MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Wow, incredible stuff…

HAVE MERCY - Jesse and the Rippers tour shirt - $17.99

• 52 ideas that put you in the mood for Halloween!!!
• upgrade my photo equipment…Part 1
• flash games - pendulumeca & Grow Island
• Flash game of the week - Flow
• Good Links from the past 2 weeks

Well, it is not that weird actually. Most of you have a compact camera. You phone should have a camera. Your laptop have a camera. So no excuse to not participate in the Smashing Magazine - Smashing Texture Contest.

All you need to do is take a picture of interesting textures (more examples here)

…And then zip it with all the relevant information. Finally send it to sven@xxsmashingmagazinexx.com. Remember to remove the “xx” in the email before you send.

…And you can win a Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 Lens. The winner will be determined randomly.

The dateline is 21st May 2008.

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• upgrade my photo equipment…Part 1
• Upgrade my Photo Equipment…Part 2
• The Art of Photography

You place product listings in the eBay marketplace, buyers bid, you pay your eBay seller fees and what you have left is your profit margin.

There is, however, another way to build a business which still revolves around eBay but which doesn’t involve you selling a single thing in the eBay marketplace.

This “other way” opportunity is based on the eBay affiliate program and a great tool which makes entry into this opportunity not only possible but also super easy. This tool is called “Build A Niche Store” (BANS).

BANS if you don’t know – is an affiliate program which enables you as an individual internet entrepreneur to promote the products of a company in exchange for a commission on all sales that you refer.

You are basically operating as an internet middleman and connecting internet browsers to particular products and companies through you own network of websites and marketing methods.

If we return to the eBay affiliate program, eBay actually invites you to promote all of the product listings in the eBay marketplace and in exchange for your efforts will pay you up to 75% of the revenue they make from each sale you refer plus up to $35 for each new active eBay member you refer.

You can have a read about the eBay.com affiliate program here

What this means is that you can earn up to three quarters of eBay’s revenue simply for connecting people to the products listed in the eBay marketplace.

Not only do you get to partner with the best branded marketplace in the world, you also get access to and control over ALL of the products listed in this marketplace. The eBay product inventory becomes YOUR product inventory and yet you do NOT have to stock items, deal with customers, organize shipping or process refunds.

You are no longer limited to selling only those products which you can buy and sell for a profit margin. You can choose ANY niche market and promote those eBay products relevant to your chosen niche outside of the eBay marketplace, funnelling targeted traffic through to eBay and into your own affiliate commissions.

Golf clubs, sewing kits, laptops, dog collars, diamond rings, Florida real estate…

If you know eBay you know how BIG it is – there are NO limits.

At this point you might be thinking - well this sounds interesting but in reality is there any money in it? Well, here’s the shocker – eBay’s top affiliates make over 1 million dollars a month. That’s right – 8 figures a year without stocking, selling or shipping a single thing!

Now eBay does provide some basic free tools to help you succeed as an eBay affiliate and build an affiliate business BUT it has been the development of a tool outside of eBay that has really opened this up as a legitimate business opportunity.

The tool, as I mentioned earlier, is called “Build A Niche Store“ and what it enables you to do is build eBay affiliate websites targeted to any eBay niche you want. These act as the medium through which you funnel targeted visitors to eBay.

Here are a couple of examples, one targeting Color Books and the other Programming Books:

Color Books eBay Affiliate Website
Programming eBay Affiliate Website

As you can see, these are professional looking websites that contain all of those eBay products related to their target niche inside a searchable store format, each of which automatically contains your eBay affiliate id.

These stores then automatically update as new products are listed for sale and old listing expire from the eBay marketplace and the software has built in development features which enable you to create new store pages, add content to these pages, create content pages, modify your template etc etc.

Basically, in the space of about 10 minutes (once you are familiar with how the software works) you can create a fully functional eBay affiliate website targeted to the niche market of your choice.

Your store content is all search engine friendly which will provide the foundation for attracting targeted traffic from the search engines and you can then use the development features to attract more targeted visitors which will in turn mean more eBay affiliate commissions.

It really is a brilliant concept and I’ve been hearing great things about the guys behind the project and the member forum which you get lifetime access to when you purchase the product.

Build A Niche Store comes with a step by step user manual which will walk even the most technically inexperienced through setting up their eBay affiliate website, 9 professional template layouts which can be customized (from inside your admin panel) to match your target niche, lifetime member forum access, comprehensive product support and possibly most importantly – an UNLIMITED domain license which means you can build as many of these niche websites as you want for the small one time fee.

Think about how many niches eBay caters to!

How big could your eBay affiliate business be?!

This product gets my full recommendation – check it out today…

Click Here To Read More About Build A Niche Store

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• Do you hide your affiliated links?
• My way of searching typo domain names

Well, the last picture from my previous post is a bit misleading. Obviously it is a Sony DSLR. But from this DSLR body, there are 3 Sony models. Namely, the A200, A300 and the A350. The difference between them is the megapixels and Live View.

During the IT Show in March, I got very interested in the in the Sony A series. I got a feel of it and the shutter really click with me (pun intended).  I test out the Live view that is getting rave reviews on the web. It works great. It is almost like using a compact camera. For those who don’t know, it is quite difficult to get live view on DSLR because of the mirror. So Sony solved this by adding an additional sensor for the live view.

But since only the A350 and A200 is out then (I would really like the A300, best of both worlds), I decide to get the A200. First, I would like to train myself to use the view finder. Second, I don’t need the 14 MP on the A350. Lastly, with the extra money saved, I am able to buy the A200 with the 2 lens kit. The 18-70mm and 70-300mm.

As this is not a technical review, I will leave out all the other tech stuff for other professional reviewers. Just a few thoughts after using it for a couple of months.

As Sony have eaten up Minolta, now all Sony DSLR are compatible with all the previous Minolta lens. The BBB (buy, buy, buy) virus has infected me to buy a third lens. It’s the 50/1.7 prime lens.My favourite lens now. It’s a bit slow focusing and at wide angle, its soft, but at 2.8 above, I got great portraits of my kids.

The in-body image stabilization (Super Steady Shot) works so well that I never off it while shooting. It allows me to take sharp pictures at 1/30 shutter speed. Another feature that I use often especially during the middle of the day where shadows are cast is the D-Range Optimizer (DRO). It helps to open up the shadows while keeping the highlights. Just take note not to use it in high ISO range, the noise is really bad. Speaking of high ISO, I am able to get good pictures for printing at ISO1600. Below are 2 pictures I took while bringing my kids to the Zoo.

Overall, I am glad to upgrade to the A200. My F30 is not able to keep up with my kids and now the A200 can. But with them speeding up day by day, I am sure within the next 2 years, I will need to upgrade my equipment again.

See you then…

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• upgrade my photo equipment…Part 1
• Take a photograph and win a DSLR camera…
• Have you blog with Windows Live Writer?
• CashCrate - another method to earn money online
• Tinker here and there…and some RSS troubleshooting

I own the legendary Fuji Finepix F30 (look at some of the reviews and pics from dpreview if you  don’t believe me) before my current DSLR. Fuji abandoned the megapixels race to create this neat little camera which have excellent high ISO performance, normally only found in DSLRs.

Looking at my snaps, even the ISO 1600s is usable if you are only printing 4R photo. The noise control in the F30 is so  good that its ISO 400 looks like most ISO 100 pics for all camera at that time. Sadly, Fuji cannot withstand the the lure of the megapixels race and have since produce higher megapix camera (F50fd) that is not as good as the Legend.

So the next step up will be a DSLR. If you have read any information on choosing a DSLR, most would have recommend the big 2. Nikon and Canon. The reason is not mainly of fanaticism (though each group is quite protective to their brands), but of adaptability.

It is often said, when you buy a DSLR, you are actually buying into the family. All the different types of lens, flashes, remote control, teleconvertor, etc. Especially the lens. This is an area where the second hand market is very important. If you search carefully, you will be able to find mint lens floating around ebay less than half the price of the new ones. And they are extremely usable.

At the period which I decide to buy a DSLR, budget is important to me. So some of the models I look at is:

• Nikon D60
• Nikon D80
• Canon 450D (not out at that time)
• Pentax K200D
• Olympus E-510

It so happens that there is a IT Show in Singapore at that time, So I was able to hands on on each camera to have a feel. After dancing around the area, guess which DSLR I am holding now? Here’s a picture of it. More on it next time….

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• Take a photograph and win a DSLR camera…
• Upgrade my Photo Equipment…Part 2
• The Art of Photography
• Sending BlogMunch through the lolinator…waiting…
• Tinker here and there…and some RSS troubleshooting

Disable some of the plugins that I am not interested anymore, like Adsense-Deluxe+, Extended Live Archives and Gregarious.

Write out yesterday’s post and publish it.

Here’s the thing about changing to a new theme. There are snippets of code you need to remember to add in. Like FeedFlare code, Goggle Analytics code and Similar/Related Post php callup. Not only do you need to remember to put all these code back, also you have to remember where to put them. I wonder how some blogs can change theme every month or so.

Troubleshooting begins…

That’s when I went back to my Google reader to see if my new post came up so that I can check everything is working properly. Nope, no new post. I then subscribe to the blog original feed at http://blogmunch.com/feed to see if it work. No luck there too. So both the feedburner and blog feed doesn’t work.

Log into feedburner to check feed status. Apparently, I have an error within the feed.

Source: http://blogmunch.com/rss2

   1. 
   2. <br />
   3. <b>Warning</b>:  Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/blogmunc/public_html/wp-content/plugins/illacrimo/functions.php:24) in <b>/home/blogmunc/public_html/wp-includes/feed-rss2.php</b> on line <b>2</b><br />

There are three extra lines on the feed xml file. Send my feed through the Feed Validator and confirm this error.

The first thing I do is to delete the illacrimo theme that might be causing the error. No luck there.

Then I download all my WP files through ftp to find the feed file so that I can delete these three lines. Not right either.

Search about this error on Google. Someone reported that to solve this error, you need to delete all extraous spaces before <?php and after?>.All my php files seems fine.

The answer is actually staring in my face. If you read carefully, the problems lies in the plugin section. I only though illacrimo as a theme and didn’t know it adds some plugin too.

Well, after that it si quite simple. I delete everything about illacrimo in the plugin and all my feeds works fine now.

This teaches me not to overthink things sometimes. Keep.It.Simple.Stupid. KISS

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• blog migration series - Choosing Wordpress plugins
• Weekend WordPress Theme - Weird alternative
• weekends Wordpress Themes
• Weekend WordPress Theme - 7 great themes for your blogs
• blog migration series - cpanel orientation

For six months since I started blogging back in the days of Blogger, I have learnt a lot. Maybe too much.

I learn about blogging while reading Darren’s blog. (if you don’t know about Darren, you will soon know). Start a few blogs on Blogger. Tempered with all sorts of Blogger theme here and there. Found that Blogger is not enough for my OCD in customising. Learn about hosting my own blog. Recommended left and right about WordPress. BlogMunch is born.

Cramped myself with all sorts of knowledge on WordPress. Played with plugins and free themes. Add every ads I can think of top and bottom to the blog hoping to at least break even with the hosting charge. Entered contest at contestblogger. Never won. Dipped into social media websites like DIgg (dying), Facebook (have not check it for a long time), Stumbleupon (like the site discovery, not the social aspect), Twitter (see no point in it) and MySpace (ABSOLUTELY hate it!).

Oh dear, this sounded too much like a rant. Which I interpret as releasing of old baggage so that I can start anew. Want to know what jot me back to BlogMunch. Quote from one my comments:

Arbie | crn-web.com |

I do not feel obligated to blog at BlogMunch (and wont!)

Wow, that really bring me back here, writing…

Hi Arbie, Thank You…

Now that the “I’m Back” stuff is dealt with, now to tackle the “well, sort of” stuff.

Now that I am back, I am going to use BlogMunch as a personal blog. Or define as “I am going write anything I fancy, whenever I want (though frequently)” blog. This will go back to the basic definition of a blog where it will be a log of my internet presence.  There will not be any common theme like wordpress themes, making money online, breaking news (mostly old news by the time it reaches me) or internet marketing. Just plain old rambling, ranting and musing. (hmm, that reminds me I need to update my About page).

As you can see, I have switch to a new theme and will upload the logo I design (which I think is too non-simplistic) later. I might even design a new logo just to refresh my mind again.

I really thank those 30 odd RSS readers for their loyal support to the BlogMunch site during the time when I went MIA. Hope you will like my new direction and as always, stay tuned.

Thanks.

Bmunch

• Weekend Wordpress template links
• Shifting to Wordpress and paid-hosting
• Tip of the day…
• Blog migration series - choosing my Wordpress theme
• weekends Wordpress Themes

Recently, I have the opportunity to spend some money due to the last year end bonus and I bought myself some expensive stuff and the Westone UM1 True Fit Single Driver Earphones is one of them.

Actually, in the audiophiles (I am just a wannabe!) world, they are called In Ear Monitors.  Since the 1990s, Westone have been custom-making in ear monitors for musician to help them monitor what they are singing so that they self correct their singing.

I got my Westone UM1 from Stereo Electronics at Causeway Point. In Singapore. Stereo Electronics is one of very few shops in Singapore that allows you to test drive their earphones before you make the decision to buy.

The package is a very nice black translucent box that house the UM1 monitors, two sets of Comply tips (long and short) and a small carrier for your monitors. Oh yeah, there is also a short stick that I didn’t know what it is, until I read some reviews that it is a ear wax removal stick for your UM1 canal.

To tell the truth, the first time I see the UM1, my first impression is "What is this ugly piece of sh*t?" If you are coming from well designed Sony or Audio-Technica earphones, this might be your first impression too. The UM1 look like a smaller version of a hearing aid.

You have to get used to wearing the UM1 too. It is using the over the ear design and you have to hold it the right way to insert it properly. But one you insert it properly, WOW, they are the most comfortable earphones I have wore. The reasons could be the light weight of the monitors and the Comply tips.

And to properly enjoy your UM1, you need to wear or insert them properly. The first time I wear them, the angle of the monitors are wrong, and the sounds that came out was flat. Oh, a side note about the orientation of UM1. It does not comes with the normal L and R to denote Left and Right ear. The Blue dot is for the left ear and the Red dot is for the right ear. 

Once they are inserted properly, the sounds that came out of my 5G Ipod is different. The first thing you notice is the silence. Both external and internal silence. Most of the noise like people walking around are cut off and your music will seems louder because of that. That’s why it is advised in the manual (yes, I like reading the manual of electronics) to keep your volume low, so that you don’t hurt your ear. It really enhance your music experience.

I am not going into the bass definition, midrange accuracy or treble response and other technical stuff as I don’t pretend to know these stuff. The first song I listen to is my current favorite "God Knows" from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. For those who had heard the song, you will know there are a wonderful mess of electric guitar inside. With the original Ipod earphones, the sounds are kinda lump together, but with the UM1 the guitar sounds are well defined. it really gives me a WOW experience that I cannot forget. In Eason Chan’s "Shall we Talk", the background piano sounds stronger and there are also some sounds (like the triangle) that I didn’t hear before.

I am really impressed with the UM1 and I don’t think I can go back to the normal earphones anymore. Up is the way to go. If you think spending $100 for your $200+ Ipod is too much, don’t be. The experience is really great and I don’t regret it a bit.

• The benefits of keeping a "how to" folder
• Witness the Truth - A review of Bloggerunleashed.com
• Sleep - How much do you really need?
• Some fun stuff to give out…
• George Lucas remastered "Singin’ in the rain"

So how it works?

In a nutshell, it is an audio Adsense. Net Audio Ads will serve contextual audio ads based on the content you have on your blog. So if you write frequently about your local Taco Bell, then it might serve a relevant five second Taco Bell audio ad when your reader arrive at the post.

For every ad being played at your blog, you will get 25% of the ad revenue for 100% of your traffic. Your reader do not need to click on any banner or text link. Essentially, BAM, your page load; WHAM, five second audio ads; SLAM, 25% ad revenue. That’s all.

As I have said in the beginning, this type of ads might be more relevant to niche sites that are already playing music on their site, so if you have a music blog, by all means apply to Net Audio Ads.

• My Westone UM1
• Amazing Shadow Puppetry
• A chaotic series of youtube surfing to what I am watching on TV now…
• Ask a question to get an answer
• Flash game of the week - Mass Attack

As you all know, I have been using Meebo as my IM as installing MS Live Messenger on my desktop takes up quite a bit of RAM. Today I want to see how the other online messengers keep up with the leader of all Online Messenger, Meebo.

Meebo

First, lets see how have meebo improve since I last review it with "Online Instant Messenger - Meebo". The most important improvement is the addition of file transfer protocol. Previously, this is the only feature I missed when switching from MSN to an online messenger. With this improvement, Meebo, All The Way!!!

The other feature is the games and videos applications. A nice touch but don’t really trigger my interest. Maybe I can’t find friends to play games with on Meebo is one of the reasons.

MSN Web Messenger

Absolutely basic online messenger. Needs to use pop up window (add the Web Messenger url to your popup exception in FireFox). Opens a new tab every time you message a new friend. I won’t even recommend this if you hate all the other online messeager. Just go and install the desktop version.

eBuddy

The closest competitor to Meebo. Overall, other than meebo rooms, they both provide the same features. Instead of little windows, eBuddy uses the tab system to organize conversations with your friends. I personally prefer the little windows of meebo, as you can keep track of different conversations at the same time.

File transfer in eBuddy is called Swapper. And to play games, click on a football tab on the sidebar.

Its greatest advantage as a online messenger is its mobile version. It runs on mobile phones like IPhone, PDA, PSP and Nintendo DS.

Kool IM

This online messenger has a very similar interface as Meebo. When I first use it, It seems to me like a older version of Meebo. Kool IM also uses small embedded windows for conversations. The more I explore it, the more it handle like Meebo ver. 0.9. It does support more IM like Jabbar or xFire. So if you need to use these services, Kool IM is for you.

ILoveIM

The first thing that greet me after I log in is the bright, blinking advert. After that I am prepared to hate this online messenger. The ads assault continues on the main interface too. Looks like another Meebo clone. BUT there are two things I like about it. The first is the tab bar below. This can be useful if you have a lot of conversations going on and your windows are overlapping. Helps to find the right window immediately.

ILoveIM is also the first online messenger other than Meebo that shows the display photo form MSN correctly. That I am surprised. So if you have train your Ad blindness to a higher level to tolerate the ads, this could be a good basic online messenger to use.

I am sure I missed out on a couple more online messengers. But they can’t be too different from these above. If you are using a good alternative online messenger that I did not mention, feel free to send me a comment below.

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• Online Instant Messenger - Meebo
• meebo me with me
• Customizing is an addiction…
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