IR Blog Post 3 - Modern Treasure Hunts for the Whole Family

- A new craze has sprung into the hands of nature loving family's. Geocaching is hide and seek with containers that have GPS tracking devices in them. These are placed by random people and found by random people. Each and every finding is kept in a log. This is an extreme sport for outdoor entusiasts and really hit the adventurous market. Knowing that you are participating in an event that can be played by almost everyone in the world is thrilling. Basically, you place a bottle in the ground and hope someone gets it in a few days or even a few years. It is fun to use all of your outdoor skills and technology at the same time.

- What is the point of the "geocaching" if you never really win?

Is this just a fad or will people be doing this for a long time?

- I believe that geocaching is something that will sweep the nation's interests. Anything that is fun for the family and keeps you intact with your natural being is always a high point in a child's life. http://www.madcacher.com/

IR Blog Post 3 - Way cleared for tax cut bill; energy breaks added

- Possibly one of the biggest issues sitting in front of President Obama right now is the tax-cuts for the wealthy. Everything seems to be in motion for this bill although it goes against Obama's prior statements to get rid of the "Bush" tax-cuts. He says that these cuts will help the economy and for his sake we can only hope it does. Although he came into office with a lot of problems on his plate to begin with, the American people are starting to get irritable. This may be the first thing that he does that pleases the opposing party which is a good sign. It shows that he is willing to compromise and in turn I really think he is just looking for respect. All in all, anything that is done with the purpose of helping the economy gets the OK in my book.

- Why is it so hard to compromise in government?

Will Obama ever get the respect he deserves although some of his moves may be questionable?

- I think that Obama comes out with the best intentions and puts his best foot forward all of the time. Although some people may not agree with his decisions, he does it for the good of the country in the long run. http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hqblog

IR Blog Post 3 - WWF file format: it's like a PDF that's impossible to print

- Apple has helped to produce a PDF-like file that can only be opened and not printed. This avoids all of the mistakes we make printing a 300 page document. With everything "going green" in front of our very eyes it does not surprise me that a major company would step and and deliver a quiet competitor. This may seem like a useless program, but in a growing paperless and more environmentally aware world any advantage is a huge one. This is a great feature for corporations that may have a 1000 page manuscript and want to avoid the mistake of accidentally printing everything. Overall, this is a great piece of technology if you are going green and want to avoid any silly mistakes.

- Does the "technology boom" relate to the "paperless world" movement?

Why do companies, such as Apple, really care that much about something as small as a program when they already make millions of dollars in profits every quarter?

- I think that the whole world is going to go paperless by the year 2100. Although this may seem like a long time span, imagine ridding the world of every single piece... http://www.convina.com/blog/in-a-paperless-world.htm

IR Blog Post 2 - Cracking Open A Holiday Classic

- The holiday tradition, The Nutcracker, is coming to the stage once again this year. About 86% of people say they saw the production before they were 18 years old. This shows in itself how much popularity it has despite showing off it's christian views. Mark Morris is directing this production in New York this year. He says one of his favorite scenes is the party scene because it is complicated; the music is intense and people moving quickly in opposing directions. This always makes for an exciting show and a consistent good time for the whole family.

-Why is the Nutcracker so famous, where did the popularity come from?

What are some of the most popular performances done to date?

- I think that the Nutcracker is one of the most important plays written to date. Something that is good enough to be made into a tradition is always worth crediting. I still clearly remember seeing it as a kid and will not soon forget the magic that happened infront of me. http://www.blogtoplist.com/rss/nutcracker.html

IR Blog Post 2 - Black Friday gives retailers a holiday boost

-Black Friday through late November sales rose as much at 21% in some stores. This is a major boost to the economy considering the state that it is in. Holiday traveling does the gas companies justice because there are a considerable amount of people in and out of highways. This allows are these places to make a greater profit because of more flow though their area. Overall, it is just comforting to know that even with tightened wallets, we are still willing to go out and help the economy ever once in a while.

- Do you think the Black Friday tradition will go on forever, or will Cyber Monday take over soon?

Black Friday sales seem to be coming earlier every year. How much early do you think they can be coming until it gets ridicules?

- I think that Black Friday is a great tradition and boost to the economy. It helps boost sales and revenue, while keeping people happy and satisfied with their purchases. http://blog.blackfriday2010.com/

IR Blog Post 2 - Archos Internet Tablets get firmware updates, everybody gets a Froyo

-Now that the Apple iPad has been out for quite a while, competitors are now jumping into the scene with their very own "tablets". Android (made by Google) is the operating system behind these small touch screen computers. This is one of Apple's biggest competitor in the software race; however, being that Android is supported and made by Google, it wasn't that hard to get the name out there. This is the big technology boom era, and these show exactly what modern science can bring us. "Tablets" are lighting fast just like a computer and are just a out 3x bigger and heavier than you average phone which makes them perfect for computer like speed on the go.

-Will Google take over the world with their mass amount of new technology?

How long will it be until we are 100% done with computers and have moved on?

-I think that one day Android will be bigger than Apple and Windows in the computer battle. They are gaining popularity faster than Apple did at their iPod heyday. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/a-very-personal-google-android-vs-apple-iphone-war-just-got-some-more-personality/31886

IR Blog Post 1 - Curtain to Rise on ‘Spider-Man’

-The most expensive show ever to hit Broadway, $63 million, is premiering at 6:30pm this Sunday. Just about 1900 theatergoers have already purchased their tickets, expecting a fantastic show. This group of performers and technicians have yet to get through the show from start to finish once; constantly running into technical difficulties and lengthy scenery changes. At one point Spider-Man actually hovers over the crowd, adding an extra $4 million to the total cost because of the ceiling extensions needed in the theatre.

-Why go through such great lengths to make a show that looks like it will make no profit?

Why not make the show simpler in order to conserve money and minimize error?

-Actors and producers may feel inclined to give up before they get to deep into the process. Because of the high cost and high risk it is not worth it to stick with the show. http://www.nytix.com/Blog/broadwayblog/index.html

IR Blog Post 1 - Police: Pa. couple hid 5 children from society

-Over the weekend the police received and anonymous tip that there were 5 children located in an abandoned home. "They lived outside society, hidden from the world in a squalid row house with no heat, electricity or running water. They had no birth certificates, no schooling, no immunizations or evidence of medical care — nothing whatsoever to prove their existence." The mother, Louann Bowers, allegedly ran away from home when she was 16 in an attempt to get away from society. Unfortunately, those feeling stayed with her during the raising of her 5 children, ranging from age 2 to 13. The parents, while sitting in York County Jail, await their preliminary trial on Friday, December 3.

-Why do some people not have the human sense to know when they are doing wrong another human being?

Will these children ever mentally recover from being away from society all their lives?

-I think that any parent that abuses their kid to the point where they do not know the outside world should greatly consider the path of "divorcing" their parents. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/divorcing-your-parents/

IR Blog Post 1 - Manufacture Royale debuts $1.2 million Opera accordion watch

-In a time of a weakened economy, some manufacturers decide that it is a great idea to make a $1.2 million accordion watch. Sources state that only about a dozen of them are going on sale in the whole world. Why the high cost? Try 18k gold and sapphire crystals. Really, the only standout feature on the whole watch is the accordion making the time more easily visible. Personally I wouldn't think of this as an extremely expensive watch looking at it for the first time.

-Why do companies produce such a product that only a select few people can actually afford to buy it?

If you so happened to acquire a watch like this, would you even wear it?

-I think that it is absolutely absurd when companies make a product like this and it has to be imposible to get people interested. http://bigboardforum.com/blog/promoting-high-priced-products-on-the-internet/ This blog doesn't exactly support nor refute my claim however, it does give people a way to sell high priced products in a down economy relatively easily. Maybe it is possible that someone will buy one of these.

Online Reading

In today's day and age, just about all the reading I do is online. Whether is be the news or just for fun, it's all online. My most favorite thing to follow is engadget.com just because it has all of the latest technology all on one feed. I also am subscribed to several magazines online, one of them being Car and Driver Magazine.

Reading for meaning vs. pleasure

Reading for meaning and pleasure really mean two different things for me. Meaning I feel is more school oriented and structured, “Read twenty pages a night and take notes.” That is what reading for meaning means for me. Reading for pleasure means reading what I like to read and in the time frame that I like to read it. Some examples of this would be the summer reading book Into the Wild. Although this was a good book I was in a sense forced to read it, therefore I really felt like I had to read it more for meaning than for pleasure. A book that I have read solely for pleasure recently was Marley and Me. This was a very compelling story about a guy’s life with man’s best friend. Since this was purely for pleasure I could read it a lot faster and when I wanted to. There is almost never a book that I read for both pleasure and meaning together. Besides a select few independent reading choices, most books are either one or the other to me.