20 Photographs Taken at the Exact Right Angle
Nov 29 at 1:01pm by Andrew Benton
Great collection of photos taken at the exact angle to make them interesting, check them out here.
15 Brilliantly Timed Sports Photos
Nov 29 at 9:09am by Andrew Benton
Great post here with sports photos taken at JUST the right time.
Bad Day For One Stock Sector
Nov 28 at 11:11am by Andrew Benton
If you’re heavily into the Consumer Cyclical sector…. you’re probably screwed.
Ok, so a further examination shows that this is just a bug or something with Google financial, but it’s still pretty funny.
Proof That Google is Evil!
Nov 27 at 8:08am by Andrew Benton
I found this while checking my stocks today. Finally, definitive proof that Google is evil. It’s science, don’t argue it.
Going On a Cruise? Read This
Nov 24 at 8:08pm by Andrew Benton
Are you going on a cruise this summer, or thinking about going on one? I just got back from mine, and it was a blast! I had little to no bad experiences, and I thought I’d share some of the information I collected, and some I wish I’d have known prior to going. This guide is based on my experience with Carnival Cruise Lines, so it may be slightly different with other lines, but I doubt that it’s too different. If you have any questions, you can feel free to contact me, I’m a pretty nice guy.
Quick Tips
While I left out some things to do with locations, I visited Costa Maya, Mexico, Ochos Rios, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands. If you have any questions about any of those places, let me know. Here are some quick tips to help you out. I go into detail on these later in the article, but here are the important points.
- Get to the dock with plenty of time to spare, you’ll be in lines for eternity.
- Don’t bring alcohol in your carry-on bag, they’ll confiscate it.
- Eat as much as you want, it’s free, and make sure you go to your Dinner, it’s the best food on the boat.
- Know that soft-drinks aren’t free, so be prepared to pay for them (more than $1/can).
- Know that alcohol is also expensive, budget accordingly.
- Attend or watch the Debarkation video, it talks about what Customs allows, and what you cannot bring in the country.
- You should tip your staff well, they usually automatically include a tip on your bill, but it’s customary to give extra because they really go above and beyond expectations.
What to expect when you get to the dock
When you arrive at the docks (I left from Miami, FL), don’t expect to walk directly onto a boat. My experience was different, but I’m guessing not that unfamiliar to most. When I arrived it was pouring rain, and the previous passengers were getting off the ship, as we were trying to get on. First thing to know is that there is no real place to “check your bags”, they just have these huge metal containers, and you throw them on, find someone who is staff (they are everywhere), and make sure you’re in the right area for your cruise ship.Once you put your luggage in one of the containers to be loaded onto the ship, you go in to check in. This is where you’ll need your tickets, and either a Passport or a Photo ID and a birth certificate with a raised seal. This part doesn’t take too long, and expect a security checkpoint.
After you go through this checkpoint, you wait in line to get your card you use on the ship. This card will be used for everything on the ship; from getting into your room, to ordering food, to paying for gifts in the gift shop. This line I found to be the longest, since you have to give them a card to use to charge to. You can use either a Credit/Debit card, or prepay on your card. Anyway you do it, it’s pretty simple at the end, so use whatever is most convenient. I used my Debit card, quick and painless.
After this, you just wait in line to have your ID and Passport/Birth Certificate checked once more, then guess what? You’re on the ship.
What to do when you get on the ship
This part is kind of self-explanatory, but when I first got on the ship, you expect to get orders or instructions, nope. Just go check into your room, walk around the ship, and start enjoying yourself. Don’t get too enthralled, however, because the most boring part of the cruise is upon you.
The safety drill (a.k.a. the most boring, crowded, useless thing ever)
Now I’m not saying its useless, because you get to see where the rescue boats are, but they make you stand in little painted off areas, with life jackets on, and watch them explain that if the ship was going down, that you have to stay single file, calm, and get on the boats. Sorry, but it will never, ever work like that. Oh well, the Coast Guard requires them to do it.
The Food
This is one thing I still have a hard time getting over. The amount of food you will consume on your cruise will disgust you. Let me reiterate. You eat so much food that you eat and eat, then just because it’s free, you eat some more. And it’s all usually really, really good. Make sure you go to your scheduled dinner time, because that is the best food on the whole cruise. I’m not talking normal restaurant food, but rather things like Veal, Crab Legs, Lobster Tails, NY Steak, basically anything you would get at a top tier restaurant for $50+, you get at dinner, and you can have as much as you want. They also have absolutely killer desserts, trust me, you’ll be ordering 2 per meal by the end of the week.
The Alcohol
Let me warn you, alcohol on the boat is pretty expensive, don’t expect to get anything for less than $5. On my cruise, the cheapest thing you could get was a Coors Lite can, and they include 15% gratuity, taking it to ~$5 per beer. That is the low-end. Pina Coladas and Daiquiris are usually at least $9, and if you’re a big drinker with special tastes, expect a big bill. I found that the best thing to do, is if the countries you visit allow it, is to buy liquor there and put it on you carry-on and bring it back on the ship.
I’m not sure what Cruise lines rules are about bringing alcohol on the ship are, but I’ll share a story. When I went, I had two bottles of liquor in my checked bag. In the line to get on the ship, a couple guys behind me had put liquor in their carry-ons, and it was all confiscated. Lesson? If you’re going to do it, put it in your check baggage, much less likely to get searched, and you can save serious money on the ship.
Another cool thing about the ship is that buying liquor is tax and duty free on the ship, you can get some really good deals, but they usually won’t let you have the alcohol until your last day, still a good bargain either way.
The Entertainment
I found the entertainment to be decent on my ship. They had a few musical shows that were nothing to write home about. The real gems here were the Comedy shows that were on every other night at midnight. Very raunchy stuff, but really worth it, and they were good comedians. Also, another big hot spot was the dance club (which is also nothing special), and the karaoke bar. Unfortunately on our ship, the hot tubs always closed at Midnight.. just when you need them the most.
Conclusion
While I’m sure every single person will have a different experience, I think you’ll have a great time on your cruise. Take my points, apply them, and learn some stuff on your own. It’s a vacation, treat it like one. Do something you’ve never done before, explore different countries, and let me know if I’ve been of any help. Happy Cruising!
Swift Kids for Truth
Nov 20 at 4:04pm by Andrew Benton
These three are the best, most relevant political ads I’ve seen in this election cycle. Swift Kids for Truth tell it like it is.
Google “At-the-Pump” Will Fail
Nov 20 at 10:10am by Andrew Benton
Recently, the latest news out of the Google sphere was talk of a partnership with Gilbarco Veeder-Root to provide Google Maps functionality at the pumps of select gas stations around the country. There has been much fanfare and admiration for this endeavor, including many jokes that “men finally won’t get lost”, or that they will “no longer need to be girly-men to ask for directions”. With all the jokes aside, I don’t think this idea will go very far, at least in its current form. While the idea seems new and innovative, I think it’s ultimately one reserved better for an in-store approach rather than an at-the-pump option.
Delays
Driving is a huge part of American culture, it’s one of our icons of society. Pumping gas is just a necessary evil that we just have to deal with. Today, more than ever, we hate going to the gas station, mainly because the price of gasoline has sky-rocketed. I know it has made my trips to the gas station less enjoyable, and I believe many people would agree with me. Putting touch screen, internet-enabled, advertisement serving, direction giving devices in front of millions of drivers, is a recipe for failure I believe.
Waiting for someone to pump their gas is already an annoyance, with slow pumps and people who refuse to use debit cards. Add to that someone who thinks it would be cool to just see the directions to his house he’s been to five-hundred times this week, or trying to zoom in on Area51, and you can see where I’m going with this. We already have enough people in this world who care little about other peoples time or respect (yes, I’m talking to you Bluetooth-in-public-wearers who scream their conversations to everyone and hold up the fast-food line), to give them one more thing to play around with while the rest of us try to get on with our days, won’t end well. People already have a problem using simple electronic displays to enter their pump number and print a receipt, and we want to put a Google-enabled mapping device in front of them now too?
I am also worried about the option to print the directions to your destination. First of all, can you imagine waiting to get a gas station attendant to replace the paper roll on one of these? If anything, this technology should just rely on the fact that anyone who is capable of logically using this system *probably* has a txt-enabled phone. Why not blast it to their cell phone?
Vandalism
Another thing to consider is that most gas stations are not open 24-hours, and that means they have to close down for periods of time. If these are embedded in the gas-pumps, how do you protect from vandalism? I think you’ll see a large number of vandalisms of these devices (breaking, smashing, possibly cracking the firmware and putting other sites on). This is yet another reason I believe this idea is much more suited for in-store, where the device can be protected and monitored.
Fraud
I cannot find a report of whether or not these will have Google ads embedded with the system, but if they do, I can see a case for click-fraud with these devices. Also, one could easily leave their businesses address and information up on the screen for the next user to see, free advertising I guess you could say. This could be remedied by a simple reset when a new customer activates the pump I guess, but I haven’t heard any hard details on how the system would work.
This system could also be abused in a few ways. First, think about when you were in high school, and someone was throwing a party, what did all the invitations have on them? Yep, directions. You could easily stand at the pump and print out directions to your house 50 times, hey an easy way to save money yourself I guess!
So How Would I Change It?
If I had any say in how this would be rolled out, I would do it like this:
- Put the device INSIDE the store, to better protect, manage, and secure the devices from delays, vandalism, and fraud. If they want to use the device they don’t have to hold up a gas pump to do so. Also, putting it in a store with employees cuts down on potential vandalism and fraud.
- Make the ads on the device local. I haven’t been able to confirm whether this will have regular Google ads, or nothing at all, but since this is Google we’re talking about, they probably will have some form of advertising. Google should sell ad on a location-basis, add an interface on the device to allow gas stations to do this. This is another way for more targeted advertisement. Because honestly, a gas station in a bad part of town has little chance of persuading one of its customers to buy a Maybach from the dealership across town.
So, with all that said, I think that this will be very hyped, and short lived. I think with the decrease in the price of in-car GPS systems, this was an idea about 5 years too late.
5 Wordpress Plugins You Can’t Live Without
Nov 16 at 10:10am by Andrew Benton
Wordpress is an extremely powerful CMS. It lets practically anyone with access to an internet connection post their thoughts, dreams, and ideas. Wordpress has revolutionized and pushed the blogosphere to new depths and continues to push the envelope on seamlessness with external social networks.
While out-of-the-box (while it doesn’t really come in a box) Wordpress is great by itself, you can make both the writers, as well as the readers experience infinitely better by installing just a few plugins. Below is a list of what I think are the cream of the crop in Wordpress plugins. Feel free to hop on the conversation and add your input, suggestions, etc.
- Akismet - View Plugin Website
This is by far an absolute essential, so much so that it comes pre-installed in Wordpress now. Akismet helps filter out spam from your comments, and helps your site appear more constantly clean, with great comments being the only ones allowed. - Adsense Manager - View Plugin Website - View Authors Website
This one is another essential for me. Adsense manager allows you to manage adsense campaigns on your blog by allowing you to save custom configurations of Google ads to use on your page. Basically, once installed, you create ads, in which you can change size, colors, types, etc. Once you create them, you easily insert them into your templates and posts by selecting them in the post editor or by including a short piece of code into you template where you want your ad to be displayed. - All in One SEO Pack - View Plugin Website
This plugin provides automatic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your Wordpress blog. It basically saves you hours of work optimizing your website for search engines. A fear key features:- Rewrites title for optimization
- Generates meta keywords from your categories, built in tag-generators, etc
- Auto-generates meta descriptions for each post, making posts more directly findable by search engine searches
- Google XML Sitemaps - View Plugin Website
This plugin generates a XML-Sitemap compliant sitemap of your WordPress blog. This format is supported by Ask.com, Google, YAHOO and MSN Search. Absolutely positively a necessity if you are serious about getting listed on Google and Yahoo searches. - Social Bookmarking Reloaded - View Plugin Website
Social Bookmarking Reloaded adds a list of graphical icons at the bottom of every post that lets your readers submit your articles to popular social sites like Digg, Reddit, Facebook, etc. It can really help build the community of your site. You can customize the appearance of this plugin and select from a huge list of social bookmarking sites.
So, there you have it, my essential 5 Wordpress plugins that I can’t live without. I’m sure there are a few more I’ll add to that list in the near future. Do you think I’m missing any? Let me know.
This is Just Funny… If You’re a Nerd.
Nov 8 at 7:07am by Andrew Benton
This website has tons of funny comics like this one: http://xkcd.com/
55 Stress-Busting Tips
Nov 6 at 5:05pm by Andrew Benton
Found a great article with 55 ways to beat stress, how many do YOU do on the list? I do a couple. Click here for the list.
RECENT COMMENTS