Anything and Everything I Want to Blog About

Stuff.tv reviews Enigmo, a game for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Currently, this is the #9 best seller in the iTunes App Store.  Enigmo is a puzzle game that uses the multi touch technology of the iPhone.  This means you can play the game more discreetly - compared to games where you might be waving your iPhone or iPod touch around due to games using the accelerometer.  In this game, you direct water around into little buckets, soak them up with a sponge, etc.  Well, that probably doesn’t make sense, so just watch the video for a better idea.  Enigmo is available for $9.99.

Well, I am finally “cool” as I am now the proud owner of an Apple iPhone 3G.  So far, without a doubt I can definitely say you should buy one of these - even if you’re still stuck in a contract with some cheesy old school cell phone.  I’ll explain how you can get out of that a little later.

I will admit that I’ve been in the stone age with my cell phone as I was using one of those Go Phones - a Nokia 6300 which I seem to have lost.  So… jumping from that kind of phone to the iPhone probably excites me more than the average person.

One of my favorite features is the use of GPS with Google Maps.  This is going to be so useful in so many situations.  You’re out on the town and you want to go out to eat.  Just open Google Maps, pinpoint where you’re at and search for the words “mexican” or “chinese” to find the nearest restaurant of that type.  You can also get turn by turn driving directions, showing your location in real time.

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Chris Pirillo reviews Crash Bandicoot Nitro Cart 3D for the iPhone and iPod Touch. This game costs $9.99 and was developed by Vivendi Games Mobile.  You can adjust the accelerometer sensitivity in case you are over steering.  This app can be played in multiple languages - English, French, Italian or German.  Right away this looks a bit like a clone of Nintendo’s Mario Kart.  The game still needs to be optimized a bit, but is still worth ten bucks.  Read his full review here.

Silicone Case Cover for Apple iPhone 3G (4 pcs)

Mclovin id-Superbad-movie-Fogel fake- prop- custom

Do you know of a friend or member of the family that is a movie buff? They probably can recite quotes and give you trivia on every movie made on the planet. If you are looking for a gift idea for their birthday, Christmas or other occasion such as Father’s Day or Mother’s Day, here are a few ideas to get you started:

Gift of Fame Personalized Hollywood Stars - Get a customized Hollywood Star just like the ones you can see on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. These personalized stars are made by the same people who make the authentic ones for actors, musicians, etc.

Autographs - Get an authentic autograph from their favorite actor or actress.  These may be autographed photos or perhaps a slip of paper or other item signed in person.  These are usually perfect for framing to be displayed in the home, office or other location.

Movie Posters - Here’s an excellent gift idea for movie buffs.  They’re inexpensive, unique and look especially nice when framed.  Hang them up in the entertainment area of the house or just about anywhere.  Let them relive their favorite movie whenever they see the poster.  Authentic and reproduction posters are available as well as autographed ones, too!

BACK TO THE FUTURE SIGNED MOVIE SCRIPT FOX LLOYD GLOVER

Movie Props - Nothing will excite anyone more than a movie prop from a movie buff’s favorite flick.  For lower budgets you can buy reproductions.   For higher budgets, consider buying an authentic movie prop which usually includes a certificate of authenticity (COA).

Movies - This might be obvious, but might be overlooked, too.  If you’re stumped for ideas why not buy them a DVD of their favorite movie?  Almost every movie ever made can now be bought online.  What movie do you think would make a great gift?

Netflix - Do you know someone that hasn’t tried Netflix yet?  Rent movies online with this excellent service with no late fees.  You only have to go as far as your mailbox to return your movie.  When you’re done watching a movie, you’ll receive the next one in your Netflix queue as soon as they receive the one that was watched in the mail.  This is an excellent gift you can give online from one month to a year.  Currently, they have over 100,000 titles!

Digital Video Projector - If there’s plenty of room in the house, and you can afford it, a digital video projector can make an excellent gift.  Watch TV, movies, sporting events and more projected onto a huge screen in your home.

InFocus/Proxima DP6155 LCD Video Projector DP-6155 A7

Movie Scripts - You can buy authentic movie scripts as well as reproductions.  Some are autographed by one or more cast members… or even the entire cast, director and more.

Well, these are just a few ideas off the top of my head.  Hopefully this will provide you with a good starting point.  Good luck!

Ok, now this is awesome. One of the current top selling iPhone applications in the App Store is Texas Hold’em for the iPhone and iPod Touch. One of the really great features of this game is the multiplayer mode that let’s you play with other people over the Internet via Wi-Fi.  Jon4lakers gives you this excellent video review so you can take a look at this game in detail.

Features include Wi-Fi multiplayer mode for up to nine players; in game hints, stats, tips; stunning graphics and more.  It’s available for $4.99 in the iTunes App Store.

I got on the blogging bandwagon in late 2005 and had a plan to start up a niche blog, wait for it get momentum and then make a spin off blog it. Rinse, wash and repeat. It was a good idea, but if you get too many blogs you will be spreading yourself too thin and won’t be able to keep up. Unless you have 8 brains and 24 arms, you’ll probably get burnt out on some of your blogs and they will begin to collect dust.

I’ve decided I’m going to to try a “new” strategy of posting everything on one blog and see what happens. I’m going to keep blogging on some of my favorite niche blogs and mothball the rest. There’s no way I can keep up with 50 blogs (or whatever the number is). I’ve noticed that you can still rank pretty well in Google with this Mega Blog strategy… so why not give it a shot?

The only thing that makes me cautious is a post by Darren Rowse at Problogger titled “One Blog Many Categories or Many Blogs?“. A reader wrote in and asked Darren this question and overall it seems he advises against the Mega Blog strategy and go with niche blogs. Regarding niche blogging, Darren writes:

Since I moved to this approach I’ve gone from 1 blog with 1000 pages that had around 900 daily visitors and earned just a few dollars per day to having 20 or so blogs with over 11,000 pages with 25,000 daily visitors that earns a few hundred dollars per day.

I think where the Mega Blog strategy fails is with getting subscribers. It’s probably a lot harder to keep an audience when you’re writing about 5,234 different topics. But… my gut feeling tells me it won’t matter too much as far as getting incoming search results - provided each category has more than one post.

It seems there are some blogs that are doing well by writing about several different subjects. Here are a few off the top of my head:

Neatorama - Funny stuff, cool pictures, videos, politics and anything else you can think of
Boing Boing - A bunch of bloggers posting about all kinds of stuff
J Walk Blog - Yet another blog with posts all over the map
Chris Pirillo - Mostly technology, but occasionally he throws a curve ball out there

So, what to do? I don’t know, but I’m gonna try blogging with multiple categories and see what happens. One thing I know for sure is that there’s only so much one person can do and it’s a lot easier to maintain one blog than 50. It seems like by the time I update all my WordPress blogs with the latest version it’s time to update again. Maybe the WordPress Automatic Update Plugin would solve this problem?

Another strategy in the back of my mind is to create niche blogs but maybe not get too narrow with the niche. Perhaps doing a blog about clothing and accessories would be better than starting a blog about Croc shoes? It seems with a really narrow niche you’re either going to run out of material or get burnt out. Once you get burnt out, you won’t want to blog on it. When you quit blogging, eventually your traffic dies down.

Interestingly I’ve noticed that on some blogs that I’ve pretty much quit on I’m still getting traffic even though I haven’t blogged on them for a year or two. This gives me an idea for yet another strategy - write on a blog and quit when you’re done. Treat it as if you are writing a book. Then, once a year or so go back and do a revision to freshen things up. Treat it like book publishers do… 2nd edition, 3rd edition, etc.

Enough blabbing for now…What do you think?

Ok, this is awesome… it looks like soon you will be able to add and edit posts directly from your iPhone using the WordPress for iPhone App.  I’m still waiting for my iPhone, so until I receive it I can only fantasize about cool applications like this.  Watch the introductory video below for more info:

iPodTouchLab gives a review (or demo) of the iBeer application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Amuse and amaze your friends by drinking a virtual beer. Even includes a belching sound. This application is made by Hottrix and can be bought here.  Be sure to check out some of their other apps including iMilk, iWater and even iPopcorn.

Juz1093 reviews Super Monkey Ball, a game available for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch running iPhone 2.0. Overall, this is a good game, but the camera angles can screw you up at times. You hold your iPhone or iPod Touch at a slight angle to be in the neutral position. To move, tilt iPhone forward. The graphics are good, but they need to spend more time improving the look of the monkey in the ball. This may be tough to play if you are riding on a bumpy bus or train.