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If there is one thing that gets me through the long work day sitting at my computer it is music. Music puts you in a good mood and you can listen to a variety of different music depending on your mood. Sometimes I want to listen to techno when I need to get pumped up or have a long night of work ahead of me, other times I want to listen to something chill like Coldplay. The thing is I have a few different playlist’s setup in my iTunes and it just gets boring to listening to the same thing over and over again.

I had heard of Pandora a while ago especially when all of the internet radio laws were being talked about, but I never really checked it out. Then I heard about it again when the iPhone App came out. Finally last week I decided to check it out and I’m glad that I did. Pandora is not your typical online radio station. You can pick specific types of music like Hip Hop, Jazz, Rock, etc, but you can actually type in an artist or song same and Pandora will try to find songs not only by that artist but songs that are similar. The best thing about this service is that it is free, there is the occasional ad every 10 songs or something like that, but being able to listen to new music everyday for free is great.

So say you are listening to something and you don’t like what’s playing you can give it a thumbs down and songs like it will not be played anymore. I had to do this because when I put in Coldplay it kept on wanting to play Dave Mathews Band and I can’t stand them so THUMBS DOWN and I don’t have to hear them again. Pandora not only lets me listen to music, but it also helps me find new artists and songs that I might have never heard of before. The best thing about Pandora is that you can listen to it at anytime as long as you have a computer or iPhone! So if you are getting bored of your normal music try Pandora!

That’s right, your 2009 Stanley Cup Champs are the Pittsburgh Penguins! I was so excited that we were back in the finals and now it’s unreal that the Cup is back in Pittsburgh. This series with Detroit had it’s up and downs, losing game 1 and 2 in Detroit, coming back to Pittsburgh and winning the next 2, then getting embarrassed in Detroit 5-0, saving the season in game 6 with a victory, and finally winning it all in game 7. I said last year that the Pens didn’t want it enough and this year they proved they did. It was a very close series and one I really enjoyed. It was great to see Sidney Crosby raise the Cup for the first time, it brought chills to the back of my neck!

It’s crazy how the pens have grown up right in front of our eyes. Malkin was a monster in the regular season and in the playoffs, he really matured over this past year. Jordan Staal who is only 20 years old improved both his offensive and defense game. Fluery really learned how to fight adversity this year bouncing back and helping the Pens win the cup. Finally Sidney Crosby, what a great leader and person you could count on when we needed him.

It has been 17 years since the Pens won the cup and it was about time we brought it back to Pittsburgh. The whole city went nuts Friday night and I was out at Steelhouse in Station Square for the game. It was a great atmosphere to watch the game and an even better atmosphere to celebrate the win! Instead of posting pictures I made a video you can check it out below. Check out my Stanley Cup Champs Flickr set for all the pictures from the night.

Ah Saved By the Bell…I like grew up on that show. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every episode at least a few times. Zach Morris was my idol when I was growing up, I wanted to be just like him! I’m sure if you’re around my age you have seen Saved By the Bell and it has a special place in your heart. It seems Jimmy Fallon does as he is trying to organize a Saved By the Bell reunion. I’m sure all fans of the show would love that, as we all grew up with the show.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar was a guest on the Jimmy Fallon show a few days ago and he did the entire interview completely in character as Zack Morris. Not only was he acting like Zack Morris, he dressed like him and even had the legendary Zach Morris phone!

During the interview Mark brought up some old Saved By the Bell memories like his SAT score and his summer at Malibu Sands. The entire show was just like watching the show, the time outs and Zack…err Mark talking to the camera not Jimmy. This really brought back old memories and makes me want to get the entire season on DVD. Check out the video of the interview below…

If you have a very time consuming job or work for yourself it can be very stressful. I know at times I always have work on my mind and it seems like everything revolves around work. That can not only be stressful for you, but they people around you will notice as well. So how do you get work off your mind? There are quite a few ways, say playing a video game or something like that, but lately I’ve been being more social has really got my mind off work. Usually when I would go play a video game or say watch a movie I would still be thinking about work. So when I’m actually out doing something work does not even enter my mind. So what can you do to get your mind off work?

Athletic Activities
Not only will this keep your mind off work it is good for you! Maybe join a gym and get in shape. Or join a league of your favorite sport? Hell even going down to a local park for a pickup game of basketball or soccer will be good for you. It gets you out of the house / office away from work and you will meet new people. I have been trying to make it to the gym more, hopefully that will change once I’m all settled in the new place.

Events
It’s the summer so there are probably a ton of events going on right now in your area. In Pittsburgh there is a lot of stuff to do every weekend. The picture above was taken about a week ago outside the Pirate game. I’m really not into baseball but tailgating and going into the game was so much fun and work didn’t enter my mind the entire game. We all plan on going to another game and some other fun stuff that is happening in Pittsburgh soon.

Night Life
This might not be for everyone, but having a night out on the town is always a great way to let some steam off. Even grabbing a few drinks at a local bar is a great way to meet new people and get out. Usually 1 day out of the week I go out with friends to a club, it is always a good time.

Just Get Out!
The biggest change over the past 6 months for me has been getting out of the house. Normally I would go out maybe 1 day a week maybe, now I’m out 3-4 days a week, even if its just for an hour or 2. I’ve noticed my stress level has been down and I’m an all around happier person. Maybe this is just what you need!

I meant to post this last week but the move kind of put it on the back burner. As many you know I’m a huge hockey fan. Being from Pittsburgh of course I’m a fan of the Penguins, I’ve been since I was a little kid. As you might have known the Pens went to the finals last year, which was the first time they made it to the finals since 1992! A few months ago you wouldn’t have thought the Pens would be in the finals, or even in the playoffs. They were struggling really bad so they fired their coach Michel Therrien and replaced him with Dan Bylsma. Bylsma’s style works with the Pens a lot better because it is an offensive up tempo style, unlike Therrien’s defensive style. You don’t want players like Malkin and Crosby worrying about defense.

Also around the trade deadline the Pens picked up Chris Kunitz from the Ducks in exchange for Ryan Whitney. Many people didn’t like the trade, but it has really paid off as Kunitz is playing with Crosby and adding some grit to the Pens top line. The Pens also picked up Bill Guerin from the Islanders for a conditional 2009 draft pick. Now that is a pickup, getting the captain of another team for a conditional draft pick! Guerin is also on Crosby’s line and he adds much needed experience to the team.

Interestingly enough the Pens are playing the Red Wings again. Crazy that both teams from finals last year are in the finals again! The Red Wings are a good team and they have kept most of their players since last year and even picked up a few other good players like Marian Hossa and Ty Conklin.

I believe that the Pens are a much better and more experienced team this year. Most of them went through the playoff run last year and went all the way to the finals and lost. They know what that feels like and they know what it takes to win.

Right now the series is tied 2-2, with the Pens dropping the first 2 games in Detroit and taking the next 2 games at home. We will be going back to Detroit for game 5, where we need to win on Detroit ice. Good luck Pens!!

Wow what a crazy month it has been! I finally found a new apartment! So this month has been really crazy getting everything ready to move and still finding time to get reviews posted and maintain ThinkComputers. For that reason I barely blogged at all, which I intend to change this month once I get everything unpacked. And don’t worry there will be a post showing you the new place. My favorite post in May was Get 1000 followers on Twitter Easily, Twitter is exploding and that post will show you just how easy it is to get 1000 followers.

Popular Posts
So what was everyone checking out this month? Let’s take a look…

1. Making a Custom Twitter Background
2. Get 1000 Followers on Twitter Easily
3. How To Redirect to a Website
4. Motivation: Movies
5. Keeping Track of Money and Payments

Interesting that the 3 most popular post are all guides.

Traffic Sources

1. ow.ly
2. John Chow
3. ThinkComputers
4. Twitter
5. Jon Waraas

Wow interesting to see how many people are clicking those ow.ly links I post on Twitter via HootSuite.

Top Commentators
As expected I forgot to take a screenshot for this month’s top commentators. Hopefully next month I will remember!

Stats

RSS Readers 273 (-2)
Twitter Followers 4282 (+2778)
Facebook Friends 1119 (+25)

Looks like my Twitter method of getting followers is really working!

On to June
Well looking on to June I really want to get back to blogging and keep working hard on ThinkComputers. I’m moved into my new place so getting more work done should be a lot easier since I’m not living in a 10X11 room!

A little over a week ago Kanye West called out Twitter on his blog, complaining about someone having a fake Kanye West account. After reading his post I was like wow….what an idiot. Before I go into that here is his post…

“(This spaz comes courtesy of losers making fake Kanye West Twitter accounts) I DON’T HAVE A FUCKING TWITTER… WHY WOULD I USE TWITTER??? I ONLY BLOG 5 PERCENT OF WHAT I’M UP TO IN THE FIRST PLACE. I’M ACTUALLY SLOW DELIVERING CONTENT BECAUSE I’M TOO BUSY ACTUALLY BUSY BEING CREATIVE MOST OF THE TIME AND IF I’M NOT AND I’M JUST LAYING ON A BEACH I WOULDN’T TELL THE WORLD. EVERYTHING THAT TWITTER OFFERS I NEED LESS OF. THE PEOPLE AT TWITTER KNOW I DON’T HAVE A FUCKING TWITTER SO FOR THEM TO ALLOW SOMEONE TO POSE AS ME AND ACCUMULATE OVER A MILLION NAMES IS IRRESPONSIBLE AND DECEITFUL TO THERE FAITHFUL USERS. REPEAT… THE HEADS OF TWITTER KNEW I DIDN’T HAVE A TWITTER AND THEY HAVE TO KNOW WHICH ACCOUNTS HAVE HIGH ACTIVITY ON THEM. IT’S A FUCKING FARCE AND IT MAKES ME QUESTION WHAT OTHER SO CALLED CELEBRITY TWITTERS ARE ACTUALLY REAL OR FAKE. HEY TWITTER, TAKE THE SO CALLED KANYE WEST TWITTER DOWN NOW …. WHY? … BECAUSE MY CAPS LOCK KEY IS LOUD!!!!!!!!!”

Well as you can see Kanye is quite mad, but for what reason? First off he calls out the “heads” of twitter and blames them for the fake account. Kanye I’m pretty sure the “heads” of twitter are more concerned about making the service scale and work right rather then who is making fake celebrity accounts.

Kanye also asks, “Why would I use Twitter???”. Well Kayne if you didn’t know twitter is a FREE marketing tool for you and a great way for you to connect with you fans (if you even care about them). I’m sure you know about marketing Kayne, since you require me to fill out a long form just so I can post a comment on your blog. And I’m pretty sure I will get an e-mail from you announcing your tour dates or new cd or something like that since I filled out the form. Wouldn’t you like to be able to send out that message to hundreds of thousands of twitter users as well? Other artist have a great following on twitter (@iamdiddy,@coldplay, @50cent) and I’m sure with as many followers as they have it has helped them in some way.

Kanye also says that we wouldn’t tell the world what he is up to. This is the common perception of twitter that people have, it is not just status updates! It is marketing, link sharing, a meeting place, etc. I use twitter as a marketing tool as well as a way to let everyone know what I’m up to. What’s on yout twitter account is up to you, so don’t complain about “telling the world”, because you don’t have to if you don’t want to.

Do you think Kanye would benefit from a Twitter account? Let me know if the comments! And remember to follow me on Twitter!

It seems like May is a good month for Movies, we have Terminator Salvation, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and of course Star Trek. I usually don’t talk about movies here on the blog, but after seeing Star Trek last Friday I definitely wanted to talk about it. I really was never a Star Trek fan growing up, it was all Star Wars for me. Star Trek always seemed old and lame to me when I would see it. I heard about the movie and I wasn’t that excited until I saw the trailer. Wow a retelling of the story, that’s exactly what I needed since I never really knew the real story of Star Trek.

The movie starts out with you getting right into the action, this is probably one of the best starts to a movie that I’ve seen in a while. After about the 15-20 minutes of action you follow the crew members as they make their way through Starfleet Academy and eventually onto the Starship Enterprise. The story was easy to follow and it gave you a better understanding of Star Trek if you were not familiar with the series.

All of the actors and actress’s played their roles really well. I was surprised to see John Cho in this movie, he is “Harold” from the Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle series. He played his character well and did not seem out of place at all. One of the best performances was by Zachary Quinto, who played Spock. Most of you know him from the TV Heroes as Sylar. He pretty much fit the role perfectly.

I’m not going to give out any spoilers or anything like that, but I do encourage you to go check out this movie if you are all into Sci-Fi or action movies, you will not be disappointed!

Twitter is exploding and it seems like everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. Many people think that Twitter is just an extension of Facebook status updates, but it is so much more than that. Twitter is great for meeting new people, passing around information, getting news, and it’s a great free platform to market to people on. So the more people you reach on Twitter depends on how many followers you have. Over the past couple of weeks I was easily able to gain over 1000 twitter followers without much work at all. I will show you how to do the same…

Set up Auto Follow
So you want people to follow you? Give them an incentive by following them back. I would normally follow people back that would follow me on Twitter, but when a lot of people add you each day it becomes a pain to follow people back. So you are going to want to setup auto follow on your account. There are many sites that can do it for you but I use TweetLater.com to do it, it is really easy to set up.

Follow other peoples Followers
When I started to want to get more followers I would check out some of Twitter power users in my niche and started following their followers, for the most part they would follow me back seeing that we were in the same niche. This takes a little while to do but if you want followers you can easily take 15 minutes a day and start following people.

Find Lists
Many people have compiled lists of people who will follow you back and who are interesting Twitter users. One list that really boosted my follower number was the Virl.com Top 250 people that are the coolest, most influential or neatest. Other lists to look for are local Twitter users in your area, you can look up the top Twitter users in your area on Twitterholic, here are the top 100 users in Pittsburgh, PA, I currently sit 28th. If people see you are from their area they will most likely follow you back.

Follow Groups
This is probably the easiest way to gain followers on Twitter. There are many websites that you can join that are follow groups, websites where you agree to follow people back and you are listed on the site. The first site like this I started using was Twitter Follower. You simply create an account and you are listed in their people that follow back directory. Once I got my account setup I gained about 30 followers right off the bat! Other follow groups include iFollowBack and TopFollowed.

Getting followers is easy, keeping them is the hard part. So make sure you are tweeting some fun and interesting things so people will keep on following you. I will be making another post on how to keep your current Twitter followers. Happy tweeting and remember to follow me on Twitter!

Look’s like Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake are back with a sequel to the Dick In a Box video. Just in time for Mother’s Day it’s called Motherlover, make sure you go watch the dick in a box video first before you watch Motherlover. Great video’s that definitely make you laugh, Happy Mother’s Day everyone!