Today's episode found Dan in a very dark mood. Our top ten list was "Signs that the Christmas Season had started". Funny stuff. We answered questions about Internet marketing and had a spontaneous visit from my lovely bride. Watch the stream below. You've got nothing better to do, right? Continue Reading

The Pink Floyd classic album, Dark Side of the Moon, is though to be the greatest rock album of all time. I might support that assertion. If you listen all the way to the end of the album, Roger Waters says, "There is no dark side of the moon. Actually, it's all dark." I know, it's profound. Still, the album is an absolute classic and one for every music-lover's collection. And speaking of the moon... Continue Reading

I am finding Facebook to be a great tool for networking and connecting with people. Since I started using last fall, I have connected with old friends, family members, new associates and some pretty big names. With Facebook, you can make contact with people who might otherwise be very difficult to reach. I've added over 1000 friends, started a handful of groups and have discovered how to post items so others can see what I... Continue Reading

I had the pleasure of enjoying the company of my brother and his family this past weekend. They live in suburban Chicago, so it was a treat for them to come to the mountains and enjoy a little slower pace for a few days. By the way, you'll want to watch for my bro. He is a brilliant CPA with some keen insights into money management. I foresee a website and a book in the... Continue Reading

"It was a dark and stormy night." That may as well be the beginning of this newsletter, because I have started writing it five times now. I get past the first line, read it, and delete it. So I figure you just can't go wrong with "It was a dark and stormy night." Well, perhaps if I was writing fiction... The fact is that I've got a lot to tell you this week and I'm... Continue Reading

People have been asking me three questions about the AdSense program, and their new terms of service and AdSense support team have now clarified all of these issues. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Question 1) Does Google allow other ads to run on the same page as AdSense Ads? Answer 1) The official word is a qualified "yes". You may not run ads that are designed to resemble AdSense ads. For example, Yahoo! Publisher Network ads look very similar... Continue Reading

Bionicles. A Lego creation that has an incredibly rabid fan base and has spawned numerous made-for-DVD videos and a comic book series. Why am I writing about Lego Bionicles? Because my son has been collecting them for years. And because he just dropped over $100 on the newest sets to hit the market and is incredibly upset. So much so that he is returning them to the store, disheartened and disappointed. I suggested that he... Continue Reading

Lara Croft is back. And this time she means business. Back in the late nineties, Lara Croft came on the scene in the game Tomb Raider. A female "Indiana Jones"-style character, Lara spelunked tombs in ancient ruins of Rome, Mexico, Egypt and Atlantis, fighting off creatures and bad guys while on the hunt for priceless artifacts and treasure. Rather than just shooting to kill stuff, Tomb Raider challenged the player mentally with a series of... Continue Reading

I don't like fishing. I couldn't care less if I ever catch another fish the rest of my life. However, my alter-ego, Zorigon, enjoys fishing quite a bit. It's even more enjoyable when I am providing fish for my son, BRMadcat. Sound weird? It's just another day in the alternate universe known as World of Warcraft Continue Reading

About eight years ago, a friend turned me on to the music of The Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Their work can be described as bombastic and theatrical rock and roll with a distinctly classical feel created for the Christmas season. Continue Reading

Here's a site that grabs you by your psyche, tosses you about like an emotional spin washer and causes you to marvel at the tremendous pain in the world. The site is called Post Secret. What is it, you ask? Imagine your deepest, darkest secret. Imagine that you couldn't tell a soul. But what if you could create an image on a postcard and anonymously mail it to a web site where your secret could... Continue Reading

The organic trade association has produced a very funny Star Wars spoof. See Cuke fend off the evil Dark Tater as the organic foods seek to take control from the evil stores who sell nothing but processed and chemically treated foods. Funny stuff! Store Wars Continue Reading

A long time ago in galaxy far, far away, a thirteen-year old boy discovered a new world of action and adventure which had captured his imagination unlike anything before. Star Wars hit the theaters in 1977, and I still remember sitting in the very front row, completely in awe by the images on the screen. I probably saw the film ten times in our local cinema, and waited patiently for George Lucas to churn out... Continue Reading

In 1996, Eidos Interactive came out of nowhere with a game that has become one of my all-time Top 10 computer games. (Maybe I'll do a top 10 series if I ever finish my 15 Best Movies of All Time) Continue Reading

After a long drawn-out fight, Michael Schiavo has succeeded in his goal to starve his wife to death. Terri Schiavo is dead and has entered eternity. Michael Schiavo must live on with the consequences of his murderous choices. It is a dark day in American history. We have been tested ethically and morally, and have failed as a nation. We are moving towards the European model of euthenasia, where other people decide whether or not... Continue Reading

Why is dyslex so hard to spell? Why do airplanes have flotation devices instead of parachutes? Do you need a silencer if you are going to shoot a mime? Do pediatricians play miniature golf? How can a house burn up while it burns down? Why is it called "after dark" when it is really after light? What do you do about an endangered animal that eats only endangered plants? I would just like to know... Continue Reading

Who would have thought that the rubber faced wildman from In Living Color would become an accomplished actor? While not crazy about Ace Ventura, I thoroughly enjoyed Jim Carrey in The Mask. I even appreciated the dark turn he took in The Cable Guy. But it was his part as Truman Burbank in The Truman Show that caused me to truly respect Jim Carrey's talent. With a superb screenplay, excellent cinematography and a top-notch supporting... Continue Reading

What a great Christmas Eve present! President Bush is going to renominate the qualified judges that were arrogantly filibustered by the Democrats in Senate last term. The Dems can still attempt to do the same thing this time around, but hopefully they will remember the fate of Tom Daschle, and they will think twice before standing the way of the majority. Of course, some Senate Democrats are already crying out about this, claiming that Bush... Continue Reading

The day is nearly upon us. After an excrutiatingly lengthy campaign season, the American people will go to the polls tomorrow to decide the next President of the United States. This last week, I went to a conference and met with others in the Internet industry. I was surprised to find some small-business owners supporting John Kerry. I was even more surprised to find out that an extremely intelligent gentleman was an "undecided" voter. One... Continue Reading

Mary and I had the opportunity to enjoy a "date night" on Friday. First we enjoyed a nice dinner at Johnny Carinos Italian restaurant. Next we went to the mall and pigged out on ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery (superior to Marble Slab in case you are wondering). Finally, it was on the cinema to take in a showing of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. I received a great deal of chastisement... Continue Reading

After the somewhat scathing replies I got regarding my review of the Christian film, Gone, I am somewhat reluctant to step up to the plate again. Regardless (or irregardless if you want to annoy people), I will now attempt to convey my thoughts on a film I viewed today. Six: The Mark Unleashed is a futuristic end-times thriller focusing on the coming one-world government and the ubiquitous "mark of the beast" which must be taken... Continue Reading

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nope, its the Perseids! No, I am not nuts. The Perseids is a meteor shower that has been around since the time of the Civil War. From Space.com... "The Perseids are the result of stream of debris in space laid down by comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the Sun every 130 years and spends most of its time in the far reaches of the solar system. On each... Continue Reading

Mary and I just got back from the theatre. There isn't much out there worth seeing, so we sat in for a viewing of I, Robot, with Will Smith. I have never read Isaac Asimov's both that inspired the film, so I cannot comment on whether or not it was true to the original. On it's own, the story was very average, with few surprises. The special effects were incredible. I just can't imagine how... Continue Reading

I have been wanting to find a new PC game to play, of the massive multiplayer style. I went through my Star Wars Galaxies addiction last year. I played City of Heroes for about 3 weeks recently, before getting bored. And I am having a difficult time finding something new that peaks my interest. I tried the Sim onlines for about 10 minutes when it came out last year. Yawn. I downloaded a free trial... Continue Reading

I have been sick for three weeks now. I'm not complaining. I rarely get ill, so this is just unusual. I don't know that I have ever coughed my head off like I have been these past few weeks. Tried decongestants, antibiotics, vitamins, hot soup and lots of sleep. I've got what I call a "hanger-onner". It just doesn't want to let go. So, its a rambling day for me as I sit in bed... Continue Reading

Call me Mr. Wonderful. No, its not Mary's pet name for me. And no, I don't have a super-inflated sense of self. Mr. Wonderful has been my alter-ego these past two weeks in City of Heroes, a massively multiplayer online game recently released by Cryptic Studios. The fictional location of Paragon City has had a difficult time lately. What with an alien invasion and several gangs of thugs battling it out for control of the... Continue Reading

The conference in Reno is going great. What a fantastic opportunity to face-to-face with so many of the people whom I have had the opportunity to work with online. Back in a 1996, I had the privilage of being interviewed for the now-defunct Boardwatch Magazine by the infamous Bob Rankin, a tech guru from the dark ages of the online world. Dr. Bob, as he is known online, is the originator of the Internet Tourbus... Continue Reading

What happens when you combine one the best-selling rock albums of all time with one of the best films of all time? Strange stuff. Filmed in 1939, The Wizard of Oz is an enduring classic from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Who hasn't delighted in the wonderful tale of Dorothy Gale and her journey into the weird and wonderful land of Oz? Dorothy, Toto, Tinman, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, Wicked Witch of the West, Glinda the... Continue Reading

Another project from the Central Command at InfoMedia, Inc., BuyersUniverse.com has launched today! Looking for the best deal on any product? Enter it in the search form and away you go. This engine will hook you up with the best deals currently found on eBay. Congratulations to Darkwolf for breathing life into this project. BuyersUniverse.com - Everything Online" href="http://joelcomm.com/buyersuniversecom_everything_o.html">Continue Reading

Darkwolf (my technical guru) messed with some free scripts and put together my own Amazon.com book store. Essentially, you can browse this site and find anything and everything that you would find at Amazon.com. In fact, when you go to make your purchase, you'll actually be making it from Amazon.com. AllBooks.info - Slick, huh? Continue Reading

M. Night Shyamlan is a modern day Alfred Hitchcock. To date, he has made several films, including Unbreakable (with Bruce Willis) and Signs (with Mel Gibson). I thoroughly enjoyed both of these pictures, but it is his first film that has stayed with me as unforgettable. I am speaking of #12 in my series of The 15 Best Movies Ever, The Sixth Sense. In this film, Shyamalan proves he is the new master of suspense... Continue Reading

Today we visited The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. As a Jew, I have been wanting to see the museum for a long time. I knew it would be a "must see" if I ever made it to Washington. I'm not sure I can put my experience into words, and perhaps it is best that I don't even try. I don't want to minimize my visit into simple cliches. I'll sum up by saying this... Continue Reading

So long New Jersey. Hello Pennsylvania. For the second time on this journey, we are in Pennsylvania. The first time we passed through the west end on our way to Niagara Falls. This time we are stopping for four nights in Philadelphia. There is so much history here and we are going to attempt to squeeze as much in as possible. I had a very hard time finding a place to stay in the city... Continue Reading

We got to sleep in a bit this morning. After the kids did their schoolwork and I did some work, we went to lunch. Next stop was the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Museum and Library, south of the city. It is a beautiful building designed by I.M Pei. I was only two years old when President Kennedy was assasinated, so this was a great opportunity to learn more about this man that was much loved and... Continue Reading

Finding a church to worship at while out of town is always a challenge. You just never know what you are going to get. As it turned out, I opened the yellow pages, placed a call to a church, asked a couple questions and decided that I had found a place. Redeemer Bible Church is a medium-sized church about five miles from the falls, just off the highway. The church placesa high emphasis on music... Continue Reading

We left Jacksonville, MO around 11 am and set course for Beardstown, IL, made famous by the Beardstown Ladies Investment Club. Our visit had nothing to do with investing. We visited friends, Carla and Rick Simmert. Carla is a blessing as she is the person God had in place to take over Mary's web site, SafeHaven, when Mary no longer had the time to give it the attention it needed. We spent a couple hours... Continue Reading

Ok, so now Al Qaida is taking credit for the blackouts on the East coast. The one paragraph that really stuck out to me was this... "The statement, which Al-Hayat obtained from the website of the International Islamic Media Center, didn't specify the way the alleged sabotage was carried out. The communiqué read: 'let the criminal Bush and his gang know that the punishment is the result of the action, the soldiers of God cut... Continue Reading

What a busy day! Jenna and I started the day with a one-hour horseback ride. She rode Questa and I rode Buck. They took us 600 feet up the mountain on a sometimes precarious trail. It was a great deal of fun. Socrates got to meet one of the horses as well. He wanted to see them until he got up close. He must have been thinking, "That's the biggest dog I've ever seen!" Afterwards... Continue Reading

I've been on a domain buying binge lately and am planning to launch a bunch of sites. I've already got the template for CouponBlog online, and I'll be adding RebateBlog.com soon. There are a handful of others waiting in the wings, depending how quickly Darkwolf can get the work done. Still, I wonder what I am going to do with these domains that I registered a while back... WebDestroyers.com SendMeYourStuff.com RentMyForehead.com Any ideas? Continue Reading

The critics are all over the map on this one. MetaCritic has opinions ranging from 20 to 80 (out of possible 100). I give it a solid 80. Here's why. Bruce is a story of faith. It is a journey of coming out of darkness into the light. It paints a wonderful picture of prayer as a vital means for communing with God, and most certainly causes people to reflect on their own relationship with... Continue Reading