If you haven’t heard about Google’s Beta “Print” search, you may want to go take a peek at http://print.google.com/. Like many other Google beta products, I can foresee myself being unexplainable drawn to this where untold hours of my life will be frittered away while perusing the virtual “pages” of books available of every description right here, online!

I’m an avid collector of ebooks, adore the accomplishments of the Gutenberg project, and even collect the eBook versions via websites like www.manybooks.net. To me, being able to “check out” a book on the web without going to the library – or even to my own bookshelf is a great thing. Google adds the ability to SEARCH those books. Yes, SEARCH them.

I sit here, while reading online and berate myself for wasting more time playing with this latest literary online toy and I can’t help but wonder how much faster my work for college would have been if all the classics had been in an online SEARCHABLE database way back then.

You know, I spent HOURS marking up my books, cross referencing and making my points in my extensive literature papers via the old flip and find method. Back then, I was enamored with sticky-notes that allowed me to mark passages without destroying my books and without the bookmarks falling out as I flipped from page to page. Heck, I could even WRITE thoughts on how to incorporate this or that quote on sticky notes. It was heaven. This is better. MUCH better.

I dunno. As much as I like gadgets and research, this may have only served to make my already verbose papers longer. It may have encouraged me even more. As it was, I elected to write an undergraduate thesis to fulfill the requirements of the honors program, rather than taking a class like all the “normal” people did. But I just know I learned more than those opting for the traditional, final honors program credit. But in my version, I got to do lots of research. Hands-on research of my own design. I loved it.

Of course, on the other end of that argument it probably doesn’t make much difference in the long-run. Now, with my memory so overfilled with stuff I don’t even need, I have probably pushed out (with inane details like grocery lists and telephone numbers) more research than I can ever replace in this lifetime. *Shrug* Who knows?

But all that aside, if you haven’t checked out Google Print – Go there! If you love research and literature…Go now! And wave to me, since I’ll probably still be there.

I’ve recently purchased a new program for my Treo 650 that seemed, at first, to be quite expensive for the application. But, I wanted to play around with the wiki-type links as a way to organize all my notes and my projects and even my writing. The one I chose is called Note Studio and after just a few days of use, I must admit, it’s AWESOME [more]I was at a loss at first. I installed it on my Treo and on my desktop. And I stared at it. There was some way to link pages, but it seemed too simple for me to have it right. And I’d read reviews about how others had used this TYPE of program on their desktop, and it seemed to be “much ado about nothing” to me.

So I played with it and poked around a bit. I did some cutting and pasting from other files. I then got the bright idea to set up a “control panel” type of index page for all my current projects. All active clients, all “to do” lists, all outstanding issues, everything.

Then, as I worked, it branched off into other things, all linked like a webpage for easy navigation. It started to get cooler.

As I worked, more and more ways to make it work occurred to me. Now, I consider this little thing, less than a week old, as my GOTO location for all notes and information.

Do I want to know what I need to do next on a client’s project? I go to my main page, click on “Wicked Work” then select the client from active clients, then I go to the “Angela’s To Do” list under that client and I have a way to check my current progress and what still needs to be done. I also cross link all the “Angela’s To Do” lists under one “Angela’s Client To Do Lists” header, so I can get to ALL the things I have to do in a shorter click sequence.

What’s more, is that I have a list of “to do” items for each of my clients and for each of my subcontractors under every project page. In a matter of seconds I can tell what needs to be done by ANYONE and can set up tickles to remind me to harass folks in a timely fashion when the project isn’t moving along at the desired pace. It also makes it easy to “cut and paste” the to do lists into an email when checking in.

I can tell what I’ve done and what still needs to be done, and if I need to expand on any ‘to do’ item, I simply link that item to a new page in my Notes Studio.

I must say, the more I use it, the more ways I find to expand my use of it.

Great little program for free-form thinkers and brainstorming types. I love it. I love it. I love it.

And the coolest part is having it with me everywhere! My treo has Notes Studio as a shortcut on my Hi-launcher and in my primary user page.

If you opt for this super-program, don’t expect miracles. It won’t do the work for you. You will have to THINK about setting it up based on your own way of thinking and organizing work. Put in the time. Take your time, and you will design the best little tool you have ever owned to get your work done faster and easier without ever asking yourself… WHERE did I put the notes on this segment of the XYZ project??

The search function is amazingly fast and accurate. So try it. I think you will be happy you did. At $50 its rather expensive for a palm application, but with the palm and PC interfaces, it’s worth every penny. (Also: The new version is coming out soon, and they promise lifetime updates for existing registered users.)

For more info, visit the manufacturer and register to view the user forums at www.dogmelon.com.au — Strange name, great product.

Tomorrow marks the first day that I’ve ever been asked to serve on a jury. Most people I’ve told simply say “Bahhh, you will never be called.” Although I must agree that I’m probably not going to be asked to serve, it bothers me that everyone is so quick to say that I won’t. Surely, I’m not THAT opinionated [more]Ok, ok, ok. Fine. Maybe I am. I can live with that. I’m pretty opinionated, but not so much so that a good argument backed up with proof (or demonstrable lack of proof) wouldn’t sway me from one point to another. I’m a fact-lover. I’m a researcher. I’m also interested in the process.

Now, since it’s circuit court, perhaps it will be a more involved case than I’d like to participate in, given my current situation. But, either way, I’m looking forward to the experience, despite the fact that I was NOT looking forward to it when I was originally notified.

Now, my largest concern is how I’ll entertain myself and stay in touch with my clients if my Treo isn’t welcome to come in with me. I’ve heart terrible rumors that I won’t even be able to write while serving. I can’t imagine being stuck without at LEAST paper and pencil. I can’t even think without some way to write my way through it.

Anyway, I’ll know more tomorrow.

Some towns in upper North Dakota and a few in Kansas are offering free land to individuals willing to come out and build a house in these small, dwindling towns and set up housekeeping. As a simplicity freak and an online entrepreneur, this type of opportunity always intrigues me.

The offers vary, some (like Crosby, ND) offer not only the land but a thick little incentive package including memberships. Some even offer a cash incentive for families with children and tax breaks for up to five years. Some offer lots in brand new subdivisions, while others offer rural lots and even one that offers lots in the historic district.

All have requirements on the house built, but some are quite lax on the details. To find out more about becoming a pioneer out west… visit www.prarieopportunity.com and www.kansasfreeland.com. Or, do a quick Google search.

Who says you can’t get something cool for nothing? How about a whole new life?

If you are a virtual business owner, you may want to note that some of these towns offer great broadband access to attract JUST your type of self-employed individual.

Take a peek. At the very worst, you will have spent some time dreaming and researching. A cool way to spend the afternoon, IMHO.

I just drooled over the latest offering from PalmOne, the LifeDrive. I must admit that the coolest feature, other than the extra large screen, is the 4 GB of onboard memory [more]but after I dabbed the saliva from the corner of my mouth, I realized it didn’t have an onboard camera and although it does offer both Bluetooth and WiFi, it doesn’t offer a phone.

I’m soooo not interested in needing a hotspot to be able to hook up my pocket device. I like it. It’s pretty, and shiny and new, and holds alot of stuff… but I’m still more pleased with the options offered by my Treo 650.

“NEXT!” she bellows.

With an astoundingly simple to use program called Card Export, I can now use the SD expansion card in my Treo as a USB flash drive in any computer, anywhere. [More]By downloading this program from www.softick.com you can enjoy the same functionality. You simply install this program on your palm (or Treo) and then plug the sync cord into any USB on any computer. The computer will immediately see the card as an external drive.

The coolest use, not mentioned by the manufacturer? This is the QUICKEST way to download large files from your PC (or anyone’s PC) to your SD card. I especially find it useful for .avi (video files) and mp3 files which take forever by other methods.

If you have a Treo or a palm and would like to use this program, be sure you have a large enough SD card.

I just ordered a new 2-gig card from Dell — they have a great sale right now 25% off. I got the card for $133. That’s the best price I can find on the web right now, and I thought I’d share the information. Buy.com has 1-gig cards for $80 right now too, if you don’t need quite as much space.

Have fun!

Where is your personal information now, do you know? Lately, there has been quite a bit of press about computer systems have been hacked or security has been breached. The Choice Point situation where the information was sold to an identity theft ring. There was also the Lexus-Nexus case, Ralph Lauren, and a handful of others recently in the news. [more]The scary part is that much of the data that’s taken isn’t used immediately; perhaps the data will be used in a few months, once the victims have lowered their guard and the fraud alerts expire. This is the case, according to representatives of the Privacy Rights Clearing House.

Identity theft is one of the quickest growing crimes in history, according to a Berkeley Police website, which quotes that “The government statistics are staggering. The largest credit bureaus report millions in losses every year and the crime has risen 1400% since 1997. In 1998 the U.S. Office of General Accounting released a report detailing the damage this crime had caused. They reported 750,000,000 in losses in 1997 alone. The Federal Trade Commission reports that one in four will fall victim of the crime.”

And, although the companies are required to tell people when their information has been accessed, that’s something that happens AFTER the fact.

If you want to know how to protect yourself, do a quick search on “protection from identity theft” on the web and dig a little. In the meantime, don’t carry your social security card, use a PO Box or a locked mail box, don’t print your driver’s license number or your social security number on your checks and be sure any credit card receipts or slips are shredded at home, not disposed of in a public area.

So, I may be paranoid, but I think it might just pay off for me. The seemingly endless battles to NOT divulge my social security number may be actually saving me time in the long-run. How secure is your personal information?

Last time we discussed how to approach the expired listing owner. This month we will cover how to prove your value to these potentials —even before they become clients. This five-step approach to courting the expired listing homeowner will help you convert their expired listings into your new listings!

(more…)

I got a letter last week from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. This was in response to the privacy complaint I made after I got the lady’s personal id information, health information and social security number.

The letter asked my permission to give MY personal information to the company against which I had waged the complaint. Yup, and I wonder why privacy is a lost art (more…)

I just got my new keyboard, a virtual keyboard with Bluetooth, for use with my Treo 650. It’s a cool little device, about the size of a “plenty pack” of gum. It projects the image of a full-sized keyboard on any flat surface and away I type! [more]It works by projecting two rays of infrared, one visible and one invisible on the flat surface. The beams are “broken” when my fingers touch keys, and the device gives a “click” to offer audio feedback when keys are “pressed.”

It’s still odd to type without feeling the keys “give” and I’m working to customize the sensitivity of the key presses to my own typing style so that I don’t get duplicated letters or failed letters. It’s not difficult; just a bit more time consuming than I have been able to muster lately.

I’m not as well versed with Bluetooth technology as I need to be yet, so it took awhile to overcome all the linking issues, but it does work well, once I got it linked. It works with most of my Treo applications, but does not work with the Documents to Go Suite yet. It works with Memo, with DateBk5, with Blazer, with VersaMail. With everything except what I want it to do most — let me write in a word processor. But I will NOT be dissuaded. I’ll find the issues and iron them out. Just hide and watch!

I’ll have to research that some more (I’ve already contacted the keyboard company and they are looking into it on their end).

However, even as I work out the kinks, I must say this is one of the “coolest” and most “flashy” of all the Treo accessories and tools.

I got mine online (of course). It’s made by VKB, Inc. and you can view one of these babies by visiting www.vkb-tech.com.

Welcome to the future, folks. Ain’t it grand?

Interesting date, today. There have been so many thoughts lately. But I’ve not managed to make the time to write. Finally the guilt has overcome me. After a couple months of being really “under the weather” — and nearly six feeling less than grand — I’m starting to feel human again. It’s exhilarating!

In the meantime, I’ve become addicted to The West Wing. I’m on season four with my father. It’s something we have done together on the weekends when Wayne has been working.

On the entertainment front, the Third Season of The Gilmore Girls just came out. The first episode is in and is playing as I type. I love Gilmore Girls.

Since Buffy and Angel are over, I’ve been scrambling for proper DVD series entertainment that is properly engaging. Especially when I was feeling less than active.

A cool little jewel, WonderFalls, was recommended by a friend. He was right, it’s a wonder-ful little series that never made it past the first couple of episodes on the air. Great DVD investment!

I’m just rambling, but getting back into the “blog” habit is a little less than easy. Guilt for not writing makes me less likely to write.

Funky little truth, historically speaking: The more I write the easier it is to write, the less I write, the less likely I am to write. Go figure.