Reeembmr this buogs sdtuy from yares ago that was aellgldey done at the emteesed Camrbigde Uiivresnty?

“The paaonmnehl poewr of the hmaun mind, aoccdrnig to a rhcseearch at Cmdbrigae Uenirvtisy, it deson’t mttaer in what oderr the lttrees in a word are, t he only ipomratnt tnhig is that the fsirt and last lteter be in the rgh it plcae. The rest can be a ttoal mess and you can sltil read it woutiht a poreblm. This is bcusaee the haumn mind does not read eevry lteter by itslef, but the word as a whole. Aizanmg huh? yeah and I alwyas tghuoht slpileng was itmoranpt! if you can read this pass it on!”

Eevn thoguh tihs “rescareh” has been debknued by mnay oevr the psat dceade or so, and its ofifcial stauts as deelarcd by the vbneraele Snepos is “undeteeminrd,” it deos riase smoe ineertsting iedas. But I wolud ciutaon anyone who mhgit jmup to use tihs “sicentific” eaplxnation to escuxe tiehr own lcak of siellpng slikls. You don’t eevn hvae to brnig out the doctiinary taht’s as big as a cfofee tlbae to correct yuor own errors, amynore — yuor comtuper wlil do all the wrok for you! Need to konw how somenhitg’s seplled? It corrtlaees wtih the wlohe “Goolge it!” cmomand we’re gevin tsehe dyas shluod we cohose to drae and ask actaul quesitons of oehtr ppoele on the Internet!

I wolud certailny except mroe form our Gnoimes comumnity, in any csae!

Thnak you to Jsoh Niomy for craeting The Cagbridme Sduty Wrod Scramelbr taht mdae tihs idtronuction pssoible. I’d entexd my wsih taht he lievs lnog and prorpess, but he’s pbobarly had it up to hree wtih the Scopk joeks, alerady.

Anyway, back to our regularly ordered language! Here are some of the things on LockerGnome.com and in our live YouTube stream that we chatted about today.

Does Game Booster 3 Work?

Nothing is more frustrating to a gamer than hitting a sudden and severe patch of lag while attempting to gun down your foes, rescue the princess, or do just about anything in a game. Low frame rates, unresponsive controls, and muddy gameplay can ruin a player’s experience. If you take part in ladder matches and online tournaments, having your PC perform poorly is never an option. You need the smoothest gameplay possible from the time you boot up your machine to the moment you log out at the end of the game. Enter Game Booster 3, the fee performance-optimizing program from IObit.

How To Update All Of Your Social Networks At Once

Can’t keep up with your social media life life? If you’re overwhelmed by balancing your Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other social network profiles, you may be exhausted by updating each of your social networks individually – especially if you post the same content to every social network. While high profile social media users and brands tend to find that different content performs better on different social networks – primarily because each has a very different type of audience – you probably don’t have a varying type of “fan” base, and instead just several friends and family members who want to keep in touch with you using their own choice of social media network. In this case, posting the same content to all of your social networks make sense – and as a result, you may want to save time and energy by finding a way to update all of your social networks at once.

How to Make Free Phone Calls To the US and Canada on iOS and Android

If you’ve taken a look at Web-based phone options, you’ve probably heard of Vonage. Vonage has been a leader in the world of VOIP (Voice Over IP) telecommunications for years, and now they’re making giant strides forward in the world of smartphones. Whether you’re on iOS or Android, you’re you will definitely want to take a look at what Vonage has done now.

How to Make Multi-Cam Video Editing Easier with a Plugin

Editing video projects with multiple camera angles can be a real pain. Not only is it difficult to sync the clips up so they match, but you basically have to watch the video many times over to determine the best shots to keep. Perhaps you’re not using multiple video clips, but have an external audio source that you prefer over the one captured by the camera. How do you sync these up perfectly without spending hours in the studio attempting to do so?

5 iPhone Apps to Update Now

If you’re an iPhone owner like me, you likely have quite a few apps on your phone. While the average iPhone user has somewhere around 65 apps according to TechCrunch, these apps are constantly being tweaked and fine-tuned by their developers. While Android users can opt to have many of their apps automatically updated, Apple requires users to manually update each and every one of their apps each time a new version is released by browsing the list of apps with updates in the App Store. Currently, over 40 of my apps are in need of an update, and unless you’re constantly checking for and installing updates, you may need to update several of your iPhone apps as well. Here’s a look at five of the most popular iPhone apps that have recently been updated that you should consider updating now to get the most out of your favorite apps on your iPhone.

Back Link of the Day

Thanks to Heiss & Fettig for writing up a whole bunch of stuff in German about the dangers of Google that I was able to translate into English… from Google. In their post, they examine what they feel are alarming trends at the search giant, and kindly point to Kelly Clay’s article at LockerGnome about what it’s really like to work at Google. If you’d like to be mentioned as a Back Link of the Day, link to one of our posts on LockerGnome.com from your site and — this is the important part — tell us about it!

Feel bad because you missed out on today’s live TLDR? Don’t despair! Join us live tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. Pacific for the next edition of The LockerGnome Daily Report!

Snellipg, Lkie Puncttaliuy, Cnuots

Please don’t take it personally when I say that I wish the weekends could be just a tiny bit longer. I’m always happy to be here, and my energy level usually fluctuates somewhere between that of a truckload of frijoles saltarines and a couple of puppies just before feeding time (not that I’ve got any particular pair of puppies in mind, of course). Still, I don’t think I’m alone in saying that Monday can be a bit of a buzzkill.

Until I have that first bucket cup of coffee — then I’m fine.

But I sure could have used more of a break after the hectic week past. If you were around for the TLDR last Friday, you’ll remember that I was a bit winded after literally running to my home studio from the car. I’d been interviewed by Fox Business News, and wound up arriving to broadcast TLDR about an hour and half late! I know, I know. I felt bad about it, and apologized profusely. But on top of that, there was the infamous Five-Minute YouTube Bug that delayed broadcast by — you guessed it — an additional five minutes for my patiently waiting viewers. If you were among them, remember that you can always go see what you missed when the full episode is processed and archived for posterity (usually a few hours after the live broadcast).

But it’s all good. I appreciate each and every one of you who come along on this journey with me (especially those who have taken the next step in joining our dedicated Gnomies community), and I hope to spend years and years of Mondays with you going forward. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Here are some of the things on LockerGnome.com and in our live YouTube stream that we chatted about today.

http://youtu.be/eW1zEazxksI

How to Remove Google Plus Circles from Google Talk

Google+ has changed the way Google services mix and interact in a big way. With the upcoming change to Google’s privacy policy essentially combining every Google service under one umbrella of terms, it’s clear that Google’s long-term intentions are to intermix various services as much as possible. One side effect of this integration can be found on Google Talk. My Google Talk account is a central hub for my daily business communications, allowing me to keep in touch with other members of a team as we coordinate our daily tasks. Sadly, my Adium buddy list took a dramatic turn when Google combined Google+ circles with your Google Talk buddy list. What was a group of twelve individuals quickly turned in to a mass of hundreds, many of whom I circled because of recommendations other people on Google+ had given. But there an easy way to split your Google+ and Google Talk friends list.

Why Brands Should Use Google+

In the summer of 2011, Google launched its latest attempt at social networking, following the failures of Google Buzz, Google Wave, Orkut, and Jaiku – just to name a few. While Google+ has picked up a few million users, brands have been hesitant to adopt profiles on the social network as popular interest in Google+ is still lacking. To add to this hesitation, some super-savvy brands initially created profiles when Google+ first launched, only to be kicked off the network as Google told these brands – including the likes of Ford and news outlets such as Mashable – that it was intended for people only. Ford, however, was invited to test the development of brand pages, which officially launched in November, 2011. The result? A profile that looks and functions almost identical to profiles that people use, with the exception that brand pages are verified and identified with a square. Scott Monty, Head of social media at Ford Motor Company, explains why Ford decided to integrate Google+ into their social media strategy, and why other brands should consider doing the same.

5 Social Networks That Are Making a Comeback

Justin Timberlake is bringing something back, and while it’s not a Grammy Award-winning song from 2007, it’s something equally reminiscent of that same year. As Ashton Kutcher has been busy investing in new startups like Zaarly, Hipmunk, Airbnb and Square, Justin Timberlake is hoping to leverage his fame (and fortune) to bring back one of the predecessors of social networking; MySpace. Not to be left in the dust, other social networks, including Friendster, Delicious, LiveJournal and Google+ are also staging a comeback. With the exception of Google+, many of these networks have been around for almost a decade. Here’s a look at why these 5 social networks are ready to call it a comeback.

Remote Controls Aren’t Just for Televisions Anymore

When someone mentions remote controls, the image that may pop into your head is that of a single device with a bunch of buttons on it that controls your TV, VCR, DVD Player, Blu-Ray, or even your set top box. But, as more people are plugging full-fledged PCs into their living room televisions, the need for more advanced controls is clear. In many cases, users rely on a wireless keyboard and mouse to interact with a multimedia PC. This allows them the freedom to browse the Web, check email, and control the various media playback functions of the system. But, did you know that there are handheld remote controls that come complete with a keyboard and mouse built right in?

Recommended W3 Total Cache Settings for WordPress

Here’s a screencast to help you properly configure W3 Total Cache, recorded by Craighton Miller (a fellow Gnomie.)

Internet Entrepreneur Ideas, Frustrations, Questions

We promise to do regular Google+ Hangout Broadcasts with registered Gnomies on a regular basis, but we’re aiming to do them at least once a week. They seem to work better if we have a topic to discuss. This week, I suggested the topic of “Internet Entrepreneurship” beforehand – and that seemed to work well enough. I was expecting a lot more interaction than we had, but I think everybody was happier to listen to me talk about “things” for almost two hours straight. The intelligence shared should help convince people who aren’t Gnomies to join the club and future hangouts.

Getting Started with Google Plus

You might be wondering if I hold back on information now that we’ve made this Gnomies subscription service available. No, I still share a lot of information openly – so even if you find a value in the free stuff we provide, joining Gnomies is like rewarding our team for good behavior. My dad is also a Gnomie – and he asked me how to get on Google+ last week, so I opted to record the initial session today and upload it to our YouTube channel. If you’re just getting started with Google’s social network, you owe it to yourself to watch my top level “getting started” tips.

How to Grow Your Business on Google+

So, Google+ doesn’t seem to be going anywhere (but up). While you may not be engaged on the platform, there are millions who are – and think about how many people use Google to search the Internet every day. The two will become increasingly intertwined. It’s time to get your business going on Google+ (and you don’t have to figure it out on your own).

Back Link of the Day

Thanks to Pretense of Knowledge for referencing Ron Schenone’s post about how to make free phone calls on your iPad, iPod, iPhone, or Android phone in its Monday Grab Bag. If you’d like to be mentioned as a Back Link of the Day, link to one of our posts on LockerGnome.com from your site and — this is the important part — tell us about it!

Feel bad because you missed out on today’s live TLDR? Don’t despair! Join us live tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. Pacific for the next edition of The LockerGnome Daily Report!

Who Thinks Three-Day Weekends Should Happen Every Week?

Sorry, everybody. I ran a little late in starting TLDR today because I had a last minute interview. Correction: I ran a lot late. And I apologize from the bottom of my geek heart — but I appreciate those of you who were able to hang out and wait for me. Heck, I even appreciate those of you who weren’t able to hang out and wait for me. On a Friday night, if you’ve got something to do that takes you away from your computer, I salute you! Go do your thing. We’re usually here on time — 3 p.m. every weekday — with rare exception.

In fact, I think the last time I may have been late was when I got caught in that freakish Seattle snow storm a few weeks back (the one that knocked out my power for what seemed like half a week). I had Gnomies and LockerGnome team members frantically calling me to make sure I was okay — thankfully, I was. At least today we had a little bit of warning that the show was going to start late, so no panic was induced.

Before I commence, I have to plug our Gnomies community. We’re having too much fun to leave you out, so you should become a registered Gnomie, or the Angry Facebook Dad might put a cap or several in your laptop next. I have no control over his actions, but he seems like just the sort of loose cannon who might do it for the fun of it. I can’t actually guarantee that becoming a registered Gnomie will prevent him from firing at will, either, so just do what you think is right. Not sure who the Angry Facebook Dad is? And I thought I was late to the party! Angry Facebook Dad is today’s meme, brought to you by the collective spirits of disgruntled parents, ungrateful teenagers, and dysfunctional families everywhere.

Yikes.

Here are some of the things on LockerGnome.com and in our live YouTube stream that we chatted about today.

Should Maglev Trains Replace the Airplane?

No one knows for sure, but maglev (magnetic levitation) trains could be the newest and greatest thing to happen to the transportation sector in generations. In fact, with the cost of plane travel and the time demanded to traverse our crowded freeways, it could, in the future, easily become the option chosen by the mobile generation. This change would be just one in a vast array of travel choices that have shown a regular progression over the last century.

Sony Tablet S Review

Sony has really taken great strides to catch up to the quickly maturing Android tablet scene by introducing two tablets to the market. The Sony Tablet S is the first of these devices to hit the shelves, and you can tell that its development team has spent a lot of time attempting to come out with something entirely unique. That said, Matt Ryan’s experiences with this 9.4″ touch screen tablet has been scattered with surprises and setbacks that left him with mixed feelings about the device.

Making Money with Your Website Webinar

We all want to make money with our website, right? Well, I know at least a few of us do! Instead of talking about LockerGnome’s own Web properties and how we’ve optimized placement based on performance metrics, let’s talk about your website(s), okay? If you want us to possibly pull your website up during the webinar to give live feedback, be sure to join us live and participate in chat. First come, first serve — since we can’t promise to get to everybody. However, if this turns out to be a popular webinar, we’ll do more and be able to cover more ground.

All You Need to Do Is…

I gave a presentation at a local WordPress Meetup and thought it fit to record and distribute to people who might be interested in hearing what I had to say: my perspective as a prolific online content publisher, including the nightmares I’ve been required to navigate to bring my knowledge to the world. You might learn a thing or two from this one…

Back Link of the Day

A big thank you to Justin from MSTechPages for pointing to Ron Schenone’s LockerGnome article about the dangers of Windows optimization! If you’d like to be mentioned as a Back Link of the Day, link to one of our posts on LockerGnome.com from your site and — this is the important part — tell us about it!

Feel bad because you missed out on today’s live TLDR? Don’t despair! Join us live on Monday at 3:00 p.m. Pacific for the next edition of The LockerGnome Daily Report!

Maglev Choo Choos and Angry Facebook Dads

You know that I love you ladies and gents. I really do. But sometimes I think there are a few of you who never got the memo about the right ways and the wrong ways to go about asking questions that will get answers. I know that it’s in vogue to brush off just about any inquiry made via the Internet by telling the originator to just “Google it,” but that’s not exactly what I’m talking about here.

Unsure about how to ask questions that get answered in this channel during our live TLDR broadcasts? There are definitely things you should and shouldn’t do. Without rehashing them all in this space, here’s a little clarification that might help!

In other news, if you want to get to know me, you should become a Gnomie!

I gave our Gnomies Minecraft server a shot yesterday, and it was a hoot. Probably too much of a hoot for me to become as much of a regular as I’d like, though, because of all the other obligations I’ve got going on in my life right now. I can definitely see the appeal and the potential for Minecraft becoming a time-sucking addiction, though.

I mean, it’s no Tetris, but it’s still a bunch of fun. Sorry about griefing a bunch of Gnomies without provocation of any kind. I really don’t know what got into me. Apology accepted? Pretty please? I sometimes forget that I’m a Gnome, not a Troll. Maybe you can become a registered Gnomie and keep me in check if I ever get out of hand again?

Anywho, here are some of the things on LockerGnome.com and in our live YouTube stream that we chatted about today. With that, I’m off to speak at a WordPress meetup. Happy Thursday, y’all!

Four New Social Networks to Watch in 2012

For over a decade, broad and comprehensive social networks like Facebook and its previously popular predecessor, MySpace, have been the predominant social networks. In the last few years, startups have been building niche social networks that offer unique features depending on users’ interests. Here are four new social networks to watch in 2012 — and potentially even join, too.

Cellphones or Smartphones: Are Your Kids Too Young?

Cellphones and smartphones have become so popular that it’s hard to find the old-fashioned payphones on every block like you once could. So what’s a child supposed to do in case of emergency if they don’t have access to a mobile form of communication these days? I might say that a child who’s old enough to be unsupervised is probably old enough to carry a cellphone or smartphone, but that’s an assumption that’s not without its difficulties. Even adults can be distracted by the convenience of having such devices, so really, how can you tell when your child is ready to carry around a cellphone?

Are Seniors (This Senior) Obsolete?

We all get older, and the world keeps turning. Sometimes, it seems like it turns a little faster than we do, and it’s easy to feel like we’re being left behind — especially where technology is concerned. Only a few generations ago, computers, televisions, radios, automobiles, and even electricity were merely dreams swirling around in the brains of inventors. As time goes on, how can we feel like we haven’t become so disconnected from the surrounding world and its changes without feeling obsolete?

Top Five Reasons to Pay for LinkedIn

Looking for a job? You’re not alone. Currently, over 13 million people in the United States are unemployed — and that’s not counting residents who are not able to claim unemployment because they have exhausted or are ineligible for unemployment benefits. Utilizing every resource available to you in your search for employment is critical to helping you find a job. Nowadays, LinkedIn is about as standard as the traditional resume in the job hunting process, and here are our top five reasons to pay for LinkedIn.

Three Simple Rules for Buying a Computer (Or Anything Else)

Can we make a set of some simple rules to help a person decide what new computer to buy, or what new camera to buy? Can those rules be extended to include more complex decisions such as selecting a mate, or even deciding if you want a permanent mate? There are no simple rules that will always yield the optimum result for such real life decisions, but there are simple rules that can eliminate many of the bad choices so that the final decision is more likely to be satisfactory if not optimum. Applied correctly, these simple rules can aid by reducing a frustrating multi-valued decision down to one of manageable size without overly intellectualizing and wasting time with analysis paralysis. Too often we agonize over making the absolutely best decision when the difference between best and second best is small or even not well-defined.

How to Control Your PC or Game Console with a Single Handheld Remote

The Lenovo N5902 Multimedia Remote with Keyboard is a handy little device that Matt Ryan got to spend some quality time with; how did his experience fare? This is a sponsored post, but an honest appraisal of a pretty spiffy gadget that allows you to control your PC and game consoles with a single remote.

Back Link of the Day

Thanks to Gene Marks from the New York Times for mentioning Kelly Clay’s LockerGnome article about finding a successful freelancer in its piece, This Week in Small Business: Jobs! If you’d like to be mentioned as a Back Link of the Day, link to one of our posts on LockerGnome.com from your site and — this is the important part — tell us about it!

Feel bad because you missed out on today’s live TLDR? Don’t despair! Join us live tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. Pacific for the next edition of The LockerGnome Daily Report!

Of Good Intentions and Bad Questions

Everyone’s got a price! Admit it. If Google offered you a certain dollar (or pound or euro or peso or whatever) amount to install a program that would track your Web surfing habits and other personal Internet traffic data to make it available to various advertisers, you’d do it. Some of us would sell out for far less than others, but even the most principled among us would cave if the right numbers were waved in front of us.

Obviously, we give a lot of information to Google and other online services for free every time we browse the Internet as it is. But Google is raising concerns among privacy advocates (such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation) as it plans on updating — or “streamlining” — its privacy policies by March 1st. These new policies, such advocates argue, are in violation of terms Google once reached with the FCC. The changes would take more control of devulged information out of the hands of users and more easily available to advertisers.

And nobody (certainly not Google) is offering you any cold, hard cash for the privilege. How does that make you feel?

Joe Pirillo (the guy who people keep saying looks like me, but in all fairness, I look like him) talked a bit about politics with the Gnomies; if you’d like to find out what becoming a registered Gnomie entails, check out Gnomies.com for more info.

Oh! We hit 250 Gnomies, so I’m off to play Minecraft with the community as promised. Here are some of the things on LockerGnome.com and in our live YouTube stream that we chatted about today.

How to Roll Back a Driver in Windows 7

Drivers are small bits of data used to tell the operating system how to properly communicate with a given piece of hardware. Windows 7 comes with a large library of built-in drivers that are frequently updated by Microsoft, though some companies provide individual drivers for their own devices. This is especially true with newer hardware that hasn’t been integrated into Windows via an update. USB webcams, gaming mice, specialized keyboards, and other devices that do more than just plug in and go may require custom drivers to operate properly on Windows. Rolling back drivers is something that no one enjoys having to do; in most cases, drivers are rolled back because an update either broke or altered the way a device functions that doesn’t improve the user’s experience. Here, we gently go over how to roll back a driver in Windows 7.

How to Determine Your ROI

We all know about rock n’ roll, but do you know how to rock your ROI? Determining your return on investment is important in any facet of life — whether pertaining to business or pleasure. Making sure that you’re not allocating too many of your resources — which could be anything from time to money — without some kind of payoff is worth monitoring. Here, we focus on how social media plays a part in calculating the value of what you get back from any endeavor — big or small.

How to Use Problem Steps Recorder (PSR) in Windows 7

Arguably one of the best features to be introduced in Windows 7 has been the Problem Steps Recorder (PSR). Windows 7 has been out for a while now, though it’s surprising just how few people know that this helpful application actually exists. Essentially, Problem Steps Recorder makes a visual and text-based documentation of everything that happens on your system while you’re recording. This documentation is contained in a .ZIP format (for easy transport) on a single MHTML file. This file can be opened by virtually anyone, and gives them all the information they need to see and/or replicate the problem. This includes any executables you handle, clicks you make, and versions of various applications you interact with during recording. Each step is catalogued with a high-resolution screen shot and accompanying text. If you’re still in the dark, here’s how to use the PSR.

Free Home Design Software

If you’re building a home, renovating your existing home, trying to better visualize your dream home, or you just like to tinker with the possibilities as an amateur architect, there are a few free home design software options out there. Here are three that we came across that might be of interest to you!

How to Engage Key Influencers

Lately we’ve been discussing ways that social media managers can help improve their social strategy, which has become a critical component of any marketing program. A recent study found that 82% of the world’s online population engages in social networking, and two in five use their smartphone to connect to social networks nearly every day. If your marketing campaign does not include a social component, you are missing the opportunity to reach a huge segment of potential customers and clients. One of the best ways to easily reach the most potential customers is by leveraging key influencers who become your business and product evangelists. But how do you begin? Here’s how to engage key influencers.

Back Link of the Day

Thanks to Erik from Minipixel.se, who referenced Matt Ryan’s post at LockerGnome about not only the importance of backing up your hard drive, but what you should and shouldn’t bother backing up. The site’s in Swedish, but to paraphrase Ralph Wiggum: “Oh, boy! Google Translate! That’s where I’m a Viking!” If you’d like to be mentioned as a Back Link of the Day, link to one of our posts on LockerGnome.com from your site and — this is the important part — tell us about it!

Feel bad because you missed out on today’s live TLDR? Don’t despair! Join us live tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. Pacific for the next edition of The LockerGnome Daily Report!

What’s Your Price for Privacy?

There’s no such thing as an iTouch (at least not as a device that’s made by Apple or for family friendly purposes, I’m guessing)! For that matter, there’s no such thing as an iPod Touch. iPod touch (note the lowercase “t”) is the official Apple designation for the product. If people are going to be up in arms about one misnomer, they may as well be up in arms about the other, after all.

We don’t play favorites. Well, unless you look toward our beloved Gnomies community — in which case, yes, we do kind of play favorites when it comes to registered Gnomies. But don’t think for a second that we’ve forsaken our overall LockerGnome community. We’re still doing TLDR every weekday at 3 p.m. (Pacific), and you don’t have to pay a dime to participate. That being said, if you want to see the many, many benefits of becoming a registered Gnomie, come visit Gnomies.com and see!

Mom and Dad Pirillo stopped by to say hello and, of course, we covered a whole bunch of other topics on LockerGnome.com and in our live YouTube stream today.

Four Unique Ways to Use Pinterest

You’ve likely heard about Pinterest by now; it’s the hot new social bookmarking service that allows users to curate interesting content they find anywhere on the Internet by “pinning” the content to their profile on Pinterest. Here are four unique ways you can use Pinterest beyond pinning — and pining — after your dream vacation and/or wedding.

How to Find Key Influencers

Most traditional marketing teams know that promoting a product or generating buzz about a business requires more than just advertising. Marketing teams know they must attract the dedicated attention of key clients, customers, and fans who can spread positive awareness about their products. Some companies call these people evangelists, but many social media marketing teams refer to these consumers as “influencers.” Often, influencers have a strong following on Twitter, thousands of Facebook friends and fans, and also often have a blog with a large readership. As a social media manager, knowing how to find key influencers is critical in helping generate awareness for specific social media campaigns for an established company, or even to build buzz about a new business.

Secret Tips from the LEGO Pros

The world of LEGO has exploded over the past few years as kids (and adults) rediscover the art of assembling bricks to create a multitude of things including miniatures, mechanical devices, mosaic, and sculptures that spark the imagination. These little colored bricks have been around for generations, and it’s no surprise that parents are getting their kids into the fun. I still find myself in awe during my monthly visits to the LEGO store, surrounded by bricks and boxes that can be used to build a seemingly endless amount of things. So what about those of us who have built a few sets and have a bin filled with colored bricks? How can we take our experience to the next level, and really put our imagination to work? Here are some secret tips from the LEGO pros!

How to Change Your Windows Experience Index Rating

The Windows Experience Index (WEI) rating is one of the biggest tools used by PC retailers to show off the capabilities of computers sitting on the showroom floor. These numbers can look very impressive, especially when you begin to compare the score to similar systems in the store. Unfortunately, this tool can also be used by more crafty and less genuine sorts that want to sell a mediocre build to an unsuspecting customer. Did you know that the WEI score can be falsely applied to virtually any computer running Windows 7? All it takes is administrator access, Notepad, and a minute of your time.

Tech for the Clumsy and Accident Prone

Being a clumsy oaf comes with its own need for awareness of the surrounding world and its potential dangers. But there’s no need to enter the fray unarmed — technology is here to save the day! Here are some ways that tech can assist the clumsy and accident prone in navigating the hazards of a very sharp and pointy world.

Back Link of the Day

Thanks again to Lisa M, who was a Gnomie of the Day before we even had a link to her page. Now, she’s Back Link of the Day for writing nice things about her experience with our Gnomies community! If you’d like to be mentioned as a Back Link of the Day, link to one of our posts on LockerGnome.com from your site and — this is the important part — tell us about it!

Feel bad because you missed out on today’s live TLDR? Don’t despair! Join us live tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. Pacific for the next edition of The LockerGnome Daily Report!

Google Me All Night Long or Bing Me (But Don’t You Dare iTouch Me)!

Hey, look here! I’ve got LEGO superheroes. I’ve got LEGO supervillains. When the lights go out, all bets are off as to what I’m going to find when I return to the home office the next day after a full night of rest.

Or, in my case, a few hours of rest. Insomnia is a bummer, as anyone who is so afflicted will attest.

But when the chaos of good guys vs. bad guys is afoot in your own private sanctuary, you can understand the worries that might keep me up at all hours! Still, I wouldn’t trade my LEGO superheroes or supervillains for anything. You just never know when one of the bad apples might decide to turn over a new leaf and fight the good fight. Case in point: What if Han Solo — who clearly shot first when confronted with bounty hunter Greedo in the original version of the Star Wars cantina scene — had stayed a scruffy-looking smuggler outlaw instead of a day-saving (though initially reluctant) champion of the Rebel Alliance? You can darned well bet there’d be a Death Star or two making its way to threaten your favorite planet by now, that’s for sure!

So everyone gets a second chance. Even here among the LEGO flock (and even when they sport muttonchops or punk rock hairdos). You just never know what redemption stories are waiting to be played out — in miniature though they may be.

Happy Monday, registered Gnomies and undocumented Gnomies, alike! (If you’d like to become a registered Gnomie, however, come to Gnomies.com for the details!) Here are some of the things on LockerGnome.com and in our live YouTube stream that we chatted about today.

Save over 70% on This Web Development Online Code Camp!

Want to learn all of the skills you need to make websites, Web applications, and mobile websites? Have you always wanted to make more of your website than a simple page? Do you want to learn the basics of WordPress, Joomla, and other CMS systems? Have you always wanted to learn programming but didn’t know where to start? Learn HTML, CSS, Javascript, and PHP mySQL in this course with an exclusive 70% discount for registered Gnomies!

The Most Embarrassing IMs and Texts Sent to the Wrong Person

With the ease at which we can communicate with multiple people simultaneously through text messages, instant messages, IRC, and so on, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll make an embarrassing gaffe by saying something to one person that you really meant to say to someone else. Even if you’re not a duplicitous, two-faced swinebag who talks trash about people when you think they’ll never find out, your error could be in sending an overly amorous message to your boss when you think you’re sending it to your significant other. Oops! Don’t feel too bad, though, because you’re not alone. Let us be your support group as we tell you about some of the mistakes that we’ve made by sending embarrassing IMs and texts to the wrong people.

The Secret to Getting More Twitter Followers

Sometimes, the secret to accomplishing a goal is nothing more than applying a little common sense to the problem and following through with it. While it may seem like a mystery to anyone who’s ever tried to get what they’d consider to be a respectable number of Twitter followers, it’s not really that hard when you put your mind to it. Here are some tips for getting more Twitter followers — and you’ll find there’s not as much of a “secret” to it as you’d think!

Five Easy Ways to Eliminate Cable Clutter

Any geek knows how easy it is to get all those cables and cords that crisscross the home office, entertainment center, or other tech hub tangled and disorganized. And isn’t it the worst when a disconnected cable falls behind a giant, unmovable hunk of furniture like a desk or a television stand? Here, we talk about five easy ways to eliminate cable clutter — as a bonus, none of ‘em are even remotely expensive!

How Technology Helps People with Disabilities Use Computers

While the majority of computer users control their systems with the tried-and-true keyboard and mouse interface, some people have to come up with more creative ways to accomplish this same task. Here, we talk to some folks who overcome various disabilities to do things with computers that most of us take for granted. (Which maybe makes it necessary to redefine the meaning of the word “disabled.” If you weren’t on the other side of the Internet, would you even know the difference between the so-called disabled and not-disabled? I think this is one great example of how technology can really level the playing field.)

Back Link of the Day

Thanks to Gnomie Brendon Lees for writing about his experience with our Gnomies community in his post: Gnomies: A Whole Lot of Geekery. If you’d like to be mentioned as a Back Link of the Day, link to one of our posts on LockerGnome.com from your site and — this is the important part — tell us about it!

Feel bad because you missed out on today’s live TLDR? Don’t despair! Join us live tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. Pacific for the next edition of The LockerGnome Daily Report!

LEGO Bells, Batman Smells, Catwoman Laid An Egg

Fridays are always fun around LockerGnome World Headquarters. It closes off a week of steady TLDRs (and gives me a chance to recharge my batteries so we can do it all again next week), and Diana and I usually have our date night. This week, my parents are still in town, and my Dad was able to take a little time out to spend with us on TLDR.

He looked at us all in the chat room and declared that he saw “a locker full of Gnomes.” I would extend that to say that we’re a locker full of Gnomies!

Also, we talked to an old friend who’s been involved in the fields of politics and entertainment for decades. We’ve had many fruitful discussions with him in the past, and he always lives up to a promise he once made to us so very long ago:

“I’ll be back.”

And, of course, we covered a whole bunch of other topics on LockerGnome.com and in our live YouTube stream today. We always have an idea of how things will go, and then — thanks to our live (and very participating) audience — it veers wildly into parts unknown. And you know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Have a great weekend, ever’body!

Free Phone Calls On Your iPad, iPod, iPhone, or Android Phone

For decades, consumers have been left to the mercy of the big phone companies and arbitrary pricing schemes that can bankrupt any family with talk-happy teenagers or relatives in faraway lands. Thankfully, the 21st century gives us options that let us largely bypass the big phone companies if we so choose without having to become communication-free hermits. Taking advantage of VoIP (Voice Over IP) technology to make calls through an Internet connection is one of these options. Here are some apps that will help you make free calls while thumbing your nose at the big phone companies at the same time.

How (And Why) to Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly

A recent poll determined that more than 50 percent of people who own cellphones used them to make pricing comparisons while shopping during the 2011 holiday season. Obviously, a store that doesn’t realize the importance of having its product information readily available on mobile devices for such shoppers is going to miss out on a big chance to sell its stuff. But whether you’ve got a website for your business or just personal reasons, having one that’s easy to read from a mobile device will ensure that its content comes across. Still not convinced? Here’s how (and why) you should make your website mobile-friendly.

What to Include in a Backup, and How to Do It

Backing up your hard drive is one of those fundamental principles of smart computer use. You never know when your PC is going to suddenly grind (literally) to a halt. Hard drives, even solid-state ones, are all prone to failure. It’s not a matter of if a drive will fail, but when. For many people, that answer comes within the first five years of use. Even armed with the knowledge that backing up your data is crucial, though, it’s hard to know where to start. Here, we try and help you out by telling you what to include in a backup, and how to do it.

Helpful TeamSpeak 3 Tips

TeamSpeak is one of the most widely used voice chat solutions out there, today. It offers users the ability to talk in real-time to communities across multiple platforms, and even host their own servers for free with options to expand the servers to fit a larger audience with a small fee. If this sounds like something you could put to use, here are some helpful TeamSpeak 3 tips for you!

Back Link of the Day

Thanks to PriceNFees for referencing TLDR in its post on How To Be a YouTube Partner in 2012. If you’d like to be mentioned as a Back Link of the Day, link to one of our posts on LockerGnome.com from your site and — this is the important part — tell us about it!

Feel bad because you missed out on today’s live TLDR? Don’t despair! Join us live on Monday at 3:00 p.m. Pacific for the next edition of The LockerGnome Daily Report!

A Locker Full of Gnomies

So it’s an election year, and it’s always fun to imagine ways we could use technology to move the democratic process along — at least beyond how we used it last time around. By the next one (provided the end-of-the-world nuts aren’t correct about this year’s dire predictions), it will be interesting to see what sort of tech has been developed beyond current-day imagination.

But prospective tech applications aside, I’m glad this danged election (well, the presidential one, anyway) only happens every four years. The real mudslinging commercials haven’t even started yet and I’m already sick of them.

Phooey on that noise. Onward to things that make me happy, instead!

I’m not shy about saying it: Gnomies make my world go ’round. If you want to help keep the Gnomiesphere spinning at a healthy (but not seasick-invoking) velocity, perhaps you will consider visiting Gnomies.com and becoming a registered Gnomie? You don’t have to get any tattoos in any weird places or undergo any humiliating hazing rituals, though we are in the process of devising an official Gnomies secret handshake. Don’t you want take part in Gnomies history and be able to tell future generations that you were there to help invent it?

My Dad dropped in for a bit to talk about… oh, who cares what he talked about? You all love him almost as much as I do, and you’d listen to him read a pizza menu if that’s what he felt like doing (he didn’t — this time).

Here are some of the things on LockerGnome.com and in our live YouTube stream that we chatted about today.

Five Ways to Make Online Invoicing Easier

If you own your own small business or help run one, you know that the the bottom line of attracting new clients, securing contracts, and working hard is actually getting paid. However, when you already spend dozens of hours per week devoted to each client (if not more), the last thing you want to do is spend several more hours tracking and invoicing your time spent on their related projects. To help make online invoicing easier — so that you can get paid faster — we have compiled a list of five tools and apps that can make online invoicing easier.

How Elected Officials Should Be Using Social Media

Nowadays, technological advances have proliferated to the point where today’s political candidates have a vast arsenal of social media and electronic avenues to present their causes. Politicians can rally the troops on his or her platform by simply setting up a website or blog to share current or biased information with their supporters. But sometimes, quick sharing of information over the Internet can work equally against a candidate if they’re caught doing or saying something embarrassing or counter to their platform. Here, we talk about how elected officials should be using social media.

Geeky Valentine’s Day Gifts

As a man in black once said, “love is a burning thing, and it makes a fiery ring.” If that fiery ring has a big, creepy eye staring out of it, it might be Sauron looking for the One Ring so he can propose to his sweetheart on Valentine’s Day. I don’t want to spoil Lord of the Rings for anyone who may not have read the books or seen the movies, but… oh, who am I kidding? We’re all geeks here. We know how things turn out for the poor guy. And speaking of geeks, are you planning on spending Valentine’s Day doing something dorky with your geeky loved one? Here are some geeky Valentine’s Day gift ideas you might want to consider. Sauron could have probably used the info here.

How to Do a Clean Reinstallation of OS X Lion

Windows users sadly know how common having to do a complete system reinstall can really be. Contrary to popular belief, though, there are occasions where you might find yourself needing to do this with a Mac running OS X. (Yes, it’s true. Apple’s not perfect. There! We said it.) Should you ever find a circumstance that requires it, here’s a step-by-step guide that will tell you how to do a clean reinstallation of OS X Lion. You’re welcome!

Back Link of the Day

Thanks to Josh Noyce of jknproductions1212 for writing about Gnomies and linking to us — more than once, even! If you’d like to be mentioned as a Back Link of the Day, link to one of our posts on LockerGnome.com from your site and — this is the important part — tell us about it!

Webinar: YouTube, Live Streaming, and Optimizing Video Distribution

The other night, we had our first official Gnomies webinar, and the topic was YouTube, Live Streaming, and Optimizing Video Distribution. Being able to participate in future events like this is just one of the many, many perks of being a registered Gnomie!

Feel bad because you missed out on today’s live TLDR? Don’t despair! Join us live tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. Pacific for the next edition of The LockerGnome Daily Report!

Would You Vote Through Social Media?

Beef! It’s what’s for dinner. Sure, I know that Wednesday is supposed to be Prince Spaghetti Day, but sometimes you just need to sink your teeth into a once-living bovine to feel alive, you know? Nothing against spaghetti or its great assortment of extended pasta relations, but noodles just don’t provide the same oomph when you’re in the mood for proper carnage.

Some members of our staff here at LockerGnome are vegans, vegetarians, and pescatarians, but who’s going to win this argument? That’s right! The carnivores! The carnivores! RARGH!

But seriously…

I haven’t yet taken a poll of the eating habits of our growing Gnomies community, but we find many ways to get along regardless of differences in our culinary or geographic or tech preferences. Just as I truly believe there’s no “best” operating system, there’s strength to be found in exploring the diversity of opinions we all have in this big, beautiful world of ours. Like to play nice, too? I urge you to come to Gnomies.com and find out what it’s all about. As beloved (and very dedicated) Gnomie ThisDamnScotsman says: “Don’t delay, sign up today!”

Last night, we had our first official Gnomies webinar, and the topic was YouTube, Live Streaming, and Optimizing Video Distribution. Being able to participate in future events like this is just one of the many, many perks of being a registered Gnomie.

Here are some of the things on LockerGnome.com and in our live YouTube stream that we chatted about today.

Five Ways to Build Your Personal Brand Today

Are you in search of a new job, new career, or getting ready to start your own business? If so, prospective employers and clients are likely looking for you online to get to know you and decide if they want to hire you — even if they haven’t called you for an interview or to ask you questions about your business. Establishing a clear, well-defined voice using social media can help your future employer — or anyone you want to work with — understand who you are so that they are sold on your passion for your career and your expertise. Here are five ways to build your personal brand today.

Five Web Apps to Engage Your Mind and Spirit

Whether you use your desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone for taking care of business or the sheer fun of it, there’s probably an app out there to suit your very discerning needs. But do you use your technology in a way that engages your mind and spirit? (Side note: Happy hour apps probably don’t count for “spirit” in this particular context.) Here are five Web apps to engage your mind and spirit.

How to Partition Your Hard Drive in Windows 7

Partitioning your hard drive has a number of useful benefits including: added security, easier file management, and a theoretical boost to seek times with fragmented files. While the third benefit is basically a theory, there are plenty of reasons why you may want to consider partitioning your primary hard drive. Here, we talk about how to partition your hard drive in Windows 7.

How to Blog Every Day

Are you an aspiring professional blogger, hoping to join the ranks of those who get paid to blog every day about specific topics like tech, social media, gadgets, or even other topics like celebrity gossip, health, or fitness? Many of those who make a living — or even supplementary income — from their blog have at some point in their career dedicated a routine, time, and method to blogging every day. Even if you just blog as a hobby, you may find yourself looking for tips on how to blog every day to develop expertise in your niche in hopes to propel yourself in your career, or to leverage your blog to supplement your regular income. So let’s figure out how to blog every day to make this possible!

Best Linux Downloads for Any New Linux Computer

Recently, we’ve talked about great software you’ll want for your Windows system (for business or for pleasure), as well as your OS X system. Not a fan of either operating system? Maybe Linux is your favorite flavor — and we haven’t forgotten about you! Here are what we consider to be the best Linux downloads for any new Linux computer.

Five Great Video Editing Programs for Windows

Video editing has become a popular hobby these days with sites like YouTube making it possible for anyone and everyone to be a video producer of sorts. Every day, more video is uploaded to YouTube than anyone could conceivably watch in a lifetime. More videos are watched on a daily basis than there are people on the planet. So, what tools are really the best for the job? How do you create professional-quality video that doesn’t look like it was recorded directly from a webcam when in reality, it probably was? If you use Windows, you’re in luck! Here are five great video editing programs for Windows.

Back Link of the Day

Thanks to Dakota Wallender for linking to our video on the best online storage service! If you’d like to be mentioned as a Back Link of the Day, link to one of our posts on LockerGnome.com from your site and — this is the important part — tell us about it!

Feel bad because you missed out on today’s live TLDR? Don’t despair! Join us live tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. Pacific for the next edition of The LockerGnome Daily Report!

Facebook Stock? Now I Know How Much My Privacy is (Not) Worth

No matter what operating system I’m using, I’m kind of a software addict. I love it. And I’m not going to promise to quit, because I don’t want to. You can’t make me! No interventions, please. I’m unrepentant. And as you’ll see as you read on, we talked a lot about software today. If you’re not a fellow software addict, though, there’s plenty of other stuff to hold your interest. You’ll see!

And yes, I’ve been busy, I know, but I have officially promised that I will join our Gnomies Minecraft server when we get 250 registered Gnomies (and we’re so darned close)! Curious about how you can be one of those registered Gnomies? Come to Gnomies.com and find out!

Have you ever messed up your computer by using bad optimization tools? Are you on board with Facebook’s Timeline profile format? Do you need to hire a freelancer, but want to make sure they’re good before you agree to take them on? Do you need to find good Windows software? Do you need to find good OS X software? Here are some of the things on LockerGnome.com and in our live YouTube stream that we chatted about on this very fine Tuesday.

Secret Facebook Timeline Tips

The time is up if you’re complaining about Facebook’s imposition of the Timeline as your only option for a profile layout. Unlike MySpace, which probably allowed a little too much leeway in the way your profile page could look, Facebook takes the opposite approach and tells you that this is what your profile will look like — take it or leave it. (Facebook might take this opportunity to learn from the example of MySpace that being on top doesn’t mean that you’re always going to stay on top if the majority of your users foresake you for the next big thing.) Anyway, if you decide that you are going to take it, then here are some secret Facebook Timeline tips you might take to heart.

How Not to Screw Up Your PC with Windows Optimization Tools

As we’ve said countless times on LockerGnome.com, Windows optimization tools are largely for the birds. If they’re not outright scams that bilk cash from the uninitiated, they’re often liable to change a system’s efficiency from bad to worse. But there are at least a couple that might offer exactly what they promise without causing hardship to the end user. Here’s how not to screw up your PC with Windows optimization tools.

How to Find a Successful Freelancer

We’ve discussed on many occasions how aspiring freelancers can make a go of it (or even decide if the freelancing life is right for them). But here, we talk about the freelancer lifestyle from the other side of the fence: from the point of view of those who seek to hire freelancers to get one kind of job or another done. Here, we discuss how to find a successful freelancer who will not only complete your task at hand, but do it well enough so that you’d gladly rehire them in the future without any regrets.

Best OS X Downloads for Any New Mac

Yesterday, we talked about the best Windows downloads for any new computer. I suppose that’s all well and good — unless you buy a Mac. If you fall into this latter camp, then we had you in mind when we went in the other direction and drummed up the best OS X downloads for any new Mac.

28 Great Windows Programs and Apps for Professionals

If you are using Windows, you’ve got a lot of programs from which to choose for pretty much any purpose under the sun (unless you never leave your home office, in which case you might not even remember what the sun looks like). If you can narrow these down to just business and professional purposes, you’ll still have a lot of potential programs to wade through before you find exactly what you need. Here, we go over 28 great Windows programs and apps for professionals so you don’t have to!

Back Link of the Day

Thanks to Justin Johnson, who linked to one of our posts at LockerGnome.com about using decide.com when trying to figure out if the time is now — or later — for making big electronics purchases. If you’d like to be mentioned as a Back Link of the Day, link to one of our posts on LockerGnome.com from your site and — this is the important part — tell us about it!

Feel bad because you missed out on today’s live TLDR? Don’t despair! Join us live tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. Pacific for the next edition of The LockerGnome Daily Report!

I Love Software! I Admit It!

“Monday Monday, so good to me.
Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be…”

And what do we ever hope for from a Monday? Do we attack it with gusto, not willing to give up the spirit of the weekend so easily, or do we hide in the back and hope it doesn’t notice us for fear of unleashing some unlucky negative energy that’s been building up since Friday when we left the workplace?

I shouldn’t even worry about it. For some of you on the other side of the International Date Line, it’s already Tuesday. And you turned out all right, right? It’s always a little comforting knowing that some of you reading this are actually living in the future. Sadly, none of you have ever offered me access to winning lottery numbers so that I can be filthy rich and off to an endless vacation, so you still have to put up with my smiling face every day here at ye olde TLDR.

It’s okay, though. The company of my fellow Gnomies makes it all worthwhile. Want to know what the heck that means? Become a registered Gnomie and find out!

And if you just plain don’t want to, I understand. I’m just going to wag my finger at you in an attempt to induce shame — and also burn calories. I call this new type of workout scoldarobics. It’s perfect for Mondays when you don’t feel like leaving your desk and you’re sufficiently grumpy enough to tell the rest of the Internet off from the comfort of your home office.

Whether you’re living in the world of Monday here with us, or in the world of Tuesday with my future-dwelling, non-lottery-number-sharing friends on the other side of the IDL, here are some of the things on LockerGnome.com and in our live YouTube stream that we talked about today.

How to Save Money on Auto Repair

If you can get by without having to own a car in this day and age, you’re free of a lot of modern causes of stress: soaring insurance premiums, rising gasoline costs, the price of parking, and the money thrown regularly down the drain to just maintain the darned thing. Alas, most of us do have to rely on owning some mode of transportation, so we just kind of have to deal with it. But we don’t have to get ripped off. Here are some tips to help you save money on auto repair.

Five Web Technologies You Should Be Using

There are probably 500 Web technologies we could suggest that you should not be using (cough Flash cough), but let’s try and keep our chins up and be positive. Let’s focus, instead, on five Web technologies that you should be using.

Best Windows Downloads for Any New Computer

Sure, we realize that any list detailing the “best” of anything is sure to spark debate, but we hope this can be civilized and rife with constructive criticism. According to Craighton Miller, here are the best Windows downloads for any new computer. Disagree with any of these or have any in mind that you think should be included? Read the post and leave your commentary (as long as it’s civil and constructive), by gum!

How to Install Windows 8 Developer Preview on a Mac

The Windows 8 Developer Preview is just that: a preview of what the OS is expected to look and feel like once development is complete. While we may be months, or even a year away from seeing the release version of Windows 8, you can take advantage of this program for a quick glimpse of what’s ahead. For users who have switched away (and stayed away) from Windows in favor of OS X, here’s how you can decide if Windows 8 might be worth a switch back.

How to Send a Letter Without Going to the Post Office Using NotesToFriends

If you miss the days of getting (or giving) old-fashioned letters via the snail-mail postal service, you might find NotesToFriends worth a look. It’s a service that, for a pretty minimal price, can be used with the same convenience as email from the sender’s point of view, but it delivers physical, printed letters to people by way of an actual mail-carrying human being — just like olden times!

Cellphone Deal That Won’t Break the Bank

If you’ve been considering the option of trying a pre-paid smartphone plan, here’s one Gnomie’s experience with one currently available through Walmart and T-Mobile (pros and cons included).

Back Link of the Day

Thanks to John Battelle’s Searchblog for linking to one of LockerGnome’s recent articles regarding the RSS Lives vs. RSS is Dead argument that’s been going on for the past decade or so (go read his writeup if you want to weigh the evidence for yourself). If you’d like to be mentioned as a Back Link of the Day, link to one of our posts on LockerGnome.com from your site and — this is the important part — tell us about it!

Feel bad because you missed out on today’s live TLDR? Don’t despair! Join us live tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. Pacific for the next edition of The LockerGnome Daily Report!

Scoldarobics: Finger Wagging Burns Calories (And Makes You Feel Better)

Wouldn’t life be grand if we didn’t have to pay bills, buy food for our tables (or buy tables, for that matter), or shell out cashmoney for shelter to keep our heads from being rained or snowed upon when the weather’s being less than kind?

Heck, it would be nice if we could live in houses made of LEGO and dine on sushi every single night, too. And while we’re dreaming of what life in some crazy fantasy world might be like, let’s bring in robot butlers, hyperspace drives, time travel, computers in our brains, and fierce leprechaun unicorn jockeys racing for peanuts (since money wouldn’t be even the least bit important in such an amazing scenario). Heck, right now I’d settle for not getting a headache in my right eye when people leave irrelevant YouTube comments while I’m really trying to focus on the topic at hand. (It’s date night and my belly’s rumbling for grub, so — while I love the heck out of you guys — never cross me on a Friday, random Internet denizens!)

Sadly, time really is money, and we need to be experts in utilizing our resources in order to prosper. Or, in the parlance of a trio of Boys most Beastie, we need skills to pay the bills. You should always strive to identify your own unique set of skills that you can offer to the world, and seek to improve upon them. Most important: never sell yourself short. In my case, for instance, I found out early on that I was good at helping people with their computer problems. Now that I talk to a pretty good population of people on a daily basis about computer problems (and lots of geeky stuff on the side) for free, it’s impossible for me to solve all of them. There’s just not enough time in the day. If you ask me a question and I don’t answer, it’s not because I’m a big meanie — I’m not even a little meanie! I’m just trying to balance my work time with my play time and pursue happiness in ways that I feel are reasonable, given that time, money, and skills are all finite resources.

I simply can’t do it alone, but thanks to the outpouring of support I’ve gotten from the growing Gnomies community, I don’t have to! If you want to help me help you, check out how you, too, can become a registered Gnomie.

It’s a wonderful Friday here in the Gnomieverse, and here are some of the things on LockerGnome.com and in our live YouTube stream that we talked about today. We also had a few moments on the line with former California governor and time-traveling barbarian robot Arnold Schwarzenegger… or did we? You’ll just have to watch this spiffy video to find out for yourself. (Also, you will find out for yourself how red my face can get when I can’t stop laughing.)

Happy Friday!

Seven Things to Know Before Becoming a Freelancer

Sure, the appeal of trading out your cramped office cubicle for a workspace that’s a five-second commute from your bed, making your own hours, and living the off-the-cuff lifestyle of a freelancer, there are probably a few things that you should know before you give your more structured job the heave-ho. Here are seven things to know before becoming a freelancer.

How to Save Money on Computer Repair

Spending too much money on computer repair is no way to turn the frown from your troubles upside-down. The solution to your problem can very well be right in front of you, and taking a moment to seek out simple answer to that problem can save you hundreds. Here’s how to save money on computer repair.

What’s the Best Day and Time to Blog?

Being able to regularly blog is its own kind of challenge, but if you’re able to overcome this hurdle, you’ll want to maximize the time you spend pecking away at your keyboard and get the most eyeballs peeping at your hard work. So the next big question is when you should get that blog post published and ready for fame. Here, we try and address when it’s the best day and time to blog.

The Pareto Principle: the 80/20 Rule and How It Works

The Pareto Principle is sort of guiding the Pirillo Principle lately — but what the heck is it? To give it another name, you may have heard of the 80/20 Rule. But what the heck is this elusive principle (or rule) and how does it work?

Back Link of the Day

Wowie, zowie! If you were ever in need of an explanation of what this whole SOPA and PIPA uproar was all about, Mike Seth lays it all out in his post “SOPA and PIPA Explained.” He referenced one of our LockerGnome articles in composing it, and we heartily thank him! If you’d like to be mentioned as a Back Link of the Day, link to one of our posts on LockerGnome.com from your site and — this is the important part — tell us about it!

Feel bad because you missed out on today’s live TLDR? Don’t despair! Join us live on Monday at 3:00 PM Pacific for the next edition of The LockerGnome Daily Report!

Is Your Hourly Rate More Than Free?

Do you hear those voices in my head, or is it just me? They kind of sound like a chorus composed of the offspring of Ethel Merman and Billy Laughlin gulping down a balloon full of helium.

Oh. It is just me? That’s unsettling.

Recently, I mentioned that we were working on this project, but now it’s become reality: There’s now a Minecraft server that’s available to all registered Gnomies, and it’s inspiring me to actually get involved in the game. I’m just hoping it doesn’t seize my attention span and keep me from doing TLDR on a regular basis…

But not just yet.

Today, we talked about sharing cabs with strangers, sharing booty with pirates, how to install an FTP server in Windows 7, ignoring trolls, the future of console gaming, the effectiveness of music reviews over Twitter, how to increase frame rates in first-person shooters, and quite a few other things on LockerGnome.com and in our live YouTube stream. Also, since my Dad is still in town, we got to hang out with him for a bit during today’s TLDR. What does he think of “kids these days?” And is he more of a gamer than I am? Find out by watching the video!

Sharing a Cab: Is the Fare Unfair?

Finding a fair solution to a problem is sometimes more difficult than selecting one that is not obviously unfair. Finding the best solution is often not a well-defined concept. Having to apply this reasoning to real life can be a bummer, but in this case it’s just a fun puzzle that you’re trying to solve. What would you do in the situation presented here?

How to Increase Frame Rates in First-person Shooters

Having a low frame rate, lag, and choppy performance when you’re playing a first-person shooter can make the difference between being a face-stomping ace or hopeless cannon fodder, but upgrading your hardware to something more powerful isn’t always an option. So what do you do? Here are some tips to help you get a little more bang for your hardware buck.

How Music Critics Adapt to the Social Media Landscape

SPIN magazine recently started tweeting album reviews within the confines of Twitter’s 140 character limit, and for the modern music consumer, this might very well be a good thing. While music critics might hate the concept, here’s why we prefer more informative tweets to 1,400 word rants that tell us nothing about what to expect from a band’s new album.

Good Deeds and the Evolution of Piracy

Knowing a group of people with similar interests can be more than just a social thing; there are often other, unforeseen benefits. LockerGnome columnist Sherman DeForest has a friend whose recent act of generosity stimulated an interesting train of associations about how technology often seems to require a “pirate” phase to make the transition from an esoteric tool for a few cognoscenti to a ho-hum part of our environment. Hargh!

How to Install an FTP Server in Windows 7

One of the oldest and most popular methods for sharing files over the Web from one central location is the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). FTP clients allow people from across the globe (or even next door) to share a mutual storage space and/or remotely update a website with ease. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to have a server operating system to run an FTP server from your own system. Windows 7, currently the most widely installed operating system for consumers, is actually capable of hosting an FTP server.

Back Link of the Day

Thanks to Allen Tran for being a true “brick fan” and linking to me going on and on about what it’s like to be an adult fan of LEGO! If you’d like to be mentioned as a Back Link of the Day, link to one of our posts on LockerGnome.com from your site and — this is the important part — tell us about it!

Feel bad because you missed out on today’s live TLDR? Don’t despair! Join us live tomorrow at 3:00 PM Pacific for the next edition of The LockerGnome Daily Report!

In the Mumbleverse, I Bathe in Minifigs

Mixing uppers and downers, as any self-respecting drug addict will tell you, is totally awesome… or really dangerous. One of those things; I can’t quite recall, as I’ve been drinking alternating sips of espresso and red wine.

Wheee! Ahhh. Wheee! Ahhh.

I’m not sure if this kind of thing is as potentially hazardous as mixing vodka and Red Bull, but it’s probably not something I should turn into a habit. Not to worry, though, as I can quit any time I want to. I could probably consult a licensed physician on the matter, but I’m probably more likely to poll the Gnomies, because they’re the smartest bunch of people I know.

If you want to join this elite squad of braniacs, give us a visit over at Gnomies.com and see what you can do to contribute to the effort!

Aside from the usual bunch of stuff we cover, my Dad (Mr. Pirillo, if you’re nasty) stepped in for a bit to talk about politics and the Internet. Here’s what we went over on LockerGnome.com and in our live YouTube stream today.

Nine iPhone Apps to Get You out of Bad Situations

Whether you’re James Bond or Mr. Magoo, chances are you’ve gotten into your fair (or, as the case may be, unfair) share of sticky situations. If you’ve got an iPhone, though, there are plenty of apps out there to help you get unstuck. While there aren’t any that will bail you out of jail or parachute you to safety when your dirigible explodes over the North Atlantic, here are nine iPhone apps to help you get out of bad situations.

Why RSS Readers Suck and the Best Alternatives

RSS (Really Simple Syndication — or RDF Site Summary — depending on who you ask) feeds can be pretty handy in some situations. But RSS readers can quickly succumb to the organizational hitches they were designed to overcome when those feeds become cluttered with hundreds — or even thousands — of unread items. But what can you do to make sure that you’re sorting through current Internet content from sources that you want to keep on top of as efficiently as possible? Here are some alternatives to RSS readers that might help you effectively separate the good from the bad and the ugly.

How to Block Tweets About the Super Bowl XLVI

If you care about sports as little as I do, you probably couldn’t give a fig about this Super Bowl thing coming up that everyone seems to be talking about all over the country (and I say country, because I’m pretty sure that people in non-American places care about the Super Bowl even less). If you’ve found yourself wishing that there was a way that you could filter out all the recent noise about sports, here’s how to block tweets about the Super Bowl (or anything else that you’re sick of reading about).

How to Save Money on Your Next Pair of Glasses

Hey, four eyes! Yeah! I’m talking to you! Hey! Look over here! What’s the problem? Can’t see ’cause some blockhead Super Bowl fanatic just knocked your glasses off your face when you told him you were blocking his incessant tweets about his favorite team? Well, then I guess you’re in the market for a new pair. Don’t pay top dollar when you can save money on your next pair of glasses, you silly geek!

Paid or Pre-paid Cellphone Service: Which is Right for You?

You don’t have to be an upper-and-downer-mixing drug addict or clandestine CIA agent to take advantage of pre-paid cellphone plans. If you’re used to the restrictions of what “normal” people have to go through with paid cellphone plans, you might want to at least weigh your options. Here, we try and answer the question: paid or pre-paid cellphone service: which is right for you?

Back Link of the Day

Thanks to Sam Morris, who referenced Ron Schenone’s post at LockerGnome.com about his favorite Windows 7 tips. If you’d like to be mentioned as a Back Link of the Day, link to one of our posts on LockerGnome.com from your site and — this is the important part — tell us about it!

Feel bad because you missed out on today’s live TLDR? Don’t despair! Join us live tomorrow at 3:00 PM Pacific for the next edition of The LockerGnome Daily Report!

What Do You Get when You Mix Espresso and Red Wine?