He may be gone but his humour lives on. George Carlin died Sunday evening in California, after arriving at a hospital with chest pain.

George Carlin was, for me, the shock jock of comedy. But to leave it at “shock jock” doesn’t do justice to the intelligent and perceptive man he was. Only George Carlin could deliver social commentary in a way that would make you laugh and think.

Access Hollywood has the full story here

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You know you want your own website. You’ve heard all about blogs. But like most normal folks, you aren’t a Web Guru.

You don’t know HTML, you wouldn’t know a Text Editor from your Newspaper Editor and the rest of that website programming stuff like PHP, Ruby and MySQL… why that’s for Geeks!

Maybe you’ve thought about hiring a web designer. You checked out Guru.com but you don’t think this is a project: It’s just a website!

Site Builder Tools That Don’t

Being a Web Developer, I have friends and family who want their own website. But it doesn’t make good financial sense for them to hire me or anyone else. Yes, I did take care of my Mom and my Husband; she has her own blog and he has a web developer at his beck and call 24 hours per day.

I have looked at many site builders so I can recommend a tool that works.

When Matt and Brad Callen of Bryxen Software announced the launch of their new Website Creation Tool, I almost blew it off.

There are tons of site building tools available that claim to be so easy-to-use a novice could use it to make their own page and have it up in less than 24 hours. Many of them are clunky. They are intuitive only to those who already know HTML or they are not flexible enough to let your creativity shine.

Typically, you can upload a few photos and text but if you want to sell products, that costs more. If you wanted to add a little form to capture a visitor’s first name and email address, you would need to know more about HTML Form Elements and programming.

But Does it Flow?

Then there is something I think of as “Flow.” Different types of websites have different flows.

For example, many Information Product websites have a Sales Letter format and flow. The homepage flows from a huge attention-grabbing Title to a slightly smaller Sub-Title. From there, a brief introduction precedes a (hopefully) engaging story peppered with text, audio and video Testimonials. The reader is led through the story to a Closing where they can make a purchase or subscribe to a newsletter.

Many Site Building Tools fall apart at the Closing, forcing the novice to find someone to integrate a payment method or gateway like PayPal or Authorize.net into their webpage. And a newsletter or subscription form? Nope. Again, make the call to your favorite web developer.

Caveat Emptor!

Like I told you, I almost hit the delete button when Brad Callen emailed me about his new Site Builder tool.

His company’s reputation saved his email from the pits of Delete Hell and actually got me off my butt to try their new FREE product. More on that in a minute…

Internet Marketing is a small world, made up of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

The Ugly make outrageous claims, take your money and slither quietly away with your money tucked in their wallets and your email address stored in their databases. They are unreachable by telephone; they do not respond to email and product support does not exist. You won’t hear from them again until they want more money.

The Bad, well, they’re a disorganized lot with big, easy dollar signs in their eyes. They might mean well, but they’ve yet to figure out that first impressions mean everything and their good name is actually worth something in this world.

But I don’t rag on the Black Hat Internet Marketers.
As Hank Asher explained to me many years ago, “Caveat emptor!” Besides, when you see a snake, you know it’s a snake. Don’t expect it to be a cute puppy dog. It’s a SNAKE!

BlinkWeb is Different

Let’s talk about The Good. I love ‘em. Their products and their companies are built to last.

1. When they build and release a software tool, it’s ready-to-go. It works.
2. And when the times change, they update their products, so you can keep up too.
3. Their Support System is in place and working.
   • Want to know how to use their product? Watch the audio/video Tutorials. They are online and served up on demand.
   • Have a question not covered by the Support Videos? Search their online knowledge base.
   • Have a question not in the knowledgebase? Create a Support Ticket and within 24 hours you have an answer.
   • Want to find out how other folks are using the product? Join the Community Forum.
   • Still having trouble? Pick up the telephone and call.

These are the traits of the Best Internet Marketers. Of the lot, there are only a handful and no more.

Brad and Matt Callen of Bryxen Software fall into this group. So when the email about their new product arrived, I had high expectations.

BlinkWeb Makes Your Website Easy

I followed the link in that email and created a new account at BlinkWeb. Looking at it as a developer, I was impressed. They’re getting closer to putting me out of business!

From the perspective of a novice, BlinkWeb shines.

BlinkWeb is the first easy to use, drag-and-drop web site builder tool that is powerful enough for online sales and effective.

It isn’t for everyone, though. I mean, if you want a 10,000 record, searchable database-backed membership website, you aren’t going to get it with their site creation tool. Hop on over to Guru.com and let one of their developers bid on your project. Or call me and I’ll bid on it.

But, if a brochure-style website, with photos and videos is what you want, BlinkWeb can do it. Want to add a Blog to your site? BlinkWeb will let you have one. Easily.

You can even sell products through your BlinkWeb site.

And remember that Sales Letter Flow I wrote about earlier? You can do it with BlinkWeb.

Want your own domain name? No problem. (This is the one additional feature that did carry a very small charge.)

Having seen many site builder tools, I was extremely pleased with BlinkWeb.

This is a feature-packed Web Site Building Tool that raises the bar for other products.

And with Brad Callen behind it, you know the software will be updated into the future. The tutorials are already in place and the support, if required, available.

Not bad for a FREE product!

If you do give BlinkWeb a whirl, please let me know. Just drop me a note or comment here and I’ll happy to review your BlinkWeb-created website!

Pilots are always looking for something to do in between flights. When the time between flights is short, the obvious choice is to sit at the FBO in the pilot lounge and sleep. A longer stretch between flights may get you out of the FBO and into a restaurant for food.

But overnight flights with at least one good 24 hour stretch in between… those are the best.

One of my favorite places to overnight in the USA is New York City.

There is no shortage of activities to entertain a bored pilot – or anyone else for that matter! The problem for the first-time visitor to NYC – the visitor whose time is short – is knowing where to go and what to do.

New York City is huge and, unless you have been there before, renting a car and driving around is a waste of time and money. You’ll spend much of your time navigating and most of the rest of your time honing your New York City driving skills. If you are lucky, you might be able to get a visual on the stunning skyline. If you are alone, without a co-pilot, you might not see a thing. And if you do see something, you won’t know what you are looking at!

I prefer to get the lay of the land first. And one of the best ways to do so is with a guided tour.

City Sights NY is a pilot’s dream. Their double decker guided NYC Tours provide a visual you will not get on a standard coach bus. Their buses are all about seeing New York. That upper deck is open, so passengers have a full panoramic view of New York City. And, when the weather is cold, a clear canopy and heaters keep riders warm while still allowing them to see the sights.

Along with the stunning visuals, audio explanations are part of your New York City tour. You can put your map away, forget about driving and relax.

Tours can be viewed and purchased online at City Sights NY.

Their website is comprehensive and answered every question I had about taking a tour. You can purchase your tickets online and print them yourself.

Another benefit of City Sights NY is their “hop on, hop off” policy. With both the Downtown Tour and Uptown Tours, you can hop on and off your tour bus for 24 hours after you first board. When you see something you would like to explore, hop off the bus at the next stop. When you are ready to continue your tour, hop on again!

Enjoy! And let me know about your visit!