So after about another $80 and a lot of hours, I’m typing my post from the finished desk. It’s not perfect because I became a bit anxious to finish the project as the days turned into weeks.

The process was actually quite simple; I started by using a varnish stripper designed for wood. It removed a lot of the yellowed varnish, but it also left a lot behind. I spent many days sanding starting from 80 grit and moving down to 120. I choose to leave the wood a bit rough so the varnish would not need to be fully removed and the project would be completed more quickly.

Once everything was sanded and the desk was cleaned as best as possible, with my limited tools, I proceeded to mix my stain. I choose to use Minwax “Early American” with a hint of “Red Oak”. In mixing my stain I choose 2 cups of “Early American” to 1/2 cup of “Red Oak” with 1/4 cup of gum turpentine (used the turpentine to help the stain absorb through the remaining patches of varnish on the desk pieces.

After allowing the stain to dry I worked in a coating of Howard’s Feed & Wax, then waited a couple of days and hit the surface with furniture polish. Except for the top of the front L everything worked beautifully. Unfortunately the varnish stripper dried out the top of the desk, where the monitor sits, a bit too much and the stain isn’t adhearing properly. The desk top actually feels dry; so I’ll hit it with another coat of Feed & Wax over the weekend, which should correct the issue.

Once the top is treated, it’s time to build the hutch!

Here are some before and after pics of the desk:

Recently I switched to Google Chrome as my default browser, I’ve found it to be lighter weight and faster than the other main stream browsers (FireFox, Internet Explorer, Safari) found on Windows Operated PC’s. So far it’s been a really good move, except…

Apparently there isn’t a built-in function to check page rank in Google Chrome yet. This is a big problem as I constantly use Google’s PR to evaluate the performance of websites in Google’s search results. If a site has a good or even decent PR you can assume that Google is viewing it with some credibility, while a site with no PR has some serious issues.

While Searching for an answer, I discovered the following solution from techie-buzz.com

“With the recent PageRank update many webmasters and publishers may be eager to check their latest PageRank scores, but if you are using Google Chrome there is no toolbar available yet to view the PageRank.

If you do not want to switch between multiple browsers just to check page ranks, here is a handy bookmarklet you can use to check PageRank in Google Chrome.

Just drag and drop the Google PageRank bookmarklet to your favorites bar and click on it whenever you want to check the PageRank of any given page.

This tool is a part of techie-buzz.com’s collection of the extensive useful tools and utilities we are launching for users. Do try it out and give your feedback to us.

Here’s how it works:

1. In Google Chrome, Single left click and hold down
2. Drag to the bookmark bar in Google chrome (if done correctly, cursor will turn into a circle with a line through it)
3. Release left mouse button (shortcut will be created)
4. Click on bookmark to see page rank of the website in your current Google Chrome Tab. A pop-up will launch with your page rank information in it.

Mobsters 2 Vendetta by PlayDom is a highly addictive game that integrates with your Facebook profile. This is a great way to break the monotony of your work day; a peridioc tab over to the game keeps your mind multi-tasking and I believe helps to reduce stress. There just isn’t anything like putting a mobster on ice to keep the frustrations of coding at bay.

These games also help you to generate friends on Facebook more quickly. These friends may not be relative to your marketing or strategy, but give the appearance that people are following you and your products or services.

Check out this screen shot of a gang war, which shows my high score. In total it probably took 20 minutes to reach it.

IStock Photo provides a variety of sizes for you to select from, but which size is right for you and if you are selling images how do you know what size to make them?

When browsing IStock photo size options, it becomes rather difficult to understand which sizes are Small Medium or Large, as they often have different dimensions associated with them. The examples of image sizes below show that IStock doesn’t have a hard, fast guideline for image sizes.

If you are buying photos, the medium to Large sizes will be more than adequate for your webmaster. If using for highlights, the Small and XSmall may even be usefull. Shoot an email to your webmaster if you have any doubts.

After reviewing the IStock Photo FAQ’s we see that item number four (see excerpt below) implies that IStock Photo resizes the images when uploading for sales.

What are the specs required for images to be uploaded or rules for uploading?

1. Images must be RGB JPG format only
2. You must own the full copyright to any image you upload. This means you must be the photographer or artist that created the image.
3. All trademarks must be removed. This includes logos, brands and entities with copyright or trademarked elements. This many also extend to trademarked products such as cast sculptures, toys, architecture and other elements of design. Copyright is checked with each file.
4. File sizes: the bigger, the better. 300 dpi 5″ x 7″ is optimal. 640×480 images are not usable by most graphic artists. All files should be 1200 x 1600 pixels minimum (anything smaller will be automatically rejected).
5. Entering keywords and descriptions: be descriptive. Include at least 10 keywords and use a title other than ‘dog’ or ‘man’. Supplying more keywords means your image will match more searches. Images with more keywords get downloaded more often.
6. Model releases: images with clearly visible people require a model release (iStockphoto Model Release) form for legal reasons. Children in images can’t sign a model release. A legal guardian or parent must sign for all children under the age of 18 years. You will be notified if you need a model release and it can be uploaded later if you’re not sure.
7. Legal notice: uploading images/artwork that belongs to somebody else (copyright or otherwise) will result in a suspended membership and in some cases may have legal ramifications.
8. Your account profile must have your full, real first and last names, and mailing address entered before completing an application. Anyone uploading with a fake name will be banned immediately.
9. More detailed information is available in the iStockphoto Photographer Training Manual.

WordPress Reaches New Dimensions!

I bet you were thinking this was going to lead to an incredible article about new features in the already hyper powered WordPress platform.

Well nope! Just this really rocking picture I found on SEO Blog

Ever noticed that sometimes, no matter what you do IE just won’t display things the same as other browsers?

You try to fix the aesthetics and next thing you know all the other browsers look bad.

The solution is simple, create a style sheet specificly for internet explorer and then use the following code in your header to point to your IE specific style sheet.

<!–[if IE]><link rel=”stylesheet” href=”style-ie.css” type=”text/css”>
<![endif]–>

Replace “style-ie.css” with the name of and path to your ie specific style sheet.

Don’t get caught off guard and blow the big pitch!

First impressions can be everything – use multiple browsers!

First impressions can be everything when you are trying to sell products and services. That’s why it’s so important that you ensure your website looks good to any potential client.

For example both Google Chrome and Safari display similarly but Ie 7 and Ie 8 look nothing alike and FireFox is in a category all it’s own.

If you are a PC user you can’t assume all your website traffic will be using a PC and if you are a MAC user come on wake up! Apple has a minimal presence in the business computing world (MP3s and Cell Phones are a different story).

Don’t believe us? Check out this sample website in four different browsers!

Google Chrome	Internet Explorer 7	FireFox	Apple Safari

Google’s Ironic choice of CAPTCHA images on Blogger

This one’s pretty funny, while configuring a client’s Blogger account to publish to their website I was presented with the following image verification code.

I wonder what microsoft Bing would thing of this one?

The Genesis theme framework is built on a simple vanilla blog-type parent theme, and can be extended with the use of child themes. Each child theme will come with it’s own home file, which will make extending the parent theme very easy to do. It will also have it’s own functions file as well.

This auction is for 4 128 MB RDRAM Modules and a

P4 1.7 GHZ ProcessorSocket 478

These memory modules and processor were pulled from a working system. They were pulled from pulled from a Dell workstation, that I was given by a client, after upgrading them to a new custom built system.

The cost of replacing the defective power supply (Propriatory shape) wasn’t worth the cost of an upgraded system (Computer booted and worked fine with backup power supply that wouldn’t fit the case).

All parts of use were salvaged, then the case and motherboard were given to the Good Will, as they are a certified computer componant recycler (remember trashing old electronics is against Federal law and can cost you a bundle).

Shipping cost includes packaging – Item for sale in the US only.

Click Here to view the eBay auction.

This auction ends on Jun 10, 200906:40:45 PM PDT

Now that Yahoo has decided to discontinue support for the Overture keyword suggestion tool, we need an alternatives and here they are!

• Google Adwords Keyword Suggestion Tool
• Digital Point Keyword Suggestions
• Self SEO Keyword Popularity Tool