Blog Action Day took place on October 15th, 2008 when over 12,000 bloggers banded together to discuss a single issue - POVERTY.  Unfortunately, I didn’t write a post on the 15th, but I wanted to share my story about how I was inspired to take action through Blog Action Day and my growing social network community.

Over the past couple of months, I have become an active member of the rapidly growing twitter social network community.  As I place my twitter username (jmanstudios) into newly created twitter user directories such as http://justtweetit.com, I have picked up numerous “followers” of my twitter feed.  On Monday, I was follow by a guy named Jamin Garoutte a freelance web/graphic designer & photographer from Indiana. Typically, I’ll check out new follower’s profile to decided if they warrant a follow-back.  I noticed that Jamin had a blog called the JAG Design Blog so I clicked the link to check it out.  It turns out that Jamin had a great story that he chose to blog about on Blog Action Day that inspired me to take action.  You see for the past 4 years, Jamin and his wife have been sponsoring a little girl in Kenya, Africa. And for $30 a month, they are able to meet many of her needs, including food, water and education. He went on talk about the organization that he uses for sponsorship, as well as a website called Charity Navigator that tracks and rates these types of charitable organizations.

So I jumped on Google and Charity Navigator and started looking as some different organizations that help impoverished children.  I had never really thought about sponsoring a child in another country before, and I had no idea it was so inexpensive. I also thought what a cool learning experience this could be for my children, who I came to understand didn’t have much knowledge about the global problem of poverty and the challenges that face millions of children around the world.

I wanted to find a child in Africa… maybe it was because my good friend Marty is currently visiting there with his family, maybe it was because some friends of mine recently adopted a baby girl from Kenya, maybe it was because I remember seeing the images of malnourished kids from Africa while I was growing up.  For whatever reason, I was drawn to Africa.  So when I clicked on the link and watched the introductory video about World Vision’s new interactive online sponsorship program called mySponsorship, I knew I was at the right place.  I went on to learn that the mySponsorship program not only allows me to sponsor a child but also to interact and engage in an online environment through the use of e-mails, photos and video allowing me to watch the progress and success of my sponsored child and community. I thought… This is great! An opportunity for myself and my family to positively impact the life of another human being and a great chance at exposing my kids to a totally different way of life without actually have to be there.

So, I rounded up the family to discuss what we were going to do and was floored by my kids lack of knowledge about poverty.  This made the decision to move forward with the sponsorship program that much easier.  We went on to choose an 8-year old boy named Saliou as our sponsor child.  Saliou is growing up in a poor community in Senegal, West Africa where families live in round mud huts with either a thatch or tin roof.  The average monthly household monthly income is $47 for a family in Senegal.  Unfortunately, I am unable to post Saliou’s picture as is not allowed in WorldVision’s child privacy & security policies.

After signing up as a sponsor, I contacted my new friend Jamin to tell him the good news that because of his blog post on Blog Action Day, I too had signed up to sponsor a child myself!  So to all of you bloggers out there looking to make a difference, keep writing, keep posting… you never know when your action to write will make a difference in a real, practical way.  I hope that this story can help to encourage someone out there to help make a difference in a child’s life!

A couple of weeks ago, my son goes to power up our Xbox 360 to jam out to Guitar Hero 3, only to find 3 red lights flashing endlessly at him.  He called me downstairs to check it out.  I uplugged the machine (AV cable and power supply) so see if there was a bad connection or something… I plugged it back in… No luck, just three red blinking lights.  So, I pull out the Xbox360 Users Manual (gasp!) hoping to find a shred of information about what’s causing the problem.  I find a section under Troubleshooting called “Ring of Light Flashes”.  I figure this section will hold the solution… WRONG!  I go onto read:

• Four lights on the console flash red: Check your AV cable.
• Two left lights on console flash red: The Xbox 360 is too hot and will not play games until cooled.
• All other patterns: Internal problem requires service.  Contact Xbox Customer Support. Do not pass GO.  Do not collect $200. You’re screwed!  Are you kidding me!!???

I decided that I wasn’t going to call Microsoft since my Xbox was 3 years old and most likely out of Warranty and that I’d do some research on Google to see if I could find a solution to this problem.  I had heard that the Xbox 360 had issues with overheating and figured that other people were facing similar issues. During my research I came to find out that The Red Ring of Death occurs because of overheating. The Xbox 360 designers decided to put in the bare minimum of necessary cooling equipment into the system in order to create a slim and light console. So in a nutshell, with all the graphics and CPU processing power the 360 has, it simply hasn’t enough heatsinks and fans to keep the components cool enough.

The first “free-solution” that I found was a hack that called for wrapping your Xbox 360 in a towel and basically letting it overheat hoping that the connections would re-solder themselves back together.  I decided against using this method as I figured that this could probably do more damage to the system and would most likely be a very temporary fix.

I then found an article on a website pointing to a reputable website that offered an E-book guide and hi-res video tutorials that would help get my Xbox 360 back into working condition.  The website I was directed to was called X-box 360 Red Light Fix.  They were offering their e-book guide, access to the HD step-by-step videos, and customer support for $29.00 with a 56 day money-back guarantee.  After reading through their sales pitch on the site, I thought that this would be the route I would take since I could at least get my money back if the fix didn’t work and it was developed by guys who have done the repair and made it work.  The following is a frame grab from one of the video tutorials:

After purchasing, I was directed to a Members Only website that had the downloadable guide and the 8 HD video tutorials.  I then learned that I would need other tools to complete the repair including a Paper Clip, a sharp pointy knife, T8 & T10 Torx screwdrivers, Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste & ArcticClean Cleaning Kit and some screws and washers.  So it took me a little while to gather all of the necessary tools, but I was able to track all of it down either on the internet or at local hardware stores such as Home Depot or Lowes.  The tools ended up costing me around another $30 so I now had approximately $60 into the project, well under the $140 that Microsoft charges to make the repair.  I highly recommend that you have ALL items before you start the repair.  Also, make sure you get the Hex-type screws that they show in the guide, I tried it with flat-screws and they were not long enough.

Once I had all the necessary tools in hand and a couple of free hours to spare, I started the repair.  This fix is not for the faint of heart, as it is necessary to complete disassemble your Xbox 360 down to the motherboard.  I would also recommend watching the entire series of videos and reading the guide BEFORE you start the process.  The following is an image of my Xbox360’s motherboard with heatsinks removed and cpu and gpu exposed before re-assembly.

It was very helpful seeing what I was about to encounter and perform prior to getting my hands dirty.  The guide and video tutorials do a great job of taking you step-by-step through the repair process in easy to understand language. I must say that it took me a little longer than the 2 Hours they claim to perform the repair, however, I really took my time throughout the process, making sure not to damage any of the internal components and making sure that I completely removed all of the old thermal compound residue from the chips.

I was a bit skeptical and extremely nervous that this fix would not work, and that I would be left with a dead Xbox 360. But at the end the day the fix worked as promised, and my son is now happily playing Guitar Hero once again!

If you are out of warranty on your Xbox360, don’t want to send your Xbox back to Microsoft and wait 6-8 weeks for a costly repair, and have a little techno-know-how, then I highly recommend Xbox360RedLightFix.com as a solution to the Xbox 3 Red Rings of Death problem.  If you have any questions about the guide or process, please feel free to comment and I would happy to offer you some advice.

To kick off the annual arts season, Enjoy the Arts/START presents Greater Cincinnati’s annual 20 Days & 20 Nights Festival of Arts & Culture. A funky 20-day and 20-night, non-stop arts extravaganza, the 20/20 Festival takes place at venues across Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky neighborhoods.

The 20/20 Festival audience is the entire community––you, me, everyone! Enjoy established groups and up-and-coming troupes, family-friendly events and the avant-garde. It is designed for audiences to sample something new, and for local arts organizations to reach out to new audiences.

The 2008 20 Days & 20 Nights Festival of Arts & Culture will feature 75 unique events in 36 neighborhoods and communities, involving more than 90 participating organizations, from Friday September 26 to Wednesday October 15, 2008.

20 Days & 20 Nights Festival of Arts & Culture is yet another reason why Cincinnati is:

A large number of events are free, and nearly all others will offer a discount for members of Enjoy the Arts/START/Passport. Click here for a full listing of events and more information!

September 23rd was my youngest daughter Olivia’s 4th Birthday!  We started off the day taking some photos before school when the sun was just right down by a lake in our neighborhood.  After celebrating her birthday at pre-school, Jess & I took her out to First Watch (imagine that!) for a nice birthday lunch of chocolate-chip pancakes, Yum!  In the evening, Noni had us over for a Princess Birthday Party, complete with a Barbie Princess Cake! I really enjoyed getting to spend the greater part of the day with her; she was so excited that it was her birthday!  You can check out the complete gallery of Olivia’s Birthday Photos by clicking here.

Since switching over to Apple’s iPhone 3G a couple of weeks ago, I have found myself trolling the App Store looking for mobile apps that can help me to organize my life and increase productivity which in turns saves me time.  The other day, I stumbled on an app called Evernote, which is like  backup for your brain.  We are all constantly bombarded by information, much more than our brains can handle, so we end up forgetting all sorts of things.

Evernote takes all of the digital data that you collect throughout your day and stores it in a centrally located library that’s accessible instantly whenever and where-ever you need it.  It handles a variety of different media types as well, so you can catalog and index text from a website, take a snapshot using your camera phone or webcam of a client’s business card (Evernote will recognize the text in the image), or record audio wherever you are and listen to it whenever you want.  And the cool thing is that it works not only on the iPhone and other mobile devices, but also on the web and on your desktop as well (Windows and Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard).

So, you’re probably thinking what is this handy-dandy software going to cost me… well, the best thing is it’s free!  Evernote’s basic free account gives you 40MB/month and give you full access to their software on any platform.  They also offer a premium account that ups the storage space to 500MB/month for $5/mo or $45/year.

If I’ve peaked your interest about this cool service, check out the overview video below, it shows off the software a whole lot better than I can describe it.

There are only about 2 weeks before the start of the NFL regular season but it isn’t too late to get your Fantasy Football league started! I’ve been hosting my league on Fantasy Football Commissioner at CBSSports.com since 2001 and I’ve been an extremely satisfied customer.

This award winning Fantasy Football league manager delivers in-depth features you can’t get in a Free or Premium league. Plus, CBSSports.com provides unparalleled service and reliability that you can’t find anywhere else.  And if you purchase your league before August 21st, you’ll save $20 off the regular price.

Click here to try CBSSports.com Fanasty Football Commissioner for your league.

I’ve been pretty inactive on the blog lately, so I’m trying to get back into the groove.  I’ve been testing out some new technology on the web recently so I thought that would be a good place to start.  I recently purchased an iPhone 3G and have been exploring some of the apps from the Apple App Store.  One of the coolest apps that I’ve discovered is a streaming music service called Pandora.

Pandora is a music discovery service designed to help you enjoy the music you already know, and to help you discover new music you might like.

It’s powered by the most comprehensive analysis of music ever undertaken, the Music Genome Project: a crazy project started back in early 2000 to capture the complex musical DNA of songs using a large team of highly-trained musicians.

Just tell Pandora one of your favorite songs or artists and it will create a streaming station to explore that part of the musical universe.  For example, to create a new station on the iPhone you simple click the Create New Station button and type in your favorite artist’s name.  I’ll choose ColdPlay for this example… select the artist’s name from the list and your iPhone will immediately start streaming music from this artist!  It will then start streaming music from other artists with similar styles, in effect, creating your own radio station from that genre of music.  Pretty cool!  You can then build a library of artist stations which you can choose to listen to on-demand.  One other cool feature is the ability to rate the music that Pandora selects, enabling you to give it a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.

And the coolest thing about Pandora is that not only is it a free app for the iPhone, but it also available through your web browser at www.pandora.com or even via your home audio system with the help of a Squeezebox Network Music System or similar device.

I hope that you enjoy Pandora… I’ve found it a really cool way to listen to my favorite bands on the go without having to load it on my iPhone as well as for discovering new music.  I’d be interested to know what you think, so feel free to leave me a comment!

It’s been a while since I posted, so I wanted to update you as why I haven’t been posting as often. Well, for the past 2 weeks, I’ve been waking up at 5:30AM and hauling my butt out of bed to attend a new yoga studio that just opened down the road in Crescent Springs called Moksha Yoga & Athletica. I know what you’re probably thinking right now… are u kidding me… Yoga.

Well, I gotta tell you that this is no ordinary yoga. Moksha Yoga is form of hot yoga—which means that they heat the room to around 100 degrees—and their series of postures works to stretch, strengthen and tone the muscles while detoxifying the body and calming the mind. Their philosophy, I have learned, is “to attain enlightenment - a state of being that brings understanding of our true nature as sentient beings, opens a sense of deep liberation, and frees us from the suffering of everyday life”. During the class, they teach you get in touch with your breathing and the present moment—not focusing on anything other than the pose at hand. And I tell you what, I’ve never done anything in my life that’s made me sweat as much as this hot yoga. And when the class is over, around 7:30 AM, I feel cleansed and alive. It’s a pretty amazing feeling! They claim that hot yoga has many health benefits including de-stressing, weight loss, preventing insomnia and even anti-depression to name a few… to learn more about the benefits click here.

The other thing that I’ve noticed is that I sustain this energy throughout the day… it’s not like a workout at the gym where I’m dead tired the rest of the day. I actually have more focus and concentration while I’m working and have been a little calmer around the house with the kids (still a work in progress). The other awesome thing is that it’s helping me to wake up earlier (much earlier), so I have some time just for myself in my day… no kids yelling, no dog barking, no wife asking me to do something (sorry Jess), nothing but 1 1/2 hrs of alone time in peace and solitude. And this has started to carry over into the days that I don’t practice, which adds some nice time to do whatever I want to do in the morning before everyone gets up. So, I’m starting to notice almost immediate benefits in my daily life.

Also, I want to send a big THANK YOU out to Rebecca, Leah, and Michael for making me feel comfortable and welcome in this new environment. You guys are awesome!

If you live in the N. Kentucky/Cincinnati area and you are interested in trying something new in terms of fitness or personal development, you might want to give Moksha Yoga a try. In the brief time that I’ve been practicing, I’ve definitely noticed a big difference in my day, so maybe you can too!

The post rang true for me in a couple of different areas. First, when I take on the role of the “little-helper” around the house, I end up being very passive as a parent & husband instead of being active and present, being a true co-parent and spouse. Second, this is a message that I’ve been trying to instill in my children… that instead of blaming the other person, you need to own up to your part in the situation.

I have taken some positive steps in the right direction with my personal responsibilities, but there’s alway room for growth! The most important thing I took out of the post was this: By stopping blaming others for your failures, you take responsibility for your own destiny. And if you start taking control of your destiny, and stop letting others control it, you will get to the life you want! Read the entire ZenHabit’s post on How You Can Take More Personal Responsibility.

I’m off to the Great Smokey Mountains & Gatlinburg, TN to attend a weekend retreat called “High in the Smokies”, which is an annual weekend of “caring, sharing, growth and serenity” for recovering people (AA, ACA, Al-Anon, CoDA, etc.) and their families. I’m looking forward to meeting some new friends and spending some quality time with my family, as well as the Saturday hike to the top of the mountain! I know the kids are excited about hanging out at the pool and hopefully just having some fun in the great outdoors… there are also going to be kids there around their ages so that should be cool! It should be interesting as we’re definitely stepping outside of our comfort zone as far as vacations are concerned, but I’m open to the uncertainty of the trip as I know that everything will work out fine. Before, I sign off for the week—enjoy a couple of my favorite photos from our last trip to the Great Smokies in the fall of 2007… hopefully, I’ll have plenty more to post when I return. Have a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend! Peace!