Remember I talked about the social release of the iPhone Siddur? Well, it was finally approved yesterday and the map feature is working. The below screen shot shows who is actively using the iPhone Siddur across the world. Note, this screen shot was from yesterday and many folks have yet to update to 3.0 and thus it would not map all the users (plus people can turn it off).

I hope to post a new screen capture or maybe a live embedded Google Map, with this data, but in the future to show a real look at who is praying with the iPhone Siddur around the world.

It would be my goal to have at least one person using it every minute of the day, except for Shabbos.

Posted at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Category: Religion | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Toolbar PageRank has been updated. AdWords requiring two logins. Google tries Lively, one last time. Child Care site showing porn suggestion. Google got a product ideas engine. Google pushing fat ads. Danny smacks down Microsoft. Do tough SEO? Google's Mayer may be leaving Google? Google Product Search gains momentum.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Confirms PageRank Update (New Years 2009)
2. Google AdWords Requiring Some Advertisers to Login Twice
3. Google Webmaster Helps Tries Live Lively Event, Before Lively Shuts Down
4. Search For Child Day Care Site & Google Suggests Porn Site
5. Google Recommends Product Ideas for Your Google Mobile Suggestions
6. Google AdSense Now Pushing Fat Ads: Is this Offensive?
7. Danny Sullivan Gives Microsoft The Hard Truth
8. Tough SEO: SEO For Sites You Don't Manage & Leftover SEO

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Rumor: Marissa Mayer, Google's 19th Employee, To Leave
2. Google's Product Search Gaining & A Look At Google's Top Services

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 31st, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 31st, 2008:

• Reviewing a Perilous Transition - The News of February 2008, Metamend
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 30, 2008, Search Engine Land
• December 2008 Page Rank Update?, Red Vw Bus
• Ecommerce Know-How: Bot Herding, A SEO Internal Linking Tactic, Practical eCommerce

Posted at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

This blog post is mostly so I remember what happened when. But it might be some what comical to you.

On 12/11 a guy named John Leveroni convinced me that he would save me money by switching me back to Verizon from my current provider of business telephone service. After having all the paper work and contracts written out, I was confident I would be saving money. The thing is, I wasn't sure if this was Verizon or a Verizon reseller. So I asked him, and he said, he is from Verizon.

Turns out he lied. He is an authorized Verizon reseller but he works at a place called One Source, that resells this stuff for Verizon. But why should I care, I got a signed contract?

Well, it turned out that the plan I was signed up for was not the plan he told me he can put me on. It turned out, it had less features at the same or more expensive price. So I said, fine - I got a contract, Ill tell Verizon.

I call Verizon last week and they tell me, that since it was not a Verizon rep, they cannot honor it. All they can do is put in a complaint and then sign me up for a different plan. I was frustrated but was convinced by a Verizon rep that a different plan would get me everything I wanted at the right price.

So Kim Scott at the 631 Verizon business office switched me to a new plan. She gave me the confirmation number for the new plan and promised to keep me up to date. I haven't heard back, so I called back today to follow up.

Guess, what, the confirmation number is not in the system and no such order was placed. Even worse, the pricing she gave me for this plan is twice as much as she told me. Oh, and it only comes with the DSL package, which I don't need, but this is the first time I am hearing this.

So I was told to speak with her manager, name is Michael at 890-1309. I called, he is on vacation until Monday, after New Years. So I left him a message.

I'll give them until Monday and if I don't hear back, I will try to switch back to my previous provider.

What a waste of time!

Update: It just keeps getting worse. Three months later, Verizon Keeps Over Charging Me!!!

Posted at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Category: RustyBrick | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

The snow is really coming down now. I think about five inches is expected in Suffern, where I am right now. When I got to work, it was a clear sky - so when RBers started walking in complaining about the snow, I was shocked.

I have a feeling it is going to be a snowy winter. I certainly hope not. But that is my gut. Honestly, a snowy winter on top of a recessionary time, doesn't make me happy - but what can I do.

I told the RBers that if we get stuck here, at the office, for New Years, at least we got our iPhone New Years horns to keep us entertained. :)

Here is to a warm winter! :)

And Happy New Year!

Posted at 9:38 AM | Permalink | Category: Weather | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

I have pretty big news that I am finally able to share with you all. I am pregnant. Well, I'm technically not pregnant, but my wife is, so we are pregnant. This would be my first child and I am incredibly excited.

Not sure if you Twitter followers remember, but back on September 4th I twittered "OMG!" at 10:48 AM (EST). That is when I first found out. Then to be safe, we did another test at 6:08 PM, where I said "OMG!" again. Yes, it was positive again. Then the following morning, we tried one more time on September 5th at 2:27 AM (that seems way too early, I think it was later) and yes, it was "OMG!" positive! The final "OMG!" was when we got the confirmation from the Doctor at 11:18 AM that we were indeed pregnant!

So now, it is five months later and thank G-d, every thing looks to be healthy. We went for the hour long sonogram today and we saw the whole body including nose, eyes, head, ears, legs, fingers, toes, heart, belly, etc etc. It was a very rememberable experience.

In summary, we're pregnant. :)

FYI, the picture above is a random picture from Flickr that came up for the keyword search "sonogram."

Update: Here are many of the Twitter responses to this post. To see them, click here and a new window will open with them.

Posted at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Category: Family | Comments (66) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google shows porn too much. Did you see Smart Positioning from AdWords? Got duplicate content? Take the search quiz. Ask for links. Are copywriters not honest? NY Times sued for linking. Microsoft updates earth data.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google's Strict Image Search Less Strict Than Moderate Option
2. Google AdWords Smart Positioning (BETA)
3. My Mobile Site Is Duplicate Content. Oh No!
4. Take the 2008 Search Quiz
5. How Do You Ask for Links?
6. Are there Honest Copywriters Out There?
7. New York Times Sued Over Linking Practices

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Take The 2008 Search Quiz
2. Microsoft Updates Virtual Earth Data & Images

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 30th, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 30th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 29, 2008, Search Engine Land
• 7 Simple Ways To Build Traffic To A New Website, SiteProNews
• Need a Job? Start a blog!, Pixelhead
• Readings, IZWI
• Tough Love For Microsoft Search, Search Engine Land

Posted at 3:38 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

This guy named Adam Fogle wrote a blog post named Why the iPhone should die in his new blog. The post explains how my iPhone New Years horn is one of the many reasons the iPhone should die.

Okay, so he doesn't like the new years horn. Personally, I think it is a nice free thing for new years. In fact, ZDNet, who covered it over here and said, it "is a fun little iPhone app to help you ring in 2009." He then added it is "the perfect combination of silly and free."

Okay, so I have no problem with someone blogging that they find the app annoying or pointless. I understand that you can't win them all. So why should Adam stop blogging? Well, he went as far as to write, "some jackass went and created..." People need to learn, learn big time, how to earn trust and gain subscribers. Get some integrity and then some intelligence.

Posted at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Category: Rambling | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

My video is live. Google Alerts goes whacky? Google UK shifting? Google's preferred domain not working for some? Google Sitemaps has a reporting bug for some. Google, Apple, Microsoft all sued. Do you need a body tag for Google to love you? Google has a bug displaying image thumbnails in some cases.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: December 26, 2008
2. Google Alerts Sending Out False Alerts?
3. Google International Results Excessively 'Yo-Yoing'?
4. Google Webmaster Tools Not Allowing Setting Preferred Domain?
5. Google Sitemaps Reporting Bug May Deceive You
6. Google, Apple, and Microsoft in Lawsuit Over Document Preview
7. Will the BODY Tag Impact Google's Spiders?

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Blogger Image Thumbnails In Google A Bug?

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 29th, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 29th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 26, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Happy Birthday TopRankBlog & SEO Blogs Class of 2003, Online Marketing Blog
• Google Says, Bounce Rates For Search Rankings Spammable and Noisy, Sphinn
• Happy Holiday!!! Logos from the Industry, Sphinn
• If Link Buying is Bad, Shouldn't PRWeb Be Bad Too?, Sphinn
• iPhone Dominates Mobile WiFi Advertising, dailywireless.org
• Juicy Links: December 15 - December 19, Exclusive Concepts Blog
• The Weekly Insider 12-15-08 to 12-23-08, eVisibility.com

Posted at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

I have been a Wii virgin until this past week. My nieces received a Wii from their parents for Chanukah.

So of course, my brother-in-law were eager to play. So for the first time ever, I played the Wii. I played Wii Tennis, Wii Baseball, Wii Bowling, Wii Golf and Wii Boxing. I find all the games very enjoyable, minus boxing. Boxing just didn't seem to move with you to well - or maybe I am just really bad.

Of course, there we made a Wii character (not sure what they are called) for me. It actually looked pretty much like me. To be honest, I think making me into a cartoon these days, isn't too hard, especially since you can slap on a goatee. Maybe I'll get a screen capture of the Wii me, or whatever it is called. Just looked them up, they are called "Mii". You can build your own at MiiWare.com.

In any event, it is an addictive game console.

Posted at 1:35 PM | Permalink | Category: Computers | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Happy Holidays from the search industry, we got the logos! Googlers are working over the holidays. AdSense publishers noticing a drop in revenue. Are PRWeb links bad? www.yourdomain.com is hot! Is Google going to monetize Friend Connect?

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Happy Holiday '08 From The Search Engine Industry
2. Very Valuable Parked Domain: WWW.YOURDOMAIN.COM
3. Googlers Working on Christmas in 2008
4. How'd You Do With Google AdSense this Holiday?
5. If Link Buying is Bad, Shouldn't PRWeb Be Bad Too?

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Christmas Logos From Google & Others
2. Google To Monetize Friend Connect?

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 26th, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 26th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 24, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Christmas Logos From Google & Others, Search Engine Land
• Google Maps Now Optimized for Storm, CrackBerry.com
• Happy 5th Birthday to Search Engine Roundtable, Sphinn
• Google Updates Webmaster Tools Link Reports! Is It?, Search-Optimization.com
• Happy Holiday!!! Logos from the Industry, Sphinn

Posted at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

Last night we had our annual family Chanukah get together. This year it was at my brother's house, around the corner from me. We first light the menorah, I used my iPhone Menorah (which is not legit, I lit again when I got home). We then ate dinner which consisted of pizza, lasagna, tuna casserole, salads, chips, and dunkin donuts.

After the food, we gave out the presents. Presents are given out in age order, from youngest to oldest. My family is big into giving presents, we go overboard sometimes.

In any event, let me share with you what I received:

I first got these awesome NY Jets Slippers by Reebok. I needed new slippers and I really like the Jets (they better win this week). Here is a picture, they are much better than my $1.99 Ikea slippers that work on any feet:

I then received an iHome for my iPhone. This is perfect because I have a billion wires on my nightstand by my bed. So this replaces my alarm clock, which I have been using since I was 13 or so and this replaces my iPhone USB charging cable. So I got one less thing plugged into my wall. I then can cleanly dock my iPhone on the top while it charges, which again, de-clutters my night stand.

Feature wise, it has bluetooth integration. So I can dial and answer calls via the speakerphone of the device. This is a time saver for me, cause in the past, whenever I got calls when in bed, I had to either lean over to talk slanted on the phone (cause the charging cable was very short) or disconnect it from charging and the cable would fall under my bed and I'd have to fish it out. Now, I do it wirelessly. It also plays my music from my iPhone, or via AM/FM. It also has two alarm clocks (I need t mess with that more). Anyway, here is a picture.

Oh, I also got a donut!

Thanks for the gifts!

Posted at 9:23 AM | Permalink | Category: Family , Religion | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

I am Jewish, I do not celebrate Christmas. However, today, virtually no one in the US is working. So things here, for me, are pretty slow, to say the least.

First, Happy Holidays to all my Christian friends! Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday!

So what did I do today, so far?

• Last night, I left work early, which was at 5:20pm.
• This morning, I came to work late, which was at 8:20am.
• I went through the feeds and forums very quickly since it was pretty dead out there.
• I then did my traditional search holiday logo post at the Search Engine Roundtable and at Search Engine Land.
• Oh, we did some server maintenance as well
• Added a new beta tester for the iPhone Siddur
• Finally customized the Search Engine Roundtable's Kosher iPhone Database application with revised data
• Did some client work, very little

So now it is 2:30 and I am writing this blog post. What will I do now? I'll likely wrap things up here and go home. At 4pm, I have a family Chanukah thing that I need to get to.

The next couple weeks will be slow. But as always, I prepare for it by spending a lot of money and trying to give bonuses, which I actually did already.

Oh, I did not eat any Chinese food this year. :)

Posted at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Grind | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Give the gift of links. Should we mock newbie SEOs? Google and Yahoo pay publishers early. Google Docs bugs out. Google says bounce rates are not good for ranking indicators. Twitter adds friend search.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Gift Giving Season, Great Time For Link Building
2. Letting of Newbie SEO Steam at Google Webmaster Help Groups
3. Google & Yahoo Pay Publishers Early for Holiday Season
4. Summary of Multiple Google Docs Bugs Reports
5. Google Says, Bounce Rates For Search Rankings "Spammable" & "Noisy"

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Find Friends On Twitter With Twitter People Search

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 24th, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 24th, 2008:

• How to do Customer Service Well, Kerstin Baker-Ash
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 23, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Changes and Significance in Search: Looking Back on 2008 | WebProNews, WebProNews
• Garbitrage for Anfnger, seoFM
• My 2008 Prediction Analysis, crenk.com
• Techmeme: Can Technorati Beat Google at Blog Search? (MediaShift), Techmeme
• Top 25 SEO Blogs, Akshay Technologies
• Video SEO (VSEO), Jack Humphrey

Posted at 1:38 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

Email, email, email... We just get too many of them. I am struggling with the decision on if I should send out a "Happy Holidays" email to my email list.

I mean, on the one hand, it is a nice gesture but on the other hand, I cannot stand getting all these Happy Holidays emails. I get like 20 each day now, at least the ones that get through my spam filter.

So on one hand, I feel that if I send out a card to my list, I will be contributing to the spam out there.

On the other hand, I feel it is not nice for me to not send out a e-card.

Should I have sent cards in the snail mail? I guess that is even nicer but then you run into the whole green thing. I mean, that piece of paper goes right into the trash and then what?

So should I do it? Take the poll below, that is if you are still around to take the poll and not on your way to your party or family:

Posted at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Category: Rambling | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Can you believe it? I forgot my anniversary, already, after only these short number of years!

Okay, I am not that dumb! I did not forget my wedding anniversary, that goes into my calendar. I did forget the Search Engine Roundtable's fifth anniversary!

I first started blogging about search on December 2, 2003. It has been over five years now, and I have personally written 6,270 articles at the Search Engine Roundtable. We have over 9,000 articles in total!

Anyway, I wrote a really long piece at the Search Engine Roundtable, looking back at 2008 and how it impacted the search industry. The piece is almost 3,000 words, so if you have time, print it out and read it. It really helps to look back at the year and see what really matter, and what didn't make much of a difference.

In fact, I sat down, and then about 3,000 words and two hours later, looked up and I was done.

The article is over here, hope you like it.

Oh, I made sure to add the SER's anniversary to my calendar. Don't want to make that mistake twice, I mean three times.

Posted at 2:58 PM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google's malware warnings get specific. Most people want those top links. Are advertisers jacking up prices in bad times? The Sandbox is on hold. Google is not liable for search ads.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google's Malware Warnings Can Be Subdomain or Subfolder Specific
2. Poll: I Want A Link In The Top Paragraph Please
3. Are Corporations Capitalizing on Google AdWords in the Poor Economy?
4. Google AdWords API Sandbox Database Refresh Postponed Two Weeks

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google Not Liable For AdWords Ads, Says Court

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 23rd, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 23rd, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 22, 2008, Search Engine Land

Posted at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

I dislike waiting in long lines, I am sure most people do. I even hate it more when I am the one who caused a long line.

I had to go to the post office this morning to mail out the RustyBrick holiday gifts. I told them I need X number of stamps for these envelops. I assumed they would print them out and give them to me to put on the envelopes. But no, they said they need to process each one individually.

So I stood there, watching one person put stamps on my billion envelops and at the same time, watching one teller help the rest of the people who came in. I am sure those people all game me the evil eye, but what can I do? I didn't want to use UPS, I wanted to ship them out standard cheap mail.

Sorry to all those who have had to wait in a line.

Posted at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Category: Shopping | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

My video is live. Google Blog search's link command is getting better. Holiday logos are live at my blog and Google. Google's search for iPhone is buggy. Google Search Quality team says never to. AdSense reports had issues. Google enhances image search. We got a PageRank update. Search Engine Land redesigns. Search history can be found for some in search suggestions.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: December 21, 2008
2. Google Blog Search Fixes Link Issue But Asks For Additional Help
3. Christmas & Holiday 2008 Google PageRank Update?
4. Google Search Not Working For Some On Mobile Safari (iPhone)
5. Google's Search Quality Team Says They Don't...
6. Google AdSense Hiccup Reported on December 19
7. Google Image Search Enhancement: Search By Style
8. 2008 Holiday Season Logos From Google & Search Engine Roundtable
9. Search Engine Land Does Major Revamp: Becomes More News Formatted

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google Adds Style Options To Image Search, Search History Found In Search Suggestions, & Google Reader Blog Adds "What's Hot"

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 22nd, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 22nd, 2008:

• Google Webmaster Tools Updated, Search Newz
• Holiday Cheer: Ghosts of Christmas Presents Past Part 2, Promo Blog
• One rule for them when it comes to paid links and another rule for us?, MarCom Professional
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 19, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Getting above AboutUs.org in Google Searches, The AboutUs Weblog
• 2008 Holiday Season Logos, digg.com
• SEO Daily Reading - Issue 142, Raven SEO Tools

Posted at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

The folks over at Oh Nuts! send me a Hanukkah Gift Basket for the holiday! In fact, this is my third gift basket from Oh Nuts this past week, but the others were from clients, vendors and so on.

I am pretty sure they sent me the Hanukkah Chocolate Wicker Basket, here is a picture of it from my iPhone:

Thanks again!

Posted at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Category: Religion | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

For Chanukah, I bought my wife a matching faucet for the rest of the hardware in our bathroom. Yea, I got my wife a faucet for Chanukah, I know!!! I even used Live Search to save 25% on the faucet.

The hard part was not ordering the faucet, it was putting it in. I ordered it a while back, but did not install it until Chanukah. So the other night, I installed it. Now, I have never done any serious plumbing before. So I was a bit nervous, but at the same time, excited to give this a try.

I read the directions twice, the first time I read it in order and the second time I read it backwards. I had to first remove the old faucet and then put in the new one. So reading it backwards helped me understand exactly which pieces I needed to remove, this way I can retain as much of the old faucet as possible.

There are many web sites that have how-to guides on this. I didn't look for them until I wrote this post. In any event, Home Depot has a good how to over here and a video. In short, shut off water, unscrew both hot and cold water supply lines, unscrew plastic big joints that secure the old faucet. Then place the new faucet in, and screw everything back in.

Now what it doesn't show are two things. (1) Working with the drain stopper and (2) replacing the hardware for the drain. For that, you need to unscrew the sink drain from the bottom of the sink. I found a picture of a sink drain, you basically need to un-screw the metal piece from the bottom of the sink. In fact, the hardware in the sink (typically a silver plate around the sink hole, is screwed into this piece):

So you unscrew this, which is also connected somewhat to the drain stopper device, and then put in the new hardware above the sink drain, then screw back in the sink drain pipe below into the sink drain's new hardware. Then getting the faucet's drain stopper (whatever it is called) to be hooked up with the level you pull up and down was fun.

But after about 30 minutes, I got it working and the new faucet was installed. A few days later, the sink has yet to leak - so maybe I did it right. I did seem to forget to use a silicon glue to stop leakage, so I hope that doesn't come to bite me later.

I enjoy knowing how the pieces in my house work. Now, if I can now get into doing some hard wiring of networking, such as TV, Internet and security systems - I will be set.

Posted at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Category: Homey | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Check out the new Search Engine Land design. My favorite feature is that readers can now comment directly at Search Engine Land. Outside of that, the new design takes much more of a news oriented site, which I love.

So check it out and feel free to comment on the design and any of my stories.

Posted at 9:26 AM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Tonight is the first night of Chanukah. Happy Chanukah!

We will have a revised theme live at the Search Engine Roundtable for each day of Chanukah, which will include something for Christmas, Kwanzaa and another holiday, when those holidays fall out.

Here is the day one theme:

So check the Search Engine Roundtable every day for the next eight days! I hope to upload the revised theme each night.

Posted at 9:55 AM | Permalink | Category: | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

This year, we purchased black fleece scarves with the RustyBrick logo embroidered on them. Here is a picture:

These aren't as fun as our past holiday gifts, such as RustyBrick Mini Fridges or the RustyBrick Laptop Bags, or even our usb mug warmers with mugs or our RB Fleeces. But I had to prepare for what is expected to be a big recession in 2009, so cutting a little, I think is warranted.

Posted at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Category: RustyBrick | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

JavaScript and Flash links can go either way. AdSense sends out scary cards. How much more valuable is Google over Yahoo? SEOs love alt tags. Get to the front page of Sphinn. Google may throttle traffic. Social media helps with link buidling. Sound encourages SearchWiki usage. Search in pictures is out.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Links In JavaScript & Flash: Damned If You Do & Damned If You Don't
2. Google AdSense Sending Out Scary Christmas E-Cards?
3. How Much More Valuable Is Rankings At Yahoo Over Google?
4. Poll: SEOs Say Alt Attribute Does Improve Search Rankings
5. Analysis of Sphinn Front Page Success to Determine How to Get There
6. Does Google Throttle Domain Traffic?
7. Is Social Media Really a Viable Link Building Option?

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Does Sound Encourage Searchers To Use SearchWiki?
2. Search In Pictures: David Filo Giving Gifts, Googleville, More Yahoo Fun & Games

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 19th, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 19th, 2008:

• Embedded Video Woes and Google Reader, WebProNews
• Search Strategy for 2009, DerekChew.com
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 18, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Top 15 SEO website, Latest SEO
• Google Adwords Editor 7.0 Released (& BUG FOUND), Distilled
• Offensive Google AdSense Ads Showing Up On Publisher Sites, Google Blogoscoped
• Webmaster Tools Link Reports Updated By Google! Really?, PageTraffic SEO Blog

Posted at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

There is a snow storm coming and there is about 6-12 inches of snow expected in my area.

A reminder, when you park your car at work - and, I assume you are all going to work today, put your windshield wipers in the up position. Nothing worse than trying to dig them out of the 12 inches of snow. This way you can brush the snow off easily, without really damaging the wipers.

Since I was the first one at the building this morning - like almost every morning, I put my blades up. I assume the rest will see my car and do the same.

But I am no longer worried about getting stuck here. My new car, which is now over a year old is all wheel drive. My old car was known to always get stuck in the snow. But I don't think that will happen this time, at least - I hope not to blog every other day about my car getting stuck in the snow, like I did the years before.

Posted at 8:54 AM | Permalink | Category: Motor Vehicle , Weather | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google updated the link statistics. AdWords Editor has a backup bug. Share your SEO mistakes with me, please. Cuil ain't so cool? Only whitelisted video sites show in Google Reader. Yahoo retains for only 90 days. Matt Cutts interviewed by Bruce Clay's team.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Finally Updates Webmaster Tools Link Reports
2. Google's AdWords Editor 7.0 Has Automated Backup Bug
3. Share Your Funny SEO Mistakes
4. Cuil Says it's Not Cool to Comment Spam
5. Only Whitelisted Sites Can Display Videos Within Google Reader
6. Yahoo to Retain 90 Days of Search History

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Matt Cutts Of Google Talks About 2009 With SEM Synergy

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 18th, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 18th, 2008:

• AdWords Editor 7.0 Update - Find First Page Bid Estimates , Make It Bloom
• One rule for them when it comes to paid links and another rule for us?, i-com.net
• SEM Synergy Extras: My Interview with Matt Cutts, BruceClay.com
• Google Releases AdWords Editor 7.0 This Week, 4WebResults
• Search Suggest Box mit AdWords-Anzeigen auf Google.com, SearchLab-Blog
• Techmeme: AdWords Editor v7.0 (Kerrie Lenhart/AdWords Agency Blog), Techmeme

Posted at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

Last week I had a phone interview with Phil Fink from Shalom American or Radio J. It was focused around all the iPhone Apps.

I believe the interview is about 15 minutes long. So if you can to listen, use the player below.

Posted at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Category: | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

So you know we have been working on what we are calling the "social" version of the iPhone Siddur. You saw the Misheberach lists where you can add and share the names on your Misheberach list with other iPhone Siddur folks. Well, let me show you some of the other features we added to 3.0, but let me say, there are more social features coming in future 3.x versions.

You can now add custom events to the Luach (Jewish Calendar). It was one of our more popular requests. Here is how it works. You go to Siddur, click on "More" and click on "Luach Events". You can then add or delete events. Here is me adding Rav Moshe Feinstein's Yahrzeit, but you can add any event you want.

You can set it by Hebrew date or English date, but it always uses the Hebrew date for going forward (i.e. it converts English date to the matching Hebrew date). It then adds it to the list view and also to the other views. If you view it, it looks like this:

FYI, you can add up to three events and if there are other white bars of information, it will override the bottom three, if it must. This does not support notifications via integration of the iPhone calendar or via email. When Apple allows us to integrate this information, we may do that. We might also release a standalone Luach app that has many more features with email reminders and so on - so stay tuned.

We also added a "Map View," which will show you who is using the iPhone around the globe. Don't worry, this can be turned off in the settings, but even if it is on, we don't share your information. We just plot you as a pin in the Google Map. Yes, you can zoom in and out with the multi-touch gestures.

For all the features in 3.0, see the version history page. We submitted it a couple hours ago, hope it is approved soon!

Posted at 3:17 PM | Permalink | Category: Religion , iPhone | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google released AdWords Editor seven. YouTube videos are now on Google Maps. AdWords to refresh the sandbox. Google's post counts are not accurate. Google help groups has levels, what do they mean? Do you see offensive ads on AdSense? Google AdWords is not perfect, duh! Yahoo dumps data after 90 days.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Quietly Released AdWords Editor 7.0
2. YouTube Finally Makes Its Way to Google Maps
3. Google AdWords API To Refresh Sandbox & Fix Bugs
4. Google's Post Count: Not Too Accurate
5. Google Groups Levels: What Purpose Do They Serve?
6. Offensive Google AdSense Ads Showing Up On Publisher Sites

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google AdWords Isn't Perfect! Serves Up Phishing Sites & Malware
2. Google Releases AdWords Editor 7.0
3. Yahoo One-Ups Google With 90 Day Data Retention Policy

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 17th, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 17th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 16, 2008, Search Engine Land
• 7 Reasons To "Mobilize" in '09, Canadian Marketing Blog
• Google Alert: Google Alerts Broken, lijit.com
• Google Rankings : Domain Registrar Info, Search Engine Optimizician
• Google Released AdWords Editor 7.0, Search Engine Land
• Is Bounce Rate a Better Measure of Value than SearchWiki?, SEOpittfall
• Is Your Site Penalized in Google?, PageTraffic SEO Blog

Posted at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

Remember I was thrilled to see MacWorld mention our app? Well, they did it again.

This time in an article iPhone apps round-up: Wine reviews, Hanukkah apps, and the inauguration where we get a second mention.

Also we got another mention to add to our iPhone Siddur Buzz from the JTA.

We have some cool social features coming down the pipe for the Siddur, so it should be an attention getter.

Posted at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Category: iPhone | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Via AviW, this is just so funny. Well, maybe not for the guy in this video:

Posted at 2:14 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Am I penalized? Google does PageLinks, Reviews and enhanced spelling corrections. Google does ads in suggestions. Is Verizon blocking Google? Google Sitelinks being cut off? Yahoo opens up more. Google does countdown to 2009. Is your black hat turning white?

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. How to Tell if Your Site is Being Penalized
2. Google Tests Pagelinks, Reviews in SERPs, and Enhances Spelling Correction
3. Ads to be Integrated into Google Search Suggestions
4. Verizon Wireless Currently Blocking GPS Features For Google Maps
5. Google Sitelinks Being Cut Off?
6. Are SEO Blackhats Turning White or Is The Industry Melting?

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Yahoo Enhances Open Strategy: Mail, My Yahoo, Toolbar & More
2. Google's Countdown To 2009 Promotes Products & Services

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 16th, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 16th, 2008:

• Enable Google Analytics for your AdSense Account Now, Digital Inspiration
• Google Malware Warnings Can Be Removed In 24 Hours, Sphinn
• Put Your Right Footer In, Dir Journal
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 15, 2008, Search Engine Land
• The Weekly Insider 12-8-08 to 12-12-08, eVisibility
• Are SEO Blackhats Turning White or Is The Industry Melting?, Sphinn
• Black Hat SEO Isn't Employable, We Build Pages
• Cache Relapse: Did Google Rebuild their Index Right Under Our Nose?, SEO Design Solutions
• Rants: Idiot Businessmen, Stop Blaming Goddamned 'Perfect Storms' for Your Incompetence, gawker.com
• Silverlight SEO, Silver Light Show

Posted at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

Normally, at this time of the year, my office would be stacked with gifts from vendors, search companies, friends, colleagues, clients and so on.

But to-date, I only received two packages.

We know Google isn't sending out gifts this year. But what about everyone else? Seems like most companies are cutting back on holiday gifts.

I did get a few cards, which was nice.

My company will be giving out less expensive gifts this year. We will be giving out embroidered fleece scarves. We typically spend 4 times as much on a gift, but we also decided to cut back, based on the 2009 outlook.

It doesn't make me feel good to cut back, I feel like I am part of the problem, as opposed to part of the solution. But I need to be careful, going into 2009, like everyone else.

Posted at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Category: RustyBrick | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Remember I told you that Apple fixed my old MacBook Pro? Well, I lied - they just replaced all the guts, but that didn't fix it. Instead, the computer overheated quicker and shut down more often.

So, when we called to complain, Apple offered to replace it with a new MacBook Pro. Yea, not an old model, but the new model, the one I just purchased a couple months ago.

This Sunday, my brother went to the Apple Store, sat down at the Genius bar and an hour later, walked out with the low model of the MacBook Pro. That is the $1,999.00 model, the 2.4GhZ. I have a 2.8 GhZ, cause I upgraded the middle model to a more powerful beast.

But still, my old laptop had Apple Care for like $350. It got us a brand new one, 2.X years later. Not only that, they threw in a $25 iTunes gift card - cause it took so long at the Apple Store. Not a bad deal!

Posted at 7:45 PM | Permalink | Category: Apple Macs | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Is Live Search updating? The Register is off mark. Malware warnings can be removed from Google in a day. Google treats subdomains. Optimize AdWords for mobile. Tips on deoptimizing your sites. AdWords does holiday dividers. Check out my latest video.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: December 14, 2008
2. Live Search December 2008 Holiday Update?
3. Andrew Orlowski, Google Did Not Admit To Hand Picking Top Results
4. Google Malware Warnings Can Be Removed In 24 Hours
5. What is Google's Approach Toward Subdomains?
6. How to: Optimize Your Google AdWords Ads for Mobile Devices
7. How to: Deoptimize Your Website

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google AdWords Gets Ready For Holidays With Special Dividers

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 15th, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 15th, 2008:

• Google Adsense for Dormant Domains, Saad Kamal
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 12, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Google Frisbee: Before the Economic Crisis, schwagaddict.com
• Speed is a feature, Marketing.fm
• The Secret to Making Every Link Count For Your SEO Rankings, Winning The Web
• Top 500 Advertising and Marketing Blogs, Profitopia
• Un'altra novit e mezza da Gmail, unico-lab
• Weekend Wrap-up, search engine news of the week (Dec 14), Pandia
• Google AdWords Gets Ready For Holidays With Special Dividers, Search Engine Land

Posted at 1:31 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

Let me start off by saying, I spend a ton of money with recruiters - more than I want to, but they add a tremendous value to my company. I primarily work with one recruiter, because I trust him and he does good by me. But let me tell you about my experience with many recruiters.

Last week, one of my employees told me a recruiter called to see if he wanted a new and better job. Most of my employees are happy working here, at least I think so. So this one said, he is not interested. The recruiter then asked if the company was hiring, and transferred him to me. I was on the phone, so I was unable to answer. I believe this guy called back today, to speak with me.

He said a colleague of mine told him I was interested in speaking with him. I said, who? He said, he speaks to tons of people - he doesn't remember, he makes thousands of calls a week. I said, okay. I acted like I was interested and he asked if I was hiring. I said, I use only one recruiter because I trust this recruiter. I said, I am not sure, but I believe you called last week to speak to my employee and try to take him away. I don't want to work with recruiters who try to take my employees away from me. I asked him, if it was him. He said, he doesn't know - he calls lots of people every day - it is part of the business, he told me.

He then said that I don't sound happy with his call. I said, you are right, I am not happy. He then asked if I am hiring any time soon. I said, no - just to get him to hang up. He then said, "good - I'll make sure to call all your employees to try to get them out of your company," or something like that. He hung up right after saying that.

The company that called is named Golden Tech and the phone number they called me from was 212-849-6868.

I called back and spoke with a manager. The manager, first name John, told me this is the nature of the business. He was sorry, but they make their money placing people in new jobs.

But to have the nerve to call the operator line, I answer (the boss), ask to speak with an employee, claim to be a "good friend" (in many cases), and me transfer them over (I always do, knowing they are a recruiter), just for them to take away my employees and make a buck - while hurting my business, it just isn't nice. It is very not nice.

I pay 20% of the first years salary to the recruiter. Some call 3 months later to replace these employees. So if I hire someone at 100k (round number), I pay the recruiter 20k, and then 3 months later, they are fair game again. Besides for the training time, getting up to speed, administrative and operating costs - to pay the 20% for three months!

Not nice and my rant is over (oh, yea, that is a picture of vultures.)

Posted at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Category: RustyBrick | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Download the New Year's Blowout Horn in time for the New Years! It is an app we built for a company we co-own named IntuApps. In short, it is a app you can blow into, and it will replicate the sound and action of a new years party horn. It is free and can be downloaded for your iPhone at the iTunes store.

Here is a video of it in action, I hope the glare isn't too bad:

Posted at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Category: iPhone | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

AppVee has reviewed the Little BlackBook iPhone app. He did a fairly thorough review and I am happy with his comments. The video is below.

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

We are currently at version 2.8 for the iPhone Siddur, that is 12 upgrades in a short period of time. I live on this Siddur, it is incredibly useful and even interactive. The Jewish iPhone community, overwhelming, loves it.

For 3.0 features, we want to make the Siddur more "social." The first step is a much requested feature, called Mishaberachs. A Mishaberach is basically a way to say a prayer for sick people. Now, many folks, unfortunately, have someone they say a Mishaberach for. But at the same time, it is a wonderful thing to say Mishaberachs for people that you don't necessarily know.

So we built a Mishaberach system that not only lets you add your own list, but also:

1. Let's you share the names with the iPhone community
2. Lists your Mishaberach list in the siddur in the relevant places and/or lists the public Mishaberach list in the siddur in the relevant places

Let me show you how it works...

(A) We replaced the "Help" icon on the bottom right navigation with a "More..." button, it opens up and gives you the Mishaberach option, Settings option (which just explains how to access your settings) and the Help info.

(B) Click on Mishaberach and you are taken to pick either "My List" or "Public List." Public list requires internet....

(C) You can then enter a name into your list. First name and Mothers name (currently Hebrew only), person a male or female and if you want the name on the public list or not. If you select public list, you must have internet access to submit the name (if not, you can't submit it to the public list).

(D) Here is the "My List" view, right after you added a new name. See the confirmation prompt. Behind that, you see the list view. You can either delete, change the order or add a new one. You cannot edit right now, instead, just delete the name and add a new one (same thing), just more time for you typing.

(E) Here is the public list view (not much you can do here) and yes, you need Internet to see it:

(F) "My List" names appear directly under the portions of the Siddur text where they come into play. Shemona Estri and Torah Reading:

(G) If you have Internet, it will give you a plus sign and link to open up the public list: Clicking on the plus sign will open up a list of names, the number of names is based on your settings, and the names are random and should never show yours in the public list:

(I) In the Settings area, we added two options for Mishaberachs. The first is if you want to see the public list option (the hyperlink and plus sign) in the Siddur. And the second is, if so, then how many names do you want to show there?

That is the first true "social" feature of the Siddur. We hope to add a bunch more in the 3.x versions including added features to the Luach for Yahrzeits, Birthdays and Anniversaries. More social Minyanim features. And then something really cool that you will think is really cool - but I won't share yet. :)

Once 2.8 is approved, we may release a 2.9 with small revisions or may just release 3.0 with this feature and some small text revisions - it depends on if there are pressing issues with 2.8.

Posted at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Category: Religion , iPhone | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google bans itself. Google gives the gift of integrating AdSense with Analytics. Google bans horse racing. Stop GoogleBot. AdSense expands money hungry domain ads. Google Reader has woos. Google ads API features to AdWords and Webmaster Tools. Live Search tests new bot. Search in Pictures is out.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Bans Itself For A Few Minutes?
2. Want Google AdSense Integration in Google Analytics? Here is How
3. Google AdWords Bans Horse Racing Ads But Allows Hard Liqueur?
4. Stop GoogleBot From Indexing You At Busy Times
5. Google's Economic Worry #442: AdSense for Domains Expanded
6. Two Months In: My Google Reader Gripes (and the Complaints of Others)

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google Improves APIs For Webmaster Tools & AdWords
2. Live Search Testing New Crawler; MSNBot/2.0b
3. Search In Pictures: Yahoo's Party, Google Slackers & Purple Power

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 12th, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 12th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 11, 2008, Search Engine Land
• What I Want for Christmas from the Search Engines: The Sequel, Search Engine Guide
• Il file robots.txt, IDG Labs
• In 2009, Resolve To Own Your Digital Assets, Small Business SEM
• Video Engine Optimization - prosaite svoje video, LUPA

Posted at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

Remember I told you my replace Incase for my iPhone broke? Yea, the case I got to replace my original ripped case, is now in. I got the slider again, they were quick, I am happy again.

Wish I had more time to expand on this, but honestly, what can I say.

Well, I am a blogger, so I can say alot about nothing... But I have like no time and I want to blog a few more things before sundown.

Posted at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Category: iPhone | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Four months later, Google pays up. Block US visitors but not Google. FeedBurner continues to bug out. Give me that link. YouTuber cashes in. Be in a Google case study. Google asks about PPC management tools. Google Zeitgeist is live. Google tests Sitelinks in search suggestions. Mayer at Le Web. And Google expands AdSense for Domains.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Some Google AdSense Publishers Experience Four Month Hold on Funds
2. How Can You Block US Visitors But Not Block GoogleBot?
3. Give Me A Link In The X Spot
4. It's Been a Week. Is Feedburner Going to Fix its Problems?
5. Google's YouTube Videographers Making Serious Money
6. Do You Want to Participate in a Google Website Optimizer Case Study?
7. What PPC Bid Management Tools Do You Use?
8. Google Zeitgeist: Sarah Palin is Most Popular for 2008 on Google

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google Testing Sitelinks In Search Suggestions
2. Video Of Marissa Mayer At Le Web Conference
3. Google Expands AdSense For Domains - Enough Already

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 11th, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 11th, 2008:

• Google May Use SearchWiki For Ranking Purposes, Sphinn
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 10, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Полезные ссылки (24.11 - 11.12), Go2Alex.com
• Google Expands AdSense For Domains - Enough Already, Search Engine Land
• I Drool, You Drool, We all Drool for New Tools, AIM Clear Blog
• Online Advertising Economics: Links, Clickety Clack
• Quitan PageRank de la barra de Google?, SEO en Espaol

Posted at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

I seem to be an Apple bug reported here... In any event, I wanted to document a weird issue I started noticing two days ago. When I connect my MacBook Pro to an external display, in my case the Apple Cinema Display 23", and then wake my computer up from a quick nap (sleep mode), it gets very upset with me and goes crazy. It isn't every time, it is randomly, so I had to do a few takes to get it on camera, but I captured it.

Now, this is also being documented in a long Apple Discussions thread, but I think I may be the first to take a video.

Watch in the video below, how upset my computer gets when I wake it up... In you don't want to watch the video, I captured a still frame from the video and put it up to the right of this post.

You can see a higher resolution version at YouTube, but you need to click on "Watch in higher quality" directly under the video on the right hand corner.

Posted at 1:54 PM | Permalink | Category: Apple Macs | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Yahoo fixes 301 issue? How does Google cache pages? Is Google using click data or searchwiki for rankings? Navigation links are powerful. Google officially does iPhone ads. The search industry state report is out. FeedBurner stopped tracking Bloglines. Google may use SearchWiki data as a metric.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Yahoo Search Fixing 301 Redirect Issues Already?
2. Does Google Cache Store Pages Locally?
3. Click Data Used in Google Rankings? Google Kind Of Comments
4. Google Experiment Results: The Power of Navigation Links
5. Google AdWords Now Targeting their "Desktop" Ads to Mobile Users
6. State of the Search Engine Marketing Industry, 2008: Survey Results
7. Use SearchWiki To Rank Your Web Site Higher in Google
8. FeedBurner Not Tracking Bloglines Subscribers

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Google SearchWiki To Get Off Button, Might Get Used As Ranking Signal

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 10th, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 10th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 9, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Google Fixes Spam Algorithm Classifier For IFrames, Predpriemach NET
• Google May Use SearchWiki For Ranking Purposes, Search Engine Land
• Link Dump Soup, Kerstin Baker-Ash
• Move Over Google!, SEO News
• TaT, Internetmarketing-news.de
• Techmeme: Google SearchWiki To Get Off Button, Might Get Used As Ranking Signal (Barry Schwartz/Search Engine Land), Techmeme
• The Ultimate Social Media Etiquette Handbook: The Most Egregious Sins on Social Media Sites, Exposed, Techipedia
• Think You Can Hide? Check This Out., Daily Paul
• Yahoo Search Still Not Listening to 301 Redirects, Sphinn

Posted at 4:01 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

The Simpsons here is basically mocking Apple loyalists, which include me...Here is the portion of that segment about the Mapple store (about 3 minutes) from Hulu:

Hat tip, AllThingsD.

Posted at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Category: Apple Macs | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Last night, I was with a group of people, 10+, who work in the building. Either they work for other companies in the building or they own the company.

In any event, one guy said - I wish I could just hang out with you (RustyBrick) for a day. He added something like, "you guys seem like real fun, cool guys and do cool things there."

I laughed, almost saying most of our work is boring web software.

But then I looked around and saw who I am comparing RustyBrick to. The type of businesses in my office building include lawyers, mortgage brokers, doctors, recruiters, and so on.

If I had to say, RustyBrick is probably the coolest company in the building. But that doesn't say much. It is nice to know that people think so, at least.

Posted at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Category: Just Funny , RustyBrick | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google fixes meta tag verification method. Basic SEO can be critical. YPN goes missing. Yahoo not listening to 301s. Microsoft teams up with Dell. Google allows alcohol ads. Yahoo BOSS serves tons of queries. SEOmoz launches new toolbar and Linkscape.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Fixes Meta Tag Verification For Webmaster Tools
2. Don't Overlook The Obvious: NoIndex Tag
3. YPN (Yahoo Publisher Network), Where Did You Go?
4. Yahoo Search Still Not Listening to 301 Redirects
5. Microsoft and Dell Partner Up for Default Search Toolbar Integration
6. Google Further Encourages Drunken Behavior, Lets Advertisers Bid on Alcohol

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Yahoo BOSS Now Serving 100 Queries Per Second
2. Google Ads For Hard Alcohol & Liqueurs Now Allowed
3. SEOMoz's New Toolbar & Linkscape Doubles In Size

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 9th, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 9th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 8, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Domain Registration Information - Any Impact on SEO?, Saad Kamal
• Google Now Serving & Tracking AdSense Ads Via DoubleClick, Google Blogoscoped
• Google procurando forma de detectar links do Blogroll, Mestre SEO
• Is Google Opening the Barriers to Entry?, The Inside Angle
• Jill Whalen of High Rankings Repels Ethics in SEO, SEO 2.0
• Techmeme: An update to the AdWords alcohol policy (Amanda Kelly/Inside AdWords), Techmeme

Posted at 4:52 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

About a year ago, I told you about Installing a Twin Flow III K120 Kick Space Heater Under Kitchen Cabinet.

So then in May, yea, 5 months later, they came to install it. First the plumber came and then the electrician came. I thought I was set!

Of course, when I asked both the plumber and the electrician if it will work, should we test it (it was warm outside, so the heat was off), they said, it will work as long as the other guy did his job.

Comes winter and it does not work. So finally get the plumber to come back about two weeks ago. He said, did the electrician plug it in, I said yes. So he came and looked and said a pipe wasn't connected right. Finally, this morning he came back and fixed it. Warm air is blowing out of the thing right now.

It has three fan settings; max, min and off. The max sounds like a blow dryer for your hair (I am told by my wife) and the min isn't that noisy. I have yet to see it working, so I go by hearsay. I hope the min setting is enough to keep the kitchen area warm, cause when it is 20 degrees or less, the kitchen never really reaches the set temperature.

Posted at 9:13 AM | Permalink | Category: Homey | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

This is the second time in 5 days that I have to restore my iPhone to factory settings. I have no idea why. First time was Thursday night, right before leaving work, I was going to sync my iPhone with iTunes. I plug it in, and iTunes pops open a message that reads, "iTunes cannot read the contents of the iPhone "XXX iPhone". Go to the Summary tab in iPhone preferences and click Restore to restore this iPhone to factory settings."

Here is a picture:

Thursday night, I ended up staying two hours later at work (about 9pm) and wasn't able to do something I needed. It was bad timing.

This morning, well, I just hit restore, let it go and then sync it up again. It can run, I don't have to worry about needing to go somewhere. I do have meetings, but they are all in the office today - so no worries for me.

I am currently up to the resyncing my apps part.

I suspect there is something corrupt on my iPhone and I may have to start from a really old back up, like from my original iPhone backup. But I really don't want to. In all honesty, I use MobileMe for my contacts and calendar, so that data - appears to be safe. I can alway re-download the apps I want. And then reconfigure my preferences, but I rather not go through that. This process of restoring takes a couple hours - but it is more hands off. The process of starting over, well - that can take days and is very hands on.

I am not the only one with this issue, just check Google and see all the complaints.

Posted at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Category: iPhone | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Via CNN.com, here is an arial view:

Not sure how or what....

Posted at 5:49 PM | Permalink | Category: Just Interesting | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

My video is live. Google Webmaster Tools won't let you verify. Google serving AdSense via DoubleClick. Can you hurt if you change your domain whois info. Did you lose your domain name? Get your blog on AdWords blogroll. Publishers are complaining about AdSense income. Google SERPs update archive is live. Live Cashback users feel cheated. Yahoo does more image ads.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: December 7, 2008
2. Google Webmaster Tools Meta Tag Verification Currently Broken
3. Google Now Serving & Tracking AdSense Ads Via DoubleClick?
4. Does Changing Domain Registrar Info (Private Whois) Impact Google Rankings?
5. Domain Name Lost? How Do You Point Links to New Domain?
6. Want to Get on the AdWords Discussion Blogroll?
7. Did a Google AdSense Maintenace Phase Kill My Income?
8. Archives of Google SERP Updates Available on WebmasterWord

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Live Cashback Users Feel Cheated By Microsoft
2. More Yahoo Search Image Ads; Promotional Ads

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 8th, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 8th, 2008:

• "Overheard on Twitter" Friday, We Build Pages
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 5, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Friday Recap, BruceClay.com
• The SEMpdx Searchfest Session That I'd Program, Gooruze
• Google Gaffe (I): Foreigners as Clueless About Hungary as Previously Thought, Pestiside.hu
• Holiday Gadget Gifts in Shades of Green, New York Times
• Menorah Makes the iPhone Miraculous - iPhone Apps, AppCraver
• O monoplio do Google?, Marketing de Busca e SEO
• when forum moderators go bad, The Acura Legend
• Google AdWords Adds New Mobile Targeting Options, Search Engine Land
• iMenorah, for that Virtual Hanukkah Experience, JVOICES.COM

Posted at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

As you know, I got my new MacBook Pro and that means, my old one is was sent to Apple for repair.

The old one use to randomly just stop working, and freeze up. I think it was due to some type of over heating, but I never confirmed that. I know there were virtual screen cracking on both monitors, when I used it and that issue became more and more apparent as time went on.

So we sent the old MacBook to the Apple store and they were unable to fix it. So we called Apple Support and they understood our issue. They mailed us a box and we sent it to them on Friday. This morning, at about 9:30am, we received the laptop back - yea, they worked on it over the weekend and shipped it to us on Saturday. I assume they expedited it, cause I am an Apple ProCare member.

They really didn't say what the issue was, all they said was that they replaced the following parts:

630-7754 PBCA, 2.16GHZ, 256VRAME(M1-RP) MBP 15"
593-0290 CBL, TEMP SNSR, RT FINSTACK,M1
593-0233 CBL, TEMP SNSR, HEATPIPE,M1
603-7893 FAN ASSY,RT,M1
603-7892 FAN ASSY,LT,M1

Seems to me an issue with maybe over heating? HEATPIPE, FAN, TEMP, and then something with the motherboard maybe?

We will give the computer a major test this week to see if it is completely operational.

If so, it goes to my brother, and then my brother's goes to my nephew.

Posted at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Category: Apple Macs | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Yesterday, I got cold. It was like 20 degrees out all day, last night it was in the single digits and when I left my house, it was like 15 degrees outside. Now, it is a brisk 19 degrees and it is only 9:15am.

I refuse to wear big, puffy coats, like illustrated to the right of this post.

Until now, it has been in the 30s to 20s. So I have been wearing a fleece pull over or a leather coat. Now that it is really cold, I broke out the warmer coat. The warmer coat is one of those rain coats, with a retractable hood and a zip in liner. It is not too puffy and lets me get into my car and drive comfortably when wearing it.

It is cold!

Posted at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Category: Weather | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Weekly, I do a search news/tips video that is not so unpopular these days. In any event, I always produce a iTunes version and a YouTube version. The iTunes version is always higher quality than YouTube, but now YouTube is giving viewers a way to see videos in higher quality HD.

For example, if you go to my latest video on YouTube directly under the video player on the right it says, "watch in high quality." Clicking on it will give you a better look at my great face. :)

Here is a side by side comparison, I assume you can tell which is the HD version and which is not.

Lucky you! ;-)

Posted at 1:53 PM | Permalink | Category: SEO Tips | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google cuts out thanking people. AdWords loves Black Hats. Google Webmaster moves. Google updates webmaster tools. Google and Yahoo deal almost coined monopoly. Yahoo's VP replaced Kevin Johnson at Microsoft. Live Search discusses good and bad links. Google Reader gets white. Search in Pictures features breakdancing at Yahoo.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Gets Cheap: Cancels '08 Holiday Gifts To Advertisers/Publishers
2. Google AdWords Allows Blackhat SEO Ads
3. Google Webmaster Help Finds A New Home
4. Google Updates Webmaster Tools & Crawl Rate Controls
5. Google and Yahoo's Ad Deal Ended Because of Anti-Trust Concerns?
6. Yahoo VP Qi Lu Replaces Kevin Johnson's Vacancy at Microsoft

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Live Search Discusses Good & Bad Links
2. Google Webmaster Tools Adds Settings Section & Enhances Crawl Rate Controls
3. Google Reader Gets Cleaner, So Does iPhone Version
4. Search In Pictures: Yahoo Breakdancing, Ask.com Indoor Paintball & Coldplay Rocking

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 5th, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 5th, 2008:

• Google Blog Search indicizza i blog in modo, diverso
• Google Blog Search: Now With Full-Text Post Indexing, Search Engine Land
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 4, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Bloggers Digest 12/05/08, Get Elastic
• Cadeau Google Adsense 2008 - c'est la crise, AccessoWeb.com
• Full- Text Post Indexing In Google Blog Search, PageTraffic SEO Blog
• Google Blog Search indicizza i blog in modo, LinkBack.it
• Google Fixes Spam Algorithm Classifier For IFrames, Sphinn
• Google Gaffe (I): Foreigners as Clueless About Hungary as Previously Thought, Pestiside.hu
• Google Just Doesn't Understand Bloggers, Left The Box
• Google Webmaster Tools Adds Settings Section , Search Engine Land
• IPhone Holiday Apps, PC World
• Is it GoogleGift 2008 time yet?, WebmasterWorld
• links for 2008-12-04, Woonkyland
• PPC News Roundup for December 5th, 2008, PPC Hero
• Principais buscas no google, ask, yahoo em 2008, Wellington Rocha
• Techmeme: A new look for our Webmaster Help Group (Susan Moskwa/Google Webmaster), Techmeme
• Techmeme: One place for changing your site's settings (Google Webmaster Central Blog), Techmeme

Posted at 1:42 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

You don't know how excited I was to see the iPhone Menorah that we built at RustyBrick, included in a review at Macworld named Review: iPhone holiday apps.

Heck, Macworld magazine is one of the few magazines I read offline. And to see one of our apps mentioned, well - it is really nice.

However, yes - there is a but... Our mention is only at the wayyyy bottom of the article in a short two liner under the title of "Not just Christmas." The author, Ben Boychuk, wrote:

I would be remiss to not make note of a handful of Hanukkah-related applications. In addition to Andrew Grant’s Hanukkah Holiday List app, LilBros and RustyBrick sell Menorah lighting applications.

Not only that, we did not even get the privilege of getting a true Macworld review, you know, the ones with those little mice, from one mouse to five little mice. How sad...

But overall, I am happy!

Posted at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Category: Apple Macs , iPhone | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

We decided to enable people to translate Hebrew to English or English to Hebrew. There are English to Hebrew dictionaries and translators, but not Hebrew to English. Why? Cause no one made a keyboard that was approved by Apple, until us. So we made it work from Hebrew to English, in addition to English to Hebrew.

We used the Google Translate API to do the translation. That means two things:

(1) You need internet to make the app work.
(2) This app is free, cause the terms says "the service may be used only for services that are accessible to your end users without charge."

Here is one screen shot, more at Hebrew / English Translator iPhone App:

To be notified of when it goes live, go to the Hebrew / English Translator iPhone App and sign up there.

Posted at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Category: iPhone | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Can alt tags improve your rankings? Google Mobile maps doesn't speak my language. Google's SearchMash goes missing. Googlers are not ready for SearchWiki. We got the December webmaster report. Can you use Sphinn? Techmeme is now human. YouTube gets new embed options and now they are searchable. Yahoo wants you to stay.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Does The Alt Tag Improve Search Engine Rankings?
2. Google Mobile Maps Asking English Users to Accept Swedish TOS
3. Google's SearchMash Is Now A "Dinosaur"
4. Poll: Average Search Is Not Ready For Google's SearchWiki
5. Webmasters Report December 2008 Google SERP Changes
6. How Do I Use Sphinn?

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Techmeme Now Deploys Human Editing Of News
2. Google Adds Search Box To YouTube Videos & Adds HD Embed
3. "You Could Go To Google," Says Yahoo - But Why Not Stay Here?

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 4th, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 4th, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 3, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Techmeme: Google Blog Search Changes How It Indexes Posts (Vanessa/Nine By Blue), Techmeme
• "You Could Go To Google," Says Yahoo - But Why Not Stay Here?, Search Engine Land
• Cadeau Google Adsense 2008, AccessOWeb
• Goodies Adsense 2009, WebRankInfo
• Google 2009 Holiday Gifts, Sphinn
• Google Adds Search Box To YouTube Videos , Search Engine Land
• Google Adwords Tactics, Saad Kamal
• Google Blog Search Indexing Content Differently, WebProNews
• Le cadeau de fin d'année aux annonceurs et éditeurs..., www.zorgloob.com
• Quick response removing spam on Google AdSense Help Forum, ipbtip.com
• Starke Schwankungen im Index, Uwe tippt

Posted at 2:16 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

I am, are you? Take the poll below:

Posted at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Grind | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

We did it! We made a complete Tanach for your iPhone. You can read all of Tanach, directly on your iPhone. But not only that, you can also search it! I posted the details at rustybrick.com/iphone/tanach, and you can sign up there to be notified of when it goes live (or to download it directly when it does go live).

Here is a screen by screen demo:

Browse through the Tanach, including Torah (Chumash), Nevi'im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (writing or scriptures) and all the books within them:

Search for specific words or phrases of Tanach:

Email or Bookmark verses by clicking on a verse:

Here is the bookmarks page:

Here is a look at the text, this Megillah of Esther:

Here is viewing the book of Bereshit (בראשית) by parsha view:

Here is the same book but by chapter view:

We put the "settings" feature in the app, so you can adjust your font size:

So happy that the Hebrew iPhone Email was approved, cause that gave us the go ahead to build the Tanach iPhone App.

Again, to download it go to rustybrick.com/iphone/tanach.

Posted at 3:36 PM | Permalink | Category: Religion , iPhone | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google gives out holiday gifts. Google blog search to fix link command. Google Docs has an easter egg. Google AdSense is spammy. Google's forum gets spammed. Build links in 2009. Cyber Monday rocked. Google gives recession proof tips. 14 questions on Google. Yahoo launches search assist with image search.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Begins Sending Out 2009 Holiday Gifts: Mug, Shirt & Pen
2. Google Blog Search To Fix Blogroll Issue
3. Find The Holiday Easter Egg in Google Spreadsheets & Win Schwag
4. Google AdSense Ads Getting Spammy Before Holiday Season?
5. Google's New Help Forums Getting Spammed
6. How To Build Links in 2009
7. Did Cyber Monday Cause Increases in Google AdSense and AdWords?
8. Google Provides Tactics for AdWords During a Recession

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. 14 Questions On Google You Might Not Want To Know The Answers To
2. Yahoo Launches Search Assist For Image Search

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 3rd, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 3rd, 2008:

• Siddur, a Prayer Book with Extras - iPhone Apps, AppCraver
• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 2, 2008, Search Engine Land
• 100 More Ways to Organize Your Life, mashable.com
• Comienzan a llegar los regalos navideaos de Google, Dr. Max Glaser
• Digg CEO says company's not for sale, News.com
• Google Fixes Spam Algorithm Classifier For IFrames, PageTraffic SEO Blog
• Is SEO Dead or Dying?, eCommerce Share

Posted at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

Last night, Apple gave developers the ability to give out promo codes for their apps, so they can give their apps out for free to certain people.

You are limited to 50 promo codes per application, per version. People are complaining that this is too small of a number, but honestly, 50 per version, not per developer and not per app, per version of an application. So as long as you release a new version, you get a new 50.

That being said, I want to give the first five people who comment a free app from the RustyBrick selection. So go find an app you want, comment below with your app preference and make sure you use your email address, so I can email you the code.

The first five comments that are approved get a free RB iPhone app.

To redeem the codes you go to US iTunes Store > Redeem (right) > Enter Code > App Downloads instantly.

Posted at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Category: iPhone | Comments (18) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Ronnie today is at the iPhone Tech Talk right now in Millennium Broadway Hotel.

From what I hear so far, it seems like he is learning a thing or two. Plus he is meeting important contacts and so on.

Topics being covered there include:

• iPhone Development Overview
• Introduction to Objective-C and Cocoa Touch
• iPhone User Interface Design
• Getting Started with iPhone Web Applications
• Technical Q&A
• iPhone Development Tools Overview
• iPhone Game Development Technologies, part 1: Graphics & Video
• Using Advanced Web Technologies on iPhone
• Developing iPhone Applications with UIKit
• iPhone Game Development Technologies, part 2: Audio, Touch Input, Accelerometer, and Multiplayer
• Integrating iPhone with IT
• Advanced UIKit and Device Features
• Maximizing Your Application's Performance on iPhone
• In-house Application Development for iPhone
• Submitting to the App Store using iTunes Connect

Posted at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Category: iPhone | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

We take a lot of pride in our iPhone Siddur, I mean, really, there is nothing that comes close to it in the app store and we are constantly improving it and adding new features. It shows.

The folks at AppCraver.com reviews our Siddur and gave it a nine out of ten, which is pretty up there for their reviews.

The best part of the review is that he had his wife give it a spin. I'll quote you:

To get an idea of just how intuitive Siddur really is, I handed my iPhone to Lorri and told her to take it for a test spin. To Lorri a phone is something you talk to people on. Apps? She couldn’t care less. Within minutes, she was able to put the app through its paces and declared it a winner.

Building out a logical user interface wasn't easy when it came to building on a new platform. But over time, it really started to click and it shows.

Not only is this Siddur incredibly packed with tons of features, those features (seem) to be easy to use and logical to use.

Thanks for such a wonderful review.

Posted at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Category: Religion , iPhone | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

Google fixes spam catching algorithm. Google fixes product search data feed. Google Maps spells Budapest wrong? Use 503 status codes for down time. Google updates street views bug. The top five AdSense requests. What's popular on Google, Yahoo and Ask. Live Search does instant cash backs. SEMPO rings bell. Search pics with pics at Live. Yahoo to be bought by ex-AOL guy?

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Google Fixes Spam Algorithm Classifier For IFrames
2. Google Fixes Google Product Search Data Feed Issues
3. Google Maps Forgets How To Spell Budapest, Capital of Hungary
4. Site Downtime & Worried About Google? Return 503 Status Code
5. Google's Updated Street View Enhancements Feature Bug
6. What Are Your Biggest Google AdSense Requests?
7. Most Popular Searches on Google, Ask, and Yahoo for 2008 Revealed

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Live Search Launches Instant Cashback For eBay Purchases
2. SEMPO Rings NASDAQ's Bell
3. Search Pictures With Pictures At Live Search
4. Report: Former AOL CEO, Miller, Raising Funds To Buy Yahoo

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 2nd, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 2nd, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 1, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Viral Marketing On The Cheap, WebProNews
• Blogspot's Content Warning Blocking Spiders, WebProNews
• Does advertising iPhone apps on iPhone apps work?, E-Consultancy
• Google Fixes Spam Algorithm Classifier For IFrames, Sphinn
• Google Testing Multiple Text Ads On Image Search, Google Blogoscoped Forum
• Google: Content Attributes in SERPs, Dotless Domain
• Matt Cutts zu Iframes und einem Bug, internetmarketing-news.de
• Meine persanlichen SEO Wahlen 2008, mediadonis
• Top 50 Marketing Blogs To Watch In 2009, Evan Carmichael
• Traailice - Studeni 2008, SEO.hr blog

Posted at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Category: Daily Link Finds , Daily Search Coverage | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0) | Speak

I take my iPhone out of my pocket this morning and I noticed it cracked. Very very upsetting. The bottom piece has a crack in it. What is crazy is that this is not the first time this has happened.

My original Incase ripped and they kindly replaced it with a more sturdy and solid slider case version. But this more solid version cracked also, in a similar position.

Here are some pictures:

Off to contact them to see if they can replace this one also.

Posted at 1:01 PM | Permalink | Category: iPhone | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Mike McDonald and crew did a very short video with me in Vegas.

In short, I talk about the guy who blends things. :)

Posted at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Category: Travels | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) (0)

Daily Search Coverage:

No summary because this is catch up on posts I wrote since Thanksgiving. There are many of them, so scan the items in this blog post to catch up quickly.

Search Engine Roundtable Topics:

1. Happy Thanksgiving '08 From The Search Industry
2. Google AdWords Provides Option To Advertise Based on Desktop vs. iPhone
3. Does AdMob or iPhone Ads Make You Money? Not In My Test
4. Live Search Adds Malware Reporting to Webmaster Tools
5. Google AdWords Treats Accented Characters As Different Words
6. Google Won't Be Building A New Version of Maps for Palm OS
7. SEMPO Has Been Invited to Ring NASDAQ's Bell
8. Google's Search Shares Increase Upwards in October
9. Google Breaks Speed Record, Sorts 1TB of Data in 68 Seconds
10. Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: November 28, 2008
11. Google Still Offering Search Tips, Use Your Keyboard
12. Google Testing Multiple Text Ads On Image Search
13. How Does Changing Your Navigational Links To Rich Keywords Impact Rankings?
14. Google's Video Crawler Not Respecting Robots.txt Directives?
15. Google's Blogger Warning Notification Blocks Search Engine Spiders
16. The Warmth of the SEM Industry During Hard Times
17. Is Offering One-Time Search Engine Optimization Advice a Viable Business Model?

Search Engine Land Topics:

1. Happy Thanksgiving & Programming Note
2. Baidu’s Search Ad Revenue Drops 10-15% After Paid Ad Scandal
3. Google Image Search Now Trying Text Ads Instead Of Image Ads
4. Microsoft’s Live Search Cashback Goes Dark On Black Friday

Daily Link Finds:

This is the December 1st, issue of a daily post that will contain links to commentary of the posts over at the Search Engine Roundtable. All links I find throughout the day that ad some commentary to the posts written over at the Search Engine Roundtable, will be in the Daily Link Finds. The purpose is two fold: (1) To help people find discussion around our articles and (2) To thank people for linking to us. How do I find these links? Only one way, via a Google Blog Search link command, so make sure that (1) you are in Google Blog Search and (2) link to us.

Daily Link Finds for December 1st, 2008:

• SearchCap: The Day In Search, November 26, 2008, Search Engine Land
• Happy Thanksgiving, Max The Web
• Happy Thanksgiving & Programming Note, Search Engine Land
• Is Google's Automatic Match Expanding For The Holidays?, PPC Hero
• Techmeme: Happy Thanksgiving '08 From The Search Industry (Search Engine Roundtable), Techmeme
• Link Building this Week (48.2008), Wiep.net
• AdWords: Auswahl far Werbung auf Desktop\Laptop oder iPhone\Mobil, Internetmarketing News
• Footer Link Optimization for Search Engines , SEOmoz
• Microsoft's Live Search Cashback Goes Dark On Black Friday, Search Engine Land
• Text Ads Appear in Google Image Search, WebProNews

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