slamboard

Hi, here I am with another pointlessly titled blog post. I just thought it was an interesting turn of phrase that might lead somebody to read my blog.

Rather than talk about some heroic, horse-riding masked bank manager, I am going to prattle on about loans and how people these days are given easy access to credit and then finding it increasingly difficult to come up with the payments.

The personal loans that I have had in the past and the ones that I still have outstanding have been a significant expense over the years. Interest is an expense that is almost inescapable in modern life, but if you are impractical and/or unlikely this expense can get out of hand quickly.

Mortgages and secured loans are typically lower interest and longer term than other loans. One figure that you should always consider is the total cost of borrowing.

I know a small number of bloggers that have live internet radio broadcasts. I know several more that upload pre-recorded podcasts.

The first internet radio guy that I ever encountered was just a goofy guy in his early twenties that liked the idea of talking on what is essentially the same as a radio broadcast. I enjoyed the immediacy of the experience. I sent an anecdote to him via gmail and not only did he read it On Air, he later created an ad lib song that referenced my story.

I think the immediacy of a live broadcast is in some ways forgiving in ways that a podcast are not. We expect podcasts to be topical and substantial. We expect radio broadcasts to be irreverent and spontaneous. I think that if you were to listen to enough of both, you would see quite an overlap in these attributes.

Live internet streaming audio is now easy to use and either cheap or free. Many platforms record the live broadcast so it can be presented as a podcast afterwards.

I just wrote all the preceding paragraphs without any research, since then I have looked at an experienced podcaster’s take on the subject. He brought up the issue of scheduling. When you take part in Internet Radio, you have to adhere to a schedule. Messing up with this makes you look very unprofessional.

He also said that the advantage of answering messages and emails real time is no big deal. With a weekly podcast, you can answer all the emails that you get during the preceding week. If you want to check out sites that can get you set up with internet radio, click on th source below.

Source: Scott Patton

I was browsing at AccessoryGeeks.com when my daughter walked past. I was on the iPod socks page and I asked her about them. Apparently, everybody has them and I simply must get some now that I know how adorable they are.

Moving on, I was looking at some less cute and more practical Motorola accessories. I guess I know where my daughter gets her enthusiasm for coolness, because I was immediately drawn to the Body Glove Scuba Cell Suit Cases. They are made from the same open cell material and heavy duty stitching and hardware that wet suits use. This is purely for aesthetics. You can’t go diving with your cellphone in a holster.

I think it’s almost time to start thinking about Christmas. One of the licensed cases that AccessoryGeeks.com sells would make a great gift. Disney and NFL themes are a couple of options that should have at least part of the family covered.

The wireless frequencies that are being abandoned as television goes digital is to be auctioned off by late January of 2008. Right now there is a tense three pistols thing going on between Google, AT&T and the FCC. The FCC is, of course, the sheriff of analogy town. Google and AT&T are both asking for provisions. If Google gets the exact licensing requirements that it asking for, it has pledged to bid over four BILLION dollars for the airwaves.

Source: Computer Business Review

I am fascinated by ePERKS.com. From what I can see, it is set to become an ideal place to compare the perks being offered by businesses like automotive dealers, construction contractors and real estate agents. For example, I clicked on a dealer and saw that they are giving away plasma screen TVs with the sale of a car. Many of these deals are available exclusively through ePerks.

There is also a lot of communication going on on the site. People are asking pointed questions about housing markets. Car dealers are asking each other about stuff.

I did some more browsing and discovered that iPods are a popular perk. I have pretty much given up on getting an iPhone. Maybe I can get a top of the line iPod thrown in with some purchase at some point.

PepsiCo Incorporated is leap frogging past it’s critics with regard to its bottled water labeling.

Spring water has to meet a strict criteria with regard to its source to be labeled as such in many markets. Pure water just has to truthfully state its composition on the label. Aquafina has always used plain old tap water as its source. Now it is going to say just that on its label. It is going to say PUBLIC WATER SOURCE.

The bottle is made from petrochemicals.

Source: CTV

Thoof is primarily used as a source of personalized news. I have blogged before about its features from the point of view of a source of information.

If you are a blogger and you have any ego at all, you tend to consider your very own self as a valuable source of information. Thoof can be used to put your blog posts up the proverbial flag pole. It is really easy to submit a post or article to Thoof. Once you have added your post, you receive an embed code that you can use to place a badge on your blog. It seems that every different bookmarking site likes to use a different terms for stuff. Technorati recently began using the term AUTHORITY. Thoof uses the new word ThoofRank. I don’t think they have to worry about any redundancy with that mouthful.

I chose to submit the first part of my Kimkins series on Thoof. It will be interesting to see if that brings in a broader audience. I will know if it is getting any traction just by looking at the rank on my badge. I’ve been looking at the way Thoof works and trying to decide if it is more or less susceptible to subversion and gaming. I think that it will not be quite as skewed by those activities for now, just because it is such a new site.

The process of joining and submitting a post was very simple and fast.

Educational philosophies are often a cause for heated debate. My children were enrolled in an alternative school for some time. I took an active role at the school, first as a parent with voting rights in important decisions at the school, and later as a volunteer. The volunteer work transitioned into an elected position as a staff member. Our school was modeled on the Sudbury Valley School. The main aspects of these schools are full democracy and complete academic freedom. The school was very up front about its core philosophies.

One thing that happened repeatedly at this school was that during interviews with parents prior to their children enrolling, they did not come to a full understanding of the philosophy. They would take issue with the degree of freedom that their child was provided with weeks or months after they entered the school. Some parents had practical or social reasons for placing their children in the school. In many parts of North America, governments do not legislate or enforce any type of standard of education in private schools. They consider the oversight to be the responsibility of parents. I don’t think all parents even understood that.

While looking on the Internet for controversies related to alternative schools, Waldorf schools have risen to the top. The main thing that critics point to is the deceptiveness with regard to the underlying beliefs and philosophies. The obvious reason for concealment is the fact that the founder Rudolf Steiner had views that are understandably repulsive to modern parents. Modern parents are the main source of income for Waldorf schools. Personally, I would never consider such a school for my children. Any organization that develops a culture of concealment is no place for children.

Realistically, parents have to face the fact that every teacher in every school, public or private, has a set of beliefs.

Databazaar.com is easy to describe. It is a huge retailer of printer supplies. It’s landing page offers a variety of searching and browsing options for people who simply want to find the right item for ther printing needs, buy it and feel confident about their purchase.

I am going to go through the motions of finding the right supplies for my printer right now…

I walked the three steps over to the printer. I read that it is a Canon Pixma MP-150. Now I’ll go to Databazaar.com…

I put my printer model information in the main search box and I got 5 items. I have a choice of two different qualities of Canon color cartridges, two different qualities of Canon black cartridges or I could go with a combo pack.

If you know the part number of the cartridge you want, you can find that just as quickly. Say, for instance, you want a Dell T0529 Ink Cartridge, you can find it in the Databazaar store in a matter of seconds. You can not find better customer service than what exists at this company. They are in good standing with a number of consumer protection third organizations. I have been asked about a half dozen times by customers for a site that I help administer whether we are registered with the Better Business Bureau. I think Databazaar has recognized the advantages of being involved in that type of thing. They have been a going concern for over nine years and they registered with the BBB in 2002.

Somehow, Google is going to put in place a mechanism that will prevent YouTube users from uploading copyrighted material. The old system involved telling users that they are not allowed to do this and then removing videos in response to complaints. This was not good enough for several media conglomerates.

One thing I do not understand is how this will affect typical fair use items. I suspect that fair use will not be an option anymore.

Upon further reading, I just saw that the technology will actually not prevent the upload, but rather, it will recognize and remove a violating video within one minute.