Category: Uncategorized

Considering my entire gambling career consists of blowing $25 on slots in Atlantic City, I was pretty excited to review this blog. I’m scared of “real” casino games because I don’t know how to play them. Billed as “your ultimate guide to gambling,” I figured this site was my ticket to riches. I grabbed a pen to take notes and dug in.

Jo runs this blog and according to the “About the Author” section, she knows the business. Jo has been working in the online gambling industry for over 5 years and currently works for “an independent casino games design company that develops products for the land-based and online casino industry.” I particularly appreciate that there is also an “about the company link” (Creative Weblogging, Ltd.).

This is a new blog that was launched at the end of November, so there are presently only about 31 entries. At first I was very impressed with the apparent research that goes into each post. Every entry contains a list of “Related Entries” and “Related Research Reports.” It wasn’t until I read several entries that I noticed that the three research reports for every post are exactly the same. They include a MarketResearch.com report on Proctor & Gamble, a company called Gambling Services and a third report from MarketResearch on Proctor & Gamble in the OTC healthcare market. Color me confused. What does this have to do with gambling? Probably something, but nowhere does Jo give an analysis of these reports nor does she tell the reader why they’re important. The “Related Entries” links pertain a bit more to the actual post, but not always. The majority of these links are to articles on other Creative Weblogging owned websites. For instance, in an article about the launch of a gambling hedge fund (please Jo, enlighten the uninitiated masses. What is a gambling hedge fund?), one of the related links is to a story entitled “Presidential Candidates Lay Out Lifelong Learning Plans.”

For a site calling itself the ultimate guide to gambling, I had a hard time finding any actual guidance. Most of the posts are news articles containing lots of links, in addition to those mentioned above. Trump Casino’s recent bankruptcy filing gets a mention, as does the 2004 award winners from Gambling Online magazine. I enjoyed the post “Botnets, Zombies and Botherds – How DDOS Attacks Work” because of the author’s helpful commentary. I’ll probably try to squeeze the word “botherd” into conversation at holiday parties this season just for fun. I’m still trying to figure out where the post reporting reviews of the movie “Ocean’s Twelve” fits in.

The site design is minimal, which is a plus for this type of blog. Most interesting on the sidebar is an ad for “News Spotters.” The company offers to pay US$5 for each breaking news story you send in that they publish.

Overall this is an interesting site if you are really into gambling and want to keep current on the gambling world. I think calling this site “Your Ultimate Guide to Gambling” is a bit misleading. This is strictly a site for gambling news. For the general population more explanatory commentary from Jo is required. There is really no need for links to the research reports on every post and quite frankly related entries links should actually BE related to the post. Perhaps with more posts under its belt “The Gambling Weblog” will find its stride. There is definite potential here.
Gambling Weblog

I know I’m not the only person who has wanted to do something to improve the environment. We’ve been told to use public transportation more to reduce the amount of pollution or to lower your electricity bill by remembering to shut off lights when leaving a room. But we can do more than that. “So what can I do?” is a site that is dedicated to helping improve the environment with subtle changes that can make a huge difference.

Karama came up with the idea for the site when her and her friends got frustrated with the state of things. They decided that instead of sitting around, they were going to do something. She posts links about many topics from helping fight breast cancer, supporting non-profits to improving school lunches. What I like about this site is it caters to people who have the money to donate to those who just have a few minutes a week to make a difference.

One of my favorite posts is about how to get rid of computers and other electronics. I have an old laptop and still have it since I don’t know how to recycle it. Karama posted some helpful links for how to go about recycling computers and also old cell phones. Another post I liked was about how to calculate your ecological footprint. I found out I used a lot of resources. It helped me figure out I need to make changes when it comes to wasting food and using electrity.

The content of this website is great, however, the look of the site can definitely be improved. She’s using a blogger template and I’d like to see a design that makes this site stand out more. I know that when I see a blogger template, I tend to overlook those sites because there are so many sites that use the same template. Last thing I want to do is stare at it again. A new layout would really step this site up.

If you’re looking to do a little something to help others, make sure to stop by this site and see what you can do.
So what can I do?

The way I saw it, the blog was different from others because of the simple layout. A simple banner that stated the name of the blog, Bravus, was there and nothing much really.

With the title, I had no clue what this blog was about. I looked at the side section and I saw only one category – general. Up to this point, I still had no idea what this blog was about.

So on to reading. The blog is a collection of a variety of topics. From the personal life of the author to whatever idea he had in his head as he was updating, it can be found there. Nothing special, really.

The layout itself, I found boring. It was just too simple. I guess the layout doesn’t distract the reader from the entries. But I just found it a little boring.

Overall, I suggest a peruse of this blog for a quick look. You might find what you need, you might not.

Bravus

My first thought of it’s a dog’s life was “Oh God. Please don’t let this be a blog from the point of view of a dog. Please. I know its been done, and people like these things, but please, let this be different.” Thankfully it was VERY different.

The page loads with a black background a header that is really cool and original and grey boxes with the blog posts in it. It is a modification of a template, but a good job was done with this design. I noticed that the header image didn’t have a dog in it, and in fact had a motorcycle in it.

My eyes quickly drifted to the quote that said “Warning-This Blog May Contain Adult Oriented Material” and below that is a picture of a male with a leather jacket and a long beard playing the guitar. At this point I knew this wasn’t a blog about a dog’s daily activities.

The posts on this blog are about things that are going on in his life and things that have happened. They are all very well written and easily enjoyable. I do have to stress that his little warning of Adult Material is very true. This blog is not for the young or the weak of heart or stomach.

Now normally I like it when people include a bit about themselves in a seperate section. It gives me a quick idea of what the blog should be about, things to expect and what not. Of course there is the standard blogger profile, which gave me a nice little bit. But then I noticed the link for “My Liver Transplant”. This took me back a bit. Without revealing too much – just know that it sums up his 2 year ordeal with needing a liver transplant and his will to live. Read this FIRST. It will give you a great understanding of the author.

Its very hard for a blog to move me so much as to give it the score of 5. Over the years my pickiness has increased, and thus it has made it harder for any site to earn a rating of a 5 from me. This site has everything I need in a blog – good writing, original posts, well written posts, and the feeling that the stories being shared are those that are told between good friends over a beer at a bar. So with that I give It’s A Dog’s Life a rating of 5 because it captured everything I want in a blog.it’s a dog’s life

For some reason, the title made me think of Star Trek. I’m not a big fan or anything, but the word “Mothership” and “Postcards” sent a picture of space and a spaceship whirring through my head. Interesting, eh?

Surprisingly though, the blog itself was different from my imaginings. Well, I guess it’s not that surprising. But anyway, I read the entries and I have to say…

Bleh.

The entries consisted mostly of the author’s daily happenings and some rants. I guess that’s why it was in the “Personal” category. Though the entries were somewhat amusing and a few well-placed witty sentences made me smile, it didn’t really stand out.

Layout-wise, I have to say that it isn’t too bad. It’s simple and white but at least it doesn’t have the garish colors some other blog-owners like to fill their blogs with. I kinda liked it. The simpleness, I mean.

Overall, I have to say it was alright. Not exceptional, mind you, but worth reading to some of you. Just not me.
Postcards from the Mothership