theCMSblog

Mircea M. Ionescu a.k.a MMI is the top fotbal sports commentator of his kind in Romania. His views are completely unique and he provides such quality insight to the game and politics you must read his site daily before talking to your sport fanatic friends.

Posted by R. Stacy Cook at 03:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So your traveling on business hundreds of miles from home and its been a stressful day, your alone and feel like a drink, but you instead search online for "California Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings" and you find the most accurate fellowship meetings database in the world. But it is not just for Alcoholics, its for drug addicts, gamblers and overeaters.



You say to yourself what a great idea. You click the link, locate a meeting near your hotel, go to the meeting, make some new friends and afterwords you go back to your hotel and see online that you have some messages from your new friends on InTheRooms.com which is where you go the other 23 hours each day your not in a meeting. Fascinating how the creators of your favorite social network have also created the most accurate, comprehensive meetings database in the world.

Traditionally meetings are located sporadically throughout various independent web sites, not up to date, have to call a phone number that is no longer in service. Who needs that?

So its not perfect you say? Well get this, you can add a meeting if it doesn't exist and you can even edit one that needs correcting. That's right, this database is setup using Media Wiki software which allows the community submit revisions to improve this massive collection of Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings, Narcotics Anonymous Meetings, Gamblers Anonymous Meetings and Overeater Anonymous Meetings.

A wiki meeting database for the worldwide recovery community is just another way InTheRooms joins hands and brings the 12 step fellowships together as a single group all working together for the best cause, to save those who won't help themselves.

Posted by R. Stacy Cook at 12:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Did you ever wonder when we would all be speaking on the telephone from large cinema screens like Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future II when Marty is fired by his boss in the video tele-conference in his living room?

Well, video chat is here and it is not only futuristic and space aged it is Free!

The creators of WebDate, free dating, have put together a new social networking site that allows you to one on one video chat or instant message without having to download or install any software. It is so simple even my 65 year old mother was have to log in and start her on conference.

All you need is a video camera, most lap tops come equipped with them these days and an internet connection and you are ON.

On.com provides Free Video Chat and Instant Messaging to web user around the globe. Check it out you have to see it in action.

Posted by R. Stacy Cook at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today we have so many options of online social interaction. So many in fact we must pick and choose where we want to spend our time. I myself left MySpace long ago and am really not enjoying too much the revised FaceBook. It is too much like work entering all of that data.

One place I recently got acquainted with in supporting a friend was a social network called In The Rooms. They call themselves a global social recovery network and although that may scare those not in a 12 step program you won't believe how friendly and helpful the people are in this online community.



Within minutes of joining the site you are welcomed by many online users which you can add to your friend network. These relationships will inevitably lead to group discussions on all sorts of various topics. Not only have I made some real friends and had some great conversations but I found myself going back often to check in and see who is doing what. The site really focuses on the community, social recovery, helping others and takes a positive approach for those in recovery.

I see those battling addiction login and ask for help and instantly people are messaging to offer support and assistance. I mean literally saving these individuals from drug, alcohol addiction and even suicide. It is a warming feeling to know you are involved with such a caring group.

This new social network is truly exciting with new features on a regular basis from daily meditations, photo galleries, user twitter feeds, fellowship information and unique user contributed news articles. There is always something going on in the rooms.

We all know someone in recovery. Why not share something with them that will become a part of their daily lives. Go to http://www.intherooms.com and click Invite a Friend.

Posted by R. Stacy Cook at 11:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

When you get in a car accident or motorcycle accident do you call the gimmicky lawyer on the radio 411 this or 911 that? Do you call your family attorney or an attorney who is a friend? Have those experiences turned out not so in your favor?

How about working with an attorney who works for your better interest? The gimmicky lawyer works in numbers and takes as many cases as possible. He works to close your case quickly not necessarily to get you what you "deserve". Your family attorney doesn't specialize in personal injury and cannot perform as well as a lawyer who specializes and your friend is offering a discount on his time to help you out. This leave him torn between helping you and spending time with family.



You can have the best of all worlds with your legal case. If you are in a motorcycle or auto accident David Harris is the one person to call. He handled my auto accident with exacting precision. I simply provided him with all of the information I had, I was missing some things, and he did the rest. I was able to go about my regular schedule and he did the heavy lifting.

It wasn't just the ease in working with him it was his friendliness and willing to provide personal advice. If you are in an accident call David Hughes Harris, P.A. (239) 898-9050. Listen to what he has to say and if you don't agree then you have only lost a few minutes of your day and will most assuredly learned something because that is what David is all about.

Posted by R. Stacy Cook at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I recently tried kite surfing for the first time for $300 and they provided all of the equipment including wet suit. It was at Matheson Hammock here in Miami in two foot deep seaweed bay water. I have been snowboarding for 10+ years so I figured it can't be that hard. Boy was I wrong. Snow boarding you use your feet and lower body, imagine doing that and flying a big kite at the same time. the kite is hard enough just on land. Controlling your upper body to be focused an exacting manner while surfing it quite difficult and I now have a new respect for those dudes up in the air. Just one minor adjustment to your hand position and the kite flies feverishly to the opposite direction.

My good friend Christian at Hooley Worldwide had been trying to get me to go for quite some time. He sells these amazing Kevlar Dog Collar and if you kite surf a must have is the Padded Kiteboard Bag.



He has a new clothing brand that just came out called LIVE W.R.O.N.G which is also available on his web site hooleyusa.com if you don't find him in the board room, his shop, then he is probably giving lessons to those who want to dangle from a kite like Ben Franklin's key in a Hooley storm. Don't worry, I'm not giving up.

Posted by R. Stacy Cook at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Did you ever wonder where all of those costumes in the store come from? Did you ever wonder why some historical patterns cost more than others? Well I did and here is what I found...



You can basically be wearing the same costume as another person at the party in your mass produced Chinese costume in a bag or you can be wearing historically accurate to the period garb.

This is no joke and many take it so serious they dress the part in festivals all around the world. You have seen these costumes on the History Channel for reenactments and you have seen people wearing these outfits at elaborate parties. One thing is for sure is that the historical pattern was designed by Kass McGann at Reconstructing History.

Kass is a historian who painstakingly researches every stitch to historical accuracy. Her patterns are purchased by history buffs, museums, re en actors, television production, doll makers, enthusiasts, hobbyists and professionals looking for the best historical patterns money can buy.

Be sure to check out Reconstructing History for the uncompromising historical accuracy you should expect in your next historical clothing purchase.

Posted by R. Stacy Cook at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have several custom made pieces from Bea. They are the most fantastic, original works of art in my Miami beach inspired home. Click to view her seashell mirrors.

Born in the tropical island of Cuba, Bea's Tropical Designs founder Beatriz Valiente, had an epiphany while sitting in her Florida home. As a hard working professional, and artist she dreamed of making her love for the tropics a part of her artistic trade. Bea's loves for seashells came from growing up by the sea, one of her hobbies has always been collecting seashells. During family vacations in Naples, Fl Bea and her two daughters spent many early morning hours collecting seashells that would later be used to decorate the Christmas tree during the holidays.

Today Bea is living her dream creating and designing beautiful tropical jewelry, unique seashell decorated mirrors and home décor. Her artistic talents are undeniably noticeable in her creations. Bea puts hours of her time and inspiration into her work, each creation is guaranteed to be a one of a kind.



Among the seashells that Bea uses are; Pearlized Nautilus, Melo Melo, Green Abalone, Bat Volute, Mitra Mitra, Star Fish, Coral, Sand Dollars, Sea Urchins, Silver Trochus, Wale Eyes, Shark Eyes, tiny Coquinas, White Arks, and Natural Umbonium and many others not mentioned here. In her process of decorating she uses an industrial glue gun and other commercial glues to carefully decorate.

If you have a preference in types of seashells and colors Bea will take custom orders please call her at 386-216-3240.

Posted by R. Stacy Cook at 10:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My family, friends and colleagues,

I want to share with all of you a new company that I am behind 100%. They are truly going to save many Americans from foreclosure and legally get back at all of those thieving lenders. Call them modern day Robin Hoods.

Please share this post with every homeowner you know in hopes that they can help them negotiate lower rates on their existing mortgages and more importantly with an expected 1.4 million foreclosures this year – SAVE THEIR HOMES.

http://www.loancsi.com – Loan CSI Website - Check Your Error Probability

CSI stands for Compliance Service Investigation - Loan CSI will investigate your home loan documents for potential errors and give you negotiating power to actually stop a foreclosure, lower your interest rate, negotiate short sale, modify the loan, or even cancel your mortgage.

Here is the official opening press release…

http://www.loancsi.com/mortgage-compliance-advocate-for-homeowners.php?w=2&a=22&pr=Y

This is a really good thing for all homeowners and the country.

Posted by R. Stacy Cook at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

TouchGraph's powerful visualization solutions reveal relationships between people, organizations, and ideas.

Explore the wealth of information in today's growing data collections with the Google Browser.

Individuals and organizations have more vital information at their fingertips than ever before. Traditional search engines provide a way to sift through this data. However, the greatest insights can be achieved not by sifting, but by looking at the big picture to see how items are connected.

Here is a sample view of this blog site...



I use this tool for all of my SEM customers to help them visualize online community growth.

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TouchGraph was founded in 2001 with the creation of the original visual browser for Google. Since then, millions of people have used TouchGraph's tools to discover the relationships contained in Google, Amazon, Wikis, and other popular information sources. Our commercial applications include solutions for companies in management consulting, social networking, and mass media.

Posted by R. Stacy Cook at 09:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

At least that is what I was told and then I found out for myself.

I recently signed up for a trial of PositiveWare time tracking, project planning, budget and billing management software. First of all, it is one of the only ones of its kind incorporating all of these features in one easy to use web based interface. Second, I was able to see the power of it immediately within just a few days of using. This is good because I do not have a lot of patience when it comes to software; considering I write and develop my own.

At first I thought I would only use the time management, at least that is what I was searching for, but I ended up putting all of my projects in, breaking them down into tasks and assigning them. This seems to cause a little interruption, but, since communication is all managed via email and only updates through the web interface, it seemed to just fit into our current processes.

The budget management is a very interesting feature and not something I ever considered, at least at the level of detail you can see using PositiveWare. Simply enter in expenses, integrated with projects already, and look at forecasts and past expenses to see where you have been and where you're going to go, if you keep your current project plan or move it.

The billing management was something I was hesitant about at first considering we already had a process in place. However it was very time consuming and as I learned from using the time management feature; costing us a certain amount per month to manage. Customer service at PositiveWare recommended I give it a try and well sure enough it is saving us time. We all know what that means. The software is already paying for itself, as well as, giving me and my co-workers piece of mind.

If you are not tracking your time, projects, budgets, and billing your customers, then you do not know where you are wasting your time, missing deadlines, over-shooting budgets, and certainly not getting your invoices paid on time. Fix everything with one piece of simple software and start a free trial for yourself.

Posted by R. Stacy Cook at 06:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We are all involved with social networking one way or another, Facebook, MySpace, Classmates, Ancestry.com or [insert name of some random niche] forum. All of that is fine and well for your friends and family but what about your coworkers, colleagues employers or potential employers?

If your not using an alias for your personal social networking you should be. Did you know you can likely search your name and find all sorts of information about yourself? Yeah you, try it. A potential employer or client might search your name before doing business with or hiring with you. Party photos are not great for business and business boring details are not good for friends.

You spend so much time socially, why not business socially? One good way to help yourself stand out in the corporate world is Linked In. You can build a profile, essentially a resume, and get rankings for top job titles in your area. Your colleagues can recommend your various jobs and you can give details of your efforts for each position. More important, you can link to colleagues and build up a reputation.

Check out my LinkedIn profile and make a connection... R. Stacy Cook or Stacy Cook.

I have aliased my personal domain name www.stacycook.com to my profile at www.linkedin.com/in/stacycook/ and because LinkedIn is ranked already very well essentially I have used it to improve rankings for my namesake and you can too. I also use my profile to link to my other web projects which helps promote them.

I also use the pages in project proposals and introduction emails when conducting business with folks I do not know very well. This allows them the opportunity to get more information about me and feel more comfortable knowing I come highly recommended and they can view my experience and history. Relationship are important, they matter, LInked In provides a solid avenue for business social networking. It helps me and it will help you too.

Posted by R. Stacy Cook at 11:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)