HootSuite My Twitter Client of Choice

I have to agree. HootSuite is the most fully-functional web-based Twitter client I have found. I use it almost exclusively while on my notebook!

in reference to: HootSuite (view on Google Sidewiki)

For Immediate Release: SeV Travel Clothing Eliminates the Hassle of New TSA Regulations

For Immediate Release-SeV Travel Clothing Eliminates the Hassle of New TSA Regulations

Everyone knows that the new TSA rules are designed to keep us safe, but they can be a major hassle, too.  Remain seated for the last hour? What if you need something from your carry-on bag stored above?   There is an approved solution already on the market from SeV/SCOTTEVEST Travel Clothing http://www.scottevest.com.  Since SeV products are clothing, and not a bag, all SeV products by defination comply with the new TSA regulations which prohibit access to your carry-on bags during the last hour of flight. 

SeV travel clothing is stylish and designed to carry a multitude of electronics and other things in discreet pockets, to be used in place of a carry-on.  Passengers can stay seated and still access their convenience items for a better overall travel experience.

Containing slim, interior pockets, each SeV piece is designed to carry what you need on your flight– even a netbook or eBook reader – and can be easily taken off and passed through the x-ray at security without emptying each pocket.  With some pieces containing upwards of 50 pockets,  SeV clothing contains an impressive array of features for the traveler, including:

• Easy-access pockets designed for specific items travelers carry, such as boarding passes, ID, cameras and much more. Icons stitched onto the interior pockets act as a map to help you find what you're looking for without fumbling.
• SeV's patented Personal Area Network (P.A.N.) - which manages wires and earbuds through the jacket's lining, keeping them from tangling.
• Clear Touch fabric, which allows a traveler to see and control their iPod® (and cell phone, when appropriate) through the fabric without removing the device.
• NoBulge™ pocket design - just because you "actually wear your carry-on" as travel expert Peter Greenberg points out, you don't need to look like the Michelin Man.
• Weight Management System™ engineered to balance the weight from these added devices. This system is much more ergonomic than wearing a bag that puts all the weight on one shoulder.

Holiday travelers are already commenting via Twitter on how SeV is improving their travel experience under the new regulations, in addition to the hundreds of other favorable tweets about SeV:

• "Traveling with my @scottevest is so much easier" - @Dorv via Twitter
•  "So I just went through airport security with my @scottevest travel vest and they didn't believe all the stuff I had in it when I took it off" - @chadmanfoto via Twitter
•  "Just gave the fatherinlaw an @scottevest classic vest I bought him. Him "What's this for?" Me "you travel all the time now. You need this!" - @dmcohen via Twitter

SeV travel clothing makes it simple for travelers to comply with the new TSA regulations while still enjoying their flights.  Please visit www.scottevest.com to see the full line of SeV clothing and let me know if I can answer any questions about our company.

Sincerely,

Scott Jordan
CEO & Founder
Follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com/ScotteVest

 

This message was sent by SCOTTeVEST, INC. using ReachMail. SCOTTeVEST, INC.

Question

If it rains on Christmas morning and snows Christmas night, is it still a white Christmas?

Unaware Motorist Pulled Over By Police

My Audioblog on Cinchcast.com

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Love My Pack Windbreaker

The Personal Area Network, pockets galore, including the see-through fabric for the cell phone and MP3 player -- this thing is awesome! It's my first ScotteVest, but it certainly will NOT be my last! Review coming soon at http://snurl.com/usjoe

in reference to: http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/nylon-windbreaker-packable-jacket.shtml (view on Google Sidewiki)

FREE Robert Rich Download TODAY ONLY!

Magnatune Song of the Day for Thursday, December 24, 2009 Genre: Ambient Album: Trances-Drones CD1 Artist: Robert Rich Song: 2. Hayagriva Listen to the album: hifi lofi DOWNLOAD NOW (only available today, Thursday)
Today's free song is from the album: Robert Rich Trances-Drones CD1 Total time: 71:57 Release date: 8/14/2007 Location of artist: CA, USA This artist has 17 other albums

Merry Christmas!

Last year I started a new Christmas tradition with my kids, reading them my own kid-friendly rendition of The Christmas Story. I share that with you today, along with a Christmas message from America's last great President.

Merry Christmas!

Direct video link.

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FREE William Brooks Download TODAY ONLY!

Magnatune Song of the Day for Wednesday, December 23, 2009 Genre: Folk Album: Karma Dogs Artist: William Brooks Song: 11. Convertible Girls Listen to the album: hifi lofi DOWNLOAD NOW (only available today, Wednesday)
Today's free song is from the album: William Brooks Karma Dogs Total time: 51:52 Release date: 3/24/2004 Location of artist: NY, USA This artist has 5 other albums

Hook, Line, and Sinker

It has been one week since we added a little Chihuahua puppy named
Nacho to our family. Both the puppy and his name were chosen by my
son.

Neither my wife nor I ever thought we would own a Chihuahua. I
certainly didn't think I would become so attached to one so quickly!
But this little guy has certainly captured my heart.

We had agreed after the passing of Maddy, our beloved Dalmatian of
nine years, just three weeks ago that we were going to wait at least
until spring to get another pet.

Tonight, there is snow on the ground, and little Nacho is curling up
beside me to go to sleep. It's a testament to the powers of persuasion
of a little boy and a little puppy.

=====
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Book Review: Dream On by Aaron Patterson

Aaron Patterson and his hero, Mark Appleton, return in book two of the WJA series, Dream On.

We first met Mark Appleton in Patterson's debut novel, Sweet Dreams, a year ago, and we were wowed! As Appleton makes his return in Dream On, the excitement continues.

Appleton finds himself teaming up with an unlikely ally in Kirk Weston, a former Police Officer believed to be dead. And he finds himself in a titanic struggle with the very personification of evil, as he battles a Russian mafia kingpin also known as the Red Dog.

Dream On is filled with shocking twists and turns that one wouldn't expect from a story such as this. Best of all, the ending promises us great things to come in Patterson's upcoming continuation to the WJA saga, In Your Dreams.

If you haven't yet read Patterson's debut novel, Sweet Dreams, you should start there today. Patterson lays the foundation for the events that follow in Dream On.

Patterson continues to excite and engage readers with his colorful narration and creative dialogue.

Send me your comments. Joe

AJA Press

Book Review: NKJV Greatest Storeis of the Bible from Thomas Nelson Publishers

The Bible. It's the number one selling book of all time, with something like six billion copies sold in more than two-thousand languages and dialects. Whether you prefer something traditional, like the King James Version, or something more contemporary and modern, like The Message, you are sure to find what you're looking for in one of the many, many translations of God's Word.

In NKJV Greatest Stories of the Bible from Thomas Nelson Publishers, you will find the Bible presented in just a slightly different way. Different, because the Bible is presented as a collection of scripturally accurate stories rather than presented in a book-by-book format divided into Old and New Testaments.

Have you ever wondered just where you can find the story of Christmas? Or the tale of Joseph and his coat of many colors? Or Sampson and Delilah, David and Goliath, or Moses parting the Red Sea? With NKJV Greatest Stories of the Bible you simply open up to the table of contents and scroll for what you're looking for, then flip to the appropriate page and read the full scriptural context of the story -- just like that.

While NKJV Greatest Stories of the Bible does not present the entire text of the Bible to us from cover to cover, it does present hundreds of favorite Bible stories in an easy to find, easy to read format.

While I would normally choose a translation other than the New King James Version, NKJV Greatest Stories of the Bible is presented clearly and I found it quite readable and quite enjoyable. It's a great resource for family devotion times, for home schooling, or just for spending some quiet, personal time with the Word.

Send me your comments. Joe

AJA Press

FREE Ehren Starks Download TODAY ONLY

Magnatune Song of the Day for Wednesday, December 16, 2009 Genre: New Age Album: The Depths of a Year Artist: Ehren Starks Song: 5. Dad's song Listen to the album: hifi lofi (only available today, Wednesday) DOWNLOAD NOW
Today's free song is from the album: Ehren Starks The Depths of a Year Total time: 58:33 Release date: 7/17/2003 Location of artist: KS, USA This artist has one other album

Our New Chihuahua, Nacho

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Send me your comments. Joe

Direct video link.

Find more video of Nacho at MobyPicture.
AJA Press

Merry X-mas!

This time of year there is always great debate (among those who just need a reason to debate) about the meaning of Christmas. Whether you celebrate it as the birth of Christ, or just a time to give gifts, or some other manufactured holiday [see Kwanzaa], Christmas should be a time of great joy and happiness, shared with family and friends, blah, blah, blah. Right?

I say, emphatically, NO!

Christmas is a time of year that we recognize the birth of our Savior. Period. You may give gifts, which is great, as on that first Christmas day we received the greatest gift of all from our Creator God in the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ, sent to take away the sins of the world. But as I mentioned earlier, much of the debate of this time of year centers around the terms "Christmas Tree," or the use of the letter 'X' instead of 'Christ' in the word Christmas. It is that which weighs heavily on my mind today.

Christmas. Xmas. Or X-mas. What is the difference. Is there really any difference? Many people -- including some of my own loved ones -- intentionally use the letter 'X' to replace 'Christ' in Christmas, as if by writing the word differently they can remove the real reason for the season.

But what does the 'X' really represent? Consider this, from Wikipedia:

"The word Christmas originated as a compound meaning 'Christ's Mass'. It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes maesse, a phrase first recorded in 1038.[6] 'Cristes' is from Greek Christos and 'maesse' is from Latin missa (the holy mass). In Greek, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ, and it, or the similar Roman letter X, has been used as an abbreviation for Christ since the mid-16th century.[12] Hence, Xmas is often used as an abbreviation for Christmas."

But maybe you're one who views Wikipedia as flawed, due to it's social editing structure. In that case, consider this:

From Bill Purdue, an Open University historian:

"I suppose to us it will always look like an abbreviation, but it would first seem to be an abbreviation used by clerics with a good knowledge of ancient languages."

Or this, from About.com:

It is said that when the Emperor Constantine had his great vision that caused him to convert to Christianity, he saw the Greek letters Chi and Rho intertwined. Chi is written as an 'X' and Rho is written as a 'P', but they are the first two letters of the Greek word Christ 'savior'. 'XP' is sometimes used to stand for Christ. Sometimes X is used alone. This is the case in the Chi (X) abbreviation for Christ in Xmas. Thus, Xmas is not directly a way of secularizing the holiday, but since 'X' is not Chi in English, we read the word as X-mas and see no connection with Christ.

Still not convinced? Then maybe you should consider this, from Snopes.com, one of the most reputable sites for debunking urban myths (presented as a screen capture as well as text -- click image to enlarge):

The abbreviation of 'Xmas' for 'Christmas' is neither modern nor disrespectful. The notion that it is a new and vulgar representation of the word 'Christmas' seems to stem from the erroneous belief that the letter 'X' is used to stand for the word 'Christ' because of its resemblance to a cross, or that the abbreviation was deliberately concocted "to take the 'Christ" out of Christmas."

Actually, this usage is nearly as old as Christianity itself, and its origins lie in the fact that the first letter in the Greek word for 'Christ' is 'chi,' and the Greek letter 'chi' is represented by a symbol similar to the letter 'X' in the modern Roman alphabet. Hence, 'Xmas' is indeed perfectly legitimate abbreviation for the word 'Christmas'...

So there you have it. No matter how you slice it -- or spell it -- Christmas is just that, the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Merely substituting 'Christ' with an 'X' does not change that. Am I suggesting that you shouldn't celebrate Christmas if you haven't accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior?

Quite the contrary. Instead, I suggest you continue to celebrate Christmas with your friends and family, giving gifts and singing carols, and all that has come to be a traditional Christmas celebration. Oh, yeah, and I strongly encourage you to come to a personal relationship with Christ, because without that, everything we do on this Earth is for nothing.

Send me your comments. Joe

AJA Press

Bearcats: Good Riddance BK

My complete Cinch Audioblog.

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FREE Robert Rich Download TODAY ONLY!

Magnatune Song of the Day for Friday, December 11, 2009 Genre: Ambient Album: Due Acque - Live Archive Vol 2 Artist: Robert Rich Song: 3. Due Acque part 01 Listen to the album: hifi lofi (only available today, Friday)
Today's free song is from the album: Robert Rich Due Acque - Live Archive Vol 2 Total time: 72:32 Release date: 7/3/2009 Location of artist: CA, USA This artist has 17 other albums

FREE MUSIC Today Only From Jeff Wahl!

Magnatune Song of the Day for Thursday, December 10, 2009 Genre: Jazz Album: 12 String Artist: Jeff Wahl Song: 10. Starting Over Again Listen to the album: hifi lofi (only available today, Thursday)
Today's free song is from the album: Jeff Wahl 12 String Total time: 38:24 Release date: 8/12/2008 Location of artist: CO, USA This artist has 4 other albums

Google Chrome Extensions

This is the last thing that Google Chrome was missing to make it the only browser you will ever need. Google Chrome Extensions

Send me your comments. Joe

AJA Press

Indiana Road Crews #FAIL in Snow

My complete Cinch Audioblog

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AJA Press

First Snow and Icy Streets

My complete Cinch Audioblog

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AJA Press

Working Sundays

For the first time in 15 years in Retail Management, I work for a
company that has adopted a set Management schedule for every store in
the chain. This set schedule has me working 7 of 9 Sundays during the
holiday season, after always having Sundays off.

Sundays for me are family days that begin by taking the family to
church. We then do activities together at home or go to lunch, and
just basically enjoy the day as a family.

Today, I'm at work, wondering which bean counter in corporate who has
never worked a day in a store made this set schedule. My family is
home without me.

Later this week I'll be meeting for the second time with two different
companies about a career change. My motivtion for changing is
increasing.

===
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Random Holiday Thoughts

Being in Retail Management, this can always be a hectic and stressful
time of year for me. In past years, the job has actually killed my
Christmas spirit. There can be a great deal of chaos, people arguing
over who got to the last widget on the shelf first -- many people are
just rude in general at this time of year to those in the service
industries.

Thankfully I've been away from the core retail business for the past
five years. I work now in a specialty retail market that barely even
extends store hours for the holidays. And with Thanksgiving (my
favorite holiday) behind us and Christmas rapidly approaching, I can
let the joy of the season flow through me.

There is nothing better at Christmas than seeing my kids happy. It
makes up for all of the rudeness and chaos I see at work.

Next time you're shopping, tell a Retailer "Thank You" for being there
for you this Christmas. It just might make their day.

===
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Audioblog: Winter Driving in Indianapolis

My complete Cinch Audioblog.

Send me your comments. Joe

AJA Press

A Day At The Museum

Today was my first day off work since Thanksgiving, and we decided to
spend it doing something fun and family-oriented. So we took off after
lunch and headed to The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
[http://twitter.com/tcmindy].

My daughter got to see Santa Claus (my son avoided him), ride the
carousel, and slide down the Yule Slide (a la "A Christmas Story"). My
son did and arctic treasure hunt and played in Science Works.

We always have a great time at The Children's Museum, which is why we
became members last spring. Check out some pics of our day at
http://www.facebook.com/averagejoeamerican.

===
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NaNoWriMo 2009

With only two days left in the month of November, I have crossed the 50,000 word finish line for National Novel Writing Month. My novel, the sequel to my first novel is only approximately half complete at 50,000 words, so it looks like I'll be writing well into December.

I'm very pleased with where the story is going and where my characters are taking it (because I lost control long ago when they quit following my direction around word 264 or so). Stay tuned for updates on the editing and eventual publishing process.

Send me your comments. Joe

AJA Press