Now, unlike Blogger or WordPress.com, I had to pay for things. It cost money to get wordsarenotenough.com, and it cost money to host my blog on it. (I started with GoDaddy.com, but now I use BlueHost.com as my domain host.) I pay about $80 a year to run this site, and I use it for more than just photography. Words Are Not Enough is about life- travel, photography, friends, mission- lots of things. Anyway, I’m writing this to tell you that you can get a ProPhoto blog too. Your blog doesn’t have to be about photography to use it, but if you do have a photoblog, ProPhoto is the best I’ve seen.

So here’s the deal. Check out this video about ProPhoto Blogs. If you like it, get it. It’s got wicked awesome customization tools that are simple to use- you can make a professional blog without paying an arm and a leg.

And if you sign up, use this promo code: JOEKEN654. It’ll save you a little cash, and it’ll give me a little, too.

“I am Second is a movement where significance in life is a shared value among people of all kinds. Actors. Athletes. Musicians. Business leaders. Your next-door neighbors. People just like you. Their authentic stories here on iamsecond.com provide insight into dealing with typical struggles of everyday living. You’ll meet people who overcame destructive lifestyles. Plus you’ll discover those who’ve tried to go it alone and have failed, yet still found a life full of hope, peace, and fulfillment.”

“The story of Christ’s birth is a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love. So, what happened? What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists. And when it’s all over, many of us are left with presents to return, looming debt that will take months to pay off, and this empty feeling of missed purpose. Is this what we really want out of Christmas? What if Christmas became a world-changing event again? Welcome to Advent Conspiracy.”

Since Amazon came out with the Kindle a couple years ago, I’ve watched as many of my friends fell victim to early adoption. They coveted new technology and they pursued it, not realizing that future generations of their product would be vastly superior. Both Amazon and Barnes and Noble have eReaders (soon to be) available. Consider the list of features offered by the Kindle:

• Slim
• Lightweight
• Books in Under 60 Seconds
• 3G Wireless
• International Coverage
• Paper-Like Display
• Carry Your Library
• Long Battery Life
• Read-to-Me

We all know that battery life will improve as the technology gets better. The same goes for capacity and speed (as 3G becomes 4G and so on). Those features are great. But what I really want is… the Apple iTablet. Okay, so that’s not news. I’m a Mac guy. But if I were a PC guy, I’d want a Tablet PC. One that ran a fully functioning OS, whether it was Windows, Linux, or Mac OS. I’d want it to look nice. And in addition to all those things the Kindle and Nook offer, I’d want…

• Full color.
• High resolution.
• Touch screen.
• The ability to draw/write notes in the margins.
• And save them.
• And email them.
• And print them.
• Removable battery (that doesn’t heat up so much)

I bet if I thought about it more, I could come up with more things I want. But if I were a college student, I’d want every book I had to buy to come in a digital version, in full color, with a huge resolution and all those other things I listed above. Now nice would that be? It would be awesome.

Here’s an excerpt from the Lockstitch entry on Wikipedia:

The lockstitch uses two threads, an upper and a lower. The upper thread runs from a spool kept on a spindle on top of or next to the machine, through a tension mechanism, a take-up arm, and finally through the hole in the needle. The lower thread is wound onto a bobbin, which is inserted into a case in the lower section of the machine. To make one stitch, the machine lowers the threaded needle through the cloth into the bobbin area, where a hook catches the upper thread at the point just after it goes through the needle. The hook mechanism carries the upper thread entirely around the bobbin case, so that it has made one wrap of the bobbin thread. Then the take-up arm pulls the excess upper thread ( from the bobbin area ) back to the top forming the lockstitch ideally in the center of the thickness of the material, the tension mechanism prevents the thread from being pulled from the spool side, the needle is pulled out of the cloth, and the feed dogs pull the cloth back one stitch length, the cycle is repeated as the machine turns mechanically.

Lockstitch is so named because the two threads, upper and lower, “lock” together in the hole in the fabric which they pass through. The term “single needle stitching”, often found on dress shirt labels, refers to lockstitch, as opposed to chain stitch which unravels easily and is usually used on lower quality garments.

So, without further ado, I first found this post at swissmiss, who got it from Dossier, who got it from Bits & Pieces, who got it from The J-Walk Blog, who seems to have gotten it from Wikicommons. It’s also possible that someone found it at the Wikipedia entry for Sewing machine or Lockstitch.

You’re welcome.

Mint: It bills itself as “the free, automatic, online way to manage your money.” This thing has incredible potential. You could access it anywhere, keep up with all your bills and spending patterns quickly and easily. But I’m just a little too paranoid about this right now to do anything with it. If you’ve signed up, let me know what you think.

Kiva: “Loans that change lives.” I’ve got a couple friends who are involved in Kiva, so I’d like to hear from them on this. It’s microlending- apparently a bunch of people give a little bit toward one big loan. “By choosing a loan on Kiva, you can ‘sponsor a business’ and help the world’s working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the entrepreneur you’ve sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.” Sounds helpful.

Jott: This one’s still in the productivity/business category, but doesn’t have to do with money. Think of Jott as your online secretary. Call, voicemail, or text message Jott and it’ll store your notes for you. It’ll transcribe your voice messages. “Jott allows consumers to easily and safely send emails and text messages, set reminders, organize lists, and post to web services with their voice.” Unfortunately for Jott, I’m still old-school enough to write things down in my Moleskine.

Google Reader: This RSS Feed reader is how I keep up with news and blogs across the world. I can access them from any browser anywhere. It’s the best out there.

WordPress: This blog is powered by WordPress. It wouldn’t exist without it. I switched over from Google-run Blogger about two years ago, and I won’t look back. WordPress makes life easy, and it’s free.

Flickr: I host all of my photography on flickr. Yes, my graphics for Words Are Not Enough are hosted by my domain, I’ve got everything else on flickr. They’ve got a free account and a pro account; I use the pro account, even though it costs about $25.00 a year. It’s worth it.

Facebook: Yes, I have an account with Facebook. Who doesn’t? And with all those stupid application add-ons, it’s like MySpace, but without the nasty ads.

Twitter: My friend Amy said one of our professors brought Twitter up in class the other day. When a seminary professor knows about Twitter, you know it’s gone mainstream. Microblogging at its best, this is a constant “status update.” Thanks to Twitter, I can now give you a play by play of every minute of my life.

YouTube: Alright, I haven’t uploaded anything to YouTube. It’s true. But by now, unless you live under a rock, you know that it’s where people post videos. Expect something on my channel in April.

Etsy: “Your place to buy and sell all things handmade.” It’s where I sell my photography. Go buy something.

LinkedIn: I really don’t use LinkedIn much at all, but I have an account. From what I can tell, it’s just another social network based on my skills, work experience, and job industry. Okay?

Wikipedia: Are you kidding me? This is one of the most important resources I have on the Internet. I’d be lost and bored without it. (It’s an online user-written encyclopedia. If you didn’t know that, you’re not reading this now.)

So those are the tools that I use on a semi-regular basis. Next up: Things I’d consider using.