Drive Traffic to Your Blog With Buzzfuse

Popular blogs rely heavily on their site's traffic to establish their existance and maintain their popularity in the blogoshpere. The Buzzfuse contant marketing concept provides you with more exposure of your blog in a new community. Sometimes it is crucial to participate in web communities as it can gain you more friends and unique visitors. It the real life world, this is networking. Online web communities and forums are the networking path for bloggers. Buzzfuse offers content creators highly powerful and cost effective marketing to make you stand out among so many web bloggers in the world today. Buzzfuse's tagline, "you create, we spread the word" says it all. Account registration is totally free. Currently, there's an ongoing promotion with $3500 to be divided amongst the top 100 buzzing items. Also, $500 will be given to the best song, best blog post and best photo. Why wait if you're yearning for more web attention?

eBay Seller Fees Revised and Lowered, Meaning eBay Makes a LOT of Money

eBay announced that they are lowering the fees for sellers and even lower for PowerSellers. This is a move by eBay after years of complaining by its users. As a seller on eBay myself, I do find the fees annoying but I have to agree that eBay provides people like me with an excellent platform to sell off my unused or unwanted stuffs for a little bit of green.

Among the changes are:
Lower insertion fees and the gallery feature is now free. I have always waited for listing promotions where insertion fees are as low as $0.10 or $0.20 or when there's free gallery provided. In the Feedback area, now buyers will only be able to receive positive feedbacks. Coz you pay, you did your part. Positive repeat customer Feedback will count and Feedback more than 12 months old won't. Meaning, if you buy 3items from the same seller, you get to receive 3 +ve feedbacks rather than the previous single feedback. Negative and neutral Feedback left by the buyer will be removed for transactions in which a buyer doesn't respond to the Unpaid Item (UPI) or if the member is suspended. I hate these buyers so I often list my things with a Buy It Now (BIN) method and immediate payment is required.

All these after I obtained 150 feedbacks in 4 years.

Now Get Skype in Your PSP

Skype is making its way into the Sony PSP. The latest firmware update version 3.90 for the PSP-2000 line (a.k.a. PSP Slim). It's only available via network update now and adds expanded support for PLAYSTATION Network titles (sweetz). You can use your PSP headset or go grab yourself another one. I am thinking a webcam attachment for the PSP might be rolling out soon. Skype feature can be found under the Network menu. Oh yeah, the Skype requirements: PSP headset and PSP remote control.

*** Update ***

Apparently the software Go!Messenger reportedly works with the new Skype update well. It says that the Go!Messenger program works with the PSP camera to make video calls. "Go!Messenger is the exciting new product that uses the PSP system's in-built Wireless functionality and turns it into a portable communication device.
Download the latest system software*, install the Go!Messenger client, create a Go!Messenger account and go online with your PSP to chat with millions of PSP owners, and swap voice and video messages.
* PSP system software version 3.90 and above required."

"Once you've installed and signed up for Go!Messenger, attach the PSP Camera or the Headset with Remote Control to your PSP and you'll be able to make free video or voice calls to millions of PSP owners."

PharmaWatchDog Helps Keeping an Eye on FDA

A while ago I discovered a postie police blog, where the authors catches paid bloggers illegally reserving posts by posting an empty or irrelevant post. Then I realise there are bloggers out there who blog about these kinda concept, things to watch out for. Mark Sadaka authors the blog PharmaWatchDog which serves as a useful gateway to inform consumers about the very real public health dangers in the current system by providing news on the pharmaceutical industry and the big body of FDA. A post from October 2007 links to the FDA posting about Erectile Dysfunction (ED) drugs which leads to hearing loss. Labels are often misleading. I shall say it is a manipulative way of advertising. The risks are often not fully disclosed. The ED drugs affected inludes the 3 popular ones namely, Cialis, Levitra and Viagra. Thanks to this blog, I learned that news and made me more determined to convince people to be more careful with ED drugs as many side effects are possible. There's nothing more important than your health.

MyBlogLog Now Owned by Yahoo!

I haven't logged into MyBlogLog for over a month and when I did (a few days ago), I was prompted to associate my MyBlogLog account with a Yahoo! ID. This is a similar move by Yahoo! Inc. to take over a rising company. Flickr was also bought over by Yahoo! Inc. a while ago. Looks like this Yahoo! is still not going down to the all mighty Google. I am glad that this is happening as Google can't possibly dominate it all, just like how Microsoft wants to make all PC's run Windows and how Apple wants everyone to have an iPod or an iPhone. Speaking of the iPhone, Apple just released a fix patch for the SMS order problem in iPhones after the firmware version v1.1.3 update. And I found an nice app called the iPSP which when installed, mimicks the iPhone in your PSP. PSPs with firmwares higher than 2.71 are all eligible for the i-update.

Logitech Quickcam Pro 4000 Still A Good Webcam

My Logitech Quickcam Pro 4000 webcam is still serving me well after 2 years plus in service. Images and videos are crisp and clear. Although I prefer to get myself a new Logitech Quickcam Orbit or the Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000, I'll save my money for now. Maybe when it breaks down, then I'll splash out the money for a high end webcam. So far, I have been impressed with the higher end Logitech webcam product line. Quality products for great prices, if you can find a deal on it.

Love and Peace by Jade and Steve I.

I listened to the Cathay Pacific's Sounds From the All Asia Pass Volume 1 and found it to be quite different from the type/genre of music which appeals to me. Only 1 song made the cut into my playlist. That song is Love and Peace by Jade and Steve I.
I obtained this album after the recommendation was made in one of the leisure magazines I read.

Key to Happiness: The Sedona Method

Rarely do I pay much attention to books about stressing on how to make yourself think positively and be happy in life. The reason? It's because we are all humans. We are vulnerable to emotional changes. Actor Mariel Heminway loves the Sedona Method. In her book Happy for No Reason, she tells it all. How it has changed and improved her life. Have you heard about it? Have you heard about the Sedona Method continues to spread happiness worldwide?

I am bringing your attention to this simply because it caught my attention. I have other things to write about, of course I do. However, this one kinda stands out. It describes a unique approach for you as a newbie to this concept to release what is holding you back to gain full happiness in life. In Happy for No Reason, there's an example which relates to the native people in the island of Borneo. Borneo is an island shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.

I quote: The Sedona Method has been effective in dissolving suffering of all kinds: chronic pain, depression and anxiety, fatigue and sleeplessness, money and relationship issues; and in the case of Hilde Eide from Oslo, Norway; anger

The Sedona Method is a key to happiness and is part of a wave of happiness sweeping the planet. The free DVD and CD promotion is a good way for doubters or curious bloggers to find out more about this whole seek of happiness thing. Try it and let me know. Coz I don't know too.

Resetting the Cingular 8125 / HTC Wizard Pocket PC Phone

A "soft" reset clears all open programs and "reboots" the Cingular 8125 Pocket PC Phone. When the handheld powers back up, you'll start with all active programs closed and the device ready to use. This procedure is intended to reset a Pocket PC Phone if it is malfunctioning or has become bogged down. This reset is also sometimes necessary after software is installed.
A soft reset is the Cingular 8125 is equivalent to restarting your Desktop or Laptop. The Cingular 8125 can be soft reset by pressing the recessed button on the left side of the unit directly below the Infrared port.

Download Website Videos With Tube Hunter Ultra

Many of my friends asked me how do I download the videos from online streaming sites like YouTube and such. Here's the answer: Tube Hunter Ultra V2.0. It downloads video and music from 648 YouTube and Xtube-like websites, and saves them on your computer or directly to your iPOD / PSP / Zune / Cell Phone.

All downloaded videos can be converted by TubeHunter Ultra to other video formats including AVI, MPEG4, DivX, XviD, iPOD Video, iPhone format, MPEG, WMV, RM, MOV, Sony PSP, Zune Video, 3GP, 3G2, SWF, FLV, M4A, MP3, MP4, WAV, OGG, AAC and AC3. TubeHunter Ultra does not have any spyware or adware.

1. Download videos and songs from 463 YouTube-like websites.
2. Download MP3 from MySpace, Bebo and Ringo for free even if the "Download" button is disabled.
3. Download videos from Megarotic, PornoTube, YouPorn, bangbros, Xtube, Lifeout, phun, smog, Badjojo, RedTube, yuvutu, Boysfood, Heaven666, and 185 PornoTube and Xtube-like websites.
4. Extract audio from YouTube kind videos
5. Save videos from NFL.com (National Football League)

Las Vegas at A Second Glance

I had the golden chance to spend a second trip to the famous sin city, Las Vegas. My first Vegas experience was short and rushed so I didn't get to see all of Vegas. This time, I stayed in 3 different hotels over the span of a week. One each at the north, center and south of the Strip. The dining programme for the trip was all buffets. Yes, buffets everyday at hotels throughout Vegas. Buffet prices range from $10 to $35 depending on the hotels you go.

Buffets at the Bellagio and the Mirage were awesome. Plenty of food selections available. Not just ordinary food, but really really nice food which I rarely dine on. Bread, salad, sushi, meat, poultry, seafood, and desserts. All you can eat! That was one of the best experiences that I had among many of my vacations. And to top it off, I got to spend it together with that special someone.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am interested in getting a GPS unit for my girlfriend, either through my financially-devalued purchasing power or by winning it somewhere or somehow. Trusted Tours & Attractions is running a special promotion now: win a handheld GPS by signing up for their newsletter. As easy as ABC! The newsletter will keep you updated on the various attractive travel packages to Las Vegas to places like Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam. I really like their Grand Canyon helicopter sightseeing tours because the experience would be unique and panoramic.

iPhone Jailbreak v1.1.3 Released

A sentence everyone has been waiting for. The iPhone Dev Team has done it again. A working iPhone jailbreak for firmware v1.1.3 (latest version) is finally here. It is released in both Windows and Mac versions. Hacking/upgrading your coveted Apple iPhone is at your own risk. You may have to restore your iPhone if you fail. You can do this using iTunes and start the hacking/upgrading process again. Make sure to back up all the necessary data first! The v1.1.3 jailbreak works like an upgrade, very much similar to the 1.1.2 jailbreak.

Attention! You need to have a v1.1.1 or v1.1.2 jailbroken iPhone for you to jailbreak v1.1.3.

A good source to do more research about this topic is here. Good luck!

13 Vocal Traffic Lights Signal in UW and Madison City

13 traffics lights in Madison, WI have been equipped with vocal signals. A few of them are located on UW campus, for example, the University Ave and Park St intersection. This is a good move by Madison city as it very helpful for those who are visually impaired. Previously, I noticed that some traffics lights on campus are equipped with clicker or buzzer signals to let pedestrians know that it is safe to cross the roads. How does it sound like? At the intersection of University Avenue and Park Street, it says “University—walk sign is on to cross University.” The city officials are still working on the volume control as the received complaints over the weeks that the volume is too loud, especially late into the night when the streets are quieter.

Story source: Daily Cardinal

Is Skype Memory Hogging?

I just recently installed the famous VOIP program Skype on my laptop. I stayed away from it last time because my housemate uses it to talk to his girlfriend and his laptop is extremely slow with excessive amount of lagging signs even performing routine activities like web surfing and file copying. Whenever I used his laptop he would ask me to close down the Skype program because it's slowing the entire OS down. I came to the conclusion that Skype is a memory hogger.

Now, after 2 days of using Skype on my laptop, it is showing signs of delayed commands and lags in typing. Sometimes the program windows freezes for 10 seconds before return to active duty again. This all happens after Skype was installed and run. Also, Skype crashes 2 out of 5 times that I use it. Not instantly, but after a period of time. Hence, I once again conclude that Skype is memory hogging.

As its tagline say, take a deep breath. That's what I did everytime Skype crashes. :(

18 Days of Valentine's Contest at Game O Love

It's not February yet but the Valentine's Day mood has been seen all over the place. Sales, shop decors and online promos all related to Valentine's Day. Starting Jan 25th (tomorrow that is), you can enter for the Valentine's contest called the Game O Love and win many exciting prizes for both you and your loved one.

The best part of it is that you have the choice of the Valentine's gift which you want to win. Your choice(s) can be made among thousands of products found on Overstock.com. For some, choices are obvious as you understand the needs of your partner and you can easily filter out the products desired.

My girl just moved to a new place, so I figured a spanking new (hint) GPS unit is one of the possible choice I can make. GPS stands for Global Positioning Unit, if you're wondering. For those who are thinking of a GPS unit as well, it can be found under Electronics tab, then GPS Navigation link. I tried a TomTom GPS unit and gave a serious thought about a GPS unit after experiencing the full usefulness of it. Not to mention it becoming my life saver whenever I miss a turn or wander into some random town like Radiator Springs (ok, that was from Cars).

However, I am leaning towards Garmin. Not that it's because of the lame commercial with Yao Ming in it, but for the reason that Garmin units look more presentable and give me the feeling that they are easy to use. They are SUPPOSED to be easy to use. So that first timers like me would have no problems figuring it out how it operates and such. Join the contest and win something big for your sweetheart. Nothing beats free. I mean then you can save the pre-allocated Valentine's Day gift money to buy something extra. All at Overstock.com's "Game O Love"

Unupdated Blogs Drop Rankings and Site Traffic

That is a basic rule of blogging. I should say for bloggers who see traffic ranks as an important measurement of their blog's popularity. Blogs which go through a period of dryness (when it is not updated frequently) would naturally see a decline in their traffic ranks. For me, I just would like to gauge the quality of my entries to engage with the readers' interests and persuade them to revisit my blog on the next day or update. Thank you to those who subscribe to this blog's RSS feeds. I was away for a few weeks and saw a decline in traffic ranks from various sources. SO here I am, back and blogging. Trying to stay on track and compete. Peace out.

Surviving With 384Kbps Broadband

First, the general conversion. 1 byte (as in KB = Kilobyte) equals 8 bits (as in Kb = kilobit). Therefore, 384Kbps converts to 48KB/s. Not too slow you might tend to say. However, I notice some sluggishness even during normal browsing activities. Combined with the fact point that ISPs actually automatically carry out bandwidth limiting/capping after a period of heavy usage really takes the toll on my downloading speeds. The below par loading time of webpages are well off the 48KB/s mark which is in fact the theoretical capability of the broadband connection. The solution: switch to at least 1.0Mbps line or even better the ultimate 3.0Mbps connection line. Money says it all sometimes.

My Fantasy NBA Team Doing Pretty Well, Lately

Thanks to the acquisition of Stephon Marbury (a.k.a. Starbury) of the ever pathetic New York Knicks and also Rafer Alston of the Houston Rockets. Marbury was dropped from another team's roster because he wasn't playing for some games as he grieved for his father's death. Rafer Alston has been taking more shots and taking control of the game as Tracy McGrady sits out with injury. With no superstar in my team except for Steve Nash, I've been monitoring the league to grab some good players to boost my roster. I drafted for Kevin Durant early hoping he could spearhead the Seattle Supersonics into playoff contention but the decision backfired. Luckily Andrew Bynum is great this season and Tyson Chandler is also contributing double doubles. On the way I picked up Peja Stojakovic. Hopefully this is the turning point of the season for me. Go me!

Who Still Uses Floppy Disks and Drives?

It is so obsolete that I want to remove the floppy disk drive from my home computer. It shouldn't have been there at the first place. They should've told the vendor not to install it and save a few bucks. It's just sitting there for no reason except making the disk check noise everytime the computer is turned powered on. It's worthless and useless. Pheh!

Finally Threw Away My Lousy Altec Lansing 2 Piece Speakers

That pair of speakers came with my 2nd desktop computer, a DELL, back in 2003. A humble 2 piece computer stereo speakers manucatured by Altec Lansing which has no value for money in the used electronics market, be it Craigslist or eBay. I finally decided to toss it into the trash. I have no use for them anyway. Feels good to empty some junk. I hate junks piling up. I clear them out asap and sometimes in the future I may find a need for them. But dealing with the past is a part of life. It's just how you deal with it. The best option now is sit down, think, plan about the future and look ahead and move forward.

Back to the Hot and Humid Weather

I am experiencing the hot and humid weather now. It's gonna take a fe days to adjust to. I couldn't handle the heat on the first 2 days, so I turned on the AC unit in my room. It felt so much better. I must now obey one of the rule of living healthy; drink at least 8 glasses of water everyday. Or I should just carry a water bottle around with me all day long. Luckily water comes cheap.

Updated to New Dell Support Center

I updated my Inspiron E1405's Dell Support to the new Dell Support Center which Dell says has a new proactive alerting and a new enhanced troubleshooting. Well, it seems to be easier to use with a prettier interface. Also, I picked up an update patch for the Dell Media Direct. However, when I went on a test run, it didn't work. I couldn't reach into the main menu when Vista is turned off. This problem doesn't not apply when I am operating on Vista. Weird.