archshrk

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• More on Google Voice 18.02.10

  Dispite the funny transcriptions you get with Google Voice, I still think its worth getting. If you do sign up, there are a couple of things to consider.

  First, get a Google Number. There’s more features this way and you can always start giving it out as your number or keep it secret for [...]

• Talk dirty to me 17.02.10

  One of the ways that I made my Motorola Droid phone work for me is signing up for a Google Voice number and using that as my voice mail service. So when you call my cell number and leave a message, that message is actually saved to my Google Voice number which offers online [...]

• Did I do that? 22.01.10

  For the gamers who frequent my site (especially when at school) I must apologize for the down time earlier today. My wife emailed me to let me know there were some problems with our sites and that I had an email from the hosting company I should read. Here’s what it said:
  Recently we have [...]

• Keeping up with…everyone 12.01.10

  One of the features of the Motorola Droid (and other Google phones I guess) is that you can use your Gmail contacts as your phone contacts. I talked about importing my old phone contacts before but one of the results was a plethora of duplicate contacts and overlapping contacts.
  For instance, I usually had one [...]

• Picture Pages 21.12.09

  One of the things I like about my new Droid phone is how well it integrates my Google account and all its features. One thing it does is use my Gmail contacts as my phone contacts (including email, birthdays, addresses, etc.) One of the features which it uses on the phone that I [...]

• Free Amazon.com MP3 Downloads 01.12.09

  Its been a busy week which I’ll tell you about later but I wanted to give you a heads up about this.
  Amazon MP3: 25 Days of Free – Daily Free Downloads in December. A different holiday song available for download each day for free.
  Every day through December 25, they’re unveiling a new [...]

• My Dream Camera 11.11.09

  I mentioned a few weeks back about Amazon.com’s Wishlist Anniversary Sweepstakes and how each week, they are offering a different prize package in the form a wishlist (Well, I did). Anyway, this is the week I most want to win.
  Week 6 (Nov. 9-15): Yellowstone Photo Expedition with Canon Wish List — A trip for [...]

• Siobhan makes the cover – again 25.10.09

  Looking back, I realized I never mentioned the first time. Back in September, Siobhan (pronounced Shove-On, I swear) was featured on the cover of the San Diego Reader – our local free magazine. It was quite an honor and I was personally proud of her. I also thought I would use her [...]

• Time to open a new Windows 22.10.09

  Beginning today, October 22, 2009, Microsoft’s newest operating system is available on Amazon.com.
  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
  Upgrade to Windows 7 Professional
  With Windows 7 Professional, fewer walls stand [...]

• Our Wish Lists 15.10.09

  With the annual gift getting giving season in the archshrk household coming up, I wanted to let anyone and everyone who wanted to know, exactly what we wanted for our Birthdays or Christmas. So go on over to the Happy Birthday Page and bookmark it for future reference. That page should be good [...]

• Tangled Web: or How to waste one whole day (or more) on the internet 15.10.09

  Sorry for the long winded title but I wanted to warn you up front what the following post could lead to.
  SEOmoz | Tangled Web: The Most Linked to Pages on the Internet
  To identify the most linked to pages on some of the world’s most popular sites, we used SEOmoz’s Linkscape powered Top Pages Tool and [...]

• Wishlist Sweepstakes 07.10.09

  Amazon.com customers will be wishing big this fall as Amazon.com celebrates the 10th anniversary of the much-loved Amazon Wish List with 10 lavish sweepstakes. Starting this week, customers will have a chance to enter one of the themed Wish List sweepstakes. Just create, add to, or share a Wish List, and you’ll be invited [...]

• More Wii for Less 30.09.09

  A new low price for the Wii video game console from Nintendo has recently been announced! On September 27, 2009, Nintendo released the news that the price for the Wii console was dropped from the original $249.99 to only $199.99.
  The new $199.99 Wii price point delivers the full iconic Wii gaming experience, including the [...]

• Ergo out, Hello BOB? 09.09.09

  So we got a chance to look at the Joovy Ergo Caboose this weekend and it’s a little bigger than I imagined. OK, it’s a lot bigger. At 41″ long, that’s 6″ longer than the Graco DuoGlider meaning it’s like driving an even bigger semi truck (in reverse). So it’s back to [...]

• Shall we play a game? 31.08.09

  On August 25, 2009, Sony released the newest member of the PS3 family. Slimmer, lighter, and only $299, the PlayStation 3 120 GB has Wi-Fi and a Blu-ray player built in. Additionally, PlayStation 3 80 GB and PlayStation 3 160 GB consoles are available on Amazon.com at new, low prices of $299 and $399, respectively.
  The [...]

• One Leopard for sale 28.08.09

  OK, maybe two.

  Starting today, Mac OS X Snow Leopard is available for shipping at Amazon.com. Current Mac OS 10.5 Leopard users are eligible to upgrade to Snow Leopard at the very low price of $29.
  Snow Leopard is a truly exciting addition to the Mac OS X line, with half the footprint of previous versions, great [...]

• Electric Car 26.08.09

  From their newest album, Here Comes Science (Amazon.com Exclusive) [CD/DVD]

  Electric Car Lyrics – They Might Be Giants
  Electric car
  On roads so dark
  To change the end
  Rewrite the start
  Electric car
  So good, so far
  Electric car
  On verdant green
  Invent a turn
  Invent a dream
  Electric car
  The new machine
  Let’s take a ride in an electric car
  To the West Side in an electric car
  How can [...]

• Riding the LILLABO Express 13.07.09

  Despite my efforts to influence Corbin’s personal tastes, he does not seem to be infatuated with sharks. In fact, he seems to prefer those blood thirsty Dolphins you hear so much about but isn’t overly attached – yet. Corbin seems to be interested in all sorts of animals right now so we’ll see [...]

• Bing me up Scotty 06.07.09

  So you probably heard about the new search engine from Microsoft, Bing but I wonder how many of you have actually tried it.

  Bing (formerly Live Search, Windows Live Search, and MSN Search) is a web search engine (advertised as a “decision engine”), Microsoft’s current incarnation of its search technology. Unveiled by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer [...]

• Pre-order Windows 7 29.06.09

  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 [...]

• One email to rule them all 14.06.09

  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 [...]

• What’s being copied from your site? 27.04.09

  A new feature on archshrk.com (and my other sites). You put a lot of effort into creating interesting content for your site. And when someone copies and pastes it into their blog or website, you should know about it. That’s where Tynt Tracer comes in.
  Each time users highlight or copy/paste content from [...]

• Save up to 10% on Select BOB Strollers 20.04.09

  Amazon Baby is featuring an exclusive Amazon-only BOB Stroller Event from April 18 – April 27, 2009. For a limited time save up to 10% on select BOB utility and jogging strollers – a top-brand name in high-quality and durable strollers designed especially for parents on-the-go.
  I share this news because Julia and I love our [...]

• LeapFish – Just Type It 17.04.09

  “Search the best of the web in a click-free search”
  What the heck does that mean? Well, it pretty much means what it says. As you type your search word or phrase, it shows you the results without having to hit the submit button. Wait, what? Yes, as you type in a [...]

• Make your own short URLs 14.04.09

  So here’s the deal – I don’t tweet (yet) but I hope to break into the tweet world with my posts. Not likely to happen but I can dream. Anyway, there is some discussion on using tiny URLs in newspapers rather than full links. We’re talking paper and ink, not online. [...]

• Everybody’s Green on Earth Day 09.04.09

  Earth Day 2009 is April 22, and Amazon is launching Earth Day Savings at amazon.com/earthday, where customers can save on organic groceries, home products, CFLs and more. Additionally, learn how to go Extreme Green, Ease Into Green, or be Eco-Chic.
  Amazon and ENERGY STAR will also host the Earth Day Sweepstakes. Five first-place winners will receive [...]

• I’m published 09.04.09

  Well, maybe published is too strong a word. But I did write a post on SEOmoz.com and its been well received so far. Check it out if you want – Let’s talk about changes. Basically it was talking about when a change to a site warrants an announcement and when it doesn’t. [...]

• Messing with Color 08.04.09

  Today, Google announced that you can use color filters on your image search results.
  Today, I’m happy to announce that you too can use our color filter in your own image searches. Just search for something the way you normally would, such as [tulips]. On the results page, click on the “All colors” drop down in [...]

• Fun with Javascript 23.03.09

  Over at CatsWhoCode.com, there’s an article with 8 Javascript solutions to common CSS problems. This might be a little advanced for some users but these techniques are showing up on more and more web pages and you may want to take the time to try a couple just so you understand how they work.

  Transparent [...]

• Cleaning house 19.03.09

  You may have noticed the site has been undergoing some slight changes. Nothing drastic, just a little house cleaning. When you’ve been blogging for as long as I have (and I’m no great blog founder), you tend to acquire things. Plugins, links, clutter. You know – stuff. Stuff that makes [...]

• WpVote and premium themes! 07.03.09

  Jean-Baptiste Jung of CatsWhoCode created WpVote on August 2008 to be the “Digg site for WordPress fanatics”. After resolving some issues and relaunching/rebuilding the site, he now has what he dreamed of – a social bookmarking site for everything related to WordPress, from hacks to news and more. And right now, he’s offering [...]

• Mob Rule or Sage Counsel? 05.03.09

  I admire Google’s efforts to gather information and share it with the world in an organized, relevant manner. That’s what makes them such a good search engine. They are always looking for ways to separate the wheat from the chaff. Unfortunately, they don’t always get it right.
  Official Google Blog: Tipping points
  Tip Jar [...]

• Gmail Browser title bar tweaks 25.02.09

  This may not be important to you, but since a lot of people use Gmail but don’t read the Gmail blog, I thought I’d pass this on.

  Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Browser title bar tweaks
  Basically, Title Tweaks changes the order of the elements in the browser title bar to put the more important things [...]

• AdSense for domains 19.02.09

  This is a little late but I thought I’d share it anyway…
  From Inside AdSense: Extending AdSense for domains to all publishers:
  Many publishers have approached us looking for a way to monetize their domains (why, yes I have), and today back in December, we’re excited to announce the expansion of AdSense for domains (Yippie!). This product [...]

• Still Time to Give Valentine’s Day Gift Cards 12.02.09

  There’s still have time to choose a pretty Valentine’s Day design to e-mail for immediate delivery, or print out from any printer and slip into a card or package.

  There are 2 easy ways you can give Gift Cards in time for Valentine’s Day (February 14):
  1) E-mail a personalized gift card for immediate delivery.
  2) Print a [...]

• Kindle 2 10.02.09

  We’re excited to introduce Amazon Kindle 2, the next generation wireless reading device. With a sleek and thin design that makes Kindle 2 as thin as a typical magazine and lighter than a paperpack, the new Kindle has seven times more storage and now holds over 1,500 books. It has a longer battery life and [...]

• Christmas Ordering Deadlines For U.S. Shipments 17.12.08

  Please follow the ordering dates below to ensure your gifts arrive by December 24. Shipping options apply to in-stock items shipped to physical addresses within the United States and marked “Ships from and sold by Amazon.com” or “Fulfilled by Amazon.com.”

  Amazon.com Widgets

  Please allow more time for items with longer availabilities. Order by 11:59 p.m. [...]

• Time to ride the Coltrane 11.12.08

  WordPress 2.7 “Coltrane”
  The first thing you’ll notice about 2.7 is its new interface. From the top down, [they’ve] listened to [our] feedback and thought deeply about the design and the result is a WordPress that’s just plain faster. Nearly every task you do on your blog will take fewer clicks and be faster in 2.7 [...]

• WordPress Update 2.6.5 25.11.08

  Since some of you, dear readers, use Wordpress on your own sites but don’t follow the version updates, I wanted to point out an upgrade that’s been released.
  WordPress 2.6.5 is immediately available and fixes one security problem and three bugs. We recommend everyone upgrade to this release.
  Note that we are skipping version 2.6.4 and jumping [...]

• More on InLink vs TLA 24.11.08

  So when I first learned that you couldn’t use TLA and InLink concurrently I started looking for clarification through both site’s Contact pages. here’s what happened…
  via TLA Contact Page

  ME: How can I integrate InLinks to my site? Do I need to create a separate account or is the existing TLA code going to [...]

• Black Friday Deals 24.11.08

  It’s that time of year again! Thanksgiving is only a few days away, which means the biggest shopping day of the year is also fast approaching.

  Great Black Friday Deals. No Black Friday Blues.
  Black Friday deals start today! Don’t spend Black Friday 2008 jostling for bargains and parking spots. Amazon will have amazing deals [...]

• Text Link Ads AND InLink? 20.11.08

  Its more of an either or situation really. You either have TLA or you have InLink but you can’t have both.
  I received an email from TLA just moments ago that was announcing InLinks
  Hello, we are excited to announce our newest publisher offering www.inLinks.com inLinks allows you to sell simple text link ads within [...]

• G-whiz Gmail, finally with the themes 19.11.08

  Official Gmail Blog: Spice up your inbox with colors and themes
  Themes allow you to customize the look and feel of your Gmail account. To choose a theme, click a thumbnail on the Themes tab of your Settings page.
  In some cases, you can also customize by location. Some themes change during the day, and we use [...]

• Luke’s wish list 18.11.08

  This time of year is a very busy one for us. There are a lot of birthdays starting with my sister on October, Julia’s brother in early November, followed by my mom, then me (22nd), Julia (27th), Corbin (Dec 2nd) and finally Christmas. So for your convenience we’ve put together a wish list [...]

• Julia’s wish list 17.11.08

  This time of year is a very busy one for us. There are a lot of birthdays starting with my sister on October, Julia’s brother in early November, followed by my mom, then me (22nd), Julia (27th), Corbin (Dec 2nd) and finally Christmas. So for your convenience we’ve put together a wish list [...]

• More Camera & Photo stuff 04.11.08

  Think Tank Rotation 360°, Two Section Convertable Photo Backpack.
  While reading Digital Photography School blog, I came across a couple of items I’d like to add to our toolbelt (as it were) One is very affordable, the other – not so much.
  The Think Tank Rotation 360° Backpack lets you access the gear inside of the [...]

• Gmail is too cute – no seriously 25.10.08

  At the risk of unleashing another firestorm of hate comments I have to say I’m not liking the emoticon feature of Gmail.
  Following the evolutionary path blazed by colored labels, we present, in all their technicolor glory, emoticons in your mail. – Official Gmail Blog: A picture is worth a thousand words
  Now let me begin this [...]

• Core Switches and WordPress 2.6.3 24.10.08

  So I woke up this morning to find my site working but also in need of an upgrade.

  A vulnerability in the Snoopy library was announced today. WordPress uses Snoopy to fetch the feeds shown in the Dashboard. Although this seems to be a low risk vulnerability for WordPress users, we wanted to [...]

• Google takes a stand – sort of 26.09.08

  digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/politics/Google_takes_a_stand_sort_of’;

  Official Google Blog: Our position on California’s No on 8 campaign

  Google has come out with an official company position regarding Proposition 8, which is fine to do but – when they do, they should actually explain their position.
  When Proposition 8 appeared on the California ballot, it was an unlikely question for Google [...]

• Looking for Link Love 24.09.08

  In an effort to reach a broader audience and to increase general awareness of my sites, I have agreed to be nominated for Blogger Choice Awards. I doubt I’ll win but you can still vote for me. Vote for these three sites…
  Blogogetics – Best Religious Blog
  archshrk – Best Blog about Stuff
  PhotoJulia – Best [...]

• Tweaking your WordPress Website 09.09.08

  I’m constantly making changes to my website in ways you probably don’t notice. Like when I changed my site so that, from a code point of view, both sidebars come after the content. On the surface, there was no difference for you, but if you were visually impaired and were using page reading [...]

• The World, Brave New or End of 08.09.08

  The other day, Gil, from the InkTank forums shared something he found on the LHC (Large Hadron Collider). If your not familiar with what that is, here’s the basics:

  The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a gigantic scientific instrument near Geneva, where it spans the border between Switzerland and France about 100 m underground. It [...]

• Browsin’ with my homeboy 02.09.08

  Well, it appears Google is launching its own open-source browser (Chrome) sometime today. You can learn more about it by reading their informative comic.
  Chrome, said Google’s vice president of product management, Sundar Pichai, is based on the same WebKit engine that powers Apple Inc.’s Safari, and like Microsoft Corp.’s new Internet Explorer 8 [...]

• World’s Bestest SEO 18.08.08

  “Just an average guy who got the bug to blog and found the community aspect far more enjoyable.”
  After reading this post from Darren Slatten, I have decided to become the World’s Bestest SEO.
  All kidding aside, I have added a category for SEO related topics (guess what it’s called) This will include WordPress topics from [...]

• Updates, plugins and more 15.08.08

  So I spent a few moments this morning updating my WordPress installs on various sites I manage (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) and I must say that the Wordpress Automatic Upgrade has been a life saver and, more importantly, a time saver.
  It takes about 20 minutes to update each WP install using traditional FTP [...]

• I beat the 300 mark 05.08.08

  This is just a quick note (mostly to myself) that I am currently ranked in the top 300 on SEOmoz.org.
  SEOmoz, a Seattle-based SEO company, serves as a hub for search marketers worldwide, providing education, tools, resources and paid services. “Our vast community comprises more than 80,000 registered users interested in the search marketing field. [...]

• Link-happy or just confussed? 27.05.08

  So my long time readers have probably noticed a few changes over time on this site as I try to optimize it both for user experience and for ad revenue. Finding that balance can be quite tricky. For example, you may have realized that links in blue are either Google Ads or Amazon [...]

• Site Advertising 16.05.08

  Dear Webmasters of the World (or anyone who can answer) how do you handle your online advertisers? I have someone interested in advertising on my site but I’m not sure how to go about the whole “contract” and billing and such. So far, I’ve made my ‘fortune’ via Google AdSense,
  /* and Amazon Associates, [...]

• Nofollow my arse 28.04.08

  So it appears I’m addicted to SEOmoz now but there was a recent post that really hit home today. SEOmoz | Google Follows Nofollowed Links in SEOmoz Comments?
  I may be totally wrong on this, or maybe I’ve overlooked some obvious explanation as to why some content on the end of nofollowed SEOmoz comment links [...]

• Why We Are Not Emergent 24.04.08

  TimK from Gospel Prism was sharing about a book he received at T4G. The book Why We’re Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be) covers a lot of ground. “They point out some of the problems with thinking of the journey as more about experience than a destination. They argue that humility is [...]

• WordPress 2.5 31.03.08

  WordPress › Blog » WordPress 2.5
  For those of you wondering, Wordpress 2.5 is available for download. It offers a lot of back-end changes that make it more user friendly, unless you’ve been using it for some time, in which case it takes some getting used to.
  I highly recommend upgrading as it does have some [...]

• WordPress 2.3.3 05.02.08

  WordPress › Blog » WordPress 2.3.3
  Yep, it’s time to upgrade Wordpress again. This is a security fix and is highly recommended. Follow the link for more information or simply download the latest version here.
  A flaw was found in our XML-RPC implementation such that a specially crafted request would allow any valid user to [...]

• I’m gonna propose you a proposition! 30.01.08

  Anyone who blogs usually has visions of making money from blogging. And why not. We here all sorts of stories where someone started making millions from blogging about the most mundane things. But for most of us, the opulent lifestyle is far from our reach. I count myself lucky that my [...]

• WordPress 2.3.2 29.12.07

  For those of you using Wordpress, there is an important update you should consider.
  WordPress 2.3.2 is an urgent security release that fixes a bug that can be used to expose your draft posts. 2.3.2 also suppresses some error messages that can give away information about your database table structure and limits and stops some information [...]

• It’s not what you say… 28.07.07

  Shelly at This Eclectic Life recently wrote about Fishing For An Audience which got me thinking…
  You see, she was talking about how we write (or blog) with a certain goal in mind. Typically it’s with the goal of getting an audience. How we define that audience really affects how we write. She [...]

• Pre-order MAC OS X Leopard 06.07.07

  Pre-order Apple Mac OS X Version 10.5 Leopard Our Software team [that's me] wanted to let you know that Amazon.com is one of the few retailers where you can reserve your copy of Apple’s latest and greatest operating system Apple Mac OS X Version 10.5 Leopard (not Lepeard). Amazon.com’s Pre-Order Price Guarantee applies, so customers can order with confidence knowing that they’ll get the lowest price offered when the operating system ships in October.

• 50 signs you’re a blogaholic 15.06.07

  My wife thinks I blog too much. Actually, she thinks I love the computer more than I love her (not true honey). So when I read Jonathan Deamer’s 50 signs you’re a blogaholic I knew I had a problem. I didn’t want to steal his content outright so here are some of my favorites or ones that are especially true for me.

• When do I get paid? 13.06.07

  This website pays for itself (eventually)
  We’ll send your check or EFT payment within approximately 30 days of the end of the month in which your account balance reaches US$100, unless a payment hold exists or unless otherwise agreed to in writing (including electronic mail).
  For example, if you earn $40 in January and $70 in February, [...]

• Whois 24.05.07

  I track visitor traffic on my website pretty religiously. Compulsory is more like it. A regular addiction it is. But that’s not the point. The point is, who are these people and what do they want. For example…
  Who is this site? affalink.affa.gov.au/information_technology/outsourcing/contentkeeper_splash.cfm Someone came to my site via this site [...]

• WPG2 2.01 for Wordpress 2.1 04.02.07

  * WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM ID 748 *
  We finally got the update to the WPG2 plugin that makes it compatible with Wordpress 2.1. After testing it on one site, I was able to update all my Gallery2 sites. So if you want to integrate your Gallery2 install with your Wordpress 2.1 [...]

• Upgrade wordpress – upgrade again 15.01.07

  I recently upgraded my wordpress files to the latest version (2.0.6) only to discover that there is yet another version released (2.0.7). Luckily, the upgrade path from 2.0.5 is relatively easy and from 2.0.6 to 2.0.7 it is even easier but still…
  The farther out of date you get, the more files you have to [...]

• Wordpress 2.0 Released! 27.12.05

  Wordpress 2.0 was released today and there will be much rejoicing. OK may not but a lot of people have eagerly awaited its official release. Most of the changes occur “under the hood” so don’t expect a lot of visual differences. However, after a couple of months you should see a lot [...]

• I’ve moved this blog to WordPress 06.04.05

  This is a very important message…I’ve moved this blog (Burrito/Sock Ministry) to a new home…BurritoAndSocks.com I’ve started using WordPress and will be managing my blogs and other pages with that wonderful program. wordpress.org Also check out my new site, Serving-SanDiego.com a resource for servig the homeless in San Diego.