Sep 30 2005
A friend considering using Adsense asked if they could direct deposit funds, or if they only sent checks. I told him that I recieve checks, but then logged in and found that they did have a beta version direct deposit available. I immediately signed up as this is much more convenient.
Well, today I learned from ProBlogger.net that Google Electronic Funds Transfer is out of beta.
Sep 28 2005
Today while doing some programming on ZuSHOP, I found a product that upon first glance I thought was creating all these blog spam problems. Well, maybe it is, maybe it’s not. I can’t quite tell.
For $147.00 you can get a product called Blog Submitter Pro 7.0 that will apparently go around posting comments to blogs, then sending pings to spiders that these blogs have been updated. Sounds like spam to me!
Has anyone used this software before? Can you tell me if it is simply another somewhat intelligent blog spammer?
Sep 28 2005
Phil has posted a blog entry about tools he finds useful to blogging. His entry can be found here: Geeky Info - The blogging toolkit
Taking a note from his page and post my favorite blogging tools here.
I think that is about it. Sorry I did not link to all of them. That would have taken forever. Does anyone have a tool for that? 
Found via ProBlogger.net
Sep 27 2005
Have you ever tried surfing the new on a Pocket PC, Palm OS, or some other handheld device? Some sites are designed to work well on a handheld, but most are not.
Well, I’ve been to lazy to attempt the work I thought was necissary to make a PDA friendly site. Now, it looks like a person can do it in 2 mintues with Mike Davidson’s tutorial. I think I’ll give it a shot when I have 2 (or 30) minutes to spare.
Check out Mike’s tutorial at:
Mike Davidson: Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly in Two Minutes
Sep 27 2005
Jim Edwards’ “I Gotta Tell You” Blog: Skype Lets You Make Free Phone Calls Online (article)
Although I have yet to try Skype (I can’t think of anyone I would use it with) it sounds like it is catching on. I do not foresee downloading it in the immediate future either because:
Jim says:
Tip: Get a good headset microphone.
It makes using the service more enjoyable and also eliminates the echo created by your own speakers feeding back into your PC’s microphone.
I agree. As soon as Google Talk came out I went to Wal-Mart and bought a $15 logitech headset for work. The next day I went back and got the $20 model for home. I prefer the $20 model as you can flip the mouthpiece up out of your way. Other than that, the quality of the two seem the same.
Sep 27 2005
While reading this morning, I came across the following verses:
23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.
24 And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled.
25 For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments.
26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.
This reminded me of a book I read recently by the title of Believing Christ. This book explains clearly the role of Christ and our absolute need for his atonement. It makes things so clear and more than anything gives a person hope. While discussing this book a with a woman I know, she said this was the book that brought her back in to the church. Before reading it, she didn’t feel she had the strength to come back.
If you’ve ever felt that you’ve done something so terribly wrong that you cannot be forgiven, you don’t believe Christ when He says He can heal you. You may believe in Him. You may believe that He can forgive others, because certainly other people have not done things as terrible as you feel you have done. Well, this thinking is wrong. He can forgive you. He said He will forgive you. You must believe Him when He says this.
No matter how good or righteous you may feel anther person may be, they need the atonement just as much as you do - daily even. As verse 23 states, it is by grace we are saved, after all we can do. Ultimately, if not for the Savior’s grace, we are lost and fallen and no amount of righteousness can restore us until we accept the atonement of Christ and ask for forgiveness.
Sep 26 2005
I have a Satellite Comparison Guide I maintain at Direct-vs-Dish.com. I’ve allowed users to post comments. A recent comment really reflects not only my feelings concerning the company, but customer support in general.
Review of DISH Network by John Lo from San Jose,CA on 2005-09-20 12:45:32:
I have dish network for the past 3 years. Want to upgrade to HD but dish network treats their existing customers like [snip]
Even if I am willing to sign up a contract for 1 yr or so, they will not offer anything close to what they are offering for new customers. I think the CEO of dish network just cannot think. If you can’t satisfy your existing customers, and offer them upgrades for being loyal, you have a very serious problem. Made several calls to dish and I wasted my time and they just don’t care losing you. I even told them that I will disconnect my dish service, I was told that it’s ok. So they only care about new customers, and just don’t bother about existing customers.
I think the reason companies get away with this is because everyone else is doing it. I recently switched from Dish Network to DIRECTV. There are some features I like about DIRECTV, mainly TiVo functions, but all things considered, I think I prefered Dish Network.
Seriously though, why do you have to play games such as cancelling and signing up under you spouses name to get the “new customer” deal. Wouldn’t it make more business sense to keep your current customers happy rather than sending them away to your competition? How hard would it be to say, yeah, well, give you the new DVR and HD if you agree to another 1 year commitment. This has to make more business sense. They keep the customer for one, plus, the installation costs have to be much cheaper if they don’t need a new dish or additional cables, right? Why, why, why?
Sep 26 2005
I got this photo via email claiming it was “an actual wedding photo from ALABAMA.” I suppose you’d have to be as stupid as these folks look to believe the photo was real. There are so many things obviously “touched up.”
Sep 26 2005
Right now, when you commit to a 6 month membership at Audible.com you can get a free iPod Shuffle. Audible.com is an online audio bookstore. The membership is $21.95 a month and allows you to download two books each month. There is a one-time shipping and handling fee of $12.95.
So, doing the math, that’s $144.65 for an iPod Shuffle and 12 audio books. Not too bad…
Sep 23 2005
I’m currently reading Book 4 of the Harry Potter series. I’m only about half-way through. I just happened upon these pictures of the film though. Exciting!!!
link: Studio Stills Photos
Joseph Smith: The Man and the Seer by Hyrum L. Adrus
America’s Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money by Steve Economides
The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ by Various
Agile Web Development with Rails, 2nd Edition by Dave Thomas
The Mormon Way of Doing Business: How Eight Western Boys Reached the Top of Corporate America by Jeff Benedict
Latter-day Blog
