Yapta

Very cool! yapta.com

I've heard lots of good things about this service.

God Bless America, right?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/15/AR2009031502724.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2009031602358

Easter Tip

A helpful tip for the season:
http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=5247&Extcode=L9DN1AA00

Cross site advertising?

I just had a thought for a quick post, so while my build is running, I thought I'd throw it up.

Following is a list of sites or blogs I currently have my hands in:

1. fmpthoughts.blogspot.com - this site
2. personalblogsite (url not shown) - I have a personal blog that I write to as well.
3. flickchat.blogspot.com - a movie review site I setup in hopes of getting some of my friends to write some movie reviews. I'd like to get enough traffic on the site to see if we can actually get a check from google for the ads.
   
4. d5ee.blogspot.com - this blog is related to engagedencounter.org with the intention of being a better way to track district 5 news.
   
5. utahee.blogspot.com - this blog is related to the local community portal on engagedencounterutah.org and is where the local community news ends up.
   
6. retiredartandcollectibles.com - this is the beast that will maybe make some money one day.
7. engagedencounterutah.org - this is the local engaged encounter site for the SLC community. I could go on and on about Engaged Encounter, but essentially it's about marriage preparation. This site consists of the public site and the community portal.
   
8. engagedencounter.org - I'm only responsible for a small section of this site, but this is my newest adventure so I'm sure my role will grow over time.
   
9. slc2009eeconvention.com - another Engaged Encounter site. This one is for the convention that the unit (set of communities) is having here in SLC in Aug 2009.
   
10. heavytruckmanuals.com - this site is actually making money, but not directly through the site; this site is setup to help my mom sell truck repair manuals
    

Time to Write

Oh where does the time go, and how can I find some to write? Is it more important to write, or to write something well thought out and informative. I can't tell you how many posts I've started and then aborted because I don't feel like I can get my complete thoughts out. But then what happens is that months go by and I don't post anything. Another issue I have is that I have multiple blogs, this one and a "quote" personal one. Some topics are borderline personal so I tend to post them in the other blog because I want this blog to have a different feel.

Comments Re-Enabled?

Well, I've decided that re-enabling comments might facilitate some dialog based on my posts.

Christmas Edition of getting to know your friends

I received the following list in an email from a friend and didn't want to continue the email chain, but wanted to respond.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Paper, although I hate wrapping.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial for sure... missing the smell, but not the needles.
3. When do you put up the tree? Usually, Thanksgiving weekend.
4. When do you take the tree down? 2nd week of January... 12 days of Christmas remember.
5. Do you like egg nog? For sure with whiskey (diluted with milk)
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Got to be the Nintendo! Years of fun and still a fan. Although the shotgun was nice too.
7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yep, from Dad first Christmas after wedding. (Christ)mas remember.
8. Hardest person to buy for? My Mom, but Dad's hard too.
   
9. Easiest person to buy for? Myself, hehe... anyone who likes gift cards.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail... there's something about getting cards in the mail.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Probably some sweater or something I got from Grandma.
    
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? "A Christmas Story", "you'll shoot your eye out".
    
13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope... I've held them for a while then donated them though.
    
14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Tough indeed... I love me some ham.
15. Clear lights or colored on the tree? My preference would be clear, but wife and now child would out vote me.
16. Favorite Christmas song? "Oh Holy Night" depending on how it's sung. Otherwise, "Little Drummer Boy".
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home Christmas day, but travel before and after.
18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Prancer, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, ... UHHHH... Rudolph
19. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Depending on family situation, but most likely morning.
20. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Tough choice... consumerism, unholiness, family stress.
21. Favorite ornament theme or color? Easy... all the ornaments Greg gave me over the years.
22. Favorite food for Christmas breakfast? Mom's scrambled eggs would be nice, but unlikely.
23. What do you want for Christmas this year? A stress free holiday season.
24. Who is most likely to respond to this? Not mailing this list out for a reason. These email chains are usually just a marketing tool.
    
25. Who is least likely to respond to this? See previous.