Here is a list of the folks entered in the Sony Cyber-shot give-away thus far. You are all now mortal enemies. Take a good look at this list. Find your name and make sure you are down for the correct amount of entries. For instance, if you already area subscriber of Joeprah and you weren't given credit for the 3 subscriber entries--let me know. If you disagree with the amount of entries I have you down for, let me know and I will update it. Thanks!
I am in the process of retooling my site a bit and I will be adding some new features along with some of the changes. Some exciting stuff is about to be added that will make the Joeprah experience perhaps even more mediocre than before. I am obvious stoked.
The Galleries
Loomis, a Joeprah user, came up with a fantastic suggestion. Why not allow Joeprah users the privildege of uploading their own personal photos into the new "Gallery" section of Joeprah? I thought about it, and it was such a great idea that I took action--immediately. I will be creating more galleries for any registered user to upload into, but currently there is a section for "Summer Fun I," "Family Pictures I," "Pictures of You I," and "Your Best Work I." To access the galleries to upload into them, simply click on the "My Galleries" link at the top right of the Gallery Section at Joeprah (it can be found here). Uploading should be fairly self-explanatory, but that being said I am sure some folks may need assistance. If you do have problems...enter my next update.
The Forum
I have installed a new forum component. You can go the forum either at its direct link here or by visiting the forum via Joeprah.com itself. If you have any tech questions in regards to using any of the features at Joeprah.com simply go to the forum and enter your questions there. If you are a blogger and want to show of your blog or you have questions regarding blogging, check out the section in the forum dedicated to all things blog related. If you are parent seeking an outlet to vent, or ask advice of other parents on how to deal with some parenting topics that are currently confounding you, check out the section dedicated to that. There are some social sections in the forum and I hope it takes on a life of its own. If you want any new sections or if you want to be a moderator--inquire within. Basically, go, post, and interact. It should be off-da-hook. Awesome.
In addition to all my normal robust and amazingly trivial posts, I am going to post news stories, political windfalls, and or basically anything that stirs the pot so to speak that I think my readers would be interested in adding their two cents to. I would like get folks involved so they can speak their minds, find out what other people think and more or less stay informed. To kick things off in this section I would like to see what people think about this news story (I know it is a few days old, but it is still worth exploring).
The Independence Day Contest
I have been uber swamped lately and I didn't post an update, but I wanted to let those folks still in contention know where they stand as we head down the stretch. Amazingly, there has been some changes to the leaderboard. The top three bloggers up until today are:
Kim, has made some huge strides as of late and the last few days will prove to be pivotal. Some advice; digg, stumble and otherwise promote your remaining blog posts...any sort of exposure will be key. Best of luck and I can't wait to annouce the winner. At the end of the contest, I will spread link love through the valley of blogger-dom. It will be a fantastic celebration and truly there were no losers.
Newsletter
I am about to release my July Newsletter with some exciting results on how much money I made during the month of June and how I went about doing so. Are you as anxious to find out the BuzzFuse results as I am? Word.
I am leaving for Atlanta today to participate in a video shoot. Yep, you heard that right. Me. Video shoot. I am working with Graco on a great project along with some other bloggers. The project will be off the hook, by in large due to my participation, and as soon as I have time I will post all the details of both my trip and the actually project itself.
In My Stead
Over the next couple of days I leave you in the willing and capable digits of one Pete J from MyGpsCameraPhone. Pete is a close bloggy friend of mine and I trust him like I trust myself (see not very much at all). He will continue the tradition of Joeprah by delivering mediocre content. Mediocre, which Pete will assuredly exceed, will actually be a step up, so you may be begging for Pete to stay on full-time.
Contest Winner
I didn't forget. I used my webcam this morning to tape the drawing and I used one of my daughters to choose the winner. The video wouldn't upload although I tried as hard as one man can to upload it. I feel Blip.Tv was afraid of its intrinsic awesomeness, which is understandable. Anyways, you are going to have to trust me when I say that the winner was Smoochie Frog. I will post the video someday...as long as Blip allows for amazing videos to see the light of day. As for the next contest, I will post the details either when I return on Thursday or next Monday. Stay tuned as I have some amazing stuff to give away over the course of the next few weeks. I am totally serious.
I think everyone that reads my blog is a super star to some degree. First, they have put up with how quirky it is. Slow page loading times (a thing of the past I hope, see next post) and obnoxious colors--not to mention how stuck on myself (rightly so) I am. So, if you are reading this, take a bow. Now, there are some elite Joeprah followers that not only stomach my daily diatribe, but they actually think it to be noteworthy--so noteworthy in fact, that they have deemed it acceptable to don me with awards. I would like to call these folks "Super-Dee-Duper-Stars." First, I got a really cool mention from Penny over at Cafe at the End of the Universe, then HuckDoll, this was followed by Christine at Serenity How recognizing my awesomeness, and, to top it off, not one but two awards. Now, these award givers have crazy good taste and I'm just saying, "They're right to acknowledge my smooth ways." There is this rockin' award from Rachel at A Southern Fairy Tale:
It is totally homemade and really cool because it has the tell tale pinkness of a mom blog. And not to be outdone, we have Tara from If Mommy Says Ok dropping some more hardware on ol' Joeprah:
I just wanted to say "You're Right," to everyone that took time to write about me on their blogs and for correctly noticing how insanely amazing I am. Thanks! Carry on.
In this section of Joeprah you will be whisked away to all the side splitting posts that made this site what it is. Videos, photos, articles--this stuff is just funny.
Want to see how Joeprah sees the world? Check Out Joeprah's Digital Photography in the Revamped 'Multimedia' Section under 'Galleries.'
Joeprah Bucks
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Joeprah is trying out BuzzFuse for the month of June. If you like what you see--hook a brother up. Click the widget at the bottom of June posts and rate me '10' over at BuzzFuse. Comments are extra credit and extra awesome.
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and tell me why and you may find yourself here during the next update.
Want to particpate in debates on hot news stories or political issues? Check out what people are talking about today. Vote, comment, and otherwise be heard.
I have opinions on all things--especially products. Check out my newest section to see what owns and what doesn't--according to Joeprah.
Greetings Gentle Reader. Joeprah is here to lay the smack down in the form of blogging tips to anyone who reads this blog. These aren't just blogging tips, they are "webmaster" tips as well. You see, when you are a blogger, you run a "website." And since you run 'said' blog you are its "Master." So, if you blog you are a webmaster--the way I see it anyways. So, that being said, here are some really cool tools I wish I had known about long ago as a blogger. I mean way back, like over a year ago. That would have been so awesome. I am here now though, riding the wave so to speak of technology. Before I reveal my secrets (which really aren't big secrets), I would like to say why I am doing so. My philosophy as a blogger is A) to entertain by manipulating my kids and writing about my life as a stay at home dad, and B) to help all other bloggers be successful by sharing information because I believe in doing so we will only help each other and ourselves. Now, onto my list of the 5 tools I wish I knew about long ago:
I would like to start off modest with an extension from Firefox , CSS viewer . This extension is amazing. Have you ever been to a site and wondered, "day-yum, this site is slick, what font is that, and what the fudge is that background color," and later you were like, "OMG, that freaking header is dope, what are its properties?" CSS viewer (free, like all firefox extensions) allows you to get all the 411 of a sites' CSS just by enabling it and hovering over content. I love this tool and you will find out just how to use it in the next paragraph.
The next tool is actually a double whammy. First, if you haven't obsessed over Alexa Page Ranks , you should. This is one of the factors advertisers use as a guide, along with Google Page Rank and subscribers, to determine whether or not to approach a site to run ads. Meaning cash. The reason I said this tool is a double whammy is that you need to get the extension for firefox (of course free). Here are the reasons why:
This tool allows you to see the page ranks of all pages you surf (very cool)
This tool allows you to see your own page rank and compare it with others to see where you rank
If we all use it, we will help each others page ranks increase (the tool rocks like that)
Since I use the tool already and traffic many blogs...you kinda owe me.
You should make your website be your browser's homepage, like extra points with the tool
I have a screen shot of this tool in action. Click the photo below to see how it will look on your computer. Yahoo is the number 1 ranked site by the way. PS - I used CSS viewer to gather info on Yahoo's fonts, font sizes and colors. Wicked cool eh?
Ok, the third invaluable tool Bloggers and newb webmasters should get to know is Dynamic Drive . What is "Dynamic Drive " Joeprah? It is a website that (for free) creates an "ico" file for you to use on your site. The site has amazingly easy instructions that even I could follow without crashing my site (see very clear) and is creates a better "ico" file than other sites out on the web (in my opinion), I have tried like 5 different ones. By far Dynamic Drive is the best and worth a look. Oh, wait, you don't know what an 'ico' file is? Let me be the teacher to your pupil--click image below.
The next tool, which I have been showcasing at Joeprah.com for a little while now, is Photoshop Elements. Photoshop, the big brother is expensive as snot, maybe even more expensive--over $500, but Photoshop Elements (which has lots of the same features) is relativley economical--$90-ish. I am not selling anything here, but it is important to know that if you are posting photos and want to manipulate them for your site, Elements is the least you can do to give your creative juices the ability to run amuck.
Finally, the last tool that I feel all bloggers/webmasters could use is quite simply Google Reader . Google Reader is the industry standard for feed readers, and if you are anything like me, your reader is filled with content. MyYahoo--horrid in comparison. For all of you out there that are like what the heck is Joeprah talking about let me clue you in. A feed is what is displayed on the front pages of webpages like Yahoo. They tell you top stories in snipits. It takes two seconds to sign up and get a Google account and my guess is many of you already one, the rest is easy. Just click my RSS (Really Simple Syndication) icon, with or without headsets (headsets denotes my podcasts--also tremendous), see image below for clarification, and you will be taken to a page that allows you to subscribe to my content. This same process can be used on any site that has an RSS feed (see all of them). Google reader organizes your feeds and can be refreshed to show you what you have missed lately. If you browse the web a lot, it is ideal for maximizing your time. Nothing out there is better.
So, that does it. I hope this list is helpful to some folks or at least it succeeds at getting me like 2 new subscribers. What tools do you use that are awesome? Write a post and link back for extra credit. Peace out.
Stay at home dads are a curious phenomenon. A lot of people really don't have any idea what to make of them. Do they just watch the kids during the week in addition to rocking out the lawn (mowing) and taking out the trash. Are they kept men? Are they lazy? I can only, for certain, speak for myself and what have become my traditional responsibilities. I do the trash and lawn, but I also cook, clean, and take care of the kids. Basically, a stay at home mom plus heavy lifting and boxer shorts. When I say "take care of the kids" for me that means three little girls. I grew up in a household that was the opposite of the one my girls are growing up in. I had no experience with girls. My girls require clothing (so much laundry) and to be primped. Admittedly, in the beginning I had no idea how to primp them, but in time you learn. The most important part of being a stay at home dad, in my opinion, is to be able to thrive in new experiences. From playgroups to doing girls hair, stay at home dads are thrust into a new arena. You know that old Nike motto, "Just Do It," that pretty much sums it up. Anyways, I have put together a video that demonstrates one of the new things I have learned being a stay at home dad (it is old hat to me now...). I also give verbal shout outs to some blogging buddies in the video as well.
In the video I give shout outs to the following bloggers:
If you look closely at the larger image, maybe not even too closely, you will notice I had to photoshop in a couple letters. There was actually glare on the key chain when I took the pic and through using the smudge and blur tools in photoshop I was able to make that go away, but a couple letters remained casualties.
**PS - I have all my videos up and running again. With new URLs (thanks again Via-bomb ) Let me know if you run into any dead links, but I think I got them all...sigh.**
*Note: This article is amazing. Both Adobe Premier Elements (you'll see) and Viacom tried to stop its creation, and both were unsuccessful. Recognize.*
Sometimes a family gets going at like a million miles an hour and sometimes said family can forget to complete certain chores. Sometimes chores go undone altogether. Families are like that. What with school, after school activities, athletic practices, dance practices, birthdays, games on the weekends, and requisite visits to family and friends houses it's really a miracle that anything gets done in Joeprah's house. There are times though when these elements are combined with other forces, natural forces, in what can only be called a perfect storm . Its kinda like a TV weather guy dancing around talking about low pressure systems and sub-tropical lows moving up the coast, except replace those with PMS and a husband desperately in need of a minute to relax. See animated Gif below for more help.
Now that brings us to today's topic: The Mildew Load. The mildew load has many names in many households. I have heard folks call it the "perpetual load," some people refer to this in verb like fashion saying things like, "I funked a load." No matter what you call it--it stinks, quite literally. What a "mildew load" is, is when you wash a load of laundry and forget about it...until it rears its ugly head via the unmistakable stench of mildew. We all start a mildew load with the best intentions: freshly cleaned and folded wearables, but, somehow, that train of freshness gets derailed somewhere between 15 motrins and a poorly timed-can't miss-important-televised sporting event (and or beer). My wife, being sadistic in nature, likes to take the offensiveness of a mildew load to a higher level by drying said "funked" loads. The resulting product is very much so south of cheese. These clothes smell like B.O. mixed with cat pee (or any other smell that encourages the gag reflex).
The mildew load is an issue that requires purification--envision exercising a demon. I take on the challenge of the Mildew Load like a scientist/priest. I use bleach like holy water but only in exact scientific-like amounts. All that aside, the first step in any problem is to recognize there is one.
The Second Step in any problem (or perhaps only this one) is to remove the nasty laundry from the washing machine.
Notice how my wfie mixed all those colors together in that load. Like a rainbow. I love her. Now that the laundry is out of the washer it's time to refresh the washing machine--this is step 3. I have a pinpoint system aimed at refreshing the offended washer and since step 3 is so extensive I have a video tutorial below aimed to educate and entertain, I like to call this edu-tainment.
Step 3 is the last step. Now, all you need to do is wash the clothes again...maybe twice. Does anyone need instruction on how to do the laundry proper like? Have you ever "funked" a load?
I woke up this morning to finish a post and upload a video onto YouTube (shhh ) only to find I have been banned from the site. All my old videos are currently down, but I will have them back up and running soon. Let me take this moment to explain what happened. YouTube, bless their hearts, is a great tool and very useful in a pinch, but they are constantly bombarded by Viacom to protect their holier than thou Copyrighted content. Here is where I get really #@$%ing confused, why am I banned? I tried to post a Yo Gabba Gabba video, as pathetic as that sounds and as hard as it was for me to type those letters together in that sequence without laughing--its true, and even though there are like a thousand Yo Gabba Gabba videos on YouTube, which is why I uploaded mine (again I am pathetic) assuming their would be no issue. I find today that my account has been permanently disabled. WTF!
Viacom, if I could have a moment of your attention, you suck--seriously. Better yet, stop making lives miserable and get a clue. I like some of your programming but when you act like a total dick I have no choice but to have a grudge and change the channel or find something else to do, like blog about Viacom being a selfish turd for instance. I was posting a video on Pajama Party Time because it’s my 3 year olds favorite song and I get banned? Total dick move. I, as a, rule don't curse on my blog but I am pissed. Here is a copy of the email I received from YouTube in regards to this issue.
I figured everything was ok when I awoke this morning from a blogging induced stupor, but I awoke only to find I was banned. Strange thing about being banned, you get the feeling of an outsider. I searched Joeprah on YouTube only to find a PG video and a Quirkee James video, both have really cool blogs by the way (plug). Anyways, being banned gives a strange perspective. You really know what it feels like to be a kid in timeout for doing something wrong. I can't believe I have fewer rights than other folks because of Pajama Party Time. How $%#^ing stupid is that Viacom? The BBC has no such policy and embraces those that promote their programming in such a way. Get with it already you morons. Here is a progressively thinking press release from the BBC to read. Tim Webber reports:
Some media firms, most prominently Viacom, have recently demanded that YouTube removes tens of thousands of clips from the site that they own the copyright for.
Mr Highfield said the BBC would not be hunting down all BBC-copyrighted clips already uploaded by YouTube members - although it would reserve the right for example to swap poor quality clips with the real thing...
Wow, those Brits sure are smart, or rather--not dumb. See Viacom--play nice. I can't believe you lame around each day just searching for your content on YouTube. Get a life? Banning can be really cool too I suppose. For instance this banning thing goes both ways. I am going to pay close attention to tune off Viacom crap from now on in order to enact my own ban. I am not sure where I will get with this because of Nick Jr., but all the others are done.
Don't worry though, Joeprah will rise again. No more posting Pajama Party Time for me, its the straight and narrow from here on out. I am just venting because my life has been inconveineced by some freaking ass-clown in a business suit that needs to get a clue. Thoughts?
So, our family, decided to take a trip to Washington D.C. to check out the natural history museum and the national art gallery. How did we decide those two? We did what any self respecting family that loves the democratic system does--we voted. Our littlest one wanted to see rocket ships (space museum) and the oldest two wanted to see art, and they all wanted to see dinosaurs. What were the highlights? Our daughters all agreed that riding the metro (D.C.'s subway system) was by far the highlight (you know, like when you get your kids a really special gift and they play with box all day), after that the iMax on dinosaurs ranked second and finally the actual dinosaurs came in third.
We recorded the trip on both our digital camera and digital camcorder. The below pictures are clickable (remember that bosssanders ) and I would like to get everyones take on them. I used three separate adjustment layers to create the effect that you see. I am sure there are easier ways, but I basically "colorized" each photo then, using another hue saturation layer, I got all jiggy wit the color and finally I added a last layer that was close to the original and saturated and desaturated parts of the photos to make my beautiful daughters stand out in a crowd.
So, my first attempt at really trying to implement something fancy using photoshop, personally I think it looks P-H-A-T, but that's just because my girls are so dang cute. Anyways, I managed to take some other photos that were just more fun:
Just some good clean fun with team Joeprah in Washington DC. It was a ton of walking and by the time we got home we all needed to turn in early but it was totally worth it.
This section is dedicated to both personal observations and news associated with parents and parenting. How has being a stay-at-home dad to three daughters changed me as a person? What are the hot button news stories concerning kids and parenting? This section is your destination if you are looking for anything and everything dealing with parenting. Join in on debates, vote on polls, let your voice be heard.
Who is Joeprah? I am a stay at home dad to three daughters. I have an amazing wife, and under the direction and encouragement of close friends, I started this site over a year ago. You can follow me at The Examiner.com, Twitter, Stumble Upon and Cre8Buzz . Read more...
In this section
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) only to find I have been banned from the site. All my old videos are currently down, but I will have them back up and running soon. Let me take this moment to explain what happened. YouTube, bless their hearts, is a great tool and very useful in a pinch, but they are constantly bombarded by Viacom to protect their holier than thou Copyrighted content. Here is where I get really #@$%ing confused, why am I banned? I tried to post a Yo Gabba Gabba video, as pathetic as that sounds and as hard as it was for me to type those letters together in that sequence without laughing--its true, and even though there are like a thousand 
Wow, those Brits sure are smart, or rather--not dumb. See Viacom--play nice. I can't believe you lame around each day just searching for your content on YouTube. Get a life? Banning can be really cool too I suppose. For instance this banning thing goes both ways. I am going to pay close attention to tune off Viacom crap from now on in order to enact my own ban. I am not sure where I will get with this because of Nick Jr., but all the others are done. 
This section is dedicated to both personal observations and news associated with parents and parenting. How has being a stay-at-home dad to three daughters changed me as a person? What are the hot button news stories concerning kids and parenting? This section is your destination if you are looking for anything and everything dealing with parenting. Join in on debates, vote on polls, let your voice be heard. 
Who is Joeprah? I am a stay at home dad to three daughters. I have an amazing wife, and under the direction and encouragement of close friends, I started this site over a year ago. You can follow me at The Examiner.com, Twitter, Stumble Upon and Cre8Buzz . Read more...