Back when I was in high school and in my early college years I had delusions of grandeur that some day I would be a journalist. Yes - one of those types that goes all over the world and write about the things that were happening - attempting to bring a perspective to the world that was unique and intriguing all at the same time. Over time, I became too jaded for even the journalism world and opted for something a little more fun - Radio and Television. Of course, we all know how that ended up.

Recently we've had some new folks move into our building at Athlon Sports. They report news and reviews of all things technological including the latest gadgets for your home, car, computer - you name it. They've been looking for new contributors to their web site and I'm pleased to say that I'm one of the contributors they've chosen to review new products. In addition to writing about them for BestStuff.com, I'll also be talking about them on a podcast they plan to produce in the Athlon Sports podcast studios - which also happens to be located in my office.

This week I received my first batch of products. In addition to my BestStuff.com reviews, I'll occasionally share some additional thoughts, tidbits and advice on the use of these products here as I think it's necessary. I'll also link to the reviews here so you have a chance to read them on the web site.

Overall, I'm happy to be part of something that allows me to develop and scratch my creative itch as well as lets me get to play with some new gear. I hope to have my first batch of reviews done over the weekend. Stay tuned.

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I've been getting some emails recently and not so recently regarding Myth III. Unfortunately at this time I have less than no time to develop this game and it's been shelved. It could always change, but right now I have other priorities and interests that will be consuming my attention for at least the next year to eighteen months.

Despite this, there is a place where you can go to play the Myth game in any of it's flavors right now. Check out the mariusnet.com web site for complete information about getting your Myth on. Anyone who really cares knows there is a long and bloody history between myself and what is left of the Myth Community - but right now I just don't care. Go there and Play Myth - Have Fun.

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This week a friend of mine at work turned me onto a new web-based service that aids you in tracking the time spent working on projects. Cashboard is a service that lets you download a small application (or in my case, a Mac OS X widget) that I can use to start and stop a clock and assign the resulting hours to a client, project and task. It's not free, but it's not expensive either. I signed up for the $12 a month service which gives me the ability to track up to seven projects at once.

The biggest turn on for me is the time tracking and invoicing features. It allows me to send out invoices using the projects/tasks and billable hours I've entered via the web site and my time tracking widget. No more will I be forced into hand calculating and drawing up my invoices which has been such a drag for way too long. It also allows your clients to log in and see the progress of their project including the time details so far and billable hours. It's configurable so you can decide to let them view only invoices, or track tasks without showing the number of billable hours.

Anyway, for other folks like me who do the occasional contract job - this is a real simple way to keep track of your jobs while you're doing it allowing you to accurately keep time records, and draw them up into an invoice.

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I've recently developed the sports portal for hhgregg stores in North America and part of this is a College Basketball Bracket game that they are promoting as "Bracket Breakdown".

I'm trying to get some outside thoughts and opinions on the ease of use for this portal and was hopeful that visitors of this web site could go there and register for an account and try to play the Bracket Breakdown game and provide thoughts and feedback to me based on it's usability and functionality.

If it's not too much trouble, just go to sports.hhgregg.com and try to play the Bracket Breakdown game and let me know any thoughts that you might have that would make it easier to use or understand. You will need an account here to post comments or you can email me directly with your insights to . I welcome thoughts and insights no matter how big or small!

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I put Bowie back in the kitty cat day care today. I'm convinced he's having a reaction to the new carpet. Tomorrow night I am going to rent a steam cleaner and clean the carpets and see if this does not alleviate his allergy issue. In the mean time, I'm going to see if the vet can give him some kind of allergy medication.

The reason I think it's the carpet is he usually falls asleep beside my desk while I am working in the evenings. The last two nights, he won't come into the office (which is carpeted) but instead sits just outside the door in the hallway which is hardwood. I'm hoping this will help the little guy.

Today the vet is going to give him a shot of Benedryl and I'll pick some up from Kroger as well. Hopefully this will help also.

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