Microsoft Surface - Something Truly Amazing Out Of Redmond - 05/30/07 08:45 AM
Apple is incorporating "Multi-Touch" into the upcoming iPhone, but Microsoft has just taken it to a new level with Microsoft Surface.If you've know me at all, you know I hate Microsoft.
Those are strong words, I know. But I do. Can't help myself. I've tried to stop. It's almost irrational at this point in my life. So this post would be hard to write if this weren't so amazing.
This is the first truly amazing thing I've seen out of Redmond in a long, long time. Popular Mechanics has a great behind-the-scenes first look in video form. I've watched it several … (47 comments)

Google World Domination Now Playing In 3D - 05/30/07 01:24 AM
Google launched a new map feature today for San Francisco, Miami, Las Vegas, Denver and New York. It's called Street View. And it rocks pretty darn hard. It's a souped up version of the now defunct A9 project that was called Blockview. It's up and live as of this afternoon. The announcement was made today at the Where 2.0.
In those four cities, the 3D views are available along major streets and points of interest. Google worked on portion of this with Immersive Media to produce the views. Some of this, however was done with Google Earth's own technologies. San Francisco and … (62 comments)

It's My Responsibility To Communicate Properly: The Power Of Words - 05/29/07 11:53 AM
I felt a bit like EF Hutton this morning. When I found ARDELL DellaLoggia's post titled Jeff Turner Speaks - Project Blogger, I was caught a bit off guard, but after reading my comment again, not surprised. As I read my comment again, I could easily understand how they could feel the way they felt. It's so easy for our written words to be heard by the reader in a way that's different from how we're hearing them in our head. How a reader reads a sentence has as much, if not more to do with their state of mind as … (68 comments)

Ever Wonder How Oprah Would Describe An RSS Feed? - 05/29/07 01:33 AM
I must get asked this questions 5 times each week - "What the heck is an RSS Feed?"
If you've been on AR for very long, you know that lots of folks here have done a good job of trying to explain it in simple terms. Often, even the non-geek attempts go over some folks heads. I was about to take a whack at making it even easier to understand for a post on the RES blog. But, as is sometimes the case, I ran across a post out in the blogosphere that I think does a better job of boiling it … (26 comments)

Tribute To A Fallen Friend - 05/28/07 01:03 AM
Dave Morehead understands the true meaning of Memorial Day. A few days ago, after reading about our Memorial Day idea, Dave shared with me a couple of short, but powerful emails and a Show he created as a tribute to a fallen friend.

Jeff, Thank you for sharing your idea. Thought you might like to see what I did last night using your idea. Thanks for allowing me to finally be able to come to terms with that whole nightmare of what so many of us, both as Vets and as a nation, went through. Dave. [A Tribute To My … (25 comments)

Baseball, Hot Dogs And Great Conversation - 05/25/07 03:19 AM
I don't get out much. Martin Rodriguez knows this. He's my next door neighbor. So when he called to invite me to go to a Dodger game with him, it wasn't so much an invitation as it was an order. "Hey, I know you're not a big Dodge Fan, but you're going to a game next Wednesday. Clear it with Rocky." A neighbor knows your wife's name. A good neighbor also knows when your wife wears the pants in the family . :)
He's not usually that aggressive, so to be frank, he kind of freaked me out a bit. I … (52 comments)

There Is A New Pro Blogger In The World - 05/21/07 04:10 PM
If you've ever read Sarah Cooper's blog here on ActiveRain,you know she's a big fan of RealEstateShows.com I can't count the number of times someone has commented on one of her posts, "Sarah, those guys at RealEstateShows.com should be paying you." Given her level of enthusiasm and the creative ways she used the product, those comments weren't surprising to me. But they did plant a seed. :)
Well, now we are paying her. We love her voice. We love her spirit. We felt strongly that her values and our values were aligned and that having her add value consistently would be … (54 comments)

Your Photos May Need A Change Of Perspective - 05/19/07 02:04 PM
I see a lot of the photos that roll through our system. The vast, vast majority are shot at eye level.
It's certainly understandable. It's natural. But it's also unfortunate. There's a lot of ways to shoot any room and if you're shooting your own photos, exploring more of those ways is wise. Even a slight change in perspective can make a huge difference in how a room feels. And, because it will be a bit out of the ordinary, it could create some visual drama that will set the photo apart. 

The photo above on was shot using … (114 comments)

Shift Happened In The Process Of Writing This Post - 05/17/07 12:25 PM
I've had this video saved as a draft post since May 2.
It was sent to me by Joe Fenton, saying I might want to put it up on my JustDugUp.com site, the one I use when I don't have time for a real post. My response - this deserved a post. I never got to it and, in my opinion, it's old news. 
The video hit me at an emotional level. I don't have the time to verify all the facts presented, but I've found no blogger refuting them. It's beside the point. I've wanted to post about it since May … (73 comments)

I'm Speaking At Real Estate Connect in San Francisco - 05/16/07 10:49 AM

But it wouldn't have happened without my writing here on ActiveRain.
That's a fact. While the official announcement and invitation copy can be found on the RealEstateShows.com Blog, Jeff Turner To Speak At Real Estate Connect, the real story is here. 
There is no question in my mind... If I had not written Make It Personal: No, There's No Template To Follow, you would not be reading this announcement right now. That post was my awakening to the power of blogging. That post helped me understand that I had something more to offer. It was my realization that this medium had staying power. … (42 comments)

The Power Of A Plainfield Mom: YEO In Action - 05/15/07 09:49 AM
"When Julie Ferenzi of Plainfield read an online journal about a baby boy who was given six to eights weeks to live and needed a bone marrow donor, she went into action." Catherine Ann Velasco, The Herald News
Several weeks ago, you may remember a post by Julie Ferenzi entitled, This Has Nothing To Do With Real Estate But Everything To Do With Humanity. She wrote about a little boy named Trevor Kott who urgently needed a bone marrow transplant. She wrote from her heart. "I don't know why I feel it is my duty to help this family find this very … (28 comments)

Flowers and Bugs: Shooting Up Close With The Kodak V705 - 05/14/07 10:14 AM
I hike every weekend with my kids. We've got lots of great places to hike around Southern California. 
It's a good workout. It gets me alone with my kids for hours at a time. And it allows me to take some photos, which I love to do. I usually focus on the big picture - panoramas, the mountains and trails. Yesterday, I decided I'd test my favorite little point and shoot out on the details.
The photos below were taken during a hike at Placerita Canyon Natural Area using the automatic preset for flowers that is built into the Kodak V705. I … (86 comments)

If You Can't Be A Real Guru, Be A Bubble Guru - 05/12/07 10:41 AM
Want to introduce yourself to your readers?
Want to highlight an upcoming event?
Bubble Guru may be just the right way to draw attention. It's beta 3, so it's still a little buggy. But if it's working you saw a little video pop up in a bubble on this page. It will only pop up the first time you visit this page for any session. So, if you didn't see it, you were probably on this blog once already today. Close your browser and come back. You should see it.
I created mine in less than 2 minutes, from sign up to position in … (47 comments)

Add Your Other Blogs RSS Feed To Your AR Sidebar - 05/11/07 07:11 PM
I don't know what took me so long to find this... all it took was one quick little Google search on "make a widget."
I've wanted to put a feed from a couple of my other blogs down the right side of this blog for a long time now. Unfortunately that desire never translated to action until today. Don't think I'm not kicking myself.
If you look to the right, you'll see two new RSS feeds filling in the side of my blog here on ActiveRain. These were made at Grazr.com. (See the edit at the end of this article. Grazr.com … (70 comments)

The History Of Mother's Day: More Reason For Pride - 05/11/07 12:40 PM
If you're from Grafton, West Virginia,you learn the history of Mother's Day at an early age. Why? Because the first Official Mother's Day church service was held in the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Grafton on May 10, 1908. I was born in Grafton, WV. I still have a farm there that we visit each summer. As a young boy, I took great pride in this piece of Mother's Day history. Even now, as an adult, it is a source of pride. The fact that my wife now writes a blog called Muthahood.com only strengthens that pride. But it's only part … (30 comments)

Like A Dark Cloud: When Comments Get Ugly And Personal - 05/11/07 06:29 AM
Outside of ActiveRain, It's No Holds Barred.
Inside ActiveRain, there are "guidelines" that keep things civil. This is true the vast, vast majority of the time. Everyone has a common objective and the community supports it's members. Personal attacks are heavily frowned upon. But they have been known to happen.
What Do You Do When Someone Goes On The Attack?
Last week we legally finalized the adoption of our two little girls. It was a joyous day for our family and my wife.  Later that day, after watching a show on Orphans in Africa, Rocky quickly put out a post entitled, Two Less Orphans … (90 comments)

ActiveRain Gathering LA: Time To RSVP - 05/10/07 07:33 AM

It's Settled. An Adult (figuratively speaking) Evening Event It is.The vote was small, but definitive. 19 for evening adult. 8 for afternoon family. Now onto the important stuff. Following the lead of TLW for the Orlando event, it's time to get a head count so we can plan this thing properly. We're going to find a coastal location somewhere between Huntington Beach and Santa Monica. I Wish I could be more specific at this point, but I can't. No LA location is going to please everyone. This place is just too vast. So...
June 9th, 2007. Evening Event. Somewhere between Santa Monica … (57 comments)

MEEZ: Sometimes You Just Need To Have Some Fun - 05/07/07 01:26 PM
My wife and I were directed to this last night and thought is was just too much fun.
It's a 3D virtual me... doing what I'd really love to be doing every day... blogging on a beach. I got to choose all of my features and put myself in the location of my choice, doing the activity of my choice.
It's not going to change the world, but it does allow you to have a little fun and link from your profile to your blog. It's just one more way to build up a network. I have a feeling this one will … (145 comments)

ActiveRain Birthday Bash - June 9 - Los Angeles, California - 05/07/07 11:18 AM
All right, let's start getting this thing planned!
I was thrilled that Lydia asked me to lead this event and am looking forward to making sure it's something everyone wants to attend. So, I want to get all of you in the Los Angeles area to participate in the discussion. We don't have a great deal of time to get this thing planned and in everyone's calendars. So, let's deal with first things first.
What kind of event would you like it to be?
A Family Gathering: An afternoon family gathering at a park or the beach. BBQAdult Gathering: An evening gathering for … (33 comments)

Itsnoteasytoreadyourpostsifyoudon't Give Them Some Air - 05/06/07 02:46 AM
I spent a good part of the day today just reading posts as they came up on the dashboard. For about an hour, I read every post. I don't mean every featured post, but any post, by anyone that came up when I refreshed my browser. I stumbled on some great reading today, a lot of it by people who were brand new to ActiveRain - "newbies." Most of them were really great posts. I left comments and emailed a couple of them to offer some unsolicited advice. I hope it was received in the way I intended. Their posts all … (99 comments)

12 U.S. Laws That Impact Bloggers - 05/04/07 07:34 PM
I posted a link to this on my JustDugUp.com tumblelog, but felt this was too important not to share here as well.
Part of my daily activity now includes research for Project Blogger to assist Julie Ferenzi with her Living In Plainfield blog. That includes things to avoid. Sometimes I communicate information directly with her, but most of the time the information has a more universal appeal. This is indeed the case with 12 Important U.S. Laws Every Blogger Needs To Know.
This is an extremely well written, plain English post that covers these important areas:
Whether to Disclose Paid PostsIs Deep Linking LegalThe … (42 comments)

Flat Ben Caught On Hidden Camera - 05/04/07 08:58 AM
Caught Red Handed.
When Flat Ben arrived at our home last week, fresh from his stay with Bryant and TLW, my wife brought the package into my office and said, "Are you seriously going to take time from your busy schedule to play with a paper doll?"
I could tell she was half joking and half serious. But I've learned that to be successful in marriage, it's the half serious part you need to pay attention to. So, I didn't really respond. I just smiled that smile I smile when I know she's right but I'm going to go ahead and do the … (76 comments)

Member Spotlight: Three Men I Admire (In 2706 Words Or Less) - 05/03/07 08:14 PM
Pat Kitano, Ed Rybczynski and Bryce Mohan

This week's spotlight is on two men who come to ActiveRain with title industry backgrounds. Both now run their own consulting firms and both are committed to title industry reform in their own unique way. I am exceedingly proud to know both of them.
Pat Kitano is the author of Transparent Real Estate and the co-Founder, Managing Principal of Domus Consulting Group, a management consulting firm working with real estate brokerages, title insurance companies and Web 2.0 companies to develop technology marketing strategies. He also knows how to pick great Korean food!
Ed Rybczynski is the … (55 comments)

Are You Dense Or Something? - 05/03/07 12:42 PM
I thought it was time to get back to my Project Blogger "Tool Boy" duties. 
I just dig this little tool at iWebTool.com. It's called Keyword Density Checker. Keyword Density Checker runs a search on your URL and then displays which keywords are the most prevalent on your pages. The cloud view it returns is a simple way to visually see which words are being used most often. It also presents a list of the words with how many times each has been used. If the keywords you're targeting aren't showing up LARGE, you may need to think about making some … (39 comments)

YEO: Leave Your Children Out Of It - 05/03/07 06:25 AM
The most amazing thing happened with my family yesterday. But you won't be clearly seeing their beautiful, happy faces here on ActiveRain. And you won't see the names of my children in one of my posts... anywhere.  
Yesterday, the adoption of our two little girls was formally and officially finalized. It was a joyous day for our family, as you can imagine. We took the boys out of school and we drove to Monterey Park to Children's Court. You can read my wife's recount here.
Last night I sent a photo to select friends and family. Ines Hegedus-Garcia was one of them. … (76 comments)

Google Is A Woman - 05/01/07 08:14 PM
"The only thing worse than a woman scorned is a woman ignored." - Lenn Harley
I had "Call Lenn Harley" on my to do list for almost four weeks. It seemed like something was always getting in the way. An emergency here... a crisis there. A few days ago, while stuck in LA traffic, I finally made time to dial Lenn Harley and introduce myself. I had no reason for calling. But so many people had her on their short list of most respected real estate agents that I just had to speak to her. Wow.
It was a truly delightful … (67 comments)