I am introducing a new feature here at the blog today, smell-o-blogging. Get ready, scratch your monitor or smart phone screen and smell the photo below… As bad as her nachos breath was last night at the rink, it has to work…

Small Business/Tech Links…

• Lots of National Advertisers are Ignoring Basic Local Search Tactics
• Quantifying Your Website’s True Impact on Your Business
• iOS 5.1 To Hit March 9?
• HTML5-based Depthcam puts a fresh spin on Kinect hacks
• 8 Legal Steps for Starting Your Business
• Google Updates Chrome Browser, Now Offers Faster Browsing, Improved Security
• Path Apologizes, Deletes All Address Book Data
• Add Change Tracking to Online Text Editing with Ice.js

Funny/Interesting Links…

• Lil’ Wayne making it rain in awkward situations
• Valentine’s Day gift combines underwear and food in most disgusting way possible

Well, we got some bad news last night, pig stomach night has been postponed (hopefully for next weekend). So Viv is already pretty bummed, but I am glad that I will get to see Bubs play ice hockey this weekend and also get a lot of work done on a project with a very rapidly approaching deadline.

Bubs really did a great job on his Divisibility Rules Chart project for math last night. He had to stay up late finishing it off, but it looks pretty good and I love seeing him show some of his creativity… (check out those evil clowns)…

Movie Reviews…

Apollo 18 - although I do like both found footage (Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity) and sci-fi drama films (Moon), this movie was a pretty solid miss.

Small Business/Tech Links…

• SEO Short Cheat Sheets
• The Shady Practice Of Spinning Articles To Avoid Duplicate Content Penalties
• Optimizing Your Business Facebook Page for Maximum Hits and Return Visits
• Frictionless Sharing: 10 New Facebook Apps to Get You Started
• Scrollorama
• 10 Simple Google Calendar Tips and Tricks to Boost Your Productivity

Funny/Interesting Links…

• The most painfully obvious spelling mistakes ever seen in tattoos
• The most terrifyingly erotic aisle in Home Depot.
• If 2012 Oscar nominated movie posters were perfectly honest (16 Photos)
• Houses in the middle of nowhere (40 Photos)
• I do what I want (26 Photos)
• Boots and Cats

Folks, there are brave hair styles and then there are the profound. Shaving your head – that’s bold for sure. But a mohawk? Now that’s just ridiculous. And that’s exactly what I am going to do this year!

Abbe and I are proud to present this year’s Beef N’ Beer Fundraiser at the Marlton Tavern on December 4th from 5-8pm. Tickets are $30 per adult and $15 per kid. There will be raffle prizes. So far our confirmed prizes are tour tickets to the Battleship New Jersey, tour tickets to the Philadelphia Independence Seaport Museum, 1 Free Nutrition Consultation w/ a Whole Foods gift card from Dr. Mike Kirk at Performance Health & Chiropractic, and many more to come.

Contact Abbe  (610-451-8138) or Van (609-969-2387) for tickets!

If you are unable to attend, please consider making an online donation.

Small Business/Tech Links…

• Official Google statements: how to optimize your web pages
• Four Social Media Marketing Myths
• Four Tactics to Use Reverse SEO to Mitigate a Corporate Crisis
• 5 Best Practices for Financial Institutions on Facebook
• jQuery’s New Project Will Fight for Every Developer Lost in the Web Standards Pit of Despair

Funny/Interesting Links…

• 15 Signs Improved by Hilarious Graffiti
• Zombie in a Penguin Suit
• Haunted Air: Halloween Photos 1875-1955
• Kanye West Lyrics + Saved by the Bell
• Medford Mayor Chris Myers Caught Up in Rentboy Scandal - Hey, that’s my town! Truth be told, I have zero problems if my mayor were gay (or my governor, senator, president, etc.)… the paying for sex and lying about it, that’s another issue (both with his own family and his constituents). An issue that I hope come out in the wash (along with his blue Calvin Klein underwear – before clicking on those two links… warning eye bleach may be required).

I am very happy to report that I believe I fixed my sore heel and calf with a short run yesterday with Abbe. I did have some issues with the run (a little wheezing), but it was great to be running with my girl on a beautiful day.

As much as I love the show Oddities, it can be tough to watch. I try hard not to tell anyone how to spend their money – whether they worked hard to earn it or not, I assume they did work hard. It is theirs to spend as they see fit. Sure it would be great if those that have would lend some measure of help to those without, and I don’t know if the collectors that come into the curiosity shop spend oodles of money on charities, BUT… it is truly hard to watch someone spend $300 on a piece of art made of human hair when I am sitting in the position I am in financially.

Great, you just bought a two headed pig cadaver for $3,000, do you think the pig could spare some change? How about instead of buying that taxidermied wolf penis, maybe you would give this hard working dad that is fighting every single day to provide for his family that money for some work, getting me entirely out of debt and you could just feel good. Isn’t that better than a wolf penis?

I do really enjoy the show mostly for the history, information on these very interesting sub-cultures, and the self-defined beauty that some of these collectors find in really odd stuff. But there’s that one part of me that just can’t help to think that this money could be put to better use.

Movie Review…

The Way Back – this was pretty good, I’m surprised this film did not do better at the box office. It is long and honest, a 4,000 mile walk to freedom is grueling and the audience shares in that experience to a certain extent.

Small Business/Tech Links…

• Build Dynamic Pages with Knockout.js
• Dissection of a Twitter Account: 10 Ways I’ve Used Twitter This Month
• Colors in Web Design: An Exploration

Funny/Interesting Links…

• Rides A Bike.
• Go the F*** to Sleep! read by Samuel L. Jackson
• Guitar Baby

Yesterday started off sorta poorly, kids were not behaving while I was trying to get some coding done on a couple of jQuery range sliders for a big project. A quick-turnaround came about after the kids and I hit the Dutch Wagon Market for some pretzels and then surprising Abbe and Caroline at the cheese shoppe with a couple of pretzels for their day (Viv and I split a plate of cheese, fruit, and bread too). Also, as a bonus, our friends Natalie and Bella were there to join us for a midday mangia. Bubs and I had a nice long baseball catch in the backyard and we watched the Phils pummel the Cubs. Abbe came home and cross stitched while I worked on Big Love (Lindsey is THE most underrated guitarist).

Today, I’ve got a softball double-header. Bubs will be coming along to watch, and Viv will be hanging with her Memom. The rest of the day will most likely be spent coding and possibly dinner over at Mom’s depending on how everybody (i.e. me) is feeling.

Funny/Interesting Links…

• 10 Must-Follow Fake Twitter Celebs
• Dancer Among Us of the Day
• Hula-hooping from the hoop’s point of view