A sad fact of life for laptop owners is that your computer’s battery grows weaker each time that you use it, whether you are operating on battery or electrical power.  Over the years, I have owned a number of different laptop brands, including HP, Compaq, Acer, Lenovo, and Apple.  And, no matter the brand name, the rechargeable batteries powering the laptop all suffer the same diminished capacity over time.

When you remove your brand new laptop from its box, you feel a sense of freedom as you can operate your computer virtually anywhere.  As your laptop ages, however, you find yourself tethered with increasing frequency to a power cord – your usage limited by the need to be in close proximity to an electrical outlet.

If you are anything like me, your laptop ultimately becomes like a desktop – always plugged into an outlet.  When you reach that stage in my case, or sooner if you have less tolerance for diminished battery life, you feel the need to replace your laptop with a new model.

While there are many conceivable reasons for purchasing a new laptop, most users replace their laptops because of battery life deficiencies.  It rarely occurs to such users that they need not replace a perfectly serviceable laptop, they need only replace its battery.

If you are searching for a replacement battery for your laptop, you could order one through its manufacturer.  A better, faster way, however, is to simply go online to batteryheads.com.  At batteryheads.com, you’ll find the exact battery to fulfill your needs at a surprisingly affordable price.  Whether you are seeking an HP Laptop Battery or a battery for your Apple, Toshiba, IBM, or other brand laptop, batteryheads.com is the only source you need consult.

Growing up in South Philadelphia during the Great Depression was an experience I will never forget.  And, despite tough economic times and the winds of yet another war to end all wars looming in Europe, I still hold that era dear to my heart.

For kids, the South Philly of that time was a magical place to live.  I remember with great affection my family’s Holiday celebrations and the annual New Year’s Day Parade that originated on Second Street and wound its way to its conclusion on Broad Street.   Of course, South Philadelphia was also home to great food – both the food my mother made at home and the City’s many eateries.  The original Pat’s Steaks at 9^th & Wharton Streets was and remains a landmark.

But, what I recall best are the colorful characters who inhabited the City.  Like the other major Northeastern metropolitan areas, Philadelphia exemplified the “melting pot” that was America.  People with funny names and habits added color to everyday life.  Every ethnic group added their own unique culture and food specialties to the cityscape.

Among my fondest memories, however, were what my family referred to as Greek Hotdogs.  We gave them that name, not because they were made in Greece, but because of the ethnicity of the family who ran the establishment in which they were made and sold.  Their store was at the intersection of Snyder Avenue and the Southwest corner of South Carlisle Street -  just a half city block from the Broadway Theater at Broad Street and Snyder Avenue.

No matter the time of day or night, you could always find a crowd of people enjoying with gusto a very special hotdog.  Anyone who ever tasted one will attest to that fact.  Like Lays Potato Chips, you “can’t eat just one.”

Although Greeks ran the business that made these taste treats, the unique flavor was really in the special sauce and fixings that accompanied the hot dogs – the exact ingredients of which were a closely-guarded secret.  In my opinion, you just haven’t lived until you’ve tasted a Greek Hotdog, as many members of our military who visited Philadelphia during World War ll learned.

After he was married and became a father, my older brother Rocco, who was born and died in South Philly, always dedicated one night of the week to the enjoyment of Greek Hotdogs.  He chose Thursday – perhaps, because of the Roman Catholic prohibition against eating meat on Fridays.

Since his passing, his daughter Donna has continued the tradition in his honor every Thursday night.  Recently, during a phone conversation with her, the subject of Greek Hotdogs arose, bringing with it fond memories of her Dad and those delicious hotdogs.  As we were ending our conversation, she said “Remember, Uncle Tom, when you order them, you cannot eat only one!”  As I hung up the phone, I smiled and reminisced of the taste of a lifetime, a taste I remember as vividly today as the day when I indulged in my first Greek Hotdog.

Walter Cronkite, the iconic news anchor for the CBS Evening News in the 60’s and 70’s ended each broadcast with the same refrain, “What kind of a day was it?  A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times.  And you were there.”  For me, Greek Hotdogs represented one of the simple pleasures of life, an anticipated change from the everyday.  And, like Cronkite’s audience, I was there.

And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.  (Genesis 1:16)

Even in the creation account at the beginning of the book of Genesis, there is hidden truth about the Gospel.  For example, Genesis 1:16 tells us about two great lights. We know that the “greater light” is the sun.  Psalm 19:3-5 reveals something interesting about it:

There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

These verses are telling us about the heavens, and they help us understand something about the significance of the sun in the Bible.  Notice that the sun (at the end of verse 4) is compared with a bridegroom in verse 5.  From other verses, we know that the bridegroom is the Lord Jesus.  We see this in Mark 2:19-20:

And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.  But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

At this point we might conclude that the sun is a picture of the Lord, because the sun is identified with a bridegroom – who in turn is identified with the Lord Jesus.  That could be what God is telling us in Genesis 1:16; however, there are some other verses about the sun that we should consider.  One of them is Matthew 24:29:

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

We know that the Lord is eternal: His light won’t ever be darkened, as we see from Revelation 22:5:

And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

However, according to Matthew 24:29 there is a time when the sun becomes darkened; it is telling us about the end of the era when God was saving people.  Therefore, Genesis 1:16 seems to mean that the “greater light” is the Gospel’s power to save.  

Of course, the lesser light in Genesis 1:16 is the moon.  To understand what the moon may represent there, first read Leviticus 18:4:

Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.

Notice that here the word “ordinances” is associated with keeping God’s laws; but there is another verse in which the word “ordinances” is associated with the moon.  Read Jeremiah 31:35:

Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: 

It’s the same Hebrew word (Strong’s number H2708) translated as “ordinances” in both verses.  Therefore, we see that the moon is associated with the ordinances or the laws of God.

Getting back to Genesis 1:16, we see that the greater light rules the day and the lesser light rules the night.  As we read the Bible, we find that the unsaved are in darkness; but God’s elect have been called out of darkness.  We find this explained in Colossians 1:12-13:

Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:   

Whenever God saved someone, He rescued that person from the kingdom of Satan and brought him or her out of spiritual darkness and into spiritual light; so we see that the night in Genesis 1:16 is associated with the unsaved, while the day is associated with the saved.  The unsaved remain in spiritual darkness and are under the law, but God’s children are under grace.  This is exactly what we learn from 1 Peter 2:9:

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:   

There’s a verse in Revelation that also mentions the sun, moon and stars; and it may help us understand Genesis 1:16.  In Revelation 12:1, we read:

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

This woman appears to represent the body of true believers that God saved out of ancient Israel.  In a way, the Lord Jesus came out of this group of believers because He was born to one of them: a young virgin named Mary.  The “man child” of Revelation 12:5 is clearly the Lord:

And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

Notice that the woman of Revelation 12:1 has the moon under her feet: she is no longer “under” the law, because she has been clothed with the sun.  She has been saved through the Gospel and is clothed in the righteousness God gives His children. 

We know that our moon produces no light by itself.  Rather, it reflects light from the sun.  Just as nature proves the existence of God, so does the Bible.  They both reflect God’s glory, just as the moon reflects sunlight. 

What about the stars?  Stars are identified with the seed of Abraham in Genesis 15:5, where we read:

And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

Recall that there is a reference to ordinances of the stars in Jeremiah 31:35.  Obviously, no man had anything to do with creating God’s law; but they bring God’s law whenever they bring the Gospel. 

Perhaps we can understand the relationship between ordinances and stars in this way: once God saves a person, he or she shines with the light of the Gospel.  God uses His elect to bring the Gospel, and they are a witness to the world.  They are stars shining in a world of spiritual darkness.

You may find a verse in which stars do not represent God’s elect.  For example, in Jude 13, we read:

Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

If you read in Jude the verses preceding the above verse, you see that the wandering stars represent people who are enemies of the true Gospel.  However, in Genesis 1:16 the stars are mentioned with the sun and the moon.  There, the stars certainly appear to represent the elect.

Read Matthew 24:29 again:

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

When the sun becomes darkened and the moon no longer gives her light, then the stars fall from heaven.  What can that mean?   The Bible shows us that before the Rapture, God allows His elect to be overcome.  We see this in Revelation 11, which tells us about two witnesses.  These two represent God’s elect near the end of time.  In Revelation 11:7, we read:

And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

As we continue reading, we find that the world rejoices over the death of these two witnesses. Revelation 11:11-12 tells us what happens after that:

And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.  And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. 

The three and half days represent the time God’s elect remain here after they are “overcome,” until the last day.  Although the Bible indicates that salvation has ended before the last day, it is also clear that the Gospel must continue to go out until then to sustain God’s elect.    

The Bible also reveals that God chose His elect before the foundation of the world.  Ephesians 1:4-5 illustrates this truth:

According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

If you are one of God’s children, then one of those stars mentioned in Genesis 1:16 represents you!

May 6, 2012 marked the 75th anniversary of the Hindenburg Disaster, when the German passenger airship LZ (Luftschiff Zeppelin) #129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station.  Newsreel footage, photographs, and the recorded radio eyewitness report of Herbert Morrison have all left their indelible imprint on what is arguably the most famous catastrophe in the history of the Garden State.  And, Herbert Morrison’s eyewitness account is almost as memorable as Russ Hodges’ call of Bobby Thompson’s homerun winning the National League pennant for the New York Giants in 1951.

Steeped in mystery, the Hindenburg’s demise has yet to be conclusively explained.  Conspiracy theorists believe that sabotage caused the airship’s destruction.

If sabotage did indeed cause the disaster, two potential candidates present themselves.  One was a passenger and survivor of the disaster, Joseph Späh.  A German acrobat, Späh brought a German Shepherd on the trip as a surprise for his children.  During the trip, he made a number of unaccompanied trips to a freight room in the stern of the craft – purportedly to feed the dog.  This provided him the opportunity to sabotage the airship.

The other potential saboteur was a crew member, Eric Spehl – a rigger on the airship who died as a result of the disaster.  Suspicions regarding Spehl stem from his access to an area of the ship from which the fire emanated, the Communist, anti-Nazi leanings of his girlfriend, and reputed post-disaster investigation of his potential involvement by the Gestapo.  Spehl’s speculated conspiracy to destroy the craft became the subject A.A. Hoehling’s 1962 book Who Destroyed the Hindenburg?.  Ten years later, Michael MacDonald Mooney’s book, The Hindenburg, based heavily on Hoehling’s sabotage hypothesis, also identified Spehl as the saboteur.  Mooney’s book was made into the major motion picture The Hindenburg.

Of course, more mundane, less salacious explanations have been posited – including static spark, lightning, engine failure, incendiary paint, and fuel leak hypotheses.  In recent years, the Discovery Channel program MythBusters evaluated the incendiary paint and hydrogen (fuel leak) hypotheses.

Yet, as is the case with many events in history, it is likely that the cause of the Hindenburg Disaster that claimed 35 lives will remain unsolved.

As the Internet has become a more integral part of the lives of average people, savvy business owners have realized its enormous power in driving motivated buyers and revenues to their establishments – both on and offline.  Today, most shoppers research their prospective purchases online, using search engines to find sources, pricing, and reviews on their desired product or service.

In fact, the transition of the shopping experience from brick and mortar stores to their virtual counterparts has spawned an entirely new industry, affiliate marketing.  Much like brokers of a bygone era, affiliate marketers connect buyers with sellers – providing leads  or generating actual sales based upon the program established by the advertiser with whom they are affiliated.  Successful affiliate marketers employ varied tools and techniques, using everything from pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to websites to email marketing to attract and drive prospects to advertiser offers.  Representing $4 billion in annual revenue, affiliate marketing is a proven means of building a successful business – both for the advertiser and the affiliate marketer.

But, how do advertisers and affiliate marketers find and connect with each other?  For many, the answer is through the medium of a marketing network.  And, among the leading performance marketing networks is Blue Global Media.  Performance marketing is a win-win situation for advertisers and their affiliates.  It provides the advertiser with cost certainty for their advertising dollars and the affiliate with the highest possible commissions on leads or sales generated.

With a vast international affiliate network, Blue Global offers advertisers unparalleled market reach through successful affiliate marketers.  With exclusive offers like the cash advance affiliate program, continual optimization of programs, and robust technology, the success of affiliates joining the Blue Global Network is assured.

For affiliates and advertisers alike, Blue Global provides the platform and tools enabling them to earn more.  And, that is, after all, the bottom line.

As we mark a year since Osama bin Laden was brought to justice, the following verses are apropos:

As we gather at ground zero

to honor and  respect the heroes

that gave it their all as the towers did fall

and a wrong that won’t be forgiven

As America wept our flag it waved

A salute in solemn splendor

for the land of the free

and the home of the brave

with a message “no surrender”

A Presidential pledge

 to his people he said

We’ll get them if it takes years

And years it did take

but then came a break

of the whereabouts

of the villain

Covert plans were made

for the debt must be paid

And justice demanded a killin’

Swiftly they came in the dark of night

on the wings of Black-hawks

in stealthy flight

To settle a score that was made

and a pledge that was overdue

As they swarmed the compound

with that in mind

Usama would get his due

There once was a man named Usama

that envisioned himself like Obama

he got shot in the head

and the last words he said were

“Oh shit” I’m having a trauma.

I’ve often thought to myself that anyone who sells a product for $20, $30, or $40 thousand or more while netting less than $1 thousand in profit on each unit sold has got to be crazy.  Yet, that is just what auto dealers across America do every day of the week.  I understand, of course, that there are ancillary avenues for dealers to make money, such as service, aftermarket products, and financing.  Yet, for auto dealers to be successful, they must sell high volumes of vehicles in order to cover their staggering expenses and maximize profitability.

To do just that in today’s economy, dealers must identify new ways to maximize market exposure.  While broadcast media remains a viable, if relatively expensive, means of advertising, print media – newspapers in particular – are on the decline.  Auto dealers, like other business owners everywhere are finding that a consistently increasing percentage of their business is coming from the Internet.

Now, auto dealers have access to a platform enabling them to optimize the online market exposure:  showroomlogic.com.  Showroom Logic provides dealers with the tools to manage their online marketing, presence, and image.

Dealer SEO enables dealer websites to dramatically rise in the organic search rankings on Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines.  But, search engine rankings are only one piece of the puzzle.  Today, social media marketing is critical to both search engine and marketing success.  Showroom Logic’s proprietary networking technology helps dealers to better manage their social media messaging and includes the first and only Facebook app for car dealers that can be directed to any dealership website.

To drive additional highly targeted traffic to dealer websites, Showroom Logic’s AdLogic proprietary platform creates 8 banner ads for every vehicle in dealer inventory and displays them on targeted sites throughout the Google content network.  With Google PPC for Car Dealers – AdLogic working, hordes of motivated car buyers will be driven to participating dealer websites – generating leads enabling savvy dealers to capture new sources of revenue.

Take the first step toward growing your dealership’s business volume:  check out Showroom Logic today!

One of the things that players and coaches often say or to which they allude regarding an upcoming contest is that they intend to “leave everything” on the field or court.  Presumably, this means that each athlete and coach will summon and employ all of their intellectual and physical resources to achieve the objective of winning the game.  No effort will be spared, and, at game’s conclusion, all participants will be completely drained.

Whether or not that level of effort has ever been expended in reality, is a matter of opinion and debate.  One thing, however, is certain.  To apply oneself completely in the quest to achieve a goal provides the doer a sublime sense of satisfaction, distinct from and regardless of the actual attainment of the objective.

In my humble opinion, life should be lived in just that manner.  All of one’s talents and resources should be fully consumed, not simply for personal glory but, as is true with a team, for the betterment of others.  With nothing held back, there can be no regret, but rather a sense of contentment and serenity, as one approaches his inevitable passing.

We will all someday experience those moments when the life force leaves our mortal bodies, although none of us will be able to describe them to those remaining.  And, in my view, those moments will seem like an eternity.

Remember, as the hearse containing your cold, lifeless body transports it to its final resting place, no moving van will follow.  Nothing of this life, except the love or hate you have built upon within you, will accompany you on your soul’s journey to its next plane of existence.  Resolve yourself to fully empty your tank before you go.

To avoid annihilation and promulgate their controversial new religion, the early Christians went underground – often, literally.  Cognizant of the threat of persecution, and spreading truth through stealth and perseverance, The Faithful persevered to see Christianity become one of the major religions of the world.

When Clear Channel and Payola got their mitts on commercial radio, and when Auto Tuning further bastardized what was broadcast on those radio stations, good music went the way of the early Christians.  And like Christianity, it would not die.  Devotees went underground in the metaphorical sense, seeking new avenues through which to locate, enjoy, promote, and share music made in the human soul as opposed to the boardrooms.  Deus ex machina, the Internet emerged as a key resource for these quests.  The latest techno offering for music geeks – uniquely customizable, and best of all, free of charge — is deliradio.com.

The site is aptly named.  Just like sandwich selections in a deli, you choose exactly what you want.  You’ll be surprised at what you get, and how simple it is to navigate the site.  Ferreting out which artists are playing in your town, a neighboring burg, or anywhere you’re willing to travel to see them jam live?  Simply type in the name of the city and up pops a menu of all the artists scheduled to appear there.  Do you want that Reuben sandwich with the works or minus the sauerkraut?  If you want the works, click “all genres”.  If you prefer to hold the ‘kraut, the Russian dressing, or even the rye bread, click the genre or genres of music that appeal to you.

If you wish to locate your music by way of specific artists or venues, click the appropriate button to launch your search.  You’ll be happy to find the more well-known musicians and singers, both indy (independent) and signed to major labels, as well as lesser known local acts, the latter appearing in neighborhood venues for a small cover charge or even no charge.

Once located, you can sample selections of the artists’ work.  Not clips but full songs, they are arranged in album order. (Yes, album: my musical sensibilities go that far back and by now, most of us know why vinyl albums once ruled the airwaves and are making a healthy comeback).  Not every artist permits plays of all the songs listed, but there’s a good deal of free music available – and yes, you can download the app to your mobile device.  A really cool feature enables you to create your very own “radio station” by choosing music from the site and/or uploading music from other sources.  You’re the program manager and DJ here, not some on-air employee paid to rotate playlists as stale as last month’s bread.

If you’re a touring artist, you can promote your tour with dates, venues, and photos, enabling fans both new and established to purchase tickets right there on the site.

I’d asked my good friend and fellow music geek, Patricia (Tish) Pomykal, to check out deliradio.com and she went nuts, in a good way!  Initial hiccups with IE (the Internet Explorer browser) included the inability to access the full screen, but Tish soldiered on.  Here’s her take:

Tried it in Firefox and it works great!  I used the link for upcoming shows in Atlanta and there was the Jamie McLean Band. I clicked on his name, and info for the band showed up in the bottom window.  The songs play quickly. There is a share button for twitter and facebook or e-mail. There is also a link for the band profile page.  I clicked on that and there are all the upcoming concerts for the Jamie McLean Band, including the one coming up in Connecticut that Taylor Hicks is playing with him.  I clicked on that and it went straight to the ticket page … with a picture of Taylor. There are share buttons on both the band profile page and the ticket page.  What a great way to let your friends know what concerts you are attending or thinking of attending!

The player works like a popup and you can keep it playing in the background while you do other work on your computer or access other web sites in your browser.  I’m going to put in my local area and see what bands come up. I am excited to try it on my cell phone also……and it’s all free!!

[With respect to musicians using the site to promote their music and concerts] … scroll to the bottom of the page for a FAQ page. It says artists can sell their music but they need a Paypal account and they keep 100% of the profits. There is also a video about setting up a band account. There is also a statement that Deliradio will not allow a band to upload cover songs; it all has to be original music that the artist owns the rights to.  Once you read over the FAQ’s, notice at the top there is a menu for all the web site policies, all the legal stuff. 

With all of these options at deliradio.com, Tish and I will gladly place our “deli orders” for great free music, handcrafted radio stations, and concert tickets.  If you too register for the site, enjoy the tasty feast!

The Author of this post is Velma Baird

I grew up in Texas and pretty much have lived there my whole life with the exception of college. When I was growing up I just assumed that every other state and every other country, for that matter, were just as unbelievably hot as Texas is in the summer. Of course we went on vacations to other states but they were always to beaches or some other hot destination. I felt like I could never get a way from the heat. Now that I am an adult I can keep my air conditioning set on whatever I want to at my house. The only problem with that is the fact that it can cost so much to cool a house in the middle of the day in the summer in Texas. Recently I found Donna Just Energy electric company and I found out that I can shop my rates. This is awesome because I like to keep my house at 65 degrees all summer long and that can cost an absolute fortune when it is getting to be 110 degrees outside in July.