So I’m at my local car wash and there is this old guy that has a shoe shining stand.

The way he goes about his business is very interesting. He first checks out everyone that comes in the car wash whether they are wearing leather or not. Then he goes up each of them and strikes up a conversation. After 5 minutes, he says “you wanna go to my chair and I’ll shine your shoes”. Some of the clients accept, others decline

His tactic is very similar to a stripper’s which I find funny.

Popularity: 21% [?]

The health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn’t understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn’t read it and exempts themselves from it, signed by a President who smokes and also hasn’t read it, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn’t pay his taxes, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese & financed by a country that’s broke. What could possibly go wrong?

Popularity: 5% [?]

So My buddy Andy Armstrong developed a cool  API using Firefox’s HTML 5 Geolocation Features and Foursquare API Wrapper. The Application is used to find stuff around your current location. Want to go to a bar, restaurant or maybe even a library! the application will do it for you.  I like it cause its extremely simple. and loads quick.

All data is generated from foursquare’s data so if you seach for bar and it returns strip club, blame foursquare not the API.

here is the link to his blog.

Link to demo.  Make sure you click on Share Location.

Popularity: 27% [?]

I’d like to think that I am a fashionable person and like to look good when going out with friends. I’m usually the type of person that likes to go shopping and deparment stores as I like to feel the things I buy.

For the past few days. I’ve been looking for these shoes called the “Clae Russells” which are in patent black. Eventhough I found it at a major department store they didn’t have my size. So I went home and called the stores cust service and asked if they had it. First I felt like I was being brushed to the side. Second the lady very rudely said that I’d have to wait 8-10 days for the to arrive. I said screw it and started. Looking online.

I came across the shoes on zappos.com. First their site is pretty cool. Second I love their product reviewing system. Now since I needed these shoes for a special event and its the holiday season I called their cust service.

I was greeted by a very upbeat bubbly rep which not only assured that I would get my order in time, but also upgraded my shipping at no cost. She also took the time to answer all my questions.

Now here where I was really sold. NO charge on shipping! NO tax in california, and 365 day return policy. ( Look at their terms for full detail). Free return policy if you want to return the product. They really make it easy for their customers.

So all in all, I had a great experience with the company and will definately shop at zappos.com again!!

Zappos has great customer service!! I definately recommend them.

Popularity: 4% [?]

After weeks of anticipation, and tweeting to google hoping they would get annoyed and give me my access to my google voice account! I am able to get one. Google Voice allows you to unite all of your phones under a single number!! and then use a powerful set of controls to determine how calls are handled and routed . It packs plenty of other impressive functionality, too, including voicemail-to-text transcribing and advanced call-screening. . I looove the screening and voice to text functionalities. Here are five reasons why I think google voice is awsome. 
1. Routing
 Google Voice eliminates the problem of having multiple numbers for multiple purposes. Once you sign up and receive a phone number, you input all of your existing numbers–your cell phone, work phone, home phone, and anything else–into the control panel. Then, when you receive a call, all of your phones will ring (or a smaller subset, if you choose), and you can answer on whichever one is most convenient at the time. The true power, though, comes with Google Voice’s advanced routing options. You can set your preferences so that certain calls will ring only certain phones. If, for example, you wanted your spouse’s calls to go straight through to your cell phone, or your mother’s calls to ring only on your home phone, you could make those specifications. You could even set certain callers to be routed directly into your voicemail.

 2. Screening
My favoritem.  Once a call comes through, you have a whole new set of options. When you pick up the call, and while the caller still hears ringing, you’ll be presented with the person’s name and four options: answer the call, send it to voicemail, send it to voicemail and listen in live, or answer and record the call. Google Voice uses information from your address book to tell you who’s calling. If the caller isn’t in your contacts list, Google Voice can ask for their name and play it back for you when you pick up. 

3. Voicemail
Also awsome. As mentioned above, Google Voice’s voicemail system allows you to listen in while someone is recording a message. If you decide to pick up midmessage, you simply press the star key and begin talking. Google Voice’s voicemail is fully accessible over the Web, too: You can listen to voicemail online, forward voice messages to other users, and even embed them on other Web sites. Google Voice also offers text transcriptions of your voice messages and the ability to receive them via e-mail or text message.

 4. SMS
SMS is fully integrated into Google Voice. If someone sends a message to your Google number, the service will route it to any mobile phones you have connected. You can reply to text messages from any phone as well, or via the Google Voice Web interface. Google Voice can also store all of your text messages within its Web interface for permanent archiving. That means every text you’ve ever sent or received can be filed, searched, and kept forever–as if it were e-mail. Like Gmail, the Google Voice Web system displays back-and-forth messages as conversations to make following dialogues easier.

 5. Midcall
 Google Voice gives you added power while you’re in the middle of a call, too. You can start and stop recording calls with the touch of a single button, and then access those recordings online. You can also switch phones without having to interrupt the call: You simply press the star key while talking, and your other connected phones will begin to ring. At that point, you can pick any of them up, hang the original phone up, and go about your conversation as if nothing had happened

If you don’t have a google voice number I suggest u getting one. Another good thing, you can pick any area code and not restricted. You might even be able to make your name into a number

Popularity: 42% [?]