Guess What's In The Picture

Picture source Fooducate

Can you guess what's in the above picture? Choose from the following:

A) Strawberry Ice Cream

B) Chicken

C) Plastic Foam

D) None of the above

If you picked choice A, you'd be wrong. If you picked choice B, you're getting closer, but not totally there. 

The picture shows what "mechanically separated chicken" looks like. 

Mechanically separated chicken was invented in the 1960’s when meat processors discovered they could squeeze a few more percent of profit from chickens, turkeys, pigs, and cows by scraping the bones 100% clean of meat. This is done by machines, not humans, by passing bones leftover after the initial cutting through a high pressure sieve. The paste you see in the picture above is the result. Hungry? I'll be less inclined to grab a hot dog at the next cookout I attend.

Simply put, we are eating things these days that are simply gross. As someone that as battled with weight for several years, I've started to look at the ingredients of my food. My wife and I have tried to shift to foods that include truly natural ingredients, not chemical compounds, and that feature ingredients in their natural state. I'm not into the raw food movement, and wouldn't consider myself to be headed towards a strict organic lifestyle. I like junk food like the rest of America, but I think the food industry has to stop passing this stuff along as things that are safe to eat?

Now that I may have caused you to lose your appetite, what do you think about this? Are you disgusted by the amount of garbage that the USDA and FDA say is allowing into our foods? I look forward to your comments below!

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How Bad Is Your Commute? (Infographic)

Do you have a long commute? Many of us spend hours each day trekking to and from work. It takes me anywhere from 45 minutes to 90 minutes to get travel each way to work depending on the traffic load, number of accidents, and weather. Money management site mint.com recently released an informative infographic highlighting the worst commutes in the United States.

Below is the list of the top 10 ranking of the worst traffic cities based on the number of hours commuters spend in traffic delays each year:

1. Chicago, IL: 70 hours
2. Washington, DC: 70 hours
3. Los Angeles, CA: 63 hours
4. Houston, TX: 58 hours
5. Baltimore, MD: 50 hours
6. San Francisco, CA: 49 hours
7. Boston, MA: 48 hours
8. Dallas, TX: 48 hours
9. Denver, CO: 47 hours
10. Atlanta, GA: 44 hours

Recently released information from the Texas Transportation Institute appears on the infographic below. You can click the link below the graphic to expand it to full screen.

Mint.com
Launch Full Screen - image source mint.com

Do you have a horrendous commute? Where does your city stack up? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

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Movie Review: The King's Speech

The 83rd Academy Awards will take place Sunday February 27, 2011. This year, I have seen five of the ten films nominated for Best Picture. I've seen Toy Story 3, Inception, The Social Network, True Grit, and most recently The King's Speech.

The King's Speech tells the story about King George VI of Britain, his unique ascension to the throne, and his battle with a lifelong speech impediment. It is a very uplifting film that shows how perseverance can yield tremendous results. Triumph of the human spirit is the central theme. It's a marvelous film to watch.

The acting is executed with precision and believability by veteran cast members Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter. In the title role of King George VI, Firth shows a vulnerability and frustration that many of us can identify with. He has lived most of his life with a stammer, and is required by his ascension within the monarchy to speak publicly with increasing frequency. 

George's struggle with his stammer and his experiences overcoming his condition with the help of his speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush, offer an insight into a fascinating historical figure. It is infrequent that a film shows us the personal struggles historical icons face with such honesty and effectiveness.

The attention to detail in the film is astounding. The locations, costumes, and scenery are wonderful to watch. I'm not a big fan of "period films," but I enjoyed The King's Speech. Personally, as a child, I had difficulty pronouncing the letter "L" and regularly visited with a speech therapist myself. That experience aside, I feel that the film is easily accessible to all audiences. Aside from some profanity, the film really is safe for all audiences.

The critics are for the most part, saying that The King's Speech is the favorite to take home the Best Picture Oscar. Based on the nominated films that I have seen, I agree with that prediction. If you have the opportunity to see The King's Speech, I think you should! It's a great affirmation of the human spirit.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Have you seen The King's Speech? Let me know what you thought of the film in the comments. I'd love to hear from you!

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Don't Lose It! - How To Backup Your Data

Data loss.  We all think we're immune from it, yet  it's happened to a lot of us. The precious pictures of our family and those important financial records we need will never be lost, right? I'm sure many of you have suffered at least minimal data loss due to hard drive failure or accidental deletion. We all know we should be backing up our data, but I'm willing to take a gamble and say that most of us are not doing an adequate job.

The best rule of thumb to follow if you want to protect your data from corruption, hardware failure, or accidental deletion is to implement the 3-2-1 backup rule. A description of the rule follows below.

3 – A copy of important files needs to exist in three different places. This can be accomplished by creating two copies of your data and finding two other places to keep the additional copies. Assuming you wanted to keep the original copy of the file on your computer, the second copy could be placed on an external drive, and a third copy on a burned DVD or at a cloud-based backup service, etc. Three copies of the data in three spots.

2 – Backed-up files need to be on at least two different kinds of media. Examples of common media types are: hard drives, optical media (DVD/CD), and usb memory sticks.

1 – At least one copy of your backed-up data needs to be maintained off-site. This means in an entirely different physical location. For example, if your primary backup exists at home, you could keep an off-site copy in a locked desk drawer at your office, or maybe at a relatives house. Cloud-based backup solutions offer a great solution for off-site backups as the servers that contain your data may be in a different city or state, and often that is redundantly and securely backed up in multiple locations as well. Think about it. Natural disasters and tragedies happen and are unpredictable. If all of your backed-up data is in your home and there is a fire or flood, you run the risk of losing everything.

Types of backup media

• DVD's CD's
• If your using DVD's, I recommend picking up a name brand like Sony or Memorex. I've had good luck with them. Store brands have not performed as well in my opinion. Don't skimp on quality. This is your important data after all!
• External Hard Drives
• Prices have been drastically falling on hard drive storage for quite a while, and its an affordable way to backup large amounts of data. For around $100, you can find a great external hard drive that will give you a terabyte or more of storage. I have a Seagate firewire terabyte external hard drive and it has performed very well. Western Digital also makes drives I have used and liked in the past.
• USB Flash Memory Drives
• The small form-factor and convenience of USB Flash drives, or thumbdrives as they are sometimes called have become more affordable and they are easy to use. The only drawback to these devices is that typically they are more expensive per MB than hard drive storage. I use thumbdrives for small collections of data that I move between location frequently. Although I do not use them for backing-up data, they are a solid choice for that chore as well. Once again, I recommend sticking to a name brand. I've had several cheap off-brand drives fail on me in the past. Don't make this mistake. Sandisk is my favorite manufacturer of usb thumbdrives.
• Cloud-based services
• Although cloud-based services use hard drives to store backup copies of your data, the benefit is that they are off-site in remote locations. They also make backups of your backed-up data. If they lose a hard drive, they have additional copies securely available in redundant locations. It is also easy to recover your data via a web interface over the internet, and they typically will mail you DVD's with your data on it for a fee. 
• I've used a service called Mozy in the past and it performed pretty well. Currently I use Carbonite and have been very pleased. You can backup an unlimited amount of data from one computer for $54.95 a year. Multiple year plans are also available at a discounted rate. A small program runs on your computer, and every time you create a new file or modify an existing one, a secure, encypted copy is sent to one of their data centers. The is very effective and convenient. 

I hope you have found this posting to be helpful and informative. Do you backup regularly, or are you admittedly not doing what you should to protect your data? Have you tried any of the online backup services and if so, what do you think of them? I'd love to hear from you below in the comments. Thanks for reading!

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Delivering Quality To Your Audience

Photo by Shira Golding

It is in my nature to tweak and optimize. Blogging has proven to be a passion of mine, and I continually strive to find the best ways to deliver content to anyone that may find it useful and interesting. Frequently, I find incredibly useful resources on other blogs. The beauty of blogging is that the community is willing to share information. Community is key. In my constant search to find useful tips and techniques to improve my writing and blog quality, there are a few resources that stand out. Two of my favorites are highlighted below:

ProBlogger
If you haven't had a chance to check out Problogger.net, I highly recommend it. Darren Rowse consistently delivers resources that are insightful and incredibly useful. Problogger is one of my daily must reads.

One recent post in particular that I really like is: 29 Ways to Keep Me Coming Back to Your Blog Again and Again. In the post, Darren illustrates what makes a blog sticky. Each of the 29 point he presents are very valid and important. Check it out here

CopyBlogger
Want to generate more traffic, attract links, and gain subscribers? A great source for sound information on internet marketing is CopyBlogger. They offer a free course called Internet Marketing For Smart People, which is a 20-part course and newsletter delivered by email. Fore more information and to signup, you can head here.

Check out  Is Your Low Social IQ Dooming Your Blog?, a great article by Jennifer Gresham. It discusses the frustration of many bloggers that are putting out quality content, yet seeing no interaction on their blogs. Jennifer presents the five dimensions of social intelligence, and ponders the translation of those dynamics to a text-based blog platform. Please read her article here

Daily Blog Tips
If you are into tweaking and optimizing, you may want to head over to Daily Blog Tips. They offer tips and tactics that can help you maximize the performance and goals of your blog. Useful topics that have been presented and discussed include: attracting links, using analytics, and improving writing style.

A good recent read is: How Long Until My Site Starts Getting Traffic From Google? The brief but informative post goes into some great information on the importance of backlinks and other factors that impact results.

What are some of your favorite blogging resources? Please share them and your other thoughts in the comments below!

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Happy Valentine's Day - Social Media Style

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope that someone has wished you a Happy Valentine's Day. Everyone deserves a little love now and then.

Facebook and other social media tools make it easier to send greetings and well-wishes to others on special occasions such as today. There is a ton of creativity out there when it comes to gifts, but is posting a message on someone's Facebook wall, or sending them a Twitter update as meaningful as making a phone call or sending a card? Probably not... 

I often think about how connected we have become as a society, yet so impersonal at the same time. We choose to often communicate in quick blurbs and keystrokes rather than use the telephone or more traditional modes of communication. We certainly can perform more tasks daily due to the technology we now use and adore, but we still end up wishing we had more time left in each day. How can we fit in all the things that we feel that we "need" to do?

Yesterday at Church, my pastor used an old illustration to comment on how we fill our lives with multiple tasks and worries.  Here is a summary:

• He showed us two large glass jars: 
• The first jar was 3/4 full with small white rocks (symbolizing all of the little things we focus so much attention on.)
• The second jar was empty. 
• Also, he had six loose larger black rocks (symbolizing the more important values we have and taks we should tend to.) 
• First, he demonstrated that when we attempt to place more important things in the almost full jar, the jar overflows and there is not enough space. 
• Secondly, he removed the large rocks from the first jar. 
• Thirdly, he placed the large rocks into the empty jar first, mentioning that its important to build a foundation on the important things like faith and family. 
• Finally, he poured all of the small white rocks from the first jar into the second jar with the larger black rocks. After doing this, it was obvious that all of the rocks fit with room to spare.

Sure, this is a bit of an old parlor trick, but it drove home a good point. Focus on what is most important, and tend to the little things after that. You'll accomplish more of what you want, and place the primary emphasis on what is truly important. This made me think alot about my faith, my relationship with my wife, my children, and other important things in my life. As someone that is constantly trying to improve himself, I found that my pastor's visual illustration was very motivational.

Although I did indeed post a Happy Valentine's Day message on my wife's Facebook wall, I plan on telling her that in person this evening, and giving her and my children the attention that they truly deserve. Focus on the big stuff... there's plenty of time for the little things later.

Social media provides us with some really useful functionality. I enjoy learning about social media, using it to reconnect, and utilizing its benefits in terms of creating communites and content distribution. However, there's nothing wrong with picking up the phone or visiting someone and actually saying "Happy Valentine's Day."

What do you think? Have our lives become too impersonal due to the overuse of social media tools? How are you managing to tend to the things that are most important to you and still accomplishing all of the other things you want to do? Leave me a comment below, I'd love to hear from you!

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Upcoming 2011 Movies I Am Very Eager To See - Late Winter / Early Spring

There are several movies coming out in the next several weeks that I am just itching to see. So far this year, I've only caught True Grit in the theater. I really enjoyed that film. You can read my review of it here.

It now seems like there several films I would like to go in see the near future. These releases from what I have been able to gain from the trailers could all be grouped potentially in the sci-fi, action, and thriller film genres. I'm  huge fan of action movies, sci-fi, and thrillers. I've especially become fond of international thrillers that I have been able to view on Netflix streaming.

Below I've listed three upcoming films that I am looking forward to seeing. I've offered a brief synopsis of each under each movie poster, and have also provided the movie trailer below that.  Are you eager to see any of these films? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below the post.

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I Am Number Four 

Release Date: 2/18/2011

Starring: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, and Dianna Agron

Extraordinary teen John Smith (Pettyfer) is a fugitive on the run from ruthless enemies sent to destroy him. Changing his identity, moving from town to town with his guardian Henri (Olyphant), John is always the new kid with no ties to his past. In the small Ohio town he now calls home, John encounters unexpected, life-changing events-his first love (Agron), powerful new abilities and a connection to the others who share his incredible destiny. Synopsis written by Walt Disney Pictures

I Am Number Four looks like it has a lot of promise. It also stars Timothy Olyphant, who I loved in the HBO original series Deadwood, and Dianna Agron, who I enjoy watching in the television series Glee.

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The Adjustment Bureau

Release Date: 3/4/2011

Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Terence Stamp, Anthony Mackie, and John Slattery

Do we control our destiny, or do unseen forces manipulate us? Matt Damon stars in the thriller The Adjustment Bureau as a man who glimpses the future Fate has planned for him and realizes he wants something else. To get it, he must pursue the only woman he's ever loved across, under and through the streets of modern-day New York. On the brink of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate, ambitious politician David Norris (Damon) meets beautiful contemporary ballet dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt)-a woman like none he's ever known. But just as he realizes he's falling for her, mysterious men conspire to keep the two apart. David learns he is up against the agents of Fate itself-the men of The Adjustment Bureau-who will do everything in their considerable power to prevent David and Elise from being together. In the face of overwhelming odds, he must either let her go and accept a predetermined path... Synopsis written by Universal Pictures

The premise for this film sounds interesting. I'm always interested in films that deal with how our destiny unfolds, and those that try to manipulate it. I'm also a big fan of Matt Damon's work.

---

Sucker Punch

Release Date: 3/25/2011

Starring: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, and Vanessa Hudgens

About a little girl who is trying to hide from the pain caused by her evil stepfather and lobotomy. She ends up in a mental institution and while there she starts to imagine an alternative reality. She plans to escape from that imaginary world but to do that she needs to steal five objects before she is caught by a vile man. The story is set in the 1950's.

Out of the three films I have listed, I am most eager to see Sucker Punch. It looks like it is going to have amazing visuals, and I am a huge fan of the film's director, Zack Snyder, who also helmed a couple of my favorite films, Dawn of the Dead (2004), and 300.

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Interesting New Products At The Apple Store

Yesterday, I spent some time at my local Apple Store. I never tire of taking a look at the most recent crop of products that they have available. It's amazing how a product can become seemingly more useful when it can be connected to mobile technology. This genre of products has seen tremendous growth in the last several years, and there are several companies that design and offer only products that are functionally tied directly to the Apple iOS devices.

Of particular interest to me is the rapidly increasing array of products that can be connected to Apple iOS devices like the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Below you will find three products that caught my eye.

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IHealth Blood Pressure Dock 

(Available for iPhone4, iPod Touch 4th Gen, and iPad)

This device claims to be able to measure and track your blood pressure, as well as help you to identify relationships between your blood pressure and your daily life.

Included inside the package you will find: the iHealth Blood Pressure Dock, cuff, cable, manual, and quick start guide.

The system is priced at $99.95, which is not inexpensive, but if it is accurate and provides functionality for those that need to keep track of their blood pressure on a regular basis, it may be worth it!

Manufacturer listed product highlights incude:

• Simple, attractive, elegant interface
• Visualize measurement process
• Record your systolic/diastolic numbers, heart rate, pulse wave, and measurement time
• Flick up and down, right or left, to check your test results, pulse wave graph, and WHO classification
• Check your results and changes in blood pressure in a beautiful history graph
• Generate your own graph by time, date, or systolic/diastolic numbers
• Calculate averages based on time, date, or systolic/diastolic numbers
• Instantly see systolic/diastolic numbers, heart rate, and time for all the measurements in visible part of the graph
• Smart WHO classification tool
• Easily add or edit measurement results using slide-in controls
• Share your results by e-mail
• Comprehensive database of frequently asked questions regarding blood pressure
• Dock battery management

For more information and to purchase the iHealth Blood Pressure Dock, please view the product here on the Apple Online  Store. Currently the device is selling for $99.95 USD.

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AmpliTube iRig

(Available for iPhone4,3GS,3, all iPod Touch models, and iPad)

This looks like a pretty cool device that would be useful to musicians. With this device, you can plug a guitar, bass, keyboard, microphone, or other line level musical instrument into your iOS device and use it to play along with your itunes library. For example, you could hook up your guitar and pay utilizing an expandable collection of effects and amplifiers. It features a stereo output that can be connected to headphones, amps, or speakers. Looks like a pretty innovative way to experiment with different musical sounds.

Priced at $39.95, the iRig is fairly inexpensive and looks like it could be fun and useful for musicians.

Manufacturer listed product highlights include:

• 1/4-inch mono input designed for electric guitar and bass, but also works with keyboards, hand-held microphones, mixers
• 1/8-inch stereo output can connec to headphones, amplifiers, speakers or stereos
• 1/8-inch connector jack plugs into to your Apple device's headphone input for future-proof operation
• Works with AmpliTube FREE for the iPhone/iPad app, letting you play, practice and record through famous guitar amps and effects right on your phone
• Compatible with other iPhone/iPad apps: Tuners, metronomes, recording apps, amp sims

For more information and to purchase AmpliTube iRig, please view the product here on the Apple Online Store. Currently the device is selling for $39.95 USD.

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IGrill Grilling/Cooking Thermometer
(Available for iPhone4,3GS,3, iPod Touch 2nd Gen+ models, and iPad)

I love to grill. I've had electronic grill thermometers before, but they haven't lasted very long. This device really caught my eye. Since its Bluetooth enabled, you can keep your iOS devices safe and far away from the grill heat source. It also offers cooking timer functionality, so not only can you monitor the grilling temperature of your food, but the time it has been cooking as well.

At $99.95 USD, the price seems a bit steep for a grill thermometer, but the added connectivity and functionality may be worth it.

Manufacturer listed product highlights include:

• Device
• iPod touch, iPhone and iPad compatible
• Blutooth enabled
• Multi-probe capacity
• Integrated probe storage
• Works as a stand-alone thermometer
• App
• iGrill Device connectability
• Multiple view options
• Kitchen timer
• Time-remaining feature
• Recipes and resources

For more information and to purchase the iGrill Grilling/Cooking Thermometer, please view the product here on the Apple Online Store. Currently the device is selling for $99.95 USD.

What's your opinion on the potential functionality these devices can offer. Do the products add value, or will they end up fading into obscurity. I'd love to get your take in the comments below.

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TobyMac C3 Church Tickets - Sold Out!

Tickets for the April 1, 2011 TobyMac concert at C3 Church in Clayton, NC are Sold Out. They certainly went fast. Congratulations to those of you that were able to get your hands on tickets. Those of you that were not able to get tickets, I hope you come across them somehow.

Certainly going to be an incredible show! Comment below if you were able to get tickets, or if you don't have tickets and are hoping to find a way to come across some.

If you enjoyed this story, please join my Email Newsletter!

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Verizon iPhone4 Launch Day Post Round-Up

Today was launch day for the Verizon iPhone4. Welcome to the party. I've been using the iPhone on AT&T since the 3G was released and currently have the iPhone4. That said, I had the opportunity to take a look at the Verizon model at the office today as a co-worker had gotten theirs.

My initial inspection of the Verizon iPhone4, concurred with what many have reported... it isn't noticeably different from the AT&T model. The one major difference that I have been made aware of is that you cannot use the data services and voice network at the same time. I was not able to test or verify this, but that is what I have read and heard.

Here is a listing of posts that surfaced today that address the launch of the Verizon device:

• Survey of first Verizon iPhone 4 buyers finds limited AT&T cannibalization via AppleInsider
• Verizon iPhone Teardown Reveals Only Minor Changes via MobileCrunch
  
• Verizon iPhone customers line up across the US via The Unofficial Apple Weblog
  
• The Best Games For Your Verizon iPhone via Gizmodo
  
• Jumping Ship from Android to iPhone: A Switcher’s Guide via lifehacker
  
• Verizon iPhone hands-on: better calls, slower data, the iPhone experience you know and love via The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Did you get your hands on the Verizon iPhone4 yet? Please share your impressions and experiences with the device below in the comments. Thanks for reading!

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Featured Blog: Li'L Bytes

Since I started blogging several months ago, I have taken a lot of notice of other bloggers and what they are doing. Some bloggers are doing things I am fond of, and some not so much. This is the first entry in what I am sure will be many postings about blogs that I enjoy reading on a regular basis. My goal is to share my impression of their blog and to feature a few of their posts that I enjoy.

This post focuses on a blogger that contributes often and has a flair for generating content that is unique and in my opinion of very high quality.

Li'l Bytes is the online home of Marianne Hartsfield.

Marianne is a mom of three that writes about tech, gaming, entertainment topics, marriage, parenting, life issues, and various other things. She offers her insight in a broad range of topics and lends her unique flair of humor to her posts. One common theme I find in all of Marianne's posts is a theme of honesty. She isn't afraid to put it all out there when she is talking about topics that she is passionate about.

A few months back, Marianne updated the look of her blog, and I am really enjoying the way it is laid out now. It's easy to navigate, uses space efficiently, and is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The work she has put in to tweaking the design has certainly enhanced its appearance and functionality in my opinion.

Marianne is a gamer. Having first caught my eye as one of the finest inhabitants as Farmville, she has continued to write great posts about her favorite games like the Fable series and Dragon Age. I think she needs to write some more stuff about games... (insert subtle nudge here)

Here are a few of my favorite posts from L'il Bytes:

• The Last Person On Earth - I Win!

• Video Bytes Of The Week - Gaming Edition 

• Now He's Bananas Too!

To learn more about Marianne and to follow her online contributions, visit L'il Bytes today and show her some love. She deserves the attention.

Stay tuned for future posts introducing some of my other favorite blogs.

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You're Here... Now What?

You've arrived here...  Thanks for stopping by! But now what? Take a look around. You'll find posts on various topics that address things in topic areas such as technology, entertainment, finance, organization, parenting, and more.

This blog is an extension of my interests and observations. Like my mind, it's focus may shift from time to time. However at its core, it's purpose is to share ideas and interests and is to build discussion among those that visit here and find my content interesting. I find tremendous value in the interaction that is generated from reader comments and participation.

As TimPonders.com continues to evolve, it is your suggestions and feedback that will help shape it's potential design, functionality, and content. I enjoy writing and sharing content, but it's the engagement with you the reader that makes it worthwhile!

Here are a few suggestions on how to get the most from TimPonders.com:

• Join my email newsletter
• You can choose to receive either daily or weekly updates on what is new on the site! I assure you, you'll get no spam (I can't stand it) and you can unsubscribe at any time.

• Comment! - Beneath each post on my blog, you'll see a number followed by the word comments. Click on the word comments to leave your comment or question!

• Share! - Like what you see? Why not share a story you've enjoyed with a friend, or pass it along to someone that may also like it? 
• Below each post, you will see these sharing buttons: 

• Share away! You can send to send posts to or like on facebook, twitter, Google Buzz, send a link via email to a friend, and more!

• Subscribe to my RSS Feed
• If you spend a lot of time in Google Reader like I do, or like using another feed reader, subscribing to my feed will keep you up to date on what's happening here. 

• Browse! - Content is referenced by popular topics that appear on the right hand side of the page, and you can also search for keywords or topics using the search area just above my picture.

Once again, thanks so much for stopping by! I look forward to your visits in the future, and to the conversations that may develop.

Let me know below in the comments what you like or dislike. Share your suggestions! Have an idea for a story?

Apple Dominates Online Movie Sales, Walmart Is Catching Up

This past year we've seen the online space for filmed entertainment grow leaps and bounds with the further entrenchment of Netflix. It seems like all televisions and entertainment devices have either Netflix or some other connected provider for movies.

In terms of the online sales of movies, Apple currently is dominating the space with 64.5% of total consumer spending on online movies in 2010 according to a report conducted by IHS Screen digest. This figure is down from 74.4% in 2009. In second place, Microsoft is commanding a 17.9% cut of the market, which is up from 11.6% in 2009. Sony placed third with 7.2%, which shows they increased their share from 5.7% in 2009. Remaining competitors in the online movie sales space saw their growth increase from 8.3% in 2009 to 10.4% in 2010.

When looking at the figures, it is evident that the overall online movie market grew, so Apple earned more revenue with online movies in 2010 than it did the previous year, although it lost almost 10% in market share.

One of the biggest competitors to Apple is one that isn't even in the top three yet... Walmart. Industry insiders are predicting that if Walmart (following their purchase of online movie service Vudu) continues its momentum, it will soon be a major player in the online movie market. Walmart's momentum has been helped by the inclusion of the Vudu service in several Blu-Ray DVD players, game systems like the Sony PS3, and various set top boxes.

We'll have to keep our eyes peeled to see who gets the majority of our online movie funds this year. The physical DVD market continues to decline, while the online space continues to grow. As our habits continue to evolve, I hope that services continue to give us more of what we are looking for... current titles, back catalog, and high quality picture and audio.

What do you think about the available online movie services? Have you tried them, and if so, which one is your favorite? Please leave a comment below!

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Is SEO Black Magic Or The Real Deal?

Today there are tons of companies and individuals that are selling SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques on the internet and offering their services to those that want to generate traffic to their web content.

I'm no expert in best practices for sure, but from what I am seeing, some common sense and some knowledge about how web traffic works has a lot of impact on the results that you will see.

From what I have learned through reading and implementing different techniques, how you structure your content and pages is very important. Many web properties try to game the system by stuffing description tags and page content with keywords that will generate the best search results. While this may work to some extent, you can reap some noticeable benefits just by paying attention to how your content is presented on the page and what tags you are using for different sections of content.

For those of you that blog using Google's Blogger platform, for instance. If you examine the way that Google generates its default template codes, you will see that it uses h3 heading tags for post titles, while it uses h2 heading tags for widget titles. In essence, they are placing a higher value on the widgets than the titles of your blog posts. The way the heading tags are "supposed" to be used is that h1 tags have higher importance, h2 next in importance, then h3, and so on...

If you edit your code to change all of the widgets to say h5 tags, and then change all of your post titles to h2 tags instead of h3, you will be telling search indexes that the post titles are of higher value, as they should be. If you use the blogger platform, take a look at your code and see what tags are being used. Chances are, you will see that your post titles aren't getting the respect they deserve. A few quick edits may leave you with some noticeable benefits.

In the case of driving traffic, my experience has been that paying attention to the sites that refer you traffic and continuing to deliver links to those locations referencing your updated content will continue to improve traffic. If someone is linking to you and you like their site and content, why not return the favor? I plan on creating a list of some of my favorite blogs to share with readers soon.

Links in and out play a huge role in how high your page will rank in search engines. It's pretty simple... if a link to your post or content appears on a page, and that site gets crawled and indexed, it makes a note of your link and incrementally raises its value. The same is true for site links you place on your page. Basically, it shows search engines that you are participating in the web experience and are not just siphoning value out of the indexing system. In addition, by providing links to valuable content, visitors to your site will have a higher tendency to return, hence giving you more credibility and repeat traffic.

There are several tactics that SEO "experts" employ to harness prime search results for content. Many that are experts in the field deliver on their promises, but many do not. In no way am I trying to belittle the skills of those that consider themselves experts in the SEO field. I certainly am no expert. However, I'm willing to say that if you are willing to do some research, and put in some quality time, you can do a pretty good job at SEO on your own.

One great tool is Google's free Analytics tool. By paying attention to where your traffic is coming from, and by referencing what search terms are bringing people to your site, you can structure your content to benefit from that knowledge.

I'm continuing to tweak my blog to provide valuable content to my readers. I'm also pretty diligent in seeing what brings people to my site, making adjustments, and using my findings to increase the visibility of my content.

As I learn more and can reference how using different techniques to improve traffic help or hinder that goal, I'll be sharing some more posts on the subject of SEO.

Do you have any SEO tips or tactics that you would like to share? Have you ever used the services of an SEO expert? I'd love to hear from you in the comment section below.

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$uper Bowl - The Epitome Of Excess

Here it is, $uper Bowl Sunday. Americans coast to coast take to firing up their grills, tapping beer kegs, and overindulging in homemade chili. Each year, the tradition repeats. Today pretty much showcases the amount of excesses American's partake in. For football fans, it is the culmination of the season. For large corporations, it is the chance to jockey for a lucrative commercial spot.

Watching football is not a regular part of my weekly routine. I am aware of which teams are playing in today's game. As far as players go, I am only aware of the Pittsburgh quarterback, and I know of him only because of the accusations he has faced off the field. Watching the game tonight, I will be hearing most players names for the first time.

As a child, I was a huge fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The days of Terry Bradshaw, Franco Herris, and Mean Joe Greene. The first football I ever had was a model that featured a phony Terry Bradshaw signature. Those days are long gone. These days, I rarely have the time or motivation to watch highlights from a football game let alone devote several hours to watch an actual game. I suppose I would watch a game if I had nothing else productive to do.

I'm not slamming football fans. In fact, I used to be a huge fan myself. I enjoyed playing on my high school football team as well. Out team was pretty pathetic back then, and although I liked to play, I certainly wouldn't call myself good at it. It's just that at this point in my life, I can't justify giving football the attention. However, tonight I will watch.

A good portion of the media attention leading up to today's game has been, as in years past about the types of commercials that will be shown, as well as what musical act (Black Eyed Peas) is performing at half-time. Spots featuring Angry Birds, the deal website GroupOn, car companies, and television shows are predicted to garner tons of attention. In fact, there are multiple websites dedicated to the display and popularity of super bowl advertising.

One of the most famous Super Bowl television ads in history was the Apple Macintosh "1984" ad that appeared during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII. It was directed by famed director Ridley Scott and its Super Bowl appearance was its only U.S. daytime televised broadcast. It is considered to be one of the best commercials of all time.Take a look at the commercial below.

As I mentioned, I'll be watching the game tonight. However, I will be paying close attention to the advertisements. I find the ads that run during the Super Bowl to be a fair gauge at what will follow in terms of consumerism in the remainder of the year. I feel that the commercial spots will do more in generating conversation in the long run that the actual action of the game will. I could be wrong... Maybe tonight's game will bring me back to the times of my youth when I loved the game. We'll see...

What are your thoughts on the Super Bowl? Are you looking forward to the football game, and are you a fan of the Steelers or Packers? Do you like the commercials? What are your favorites? Please leave a comment below.

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Movie Review: Machete

Last night, I had the pleasure of having several friends over to watch some movies at Triangle Movie Night. The first film we watched last evening was director Robert Rodriguez's Machete, the 2010 film starring Danny Trejo, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, and Robert De Niro.

Danny Trejo plays Machete Cortez. a former Mexican federale that loses everything when he is set up by his own police chief. The film follows his encounter years later with a corrupt senator that has ties to his old boss and enemies. Machete gets fingered as a scapegoat in a tale of political theater, and viciously seeks his retribution. 

I have been a big fan of Robert Rodriguez's films since I first saw Desperado in 1995. Rodriguez's film have a very stylized look and cadence to them. Half spaghetti-western, have exploitation flick, Machete exemplifies all of the things I expect in a Robert Rodriguez film.

The film is certainly not for the faint of heart. There is over-the-top bloody gore pretty much throughout the flick, and there is also a  couple of minutes that feature nudity and sexual content. This film is what I would certainly call a hard R rating. Definitely not suitable for kids. 

The snappy dialog is witty and funny on several occasions. The group of us watching the film laughed out loud several times. The over the top action and dialog is a strong part of why I enjoyed this film. The music is entertaining as well. Machete has his own "action" song that you may catch that is both hilarious and eerily sticks in my head.

Overall, Machete delivers exactly what it should. Non-stop action, irreverent humor and violence, and a touch of sexuality. From what I understand, there is a sequel already in the works. I'll be there to buy a ticket, or at least rent the movie. Long live Machete!

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

If you have seen Machete, what did you think of it? Did you enjoy it? Please let me know in the comment section below!

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Angry Birds May Be The Highlight Of The Super Bowl

You may have not yet heard, but the cast of characters from the runaway casual gaming hit Angry Birds are getting a prominent spot in a Super Bowl advertisement. The Angry Birds ought to start smiling. They are pretty successful!

In what is to be the first Super Bowl commercial to include an embedded code, the characters from the Rovio's smash-hit game appear along side characters from the upcoming film release Rio from Twentieth Century Fox.

The commercial spot will feature an embedded code that gamers will be able to enter into the Angry Birds game and be taken to a special hidden Rio level in the game. The game level will also take you to a Rio sweepstakes. The winner of the sweepstakes will get to attend the premiere of the Rio film in Rio de Janeiro on March 22, 2011. Pretty unique marketing!

I've seen the Super Bowl commercial already, and characters from Angry Birds get significantly more screen time than the characters from the upcoming film. This definitely lends credibility to the popularity of this game. It is still the top selling app store item on Apple's iPhone and iPad, and has landed as a downloadable game on the Xbox 360 and Sony PS3 as well. Angry Birds will also be released for the upcoming Nintendo 3DS.

Have you played Angry Birds and/or the supplemental level game Angry Birds Seasons? I enjoy them, but I take my time trying to get three stars on each level before progressing. It's challenging, and it will definitely take me some time to get perfect scores on all of the levels as I advance. I'm in no hurry.

Are you a fan of the game? Have any tips or tricks? What do you think about this marketing strategy for promoting the Rio film?

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Big Game, Big Screens - What's Your Setup?

Super Bowl weekend is a huge time for electronics retailers when it comes to selling televisions and other home theater related equipment. There are tons of specials in the weekly circulars. Avoiding the temptation to upgrade my television takes every ounce of will power I can muster.

As a hobby for several years, I have performed several small to medium home theater installations. I've rented box trucks to transport mammoth 60" plasmas, audio setups, and speakers to install in customers homes. I am the go-to guy in my family, in my office, and in my neighborhood when people have questions about the latest gear. Home theater technology is a passion of mine. Yet, I have an extremely basic and modest home theater.

My setup currently consists of a 46" Samsung 1080i LCD television that I purchased in 2007, and a PS3 for my Blu-Ray DVD player and media-streaming device. That's it. I'm not kidding.  I also use the PS3 for gaming and also have a Wii that the kids play games on a lot.

Currently, I do not have a receiver, as my living room needs some modification to allow for proper placement. I haven't yet had the time to make the modifications for the receiver and surround speakers. It will be a challenging project and will be tackled when I have the time to research and purchase the components, as well as make the needed changes. It will all happen, just not right now. I'll keep you posted.

When watching football and other sports, a great picture and sound do a great job of pulling you into the action. An effective large screen TV and surround sound setup is certainly the next best thing to being there. An added bonus is that the refreshments are cheaper at home and the bathroom line is certainly shorter.

People always ask me, "what size TV should I buy?" The answer to that is simple. As big as you can afford. Period. Has anyone ever sat at home and thought, "I should've bought a smaller TV?" No, not likely. Buy the biggest and best you can afford. The newer LED-lit LCD TV's offer a much richer picture and contrast level than the fluorescent-tube-lit LCD's like I have. It's painful to think about what I paid for my TV four years ago. I can get a much larger LED-lit TV for less than I paid for my current set.

I am often asked whether or not people should buy 3D-ready TV sets. My opinion is... Not really. There isn't a lot of content currently available that utilizes the technology, and since each viewer of 3D programming needs special expensive glasses, it isn't practical if you want to view content with Larger audiences.

In a couple of years, all available TV sets will have the 3D capability built-in, and that technology will no longer command a premium over sets that lack it. By this time, hopefully, there will be more 3D content available for home consumers a well.

Unless you are gung-ho on buying the latest and greatest, I'd recommend waiting it out. You can get a great non-3D set now, and maybe even add a great Blu-Ray DVD player for significantly less than the 3D sets cost. Add a good receiver and speaker setup, and everyone will be raving about how your place is the best spot to watch the next big game.

What kinds of equipment don you have in your home theater or family room? Are you planning to add or upgrade what you have? I love to hear from you, so please leave a comment below.

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iPad App Review: The Daily

Yesterday, February 2, 2011, News Corporation (parent company of Fox News and other media properties) released their "The Daily" application for the iPad. The app has been under development for some time, and a lot of resources have been dedicated to making it useful and successful.

Below, I will show you what the app looks like and describe some of its basic features.

Splash Page

The splash page you see when you open the app each time is pleasing to the eye, and features some subtle and effective animation and movement.

Main Page

The main page features a scrollable left-right movement between categories of stories. The section of focus spins to the front much like the cover-flow display seen in iTunes and many other media applications. It is an effective way to group categories of stories. You can also select some categories from the bottom of the screen. In the upper right hand corner, you will also see that it displays the current temperature at the location you have indicated in the general settings.

Pop-up Menu

Clicking the triangle icon on the bottom right portion of the main screen brings up the pop-up menu shown on the bottom of the picture above. The menu allows you to view video, listen to audio, see your saved stories, access your settings, and more.

Section Main Page

This is the main page of the Apps & Games section. It features a graphic that is related to the story, and the story tagline.

Story Page 1

The first page of the story features some more graphics, and you will see that the text is laid out in the fashion of a traditional news magazine.

Story Page 2 With Interaction

The second page of the story continues with the same formatting. In this particular story, there is some interactivity in the form of a poll on the right that you can interactive with and contribute your vote to.

General Settings

The settings are accessible from the main screen pop-up menu by choosing the icon that looks like a gear. The general settings, as shown above, allows you to toggle receiving pop-up notifications about breaking news, launch the daily anchor at startup, setup a horoscope, and set your location.

Account Information

The account settings page allows you to sign up for a free application account to personalize your settings, shows how long your subscription is valid for, allows you to manage your subscription, and also to reset your content settings.

Subscriptions

The subscription page (sub-area off off account settings) allows you to manage your subscription to daily issues of the application. As you can see, you can pay $0.99 / week or $39.99 / year.

Sharing

The sharing features the application (shown above) gives you the ability to share a news story via facebook, twitter, and email. It also allows you to save the story for later viewing from the saved stories section on the pop-up menu of the main application screen.

Conclusion

Out of the gate, The Daily is a nice looking app, functions well, and hasn't crashed on me yet. I think if the News Corp can keep up the solid content and make upgrades where needed, they will have a winner on its hands. I definitely recommend trying it out. The app is free to download, and there is a short trial that will let you try it out with new daily editions for more than a week before you need to fork over the cash for a subscription. 

iPad users can download the app HERE

I'd love to hear your comments and thoughts on the application in the comment section below.

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