Ok, it was difficult for me to determine the category for this post… I mean, is it BUSINESS to get in shape or is it fun?

I think I need a “none of the above” category — but others may consider it “fun” so I’ll stick with that topic header.

Now, if you have a Treo 650 or an iPod Video (what I got my hubby for Christmas) you can now view workout instructions on your tiny screen. (more…)

Last month we talked about whether or not a blog is in your business future. If a real estate business blog is on your horizon this month’s column will show you how to get started!

Blogging should be a joy, not a chore. Selecting the best blogging tools for your level of expertise is the first step. If you must wrestle your technology to begin, your chances of effective follow-through diminish.

Let’s face it… you are busy! You want to blog, you want to inform potential clients about local real estate issues, you want to keep a good “front line” as a resource – the place to turn – but you can’t afford too much time away from revenue-producing activities to do it. (more…)

It’s been a good holiday season. The kids were all in for Christmas, we spent time with my parents, my sister and her husband. We spent time with Wayne’s parents and siblings and their extended families.

My sister had wonderful news, that I can finally share. She and her husband are expecting!!! I’m gonna be an aunt — by blood — after all these years!!! I don’t think there could have been a better Christmas present for my parents. I know there couldn’t have been a better one for me. My sis has sworn “no babies” for years. Mom and Pop had finally given up on her ever changing her mind.

So I’m gonna be an aunt!!! (more…)

The folks at Grack.com have uploaded photos proving that the Cingular Treo 650 can be forced to boot a Linux kernel.

Sooo… if you are a true geek (and even geekier than I am), you can try to beat the rumored release of Linux for the Treo and take the do-it-yourself approach.

Personally, I’d rather wait until the bugs are ironed out a bit more.

But if you want photos…Visit here:

http://www.grack.com/programming/misc/TreoLinux.html

Ok, I have a “big brother” and his name is George W. Bush. Until recently, I was under the mistaken impression that my sister and I were the only siblings in our family.

Obviously, I was wrong:

When are the legislators in this country going to put a stop to this crap? I know my rights are continuing to erode by the nanosecond… and I know just who to blame.

It makes me ashamed to be a registered, active voter. It makes me ashamed of my president. It makes me ashamed of my country.

And, the real kicker? Paying taxes that foot the bill to smother my rights and invade my privacy. It’s bad enough to endure my rights being abused, while my president (yes, in lower case) defends his rights to abolish mine, but it’s worse to be billed for the service.

Ok, I found what I want for Christmas. I just found out today that this would work with a Treo 650. I’d seen it before and thought it would be great for an Ipod or some such… but the stereo expansions for the Ipod have become pretty common.

This is a portable stereo booster for the Treo 650!

Awesome way to listen to my audiobooks and my music WITH someone else, without the tin-sound of a mono speaker.

Yeah, this is it, what I want… wonder if it’s too late to tell Santa…

Altec Lansing iM4 Portable Audio System

The Palm Store is offering free overnight shipping on all orders placed before December 22nd too… so you could buy it and get it there in time for Christmas… soooo tempting, isn’t it?

I may just have to buy it for myself next month… for my birthday! Then again… maybe I’ll order it now and just SAVE it until next month… uh-huh. I’m so good at waiting for things. Yeah, right.

Ok, picture the scene… I’m working with a client, helping her to develop her webpage and we are talking about her blog.

I’ve encouraged her to offer an RSS feed and we are discussing the way to advertise that fact on the web.

I think a casual approach might be best, given her business model. I think that something off-hand like “Get” or “Grab” may be the right term… until I type it in my notes…Then it hits me that:

“Grab My RSS”

is probably not the most professional sounding way to approach this problem. It doesn’t look casual and off-hand, it looks off-color. I also determine that “Get My RSS” isn’t any better.

Soooo… I decide it’s time to quit for the evening, before my tired brain implodes.

Today, I saw a tee-shirt on CafePress that is quite confident about the RSS issue. It invites people to:

“Kiss My RSS”

Maybe I was onto something afterall…

LOL

Ahhh, it’s happening!

On the heels of the announcements that the Treo 700w, windows-based device will soon be released in the US comes more news about Treo operating systems.

A recent acquisition of a Linux software developer by Palmsource indicates another, more “user-developer” friendly version of the Treo may be available soon…In a recent report on Palm Addicts:

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20051206A8051.html

Cindy Aten reports that a Linux-based model of the Treo may soon be available in China!

The article quotes the VP of Palm’s Asia-Pacific (Palu Blinkhorn) when he made the announcement on a China, where the Treo was recently released.

It appears, to me, that regardless of the operating system (Palm, Win, Linux) … that the current and future generations of the Treo are going to be here to stay for awhile.

I know that I can’t imagine going back to a “standard’ phone device. It’s just too nice having an office full of communications tools in my pocket.

My youngest son is struggling in his classwork right now. He’s been living with his father for the last few months and I’ve not been as involved with his classwork, due to the difference in geography.

Now, he’s coming home and he’s cramming for final exams. He LOVES his AP World Civ course. Loves it. He’s also barely passing. It’s not normal for him to do poorly in school, so it’s particularly tough on him right now.

He says… “How can I have such a lousy grade in something I enjoy so much?”

Hmmm….I think that, like business endeavors, he needs to evaluate his approach to the issue, rather than assuming that he shouldn’t enjoy the class merely because his grades are dipping low. (more…)

After all the hubbub over Google’s satellite earth imagery product… MS has launched the beta of their own local, imagery product in certain locations (one of which is right here in Kentucky… in Lexington). I used the bird’s eye view to zoom into my past — and found the apartment where I lived when I met Wayne (we met back in college) just off the University of Kentucky campus on Conn Terrace. (more…)

If you want a Treo 650, but don’t have the cash allotted at this time… you may want to WRITE your way to a new Treo!

BargainPDA is offering a contest with a new Treo as the prize.

So start preparing your 300-word or less response to:”If I had a Palm Treo 650 with me that day I could have used its unique features to _____.”

and submit it to:

http://contest.bargainpda.com/step2.asp?contestID=1

you just might be the grand prize winner! Of course I always like a good contest, and you add a writing aspect to it and I love it!

So, go tell your own story and let me know if you win the prize! Best wishes!

Well, it’s finally started to happen. I’ve been telling my clients for many, MANY months to be more careful with their use of gratuitous links and spamming the search engines (in particular Google) through these methods. I’ve been expecting the blast to happen in the last three or four rounds of algorithm changes for Google, and I’m honestly disappointed that it hasn’t happened sooner. But, that tide is now turning, finally.

(more…)

I had a wonderful weekend — stayed up late with my son playing the new Civ 4, Friday night and settled in (with instructions to every member of the family to NOT wake me up Saturday morning.)

I asked them, each and every one, to let me sleep in late… just this once.

And they did! But then there was Santa Claus… (more…)