I recently purchased an 6″ Amazon Kindle 2.   This is one of the most useful gadgets I have ever bought. It is like an iPd for books. I have read more books in the last 4 weeks than I have in the last 4 years combined.  It is so convenient to carry around.  I carry it in my briefcase most of the time.  It is about as just a bit over 1/3 of inch thick and lightweight at 10.2 ounces.

Some facts:

• Holds over 1500 books
• You can download a book from Amazon wherever there is 3G wireless service. You don’t have to purchase any wireless plan to use the wireless service. It is free with the Kindle.
• Amazon automatically backups all of your purchases and documents. If you ever run out of room on your Kindle, you can delete books, but it saves them at Amazon to re-download later.
• It supports Microsoft Word, PDF, HTML, TXT, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, PRC and MOBI files. So, you can upload personal documents to your Kindle.
• Built in dictionary. Don’t know what a word means. Highlight it and the Kindle with show you the definition.
• Syncs with your iPhone. You can read books from Amazon n your iPhone, by downloading an app.
• Audiobooks.
• the Kindle will read books for you, even if they are not an audiobook.
• Wireless access to Wikipedia.
• Subscribe to blogs, newpapers and magazines.
• MP3 player. Listen to music and read at the same time.
• Downloads books in under 60 seconds.

We don’t have any more bookshelf space in house, so the Kindle is a great space saver. Also, it is a great tree saver. Think about how many trees can be saved by buying all of your books electronically.

In conclusion, the Amazon Kindle is perfect for the techno, book loving, environmentalist.

The most recent theme contest I entered is “Shoot from the Hip”. I submitted a photo from a recent New Orleans trip. This photo was taken while walking through the French Quarter. The subject is a tap dancing street performer. Photo was adjusted using Lightroom 2. I developed it as black and white with a some vignetting to highlight the subject a little more.

Arizona Highways is having a photography contest for the first time since 1966. The deadline for entries is November 15, 2008. There are four categories in which to enter –Landscape, People/Culture, Wildlife and Macro/Close-Up. The grand prize is a trip on an Arizona Highways workshop.

Digital Photography Blogs has weekly photography contests with varying themes.

Digital Photography School has weekly assignments with different prizes each week.

Just launched this site yesterday for a client. The site was redesigned and a shopping cart was added. i used osCommerce for the shopping cart with a couple of contributions.

Cooner Wellness is local company that specializes in acupuncture. Specializing in acupuncture for infertility, he also treats pain, headaches, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, allergies, asthma, insomnia, stress, anxiety, depression, weight loss, PMS, infertility, acne, sinusitis, arthritis, irritable bowel and leaky gut syndrome, pre and post surgery preparation and recovery, and side effects of cancer treatments.

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One of Cadel’s problems was that his team Silence-Lotto was too weak to help defend the jersey. Cadel was isolated from his team on every important mountain stage. Team CSC was way too strong! CSC had at least 3-4 guys together on every mountain stage. This included Frank Schleck, who held the yellow jersey for a few stages before his team mate Carlos Sastre won it from him on L’Alpe-d’Huez. What can you say about Jens Voight? The guy is amazing. Jens sets a tempo up the mountain that blows the peloton to pieces, sacrificing himself for his team leader. Team CSC’s relentless attacks up the mountains was too much for Cadel. He couldn’t follow every attack those guys threw at him. His final time deficit going into the final time trail was too much to overcome. I am happy to see Carlos Sastre win the Tour. He has always been a top contender.

Overall, the race was very exciting all the way to the end. The 7 different yellow jersey holders almost breaks a record in one of the closest tours in history. Hopefully, the race is as exciting next year, but with Cadel Evans winning.

I’m going to watch anyways, because it is the Tour de France and for the first time there are 2 American teams - Team Columbia (formerly High Road) and Team Garmin/Chipotle (formerly Slipstream/Chipotle). Above photo by Graham Watson.

A list of other American teams in the Tour de France throughout history:

• 7-11 1986-1990
• Motorola 1991 - 1996
• U.S. Postal 1997-2004
• Discovery Channel 2005-2007

My prediction: Cadel Evans will win the yellow jersey. I hope he does, because I have a picture with him from when I met him at the Sea Otter Classic. Back then he was a World Champion mountain biker.