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What Kind of Web Cam do you Have?

March 31, 2008 at 11:57 pm · in Giveaway, Media Blog · Comments (5)

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Every week, we give away a web cam, courtesy of ustream. With the advent of our nice new script, things usually go pretty smoothly when we randomly choose our winner.

The requirements to be eligible for our weekly giveaways are simple. Here is what you need to do:

  • You must be present in the chat room at the time of the giveaway. We don’t announce it much ahead of time, so you pretty much need to be a regular visitor!
  • You need to be subscribed to my YouTube channel.
  • You had to have left a recent comment on any post in my blog.

That’s it! That’s the sum total of the requirements to be eligible. When a giveaway starts, all chatters in the channel lose chat ability. This is to help us be able to see only the winner talking, so we don’t miss out on their pertinent links. Then, our new automatic bot picker will choose a random name. That person has to give us their YouTube link, as well as the name they used to comment on the blog. We then verify the information… and have a winner!

Congratulations to this week’s winner Alpha!

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What Happens when your iPhone gets Stolen

March 31, 2008 at 11:46 pm · in Media Blog, Apple · Comments (8)

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What would happen if you lost your iPhone, if you haven’t already? I don’t know what I would do without mine. I know I’d make a lot less calls, that’s for sure. If your iPhone were to get stolen, it can find itself. Eric wrote:

On the 15th of March, I brought my truck over to my father-in-law to have him work on the brakes. I ended having to order a part for my truck, and decided to leave it at his house overnight as I had to work the next day, and felt it was unsafe to drive. When I got home that night around 9:00 pm, I came to the realization that I had left my iPhone in the center console. It wasn’t a big deal at the time, because they only live about 10 miles away, and I could easily swing by in the morning and pick it up. Sometime between 10:00pm and 3:00am the truck was stolen. When I received the phone call telling me this, I went into panic-mode. You see, I didn’t care about the truck being stolen, but the first thing I thought of was my iPhone. My wife told me I was acting like I had lost our child. While I was filling out the police report, I just happened to blurt out “They have my iPhone!”. Apparently the officer wrote that down, and the next day a detective contacted me. He wanted to know if I had indeed left my iPhone in the truck. I told him yes, and he said he would call me back. The next day I received a phone call stating that had found my truck. I asked them if they checked to see if my iPhone was still in the truck, and they said “How do you think we found your truck?”. I was dumb-founded. Somehow, they worked with AT&T (Yes my phone is not unlocked) and they were able to use the iPhone as a beacon I guess. I am so glad that I made the decision to purchase this phone. It was worth being an early adopter. The iPhone is the greatest phone I have ever owned, it saved me the hassle of having to get a new vehicle, and it’s a “crime-fighter”.

In the event you do misplace your iPhone, you might want to let the authorities know that they can trace your phone through AT&T. We know there are programs for our laptops, but did you even know that your iPhone can be found this way, as well? What do you think about this? Do you feel more secure knowing that Apple and AT&T can find out where you phone is at any given time? Or does that kind of creep you out? Do you trust them with this much control and information? I personally feel secure, knowing that if I were to lose my iPhone, it could hopefully easily be found for me.

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Do you Watch “TV” on the Internet?

March 31, 2008 at 11:34 pm · in Media Blog, Internet · Comments (8)

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Are you watching TV right now? Seriously, is there a television on in your room or house at this moment? I honestly don’t know about the future about the television. The future of TV is going to be on the Internet. There’s a reason I publish everything I do to YouTube. About one in three of every video on the Internet is watched on YouTube. There’s a good chance one of mine will show up.

Someone in our chat room asked if the Internet is going to destroy tv. I happen to be using my television as a monitor, since there’s a computer hooked up to it. I also have my Xbox plugged into it. I can watch my cable service hooked up to it. Now, I can watch my content pretty much anywhere I want. To me, it boils down to the content. A “tv” is a machine. Why does it matter where you watch that content? Why does it have to be on a television? I can pull up any show I want to watch right on my computer and watch as I work.

It’s not even “the future”… it’s the present. Television shows and movies can be watched on the Internet. Within ten years, there will be a huge fundamental shift in the way that we view our content. It will take better broadband, yes. However, the Internet isn’t going to destroy “television”. It may lessen the actual mechanism you think of when you think of the word ‘tv’.

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The Open Source Community Project Named Gnomepal

March 29, 2008 at 8:00 am · in Gnomepal · Comments (16)

The last few days have been a whirlwind of backchannel (and front-facing) activity surrounding my call-to-action. 95% of the feedback has been positive AND productive, with some of my favorite responses coming from people who had working code to donate - and a nod from Dries on one of Adam’s follow-up posts.

It was most heartening to see that Hans pretty much echoed our same concerns and directives - which means we’re definitely scooting down the right path.

In about an hour, we’ll officially be starting down the path of live dogfooding the project that is now known as Gnomepal. This means, we will be building out our needs as a community for this particular community project. Like anything, we have to start somewhere - and Gnomepal.org is it. If you’d like to join the discussion list, we have one set up.

We are planning to be active in #drupal-gnomepal on irc.freenode.net, and anybody can download the living code on the Assembla page (which contains a wiki that needs fleshing out, Trac, svn, trouble tickets, Milestones, etc.). If you would like to join the effort in development, documentation, organization, etc. - just let us know (and I could certainly use some help in wrangling folks). I’m working on getting a mailman list set up on my server, but for some reason it hasn’t been cooperating with us lately.

That’s all for now. I need some coffee to wake up. You?

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Do you Have any Tips to Help Someone Stop Smoking?

March 28, 2008 at 2:02 pm · in Media Blog, Health · Comments (83)

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Smoking is an addiction that can be harmful to your health, and that of others around you. Here are some great tips sent in by a community member to help you stop smoking.

  • Establish a ‘quit day’. Establishing a day to quit can help you prepare for this event. Quitting is very difficult, and being ready mentally is important to being successful. Don’t choose a time when you know you’ll have something stressful going on at work or school. Choosing a time like this will severely decrease your chances of quitting.
  • Find medications or products to help you stop. In today’s society, it is much easier to quit than it was even ten years ago. Years of research and development have led to creating patches, gum, inhalers and even candy to help you quit. If you’re committed to quitting, some of these will really help:
    • Nicoderm CQ Patches
    • Nicorette gum
    • Nicotrol inhaler
    • Candy and/or gum

    Remember to keep these out of reach of children, as they contain controlled doses of tobacco.

  • Surviving the first week. The first week of quitting will be the hardest, since you’ll be detoxing your body. Don’t give up! Within 24 hours, you will honestly notice a difference in how much easier it is to breathe. Within the first week, your senses of smell and taste will be strengthened again. Smoking “deadens” both of those senses significantly, and smokers never even realize it until they quit. You will not only have the physical cravings while quitting, you’ll also have mental ones. You’re using to having the cigarette in your hand and mouth. Try other solutions, such as chewing gum or sucking on hard candies. Keep celery or sunflower seeds nearby. Find something you enjoy, and use that as your “crutch”.
  • Dietary changes. Since you are quitting smoking, your body will become weaker at first while you go through withdrawl. Drink plenty of water, since it cleanses your body of all the built-up toxins. Make sure to eat enough, and eat healthy… even if you don’t feel like eating. Don’t overdo it, and don’t gnosh on snacks constantly!
  • Rewards and commitment Since you are quitting, you should reward yourself! Think about all the money you will be saving! Save the money, and use it to reward yourself with something nice… such as clothes, gadgets, or a vacation! Make sure you also make a list of the reasons you are quitting, and read it often!

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Learning how to Ride a Motorcycle

March 28, 2008 at 1:46 pm · in Media Blog · Comments (16)

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Owning and riding a motorcyle comes with a lot of responsibilities. Make sure you find the right bike for your needs above everything. Here are some other tips to get you started, should you decide to ever buy one of your own.

  • Read. Read a lot. Read forums, magazines and books. The more you read about motorcycles, the better prepared you will be to start riding, and to figure out what kind of motorcycle you would want to get. There are a lot of great rider forums out there that are filled with people who will be more than happy to help you figure out what kind of motorcycle would fit you best, and share tips on how to become a better rider. I also strongly recommend picking up “Proficient Motorcycling” by David Hough. This is a great book that really makes a lot of the theory and skills easy to understand.
  • Take a motorcycle safe rider class. I know that a lot of state DMVs offer these classes. Even if your state doesn’t offer this class through the DMV, you should still be able to find one of these classes offered in your area through another agency such as the local or state police. The basic MSR classes are taught using small-engined motorcycles that are owned by the agency giving the class, so you don’t have to worry about either trying to learn on a bike that has way too much power for you or about dropping your own bike the first time you try to ride it. These classes teach you the basics of riding in a safe controlled environment, and are by far the best way to learn how to ride a motorcycle. As an added bonus, in many states you automatically get your motorcycle license when you successfully complete the class.
  • Don’t skimp on riding gear! Quality riding gear can be expensive, but when you get into an accident it can make the difference between getting up with a few bumps and bruises or never getting up again. Leather is the best protection you can get, but there are also plenty of other options out there if you either don’t like leather or can’t afford it. Several companies make jeans for motorcycles that have a protective layer of either textile or kevlar sewn in, and many of those jeans include protective padding in the hips and knees. There are also textile jackets with elbow shoulder, and back armor sewn in, as well as at least one company that makes protective armor designed to be worn under your regular clothes.
  • Find a bike that fits your body and your skill level. Sit on several different bikes to figure out what kind physically fits you. If the bike is either so big you have trouble reaching the hand and foot controls or so small you feel cramped on it, then it’s not the bike for you. You won’t be able to enjoy riding it, and you will have a lot of trouble controlling it. If the bike you really like “almost” fits you, ask the dealer about what kind of adjustments can be made to either the stock parts or with aftermarket parts. If you are just learning how to ride, don’t go for the biggest, fastest bike you can find. Remember, even the “small” 600cc race bikes can easily reach 150 miles per hour and are capable of doing things far beyond the capabilities of the average street rider.
  • Find a shop you can trust. Go online and check rider forums to find out what people think of the shops in your area. Where you buy your first bike can have a big impact on what kind of riding experience you have. If you tell the sales person that you are new to motorcycles and looking to buy your first bike, and they seem to be pushing you towards the fastest/most expensive bike in the shop, turn around and walk out the door. That’s a dealer that cares more about making the sale than about your enjoyment or safety. A good dealership will want to help you find the right bike and gear for you. For example, last year at the dealer I purchased my current bike from the salesperson. He asked me a lot of questions about my riding experience and comfort level with getting back on a bike after having not ridden for several years. He told me that while the bike I was looking at would be good for getting back into riding, he thought I would end up wanting to move up to something larger and faster within a year. He showed me a different version of the same bike with a larger frame and engine, even though it was the previous year’s model and was discounted to about the same price as the smaller current year model. He also told me that while there was a 3rd version of the bike with an even more powerful engine, he didn’t think it would be the right bike for me because it had been several years since I had ridden and he thought I might find the larger engine to be more on the intimidating side than on the fun side. After helping me decide which bike I wanted, he took me to the parts department to help me pick out my riding gear. He had me try on almost a dozen helmets to find the perfect fit, and had me sit on the bike wearing each jacket and set of gloves I was considering so I could get an idea of how they would feel while riding.

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What can You do in Alaska?

March 28, 2008 at 1:32 pm · in Media Blog, Vacation · Comments (11)

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Violist is a chat room regular who has lived all his life in Alaska. Many people think there is nothing to do in this frozen land. Violist has submitted this list of things to do while in Alaska, to help dispel this myth.

  • Camping Alaska is one of the most beautiful places to camp, because of the mass population of wildlife. I love the mountains, and in Alaska there are a lot mountains. On special nights, you can see an Aurora… also known as the Northern lights. The Northern Lights are so beautiful, but it only happens when it is really cold out.
  • Cruise Alaska has a lot of things to see, and a cruise is one of the best things to do if you are visiting us. The cruise lines know when all the wildlife comes out, and they know where the best places to visit are. They also know the history of Alaska, and it is pretty interesting.
  • Kayaking This is a perfect way to explore Alaska’s coves and all the different islands that Alaska has. Popular destinations are Kachemk Bay, Resurrection bay, Glacier Bay National Park, and Kenai Fjords National Park. These are just to name a few.
  • Alaska’s State Parks Alaska has about 100 state parks across Southeastern and Western parts of the state. Denali State Park, to name one, is about 320,000 acres, and has a lot of wildlife. There are also a lot of things to do there, including visiting largest mountain in the U.S… Mount McKinley.
  • River Rafting This is very fun, because you can see Caribou, bears grazing, and a lot of other wildlife. The rivers in Alaska flow pretty fast, so it is kind of dangerous because there are a lot of sharp rocks on the rivers.

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Collectors Collect Collectables

March 28, 2008 at 1:16 pm · in Media Blog · Comments (8)

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Do you hoard things in the hopes that someday they might be worth something? Here are some tips sent in by a reader to help you decide what is worth keeping… and what isn’t.

  • Figure out what will have more value in the future. If you are trying to collect something that can be easily reproduced in the future, chances are the value will be less than what it is now. Most media, such as music, movies and games won’t have high resale value in the future. Also, anything technology-related that will have newer and better versions in the future likely won’t be worth much, either. However, if something cannot easily be reproduced, it should have much higher value. Things in this area would be things like stamps and coins. In fifty years’ time, those current state quarters will be worth much more than just 25 cents.
  • Know where to check prices. For movies, games and things of this nature… check eBay to see what similar items are currently being sold for. For coins or stamps, try checking out a local dealer in your area, or do a Google search for a reputable site online that will give you approximate values.
  • Cars made today will not gain the popularity (and resale value!) of the old muscles cars. This is due to the freaky obsession that “car people” have with older models. When you think of a ‘gear head’, it’s generally someone who is tuning a souped-up engine, with a muscle car chassis. Most of the popluar cars will be the ones that were features in tv shows and movies. Newer cars just don’t have that “driving a monster” feel that classic cars had.
  • Technology makes for bad investments. Even though a Mac might have a better resale value than a PC, it too will dwindle down when the newest OS no longer supports it. Ask yourself this question: when is the last time you saw an old tv, computer or CD player sell for a large amount ten or twenty years after it was replaced by something newer and better? There’s your answer.
  • Keep your items in good condition. Time is the enemy of everything. It wears our bodies down, and it will wear down the items you’re trying to collect. If you take good care of your items and store them properly, they will be worth much more money down the road.

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Norwegian Food

March 28, 2008 at 1:09 pm · in Media Blog · Comments (4)

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Pete is from Norway, and wanted us to know what foods are the best to have from his homeland. Here is a list of some of the yummiest (and hardest to pronounce!) foods from Norway.

  • Raspeball This is a heavy, but good, dinner that we eat once every other month. It is made of potatoes that are mashed and shaped as balls with meat inside it. Raspeball is served with bacon, sugar, syrup if you want that (I recommend the sugar when you are going to eat it because sirup and Raspeball is blah).
  • Fårikål This is a meal that is made of cabbage, lamb, salt and pepper which are all boiled together in a big cooking pot. This is a meal that we eat twice a year, but you can buy it at some restaurants, or at a truck stop whenever you want Fårikål.
  • Kjøttkaker This is one of my favorite meals, and we have it every other Sunday. Kjøttkaker is served with potatoes, gravy and lingonberry jam, and you can have other vegetables if you don’t like potato.
  • Lutefisk is a strange meal. They dry fish, and then soak the fish in lye… then steep it. Serve it with bacon, potato and mustard. We eat this before Christmas, but other times during the year because it so good.
  • Smalahove This is a meal we don’t eat anymore here. I have never eaten this, and I’m never going to eat it… even though it is very popular in Norway. The reason that I’m not going to eat it is that the meat is the sheeps head. When you eat this, you have to start with the ear and the eye and work your way down around the jaw.

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Is your Blog Usable, or a Jumbled Mess of Information?

March 27, 2008 at 9:50 pm · in Media Blog · Comments (14)

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When someone visits your blog, can they find their way around easily? Is everything neatly organized on your site… or is it more of a jumbled mess of information, links and text? Here are some excellent tips to help you get (and keep!) your blog organized.

  • Be predictable. When we want to know what a site is about, the first thing we look for is an ‘About’ page. When we want to contact the owner of a site, the first thing we look for is a ‘Contact’ page. When we want to leave a comment, we usually look to the bottom of a post. When we want to subscribe to a blog, we look for the subscribe button at the top of the sidebar. These things are so common that they’ve become standards… things we expect. When we can’t find the standard, we look for the next most similar thing. By adhering to these predictable standards, you’re actually making it as easy as possible for your blog’s visitors to do exactly what you want them to do. Sometimes being predictable is not a bad thing!
  • Be obvious. Look down at your keyboard, and you’ll probably be able to spot at least one key that you’ve never noticed before. This is either because you have no need for it, or you don’t know what it does. It could be the most useful key ever, but your hesitation when confronted with the unknown has probably stopped you ever pressing it before. What if it deletes everything you just wrote? We don’t like not knowing what the result of our actions will be, and so it goes with your blog. Non-obvious links and buttons will very rarely be clicked. Would a new visitor know what this does, or where it leads?
  • Subtract the unimportant. By hiding important elements (your most popular posts, your feed icon, your comment button) amongst a dozen other unimportant things (widgets and recent comments), you’re making it harder for readers to do what is truly important to you.
  • Limit options. A category list with 10 categories is a lot more usable than a list with 50 categories. Too many options creates overload, which leads to deferral: a visitor will not engage with that element at all. Your list of 5 most popular posts will get clicked more than your list of 20, and so on. Simplified options make it easier for the visitor to decide where they want to place their attention. Too much choice will actually hurt your blog’s usability.
  • Do the little things. A usable blog, aside from the above, is also made up of many little touches that make your visitor’s browsing experience easier, such as:
    • Does your header image link back to your main page?
    • Does your blog have an about page?
    • Does your blog have a contact page?
    • Do your headlines match your content?
    • Is it clear where your links will lead?
    • Do you use frequent paragraphs in your posts?
    • Do you have comment links at the bottom of your post?
    • Do you use sub-headings?
    • Are your posts less than 2/3 screen-length wide?
    • Are you making your best posts easily accessible?
    • Are your links easy to pick out?

    All of these are things you should think about, and improve upon where needed, if you want your blog to be successful.

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Buying Music ala Carte vs Renting with Subscriptions

March 27, 2008 at 9:36 pm · in Media Blog · Comments (7)

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Googler888 writes: “I’ve been a hardcore iTunes song buyer for a couple of years now, and boy has it been great. I know Chris loves using subscription-based song services like Rhapsody and Napster, so I am hoping to start a war between the two. So here are my top 5 reasons why I chose owning a song, rather than renting it.”

  • It certainly does feel awkward to be constantly giving money to “the man” every month, for an all-you-can-eat subscription. The fact is, if you don’t pay him, your tunes expire. You have then wasted around 80 Gigabytes of your hard drive space with songs you can no longer listen to. This will take forever to delete them all. It also means, of course, you will no longer have the tunes for your music player… unless you pay “the man” again, re-activate your tunes… and hope you don’t forget to pay next time.
  • Renting songs is a bad idea for people who travel a lot. Let’s say you have just loaded up your music player with these subscription-based tunes, and are headed out on your vacation. You leave your computer at home, because you shouldn’t need it on a trip to the Carribbean. You land in Barbados, only to find that your tunes have expired. Your seven days in the country will now be unpleasurable, because you forgot to re-subscribe and no longer have access to your music. Now you have to pay $25 to the hotel for their in-suite, on-demand music service, and you won’t have your tunes for when you go to the beach.
  • Piracy and Viruses. Piracy has been plaguing the music industry for years. There are now programs that strip these tunes of their DRM so that they can be kept forever. This means that services like Rhapsody will go out of business, because all their songs have been stripped and are now available from BitTorrent or Limewire. Mind you, services like Rhapsody and Napster are very cheap monthly, meaning that people are going to turn to them for their piracy-making. Also, this means that viruses, trojans, or other malware can be uploaded to BitTorrent or Limewire in the zip file that contains the song.
  • iPods. iPod does not support Windows Media DRM 10, which is what services like Rhapsody and Napster have been using to “protect” their music. That cool new iPod Touch or iPhone you just bought won’t play your subscription tunes, leaving you disappointed and in despair. Also, iPods are very sleek and cool looking. This puts people in the awkward position of choosing to get the “cool” iPod, or settle for an ugly MP3 player that “just happens” to play WMA DRM 10 songs.
  • Availability. Many places around the world sell MP3 players that support these shenanigans. Services like Rhapsody are not available worldwide. So if your favorite song that you want to rent is only on Rhapsody and you happen to be in Canada, Norway or China… you’re out of luck.

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Jordanian Food

March 27, 2008 at 9:25 pm · in Media Blog · Comments (2)

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See? Here we are, with a second food video tonight. Is anyone else hungry yet? This time, we’re discussing favorite dishes from Jordan… and learning how to properly pronounce Flafel.

  • Mansaf (men-sef) or Manasif (men-a-sif) This is a meal made from dried Yogurt rocks (known as “Jameed”), Yellow Rice, and Lamb. The “Jameed” is then kept in water for 10 hours to be blended and cooked. After Jameed is cooked, it is called Labaneh. The Labaneh is poured onto rice, and mixed all together. Some people prefer to use chicken, instead of the lamb.
  • Dawali (Dah-wah-ley) One of my favorites, Dawali is Grape leaves stuffed with rice and ground beef. Some people even put tomatoes in the leaves. It is then rolled tightly, and put in a pot for 2 hours to cook. The smell will make your mouth water!
  • Humus (Hu-mus) This is one of the most known Arabic meals! This is Chic Peas that are cooked, drained and processed. During the processing, you add Tahine (Tah-heen-eh), Lemon, and garlic. If you prefer, many Jordanians put Hot Pepper on top of the meal!
  • Flafel (fell-ah-fel) ONE OF THE WORST PRONOUNCED WORD IN THE U.S. (Sorry for Caps.) This is a patty or ball, which contains spiced Fava Beans. Some Jordanians stuff it with other great things. Falafel has been changed, and now is served as “Stuffed” which is larger and has vegetables in it to go along with the spiced Fava Beans!
  • Mloukhia (mluu-hi-a) Again, one of my most favorite meals! Mloukhia is like spinach leaves. It is cooked in water, and then put on top of white rice, with some type of meat mixed in. What I prefer, is getting Mloukhia liquid and pouring it on rice, like a rice soup!

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The Twitter Effect: Don’t Shoot the Messenger

March 27, 2008 at 9:22 pm · in Gnomedex · Comments (6)

Jason and I have been having fun back and forth with our respective live streams (and he’s a quick study, let me tell ya). My money would be on Jason to win because, well… he’s just a genius when it comes to building businesses and he has a solid team of people around him at all times. I have great people around me, but my on-site team consists of Ponzi and my two dogs - which beat Jason’s dogs in terms of fluffiness.

I do, however, wish to assert that Jason’s accuracy in respect to what happened at Gnomedex last year is a bit misdirected. I didn’t (and couldn’t) have full perspective on this until what happened with Sara Lacy at SXSW.

At Gnomedex 2007, Dave was merely a messenger for a percentage of the crowd, and while he may have delivered this message differently than anybody else would have… I don’t think he did anything inherently wrong. He’s passionate, he cares about you (and a LOT of people), and he attempted to bring the session back to where the audience’s expectations were meeting the message that was being delivered on-stage.

I suggested then, as I suggest now, that Twitter amplified and exacerbated the emotions of the crowd - making it easier for one negative comment to spring into two to spring into four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two, and so on. Indeed, if you followed some of the people who made negative comments about Jason’s presentation at the time it was happening… they came back around to Mahalo, checked out the Firefox extension, etc.

The exact same thing happened at SXSW, where the expectations of the crowd did not match what was happening on stage. The first person (name?) to say something that resonated with a good portion of the crowd wasn’t to blame for what a portion of the crowd was thinking. Positive or negative, Twitter fuels groupthink. People who watched this Zuckerberg “interview” didn’t find half as much controversy surrounding it as was indicated by the firestorm of digital outbursts that preceded its availability to the general Web.

It wasn’t Dave’s fault - it just wasn’t. Expectations were off, and if anybody’s to blame in this thing - it’s me, and nobody else. I didn’t set expectations properly, and for that I apologize. Inevitably, these things happen - from Scoble’s wonderfully suspiring impromptu announcement at the tail end of Derek’s webcast, to the public admission that someone who was to speak to open information wound up asserting that he believed in UFOs.

Handling 350+ special interest groups simultaneously when they have a direct line to the rest of the world is a completely new challenge. Oh, I love every single one of those special interests (including the ones who label me “ha-ha-serious” publicly). I’m guessing that Gnomedex seats will fill up quickly this year - and Twitter will be all the vehicle it needs to sell out.

Speaking of, Ponzi tells me that August 20 - 23 are looking like the best dates for us. I know it’s getting kinda late, but we’re doing our best over here (and we wear several hats to keep our costs low). Stuart Maxwell will be helping us again, too - thank goodness. Stay tuned, and I would like to pre-apologize for any outbursts that may occur this year. :)

In all seriousness, again - to both Dave and Jason, I’m sorry.

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Turkish Food (not Turkey)

March 27, 2008 at 9:16 pm · in Media Blog · Comments (1)

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Two food lists tonight? Seriously. I need to hire a cook who knows how to make dishes from literally every country there is! I think Ponzi is getting tired of me asking her to do it. Let’s take a look at some of the top foods from Turkey, sent in by a community member.

  • Dolma This is probably the most famous dish on the Turkish menu. There are several different types of Dolma. My favorite is made with pepper and leaf. It consists of rice and ground beef, rolled up in vineyard leaves and stuffed into several peppers.
  • Hünkâr Beĝendi This is a delicious side dish which contains a mixture of butter, milk, eggplant and cheese. My mouth is watering up just writing about it.
  • Sish kebab/taouk This dish I’m sure everyone has heard of. It is four or five pieces of meat and vegetables barbecued on a single stick. Several dishes are a spin off from this one including Shwoermah and Sultani.
  • Hirsiz Kebab (thief’s kebab) This dish is more of a local specialty in southwest Turkey. A big ceramic pot is heated by surrounding it with hot dirt and burning coal. The pot is then opened, and used like an oven to cook potatoes and sheep or goat meat. If you ever have a chance to eat this dish, I guarantee that you will love it.
  • Doner Doner is basically pita bread filled with meat or chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. Most of you know Doner as Sish Taouk sandwich, named such by the Lebanese… or Souvlaki, named such by the Greeks.
  • Baklava Baklava has been the most influential Turkish food. Nothing tastes better than the original Turkish Baklava made of aşki (the layers of the Baklava), nuts, and delicious syrup.

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Cyberlink Coupons

March 27, 2008 at 12:52 am · in Coupons · Comments (1)

From: Greg W
Date: March 25, 2008 7:51:36 PM PDT
To: <chris@pirillo.com>
Subject: quick ulead and power director question

Hi, I recently saw your video on video editor after viewers your show a few times and you mentioned possible coupons. I thought it might be worth the email to see if you had a coupon for powerdirector or ulead video studio.

Any type of reply would be great.

Thanks,
Greg

I couldn’t find any Ulead coupons, but I did find a coupon for PowerDirector 6. Hope this helps…

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