meridiancrest

This is why Brian was banned from the blogosphere:



In response to this post: Our Love Story

If you have yet to see MC Rove, you're missing out.

- Scot Smith

All of you Facebook users out there may want to check out my recent article: Facebook Statistics. Even if you don't use the website, it's an interesting read.

Hope everyone is doing well!

-- Scot

Wow, haven't been on livejournal in forever. Have been extremely busy! Lots of developments lately.

Mal and I visited the Gulf of Mexico for Spring Break, here are some pictures(from my cell phone camera). How is everyone in LJ Land doing? Anyone still read this thing anymore?

I'm still blogging @ meridiancrest.com.

Hope everyone had as awesome of a Spring Break as I did!

I'm 21 today.
My vacation starts today, too. What a coincidence!!!

Gah, I'm old. Old, but good.

Virb is out of beta. Add me as a friend!

Just a quick note after a couple of long nights with a Toshiba laptop:

Be weary ye fellow laptop shoppers when purchasing your next notebook.
Let me give you a couple of hints before you head out to your local Circuit City, Best Buy, or Radio Shack to pick up your next notebook computer.

Surprisingly enough, these notebooks will come pre-installed with Windows Vista. The minimum requirements to operate Vista:

1ghz processor
512mb of RAM
Support for DirectX 9 graphics and 32 MB of graphics memory

These are for Home Basic. Home Ultimate is another monster which requires 128mb of video memory, and 15gb of available hard drive space, topping the requirements off with 1gb of RAM.

Please note these are the requirements. Not the recommended. These are the bare minimum requirements to turn Vista on.

If you purchase a notebook with a 1.3ghz Celeron processor and 512mb RAM with shared video memory, you're going to be up shit's creek without a paddle. The interface (Aero) is going to run at record-setting slow speeds, it will take 10 minutes to come back from hibernation. You're going to die a little inside every time you hit the power button. And don't even think about turning on all of those cool Aero features that the salesman showed you on the sales floor.

Trust me, I would know. I wouldn't buy a laptop with this configuration, ever. Unfortunately people that I know do. Then they ask me to install XP on the laptop and I realize Toshiba doesn't care to provide Windows XP drivers for their Vista-installed laptops.

So, what does this mean folks? If you buy a bottom-of-the-line laptop to save you a couple of dollars; you're going to be stuck with Windows Vista on an (unusable) incredibly slow machine. Just don't do it.

I did get to a solution with the laptop, and after a couple of work-arounds, Windows XP Pro is working as smooth as butter on this Toshiba laptop.  The work done on this computer would probably cost you around $200-$300 if brought to your local computer technician.  Spend it on getting a computer that works in the first place.  Tell your friends.

So many things that were important have taken the back burner to life lately. And by life I mean responsibilities, the inevitable complications, and the time it takes to un-complicate them.

But, once everything is cleared up things will gradually get better. That's just how it works. Plus, I have little to complain about. Things aren't going bad by any means. I'm taking 10 days off in March and Mal and I are heading to Destin/Ft. Walton Beach for Spring Break, and that will be a blast. Hopefully when I return my mind will be rejuvenated and everything will be back in order.

I'm looking forward to seeing the beaches, taking in the cuisine, and being the kid I am... visiting the 25 acre water park. We got an awesome deal on a hotel right on the beach-front. It's going to be a blast and a cut scene from what's been going on since December.  Did I mention we'll both be 21 by then?

I finally gave in and got an iPod (video). I know I'm a little late to the whole mp3 player thing, but I've never had a need for one until recently. I figured it would be a good idea and wise investment to update my car audio a little bit, being the traveling nomad that I am. I was tired of burning CD's to transport to the vehicle, so I decided it was time to get an mp3 player that could sync with my stereo deck in the car. After thorough research and comparison the iPod came out on top (mostly because of Pioneer's support for the iPod, and the 'Pod's scroll-wheel navigation). The Zune was a second choice, followed by something from Creative.

So, my setup is this:
Pioneer In-Dash Player (DEH-P4900IB) wired to the iPod video (which rests in my glovebox for easy removal) with the Pioneer iPod direct-link cable(CDI200).

The headunit goes back to an MTX 150w (75x2) bridged 2 Channel amp (RT202) with a Monster Cable amp hook-up kit (mpc p300) that powers a Kicker CompVR 12" 300w RMS subwoofer (05c124) mounted in a vented 12" box (BS112V).  The front factory speakers were replaced with Pioneer 4x6's (TSG4641R), and the rear with Pioneer 3 way 6x9's (TSA6972R).  All in all, it's a decent sounding system considering I didn't want to go all out with component speakers, etc.  I'm pleased with the sound.

My iPod experience so far has been good.  I have a 3rd party plugin for WMP that syncs my iPod so I don't have to use iTunes (which I do not like).  I'm considering purchasing a 7" screen for the video portion to put in the car somewhere but that probably won't happen as I'm not exactly concerned.

This guy has an amazing voice. What a way to cruise the metro.

A pet may come to symbolize many things to each of us. It may represent a child, perhaps a child yet to be conceived or the innocent child in us all. It may reflect the ideal mate or parent, ever faithful, patient and welcoming, loving us unconditionally. It is a playmate and a sibling. It is a reflection of ourselves, embodying negative and positive qualities we recognize or lack in ourselves. The same pet may be all of these, alternating between roles on any given day or for each member of the family. Tonight a small piece of that went missing. Daisy quietly and peacefully passed away after giving birth to 5 pups, 3 being stillborn. Her sad brown eyes made contact with mine, as if she were asking for permission. And when she made peace, she closed her eyes and stopped breathing.

This goes to show you that you don't have to be a professional on the instrument to put an interesting tune together using a computer/sampling. It's rather interesting.



Sorry for the lack of useful updates lately-- I have a couple of projects in the works and will probably post about them later! I hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

Are you an educator, student, or just a self-learner? Would you like to brush up on a subject or delve in to something completely new? MIT has something you might be interested in.  OpenCourseWare is a publication of MIT course materials that is open to the general public.

Take a course on anything from Nuclear Science and Engineering to Music and Theater Arts. 

MIT President Charles Vest explains how he expected the program to be completed over a revenue-generating model-- but as it stands it looks to me like a free online classroom (Phoenix? haha.)  With programs like these being rolled out, one must ask how much longer will the classroom experience be worth the price of tuition?  And, what about those of a lower social or economical class using these tools to further themselves?  Will programs like these be beneficial in the workplace  without a diploma?

These classes (obviously) aren't degree or certificate-granting courses, but why not learn a couple of things in your spare time?  I'm on my way now to learn how to be an astronaut.

I don't officially condone pirating software.  I do, however, officially believe in the right to manipulate software you have paid for in any which way you choose.  If you so happen to own a pirated copy of Windows XP, the following will also apply to your copy of the operating system.

And, don't forget-- Windows Vista is almost here already!



Windows Media Player 11, Microsoft Defender, Internet Explorer 7, and most other programs/updates from Microsoft require a "genuine windows" check to ensure you are running a legit copy of Windows XP.  Although this is beyond the subject of this blog, I will go ahead and post a short tutorial on how to bypass this check since everyone seems to ask me about it and nobody knows.

Step One:
Download this file.

Step Two
Extract the file.

Step Three
Run the registry edit.

Step Four
Thank me for authenticating you.

Ever thought of the potential profit in opening a firewood business? I hadn't either before this Christmas weekend. My girlfriend's mother placed a couple of logs in the fireplace and I took a nap in front of the fire while they made Christmas dinner. I quickly realized this wood has to be bought from somewhere and I developed somewhat of a good idea over the course of the day. I hope everyone's Christmas was as great as mine was!


I'll skip the whole spiel about the rise of fuel costs driving the demand of firewood/fireplace usage-- because that much is obvious. Fireplaces are often times being used for leisure regardless of the cost of fuel. People want firewood, and it's probably possible to outdo most of their current supplies on cost and customer service.

There are several different ways to sell firewood. I will focus on the one I prefer: Selling Small Quantities to fill a niche. Selling a smaller quantity of firewood will allow you to hit up apartment complexes, neighborhood homes, friends & family, and generally anyone who might require just enough wood to get them through a quick week of cold weather. This could be especially useful in a geographic area where weather changes frequently. It never hurts to have a couple of blocks lying around just in case.

Getting the Wood
The easiest way I could think to get the wood supply that you'll need is to visit the local sawmills. I don't care if you live in a suburban atmosphere or not; there will be sawmills and plenty of them around the outskirts of your city. Take a weekend trip to visit the wooded areas around your city-- they have mills. It's best to get a number of dedicated wood suppliers for redundancy but a couple will do to get you started. Form a smart business relationship with the mill and begin your wood supply.

Another way to get wood is to offer a wood-clearing service to those who live in wooded areas. Offer the resident your service for the price of the wood. I know of people who have done this in the past successfully. Just don't forget your chainsaw and any other equipment and consider some type of insurance.

Also consider furniture manufacturing plants, home contractors and re modelers, etc.  Just keep in mind you'll have to sort this wood.

Doing the Math
Saw mills are usually eager to get rid of ends and they make for perfect kindling. The ends burn clean and easily and put out lots of good heat (according to my research). Head to the mill and get a truckload of mill ends. You might get a load for $50USD which you can repackage and sell for $5USD per sack. You could probably expect 200 sack fulls of ends and the math breaks down easily. You've just made a $950 profit on the wood.

Again-- you're hitting the niche. Don't try selling a truckload of wood until you're ready to handle that kind of volume. The nice thing about wood mills is the fact that your supply is almost unlimited and the return on your investment is built in.

Furthermore
Once you start pushing lots of volume, contact a counselor's office at a local high school to hire a couple of willing and able teenagers to help you sack and deliver the wood.  These kids work for candy.  You can usually find the burlap sacks and ties at your local farm and garden feed store.  And, there is always the internet.  Once you have advertised and your business is coming strong, you can begin to sell accessories like fireplaces, stoves, storage containers, etc. etc.  Use your imagination.

Today I was talking to a friend of mine when I stumbled upon a possibly incredible idea.  Christmas brings along a couple of different things but most notably: gifts.  Cassie asked me what could be wrapped up for her under her tree that is about as tall as a Christmas tree, but weighs less than 2lbs.  I searched Google for ideas and wished there was an easy way to figure this out.

There is nothing more annoying than seeing a stack of unknown Christmas gifts in all different shapes and sizes wrapped up ever so tightly under the Christmas tree with your name on them.  My idea to solve this small problem is GuessMyGift.com.

A user simply logs in to the website, enters the approximate size of the gift, enters the approximate weight and feel -- and we output a list of possible gifts based on the user's input.  The algorithm could be updated all of the time with users submitting gift ideas in the size/weight/feel(smell?!) range of a particular database field.  Did I mention you don't even have to tear a hole in the wrapping paper?

I will consult with my team of expert php/MySQL programmers and post any information I retrieve during our talks.  Maybe a little more technology that could show you how to make this work.

This type of site could be monetized in several different ways.  I would probably go with an Amazon Affiliate Link system that displayed Christmas gifts pertaining to that person's interests, or possibly a charitable donation type thing with a small kick back to pay for server/misc costs.  If you have any other ideas don't hesitate to comment!

This is definitely immoral and illegal. I got this idea working at Circuit City when I ran in to it being performed a couple of times by apparently accomplished scam artists. This scam can be pulled off in many different ways and in many different environments. It isn't rocket science, so I'll briefly go over what I know about the infamous Brick In The Box scam/fraud.

The Retail Environment
So, it's the 5th of the month and you've already spent your monthly rent/bills/budget on alcohol and hookers. Luckily for you there's an invention known as a shrinkwrap machine and a couple of idiots standing behind the customer service counter at Circuit City. So, go borrow about $349.99 + tax and head to Circuit City for your Ipod video. Purchase the Ipod with cash so there is no record of your name/address/whatever and if they do ask provide fraudulent information. 

Weigh the Ipod and slip a couple cans of tuna or something into the box and use your handy-dandy heatshrink machine to wrap up.  Return to Circuit City/Wal-Mart/K-Mart/any other retail store and get a cash refund.  Sell the Ipod to your local neighborhood crackhead (or ebay).

The Parking Lot Environment
If you've ever experienced the big city life -- you've probably heard of this scam or have even personally seen it in action.  A bum pulls up to you on a bike with a couple of laptop boxes and tells you he can offer you this unbelievable deal on a brand new laptop.  You give him $100 and he rides off before you can open your box full of bricks.  I've known people who have literally bought a TV box full of bricks.  Don't be stupid and you won't be scammed. 

Another variant of this is the van full of radios with no boxes or un-marked boxes.  The lot salesman (bum) eludes to the fact the merchandise is hot so you believe you're getting an unbelievable deal on top of the line electronics.  Most people don't care where the merchandise comes from (unfortunately) and won't pass up such a deal!  By the time the van is gone you realize you've just paid $50 for a korean 8 track player that says CDs nuts on the front.  Again, just don't be stupid and this won't happen to you.

I've seen people bring back everything from used cordless phone batteries to computers to plasma TV's.  This scam works. 

Lessons Learned: Open your item before you leave the store to verify its authenticity.  Don't buy second-hand electronics unless you know what you're doing.  Don't be ignorant.

Starting a web hosting business isn't as hard as it might sound. Even though it doesn't hurt to have a clue about the technology involved, being the aspiring entrepreneur that you are; this information is available at your finger tips. And, unlike what you may have heard from others who are in the business; you likely won't have to know a damn thing about hosting a website.

Now, this blog isn't about teaching you technology nor is it about showing you how to learn any technology-specific skill -- so we won't get into the technology side of hosting a website at all. I'm going to show you how easy it is to make a reasonable amount of cash by sitting on your ass and letting someone else do the work for you.

The first thing you are going to need is some kind of space to host the accounts you're going to be accumulating. A good place to start before you have an enormous customer base is a reseller package. Eleven2 has decent prices on their reseller packages for the amount of drive space and available bandwidth. With a reseller account you basically lease a portion of another company's servers in a shared hosting environment. A lot of people prefer to have total control over their business and opt for a dedicated server which is a bit more costly and usually start around $100USD p/mo. The advantage of having a reseller plan is the fact that another company is essentially handling support, server updates, security issues, etc. etc. You are controlling your business through a control panel.

So, lets say you're paying $33.95 per/mo for their 10/300 plan. That's 10gb of file storage and 300gb of monthly file transfer.

So, you buy your domain (dotster.com coupon code: corvette for $1.00 domain 12mo). You set up a Paypal verified account to accept payments of all types, and set up your website as one account on your reseller package your first month total expenses are $34.95.

You give the link out to all of your friends, do a little viral advertising by throwing in a free domain for every 12 month activation (costing you $1USD) and you have 20 accounts in one month.

Each account would have a total of 0.5/15gb transfer p/mo and you could easily charge $10.00 p/mo per account. That's a gross $200USD and a net $166.05 per month. Let your reseller take care of most of the issues with running the business and sit back to enjoy the monthly income.

Imagine scaling this profit over a dedicated (managed) server that only costs you $100USD per month and can handle 100x the accounts. Hit a niche (designers, forum hosting, image hosting, file hosting, etc) to see an even greater return on your investment.

So there you have it. Start your web hosting business in under 24 hours.

Related:
www.eleven2.com
www.webhostingtalk.com
www.sitepoint.com

This is the new Livejournal account for the artist formerly known as frost_factor