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John L. Dilbeck's News Archive
John L. Dilbeck's Ramblings
Whatever strange and wonderful ideas tickle this big brain of mine.
ISSN: 1533-8193
Being a voracious reader, I go through lots of news and stories. When I find one of interest that I think will benefit you, I write about it here. Your feedback is always welcome.
News Archives
(See menu at left for the old archives.)
September 2004
Amazon.com launches a new search engine: a9.com
Posted by johndilbeck on Thursday, September 30 2004 at 7:12 AM
Category: internet
I guess each of us has our preferences for which search engine we like to use.
For the last couple of years, I've preferred to use Google.com for most of my searching, although I still use others to compare the results.
If I'm researching keywords or I want to see which sites place well on various search engines, I'll use a metasearch engine such as ixquick.com.
A couple of weeks ago, SiteSell released their Search It!, which really isn't a search engine, but is a front-end tool to help you search for a wide variety of things where appropriate, including the two mentioned above.
Recently, I became aware that Amazon.com has released a9.com, which can search several databases at the same time, including google, google images, inside books at Amazon.com, inside a movie database, and more. You can read more about it at Why Use A9.com?.
A9.com has the interesting feature of saving your searches so you can reuse them later. It also has a diary and a place to store bookmarks. I haven't used all the features, yet, but it's great to be able to search for something, such as "Murphy, NC 28906", and see results from google, from inside books at Amazon.com, and images returned from Google. It offers some truly useful features that I'll be using in the future.
Try it out for yourself and see what you think.
Have you tried NetFlix?
Posted by johndilbeck on Thursday, September 30 2004 at 6:39 AM
Category: ramblings
I've been a very satisfied NetFlix member since early 2004 and I recommend them highly.
I love being able to set up a list (queue) of movies to rent and then not worry about it. They send the DVDs to me. I watch them and keep each one as long as I want. Then I return it. When they receive a movie back, they send me the next one in my queue.
No late fees. No deadlines. No rushing to return a movie that I haven't had time to see -- or which I want to see again.
They even pay the postage -- both ways.
If you haven't tried NetFlix yet, click on the link, below, and get two weeks free.
Netflix – Rent, watch and return DVDs from home – Try free for two weeks
I've been doing a lot of work with RSS feeds lately, and I just added the NetFlix Top 100 movies and their New Releases feeds to CherokeeCountyNC.com. You can choose either feed by clicking the appropriate link in the main menu on the site.
It's pretty neat. As long as I remain logged in at NetFlix, I can view the RSS feeds and, if I see a movie that interests me, I can open the link in a new window and it will take me right to NetFlix's page for that movie. Then, if I decide to rent it, all I have to do is click the Add button. Or, if I choose not to rent it, I can close the window and continue perusing the list on CherokeeCountyNC.com.
Those lists are automatically updated on a periodic basis. Feel free to check back weekly and see if there are any movies you'd like to see.
Search It! Launches...
Posted by johndilbeck on Sunday, September 19 2004 at 6:46 PM
Category: sitesell
We're approaching the end of September and people who run businesses are turning their attention from summer activities to gearing up for the final quarter of marketing before the end of the year.
Webmasters, marketers, home business owners, folks who auction products on eBay, and just about anyone involved in online commerce will find Sitesell's newest tool, Search It! to be a very valuable addition to their online research tools.
How many sites do you have bookmarked that you regularly search? Do you remember all the different formats you must use to get the information you want? Let Search It! help!
If you open Search It! and park it in a window where you can easily get to it during your work sessions, you'll find that it will become an invaluable tool to help you improve your websites, keep a close watch on your competition, look for ways to monetize the traffic to your site, look for more -- and better -- keywords and phrases, and do much more, easier than ever before possible.
The good news?
It's free! Yep, Sitesell, once again, overdelivers and underprices.
Site Build It! owners get some extra functionality, but everyone can use this new tool as much as you want at no cost to you.
It's a bit different, so be sure to click the help link and read it. One of the great things about Search It! is that the help (between steps 1 & 2 and steps 3 & 4) changes depending upon the type of search you are doing. This makes it easy to use without having to keep notes or just feeling your way around.
I've been searching on the Internet since before the World Wide Web even existed and I found some great resources by using Search It! that I never knew existed.
I heartily recommend this tool to you. If you're searching for anything on the web, see if Search It! can help you.
Hurricane Ivan
Posted by johndilbeck on Sunday, September 19 2004 at 6:01 PM
Category: ramblings
The remnants of Hurricane Ivan came through our area -- Cherokee County, NC -- last week, and the wind and rain caused some damage, but not as much as in surrounding areas and certainly not as much as it did nearer the Gulf of Mexico coastline.
There was flooding in some of the surrounding towns and some large mud slides that washed away portions of roads, including parts of I-40.
Here, the only real damage was that we were without power for about 25 hours. Compared to a cousin who was without power for 14 days in the wake of Hurricane Frances, I have nothing to complain about.
The storm's gone, the skies are blue, and lots of people are picking up the pieces.
New weblogs launched...
Posted by johndilbeck on Sunday, September 19 2004 at 5:44 PM
Category: ramblings
Last week, I managed to program a way to syndicate weblogs from Blogger.com to any of my websites.
I'll be maintaining a list of these blogs at johndilbeck.com/blogs/ where you can go directly to the blog itself or view it in syndication on it's dedicated page in that section of my site.
These blogs will be syndicated on other sites as I have the time and energy.
You're invited to read and comment, as you desire.
ShopforDSL - complete with Residential DSL - is now LIVE.
Posted by johndilbeck on Sunday, September 12 2004 at 6:06 PM
Category: telecommunications
Dilbeck Communications, in association with ShopforDSL and GeoQuote.net, is now offering residential and business DSL nationwide in the United States.
Dilbeck Communications is a Proud member of the ShopFor Network:
ShopforDSL,
ShopforT1,
ShopforDS1,
ShopforDS3,
ShopforT3,
ShopforOC3,
ShopforPoint to Point, and
ShopforFrame Relay.
We offer DSL service in the following states:
Alabama DSL, Arizona DSL, Arkansas DSL, California DSL, Colorado DSL, Connecticut DSL, Delaware DSL, Florida DSL, Georgia DSL, Hawaii DSL, Idaho DSL, Indiana DSL, Illinois DSL, Iowa DSL, Kansas DSL, Kentucky DSL, Louisiana DSL, Maine DSL, Maryland DSL, Massachusetts DSL, Michigan DSL, Mississippi DSL, Missouri DSL, Minnesota DSL, Montana DSL, Nebraska DSL, New Hampshire DSL, New Jersey DSL, New Mexico DSL, New York DSL, Nevada DSL, North Carolina DSL, North Dakota DSL, Ohio DSL, Oklahoma DSL, Oregon DSL, Pennsylvania DSL, Rhode Island DSL, South Carolina DSL, South Dakota DSL, Tennessee DSL, Texas DSL, Utah DSL, Vermont DSL, Virginia DSL, Washington DSL, Washington DC DSL, West Virginia DSL, Wisconsin DSL, Wyoming DSL.
In addition to residential and business DSL, We offer T1 service in the following states:
Alabama T1, Arizona T1, Arkansas T1, California T1, Colorado T1, Connecticut T1, Delaware T1, Florida T1, Georgia T1, Hawaii T1, Idaho T1, Indiana T1, Illinois T1, Iowa T1, Kansas T1, Kentucky T1, Louisiana T1, Maine T1, Maryland T1, Massachusetts T1, Michigan T1, Mississippi T1, Missouri T1, Minnesota T1, Montana T1, Nebraska T1, New Hampshire T1, New Jersey T1, New Mexico T1, New York T1, Nevada T1, North Carolina T1, North Dakota T1, Ohio T1, Oklahoma T1, Oregon T1, Pennsylvania T1, Rhode Island T1, South Carolina T1, South Dakota T1, Tennessee T1, Texas T1, Utah T1, Vermont T1, Virginia T1, Washington T1, Washington DC T1, West Virginia T1, Wisconsin T1, Wyoming T1.
Additionally, we offer domain name registration and transfers, webhosting, and a full range of telecommunications services and products.
If you would prefer to speak to a live person about your high-speed Internet access needs, call us toll-free: 866-GEOQUOTE Ref#: 3088.
New blogs section at JohnDilbeck.com
Posted by johndilbeck on Sunday, September 12 2004 at 8:20 AM
Category: ramblings
For quite some time, I've been reading about, thinking about, and experimenting with news syndication using RSS and blogs. I've tried several programs for creating the RSS files, such as NewsPro and its descendant, Coranto.
Back in January, I was able to get these RSS files syndicated.
Then, I decided that I liked Blogger.com and I've created four blogs there and my brother, David, maintains one.
I've wanted to syndicate these blogs for several months, but a problem arose because Google, which owns Blogger, chose to use feeds based on Atom rather than RSS. I didn't know how to parse Atom news feeds, so I've been stuck for a bit.
Last week, I discovered FeedBurner.com, and they offer a service that can parse Atom feeds and generate a feed that I can use to syndicate the blogs.
So, a few moments ago, I finished adding a new Blogs section here and it syndicates each of those blogs and any future ones I may choose to write or to which I may contribute.
Why is this important to me?
Now, anyone who chooses may add several lines of javascript to your web page and the latest posts to the blog of your choice will auto-magically appear whenever that page is loaded. Or, if you prefer, you can choose to syndicate only the headlines.
Will anyone want to syndicate any of these blogs? Well, I guess that remains to be seen. I'm already syndicating some of them on my various sites such as JohnDilbeck.com and AYearFromNow.com and I'll probably add additional blogs and websites in the future that will have content that you may want to syndicate on your site.
We'll see how this develops.
Diane Walker is still blogging hurricanes in Tampa
Posted by johndilbeck on Saturday, September 11 2004 at 8:11 AM
Category: ramblings
I've never met Diane Walker, and I know her better by her online handle: mlmblonde.
I became a Cognigen agent a few months ago, and as I was learning the business, I kept running across helpful and encouraging messages (on a variety of mailing lists and discussion groups) written by mlmblonde.
After months of reading what she's written, I feel like I know her -- at least a little.
Not long ago, she announced that she was going to blog the hurricane that was approaching her home in Tampa, Florida. That was several hurricanes ago. Now, she's preparing for Hurricane Ivan, which seems to be headed right her way -- and her neighbors are still cleaning up from Hurricane Francis!
Diane, we wish you the best and hope you come through this new hurricane as well as you've come through the previous ones.
Promoting your blog
Posted by johndilbeck on Saturday, September 11 2004 at 4:32 AM
Category: ramblings
In the Blogger Knowledge blog, Biz Stone has submitted some ways for Promoting Your Blog.
While the article is written specifically for those who host their journals on Blogger.com, some of the ideas should work for promoting weblogs no matter where they are hosted or what technology is used to create and maintain them.
This is recommended reading if you want to get the most from your blogging.
Today is September 11 -- three years later
Posted by johndilbeck on Saturday, September 11 2004 at 4:20 AM
Category: ramblings
Here I am, again, working alone in my office in the middle of the night adding some new content to my newest website at AYearFromNow.com and I just noticed that today is September 11.
In that moment of realization, my mind's focus switched immediately from 2005 to 2001.
I had to stop for a few minutes and think back to that morning three years ago when I was sitting right here working on a website and the hosts of the Today Show announced that an airplane had crashed into the World Trade Center.
I didn't get any work done for the next several days as I sat glued to the TV watching the tragedy unfold. I didn't feel like working. I didn't want to miss any of the evolving news. We grieved for those who were lost and raged against those who were responsible.
It was a day that changed the focus of several nations and the actions we took as a result -- for good or bad.
For months, and even now, we watched the stories of those who were affected and that affected us, too, although to a lesser degree.
Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, stop a moment and reflect. Think of those who were lost. Think of those who worked so hard to help.
We came together for a few weeks and now we're more divided than ever.
It's a pity.
If we came together once as a response to a threat, why can't we cooperate and work together because we are much more similar than we are different? Why do we need a common enemy before we can be friends?
Why do we like to be divided?
Why has it become a national sport to tear apart the reputation and try to assign the most cynical intentions to anyone who steps up and tries to be a leader in our country? Why is it not enough to vote for someone with whom you agree or vote against someone with whom you disagree? Why do we, instead, choose to revere one and demonize the other?
What do we gain?
As Dr. Phil would say, "How's that working for ya?"
Admission Is Free To September 4 Heritage Walk & Festival in Murphy, NC
Posted by johndilbeck on Friday, September 3 2004 at 9:24 AM
Category: nonprofits
Admission Is Free To September 4 Heritage Walk & Festival in Murphy, NC
Historic Murphy, North Carolina
What began in 2001 with fewer than 100 souls braving the pouring rain to take a "heritage walk" through historic Murphy has blossomed into a 4th annual series of events coming Saturday, September 4, 2004.
Last year over 3,000 people turned out for a day long celebration of traditional mountain music, arts and crafts, blue ribbon memories of the county fair, and the heritage walking tours with characters from times past. Produced by Heritage Partners of Cherokee County in collaboration with a host of volunteers and sponsoring organizations, this year's Heritage Walk & Festival features:
- The Heritage Walk -- historic trade & commerce tours departing at 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m.; pyramid tours departing at 1:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. from the Old L&N Depot
- The Cherokee County Heritage Fair -- blue ribbon competitions in the traditional home survival skills, special events and community exhibits on display at the Old L&N Depot and outdoor county fair tent (9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.)
- The Appalachian Heritage Crafters Show -- area artists and crafters on the Railroad Street festival grounds, behind the Old L&N Depot and Hackney Warehouse (9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.)
- Mountain Song -- all day live stage performances feature traditional bluegrass, old-time and more on the Railroad Street festival grounds, behind the Old Hackney Warehouse (10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.)
- Becky and the Robber of Buckhorn Ridge -- one act play performances by the Murphy High drama students, based on Jean Bravick's story of pioneer life in Cherokee County's 1840 Valleytown (First United Methodist Church at 11:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, and 1:00 p.m.)
- Cherokee County Historical Museum's Heritage Day -- a celebration of pioneering history and Cherokee Indian culture, on Peachtree Street
- Farmers Market
- Food Vendors
- Pocket Parks Collectibles Fair
- rides and activities for children
- and more.
And, it's all free.
The public is invited to come out, and all festival guests are encouraged to park in town and walk to all events. Visit heritagepartners.org for more information.
Introducing "The Scenic Circle" a new day-trip guide to Murphy, NC
Posted by johndilbeck on Friday, September 3 2004 at 8:55 AM
Category: nonprofits
The Scenic Circle
New Day Trip Guide Scheduled for Release September 4 at Heritage Walk & Festival in Murphy, North Carolina
Imagine a 50-mile radius circle drawn around the Cherokee County courthouse in historic Murphy, NC, and something to find your way to the outdoor wonders of that area. Heritage Partners of Cherokee County is pleased to announce its first publication of The Scenic Circle, scheduled for release at the September 4 Heritage Walk & Festival in Murphy. First in a series, the guidebook provides directions for easy day trips to mountain balds, lakes and rivers, waterfalls, trails and other outdoor attractions to be explored in the northwest quadrant of The Scenic Circle. And, as the first edition is coming off the presses, destinations for future editions are already being assembled for the northeast, southwest and southeast quadrants.
Elizabeth Carter, a part-time resident of Apalachia Lake who has a number of published trail guides to her credit, volunteered her time and energies to author The Scenic Circle. Enthusiastic about her soon to be full-time home, Carter is quick to say "the economics of heritage and ecological tourism are so important to our community, and the outdoor attractions of this beautiful mountain region are certainly something to share and celebrate."
The OEO Small Growing Opportunities grant program agreed, having provided funding for the project's first publication. Jonathan and Tammy Fleischer of The Computer Workshop in Murphy lined up to do the layout, photography and printing of the guidebook. Jonathan looks back with a smile about preparing for the publication, saying "we ventured out as a family and found every site on the map. It was really neat to see so many places we'd always heard of, but never knew much about or even how to find them."
Copies of The Scenic Circle will be on sale for $3 each, or 2 for $5, at the Heritage Partners booth on September 4 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. by the Old L&N Depot.
Author Elizabeth Carter will be there to sign copies of the book between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
All proceeds benefit the nonprofit works of Heritage Partners, proud sponsors of The Murphy River Walk Project, the annual Heritage Walk & Festival, the annual Holiday Taste of Cherokee County Home Tour, the historical children's story set in 1840 Valleytown -- Becky and The Robber of Buckhorn Ridge -- and most recently The Scenic Circle outdoor day trip destinations guide series.
For more information about Heritage Partners, visit heritagepartners.org .
Hendersonville SCORE chapter is opening a regional branch office in Cherokee County
Posted by johndilbeck on Wednesday, September 1 2004 at 4:09 PM
Category: western_nc
Jerry Chautin sent the following in an email, and I wanted to post it where all of you could see it.
I have good news and a matter of interest to all of us that are involved with the economic success of Far Western North Carolina, and the adjacent Georgia and Tennessee towns.
Due to the leadership of Asheville-based Michael Arriola, outreach specialist with the U.S. Small Business Administration's Asheville office, the Hendersonville SCORE chapter is opening a regional branch office in Cherokee County. It will provide free, confidential business counseling, mentoring and advice. SCORE, Counselors to Americas Small Business and resource partner with SBA, will also offer inexpensive and sometimes free educational programs on subjects ranging from starting a business to getting financing.
As you may already know, I'm Jerry Chautin, tenonline.org/sref/jc1bio.html , a Murphy resident and have been volunteer SCORE business counselor since 1993. And if you're not familiar with SCORE, a 40-year old, not-for-profit, all volunteer organization, please go to www.score.org after you finish reading this announcement.
Our objective is to help stimulate economic growth of the area. We do it by helping individuals be successful in their own business. Seeing the need, the Hendersonville SCORE chapter has graciously agreed to sponsor and fund our new branch and the Small Business Center at Tri-County Community College is kindly providing us space for private, confidential meetings with businesspersons. So everything is wonderfully falling into place but we do need non-monetary support from the community.
We're looking for volunteers (working and retired men and women) who have either small business or corporate experience and would enjoy seeing small businesspersons succeed. So if you have administrative, financial, sales, marketing, merchandising, retail, office or any other business skills, we want to discuss with you the possibilities of joining us. Alternatively, send me names of prospective members for me to contact. (You're allowed to volunteer your spouse -- grin -- to get him or her out of the house.)
Training will be provided and you'll be able to control the amount of time you contribute. THIS IS THE MOST REWARDING VOLUNTEERING that I've experienced in my lifetime of volunteer work.
You will be joining 11,500 other SCORE volunteers nationwide, who counsel approximately 300,000 clients annually by face-to-face meetings as well as by email.
Please contact me with questions by e-mail, JKChautin@aol.com or call me at home (Murphy, NC) at 828-837-4598.
Many thanks,
Jerry
Jerry Chautin
tenonline.org/sref/jc1bio.html
Volunteer, SCORE Business Counselor in Atlanta, Sarasota & Western, NC
www.score.org/
How do you define success?
Posted by johndilbeck on Wednesday, September 1 2004 at 9:00 AM
Category: ramblings
I've been doing a lot of thinking about success and what people mean when they talk about success.
Some mean fame, power, fortune, and the other traditional trappings of success.
Some mean losing weight, getting a better job, paying down their debt burden, getting just the right dog, or even having enough food to feed their children today.
So, I've been wondering how people define success. I've added a survey to AYearFromNow.com and I'd appreciate it if you'd take just a few seconds and fill it out: How do you define success?.
I'd also like to get a good idea of the people visiting the site, so I'd appreciate it if you'd click on the Surveys button and fill out the vistor demographics survey, too. If there's something you don't want to answer, just skip it.
If you have any feedback on the site, the surveys, or any suggestions you'd care to make, just go to the Contact Us page and put your comments in the form.
While thinking about success, I started gathering success quotes and built a new page devoted to some of the best ones I've found, so far.
I don't just want to talk about success achieved by famous people or put quotes that everyone has seen. I hope you'll take a few minutes to think about your biggest success and then decide to share it with us. I'll pull out good success quotes from your story and add them to the success quotes page, and I'll be sharing your story with others through the Act On Your Dream! newsletter.
As one of the visitors to the site commented yesterday, this site is shaping up to a success co-operative, and I think that's a good description of what I want it to become.
How can each of us help others to be more successful, and in the process become more successful ourselves?
It's a question I want to delve into and a process I want to help implement.
What is your dream? What do you want to accomplish with your life? Have you thought about this recently?
I've been doing a lot of thinking about my dream this year. I started AYearFromNow.com because I believe that each of us can make substantial progress on living our dream in as little as a year from the time you decide that you are going to do it.
I'll be telling you about my dream and I'll look forward to hearing from you about your dream.
How can we help each other act on our dreams?
Won't you come join us?
I succeed by helping you succeed.
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