I've been displaying text-link ads on this blog for a few years now, mainly from the self-titled service, Text Link Ads. I also receive the occasional email request to display a relevant link for a small sum of money.

I've known about how this practice can affect your sites' search engine rankings in the form of being de-indexed or penalized, and most of my traffic comes from search engines.

This is a personal blog, so I'd like to get one thing straight (if only written out for my own self-reassurance).

I don't write for, nor develop this site for search engines. It's here for myself mainly - a constant stream and backlog of my life in technical terms. It's also here for anyone caring to casually read and stay involved with what's on my mind, and in my heart. And if I've even, heck, inspired or informed anyone about something, the site has served a purpose beyond my original intent.

Organic referrals

But I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the search engine referrals and traffic. If anything, it's helped broaden my site's reach, allowing me to meet new like-minded people. It's almost like a one-way social network for viewers interested in topics I've written about.

I've met countless friends from search engines alone - various people from all over the globe. Some I've even met in real-life, and become close contacts with. One in particular attended my wedding, and helped me find a new job, which I'm still employed at right now.

I've also re-connected with old friends after they "saw my site in search results," and just wanted to mention how that's interesting, and ask how I'm doing.

Meeting and re-connecting with people in this manner has opened up a world of possibilities.

This aspect... I'd be disappointed to see go.

But I'd like to believe I've established more genuine connections through real-world contacts and referrals, and not search engine traffic alone.

A no-win situation

Still, I'd like to keep the peace wherever possible. No sense in pissing search engines off if I can avoid it.

One option is to add rel="nofollow" to my text link ads, but then advertisers won't pay me.

If I leave off rel="nofollow", search engines won't list me.

Kind of a no-win situation.

On one hand, if someone offers me a small sum of money to display an ad in an unobtrusive way, I should be able to decide whether or not to do so, as the owner of the domain and renter of the hosting service. And why not accept such offers which at least help pay for technical costs related to serving the website?

On the other hand, referrals and connections from search engines are becoming too valuable to ignore.

The future of search engines

I could go into a whole new topic about social networks (specifically Facebook's Open Graph API), as an example of how the network of connected information is changing. Soon (it seems) we'll rely on recommendations, personalization, and stuff like that to find what we're looking for. Is that the end of search engines as we know it?

I'll just leave it at that.

When I first heard "Up Up & Away" (the final track of the album), I was instantly tapping my foot and day-dreaming. It has a good rhythm and gentle vibe - definitely a "feel good" song. It made me wonder if the rest of the album is anything like this.

Turns out it is, and even better.

Kid Cudi (pronounced "cut-ee") has created an amazingly digestible blend of hip-hop, electronic, dance, and rhythmic tunes that are fresh and balanced. It's mellow enough to relax to, but upbeat enough to get a good vibe going. Somehow he's perfected the combination.

It's music I'd put on for both a romantic dinner for two (the less explicit songs), and a large gathering of friends for drinks and entertainment (to mention a couple different atmospheres).

The various hooks and progressions work wonderfully. I find myself humming to songs afterward. There's a nice bass effect on most songs, so you can turn it up and become fully absorbed, but since there's no loud grinding of guitars or screeching vocals - you won't burn your ears out.

Reminds me of:

• Bob Marley
• Kings of Leon
• Kanye West
• Sublime
• Coolio

Favorite tracks, in order of preference:

• 13 ("Pursuit of Happiness")
• 2 ("Soundtrack 2 My Life")
• 5 ("Heart of a Lion")
• 7 ("Day 'N' Nite")
• 8 ("Sky Might Fall")
• 15 ("Up Up & Away")

Also, it's currently only $6 on Amazon MP3.

I say forget the problems of multitasking - it's single-tasking that really puts you behind!

Focusing solely on a single complicated task simply does not let you get all those little knee-jerk, instant-gratification tasks done - like listening to a song you've been craving to hear, texting a friend, checking-in on Foursquare (even though you've been there for half the day already), or reading a random article someone posted on Facebook!

Just the other day I left my phone charging above 100% for hours (wasting energy), since I forgot I had it plugged in! I was so absorbed in a single task, the entire outside world disappeared.

Imagine more drastic effects, such as weather advisories going unnoticed, or news stories about threats to domestic security!

How about simple bodily functions like forgetting to eat or use the bathroom? I've been there!

It's evident that single-tasking is at least a health and safety issue!

Think of how many other things you forget to do when only focusing on a single task.

Dare to check your email inbox after a few hours of single-tasking? I think not! It'll be flooded with communication efforts gone by the wayside. You might as well create an auto-responder saying, "I'm currently single-tasking. I will get to your message within the next couple of days (maybe longer)."

"What the heck is on TV tonight? What are we doing for dinner?" I have no idea as I've had no time to prepare for any of this due to single-tasking all day.

Shit! I forgot to pick up my dry cleaning.

(Woops. Just missed my train stop due to writing this post. Damn single-tasking - you're killing me!)

... or GoDaddy, for almost 1/4 the price:

I never understood why someone would choose Network Solutions over GoDaddy, simply for registering a domain. I know the hosting features differ for both services, but for registrations alone, it's a no-brainer.

Other than price comparisons, this top-level domain intrigues me - it's so close in appearance to .COM, it's almost indecipherable from a visual perspective. Also, I often leave off the "M" by accident when typing a domain, so now sites should be able to capture that mistake and direct me to the appropriate page anyway.

It also might be useful for domain + TLD words (domain names that spell a word while including the TLD/extension), such as wil.co (example I just thought of).

Finally, I can imagine the state of Colorado is very happy about this - free branding/recognition with every domain registered! ;-)

Over the last few weeks I've noticed Gmail has become very sluggish when performing common tasks, like sending mail.

It also occurs when performing searches, or refreshing the inbox. In each case, the delay is about 5 to 10 seconds - which is something I haven't experienced before.

I recall reading about this in the New York Times a while back - they linked to a blog post about it, so it seems to be a very real problem, that I surmise could only get worse for me.

I am currently at 2.3 GB out of 27.3 GB, after purchasing additional Google storage a while back.

The theory from the blog post linked above is that the slowness only starts occurring after reaching 4 GB capacity used. I'm not sure if that is completely accurate, but my experience is suggesting that it's not.

Regardless, I'm hoping Google addresses this issue soon, otherwise I'll have to start exporting my email for backup, deleting old messages, and possibly switching to another email service provider.

I'm assuming this issue is only noticeable using the Gmail web interface, so maybe if I use IMAP exclusively, it won't be a big deal.

It might be a good technical experiment to try anyway - IE: "Removing my dependence on Gmail."

That's a blog post for another day.

The ad by itself:

Annotations my own, regarding the graphic design effectiveness:

Notice how the colors of the text match with the colors of the actual device. It also fades in, whereby the top-most text has the lightest shade, and as you go down, the intensity of the color/shade increases. This is natural for the eye to follow.

The yellow-ish color is where the eye is drawn to, which depicts the most important words - "Kindle DX," the prices, and the Amazon Kindle logo.

Simple and effective.

Hearing a lot about these new "high class" movie theaters, we anticipated only the best service and experience.

We were definitely not let down.

As soon as you walk in, you feel like you're in a world-class restaurant. 

You're politely greeted at the door as if they were expecting you all along. 

The interior decor consists of elegant furniture and lighting, with subtle nature elements like intricate waterfall displays and scenic plants.

And that's just the lounge outside the actual theaters!

Employees are dressed in all black, chic outfits, and portray overly polite and professional attitudes and demeanor.

You're definitely treated like royalty!

----

My wife and I had a few drinks before being chauffeured into the actual theatre, and to our recliners that are far more comfortable than anything I've ever owned!

Upon being seated, we were informed to press a little green button any time we needed immediate, chair-side service.

And boy did I take advantage of that! I asked myself, "How often will I be in a theatre like this?"

We ordered food and drinks while watching the movie, and even the most boring "chick flick" is loads more fun when you can pound Stella drafts throughout!

Seriously, the only hard part was to figure out how to pour more beer down my hatch while reclined so horizontally!

Other notes:

• The recliners are extremely quiet - you can adjust all you want without disturbing those around you.
• The aisles are very wide, and seating area very shallow, so it's easy to sneak out to the bathroom during the movie.
• Although the atmosphere suggests a nicer dress code, you are welcome in casual clothes, such as shorts and t-shirts. In fact, everyone that we saw was not overly dressed.

Trust me - you won't want to ever go back to a normal theatre after this!

I have been an iPhone user since the first model came out. But I admit, the more Google integrates into, and refines their Android OS, the more intrigued I am to try it out as my regular mobile OS.

I have thought about switching for a while, but I probably won't just yet.

The reason?

I still have no faith in any other OS besides Apple's.

This is not blind loyalty, nor is it because of any one feature or capability. And it's certainly not "just because it's Apple."

It's simple. Apple excels with the finer details - the things most mobile phone users don't even think about, like how many steps it takes to put your phone on "silent," the ease of navigating between applications, or the way long lists scroll with such finesse.

These otherwise tiny details are pivotal to user experience - something I cherish when done right.

Things like stability, design, and careful craft.

Perhaps it's my knack for perfectionism, along with clear, concise communication and representation - but even the slightest design element or application logic being off, or causing confusion is reason enough for me to dislike something.

I'm not suggesting Android is littered with such inadequacies, but I've read enough reviews to know the Android OS is far less refined than iOS, but it's getting better.

Maybe someday it'll get all the way there, and maybe that day I'll try it out for real.

Music can captivate, entertain, and establish a precedent unlike any other medium.

There's always been one thing I've loved about HBO television series.

It's not the unfiltered realism depicted on screen - although that's pretty great.

It's not the quality of acting and directing, although that's awesome as well.

It's the sudden shift from story to abstract, as the closing credits roll and the music starts.

This is not the same music that plays during opening credits - that's always the same song for each unique series. During the closing credits, however, a new song is always played to close each episode. I'm thinking of series like The Wire, The Sopranos, True Blood, and Entourage. (HBO may do this for all series, but these are just a few I have watched recently.)

What I enjoy, particularly, about the closing credits/music to HBO shows, is it's ability to snap you out of the story in an abrupt fashion - kind of like flipping on the lights in a dark movie theater, or finally hearing the recorded song being played over the loudspeakers after a long music concert, when the band has left the stage for good.

It's kind of a let down (who likes a good thing to end?), but a promise for more someday.

This music provides a completely different atmosphere from the tone of the concert or screenplay - but one that causes you to still reflect on what you just saw, as well as consider the big picture of it all.

This subtle shift can be done poorly, or just right, as in the case of HBO.

A world apart

The music chosen for closing credits on various HBO shows is very well thought-out. The lyrics typically speak of related ideas or emotions presented during the show. The music itself is often brazen or crude, but sometimes contemplative, and even upbeat. It's this mixture of tones, moods, and words that get conveyed at the very end of something involved and complex that kind of takes the weight off your shoulder.

You can breathe easy again. It was just a show - a performance for your entertainment. Phew.

Quite often we become so engrossed in the little details and complexity of a show or performance, we really become part of that world.

Nothing snaps you out of it more than a great song that helps put things in perspective, and no one seems to do it better than HBO.

Season 4 continues with more of the same lifestyle and behavior for Dexter:

• Always exhausted
• Trying to blend in
• Irked by just about everyone around him; some enough to become his prey
• Disciple of "Harry's code"

As usual Dexter has a lot on his plate - this season more than any other prior. At times I felt Dexter was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

It can't be easy hiding the fact that you're a serial killer.

And yet, we believe in Dexter - we want to see him come to terms with who he is. His burden is unfathomable for most of us - having to keep such a huge secret from everyone, while trying to remain an upstanding citizen, supportive husband and brother, punctual father, and reliable "blood splatter analyst" for his day job.

The "final kill"

As usual, in season 4 Dexter has a main target, which ends up being revealed to viewers (but not to Dexter or authorities) shortly into the season. Prior seasons took time to reveal who the "final kill" would be, but season 4 revealed it somewhat earlier than normal, and used this approach to build suspense and tension - trademark characteristics for the series as a whole.

In season 1, viewers don't know Dexter and the "ice truck killer" are related until the very end.

In season 2, we don't know what Lyla is fully capable of until closer to the end.

In season 3, we don't witness the devil inside Miguel Prado until near the end.

Season 4 gives viewers the "devil" earlier than normal, and builds a complete story around him, which eventually crosses Dexter's path.

My thoughts: the bad

This was probably my least favorite season - I think because knowing who the "final kill" was early on did not allow for any major revelation towards the end.

Also, I'm growing a little tired of "Miami Metro homicide," which seems to be a very busy department.

I'm finding all the death a little hard to believe - does all this death usually happen in Miami? There's like a new murder investigation each week, including people related to (or friends of) the main characters on the show.

I mean, how many times can we be genuinely shocked at events that transpire, especially when it's just death after death?

How Debra Morgan is not in a mental institution, by now, is beyond me. All the anguish from two close boyfriends killed - one right in front of her? The other turning out to be the deranged serial killer her department was looking for all along? And a relative, to top it off?

She's got some toughness to her, that's for sure. Imagine if she found out Dexter's truth.

The final death at the end of season 4 was a shock, for sure - but I'm just waiting to witness Debra's reaction to this close friend when season 5 starts.

My thoughts: the good

Believe it or not, I do have some good things to say.

I like how Frank Lundy returned to the show for this season (after appearing in season 2), at least for a few episodes. He's a very intriguing character, and you can never quite tell what he's thinking. The way he gazes out into space during a thought, or intently stares someone in the eye - it's both consternating and creepy.

I always wondered if he knew the truth about Dexter, and was waiting for the right moment, or evidence to make his move.

John Lithgow was amazing - both mysterious and believable - I think he nailed the role of the "Trinity killer," and near-mentor to Dexter (Dexter ended up not learning much from him after all).

Wrap-up

Other than all that, I felt the season kind of zipped through a lot of things in the last few episodes. There were only 12 episodes, and the last four seemed to skip over a lot of details, just to get to the main parts - I felt like I was watching in fast-forward mode.

But otherwise it was another terrific season.