Saturday Come and Gone

I don’t know what time I woke up this morning, but it was just before lunch. I had a great home cooked meal (by my grandma) and then spent the next few hours doing stuff online.

We went to visit my aunt, uncle, and two cousins who are vacationing down in San Diego. Then, we went to SanSai Japanese Grill for dinner, after driving around for an hour looking for a place to eat. I liked SanSai because it was Japanese food, but I voted for Pick Up Stix, a Chinese restaurant I don’t think I’ve ever been to. We didn’t think we’d gone to SanSai before, but after entering it, we realized that we had (just not this specific location). Well – we’ll try PickUp Stix next time.

Now that I’m home again, I’m back on the computer. What am I doing? Let’s review my browsing history to find out…

First up is phpBB Administration for Google Community. This is a site that I just love working with. It’s really amazing that it has gotten as popular as it has, and I’m thankful for it. The idea to create this site is just something that struck me as a great original idea back when I thought of it in May 2004. Today, I visit on a near-daily basis just to keep in touch with the community and help to become self-sustaining. The site helps lots of people learn about Google, the web, web development, and more.

Next up I’ve got Gmail. I check this on an hourly basis, wherever I am. I check it from my dorm, from my computer science lab, from home, from away from home. It’s the best thing to happen to the Internet, ever. Yahoo Mail is second-best – but it’s still a long, long way behind. Too many flashy graphics ads. Microsoft Hotmail just plain sucks. The only thing keeping it alive is the Microsoft name, its tie-in with Passpart, and the fact that it works with Outlook Express. The service itself is a disgrace..

Then I have Xanga. I have a Xanga subscription email that I look at to get a glimpse into other peoples’ lives..

Then there’s Google Enterprise Solutions. Google released a new, smaller version of the search appliance. Considering that to become a Google Enterprise Search Professional costs $10,000 per year, it’s tempting to snag one of these $2000 boxes just for fun. But, unfortunately, I just don’t have nearly that kind of money.

Then I read about Ask.com, and their latest ad campaign that pokes fun at the long lists of text-based Google search results that are devoid of images (Ask.com has previews now). I don’t see it catching on. If Google wanted to, they could implement such a feature in an hour..

I read the stock quotes for Google, AMD, Intel, and thought about them.. some interesting things are happening.. and time is moving quickly. I can see where this is headed. But I’m not certain enough to spend the time and effort to make a move. Economics class is interesting.. profit will go to zero. But only the average. Some can come out ahead.

I checked out a “Got Lyrics!” blog/website hosted by BlogSpot. It’s really much more of a website than a blog.. it feels not like a blog, but is hosted by Blogger Blog Spot and on multiple domains. Very strange and unique. Uses Yahoo ads for monetization..

I read about adware in InformationWeek, AdSense trackers all over the internet, and a British guy who makes fun video presentations about marketing online. I upgraded WordPress on MP3 Shack (and repaired the databases, broken or not). I read about Google switching to Intel and did some more stuff on Google Community before thinking about Amazon.com and looking again at my Amazon-powered Store on Sizzly. Maybe I should just make Sizzly.com into a dedicated store..

I looked at the Co-op Ad Network offered by DigialPoint and pondered how such a thing could be offered (random link exchange) and reconsidered the fact that I am running it on GC and that I’ve decided to take it off the next time I update the template. I recalled my brief discussion with Google on the matter.. then looked at my blog and thinking about FeedBlitz (email subscription service for RSS feeds) before heading to Facebook, CollegeConfidential, Google Video, MP3 Shack, and finally here I am. It’s about time I went to bed, but I still have to practice guitar, do my CompSci lab, and do my physics homework. Maybe in the morning.

Now: how can I simplify my life?..