This is what was available in the sky last night. While I’m sure my pics don’t do it justice, if you saw it you really got the best view. For everyone else, here you go!

And I just finished eating all of it. Yummy is an understatement!

Technorati Tags: Dave Navarro, sirloin steak, youtube video

Some really interesting photos of tonights blue moon from my back porch, here in Cottonwood, AZ. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: blue moon, night photography

WTF? I’ve always been a big supporter of using CAPTCHA’s to reduce spam and increase security. I even try to use reCAPTCHA as much as I can, mostly because there is an actual cause behind them.

But as you can see with this quick screen grab from a password reset inside the Ebay Partners network, I feel like I’m writing a damn book just to get them to do something for me.

YIKES!! Next I’ll have to re-type a complete book from the Bible! (or any other holy book of scriptures!)

Crazy stuff. Loco indeed!

Technorati Tags: captcha

Okay. You know you want to get in on the Google Wave thing. Right? Well, if you’re finding it hard to get an invite (though I find that hard to imagine!) you can get them here. I’ve just noticed that I have 25 sitting around waiting to be doled out.

What do you have to do? Not a lot. Really. Okay. There’s no real requirement other than leaving a comment (and obviously filling in your email address which only I’ll be able to see.) I’ll send out the first 25 respondents the invite through Google’s Wave invite system (which looks like this since you probably don’t know ):

Now, if you were so inclined and wanted to also get in on the new video service beta invites from Vidli.com, click here and fill out their three box form.

Easy Peasey!

They are hiring a new Social Media person to help with their launch of what seems like an amazing video licensing and monetization service that will allow anyone to easily monetize uploaded online videos. If nothing else, you’ll want an early invitation to check them out. And you can get that now!

Thanks for your support. RSS subscriptions are always a welcome gift from all of you as well

Technorati Tags: Employment, Google Wave, job search, vidli.com

Christmas dinner was fantastic. Mom’s “new” technique of cooking the turkey outside of the oven in a giant slow cooker creates the most moist and amazingly good meat ever. We do put it into the oven as soon as the thingy pops out telling us it’s ready inside.

While its skin is browning we pop in some dinner rolls and really work the heck out of that conventional oven.

This holiday season, between Thanksgiving and Christmas pie baking I helped mom to try and keep those crusts from burning. As you probably know just like we do, you’re supposed to cover them with foil.

Well, if you’ve attempted this feat of magic, you know how tough it can be. I thought I’d be slick this year and break tooth picks in half and joust the overlapping pieces of foil into the edge of the crust.

And to be fair, that actually worked rather well. Except for one thing. I discovered, via some online research that I wasn’t supposed to press the foil down on the crusts. Well, it does make a difference.

So, I thought I’d invent the Pie Crust Protector. Of course, as great as this idea is, someone’s already done it. Pie Shields they’re known as. Oh well.

But as you can see by the embedded Amazon link above, they are readily available and rather inexpensive. I’m ordering 2 of them as soon as I’m done with this post. Having them might just make me want to delve deeper into baking homemade pies.

Which reminds me, I need to start posting up about my bread machine adventures. Let me tell you a little sneak peak: I am a damned good (bread machine) baker! More on that soon!

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Technorati Tags: Amazon, Christmas, Cooking, pie baking

Straight from @TimJahn his 10 Online Video Predictions for 2010 are available over at his UnleashVideo.com site. Have to say I agree with most all of them, though maybe a bit askewedly (is that a word? )

Here’s my take on each of his items. You’ll obviously want to click through to read his post to know what the heck I’m talking about!

10 Online Video Predictions for 2010

1. There’s a lot of money out there for company’s to spend advertising. Recession? Blah!
2. Sounds like social media video production. I’m for it, however not to overlook the value of creative juice production when working in close proximity to other creatives.
3. If Apple doesn’t do this, someone else will. From what I read Hulu.com is likely to move into subscriptions as well.
4. Too much “creative integration” of product marketing might harm video monetization. But only if done in cheesy fashion.
5. Very excited to see what creative minds will do with live, streaming services from an entertainment vs. reporting perspective.
6. Not looking forward to 500,000,000 channels of lifestreams
7. I really liked Joost and its first application. Much better than MCE, at least in my eyes.
8. The players are all mostly the same that are making “real” movies, so it makes sense they’d find funding based upon fame and marketshare in their online pursuits.
9. Pre-roll ads are fine. 12 pre-roll ad units: NOT!
10. A little scared about small businesses getting into video promotions of their wares. Have you seen some small business websites? Yikes!
11. My 11th? I’d like to see company’s like Vidli.com and even Youtube extend the earnings potential to sites that embed other’s video content. If you’re making money when it is shown, and it gets seen on my site, share the wealth!

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Technorati Tags: Apple, Small business, vidli.com, YouTube

From Early Christmas Dinner

Because my Sister and her husband have plans to be with their daughter’s boyfriend’s family during the actual holiday and that weekend, we decided to have our dinner and gift giving yesterday.

As such, we made one of our favorite family style meals, tacos. Mom has that wonderful serving tray that houses 9 different bowl containers for all the yummy stuff that you might want to put on your taco. And you can’t see it in this picture, however, if you click through to the complete album, you’ll see the entire table setting.

Have to say that it was a super delicious meal and the four of us thoroughly enjoyed dining together. And that was before we opened up all of our gifts. Woo Hoo!

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Technorati Tags: Christmas, Family, food

I decided I needed to use the makings I had bought for ratatouille, else risk losing perfectly good vegetables to the compost heap. Are you like me that way? Just despise allowing your laziness to cost you? Money. Time? Effectiveness? Yeah, I dislike it as well.

So, I made sure I had the time (i.e., all my tasks were done and submitted properly) and simply spent the afternoon in the kitchen. I’ve been making ratatouille for about 6 months now. Guessing at least a dozen times. Really!

Why so much, you ask? Mainly because I like experimenting with recipes I enjoy. Tweaking ingredients, methods, flavor profiles. Starting with the same recipe that Julia Child used on her television show, my first attempt was hatched. I enjoyed it well enough to make it again (from the same recipe) and liked it again, even more.

Then I went online searching for other recipes, finding about a gazillion, of course! There’s really a lot of different philosophies when it comes to making this pleasant peasant dish. I even found and tried a couple of times the biyaldi recipe that was the basis of the dish in the movie “Ratatouille“. I especially liked the addition of yellow squash in that one.

Anyway, the meal was a great thick cut Top Sirloin broiled to a juicy rare (but fully safe!) and the ratatouille served over fluffy white rice. I must admit that Mom and I were very pleased! You would have been too. Where were you? Next time!

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Technorati Tags: Cooking, Julia Child, ratatouille, top sirloin

This should prove to be an interesting service. As reported in the NY Times, Paramount will open a movie clip licensing service tomorrow. And tomorrow is not today, as I’ve just found out. Tried to sign up and access their site, and after submitting, nothing. Just nothing. Maybe tomorrow it will be accessible. We’ll see.

Paramount to Start Online Service to Sell Movie Clips

Paramount Pictures, looking for new ways to turn its old movies into cash, especially as DVD sales continue to decline, is creating an online video clip service that will allow users to search hundreds of feature films on a frame-by-frame basis.

Technorati Tags: Entertainment, official video licensor, Paramount Pictures