Hey, wouldn’t it be great if you could know what people are saying about you? Good or bad??

Well, you can and it’s really easy to setup.

Google can send you an “alert” on what it’s hearing about whatever topic you like…even you!

I use it to listen for my name and my company’s name. Then, once a day, I get an e-mail with whatever it finds.

Check it out for yourself!

http://www.google.com/alerts

Have you ever been out to dinner, had a great meal, walked out and grabbed your cell phone just to stare at it? Asking yourself, “Who should I phone first?” I mean really be taken back, all deer-in-the-headlights, because you wanted all your friends and family to know about this awesome restaurant, that’s priced great… 

That’s what social media is all about.  Let me change things up a bit with that scenario.

What if you left the place, grabbed the blackberry, logged onto facebook, updated your status giving a quick blurb. Jumped over to brightkite, checking in at this fine place, then jumped over to twitter to do some more of the same and ending your musing in front of your computer, giving a nice detailed update on your blog.

Sounds crazy? Maybe. Will there be more and more tools to share your thoughts and life with everyone, I’ll bet on it.

So, a decision has to be made. Do you start getting your feet wet now, or miss out on that great meal??

I’ll start to share my thoughts about what I use.

But, please share yours, too!

(Photo courtesy of Lifehacker)

The great people at Lifehacker put up this terrific post on “Nuclear” Duct Tape.

I don’t know about you, but I love duct tape. I use it for those “uncoventional” times when nothing else will do. Lost a bolt on the snow blower, duct tape to the rescue! Can’t quite get all those scraps to behave in the trash, you betcha duct tape will.

What are some unique ways you’ve used duct tape?

Have you ever looked at a building and wondered how old it was?  I bet you have. But, have you ever looked at it and asked how much more time it has?

When we see old buildings we tend to be caught up in the romance of imagining what it must have been like to be there, to live there, to work there.

Does a building deserve to have our sentiment? What if it was the first place you lived or went to school?  What if there’s deep emotions that are triggered every time you pass by?

Have you ever wondered why a building’s being torn down? Did it serve its purpose and now it’s land can serve a new? Was it damaged? Couldn’t it be repaired or adapted for another use?

With these times we are all in, we need to re-evaluate. Maybe we can re-use? Maybe our needs can change to match what we have, instead of what we want?

Swift Wind Turbine

Here’s a great article about algae biofuels.

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2237/

It would be great to see something like this here in the U.S.

Here’s a nice explanation of how algae is used as a biofuel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae_fuel

Though the popularity for prefab designed homes may not be there, I think we’re still headed towards it.  With energy and construction costs remaining on the forefront.  We’ll need to keep pushing the envelope in prefab design.