Mike Swope's Personal Blog

I learned about AnthologyBuilder.com recently, and I find that I'm very excited by its prospects. I feel there is a lot of great writing being done in the world, but much of it is not receiving the audience it should. Case in point is one of my friend's book. C. Dennis Moore's Terrible Thrills has several masterful, memorable stories in it. But they will never receive the audience they deserve because its publisher, SIlver Lake Publishing, apparently has now gone out of business. I cannot find reference to it anywhere, and its web site is no longer available. I fear this means that Dennis' book will never be reprinted by the company, and so the life of its stories end when the supply runs out at Amazon.com.

How does Anthology Builder figure into this? Currently, Anthology Builder offers mainly previously published short stories in the following genres: Alternate History, Children, Classics, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mainstream, Mystery/Crime, Romance, Science Fiction, Suspense/Thriller, and Young Adult.

One problem is that the stories available in these genres are VERY limited! There just aren't very many of them. Visitors can't choose their favorite stories because they are not in the database! That's where AnthologyBuilder can experience explosive growth: providing a means whereby readers can choose their favorite stories of all time from many sources and have them all collected in several anthologies. Heck, I think most story lovers would go for this schema!

Today, Anthology Builder serves only to allow short story authors to continue to make their stories available, after the magazine or book in which they were originally published has gone out of print. There is some advantage to this. I have several stories I too would still like to have available to the public, but after 15 years that just wasn't possible, until Anthology Builder came along.

Another problem is that the stories accepted by Anthology Builder must have appeared in paying venues previously. I don't know why this is, because there is a great deal of great writing appearing in the small literary presses (for example) that should have a wider audience, but these magazines and journals do not pay except in contributor's copies. Does this count as a paying venue? I suspect it does not. Even some of the small genre publishers don't pay very much. I think of Dennis' book mentioned above. With his publisher out of business, what kind of royalties will he now receive? I don't know. He doesn't know. And with the publisher out of business, there isn't much hope to hire an attorney, either, even if Dennis could afford to hire one.

Another problem is that the site doesn't pay nearly enough per story per anthology printed. Currently, each author in an anthology can expect about $0.15/story each time it is printed, if it is a 7000 word story. What if the story is only 1000 words? The author will get less than this. All the authors in an anthology receive a total of $1.50 to share among them. If there are 10 stories @ 7000 words each, each author gets 1/10th of this $1.50. If there are 20 stories, each author gets a similar share, or possibly $0.07. That's not very much money at all. In fact, that's little more than some venues pay per word! This pay scale, of course, makes it impossible to interest the more successful and popular authors to contribute to the site. I can't imagine Stephen King accepting 15¢ for one of his stories. Even it is were published 1000 times, that story would then only earn him $150. Can you say "welfare?" There are plenty of stories by big authors that I would pay more than $14.95 to have them in a single anthology.

The challenge for Anthology Builder is to survive its launch. It is and will be rocky! They must continue to strive for constant improvement and growth. They can't stop, let up, quit. Of course, this is true of anything that is successful.

1) They need to consider charging a fee per story, rather than per anthology. Some people are willing to pay more for a very, very favorite story than for a story that they like but it's not as favored as other stories. In this way, as the anthology is built, each anthology's price would be built by the stories selected. Perhaps the cost for a story is directly related to its popularity. If a story is a best seller, it should cost less because of the volume of its sales, as that is how it works in other markets. Volume helps reduce the cost. So an anthology might cost as little as $15 and as much as $60 or $70 I think, depending on the stories selected. If not this scheme, then another based on the cost per word perhaps. A shorter story would be less expensive than a longer story. In this way, if the reader chooses a lot of shorter stories, the cost for the anthology would be more, as there would be more authors to pay. Everyone would get their fair share. Perhaps it would be a function of BOTH popularity and length. I don't know. But something besides the flat rate should be considered, although the flat rate is a great place to start.

2) The writer's guidelines need to be revised. By all means I don't think every story ever written by every Joe in the world should be included in the Anthology Builder database, but I think every story ever published by a third party (i.e. not self-published) should be available at Anthology Builder, regardless whether it is a "professional" paying market or not. I think many friends of writers, and new acquaintances, who can't get their hands on the original publications, would be willing to consider Anthology Builder to get that 10-year-old story in book form. I know I would consider it. I think many others would, too. I think the criteria should be that the publication can be verified (anyone can say anything about a publication, even make one up); heck, even the authors could send the original publication with an SASE if it came down to it. There is a way to manage this.

3) The site in its current state is not very user-friendly. It is not a horrible site, by any means, but it doesn't do much to market its stories or anthologies. The site currently appears to be created in a Dreamweaver template (very basic), and therefore everything probably has to be custom-coded. I think it might be useful to consider taking the site into a content-management system such as Joomla! and garnering community support to pay for custom modules for the enterprise. Or a similar system that already has the under-pinnings. I think with this proposition, writers would be willing to provide donations for the cause. Perhaps donations can be accepted for each phase of the site's development. And perhaps each donation allows the donor to have one story included in the site's database for their donation. Of course, the story must still meet the criteria for acceptance, but it would be shortcut to acceptance to donate. I think many would support the site and see that their contributions are making a difference, and therefore making it possible for their stories to be purchased. It's writers helping themselves. If the site were a community effort, as it were, increased support would help get the site developed faster, rather than relying on sales alone.

4) The site should have instances that help market the stories and the anthologies already created. This means that the site should be more like the giant shopping sites like Amazon.com, etc. Each story might have a feature that "Visitors who bought this story also bought these other 4 stories," or "Stories similar to this story are," and the like. In this way, every story considered by a visitor recommends other stories, shortcuts the search process for visitors by recommending similar stories and stories purchased in groups. Of course, a best sellers list is necessary (in fact, all stories in the database should be able to be sorted by genre and popularity and rating so that if a visitor wished he could view EVERY story in the database based on any or all of these factors from the top to the bottom). A featured story(ies) feature would also be a useful tool. Just take a look at any large retail site to see the features that work for them.

5) I think a professional community of reviewers should also be developed to review each individual story. Anthology Builder currently has the option to post reviews for each story, but those reviews are not only sparse but completely inadequate and useless. For example, one review of a story reads, "This is an awesome story. Old Irish Fae Folk in South Africa. Nice storytelling and a fun read." I don't think that is very helpful for any visitor. Its sentiments can be applied to almost any story in the database. There just isn't any reason for any visitor to look further at this story based on this review. So I think it is a problem to allow every Tom, Dick and Harry to post useless reviews like this. Instead, perhaps they can rate the story, where they might still have a say that helps visitors consider the stories without having to go thru the work to write a useful persuasive review that sells the story. Though it would take a small army of reviewers to accomplish the task, we must remember that writers with work in the database have probably read the work of other authors in the database and can write reviews of other stories in the database. Something like this could be a part of the reviewer's toolbox. A list of stories that meet the writer's preferred types of stories to review. He or she can then spend an afternoon writing the review (of course, the writer must also have access to the story). Perhaps the writers who write reviews of the stories in the database also get funds for writing reviews, something like epinions.com. That would help motivate writers to review stories, I think.

6) I think it should also be made easy for writers to link to the stories at Anthology Builder so they can recommend them on their web sites, their personal blogs, etc. Links to the site would increase its search engine rankings, introduce new visitors to the site, and help encourage sales of its anthologies. Alternatively, I think writer profiles should also provide some information about the author, list his/her stories on the site, and link to his/her web site to further help increase their search engine rankings and public awareness. It's all a matter of back scratching. I think an author should also be able to list his/her favorite authors on the site which in turn links to those author profiles to once more market their work through recommendations like this.

7) Currently, the teasers for the stories at AnthologyBuilder.com are in PDF format. I think this is a poor choice, since PDFs are sometimes problematic. In Firefox, my web browser of choice, I cannot view PDFs. I must instead download them and then open them. That's clunky. I think the teasers should be in JPEG format (as an image) or a short text object. It is not clear why PDF has been chosen at this time, but it is just as easy probably to provide a text object for the teaser. Every browser on every computer in the world can then conveniently display the teaser to help make it easier to decide to purchase. That's the principal of any sale: make the path as simple, straight, uncomplicated as possible. The PDF format for the teasers is a road block. The text teasers should appear on the same page as the story information. No need for a new window or anything.

8) I think artists should also be allowed to create artwork for individual stories and make them available to be printed with their stories. That would be an awesome add-on for any anthology. If I purchased a story, and artwork was available for it, I would consider choosing artwork for it. In fact, I would probably choose artwork for it to make the book more interesting. If I had a selection of artwork available, each at a small cost, or one image included for free if available, I would certainly consider it. Such niceties help make the resulting anthology not only interesting but also noteworthy as a gift, I think. These artists could then be paid upon publication, too, each time an anthology is sold.

9) I think a similar site for poetry would also be very useful and poplar. The features could be the same in general as the fiction site, but one could choose poetry instead of short fiction. Poetry books might also make great gifts for special occasions such as births, weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and even the deaths of a loved ones, I think. A different beast with similar features.

I see great opportunity for AnthologyBuilder.com, and I hope that these ideas help make the site a success. I am currently looking to create my own anthology on the site, but I am not finding many stories that I want to purchase on the site. Hence my long list of ideas to help make the site a success.

I want to bring to the attention of visitors the unethical practices of two companies regarding domain name registrations. Both companies send letters by snail mail, and they look like official letters.

Domain Registry of America: This first one is particularly frightening for recipients because it tells them that their domain is about to expire and if they don't renew it with the very-official looking notice, they can lose the domain forever. Many domains registered by individuals are registered by the uninitiated, and so these letters look like something they MUST PAY to keep their domain name registration. So it motivates such individuals to send the funds, though they are outrageously expensive ($35/year or higher). Unfortunately, several of my clients have received these notices. Fortunately, they have contacted me first before sending any money to anyone about their web address registration or web site hosting. Sending funds to this company transfers the registration to them, and then they send annual notices for exorbant fees.

Domain Listing Service Corporation (DLSCorp.net): This second unethical letter looks like an official billing (much like that from Domain Registry of America), and simply says to make payment to them for a web site address listing, domain name submission to search engines. They ask for $65. Don't send them a dime. If you read the OTHER SIDE of the notice, it states in bold type that this is not a bill, but a solicitation. It also says that the Internet Listing Offer is provided to millions of web sites throughout the United States to enhance their web exposure. Calculate what 1 million paying recipients means: $65,000,000! For nothing more than a link on a web site somewhere, and an automated submission to search engines. The trick: your site is probably already listed, and submitting using keywords guarantees no placment of any kind whatsoever in any search engine. Just keep your content fresh and relevant to the subject of your site, and your site will do just fine.

BE WARY! IF YOU RECEIVE A REGISTRATION NOTICE OR LISTING NOTICE OF ANY KIND BY MAIL, CONTACT YOUR WEB SITE HOST BEFORE SENDING ANY MONEY! You'll be glad you did.

My wife and I watched An Inconvenient Truth last night. We have wanted to watch this film since its release, but I admit that we were afraid to watch it, afraid of what we might learn, afraid that our planet is changing at an alarming rate and few people are doing anything about it, or even seem to care. But we rented it yesterday and watched it. If you have not seen this film, YOU MUST SEE IT! It is eye opening. It is more than convincing, based on abundant research and statistics from around the world. It is clear that in the last 30 years our fossil-fueled society has had a lasting global impact on our planet's ability to support life as we know it. In fact, at one point in the film, it is said that ice ages have occurred in less than ten years but last thousands of years. Folks, at the very least, this is what we will face if we do not take individual responsibility and action to recognize, acknowledge and neutralize this threat immediately. We can wait no longer. Remember: in the last ice age, much of the northern hemisphere (where incidentally most of our planet's plants and animals live) was under many hundreds of feet of ice! Tell me, can you live under this ice? Survive such extreme temperatures and such a barren landscape? You should also read the book The Coming Global Superstorm. It says many of the same things as this film, but it explains how we have found flash-frozen animals such as woolly mammoths with food from a temperate climate still in their mouths and belies. Where did this food come from in the belly of a frozen animal? It is clear that the food was nearby when the animal was frozen. Now, that doesn't make much sense, does it? Read the book The Coming Global Superstorm. Watch An Inconvenient Truth and read the book. Then visit the companion web site ClimateCrisis.org for more information about this very real threat to our children and life on this planet >

I recently won an eBay Motors auction for a 1993 Camaro. The listing was specific about the condition of the vehicle, and the seller had sold two other vehicles with positive feedback. Plus, eBay offers fraud protection up to $20,000. So how could I go wrong? I'm glad you asked. The financials: Winning bid $1226. Repairs: $2100 (more about this). Repairs left to be made: ~$3000. This just to make the vehicle match the auction description!

Kelly Nocella (hotnocella1) listed this vehicle for her neighbor, Keith Bynum, whose last name she did not know. At first, Kelly wished to have deposit sent by PayPal, then after the auction changed her mind and wanted a money order or cashier's check. When I inquired about whether the car was drivable, as it was described to "run and drive excellently," she responded by email that it was drivable. The only problem with the vehicle noted in the auction was jerky shifting into 2nd gear. I called several transmission shops to inquire about costs for repairs, and was told they should be about $300. So I made an appointment to have the vehicle's transmission checked out before driving it from Spring Hill, Florida, to Wichita, Kansas, at a repair shop on Spring Hill.

But when I paid for and picked up the car, it would go no faster than 35 MPH. Shifting was fine, but there was no 3rd gear or overdrive. The car also pulled to the right and the steering wheel was cocked 45 degrees to keep it on the road. At the repair shop, the vehicle's condition was discovered to be far different than the auction, to the tune of about $5000! Ouch! In order to drive the vehicle back to Kansas safely, we had to rebuild the transmission, replace the u-joints, replace the rear brakes (they did not work at all, and in fact the DR brake had come apart due to a broken shoe!), replace tie rod ends, realign the vehicle, and replace the DF tire. At this time, we also discovered the front brakes worked, but the pads were completely gone (the tin warning clips had been removed from the front pads to eliminate that warning sound that brakes are bad), the AC did not work, the cooling fans did not work (were not hooked up), the fuse block under the hood was gutted so that relays for the cooling fans and other parts were missing and any replacement would not be held in place because the contacts were missing, the electric window motors did not work, the dash was broken, the odometer did not work, the radio did not work, there was no CD changer, and the PR wheel was severely bent on the inside bead. Each of these items were listed as features and/or working in the auction, or not mentioned as problematic in the auction. I made only the necessary repairs to drive back to Wichita safely.

In Wichita, I had the car checked further. The service engine bulb had been removed from the dash and codes are in the car's computer, indicating further problems. During this time, the seller had been notified by email that the condition of the vehicle was NOT like the auction description, but no response has ever come from the seller from these multiple notices. In fact, the seller has not made any contact with me regarding these problems and excessive repairs necessary to make the vehicle both safe and match the description. The owner of the vehicle did call me once to subtly threaten me that I needed to find something else to do with my time besides pursue getting my money back. He had also asked whether his conversation was being recorded (make of that what you will!) I also discovered that I cannot transfer the title for the vehicle into my name due to the way the title was signed with Keith Bynum's middle name spelled out. At this time, I have a POS Camaro that was completely misrepresented on eBay's auction that I cannot even tag, title and drive. A few days after getting the vehicle to Wichita, the front brakes locked up and also had to be repaired. The only accurate information about the car in the auction description was year, make, model and color.

I contacted eBay's fraud protection insurance agency, Auction Insurance, only to discover that eBay's policy only covers 3 things: engine, transmission and body/frame. Each component is treated individually, and to be covered must require more than $1500 in repairs to be eligible. They even estimated the mileage of the Camaro, since its last recorded mileage on record, to be over 200,000 miles (the car was listed with 120,000 miles, but the odometer has not worked since before 2004!). Despite the 20 page fax that I sent to them detailing the misrepresentations and my expenses thus far with the vehicle, they would not honor the self-proclaimed fraud protection offered by eBay or make any further efforts to reclaim or refund my winning bid or monies for repairs already made.

I then tried contacting eBay thru their website over the past week, requesting that someone from eBay call me regarding this auction. I have also made complaint against the seller thru eBay's official system on their site. But after several days, no one from eBay has responded by email or phone to my request, and neither has the seller. I will try calling eBay tomorrow directly. This is all very disappointing, since I've been an active eBay member since 1996 and have over 1300 feedback rating, to say that I have done a lot of business over eBay.

I will update this blog as more information becomes available. As it stands right now, the car should have gone to the salvage yard, I have nearly $4000 wrapped up in it, I could have bought a really nice car for this money anywhere in the country, much nicer than the Camaro at any rate, and I cannot tag and title it so I can drive it, whatever the outcome.

We have an electric-ignite furnace in our home. This means that when the furnace kicks on, a glow plug glows red hot and ignites the natural gas in the burners. This instead of a pilot light. We have had the furnace, installed in 1999, go out on us a couple of times since its installation. There were two common problems that are relatively cheap and easy to remedy.

It is key to troubleshoot the system. To troubleshoot an electric-ignite furnace such as ours described above, remove the tin cover from the furnace to view the exhaust fan, computer circuits, wiring, and other parts. With the cover removed, turn the furnace on and watch for the following things. BE SURE TO TURN OFF POWER TO THE FURNACE BEFORE TOUCHING ANY COMPONENTS IN THE FOLLOWING STEPS.

1) Listen to the furnace. The exhaust fan will kick on first, then about 30 seconds later the furnace will click. If neither of these happen, you can assume that the fix may not be as simple as you would like. It may be best at this point to consult a trained repair technician.

2) If the exhaust fan kicks on and the furnace clicks, next the glow plug will turn visibly hot, like the heating element on an electric stove. If the glow plug glows, it will be readily visible. If the glow plug does not light, your problem is likely the glow plug. Make sure power is off to the furnace. The glow plug is located in front of the burners so it can ignite them, and it is easy to remove. It will be held into place with two sheet metal screws. Two wires will run down to the glow plug, and be attached to the wiring of the furnace with a plastic clip plug. Uncouple the clip plug and remove the two sheet metal screws. The glow plug should lift out of the furnace. If the plug is burnt, it will have a break in it. If a break is present, replace the glow plug. Glow plugs cost about $30 at an AC/Heating specialty store. Be sure to take the burned glow plug with you. You cannot buy them at Wal-Mart or Lowe's or Home Depot (you can't here in Kansas, anyway). Get a new plug from the AC/Heating specialty store, install it, turn on power to the furnace again, and watch it again. The glow plug should now glow. Your problem is now probably solved.

3) If the glow plug glows, it will next ignite the gas burners. If the glow plug glows but the gas burners do not ignite, you are not getting gas to the burners. Call a trained repair technician.

4) If the gas burners ignite, a thermocouple/sensor will next test if flame is present to keep the burners burning. If the gas burners ignite and the glow plug turns off, but the burners go out immediately, the thermocouple is likely your problem. It is not registering that flame is present and it turns off the burners for safety reasons. The good news is that these thermocouples do not generally go bad, according to our counter parts technician and heating/cooling techs. Instead, the thermocouple is likely dirty. Make sure power is off to the furnace. The thermocouple or flame sensor is, like the glow plug, situated in front of the burners to detect heat and flame. It is usually held in place by a single sheet metal screw. There is a single wire that leads down to it. Unplug the wire from the base of the thermocouple and remove the sheet metal screw. The thermocouple can now be easily lifted from the furnace. Inspect the thermocouple. It is likely dirty and has black and white residue on it. It won't look like much residue, but this small amount insulates the thermocouple so that it does not sense heat/flame. To clean it, simply use a piece of steel wool and rub off all the residue, until the thermocouple looks like bare metal again. Re-install the thermocouple. Turn on power to the furnace again, and turn on the furnace. Your furnace should now stay lit. If it still does not stay lit, follow the same steps to replace the thermocouple. Like glow plugs, these thermocouples can't be found in Wal*Mart, Lowe's or Home Depot. It must be purchased from a AC/Heating specialty store, and costs about $20 (I think, at any rate it isn't much). Once replaced, your furnace will probably function again normally.

These steps have solved our furnace problems for several years. Of course, it is a good idea to have your heating and cooling system checked every year or two, and to replace filters every 3 months to keep your system operating at its peak performance. For problems not solved with these few steps, contact a trained repair techician.

The Spider-Man films have been very successful due to the strength of the characters and stories, which are lifted from the original comic book source(s). Spider-Man 3 looks to be another big hit. It features the Sandman, the alien costume (which later becomes Venom in the comics) and Hobgoblin, popular villains straight out of the Spider-Man comic books. All the emotional turmoil and angst about power and responsibility abound, making these characters complex. The themes of the stories are also complex and engaging as everyone must make choices that impact who they are and who they will become. Spider-Man 3 appears to be a film about revenge: Peter Parker's revenge for Uncle Ben's death, Harry Osborn's revenge for his father's death, and the alien costume responds to the emotion of revenge. Very dark story. It remains to see how well it is executed. If it is executed as well as the first two films, this installment is sure to be another blockbuster for Sony and Marvel Comics. Check out the official Spider-Man movie web site for more details about the film >

Wal*Mart is a giant. That's common knowledge. But as a company they make some dumb, uninformed decisions. The decisions I speak of here are their digital music distribution business and their Photo Manager Software in that neither supports the Macintosh OS by Apple Computer.

If you use a Macintosh computer, go to Wal*Mart's music download page on their web site. You'll get the following error message: "We're sorry, your operating system is incompatible. To provide the best download experience, we can no longer support Windows 98, ME or NT. Please visit again after you upgrade to Windows 2000 or XP. Visit our Help section for complete system requirements information." If we look at the industry, we find that the Apple iTunes store is now the third largest music distributor in the United States! That's a lot of music! Why do you think this is? In part because other music download sites, like Wal*Mart's site, don't support the Macintosh OS. Hmmm. Let's not capitalize on the possibility that we could sell more downloads and earn some part of the market from the #3 distributor (which is also the #1 online distributor, BTW). Let's not extrapolate anything from that knowledge or learn any lesson from it. Let's be petty and overlook support for a competitor's computer products, although they're the indisputed market leader. Hmmm. Now what about Microsoft and Windows? Hmmm. Microsoft also offers music software like iTunes and music downloads, too. So what differentiates this setup from Apple's as far as Wal*Mart is concerned? Who the heck knows? But it's clearly a political choice to fail to support the Macintosh for music downloads. How hard can it be to offer cross-platform downloads? I mean, if you're developing the service, do it right from the start and assume that the computers and operating systems are going to change each year, since they do, and offer a solution that won't need updated each year, too! Duh!

A similar situation occurs in regards to Wal*Mart and its Digital Photo Manager software. Wal*Mart offers CDs at their photo counter that clearly say compatible with Windows XP/2000 and Mac OS 10.x or later. Hey, I thought that was wonderful. In the past, I knew they didn't support my computer platform of choice, so I took a CD and when I got home stuck that CD into my G4 laptop and... watched a useless Flash intro because Wal*Mart's Photo Manager software is STILL incompatible with the Mac! To prove it, just get one of these CDs and try it. Ooops! Wal*Mart's Digital Photo Manager software is not Mac compatible. Does this smack of false advertising? You decide.

I DID call Wal*Mart's customer service line and told them of these findings, and also pointed out to them that all their links in their Photo Center site were broken and producing 404 errors. Every one! Wow! Wow wow! (That's a double wow!). They weren't doing any business that way today! I left my name, phone number and email address with the customer service rep I spoke to, but I don't expect to get any response. Ever.

Having noted all this, Wal*Mart still has its uses for Mac owners and their customers. Many graphic designers and freelancers use Macintosh computers, like me and my wife. We have found how to use Wal*Mart to help our customers. Our customers give us photo prints, but then they must pay us to scan them. This can be time consuming for more than a handful of photos. So we send our customers to Wal*Mart to use their scanners and have their scans put onto CD, which we can then use. Our cost to do this for 50 photos: $100. Wal*Mart's cost: $4.97 (or similar). Since the customers scans their own photos, all they pay for is the CD. That's big savings! My wife and I then use the photos from these CDs for our graphic, web and DVD projects. Simple!

Though Wal*Mart likely has other uses for designers and freelancers, we find that telling our customers about Wal*Mart's scanning capability and costs is by far the most frequent recommendation we make to our customers. It saves them money, relieves us responsibility for bad quality scans from bad quality originals, and relieves us of the boring, repetitive task of scanning itself. Instead, we can get right to work on the customer's project, which is the most enjoyable part of any project!

Looking forward to 2007, and to make it as productive as possible, I have created a form on this site so that publishers/manufacturers can request reviews of their books, software, hardware, iPod accessories and web sites. It seems that it is a problem in all industries to get competent reviews of products. So, my goal in 2007 is to ramp up my review output and invite submissions. Samples of my writing and reviews are readily available throughout this site. If you have a book, Macintosh software, Macintosh hardware, Apple iPod accessory or web site that you would like to have reviewed, submit our form and let us know about it >

You may not be into pens, but Tul, manufacturer of fine writing instruments, offers an online handwriting analysis application. Go to TUL.com web site and click the link to start your analysis. You need only write "I truly need a new pen" on a sheet of paper, then answer a short sequence of questions about the characteristics of the sample. Dr. Gerard Ackerman (a real graphologist?) then provides you with an analysis of your sample that is both insightful and humorous. The several analyses I've seen done, including my own, hit the mark. So I was impressed that it was both relatively accurate and fun at the same time! Tul pens are available only at OfficeMax. Get your own handwriting analysis >

A very good resource for resume and interview information is Pongo Resume. They offer an electronic newsletter that I recommend for anyone assembling a resume and going on job interviews. Their advice just makes sense.

The September 10, 2006 newsletter addresses interviewing and issues I've puzzled over. And the answer is so simple! Interviewing is like throwing darts in the dark. As interviewees, we need to illuminate the target (dart board) by asking a few questions and then assessing how close we've come to the target. The target is different for each position and even each interviewer. Now that's a moving target! I've condensed these two elements from the Pongo resume newsletter for convenience, but you should review the entire newsletter for best results:

Illuminate the Target:

-- “What are the key skills you feel are required for this position?”
-- "What parts of my background are you most interested in?”
-- “What did you see in my resume that created your interest?”

Check How Close We've Come to the Bullseye:

-- “Did I give you enough detail?”
-- “Does that make sense?”

It is important to remember that asking these questions and then asking follow-up questions will also influence the course of the interview.

Great technique, Pongo! Thanks!

We must delve into our own despair, said the wise old man, before we can achieve peace. It's hard to part with things, hard to let go, because we care. That may be a fault. Or it may be thin-skinned. Doesn't matter. I'm ready to part with some things I've held onto for 15 years. I've recently found a few dozen copies of OR and Passed through the Hands, two of my chapbooks of poetry and short fiction from 1990 and 1991 (respectively).

OR collects my best poetry and short fiction up to the date of publication (1990). It includes some of my favorite poems: "Trust," "The Rain" (award) "Mind Diving," "Crimson Summer Sunshine," "Trust," "To My Wife," "Sweet Chaste Cherry Buds," "Dog" and "The Day After She Was Married." It also includes my stories "The Rogue Rodent," "2." and "Timber Wolf" (tribute to Sherwood Anderson). OR is titled OR because it contains both poetry and short fiction, and the cover was originally printed in five different colors, so readers could have selected this color cover or that color cover or that color cover.

Passed through the Hands features work from myself and Jeff McMillian, a fellow student at MWSC, from 1991. It includes my more interesting poetry, and some of my most powerful poems, including "The I That Survives" and "Lifelines." Passed through the Hands is titled after a line in my poem "Lifelines." Of Passed through the Hands John Gilgun (our creative writing instructor) wrote:

"We are born up in communion, by a blaze, by a song." It is good to be reminded of that communion, of that blaze, of that song. I had begun to forget. Thanks, Jeff. "I am the I of I that I survive." I have no idea what I taught you, Mike. I just talk in class because that's what they pay me for. But if you have learned to survive by centering yourself, getting in touch with your unique spirit and expressing that spirit in language, then I feel I've done well. Publish it in Jeff City that I earned my pay. "Wow, I found myself sitting suddenly back in my home town, like a child, and I am holy again." Holy, holistic, whole, integrated -- Yes, Jeff, in the old hometown/jotown of soul, of mind. Here we are and isnt' it glorious -- the moments of our lives fixed and frozen forever like the glaze on one of Dooley's pots! Mike, how wonderful to encounter "Lifelines" again and to remember hearing you read it in LRC 102 and feeling that shiver pass over my body -- and then Jeff leaning over and whispering, "That's a GOOD poem!" Yes! -- John Gilgun, Author of Music I Never Dreamed Of

Rather than discard or burn these copies of OR and Passed through the Hands, I am giving them away. I read through both chapbooks before deciding to give them away, and found that much of the writing in them still moves me as it did when I published it, and doesn't embarrass me too much. These free books don't cost you a dime. Just a bit of your time. Limit one set per name/address. Limited to quantity on hand. You may only receive one chapbook or the other when quantity is depleted. Offer good only in the U.S. and its territories. Complete the request form and copies will be on their way to you shortly.

I got this link from a magazine (don't recall which one), and went to the URL to see if they had Macintosh software available. Didn't think they would have. But they did! That alone makes this site and software worthy of mention! KnowYourStuff.org, managed by the Insurance Information Institute, helps people like you and me inventory and calculate the valuable possessions in our home or office, to be used for any purpose, especially insurance purposes from theft or loss. I heartily recommend everyone inventory their possessions. This software can help. Other software options may be available, but this one is FREE. And for both Windows and Macintosh!

As I've noted in a previous entry, I sometimes post a message to the Graphic Design Cafe mailing list that I feel would be helpful to others. In this case, I think my post applies across all businesses, not just the web and/or graphic design business. And I think it warrants repeating most of my message here. Perhaps others besides the members of the list will find it helpful.

The original post asked for assistance helping a partner who wants to do everything herself but is a talented yet timid designer. He asked about resources he could use to help her become a better business person, particularly to ask for work and ask for payment.

My Post (edited):

I'll chime in here with my experience, dealing with retail customers day after day after day, 62 hours a week. Most of you don't know this, but in addition to my freelance and personal projects, I help my brother grow and manage his retail used and new tire business. I manage his store for him every day, he does the other things such as source used tires, sell wholesale lots of used tires, manage inventory, order tires, etc. We've more than doubled our sales in less than 2 years (his business will be 10 years old in September 2006). Some of this growth is due to improved and choice marketing (I'm on this list because I spent 9 years as a graphic/web designer at Koch Industries). But not all of it. Some of it is due to customer awareness, and in response, improved customer service. Customers are the same, no matter what the business. A broad generalization, but generally true. So my retail experience applies here, as well as my corporate and graphic design and web design freelance experience.

Your partner is going to have to buck up, or find someone (either paid or unpaid) to do the sales end of the business. Sales doesn't have to be cold calls (yuck!), but someone has to get the project defined and contract signed, and then ask for the money when it is due. It's that simple. If the money isn't collected, the business isn't a business, it's a hobby. Nothing wrong with that. But if a business is what is desired for the end result, it must look and act like a business. Which means...the sales end of the stick. And when a business looks and acts like a business, the customer expects to pay what is due, so it's considerably easier to ask for monies due.

I'm somewhat timid myself. In helping my brother, I've grown over the last two years as a sales person/business owner (since I act like the owner). Your partner can't be afraid to ask for what is necessary (project definition, contract, payment). If she is, then she REALLY isn't sure of the value of her work and probably doesn't believe that the customer values her work as much as she should get for it. All within reason, of course. She must leave this paradigm behind. Customers have always priced elsewhere, or will, and are usually familiar with appropriate costs. Those who do not wish to pay, do not wish for the business to survive and thrive, and do not care that they will need those same services again. They are short-sighted.

We have customers all the time who ask what kind of discount do they get when they buy 4 tires (used or new, doesn't matter), or if we can install the tires we sell for free. My brother responds, "Sure, we could install tires for free, but our doors won't be open tomorrow to help you when you need help again." He also explains similarly that he has 22 people that count on him for their living (employees and their immediate families...9 of those me & mine), so we charge what we have to charge. We also do not make apologies for our prices, as we know they are in makret. So we fully expect people to pay them, because they're the same they'll pay elsewhere. And they do pay, usually without question. As long as they know up front costs will be. No surprises.

Those that don't want to pay, we don't want them as customers, either. No business does. Businesses are not charities. Customers that don't pay are actually worse than having no customers: they consume time and materials (at an expense for the business) without any compensation. A lack of customers consumes nothing, but it does takes us away from doing other business-building activities (meeting with paying customers, for example), which we should be doing anyway when we're not helping paying customers.

I've dealt with angry customers, most who don't want to pay. Mostly when my brother is away from the business. I used to joke that he'd call these people when he was away and have them come in to giive me trouble. Seriously. And I think it would have been an effective training regimen if he had done so. It seemed that every time he was away, I'd have some run-in with angry customers. But these run-ins have battle-hardened me and taught me valuable lessons, which I am going to share with you (and everyone listening). But first, some detail about 3 primary experiences:

An older man (late-50s, mid-60s) needs a $25 used tire and that tire installed (mounted for $5, disposal of old tire for $2). He complains about these prices. I knock off $5. He reaches over and pats down my right side (where I where my cell phone). I back up, smile, and ask him what he's doing. He says he's checking for my gun, he calls me a fuc*in robber. I laugh it off. He leaves the old tire and wheel for the new tire to be installed, picked up later. We discover his valve stem is bad, the cause for the destroyed tire, and replace it in his absence, otherwise the new tire won't hold air. Simple, right? It costs $2. The new tire doesn't leak, etc. He comes back to pick up the tire. He is indignant about the $2 valve stem, though I explain that it is necessary for the assembly to hold air. He calls me a robber. I tell him that's the second time he's called me that. He corrects me: "This morning, I called you a fuc*ng robber." So I tell one of my employees to pull the new valve stem out of the customer's wheel. Of course, it won't hold air when we do that. The old man stops me and pays. He grumbles something about being glad when my brother gets back. I tell him, "Me, too."

A woman comes into the shop, buys a used tire. Leaves with it. Calls about 20 minutes later wanting to return it, distressed. I ask what the problem is. The tire has a plug in it. I explain our return policy (no refund, exchange under warranty only if the tire slips a belt, etc. before such and such time). A plug doesn't make a tire defective. The whole time in the background, I can hear her husband yelling at her. I feel bad for her. I tell her she can bring the tire back and we will put a patch over the cut plug (a common procedure in the business). She says OK. She comes in, still distressed. About 5 other customers are in the customer area, waiting for their tires and/or to have their tires replaced/repaired. I explain again the return policy so she knows I'm going above and beyond and breaking policy, then give her a refund. I tell her she has already had enough stress for the day. Then at about that time, her husband comes into the shop, livid, unglued, unbalanced, calling me a mother fuc*er, screaming that I sold him a bad tire, etc. Completely unreasonable and bordering on dangerous, I believe. I tell him I am in the middle of refunding his wife's money, though it isn't our policy to do so. He's still calling me four-letter names. I thank him nicely. "Thank you, sir." He's still rattling off. "Thank you, sir." "Sir, I have to ask you to leave..." He calls me another name. "Thank you, sir." He turns to leave, even steps out the door, then turns right back around, laying into me again. "Sir, you need to leave....Thank you, sir." He gives me the single finger salute. "Thank you, sir." He leaves. Finally. I'm shaking, I'm so pissed off. I give the woman back her money and wish her good luck. I am so upset, I have to go into the other room and pace for a few minutes, out of site. When I return, the customers who are present say they are impressed with how I handled the situation. We put a patch on the tire and put it back on the shelf to sell.

A woman comes in to have a starter put on her Taurus SHO. We price it for her. She doesn't like the price of the starter. She buys one at a parts store and brings it in. We install it. It fits, but the shaft isn't long enough to engage the flywheel to start the SHO. We remove it, test it, etc. Starter tests OK. Install it again. Same results. We put the old starter back on. It works (has worked intermittently). We call the woman and explain the situation. A rep from the parts store shows up an hour or so later, with another starter, exact same as the first. Though the starter is the right starter according to their computer system, he agrees it won't work, after we install the second new starter. He refunds the customer's money. She buys and brings in a used starter from a salvage yard. We put it in. It works fine. We call her, tell her the car is ready. She is surprised that she has to pay for installing the starter 3 times. I explain that we're not responsible for carry-in parts not being the correct parts, and since we installed a starter 3 times, we have to charge her for each time we installed the starter. I explain that if we had sold her the starter, we would have put it in a dozen times but still only charge her once because it would then have been our responsibility to make sure the part is correct for her car. Since she provided the starter, she's responsible for making sure she has the right part, not our technicians. She hangs up and comes down to pick up the car. She brings 4 or 5 young men with her, all belligerent, all loud, with intimidating attitudes, leaning over the counter, acting as though they don't understand the logic. In essence, trying to force me to release her car for the considerably lesser amount. It is a pack. Since our shop is in a less-than-desirable neighborhood, with many minorities (these customers were members of a minority), it is clear what they are doing. I take her money for the lesser amount and release her vehicle, but write on her ticket, clearly: "No warranty on used parts or customer-supplied parts" (our standard policy). Since that time, these same customers have been in once or twice, but at no point ever asked for another discount. The woman's husband, one of those who had come down to the shop, does manage to apologize when purchasing two tires for the same SHO. I accept his policy but don't offer any discounts.

I've had other similar experiences, almost legendary since our techs clearly remember and retell these adventures more than I do. All took place in my brother's absence. These occurred, I believe, because: 1) my brother, the owner, wasn't present, and they know he is the owner. 2) My behavior in these situations was uncertain, not confident, not owner-like, creating a situation which they felt they *could* manipulate, if enough pressure was applied.

So I learned the following:

1) Be confident, know what my options truly are, according to the law. If customers have signed a work order, we can keep the vehicle until their bill is paid in full, regardless of the contents or amount. I *don't* have to release it. The sheriff cannot make me release any vehicle for which we have a signed work order. They can't. It's a binding, legal agreement (this is in the small print on the ticket, legalese that I've only had one customer read, a law student).

2) Share costs with the customer as soon as the situation changes and costs change. Customers don't like surprises. When a change occurs, contact the customer, explain the problem (or problems), and communicate additional costs (if any). Stop the work where it is, be prepared to charge fairly for what *has* been done.

3) If possible, price the job several ways, usually with new or salvage parts, rebuilt or new, larger part containing smaller part replaced for less labor, etc. Customers appreciate this extra effort, especially if they are on a tight budget. People, in general, like alternatives, options.

4) Don't be afraid to lose the undesirable customer. Sometimes, we have to fire customers. For every undesirable customer, there are others waiting to pay us fairly and in a timely manner for our products and services. Some customers have developed the habit of being difficult, just as some people have developed the habit of self-defeat.

5) Don't be afraid to undo what has been done (i.e., dismount a tire, remove a valve stem, take out the starter, etc.) if the customer doesn't want to pay fairly and reasonably for it. We also have the right to charge for undoing what has been done as that is labor cost, while explaining that we *may* charge for undoing what we've already done. That also doesn't mean we have to make the vehicle serviceable. We don't. The customer can always have it towed if necessary, at their expense, if we remove what they don't want to pay for. The choice is up to them. We've never had to do this while I've been at the shop. But I know it is an option and that my brother will support me if I ever need to do this.

6) Understand the true value of my products and services, and charge fairly for that value. That may mean doing some research. Find out what others charge for similar service, similar quality. Charge similarly. Be confident you've charged market value for said products & services. They'd have to pay the same price elsewhere for similar products and services from similar businesses. If you add extra value, don't be afraid to charge for that, too. For example, we have a Wal-Mart less than 3 miles away. Competing with Wal-Mart is hard. But it takes Wal-Mart 2-6 hours to complete any tire-related task, including notifying customers that their tire is not repairable and must be replaced with a new one (which is not necessarily true but is Wal-Mart's policy for some punctures). Customers REALLY don't like to wait 3 hours to be told their tire must be replaced. Thus, our repair prices are a couple dollars more than Wal-Mart's, but in line with other independent and chain tire stores. We have customers in and out in less than 20 minutes for a flat repair. That's easily worth a couple bucks.

7) Asking for and accepting payment completes the transaction. The work is not the transaction. The payment is the transaction, the exchange of money for products & services. If that exchange does not occur, the transaction is not complete. It isn't complete until that exchange occurs. So it isn't a problem to ask for payment. The customer expects to finalize the transaction as much as you do, and be on their way.

8) Do not release any product or service until the transaction is complete. Don't even release part of it. Explain if necessary that the product/service will be rendered/released when payment (in full) has been received. This sometimes means that our customers have to call Mom or Dad down to show their I.D. so we can charge their credit/debit card. Or they have to go across the street to the convenience store and use the ATM.

I don't believe this information is available in any book, though it may be, but it is likely long and drawn out if it appears in a book (a book MUST be thick to have value, right?). This message, I hope, can help your partner with your business. It sure can't hurt.

I am a member of the graphic design cafe mailing list. This list is light-hearted and friendly, unlike other lists. Fred Showker, a recognized graphic designer and speaker, is list-mom, and does a great parenting job. Sometimes discussions on this list come up that I think merit a wider audience.

One such recent discussion was about hosting web images, and another about hosting a single-page web page to help someone sell their boat. For the question about hosting someone else's web images, it was an odd question. Why would any business need this service? I can't think of any good, reasonable, justifiable purpose. My recommendation was along this vein. If they already have web hosting, why can't those images be hosted on that server? Something didn't smell right here. I don't know the final outcome, but I think the final group consensus was that this should be avoided due to not only the dubious nature of the request and the potential for mischief, perhaps illegal mischief. Though such hosting may not require much disk space, it is possible they could eat up bandwidth depending on their content and popularity.

Regarding single web page hosting, this is certainly a viable business request. In this discussion, someone was going to create some flyers and a web page to help an acquaintance sell his boat. She didn't know what to charge for hosting the single page. Someone suggested that the actual space that is used be the basis for pricing. On the other hand, I suggested this wasn't financially viable, since web hosting offers 5MB of space (often more) for just a few dollars a month, and a single page shouldn't be more than 100K, or 1 MB if a lot of photos are in the page for this kind of page, so this would result in nearly no income. Better, I said, would be to charge a set fee, or to charge based on a percentage of the selling price. The latter, I felt, would result in a true estimation of the value of the page hosting. The discussion leader chose the first option, and the customer was delighted to pay just $20 or $25 per month to host his advertisement. I would agree that this is a fair price.

What do you think?

As a writer, "express, don't impress" is a cardinal rule. Shorter and simpler is better for readers. You will find this same wisdom applied to writing for the web as well as writing for print.

There are those Internet marketing gurus who adamantly, vehemently say otherwise, but these are, IMHO, akin to snake oil salesman, selling something that you don't really need or want and may not really wish to purchase but require your readership to ease you into purchasing their product. The longer they can get you to "listen" to their pitch, the more opportunity they have to convince you to trust them, to trust their product, and to purchase, and the more likely you are to purchase, because now you begin to feel obligated. So for these kinds of Internet marketers, it is about getting the purchase and lining their pockets regardless of the true quality and usefulness of the product. So for these kinds of Internet marketers, longer IS better. They are like used car salesmen. I don't doubt their success (convincing people to spend money). I doubt their motives, sincerity and concern for their fellow men and women. These men -- and women! -- are professionals. But there are also professional burglars, bank robbers, etc.

Yet in the larger corporate and mass consumer world, at every turn, the advice is to "express, don't impress." Even in the automotive service industry! I help my brother manage and grow his retail tire business. We subscribe to Tire Business, a periodical devoted to the tire retailing industry. It is always a satisfying read to find out what's coming up in the industry, what to watch for and anticipate, etc. In Tire Busienss, Dan Marinucci writes a regular column to help shop owners and managers improve and grow their businesses through integrity, salesmanship, customer service and effective management of all aspects of the business. In the January 30, 2006 issue of Tire Business, Dan penned an entire article about simplifying communication, in this case the spoken word. In order to communicate effectively, Dan writes, the speaker/writer must follow the same three cardinal rules taught in all worthwhile writing courses:

1) Explain in terms the reader/listener can understand. Use well-chosen analogies, i.e. compare a fuel injector to a shower head (similar functionality).
2) Choose words carefully. Use just the right word to communicate exactly what is meant.
2) User short words and short sentences to improve listener/reader comprehension and understanding.

I have always been an advocate for shorter, simpler. That's why Hemingway has always been one of my favorite authors. And why my writing and designs have always tended toward the minimalist. It was a pleasant surprise to see Dan's article apply the same rules to an entirely unexpected industry. How does "express, don't impress" apply to your industry?

I received the latest installment to my Dokken collection today. Under Lock & Key is Dokken's third album, and despite natural commercialization, a very good listen. Unlike Cinderella, whose later albums lost impact for this fan, Dokken's commercialization has only seemed to improve their music. It was good before, but the polished sound on Under Lock & Key is more appealing to the ear. Intact, too, are the themes that inspired the earlier tunes: dark/light contrasts, the things that go on at night, failed love. I think it is perhaps these themes that save Dokken (in this album anyway) from falling victim to vanilla. The music, lyrics and themes are all of the same power as the early Dokken material. Read my review of Dokken: Under Lock & Key at epinions.com >

Why am I reconstituting my music collection from my teenage years? Why am I bothering to purchase the CDs rather than download them from Limewire or other peer-to-peer networks? Well, I did download some of the music from Limewire, but that's illegal. No gray areas about that. All artists of all sorts deserve to be financially rewarded for the enjoyment they deliver to us by their art. I don't want to work for free. Why should they? Copyright laws have been created to protect everyone's rights for their unique creation, whether book, story, article, review, song, painting, software, design of all sorts, and etc. And, quite frankly, I want my favorite artists, authors, software developers and publishers to continue creating the material I enjoy and use, so I can continue to enjoy and use their new material. So for all the music I have downloaded from Limewire, which isn't all that much, I am purchasing the original CDs to comply with copyright laws and pay the artists for their labors. Maybe Dokken will release another CD this year or next and it will be as good as Hell to Pay. Maybe Giuffria will decide to reunite for another CD, since their CDs from the 80s are so hard to acquire here in the states. Maybe Cinderella will release another great album like Night Songs.

In the past week, I've received some more CDs to reconsitute my CD collection. Many of these fine albums I had on cassette or vinyl (do you know vinyl?). I am reviewing them on epinions.com as time allows. They're not ALL 80's metal. One is 80's synth-pop...or so I gather. I've not been one to categorize my music. I just like it and that as they say is that. Among the CDs that I've received in the post are Dokken: Yesterday & Today, Berlin: Pleasure Victim, Cinderella: Long Cold Winter and Giuffria: Silk + Steel. I've long known that I'm affected by particular themes in film, and I think the same is true of music. I cannot stand much of today's music. It's either much too commercial, much too offensive or simply doesn't "speak" to me or my experience. To find out why I like these albums I've received, check out my reviews on epinions.com!

As I'm reconstituting my music collection, I'm rediscovering bands I've not listened to in a long time. Many of these bands still move me today as they moved me in the 80's. Cinderella is one of these bands. I recently bought their album Night Songs from Apple's iTunes for a mere $5.99. As I've done with a couple Dokken albums, I've also written a review of Cinderella's Night Songs. IMHO, it is classic metal that endures. Like Dokken's early recordings, Night Songs is bold. Unlike tunes from the likes of AC/DC (for whom I've never been much of a fan), Cinderella's songs are Jungian, reaching into our collective psyche and expressing themes as valid today as they were in the 80's. I wouldn't call today's uncertain times hopeful or the people around me optimistic, particularly after September 11. Everyone's just getting by and enjoying their lives as best they can. Myself included. Read my review of Cinderella's Night Songs.

Before I won my iPod, I didn't much listen to anything but the radio. I had a few CDs, but never listened to them. I didn't have a CD player in my car. So I didn't listen to them. For convenience, it was the radio. Then I found the perfect solution to listen to my iPod while I worked at my Small Home Office (corner, really), since I hadn't had much luck with FM Transmitters with my iPod in my vehicles and don't care for headphones. I came across the iHome iPod Alarm Clock and asked to review it for MacNN. But MacNN didn't come through with a product to review, so my wife bought one for me for Christmas. (Thanks, Lynette!)

Though I had a couple people tell me the iHome wasn't very good, I beg to differ with them. It's a great, well-built accessory and I absolutely couldn't do without mine now that I've had it just a month. Just as I couldn't do without my iPod. If you own an iPod and an alarm clock, dispense with the old alarm clock. Check out my review of the iHome iPod Alarm Clock at epinions.com!

I won an iPod from Pennzoil at the SEMA show in Las Vegas in 2004. They gave away an iPod mini every half hour or hour, I don't remember which. Up to 4 random attendees could play the oil trivia game. I was quite possibly the least-knowledgable contestant on the panel. I had been in the tire/auto business for all of 6 months (full-time). I was previously a graphic/web designer for a large company which included Koch Oil Company. Thankfully, the trivia questions were mostly about recognition and marketing, not about mechanical things. My brother was on the panel. He's been doing automotive work nearly all his life, having started at my father's truck stop in Elwood, Kansas. I was sure I'd lose by no small margin.

But..question by question, I was one step behind the leader. Just one step. Just a fraction of a second. My brother was dead last. The last question came up...I answered it just seconds ahead of the leader...and won the iPod! Incredible! My brother was shocked! He would have given me the iPod anyway if he had won it, I think, since he's not into Apple or Macs or computers at all.

Now, I own a fabulous iPod Mini. :)

As I'm cruisin' through YourMusic.com's selections, and looking on eBay for a better deal (always have to wach the bottom line), I came across a band I'd long forgotten but whose music I once owned: Giuffria! Seems that band's CDs are long out of print, so they're kinda pricey at $20-$30 a pop. They only released 2 CDs (self-titled Giuffria and Silk & Steel), but I recall at least two of their songs, both power ballads. Do you remember Giuffria? How 'bout "Call to the Heart" and "I Must Be Dreaming", the two songs I remember? Did you know the lead singer, David Glen Eisley, had a partial new song (never completed apparently) featured in a Spongebob Squarepants episode in 2004 or 2005? I didn't either. But I found out today that he did. Some of the band members went on to found another band called House of Lords, too. Those CDs are hard to find as well. You never think about these things that have passed until one day...

I'm showing my age. I graduated high school in 1986, and I listened to the heavy metal bands of that era. For years since I listened to whatever played on the radio. Now I find myself interested again in the bands of my teen years. I have joined YourMusic.com and filled my qeue for 2 years worth of classic heavy metal. YourMusic.com's selection is narrow, but at $5.99/CD with free shipping, that deal can't be beat, even on eBay! My first new Dokken CD in 20 years arrived in the mail a month ago: Hell to Pay (2004). I recently posted my review of it at epinions.com. I'm one of just a person or two who has reviewed that CD. While I was at it, I also reviewed Tooth & Nail, the Dokken classic from 1984. Are you a Dokken fan?

I just turned in my review of RapidWeaver 3.2 for MacCompanion.com. I am new to RapidWeaver, but I've used it to redesign my freelance web site. Built on a template system, templates that can be selected or copied and altered to create new ones, RapidWeaver makes general web publishing and maintenance as simple as it has ever been. The image quality isn't at a professional level, but RapidWeaver makes it incredibly easy to get a web site up quickly. v3.5 will be available in about 60 days as a free upgrade to 3.2 owners. It appears to be a worthy upgrade. Best of all: RapidWeaver is easy to use for everyone on the Macintosh. Read my review and then go buy it if you want a web site. Then host your site with me. I'll give you some kind of discount if you mention this blog entry. I'm flexible. :)