BobBuskirk.com » The Net

Not Blogging as Much…

Bob Buskirk — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 20:40:24 +0000

Well as you may have noticed my blogging has been a little dry lately. I mean the main reasons really is that I have been super busy, but after thinking about it there are a few different reasons why my blogging has slowed down. I think the biggest reasons is all of the micro-blogging platforms that I use. This blog is to keep people updated on my life, but with all those micro-blogging platforms I can do that very easily and with less work. As well as right from the event or place I am at.

Some of you may already follow me on these platforms, but I am going to list them so you can be up to date with what I am doing. The biggest one is twitter. Everything I do I post on twitter so that is the main one if you want to follow me on there.

I post many pictures and videos. Those all go through twitter as well as Posterous and Tumblr. These photo blogs I have really show you what I’m up to.

Don’t worry I will still be keeping this blog up for longer posts and things I want to talk about. I just wanted to let you know about the other ways you can stay in touch with what I am doing.

Tim Ferris is back with the 4-Hour Chef!

Bob Buskirk — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:49:31 +0000

If you follow me on twitter or Instagram you know I love food and I love cooking, that is why I am super excited for Tim Ferris’s new book the 4-Hour Chef! Tim’s book the 4-Hour Workweek really changed how I thought about time management and made all of my businesses more successful. I really like Tim’s writing style and the way he is straight forward with things. Here is what the 4-Hour Chef is all about…

The tagline for the book is, “The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life”. Time says, “The book is intended to be “the cookbook for people who don’t buy cookbooks,” The 4-Hour Chef will use food as a vehicle to teach the art and science of meta-learning–the skill of learning skills. Whether you want to learn a new instrument or a new sport (or anything in between), you’ll have a field-tested and research-backed blueprint. In addition to insight from world-class chefs, we’ll have an unreal cast of characters helping you to multiply your learning potential.”

For a limited time, to celebrate the announcement, you can pre-order The 4-Hour Chef for 50-80% off. Instead of $30 for print, you can reserve a copy for $15. Instead of $22 for Kindle, you can get it for $9.99.

If you have read any of Tim’s books you know this one is going to be just as good. I can’t wait to get it and learn so much more about cooking and food!

Some New Shows…Late 2011 Edition

Bob Buskirk — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 15:00:42 +0000

Since I have been really working my a** off gearing up for the holiday season I really have not gone out that much. Usually at the end of a long day I try to wind down and relax by watch some TV…well Hulu mostly. Through Hulu I have discovered some great new shows, going through their Popular Shows page there really is a lot. Let’s take a look at few shows I am really enjoying right now. Instead of writing about them.

Terra Nova – (Hulu Link)

Pan Am – (Hulu Link)

Revenge – (Hulu Link)

Misfits – (Hulu Link)
Although this show is older, I’ve just discovered it!

Launched the Official ThinkComputers YouTube Channel!

Bob Buskirk — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:00:31 +0000

ThinkComputers has really not done that much video, although we should! All of the videos on ThinkComputers prior to a month ago were mixed in with videos on my personal YouTube page. This was an issue for many reasons so I decided one to create a channel specifically for ThinkComputers and to produce more video content.

So the ThinkComputers YouTube Channel was launched! I have done a good job so far keeping it updated. I want to post at least 1 video a week if not more. Right now we are doing a lot of unboxing videos, but we also will be doing video reviews, game reviews, and event coverage!

Another great thing about having a separate YouTube channel for ThinkComputers is that I am able monetize the videos to start making money from them. This not only will put some extra money in my pocket, but keep me more motivated to keep on producing videos.

Check out the ThinkComputers YouTube channel and let me know what you think! If you like the channel make sure you subscribe!

Kitchen Confidential

Bob Buskirk — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 19:21:03 +0000

I watch a lot of cooking shows, probably because I enjoy cooking so much. Many of the shows I watch for free on Hulu. A few days ago I was watching a show on Hulu and a commercial came on for a show called Kitchen Confidential. The show looked really funny so I decided to check it out. After watching the first episode I was hooked! The show takes place in a New York restaurant and shows all of the antics the staff off the restaurant get into.

I was surprised I had not heard of this show before. Doing some research I found out this show actually aired in 2005! And it was based on Anthony Bourdain’s New York Times bestselling book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. I have never read that book, but I am a big Anthony Bourdain fan. Here is a trailer for the show.

I should have expected the show to be older because many of the actors and actresses are big movie stars now. Bradley Cooper plays the character that is supposed to be Anthony Bourdain. The cast also includes John Cho, Jaime King and John Daley.

I am very surprised there was only one season of this show. I am really enjoying it so far, I am on the 5th episode right now. You can watch the entire run of the show for free on Hulu.

TeuxDeux: The Pefect To-Do List

Bob Buskirk — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:07:30 +0000

So for the longest time I had been looking for a to-do list app for my iPhone. Not only just an iPhone app, but something that I could use on my desktop or pretty much anywhere. So many of the apps that I found were not simple to do list’s and have so many unnecessary features that makes things confusing and do not get the job done. A couple of months ago my friend Pat told me about TeuxDeux.

TeuxDeux is a simple to-do list. It is web-based so all you have to do is create an account and you are good to go. TuexDeux is so simple you just create a list for each day of the week. When you complete a task just click on it and it will be crossed out. That is it, it is that simple.

It is awesome that something so simple works so great. To give you an idea of how TeuxDeux works check out the video below.

The fact that I can use TeuxDeux anywhere is probably why I like it. I can use it on my iPhone, Laptop, tablet, or any public computer really. This is made possible because it is web-based. TeuxDeux does offer an iPhone app for $2.99, but if you do not want to shell out the cash you can always just use TeuxDeux on the browser on your phone. Give TeuxDeux a try and let me know what you think!

How I am Using The Cloud

Bob Buskirk — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:04:39 +0000

I started using the Cloud a few years ago and now it seems I do everything on the cloud, like right now I am using the cloud to write this blog post using Google Docs. Using the cloud is such a convenience because it makes it so I do not have to have a ton of different programs installed on my system, but also in the case that I do not have my laptop with me I can use any public PC to access my data. So how exactly am I using the cloud?

E-mail – Gmail: I’ve been using Gmail for years, but up until recently all of ThinkComputers e-mail was run through Outlook using POP3. This was simple enough, but I could not access my e-mail from anywhere and when I went on trips I would have to transfer my e-mail from my desktop to my laptop, which was a pain. Setting up Gmail to work with the ThinkComputers e-mail was very simple and now I have everything in one place, easy to use and even search-able.

Office – Google Docs: Installing Microsoft office on every system I have is just annoying and purchasing Office is just expensive, especially if you are only going to be using Word. The Google Docs suite is comprised of a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, form and drawing. I use the word processor the most, even if someone e-mails me a .docx file I am able to upload it to Google Docs so I can view it.

Files – Dropbox: Dropbox is a simple service that allows you to have a unified folder across multiple systems. So if I put something in the folder on my main PC it will show up on my laptop, tablet and even iPhone. I used to carry a flash drive around with me that had important files on it, but now I just use Dropbox so on any PC I can have all of those important files. Dropbox also allows you to view and download files via a web interface so if you are on a public computer you can still access your files.

Photo Storage – Flickr: I have been using Flickr for quite some time now. It is probably the only Yahoo service that I still use. Flickr is a photo sharing / storage service that is very easy to use. I try to upload all of my photos to Flickr because who knows when a hard drive will die (I’ve had 2 die this year already). I love to go and look back through all of the photos I have stored on Flickr since 2007!

Music – Google Music & Pandora: If you are anything like me you have a lot of music. Having all of this music makes it difficult to take with you, especially on multiple devices. Recently Google launched the Google Music beta that allows you to upload all of your music to the cloud and play it back in any web browser or Android device. This means you don’t have to transfer your collection to your laptop or device every time you get new music. Pandora is great, it is a streaming music service, but it does not use your music collection. You input an artist or song and it creates a station around that. It is a great way to discover new music.

Photo Editing – Photoshop Express: I do not do a lot of photo editing while on the go, but if I need to use Photoshop, it is not only a resource killer, but a battery killer as well. Using the online version ala Photoshop Express easily allows me to do quick resizing and edits to photos if needed. Not to mention the service is free!

So how are you using the cloud? Let me know in the comments!

Google Plus Review – A Week In

Bob Buskirk — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 16:13:01 +0000

It seems the buzz all around the internet for the past couple of weeks has been about Google’s new social platform Google Plus or Google+. We have seen Google social things before like Buzz, which really did not catch on, but it seems many people are embracing Google+. Google+ is a social network, but what makes it different from Facebook? Well first off Google+ does not have games or 3rd party apps at this time. This means you are not getting stupid requests for apps and for people asking you to help them in Mafia Wars or something like that.

The core elements of Google+ are your friends, profile, photos, and hangouts. Lets start with friends, you can add friends by their e-mail and group them in to circles. Each circle is like a grouping, when you post something on Google+ you can either make it public so everyone can see it or you can select which circles you are going to post it to. Circles can also be used to filter your stream, you can select to only see what your friends are doing etc.

Your profile is pretty simple, it shows your posts, has an about tab, photos tab, videos tab, +1′s tab and a Buzz Tab. Unlike Facebook your friends or people who follow you cannot write on your profile. This is interesting, as the only way people can communicate with you is commenting on things you post. This may drive people to share more.

The photos section is pretty cool. The photo uploader is much better than the Facebook one and I like how the comments show up on the right side of the photo page. You are able to tag people in photos. When people tag you, you will get a tag request, which is a nice touch.

Hangouts are social video chat. You can chat with up to 10 people at once and it works great.

So where do where we go from here with Google+? Right now Google+’s user-base is mostly tech people, which is great if you are into that sort of thing. It makes it a really cool hangout, but if you are not into tech or the internet then you might have to wait for Google+ to have enough relevant content for you to enjoy. I think the big thing with Google+ is going to be engagement, just in the week that I’ve been on Google+ I’ve seen extremely long threads of replies and +1′s on posts. I think the fact that you cannot write on people’s profiles has a big part in this. I really like Google+ and if you are on it check out my profile here. Also if you need an invite send me your e-mail account and I’ll send you an invite!

What is Empire Avenue?

Bob Buskirk — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 15:00:48 +0000

A few weeks ago I kept on hearing about this site called Empire Avenue, then people kept on tweeting about it so I had to check it out. Empire Avenue is basically an online stock market simulation, but you are not investing in companies, but people. How it works is that you create an account add your social profiles (Twitter, Facebook, etc). Once your accounts are connected you are eventually given a share price based on the activity and engagement of those accounts. When your share price is established people are able to invest in you.

Empire Avenue uses what they called “Eaves” as their virtual currency. You are given a set amount of Eaves when you start and can gain Eaves by doing many different things. First you are able to invest (buy shares) in users on Empire avenue. Once you buy the shares you will be given a daily dividend, which is a good way to earn Eaves. You also earn Eaves when people buy shares in you. You can earn achievements or invite people to join Empire Avenue and that will give you Eaves as well. If you are lazy you can purchase Eaves.

The site can be quite addicting as the normal stock market is for many people. At least with Empire Avenue you are spending fake currency not real money. Your share price is based on engagement so the more you interact on your social networks the more you will end up being worth. This makes the game fun and makes your more productive on those social networks. The main goal of the game is to have the most wealth based on your your investments and income. The best way to do this is invest wisely and keep trying to grow your market share so more people will invest in you.

Right now I have a net wealth of 84,799.945 and 11 people have invested in me. I currently invest in 14 people and have 28,232.31 in the bank. Empire Avenue is a lot of fun, go ahead and check it out and maybe you might want to invest in me!

Pittsburgh Bucket List Launched

Bob Buskirk — Wed, 25 May 2011 19:37:09 +0000

I’m sure many of you have heard of bucket list’s. They are lists of things you would want to do before you die or before you move away etc. After doing some research I found there was not really a bucket list that was specific to Pittsburgh. So I decided to make a Pittsburgh Bucket List website.

I first came up with my list. The idea was that I would be leaving Pittsburgh for good in 1 year. Of course that is not the case, but that this the premise of the website. I first came up with 16 things I would want to do before I would leave Pittsburgh for good. This is not a large list, but it is a start. I want to get the list up to 100 items!

I love to try new things and I always love going new places. This bucket list is a great way to experience new things and share them with people. Each time I complete something on the list I will be blogging about it so you can experience it as well.

The site was really easy to make. It is based off WordPress and the layout was a free one I found online. Any feedback on the site would be great!