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Beginning today, June 26, 2009 Microsoft’s newest operating system Windows 7 will officially be available for preorder. To support this launch, two editions, Home Premium and Professional, will be made available for 50% off or more. This offer will last through July 11, 2009 or while supplies last, whichever comes first. Windows 7 is a truly exciting new Microsoft launch with great new features including Jump Lists, Aero Shake, Snap, new Device Stage Management, as well as new levels of home group network interaction. Your customers will be able to interactively learn about these features and more at the Amazon.com Windows 7 Resource Center.

Now to be honest, I really don’t know much about what Windows 7 has to offer but I have heard good things from people who do know and who usually complain about Windows products. So I figure its got to be better if they aren’t knocking it. Now if you’re like my parents who just bought a new system (or two like they did) you may want to take advantage of this discounted price even if you don’t install it right away (many people wait until the first or second service pack is released). If you do place an order, I’d recommend Windows 7 Professional.

Upgrade to Windows 7 Professional
With Windows 7 Professional, fewer walls stand between you and your success. You can run many Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode and recover data easily with automatic backups to your home or business network. You can also connect to company networks effortlessly and more securely with Domain Join. With all the exciting entertainment features of Windows Home Premium, it’s a great choice for home and for business. All editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista qualify you to upgrade.

If you don’t have Windows XP or Windows Vista already installed, you probably need a new computer – one that doesn’t say Etch-a-Sketch on the side. In general, if your PC can run Windows Vista it can run Windows 7. To make sure, download and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor to do a quick check. If you want certain features, such as HomeGroup or Windows Media Center, check to see if your PC has the hardware that’s needed.

Took my LEED Exam v2.2 Friday and scored 186 (170-200 was passing). This is such a relief. No more tests – ever!

I was feeling very confident during the first part (like I may get 200!) but then the next questions got a little harder so I thought maybe only 197…190…180…171? But the hardest part was hitting the END button. This was a do or die situation because the requirements for LEED AP changed and this was my only chance to become a LEED AP under the old system. The new system requires LEED experience which is something I’m not likely to get since there’s little to no incentive for clients to pay for LEED certification.

So why was it so important? Well, my firm pays a healthy bonus for becoming a LEED AP and half the $300 exam fee is reimbursable regardless of your results.

I finished the 80 questions in 1 hour and reviewed for 30 min. (no brain dump for me). I studied the LEED Reference book (of course) the CO study guide and exams along with the UofFlorida exams. Any question I didn’t get or agree with, I looked up the answer. I used some other exams but they were not as good (outdated or simply incorrect) but being able to recognize that showed what I knew. I also used the PowerPoint presentation someone listed on the areforum as well as manincellv’s spreadsheet (for quick reference)

Final percentages for the four parts of the exam…
Knowledge of LEED Credit Intents and Requirements 82%
Coordinate Project and Team 78%
Implement LEED Process 87%
Verify, Participate In, and Perform Technical Analyses Required for LEED Credits 79%

David Carradine

Farrah Fawcett

Ed McMahon

Michael Jackson

Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told The Times.

I’ve been meaning to write about our trip to Minnesota but with work and studying for the LEED Exam, I haven’t gotten around to it. In fact, I’ve been pretty off-line since before our trip, only checking emails and scanning my RSS feeds to keep it from piling up too much. The good news is, Julia hasn’t been burdened so (although she’s been off-line for other reasons)

We woke up bright and early on June 4th to make our way to the airport. Unfortunately we didn’t have quite the results we were expecting in more ways than one. First, we missed our 8:30am flight by a few minutes. Second, the next available plane wasn’t boarding till 11:30am. Third, no nap could possibly mean a horrible flight for him, for us, and all around us. We woke up bright and early on June 4th to make our way to the airport. Unfortunately we didn’t have quite the results we were expecting in more ways than one. First, we missed our 8:30am flight by a few minutes. Second, the next available plane wasn’t boarding till 11:30am. Third, no nap could possibly mean a horrible flight for him, for us, and all around us…

Read more: First Plane Ride | PhotoJulia

Also, be sure and take a look at her new site design. I cannibalized a couple of themes and could really use your feedback on what works and what doesn’t. Keep in mind Julia likes the black background and the top image thing, everything else is flexible. Just make sure you leave your feedback here since I’m the code monkey, not Julia.

There was a recent Tip over on the Gmail blog that I wanted to pass on to all my readers (both of you). If you’re like me, you probably have several email accounts that you’ve accumulated over the years. I still have my email account from ASU but have dropped others like my old Lycos email and a couple of ISP provided addresses that I never really used. But I have several blogs which means several email accounts to manage them.

If you haven’t been using Gmail then you’re probably not getting the most out of your email time. There are lots of features that make Gmail so productive but the one that makes it so useful for me is the ability to use multiple emails from one account. Basically, all my emails are routed through my Gmail account but still appear to come from their own email accounts.

There are two steps to make this happen:

1. Set up mail forwarding or fetching
Many email providers offer free auto-forwarding to other accounts. Log into your non-Gmail account and set your Gmail address as the forwarding target. If your other account doesn’t offer forwarding but supports POP3 access, you can use Mail Fetcher in Gmail to automatically check your other account for new mail and download it to Gmail.

2. Set up custom “From:”
Gmail’s custom “From:” feature lets you send mail with one of your other email addresses listed as the sender in place of your Gmail address. There’s a good step-by-step for how to set this up in the Help Center, but the basics are adding the address you want to use and then verifying that it belongs to you. Once you have your custom “From:” set up, you can pick which address you want to reply from in the “From:” address drop down while composing messages.

Are you unstoppable?

SO after hooking up my Nintendo Wii, I added a couple Wii Friends and set my Mii characters to mingle. Unfortunately, no one’s been mingling. I’m not sure they set their Wii settings correctly so we’ll have to trouble shoot to find out why they aren’t mingling. If anyone else is having trouble, just follow these instructions.

Mii Parade
Visiting friends’ Miis will gather in your Wii console’s Mii Parade. You can then port those Miis over to your Mii Plaza, allowing you to use them in Mii-compatible games. In order for a friend’s Mii to make it’s way to your Mii Parade, the following requirements must be met:

* The individual Mii’s profile is set to “Mingle” (how to).
* There are two ways for Miis to travel to other Wii consoles:
o Store your Mii to a Wii Remote (how to) and bring it over to a friend’s house and use it on their Wii console.
o With WiiConnect24 enabled and your Wii Console connected to the internet, Miis will transfer to a friend’s Wii console if you have both registered each other’s Wii console in your own Address Book (how to).

1) Connect your Wii to your internet and activate WiiConnect24
2) Register your friend’s Wii

As for me (not Mii) I have been enjoying my Nintendo Wii quite a bit. The Wii Sports and Wii Fit are just what I wanted them to be and are challenging me to be more active. We picked up a couple of discounted games a few weeks back but they aren’t as good as I hoped. then again, they are more party games than individual games. There are a couple of games I want to add to our collection but I need to keep my spending low for now so I’ll wait and look for sales.

Punch-Out!!, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga and Mario Party 8“>Mario Party 8 are on the top of my list. I picked up Ghost Squad“>Ghost Squad for $15 at Costco this past weekend. It may not be the best game ever but it does the trick. I enjoy unlocking the different “paths” and extra uniforms and weapons. So far I have 4 weapons and 4 uniforms including the Cop Uniform. I’ve unlocked the Ninja Mode and Paradise Mode as well.

I still need to get a second Wii Remote Controller“>controller and Wii Nunchuk Controller. We also have Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock“>Guitar Hero III but need a least one Wii Les Paul Wireless Guitar to play it.

Here’s hoping Father’s Day is very good to me this year.