Word Fashionista

Are You Seeing Things?

2010-02-14T06:42:00.002-10:00

Pareidolia is defined as a psychological phenomenon in which something remote, vague and possibly unrelated is perceived as significant to a human viewer. Typically, the term is associated with an incorrect

and sometimes even an imaginatively accurate interpretation associated with a human facial features.

According to a post published 1/31/2010, oddee.com, humans are conditioned from birth to recognize

and associate human facial features from a distance and under low lighting type conditions to identify other human faces in some type of mental cross reference. This can lead many of us to identify and associate even inanimate objects and geophysical type land marks with that of a human face. This post suggests there is an entire blog devoted to the exploration of pareidolia. That blog is titled, 'Faces in Places'.

Sidewalk Art

2010-02-14T05:41:00.001-10:00

We would love to credit the artist for the photos we show in this post, if we knew who they were. Since we do not, we simply offer those creative few individuals our thanks for creating something we can blog about.

Stop Waiting for Visitors!

2010-02-14T01:43:00.000-10:00

Stop waiting for visitors to find your web site. Don't waste big money on PPC campaigns.

There is an easier and cost-effective way to acquire visitor traffic referrals to your URL.

Simply purchase unique visitor referrals by way of a publisher network traffic resource.

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Who Needs Words?

2010-02-14T01:25:00.002-10:00

Who Needs Words?

We have Pings and Feeds!

Trio of Terms Worth Defining: imminent, eminent, and immanent

2009-12-26T05:25:00.000-10:00

The definition of imminent is ‘close in time’ and can be assumed to reflect ‘likely to happen soon’. Imagine an episode of Law & Order and Jack McCoy is questioning a witness about a claim of self defense to a shooting. The witness is the shooter and claims he believed his life was about to end at the hands of the other individual. After closing arguments, the jury is instructed on the definition of ‘imminent threat of death’ and ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’. You get the idea, the word ‘imminent’ is assumed to an event planned to happen within a narrow time line.
Two other words are commonly and incorrectly used in place of imminent. Both words are commonly considered adjectives within the English language. These are eminent and immanent.
Immanent is cognitive, an act of the mind. It is something existing in the realm of the material universe and/or human consciousness. Finally, a quick definition of the third and final word in this discussion, again this one is an adjective. Define the word eminent? Eminent means Outstanding, as in character or performance; distinguished, prominent, renowned, and respected in a given field.

Notations: Google Scholar: Expands Access to Court Rulings, Legal Opinions

2009-11-17T22:05:00.003-10:00

Notations: Google Scholar: Expands Access to Court Rulings, Legal Opinions

Today Google Scholar launched an empowerment initiative aimed at offering American citizens full text legal opinions and rulings from US federal and state, district, appellate and Supreme courts. In the company announcement the service suggests additional features such as "Cited by", "How Cited", and "Related articles list" that collectively enhance the user experience and aid in comprehension of the subject matter.

Vocabulary Addition: Recessionista

2009-11-03T09:02:00.000-10:00

Economics majors here is a new label to widen your vocabulary a bit.... Recessionista. According to our sources, a recessionista is someone who prides themselves on being frugal in these days of economic downturn and challenges to the average family's ability to etch out an income sufficient to cover normal living expenses.

Plagiarism Tool and University of London Literature Professor Solve Mystery

2009-10-20T21:24:00.000-10:00

Plagiarism detection tool solves mystery of Authorship of late 1500s unattributed play as one co-written by William Shakespeare. Sir Brian Vickers, a University of London Literature Professor gets credit for solving this mystery of the play, The Reign of Edward III.

Sir Brian Vickers, Literature Professor University of London, suggests this particular play was likely a collaborative effort between Shakespeare and Thomas Kyd. Both Shakespeare and Kyd were popular playwrights of their time, however, at the time of Shakespeare's popularity, Kyd had only three credits to his name.

How did this intuitive professor arrive at his conclusions? Vickers arrived at his conclusions with the aid of software applications designed to discourage cheating among students by catching those who attempt to plagiarize the work of others without providing proper credit by citing.

In addition to now attributing The Reign of Edward III to Shakespeare and Kyd, Professor Vickers also has attributed four other plays to Kyd.

A program called Pl@giarism, aided Vickers in detecting 200 strings of three or more words in Edward III that matched phrases in Shakespeare's other works. Usually, works by two different authors will only have about 20 matching strings. "With this method we see the way authors use and reuse the same phrases and metaphors, like chunks of fabric in a weave," says Vickers.

According to Vickers, Kyd should get top billing on the play - about 60% of Edward III was likely written by him; the remaining 40% by Shakespeare. Using the plagiarism software, Vickers has also attributed four more anonymous plays to Kyd.

Source: Time

Visual Arts

2009-10-18T10:34:00.002-10:00

We found a few items of visual interest at smashingapps.org and decided they are worth sharing at Word Fashionista. No idea who created the items of interest or we would gladly provide those individuals due credit. However, we applaud those creative minds and wish you much luck in your visual arts career.

Video Analytics & Tracker

2009-10-17T11:05:00.000-10:00

Vidmeter is the site to visit for locating video tracking scripts.

New Law of the Search Engine Universe a Pun?

2009-10-17T11:00:00.001-10:00

LSI, Latent Semantics Indexing, a new addition to the repertoire of optimizing terms within the marketing glossary for those of you inhabiting the virtual world. A bit back, Google announced they were integrating LSI into their proprietary algorithm in an effort to improve results returned for search queries. Realistically, semantics is simply the interrelation of certain words one with another and the interchangablity of like terms in dialogue.
With this now a known fact, I have been considering what semantic searching has in common with the soon to be deprecated keywords normally representative of the engine's index. Perhaps the GoogleBot will shed further light on the subject in the near future. But, until such time let us each lighten up and simply write honest and factual articles which other humans will find interesting enough to read. Now, for those of you who waited here is my interpretation of the integrated.
Indexing is the compiling and ranking of billions of web pages each representing only the content found on the particular page. Indexing relates to the manner which a web page is created, submitted and marketed to the variety of engines for users to easily locate those who fit the request by a user. The web savvy will recognize this as search engine marketing which is the process of submitting your particular site information and being added to the index.

What happens when we attempt a bit of reverse engineering with the word semantics?
Once we remove the search engine marketing from the word, we are immediately left with antics only. See below.

Do you think this is what Google had in mind when it integrated LSI into the algorithm?
I doubt it. However, given the millions of people attempting to decipher the equation in hopes of better rankings it is possible while arguably highly unlikely. Perhaps those folks at Google happen to have a sense of humor the world has overlooked entirely? You decide.

Here is how a search engine works. Billions of web pages are visited and added to the index of a search engine. Each page is ranked in accordance with many features and methods. Finally, each particular page is assigned a number and ranked among those with like asssignments. A user inputs a search query and the engine retrieves pages relevant to the query. Next, the user has the option to try another query or visit the links returned for the first exploration.

Given the absolute spelling of the word...s-e-m-a-n-t-i-c-s. You can make your own judgment regarding what is now an acronym. Perhaps it is intended for those who attempt to circumvent the system of ranking and SERPS in particular as a pun? Curious minded?

Search engine marketing is also referred to as SEM.
Removing the SEM from the word semantics leaves you with what term? ANTICS!
Search engine marketing Antics!
Do you suppose Google has considered this as a universal search engine law?

Source: We have lost the original source link of this post.

Most Annoying Word: Marist College Poll Results

2009-10-08T00:37:00.000-10:00

CREDIT: MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press Writer Michael Hill, Associated Press Writer – Wed Oct 7, 3:25 pm ET
So, you know, it is what it is, but Americans are totally annoyed by the use of "whatever" in conversations.

The popular slacker term of indifference was found "most annoying in conversation" by 47 percent of Americans surveyed in a Marist College poll released Wednesday.

"Whatever" easily beat out "you know," which especially grated a quarter of respondents. The other annoying contenders were "anyway" (at 7 percent), "it is what it is" (11 percent) and "at the end of the day" (2 percent).

"Whatever" — pronounced "WHAT'-ehv-errr" when exasperated — is an expression with staying power. Immortalized in song by Nirvana ("oh well, whatever, nevermind") in 1991, popularized by the Valley girls in "Clueless" later that decade, it is still commonly used, often by younger people.

It can be an all-purpose argument-ender or a signal of apathy. And it can really be annoying. The poll found "whatever" to be consistently disliked by Americans regardless of their race, gender, age, income or where they live.

"It doesn't surprise me because 'whatever' is in a special class, probably," said Michael Adams, author of "Slang: The People's Poetry" and an associate professor of English at Indiana University. "It's a word that — and it depends how a speaker uses it — can suggest dismissiveness."

Adams, who was not involved in the poll and is not annoyed by "whatever," points out that its use is not always negative. It also can be used in place of other, neutral phrases that have fallen out of favor, like "six of one, half dozen of the other," he said.

But the negative connotation might explain why "whatever" was judged more annoying than the ever-popular "you know," which was recently given a public workout by Caroline Kennedy during her flirtation with the New York U.S. Senate seat vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton. "You know," Adams notes, is a way for speakers to seek assent from others.

Pollsters at the Poughkeepsie, N.Y. college surveyed 938 U.S. adults by telephone Aug. 3-Aug 6. The margin of error is 3.2 percentage points. The five choices included were chosen by people at the poll discussing what popular words and phrases might be considered especially annoying, said spokeswoman Mary Azzoli.

Books: Texting in Historical Context

2009-10-05T12:16:00.001-10:00

Professor Examines Texting in Historical Context
Hate Twitter? Plato Felt the Same Way About the Written Word.

Salon recently interviewed Dennis Baron, a professor at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Baron's new book "A Better Pencil" aims to put Facebook, Google, and texting into a historical context in order to show that social media isn't ruining the world. The idea is that as communication evolves, there's always fear that the new tools are irreversibly harming the way we interact. Below are complaints that surfaced in response to past communication strategies:

Written Word: Plato warned that writing things down causes people to lose the ability to remember. He also complained that the written words are not interactive - rather, they are shadows of the things that they represent.
Telegraph: Thoreau objected arguing that even though it speeds things up, people won't have anything to say to each other.
Telephone: Samuel Morse (inventor of the telegraph) complaining that nothing important will ever be done by telephone because there's no way to preserve/record the conversation.
Typewriters: Critics complained that the keys made writing too mechanical and distanced writers from their work. They argued that writers who continued to use a pen and pencil would be more directly connected with the page.
Source: Salon

Press Release: How to Write for Publications

2009-09-26T15:12:00.001-10:00

In an earlier blog post I imparted a bit of marketing knowledge in respect to the benefits of properly prepared Press Releases. This post is going to explain in further detail, "How To Write a Professional Press Release".

First, make certain you have something worthy of announcement to the business world. Some suggestions are announcing a new web site, celebrating a milestone in your product, service or other industry niche, even promotions or partnering among web sites are usually considered worthy of publication by a news source.

Second, no matter what your subject or topic of the Press Release, be certain to keep it to a single page length. Readers in the business world have their own tasks and jobs to attend to and do not have the attention span required for reading more than a couple of paragraphs at most.

Third, this one needs a bit of illustration. Location and date. See below:

You want to include contact information regarding the company. Remember, the Press Release is a business announcement and should highlight something worthy of a news mention.

Finally, make certain your spelling and grammar is correct and your title is in keeping with the proper formatting and contains news worthy content.

Suffice to say, if you have nothing worthy of an articulate announcement to the business community...wait until such time as you do have something worth a reader's time. This is especially true if you want the news item to be picked up by various News Wire Feeds on the Internet.

Press Release - Dress Your Business For Success

2009-09-24T16:39:00.000-10:00

"You never get a second chance to make a first impression"

This phrase is especially true in respect to an online business. Make sure you dress for success on the Internet by putting your best self forward to the world. In respect to marketing a Press Releases or similar business announcment is the first and best solution to any marketing campaign.

The Word Fashionista offers keyword rich content creation services for marketing campaigns. Here is one example of a professionally prepared Press Release:

PR Log: BigPrints on Canvas

Second example of a professionally prepared Press Release:
Online PR News: Canvas Prints

Notice the formatting and style. These are the normal template of a Press Release accepted for publication. Check back for a future blog post regarding "How to Write a Press Release" by wordfashionista.com

Articles by Word Fashionista

2009-08-01T19:30:00.002-10:00

Interested in reading a few articles written by "Word Fashionista" blogger?
Read Word Fashionista articles here

Tanorexic - defined

2009-08-01T19:14:00.003-10:00

Tanorexic is a new add-on term to the English language. What exactly does it mean? Well, take a look. Clearly, it is an addiction to over exposure to tanning rays.

Michael Jackson: "Sleep When I'm Dead"

2009-07-28T22:03:00.001-10:00

Ever heard the phrase..."I will sleep when I'm dead"?
Micheal Jackson proved truth is stranger than familiarity.

Defective Friends

2009-07-27T23:35:00.004-10:00

A friend in need is a friend indeed?
What exactly does that mean?
To me, it means without question...
do not be the one in need of a friend or rescue.

If so, and especially if the situation requires
support and understanding... or anything inconvenient.

Then, again, bad situations are excellent
times to discover just exactly who our
friends really are. Making it an opportune
time to simply erase defective friends
and replace them with pets.

Snap: illustrated version

2009-07-27T22:55:00.010-10:00

Snap! A word often used as a replacement for something more serious and sinister like cursing, swear words and phrases. Fcuk! Sh!t etc.

For every action...
there is a reaction!

Poor guy is so cute I almost feel bad for expiring him. But, all that I can think of is where is the cheese? I wonder if he had the opportunity to swallow it before this human invention snapped his spine in half?

Time again to redefine: Word Fashionista

2009-07-27T22:35:00.004-10:00

Every few months I revisit this blog space and realize it truly sucks. The primary reason it sucks is due to a general lack of direction of published posts. Upon creation, the idea was to highlight words and phrases that evolve into a variety of meanings in respect to the English language. Therefore, once again, it is time to revert back to fundamentals.
To begin anew, we search Yahoo images and sample an image from sportsfanmagazine(dot)com. Thanks guys for the unknown loan...

Now, there's a term to consider...

UNKNOWN LOAN - likely an act similar to theft, however, so commonly practiced in the virtual world even a mere mention of credit is akin to properly cited in as much as bloggers are concerned.

Whole Body Donations- Alternative to Rising Funeral Costs

2008-03-16T11:20:00.000-10:00

An American company located in Allentown, Pennsylvania has developed a rather odd gifting program which sports such claims as, “Most Compassionate gift one can make to the future of mankind.

For many of us, opting to become an organ donor alone is a bit eerie and something we would rather not consider. Now, one company has gone the distance and bet the gamut by suggesting humans should elect to donate our entire body to medical science. It is called ‘whole body donation’ and is being introduced as an alternative to a funeral, burial, and creation. It seems that organ donation actually appeals to many adults around the globe and is a benevolent approach to what will be our parting from consciousness of the flesh. Clearly, an organ donor can pull the proverbial plug on his or her own suffering by opting in as a major organ donor. Like it or not, medicine is an industry fraught with greed and this human evil typically wins out over other human emotions when compared in real life scenarios. Yes, giving an organ, or two, or even three does have a certain appeal to most of us. Yet, how many legal adults have entertained the idea of a whole body donation? What about a whole body donation as an alternative to a traditional funeral, burial, or cremation?

A company in Allentown Pennsylvania USA has developed a rather unique alternative to traditional funerals, burials, or cremations. LifeQuestAnatomical.com on the World Wide Web appear to have simplified the process of opting into such a giving occasion NS Claim this is the most selfless act an adult can entertain.

Unlike organ donations, where only a specific anatomical part is removed and transplanted into the body of another human; a whole body donation is exactly what you might expect. . .

Throughout history, man has studied human anatomy to learn, teach and advance the medical sciences. To donate your body to science is to provide the vehicle these students and researchers need in order to heal the sick and prolong our future. Donating a body to science is a profound gesture with far reaching impact.

Even more bizarre than the actual contemplation of subjecting my own lifeless body to medical research is the website claims which go on to state:

Donating a body to science is quite easy . . . We will walk you through the body donation process, provide registration materials to donate a body to science and guide you through the early stages. Then Life Quest Anatomical assumes responsibility for the latter stages and work on behalf of the family to administer the paperwork.

(Source: http://www.lifequestanatomical.com/bodydonation.htm)

Microsoft - Fined for Violations in European Union

2008-03-14T19:20:00.000-10:00

Microsoft becomes the first company in 50 years to violate European Commission anti-trust ruling. For this honor the company must now pay a record 899m euros. This is roughly $1.4 billion American dollars. The fine stems from a 2004 ruling made which found Microsoft guilty of abusing its dominant market position. The Commission said today that this fine comes on top of earlier fines of 280m euros imposed in July 2006 and 497m euros in March 2004.

Failure to comply with the EU commissions order to release key Windows code to rival software developers is at the heart of the controversy. Although on two occasions Microsoft did attempt to have the ruling suspended (September 2004) and an appeal in the European Court of First Instance (April 2006). In September 2007, Microsoft received word they had lost the appeal.

The European Courts are not the first to gavel a blow to the software giant Microsoft, in fact, the United State of America first found the company guilty of similar anti-trade practices in which they caused smaller companies to actually falter based on similar actions. The software giant also is being pursued by Brussels and last month the European Commission announced two new anti-competition investigations against Microsoft are underway for similar issues and complaints.

Copyright 2008 iFactFinders.com

Android Receives Warm Welcome in Barcelona

2008-03-14T19:10:00.000-10:00

Those in Barcelona were the first to get a good look at the future of wireless communications when Google debuted the first mobile phones fitted with Google’s Android software premiered in Barcelona at an industry trade show, the Mobile World Congress.

The Internet Search Giant initially launched Android last year, but it was the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona where Google demonstrated the first showing of the new mobile phone prototype complete with Android software. Among other chip makers showing off new prototype handsets were Qualcomm, NEC, Texas Instruments and Marvell.

Obviously, Google hopes to establish Android as the world standard operating system for mobile phones in an attempt to maintain its dominance as the world’s largest and most visited search engine. Of course, Google’s mission is to improve functionality for web browsing which will inevitably mean more people will use their wireless handsets for Internet surfing and various other applications. Currently, the main competitor for Android is the Apple iPhone which runs on Apple software, and uses Apple applications.

The wireless market is unquestionably the next tier for Google having already established dominance in Internet Search despite growing competition. The end result for Google, if Android is successful, an increasing ability to sell more advertising to the world.

Android is based on open-source code, and was developed by some 30 handset manufacturers, chip makers, and software groups. Because it is based on open-source code, programmers are able to build compatible applications for free, making the entire research and development phase for upgrades less cumbersome for Google as a result.
Copyright 2008 iFactFinders.com

Rub It

2008-03-14T01:24:00.001-10:00

Does Vicks Help Toenail or Finger Nail Fungus?

When people reminisce about being sick with colds and flu during their childhood, their thoughts is immediately filled with memories of stuffy noses, grandmother’s delicious chicken soup, staying home from school, mom’s undivided attention, and a peculiar squat blue jar that contained a sticky blue substance which smelled of menthol.

The contents of the blue jar, known worldwide as Vicks Vapor Rub has grown into an American icon of sorts for relieving symptoms of colds and congestion. Many also claim, including the Vicks Company, that this menthol ointment relieves symptoms of such things as muscle pains and fever. With all these healing claims adding to the power of Vicks, there is a newly discovered addition. Vicks may help relieve and cure onychomycosis.

Onychomycosis is among the most troublesome of nail conditions. It is commonly referred to as toenail fungus. It is one of the most difficult conditions to treat since the fungi are sheltered underneath the nail plate making them difficult to reach. Toenail fungus can be characterized by a thickening and discoloration of the nails. This also causes the separation of the nail plate from the nail bed and eventually, if left untreated, the loss of the toe nail.

Normal treatments of toenail fungus are available in oral form or as topical treatments. Homemade remedies, such as soaking the nails in acidophilus beer; bleach solution, or vinegar has been proven effective for some cases. Other remedies which have been claimed to be effective include topical application of olive leaf extract, tea tree oil and even Vicks VapoRub. That’s right; Vicks may help heal toenail fungus.

It is still not determined how Vicks can treat the toenail fungus since its active ingredients namely; camphor, eucalyptus oil and menthol are recognized as effective only for the suppression of cough and/or decongestion. However, a lot of people believe that the essential oils which serve as the inactive ingredients along with the active ingredients of Vicks have a synergistic effect lending to the treatment of toenail fungus.

The best practice according to the claims of treating toenail fungus with Vicks is to apply the product generously on the infected nail once daily and leaving the infected nail covered for a few hours. The most practical and convenient way of doing this is to rub Vicks into the infected nail then covering the infected nail with a sock or glove before going to sleep at night. Treatment with Vicks would cause the infected nail to become dark at first. This accordingly is the sign that the treatment is working since the darkening of the nail indicates that the fungus is being killed. Once the dark nail has grown out, the toenail will eventually become clear. Treatment using Vicks usually last for several weeks. The way Vicks VapoRub is considered to work is based in the oily compound which is capable of absorbing into the nail bed and eventually reaching the fungi to kill them off.

Definition of Gruff along with an example

2008-03-05T04:41:00.005-10:00

One of Honolulu's finest from HPD came pounding on my door and reminded me of a word you will not often hear in casual conversation.

When I posed the question, "You are having a bad day perhaps?" this nut barked out the following....

"Exactly how am I acting?"
officer R. (I will keep the rest hush hush since he works in my neighborhood.

Being that I am a girl, I knew he couldn't hit me and it was a bit too late to remain silent so I replied, "Honestly, you are acting a bit gruff for the situation don't you think".

Officer R. "Well, how would you suggest I act?"

I told him with a finger pointing to his partner, "Perhaps you should act more like your partner. He got his point across without being hateful."

To all of you patrol officers....you often get what you give. Perhaps polishing your people skills is your best line of defense, as well as, a great offense especially in the Aloha state. Not everyone is out to butt heads with a gun carrying hot head. We want to get away from you as much as you can imagine beating us down with the sidearm you so prominently display.

------------------------
Dictionary:
gruff
(grŭf) pronunciation

adj., gruff·er, gruff·est.

1. Brusque or stern in manner or appearance: a gruff reply.
2. Hoarse; harsh: a gruff voice.

[Dutch grof, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German.]
gruffly gruff'ly adv.
gruffness gruff'ness n.

SYNONYMS gruff, brusque, blunt, bluff, curt, crusty. These adjectives mean abrupt and sometimes discourteous in manner or speech. Gruff implies roughness or surliness but does not necessarily suggest rudeness: a gruff reply. Brusque emphasizes rude abruptness: a brusque manner. Blunt stresses utter frankness and usually a disconcerting directness: a blunt refusal. Bluff refers to unpolished, unceremonious manner but usually implies hearty good nature: a bluff and courageous sailor. Curt denotes usually rude briefness and abruptness of speech: a curt letter of rejection. Crusty suggests a rough and forbidding manner that sometimes conceals benevolence of spirit: a crusty old gentlemen who feeds stray cats.

(Source: answers.com/topic/gruff)

Introducing our YouTube Ethnography Project

2008-02-28T19:51:00.001-10:00

The ethnography project based on an idea by Mike Wesch of Manhattan, Kansas.

Obama, Obama, Obama

2008-02-27T18:24:00.000-10:00

World Awaits Obama Election in 2008

February 23, 2008
Barcelona, Spain
BarcelonaReporter.com

Like other countries the world over, Europe awaits the United States Presidential Election results for 2008. It seems the entire world is anxiously awaiting the announcement of Barack Obama, a Hawaii born native, to become the newly elected President of the United States of America. Despite a hard fought battle from former first lady, Hillary Clinton, state after state within the United States seems intent to elect the nation’s first African American president ever.

Perhaps as Obama’s slogan suggests, in America it is “Time for Change”. And despite proclamations from Douglas Herbert, business editor with the TV news station France 24, suggesting this 2008 election is, “Too important to be left to the American electorate to decide.” In fact, the presidential election is in fact an American Democratic tradition, yet this is one the entire world is poised to embrace.

Now being dubbed the “second coming of J.F.K.” the world appears to be backing this American candidate.

Ethnography Video

2008-02-27T18:17:00.000-10:00

Information R/evolution

2008-02-27T18:16:00.001-10:00

Lessons from 2008 Campaign: What is an Anaphora?

2008-02-23T10:18:00.003-10:00

Anaphora
a common technique of repeating a word or phrase for emphasis in a speech.

visit this post for further information regarding this gained knowledge
2008 Presidential Election Yields Lessons

Lessons Learned from 2008 Presidential Elections

2008-02-23T09:40:00.003-10:00

The Word Fashionista is going to jump on the political band wagon and begin adding to our own trendy vocabulary with a few lessons we are learning from the battle of wills between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

On February 18, 2008, Bob Cesca a blogger from the Huffington Post website discusses the recent attack by the Clinton supporters who hoped to inflict harm on Obama accusing him of plagiarizing certain portions of his speeches.

To come to speed on this flaming visit

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/the-wolfson-plagiarism-at_b_87209.html

How To Report Spammers by DevShed.com

2007-12-09T19:30:00.000-10:00

How to report spam to Google & Co.

A real nuisance for search engines are webmasters that try to deceive them to obtain high rankings (called "spamming").

The following techniques are usually considered spam by the search engines:

cloaking (the server returns different pages for search engine crawler programs and for web browsers)

cybersquatting (using domains that resemble common domain names to get traffic from users that make a typo, for example, www.gogle.com)

doorway pages or multiple domains with identical or nearly identical content

invisible text (text in the same color as the background color)

offensive content (e.g. hate views or offering illegal services)

overuse of keywords

overuse of tiny text

stuffing pages with irrelevant words

submitting to inappropriate categories (on directories)

using deceptive or misleading links

using irrelevant keywords in the title and in the Meta tags
What can you do if you discover that other web sites get better search engine rankings than you because they use one of the techniques above?

The search engines encourage reporting spam to them. We've compiled a handy list of addresses where you can report search engine spam:

AllTheWeb/FAST: Report spam by emailing spam@fastsearch.com. Use the subject "Spam Report": http://www.alltheweb.com/info/spampolicy.html

AltaVista: Select "Spam Reporting" as the subject on the following form: http://help.altavista.com/contact/search

Google: Report spam sites by emailing spamreport@google.com or use the form at http://www.google.com/contact/spamreport.html

HotBot Use the form at: http://help.lycos.com/LycosHelp/help/hotbot/htdocs/
hotbot_form.htm

Inktomi: Before reporting spam by emailing reportspam@inktomi.com, read Inktomi's spam policy at http://www.inktomi.com/services/web_search/spampolicyfaq.htm

LookSmart: Report spam by emailing expsvc@looksmart.net.

Lycos: Use the form at: http://help.lycos.com/LycosHelp/help/watchdog/htdocs/
lycos_watchdog_form.htm

Open Directory Project: If you think that an editor is spamming or promoting its own domains, send an email message to staff@dmoz.org.

Overture: Report inappropriate sites by emailing termsofuse@Overture.com (read http://www.overture.com/d/USm/about/company/terms.jhtml for more information).

Web.de (a popular German Internet directory) Use the form at: http://hilfe.web.de/eintragsservice2/Kontakt/

Sharebuilder acquired by ING Direct

2007-11-19T22:01:00.001-10:00

ShareBuilder has some important news. As of November 15, ShareBuilder has been acquired by ING DIRECT, the nation's largest direct bank with over 5.5 million customers and $75 billion in U.S. assets (part of Netherlands-based ING, NYSE: ING). ING DIRECT shares our vision of helping Americans increase their savings.
While there have been no changes to the Sharebuilder account holders regular web site logins, and accounts remain the same. The company suggests the biggest changes lie in the future expansion of account services for users. Will this be beneficial for users of Sharebuilder? Only Time and Truth will tell.

Improving Financial Quality of Life

2007-11-06T03:12:00.000-10:00

Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com

Loan Consolidation - College Education

2007-11-05T21:21:00.000-10:00

If you are like me, and had to apply for student aid and student loans to pay for your college tuition, you likely soon realize the enormous cost of a college education. I hope that unlike me, you do decide to work in your chosen field and that college degree will begin to pay off for you. If not and you find yourself unable to keep up with the many different loans you have taken over the past four years, it is highly suggested that you seek assistance from a loan consolidation company or other type of repayment solution that somehow consolidates all of your outstanding educational loans into one easy to manage monthly payment.

In the event, you find you are unable to keep up with these loans, it is also highly advisable that you contact the loan consolidation company and request some type of payment deference or other solution that places your payments on hold for a six month or more term. This will allow you to adequately arrange your finances in the future so that when you are again required to begin repayment of your student loans, you will be able to keep up to date and manage them without hardship.

In the meantime, here’s to you and congratulations on completing your college degree. I do hope you find a way to put your education to good use or at least enough to pay your debts incurred because of attending college.

Travel in the Virtual World

2007-10-31T03:25:00.000-10:00

Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com

Human Interaction in the Virtual World

2007-10-29T05:22:00.000-10:00

Aside from social media sites, the best source of human interaction exists on forum websites. Forums often are directly relevant to specific niches and have various categorically indexed portions where web developers meet, discuss, buy, sell, exchange, and barter services and information. While practically all forum sites require registration, they also offer free membership so it will cost you nothing but a small investment of time to acquire your free membership. Trust me when I tell you it is worth the time spent disclosing a few bits of simple non-critical personal information.

Learn how to interact with real humans in this digital medium and you will gain knowledge based on their real experiences in the digital domain.

Read the remainder of my article here.

Google: An Evil Genius

2007-10-24T13:06:00.001-10:00

Given the page rank of Word Fashionista.com has dropped to a whopping zero! I feel it only fair to ponder if their "Do no evil" corporate philosophy remains affect in respect to business as usual? It seems more like "Do as I say, Not as I do" for those being penalized for buying and selling links.

Realistically, I am guessing that implementing such penalties is simply a way to reduce the competition and improve Adwords revenues that is if Google allows those dropped sites to "buy" back into Google Search. In which case, the world of SEO/SEM will certainly have something to bitch about as a direct result. Until such time as these type numbers are known, we can only guess that the search God has outsmarted the world once again by strategically becoming the best example of globalization success in the modern business world. Successfully avoiding issues such as those Microsoft and Bill Gates experienced at the hands of the United States Federal Government for similar practices designed to limit competition.

Clearly, Google is brilliant although perhaps a bit hypocritical with the philosophy of "Do no evil" when in fact as Nathan Weinberg points out Google is the devil's stock!http://google.blognewschannel.com/archives/2007/10/24/google-stock-for-the-devil/

Pyrokleptic

2007-10-18T05:16:00.000-10:00

Pyrokleptic -
That person who always manages to steal your lighter. Whether this klepto knows of his or her actions or not, the lighter's owner can not be certain. This term applies to both males and females alike and is non gender biased. Everyone knows a pyrokleptic but usually not until he or she recognizes a loss.
( borrowed -
Dictionary of Collaborative slang dictionary collecting new words, webspeak, and colloquialisms from users.www.pseudodictionary.com )

Assholic -defined

2007-10-18T05:06:00.000-10:00

Assholic -
a person who continually acts in the manner of an asshole. Further, the behavior is defined and recognized as anything that routinely is rude, abrasive, or anything undesirable to the situation, whether intentional or unintentional. An assholic tends to upset anyone in the immediate vicinity with such actions.

Suite is not very sweet

2007-10-04T18:04:00.000-10:00

After purchasing new software online, I discovered that the term "Suite" is not always what it seems. In fact, this "suite" of software and the company behind them is not "sweet" at all. After being sent an invalid registration code, I am attempting to negotiate with them via Paypal for an actual working registration code. Wish me luck.

Caution is urged when dealing with any electronic products seller as you may not always get what you pay for.

Rank Rats and Link Finks

2007-09-26T02:26:00.001-10:00

Given Google's new stance on paid link buying and selling. These two terms seem appropriate to the situation. While these two descriptives are intended as humor and puns. I suggest from an SEO standpoint, those guilty of either action beware that such acts -when conducted for the purpose of Page Rank circumvention are grounds for removal from Google's search index. What it means is you will likely lose between 40%-75% or search engine traffic if you happen to get busted.

Rank Rat- anyone who reports a webmaster or web site for offering and selling links with the intention of circumventing Google's Page Rank System.

Link Fink- one who reports another for either buying a link or attempting to purchase a link in respect to Google's TOS.

CyberChondriacs

2007-09-25T05:48:00.000-10:00

Cyberchondriacs are individuals who research their symptoms on the Internet in an attempt to self diagnose an illness.

"M answers"- defined

2007-09-19T20:47:00.000-10:00

I just heard a new word while watching Spike TV. This word is Manswers. Apparently, Manswers are answers to questions men want to know. Cute. Spike TV is developing a television show with the title Manswers, only time will tell if it is entertaining.

Process of Web Design

2007-09-18T11:11:00.000-10:00

clipped from blog.alsacreations.com

Mapping the Internet: Explore Online Communities

2007-09-18T09:18:00.000-10:00

clipped from strangemaps.files.wordpress.com

Rap

2007-09-14T05:12:00.000-10:00

Rap defines a certain type of music which is more rhythmic and rhyme than traditional songs with lyrics. it projects more vocal than musical notes.

Rap also can be defined as a way of speaking to a member of the opposite sex. Rap being used as a sort of shortened conversational style.

Taxed

2007-09-14T05:08:00.000-10:00

Taxed tends to provoke thoughts of the American Government and the internal revenue service. In the drug trade, however, taxed is a term which describes with certainty the act of robbing or ripping off another self labeled dealer. The act of taxing, then, is when one person or group deprives another of their drug stash and cash.

Transparency

2007-09-14T05:02:00.000-10:00

Transparency is derived from the word, transparent. Transparent used to be defined as something which can easily be seen thru. Now, it is considered a term for a non-obstructing object in which others can easily grasp the meaning in a clear and concise manner with no other hidden or underlying meaning to grasp.

Lexpionage

2007-09-14T05:00:00.001-10:00

lexpionage, adj.
Lexical espionage; the sleuthing of new words and phrases, especially as practiced by The Word Spy.com

IFacts- Hawaiian Islands

2007-09-07T20:15:00.000-10:00

Wanna learn some quick and interesting facts about the Hawaiian Islands and the state of Hawaii? The Hawaiian Islands Chain is actually much larger than the state of Hawaii and represents a larger portion of the land than the actual state.

The Hawaiian islands are a chain of dormant or extinct volcanoes. The state of Hawaii is comprised of a chain of these islands that extends about 1600 miles or 2600 Km. The state extends from the Big Island of Hawaii in its most southeast portion to Kure Island in the northwest most portion. It has a total area of nearly 11,000 square miles (10,931sq. mi.). This includes 38 sq. mi. of inland water. Yet the state of Hawaii and the Hawaiian Islands Chain are not exact duplicates and the suggested naming system is a bit misleading.

In fact, the state of Hawaii is comprised of eight primary islands, the Big Island of Hawaii, Maui, Kahoolawe, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau. The actual Hawaii Island Chains consists of all eight primary islands, plus a string of islets, coral reefs, and something called shoals. These are typically uninhabited landforms. There are, however, a few exceptions such as the inhabited Midway Islands which is under control and administered by the United States Federal Government. Midway Islands is considered a separate dependency and not a portion of the state of Hawaii. Another inhabited exception to the landforms and chain description is the Atoll of Palmyra. Palmyra is an island southwest of the primary islands. It was once part of the Territory of Hawaii but for some reason excluded from statehood in 1959. Yet, Palmyra remains a territory of the United States.
Despite the norm in the United States to call residents of a state by their typical identifications based on ancestry, Hawaii and its citizens do not consider themselves Hawaiian. Instead, this representation is reserved for citizens who are Hawaiian by ancestry. Another important point to note, the state of Hawaii and its inhabitants are almost exclusively comprised of minority groups. No single group is considered a majority and because of this it is a great melting pot. Hawaii is the single state in the United States which celebrates its unique combining of numerous cultures and traditions. This maybe the only society in the United States which has historically been and remains tolerant of races, culture, language, and other various but distinct characteristics based on the residents or citizens who collectively create the populus.
Hawaii has since its statehood been a tourist mecca for the world. The lovely beaches and warm tropical weather attracts visitors and guests from around the globe. In addition, the United States Military has always maintained a strong presence especially on the island of Oahu. Hawaii is likely best known for its icon, Don Ho, who passed away in 2007. With the passing of this legendary performer goes much of the Hawaiian culture in the entertainment industry.

Webmaster Tools Make Life Easier

2007-08-24T00:14:00.000-10:00

Below is an example of a webmaster tool which when queried, returns data regarding web profile information associated with the ifactfinders blog. Incidentally, this tool is provided by pageranker.org and reflects information current as of August 24, 2007.

Checkbook Environmentalist

2007-08-23T22:00:00.000-10:00

In accordance with the folks at WordSpy.com, a checkbook environmentalist is a person who donates money in an attempt to fight climate changes caused by carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. The releases contribute to what is believed to be "global warming" or damage to the environment. These people are considered checkbook enviromentalists because the only effort they really make is the money donated. They do not cut down on their own emissions or practice any other type of conservationary tasks.

Microsoft's Newest Acquisition

2007-08-18T10:26:00.000-10:00

Country of Peru Suffering Wrath of Nature

2007-08-17T11:54:00.000-10:00

A magnitude - 8 earthquake strikes Southern Peru leaving more than 80,000 homeless without food or electricity along with at least 510 dead and counting. In addition, more than 1500 were injured in either the tremendous quake or one of the 15 aftershocks still hitting the area. Some of the aftershocks measuring a magnitude -5.

Despite the despair and grief over loved ones it all seemed relatively calm up until some 36 hours following the tragedy. At that point, survivors desperate for food began looting area stores. In addition, some 571 prisoners held in a local prison escaped thanks to damage caused by the quake. Only 29 of which have been recaptured at this time.

Orphan Otter

2007-08-13T20:33:00.000-10:00

Abby- a baby otter washes up on shore of Santa Barbara Beach, California. Officials guess she is around 3 weeks old.
Photo and story credcit to Associated Press.

Waahaa- a Hawaiian word

2007-08-09T03:45:00.000-10:00

Waahaa is a word taken from the Hawaiian language. I am told it means something along the lines of "all talk" or as some people might phrase it..."talking shit".
You have heard the expression, "You've got to walk the talk"? Well someone who is all "Waahaa" doesn't do the walking part of the phrase.

Of course, everyone knows what Aloha means. If not, it means hello in Hawaiian.

Here is one more Hawaiian word for you to learn....Mahalo. Thank you in Hawaiian.

Spanish farmers modernize water control

2007-08-02T10:23:00.000-10:00

Farmers in Spain look forward to healthy crops thanks to new irrigation technology. This new technology intends to deliver water via computerization of irrigation systems. Thus, preventing draught and dehydrated crops. Technology conserves precious water and aids farmers in Spain.

Spanish farmers modernize water control -

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070802/ap_on_hi_te/techbit_spain_digital_irrigation

Transparency & Branding

2007-08-02T09:35:00.000-10:00

This is a Clever piece. Demonstrative of human creativity and financial data. It is worth paying a visit to Good Magazine to view this article about transparency and branding.

US Congress Intends to Auction UHF

2007-08-02T09:27:00.000-10:00

As the United States Congress gears up to enforce its mandates, Cable television prepares for the switch to digital in 2008. As a result of this digital demand, Congress intends to raise funds by auctioning off these UHF signals to the highest bidder.
Internet Major Players are preparing for this first ever opportunity and many are verbalizing complaints in the handling even before the auction date is announced. What is it that makes these UHF signals so valuable? According to Google, they are perfectly suited for internet and broadband. Of course, Google, intends to gobble up the auction lots and definitely has the financial backing to secure such a purchase. Only time will tell who rules UHF and who gains a major advantage for grabbing greater internet market shares.

A look back: Past U.S. bridge collapses

2007-08-02T09:21:00.000-10:00

In this Yahoo! Video, witness the failure of other bridges throughout the history of the United States in the past 20 years. More to point, the I35W Bridge collapse in Minnesota is not the first to falter in the United States. A number of other cities experienced similar inanimate rebelations by their own transportation systems and infrastructure; Florida, Oklahoma, Louisiana, an more recently, Oroville California. In California a bridge under construction collapsed trapping a man inside his Federal Express vehicle. This video clip illustrates major bridge collapses in the United States recent history. Humans should note bridges have taken on "politics of their own" such as described by author, Richard Sclove in his book "Democracy and Technology".

A look back: Past U.S. bridge collapses
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=3557562

25 Years of Emoticons

2007-08-02T07:23:00.001-10:00

Alex Williams, a New York Times contributor, published a story July 31, 2007, tracing the origin and history of the emoticon. It seems emoticons were born in 1982 on Bulletin Boards as a form of short hand for users. Since their humble beginnings, emoticons population has gone from a smiling face, a frown, and a wink to an enormous and quite amusing collection of virtual personalities. I suppose collection is not the correct term for this familial expansion. Let us use the human equivalent, which is “tremendous population growth” instead.

Yes, a lot has changed in 25 years, including the new demographic of users. Everyone uses emoticons these days. Even those unfamiliar with the term emoticon are using these lil character substitutions.

In a survey of 40,000 users of the Yahoo Messenger instant-message program, 52 percent of the respondents were older than 30, and among those, 55 percent said they use emoticons every day. Nearly 40 percent of respondents said they first discovered emoticons within the last five years.
Though we think of emoticons, or “smileys,” as an Internet-era phenomenon, their earliest ancestors were created on typewriters. In 1912, the writer Ambrose Bierce proposed a new punctuation device called a “snigger point,” a smiling face represented by \__/!, to connote jocularity.
The first commonly acknowledged use of the contemporary emoticon was in 1982. Scott Fahlman, a research professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, was linked to an electronic university bulletin board where computer enthusiasts posted opinions on matters as divisive as abortion and mundane as campus parking.
In one thread, a wisecrack about campus elevators the comment was mistaken as a warning prompting Fahlman to suggest using the initial version of happy and sad faces to better portray the intention of the commenter. Soon the practical use of emoticons spread to Stanford and the rest has transcended into our modern day emoticon designs.
To Dr. Fahlman’s surprise, his “joke markers” spread quickly on the board. Within a month, he heard, some peers out in Stanford had picked them up, and soon after, techies at Xerox were circulating a list of strikingly sophisticated new emoticons.
He never received a trademark for his invention, and never made a dime from it.
“This is just my little gift to the world,” said Dr. Fahlman, now 59, and still doing computer-science research at Carnegie Mellon. “If there had been a way to charge a nickel each time, no one would have used it,” Dr. Fahlman explained. “It had to be free.”
In classic Internet fashion, an application born of technological necessity soon flowered in unimaginable directions.

Thanks to the New York Times and writer Alex Williams for reminding us where it all began.
25 Years Old - Happy Birthday Emoticons!
Isn’t it funny how time flies? :)

Yahoo! News Story - 7 Killed in Minneapolis Bridge Collapse - Yahoo! News

2007-08-01T23:59:00.000-10:00

Minneapolis, Minnesota--August 1, 2007
Bridge Rebels killing at least 7 persons and sending at least a dozen vehicles, drivers and a number of passengers into the waters of the Mississippi River below. Story and photos credited to the Associated Press and borrowed for personal blog use.

7 Killed in Minneapolis Bridge Collapse - Yahoo! News

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070802/ap_on_re_us/minnesota_bridge_collapse

============================================================

Bridge Rebels

2007-08-01T23:42:00.000-10:00

Oroville, Californis--July 30, 2007
A bridge under construction collapses near Oroville California. A driver of a FedEx truck was freed after emergency crews cut him from the confines forced by rubble from the collapsed structure.

Minneapolis, Minnesota--August 1, 2007
A portion of an eight lane bridge which crosses the Mississippi River collapsed killing at least seven persons and plummeting countless vehicles, drivers, and other passengers into the waters below. Numerous survivors recount moments of horror and then relief as they are either pulled from the waters or swam to safety after freeing themselves from their vehicles.

WordSpy.com

2007-07-24T00:30:00.001-10:00

A new source of trendy words, phrases and additions to our vocabulary are compliments of wordspy.com. An example of just one of the unique finds is

floordrobe
n. A pile of discarded clothes on the floor of a person's room.
[Blend of floor and wardrobe.]

Example Citation:
Soon, these familiar daytime sounds will cease. This week, both my sons' gap years will come to an end and they will leave home for the first time, to begin their university courses. Not only will the house fall strangely silent; their departure will also mean an end to the ceaseless washing and folding of jeans, T-shirts and boxers; there will be no more shopping for multi-packs of mango juice; no more peering gingerly into their rooms and grumbling about the "floordrobe" situation.
—Markie Robson Scott, "I dread the day this house stops being a home," The Independent, September 21, 2004
Source

One Bad Link: What its gonna cost your site?

2007-07-16T19:59:00.000-10:00

Today, I want to discuss with you what the consequences of one bad link can ultimately result if due diligence is not your first priority when you begin socializing with other web sites.

Time Line is one month.
As an SEO/SEM Project Manager, I have experienced the horrors of associating with bad links in the past. For this reason, I have decided to blog about two particular experiences and how they harmed a client's website. As many of you know, it is important to build links to relevant sites in order to attract new visitors or hits on your website. However, caution must be the first point of order when doing so. Here is why:

Client #1: A sitemap was added to the website in order to allow Google bots to explore previously unknown pages in the domain. Much to my dismay, after the sitemap was submitted to Google my client who held the #3 spot was soon #50+.
What happened?
The only explanation I can provide is attributed to a single BAD outgoing link to a black hat SEO company in the UK. Once this link was removed and a re-inclusion request was sent to Google, the site again hit the top five spots and soon took #1 for the entire Christmas season throughout Easter.

Client #2: Many optimizers believe content is king. This may be very true, but what happens when one of your articles is "adopted" by a malware site can be excruciatingly painful. Suddenly a client's site drops from #4 on Google to somewhere in the #15 range and likely will drop lower given the uncooperativeness of a certain free content site.

Let these two experiences be a lesson to everyone. Just as one must be "Careful what you wish for..."; You must also be careful who you link to and who links to you. The ramifications of a single BAD Link can be proportionately more expensive in terms of lost traffic and safes revenue than you can imagine.

Camping Barcelona

2007-06-22T21:35:00.001-10:00

Visit Paramount Places for more Camping Barcelona photos and reservations, booking information.

Manspace Defined

2007-06-17T20:48:00.000-10:00

Manspace- any space a man elects to make his own and carves out as his private space.

According to ABCNews article, "The only think that makes a manspace a manspace is that the guy has total control of what goes on in there and who comes in."

Trackback: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3143758&page=1

Learning From the Animal World

2007-06-17T20:20:00.000-10:00

Two stories read only moments ago bring forth “food for thought” in respect to the genetic testing of animals and the cellular components, which comprise what is now known to the world as DNA. In one particular story, a woman sought to discover what type of mixed breeds her dog was created based on a single DNA test. The dog DNA testing is very similar to that of humans.

It seems a woman concerned about her dog’s longevity and hoping to replace him at his demise with a similarly bred animal took her dog to the vet for a simple test and discovered it was a Doberman/Labrador mix. The simple test is said to also be good in determining the current health of the animal. How curious indeed. Moreover, why not apply DNA testing to the animal kingdom?

The second story involves the Genomes or genetic makeup of an animal and specifically dogs. Scientists at The National Human Genome Research Institute, one of the National Institutes of Health have discovered what they believe to be a single gene, which is responsible for determining the size of dogs. They found that dogs vary greatly in size much more so than other animals and believe a single gene, IGF1, is a master regulator for determining body size in domestic dogs," said Nathan Sutter of the National Human Genome Research Institute, one of the National Institutes of Health, who helped lead the study. I suppose it is true humans can learn a lot from the animal world and these two stories certainly prove it.

Trackback this story:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3282475&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3012039

Microsoft Surface - The Possibilities

2007-06-14T00:51:00.000-10:00

Witness the new Microsoft Surface in action.

Schedule a Virtual Visit!

2007-06-13T00:18:00.000-10:00

Skimming the Surface

2007-06-09T09:45:00.000-10:00

Is it just me or does the new Microsoft Surface look very much like the creation which Jeff Han premiered some time ago? Obviously, Han didn't have the financial resources that the monopolistic Microsoft has and consumers definitely can benefit from this new top of the line product. However, it seems a shame that Han likely is not the one to benefit from his own talents. What I mean is that it seems a real shame the future revenue will go to a company that hardly needs the influx of income. While it is true that Microsoft is in need of a new cash cow. I just find it unspeakable that the real originators of multi-touch technologies only got fifteen minutes of fame rather than the financial interest that will more than likely flow like a river in the midst of a storm. Clearly, living in a capitalist society is wonderful but it seems Microsoft Surface is mere proof that the rich get richer. The rest...well we skim the surface if we are lucky, drown if we are not, or create blogs and complain, huh?

Investigating the Term-Fashionista

2007-06-07T22:48:00.000-10:00

Investigating the Word

Fashionista.

It seems another web site has a similar and well defined approach to the same idea I have for this blog. Michael Quinnon is the author of World Wide Words.com this site sets the pace for the Word Fashionista. And, in doing so, also defines the term Fashionista. According to this site, the term is a slightly sarcastic term regarding anyone who is passionate about fashion and style.
Further investigating of the term Fashionista conducted by Mr. Quinnon claims he contacted researchers at the Oxford English Dictionary. They suggest the term dates back to 1993, to a book by Stephen Fried entitled Thing of Beauty: the Tragedy of Supermodel Gia. The word began to become more widely popular from about 1998 onwards, has just started to appear in dictionaries, and looks set to become a permanent part of the language.

We believe given the quality of this site, that Mr. Quinnon definitely sets the standard for our blog to follow and will hopefully continue forward along a well defined path with information that parallels his own.

Re-Inventing the Word

2007-06-07T03:01:00.000-10:00

Today, on a whim, I have decided to get back to the roots that this blog was originally intended to represent. What might that be? Given the name, this blog is obviously intertwined with some portion of the fashion industry. However, not in the traditional sense of the word. My original intention when I started Word Fashionista was to offer my readers quality essays, articles, and content that is well thought out and carefully researched. Somewhere along the way, I fell off the track and began posting for commercial purposes to obtain sponsors.

This doesn't necessarily work within the ethical considerations of style and grace I had intended for these posts. For all of these reasons, I am immediately correcting my posts -although not deleting a single thing. Instead, I am simply proclaiming an attempt at becoming politically correct in respect to all future posts.

And, what of these future posts? What is their relation to Word Fashionista?
In keeping with the way of the Google, I am determined to become the Word Fashionista by discussing those terms and ideas which are indicative of our world. Think of this as a sort of Latent Semantics with open discussions of the relevance and trends of the past, present, and future of human users in online and electronic settings. The word "Fashionista" being an excellent example. Think of it as a sort of "Word a Day" and I am your instructor. Be sure to read the upcoming post to discover how semantics and fashionista define the coming trend of this B.

Tool: Parse Your Data

2007-06-06T16:15:00.000-10:00

One tool can easily parse all your data and easily integrate into formats like CSV, Excel, and XML into other applications. DataStreams is a component library for .Net developers. It's usable from C#, VB.Net, ASP.Net, or any other .Net language. It's compatible with the 1.0, 1.1, and 2.0 .Net frameworks. It is fast and stable and .Net class for stream based parsing of virtually any commonly found delimited data format, CSV files, tab delimited, etc. The methods are designed for ease of use, while the inner architecture is designed purely for speed and efficiency. Parsing is done using the de facto standard CSV file specifications. It handles quoted fields, delimiters in the data, and even data that spans across multiple lines. This gives you the ability to open csv files, edit csv files, and save csv files all directly from code. Data can be parsed in less than half of the time of any other parser it has been benchmarked against. Virtually no garbage collection is needed from the framework because of object reuse internally while parsing. Pricing is extremely cheap and licensing is amazingly open. One license is good across all machines enterprise wide. Check out the DataStreams demo.

New Business Forums

2007-06-06T15:19:00.000-10:00

What is the difference between a Blog and a Forum?

Let us look at these two very different types of web sites and discuss the similarities and differences between them.

First, a blog is a web site, which allows writers to have a platform from which to state opinions and thoughts on the World Wide Web. A forum, on the other hand, is also a web site. However, a forum differs from a blog because it allows many writers, participants, members, groups, etc. to discuss, debate, and put forth comments, which are relative to a mass of humans rather than simply one or two. In other words, anyone who is a forum member of participant can pretty much post and use this type of web site provided they do so within the general rules of forum conduct that is set forth by the forum owners.

In addition, forums are a great way for humans to interact and learn from one another. Our newest blog sponsor has just opened a new forum and is inviting you to accept an invitation to become a member.

Business Forums
Provides free tips, advice, and networking to help small businesses and webmasters get the most out of the internet. If you have a few minutes, we suggest you pay them a visit. We did and found many other curious humans –like us- have already discovered this new online service.

Cyber Dissidents

2007-06-03T02:13:00.001-10:00

Are Bloggers the new way to journalistic endeavors ala Internet? Are these new technology users really cyber dissidents seeking relief from repressive regimens in countries where freedom of speech –and especially freedom of critical speech- is the least valued of all? What happens when your written thoughts become detrimental to your own health and well-being? These are some of the questions being answered in a free book available by download at FreeTechBooks.

Summer Time Is Upon Us

2007-06-02T19:48:00.002-10:00

Now that summer is officially upon us we went looking for a source of water toys for the pool. What we found surprised even us. There is a great wealth of pool and beach items at ToySplash.com While the prices are not what we consider cheap the items we liked were what we consider to be inexpensive. Just look what we found...

Now it is no longer safe to hit the pool with this monster lurking around.
Realistic and frightening this 9" shark fin is completely harmless, with this
type of authenticity it might frighten the neighbors kids enough to keep them
out of your pool for a little while at least. This motorized fin runs on 1AA
battery - not included of course. The fin is 9" above the water and 9" long.
Price $14.99

Check Your Search Engine Position

2007-05-18T06:18:00.000-10:00

Determine your Position on major search results with a new tool offered at SeoCentro.com We really like the prompt response and thoroughly easily to comprehend features this web tool yields for users. Check it out.

Buy A Nation

2007-05-12T18:16:00.000-10:00

Even if you do not own your own home, there is some prime virtual real estate on the Internet that might interest you. While the price is a bit less than property in the real world, it is not an insignificant purchase given the one price I checked -for the United States was $600.00!
However, given the growing popularity of virtual properties is increasing. It is highly likely to be an investment which you can, in time, realize a healthy return. Check out Buy A Nation.

Latest Discovery -Strange, Refreshing

2007-05-11T04:39:00.000-10:00

Fridays have always been a bit off the norm for me. Today is no different! I just submitted this blog to a group of foul-mouthed, yet honest bloggers to "Get Smacked". No, really.

Their blog is wonderfully cruel and lacking in political correctness more so than any other site I have landed on in a while. I loved it! Foul-mouth, bad attitudes and comedic flavor abounds on the colorful pages of iTalk2Much.com

Even the name is questionable - which explains why I enjoyed it so much. While I'm not eager to do my tripping here harm, I couldn't think of anything better to let them know I enjoyed my visit with the exception of the "Smack".

Take a moment and visit if you don't mind a bit of off-color language. They cuss like sailors and seem to be a contemporary group of equal opportunity haters. The purpose of their site apparently is to vent and provide everyone with a bit of laughter for the day. Rage on, bloggers!

Unique Climbing Wall

2007-05-10T17:59:00.000-10:00

Illoiha gym in Tokyo offers fans of indoor climbing a unique interior design to climb. Although I have tried it, the idea of testing my physical limits has always appealed to me. This, however, is rather disturbing to see how small humans are in comparison to the "terrain".

clipped from www.plasticbamboo.com

Rates for Copywriting

2007-05-08T08:17:00.000-10:00

Ever wonder how much a freelance writer charges for articles, essays, copy, content, and tutorials? If you take a look at the above chart you will see that there is not a lot of extravagance in most writing endeavors. These fees are based on one time use of the work product with the copywriter retaining all rights to re-publish unless different terms are agreed upon in writing. On average, most work is completed for around $.03 to $.05 per word give or take. Usually, those desiring full rights to the work product will pay a bit more for the privilege.

This chart does not apply to all projects undertaken and you may feel free to negotiate for the options and publishing rights which you are most comfortable with prior to work initiation. Feel free to contact this website for your upcoming project needs.

iFactFinders

2007-05-08T04:22:00.000-10:00

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Regular Expression Tool and Library

2007-05-07T21:16:00.000-10:00

Regular Expressions
There are many ways to save time during web development and the many inclusive phases of development. As well as, many tools designed to increase efficiency in the development process. One of our newest Sponsors for this blog offers an easy to use web-based tool designed especially for the purpose of evaluating your carefully crafted Regular expressions.
If you are not familiar with this type of development aid or development tool, allow me to explain the concept of regular expressions. Regular expressions are powerful tools for manipulating text and data. A regular expression, often called a pattern, is an expression that describes a set of strings. They are usually used to give a concise description of a set, without having to list all elements.
Regular expressions are found in scripting languages, editors, programming environments, and specialized tools. . Regular expressions are used by many text editors and utilities to search and manipulate bodies of text based on certain patterns.

Many programming languages support regular expressions for string manipulation.There is a web-based regular expression testing tool and library that allows developers to write and test regular expressions on the web.
It is located at Regular Expression Tool and Library

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We Help You Be Productive

2007-05-05T00:12:00.000-10:00

Must You Crawl Before You Can Walk In the Digital Domain? Cutting your teeth on the World Wide Web is an evolutionary idea and process proposed by many a small business owner. This blog intends to do its part in assisting those of you who are pushing forward by showing you useful resources to make the entire project easier to handle. We at iFactFinders will roam and search both far and wide even in the hidden parts of the invisible web to discover those tools and applications which are most helpful in discovering what works and what does not do the job. Follow along as we point to those user-friendly locations in the digital domain which will save you valuable time and resources in the long run. We offer product reviews along with web site reviews in respect to what a site may be doing successfully. Often times you will discover where untapped resources, revenues, and current trends originate.

Starting With A Template Saves Time

2007-05-04T20:55:00.000-10:00

If you are thinking of building a web site or at the beginning stage of becoming a web developer you likely are familiar with templates. Building and/or developing a web site without the aid of an absolute structure simply adds to chaos without a template. Not to mention the entire process can be absolutely time consuming. It helps to save time by integrating templates into the initial stages. The reason templates are so useful is not based on the initial development stages but rather the time spent rebuilding once the site begins to catch on and gets traffic. Eventually, you will be required to update your web pages and you realize the mistakes you initially made in failing to separate layout from content.

Website templates are essential to creating attractive, yet affordable web designs. Templates Factory offers the finest in website templates for individuals or businesses. You can definitely get a jump on your competitors by visiting this site first. With a large range of professional quality design products, Templates Factory has a solution for all website development needs. Everything in life should be an uncomplicated.

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Rebelations

2007-05-03T23:11:00.000-10:00

Rebelations is my newest blog. It will note information and announcements we deem news worthy.

Internet: Platform for Interaction & Communication

2007-05-03T21:33:00.001-10:00

The Internet is a perfect platform for humans to interact and share knowledge. I suggest there is a natural inclination to humans becoming increasingly adaptable in given situations. If my hunches are accurate, this adaptability will further aid in the evolution of humans allowing interaction in an anonymous environment where there are no expectations to interfere in the exchange of information. A sort of letting down of the guard and a willingness to experience the unfamiliar. By learning to express ourselves absent of emotional attachment to the subject or situation, humans may be on a better course than ever in the past.

Humans can unknowingly and unwillingly remove their subjective thoughts and feelings. A sort of letting down of one’s guard and an abandon of the usual expectations which tend to corrupt an unfamiliar environment. This leaves humans free to entertain the foreign and unfamiliar without the potential of closing our mind to the experience. Read more about this concept at Helium.

2007-05-03T00:03:00.000-10:00

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Cat Training 101

2007-05-02T12:51:00.000-10:00

The following post is sponsored by

Our newest blog sponsor offers a unique flavor. The blog has an eclectic mix of all things, which are architectural hardware for special homes or estates. What makes it unique is that it integrates actual hindrances and annoyances, which can damage home interiors and exteriors. Homeowners have no idea until it is too late.

An article offering helpful insight into this special troublesome activity. Likely, this only is an issue indoors when contrasted to the outdoors. Although, it may be on both sides of the doorknob. This activity is to break free from captivity. Moreover, why not try the direct approach? Animals are much smarter than humans credit them. In the course of these attempts, your architectural hardware is acquiring damage.

The dogs seem to easily conform once he or she understands what the human wants. Cats, on the other hand, do exactly what they want to do acting as smug stereotypical Divas in the process. Notorious for having his or her own mind, a cat requires positive reinforcement in the form of praise in order to conform. There are few guarantees and while I do not claim to be an animal psychologist nor do I know the cat and dog capacity for learning. Yet. It is my guess that Cats and dogs are more adept at tasks than we assume them to be. Which leads me to conclude the more mature cat should integrate the newer animal into the home. However, even Tommy seems to be having a bit of difficulty with the new Diva Cat..

Boredom will reign over your household which promptly gives way to bad manners and a failure of obedience. It might even be a presentation intent on a display of intelligence on the animals’ part? These devious bored pets sooner or later recall how humans escape. Perhaps they believe it will work for them and start trying doorknobs. After reading this Cat Training article and watching the three training tutorial video casts, I have decided on another approach. Simply explaining to the animal the thumb requirement.

The Problem With Cats

2007-05-02T07:07:00.000-10:00

I never thought about it but cats certainly can cause damage within the home environment. Today, May 2nd, is the birthday of my beloved Princess. A blue Persian female that was the epitome of me –only in cat form. She passed away June 8, 2005, at the age of 15 years young. We will discuss her further on that anniversary. At the moment, I have a more serious problem with her male counter part, Tommy and his play mate, Chloe. Tommy and Princess were de-clawed and presented no danger to my home and possessions. Unfortunately, Chloe came from the streets and she is a real bitch. Today, however, one of our new sponsors offers some real insight into cat training. I for one hope it will work. Here is the post from our sponsor.

Reality Wired Review

2007-05-02T05:32:00.001-10:00

Every once in a great while you run across a great well spoken –make that well written- blog with topics which are both informative and interesting. "Reality Wiredfalls into this category. It is run by a fellow named James, whose claim to fame is running blogs for Carrie Underwood of American Idol fame and Kellie Pickler of nearly Idol fame. Actually, while I am not into “Idol Worship” these two are my favorite former competitors. Based on both talent and looks they tend to outshine most others except for that sexy guy last season.

Anyway, James certainly has his finger on the pulse of the Blogosphere and to prove it he recently bought a 2007 Tundra truck, which he states was purchased compliments of Adsense revenues. That certainly is quite the “Word of Mouth” advertising, isn’t it?

While Reality Wired is in large part devoted to Adsense tips for the less than enlightened, he offers a great deal of insight into other aspects of the Internet, too. With so much going on these days, both online and off, it seems there is little time to explore on my own. I certainly advise anyone seeking quality Blog related content to pay James a visit.
This Site is an iFactFinders Sponsor.

Is Your Cell Phone Bugged?

2007-05-01T08:28:00.001-10:00

Is your cell phone bugged is a true revelation in respect to cell phone and wireless devices. Compliments of Vortex.com and YouTube.com

Cat Herders - EDS Trilogy

2007-05-01T08:26:00.000-10:00

Herding cats. another great EDS advertisement. That is if you love cats. Compliments of YouTube.com members and EDS Trilogy.

EDS - Airplanes

2007-05-01T08:25:00.000-10:00

Comparing advertising strategies with EDS Trilogy. Compliments of YouTube.com members.

Semantics: Google Offers Great Tool

2007-05-01T01:47:00.000-10:00

Are you wondering what the Google news of the moment is you are not alone. The word of the moment is semantics. A little while back, Google announced they are integrating Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) into the algorithm in order to return improved and increasingly relevant documents for search queries.

One of the best free tools is available from Google which will aid you in optimizing your web content. Simply register for a Google account and then select the module, Analytics. Once you have verified your web site and pages within, you will be able to access pertinent information and stats via this service. Check it out and you will soon learn the information is quite specific and relative to addressing this new integration of LSI. Remember it is important to always know who visits your site and from where they originate in order to offer content and information which is most useful to them.

Trip Around the Virtual World -Will Semantics Improve Web?

2007-04-30T21:37:00.000-10:00

Is there a new Internet in the making? Google is already integrating Latent Semantic Indexing into its algorithm and has not yet stated in what way it hopes to improve current search engine results by this addition. Of course, the internet has become over run with sites and pages developed by those who are intent on circumventing the SERPs. But how will semantics improve the current results and will it create a sort of new version of the Internet?

Many are hoping it will become reality. As this blog demonstrates while Tripping around the Virtual World, it is difficult to locate quality information so we have reported on very few digital souvenirs. With the majority of sites presenting very similar information which is neither useful nor worthy of indexing.

Perhaps, in an effort to escape the accumulation of misinformation and sexual content currently littering the Super Information Highway, the Google Machine, Universities and even Government are planning to systemically branch out with at least one of the trio using semantics to do it.

According to Notations source-, the actual users of the internet are government and universities, which outweigh the businesses by more than a 3:1 ration. If this is accurate, then, there will theoretically be a new version of the Internet, which will evolve either as a tier systematic offspring or as an entirely new version.

Time will tell and it does seem a favorable move and realistically the only way to save the fundamental purpose of the World Wide Web that has become overrun with crap and useless content. All in favor raise your hand…

5 Factors of SERPs

2007-04-26T18:23:00.000-10:00

What to know the most important part of optimizing based on findings of an experienced search engine optimization project manager? Pay attention because it is all about to make perfect sense. The absolute bottom line regarding optimizing a web site is based fundamentally in the agreement between your site content, Meta tags, anchor text of incoming links, and the queries of those searching the Internet as they are entered into an engine, which returns results. There are many other factors; however, these are the main factors, which contribute to good ranking position on a search engine.

Well, that is almost everything...it seems Google is always looking to improve its algorithm and a little while back, those-in-the-know revealed there is something new integrated into the equation. Discover what is new in our next post at iFactFinders.