Heard of Blingo yet? Blingo is a search engine with a twist. Each search on Blingo is also a chance to win a prize. The search engine is powered by Google, so you know it’s good.

Is it a scam? Maybe. But they claim to give away “lots of prizes every day” and registration is a snap.

Prizes include:

• Sony PlayStation Portable (or $300 cash)
• Apple iPod Mini (or $200 cash)
• One Year of Free Movies from Blockbuster.com (or $180 cash)
• Apple iPod Shuffle (or $100 cash)
• $25 Visa Gift Card
• Blingo Movie Ticket Certificate good for one adult admission to theatres throughout the US

Plus, with Blingo Friends, if your friend wins a prize, you get the prize too. Not bad, eh?

Update: 7.19.05 - I won a free movie ticket! Well, I didn’t actually win, but one of my “Blingo Friends” did, so I get a ticket, too!
Update 8.01.05 - Thanks again to Chez, I’ve won again, and this time they’re sending me 25 BUCKS! Sweet!

Today I decided to try an implement an Ajax solution into the project I am currently working on. Since everyone and their brother has been talking about this “new technology” lately, I’ve been looking for ways (excuses) to give it a shot.

I’m working on a system to manage rejected checks at the bank I work for. Checks are grouped by account and you can easily move from one account to the next to view the new “rejects” for the day. Knowing a user would want to view rejects for a specific account in certain situations, I began to code a simple search system. The user enters the account they are looking for, and if that account has rejects and exists in the system, a link is displayed. Easy enough…

Then I thought, what if when the user started typing the account number, a list of possible accounts would appear below the input box, much like Google Suggest?

After researching the technical aspects, I found out folks had already dissected Google Suggest. Julian Robichaux had even done it in Lotus Notes! (What I was trying to do..)

After hacking his code to make it work with mine, I now have my first working Ajax-enabled application! And, most importantly, it’s quite useful too, in my opinion.

Just by starting to type the digits of an account number, a user will know if it exists in the system or not, without ever having to submit a search form.

I’m sure some developers will get carried away, including Ajax in web applications where it need not be. The key is to first find a situation where it will be useful to the user of a web application.

I’m exhausted today, and yet the only thing I did yesterday was lay on the couch while it was storming outside. I’m just glad Hurricane Dennis is finally over. Not because I was worried about damage or anything - I’m just easily annoyed with the news anchors/weather people.

They tend to blow everything completely out of proportion and try to scare the hell out of viewers. They all have some incredible dopplar-radar system (that none of the other stations have), yet anyone’s guess is as good as theirs when it comes down to what a storm is actually gonna do.

My theory is that they have be very serious about these storms just in case it turns out to be really bad. They’d rather exaggerate a storm and be wrong than underestimate one. I completely understand why they do this - it’s their civic responsiblity to. I just think they come off as extremely cheezy most of the time.

Have you ever noticed no matter what city you’re in, the news anchors always look/act/sound the exact same? Where do they clone these people at?

I’m no expert though. The only time I really ever watch the local news is on days like yesterday when I’m pretty much forced to. I prefer to get my news via the newspaper and the internet.

Unbelievable. Amazing. Incredible. I’ve never completely lost my shit about some software until today. I don’t think I can convey how mesmerized I am by Google Earth.

I was amazed when I first used Google Maps a few months back. The ability to move the map around without having to reload the page was pretty unbelievable. It was also one of the first times we saw the potential of Ajax technology.

Google Earth isn’t a website. It’s actually software that runs on your computer, but has the same “feel” of Google Maps. It also has a few more features:

• Transitions are smoother and more like a movie or a video game.
• You can zoom in a whole lot closer - all the way up on an individual or a car.
• You can adjust the tilt of the map so that you aren’t just looking over an area
• Buildings in the high-res images render in 3 dimensions, sort of. It’s not perfect but at least everything doesn’t look flat.
• View lodging, roads, dining, and state/county borders with the click of a checkbox.
• Get driving directions or create your own.
• Add your own “tags” and share them.

Here’s an image of me tagging my apartment:

Google Earth is like something you’d see on an episode of 24. The power this software possesses is a little overwhelming, yet the interface is intuitive and user-friendly. The folks at Google have yet another amazing creation on their hands.

Back to exploring…

Go download it now. *Note: After writing this, it seems Google Earth downloads have been temporarily delayed, so check back soon.

I’ve always hated the taste of Diet Coke - and most other diet drinks for that matter. However, the new “Coke Zero” tastes very comparable to original Coke, one of my favorite soft drinks.

Coca-Cola promoters were handing out free samples at the different City Stages exits a few weeks back. Since then I’ve enjoyed several of these calorie-free cokes. I usually don’t really pay any attention to my calorie intake, but cutting back on the empty calories in most soft drinks sure can’t hurt.

My guess for the new addition to the array of Coke products is that they came out with a better tasting diet drink, but couldn’t rebrand Diet Coke, since it already has so many loyal fans. So they picked a new name - one that didn’t include the word “diet” in it. I think this will appeal to people who don’t want be labeled as “diet drinkers” (viz. Me!).