I am a simple guy with simple needs. I restarted my phone today, I do that when someone calls me using Skype. Why? Because Skype's caller ID is starts with a 0 and it messes thing up on the phone for some types of outgoing calls. Anyway...

After I restarted my phone I noticed the top of the phone now displays the current time and date!

This rocks! I know, what is the big deal!

Well, for some reason, the Fonality Asterisk Phone System we have did not show the time on the Cisco phones, they did work for the Polycom phones.

All of a sudden, it is now working.

As you can see from the picture below, it now show the time (I smeared out my extension).

Oh yea, Ronnie put our logo on the Cisco phones for fun a while back.

And you can learn how to integrate iTunes with your Asterisk phone system.

These little things make me happy.

Posted at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Category: Computers | Comments (0) (0)

Today was an other 20 plus blog post day for me. Heck, it is only 2:30pm (EST). Anyway, make sure to tune into the Search Pulse tonight at 5PM (EST), more details below.

Here is a roundup of topics I covered on the search space today, in no specific order. Ask.com responded to Google's "Google" request. The search engines sported some Halloween logos today, oh and so did we. YPN bans are flying around. Site Explorer is now easy to integrate with Yahoo! Stores. I gave an AdWords, "did you know?" Live.com spam, you bet it! Garrett left Market Smart Interactive. Google will share video dollars with authors. More dirt on GooTube. Some folks are getting 15GB Gmail accounts. Google sued $43.2 million by Belgium. Google whines to the EU on antitrust laws. Ask.com's profit increased 62%. Google just bought JotSpot, and today it has been acting very funky.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Ask.com Responds To Google's "Google It" Request
   
2. Google, Yahoo, Ask.com & Dogpile's Halloween 2006 Logos
   
3. Yahoo! Publisher Network Bans Going Around
   
4. Yahoo! Stores Can Now Authenticate With Site Explorer
   
5. Same Domain, Different TLD, Equal's Same Site on Google AdWords
   
6. Microsoft's Live Search Being Gamed Still
   
7. Halloween Logo From the Search Engine Roundtable
   
8. SearchPulse Live Today at 5pm (EST)

1. Garrett French Leaves MarketSmart Interactive
   
2. Yahoo Adds Yahoo Store Authentication For Site Explorer
   
3. Google Video Shares Ad Revenue With Video Authors
   
4. More Details On YouTube & Google Acquisition
   
5. 15GB Gmail Accounts?
   
6. Belgium Slaps Google With $43.2 Million Fine
   
7. Google Asks Microsoft To Give Users A Choice
   
8. Ask.com's Revenue Increases 62 Percent
   
9. Google Buys Wiki Maker, JotSpot

Posted at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

A Reuters article named Microsoft forges ties with open source maker Zend caught my attention. Zend is the corporation behind the extremely popular web development language PHP, we use it here religiously.

Microsoft and Zend have formed a type of partnership where Microsoft "will ensure PHP programs run on past and future versions of Microsoft Web server software." Andi Gutmans, Zend's co-founder said, "PHP has always worked on Windows. The problem is that it never performed very well." I guess Microsoft gets PHPers to move over from Unix operating systems to Windows OSs.

Posted at 1:09 PM | Permalink | Category: Web Development | Comments (0) (0)

You may have noticed how I put up a Halloween logo at the Search Engine Roundtable just recently. So why no special costume like Matt, for Halloween for Cartoon Barry?

Well, I do not celebrate Halloween.

Possibly the closest Jewish holiday to this, in terms of "dressing up," may be Purim (פורים). Typically, children dress up, go to parties and eat a ton of candies on Purim. Plus there are many other things we do, but that is how it is similar to Halloween, I think.

More details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim.

Happy Halloween to everyone who celebrates!

Posted at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Category: Religion | Comments (2) (0)

There are a few things that bug me big time, one of those things is when people don't use their turn signal (aka blinker) when making a turn.

The worst is when someone wants to pull over to the side of the road but refuses to let the drivers behind him that he is doing so. So instead of signaling, he just pulls over by breaking and swerving to the side of the road (hopefully he moves the car to the side of the road).

But I find it annoying when someone is making a right turn into a perpendicular street (the street I am making a left out of) and they don't signal. It is nice to know if you can make a possible left turn, as the car on your left, is making a right turn.

It also bugs me when someone in front of you is making a right or left into their parking driveway and does not signal.

Finally, one that doesn't signal when switching lanes or making a turn onto a street at all.

It really bothers me. It is just common courtesy, forget the law.

Posted at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle | Comments (5) (0)

I am currently in NYC now, catching up with things after a meeting with Xact about their new cool DECT Bluetooth VOIP/Skype/Landline phone, I can't wait until they come out. Anyway... Search stuff....

Microsoft has launched a new ad campaign, Matt from Google considers it very interesting. Some Indian guy tried to piggy back off my brand name, which is trademarked, this weekend - he did apologize. Some discussion on the Google Site command being more accurate these days. Google Guy has not posted at WebmasterWorld in two full months. You can potentially earn $75 for taking a Google survey. I posted some screen captures of a Google license plate and a mock Google Jet. There are rumors that Google is "in bed" with the CIA. Google is testing publication ads again. A judge is to rule on the Kinderstart case by years end. Google is messing with Brazil again. Google Base 2.0 coming soon? An interview with Seth from Google on the Custom Search Engine product. Is Yahoo going to buy AOL? Which Google guy bought an apartment in NYC?

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Microsoft Launches Windows Live Search Ad Campaign
   
2. India SEO Company Impersonating RustyBrick?
   
3. Google Site Command Becoming More Accurate?
   
4. GoogleGuy Goes Without a Post for Two Months
   
5. Earn $75 With Google User Experience Research Survey
   
6. Pictures of the Google Car & Google Jet
   

1. Google "In Bed" With The CIA?
   
2. Google Testing Newspaper Print Ads Again
   
3. Judge To Rule By End Of Year On Kinderstart Case
   
4. Google Appeals Federal Judge's Orkut Ruling
   
5. Google Interview With Shashi Seth On Custom Search Engine Product
   
6. Google Base 2.0 Revealed?
   
7. Yahoo To Buy AOL? Sell To Microsoft? Merge With eBay? Or Keep Status Quo?
   
8. Google's Page or Brin Purchase NY City Apartment For $30 Million?
   

Posted at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

Boston.com reports that a 15 year old Florida boy stole a bus and began driving a bus route, stopping at all stops and collecting fares from passengers.

In Saturday's incident, he took the bus from the Central Florida Fairgrounds in Orlando, where it was parked awaiting sale at an auction, a Seminole County sheriff's report said. The bus belongs to the Central Florida Transportation Agency, which runs LYNX public transit services in the Orlando area.

The boy claims that he "drove that bus better than most of the LYNX drivers could." LOL

A court will decide if he is to be charged as an adult for grand theft auto and driving without a license.

Posted at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Weird | Comments (0) (0)

Bloomberg reports that St. Louis, the birth city of my wife and the home of my in-laws, is the most dangerous city in the United States of America.

The Missouri city topped a list of 371 metropolitan areas in an assessment of 2005 FBI statistics for murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft.

What is most upsetting is the rate of change in crime seen in St. Louis.

The Midwest experienced the steepest increase in violent crime, 5.7 percent, in the U.S. in 2005, according to FBI figures released in June. The murder rate in St. Louis jumped 16 percent compared to 4.8 percent nationally.

To me, it always seemed like such a nice and friendly place. Maybe since I don't spend my time downtown?

Posted at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Category: Family , Travels | Comments (7) (0)

Hawaii SEO asked;

Why do you prefer MovableType over WordPress?

So why do I prefer MT over WP?

Honestly, I started blogging years ago and back then, MT was the way to go. WordPress has a lot of good features and a lot of bloggers live by WordPress - so I am sure it rocks. But I have been using MovableType for almost three years now and I am comfortable with it.

If MT stopped upgrading the software, if they stopped adding features, if they stopped supporting it, then I would consider switching. But right now, MT is serving me very well. So I will stick.

Who knows what I would choose if I was to start from scratch now. I have been hearing of many WordPress hacks recently, but I am sure MovableType is not hack free. Who knows...

Posted at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Category: Web Development | Comments (1) (0)

I am sure you all know by now, that the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series Friday night.

Just wanted to note it here, just to have.

http://cardinals.mlb.com/

Great year for St. Louis. ;-)

Posted at 9:26 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (0) (0)

Shmuly, a guy I met at a local lunch place one Friday, has posted this funny video of him using the gym equipment at a local Walmart to get his daily workout. Check it out his blog here. He writes some very interesting stuff.

He starts off by stretching, then lifting some weights, then the bicycle, then the treadmill, heck, I think he even does some fishing.

Good work out man!

Posted at 3:33 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny | Comments (1) (0)

Phew! Friday. Crazy week.

Google Bombing is back in headlines. Jennifer Convertibles is now back in the Google results. Do you think Google will release an operating system? How long does it take for Google to spot great links? Keep that verification code on your site for Google Sitemaps. If you run a forum, watch out for Google AdSense hacks. Google News launched blog search alerts, but many folks are now getting alerts for things they did not subscribe to. Microsoft lost $136 million on the search side. Rand wrote a great article on competitive intelligence. Windows Live Mobile is now live. Google is looking to hire a project manager for TV ad software development. Finally, rumors are that Google is launching AdSense for radio by years end. Good weekend!

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Bombing Back To Life Over U.S. Elections
   
2. Jennifer Convertibles Web Site Back in Google
   
3. Will Google Release an Operating System?
   
4. How Long Does It Take Google To Find Great Links?
   
5. Google Sitemaps Webmaster Central Requires Verification Code
   
6. Forum Hack Enables Google AdSense Code To Be Placed On Site
   
7. Old Google News Alerts Subscribers Getting Unwanted New Blog Search Alerts
   

1. Google Enhanced Google Alerts & Adds Blog Search Alerts
   
2. Microsoft Online Services Group Losses $136 Million in Q3
   
3. Competitive Intelligence & Link Searches
   
4. Windows Live Mobile Now Live
   
5. Google To Hire TV Engineering Project Manager
   
6. Google AdSense For Audio Coming Soon
   

Posted at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

TechLH in the WebmasterRadio.FM chat room informed me of a local6.com article named Principal Suspended After Giving Boy Wedgie.

In short a Montana, Livingston Principle of Park High School has been suspended for six days, two days without pay, for giving a student a wedgie. Superintendent Hannibal Anderson said;

It has been clearly recognized and stated that the behavior is inappropriate, unprofessional and unacceptable.

From Forbes:

Messerli cried Monday as he read a statement to the board and the public.

"I've made mistakes in my life, but none have had the impact that this one has had," he said.

He said his first reaction was to resign, but he wanted to "tackle this mess" head on.

"I want to live in a world where we don't have to hide when we screw up," he said.

Public comments about Messerli, voiced by students, parents and community members, ranged from reprimand to encouragement.

"What could be better than showing how you bounce back after a mistake?" community member Brad Snow said.

Here is a funny article on it.

Posted at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Weird | Comments (0) (0)

I am way more excited for the St. Louis Cardinals to win then my wife is, and she is from St. Louis. St. Louis beat the Mets, and I wasn't devastated about it. It would be nice, very nice, if St. Louis beat Detroit.

I was shocked that they pulled last nights game off, being down 3-0.

After building a 3-0 lead, the Tigers battled bad luck and shaky fielding to creep within one loss of elimination against the Cardinals. Sean Casey homered and drove in another run on a single, but Curtis Granderson's misstep in center field and Fernando Rodney's throwing error allowed St. Louis to pull out the Game 4 win.

More details on game four here, just amazing.

Go Cards!

Posted at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (0) (0)

I killed four spiders yesterday. A Daddy Long Leg and then three other ones. Two of them looked like small Daddy Long Legs, and the other one had a fat base, so it kinda was creepy.

The Daddy Long Leg was killed in the morning, after receiving an emergency call from my wife to rush back home at 6:30am to kill this huge spider. It wasn't that bad. :)

The three others were killed at various times throughout the early evening.

Why the sudden influx of spiders in my home? I suspect the cold weather is bringing them indoors? This is our first winter in this home, so who knows. I keep spraying with insect killer, but is it really working?

Here is a good spider resource plus I found Jeremy Zawodny's fear of falling spiders pretty funny.

Posted at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Category: Homey | Comments (7) (0)

Yahoo!, the Search Marketing and Publisher Network team, wrote about the time I and the crew spent over at Yahoo!'s Burbank office. I wrote about it at:

- Yahoo! Announced Panama Launch via SER
- Day Two at Yahoo! Publisher Network via SER
- Yahoo Releases New Search Advertising System via SEW
- Shwag From Yahoo! Search Marketing via Cartoon Barry
- Yahoo! Treated Us So Well - Thank You via Cartoon Barry

All the pictures from Yahoo! are posted in this Influencer Day, 10/16 Set at Flickr.

Thanks for the link YPN!

Notes about that picture: (1) Forgot my shaver, (2) Pretended to smile, (3) Was tired.

Posted at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips , Travels | Comments (0) (0)

Tonight I upgraded all the blogs I manage to version 3.33 of the Movable Type platform. This post is simply to test it out...

3.33 was released on September 26, 2006 as a "required" update.

Today we are releasing required updates for both Movable Type and Movable Type Enterprise to fix a number of vulnerabilities affecting all previous versions of the platform. The current status of our security update process:

• This is a mandatory update due to the severity of the combined vulnerabilities.
• These vulnerabilities were discovered by our own team during a routine security evaluation.
• There are currently no known malicious exploits targeting Movable Type for these issues.
• We will be disclosing full details of the vulnerabilities on our Professional Network blog in a couple of days allowing you to update in the meantime without incurring unnecessary risk.

We are a go! If you see any bugs on any of the blogs, please let me know. Thank you!

Posted at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Category: Web Development | Comments (4) (0)

My Israeli brethren, not that I live in Israel but anyway, Google has announced that they now have enabled you to accept your AdSense payments via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). So no more waiting for those checks to be mailed overseas. They will be going directly into your bank account, if and only if you configure your AdSense account to accept EFT.

Instructions here:

To sign up for EFT:
1) Sign in to your account at www.google.com/adsense
2) Click My Account
3) Click the edit link adjacent to the Payment Details header
4) In the Electronic Funds Transfer section, select the Add a new bank account radio button
5) Click Continue
6) Enter the requested bank account information. Your account page will provide details on what information is required - if you're unsure, please contact your bank to obtain this information. Click Save Changes
7) At this point, we'll begin the process of depositing a small test amount into the bank account you specified. Check your bank statements after 4-10 days to find a deposit from 'Google' or from 'BFS'

Once you have the test deposit amount:
1) Click the My Account tab
2) In the Payment Details section, click Verify this account
3) In the box provided, enter the test deposit amount that you received in your bank account
4) Click Next. Once you have entered your test deposit verification amount correctly, your bank account will be approved and automatically selected as your form of payment

So get your Israel Shekels aka שקל. Keep in mind, currently 1 Israeli shekel is worth 0.23314371 U.S. dollars or 1 U.S. dollar is worth 4.2889 Israeli shekel.

Posted at 4:47 PM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (0) (0)

This will be my 20th blog post of the day between this site, Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Watch. :-)

Today I wrote about Yahoo!'s pledge to add support for the No Yahoo Directory tag. Google 'OKed' dynamic URLs officially. Firefox 2.0 isn't currently part of the AdSense referral program. Yahoo! upgraded their toolbar and bookmarks yesterday. I linked to two $50 coupons, one from MSN and the other from Google. I am timing how long it takes to get reindexed after being penalized in Google. Google is getting slammed for not pulling racist blogs from Blogger. You can watch Google Videos on your mobile device. The Yahoo! Search Marketing Blog is now live. Check out Google's crazy employee growth chart. Google is now the 3rd most valuable technology company in terms of market capitalization. China.com will run Google's video ads. And finally, Page Creator dropped a feature to prevent web spam (I believe).

Oh, please provide your feedback on this at my poll.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Dynamic URLs? Google Is Officially 'OK' With Them
   
2. Firefox 2.0 Is Not Supported By Google AdSense Referrals
   
3. Yahoo! Upgrades Toolbar & Bookmarks
   
4. $50 Worth of MSN adCenter Clicks via eComXpo
   
5. $50 Worth of Google AdWords Clicks via eComXpo
   
6. Time Line To Get Reincluded in Google With Reinclusion Request
   
7. Yahoo! To Add No Yahoo Directory Tag
   

1. Google Helping Racism By Refusing To Take Down Hosted Blogs
   
2. Watch Google Videos On Your Mobile Device
   
3. Yahoo Search Marketing Blog Now Live
   
4. Charting Google's Growth By Employees
   
5. Yahoo To Add No Yahoo Directory Tag
   
6. Google 3rd Most Valuable Technology Company
   
7. China.com To Run Google's Video Ads
   
8. Google Page Creator Drops Subdomain Feature
   

Posted at 4:07 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

Is it weird that I want this new shirt named the T-Qualizer Shirt? Basically, it is a t-shirt that has these vertical bars that go up and down and change color to the music. There are YouTube videos of it in action to the music here.

ThinkGeek is selling them so they have to be for the uber geek.

Product Features:

• EL Lit Glowing Equalizer animates to ambient noise or music
• Battery Pack fits in small interior pocket inside shirt
• Each Equalizer bar reacts differently depending on sound frequency
• 4 AAA Batteries Required
• Battery pack is removable, shirt must be hand washed

Only $40!

Posted at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Weird , Shopping | Comments (9) (0)

A common issue web developers and designers have is the ability to check how a particular site renders in different versions of Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer 7 was just released, many have already upgraded, but there are still people who use Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 5.5, 5.0, 4 and even 3! So it is important you test your site out on multiple versions of IE.

Justin, a RustyBrick'er, informed me and my staff that you can easily do this with a little program by Tredo Soft. The installer contains IE3 IE4.01 IE5 IE5.5 and IE6 to run concurrently with IE7. This installer does it all for you. The installer is at http://tredosoft.com/IE7_standalone with details instructions, step by step.

Known bugs you should be aware of include:

• Sometimes IE5, IE5.5 and IE6 crash unexpectedly.
  
• The address bar in Internet Explorer 4.01 does not work. This is due to a missing file "browseui.dll". If you have that file with version number "4.72.3612.1706" let me know. As a workaround, press CONTROL+O and enter the address you want to visit there.
  
• Microsoft supplemental EULA says : IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A VALID EULA FOR ANY "OS PRODUCT", YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO INSTALL, COPY, OR OTHERWISE USE THE OS COMPONENTS AND YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS UNDER THIS SUPPLEMENTAL EULA.
  
• IE 6 will consistently crash if you drag a URL from the toolbar
  
• Clicking on any bookmark (new, or previously existing), will launch the Print dialogue
  
• (Minor) You get the java error" 'is_browser_supoorted' is undefined on many sites, including gmail.
  
• Sites claim cookies are disabled (particularly gmail), even though I choose "override automatic cookie handling' and accept all cookies [from Internet Options > Privacy > Advanced]
  

Posted at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Category: Web Development | Comments (0) (0)

Would you believe that I have never made an Amazon wish list before? Well, I haven't.

The other day, someone asked me for my Amazon wish list and I told her I don't have one.

So last night, I created one and linked to it from the about me page.

It is on the header line, it is the icon that looks like .

So there it is, My Amazon Wish List. Don't worry, I'll fill it up.

Posted at 7:25 AM | Permalink | Category: Shopping | Comments (5) (0)

Every weekday that I cover search, I compile all the items I wrote into one post at this blog. I write a title, I do a short written summary, I link to the articles I wrote, add tags to the post and wrap it up with a text-to-speech summary of the topics I covered that day. It probably takes me about 10 - 15 minutes each time I do it.

I want to know if you guys want me to keep doing the Daily Search Coverage roundups. Do you like it? Do you benefit from it in anyway?

Here is the poll:

Feel free to use "Other" but you only get one vote and no selecting more than one option. So you can leave a comment below and also vote on the poll.

FYI - the other poll was cool. Thanks for sharing. You can see the results by going to the poll and clicking on "View Results."

Posted at 4:31 PM | Permalink | Category: Polls , SEO Tips | Comments (2) (0)

I shared something today that I normally do not do. I wrote about one of my old clients getting delisted from Google because they got hacked. Outside of that, the news was the news. Yahoo! added support for the NOODP tag, and announced a weather report. Google's subpoena was rejected by Amazon. Microsoft caved quickly on the Belgian newspapers request to be excluded from their index. I reported on spotting a face on Google maps. Google added a "more info" link to Google Maps, too bad it wasn't for that face. Google also updated their webmaster guidelines to be up with the technology. Digg.com is up for sale. Did-It's president is getting some heat from the SEM community. I looked at a poll about those AdSense users who use section targeting. Finally, I looked at some MSN Search (aka Live.com) SEO tips.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Jennifer Convertibles Web Site Hacked & Delisted In Google.com
   
2. Yahoo! Search Now Supports NOODP Tag
   
3. Yahoo! Search Weather Report 10/24
   
4. Do You Use Section Targeting in Google AdSense?
   
5. Did-It Knocks SEO - SEMs Respond
   
6. Microsoft Search (aka Live.com) Search Engine Optimization Tips
   

1. Amazon Turns Down Google's Request For Information On Book Search
   
2. Yahoo Adds NOODP Support & Weather Report Update
   
3. Next Up For Sale, Digg.com
   
4. Microsoft Removes Belgian Content Without Court Order
   
5. Google Maps Adds "More Info" Link & Expand/Collapse Result
   
6. Face Found On Google Maps
   
7. Google Removes Dynamic Parameter Clause From Webmaster Guidelines
   

Posted at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (2) (0) | Speak

I just got my fourth "SES Chicago 2006 -- Registration Is Now Open" email from Incisive Media within the past 90 minutes. I ignored the first three, yea, I am going, yea, I love the conference, but four emails! Common guys!

Each one was sent to my main email address, not an alias.

This is not the first time I am complaining about this. I wrote about SES Toronto Email Notifications are Out of Hand where I got 10 emails emails. So now I only received four. Hope it stays that way.

Oh, SES Chicago should be fun, check it out here.

Posted at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (2) (0)

My Dad bought me this wonderful present, it enables me to learn some Torah (תּוֹרָה) during my day. Torah is the Jewish Bible, orthodox Jews are suppose to learn from the Torah throughout the day. We are suppose to live by it and observe the laws and guidelines - in short, it is our way of life. I have to admit, one of my downfalls is that I do not make enough time for this aspect in my life. I pray with a Minyan twice a day but this I fall short with.

My Dad knows this and he bought me a new book from Artscroll named The Daily Dose. It is great, it is about 18 minutes of learning per day (18 the number has a special meaning in Judaism). Each day includes a bunch of aspects from the Torah including:

• A Torah Thought for the Day
• Mishnah (משנה) of the Day
• Gems from the Gemara (גמרא)
• A Mussar (מוּסַּר) Thought for the Day
• Halachah (הלכה) of the Day
• A Closer Look at the Siddur
• Question for the Day
• Taste of Lomdus (deep thought), once a week

Thanks Dad!

Posted at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Category: Daily Grind , Religion | Comments (6) (0)

I missed this, but Reuters reported Thieves steal NY mayor's car. The mayor was not in the car, but his assistant was, and was wrestled out of it. The 2001 Lexus was found about two hours later in Fair Lawn, N.J., it was stolen in Hackensack, N.J. I guess Bloomberg needs strong assistants, reportedly his assistant was 62 years old but he was not injured badly from the scuffle.

Posted at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Weird | Comments (0) (0)

Aaron Wall spotted the announcement of a new scholarship for students who do blogging. It is called the Blogging Scholarship and they give $1,000 to four students over the year.

Criteria?

• Your blog must contain unique and interesting information about you and/or things you are passionate about. No spam bloggers please!!!
  
• U.S. citizen;
  
• 3.0 GPA;
  
• Enrolled full-time in post-secondary education; and
  
• If you win, you must be willing to allow us to list your name and blog on this page. We want to be able to say we knew you before you became a well educated, rich, and famous blogging legend.
  

The scholarships are awarded on April 30th, July 30th, October 30th and January 30th.

If you meet those requirements, then you can apply here.

Also, give it a digg.

Posted at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Interesting | Comments (1) (0)

Ronnie told me that he was looking at Firefox's schwag the other day and he noticed that Firefox has bags for sale, the same ones we are going to be getting soon.

Right now we are in the process of getting a sample so that we can order about a 100 of them.

I do not plan on selling them, unless you think people will buy them, in that case, I would order more.

Firefox sells them for $60 a piece, I bet they bought a huge quantity and they make about $20 per bag.

This gadget-friendly backpack features a padded laptop sleeve, and a handy drop-in audio pocket with a headphone exit port. Other features include power supply pockets, file folder and cell phone pockets. For those intrepid travelers, there is a cool airline ticket sleeve built into the back of the bag. Roomy enough to comfortably fit a 17" laptop and still hold all of your documents and bric-a brac. Firefox logo and text embroidered on the front.

But I am much happier buying them now knowing that Firefox decided to go with them.

Posted at 7:50 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Interesting , RustyBrick | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1) (1)

I try to watch one show each week religiously. That show, this year, is Prison Break. It airs on FOX 8pm (EST) on Mondays.

I am home from basketball that day, so it works out nicely.

Plus the show is action packed and has a crazy plot that makes it fun.

I missed a couple shows this season so far, I wonder if I can download them via iTunes?

Update: My wife's friend read this an emailed me an article named Suit Alleges 'Prison Break' Idea Stolen from yesterday.

For four years in the 1960s, two brothers were on the run, fleeing authorities after a prison break at a juvenile facility. Robert Hughes, wrongfully incarcerated at 16, turned to older brother Donald, who helped him escape.

Sound familiar? Like Fox's "Prison Break"? The Hughes brothers think so.

In a federal lawsuit, they say their agent sent Fox a manuscript in 2001 chronicling their experiences and the network wasn't interested in it. So they were surprised when, last fall, Fox began airing "Prison Break.

Posted at 9:52 PM | Permalink | Category: Homey | Comments (6) (0)

The big news for October 24th was that Google rolled out their own customized search engine solution. Yahoo! redesigned their Publisher Network home page. Google has gained some visitors in Japan this past month. The Yahoo! Marketing Solutions blog was leaked. George W. Bush uses "The Google." Dislike comparison search engines, search with "Give Me Back My Google." Google added a blog search link on Google News. Is AdSense Google's big volume winner?

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Custom Search Engine Via Google Co-Op
   
2. AdSense Google's Big Winner?
   
3. Give Me Back My Google Flavor Google Search
   
4. Yahoo! Publisher Network Home Page Redesigned
   

1. New Yahoo Marketing Solutions Blog?
   
2. Google News Adds Link To Google Blog Search
   
3. New Yahoo Publisher Network Home Page
   
4. President George Bush Uses Google Maps To Get Away
   
5. Google Gains Traction In Japan
   

Posted at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

Eiffel Tower by night
Originally uploaded by swinging girl.

Around a dozen Japanese tourists a year need psychological treatment after visiting Paris as the reality of unfriendly locals and scruffy streets clashes with their expectations, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

Already this year, Japan's embassy in Paris has had to repatriate at least four visitors -- including two women who believed their hotel room was being bugged and there was a plot against them.

Previous cases include a man convinced he was the French "Sun King", Louis XIV, and a woman who believed she was being attacked with microwaves, the paper cited Japanese embassy official Yoshikatsu Aoyagi as saying.

Posted at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Weird | Comments (0) (0)

It is one thing to wake up and it be dark, it is an other thing for it to be dark when you drive to work, but to be at work when it is this dark in the morning doesn't seem natural.

I decided to snap a picture of what it looks like in the back of my building when I get to work.

Here is a picture from inside my office looking at the window, it is like a mirror.

Posted at 7:29 AM | Permalink | Category: Daily Grind | Comments (8) (0)

Crazy day this Monday October 23rd. I have been upgraded to the new Panama interface at Yahoo! Search Marketing. There was a possible Yahoo! Search update. Yahoo! resigned their ad deal with Guardian Unlimited. Yahoo! Japan's profit and sales grew 20%. Google Images has been caught ranking YouTube images. I reported on a Google Search bug. Google has opened Orkut up to the public. Google added some features to finance. Google checkout does not allow donationware. Google's NetPAC begins funneling donations. Google attempts to streamline their hiring process. And Google purchased a replica SpaceShipOne. Finally, the Search Pulse has been cancelled for tomorrow.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Upgrading Yahoo! Search Marketing to Panama
   
2. Yahoo! Search Update 10/22?
   
3. YouTube Videos Ranking in Google Images
   
4. Google Open Orkut Up To Everyone - Oh No!
   
5. Google.com Bug Shows URL Only For Keyword Search?
   
6. You Can Change Your Google AdWords Time Zone
   
7. No Search Pulse Podcast This Week
   

1. Google Finance Adds Compare, Timeline & More Features
   
2. Yahoo Resigns Ad Deal With Guardian Unlimited
   
3. SpaceShipOne Replica Lands At GooglePlex
   
4. Google Checkout Doesn't Allow Donation Payments
   
5. Google's NetPAC Begins Donating Money
   
6. Google Tries To Streamline Hiring Process
   
7. Yahoo Japan's Profit & Sales Grow 20+ Percent
   

Posted at 3:33 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

My car has those new headlights that are incredibly bright. So bright that, I would guess, 1 out of every 10 drivers I pass by flash me, to tell me to turn off my brights. My headlights are called "High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Headlamps" and "Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS)." What does that mean?

Well Lexus defines "High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Headlamps" as;

Headlamps that provide illumination three times that of conventional halogen headlamps while power consumption is reduced by roughly 30 percent. They also feature auto-leveling that automatically adjusts the angle of the headlamps to help reduce glare to oncoming drivers.

Lexus defines "Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS)" as;

The Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS) helps illuminate more of the road in a turn. In a left-hand turn, the left headlamp will pivot up to 15 degrees (the right-hand headlamp remains pointed straight ahead) and in a right-hand turn, the right headlamp will pivot up to 5 degrees (the left-hand headlamp remains pointed straight ahead).

(1) I love that it lights up more of the road, really good stuff.
(2) I don't like getting flashed by other drivers.
(3) The auto-leveling feature light indicator comes on too often, even thought Lexus tells me to ignore it, it still bothers me.

So next time you pass a car with bright lights, don't assume it is the drivers fault. It is just the car. Oh and when I bright you back after you bright me, I am sorry.

Posted at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Rambling | Comments (10) (0)

Google released third quarter results. YouTube erased about 30,000 music videos. Drug busters used Google Earth as an aid. I wrote about duplicate content issues with blogs. Don't like a Google result? Tell them. There was a Google images update. I reported on a Google definitions issue. Yahoo India's CTO is now a Googler. Yahoo Finance updated their stock charts. And I looked at some unused Google services.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Do Blogs Suffer From Duplicate Content?
   
2. How Can I Tell Google I Don't Like the Search Results?
   
3. Google Image Updates Ranking of Images?
   
4. Google Best Kept Secret Service?
   
5. YouTube Erases ~30,000 Videos Due to Copyright Infringement
   

1. Google Releases 2006 3rd Quarter Results
   
2. Yahoo India's CTO To Join Google As R&D Lead
   
3. Google Definitions In Dutch?
   
4. YouTube Deletes 30,000 Japanese Media Files & Deals With Record Labels
   
5. Yahoo Finance Adds New Web 2.0 Stock Charts
   
6. Google Earth Helps Cops In Drug Bust
   

Posted at 2:50 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

Here is my poll...

Outstanding find on the poll software Andy, it rocks!

Posted at 8:44 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Interesting , Polls | Comments (0) (0)

I grew up a Met fan, was a big Darryl Strawberry fan back in the day. But as I grew, I got bored watching baseball and lost a lot of interest in the game. That with the Mets really not playing all that well, didn't help me with my interest in the game.

However, we all know the Mets are in game 7 against the St. Louis Cardinals as I type and watch this on my Niko. They win this game, they go to the world series, who would of thought?

Now, my wife is from St. Louis, her family, especially her dad, is a huge Cards fan. He loves baseball, knows more about the game that I will ever know.

I want the Mets to win, I really do. But if they lost to any team, St. Louis is the first one I would opt for in a game like this.

Yea, I am a kiss up. ;-P

But I really want the Mets to win right now, so they can lose to the Tigers.

Posted at 9:28 PM | Permalink | Category: Homey , Sports | Comments (3) (0)

The big news today is that Microsoft released Internet Explorer 7 early, yipeee (mocking, I am a mac user). Outside of that, the news was pretty so so. Google released a tool that enables AdWords advertisers easily do multivariate ad testing. On the search side, Google released new features to Sitemaps. Google is setting up an R&D office in Tel Aviv, to compliment their Haifa office in Israel. Google Enterprise hired FirstGov's web guru, Pizzella. A judge consolidated two cases against Google to make it more efficient to sue Google Book Search. And do you own GOOG stock? Ok, so most the day was Google news, but what else? I looked at more discussion on Yahoo!'s TiVo partnership, kinda scary stuff. Microsoft is accepting applications for Content Ads invites. Finally, the Click Fraud Index (for what it is worth) claimed click fraud has gotten better.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Adds Features to Webmaster Tools Section
   
2. Google Website Optimizer for AdWords Advertisers
   
3. Program Your TiVo with Yahoo! TV
   
4. Are You a Google (GOOG) Shareholder?
   
5. Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) by Microsoft: The Search Side
   

1. Google To Set Up 2nd R&D Office In Israel
   
2. Display Your adCenter Ads On Microsoft's Content Ads Network
   
3. Click Fraud Dropping Amongst Google & Yahoo
   
4. United Press International Selling PageRank
   
5. Google Hires Pizzella Of GSA's FirstGov
   
6. Publishers & Authors Consolidate Lawsuits Against Google
   

Posted at 3:04 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (1) (0) | Speak

I am not a huge fan of wearing accessories, i.e. rings, watches, hair styles, designer cloths, sweat bands, etc. But one accessory I would wear is this high tech Anniversary Ring. Judah at Diamond Vues reports via Gizmodo that this ring heats up to 120 degrees fahrenheit for "10 seconds, every hour, on the hour, beginning 24 hours before" your anniversary date.

Not only is it stylish, but it is also extremely functional - making it a geek's dream ring.

Posted at 1:56 PM | Permalink | Category: Family , Shopping | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (1) (1)

At least for the next two weeks. Danny is off on vacation, and I guess it is my responsibility to make sure the SEW Blog readers are up to date on the search news.

I am sure that title caught your eye. I don't technically own it. I am just going to be posting more heavily at SEW starting tomorrow until the first Monday in November.

Danny, have a nice vacation and don't worry about things. I hear rumors that Microsoft will wait on buying Yahoo! until you get back. ;-) Just kidding...

They are waiting for you to leave before they buy Yahoo!

:-0

Posted at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (1) (0)

Playing Tag, 2 of 4
Originally uploaded by *CA*.

Posted at 8:18 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Weird | Comments (1) (0)

So you all know I went to Yahoo! Monday and Tuesday. Heck, they gave me all this great Yahoo! shwag but it is important for me to tell you how wonderful they treated us. Let me break it down for you...

Pre-Trip:
- Ask if I am interested in going and what dates work best
- Follow up to make sure I am still interested
- Ask what is the best time for me to leave and come back
- They provide booking options from a few airports
- They provide a detailed schedule from point A to point B emailed several days prior to leaving

The Trip:
- I land in LAX
- Driver is waiting to take me to Yahoo!'s headquarters
- The receptionist is expecting me and calls over Yahoo! rep
- Yahoo! rep and a few other Yahoo! reps welcome me
- They take me to a conference room and other Yahoo! reps great me
- They give me great Yahoo! shwag
- They help me get Internet connection (stealing an ethernet port from an open computer)
- I have full access to Yahoo!'s network (ouch!)
- They bring in glatt kosher food for me at lunch
- Plenty of caffeine throughout the day
- They have a limo waiting for us to take us to the hotel
- The beautiful and comfortable Graciela Burbank hotel was outstanding
- They invite us to a sweet and expensive restaurant for dinner (i didn't go)
- After dinner, they went bowling
- I spent $30 for a 10oz Diet Coke and bag of pretzels
- I realized there was a super market next door
- Limo waiting for us in AM to take us back to Yahoo
- We are greeted again by receptionist
- Yahoo! feeds us again
- We go to new room and we get net access (sharing ethernet cables)
- Feed us again
- Give out more YPN invites
- Give us invites to a party coming up
- Driver waiting to take me back to LAX
- Flight on time

They treated us so well. I am not sure if I am allows to mention names here. But a huge thank you to all at Yahoo! You treated us all so well and we appreciate it. I cannot imagine how much time and effort you put into this. But it definitely shows.

I just feel bad walking around at Yahoo! all day with the Ask.com Timbuk2 bag. Towards the end of the meet, I got smart and placed my "Yahoo! Passport" entry card on top of the Ask.com logo. I still love you Ask, dont worry, just being respectful. :)

Thank you Yahoo!

Posted at 4:34 PM | Permalink | Category: Buddies , Just Funny , Travels | Comments (0) (0)

Many I just got tired... So much more to do today, not even close to done. Ok, enough of that...search stuff...

The topic of the day has been Yahoo! Panama is now available to some advertisers, I have it. Yahoo! released 3rd quarter earnings and the stock took a dive. Yahoo!'s online ad revenue is getting swallowed up by Google. Yahoo! ranks pages without any linkage data. And Yahoo! Buzz released a top 20 list of misspelled keywords. On to Google, we learned they may account for 25% of all online ads revenue in 2006. Google is testing CPA ads. We found Ask.com long tail ads on Google's AdWords. Microsoft partnered with Cornell for book search. adCenter had a reject keyword automation error. And I found some useful links to play with the adCenter API. That is October 18th in a nutshell.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. How To Request an Invite to the New Yahoo! Panama Search Marketing?
   
2. Yahoo! Search Ranking Sites With No Linkage Data?
   
3. Microsoft adCenter Auto Rejected Keywords Bug
   
4. Microsoft adCenter APIs
   
5. Ask.com Advertises on Google.com To Promote Search Quality of Engine
   

1. A Look At Yahoo's 3rd Quarter 2006 Earnings
   
2. Yahoo Buzz Publishes Top 20 Misspelled Searches
   
3. Microsoft Partners With Cornell University Library For Live Book Search
   
4. Google Testing Cost Per Action (CPA) Model Content Ads?
   
5. Google To Own 25% Of 2006 Online Ad Revenue
   
6. Ask.com Using Paid Search On Google As Promotion
   

Posted at 4:29 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

So yesterday I was flying back from Yahoo and while still at Yahoo! I got a TripAlert notification from Continental that my flight was delayed from 3:40pm to 6:05pm. It seriously bummed me out, because it meant I would not land until about 2am in the morning, instead of about 12 midnight.

In any event, I go to the airport after the Yahoo! thing ends, and while I am about to walk through the security check point I get an other email notification.

This one said my flight is back on schedule to take off at 3:40pm. I found that to be weird.

I travel here and there, maybe on average once a month, and I have never in my life seen a flight that was delayed come back to life to be on schedule.

Hey I am not complaining. I took off on time, and because of the tail winds, I got in 40 minutes early.

Posted at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (0) (0)

I was Strongly Considering Getting Timbuk2 Commute RustyBrick Branded Bags but that seems not to be working out since Timbuk2 doesn't have any left in the color and style I want. I had one of my clients who does promo stuff investigate other options for us. They found a bag from OGIO named the Hip Hop messenger bag. It can be personalized in two areas. The two that are in the copper color.

Here is a mock of what it may look like, I did it myself. :)

Now, I got a sample in the office and the bag is very functional. It has a large number of pockets and pockets within pockets. The laptop department is ok, it is not as solid as the Timbuk2 but it isn't bad. The full product description is at OGIO. I am thinking about getting about a 100.

So what you think?

Posted at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Category: RustyBrick | Comments (6) (0)

I am still catching up, getting back in the swing of things. It is hard going away for two days and not being able to run on your routine and schedule.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know I am catching up and Ill have a few more blog posts here today, like I did with SEW and SER today.

Catch ya all soon.

Posted at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Category: Daily Grind | Comments (0) (0)

I told you guys I was visiting Yahoo yesterday and today. You can find the information about Yahoo! releasing Panama at the Search Engine Roundtable. Here is all the cool shwag, Yahoo! gave us.

Yahoo! Publisher Network Messenger Bag:

Yahoo! Search Marketing & Yahoo! Publisher Network Pen, Pads, Keychain, Gum, Stickers, Pin, & Notebook:

Yahoo! Search Marketing Long Sleeve TShirt:

Yahoo! Search Marketing Keychain Flash Light:

Yahoo! Search Marketing, Yahoo! Publisher Network, Yahoo! Music Match Zen MP3 Player, Basketball Hoop, Coffee Mug, Umbrella, and Ball:

Cool stuff. Yahoo! treated us all incredibly well.

Thank you so much Yahoo!

Also at Flickr set.

Posted at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (1) (1)

This week, minus Monday, when I was traveling, I wrote 71 blog posts in four days. Here is the break down:

13-Oct :: 20 posts
12-Oct :: 21 posts
11-Oct :: 16 posts
10-Oct :: 14 posts

Those numbers are between the Search Engine Roundtable, Search Engine Watch and Cartoon Barry blogs.

How do I do it? Here is my typical day. I seem to be blogging now until 9:30am and sometimes 10am into the day. But of course, real work stuff does cut into blogging time also.

Posted at 3:37 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Grind | Comments (3) (0)

I posted some links to the new Yahoo TV commercials. I spotted a funky Google Base bug. Yahoo! still has that same bug they said they fixed. Microsoft adCenter also has their share of bugs. Google won their case against Maughan over search snippet issues. You can upload videos to Picasa. Stanford kept Yahoo's dirty $1M grant. Ask Mobile uses Skweezer, the ugly. Google launched a Japanese mobile news portal. I looked at the concept of AdWords within YouTube videos. Also, AdSense launched multiple channels per unit. Yahoo! is to hold their 3rd quarter earnings call Tuesday. And folks at Yahoo have a taste for Doritos and the Super Bowl.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. AdWords Embedded in YouTube Video?
   
2. Yahoo! Pretends To Fix Search Marketing Bugs?
   
3. Google Base in Web Search Results Are Broken Links
   
4. Yahoo! Publisher Network Not to Launch in India Soon
   
5. Yahoo! TV Commercials
   
6. Ask Mobile Search
   
7. Microsoft adCenter Forcing $1 Bids
   
8. Multiple Channels Per Google AdSense Unit Now Available
   

1. Watch Some Of The Yahoo TV Commercials
   
2. Doritos & Yahoo's Consumer Generated Super Bowl Commercial
   
3. Google News Mobile In Japan
   
4. Stanford University Keeps Yahoo's $1M After Strong Criticism
   
5. Upload Videos To Google's Picasa
   
6. Yahoo To Hold 3rd Quarter Earnings Conference Call 10/17
   
7. Google Wins Case Again Maughan Over Search Results Snippets
   

Posted at 3:15 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

Cute Bird... (?)
Originally uploaded by chris lynch.

Posted at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Weird | Comments (1) (0)

I honestly believe that worker productivity is improved with more screen real estate. A report by Pfeiffer Consulting sponsored by Apple has benchmarks on performance with and without Apple's 30" Cinema display. The PDF of the report is available here.

Computer World looks at the report and say that "other experts say those conclusions are wrong, arguing that the productivity improvement estimates are too high and that using two monitors side by side would likely be a better productivity booster than one larger monitor."

I know Danny lives and dies by his 3-monitor setup.

I personally have one 23" Apple Cinema Display. To be honest, there are actually times where I wish I had more space or a second monitor. I use a MacBook Pro which is on the right hand side of my monitor.

I can open the monitor of the MacBook Pro and use a dual screen mode. But I tried it out and I didn't like it. They have to be the same size and side by side to work properly.

Ronnie, brother and partner at RustyBrick, uses two 19" older Apple Cinema displays side by side. He loves it.

Our RustyBrick designer, "Skew," uses two 20" Dell high-def LCD monitors side by side. He lives by it also.

Then the rest of the guys are on LCDs typically 19". One hooked up a CRT and an LCD to his computer.

Oh, when I just use the laptop's screen, while at home or traveling, I am always crunched for space.

Posted at 1:11 PM | Permalink | Category: RustyBrick | Comments (4) (0)

Just a reminder that I am flying to Yahoo! very early Monday morning and won't be back until very late Tuesday night. So blogging may be affected.

Symptoms may include:
- delayed posts
- fuzzy logic
- less posting
- shorter posts
- more tired Cartoon Barry

Over those two days.

Posted at 1:01 PM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (0) (0)

I hate driving on 42nd street, in Manhattan. I should seriously not go on that street anymore. It took me 30 minutes to go about 2,500 feet on that block. Between about Broadway and Madison. Just crazy.

Barry - do not forget this. Do not attempt it again!

Shouldn't it take about 15 - 20 minutes to walk 0.5 miles? Amazing!

Posted at 5:16 PM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (0) (0)

This is my 21st blog post today, all in one day 21 posts, I think that is a record for me. Three posts here, including this one. Ten posts at the Search Engine Roundtable and eight at Search Engine Watch Blog. So what happened that I had to post 21 times today?

On 10/12 I wrote a bit more about the Yahoo! update. Talking about Yahoo!, they finally fixed the serious Yahoo! Search Marketing Bug. Ask.com launched mobile search, it is neat. Google, Google, Google launched education site and teacher certification. University of Wisconsin-Madison joined Google Book Search Project. I looked at Google Docs requests. I reported on a issue with doing AdSense revenue share. Oh, and Google's Blogspot and Blogger was down often. Apple is giving Click To Call a ring. Gabs wrote cool JavaScript to make Google Images fly around the screen. Live.com launched more macros to allow you to custom design your own search engine.

Lets talk community... Link bait king, ShoeMoney got hacked. A forum poster got slapped with a $11.3 million lawsuit for a defamatory thread. Text Link Ads spills some juice with their Blog Juice Calculator. Finally, Rand has a post on statistics finding resources.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. A Look at The October '06 Yahoo! Update
   
2. Defamatory Message Board Post Costs One Individual $11.3M in Lawsuit
   
3. Yahoo! Search Marketing Bug Leaves Agencies & Advertisers Paralyzed
   
4. Does Google Allow AdSense Revenue Sharing?
   
5. Google Docs & Spreadsheets: Give Us AdWords & AdSense Integration
   
6. Getting Hacked a New Link Building / Bait Idea?
   
7. Apple Tries Google's Click To Call
   
8. Yahoo! Fixes Search Marketing Bugs
   
9. WebmasterWorld Tests Banner Ads on Forums?
   
10. Watch Images Fly Around on Google Image Search
    

Search Engine Watch Topics:

1. Ask Mobile Search Launches
   
2. Bug Leaves Advertisers Unable To Change Ads On Yahoo
   
3. Resources For Finding Statistics For Any Web Site
   
4. University of Wisconsin-Madison Joins Google Book Search Project
   
5. Google For Educators & Become A "Google Certified Teacher"
   
6. New Tool Measures Your Blog Juice
   
7. How To Make Custom Search Engine With Live Search
   
8. Google's Blogspot.com Down, Blogger Content Inaccessible
   

Posted at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

I had a meeting this afternoon in the city, I am actually still in the city (NYC), and I was able to connect via my Treo to my MacBook over the broadband wireless Verizon network, finally - when I needed to. It is weird, because when I went to LGA last week, I was unable to connect in the airport, even after thinking I figured out the issue and with having all bars and the EVDO network connection.

In any event, a few seconds after connecting at the client. The Treo switched from the high speed EVDO network to the dial up network on me and it was sloooowwwww.

Hope it continues to work, at least a little. I fly this Monday and it would be nice to have it at the airport (EWR) and at Yahoo!

Posted at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Category: Apple Macs , Computers | Comments (1) (0)

Shoe, I pinged ya, it appears your site, ShoeMoney.com has been hacked! If you visit it, it looks like this now and then redirects you to http://www.kp89reunion.com/bilder/.

It prompts me to trust the security there, of course I didn't. I am not sure if there is any malware, etc. on that site, so if you have a PC, stay away for now.

Posted at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Category: Buddies | Comments (0) (0)

On 10/11 a small aircraft slammed into the Belaire Apartments on the Upper East Side of NYC.

MSNBC reports;

NEW YORK - A small plane crashed into a high-rise condominium Wednesday on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, touching off a raging fire and stirring fears reminiscent of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Local affiliate WNBC reported four bodies had been found.

As I write this more info is coming in. "New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle was the pilot of a small airplane that crashed into a 50-story condominium in Manhattan, and Lidle is one of two confirmed dead."

CNN reports more right now;

• NEW: Plane registered to Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle
• NEW: Emergency call from plane indicated a possible fuel problem
• FDNY confirms at least one person was killed
• NORAD scrambles fighter aircraft though terrorism isn't suspected

Keep watching those sources and Yahoo! News.

Wow!

Posted at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Interesting | Comments (2) (0)

On October 11th, I posted the archive for the Search Pulse, which contained a promise from Yahoo!'s Tim Mayer that Yahoo! will support the NOODP tag, but there is more. I looked at why the Google algorithm has not been fully leaked yet, or has it? MySpace got in a cat fight with YouTube over Google. Yahoo! Search update hit us last night, yea, no one else noticed. We got a Google status update from Matt Cutts. There are rumors of YPN hitting India. Yahoo! did not get the best press today, stock fell to new 52-week low. Ben Edelman posted on deceptive and false ads. Finally, Robert Kerry joined us at the Search Engine Roundtable as Evil Green Monkey.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Search Pulse 6: Tim Mayer on NOODP Tag, GooTube, Google News Porn, SEO, PageRank, Pinging, Code Search, SearchMash, Yahoo Panama UK, Mobile AdSense & More
   
2. Yahoo! To Add NOODP Tag Support But Not No-Yahoo-Directory Tag Support
   
3. Why Hasn't the Google Algorithm Been Leaked?
   
4. Is The Yahoo! Publisher Network Coming To India?
   
5. Yahoo! Search Update Goes Mostly Unnoticed
   
6. Rob Kerry - evilgreenmonkey - New Guest Author
   

Search Engine Watch Topics:

1. Yahoo To Support The NOODP Tag; Won't Prevent Display Of Yahoo Directory Title
   
2. MySpace Threatens YouTube After Google's Buyout
   
3. Weather Reports: Yahoo Search Update & Google Status Report
   
4. Yahoo Hurting While Google Healthier Than Ever
   
5. Google's "False & Deceptive" Search Ads
   

Posted at 4:11 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

What is your blog juice? Mine (for SERoundtable) is 8.3 according to Text Link Ads, Blog Juice Calculator.

Yea, I know, I totally kick ShoeMoney's Butt. I am on par with the Google Blog, Matt Cutts Blog, SEO Book. SEW is kicking me (but I write for them) at 8.6 and Google Blogoscoped has 8.5!

Oh, yea, Rand's blog isn't doing all that well, at 7.4. Could be worse, I mean this Cartoon blog is only at 4.1 but yet it is really new.

Tasty blog juice!

Posted at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (1) (0)

The other night, my wife gets a phone call on her cell phone. It is from an "unknown id" and the message is in Hebrew. She knows some Hebrew and she does have friends and family in Israel, so she listened to it. The message told her to press 9 to be forwarded to some other place. She pressed 9, then got suspicious quickly after and hung up.

After she told me about it, I looked up in Google cell phone hoax 09 and found something very similar mentioned at Trend Micro. In short, by dialing 9, you may be giving the fraudster access to make long distance calls on your cell phone. You will get hit with the huge international bill and not them.

I then decided to call Sprint. I spoke with customer service who suggested she change her phone number and then talk to tech support. Tech Support thought what happened was cool, they never heard of it. But they looked at the account and saw no suspicious activity. They suggested us to do nothing, leave the number, but call the fraud department to get their thoughts. The fraud department wasn't open at that time, so we called back the next day. Fraud told me that they also don't see any crazy fraudulent activity on the account and that I don't have to do anything. I questioned that, and they said if I want to be 100%, I should take the phone to a Sprint store and reprogram it so the SID on the phone is changed. Ah, that makes sense to me - changing a phone number seemed kinda archaic to me.

So now my wife needs to go to a Sprint store and reprogram her phone.

Posted at 1:13 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Weird | Comments (1) (0)

N. Korea threatens war if U.S. pressure persists from MSNBc, and about 4 billion other articles on North Korea, War and US at Google News.

Yes, the fact that US is afraid to go to war with North Korea. The fact that North Korea won't listen to anyone. The fact that North Korea seems eager to go to war with the US.

All a bit scary.

North's Foreign Ministry warned in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

If the U.S. keeps pestering us and increases pressure, we will regard it as a declaration of war and will take a series of physical corresponding measures.

Hmmm.

Fun times...

Posted at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Category: Rambling | Comments (0) (0)

The big big news from yesterday, last night, was that Google announced they will be buying YouTube for $1.65B in stock. I am beta testing placing my Microsoft adCenter ads on Microsoft's content network. There is this pesky Yahoo! Search Marketing bug. Google and India are just not getting along, first Orkut users hate them and then it costs them 25,000 acres. Yahoo! is not only trying to be futuristic, they are also trying to store your life in digital format forever. Google hired AOL's AIM developer Uberti. I looked at the necessity of HTML knowledge in SEO work. I also looked a 56 "forgotten" Google secret pages. That was 10/10 for you.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Does An SEO Need to Know HTML?
   
2. Forums Buzz on GooTube - Google Buying YouTube for $1.65B
   
3. 56 Forgotten Google Pages
   
4. Microsoft Begins Testing Content Ads Beta
   
5. Yahoo! Search Marketing Displays Server Side Errors on Manage Bid Pages
   

Search Engine Watch Topics:

1. Yahoo Time Capsule Project Launched
   
2. Court Issues Notice To Google For Allegedly Spreading Hate In India Via Orkut
   
3. Google To Set Up R&D Office In South Korea
   
4. Maharashtra Farmers Fight Government With Google Earth
   
5. Justin Uberti, AOL's Top AIM Developer, Hired By Google
   

Posted at 2:09 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

Because of travels for the Sukkot holiday that happened to fall out on the weekend (which is good for work), I missed two days of blogging away at the SEW Blog. The man, Greg Sterling stepped up in a huge way. The two days I was out, he covered seven stories. It was like I wasn't even there.

Greg, thanks for having my back!

Posted at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (0) (0)

I am a Mac Guy that Hates "Get a Mac" Commercials but Mac just released some new Get a Mac commercials. I in particular like this one, named Better Results, I YouTube'ed it to get it on here, I am not sure it is allowed, but I think I linked to the source in enough places?

That one I think is funny.

Posted at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Category: Apple Macs | Comments (0) (0)

I can honestly say that I have a more enjoyable time reviewing the web statistics from this site over the Search Engine Roundtable. This site may get a couple to a few hundred visitors per day, whereas the Search Engine Roundtable gets several thousand visitors per day. I can dig through the stats on this site. I can see I got a single referral from David Naylor or 3 search referrals for the keyword phrase scoleciphobia, one from Google.com, one from Google.ca and the other from Comcast Search yesterday. I would never dig that deep into the Search Engine Roundtable stats, it would take hours and hours to review one day of stats.

So I enjoy being able to review the stats of a small site that I run. Of course, I wouldn't give up the traffic I have at the Search Engine Roundtable for anything.

I use Urchin 5.x, as an FYI.

Posted at 9:39 AM | Permalink | Category: Web Development | Comments (1) (0)

Just a travel note, I came back this morning on a 6am flight. Hence, the slow blogging today at SEW and SER. Next Monday morning, very very early, I fly to the west coast to spend two days at Yahoo!

Nothing more to say on this. So both SEW and SER blogging will be off schedule.

I fly out Monday early AM and fly back Tuesday afternoon - so I also may miss the Search Pulse show.

Flying is killing me. :-)

Posted at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (0) (0)

We were in Target today, in St. Louis and I thought I get my wife a Sukkot present (we normally don't give presents for Sukkot). I spotted these leopard skinned, furry and friendly slippers. So I made her buy them for herself.

Here they are:

Snazzy, don't ya think? :-)

Posted at 7:07 PM | Permalink | Category: Shopping | Comments (1) (0)

The main reason I am posting this is to test Google's Ping Server again, but in any event, we landed.

I have about 5lbs of stuff, my wife has about 95lbs of stuff.

We are only here for three days. :)

Married life...

Posted at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (4) (0)

I am truly amazed. Speechless. A relatively old YouTube video demonstrates this individual beating Super Mario Bros in about five minutes!

Posted at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Interesting | Comments (0) (0)

On October 5th, Google released Code Search. Google also released a new Google Groups beta. They enabled the pinging of their blog search engine. I looked at Google's TrustRank. I wrote about weirdness with adCenter's match type handling. USA Today had a write up on Ask.com's Teoma. Business Week wrote about the competitive landscape in search. Finally, I looked at Google's personalized home page triggers.

Tomorrow, blogging will be slow.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Keyword Types at Microsoft adCenter Handled Wrong?
   
2. Can Google Take Away A Site's Trust Value?
   
3. When Does Google Send You To The Personalized Home Page
   
4. Coders, Search For Code With Google Code Search
   

Search Engine Watch Topics:

1. Google Groups Beta 2006 Gets Mixed Reviews
   
2. USA Today Asks Teoma Who?
   
3. Search Competition; Why Can't Others Catch Up To Google?
   
4. Google Won Keyword Trademark Lawsuit: Rescuecom v. Google
   
5. Google Blog Search Adds Ping Support
   

Posted at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

So, for a really long time now, the Search Engine Roundtable has been hovering between 20 and 35 on the Technorarti top blog list.

ShoeMoney tells me that now I am off the list completely. So I look and I see that I am now way off the top 100 list and ranked at 252. Shoe is currently on the list at 92, but his current rank shows him at 115.

Matt Cutts is off the list and so are many other popular blogs.

What is up with that! Oh, and I never got my tshirt for being on the top 100.

Posted at 1:19 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Grind , SEO Tips | Comments (0) (0)

The 2nd morning in a row my hands started itching and getting red. I thought it may be hives. I got hives once before, a really long time ago, and I remember it being similar.

But this is weird. My hands get red botches, they begin to itch and the more I look at them the more it itches. But like yesterday, today, the itching and redness went away early afternoon - late morning.

I am thinking it may be the Cheerios I began eating for breakfast in the morning.

That is the main thing I changed yesterday.

My hands after they stopped itching:

Posted at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Weird | Comments (4) (0)

Google Blog just announced Got blog? Will ping. So I am testing out pining Google Blog Search at http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2 by adding it to your "Publicity/Remote Interfaces" in Movable Type or other blog software.

So this is my test. I will update this post only if there are errors.

The error:

Ping 'http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2' failed: HTTP error: 404 Not Found

Trying one more thing...Ill try pinging http://blogsearch.google.com/ping instead later.

More details at here.

Update: Tried it again and this time got a 403. Hmmm...

Ping 'http://blogsearch.google.com/ping' failed: HTTP error: 403 Forbidden

Google must not support Weblogs.Com XML-RPC interface which is widely supported by other pinging services.

Update 10/6: Pinging now works. I suspect there was a bug on Google's side that is now fixed. Only error I have now is with Yahoo!, but they don't have a blog search anymore.

Posted at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (0) (0)

Like with ראש השנה I will be traveling to the in-laws for the Sukkot (סוכות) holiday that begins Friday night. Blogging will be light this Friday and also I won't be able to blog Monday AM until after about 11AM (EST). I will try to schedule posts to go live tomorrow AM, like I did last time, but I cannot promise that. Also, I will try to connect via my Treo and MacBook, if it works this time. Who knows maybe we will see Jesse Jackson at the airport again? :)

So Sukkot, what is it about? Here are some good resources for you to learn about it.

• Aish.com
• Judaism 101
• Wikipedia
• OU.org
• Ask.com Results

Posted at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Category: Family , Homey , Travels | Comments (1) (0)

Last night I was playing basketball, like I do about three times per week. The first play of the game, the tip off, I was getting position and the next thing I know, the back of a head has smashed into my nose, pushing my nose into my face. Deal is, you can't let anyone know that you are hurt - so you continue going as if nothing happened.

As I continued to play, I felt as if, not only has my nose been pushed in, but my bite has been warped. I also felt a coldness in my upper head portion of my face. But I continued to play.

I assume there is some bruising internally, but my nose looks just fine the next morning. No scares, no black and blue. It just feels a bit tender still and my bite still feels off. I tend not to bruise easily but who knows.

We happened to win, go RustyBrick Bytes!

Oh, that is a picture I found on Flickr for a search on [nose], click over to it and you will see the photographer's markups, if you mouse over it. Pretty cool.

Posted at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (2) (0)

On October 4th I covered a number of topics including the enhancements made to Google Gadgets. I discussed why Google may decide to hide the true PageRank values from us. Google released a white label search engine names SearchMash. Google also is hosting The Literacy Project. Washington Post has an interesting look at the "I'm Feeling Lucky Button." Schmidt warns politicians of the future of elections. I pleaded with Yahoo! to add support, again, for a tag to not show the directory title in the search results. The fifth edition of the Search Pulse is archived, we had Matt Cutts and Ask.com on as guests. Finally, I looked at a tool for checking other Google results at the various data centers.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

It is so sad that my preferred airport to travel out from is at a minimum 45 minutes away. Newark Airport (EWR) is about 45 minutes from my office, it can take an additional 30 minutes if there is traffic.

The second option I have is LaGuardia Airport (LGA) which is about one hour away, with traffic, and there normally is traffic crossing the GW Bridge and the Cross Bronx Expressway, it can tack on an additional 15 to 60 minutes (sometimes even worse).

Just beyond that is John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), which is normally the airport I have to take for trips. That airport is about 15 minutes further than LGA, so about one hour and 15 minutes away. Same deal, if there is traffic, it can tack on an additional 15 to 60 minutes (sometimes even worse).

There is a closer airport named Westchester County Airport but they don't have many flight options, it is a small airport.

So, any trip I go on, you have to add on an additional hour or two each way for just getting to the airport.

Posted at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (3) (0)

Ever since Andy Beal posted his SEOMoz Generates More Traffic Than Search Engine Watch? in early September, I have been meaning to write a post on what are the different factors involved in making a link click worthy.

Often when I write an article at Search Engine Watch, I link to the source with a one word link. For example, I may say that "Andy Beal [link]wrote[/link] about X, Y and Z." Those types of links often generate a lot less traffic than a link that may read as; "Andy Beal an outstanding must read post named [link]The Top 10 Business Mistakes Search Marketing Firms Make.[/link]"

But lets break out a bulleted list of characteristics of a "click worthy link":

• Hyper link the article name
  
• Use words like "must read"
  
• Do not fully summarize the hyper-linked work
  
• Instruct your readers to click through
  
• Write a very short post with a link
  
• Don't quote the source, tell people to just read it at the source
  

Now, if you compare my post with Rand's post you would think that my post is more "click worthy." Heck, I posted using the article name just like Rand did. Also, I have a second link to close off the article with a teaser link and a link, "remaining six mistakes can be read at Andy's blog." So what is up with that?

What are the external factors of a piece of content that would generate more or less clicks on a link?

The most obvious are the traffic levels of the respective sources. Now, I would be shocked if SEOMoz gets more traffic than SEW Blog. Maybe Rand had a spike in traffic? I don't think so. But Rand believes that since he wrote about this story the day prior, the SEOMoz readers who read SEW already saw the post and didn't need to click through. So timelines matters.

What else? Well, maybe the type of reader. Rand's SEOMoz is a much more community oriented crowd. When Rand posts something, he normally gets a lot of comments on his posts. SEW Blog doesn't allow comments directly on the blog. So when someone comments on a blog post, they typically are required to click through to the sources linked to in the post before commenting intelligently.

I honestly think is it the community difference for why Andy noticed more traffic from SEOMoz as compared to SEW for that particular post.

Matt Cutts gets a ton of traffic and has a ton of comments in his posts. He linked to this blog recently at his Review of Google Reader post, it is a deep link in his content. The link itself, did not drive as much traffic as a normal Matt posting would. It actually drove a fraction of traffic a typical Matt link would drive. Why, mainly for the reasons listed above. Matt linked to me without the title of the article in the hyperlinked text, he quoted me, and it is stuck in a huge review.

So next time I link to you, I hope to give you a "click worthy link" and I hope you do the same.

Posted at 4:11 PM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (2) (0)

I accidently covered some of the topics set aside for Danny to write about, which led me to writing 8 different posts at SEW this morning. I did them all within an hour, but still - a lot of writing, considering I wrote 6 items at SER the hour before.

Today, I covered topics from Google renting their old garage, to Matt Cutts talking about PageRank, to Google releasing a nifty tool to export data from eBay, Amazon and Yahoo! to Google Base. Talking about Yahoo!, they are generating some more buzz on the Panama release. While I am on the topic of search ads, did you know that the cost per keyword remained relatively flat in Q2? Oh and if you want to get booted from AdWords, good luck! Ask.com launched their 2.0 search ad platform today, as expected. And are women less likely to click on contextual ads? On the geek side of things, 301s may be misinterpreted by Live.com. Spamming Digg is easy but should you do it? Meta tag abuse can end you up in jail. Speaking of legal, I linked to a good News.com story on Google's copyright woes. Finally, I took a look at mobile phone search topics. That is all I got for today. There should be a lot of news tomorrow also.

Oh, don't forget, tonight at 5pm (EST), Search Pulse is live at WebmasterRadio.FM. Matt Cutts is coming on the air to speak briefly about two topics. Catch you there!

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Yahoo! Creates More Panama Buzz for Paid Search Product
   
2. Google Rents Garage to Google Again
   
3. SES Local Denver Conference Coverage
   
4. Are Women More Likely to Click on Contextual Ads?
   
5. How Hard Is It To Get Booted From Google AdWords
   
6. MSN's Live.com Has Issues With Site Commands with 301s
   

Search Engine Watch Topics:

1. Google's Matt Cutts Answers Questions On PageRank
   
2. Cost-Per-Keyword Increases Slightly In Q2
   
3. Get 20 Years For Meta Tag Abuse
   
4. Mobile Phone Search: The Problem & Solutions
   
5. A Look At Google's Copyright Battles
   
6. How To Game Digg & Why You Shouldn't
   
7. Google Base Store Connector
   
8. Ask.com Sponsored Listings 2.0 Launched
   

Posted at 2:13 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) (0) | Speak

Anyone with a wife or a girlfriend goes through this routine...

Your wife/girlfriend's cell phone rings. She rushes to open her bag and sifts through the papers, makeup, note pads, and war chest of items that she never uses to find her phone. She keeps going, confident she will find the phone that is ringing really soon. The ringing stops. Either she found the phone and starts talking or there is silence and a sense of defeat, in not finding the phone.

The solution for such a problem? A pretty watch that has built in bluetooth features to show you the caller id of the person calling you. This way you can determine if you should go through all that effort in finding the phone in your bag. With a quick glance at your watch, you can tell who is calling and make an informed decision on how you want to spend your next sixty-seconds.

News came out today that Fossil is releasing such a watch this month. The watch is currently available at Fossile.com for presale at $249.00. It is not a pretty watch, there is no way my wife would wear it, but I am hoping they come out with nicer ones - where it may become an option.

Some other bluetooth watches:

• Seiko CPC TR-006
  
• Citizen VIRT
  
• PDT
  Sony Ericsson MBW-100
  

Posted at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Category: Computers , Just Interesting | Comments (1) (0)

I will be off tomorrow from blogging and work. I just wanted to wish everyone an easy fast and meaningful יום כיפור.

Some Yom Kippur resources (I do not valid any of them personally, they were just ranking well in the search engines).

• Wikipedia
• Judaism 101
• Ask.com
• OU.org
• Aish.com

If I have done anything to hurt anyone in any way, I hope you forgive me.

All the best,

Barry

Posted at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Category: Homey | Comments (1) (0)