Windows 7....the 7 is for Blue Screens

Now I know why they named this version of Windows "7"...it's for the number of times it barfs up a blue screen of death each day :-(

EFR 2009 - the Extended Version

Click the photo, then click Slideshow

Fossil OR, Crane Hot Springs OR, Reno NV, Ely NV, Evanston WY (via Utah), Ketchum ID, Salmon ID, Missoula MT, Walla Walla WA via Lolo Pass, Castlegar BC, then back home.

RingEnvy.com tries a new spamming trick

We got a little traffic from this site today, and for various reasons I decided to poke my nose in a little deeper...and was quite entertained by the spammy trick I discovered.

It seems RingEnvy.com is scraping (yes, stealing) content from Yahoo Answers in order to generate lots of pages of juicy content for the search engines to digest and index, in the hopes of driving more traffic.

So that's nothing new, lots of sites try tricks like this. What made it interesting was the trick they used to massage the content so that the search engines didn't see it as duplicate content--a copy of what they'd already seen on Yahoo Answers.

As far as I can tell, they've fed the Yahoo Answers pages through an electronic translator...twice, once from English to another language, then again to translate back. Because of how rough electronic translation is, you end up with a pile of decent english words, with most of the important search terms preserved, but scramble so it doesn't look much like the original text.

Look at some of the gems that result:

• "My fiance additionally as myself have been pondering about stealing scored equally together in Hawaii, yet we're confused on how it would work."


• "I am carrying a finish matrimony in Key West, FL. we am not sure if we should rewear a grave wear during a matrimony reception."


• "I am unquestionably confused additionally as hopefully somebody who has had the finish wedlock in the past can benefit me!"

Here's the original page in Yahoo Answers:

answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070409162010AAFhR2I

And here's the translated page (for those who weren't tempted to click on "spammy trick" above):

www.ringenvy.com/talk/tag/destination-wedding/

Google Mini: a Disposable Search Engine in a Box

BACKGROUND: Google Mini is essentially an appliance, a mini version of Google that they ship preconfigured on a cheap rackmount webserver, with a light version of Google installed. You can configure it a little to look like your site, and get it to catalog just your site's pages, and then integrate a search box into your website to implement site search. Cool, useful stuff for us webmasters.

We bought a Google Mini box. It lasted a little less than a year before biting the biscuit. So, Google shipped us a new box as it was under warranty. I sort of expect that a webserver would last more like 3-5 years at least, but what the hell, they replaced it. Not real happy about all the extra time I had to put in, but at this point I was OK with the support.

Well, that replacement server lasted less than 3 months before biting the dust. Some sort of software problem that their tech support said was a known issue, but rare, and gave me some steps to go through to get it to run again. No permanent fix, but they thought it would probably not happen again. Not happy, but hey, it's working again so whatever.

That server lasted only 4 more months before failing completely (hardware). Now, they won't do anything to fix it as it's outside of the ORIGINAL Mini's warranty. They want us to buy a new box for full price of $3000. Google Mini support guy John Lowry told me on the phone that these things have a limited lifespan, and so they can't just replace it for free every few months. Huh? I'd expect the cardboard box it came in to last longer than the servers have been lasting!

So of course we're pretty pissed, as their appliances (essentially a webserver with a bit o' Google software on it) are averaging about 6 months total lifespan. Obviously this is way, way under anyone's expectations of how long a computer should last, whether it's a webserver, laptop, or a desktop PC. ESPECIALLY when it's living in a nice, cold, air-conditioned, clean & smooth powered datacenter like this one.

So what can I do? Not much...it's not worth suing them for $3000. But I bet with a little help from some of you readers we can make the Google Mini site the #1 result in Google for searches for disposable search engine. Which is pretty accurate, from our experience.

Monday in Jamaica...dives #1 and #2

Click the photo, then click Slideshow

Cupcakes on the Counter

My mother-in-law, RaeAnn Proost, has just published her 3rd book, Cupcakes on the Counter - a collection of memoirs and heirloom recipes.

Melinda's bench at Otter Crest

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Update: shifted villas...to the east about a dozen yards

We've settled on Noble House on the Beach, a villa on the north coast of Jamaica between Montego Bay and Round Hill.

New paint for my 1970 Chevy truck

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Villas in Jamaica

Planning to head to Jamaica for a vacation in June, along with 2 sets of inlaws as well as my 2 year old son, so...started thinking about renting a villa instead of a traditional hotel. For about the same price as 3 rooms at a traditional resort, we'll get our OWN private pool, plus all the common space...grounds....our own section of beach. Plus, most villas in Jamaica come with full staff--not just maid and groundskeeper, but also a cook and a butler!

If, like us, you're traveling as more than just a couple, this is definitely an option to consider (I'm using The Villa Portfolio, a partner of TheBigDay, as my source for luxury villa rentals in Jamaica).

On my short list so far:

• Lime Acre Villa


• Tranquility on the Beach (pictured)


• Serenity on the Beach


• Sea Haven on Discovery Bay

My new bike - 2009 Suzuki GSX-R750

My new bike!

Villas in Tuscany

If you've ever thought about renting a villa in Italy, have a look at the latest newsletter from The Villa Portfolio. This month, they're talking about their favorite villas in Tuscany.

Higher Education?

I got the following error message when replying to an email from a friend of mine who works at Clackamas Community College:

GroupWise Gateway for Exchange Could Not Deliver Message because the adress does not exit in GroupWise AddessBook

THREE (3) spelling mistakes in the one and only sentence in the message. That's gotta be a record. Perhaps Clackamas Community College's IT staff should....uh....GO TO CLASS?????

On top of the obvious problem...since I replied to his email, certainly his Adress DOES exit in the AddessBook! :-)

Spectacular deals in Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora

The economy is really hurting tourism in Tahiti right now--see this article. As a result, hotels are offering up screaming deals, and many specials are out there at about half of what they would have cost a year ago.



Here's one of my favorite Tahiti specials from the company I work for (Happy Vacations), combining 5 nights on Moorea and 5 nights on Manihi in the Tuamotu Atolls, for $1995 per person. It includes inter-island airfare only; right now there are specials from Air Tahiti Nui for about $850 per person roundtrip from LAX.

Kiyonari apparently can ride in the wet OK

Must have learned to ride in Oregon!

Melinda's Celebration of Life Service