wanted to spend some time with Allison before I left at 4:00am. Oh well I'll get to $500.00 soon at the rate I am going with these posts. It was a fun hunt but no need to wait till 11:59 to put up the remaining pieces. Thanks to tom who helped me and shared pieces of the puzzle.

Update: It is Monday 7:16pm EST and 4:16pm PST. I signed on at the hotel and immediately foudn the rest of the pieces. And so did everyone else, about 12 hours ago. The finished product.

Get paid to post...

Do you want to make money from your blog. With PayPerPost you can make money with every other post that you put on your site. The great thing about the way you make money with PayPerPost is that you pick the things that you want to write about and you write about them. It is that simple. Get started and make money with PayPerPost. If you sign up give them my e-mail address as your refferral abennett96(@)gmail.com. Thanks.

Photo-A-Day #562 10/22/06

Today I spent most of the day searching the internet for payperpostbluemonster pieces and I still have 12 more pieces to go. I'm looking for pieces 41, 42, 46, 61, 54, 92, 100, 132, 145, 163, 168, and 171. Just 12 away from $500.00, not that I will win, but I have put in a bunch of time on this and am very close.

This is Taylor. She is a very photogenic dog. We had pizza and a farewell party to Erik because he is heading to India. I'm happy we had pizza instead of Indian food as the theme.

Trivia... Knowledge of nothing and everything

Here is an interesting little trivia site. Avivia trivia Blog has tons of different categories of trivia. So if you'd like to become a trivia expert in field like astronomy you can check out the Avivia Trivia Blog. They have trivia items about places and other thing. One of the places is the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. And I learned that the Great Barrier reef is the most diverse ecosystem in the world. I though that it was the O'Hare Airport. That place is a mass of moving humanity.

There is also some holiday trivia on the site as well. If you want to know more about monsters (Halloween is coming up soon.) you can check out the Monster Trivia.

Puzzle Making, Making me crazy

So there is a huge contest with PayPerPost to find 192 puzzle pieces for an 800 X 600 image promoting the next PayPerPost marketing campaign. It looks like they have got themselves a sweet truck to take from place to place to promot PayPerPost. Getting out on the road to search for the Posties who can promote PayPerPost and the opportunities whithin. I have been trying to put together this puzzle all day practically and have 20 pieces left to find. I can't seem to find pieces 41, 42, 46, 54, 60, 61, 73, 76, 77, 78, 92, 100, 107, 128, 131, 145, 162, 168, 182, and 190. And it is driving me nuts.

Here is what I have so far.

I wear my sunglasses at night...

Well, I actually do not wear sunglasses at night but if I wanted to be able to see really well in the middle of the night then night vision would be for me. All those times playing Manhunt on the cape with my friends would have been so much better if we had had some night vision goggles. Could you imagine being able to sneak up on your friends during a game of Manhunt in the pitch black of night and be able to see with perfect night vision. That would have been so awesome.

Night vision technology is now very affordable to the common consumer. At Optics Planet they have hundreds of night vision products. They have all of the major brand names like Nikon, Bushnell and ATN.

Back when I was a Residence Hall Director I bet some of my students thought that I had some night vision goggles and hid in trees and caught them at their fun. But no, I had no night vision goggles rather a keen sense that many of my students just did dumb things and were easily caught. I can just picture it now: Me, Steve, and Willie Nelson (actual name of one of my RA's) all with night vision goggles in the back of Dominic Hall waiting for the Freshmen to attempt to bring in their beer through the lower floor windows. Out we would pop from the bushes with our night vision goggles and nail em in the act. That would have been really fun.

Well at least now you can get some sweet night vision equipment with free UPS shipping direct (for orders over $29.95) from Optics Planet.com.

Treading Water in the Estrogen Ocean...

Last night was Chili and S'mores night at Amy and Ryan's. However Ryan was out fulfilling his movie dreams and acting in an independent film in New Hampshire. So, it was Allison and I and Amy, T.R., Jenn, and Beth. You can read that it was just me and the five ladies. Once Mason went to bed I was truly outnumbered. I did get to read alot of my user manual for the new camera. And I got to play some Thomas The Tank engine with Mason. I am learning who is who in the Thomas world.

We had a very good time and some great food. Allison made a top notch chili, there was salad, and Corn Bread! I love corn bread. I can't get enough of it. I even had some for breakfast today. Then later on in the evening after Mason was tucked in bed sleeping we made a fire in the portable fire pit and roasted some marshmallows and made some s'mores. A good time and I held my own while treading water in the Estrogen Ocean. Here is a picture of what I saw as I ate dinner. I was truly outnumbered. And, of course, a very lucky man.

Puzzles, puzzles, puzzles.

Here is puzzle piece #133. The payperpostbluemonster revolution is rolling full steam. I am going to try and get all of the pieces by tomorrow to assemble them on the blog. Did you know that I have already submitted 12 blog ads through PayPerPost. Yep I have a total of 12 blog ads since I started posting on last Saturday. I also keep grabbing opportunities that I am not qualified for. I just wrote a great post about Cameista Studio and then realized that I needed a Google PR3 (Page Rank 3) or higher. So I wasted my time on that post. Luckily I can post these puzzle pieces despite my blog not being a high Google Page Rank. However I now have a age rank tracker from url trends and it says I have a page rank of 4/10 so I am not sure what the deal is. Here is the puzzle piece.

Photo-A-Day #561 10/21/06

Photo-A-Day #561 10/21/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

Today I have the batteries charged and I took out the new camera for a test drive in the living room. It was fairly early so I had this cool light coming in from the side window. Duncan made a great little subject for me to Photograph. I am very excited about this camera. I can simultaneously capture RAW images and JPEG images on each shot. There is an insane amount of control to the focus of the lenses. I have about 11 points that I can make the focus of any shot. The RAW images are about 8.0MB each and the fine images are 3.5MB each. This shot is at 300dpi instead of the usual 96. Here is the 96dpi image.

Another piece.. PPP Blue Monster 140

Did you know that PayPerPost was on the today show? They did a very cool guerrilla marketing campaign. There is a fun video of the PayPerPost crew in New York preparing for the blog marketing campaign that they created. The stroke of genius was making up signs with PayPerPost logos on them. That was some creative blog marketing. The latest marketing campaign is payperpostbluemonster. If you find all the pieces of the payperpostbluemonster puzzle and assemble them first on your blog then you can win $500. Here is another piece of that puzzle. It is piece #140.

Photo-A-Day #560 10/20/06

Tonight Andy and Rondi came over for dinner. Allison made some very tasty chili. And after dinner we had our own version of Mexican dessert since I could not find it in the supermarket. I tried I really did to find the actual Mexican dessert box but it was nowhere to be found. So I got some waffle bowls, some nestle ice cream toppers or cookie crumbs and mini peanut butter chips and then I got some Reese’s shell to pour over the creation. I also picked up a box of pirouettes to put into the ice cream. It was well received.

It was very nice to have Andy and Rondi come to visit at our place. We haven’t had them over in a while. We showed them the wedding album that we made for my parents. And while Allison and Rondi talked, Andy and I talked about and opened my new camera. I’ve got to wait till tomorrow to get a picture from the camera. But here is a picture of the camera.

At the end of the night Andy was getting nose to nose with Duncan and I went to take a picture and Rondi climbed over onto Andy’s back, that is the photo a day. I took another picture as she got up and it looks like she has just planted Andy’s face onto the carpet. Rondi is unstoppable. Here is that picture

PPP Blue Monster 178

Here is another piece of the PayPerPost Blue monster puzzle challenge. Just another way to add some creative blog marketing to the Internet. The buzz around payperpostbluemonster is getting bigger. I read through the whole PayPerPost blog this morning and the compnay is doing some truly sweet stuff for bloggers. Get out there and work on some creative blog marketing with PayPerPost. These guys are awesome. Here is the piece of the payperpostbluemonster puzzle.

Early mornings and dog movies...

This morning I woke up at 4:30am. I could not go back to sleep so I turned on HBO Family and watched the movie Far From Home The Adventures of Yellow Dog. It is a movie about a Labrador retriever or a golden retriever that is adopted by a young boy (Angus). Angus names the dog Yellow Dog. Not exactly original but it is a movie about a boy and his dog and the struggle for survival. I was hooked right in. You see, I have a soft spot for animal movies and especially movies about a boy and his dog. Old Yeller, White Fang and Iron Will are some great ones. The Journey of Natty Gann is also one I liked, although that was about a girl and her dog. And the movie Eight Below had me bawling at the commercials, never mind the movie itself. I thought that I would get the heartstrings tugged at while watching Yellow Dog but I was wrong.

The movie is fair overall and it is set in a beautiful location so it was worth watching for some of the picturesque shots. What bothered me about the movie was how it seemed to jump around a lot. Yellow Dog was a great dog, he fends off wolves and he catches dinner for Angus once or twice. What really drew me in was that Yellow Dog looked so much like Taylor. Yep, Taylor the soccer playing wonder dog of my sister Tara. It was 4:30am and I was hooked in.

Basically Angus is very self sufficient because he learned survival skills from his father and he paid attention. The kid can sew, make his own backpack eat anything that will give him nutrients and build shelters like nobody’s business. Angus and his father take a trip in their fishing boat down the coast (I think it was somewhere in the Pacific Northwest) and the boat is capsized by a rogue wave (rogue waves are convenient plot devices). A helicopter immediately rescues the father but Angus and Yellow Dog end up adrift on Angus’s newly constructed boat. Yellow dog and Angus make it to land and Angus sets about making a shelter out of the boat and then another shelter from driftwood. Had he stayed where he was he probably would have made an entire log cabin. Each place he goes he makes this great shelter for himself and Yellow Dog. That had to have taken some time, so how is he making progress on his trip? Eventually Angus and Yellow Dog make it to a giant fallen tree that spans a gap above a rushing river about 100 feet below. As they make their way across the tree a search plane spots them and sends a helicopter to find rescue Angus and Yellow Dog.

This is where the movie loses me. The helicopter buzzes overhead and the rescuer gets Angus but Yellow Dog thinks that the rescuer is trying to hurt Angus and Yellow Dog lunges at the rescuer and falls off the log to the river below. This should have been the saddest part of the movie. I had been watching and I was invested in what happened to Yellow Dog, but no, the movie did not compel me to fear for Yellow Dog’s life. As the dog fell we cut to a scene where Angus is in the helicopter and they have to turn back because of wind. Apparently 70 MPH winds. Yet, there was no wind as Angus was rescued. The viewer has not time to feel the impact of losing this dog that had been a best friend to Angus. Because the next scene Yellow Dog limps out of the water. The whole thing was cut together and shot poorly. It was as if the loss of Yellow Dog was an afterthought. Then the rest of the movie consisted of Angus at home and recovering and each day he blows this dog whistle hoping against hope that Yellow Dog returns. And then one Day Yellow Dog returns. What? Where was the story of Yellow Dog and his hardships to get back to Angus? Where was his story? The movie left me unsatisfied to say the least.

Go watch Eight Below, Old Yeller and White Fang if you are interested in good dog movies. I would skip Far From Home The Adventures of Yellow Dog.

Home Improvement Dreams

Are you fascinated by TV shows like "I Want That!" on HGTV? Well I came across a great home improvement site called home improvement ideas. This site has many great home improvement ideas as blog entries.

If I had an unlimited budget I think I would like to have one of those refrigerators with the LCD TV in the kitchen. Of course the kitchen would have to be at least 3 or 4 times the size that it is now. I'm thinking extreme makeover big. Have you seen the stuff that they put into those kitchens. Double ovens, gas cooktops on the center island. That is the kind of stuff I would like to see in the dream kitchen. Yep, if I am going to do some home improvement I'll be checking out home improvement ideas for some great ideas and information.

Photo-A-Day #559 10/19/06

Today I gave another demonstration, this one went pretty well. The people this week have been awesome and really fun to travel with. We have had great meals and alot of laughs. I even got most of the folks into one of my Photo-A-Day shots. This week has been a food themed week of pictures. Tonight was no exception. Bill and I had dinner with Mike, Tom and Greg at Kona Jack's. While we were having dinner we were discussing my Photo-A-Day website and the Staff art show that opens this Tuesday. While discussing this the guys said,"We should be part of today's Photo-A-Day!" So I asked the waitress to snap a picture of the group. I was going to go with this neon sign of the restaurant.

But I think the one of the group is much better. All with us flashing out white boy gang signs. This group made me nearly pee myself with laughter.

PayPerPost: You may have noticed that I have been going a bit nuts with PayPerPost lately. And frankly I am getting a bit addicted, but for good reason. I'm getting about $5.00 per each post that I make. And I can make 3 posts per day as long as a real post separates each of my PayPerPost posts. That is helping to increase the BenSpark technology fund so that I can provide you, my readers, with some high quality information and entertainment. Gotta help pay for my part of the new camera. So if you see a weird post from time to time you will know it is a PayPerPost posting. I may make those posts a different color so you can pick them out immediately. You know for the BenSpark purists out there. Also you may have noticed the post The Real Deal with PayPerPost, It is more than Meets the Eye. For that post bloggers were asked to create their own made up story about the real deal with PayPerPost, so it is pure fiction.

I have had two of my posts be approved already. One was rejected because this website doesn't have a good, or any, pagerank from Google. I need at least a 3 pagerank and I have a 0. So they rejected the Photography Corner post, and I actually am going to use that web site. This site has a great theme overall with the Photo-A-Day to tie into a Photography website. I was rather annoyed to have been rejected and a little dejected because this site doesn't have a good ranking on Google. Which is weird because I get alot of hits from Google.

Speaking of the new camera, I finally ordered it. I ordered a Nikon D80 with two lenses from EBay. The seller was cameta camera and they were recommended to me by Andrea. I placed the order last Friday and it arrived on Tuesday of this week. I can't wait to start taking some 10MP images. Photo-A-Day is gonna be so awesome in the upcoming months.

Random rant: I have noticed recently that there are a lot of people who cannot be still while they use their cell phones. Walker-talkers are what I call them. Being a traveler I have I observed this phenomenon frequently. Many self important folks strolling all over the place conversing within the world around them and yet oblivious to the world around them. Just yakking away. Walker-Talkers can also be Bluetooth drones, those folks with the tiny phones hanging on their ears. Don't get me wrong, I want one of those for myself for driving and being safely hands free. But slap me if you see me walking around in public with one. When people where those things all the time they look like they have been assimilated by The Borg.

PayPerPost Blue Monster Contest

Here is an image from PayPerPost which is part of an ongoing contest on the web. It is part of a blog marketing campaign. The person who can assemble all pieces of the picture on their blog can win $500.00. It is part of the payperpostbluemonster contest. The image that is for today is image #150. Here is that image

Summer Rental (1985)

Okay so this afternoon I was watching Summer Rental on HBO Family channel, because it was on, that's why. I really like summer Rental. It was one of my favorite movies growing up and is one that my Dad and I enjoy watching. I didn't realize it till today that during the giant boat fixing scene there is a Jimmy Buffett song playing. The song is called "Turning Around" God bless IMDB. Soundtracks for Summer Rental (1985)

The Real Deal with PayPerPost, It is more than Meets the Eye.

What is really going on at PayPerPost? Why am I writing additional blogs each day about this site and for this site? Is there a reason I need more ads on blogs? Yes. Because if I do not create at least 3 new ads on blogs each day Ted Murphy's dream will not be fulfilled. PayPerPost is not controlled by the Russian Mafia and it is not in a competition with Ebay over how many people it can sign up to PayPal. Nope, I need to add ads on blogs each day so I can complete my Transformers collection. You see, Ted Murphy, the creator and founder of PayPerPost requires his users to post ads on blogs so that he can finish his work on his true passion. A life size transforming Optimus Prime. By my posting ads on blogs I am helping this man achieve his dream. And I don't mean the movie Optimus, I mean cartoon accurate Optimus. So enjoy all of my ads on blogs. Some of them are very worthwhile to go to.

Photo-A-Day #558 10/18/06

So today I rode with Bill from Chicago to Indianapolis. The ride was pretty straight south on highway 65. We made a stop halfway along the route at a Bob Evans for lunch. I love Bob Evans, it is such good tasting down home, make your belly full, food. I had a Pot Roast sandwich. So good.

this morning I got to catch some of the local news in Chicago. There was a guy talking about the movie The Departed. And he was talking about Martin Scorsese directing the movie and they rolled a clip of Goodfellas and someone was asleep at the censor button. When they came back from the clip the guy who was reviewing the movie was white as a ghost. I was like, "Did I just hear what I think I heard?" I got a laugh out of it but this guy is most likely in a bit of trouble right now.

We had dinner at OutBack, which seems appropriate for a night of a new LOST episode. Tonight's episode was a Locke-centric one but it did bring us up to date with what was happening with Charlie, Claire, Aaron, Desmond, Hurley and Mr. Eko. Oh and the Polar Bear is back. The cgi on that was a bit lame however. But seeing the interaction between Hurley and Desmond was the best parts. Seeing Locke back in action as the hunter of the group was fantastic. This past year was not the best for Locke and it is good for him to be back in action. His flashbacks didn't resolve much however.

The Nine began very solid this episode. The sequence where the 911 call went out was very suspensions. The end of the show was equally good with all of the people telling the young girl about what happened in the first few minutes of the hostage taking. This show is becoming more and more enjoyable for me.

The best coupon codes online.

Ever wonder how your friends can afford such cool stuff online. They do it by using online coupons. You may not be a coupon cutter when you go to the store but with so many promotions happening online you would be foolish not to search out coupons, coupon codes, online coupons, promotion codes, etc. that are available on the Internet. Let's say you are a Target shopper but you don't want a bunch of e-mails flooding your inbox with online coupons because, let's face it, you won't read all the e-mails and most likely the coupons won't be the ones you need. But if you go to this website for your coupons, coupon codes, online coupons, promotion codes, etc. you are going to be assured of finding what you need to save some big money online.

Not photo-a-day, but a photo...

Since Drew is off on the road with no internet access, I thought I'd share my view as I left the house on Tuesday morning.

Drew is having fun on his trip and will have lots of photos and posts when he gets back.

Dial-up Hell

That is where I am and have been for the past three days. I am at a "full Service" Marriott and have no Internet access. Why? Because it costs $12.95 plus tax for 24 hours of internet access. Ridiculous! Why is it that I can go to a Courtyard, Fairfield Inn and Residence Inn and get free Internet but when I stay at a "full service" Marriott I have to pay for Internet access?

I have basically been using a dial up connection of huddling in the corner of the downstairs Starbucks searching for wireless service that is no better than dial-up. So no chance to upload pictures and no major blogging efforts for the past few days.

I've got to find me an IHOP.

Need a loan, got some money you want to loan out?

If you answered yes to either of the questions above you may want to check out www.utopialoans.com. This site allows you to do two things:

1. You can apply for a loan. Why is that different from applying for a loan from say, the bank? Well, you create your loan bid. That would be basically a post that explains why you need the money and how you are going to pay for it as well as the interest rate that you are willing to pay. And your grade from www.utopialoans.com is dependent upon your credit score. If your score is a good one than your grade will be a good one. You can also join groups that will help increase your borrowing grade. You pay the money back each month at the agreed upon interest rate. No need to borrow from parents or friends or a bank. You can borrow from peers who also benefit.

2. How do the lenders benefit? When a loan is repaid the lenders get a portion of that payment over a three year period. Because there is interest on what was lent the lender gets a portion of that interest rate in the repayment process. You can lend as little as $50 and as much as $25,000.00 at one time. As a lender you want to diversify your lending and so you would make bids on a couple of different loans. Spread your lending money around.

This all works on an auction like basis, similar to Ebay or other auction sites. The laws of supply and demand. I've been reading about sites like www.utopialoans.com and they are becoming more and more popular. May be an interesting way to make a little side money. Check it out.

Photo-A-Day #557 10/17/06

Today I gave a presentation in Chicago for our customers. I showed some new software enhancements. It was a fun but very long day.

After the presentations during the day I went with the folks who were here as demonstrators to a restaurant called Wild Fire. It was fantastic. I had a triple filet sampler, which included a mushroom crusted, blue cheese crusted and a Parmesan crusted filet medallion. A very tasty meal. And after dinner I shared a delicious pumpkin pie slice with Maureen, Erin and Sharon.

I used my tripod and the timer to get this picture, which is actually a composite of two pictures. Each time I took a picture I only got one side of the table, so I used PhotoShop to place the two images together. Tomorrow we are off to Indianapolis.

Shaken not stirred...

The allure of the Martini may not just be a 007 thing anymore. Martini's are everywhere and Martini bars are the rage. Shouldn't you have your own set of sweet Martini Glasses? I think so. One of my favorite Martini drinks is the Lemon Drop. It tastes like lemonade and has a sugared rim. Sex and the city put the Cosmo on the map and flavors have been exploding since. Martini parties and cocktail parties are beginning to become more popular in homes as well. But you need the right Martini Glasses for the task at hand. I mean the Martini has a glass named for it. That is pretty important in the world of beverages. There are so many styles and designs that you are sure to find some Martini Glasses that suit your personality.

Photo-A-Day #556 10/16/06

Today I flew to Chicago. I am presenting a session about upcoming enhancements to our existing customers tomorrow and then I am heading to Indianapolis on Wednesday to do the presentation for our customers there. My flight was pretty uneventful. I had my clear plastic baggie with my liquids in it. So I was able to take hair gel and tooth paste with me rather than go and try to find a place when I landed.

I had a very nice lunch with Bill at Stir Crazy. That place is great for stir-fry. I had my plate loaded up with bean sprouts, mushrooms, peanuts, shrimp and beef. It was very tasty. Then I practiced my demo for tomorrow and since I could get no internet access, beyond a very slow dial up back to work, I played some Dungeon Siege II for a little bit. I guess that there is an expansion pack for Dungeon Siege II. I’ll wait till that hits the $10.00 mark. By then I may have actually gone through the game the three times it takes to get my character to a high enough level.

Dinner was at P.F. Chang’s. We had a very nice meal. Bill, Larry, Maureen, Shannon and Erin are here. We’re all from different parts of the company. And a few of us are presenting tomorrow and on Thursday. So I will make it an early night tonight.

Good news, my camera has shipped and soon you’ll be seeing some 10.2MP images on Photo-A-Day and on the Kodak Gallery.

Beach Cruisers

Okay, summer is over but it doesn't mean that you can't prepare for next summer. Check out Beach cruisers for you new bike. These are some fantastic high quality built bicycles that have some style to spare. I myself am very interested in the Firmstrong TANKER Beach Cruiser. Could it be because it is blue? Could it be because it has a wider motorcycle like tank at the front of the frame? Maybe, but it does look like a sweet ride and I want one. Don't get me wrong, I still love my 21 speed mountain bike, but to have a simple one speed pedal bike to just cruise around on and enjoy bike riding for the sake of bike riding is a wonderful thing. Beach cruisers has a simple line of bikes built for different tastes, there are men's cruisers, women's cruisers, kid's cruisers as well as Chopper Cruisers. There are even a couple of multispeed cruisers for those who need extra speeds on their bikes. Check out Beach cruisers for your next bike purchase.

Click

This afternoon Allison and I watched Click with Marcia. I liked the movie alot. I think that when Adam Sandler's character is not a total moron that his movies are so much better. And this was one of those movies that had lots of humor and heart. I loved Christopher Walken's character, he was perfect for that role.

We had some corned beef and cabbage for a late lunch with Aunt Sandy and Dan and Marcia. Today was such a lazy like day that when we got home at 6:00pm it felt like so much later in the day. Now I gotta pack for a trip to Chicago. I have to pay attention too because on my last two trips I forgot key items. This time that is not going to happen.

I am staying at some full service Marriotts during this trip and that means no free Internet access (don't even get me started with how asinine that is when the cheaper Marriott properties give you free Internet but the full service places slam you for terrible access at a premium price.) So the photo-a-day photos may not get up till I get to a place where I can post them. And you may notice three posts below that are somewhat different than other posts I have put up. I signed up for Pay-Per-Post and have started doing a little extra writing on the side to promote a few websites. I'm only going to pick ones that I have an interest in so don't worry that I'll be posting up junk. I really liked the Photography Corner and the Site Shots application, and hey I do wear ties.

Tie Guys

Now that I am in Marketing, well I've been there for about 2 years now, I have to wear ties more often. I haven't bought myself new ties in a while. But I found this website online called Tie Guys.com. They say that they have the World's largest selection of ties and it looks like they do. They have ties of many different themes. Tie Guys.com has all of your cartoon themed ties, NFL, NHL and MLB Baseball ties. There are more categories than you would ever need but if you are looking for some hard to find ties you will be able to find those ties at Tie Guys.com.

Photo-A-Day #555 10/15/06

Today Allison and I went to the Center of New Hampshire for brunch with James and Danielle. We had a great brunch, with made to order omelets and French toast and fruit. It was fun to sit down and catch up with James and Danielle. It is tough from time to time to be so far away from some of our friends. It would be nice to live in a place where we were close in proximity to all of our friends, but that is logistically impossible. So we'll catch up with them when we come up to NH to visit from time to time.

I got a call while at brunch, from Ken. Ken wanted to have breakfast with us as he drank his coffee on this ride down the Mass Pike. However, since it was Ken, we were already finished with breakfast and he was an hour late, par for the course. We love you Ken.

We noticed yesterday when we arrived at Dan and Marcia's that there were quite a few pigeons on the wires. Well, they were back again today so I snapped today's photo of the pigeons. They got restless and began to fly off as I took my shots.

Site Shots

I have just signed up with Site Shots. Site Shots is a website that tracks, in a visual way, the popularity of places on your website where people click. I've signed up for a trial period and will be able to track the next 500 clicks. The way I will be able to see the site will be similar to this picture below.

If you are interested in finding the "hot spots" on your website, try out Site Shots. You can see from the image above that there are some hot and cold spots on the sample site. I wonder what the visual representation will look like for this site.

Photo-A-Day #554 10/14/06

Today we went up to New Hampshire to visit Dan and Marcia and stay for the weekend. We had lunch with Allison's brother Nate and his wife Sarah. They brought some pizza from Alley Cat (a good pizza joint off of Elm Street in Downtown Manchester.) Before we got to the house we made a stop at the Saint Anselm College Bookstore so I could pick up a new Saint A's shirt. And we walked around the front of Alumni Hall so I could take a few pictures. Today's photo is of the Statue of Saint Anselm.

After lunch Allison and Marcia went shopping and I went out to Toys R' Us to find some Transformers Classics. I picked up Optimus Prime and Megatron, I also got two free scout class transformers so I picked up the motorcycle Lugnutz and the hovercraft Short Round.

After my toy run I got myself started up with Photography Corner. I set up an identity for the forum and made my first post.

Allison and Marcia came back from the store and we watched part of a lifetime movie and can you believe it, the movie starred Meredith Baxter Birney, I'm a shocked as you are.

We spent this evening at Alicia's place at a party, a moving party. Something I didn't realize we were going to be doing till we got there and the truck pulled up outside. But there were many folks there and we helped them get the place pretty much emptied out. It was great to see Ken and Alicia as well as James and Danielle. I took a few pictures while we were doing some moving.

Photography Corner

Yesterday I placed my order for a Digital SLR Camera: The Nikon D80 and while surfing the web for more photography resources I came across Photography Corner. This site has many resources for those whose passion is photography. The site has a very active photography forum. To learn more about skills with photography, Photography Corner offers: photography resources, which include photography articles, photography tutorials and product reviews. I look forward to exploring the photography resources that are on this site.

I may even participate in the photography forum to exchange ideas with other photographers through the forum. The site also hosts a couple of contests. The photograph of
the month, and also contest corner challenges. There is also a photography directory, photo sharing corner (A part of the forum that I may participate in), and a feedback corner. I will probably spend alot of time on this site getting inspired ideas from the photographs that have already been uploaded. I may even begin uploading my own to get feedback and advice from other photographers. If I am going to make a go at getting serious about photography this looks like one of the places to start.

If you are a digital camera photographer or traditional film photographer you will probably want to check out Photography Corner.

Photo-A-Day #553 10/13/06

Tonight Allison and I went over to Lowes and picked out some flooring for our Office/Art Room/Future Nursey. We are going with some Bamboo flooring. We are very excited about installing Bamboo Flooring. It should be great for the room.

after that we visited Al and Family at The Moose Cabin. Food is still great and the place was very busy. That was good to see.

Photo-A-Day #552 10/12/06

Can you believe that we are only one month away from our first anniversary? No, not the blog anniversary, the anniversary of our wedding day. It seems like this year has blown by so quickly and it is hard to believe that one year ago we were frantically putting the finishing touches on the wedding. Finishing the CD guest favors, making sure we had everything in place for the day, doing a quickie diet to drop a couple of pounds for pictures. Man what a fast paced time in our lives. It doesn't seem possible. In that time we finally made up wedding albums for our parents but not for ourselves. I still have to pull together the video (but have been learning some good things on Adobe Premiere Elements so I will be ready with some good stuff for the wedding video.) Many of our gifts are still residing in the back hall but we did get quite a few out and are using them daily and just love the fact that our friends and family were so generous with their time and gifts.

Last night's episodes of LOST and The Nine were good second attempts. While not packing the punch of the premieres they were solid episodes in their own right. The best part about LOST was the revelation to Jack that the Red Sox had won the World Series.

Looking forward to My Name is Earl and The Office tonight. There is a nice interview at the Onion with Jason Lee.

Oliver loves his new kitty pillow from IKEA.

I Am Bert

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them! You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Photo-A-Day #551 10/11/06

They're back! And I don't mean Transformers. I mean "rub signs". Rub Signs were a gimmick soon after Transformers came out in 1984. I have many Transformers that did not have rub signs on them. That means I got some that are quite old. This past week I saw the release of a highly anticipated line of Transformers (highly anticipated by me) called Transformers Classics. So far the line up is to include Optimus Prime (2 versions), Megatron (2 versions including a Nerf Gun homage), Bumblebee, Rodimus, Astrotrain, Grimlock, Jetfire, Mirage, Cliffjumper (Bumblebee Repaint), Ramjet, Ultra Magnus and Skywarp, Devastator (the constructicons back to their green and purple color scheme). I placed an order for Bumblebee, Grimlock and Rodimus through the Hasbro Toy Shop because they had a great sale going on. I will probably pick up all the ones I listed above except for Devastator (it is a repaint of some toys from the Energon line and is made up of 5 characters instead of six and it only used 3 molds, although as Devastator it does look pretty awesome.) I probably won't get Astrotrain either. He just doesn't thrill me as a toy. The train aspect was never really useful in the show either.

There are also a few new Transformers Altenators coming out. I like the Transformers Altenators line and have all of the ones that have been released in the US and quite a few from Japan. They are great to display and are very detailed but I love the Transformers Classics line for their simplicity and ease of transformation. Nothing so far has made me as excited about Transformers as these new toys. Well maybe the 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime, that thing is a childhood dream come true.

Late last week I did pick up Starscream. I have to say that this is one of my favorite Transformers toys that has come out in recent years. His transformation is so simple, his look is great and his mold leaves it open to get the rest of the seekers (Thundercraker, Skywarp, Thrust, Dirge and Ramjet, and if they are smart SunStorm). Starscream was one of my favorite characters because you could not get rid of him. He gets killed off in almost every incarnation of the series and he continues to come back. And he was voiced by the same guy who did Cobra Commander's voice in the G.I. Joe cartoon, Chris Latta. I can't wait to see what he looks like in the Transformer's live action movie on July 4th. Here are a few other pictures of the Starscream toy.

I guess I am excited about the Transformers today because I got my Botcon set of toys yesterday and found out that next year's Botcon will be in Rhode Island. I just can't wait. Next year is going to be so awesome for a Transformers fan. The movie on July 4th, Botcon on July 1, more Transformers Classics, a new cartoon series that will be created and produced in the us so the dialogue will actually make some sense. It is all very exciting. Also the 20th Anniversary Special Edition of Transformers the Movie will be out on November 7th. It has an amazing cover and so many special features. The comic books are doing very well and continue to be produced. Transformers are hot again. I'm going to enjoy it.

The Boston Globe has a Transformers article today. I found the article while writing this blog post too, what a coincidence, weird.

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

I found this cute quiz today. Which Sesame Street Character are you?

Allison is Big Bird

Talented, smart, and friendly... you're also one of the sanest people around. You are usually feeling: Happy. From riding a unicycle to writing poetry, you have plenty of hobbies to keep you busy. You are famous for: Being a friend to everyone. Even the grumpiest person gets along with you. How you life your life: Joyfully. 'Super. Duper. Flooper.'

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Photo-A-Day #550 10/10/06

Today was a back to work day. That extra day on the weekend came in handy for getting some things done around the house. I feel like we are beginning to move on the work that needs to get done around here so that Allison and I can move into the whole upstairs. The carpet removal was a pain but I felt good about finishing it up. The patching of the walls wasn't too bad however. Now I've got to sand everything down and then wash the walls. Then it will be time to pick out the colors and paint. And finally we can get that mattress delivered. We can get it out of warehouse hell.

I got my BotCon toys in the mail today. I didn't get to go to the show this year but next year it is going to be in Providence, RI!!! I am most definitely going to go. The exclusive toys for this year's BotCon are fantastic and they are in some great packaging. I love what Hasbro and fun Publications has done with the exclusive. They really put some time into them and made a great product. I loved the comic book that was included as well.

Photo-A-Day #549 10/09/06

Flower today. Been very busy, no time for a blog post.

Update: This is for Andy. Sorry I was so beat yesterday. I patched holes and cracks in the walls in Tara's (soon to be our) room. I ripped up a carpet and cut it into smaller pieces in the soon to be new office/craft/and way in the future nursey room. I really tired myself out while doing that activity. Then I hauled all the cut up pieces of carpet outside. There was alot of running up and down the stairs yesterday. I took 3 showers because I kept getting myself soaked with sweat while working in the rooms. So I was too tired to convey that on the blog last night. All I wanted to do was watch some TV and relax. How I Met Your Mother was good but I've totally forgotten what it was about, The Class was okay and I've also forgotten the major parts of that show. I spent some time while watching TV making labels for manilla folders with my new Dyamo Label Maker, not an old punch one with the plastic tape. My Dyamo Label maker is all electronic with a handy cutter. The cutter was a nice touch and I was glad to have it because my hands were blistered from cutting the carpet. Heroes was a good one and CSI Miami was so, so. Then I slept really well.

Photo-A-Day #548 10/08/06

Photo-A-Day #548 10/08/06, originally uploaded by abennett96.

Today Allison and I went to IKEA and picked up our new bed. We got the Queen Size NORESUND. That was thanks to Uncle Tom, Thank you. We met up with Dan and Marcia and cruised through the store, had some lunch there and picked up a few other things for the house. We got the mirror that goes with the bed frame and a hanging thing that also goes with the bed frame (Don't ask me what it is exactly but it goes on the wall and has three canvas holders.) We also picked up a cat pillow for the boys and some cool little glass dishes for cooking (To hold small amounts of spices and whatnot, just like Alton)

Speaking of Alton, we've finally gotten the time to sit and watch Feasting on Asphalt and we both love it so much. I can watch Alton's shows all the time, you learn so much and he inspires us to learn more about cooking and the history of food. We are almost finished watching and wish that there were more than 4 shows.

Marcia and Dan came home with us and we made a great dinner with them and with my parents. So I took advantage of the beautiful weather and grilled the chops. Allison made homemade apple sauce as well as an apple/cranberry crisp with the mix we picked up yesterday. Dinner was fantastic. It was nice to have both sets of parents around for dinner.

Photo-A-Day #547 10/07/06

Today Allison and I made a road trip up to Stow, MA to Shelburne Farm to go for an impromptu apple picking adventure. The day was absolutely beautiful. We got to the farm and saw that they had apple picking, pumpkin picking, a little store and some beautiful scenery. We went to the store first and picked up a mix for Apple Crisp. Then we realized that we didn't have quite enough apples at home. We had picked up some Cortlands at The Big Apple in Wrentham, MA last weekend. So we decided to go out to do some apple picking. We brought our cameras and had intended to just go on a photo safari day. Today was a day about saving some money and spending some good time together. It was a great day.

We headed out to the orchard and started by picking a few Macouns and then some McIntoshes and then a couple of Cortlands. We only picked a peck and Allison loaded it up with as much (and more) as could fit in the bag. We got our money's worth from the day. Here are a few pictures from Shelburne Farm.

After the farm we went over to the Nashoba Valley Winery. If you get a chance to go there some weekend I recommend that you do. Take the tour, it is only $3.00 a person and you get a souvenir wine glass and get to taste 5 or so wines. The wine is reasonably priced. We picked up a bottle of their Dry Pear wine. We also took a few pictures there as well. Inspired by our friend Amy's fantastic pictures of wine country in California, I set up a few shots with the bottle and the glass. Today's photo is one of the set up shots and some photoshop work to make it look more stylized.

Photo-A-Day #546 10/06/06

Tonight Allison and I went to Stoneforge Foxboro (formerly Funway Cafe). We went with our friends Autumn and Kenny. Kenny and I are both Gadget freaks and Kenny got the new upgraded version of my camera, the Sanyo Xacti C6. So after dinner I borrowed Kenny's camera to get today's photo. I noticed that the flash didn't seem as strong but I don't know all of the setting changes that Kenny had made. Anyway here is the picture from Kenny's camera.

If you haven't been back since the place was the Funway, well, things have changed alot. There are hardwood floors, a beautiful stone fireplace and upgraded bathrooms. I miss chef Joe but the place is so very nice now.

Here is our appetizer, Stadium Nachos.

there was more than enough Nachos for four people on that plate. Dinner was very good and we have plenty for lunch tomorrow.

I Pity the Fool

A Reali-T series from TV Land. You gotta check out the MR. T Mails. They are pretty funny.

I Pity the Fool : TV Land Originals : tvland.com

Photo-A-Day #545 10/05/06

Okay, you spend three days with cat problems, you get three cat related pictures. Sorry. Little Bubba (Ollie bubba to us) is getting his medicine, and he doesn't like it. At least he doesn't like taking it, he eats it up fine. Note: Don't try to give medicine and take a picture at the same time.

Anyway LOST premiered last night and it was awesome! I just love that show. Here are a few things you may or may not have noticed. The book that they were reading was Carrie by Stephen King. One of the characters has a first edition copy too.

Here is the cover for the First Edition of Carrie.

I rewatched a few pieces of the show online this evening and caught a few things. Right after the 1st commercial and the flashback with Jack he had a crossword puzzle. I print screened the image and flipped it 180 degrees and looked for a few words. What I found was raft, Vital Statistics, Necessary Evils, and Heroes. If you do the same thing and look at the stuff going down some of the words aren't even words, so I think that the words I found were deliberately put there. See for yourself.

The episode was a great beginning to the season. I especially liked Sawyer in the Skinner Box. That also in my opinion explains where the polar bears came from, but not why they are roaming free. Some people are saying that where everyone was placed indicates something about their character, Sawyer in a cage because he is an animal, Jack in an aquarium/fishbowl because he feels he is constantly being evaluated and scrutinized. Kate is first free and in a pretty dress but is then thrown into a cage as well. This is probably because of the choices she made in her life too. I can't wait to see what happens in the coming season. You can watch the first episode on ABC.com for free.

We also watched The Nine. That was a decent show. You can watch that online too.

Wes at DM Comics

Here is the video that I took of Wes Drawing Andy at double Midnight comics back in July. Wes uploaded the good video and set it to music. The dialogue is gone and disreagard the camera shakes. I was cracking myself up and I had a nasty cough.

Photo-A-Day #544 10/04/06

Okay, you can either look at this like it is me stuck in the carrier or the view that Ollie or Duncan have from their carrier. Why a picture of the carrier anyway. Well it goes back to yesterday.

Yesterday I got home from work. I had to clean up the bathroom because the little demons had shredded another roll of toilet paper. You see, they like to do this and they make those double rolls look like a snowstorm in the bathroom. We have to hide the toilet paper in an empty tissue box. This as been a source of confusion for our guests over the years. Usually we catch folks before they go into the bathroom and give them an odd warning of "Our Toilet Paper is in the Tissue Box." I wonder what folks think when they see this?

Amyway after I cleaned that up I made myself a snack and sat down on the couch. I immediately was hit with this terrible stench. I thought, "What is that smell?!" and then immediately, "Why is my ass all wet!?" I jumped up off of the couch and turned to see a huge wet ring on the slipcover. One of the boys had peed on the couch. So I changed my pants, took off the slipcover and took the cushion in to another room and added some baking soda stuff to it to get out the smell. But which of the boys peed on the couch? This had never happened before. Our only accident that ever happened was when Oliver was locked in the living room for two days and he peed in his cat bed. But my main suspect was little Ollie. He took off like a shot the moment I got into the house. He looked ashamed and he was avoiding us. Yep, must be Ollie.

Fast forward to today. I woke up to find that the other slipcover was defiled, this time with kitty vomit. Great, another cover to wash, fun, fun. So I called the vet and they took Ollie in today right away. Boy-cats are very susceptible to urinary tract infections. And it can become very serious, very quickly. So both Allison and I were very worried. The vet was very nice. She told me that Ollie has a small bladder so we will have to make sure that he's doing alright later in life, but he had no temp and we decided to put him on some antibiotics. We'll be keeping an eye on him.

Getting Oliver into the cat carrier was not fun at all and once I got him home I had to give him the antibiotic. So I ended up going to the gym already sweating pretty good. Tomorrow... Round Two: Duncan goes to the vet.

Photo-A-Day #543 10/03/06

The Smithsonian Magazine thinks I am a senior citizen. They gave me a discount on a subscription. I guess sometimes being a 3rd has some advantages. Now if I can convince the movie theatres that I'm a senior I'll be happy. Early Bird Specials here I come.

Photo-A-Day #542 10/02/06

Oliver is enjoying the line-up for Monday night TV. He really enjoyed The Class and found that there were many very funny spots during the show. The stop sign was a riot. And so is the relationship between Kat and Ethan; Oliver is pulling for them. And he has been a big fan of How I Met Your Mother since last season. Although being disappointed with the relationship developments between Marshall and Lily, he is holding out hope for a happy ending there.

Oliver is still undecided about Heroes but he is gonna give it a shot.

Oliver was asleep before CSI Miami, but I'll fill him in on what happens.

Allison's Weekend Photos

As Drew has said, we went to Adam's Farm this weekend to get some apples and take some photos.




You can go here to see all of my Gallery from this weekend here.

Photo-A-Day #541 10/01/06

Today we have had a lazy day. I fixed up my old laptop and got it ready for connection to our wireless network. And Allison and I cleaned out the craft closet and moved it to the future site of the office/craft room.

Last night Allison and I went to the Royal Panda for karaoke with Derek, Michelle, Neil, Andrea, Steve, Erin, Matt, Beth, Kerri, Kerri and Cathy. Derek, Neil and Steve gave it their all with some great performances. Here are some pictures from the night.