My Google Maps Apr 12, 2007
Google Maps came out with a new feature last week called My Maps.  It essentially lets you add placemarks and draw lines and shapes on maps, and it's useful for things like keeping track of vacations and travel and things like that.  It's actually a feature I had been in search of for a little while now.  Google Earth, the downloadable version of Google Maps, does this and has a bunch of other features, so I used that for a while.  But incorporating this into the online version of Google Maps was a great idea.  Plus, there's an option to export a map as a KML file, which is a portable plain text version of your map markers.  Another awesome feature that has basically nothing to do with My Maps is the little blue arrow on the lefthand sidebar, which allows you to show or hide the sidebar.  I always wondered why Maps didn't come with this feature to begin with.  Sometimes you want to hide all the dumb search results and just look at the map.  Now you can.  The final feature I noticed was a right-click menu when your mouse is over a map.  It just has a few functions for marking and manipulating the map. #technology
AutoHotkey Apr 12, 2007
AutoHotkey is a program all the cool kids have been using for a while, but I just got into it today.  After 5 minutes of using it, I can already draw the conclusion that it's awesome.  It's essentially a program launcher based on hotkeys; you assign a certain keyboard combination to a certain program and that program is launched when you press that combination of keyboard keys.  I used to use an old Windows 98 program called WinKey to do this for me.  The problem with this program was that the settings weren't easily transferrable from one machine to another, so I had to manually set it up every time I started using a different computer.  HoeKey solved this problem by using simple syntax in plain text files, but it's a little buggy when you try to edit the configuration file while you're using the program.  AutoHotkey is similar to HoeKey except that it's easy to edit while in use, and it's talked about on more websites.  The folks at Lifehacker, for example, talk about the program regularly, and I've been meaning to try it out for a while now.  One of the coolest things I noticed in the first 5 minutes of use is that each configuration file (.ahk) can be compiled into an executable (.exe), which means it's incredibly easy to port settings from one computer to another.  And if you don't feel like installing AutoHotkey on that other computer (if you were just using it for a limited time, like at an internet cafe), the compiled executable solves that exact problem.  All in all, this is a really cool program, and there's tons of information about it on the internet, so it's infinitely extensible. #technology
Done with PayPerPost Apr 12, 2007
I think I've decided that I'm officially done with PayPerPost.  I started using their service last October to make a few extra bucks here and there.  In that respect, it's an excellent website, and it's the only money-making scheme that's actually worked for me.  And from what I've heard, it's really the only way for small-time bloggers to make money on the internet, seeing that contextual ads and affiliate marketing generate little to no revenue for websites that get little to no traffic.  Though the paid blogging system as a whole generates tons of criticism, it's actually a fairly harmless system, making money for a small-time blogger while increasing Page Rank for a certain website. 

There are two reasons why I'm done with PayPerPost.  First, their system is clogged with freaks.  I was one of those freaks.  By freaks, I mean people who have an abundance of time to sit around and wait for posting opportunities to show up, then take those opportunities as quickly as possible, thereby blocking other people from taking them.  It's like throwing raw meat to a pack of hungry wolves.  The PayPerPost owners love this, and for good reason.  The more people that sign up to use their service, the more money they make.  And the more people that take opportunities, the more money they make.  They don't have to agree with the legitimacy of the whole idea or the negative effect is has on the blogosphere.  They're just the go-between for advertisers and publishers.  And for that, I have to give them credit.  They're running a business, and they're doing well.  How can I criticize that?  It's just that the whole system is a little annoying, writing about things I'm not really interested in just to make a few bucks.  Granted, these "few bucks" added up to quite a bit over a few months.  Not quite a bit like quit-my-job quite a bit, but quite a bit like partially-fund-vacation quite a bit.  And that's cool by me.  But the amount of time and energy I was spending trying to make a few bucks just really wasn't worth it.  (And by the way, the reason I haven't written about PayPerPost recently on this site is because I actually went out and developed a whole new website just for PayPerPost stuff.  Yes this is within the rules, and yes this worked.) 

The other reason is that I can finally see it from the detractors' point of view.  Everyone keeps talking about disclosure and how it's kind of devious for people to get paid to write about things without saying they're being paid.  PayPerPost's mandatory disclosure policy basically fixed this situation, but the detractors weren't happy.  And here's why:  Even if I say I'm being paid to write something, it overlooks the fact that I wouldn't be writing about it in the first place if I wasn't getting paid.  Sure, there were a few posting opportunities that provided a means to write about something I would've written about anyway.  But the overwhelming vast majority of opportunities are for things I have no interest in:  Things like coupon codes, real estate, lawyers, loans, and online games.  I wouldn't normally write about these things, so by accepting money to write about them, I'm essentially transforming myself and my website into a commercial.  And to be honest, I find that a little off-putting.  When I read a person's website, I don't want to have to be interrupted by commercials for things they wouldn't personally recommend.  This isn't TV.  This is the internet, where personal publishing is king.  Unless a person can personally recommend something, I'm not interested. 

Maybe I'm only taking this position because I made some money and can verify the system's worth.  But there's nothing stopping me from starting it back up again.  The system works, and it's not all that difficult.  For that reason, I feel like my opinion on it is slightly less biased.  If I was kicked out, that would be another story.  But I reached a point where I just got sick of it, so I'm stopping (actually I stopped over a month ago).  Thanks for all your cold hard cash, PayPerPost.  Buh-bye. #technology