it has been some time since my last post as I have been creating and managing my own empire in the world of Russ.

Actually, I have been busy managing other blogs as after the success of this one, I was approached to write and edit for several other blogs which I have sealed my lips to mention. Suffice it to say I help develop and make successful some of the top blogs on the Internet, only to stuff the wallets of my superiors. OOOO how I hate the word "superiors"!

Don’t get me wrong, I loved….no…liked my bosses a bunch and appreciate the opportunity they gave me, but it’s just not the same as running your own blog(s) and having the freedom to say exactly what I want to say, when I want to say it. Therefore, after a long hiatus, I am back to give you more of what you want in the widget world.

It appears Microsoft still hasn’t learned that a widget is a widget and not a gadget. I guess some habits are hard to break, but I will not buck the system and the choice of the people and continue to call these little suckers widgets, though I may not capitalize the word as if it were a person any longer. That’s right! I have accepted the fact that my friend the Widget, (oops, I capitalized him/her again) is not a person but only much more reliable and fun to hang around.

Enough of the hoopla!

That’s all for now, as I only wanted you to know I am back with plans to post as often as necessary to keep you informed of how widgets can change your life. OK….maybe a stretch, but widgets certainly make your online web design life easier and I look forward to getting this puppy rolling again.

In the mean time, feel free to peruse the site and widget your little heart out.

Don’t forget to sign up for the latest RSS feeds so you’ll know whenever I add new content.

Off I go to find a dating widget so I don’t have to spend the holidays alone.

This is the real deal and you have likely heard about the 40 BILLION, YES, with a capitol "B", dollars Americans are due right now!

This is truly amazing, and you should look for yourself, family and friends. Don’t forget to search for living and deceased relatives. You can make claims on all your family members as long as you are the next rightful heir.

Grab the whole unclaimed funds story at http://www.unclaimedfunds.net

If you don’t like the words "Merry Christmas", then..then…give all your gifts back and eat your peanut butter sandwich while I’m styling in my new car and eating ham, green beans, macaroni and cheese and cake.

I do hope each and eveyone has a wonderful holiday including the countdown to 2008.

It’s truly hard to believe 2007 has flown by so quickly and Google is still calling a Widget a gadget. maybe 2008 is the year for Google to "lern n spell".

I also found it hard to believe Unclaimed Money in the United States has topped out at 40 Billions dollars. Yes, I said unclaimed money! 7 out of 10 Americans are estimated to be due a claim for money which has been turned over to government offices. Our country has grown so phat with money we don’t even remember where we put it. Uncashed checks, tax returns, stocks, utility deposits, and many other sources. I know this sounds like a scam, but believe me, it’s not. I found money for my parents within minutes of using the resources available on THIS SITE. Start out 2008 finding money you didn’t know you had. besides, it’s a lot of fun!!!

Anyway…I’m looking forward to the New Year and am excited for what I suspect will be a huge growth in Widget use in websites and blogs.

I leave this last post of the year with something useful you may use for your site as we countdown the days, minutes and seconds to 2008.

Have a safe and happy New Year!

The interesting thing is there are many Astrology Widgets available, but very few are creative. Maybe an opportunity for developers?

My first stop is almost always widgetbox.com. You can reply on those guys to always have something related onhand. Not always the best, but almost always something you can use. Here is a list if Widget Boxes Astrology widgets.

I did find a few which are quite easy to implement, but one in particular which is a bit scarey if you’re planning for the long term placement on your page. I say a bit scarey, because the fine print on this site says "Terms: Only one Moon Phase Plugin per webpage. Widget reserves the right to withdraw this free service at any time without notification."

They also only allow one Widget per page.

That sucks! I’ve never liked rules, and this one really stinks, but it is a pretty cool idea.

Oh well, it’s free for now and they will not allow me to display but one astrology Widget per page and I have chosen the moon phase Widget.

I guess I liked the variety of what they offer more than anything:

Planetary Hour	Calculates the planetary hour for 4000 locations worldwide. Displays in text or image format.
Moon Position	Calculates the position of the moon and displays it in either text or image format.
Moon Phase	Calculates the phase of the moon and displays the moon’s image with the named phase underneath.
Instant Biorhythms	Calculates and returns an image of the users biorhythms cycle upon DOB submission. Requires the user to have the Flash 6 browser plugin.

To see all of their "offer may expire soon" Widgets, you may view at widgetsworld.co.uk

Other sites with astrology Widgets for websites and desktop:

• Apple "Ashtrology"

• Astrology.com Widgets

• NetVibes Astrology Widgets

• Yahoo Horoscope Widget
• Yahoo Desktop Horoscope Widget

• Softpedia Astrology Widget

You have two options to review: Download version on the web site, as well as an instant online RSS creator. This is just a site I stumbled into and it’s quite simple.

There are many other RSS creators out there free and paid. One popular source is Feedforall.com

Please post your favorite RSS creators.

Everybody knows it’s important to get links coming into your site.

Not everyone knows reciprocal linking is dead.

Wake up! Reciprocal linking is DEAD!

The search engines have become wayyy too smart, and recognize when two sites are linking back and forth to each other. This worked like a charm until recently. The big boys search engines have changed their tune in a big way.

Don’t get me wrong…reciprocal links will not hurt you, but they no longer carry the weight they used to. Too many people simply abused the system and the game has changed.

Introducing 3WayLinks – click here

If you do not give a hoot about your sites ranking in the search engines, play a little Pac Man Widget while you wait on the rest of us.

No worries, I can barely keep up with the days of the week…luckily, we don’t have to keep up with the Christmas date because this Widget does it all for us.

Christmas Countdown Widget

Feel free to grab the code and embed into your web page.

Click here to grab the free
Christmas Countdown widget for your blog.

Now, don’t get confused, it’s Google who is lost here…they call Widgets, "gadgets".

It’s obvious to any intelligent life that if a gadget was a Widget, it would be capitalized. Obviously it is not, so I’m not even sure gadget can technically be called a word.

It’s ok… we can’t all be smart and know every proper term. I mean… just think about how many words there are in the English language. Google is so busy thwarting off spammers, they have not had a chance to catch up with what the public now calls Widgets. They’ll catch on soon, I’m sure!

That said, if you are loloking for an easy way to create a WIDGET, here’s an awesome resource from the folks that barely know it’s name.

Create a web page Widget.

Pretty cool source and very easy to use. My grandmother could probably use this one.

If you are just looking to insert Widgets into your existing website, follow this link:

If you want to create Widgets, go here.

This documentary follows a son, as he records his hillbilly mother (outhouse and all!) as she spreads her hillbilly wisdom. For me, it both hilarious and inspiring.

If you like it, you should bookmark the entire documentary.

Here’s the introduction:

I guess it’s really not so surprising that I could not find one. I mean, what would you do with it? Maybe a cool game would be ok. In fact, a cool game is good no matter what holiday it is. Somebody give us a Widget so we can shoot turkeys.

Oh well…after my dismay, I searched for a Christmas Widget and was surprised to find these are limited as well.

I did find this countdown Widget which reminds me how long I have before spending all my money.

UPDATE: CLICK HERE for this years winning
Christmas Countdown Widget.

Free for your website or blog.