Sunday, July 27, 2008

Esquire, April 2008

Vocabulary

Memento Mori: a Latin phrase that roughly translates into "Remember you will die," which can be used to cut the boastful down to size or place one's own life into elegant perspective.

Supernatural selection: the belief that humans have divine sovereignty over the creatures of the earth, and there's no way we could be related to them.

Books

Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far by graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister.

The thing about life is that one day you'll be dead by David Shields. A clear-eyed look at the ways in which we come undone.

Things To Ask Your Barber

How's the family?
If you had my hair, what would it look like?
If you had my hair, what should I have for dinner tonight?
When's the last time you changed the Barbicide?
A riddle: if you say my name, I disappear: What am I?
Whatever happened to mousse?
You promise this'll make women like me?
Aren't sideburns supposed to be even?
Tike or Ronde?
You mind if I read this magazine?

Rule No. 548: Beware the third thing - sequel, helping, drink, wife

Frida Giannini's Rules, the creative director of Gucci.
The first thing I notice about a man are his shoes.
Then I look at his watch.
The most iconic figures - Jean-Paul Belmondo, Steve McQueen, James Dean - were all rebels. Without a strong personality, you can have the most beautiful clothes in the world and you will never look right.
Sexiness is a very subjective thing. A man can be just as sexy in a buttoned-up suit as he can be in jeans and t-shirt.
I would love American men to embrace a narrower silhouette in suits and coats. It's way more sexy for a man to wear closer-fitting clothes.

Why does this shoe (JM Weston) cost $900?
1. The shape: the eight-week process of hand-crafting a pair of JM Weston shoes begins with the last-maker. This guy - and it's almost always a guy - has trained for decades and can optimize the balance between form and fit.
2. The leather: cheaper shoes are made from scuffed-up hides that have been treated, but Weston uses only unmarked, untreated leather. The shoes are softer and more supple because of it.
3. The stitching: craftsmen stitch together the shoe's various pieces using both machine and hand sewing, resulting in a construction that lasts longer than anything mass-produced.
4. The lining: inexpensive shoes don't have linings; the best ones, like these, have soft calfskin that's gentle on your foot.
5. The heel: this beveled heel contains thick layers of leather that form a supportive base for the foot.

A Few Final Thoughts On Leather
It always looks better polished.
Leave the wearing of leather pants to our good friends in Menudo.
"You're with me, leather," even when said in jest, isn't as funny as you think it is.
The deadlier the animal, the more expensive the leather.
Shoes: shine once a week. Leather jackets: condition once a year. Everything else: as needed.
Animal-rights advocates are the angriest protesters.
"Pleather", "Naugahyde", and "faux leather": no.
Avoid web sites and publications that showcase leather. Except this one.

www.howmanyfiveyearoldscouldyoutakeinafight.com
other quizzes: http://www.oneplusyou.com/q

Music Awards
Best Live Band: Kings of Leon
Best Second Act: Sharon Jones
Most Likely To Get Kicked In The Teeth By Backlash: Ghostland Observatory
Most Prescient Reunion Warm-Up: Ronnaroo's John Paul Jones, Ben Harper, and ?uestlove Superjam
Best Instrumentalists: Explosions in the sky
Best Soundtrack: Once, featuring Marketa Inglova and Glen Hansard
Rookies of the Year: Vampire Weekend
Terrifying Woman of the Year: Miranda Lambert
Best Male Voice: Mark Lanegan
Most Misunderstand Band: Against Me!
Best Female Voice: Tift Merritt
Best Hero: Slash
Best Interpreter: Cat Power
Best Third Wheel: T Bone Burnett
Best Roots-Rock Band That Deserves Better Than To Be Called Roots Rock: Marah
Best Storytellers: Drive-By Truckers
Best Moralists: The Avett Brothers
Soaring Verse Award: Band of Horses
Best Young Guy With an Ancient Voice: Ryan Bingham
Best None of the Above: Calexico
Best Opus: Terence Blanchard
Club of the Year: Slowdown
Sweater-Vested Musican of the Year: Sam Beam

Sleep Better: Easy things that will help you fall asleep anywhere and sleep through anything

The Otis Bed Haley 150 Futon

Alarm clocks: iHome iH9, Sonic boom, Clocky, Hammacher Schlemmer Peaceful Progression alarm, Hammacher Schlemmer projection alarm

Alternative to sheep-counting
i) choose a color
ii) brainstorm a whole bunch of objects that are that color
iii) brainstorm through categories: foods, animals, phrases, etc.

Random insomnia knowledge:
-it might make you fat because it lowers levels of leptin, a hormone that tells the body when it's had enough to eat, and raises levels of ghrelin, which stimulates you to eat more.
-it's bad for your heart because it raises cytokines, proteins that active immune responses. They're great when you need them, but when you don't, they can become a source of inflammation associated with heart disease.
-it's bad for your immune system because it saps white blood cells, crucial blockers of infections and cancer.
-it's bad for your memory because it elevates cortisol levels which can damage the hippocampus, the part of the brain that helps create new memories.

Advanced sleep hygiene: your new nightly routine
-dim the lights an hour before bedtime. This mimics sunset. Smack in the middle of your brain is the pineal gland. It releases melatonin, the hormone that readies the mind and body for sleep in response to lowered light levels.
-if you've got things on your mind, write them down fifteen minutes before bed. This sweeps them out of your mind.
-if you're still awake after fifteen minutes, get up and do something quiet, like reading a book. No Internet, no TV, no exercise. You have to let your body and mind slow down to be able to slip into sleep. If you just lie there thinking about how you're not sleeping, you'll never sleep.
-wake up at the same time every day. An hour extra on weekends is fine, but if you wake up at seven every morning during the week, then sleep until 10 on weekends, you're effectively giving yourself jet lag. Monday morning, you'll feel like you just got off the red-eye from three time zones away.
-a little chemical help once in a while is fine. Not alcohol - it actually interferes with the normal sleep cycle. But Benadryl or one of the combination OTC painkillers or sleep drugs can give you that little nudge into natural sleep.
-sex.

Four sheets
-Egyptian Cotton: considered the best because it's made from the long, soft fibers grown along the Nile. Try Sferra Celeste.
-Pima Cotton: worth considering because it's made from the same plant in Egypt, but in California and the Southwest. Try Thomas Lee.
-Flannel: you enjoyed it in college because it's cotton that's been brushed, leaving only the softest fibers. Great for sleeping naked. Try LL Bean Ultrasoft flannel.
-Silk: becuase on the right night with the right music and the right woman, sliding around on these is wonderful. Try Kumi Kookoon Classic.

One blanket: Under The Nile Cotton Blanket, the thickest, creamiest blanket.

Sleep knowledge:
-Before Thomas Edison's invention of the lightbulb, people slept an average of 10 hours per night. Today, Americans average 6.9 hours of sleep on weeknights and 7.5 hours on weekends.
-Men are twice as likely as women to sleep in the nude (31% of men and 14% of women).
-42% of dog owners share their beds with their dogs.
-65-68 degrees is considered the ideal temperature range for sleeping.
-54% of people who suffer at least one symptom of insomnia a few nights a week.
-12 million people are affected by sleep apnea, a breathing disorder characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep.
-60% of Americans said they had driven while feeling drowsy in the past year. 37% actually dozed off while driving.
-Ducks sleep with one eye open.

New York Restaurants

Lever House, Lure Fishbar and Chinatown Brasserie, owner: John McDonald
-eats at Keens Steakhouse
-The best way to order at a new restaurant? "I usually ask the waiter what the most popular dish is."

Park Avenue Spring and Quality Meats, executive chef: Craig Koketsu
-eats at Casa
-"There tends to be a little more thought and deliberation over an item that's on the regular menu."

Degustation, executive chef: Wesley Genovart
-eats at Soba-ya

San Domenico, wine director: Piero Trotta
-eats at Buddha Bar
-"I always ask the sommelier or wine director what he thinks is good with the food that he serves."
-"If someone doesn't like their wine, they should ask for the person in charge of wines and point out that they don't like it. When I'm put in that position, I tell the customer, "If this is not what you're looking for, I'll try to understand what you're looking for.""

Le Bernardin, maitre d': Ben Chekroun
-eats at BLT Steak
-"A ten-minute wait is a great time to unwind at the bar and have a drink. I don't feel like that's a negative thing. Now, if ten minutes turns into an hour, then, of course, it becomes a problem."
-"I think twenty minutes is a good time to ask questions."

Anthos, executive chef and co-owner: Michael Psilakis
-eats at Insieme

Pastis, maitre d': Chris Session
-eats at Uncle Nick's
-thirty minutes is too long to wait

Allen & Delancey, executive chef: Neil Ferguson
-eats at Blue Hill
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Friday, July 25, 2008

Maxim, March 2008

Trash Talking Politicians
Republican
-Don Young, Rep AK: Environmentalists are a socialist group of individuals that are the tool of the Democrat Party. I'm proud to say that they are my enemy. They are not American, never have been American, never will be American.
-John Boehner, Rep OH: I listen to my Democratic friends, and I wonder if they are more interested in protecting the terrorists than protecting the American people.
-Rudy Giuliani, former NYC mayor: Our military is too small right now to deal with the Islamic terrorism threats, but it really is too small to deter would-be aggressors to even think of challenging us. And that's due to Bill Clinton.
Democrat
-Hillary Clinton, Sen NY: When you look at the way the House of Representatives has been run, it has been run like a plantation... I predict to you that this administration will go down in history as one of the worst that has ever governed our country.
-Maxine Waters, Rep CA: We're at a time when very smart people have been allowing this dumb-ass president of the United States to do as he pleases... I'm not backing off. I said it, and I mean it!
-Tom Harkin, Sen IA: When I hear criticism of John Kerry's heroics coming from Dick Cheney, who was a coward, who would not serve during the Vietnam War, it makes my blood boil.

A different talent agency: Ugly NY

The Danger of Traveling

Southeast Asia: Arrest
-Singapore and Sri Lanka: narcotics crimes are punishable by death
-Vietnam: foreigners aren't allowed to bring nationals of the opposite sex to their hotel rooms
-tip: everything is negotiable, even the law; officials may expect bribes and other "gifts"; beyond cash, it helps to have chocolate or cigarettes

Latin America: Kidnapping
-particularly popular in Colombia, but also in Mexico and Brazil
-tip: "express kidnappings" are most popular, where victims are snatched off the street, taken to an ATM, forced to withdraw the maximum, held until ATM resets, and forced to make a second withdrawal; recommended to travel to packs and traveling insured, but if cornered, don't be a hero; only time people get hurt is when they resist; if you comply, you'll probably be released with just a few scratches

Eastern Europe: Fraud
-all over the former Soviet Bloc, particularly Russia
-tip: leave the plastic at the hotel and carry cash in small denominations; don't trust a uniform (people will often pose as police in complex "good samaritan" schemes); don't pick up a dropped money clip; you'll be "arrested" and have everything confiscated

Africa: Disease
-monkeypox in Central and West Africa
-guinea worm in Sudan, Ghana, and Nigeria
-chikungunya fever throughout
-tip: week before leaving, go to a travel clinic or your doctor and begin a series of antimalarial medication; keep Cipro and Imodium on hand, as well as a stash of granola bars to eat instead of fruit (which spreads cholera)

The Middle East: Evildoers
-300 Americans have died abroad in terrorist incidents
-Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Israel are hotbeds of violence
-tip: register with the local US consulate, they'll keep you updated on latest security intelligence; avoid public transportation; after initial attack, run; secondary attacks are common

Quaff on the Cheap: top-notch wines for cheap

Marques de Caceres Crianza Rioja 2004: $12
-red wine good for any Spanish-influenced dish, especially hearty tapas like enchiladas, empanadas, and chorizo

Bogle Vineyards Old Vine Zinfandel 2005: $11
-good for subtly saccharine foods like BBQ ribs and wings

Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2005: $9
-good for pepper steaks, smoked meats, aged meats, and chili

Casa Lapostolle Rapel Valley Merlot 2005: $13
-good with filet mignon and similar fancy beef cuts; also good for portobello burgers and soft cheeses

Alamos Mendoza Malbec 2006: $11
-good with marinated meats, steak fajitas, chimichangas, and any dish with a little south-of-the-border sass to it

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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Newsweek

June 23, 2008

A New King of The Idiots

Devin Gordon
NEWSWEEK
Updated: 2:01 PM ET Jun 14, 2008

"The Foot Fist Way," a new comedy made for pennies by a bunch of pals from the North Carolina School of the Arts, is not a particularly good movie. Many of the actors can't act. Whole scenes fall flat. And you'll find more sophisticated camerawork on YouTube. But you should see the movie anyway, because what it does have is Danny McBride, the most hilarious man you've never heard of, heir to Will Ferrell's throne as king of the idiots. Last year McBride was the funniest thing in two deeply unfunny star vehicles for Andy Samberg ("Hot Rod") and Ben Stiller ("The Heartbreak Kid"). "The Foot Fist Way" is something of a first: a star vehicle for a guy who's not even close to a star.

McBride plays Fred Simmons, a strip-mall tae kwon do instructor who bullies his 6-year-old students ("Your weakness disgusts me") out of the delusion that he's preparing them for a world in which a man is defined by how many planks of wood he can break with his palm. To Simmons, life is just one long version of the tournament scene in "The Karate Kid," only in his version, the jackhole sensei from the Cobra Kai dojo is the hero, not Daniel-san. McBride is blessed with a face that oozes dumb. His eyes are always at half-mast, and that black scrapple of fuzz on his lip is not, to put it mildly, a thinking man's mustache. But that's why his whipsaw comic timing always catches you flat-footed. When it comes to stupidity, McBride is a borderline genius.


My Five Most Important Books, Michael Lewis (Liar's Poker, Moneyball, The Blind Side)
1. A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole. "Among the funniest books every written."
2. Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. "Gave me a new sense of the pleasure to be had from books."
3. The Education of Henry Adams. "The book I kept nearest at hand when I wrote my own first book."
4. Writing Home, by Alan Bennett. "Reminds me of how much interest can be got by paying attention to the most picayune details of life."
5. The Right Stuff, by Tom Wolfe. "Put to rest any fears about the limits of the nonfiction narrative."

Book to which you always return: Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters, by George Orwell. "Reminds me of the force of a writer working to strip his prose of pretension and nonsense."

Book you hope parents give to their children: His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman. "Even my 8-year-old could sense she was in the grips of a master storyteller."


June 30, 2008


My Five Most Important Movies, Andrew Stanton (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Wall-E)
1. Lawrence of Arabia. "David Lean is the master of filmmaking. His staging and editing is awe-inspiring."
2. The Lion in Winter. "Not the most cinematic film, but you'll never encounter better dialogue."
3. Gallipoli. "Peter Weir's WW1 story of friendship and purpose is deeply engaging. A seminal movie for me."
4. Close Encounters of the Third Kind. "Sheer wonder has never been captured better, before or since."
5. Cool Hand Luke. "What a character. What an allegory. A man's movie, introduced by my father, and I've introduced it to my son."

America's Least 'Wanted'

The trailers for the action movie "Wanted" promise some hot romantic sparks between stars Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy. "Is this when we start to bond?" asks McAvoy. "Would you like to?" Jolie purrs. Then there's a shot of the two smooching. The thing is, that first rooftop scene isn't even in the movie and the kiss (which is) has nothing to do with romance. There is no love story. At all.

So much for truth in advertising. The rest of the trailer, however, gives you a fair taste of Russian director Timur Bekmambetov's hyperbolically violent movie. The filmmaker, whose Russian sci-fi fantasies "Day Watch" and "Night Watch" broke box-office records in his homeland, whips this preposterous tale of an ancient secret society of assassins into an expressionistic frenzy, relishing every slo-mo bullet through the skull. McAvoy is an anxious, cuckolded office drone who's recruited by the Fraternity and transformed into the superhuman super assassin he was born to be: it turns out his murdered father was this nutty organization's greatest killer. Its sagacious leader (Morgan Freeman, natch) explains that they are just restoring order to a chaotic world. "Trust your instincts," he advises, which should give you an inkling of the script's originality.

Jolie, radiating slinky, lethal glamour, is one of the more accomplished death-dispensers, though when she punches out McAvoy (during his training) you fear her needle-thin arms will crack on the spot. Somebody needs to give this beautiful assassin a Fatburger.

"Wanted" has one good plot twist in store (though it makes little sense), and its sense of humor about its own silliness keeps the fantasy afloat for a while. But as the body count rises, so does the portentous tone, and the relentlessness of Bekmambetov's overamped style becomes oppressive. The astonishingly versatile McAvoy does more than keep a straight face; he works his butt off to anchor the tale in real emotions, and almost pulls it off. Here's a movie that offers mass murder as a cure for the 9-to-5 blues. Is that Russian, or what? Personally, I'd have preferred the love story.


Quick Read

How to Get Rich: One of the World's Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets, Felix Dennis
Executricks: Or How to Retire While You're Still Working, Stanley Bing
Good Guys & Bad Guys: Behind the Scenes With the Saints and Scoundrels of American Business (and Everything in Between), Joe Nocera

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PC Magazine

April 10, 2007

Raise Your Profile

Aloha Whistler Accommodations
Size: 15 full-time employees
Challenge: Increase traffic to Alohawhistler.com
Solution: Redesigned the site using search engine optimization techniques for better visibility through search results
Results: From February 2006 to January 2007, 35 percent traffic increase; 50 percent reduction in pay-per-click advertising.

For more than 25 years, Aloha Whistler Accommodations has managed condos and rental properties in and around Whistler, in British Columbia, Canada. The company focuses on ski-in/ski-out and larger rental properties, providing personal attention for both the home owner and the vacationer.

From the moment the company went online in 1994, increasing visibility was the primary goal. "Travelers consult the Internet, so building our Internet presence quickly became a priority," says Gordon Huxtable, vice president in charge of guest and owner relations. At first, a pay-per-click campaign brought more visitors to the site. Then Huxtable began to think about boosting traffic further by devoting some resources to SEO, or search engine optimization—tweaking site code to increase search hits.

In 2005, Huxtable turned to the Custom Fit Communications Group Inc. to help redesign the site from the ground up to be more search engine–friendly. Results have been very good. Not only is overall page traffic up by 35 percent, but Aloha Whistler's front page abandonment rate has plummeted from 78 to 32 percent, and traffic resulting from search engine results has jumped from 5 to 25 percent of overall traffic. In fact, the traffic improvements from search engine optimization led to Aloha Whistler's reducing pay-per-click spending by approximately half.

Continue



August 21, 2007

E-Mail Marketing 101

Whether your business delivers products or services to consumers or to other businesses, if you haven't started e-marketing, you are missing a real opportunity.

You can use any of a variety of tools to create awareness of your company and your products/services, and I've talked about options such as blogs and podcasts in previous articles. Since the goal of any marketing activity is cultivating and communicating with targeted potential customers, let's begin with the critical questions of how to find those customers, how to communicate with them, and how to build a relationship that can generate new business.

We've all experienced the dreaded e-mail spam—I'm up to about 30 minutes a day deleting messages I never asked for and don't want. It's simply a variation of direct marketing, which began with direct mail and telemarketing, and we are all getting these e-mails because, like it or not, they work. The cost of generating an e-mail campaign is so small that it takes very few actual sales to justify it.

That isn't the kind of e-mail marketing I recommend, because it's certainly no way to build your business's reputation. But a well-thought-out e-mail campaign can be hugely successful. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

Mailing Lists. I don't endorse list-buying. From an illegitimate source, you're getting an untargeted list that has been sold to many, many others already. And in my experience, a legitimate, valuable list isn't for sale. Legitimate marketing firms develop demographic data over time. They'll help you determine whom you want to target and identify likely customers in their files, then they'll take the marketing materials you supply—newsletters and the like—and mail them out on your behalf.

Spam. Frequency of communication is one important measure of the difference between spam and legitimate e-mail communications. Since a marketing firm has many clients, you cannot know how often the same addresses are being used. Ask about mailing frequency—how many pieces of mail are going to each recipient in a given period—and make sure the list is targeted to your purposes.

Permission. In the online world, permission is a critical element: You want potential customers to opt to receive communications from you. To gain and keep their favor, you need to do more than simply tell customers about your offers. You need to provide value on an ongoing basis. For many companies, that means sharing news and information about their industry or a topic related to their industry, or sharing their perspective in areas that help inform and educate potential customers, in the form of an online newsletter. Letting customers sign up for a single issue of a newsletter, with clear "opt out" procedures and language, creates a "safe" option for customers who might be willing to receive communication but have been burned by others in the past.

Collaboration. Once you make a commitment to regular communication with your potential customers, you'll need to stick with it. Are you prepared to invest that much time? To see what's involved in developing regular communications, consider becoming a regular contributor to an existing communications product that targets a similar customer base. Are you in real estate? Agree to write a monthly column on the housing market for your local newspaper. Or offer a quarterly tips column to an online community newspaper on topics relating to your trade. If you're comfortable with that level of communication, take it to the next level. Create your own topical newsletter and ask that the paper include a way for readers to sign up with you for more frequent communications.

In the next issue, I'll provide some additional tips to help you use e-mail marketing effectively.

Russell Morgan is the president and founder of the Information Technology Solution Providers Alliance (ITSPA), a national nonprofit organization of technology experts headquartered in Portland, Oregon.

June, 2008

A New Take on Text Search

Like the annoying student who spouts off a litany of facts when the teacher asks for a one-word answer, many search engines dredge up far more than users want. Now, researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center say the days of keyword-based search results might be over—at least for academics.

Their eTBLAST search tool scans documents for text similarity, rather than matching keywords, allowing users to input a full paragraph—say, an abstract or invention description—as a query. Based on word order, frequency, and proximity, eTBLAST turns out a list of documents and scores them by similarity. UT's Harold "Skip" Garner, who helped develop the code, says that the team is poised to release an updated version of eTBLAST, which would return results in a matter of seconds, down from several minutes.

Garner adds that eTBLAST can also catch cheaters. By searching an excerpt from a scholarly paper or journal, the engine can look for an exact match. At least four plagiarism investigations have started as a result of suspiciously similar pages found through eTBLAST. The technology's limited scope, however, means that most universities will still use more road-tested tools, such as Turnitin or SafeAssignment, which compares a manuscript with data from a broader Internet archive.

For now, the engine searches only biomedical, physics, and U.S. patent databases, but Garner predicts further expansion into law, business, and other areas. And he's always looking for more databases. "Any free computer-science database the public knows of, just let us know, and we'd be happy to incorporate it," he says.

To try out eTBLAST for a text search, visit invention.swmed.edu/etblast/etblast.shtml.

Gmail assistant - this free Java-based notifier can check multiple Gmail accounts and alert you when you have new messages. IT works with multiple OSs and is portable to other systems.

UNData - this complex UN site is a clearinghouse for the data and stats it collects worldwide, including populations, demographics, trade, commodities, and more.

InsideTrip - a very simple, all-business flight search site. The service asks you some questions about your trip and immediately returns fares based on factors like airline comfort, flight time, and accessibility.

501 Tips for Better Computing

July 2008

avast! antivirus 4.8 Home Edition: Tough, Free Virus Killer
Pros: free! certified by independent labs for virus detection (but not cleanup). Blocks spyware installs very well. Decent at removing existing malware. Simple, skinnable user interface.
Cons: no scheduled scan. Leaves many Registry traces and nonexecutable files when cleaning up malware.

Online Backup Services
-HP Upline: 1GB free
-IDrive: 2GB free

Wi-Fi Home Improvements

There's one almighty reason to have a Wi-Fi network: freedom to roam where you want, laptop or handheld in hand. Everything else—not having to punch holes in your walls for Ethernet cables or hide the cables, for example—is icing. Wi-Fi is not perfect out of the box, however. We'll reveal how to maximize the network range from your access point, troubleshoot problems, and prevent strangers from usurping your bandwidth—or share it with all comers while keeping your data and computers safe.

Improve Signal Strength and Range
Ground zero for any home network is the router, which manages your Internet traffic. These days, most routers have an integrated access point (AP) for the wireless side. The first step to a solid wireless connection is placing that router where the signal can best reach your wireless devices. That means up high in a central area of the home; there's a reason some APs have brackets for wall mounting. Just make sure the antennas are pointed the way the manual indicates; don't assume that horizontal when wall-mounted is the same as vertical when the unit is sitting on a desk. A router in the basement will work—just don't stick it under a desk or too close to a filing cabinet.

Wi-Fi signal strength depends on several factors. Some (but not all) routers can be set to increase the transmit power of the signal. Upgrading a router with free, third-party firmware like DD-WRT (www.dd-wrt.com) can add this feature, but such firmware doesn't work on all routers, and installing it voids any warranty.

What's more, though you may think you have little to lose with an older router now out of warranty, installing firmware incorrectly could "brick" the router, converting it into an inert piece of plastic. DD-WRT's wiki has some tips for recovery. One note: If you use DD-WRT, don't set the transmit power (called Xmit Power in the Web-based interface) much above 70mW. Set it too high and the router can double as a hot plate; it won't survive that kind of heat for long.

Ping
Unsurprisingly, there are those who aren't brave (or foolhardy) enough to muck with firmware. In their case, getting a stronger signal requires spending some money. Purchasing a router from the latest generation of 802.11n Wi-Fi products to get better range and speed is always an option, but even that's not foolproof. Your other options include:

Buying new antennas. Check first for a removable antenna or a jack for a new antenna on the current router. It's smart to buy antennas from your router's manufacturer, unless you're very sure of the connector type. Antennas can be omnidirectional, but directional units, which serve just a certain section of your property, can provide a stronger signal.

Adding a second AP. Put it in a different area of the house, then connect it to the main router via Ethernet. When moving from the main router/AP to the second AP, a PC will take some time to reassociate to the network. This may take only seconds, but to avoid noticeable interruption, don't do it in the middle of a download or a Skype call. If you secure your wireless network with WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) encryption, the re-association may take a little longer. Set each AP for different channels, especially if their signals overlap.

Repeating the signal. Repeaters have gone out of fashion in the past few years as new technology such as 802.11n's MIMO (multiple input multiple output) has increased signal range and throughput. You can still find them, though. For example, the $99 Apple Airport Express (go.pcmag.com/airport_express) is a Wi-Fi router in and of itself, but it can also serve as a range extender when connected back to the main router, using a technology called wireless distribution system. DD-WRT can also convert an old router into a repeater.

Continue
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Sunday, July 13, 2008

Resources

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Flight Sites

FlightStats.com and FlightAware.com to find out about the flight's historical performance in the most recent period
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Sunday, July 6, 2008

Wend Magazine, Volume 3 Issue 1

Voluntourism sites
-www.volunteerabroad.com
-www.mmrfbz.org (Maya Mountain Research Farm in Belize)
-www.panyaproject.org (Panya Project, Thailand)
-www.yelapa.org (Casa de la Imaginacion, Mexico)
-www.rainsongsanctuary.com (Rainsong Wildlife Sanctuary, Costa Rica)
-www.longwayhomeinc.org (Long Way Home, Guatemala)
-www.cofradiaschool.com (Confradia School, Honduras)
-africanvolunteers@gmail.com (African Volunteers, Ghana)
-www.ambassadorsforchildren.org (Ambassadors For Children)
-www.transitionsabroad.com (Transitions Abroad)
-www.voluntourism.org (VolunTourism)
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Newsweek, June 2, 2008

FlyLite
-clothing butler for frequent business travelers. New customers pay an initial $500 fee and pack their bags. FlyLite clean, press and store the clothes, polish the shoes and scan everything into a virtual iCloset. Each trip, travelers can virtually pack their suitcases by dragging and dropping clothing icons, after which Flylite delivers the bags to any US destination. After each stay, Flylite picks up the bags, cleans the clothes and stores everything for the next trip.

Cutting Water Consumption

Quench
-from Australia's HydroCo, first cycle is normal shower for sudsing, shampooing and rinsing that lasts two minutes, then it starts recycling the hot, suds-free water, saving about 30 gallons for a seven-minute shower, costs $4000.

Eco-Drop Shower
-from Italy's Tommaso Colia, floor mats with concentric circles that look like ripples in a rain puddle, the circles pulsate to become uncomfortable for a person showering too long

See-Through Bathtub
-from Belgian design student, the bathtub is marked like a measuring cup, the levels tell you how much drinking water you're wasting

Books
-How to be Useful: A Beginner's Guide to Not Hating Work, Megan Hustad
-Escape From Corporate America: A Practical Guide to Creating the Career of Your Dreams, Pamela Skillings
-Millionaire by Thirty: The Quickest Path to Early Financial Independence, Douglas R. Andrew, Emron D. Andrew, and Aaron R. Andrew

Latin Links
-La Loma Club de Golf in San Luis Potosi: Jack Nicklaus Signature Course (www.lalomagolf.com.mx)
-El Camaleon near Cancun: Greg Norman-designed (mayakobagolf.com)
-La Paz Golf Club in Bolivia (lapazgolfclub.com)

Cookies That Cost a Fortune
-Parisian macarons, $72 for 48, lepicerie.com
-personalized fortunes on the inside of dark- or white-chocolate-coated Giant Wedding Fortune Cookies, $100, fortunatebiscuits.com
-Butterfles in Nature cookies, big, hand-iced sugar biscuits in bold hues at Eleni's in New York, $75, elenis.com

Rate Escapes
Inflation is on the rise, but there are ways to protect your portfolio and purchasing power

Look at traditional inflation fighters
-food, timber and non-precious metals might be safer than gold and real estate. Look to buy within inexpensive exchange-traded funds like iShares GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust ETF (GSG) or iPath Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index Total Return ETN (DJP), and Black-Rock Global Resources Fund (SSGRX).

Don't go overboard
-keep 5% of your investment portfolio reserved for anti-inflation investments like T. Rowe Price New Era Fund. Don't plow all funds into commodity investments.

Buy stocks
-they usually do well in periods of moderate inflation (5% or so). Go for consumer-goods companies that have room to raise prices and solid blue chips with strong dividends.

Consider bonds
-Treasury inflation-protected securities and I bonds guarantee that yields will rise to match growth in the consumer price index, but yields are very low now (under 2%). Look for better yields in inflation-protected bonds issued by corporations (incapital.com) and other countries via a new exchange-traded fund, SPDR DB International Government Inflation-Protected Bond ETF (WIP), or Vanguard Inflation-Protected Securities (VIPSX) and Harbor Real Return Fund (HARRX)

The Dumbest Generation? Don't Be Dumb
Really, don't we all know by now that finding examples of teens' and twentysomethings' ignorance is like shooting fish in a barrel? - Link

Photography Books
-The Family of Man, exhibition put together for the Museum of Modern Art by its photography curator, Edward Steichen
-The Americans, Robert Frank

Job-Hunting Teens
-snagajob.com, an hourly job-listing web site
-coolworks.com, for teens willing to travel for more interesting jobs

Bag It, With Style
-flipandtumble.com, folds like a pair of socks into a 3-inch ball in less than 5 seconds, the secret is a patent-pending sewn-in spandex pouch, $12
-chicobag.com, no-nonsense 16x14-inch nylon bag folds into 3x4-inch integrated pouch and can onto anything with its carabinerlike clip, also machine washable, $5
-envirosax.com, 44 different designs and certified up to 40 pounds, $8.50
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Website Magazine, May, 2008

The Semantic Web

Zoominfo (zoominfo.com)
-business-focused search engine, allowing drill-down on companies, people and jobs through Q&A based searching.

Powerset (powerset.com)
-extracts meaning by reading documents like website pages, sentence by sentence.

Semanticator (semanticator.com)
-enables marketers to translate their target markets or market segments into semantic personas which can be detected moments before arrival. Each persona/profile represents a combination of attributes like geographic location, operating system, day of the week, search keywords, targeted websites visited, etc.

Twine (twine.com)
-help us discover our world in ways we'll find interesting. As we organize and share interestes, we'll discover new information within those interests and people who are equally as passionate.

Audacity 101: Free Podcast Production For Your Website

Audacity Software
-free software, reproduces recordings, making them ready for posting online.
-http://audacity.sourceforge.net

Lame MP3 Encoder
-http://lame.buanzo.com/ar

Audacity applications for a website
-tell your organization's story, explain how to use products and services, describe how to find your place of business and detail how to take advantage of special offers of the week or month.
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eWeek, May 19, 2008

Promising Web 2.0 Apps

Microsoft Live Mesh
-promises to enable customers to access their info in multiple places and on multiple devices without having to worry about synchronization.

Zude SocialMix
-super mashup of social networking sites. Access Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Twitter from a single canvas.

Octopz
-online collaboration software for architectural engineers and industrial designers, allowing them to communicate via text, VOIP and webcam while working on 3-d models and schematics on their PCs from any location.

OpenACircle
-collaboration platform for small businesses, provides a private meeting room for up to 12 members

IdeaSpigit
-provides lightweight business intelligence for social networks, calculates the validity of users and content based on contributions, user reputation, community feedback and buzz to help enterprises improve their network

Vyew
-collaboration and conferencing platform that allows users to leverage file annotation, screen capture, whiteboard and plug-in capabilities to create content. Also has live conferencing sessions via text chat, webcam and VOIP
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Friday, July 4, 2008

360 Magazine

Spring, 2008

L.20 - chef Laurent Gras focuses on preserving seafood's inherent qualities. 2300 N Lincoln Park West, Chicago.

Italy's Hidden Treasures

-Bologna: Ristorante Diana on Via Indipendenza (tortellini), Basilica of San Domenico (Nicola Pisano's 13th-century tomb for Saint Dominic), church of Santa Maria della Vita (terra-cotta Lamentation, Il Compianto, by Niccolo da Bari/dell'Arca), Basilica of San Petronio (the main door by Jacopo della Quercia), Da Cesari on Via de'Carbonesi (gramignone verde, pasta with sausage)

-Ferrara: city walls (by architect Biagio Rossetti), Jewish quarter around synagogue on Via Mazzini, 12th-century Romanesque cathedral, Castello Estense, Palazzo dei Diamanti (an elegant house with 12,000 rhombus-shaped marble bosses)

-Rimini: single surviving triumphal arch of Caesar Augustus, bizarre church Tempio Malatestiano

-Ravenna: Sant'Apollinare in Classe, Basilica of San Vitale, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Eastern Europe's Most Exclusive Art Fair
The Moscow World Fie Art Fair, organized by Sixtine Crutchfield, a glamorous art and fine jewelry show.

Up-and-coming names in women's fashion

-Phillip Lim, for streamlined elegance, laid-back refinement, and attention to detail

-Thakoon, for billowy, ethereal dresses and precisely silhouetted workwear separates

-Chris Benz, for vintage-inspired clothing retooled in luxury fabric

-Thom Browne, for menswear-inspired jackets, pants, and button-downs

-Bensoni, for tailored yet feminine pieces that utilize unexpected mixes of fabrics

-Grace Sun, for comtemporary clothes made of organic and natural fabrics

-Dagmar, for Art Deco-inspired styles with a strong focus on detailing

-Delphyne, for delicately feminine designs

Summer, 2008

Grythyttan, Sweden

-Grythyttan Inn: 2 Prastgatan, 46-591/63300, grythyttan.com, doubles from $170 (including breakfast), dinner for two is $177, 368-years-old, the most charming hotel in the area

-Loka Brunn: 46-591/63100, lokabrunn.com, doubles from $139 (including breakfast), accomodations spread over 15 buildings that differ in style, 84-acre estate with spa and mineral springs, dating from 1720

-Grythyttan Inn: Swedish standards like roasted deer tenderloin with porcini-filled potato roll and black-truffle gravy, locally-sourced menu

-Nordic House of Culinary Art has a library, cookbook museum and the restaurant Kantinen Hyttblecket (2 Soralgsvagen, 46-591/34060), lunch for two $22

-Formens Hus design museum: 7 Sikforsvagen in Hallefors, 46-591/64360, displays iconic furniture

-Grythyttan Vin winery: Grythyttan Livsmedelsby, 46-591/19111, grythyttanvin.se, tours $9 per person

Tetsuya's Restaurant, 529 Kent St., Sydney NSW 2000, Australia, 011-612/9267-2900, tetsuyas.com

Fashionable shops around North Third Street, Philadelphia

-Clothing
---Deep Sleep: the latest in street styles, limited-edition merchandise on deepsleep.net, 54 N. Third St., 215/351-9124
---Sugarcube: vintage clothing, 124 N. Third St., 215/238-0825
---Third Street Habit: chic boutique with a good roster of labels and laid-back vibe, get added to the SugarHabit mailing list for sales from Sugarcube and Third Street Habit (up to 90% off!), 153 N Third St., 215/925-5455
--- Vagabond: women's boutique with cutting-edge labels, local lines, and designer vintage, get wholesale hand-knit sweaters from co-owner Mary Clark (Stellapop), that sell at Barneys for more than $200, 37 N Third St., 267/671-0737.

-Accessories
---J. Karma: originally a jewelry shop, expanded with shoes and bags by of-the-moment designers, 62 N. Third St., 215/627-9625.

-Interiors
---Bruges Home: everything from coffee-table books to club chairs, 323 Race St., 215/922-6041.
---Minima: who's who of modern designers, staff will do a consultation, so bring pictures of your room, 118 N. Third St., 215/922-2002.
---Reform Vintage Modern: secret source for other Mid-century furniture dealers, they have a warehouse across town with bigger pieces that owner Arthur Meckler will sell at a discount, 112 N. Third St., 215/922-6908.

My Own Private London

-Hotel: The Langham, london.langhamhotels.co.uk (doubles from $460)

-Food (by restaurant critic Sudi Pigott)
---La Fromagerie (lafromagerie.co.uk)
---Marylebone Farmers' Market: more civilized and better people watching than the bigger and better-known Borough Market (lfm.org.uk/mary.asp)
---Divertimenti (divertimenti.co.uk)
---Rococo Chocolates: hand-made, hand-packaged chocolates (rococochocolates.com)
---Villandry: villandry.com
---Canteen: sleek, chic restaurant with excellent, inexpensive modern British food (canteen.co.uk)
---William Curley: exquisitely crafted, Japanese-influenced chocolates and pastries (williamcurley.co.uk)
---Emma Bridgewater: emmabridgewater.co.uk
---Texture Restaurant: texture-restaurant.co.uk

-Things (stylist Rachel Meddowes)
---Liberty: one-stop showcase for what's happening in the world of interiors in London at the moment (liberty.co.uk)
---9 Albermarle St.: Paul Smith's funky curiosity shop (paulsmith.co.uk)
---Dover Street Market: looks more like a contemporary art museum than a clothing and design store (doverstreetmarket.com)
---Appley Hoare Antiques: appleyhoare.com
---Gallery 25: gallery25.co.uk
---Established & Sons Limited: establishedandsons.com
---Grays: graysantiques.com
---Soane: soane.co.uk

-Nights (Nick Barrington-Wells, public relations manager at the Langham Hotel)
---Artesian: soothing bar in sleek silver and soft lavender
---The Landau: restaurant
---The Kingly Club in Soho: smaller than expected, looks like an underwater living room of the future (kinglyclub.com)
---Chloe: underground in the Firehouse restaurant and bar (firehousesw7.com)

Moscow

Hotels
-Ararat Park Hyatt: moscow.park.hyatt.com, doubles from $1,050
-Golden Apple: goldenapple.ru, doubles from $429
-Hotel Baltschug Kempinski: kempinski-moscow.com, doubles from $820
-Le Royal Meridien National, national.ru, doubles from $585
-Pokrovka Suite Hotel, doubles from $600
-Ritz-Carlton Moscow: ritzcarlton.com, doubles from $1,100

Restaurants
-Cafe Pushkin, 26A Tverskoi Bul, 7-495/229-5590, dinner for two $125
-Dymov No. 1, 6 Ul. Malaya Dmitrovka, 7-495/699-0770, dymov1.ru, dinner for two $45
-The Most, 6/3 Kuznetsky Most, 7-495/660-0706, themost.ru, dinner for two $150
-Nedalny Vostok, 15/2 Tverskoi Bul, 7-495/694-0154, dinner for two $135
-Prichal, Km. 2, Ilyinskoe Shosse, 7-495/504-1269, eng.novikovgroup.ru/restaurants/prichal, dinner for two $100
-Simple Things, 32 Ul. Konyushkovskaya, 7-495/255-6362, dinner for two $70

Sights
-Art 4, art4.ru
-New Tretyakov Gallery, 10 Krymsky Val, 7-495/238-1254
-Pobeda Gallery, pobedagallery.com
-Sandunovskiye Baths, sanduny.ru, $40 for three hours

Shop
-Cara & Co, caraandco.com
-Denis Simachev, denissimachev.com
-Respublika, respublica.ru
-TsUM, tsum.ru
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