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<title>Tiggiler.com Blog</title>
<link>http://www.tiggiler.com</link>
<description>Tiggiler.com Blog - I'm an avid movie collector, gamer, web developer and email marketer who doesn't get out too much but when I do, I usually have something to say about it. Enjoy!</description>
<copyright>Copyright 2012 Tiggiler.com. All content is protected under applicable copyright laws.</copyright>
<sitedeveloper>sitedeveloper@tiggiler.com</sitedeveloper>
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<title>Internet Explorer stays zipped up for Sundback's Birthday</title>
<link>http://www.tiggiler.com/blog</link>
<description><![CDATA[Google recently released a doodle in celebration Gideon Sundback's 132nd birthday. Sundback is a Swedish engineer credited with helping to develop the modern day zipper. The point of this story lies in the doodle though. In the battle of Firefox vs. Internet Explorer, Firefox is consistently gaining ground. In the interactivity of this doodle, Firefox gets a full page that is entirely interactive where you can digitally unzip the page and your search results are displayed "underneath". Internet Explorer however, just gets a static image that you can click and be brought to the results with no fanfare what-so-ever. Having worked in the Web space for a number of years my best guess as to the reason for the discrepancy has to do with the impossible coding work-arounds needed for things to work as expected in the non-standards-compliant browser that is Internet Explorer.<br /><br />Microsoft in their ongoing egotistical manner continue to make life hard for those living and working in the online media space. From browsing the Internet to reading your email to the flip side of actually creating the content, Microsoft is constantly changing the game and moving further away from standards compliance or conforming to the masses, often times to a detriment of those trying to use their services. Internet Explorer continues to move in the "opposite direction", Hotmail and Outlook continue to receive changes that just completely boggle the mind. Do they really feel they have such a strong hold on the market that they can continue to go unanswered by the public?<br /><br /><br />Do you work in this industry or even for Microsoft? I'd love to hear what you have to say on this topic.]]></description>
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<title>Canon EOS 5D Mark III</title>
<link>http://www.tiggiler.com/blog</link>
<description><![CDATA[Canon has announced its latest upgrade the 5D line... the 5D Mark III. It has some slight improvements including in camera HDR, slightly higher pixel count, increased ISO and a $500 higher price tag over the Mark II. My question is whether or not the added cost is worth it? I guess it comes down to what camera you are using and what you need your camera to do.<br /><br />I currently shoot with a 7D and feel the in camera HDR would be kind of cool to have but is not a necessity for me. The increased ISO would help with low light situations but just how good is the noise reduction at that level? I haven't read any reviews on that yet but would love to hear feedback on your overall thoughts on this latest release.]]></description>
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<title>NFL Championship do-over</title>
<link>http://www.tiggiler.com/blog</link>
<description><![CDATA[Normally you feel a sense of pride when your team makes it to the Super Bowl. While I am happy at who made it to the final game, I can't be as proud of either team as I feel I should be given the honor they have of representing their conference as the best team of 2011/12. Neither team made it to Indianapolis because they beat the other team;  they made it because the other team lost it. Whether it was the missed field goal by the Ravens or the fumble of the 49ers in OT, those plays were the screw up that won it for the Patriots and the Giants. This started me thinking that the playoffs should be "best of" series like they do in baseball. Football teams play a fraction of the games other sports teams must endure. Adding a couple of extra games to make sure one team doesn't make it just because their opponent has a bad night shouldn't be too much to ask.<br /><br />What are your thoughts? Do you think the NFL playoffs should be a "best of" series? Let me know.]]></description>
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<title>Bigfoot Networks Killer Xeno Pro and iTunes</title>
<link>http://www.tiggiler.com/blog</link>
<description><![CDATA[I updated my <a href="http://www.apple.com/itunes/">iTunes</a> to 10.5 not too long ago and began to have problems with it not connecting to the store. The library worked just fine but nothing else. I looked online and found reports of people having similar problems with the 64-bit version of Windows 7 after this update but they all appeared to be receiving an error message which I was not.<br /><br />I left it it alone for a while figuring that Apple would become aware of the problem and release a patch to fix the issue. Well, about a month went by and still nothing. I decided to continue researching the issue online and found nothing so I contacted Apple's customer support.<br />They were very quick to respond and I was pointed to an article describing my particular symptoms and what they suggested as a fix. [<a href="http://tigurl.com/fF">http://tigurl.com/fF</a>]<br /><br />I read the article and was able to come to the conclusion that it was my network card interfering. So began my research into other complaints from users in the same boat. It turns out I needed to update my firmware version for the network card as they released a fix for this issue. I hadn't updated it since I bought the computer about 1.5 years ago... who knew?<br /><br />I'm happy to report that everything seems to be working fine now and wanted to pass along this info to anyone else who might be struggling with the same issue. I'm not sure if it relates to all the network cards from <a href="http://www.bigfootnetworks.com/">Bigfoot Networks</a> but I've listed my details below just in case you want to isolate a specific instance.<br /><br />Please comment back with your specifics if you run into the issue under different specs and this fixes your problem.<br /><br />SPECS:<br />Windows 7 64-bit<br /><a href="http://www.bigfootnetworks.com/killer-xeno-pro/">Killer Xeno Pro Network Card</a><br /><a href="http://www.apple.com/itunes/">iTunes 10.5</a>]]></description>
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<title>60,000 miles</title>
<link>http://www.tiggiler.com/blog</link>
<description><![CDATA[I currently own a 2008 Ford Escape and this past week past 60,000 miles. "Big Deal?!?" you might be thinking but for me, it kinda is. This is my first vehicle I have owned long enough to put this many miles on. It's not that I haven't owned one long enough but in the past I've held jobs that were usually within a couple of miles from my home. This was the first one where I was working more than 20 miles away for the life of the car so far. Our other car is a 2001 Nissan Maxima and while it has more than 60,000 miles on it, my wife was kind enough to put some of those miles on there. I'd love to hear other people's stories or adventures with their automobiles.]]></description>
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<title>Davis Mega Maze</title>
<link>http://www.tiggiler.com/blog</link>
<description><![CDATA[My family and I took a trip to Sterling Mass a couple weeks ago to visit Davis Mega Maze. Were we ever disappointed...<br /><br />It is a huge maze which is great but they block off sections in an attempt to "change up" the route. However, there are no clues as to which way you are supposed to head. We ended up seeing the same spot three times by taking completely different paths. You can apparently ask the staff for helpful hints but on many occasions people were getting frustrated as their helpfulness was somewhat un-helpful. Walking the grounds I can't even count how many times I heard "I hate this place" mixed in with a couple of "I don't even think the workers know how to get out of here".<br /><br />When you first start out and hear those comments you kind of laugh because you think there's no way that it could be that hard or that they would employ people who were just as lost the quests. Let me tell you, by the end of the experience, which lasted a couple of hours, I was making the same comments. We ended up walking back through the entrance and leaving without completing the course to go have lunch and not return.<br /><br />The Pros: Adequate parking, large maze and well placed activities throughout the maze for children to complete<br /><br />The Cons: No clues, unhelpful staff and very frustrating<br /><br />I do not recommend this unless you 1. like to walk around aimlessly in corn stalks for hours on end or 2. bring up the map on a cell phone or print one prior to going.<br /><br /><a href="http://tigurl.com/fC" target="_blank">Davis Mega Maze Website</a>]]></description>
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<title>Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple dead at 56.</title>
<link>http://www.tiggiler.com/blog</link>
<description><![CDATA[Steve Jobs, a co-founder of Apple died at the age of 56. He has been suffering from various health issues following his surgery for a rare form of pancreatic cancer in 2004. Jobs had stepped down as CEO of Apple in late August for his self-stated "inability to meet my duties and expectations" stemming from his health.<br /><br />RIP Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)]]></description>
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<title>Dear Netflix (instead of John)</title>
<link>http://www.tiggiler.com/blog</link>
<description><![CDATA[I feel as though I have been very patient with you over the years. We started off as a perfect match. You supplying an endless chain of movies via mail with quick response and me eager to rent, watch and rate those movies. As time went by you slowly started to let yourself slip. First it was a scratched disc here or there which quickly turned into a rash of consecutive failures and frustrations. But then you made up for it with the promise of Blu-ray and I had fallen for you all over again.<br /><br />Again, you toyed with my emotions and began charging me extra for the pleasure of high-definition. I felt I could live with this since we had been through so much and for so long. I'm not quite sure when but streaming fell somewhere in there during our relationship which to me wasn't a real turn on or off but not an inconvenience either so it stayed. Time passed and Blu-rays began to skip as the DVDs in the generation before it had.<br /><br />Then, the final blow...<br /><br />You began charging WAY too much for what you now considered to be two services. Streaming and by mail became two business units and thus required separate pricing structures which you had no problem combining and raking up our monthly fee to fatten your pockets with. No explanation for this irratic and very sudden behavior... it just happened and we were stuck footing the bill.<br /><br />You have been good over the years despite the ups and down which is why it pains me to say this...<br /><br />I'm breaking up with you.<br /><br />You aren't worth the expense or aggrevation. For the amount of movies I actually watch in a month I can get it cheaper from on-demand and right when it's released. (Something you stopped offering in yet another attempt to fatten your wallet.) I don't think we should be friends either. It's better to just make a clean break. I'm sorry but this is the way it has to be.]]></description>
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<title>Wilderness Systems Pungo 120 Kayak</title>
<link>http://www.tiggiler.com/blog</link>
<description><![CDATA[So we've started looking into get a couple of kayaks. We haven't been particularly active people up to this point but are trying to turn over a new leaf. I've started walking almost every day at lunch and we've been really excited to get this kayak thing off the ground. We went to our local EMS store last weekend and wer pointed to the Pungo 120 kayak; both for stability and for it's excellent tracking.<br /><br />I've started looking online for reviews and can't think of bad thing said about it. It was also recommended to us by a couple of customers in the EMS store who said they had one for a couple of years and loved it. My only concern would be trying to fit a 6' adult and a 5 year old in front. We were also shown a beginner kayak that wasn't expensive but had an open cockpit just for this purpose but my feeling is why should the person paddling with an extra body also have to deal with the back and forth tracking as well. I figured get everyone a good kayak to start with.<br /><br />My other thought is getting a multi-person kayak but what would I do if I ever wanted to go out by myself? It'd be kind of much to manage that big of a kayak by myself.<br /><br />Readers... I would really love your thoughts and experiences on this matter. Feel free to post suggestions and recommendations.<br /><br />Thanks.]]></description>
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<title>Let LinkedIn assist in your next job search</title>
<link>http://www.tiggiler.com/blog</link>
<description><![CDATA[I was recently part of a layoff at a job I was at for almost 5 years. While I have no hard feelings toward the people I worked with I think you can all guess my feelings toward the company as a whole. Anyway, I digress... that's not the point of the this post.<br /><br />Linkedin! While all the social networking sites have their place, in this situation I found this site to be of the most use (even more so than Monster). Prior to the events that recently transpired I was a so-so user only linking to those people who I knew really well and I was semi-selective about who I would add as I didn't really see its true potential. I relaxed my requirements a bit and began to add people who I had worked with and thought were ethically in the same place as me to their career approach (hard working, honest, etc.).<br /><br />Doing this allowed me to connect to a number of recruiters via 2nd and 3rd level links from those that were linked to my profile. In addition I could see those in my network's network and begin to research companies for job openings that I wouldn't have necessarily thought of prior. I'm sure there are a number of other ways to use LinkedIn but I found this to be the most convenient and effective way for me.<br /><br />I once heard the saying that "the best companies to work for don't advertise". They don't need to. Word of mouth is enough to keep their workforce full unless of course their business is just absolutely booming and they need to bring on a large number of people at once. This is probably why my success didn't come from Monster and why I feel it was actually a bit of a downer. I would see jobs posted for things that I wasn't qualified for in my area or things I was qualified for in areas that were too far for me to travel.<br /><br />If you haven't already, I would recommend creating an account and beginning to network with people you have worked with or currently work with. Who knows when you'll be facing the same situation I was and if you already have your network established you'll be that much ahead of the game. Also asked those in your network to recommend your work. I've found through experience as an employee and employer that LinkedIn is cross-referenced on candidates more and more and if they can see your accomplishments and selling points up front, you are more likely to get a call for an interview. From there, the ball's in your court.<br /><br />Let me hear from you. Tell me what you think. Do you use LinkedIn? If so, how? What features or abilities do you find especially useful? What's missing?]]></description>
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<title>Charlie Sheen gets inspiration from "Dr. Evil"</title>
<link>http://www.tiggiler.com/blog</link>
<description><![CDATA[I know this story broke a week ago but Charlie Sheen has decided to sue WB and Chuck Lorre and his production company for $100,000,000 (100 million dollars). I can just see his pinky going up to the corner of his mouth as he tells people. Now on the surface you might be thinking that this many is crazy and he probably is but after reading the court documents on TMZ's website I also think he's crazy SMART.<br /><br />In the documents it claims that WB and "friends" said that Charlie was at the time suffering from a mental and physical disability. During this time they released him from his contract a.k.a they fired his booze laiden, drug filled ass. However I am pretty sure it's illegal to fire someone suffering from a disability or at least due to it. I'm sure the lawyers for Charlie will argue that his recent rants were a result of his condition or his detoxing in the public eye and therefore are grounds for the suit.<br /><br />It also claims that WB/Chuck Lorre already had plans to fire him but this gave them the excuse they needed to pull the trigger. He claims that he was told he could come back to work at the beginning of February but that it was pushed back two weeks because of lack of script. This is Chuck's responsibility I might add. Plus, they apparently cut the eight episodes back to four because Chuck refused to develop the remainder. Again, Chuck's responsibility.<br /><br />If all the allegations in the court filing hold true then I can see a legitimate case for Charlie and hope that he wins at least some of what he is asking for. But, he still sounds like he's strung out on something during every interview he's given recently.<br /><br />Good luck Charlie and don't forget the little people you stepped on to get to where you are and those of the lives you screwed over for your own self-centered amusement.]]></description>
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<title>New Year's Resolutions - What's yours?</title>
<link>http://www.tiggiler.com/blog</link>
<description><![CDATA[It's that time of year again. Time to throw away the old calendar and break out the new one, start counting down to those special dates in the upcoming year, and begin working on those things you vowed to start or complete as part of your New Year's Resolution. Most times it's to lose weight, become more active, clean those places of your house that you don't normally clean, etc. What ever your resolution, it most likely won't be easy. Otherwise, why would you have made the resolution in the first place?<br /><br />While it is a sad statistic, 25% of resolutions won't make it past the first week. However there is some good news... 46% will make it 6 months or more. Those who make a resolution (or two, or three...) are 10x more likely to attain their goals than those who don't.<br /><br />So break out that pen and paper. Write down your ideas for things you'd like to accomplish in 2011. Narrow it down to 1 or 2 and make yourself some kind of reminder to keep you on track. Post a note by the door, fridge, or next to the bed. Create a desktop or screensaver for your computer. It doesn't matter what you do as long as you have the initial commitment to getting it done.<br /><br />I'd like to hear from you. Please take a moment to post your resolution and what you are doing to keep yourself on track. In a couple months come back and post an update on your progress.<br /><br />I know most of us don't like to share these types of things with others outside our immediate family but the blog allows you to be fairly anonymous. I'll be a good sport and get things started.<br /><br />My New Year's Resolution is to lose 20 pounds by November. I have an annual trip to Disney and would like to walk around without as much extra baggage (get it?... baggage... nevermind...). How I get there, I'm not quite sure of yet. At least I've got the "what". Now I just have to work on the "how". Part II of this goal is to make sure I don't breach the 200 pound mark again. I'm sure it'll take me some time to get into a rhythm with my weight loss and I want to make sure I don't continue to gain while I get there.<br /><br />Good luck to everyone and Happy New Year!]]></description>
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<title>Sharon Richard   -  Columbia, CT</title>
<link>http://www.tiggiler.com/blog</link>
<description><![CDATA[Sharon “Sue” A. (Hill) Richard, 67, of Columbia, passed away Sunday after a long battle with cancer.  She is survived by her loving husband of 11 yrs. Michael L. Richard of Columbia, and her daughter Kimberley (O'Brien) Martin, son in law Kendall Martin and grandchildren, Nichole, Anthony, Cassidy and Gracie Martin of Scotland. Her mother Anne K. (Gedraitis) Hill and brothers John, Clifford and Charles of Maine. She was pre-deceased by her father Clifford J. Hill of Maine, sister Annette L. Wilson of Windham and her husband of 23yrs. Thomas P. O'Brien of Columbia. She was an avid fisher woman who loved spending time with her family and friends at her home on the lake. Sue was a beautiful woman who will be greatly missed by all who had the privilege of knowing her.<br /><br /><br />Sue will be greatly missed by all who knew her and my prayers are with Uncle Mike and the rest of Sue's family.<br /><br />You can sign her memorial guest book at potterfuneralhome.com]]></description>
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<title>Happy Thanksgiving</title>
<link>http://www.tiggiler.com/blog</link>
<description><![CDATA[Thanksgiving is coming in a couple of days. Whatever you're doing, hopefully it will be fun and safe. I will be spending the day with family and eating until my pants button pops.]]></description>
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<title>MA Safe Driving Law should be extended</title>
<link>http://www.tiggiler.com/blog</link>
<description><![CDATA[On September 30 Massachusetts imposed a new law that makes it illegal for motorists to "text while driving". This includes texting, sending or reading e-mails or searching the Internet. The first offense will land you a $100 fine and up to $500 if cited three times within a year.<br /><br />The new law also takes aim at drivers under the age of 18 by making it illegal for them to use a mobile phone or electronic device while driving. Think the elderly are clear from this law? Think again... it also requires anyone over the age of 75 to pass a vision test prior to having their license renewed.<br /><br />Finally!... a law that is heading in the right direction. Personally, I don't think the law imposes a heavy enough penalty and I would like to see the use of a mobile device prohibited for all drivers. I understand why this law imposed the harsher restrictions on young drivers but I can't tell you how many adult drivers I see on a daily basis talking on the phone and driving who can't concentrate on both.<br /><br />Anyone over the age of 20 lived in a time where cell phones didn't exist and we were able to make it from point A to point B without having the distraction. There's no reason we can't today. Have a call that is that important? Pull over!]]></description>
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