Personal savings site BillShrink has a new feature: a gasoline pricing database that directs you to gas stations based on the route you take on your daily commute, not just how close you are to the stations.
The Web app isn't just for finding prices. It actually helps you plan your refueling stops along the way. You start by telling it about your car and its mileage, and your home and work addresses. You get back a results page that shows you a Google Map of all the gas stations along your route. You can zoom in and out to expand or limit the search area.
Beneath the map is a listing of all the gas stations BillShrink was able to find, followed by their location, price, and amenities.
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The PC Gaming Alliance has issued its state of the industry report for 2008 and it makes for interesting reading for those who think gaming is all about consoles like Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii.
Here are the highlights:
The PC is the largest single platform for games with annual worldwide revenue of about $11 billion. This is more than any of the console and portable systems from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.
In emerging markets such as Asia and Eastern Europe the PC has become the de facto platform of choice for games as console systems have not had major penetration in most countries.
Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) are the leading products for both revenue and profits. Several Asian MMOGs are generating over $100 million in annual revenue after 5+ years on the market. World of Warcraft is generating over $1 billion in annual revenue.
In 2008, two major new subscription MMOGs (Warhammer Online and Age of Conan) sold over 1 million units at retail.
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Epson America has just released its new document camera known as the Epson DC-06 which is able to deliver flexibility, ease-of-use and affordability to today's K-12 classroom. This $399 device comes with an easy USB connection which enables educators and teachers alike to hook up to one of the new feature-rich Epson PowerLite 85, 825 and 826W projectors or alternatively, to a computer using included software for easy operation. The Epson DC-06 document camera will come with XGA resolution that allows you to show off detailed reproductions within a 10.7"x 14.3" capture area, making it a snap for educators to share information from text books, journals, models, and even 3D objects to keep students riveted.
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A few years back, a company called Infinium Labs introduced a new game console, The Phantom. It was going to change the face of PC and video gaming by offering a downloadable catalog of titles available by subscription. It was an aptly named product: The Phantom never shipped.
Yesterday at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, a similar sounding service was announced: OnLive. The major differences between The Phantom and OnLive seem to be that first, OnLive doesn't deliver games to your house, it delivers output (more on that in a minute) and second, OnLine doesn't appear to be vaporware.
Game publishers could also frequently update their games on OnLive by changing the code running on the servers. If one part of a game is too hard, the publishers can simply patch that part and then everyone will play the new version the next time they log in. Publishers can also pull the plug on games that aren’t selling well without taking a big inventory hit.
You'd have no control over these changes, since the game doesn't exist in your house. So if you liked that challenging part of the game, you'd lose it (rather than opting not to patch, as you would now).
Twitter will allow you to import e-mail lists, contacts from instant messaging services, and you can find your friends on their search engine. The best way to build a list of interesting people is to go to the Twitter search engine at search.twitter.com and plug in your interests. This will then spit tons of people back out at you that you can choose to follow. Twitter will also give you some suggestions for people to follow.
Kettering University has decided to create a buzz for their school by answering frequently asked questions with a stickman video. There are several stickman videos, in fact one of them is described as such: "A video about life, love, heartache, and mortal kombat fatalities. Oh...and it's also about applying to Kettering University."
Now I don't know if this will work with the intellectuals out there, but I sure am getting a kick out of it. You have to admit it's am interesting tactic.
All jokes aside, US News Best Colleges and World Report has ranked Kettering University as "the #1 University in the nation for Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering" in its annual "America's Best Colleges Guide for 2008". The available majors include: Applied Mathematics, Applied Physics, Biochemistry, Business, Chemistry, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Physics Industrial Engineering and mechanical engineering. They even have premed if you're interested in further pursuing your biochemistry adoration above and beyond the bachelor realm.
If your curiosity has piqued then head over to their site and see what is available for you.
Yes, I know I've mentioned this before, but I am thinking about where I would like to send Braeden to school. He will be 4 years old in October, but I feel that it is never too early to start preparing. And though I went to public schools my whole life, I have been looking into k-12 Private Schools.
The reason for my wanting to get Brae into a private school is because I have seen the outcome first hand with one of my younger cousins. He has been able to excel exponentially while being in a private school and I admire his determination. I feel the smaller classes and dedicated teachers really help to keep children committed. They are so many disciplinary problems in public school and so many children who don't want to be there and their parents don't seem to care. I feel that if you send your child to a private school and are paying for the service that you'll be putting you child in a classroom with other children whose parents really do care about their child's education. Do you know what I mean?
Education Seek is a website with an extensive directory of k-12 Private Schools. It's helpful to be able to look through and compare the different types of programs available nationwide. In addition to offering the directory, they also offer guidance and list things to consider when choosing a private school.
The site also mentions the fact that many private schools are considered college-prep schools. These schools claim higher academic achievement and a more positive pier environment than most public schools. Much of these results are attributed to better-compensated educators, fewer restrictions, and student bodies that have higher academic standards for themselves.
So, if you're like me and like to prepare and research; be on the ball for your child. You should check out their site, it has a lot of valuable information.
It's not easy being a parent sometimes. My Brae boy will be four years old in a few months and I'm thinking about where he should go to kindergarten. And when I get on that kick, I start to think about what will happen when he needs helps with school projects and *gasp* math problems.
Math was always my hardest subject in school. I used to go to sessions before exams in college because I struggled so much. Have you seen the curriculum for math in schools now, it is so different and strange. Old math was hard for me, new math is completely foreign.
So, thank goodness for math tutors! I've read about Score Education Centers and it pleases me to know their approach to tutoring children is hands on and interactive. Especially for math, I think being able to learn with real-life, hands-on activities is the only way to go. And since I know they work with children in grades pre-K through 10th grade...I'm pretty sure Brae will be fine when it comes to math. SCORE! has been bookmarked in the parenting life-saver folder of my favorites. =o)