Book Fairs and Shopping

I’m exhausted. I spent the morning working at the school Book Fair and it was Grandparents Day, so lots of folks to check out. I love the Book Fair and look forward to it twice a school year. I remember them from when I was a kid as well as a student teacher in Washington, D.C. I even bought books then though I didn’t have kids yet. So it’s no surprise that my favorite class in college was Children’s Lit.
We also get the Book Club flyers every couple of months. I tend to get carried away when buying books, so I look up the ones I think sound interesting and decide from there. Probably saved me a few bucks. While I could get better deals online, it’s a nice way to help the school. The Book Club has a few deals, but not often.
After the Book Fair, Mom and I went to check out the new Plano Wal-Mart Supercenter. What’s the big deal? It’s a pilot store that tries new things. It was nice with a different look and feel than a typical Wal-Mart. One complaint: the skylights. Too much light hurts my eyes. But I know I’m in the minority.

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Book Review: Nonfiction Writing

Author Dan Poynter has written over 100 books. Think he knows something about publishing? Not only has he written three digits worth of books, but he also has a publishing company that publishes and distributes many quality articles, resources, and books about publishing. Writing Nonfiction is an easy, educational, fast, and enjoyable read. Poynter goes … Read more

Crisis Management through Blogs

Wal-Mart Enlists Bloggers in P.R. Campaign is using the blogosphere to improve its image. I don’t have a problem with companies working with bloggers. The key is to be open about it. Don’t try to fool readers — they’re smart and know when a blogger is full of BS. Wal-Mart is going to need a … Read more

CEO Bad Moves

Though this slide show from Forbes is about the worst moments for CEOs in 2005, it’s common sense advice we can all take away. While we might think it’s common sense, obviously some people are lacking in that department. So play it safe and get up to speed on what not to do. One of … Read more

Diversify Content

We hear messages like “Do email newsletters!” “Start a blog!” “Build a forum!” “Provide a feed!” These sound like each is the only thing we should do to add content to Web sites. The way to go is to diversify your content. Invest a little here and a little there for a better return on … Read more

Web Site Gray Text Trend

I’ve noticed a nasty trend lately… gray text on white. This isn’t a cool trend as it’s harder to read text. On top of that, on many sites you can’t change the size of the text unless you’re using a browser like Firefox. So what if black text is boring? There’s a reason for that … Read more

Overused Cliches

Textual annoyances shares three things that annoy Mark Hurst, who wrote the entry. Maybe it has to do with where I live and what I do because I haven’t run into the problems he has. Of course, when I’m trying to think of an annoyance, only one comes to mind (and there are plenty that … Read more

Original Gift Items

Mugs, ties, shirts, sweaters… tired of giving those as gifts? Or does the recipient have just about everything you can think of? Not likely when you check out these sites with original and unique items. I could spend hours on many of these sites. Instead, I forced myself to break away and post them here. … Read more

Dad's 75th Birthday

Like I would let this day go by without saying a word about my dad who celebrates 75 years of his life today. Dad may not read my blog or even know what a blog is, but he’s largely responsible for who I am today (Mom and me, too, but it’s not our birthdays.). I … Read more