Friday, April 21, 2006

 

On Vacation Until May 1st

Time for SunShine. I'll be on this ship leaving from Miami:

Royal Carribean


If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us

Thursday, April 20, 2006

 

E85 Fuel now offered in Michigan


An Article in the Detroit Free Press today mentioned that E85 is now being offered throughout Michigan. The new fuel will be sold through Meijer’s chain of gas stations in the state.

This is exciting news since E85 can be used in most cars already on the road today. The price per gallon is expected to be $.40 less than 87-octane gasoline. Additionally, the new fuel will not emit environmentally damaging gases.

E85 is refined from Biodegradable sources such as corn. The fuel has a lot of promise because it would allow the United States to essentially grow its own fuel source that is renewable every year. General Motors has recently launched a large marketing campaign to promote the fuel as an alternative to Hybrid-Vehicles.

[Source: The Detroit Free Press; Meijers]


If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us
 

Housing Prices Force 211,014 New Yorkers to Leave


What happens when the average home price in your state skyrockets to $427,600? For many people you’ve got no choice but to live somewhere else.

Apparently this has been happening in some of the hottest areas of the country where housing prices have surged in the past few years.

So where do you go when you’re priced out of your hometown? Somewhere warm of course! Many of these people are relocating to areas such as Florida where the average home price is less than ½ of places like New York (approx $223,000).

With Interest Rates on the rise this trend is likely to get worse. Home prices in a lot of these high priced areas will simply make housing no longer affordable for average people.

If you want to find out more CNN Money has a great article talking about this alarming trend. Search for an article called ‘Housing prices put Americans on the move’. It’s a great read!


If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

 

Duke Rape: Amazing Details

Compilation of reported details and defense disclosure of "time stamped photographic evidence" from the Duke lacrosse team party, Monday March 13th.

You be the judge!!!

2:00 PM Neighbor Jason Bissey sees at least five men standing in the backyard of 610 N. Buchanan drinking beer.

4:00 PM Bissey sees several young men drinking in the backyard.

8:30 PM The accuser is called by her escort agency and told to report to the Buchanan Boulevard house that night
11:02 PM (Time stamp on student camera) Students are hanging out in a living room (at 610 N. Buchanan), apparently waiting for the dancer to arrive. Most have drinking cups in their hands.

11:02:36 PM Men are sitting around the house. Many have plastic cups in their hands.

11:08:28 PM Men throw their arms in the air as if they are cheering and posing for the camera.

11:09:25 PM A closer picture of a few men posing for the camera.

11:30 PM Bissey, after being out for a while, returns to his apartment. He sees approximately 30 people enter the house. Several young men are gathered near the back door of 610 N. Buchanan.

11:30 PM (Police report) Complainant arrived 610 N. Buchanan road and joins another stripper from another escort service to perform for occupants of residence. They danced for only a few minutes (approximately 4 minutes) before males became aggressive and rowdy.One asked if the dancers had any "sex toys". When the dancers said "no" a broomstick was waved and dancers were jeered at. Dancers left and got into stripper #2's vehicle.
Complainant says some boys apologized and the two women went back into the residence, but were separated. She says two boys, "Adam" and "Matt" pulled her into the bathroom at the residence. She says she was physically assaulted, raped, and strangled by "Adam", "Bret", and "Matt" for approximately 30 minutes. (She also says that one or more names could have been aliases, and one of the names of the attackers was "Dan" -- presumed to be Dan Flannery -- one of the males who made the reservations with the escort service.)

11:50 PM Bissey, on his porch, notices two women walk to the back of the house, where a man greets them.

11:55 PM Bissey sees the two women go into the house.

Midnight (Time stamp on student camera) The dancer is sprawled on her stomach on the floor, as a second dancer stands over her. Students are watching the show but not grabbing or attempting to touch the women. Bruises are clearly visible on the legs and thighs of the alleged victim.

March 14, 2006
12:00:12 AM The first picture of the dancers. The accuser, wearing pink and white lace lingerie, is lying face down on the floor.

12:00:21 AM The accuser and the second dancer are dancing together.

12:00:29 AM Dancers are performing. The accuser has what looks like bruising on her knees. Her right shoe is missing from her foot. It can be seen in the background.

12:00:40 AM The two dancers are performing. A crowd of about 15 men is visible in the photo. The men are sitting on couches. They are not showing much reaction.
12:01:16 AM(Time stamp on student camera) The second dancer is lying on her back on the floor with the alleged rape victim kneeling over her.

12:02:16 AM The accuser is on top of the second dancer. The accuser's right thumbnail does not have a fingernail or polish on it. Her right pinky nail also doesn't have a nail. The men are smiling. The dancers are smiling.

12:02:46 AM A young man, who appears to be passed out, sitting in a chair.

12:03:57 AM The dancers are leaving the room after performing for four minutes. The photo clearly shows that the alleged victim left one of her shoes behind as she departed.

12:03:57 AM The dancers by the door. The accuser's right shoe is on the floor. The men in the room are sitting. Their facial expressions have changed.

12:10:39 AM A young man passed out. His shorts are slightly pulled down.

12:15-12:20 AM Bissey hears voices in the alley beside the house. At least two men are discussing money, one saying, "It's only $100." Bissey sees a man leaning into the window of a car parked outside the house. One of the women he saw earlier gets out of the car and says she needs to get her shoe. She walks to the back door of the house.

12:30:12 AM The alleged victim is on the back porch. She has a shoe only on her left foot as she appears to smile and apparently tries to get back inside.

12:30:12 AM The accuser is on the back steps of the house, alone. Her right shoe is off. She has a purse and makeup bag. Her clothes appear intact.

12:30:34 AM The accuser is still on the back steps of the house.

12:30:47 AM The accuser is on the stairwell of the back steps. Her mouth is open and her teeth are showing.

12:31:26 AM The alleged victim appears to be stumbling down the back steps of the house.

12:37:58 AM A series of photos beginning at this time shows the woman lying on her left side on the back porch, seemingly passed out or asleep. Pink splotches are on a wrought-iron railing beside her. She had visible cuts on her legs and buttocks that did not appear in the previous photos.

12:38:07 AM The accuser is lying on the back steps. A tan object can be seen in the background.

12:38:18 AM The accuser is still on the ground.

12:41:32 AM The accuser is seen getting into a black Honda Accord helped by a partgoer.

Between 12:45 AND 1 A.M.: Bissey sees a car, which at least one of the women had been in earlier, speed away. One man standing across from the house, on the Duke campus, shouts, "... Thank your grandpa for my nice cotton shirt." Several men come out of the house; Bissey hears at least one of them say, "Guys, let's go," repeatedly. Within minutes, there is silence. The lights at 610 Buchanan are dim, and no one is outside.)

12:53 AM (Police) Female calls 911 to report racial epithets being shouted from residence at 610 N. Buchanan Road. (stripper #2.)

12:55 AM Police arrive and see evidence of a party at the house, but no stragglers. No one answers the door, and police can't find the woman who called 911.

1:00 AM (ABC News) Time a female security guard at Kroger recalls a woman (stripper #2) coming into the store and complaining about being unable to get a woman out of her car who she had picked up walikng down the street.
On the tape of the guard telling this to a reporter on April 3, the guard recounts the conversation she had with the the dancer who came into the store: The woman told the guard she was driving down the street and heard people yelling racial slurs at a woman she had never met before, then, out of sympathy, she picked up the woman and brought her to the Kroger parking lot.

1:06 AM Police leave residence on Buchanan.

About 1:20 AM Security guard at Kroger encounters woman who says she has a person in her car who is drunk and won't get out.

1:22 AM (Police report) Durham Police called to Kroger store on Hillsborough Road. Durham police received a call from a security guard at a Kroger grocery store located on Hillsborough Road. The guard told the 911 dispatcher that woman named Kim, the second dancer at the party, pulled up and was worried about her friend. She said the alleged victim did not smell like alcohol.

About 1:30 AM First officer to arrive at the Kroger tells the dispatcher: "She's 10-56 and unconscious." The radio code 10-56 means an intoxicated person.
The dispatcher asks: "You need a medic truck or are you 10-4?"
The officer replies: "She's breathing, appears to be fine, she's not in distress. She's just passed out drunk."

About 1:35 AM Second officer arrives and takes accuser to police dept.( or psychiatric hospital). Officer referred to DUMC Emergency Center.

1:58 AM An e-mail talking about plans for a party that would involve killing dancers is sent from a computer located in 2C Edens Dorm, according to a Durham police search warrant. The e-mail is signed "41," which is lacrosse player Ryan McFadyen's jersey number.

2:31 AM Accuser arrives at DUMC emergency room. Staff evaluation indicates possible sexual assualt. Sexual Abuse nurse is summoned for examination.

2:50 AM Durham police initiate "rape investigation".


March 15, 2006
Duke University administration briefed on accusations.

March 16, 2006

6:55PM Search warrant served at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd.


If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us
 

The Truth About Windows Vista


Windows XP has been around a while, 6 years in fact. Microsoft has lost favor with Wall Street. Their stock price hasn’t moved much over the years. Gone are the good old 90’s.

There’s a lot of pressure for Microsoft to come out with a replacement for Windows XP and later this year you’ll hear a lot about that Replacement. Microsoft has already slated $500 in advertising convincing you to shell out $100 or so for an upgrade. But should you really care?

What you absolutely need to know about the Windows Vista operating system:

Microsoft’s in a bit of a bind. As they make their software better, there is less of a reason for people to upgrade. It gets harder and harder for them to plead their case. They also have to support old software. So what?

Well, it turns out that you can’t really do anything very ‘cool’ because you have to support software from 10 years ago. If you do start breaking some old rules, people get mad. Their old software no longer works. At one time, Microsoft did have some really neat stuff for Vista, like Win-FX, but it got axed because of this problem. So they put a new face on the same core and try to bake-in new ‘features’.

Do you want a computer or do you want the Internet?

Ahh. Isn’t this really the nail in the coffin? Most people don’t care about their computer, they just want to send some emails, chat, and go to porn sites (I’m kidding of course). Seriously, watch this trend: More and More PC Applications are appear as online websites. In fact, Google just bought a pretty kick-ass word processor that works just like MS Word. It’s free, and it’s online. No software to install. This means you need a lot less of a computer or operating system for that matter.

Microsoft will be successful with Vista by putting into new PC’s. Good for them. But I don’t expect many of us to run out and buy an upgrade to something that’s already working good enough: Windows XP

Do you plan to upgrade? Let me know.


If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

 

Higher Gas Prices: Be Happy about it


If you can’t beat ‘em, Join ‘em – Couldn’t be more true for the oil industry. Gas prices are not coming down anytime soon. Here’s why:

Brazil, Russia, China, and India, you know the places where all our jobs are going. Well now they’re getting paychecks and starting to buy cars. This puts a BIG demand on Oil.

Russia just announced they wouldn’t be able to produce as much oil as they have in the past. Iran’s building a nuclear power plant. What’s up with that anyways? (World War III on it’s way, I assure you), and the Middle East is in turmoil.

All this means $3 per gallon gas will be here for a while. So what are we to do?

JOIN THE PARTY!!

Invest in an oil company. Exxon Mobil has had record profits. Now, don’t get too mad at them. It’s really a supply/demand thing. Stop complaining and become an owner in the company. Buy some stock.

My Pick is: Suncor Energy Inc. (SU)

Why?

Canada has massive supplies of oil. It’s held in something called Oil Sand. Only problem is, it’s difficult to refine. When oil was at $40 a barrel it was just too expensive to think about. But at $70/barrel, Canada’s looking to become the United States’ best friend.

If you had invested $1000 in Suncor Energy last year, you would have doubled your money. For most people that would offset the higher gas prices. And, the ride isn’t over yet! They’re expected to go much higher. It’s not too late to invest.
My Advice: Be an oil owner and you’ll get excited every-time you hear about higher gas prices.


If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us

Monday, April 17, 2006

 

Useless Information (funny)

A co-worker sent this to me so I thought I'd post it here to give everyone a good laugh!

Did You Know...

If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
(Hardly seems worth it.)

If you farted consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.
(Now that's more like it!)

The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet.
(O.M.G.!)

A pig's orgasm lasts 30 minutes.
(In my next life, I want to be a pig.)

A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to death.
(Creepy.) (I'm still not over the pig.)

Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
(Do not try this at home. Maybe at work.)

The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male's head off.
("Honey, I'm home. What the....?!")

The flea can jump 350 times its body length. It's like a human jumping the length of a football field.
(30 minutes... lucky pig. can you imagine??)

The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds.
(What could be so tasty on the bottom of a pond?)

Some lions mate over 50 times a day.
(I still want to be a pig in my next life...quality over quantity)

Butterflies taste with their feet.
(Something I always wanted to know.)

The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
(No comment!)

Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people. (If you're ambidextrous, do you split the difference?)

Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump.
(OK, so that would be a good thing....................)

A cat's urine glows under a black light.
(I wonder who was paid to figure that out?)
An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
(I know some people like that.)

Starfish have no brains.
(I know some people like that too.)

Polar bears are left-handed.
(If they switch, they'll live a lot longer.)

Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.
(What about that pig??)


If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us

Friday, April 14, 2006

 

Boat Flipping 101: Boat Flipping for Fun and Profit


Boat Flipping 101: Boat Flipping for Fun and Profit

Spring is upon us once again. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a beautiful boat to use anytime you want? Wouldn’t it be even nicer to not pay for it?

This is possible with a little homework.

Boats or Yachts are an absolutely horrible investment. In fact they’re not an investment at all. People buy them expecting to loose money. They buy them for a different reason – to have fun.

Now that doesn’t mean that you or I need to loose money on a boat too. Boat Flipping – buying low and selling high will let you and your family drive the boat of your dreams for FREE.

Here are some Boat Flipping tips:

* Don’t EVER buy a new boat. You’ll get killed in depreciation. I’m not talking only a few thousand dollars here. You can get stung big time. A recent owner of a 34 foot Sea Ray told me he lost $25,000 per year on his new boat.


* Buy an inexpensive boat. Anywhere under $10,000 is fine. You’ll be able to sell it
Put the “Fore Sale” sign on it the day you pick it up. Selling a boat can take all summer. If you sell it early, just buy another one.


* Study the market – A “Used boat listings” website can help you find what boats sell for
Call on a lot of boats. Find the guy who must get rid of his.


* Offer 75% of the list price. Remember, you’re looking for the distressed seller.
You make the money on the buy, not the sale


* When you sell don’t be the most expensive. Be toward the middle to bottom in price.

* Hedge your bets: Get a Boat inspection for $300. It could save you a lot of frustration.


* Don’t expect to get rich. If you can sell the boat to cover your costs and brake even you’re ahead. Remember you got the full use of the boat for the summer. You won’t need to store it all winter.

Start with small boats and work your way up. One day, you could be driving a yacht all summer long for free.

Happy Boating!



If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us

Thursday, April 13, 2006

 

3 Steps to Loosing 10 pounds in 30 days

Over the years I’ve gotten very good at losing weight. Ok, I’ve also gotten very good at putting it on at times too. But I digress.

I personally use the 3 steps below and they work EVERY TIME. That’s the good news. The bad news: it’s going to take some work.

Before you begin you’ll need some motivation. Take a picture of yourself in your underwear. This isn’t the same as looking in the mirror. There’s something shocking about a picture. You’ll see you don’t look how you think you do. Print this picture and post it in your bathroom. You’ll want to see it every morning when you wake up.

This will be more than enough motivation to loose some weight. If you don’t do this, the rest won’t work. You won’t be motivated enough.

Here’s my 3 Step plan:

Step 1: Eating – Follow a low carb diet. Atkin’s or South Beach work great. These diets are easy because you eat as much food as you want and never feel hungry. Ideally you’ll be eating a lot of eggs, steak, lobster, crab, fish, and chicken. Who can argue a diet like that?

Step 2: Exercise – If you don’t have a gym membership or time, then just start walking in the morning. Slowly get into jogging, walking won’t do it alone but it’s a start. It will be hard at first, but you’ll have to get up to 30 minutes a day of something. Running, Biking, whatever. If I eat well and don’t do this, I don’t loose the weight.

Step 3: Take VPX Redline gel-caps – If you’re tired all the time, these little beauties will change that in 15 minutes flat. They are the best fat-burner out there. I’ve tried them all, and this is the one I live by. Don’t take them on an empty stomach, you’ll get sick. GNC sells these for $90 a bottle, which I think is a total rip off. You can find them online for about $30. Take 1 capsule in the morning, 3 before you work out, 1 in the evening.

That’s my 3 step plan. It will work every-time. It’s simple but not easy. I’ll do this diet once or twice a year. I’ve been doing it the last few weeks to prepare for a cruise next week. Again, I’m amazed by the results I’m seeing!


If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

 

Google is Granted Voice Search Patent

Google is Granted Voice Search Patent

Today Google was granted Patent #7,027,987 by the US Patent and Trademark Office covering a 'Voice interface for a search engine.'

The implications for this are enormous. Consider what Google’s ability would be to search out audio clips in Podcasts, Internet Audio, and Video.

Google’s current video search is based on keyword tags that are inserted by the author. If they were to search the audio tracks inside these videos their search results could be much more accurate.

Furthermore the Patent would stop other search engine companies and Microsoft from being able to compete with them.

We’ve got to consider that the new Web will become more and more comprised of audio/video technologies.

This is certainly something to keep an eye on.


If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

 

Become Affluent in 30 Seconds

Become Affluent in 30 Seconds

Of all the qualities a man should hold most dear, accountability is his most precious asset”- Henry Ford, Ford Motor Company.

Think about this one simple fact: People who succeed in life are more accountable than those who fail. Accountability is character. Without it, a man cannot achieve greatness. He will undermine his own success.

Some of the great business leaders of our time seem to think so too. Consider what Jack Welch says, “When I see a guy who can’t keep a simple appointment, I know I’ve got a guy who won’t be able to handle the big tasks”

It’s true. Have you known people like this? The old saying “A man is only as good as his word” is timeless.

If you want to become more affluent. If you want to rise to great heights in life. Become accountable. Practice with small things.

If you tell someone you will call him or her Monday morning. Call Them.

If you say you will be at your community roadside clean up project. Then Go! Even if it’s a nice day outside.

By keeping your word with the little things, you’ll find keeping your word with big things becomes easier. Not only will you take note, but others around you will too.


If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us

Monday, April 10, 2006

 

How to Execute a Planned Foreclosure and Make a Killing

There’s a new game in town with interest rates on the rise. It’s called the “Planned Foreclosure” and here’s how it works.

Jim and Mary Jones work for a big automaker in Detroit Michigan. They both work in one of the big Manufacturing plants and on a good year can earn $100,000 each because of the vast overtime hours they can put in.

Two years ago they bought a $500,000 home with a low interest only ARM loan that will change as interest rates change. The payments are unbelievable low and they make more than enough money to pay the monthly bills.

Oh how times change….

Suddenly, Jim and Mary can’t get overtime pay because nobody wants American cars. Their incomes shrinks to nearly ½ of what it was. Interest rates and their house payments are on the rise as the Federal Reserve pushes up the prime interest rate. What will they ever do?

Forget selling the house. They haven’t been there long enough to break even. Staying there won’t work anymore because they simply can’t afford it.

Welcome to the planned foreclosure…

Jim and Mary find an aggressive lender to loan them 125% value of the their home’s value while their credit is still great. They take the $50,000 from the new loan and put it down on a much smaller home, perhaps costing only $250,000. This isn’t hard to do because they’ve got 20% to put down on the house. So they get the new house.

Jim and Mary move into the $250,000 home with a $200,000 mortgage. Now they can live a sane life again. Life goes back to normal.

But what about the $500,000 home? What happens to that? They simply tell the bank they can’t afford it and it falls into foreclosure.

Yes, their credit is in the house of pain for a while, but they’ve got a new house now. After-all, it’s only 7 years until the black mark comes off the credit report. Maybe times will change and they buy back the bigger house down the road.

It’s expected that this new trend is going to start picking up as more and more people get squeezed out of their homes. You’ll start hearing more about this. The mortgage lenders are about to get killed.
My question is who’s picking up the tab?


If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us

Friday, April 07, 2006

 

Try this and instantly improve your life

An Observation…

Throughout today look around. Watch people. We’re all in such a hurry.

There is one thing in short supply today. Almost nobody has it. Some say it’s a by-product of the information age. Perhaps there is some truth to that.

What I’m speaking of is Patience

Haste will get you nowhere.

We’re all guilty of this. We want things quickly. We don’t want to wait.

How many people run out and buy things on credit because they can’t wait?

How many people give up on a diet because hey they DID give it a month…

Patience is a discipline. You got to work at it.

James Paul Getty once said, “When it comes to patience look to nature. Nature never acts in haste. You can’t out pace her. Doing so will ultimately lead to a man’s demise”

I tend to agree. When we try to make things happen on our time we wear ourselves out.

Think of a rowing team. Who wins the race? Isn’t it the team working with the best stride, taking things as they come? The team that fails to do this will always loose, even if they are stronger.

So today practice on developing more patience. You’ll have more energy and life will seem easier. As you do, look at people around you. Have they developed patience? Are they stressed out? Do they seem tired?


Perhaps a little patience is all they need.


If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us

Thursday, April 06, 2006

 

Why Software Developers LOVE Apple’s New BootCamp Software


Why Software Developers LOVE Apple’s New BootCamp Software

For those of you that don’t know, Apple announced yesterday that it would include new software called BootCamp that lets Apple Computers run either Windows or Mac OS X.

For software developers this is huge. I can tell you that not many of us developers were willing to learn new programming languages to port our applications over to a Mac.

Well, now the Mac army can use all the stuff we’re writing for the rest of the world.

My prediction: Long term Apple will dump OS X (their operating system).

But as software developers less of us are writing Applications that run on the desktop anyways so you really got to ask: Does this matter anyways? Probably not.

Thank you Apple.

This is a win for everyone except the OS X development team.

Apple Wins
Microsoft Wins
Developers Win
Customers Win

Smart move;)
Now can we all just agree on ONE browser please?


If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

 

EA BattleField 2 Servers Flooded last Night!


EA BattleField 2 Servers Flooded last Night!

Electronic Arts is releasing BattleField 2 for the Xbox 360 on April 12th. To give everyone a teaser they’ve made a useable demo available for download on Xbox Live. It’s not too bad, but it’s just one small map.

In any case, there is so much hype over this game (not by EA by the way, but by the gaming community in General) that their servers are completely flooded. You can’t even get in to play the demo! “Servers FULL” messages are all too common.

Now, I was able to get into a game eventually. The surprising thing is that the talk on the headsets (Voice Over Internet Protocols) is gamers talking about how much this game rocks. There was a constant stream of

“This is way better than Halo”

“I’m gonna get this as soon as it comes out”

“I wish this was out already”

EA has a big hit on their hands here. Rumors have it that they’ve bought DICE studios who are the brains behind this one.

Once great thing that Microsoft did for the Xbox 360 was make it very easy to gamming companies to port their PC versions over to the Xbox 360. This could be the nail in the coffin for PlayStation. But we’ll have to wait and see.

This is just another reason why EA’s about to have a great quarter. Get in on their stock while it’s still cheap.


If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

 

Why you should buy stock in Electronic Arts ERTS

I got laid off from a job about a year or so ago. Their 401K was junk. When I called Fidelity to move my money out of their watered down mutual funds they begged me to keep it there. I asked if I could put the whole thing into one stock. They said yes. I said great. Put it ALL in:

Electronic Arts (ERTS)

Why did I do this?

Quite simply the new video game systems are going to just rock. When you look at the video game industry Electronic Arts is the best of Breed. I won’t go into it too much but they have some pretty strong franchises (Madden Football for example).

Now, a few things have happened over the last year. Microsoft has a slow start to their Xbox 360 launch and Sony is behind on the Playstation 3. But these new games console’s will be out by Xmas next year and when they hit, Electronic Arts will hit big time too. Electronic Arts is on
SALE RIGHT NOW.

You see, there’s a lot of people out there who would rather interact with something then just get spoon-fed a bunch of crap over the TV (have you seen these stupid programs the networks are pushing?). This generation of games will be almost as realistic as watching TV. Add to it the fact that you can link them online like never before. There’s one more silver bullet that’s not discovered and that’s Product Placement in Video Games. Don’t you think Nike would like the Video game football players to wear their shoes?

Wouldn’t Ford or GM want you to drive THEIR cars in the Racing Games? What about background music when you’re driving around?

Do you think the Army would want to recruit the best first-person-shooter gamers?

Electronic Arts is a steal right now because of the sluggish sales (no consoles available). It’s at about $54-55/share today. I bought at $53. This stock will soar in the next year.
Keep this in the back of your mind.

If you don’t buy it, just remember, I told you so!


If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us
 

Thanks Dave... Funny

My buddy Dave sent this to me... It's pretty funny...

On a transatlantic flight, a plane passes through a severe storm. Theturbulence is awful, and things go from bad to worse when one wing is struckby lightning.One woman, in particular, loses it.

Screaming, she stands up in the front ofthe plane. "I'm too young to die," she wails.Then she yells, "Well, if I'm going to die, I want my last minutes on earthto be memorable! Is there anyone on this plane who can make me feel like a WOMAN?"

For a moment there is silence. Everyone has forgotten their own peril. They all stare, eyes riveted, at the desperate woman in the front of the plane. Then a cowboy from Arizona stands up in the rear of the plane.

He is handsome: well built, with dark brown hair and blue eyes.

He starts to walkslowly up the aisle, unbuttoning his shirt, one button at a time.No one moves.

He removes his shirt.

Muscles ripple across his chest.

She gasps.

He whispers . .

"Iron this. Then get me a beer."


If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us

Monday, April 03, 2006

 

The Poor Man’s Back Up System

The Poor Man’s Back Up System

This is the second part of my ‘How to move Windows to a new Computer’ series.

Now, there are lots of ways to back up your computer. Hell, Windows even has one built right into it. But, I don’t want to just back up a few files. No, I want to back up everything.

If I decided to leave my laptop in a parking lot, I don’t want to buy a new one and install all the software again (Some of my software I don’t think I could even find anymore). Plus moving the files over never really works just right. What I want to do is buy the new laptop and Beam an exact replica of my old Laptop right on to it. Make sense?

The Hardware:

You’ll need one big ass external hard drive. This way you can back up all your computers in your home to it. If you’re like me you certainly have more than 1 computer. Now, External hard-drives can be very expensive compared to internal ones. But there is a sweet way around this.

Yes, someone was smart enough to invent an External Hard-Drive case. These things can be found at Comp USA for about $10. They are a simple plastic case where (as you probably guessed) can clamp an internal hard drive into. It comes with a USB cable and plugs nicely into your computer.

So with an internal Hard Drive you’ll save a bunch of money here. I paid about $80 FOR A 160 GIG drive, then added $10 for the case. So for $90 I got a 160 GB external drive. At the time of this writing they normally go for about twice this.

The Software:

Symantec always amazes me. Their Internet Security software sucks and hijacks your computer. But it seems to ship on just about every new PC. I won’t get started here. If you have this software, uninstall it. Use Microsoft’s anti-spyware instead. It’s free and works better.

Symantec made a program called Norton Ghost. It was pretty good. But there was an awesome out there called PowerQuest Drive Image. Symantec couldn’t compete with them so they bought them and relabled it Norton Ghost 10 (I think). For this reason, go buy Norton Ghost. I don’t buy much software at all, but this is one of the few I actually paid money for. The reason is because you’ll need the recover disk (CD ROM) if your computer crashes.

Here’s how it all works:

1.) Plug your External Drive into your PC
2.) Use Norton Ghost to Back up your PC to the external drive
3.) Disconnect the External Drive and turn it off. Store it in a cabinet or somewhere

Now why do you think step #3 is important?

One word: Security

I’m not a big security guy and I think it’s really really over-rated. But let’s suppose your computer got hacked. You’d be in a big mess if they managed to get to your external drive too. So it’s easy enough to just keep it turned off and tucked away.

I’ve done this for the last year and it works flawlessly.

So that’s it. The Backups go pretty smoothly. Next time I’ll write about how to use this ‘image’ (read back-up) to restore it to a new machine.
Oh yeah, one last tip: If you get a new computer, ghost an image of it right away. This way if you do have a problem down the road you can always bring it back to the day 1 installation. I always keep 2 copies around. One for the day I bought the computer, the other for the last time I backed it up.


If you enjoyed this article Subscribe to my RSS Feed
 Post to Del.icio.us Account Bookmark this page on del.icio.us

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?