The Wall Street Journal reviewed the DVR options. Go with a TiVO or opt for the DVR from the cable company.

After reading his review, I am confident over my decision to go with the HD DVR from Cable Vision, because they only have one flaw, the UI. But the flaws discussed in his article about the Comcast DVR, well, that is some bad stuff.

It is funny, because Buy.com is having a sale on . It is very expensive still, about $650 from Buy.com, not including the monthly fee from TiVO of about $20 per month. Heck, all I pay from Cable Vision is $9.95/month for the DVR service, the box was free.

So what to do? That depends on you.

The Wall Street Journal says;

But, for now, the choice is tough. The Comcast high-definition DVR is a cheaper, but flawed product and the TiVo Series3 is an excellent, but overpriced one.

One feature I wish I had was the ability to program recording via the Internet. But it is not worth $700 and $20 per month.

Supposedly my new TV, , is suppose to come today, I hope so. FedEX just changed the ETA to January 2nd, but it says it is on the truck for delivery -- who knows...

Posted at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Category: Shopping | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Today was a very slow day in the forums, I covered how Google crawls pages. A possible, but unlikely, Yahoo Search update was discussed as well. Brett posted the results of an older survey at WebmasterWorld. I covered a top search stories story. Yahoo Answers ranked number one amongst other Q&A engines. Flight Stats released a mobile flight tracker. Yahoo opened an office in Bangalore. Google Blog Search surpassed Technorati. Google ranked number two in Webster's Word of 2006. And a bunch of search bloggers are sharing stats.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. How Does Google Crawl Pages & Index Them?
2. Yahoo! Christmas Update? I Doubt It
3. Sharing Some 2006 Stats From Search Engine Roundtable
4. Search Can Be Better; Survey Says

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Search Bloggers On Their Most Popular Posts & Stats For 2006
2. Top 101 Search Stories Of 2006
3. Question & Answer Search Engines Ranked
4. New Mobile Flight Status Tracker By FlightStats
5. Yahoo To Open New Research Center In Bangalore
6. Google Blog Search Passes Technorati In Visits
7. Google # 2 Merriam-Webster's Word Of 2006

Posted at 2:47 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

So I just posted Search Engine Roundtable 2006 stats based on Search Bloggers On Their Most Popular Posts & Stats For 2006 and I thought I do the same with my personal blog. The blog first launched on July 20, 2006, so let's take a peek under the hood.

Top Requested Pages:
1. Home Page with 21,382 pageviews (38.74%)
2. Which Search Blogs Am I Most Likely To Read In More Detail? with 2,133 pageviews (3.86%)
3. About Cartoon Barry with 1,202 pageviews (2.18%)
4. Divorce Via NYC Billboard with 926 pageviews (1.68%)
5. Chanukah (חנכה) Is Tomorrow Night with 783 pageviews (1.42%)

Top Referrals:
1. Direct - 7,462 - 22.34%
2. OddCast.com - 7,345 - 21.99%
3. Google - 6,444 - 19.30%
4. Search Engine Roundtable - 1,526 - 4.57%
5. Bloglines - 645 - 1.93%
6. MSN Search - 585 - 1.75%
7. SEOMoz - 532 - 1.59%
8. Google UK - 485 - 1.45%
9. DigitalPoint - 445 - 1.33%
10. Google Canada - 416 - 1.25%

Top Search Terms:
1. loneygirl15 - 218 - 2.25%
2. scooba 5900 - 101 - 1.04%
3. scoleciphobia - 86 - 0.89%
4. practice parking - 79 - 0.82%
5. brinkmann 4400 - 68 - 0.70%
6. leopard slippers - 63 - 0.65%
7. make google my home page - 61 - 0.63%
8. my typical day - 60 - 0.62%
9. cartoon barry - 58 - 0.60%
10. brinkmann pro series 4400 - 53 - 0.55%

Top Search Engines:
1. www.google.com - 5,848 - 60.44%
2. search.msn.com - 585 - 6.05%
3. google.co.uk - 461 - 4.76%
4. www.google.ca - 413 - 4.27%
5. search.yahoo.com - 339 - 3.50%
6. blogsearch.google.com - 247 - 2.55%
7. google.com.au - 131 - 1.35%
8. search.blogger.com - 109 - 1.13%
9. google.co.in - 97 - 1.00%
10. www.google.de - 85 - 0.88%

Top Browsers:
1. Internet Explorer - 16,853 - 50.46%
2. Firefox - 13,279 - 39.76%
3. Safari - 2,431 - 7.28%
4. Opera - 397 - 1.19%
5. Netscape - 153 - 0.46%
6. Mozilla - 129 - 0.39%
7. Camino - 54 - 0.16%
8. Mozilla Compatible Agent - 35 - 0.10%
9. Konqueror - 28 - 0.08%
10. Loony - 20 - 0.06%

Top Operating Systems:
1. Windows - 29,086 - 87.09%
2. Macintosh - 3,854 - 11.54%
3. Linux - 390 - 1.17%

Top Screen Resolutions:
1. 1024x768 - 13,520 - 40.54%
2. 1280x1024 - 6,686 - 20.05%
3. 800x600 - 2,534 - 7.60%
4. 1280x800 - 2,503 - 7.50%
5. 1440x900 - 1,456 - 4.37%
6. 1680x1050 - 1,099 - 3.30%
7. 1152x864 - 1,053 - 3.16%
8. 1920x1200 - 908 - 2.72%
9. 1400x1050 - 870 - 2.61%
10. 1280x854 - 644 - 1.93%

Top Time Zones:
1. -0500 - 7,765 - 23.28%
2. -0400 - 6,942 - 20.81%
3. -0700 - 4,032 - 12.09%
4. -0800 - 2,720 - 8.16%
5. +0100 - 2,680 - 8.04%
6. -0600 - 2,526 - 7.57%
7. +0200 - 2,238 - 6.71%
8. +0000 - 1,200 - 3.60%
9. +0800 - 532 - 1.60%
10. +0300 - 445 - 1.33%

Top Languages:
1. en-us - 27,292 - 81.83%
2. en - 2,362 - 7.08%
3. de - 876 - 2.63%
4. en-gb - 600 - 1.80%
5. fr - 362 - 1.09%
6. es - 216 - 0.65%
7. nl - 197 - 0.59%
8. it - 138 - 0.41%
9. pt-br - 123 - 0.37%
10. ru - 100 - 0.30%

Visits By Month:
July: 3,689
August: 10,666
September: 8,555
October: 9,003
November: 10,707
December: 12,579

Feeds:
Not sure, I know there are 67 Bloglines subscribers, the rest, I do not know.

Total Blog Posts: 417 (including this one)

There ya go...

Posted at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Today I wrote about Cre8asite Forums shelling out $1,600 to four organizations. I took a deeper look at the Google data refresh. Google fixed the AdSense ad filter bug. adCenter promo codes aren't all what they sound like. I took a deeper look at paid blog reviews from four different views. Also, Google News, the mobile edition, allows you to customize the page. Google ranked number four on Business Week's hot growth list. Google Shuffle has a little surprising message. People are using Google Code Search to find vulnerable sites. Google is investing in a China based video site.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Cre8asite Forums To Donate $1,600 Towards SEM Organizations
2. Google's Data Refresh; Any Patterns or Commonalities?
3. Google's AdSense Team Fixes Ad Filter Bug
4. Microsoft's adCenter Promotional Codes Not So Promotional?
5. Paid Blog Reviews: ReviewMe & PayPerPost

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google News Mobile Now Customizable
2. Google #4 On BusinessWeek's Tech Hot Growth 50
3. Behind The Google Shuffle
4. Using Google Code Search To Find Vulnerable Sites
5. Google To Invest In China Based Video Download Site

Posted at 3:40 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

Gary Price spotted that the Jerusalem Post has launched a new interactive map of Israel.

It is very cool, in that you can mouse over areas, it scrolls up and down, you can click to drill down deeper, you can click on landmarks to get more details about them, and during this, they have trains, planes and cars moving on the map (not real stuff, but animated).

Typical of this, is that the map of Israel page shows a URL on the page of http://maps.jpost.com/ but when you try accessing it via that URL, it takes you no where.

The map is powered by Eye on Israel.

In any event, my wife may like this, since we are off to Israel in a couple weeks or so.

Posted at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

I am fairly well known for always having my laptop bag with me at all times, especially at SEO conferences. (hence the bag on my cartoon version of me).

But technically, I never have the shoulder strap over on my right shoulder. Yes, I am a right handed man, but ever since some time in college, I stopped using my right shoulder to hold my bag.

One Friday I was playing tackle football in the park. I must have been about 19 or 20 years old. I intercepted a bad pass by the quarterback and began to run it back. This incredibly strong guy picked me up from behind, lifted me in the air, flipped me around so that I was upside down and slammed me down. I landed on my right shoulder.

At first, I thought I dislocated it. So I had a bunch of the guys hold me, and an other group of guys pull my arm the other way - trying to get them to pop it back in. It wouldn't go. But it was for sure out of the socket, I felt my shoulder and it was not connected fully to the arm.

After that didn't work, one of the guys drove me to a local EMT who tried to pop it back in. He failed and told me to go to the hospital.

So I went home, asked my dad to take me to the hospital (this is about 30 minutes later). My dad needed finish a few things, and then he took me (felt like forever). We got there, did an xray and they told me it was a separated shoulder and not a dislocated shoulder.

A separated shoulder is also known as a acromioclavicular separation or AC separation. For now, all I could do it take meds to relax the pain and try to keep it still, so it won't hurt so much. After that, they told me, it will heal, but never go back in place. If I wanted, I can go get cosmetic surgery, but typically, there is no need to.

Here is a picture from WebMD:

Separated AC stands for separating the "collarbone (clavicle) and the end of the shoulder blade (acromion)."

The Wikipedia has a xray of what that looks like, I can't find mine...

In any event, it took a few months to heal, my shoulder is still separated, I never had the surgery, but I typically do not have much pain there these days.

Since then, I had to learn to switch from carrying my bag on my right shoulder to my left shoulder. Took a while to get used to, but I did. Now, I wish I can switch back to my right shoulder, but it just feels to awkward.

Posted at 9:19 AM | Permalink | Category: Sports | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

I am putting two days in one, since yesterday was Christmas...

Google is now showing quality score factors to some AdWords advertisers. Google partnered with China Mobile, and won a lawsuite against HyperPhase. Wikiasari is a new search service powered by humans. Google's AdSense filter list is not fully working. Google is testing video ads. I looked at Google crawling, dynamic keyword inserting and AdWords bidding mistakes. Is Panama the answer for Yahoo!? Ask.com released top searches for 2006. I posted an article that explored Microsoft's behavioral targeting system. Finally, some Googlers were busy on Christmas.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google & Search Engines Do Not Mind Bad HTML When Crawling
2. Wikiasari, Community Search Engine; New Search Engine by Wikipedia Founder
3. Screen Shot Of Quality Score Metric in AdWords Console
4. Dynamic Keyword Insertion in Your URLs With Google AdWords
5. Making Bidding Mistakes at Google AdWords ($0.10 Vs. $10.00)
6. Google AdSense Competitive Ad Filter Not Working?
7. Vanessa & Adam Working on Christmas Day

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Wikipedia Founder To Launch Wikiasari Search Engine Early 2007
2. Judge Dismisses Google AdSense & AutoLink Toolbar Lawsuits
3. Google Shows Quality Score Indicator To Some AdWords Advertisers
4. Is Panama The Answer To Yahoo's Problems?
5. Google Partners With China Mobile To Launch Mobile Search
6. How Microsoft's Behavioral Targeting Works
7. Ask.com Top Searches of 2006
8. Google Testing Video Ads "In Stream"

Posted at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

I am told this is the last day that Google is offering the $20 Google Checkout instant savings on orders at . So here are some deals I spotted today, again you can vote if you want me to post deals or not at the bottom of this page, all links are through affiliate tracking URLs. I would have posted this earlier, but CJ wouldn't give me the content until now...

The does something, not sure what, but it is currently free.

I own the and spent over $700 for it, now it is $500! Only issues are the remote sucks (no universal remote support) and no HDMI support. But very cheap and be careful with the rebate!

My bedroom TV broke so today I splurged on a new TV, like the NIKO but supports HDMI. I got the for just under $600 with a $20 Google Checkout and a $150 rebate form. I am excited to get it!

Oh and if you are looking for earphones these seem to be a good deal, .

I think the $20 Google Checkout stuff expires today, sorry for late notice, but jump over to and take advantage of it while it lasts. We know Google is paying the bill, around $20 million...

Posted at 9:09 AM | Permalink | Category: Shopping | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

I noticed this morning that the stories I wrote at Search Engine Land on Christmas are now in the Google News index. Here is a screen capture of a site command at Google News from this morning:

I have no idea if Danny submitted the site to Google News, I honestly think he did not submit it as of yet, but had plans to.

This is good stuff. Wonder when it will happen with Yahoo! News.

Posted at 8:53 AM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Typically, the next two weeks are the slowest for me. So I try to keep myself busy with other things. They include:

• Year End Bonuses
• Year End Contributions
• Closing the Books
• Preparing Tax Documents
• Setting Up Files for 2007
• Putting Away Files for 2006
• Cleaning Misc Items
• Reviewing RustyBrick Performance
• Misc. Items

Today I can cross off two items from the list.

Happy Holidays!

Posted at 3:32 PM | Permalink | Category: RustyBrick | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Happy Holidays All! Microsoft is reporting 40% higher conversions in adCenter. Should Google One Box Blogger for all search queries "blog" related. Yahoo! Publisher Network's compliance manager is at work. Google may add referrer data to the sitemaps web crawl report. Google said they won't ask to partner with others to compete in China. I listed out some sites that are banned in Digg. Is Google doing an update during the holiday season? I showed off some of the search engines holiday logos.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Microsoft adCenter Showing 40% Higher Conversion Data
2. Blog Like Searches Bring Up Special One Box Result For Google's Blogger
3. Publishers Noticing Yahoo!'s New Compliance Manager At Work
4. Google May Add Referrer Data To Web Crawl Error Reports
5. 2006 Holiday Season Search Logos

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google Says They Won't Ask For Help In China To Compete
2. A Google Holiday Update Or Data Refresh
3. Some Of Digg's Ban Domain List

Posted at 1:54 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

This is a copy of the e-card we sent out to our database for the 2006 holiday season.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Posted at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Category: RustyBrick | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

First I wrote about a theory on large sites versus smaller sites. I then reported on a method to do dynamic keyword insertion into Yahoo!'s Panama. Microsoft's adCenter is having delays in their reporting engine. I said, if the search engines don't feel you have a duplicate content issue, don't fix one. AdWords normalizes your CTR for the quality score. Google changes the AdSense feedback and violations form. Yahoo! sent out holiday shwag. We opened up suggestions for improvements to the Search Engine Roundtable. Germany left Quaero to France and started Theseus. Yahoo China won the court case against Qihoo. Taiwan's Chunghwa signed a mobile deal with Google. I looked at reasons why Google may have dropped the SOAP API. Finally, Google is sporting AdWords holiday decorations.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Do Larger Web Sites Require More Links Than Smaller Sites To Rank Well?
2. Dynamic Keyword Insertion In Yahoo!'s New Panama PPC Engine
3. Microsoft adCenter Buy Causes Reports To Be Delayed "A Day Or So"
4. If You Don't Have a Duplicate Content Problem; Don't Fix It
5. Google Normalizes Click Through Rate For AdWords Quality Score Scoring
6. Google Changes AdSense Feedback & Violation Form
7. Yahoo!'s Holiday Gifts for 2006
8. Open To Suggestions: Things To Improve, Change or Remove in 2007

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Germany Leaves Quaero To France, To Start Theseus Search Project
2. Yahoo China Wins Suit Against Hongyi's Qihoo For Unfair Competition
3. Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom Signs Mobile Deal With Google
4. Why Did Google Stop Supporting The SOAP API?
5. Google AdWords Special Holiday Dividers

Posted at 4:08 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

I take a lot of pride in how everything we do at RustyBrick is tracked through a custom built workflow manager. Not only does our system provide detailed project management, task management, billing solutions, version control, proposal management and more - it also is used to help guide us for the year end bonuses.

We track so much data through our system that we are able to build out simple reports with cool dials to see how well an employee is producing at any given time. Of course, we do not base the bonus solely on those data points, but they do provide a good guide for us to work off of. And typically, they are pretty representative of our subjective value of each employee throughout the year.

I won't tell you what data values we use in the formula, but I can tell you it takes into account dozens of metrics. Those metrics are categorized into about 15 or so groups. We then normalize those figures on a five point scale.

We base the bonus based on that five point scale, we associate a percentage to each value throughout the five point scale and then multiple the percentage to give our employees a bonus at the end of the year. I provide the check and a print out of the detailed performance review in an envelop and encourage the employees to discuss it with me after they have reviewed it.

One thing that we debated internally here at RustyBrick was the decision to show the data to the employees in real time as they want to see it and if so, how much. We don't want them to freak out by being in the yellow zone, when all it is, is a current snap shot of data that might not be complete at the moment. We opted (I pushed for it) to show one single dial of overall performance, I make it clear to the employees that this number is not finalized until the end of the year. Yes, we do give RustyPoints as part of the end of the year bonus that can increase or decrease the employee's score.

That is a little insight into how RustyBrick's bonus plan works. If you want all the details, you will have to work for us to get it.

Posted at 2:51 PM | Permalink | Category: RustyBrick | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Last night I spent some time cleaning up my office, not the whole office, just my personal office. I had stacks of magazines I don't have time to read sitting on the file cabinet behind me, now they are all in the trash. I had dozens of proposals and legal stuff to file away, they are filed away. I had tons of old notes, mail and miscellaneous items laying around - no longer.

My desk is so clean, and my office looks like it should.

I am a neat-freak for a guy, I blame my mother. We had to have clean rooms, seriously, nothing out of order, no clothing on the floor, no papers, etc. Most of that transpires to my office and my home. A dirty office in my standards is probably a clean office to most. Just imagine what a clean office is to my standards.

I just feel more organized and streamlined when things are clean.

Posted at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Category: RustyBrick | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

The first product I spotted on Buy.com was for a personal firewall, not sure how this thing works, all I know is that this one is not supported on Mac. If you run Window it works and it is free after rebates and Google Checkout. It is the and after this $20 rebate and $10 instant savings with Google Checkout, it is free.

The second product, I already purchased from Buy.com last week for $20. It is now only $12.99, so I wasted $7. You can get the after a $50 rebate and $20 Google Checkout instant savings.

Side note: I made 15 different purchases on Buy.com through Google Checkout yesterday. 10 of the same LCD monitors and 5 video cards. I made 15 different purchases to get the Google Checkout discount each time, saving me well over $300. Google Checkout is quick, so it only took about 10 minutes for everything.

Posted at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Category: Shopping | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

This is me on my knees begging you! Well, I tried to put Cartoon Barry on his knees, but I am not that good at photoshop.

Search Engine Journal is having a contest where you can vote for your favorite blog and blogger over here.

You can vote for Search Engine Roundtable and also me, personally, Barry Schwartz.

I hope my contributions show in this vote, but who knows. I love blogging and about 20 posts per day, it shows, I hope.

More details at Search Engine Roundtable and please vote for me and SER over here.

Thank you all!

Posted at 5:42 PM | Permalink | Category: Buddies | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

The 13th edition of the search pulse is archived, get your Ward on linking. Ask.com is testing Ask X. ODP is coming back to life, well, kind of. AdSense encourages clicks on Google referral products. Google will update your quality score, at least monthly. I asked, when will Google devalue links at social media sites? I looked at an article on Google Checkout vs. PayPal (FYI - I placed 15 different orders on Google Checkout today). A case showed how Google searches were used to send a wireless hacker to jail.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Search Pulse 13: Google Link Building, Duplicate Content, CSS Tricks, Images Near AdSense, Yahoo! Directory Tag, Here Comes Panama, & More
   
2. Ask X Allows Users To Interact More With Search Results
   
3. Open Directory Project (DMOZ) Coming Back From the Dead?
   
4. Encouraging Clicks of AdSense Referral Products is Allowed
   
5. Google AdWords Updates Quality Scores At Least Monthly
   
6. When Will Google Begin Devaluing Social Links; Such As Digg.com, Yahoo! Answers & del.icio.us?
   

1. Holiday 2006 Grudge Match: Google Checkout Versus Paypal
   
2. Google Search History Used To Send Wireless Hacker To Prison
   

Posted at 3:41 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

Not many of you know this, but I do not like to sing and I do not like to dance. I figure, I'll leave the singing and dancing to professionals, no reason for me to start messing around with that stuff.

Seriously, I never sing.
Seriously, I do whatever I can, not to dance.

Thing is, at my wedding, I had to dance. But at Jewish weddings, dancing is not real dancing. You basically go around in circles with other men, in a walking pattern. It kinda looks like this:

So I had to pull that off at my wedding. But honestly, it was sad. My wife loves to dance, so she played it up. But since men and women dance floors are typically separated at orthodox Jewish weddings, all the action was on her side - which was cool with me.

Posted at 9:06 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Weird | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Woot.com's deal of the day is the iRobot Roomba Sage with Convenience Pack for only $139.99 plus $5 shipping. I bought the wet brother of the Roomba, Scooba 5900 off of Woot and I have been happy, check it out in action. My brother bought the Roomba for about $150 without the "convenience pack." I know he loves it.

Heck, my cute niece loves it too.

So get yours at Woot.com, it is only good while supplies last and it won't be there tomorrow.

Posted at 8:49 AM | Permalink | Category: Shopping | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Today I learned that some advertisers have to migrate to Panama by January 10th. There is a method of excluding sites from showing on Google Park Domains. Google defined duplicate content. AdSense banned images near ads. Webmaster Central enables you to check a sites status with no account signup required. Google is testing related searches at the bottom of the results. Google maps added multiple destinations to driving directions. Google dropped SOAP API support. Finally, Ask.com is testing a new interface out at Ask X.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Here Comes Panama; Ready Or Not; January 10, 2007
   
2. Excluding Your Sites in AdWord's Content & Parked Domain Networks
   
3. Google Defines Duplicate Content & Answers Duplicate FAQs
   
4. Google Officially Disallows Images Near AdSense Ads
   
5. Quick & Official Way To Check Your Site's "Status" in Google
   
6. Google Showing "Related Searches" At Bottom Of Search Results
   

1. Google Tests Related Searches At Bottom Of Page
   
2. Google Maps Adds Multiple Destinations To Driving Directions
   
3. Google Drops SOAP Search API
   
4. Ask.com Test New Search Interface With Ask X
   

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

Over the years in the search industry, I have met a lot of people. One person I consider myself very lucky to know is Gary Price. As many of you know, Gary Price stepped down as News Editor at Search Engine Watch and I did my best to come in to fill a bit of that role (more on that here). Gary began working at at Ask.com to make search better and he is doing a great job.

In any event, I consider very lucky to have such a close relationship with Gary. It is a true honor to be able to talk to him on a daily basis. Exchange ideas, discuss search trends and talk personal stuff.

I was shocked to find out that Gary bought Yisha and myself a Chanukah gift. Yes, Gary is also Jewish, just not orthodox, but very traditional and knows a heck of a lot about orthodoxy. Gary got us a nice gift certificate to one of my favorite restaurants in NYC, the Prime Grill.

Gary - thank you for such a great gift and thanks for being a great friend!

Posted at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Category: Buddies | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

The kind folks over at the Yahoo! Publisher Network have sent me some pretty cool Yahoo! Schwag for the 2006, end of the year, holiday season. They sent me this pretty red box:

The card on top looks like this and it makes the "Yahoooooo" yodel sound, watch the video...

In the box were two things. First a Yahoo! sweatshirt and a Yahoo! CoolIT USB Chiller. It looks like:

Funny, last year, my company gave out RustyBrick USB Mug warmers... Those look like this...

Thank you so much Yahoo!

Posted at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

I was talking to an old elementary school buddy about 4th grade this weekend. Side note: 4th grade may have been one of my favorite years in elementary school. In any event, I told him about how I remember finding a large piece of card board paper. I took that piece of card board paper and made it into a super big paper airplane.

I then opened opened the window in my class room, which was the class room at the highest point in that building. I stick the airplane through the screen (or did I take the screen off?). As I am ready to release the airplane from my hand, out into the playground yard, the school's principle stops in to say hi.

You have to understand, the principle rarely ever stops by. But he did at the exact moment I was about to launch this airplane out the window. He could of walked in 5 minutes before, or a few seconds after, but not. He walked in as I was in the motion.

I actually did not get in trouble for it. Nothing at all happened. Never knew why.

A flash from my past.

Posted at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Until last night, I did not have a DVR, yea, I know, sounds crazy. But true. I watch TV Monday nights and Sunday nights, and it didn't bother me to not have a DVR. But when I missed the season finale of Prison Break while at SES Chicago, I was upset. Then my wife and her office was on TV one night and I wasn't able to watch that either. So that night, I ordered a DVR from the cable company.

I did not get the TiVO because it is a lot more expensive. The cable company sent me a DVR that records in HD quality about the same amount as the TiVO. I would like the remote ability to control what the DVR records via the web, like the TiVO but I am hoping they will add that feature over time.

Last night I set it up and we were off...

My wife came home, she didn't seem to interested about the DVR, other things were on her mind (and they were more important than a DVR). In any event, I was watching House and she called me, she needed my help with something. I got up immediately and helped her. About 15 minutes later, I came back to the TV, hit the rewind button and picked up from where I left off. I then speed through the commercials and almost caught up in real time to the show. This was all in hi-def, let me add.

So this is not only a cool gadget, it helps with being a good husband.

PS - I hope to use it for recording 24 when it starts airing.

Posted at 9:14 AM | Permalink | Category: Homey | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

DIY Day by Danny at his personal blog (like that Danny), explains how he spent a large portion of his day doing odd jobs around the house. It included; hanging a mirror, hanging other things up, setting up Christmas lights, and other small jobs. Danny explains he rather pay someone to do this all for him, I agree - but the issue is that no one will come in to do such small jobs. Hence, the job of a husband is to hang up a new picture, set up Chanukah candles (in Danny's case, Christmas tree), install things that need to be installed and so on. What is great is the comment Danny's wife left on his blog. She wrote ins response to "Any task I undertake has to be accompanied by great huffing and noise. This is to establish for my wife what a huge effort I'm undertaking."

My god - if you spent the same effort doing DIY as you do blogging, the work would be done in half the time. The huffing doesn't make me think you're making a huge effort...it makes me think you're plonka. x

First I had to ask what "plonka" meant, and it means "idiot" in UK language. :)

I checked the 30 or so comments my wife made on my personal blog, none of them were that big of a ding to me. Huge kudo's to Mrs. Sullivan.

Why am I not afraid to show this to my wife? Well, I have only been married for a bit over 6 months. I am still in the period where I do stuff around the house. Oh, I did forget to take out the trash but my wife let that slide.

Great comment again!

Posted at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Typically, towards the holiday season, search news slows at the same rate as forum buzz. But it seems there is a slow down in quality threads but no slow down in quality news. On the forum front, we had discussion on a Google blog post on link building. Yahoo! said they will support the no yahoo directory tag in January. We looked at how search engines like to handle CSS. Finally, we discussed the Google & Orange mobile phone rumors.

On the news front, I covered a story on Google and Russia and Google and Europe. I also wrote how Google acquired Endoxon. A trademark infringement case against Yahoo! has been dismissed. UTube is monetizing off YouTube traffic. Google wrote two posts explaining trademark rules in AdWords. Finally, Google and NASA released partnership details.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Discusses Link Building Strategies
   
2. Yahoo! To Support No Yahoo Directory Title Tag in January
   
3. Using CSS To Hide Text: Search Engine Responses
   
4. Google & Orange To Work On Mobile Phone
   

1. Yahoo Says No Directory Tag Coming January 2007
   
2. Google In Russia & Europe: The International Challenge
   
3. Google Acquired Endoxon: Geo Mapping Software
   
4. Trademark Infringement Case Against Yahoo In Google AdWords Dismissed
   
5. UTube Monetizes Mistaken YouTube Traffic
   
6. Google Explains AdWords Trademark Policies
   
7. Google & NASA Partner To Make NASA's Data More Accessible
   

Posted at 3:06 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

I hear that my nephews, sister's four boys, have discovered this blog. So I wanted to say hi to Avi, Jeremy, Zachary and Aaron.

Avi is the oldest, in about a year, he will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah.

Jeremy is second line line, when he was born, I was stuck watching Avi. I decided to dress Avi in black jeans, a black thermal undershirt, black shoes and black sunglasses. I think that is how he met his first brother, dresses all in black. (I may be wrong)...

Then came Zachary. Hey Zachary! He was born in my sister's and brother-in-law's new house. I didn't have the privilege of dressing him to meet his youngest brother (to come soon). But I think I did my share of watching over him, I remember too many times where he wouldn't go to sleep when I was responsible for watching him.

Finally, there is Aaron, the youngest. He gets away with a lot, being the youngest. But don't all babies in the family get away with stuff? I am told I did, and I am the youngest in my family.

Welcome to the blog guys!

This post is approved by their dad.

Posted at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Category: Family | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) (0)