The Whole Ed Cata-Blog

I Love My Kindle!

2011-06-02T10:50:00.002-05:00

I finally broke down and got a Kindle -- Amazon.com's wireless electronic book reader. I'd been meaning to for some time, but the choices and prices were a bit daunting so it was easy to procrastinate.

I had been agonizing over the choice between the 9.7" Kindle DX display and the 6" display on the standard device. After poring over dozens of reviews (at least!) I realized that the smaller size was not only handier, but also considerably cheaper and had much longer battery life. (Of course, the DX may be upgraded soon, being one generation older than its smaller counterpart.)

Having settled on the standard Kindle, one issue remained: Wi-Fi or 3G? Wi-Fi is basically a marketing name for the IEEE 802.11 standard -- a short range radio frequency protocol similar to that used in cordless telephones. The Wi-Fi Kindles require you to be within range of a Wireless Access Point or "hot spot" to download new books. Books already stored on your Kindle (up to 3500) can be read anywhere, any time.

3G refers to third generation mobile telecommunications standards -- known as cell phone technology in the United States. Kindles equipped with this feature will automatically download fresh content such as magazine and newspaper subscriptions anywhere there is an adequate cell phone signal. Although the initial cost of the 3G Kindles is higher, there are no monthly fees. Amazon picks up the tab for the cellular communications, or embeds it it the price of the subscription, whichever way you want to look at it. If you are lost without your smart phone, this may be the right option for you.

I buy a fair number of books if they aren't available at the library, but I rarely feel the need to have them instantly, so I opted for the Wi-Fi Kindle. When Amazon sweetened the deal by taking $25 off the regular price for a model with a software patch that includes some inobtrusive ads, they had me. The Wi-Fi Kindle with Special Offers cost me just over $100. Not bad, considering that there are thousands of public domain books available for free -- so many you have force yourself to be selective!

There's just one "accessory" for the Kindle that you really ought to have: a wireless router. You can get one that will be adequate for downloading books for under $20, although it would probably be wise to spend a little more. I was able to borrow one from a friend who had recently upgraded his, so I was spared the necessity of choosing one right now. I'll be blogging about that selection very soon.

SuperSpeed USB3 500Gb External Drive - Reliable Network Attached Storage Cheap

2010-06-10T15:50:00.003-05:00

One reason (or excuse) for my failure to embrace digital photography, is that one never seems to have enough storage capacity for the myriad snapshots that one can accumulate when one doesn't have to buy film. Of course, you can always trot down to the local electronics store and buy an external harddrive, but these tend to be "black boxes" that are short on technical specifications and not particularly cheap.

Furthermore, people seem to have a lot of trouble with these. It's as if harddrive manufacturers stuff the drives that aren't selling into chintzy boxes and put them on the shelves as bait for the unwary. Either that, or people expect too much from these "portable" units. I decided to take another approach and scratch-build a half-terabyte of dependable network attached storage.

My first stop was Tom's Hardware Page. Always a source of reliable third-party reviews, its the starting point for a lot of my computer projects. I was immediately drawn to the Seagate Momentus XT Review. I should have actually read the article, because the drive in question received the rare Best of Tom's award for excellent performance because of it's "Adaptive Memory Technology," which moves frequently-accessed files to non-volatile RAM, increasing Windows boot speeds by 300% or more - not for the prowess of the drive's inherent geometry and mechanics. Seagate's choice of the 500 Gigabyte Momentus drive for the XT modification was instructive, but not conclusive.

Eventually, I found my way to Perfect Notebook Storage: Seven 2.5” 500 GB Drives, which was what I was looking for. It turns out that 500 Gb is the practical limit for current platter recording technologies and common form-factors, so it is a very reasonable size for an economical design. There are also a lot of tried and true 500Gb SATA drives, which Tom's concludes are nearly identical from a performance point of view. Any of these would be a good choice, depending on your specific requirements:

I've linked to the specific drives mentioned in the article cited, but there are other variations. For instance, Seagate drives with "G-Force" anti-shock technology have a "G" appended to their model designation. I settled on the Hitachi Travelstar, primarily because low power consumption and heat seemed far more important to me in this application than other factors, such as drive latency, for example. Your mileage may vary.

I began my search for a suitable enclosure by simply looking for the cheapest available - a box is a box, right? I soon discovered that the $6 plastic numbers were no bargain. In fact, if you're upgrading a laptop (possibly with a Momentus XT) and you just want to clone your operating system and data to a new haddrive, a USB-To-SATA cable might be a better choice. After rejecting the bargain basement cases, the the feature-creep went on and on. Better heat-transfer. Sturdier mounting of the USB-to-SATA electronics. Superior bus power characteristics. Finally, it became clear that the new USB 3.0 specification (SuperSpeed USB in marketing jargon) was what would be required.

Since SuperSpeed USB products only began to appear in Jan. 2010, there is still an early-adopter penalty to be paid with these devices. Although you may currently support only USB 2.0, the ten-fold increase in the data transfer rate of SuperSpeed USB 3.0 nicely matches SATA 2.0 throughput, and its backward compatibility makes it the natural choice for this application.

Returning to Tom's, I found that four USB 3.0 drive enclosures featured in Portable Performance: Four USB 3.0 Enclosures For Your 2.5” Drive were essentially equal, but I opted for the ruggedized Acomdata Samurai, which was not included.

Once you've selected your components, assembly of the unit is easy, even for the severely tech-challenged. (For the truly hopeless, there is the Iomega eGo.) Simply install the drive following the instructions supplied with the enclosure. If you don't have a USB 3.0 connector on your system / network you can add a SuperSpeed USB card to an available PCI express slot for maximum performance. As with the enclosures, the limited number of supporting chipsets for this technology currently make these cards essentially identical. I went with the MSI card.

Acomdata SDEXXXU3E Samurai Data Sheet
Travelstar 5K500.B Data Sheet
MSI Star-USB3 Data

Halloween : Costumes, Candy , Party Supplies and More

2009-10-02T08:54:00.004-05:00

Amazon.com > Clothing > Specialty Apparel > Costumes and Accessories

It's Halloween! Time to haul out the yard displays, crank up the Nox Arcana, don your scariest mask, put the cobwebs and spiders around the door, and prepare to give the costumed children in the neighborhood a little show with their buckets of candy, and their safety glowsticks! HA ha ha aha!

Seriously, Amazon has everything you'd want for Halloween from mild to wild. Fog machines, zombies, sound effects, vampire gear -- you name it, Amazon probably has it. It's time to find all those Elvira DVDs you need. There's so much, in fact I'm planning another Halloween post soon.

Halloween Books You can find books on just about any subject, which makes them a wonderful tie-in for a mixed department page like this one. While there used to be a specific "Nonfiction Halloween" category, I see than Amazon has just one Holiday Nonfiction category, apparently allowing seasonal sales to bring the appropriate books to the top. It might work.

The Whole Ed MySpace Blog

2009-09-28T12:51:00.003-05:00

Following on my Social Media Bible post, I started my own MySpace Page, where I immediately got hooked on a MMPORG called Vampires. If you have 22 or 23 hours a day when you're not doing anything, I highly recommend it.

I started to write this little HTML introduction for that blog largely to explore the ins and outs of their online HTML editor. Eventually I gave up and decided to publish it here:

Before I go on to the substance of what I've learned about the Vampires app so far, I want to digress into just a little bit of HTML. The good stuff will be coming in another post, probably tomorrow. Then you'll see why I'm doing this. If HTML editors like the "compose mode" of this blog are any indication, a lot of people are afraid of HTML. They probably feel that they are applications users, not programmers, and that learning HTML would be a big leap.

Relax! First, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) isn't even a "real" language -- it's a "markup language." Think of it as a form of punctuation. Second, you don't have to learn the whole language to do useful things with it. Probably 90% or so of what I use it for is covered right here.

First, HTML files are ordinary text files that contain certain elements in a certain way. You can create them with any editor that produces plain unadorned ASCII text. Notepad is perfect for Windows users. Second, you need to tell your operating system that the file should be treated as HTML -- i.e. that it should be opened using a web browser. You do this by giving the file the extension ".html" when you save it -- or ".htm" if you're actually using Windows Millennium or earlier.

Since a big part of what people use computers for these days is Internet access, being able to open files in the web browser and then have them do something is very useful. What I'm going to show you here is how to create a list of links. Instead of adding everything to your favorites, and dealing with all that you just make a list and click on the link you want. That may sound like a lot of trouble to go to, but believe me it's a real time-saver.

The first thing you'll notice about HTML files is that they're full of "tags". Browsers interpret the "less than" sign (<) and the "greater than" sign (>) as angle brackets, enclosing an HTML element, or "tag". These tags come in pairs -- an opening tag consisting of an HTML keyword enclosed in angle brackets, and a closing tag consisting of the slash character (/) followed by the HTML keyword enclosed in angle brackets.

This will become clearer by looking at this pair of tags: <HTML>...</HTML> The dots indicate something was left out that would go there -- in this case your page, because every HTML page begins and ends with this pair. Within every HTML file there are two more pairs, the <HEAD>...</HEAD> section which contains information which is not displayed, and the <BODY>...</BODY> section which is what shows up in th browser window.

We're now ready to create a list of links. We'll make it an ordered list (OL) because it might be useful to have the list items numbered. If you prefer bullet points, that would be an unordered list (UL). Each new item is a list element (LI) and since it is a link it uses the anchor (A) element. The anchor element is somewhat oddly named, until you realize that it is just a hook where you can hang things. The things you hang there are called attributes.

We're only going to cover one attribute -- the Hypertext Reference attribute (href). Hypertext is a quaint old term for text with links in it, and links are the bulk of what makes the Internet so useful. Attributes take arguments -- in the case of the href attribute, the argument is a URL (also known as a webpage address, although that isn't the "real" name.) Most browsers aren't too picky about puctuation, but the "correct" form is:
<A href="(protocol)://some.url.here">Text you want to click on</A>

Putting this all together gives us something like what follows. Highlight everything from <HTML> through </HTML> - paste that into your editor and save it as template.txt or whatever you like. Tomorrow I'll show you something really interesting you can do with this.

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Titles Are Cool</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<OL>
<LI><A href="some.url.here">First List Item</A></LI>
.
.
.
<LI><A href="some.url.here">Last List Item</A></LI>
</OL>
</BODY>
</HTML>

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark

2009-09-20T13:47:00.002-05:00

Cassandra Peterson is better known as her alter ego "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark," The hostess of KHJ-TVs Movie Macabre in the 1980s, which became the first nationally syndicated horror host show. The Queen of Halloween has been a pop culture icon ever since, branching out into feature films, calendars, books, music, and, of course, tassel dancing. (If you haven't seen Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, you really do need to get out more!) Her sarcastic wit and double-entendré humor are two more things that make it a comedy classic in it's own right.

For some reason, I haven't entirely given up on Squidoo. Stubborn I guess. When I was putting together a "quick" Elvira Page there, I knew it just had to feature the famous tassel dance from her first feature movie, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. The whole movie is rated PG-13, so this isn't "explicit," but the self-appointed Squidoo censors make their own secret rules. Well, their loss is your gain. The famous Tassel Dance:

Watch for my upcoming Halloween Spook-tacular, coming soon! Unpleasant dreams.

The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success

2009-09-18T10:51:00.000-05:00

"Different isn't always better, but better is always different."

I'm not one to seek validation in the approval of others, so I've been slow to grasp the significance of "social networking" sites. The fact is, you could ignore them at one time, but the ever-changing secret machinations of the major search engines more or less compel you to get involved in them now. That is if you want anybody to see what you publish online.

I'm not going to go into great detail about social networking here. This isn't that sort of site. My focus is to highlight products that are useful and hopefully sell a few. I'm just scratching the surface of The Social Media Bible, but I can already see that it's going to be worth many times the twenty bucks I spent on it. According to the authors, this book will help you:

Increase your company and brand value by engaging people in new forms of communication, collaboration, education, and entertainment
Determine which social media tactics you should be using with your customers and employees
Evaluate and categorize the tools and applications that constitute the rapidly evolving social media ecosystem
Make social media tools like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, blogging, podcasting, and hundreds of others a part of your business strategy
Do a social media analysis inside your company to improve internal operations and outside your company to create and monetize relationships with customers and prospects
Implement social media micro- and macrostrategies to give your business the competitive edge it needs to survive and thrive

I've already learned that it's more important to post to a blog frequently than to necessarily have a lot to say -- at least from a site traffic point of view. So that's it! Watch for my upcoming Halloween feature.

Heuristic Search Algorithms : StumbleUpon.com

2009-09-14T17:06:00.006-05:00

Amazon.com > Books > Computers & Internet > Computer Science > Artificial Intelligence > Heuristic & Constrained Search >

"Good decisions are born of experience. Experience is born of bad decisions."-- Unknown

Don't let the techie title throw you -- heuristic is just a ten-dollar word for learning, and algorithms are just collections of computer commands that accomplish a certain task, much like a recipe. In fact, computer algorithm books are often called cookbooks. So what we're talking about here are computer searches that improve as you use them.

As an example, take Amazon.com's recommendation feature. (If you've read this blog before, you probably saw that coming!) Amazon tracks your browsing behavior on their site using magic browser cookies, and based on the information they collect, guesses what other pages might interest you. BTW, the recommendations I get aren't particularly focussed, since I crawl all over Amazon looking for niche market products. The heuristic algorithm therefore assumes that I'm interested in just about anything. Come to think of it, that's exactly what its supposed to do.

Another familiar example is the Yahoo! Search suggestions feature. If, for example, you enter the search term "router," a box of suggestions will appear after a brief delay. These might include "woodworking routers" or "ethernet routers" or "Netgear routers". I'm not using actual examples from Yahoo! since those are subject to change, but these examples should be sufficient to illustrate the point. I like the fact that Yahoo! merely suggests possible refinements -- Microsoft has an irritating tendency to assume that they know what you want better than you do.

StumbleUpon.com is a social-networking site and search engine that allows you to select up to 127 interests that will be used to customize your search results. As you use the service, you can click on one of two buttons (Thumbs Up) I like this or (Thumbs Down). Simple. If you're ambivalent, you don't have to rate a page. I've seen a lot of rating systems, but this is probably my favorite because you're not ruining somebody's day by giving them the thumbs down -- and they can't ruin yours. All you are doing is demoting the page and others like it in your own search results. People who think Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld are great American patriots are unaffected.

I looked at this service a couple of years ago and wasn't very impressed, but I don't recall the search feature being present then. I may have overlooked it, but I think you just had to "stumble" from page to page. That might be alright for casual surfing, but it's not very focussed. The database is now a lot bigger too. To try Stumbling, go to the Getting Started page, where you will learn all you need to know. If you have trouble adding pages with the toolbar because of your firewall settings, old or weird browser, or whatever, you can use the form below:

Submit Page to StumbleUpon.com

Last, but certainly not least, your StumbleUpon history generates your own personal StumbleUpon blog, which is visible to the major search engines if you're just looking for backlinks, and to other stumblers, of course, if you are more interested in the social networking aspects of the site. You are cordially invited to subscribe to my StumbleUpon blog at any time.

Cage Heel Pumps - Sophisticated and Comfortable

2009-09-12T16:30:00.002-05:00

Amazon.com > Shoes > Women's > Pumps > "Cage Heels"

I wish I had caught on to the gladiator sandal trend sooner, because it eventually led me to these great cage heel designs. Most styles come well above the ankle like the ever-popular bootie, but they are open and flexible which makes them very comfortable too. The styles featured here are available in virtually any color or size either from Amazon.com, or their new Endless.com subsidiary, which offers better service, including free return shipping at slightly higher prices.

Pour La Victoire Bethanie 1 Sandal @ Amazon	Michael Antonio Slater Sandal @ Amazon	Chinese Laundry Catch Me Sandal @ Amazon
Sam Edelman Saville Braided Leather Sandal @ Amazon	Miss Sixty Tracy Strappy Sandal @ Amazon	Zodiac Zema Platform Sandal @ Amazon
Charles David Addison Sandal @ Amazon	Michael Antonio Niron Gladiator Sandal @ Amazon	Unlisted Mind Spender Platform Sandal @ Amazon
Sizzle By Coloriffics Montreal Platform Sandal @ Amazon	Bronx Fancy Platform Sandal @ Amazon	Pour La Victoire Pascale Plaftorm Sandal @ Amazon
Michael Antonio Selma Sandal @ Amazon	Madden Girl Sacredd Strappy Platform Slingback @ Amazon	Luichiny Star Bound Sandal @ Amazon
Nine West Bolero Platform Sandal @ Amazon	MIA Davis T-Strap @ Amazon	Nine West Jewellite Sandal @ Amazon
BCBGirls Single2 Strappy Sandal @ Amazon	BCBGMAXAZRIA Gilly Sandal @ Amazon	Michael Antonio Solana Platform Sandal @ Amazon

O'Reilly Media Computer Books

2009-09-10T12:55:00.001-05:00

Amazon.com >Books >Publisher >O'Reilly >

O'Reilly & Associates began publishing computer-related books in 1978 (before the PC revolution) with a small series of highly regarded UNIX® manuals.

Their books were frequently better than the "official" documentation, if any such documentation existed at all, and several of their animal cover books like The Camel Book and The Rhino Book became classics.

The Hacks Series is a fairly new addition to the O'Reilly family. Each book in the series highlights about 100 simple, elegant hacks for the featured technology in simple, straightforward cookbook form. There are too many volumes in this growing series to feature them all here, but here are a few representative titles:

There are times when a hard copy book is more convenient than reading online, but computer books are often used for reference, and a searchable CD version can actually be preferable -- and CHEAP!! O'Reilly's CD Bookshelf Series is an under-appreciated programmmer's goldmine. And since you don't always need the latest bleeding edge technology, older editions can be an absolute steal. Here are some favorites:

Lest you get the impression that O'Reilly caters exclusively to the terminally geeky, they also publish beginner's books including their excellent Head First Series, which assumes no prior knowledge and generally figures prominently in O'Reilly Bestsellers. Here are some samples:

Contractor's Supplies - Tools, Hardware, Materials

2009-09-05T15:22:00.002-05:00

Amazon.com > Tools & Home Improvement > Specialty Stores > Contractors Supply >

Buying cheap tools is "penny wise and pound foolish." If you'd rather invest in quality tools, you want to start at Amazon's Contractor Supply Page. One of the first things you'll notice is that it says (Beta), meaning the page is still being tested. Occasionally some search results may be a little odd, but the page is fully functional otherwise.


Browse Departments
Search
Search

Brand Stores

There are quite a few brands represented at Amazon's Contractor Supply by Brand page, so I've tried to break them into meaningful groups. Of course that is easier said than done. Some companies make a broad range of products that would fit in a number of categories. Others beg to be in a "miscellaneous" category, but they can't all go there -- so don't take these groups too seriously. They're just an attempt to make things a little easier to find.

Site Clearing / Landscaping


Site Power

Power Tools



Plumbing

Hand Tools

Lighting / Electrical

In Memorium Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy

2009-08-26T13:35:00.006-05:00

Condolences are streaming in from leaders around the world at the news that Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy has died. He expired late Tuesday night after a long bout with glioblastoma, a terminal form of brain cancer. Although the senator's passing was not unexpected, there is a deep sense of loss in the world today as we remember the ways in which, directly or indirectly, he touched so many lives.

There will be no shortage of testimonials in the coming days and weeks, but I think none will be any more heartfelt than these remarks by Vice President Joe Biden, a long-time colleague and friend of the late senator. Born to a wealthy family, Kennedy could have sided with privilege and special interests, but chose instead to fight for the common man, a champion not only of the Democratic Party, but of the principles of democracy.

During his 47-year career in the United States Senate, Kennedy authored over 2500 bills, and ironically was working on an overhaul of the 1971 National Cancer Act when his condition was diagnosed. There is no question that health-care reform was among his top priorities, not only in the current congress, but over the past 40 years. You can review his record at his official U.S. Senate site, or share your condolences at TedKennedy.org. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, mourners consider a contribution for educational programming to The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.

Kennedy will be sorely missed as a statesman who promoted true bipartisanship, unlike the Republican concept, which is to do as they say or listen to them whine. De Facto Republican point-man Rush Limbaugh even went so far as to declare that any bill coming out of the congress should be called the "Ted Kennedy Memorial Health Care Bill.".

Make no mistake: the Republican plan is to derail health-care reform at any cost, and to maintain a dysfunctional status quo that favors their fat cat insurance contributors. Tastelessness and rabble-rousing aside, their talking points make no sense: Obama is a Nazi and simultaneously a Socialist. A public insurance option would be grossly mismanaged, and simultaneously drive all private insurers out of business. A deficit-neutral health care package would ruin the economy (this from the party that drove the economy into the ditch with two completely unfunded wars and a big-pharma boondoggle prescription drug benefit.)

Economists agree that the tax cuts Republicans insisted upon as a condition for passing the desperately needed economic stimulus package have gone straight into savings, benefitting only the banking industry, and that the package was too small. The Republicans have taken your job. Do you now want to trust them with your life? If, like so many, you can't afford a cash contribution, I suggest that a fitting memorial would be to take up the torch and finish the work Kennedy started. Learn the facts about health care reform. Pick up the phone, knock on some doors, write your congressman. "Yes, we can!"

Lijit Search

2009-08-24T09:29:00.003-05:00

I've added a new Lijit Search form to this blog which I hope will make it easier to find content from a variety of places where I publish. I've been struggling to be found by the well-known search engines for some time now, but this service is a new one to me. Apparently it allows you to build a custom search engine using your social bookmarks.

It's a very different kind of crawler, and I'm still trying to sort out exactly how it works. It seems to rely primarily on RSS data, another technology I need to learn more about. I did an initial set-up about a week ago, and it's probably too soon to expect much from the search results, but it is possible to get search hits for specific keywords known to be near the top of the queue -- such as "vaporizer", for example. So I know it's working, I'm just not sure how well.

Additionally, I set up the embedded search results feature today, which requires a bit of JavaScript running on an assigned landing page. If you're reading this from a feed, that should explain the previous cryptic post. You have to be at the actual Whole Ed Cata-Blog site and enter a search term into the Lijit Search form in the blog template for results to be displayed.

I don't care much for blogs about nothing ("I'm sitting at my computer now, writing a post about the post I'm writing for my blog...") Therefore, I'll cut this short. I really just wanted to explain that last post to subscribers, and explain why the Lijit search results are as bad as they are right now. It just takes some time for me to figure out how to set it up efficiently, and to crawl the network.

Lijit Search Results

2009-08-24T06:59:00.004-05:00

Please wait, it takes a while for the JavaScript on this page to load the Lijit Search data ...

Disposable Diapers All Brands and Sizes

2009-08-09T20:18:00.002-05:00

Amazon.com > Grocery > Health & Family > Baby & Child Care > Diaper Care > Diapers >

Subscribe and save on a standing order for disposable diapers or any Amazon.com non-perishable grocery items.


	Search

Disposable diapers are a hassle! Sure they're a lot more convenient than cloth diapers, but you still have to lug bulky packages back from the store, if you can find the right brand and size at a reasonable price. Amazon.com can help with their unique subscribe and save grocery service. To sign up, simply use the subscribe and save box on the amazon page for eligible items to place a standing order for the non-perishable grocery items you use most to be delivered every 1,2,3, or 6 months. All subscribe and save orders include free shipping and a sizable discount, currently 15%. You may still have to go to the store for perishable items, but you'll appreciate the variety, service, and convenience of Amazon's subscribe and save! For details, see the Subscribe & Save FAQ. You can even order some non-grocery items at the new Subscribe & Save Store.

Storz & Bickel Volcano Herbal Vaporizer

2009-08-05T10:27:00.002-05:00

The Storz & Bickel "Volcano" Vaporizer is probably the best on the market as this review and others indicate. It was used in the Pyrolytic Compounds Study in the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics, as well as other studies.

Its purpose is to release therapeutically active compounds as a vapor by gently heating plant materials without producing the dangerous pyrolytic by-products associated with cumbustion. This method is not only more efficient, but less likely to cause harmful side-effects.

I've been doing a lot of my blogging on another platform lately -- one that is about two parts social networking site and one part "free" blogspace. I originally published this information there.

The Volcano Vaporizer page I wrote, received a grand total of six page hits before some member decided that it deserved the lowest possible "1-star" rating, which has the effect of reducing its visibility and consequently its sales potential. That's pretty odd since this "free" site takes 50% off the top of your Amazon sale commissions -- about $18.50 on a $530 vaporizer.

I'm going to resist the temptation to elaborate on what's wrong with their business model -- they'd probably construe that as a violation of their terms of service anyway, but I'll be republishing a lot of that content here soon.

Volcano
Vaporizer

More
Herbal
Vaporizers

The Volcano Vaporizer is a state-of-the-art electric vaporization system that releases flavoring and active ingredients from herbs through hot air vaporization. The Volcano gently heats material to the point of vaporization but without combustion, yielding clean vapor without the tar and other toxins found in smoke.

Built to perform for years out of high quality materials, the Volcano Vaporizer has received US Patent # 6513524, as well as German Patent # 1980376 and European Patent # 0933093. Precision air temperature control and reliability previously unreachable in competing products have given the Volcano a reputation among experts as the most technologically advanced professional vaporizer available.

Designed and manufactured by Storz & Bickel of Germany, the Volcano Vaporizer has received the prestigious Dr.-Rudolf-Eberle-Prize for outstanding technical innovation. The Volcano combines simplicity of use, a high degree of safety and particularly good efficiency. The Volcano Vaporizer can be used as an herbal vaporizer as a safer alternative to smoking. And with 3 to 4 times greater delivery of active ingredients when compared with smoking, an investment in the Volcano pays for itself in the shortest possible time

Cannabis (dà má) has been used in Chinese Traditional Medicine for at least 1000 years, so the idea of medical marijuana isn't just some hippie's pipe dream. Nonetheless, the Reefer Madness crowd has been mounting an anti-scientific campaign do demonize weed ever since the 1972 Shafer Commission Report. Hence, we feel compelled to include the following disclaimer:

While some states have all but decriminalized marijuana and/or have medical exemptions, there is still a federal prohibition and some states still have strong paraphernalia laws on the books. We don't sell these items for illegal purposes. In fact we don't sell them at all. We get a commission from Amazon.com for helping you find what you are looking for. Please check your local statutes regarding these "tobacco novelties."

Gladiator Sandals - The Hot New Look for Summer

2009-07-25T06:56:00.005-05:00

Amazon.com > Shoes > Women's > Sandals > "Gladiator"

I wish that I had recognized the popularity of gladiator sandals sooner, because even though I haven't featured them until now, they are truly among the hottest new looks of the season. They are available in a wide variety of styles from bold ankle cuff designs to strappy slides. You can find them in flats, wedges, or heels in virtually any color or material. The styles featured here are available either from Amazon.com, or their new Endless.com subsidiary, which offers better service, including free return shipping at slightly higher prices.

Steve Madden Broose Gladiator Sandal @ Amazon	Not Rated Sambo Sandal @ Amazon	Rampage Flirtini Gladiator Sandal @ Amazon
Madden Girl Sicilly Gladiator Sandal @ Amazon	Palladium Key Largo Sandal @ Amazon	Miss Me Kiki-1 Gladiator Sandal @ Amazon
Nine West Balboa Gladiator Sandal @ Amazon	Steve Madden Maddiee Gladiator Sandal @ Amazon	Dolce Vita Daisy-11 Sandal @ Amazon
Steve Madden Croww Sandal @ Amazon	MIA Rome Sandal @ Amazon	Ralph Lauren Leslie Gladiator Sandal @ Amazon
Fergie Sylvia Gladiator Sandal @ Amazon	Michael Antonio Silverton Gladiator Sandal @ Amazon	Skechers Poetic Sole Wedge Gladiator @ Amazon
Carlos Santana Gilead Gladiator @ Amazon	Steve Madden Sanfrann Slingback Sandal @ Amazon	Nine West Sorcerer Gladiator Sandal @ Amazon
Bandolino Deba Thong @ Amazon	Enzo Angiolini Nilla Sandal @ Amazon	Sam Edelman Ginnie Ankle Cuff Sandal @ Amazon
Steve Madden Warrier T-Strap Sandal @ Amazon	ECCO Groove Gladiator Sandal @ Amazon	Nine West Ruffian Gladiator Sandal @ Amazon

Auto Parts @ Amazon.com

2009-07-06T00:47:00.002-05:00

Amazon.com Widgets

As with other items available online, you will find that no one source has the best prices on all auto parts. Since most of Amazon.com's auto parts are supplied by a variety of third-party vendors, you will find an especially wide range of prices here.

I wish I could say otherwise, but after working with the "Part-Finder" to the left, I found it pretty obvious that auto parts are not Amazon's main stock in trade. Nonetheless, you'll want to check Amazon for your automotive needs, and I'm going to do what I can to make that process easier.

First, although it is by no means obvious, there is a Parts-Finder Site Map which lists all the different makes for which parts are available. Although you may find only a few parts, such as spark plugs for some makes, this page does indicate the breadth of parts available.

Like all part-finder applications, Amazon's is only as good as the information in its database (which comes from various suppliers). While a part may actually be available, the part finder will not find it unless the vendor has listed your specific vehicle in their data. The best approach is often to search the "all of automotive" category for a specific part number which you have determined to be the correct one.

For example, Ford lists a "dual function reservoir" on several vehicles with dual gas tanks for a couple of years around 1989. I don't even remember the correct designation for my 1989 F-150, but the "base part number" is 9B263. Ford includes extraneous characters in their part naming scheme to make one part seem like many distinct parts. As of this posting, when searching for 9B263, two parts are displayed: F1UZ-9B263-B and F1TZ-9B263-B. They are the same part. Not similar, or compatible or work alike -- the same. There is no guarantee that the number on the part you recieve will even match the part you ordered, except for the base part number. Sweet!

Drilling down to 1989 Ford F-150 Fuel System Ford, is totally useless because the Amazon database doesn't "know" that the part fits.

Another example from the same project is the 1989 F-150 fuel filter for this truck. Besides listing a bunch of parts that are completely unrelated, the part finder doesn't realize that you can upgrade the recommended filter to a 1991 Crown Victoria filter, even though the old six-banger is listed under "see all vehicles this product fits." BTW, I can't recommend Fram. They used to be a very reputable brand, and although I haven't personally had any problems with their products, there have been far too many complaints lately to be ignored.

Textbooks for Back-to-School

2009-07-03T07:35:00.002-05:00


Search

I was recently asked to write a page on textbooks, and although it may seem to be a little early to be thinking about back-to-school, given the lead time required for search engines to find and index pages it is if anything a little late -- at least from my point of view.

I suppose this is as good a time as any to mention to all my friends, fans, and family who actually go out of their way to purchase Amazon.com items through my links, that "all links are created equal." Amazon used to pay a premium to associates for items purchased directly from a product link, but that has been discontinued. Now any time you visit Amazon.com by clicking on one of my links, a "cookie" is set containing the appropriate Amazon Associate I.D. and any purchases made during the next 24 hours are credited to me, as long as the cookie is not reset by clicking on someone else's link.

The reason I mention that at this time is that Amazon has some more advanced seach functions for specific textbooks on their texbook homepage. It is often important to get the exact textbook assigned including the correct edition, since minor variations will cause a problem if for instance "pages 90 - 135" are assigned.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that textbooks are a very specialized market. In the "publish or perish" world of academia, many professors will be teaching from their own books, which are sometimes very low-volume items. While Amazon.com is usually an extremely economical source for books in particular, there are cases where the local campus bookstore will save you a few dollars, particularly if you are looking for used textbooks. If finances are an issue (and they usually are) you should check all available sources before making your purchase.

If you are selling a used textbook, you will often be able to get more by selling it through Amazon, although the process is more like selling an item on eBay than simply taking a book to the campus bookstore and taking whatever they are currently paying for that title.

The Martha Stewart Collection

2009-05-30T10:23:00.002-05:00

If you like the Martha Stewart Collection, you may have been disappointed when it became a Macy's exclusive. I know I was, since the line was a very popular with my Amazon customers. Well, now in a separate deal, Macy's has contracted with Amazon to handle their online sales.

If you are new to Amazon, you will find that these "third party" sales are essentially the same as direct Amazon sales. The main difference you will notice is that the Amazon search function may include extraneous items, and it may be harder to browse through categories to see what is available.

Of course Amazon still carries Martha Stewart Books, and even has a Martha Stewart Bibliography page, in addition to the popular Martha Stewart Magazines and Martha Stewart DVDs. What has changed is that the Martha Stewart Collection products have moved into the Macy's Store, which makes them harder to search for. Furthermore, it is virtually impossible to find the Martha Stewart Bed & Bath Sale Items, the Martha Stewart Dining & Entertaining Sale Items, or the Martha Stewart Kitchen Sale Items without considerable drilling down. This is also true for the Martha Stewart Clearance Items.

The Links below are a site map for Macy's Martha Stewart pages, which require considerable drilling down to reach (except from here!) If you like Macy's but don't have a store near you, you might want to subscribe to this blog, since I am planning similar articles for other popular Macy's departments and brands.

Gifts

For the Home

Dining & Entertaining

Kitchen

Decorative Accents

Bed & Bath

Rugs

Clearance

Amazon Kindle : The Perfect Graduation Gift?

2009-05-20T07:28:00.003-05:00

Amazon.com's proprietary Kindle Wireless Reading Device is one of the best kept secrets in electronics. In contrast with Apple's iPhone media blitz, Amazon generates sales that often outpace their Kindle production capacity with little more than their own web-based promotion. While the First-Generation Kindle is now fairly well-known, the same cannot be said for the updated Kindle 2, or the upcoming Kindle DX, currently available for delivery this summer.

Kindle readers include a subscription to Amazon's Whispernet 3G Wireless service, subject to certain limitations. Although the terms of the contract could be clearer, it seems that normal web browsing is permitted. The service explicitly includes free downloads of first chapter previews, and discounted electronic "kindle" versions of 275,000+ books to date. Amazon is currently negotiating with several major textbook publishers, which potentially will dramatically increase the value of the Kindle to collegians.

Amazon acquired Mobipocket in April 2005, so Windows users can download the free Mobipocket Creator 4.2 Home Edition software, allowing them to convert a wide variety of files into the kindle-supported .PRC format. Understandably, Amazon doesn't aggressively publicize the fact that thousands of public-domain titles are freely available in this form from Amazon, Mobipocket, Project Gutenberg, and others.

For Apple enthusiasts, there is a Kindle App for iPhone and iTouch, although these devices obviously suffer from their small screen size. You will find useful information on Amazon's "Shopping the Kindle Store on Amazon.com" page, but it would be well worth the nominal fee to download The Kindle 2 Cookbook: How To Do Everything the Manual Doesn't Tell You

Popular Women's Shoes @ Amazon.com

2009-04-23T22:59:00.002-05:00

Amazon.com recently rearranged their Women's Shoe Department, no doubt as part of the launch of their endless shoes and handbags subsidiary. This had the unfortunate side-effect of invalidating all the links in my Shoe Mania aStore. Paradoxically, my shoe sales soared. Apparently the programming that Google uses to determine the "significance" of the pages they index prefers a bunch of blank navigation pages over pages that actually link to products.

I'll resist the urge to wander off into a discussion of search engines and search engine marketing, except to make the point that using a vendor's own on-site search is frequently more productive than relying on one of the major search engines to find the products you want. To that end, I've cobbled together a couple of remote search boxes that will help you find what you're looking for on either the Amazon or Endless sites. They seem to work now, but because they rely on the vendor's software, they could break down in the future. Please feel free to leave feedback using the comments link at the end of this article.

Here are some popular shoes sold here in the past ten days. Clicking on the name of the shoe will take you to a perfectly functional Shoe Mania page with limited navigation. Clicking on the picture will take you to endless.com, and hovering your mouse over the "@ Amazon" link will bring up a pop-up with additional information, or clicking on it will take you directly to the appropriate Amazon page.

Anne Klein New York Women's Amannda Slide @ Amazon	Anne Klein New York Women's Tabatha Platform Sandal @ Amazon	Annie Women's Amber Sandal @ Amazon
Annie Maka Dress Sandal @ Amazon	Boutique 9 Joleen Sandal @ Amazon	California Magdesians Women's August Pump @ Amazon
Circa Joan & David Women's Presley Pump @ Amazon	Kathryn Kerrigan Sabrina Slingback @ Amazon	Lifestride Women's Mariah Slingback @ Amazon
Oh! Shoes Women's Reflex Pump @ Amazon	Penny Loves Kenny Women's Attar Sandal @ Amazon	Penny Loves Kenny Women's Attar Sandal @ Amazon
oh DEER! Women's Waldorf Pump @ Amazon	LifeStride Women's Caitlin Slingback @ Amazon	Easy Street Principle Dress Sandal @ Amazon
Bandolino Women's Berry Pump @ Amazon	Vince Camuto Angie Peep Toe Sandal @ Amazon	Annie Sadie Evening Dress Sandal @ Amazon
Charles David Women's Jester Sandal @ Amazon	farylrobin Women's Kyrie Pump @ Amazon	Miss Me Women's Kate-8 Moccasin @ Amazon

Free Indie Rock MP3 Downloads

2009-04-22T08:32:00.009-05:00

I was minding my own business (to the extent that I actually do that) when I happened on the Free Indie MP3s banner above. Well that certainly called for a web posting. Before I could even finish this page I realized that I had stumbled upon the motherlode of free mp3s.

If Indie isn't your thing, no problem. Amazon has thousands of completely legal free mp3's in virtually every style.

Barsuk Records: 2009 Amazon Digital Sampler	2009 Bar/None Records Sampler
Sub Pop's Amazon Sampler	Anti Sampler 2009
Secretly Canadian 2008/2009 Sampler	Jagjaguwar 2008/2009 Sampler
Dead Oceans 2008/2009 Sampler	Saddle Creek sampler 2008-2009
Slumberland Records Spring 2009 Sampler	Arts & Crafts Label Sampler
Victory Records Label Sampler	Worn & Grazed: A Park the Van Sampler

Valentine's Day Sales @ Amazon.com

2009-02-09T08:09:00.001-06:00

Amazon.com regularly features gift suggestions, although the page link can be a little hard to find. These suggestions include seasonal favorites, in this case for Valentine's Day. This year they are sweetening the pot with a 30% off sale on select jewelry and a couple of other sales listed below:.

The intimate apparel sale gets you a $10 discount on purchases of $50 or more FROM ONE SELLER. Most of the more "exotic" selections are over $50, so that shouldn't be a problem. If you find something nice for less, you can add some shorts or something to reach the $50 threshold. There are also a lot of items in the $25 range if you want to double up. You can browse all the selections, or concentrate on these sellers:

You can save $10 on select Men's & Women's Fragrances by entering the promo code FRAGFEB9 at checkout time on orders of $59 or more. Like most of these promo code offers, this one can't be combined with other specials in the same order, although you can submit two or more separate orders any time. Note that "Fragrance" includes not only the obvious perfumes and colognes, but also a number of bath and aromatherapy needs.

There are a number of sales in the Gourmet Foods section. Some of these are specifically Valentine's day sales (expire February 14th) but many will be available afterwards. In addition to the Amazon Gift Guides, be sure to check out the gourmet Valentine's gift items

Fresh cut flowersare very popuilar on Valentines Day. In fact, Valentine's Day is for florists pretty much the same as the Christmas shopping season is for retailers generally. Amazon.com features flowers from two major suppliers: ProFlowers and Falcon Farms. Because flowers are perishable most will automatically be shipped next day air, but you can schedule February 14th delivery as long as you order by midnight February 11.

Valentine's Day Gifts by Category

2009-02-09T07:58:00.004-06:00

I actually found Amazon's Valentine's Gift Guides more confusing than helpful, but maybe that's just me. You should look at the main pages (in large type below) as they do have handy links based on price ranges. Beyond this most of the links aren't really recommendations, but just links to Amazon's main category pages. I used to refer to these as "top-level" categories, but that is no longer accurate. What distinguishes these "main" pages is that they contain a lot of extra navigational links and editorial content, which you may or may not be interested in. The subcategory pages are less verbose, and are compiled "on the fly" from Amazon's database.

If you are looking for actual suggestions, I believe I have included all of those pages in the links below. Some of them are a new page format (at least it's new to me.) There are a number of subcategories included on "tabs" across the top of the page. I've included the direct links separated by a colon and slashes. These pages seem to load pretty fast, so I think it's an improvement even if it might be confusing at first.

Amazon's gift suggestions tend to have a holiday-specific theme. If that isn't what you are looking for, You might be better served by the gift guides for girlfriends or wives or the gift guides for boyfriends or husbands. These and more can be found on the (generic) gift guide page.

Valentine's Gifts for Her

Valentine's Day Books : Romantic Fiction / Dating and Mating / Wining and Dining / Literary Love / Reads for Little Cupids
Call and Tell Someone You Love Them : Cell Phones / Unlocked Cell Phones / Prepaid Cell Phones / Cell Phone Accessories
Valentine's Gifts for your "princess" : Pink / Princess / Furry Things / Yoga / Lounging
She Hearts... Pink Tools
Make Some Valentine's Day Delights (Seasonal Bakeware)

Valentine's Gifts for Him

Gifts For Yourself

Gifts You'll Heart... at Prices You'll Love (I) : Bacon / Chocolate / Coffee
Gifts You'll Heart... at Prices You'll Love (II) : Vampires / Aliens / Superheroes

Gift Ideas in Automotive

Valentine's Day Apparel @ Amazon.com

2009-02-09T07:55:00.001-06:00

These Valentine's Day gift ideas from Amazon.com are basically just searches for various terms in the appropriate apparel sections, although they do involve some imaginative uses of the "or" function. The main headings will take you to the Amazon "Gift Ideas in Apparel" page, which includes some additional links based on price range.