Vacations to Go?

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Gandalfe

Hmm… this HowLifeWorks article makes cheap cruising sound great! :0)

imageA luxury cruise is one of life’s pure joys. Today’s modern cruise liners are engineering marvels; floating 5-star hotels that offer the best service, accommodation, cuisine, and activities. They visit exotic locales, with non-stop relaxation or stimulation, depending on your pleasure.

Over the past few years, cruise companies have spared no expense and literally invested billions in jaw-dropping super ships. Even if you’ve cruised before, you probably have not experienced anything like these new marvels.

But, the best news is that due to the slowdown in travel caused by the recession and significant overcapacity in the industry, savvy travelers can now book once-in-a-lifetime cruises at insanely low prices.

How does 80 percent off the brochure price sound? Believe it or not, it’s possible through a company called Vacations To Go, one of America’s Largest Cruise Agencies.

Founded more than 25 years ago, Vacations To Go realized that taking a cruise vacation was a new experience for many. They set out to build an online service to help people learn everything they need to know to find the best possible cruise vacation, at the best possible price.

Vacations To Go is now home to an extensive selection of top-brand cruise vacations, and in-depth information about every cruise line and cruise ship. Customers can browse the latest in new promotions and offers, shop by category, and compare prices at a glance.

Read more…

Posted in Culture, Dancing, Guides, Health and wellness, Sun bathing, Tips and Tricks, Travel, Vacations | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Social Media Evens the Playing Field

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Gandalfe

Nikhil, a friend of mine at work, pens this thoughtful post on his blog Socially Inclined. It is so fresh, I wish I had written it.

Information asymmetry: A situation when one party has more or superior information compared to another party or parties.

imageRemember when, in the not too distant past, you had no idea what your neighbor’s house cost? Or when you were scoping out an area, the only guide was a local real-estate agent? Today we have Zillow, which single-handedly when it launched removed information asymmetry from the real-estate market. This data used to be available with the County government but Zillow made it accessible to everyone via a seamless interface and then allowed people to add qualitative data on top resulting in price vectors and indicators (e.g. make me move).

Remember when we discovered restaurants by just walking in? or by asking friends? Today we have Yelp, which pretty much can tell you almost everything about a restaurant and user opinions about the food there. Next step is to take it further to answer the question “What’s good here?” and DishOnIt, which brings the wisdom of the crowds to the dish level helps one figure that out. So one can ask the question: Where can I find the best Chicken Tikka Masala in town? Or a Cheeseburger? (Disclosure: DishOnIt is my wife’s new startup).

Read more…

The picture “Social Media Icon” was taken by Lee Traupel and place on Flickr.com.

Posted in Blogosphere, Community, Economics, Facebook, Social Media, Twitter | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Nude of the Week

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Gandalfe

More DOMAI goodness this morning. This young lady looks to be a body builder type. Or she may have just won the genetic lottery. 

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Posted in Entertainment, Internet, Nude, Photograph, Too Spicy for some | Tagged , | Leave a comment

xkcd: Password Strength

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Gandalfe

From Allen’s question this morning on Facebook: Too many passwords or the early stages of Alzheimer’s we get a pointer to this xkcd gem.

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Posted in Computers and Internet, Facebook, Humor, My World | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Nick, go to your Room!

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Gandalfe

From AdsOfTheWorld.com, you are what you watch?

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Posted in Advertisement, Art, Humor, Man stuff, My World, Television | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Vintage Pinup Art du Jour

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Gandalfe

My good friend Eolake points out this site of “exclusively Russian immigrant ladies in standard pin-up positions by Irina Davis. Irina is inventing her very own style of Russian pin-up.”

“Because of the devastation of World War II, Russian “girls” in the ’40s and ’50s were taught to be tough and work hard. I am saddened by the fact that Russia never had the chance to enjoy the happy pin-up times of America’s postwar period. In fact, cheerful American pin-up art was considered in Soviet Russia to be politically incorrect, decadent and flat-out immoral, the product of a culture that could never understand the true nature of the human condition.”  Read more…

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Pin-up art seems so tame when compared to the titillating art of the 21st Century. Whether in movies, advertisements, or music, we have really moved beyond subtlety when it comes to depictions of sexy, vibrant, and exciting women. Way beyond… not that that is a bad thing.  ;O)

Posted in Art, Culture, Man stuff, Too Spicy for some, Vintage | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Child Safety

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Gandalfe

Nephew Drew Glass upon seeing this in Home Depot sez this doesn’t bode well for kids. <Snort!>

safety

Posted in Family, Humor, Oddities | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Borgani Flexitone Ligs

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Gandalfe

image I purchased a set of these and use them on my sop and bari sax mouthpieces. Besides being gorgeous, they are screw-less so way easy to adjust.

The Borgani Flexitone ligature is a remake of the classic Selmer Magnitone adjustable ligature. Available in nickel silver or bronze, the ligature is flexible but strong, and adjusts throughout a large range of sizes to fit snugly on your mouthpiece, firmly holding the reed on the table while being flexible enough to allow the reed to vibrate. There are two sizes, small and large. Small fits clarinet, hard rubber soprano, and metal alto and tenor pieces. Large fits hard rubber alto and tenor pieces.

I purchased them from my friend Matt the owner of Stohrer Music.

Posted in Hobbies, Music, Music Instruments, Saxophone | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Looney Tunes ~ The Blue Adnube

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Gandalfe
One of my favs from my youth.
Posted in Hobbies, Humor, Music, YouTube | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Start ‘em Young Sez Me

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Gandalfe

It tickled me when granddaughter Amber wanted to play the bari sax. I ended up buying her a ruby red recorder. But not before taking some pictures. She is seven now and we wait in anticipation of what instrument she might pick for band.

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Posted in Family, Music, Music Instruments, My World, Photograph, Saxophone | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments