Not Allowed to Dial Error Message on a SciPhone i68 4G

I recently purchased a SciPhone 4G with a dual sim card phone. I was very happy with this phone. I had no problems until one day I couldn’t call out. I kept getting a not allowed to dial message every time I tried to call anyone.

I could still receive calls and send and receive texts but I couldn’t call out. After quite a bit of research on the internet I came up with a solution. None of the solutions available had all the information I needed I just kept trying different combinations until it worked.

Here is the step by step solution I used to remove the “not allowed to dial” message and allow me to dial out again.

1. turn off the phone
2. place 2 sims on the phone
3. restart the phone
4. keep the WLAN disabled
5. enter the engineering mode * # 82043036 #
6. select the option RF Test Tool (on my phone it’s option 13)
7. Select GSM, to accept him
8. go to Power scan
9. go to Band Select and select OK DCS1800
10. another screen will appear (model F003) look at each of the options until you find one that will have your phone appear unresponsive (this locked)
11. pressing the main button (the box) will take you to the home screen
12. go to the setup menu
13. go to network settings menu SIM1
14. this is a preferred mode
15. select one of the preferred modes GSM or WILAN
16. restart the phone and you should be ready to make calls

You just enter the code/s into the phone number area in the dial section and the phone will recognize it and enter into the proper mode.

I still love this phone. It has built in WIFI so I can surf the internet with out having to have a data plan from my service provider. I use T-Mobile.

Here are the particulars on my SciPhone:
Mode: i68 Quad Band Phone
Specifications:

• Dual SIM
• Dual Standby
• WiFi
• Bluetooth

SciPhone i68 4G Technology Specifications

Weight: 110g
Dimensions: 114.6 x 62.0 x 11.0
Battery: NOKIA Universal 4C battery
Standby time: 210 – 300 minutes
Display Type: TFT, QVGA, 3.2 inch
Network: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Here is some important information I found that actually works on my phone.

• default password is 1122
• special key code to display the firmware version * # 8375 #
• the special key code to enter “engineering mode” * # 82043036 #
• obtained IMEI code * # 06 #
• factory model code * # # # 66 it is NOT recommended that you use it

I must admit I was the one who caused the problem. I am the kind of person who wants to know just what settings are available on any piece of technology I have. So if you are like me and have changed a setting on your SciPhone i68 4G Quad band Phone with WIFI and get the not allowed to dial message, these instructions should help you back to making calls again.

Late,
Gary Pool SEO

SciPhone i68 4G – not allowed to dial is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

The Oregon Ducks Vie for the National Championship

In Oregon today’s talk is all about the Ducks and the National Championship game with the Tigers. It seems like everyone here is attending some sort of a Oregon Duck party. I personally am going to a Duck party in Oregon City at my daughters house.

Today will be filled with talk about everything and anything related to Oregon Ducks football.

oregon ducks football recruits

2009 Oregon Ducks Football Recruits

• How strong was the recruiting class of 2009 for the Oregon Ducks football team?
• Are these recruits helping this year?
• How much will they help next year?

2010 Oregon Ducks Football Recruits

• Will we continue to get stronger with our 2010 Oregon Ducks football recruits?
• Who should we go after?
• Who will we go after?
• Being in the National Championship game will help recruiting.

oregon ducks cheerleaders

I’m even sure the topic of the Oregon Ducks Cheerleaders will be a topic of discussion today.

oregon ducks wallpaper

Here are some of the available “Oregon Ducks wallpaper” for you to install and show your Duck Pride.
Just click on the image to go the desktop size version.

BTW here’s a Oregon Ducks Roster.

GO DUCKS!
Late,
Gary Pool SEO

Oregon Ducks Wallpaper and the Game is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

NO TRUTH TO RUMOR THAT CELL PHONE NUMBERS WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO TELEMARKETERS

Without redaction there must be a retraction or at least a clarification.

My last post wasn’t completely true. Cell phone numbers won’t be given to telemarketers. Although the phone number I gave you is correct for the National Do Not Call Registry.
Some of the other information I gave you about the National Do Not Call Registry is also wrong.

Your registration will not expire. Telephone numbers placed on the National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, which became law in February 2008. [more]

Washington, DC — For several years there has been a rumor circulating, mostly by e-mail, that a nationwide directory of cell phone numbers will be made available to telemarketers, and that consumers will start receiving telemarketing calls on their cell phones.
There is no truth to this rumor.

• Cell phone numbers are not being released to telemarketers
• FCC rules prohibit the use of autodialers and prerecorded messages to call cell phones without the consumer’s consent
• Most telemarketers are barred from contacting consumers on their cell phones
• Consumers may register their cell phone numbers as an extra protection against unwanted telemarketing calls
• Most telemarketing calls to cell phones would be illegal regardless of whether the number is listed on the National Do Not Call Registry

More information on the National Do-Not-Call Registry.
Learn more about the rumor.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE NATIONAL DO NOT CALL REGISTRY

The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. Most telemarketers should not call your number once it has been on the registry for 31 days. If they do, you can file a complaint at this Website. You can register your home or mobile phone for free.

Before I released the last post I checked out the phone number and it was the National Do Not Call Registry. I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. :-$

My apologies for spreading a rumor but at least now I have my cell number listed on the National Do Not Call Registry. :-}

Late,
Gary Pool SEO

National Do Not Call Registry Cell Phone Telemarketers Rumors is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Cell Phone Numbers will be Released to Telemarketing Companies this Month

All cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies this month and you will start to receive sales calls.

YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS!

To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222.
(Public service post from SEO Blog.)
It is the National DO NOT CALL list It will only take a minute of your time.. It blocks your number thirty-one (31) days later for five (5) years. You will need to make the call from the cell phone number you want blocked. It is not permitted to call from a different phone number.

PLEASE HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON… It only takes about 20 seconds.

Late,
Gary Pool SEO

Cell Phone Numbers Go Public this Month is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Amber Case Contacted Me and Gave Me a SlideShare Link to The Augmented Reality Slides

Thanks to Amber (@caseorganic), I have embedded the slides from the Augmented Reality presentation at WebVisions.

This is a follow up to my earlier post “WebVisions Day Three – Augmented Reality“.

Still Very COOL.

Thanks again Amber.

Late,
Gary Pool SEO

Augmented Reality Slides from Day Three at WebVisions is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

So What Does one TRILLION dollars look like Anyway?

With all the talk about “stimulus packages” and “bailouts”, “economic recovery” and a “$3.8 trillion budget”…

A billion dollars…

A hundred billion dollars…

Eight hundred billion dollars…

One TRILLION dollars…

What does that look like? These various numbers are tossed around like puppy treats.

Hang with me for a little bit and we will get a sense of what a trillion dollars actually looks like.

We will start it slowly and….

Let’s start with a $100 dollar bill. Currently the largest U.S. denomination in general circulation. Everyone has seen them, even fewer are owning them these days.

A packet of one hundred $100 bills is less than 1/2″ thick and contains $10,000. Fits in your pocket easily and is more than enough for a week or two of fool hearty fun.

Believe it or not, this little pile is $1 million dollars (100 packets of $10,000). You could stuff that into a grocery bag and walk around with it.

While the lowly $1 million looked a little unimpressive, $100 million is a little more respectable. It fits neatly on your standard pallet…

Now $1 BILLION dollars… we’re starting to get somewhere…

Now let’s look at a TRILLION dollars. This is that number we’ve been hearing about so much. What is a trillion dollars? Well, it’s a million million. It’s a thousand billion. It’s a one followed by 12 zeros.

$1,000,000,000,000.00

You ready to see ONE TRILLION dollars?

(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)

It’s pretty darn amazing.

Here you go…

1 TRILLION dollars…

(notice those pallets are double stacked and how small the man looks.)

So the next time you hear the phrase “one trillion dollars”… that’s what they are talking about. And some say they are proposing a 3.8 trillion budget.

Late,
Gary Pool SEO

A friend of mine John Poling of BizNet fame sent me this information.

Make sure and share this post with your friends. If they are anything like me they had no idea what one trillion dollars looked like.

$3.8 Trillion Budget – How Much is a TRILLION Dollars? is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

San Diego Chargers Trade with Miami to Select Ryan Mathews at #12 Over All in the NFL Draft

Have the Chargers really been able to replace LaDainian Tomlinson? The Chargers released Tomlinson on February 22, 2010 after nine seasons with the team. LaDainian signed with the New York Jets on March 14, 2010.

Ryan Mathews only spent 3 years playing college football. Ryan has some really big shoes to fill.

(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)

LaDainian holds quite a few NFL records.

• Holds the all-time NFL record for single season touchdowns (31)
• Holds the all-time NFL record for single season rushing touchdowns (28)
• Holds the all-time NFL record for the most points scored in a single season (186)
• Holds the all-time NFL record for most consecutive games with a rushing touchdown (18)
• Holds the NFL record for most consecutive multi-touchdown games (8)
• Tied the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown score with Hall of Fame fullback Lenny Moore (18)
• Tied for third place for most career 200-yard (180 m) rushing games with several other players (4)
• Holds the all-time San Diego Chargers record for most career rushing yards (11,760)
• Holds the all-time San Diego Chargers record for most career touchdowns, 150 as of December 6, 2009
• Holds the all-time NFL record for fewest games needed to achieve 100 touchdowns, with his 100th career touchdown (90 rushing, 10 receiving) in his 89th game
• Holds the all-time NFL record for fewest games needed to achieve 150 touchdowns, with his 150th career touchdown in his 137th game
• Holds the all-time NFL record for overtime touchdowns (3), all rushing.
• Second place on the list of NFL all-time rushing touchdown leaders—behind Emmitt Smith.
• In 2006 Tomlinson became the second player in NFL history to score 4 touchdowns in 2 straight games
• In 2006 Tomlinson became the only player in NFL history to score 3+ touchdowns in 4 straight games
• Holds the record for most touchdowns scored in a four game span with 14 TDs
• Holds the record for most touchdowns scored in a five game span with 16 TDs (14 rushing, 2 receiving)
• Holds the record for most touchdowns scored in a six game span with 19 TDs
• Became the only player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards and receiving 100 passes in a single season
• Second player in NFL history with 1,800 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in one season
• LaDainian joins Emmitt Smith, Priest Holmes, Shaun Alexander, and Marshall Faulk as the only running backs to record consecutive seasons of 20 or more touchdowns
• Holds the record for most seasons with 17+ touchdowns with 5;(consecutive) 2003-2007
• Holds the record for most seasons with 18+ touchdowns with 4;(consecutive) 2004-2007
• Holds the record for most seasons with 10+ rushing touchdowns with 9;(consecutive) 2001-2009
• Holds the record for most seasons with 11+ rushing touchdowns with 8;(consecutive) 2002-2009

Will Ryan be able to have the Charger fans forget about LaDainian? I don’t think so. But it looks like he will be able to stand side by side with him.

Check out this Ryan Mathews highlight video. 7 minutes and 20 seconds of pure running back with all the promise in the world.

Late,
Gary Pool SEO

San Diego Chargers Trade up to Get Ryan Mathews as the 12th Pick in the NFL Draft is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

We Moved 3 Miles to the West and with Uhaul, Moving Boxes, Carpet Cleaning, & the Locksmith it Left a Gap in My Blogging

Well, as you have probably noticed my last blog post was pre-move. I had forgotten what a hassle moving was.

I never had to have my carpets cleaned before when we moved out.

Our old apartment management company required us to have the carpet cleaning done professionally or pay $150 per room for them to get it done.

Some of the things we considered when looking for carpet cleaners, other than price, was professionalism. Just how knowledgeable and reliable were they? With $150 per room on the table we didn’t want to make a mistake.

The door locks on our old apartment will need to be changed but at least that’s not our problem. We just turn in our keys and the rest will be up to our old apartment’s management company.

We will need to call the locksmith for any re-keying of any locks in our new place that we will want to change and to make new keys for our new digs.

We still have moving boxes all over the house. They are organized in neatly segmented areas by category. I didn’t realize we have so much stuff!!!

Over all the move was painless… We found the local Uhaul of great assistance. Not only did they supply the truck rental but, they also had a bin for recycling moving boxes and we scored there. We plan on returning not only the boxes we got there but others we were using when they are finally empty. We have already returned just short of a dozen. When we arrived to return the boxes we didn’t even have to go inside. We just handed them off to another young couple who had just rented a truck.
(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)
We are sure we have made the right move. We have a great home overlooking the Columbia River if you are standing at the kitchen sink or at certain places on the front patio.

So there you have my moving saga.

When I thought about creating this post I figured it could have a marketing twist but I gave up. Well now that I have finished it, I see that the part about our local Uhaul having a moving box recycle bin is a blurb on one example of very good green marketing.

If you will just treat your customers with care you can have them help you give better customer service by giving them better customer service. You give your customers a place to recycle their moving boxes when they are finished with them and your new customers a place to pick up recycled moving boxes when they are just beginning.

Late,
Gary Pool SEO

Making the Right Move – Uhaul, Truck Rental, Carpet Cleaning, and Locksmiths is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Chris Horner Represents the USA, Oregon, Team RadioShack, and Lance Armstrong as well as it can be Done

Chris Makes Lance Armstrong, Team RadioShack, Oregon, and the USA Proud by doing something no other American was able to do, win the Tour of the Basque Country.

Chris started out the day 1 second behind Valverde the leader and ended up by winning the Tour by 7 seconds. Chris put in a Herculean effort in the 13.7 mile time trial with a time of 32:33:85 a full 7.197 seconds ahead of Valverde.

Congratulations Chris! Thanks for the exciting Tour of the Basque Country.
(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)
Here are some Videos for you to re-live the excitement.

This is the final few minutes of the time trial at the Tour of the Basque Country in Spain. Chris Horner becomes the first American to win the title.

Chris Horner realizes his dream of winning the extra large pizza size beret. Chris takes the podium for the Tour of the Basque Country time trial.

Chris Horner may not be able to open a bottle of champagne but he did win the Tour of the Basque Country Spain. Chris from Team RadioShack takes 1st place in the yellow jersey on the podium.

What does this have to do with marketing?

RadioShack isn’t the only one who thinks it is important enough to sponsor a team.

Within the last 24 hours alone Google has indexed 57,400 pages that included the term “tour of basque country”.

What great publicity for Chris Horner, Lance Armstrong, RadioShack, Oregon, and the USA too!

Late,
Gary Pool SEO

Chris Horner Makes Lance Armstrong, Team RadioShack, Oregon, and the USA Proud is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

You either have to be first to market or have the best product

This weekend I was made aware of just such a product that just might be both.

It is a water bottle and cage for a bike that uses magnate magic!

Just how easy and cool does it get?

(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)

Tweet by @bikehugger

This magnetic bike cage is cool with lots of show attendees looking at it: http://bit.ly/bh0V8J

The Seattle Bicycle Expo was held this weekend and the Bike Hugger team was there.

Come hang with the Bike Hugger team this weekend at the great Seattle Bicycle Expo. We’re hosting the Bicycle Bloggers Lounge upstairs where we’ll be talking to fellow cyclists, hunting down the coolest exhibits & new bike tech, and reviewing all those experimental new energy bars/drinks (hey, somebody has to be the guinnea pig).

Track the excitement as we live blog here here at on the community board and be sure to follow us on twitter at @bikehugger The hashtag for this weekend is #bikexpo

This year’s Expo is on the northern edge of the waterfront up in Magnolia:
Smith Cove Cruise Terminal 91 2001 W Garfield St Seattle, WA 98119

Here is a video showing you just how great this magnetic bike cage is.

Late,
Gary Pool SEO

Marketing a Good Product – Magnetic Bike Water Bottle Cage is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

What can You do to Verify Urban Legends and email Scams?

I am one of the promo winners of $287,500.00 (TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY SEVEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS).

The first thing I did was research GT Bank Plc. It turns out that Guaranty Trust Bank plc (GTB.LG) is the third biggest bank in Nigeria based in Victoria Island.

Did your Nigerian email scams alarm go off? Mine did.

Guaranty Trust Bank plc even has it’s own website. Anyone want a MasterCard from this bank?

Guaranty Trust Bank plc corporate address:
Guaranty Trust Bank plc
Plot 1669, Oyin Jolayemi Street
Victoria-Island, Lagos, Nigeria
Tel: +234 1 448 0000, +234 803 900 3900,
+234 802 900 2900, 0700 GTCONNECT

Let’s examine the email. Take note of there being no “to” address in the email header. I didn’t remove it. This email came this way.

From: GTB@winning.com
Subject: [spam?] Fund Release Notification.
Date: March 14, 2010 7:24:01 AM PDT
Reply-To: larrywalter01@gala.net

---

Fund Release Notification.

Dear beneficiary,

You are welcome to GT Bank Plc. The payment Bank for the 2010 UN Online Promo. We are pleased to be at your service. We are Regulated and Stipulated by the Financial Service Authority (FSA), the financial institutions that govern all financial activities around the World, after a proper screening and verification excises that was conducted in our Bank today in addition to receiving confirmation from the UN and The ECOWAS Online Promotional board, that you are one of the promo winners of $287,500.00 (TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY SEVEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ONLY).

This is to inform you that your funds have been deposited in our transit account and will be available for immediate transfer into your account which you are to set up, you are advice to open a Foreign Currency Account with us where your winnings can be transferred into.

This account will be activated after you have made the initial deposit from $90 USD and above as your account activation fee or you can open an online account in our bank and make your transfer online into any account of your choice.

With our online banking, you can enjoy the convenience of managing your finances quickly and easily at a time that suits you. You can bank safely and securely – at work, home or abroad.

Our online banking enables you to do the following.

1. Check your balance, monitor transactions and print your account statement.
2. Pay utility bills, transfer funds between your accounts and to other Beneficiaries.

Once you open an online account with us we shall send to you, your login information’s, enter your user ID and password and then click the login button then change the password to the one of your choice. Once you have successfully logged on, please remember to change your password by selecting the ‘Personal’ option from the menu. It is very important you keep your security details secret at all times to prevent unauthorized access to your account.

What next?

We’ll advise that you get back to us within the next 2 working days. Upon receipt of your email we shall send you our sign up application form to be completely filled, signed and return to us which will allow us to create your account.

Please Note that no deductions of any fees is allowed because we received your money in BOND and it’s been duly insured, based on our policies and as a result of the space of time available, you are hereby advised to act fast so we can provide you with the best of our banking services.

Please contact me with this email address only Email: larrywalter01@gala.net

Yours faithfully,

For: GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC
Mr Larry Walter
MGR, E-Business & Card Services
GTBank Tel: +234-703-952-2881

(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)
What can we learn from this email?

• Did you notice the “[spam?]” in front of the subject?
• Mr Larry Walter is using an emil from gala.net
• Regulated and Stipulated by the Financial Service Authority (FSA)
• ECOWAS Online Promotional board is involved.
• I need to open an account with them so they can transfer my winnings there.
• No deductions of any fees is allowed because we received your money in BOND and it’s been duly insured.
• Please contact me with this email address only Email: larrywalter01@gala.net

This should be enough to verify this to be one of the email scams in use today.

[spam?] in front of the subject. This email has some spam triggering formatting and/or content.
Mr Larry Walter is using an email from gala.net. Gala.net is a Russian website. Guaranty Trust Bank plc has their own website and their own email addresses. Why isn’t Larry Walter using one?

Regulated and Stipulated by the Financial Service Authority (FSA). The Financial Services Authority (“FSA”) is an independent non-governmental body, quasi-judicial body and a company limited by guarantee that regulates the financial services industry in the United Kingdom. Its board is appointed by the Treasury. Its main office is based in Canary Wharf, London, with another office in Edinburgh. Did you catch “regulates the financial services industry in the United Kingdom”. Guaranty Trust Bank plc is in Nigeria.

ECOWAS Online Promotional board is involved. ECOWAS has been reported as being involved in many email scams and internet scams over past years.

I need to open an account with them so they can transfer my winnings there. This sets off many of my internal alarms. How about yours? Where do I set up this account? There are no links in this email to the Guaranty Trust Bank plc.

No deductions of any fees is allowed because we received your money in BOND and it’s been duly insured. This sounds like it is a plus for me.

Please contact me with this email address only Email: larrywalter01@gala.net. Right don’t contact Larry through his company’s website or website address. Contact Larry Walter though his business email address supplied by a Russian website. Who does Mr Larry Walter think I am?

This definitely isn’t one of the top internet fraud scams. How greedy does one have to be to actually bite on such a fraudulent offer?

If you are asking who do you report email scams to ftc? You might want to check out another post “email Scams – I’m Going to be a Millionaire” where I cover scam email reporting and where to forward scam emails.

Well that does it for todays lesson in being able to verify urban legends and email scams.

Late,
Gary Pool SEO

Email Scams and Internet Scams is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

All I Wanted Was a Free Dog From Wienerschnitzel and I got Slapped by DGWB Advertising and Zoomerang

I got an email from Wienerschnitzel just the other day. I am on their “special” list so they promise to give me special deals.

So far I did get a free chili dog for signing up. Other than that my experience with the Wienerschnitzel email club has been a total disappointment.

Back to the story… This email said if I took some of my time and took their little survey I would get to print a free food coupon at the end of the survey. They also told me that my feedback was essential.

Well I had a little time and a free dog sounded good so I proceeded to follow the link in the email (see below).

Of course the site was filled with scripts that my “NoScript” thought was dangerous. I had to temporarly allow the scripts in order to take the survey. I answered the first question about my age and was allowed to proceed to the next. Well when I arrived at this screen I was confronted with a questions along the lines of “Is any one you are acquainted with have anything to do with marketing?” in many different formations. Guess what I answered? Duh! That’s what I do.

I was then slapped in the face with a screen trying to sell me the companies services.

I don’t know who at Wienerschnitzel chose this dgwb to do their marketing but they must be smokin’ something.

(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)

What a great way to treat your email list Wienerschnitzel. I am opting out!

You have been invited to participate in a survey about potential new products for Wienerschnitzel. As a thank you, you will be able to print a free food coupon at the end of the survey. Your feedback is essential to our product development so please click the link below to begin the survey.

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=U2EF45Z2N7ZS

Well that’s my story. Tell us yours?

Late,
Gary Pool SEO

Wienerschnitzel • Zoomerang • DGWB Advertising and Communications is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Anthony Bourdain, Apizza Scholls, Voodoo Doughnut, and the Flu

Sitting next to the sliding glass door to the deck watching the drizzle and working on my computer. Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations “Pacific Northwest” rerun from 2007 playing in the background. I never thought the mundane could feel so good and bland food taste so good…

Getting ready for the next post in the series for “Firefox Web Browsers, SEO Tools of the Trade” I decided I would just give you some insight in to the life of the reborn SEO. For last 2 weeks I have been in and out of my body. This flu that is going around is devastating. It is a good thing I have a great crew. It hits you like a brain wipe. Wait a minute Voodoo Doughnuts is being visited by Tony, distraction ensues…

Voodoo Doughnut is located both on the West and East side of Portland. Voodoo Doughnut, 22 SW 3rd Avenue Portland Oregon and Voodoo Doughnut Too!, 1501 N.E. Davis St. in Portland Oregon. Tony is sampling the maple bar with bacon… Yum even a doughnut looks good today!
(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)
OK back to my flu story. In 2 weeks I lost 21 pounds. I wouldn’t suggest any one use this as a diet but 21 pounds in 2 weeks isn’t bad. Now back to the brain wipe… this stuff would cause my attention span to be non existent. I had trouble keeping one thought more than a few seconds. Wait… Tony is talking about PIZZA the world’s most perfect food…

Tony is at Apizza Scholls one of Portland’s the Worlds best pizza crafters. Apizza Sholls is located at 4741 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Portland, Oregon. At Apizza Scholls the dough is made by hand and contains only flour, water, salt and yeast. The pizzas are cooked on hot ovens 650º F – 900ºF. How tasty… Because the process of fermenting the dough takes over 24 hours it is possible that some days they actually run out of dough. A pizza would go great now…

Oh back to the flu story… I’m finally over it and am enjoying flavorful food again. This stuff is devastating. The only way I survived is by drinking sips of water every chance I got and keeping warm. I hope you don’t have a personal experience with it.

Late.
Gary Pool

Finally Back from the Dead or Should I say Flu is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Sometimes the Best Marketing isn’t Planned – It is Spontaneous and Comes from the Heart

Just the other day at the Costco Wholesale store in Vancouver Washington I came across just the kind of Christmas marketing that just can’t be planned or even budgeted.

I will call him the Costco Christmas Singer. When entering the Costco store we are greeted with live Christmas music.

I had my video camera with us and I shot a quick video.
(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)
Here is one of the Christmas songs we were presented with.

This needs to be one of the Costco Christmas traditions.

Visit the Vancouver Costco and enjoy this joyful Christmas music in person.
6720 NE 84th Street
Vancouver, Washington 98665

I would also like to take a moment and wish all my readers a Merry Christmas.

Sometimes you just can’t plan the best marketing your product and/or service can have.

Late,
Gary Pool

Merry Christmas to All from the Costco Christmas Singer is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Technorati is Just Too Busy or Just Too Important to Even Send Me a Real email

As you probably know by now, back in July on the 29th, I tried to claim my blog in Technorati. This has turned out to be a project rather than a simple event. So far I don’t own my own blog and I haven’t placed the code “fcayphqgb7″ necessary to prove that I own my blog on it.
(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)
I even titled a post with the verification number “fcayphqgb7″ and that didn’t even work. The site still tells me they cant find the verification number.

How long will this process take?

According to their impersonal autoresopnder message it might even take weeks.

Dear Technorati User,

Thank you for contacting Technorati.  We have generated a ticket regarding: “Getting the “We could not find the claim code on your site” message?”, a summary of which appears below. Your request is in the customer service queue and will be reviewed by the appropriate department.  While we may not be able to respond personally to each ticket, we are grateful for your submission and are acting on issues which are found by users of Technorati.com.

For additional help resources, please feel welcome to browse and search our Support FAQs located at http://support.technorati.com/

If you’ve tried to claim your blog and received an error code, please make sure your blog adheres to the Techorati Blog Quality Guidelines http://support.technorati.com/guidelines/.  If it does, there is something else causing the claim to fail and we ask for your patience.  While we may not be able to respond to every request, we do save every blog claim, so you may find your blog successfully claimed in the coming days or weeks.

There is no need to reply to this message right now. Your ticket has been assigned an ID of [Support #28105].

Best Regards,
Technorati Support
trsupport@technorati.com

Sometimes those who want to be considered the big guys treat you as though you are a nobody while the truly big guys treat you as though you actually mattered.

I wonder if anyone has actually claimed their blog with the code they gave them to prove they owned it?

Late,
Gary Pool

Technorati Blog Claim Update is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Claim My Blog on Technorati > My Blog is Lost > Frustration Ensues

My blog isn’t lost to me but it must be to Technorati. They can’t find the code fcayphqgb7.
In my post yesterday I touted the ease of claiming my blog with Technorati. It appears as though I spoke too soon.
I claimed my blog all right but they can’t find the code they gave me.

fcayphqgb7

I actually put it 3 times in the post! (see screen shot below)
(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)
While I was going back to make sure I could claim my blog I got this forbidden message from the server. (see screen shot below)

That server problem disappeared several minutes later and I was back on the task to claim my blog.
Technorati tells me that it has to be readable in the RSS feed. (see screen shot below)
Does it look readable to you?

OK so now I get this error message: (see screen shot below)
They said:
There was a problem finding your claim code.

Please make sure your claim code appears exactly as it was provided in your blog feed (either RSS or Atom):

fcayphqgb7

If you have already verified above, please contact Technorati support with the following information:

• Please include the following error code: 400
• URL you are claiming
• The name of your blog
• Your contact info
• A short description of your blog and the type of content you like to write about.
• Does your blog have a RSS feed? Please see if you can supply us with an example URL of your feed.

I went ahead and filled out the form with all the stuff required above and I still haven’t heard anything from Technorati other than the auto-responder message that was triggered by my submission.

This time I actually used the code as the title of my post. Maybe this will work. It just isn’t fair when they pull the hoop away the last minute like Lucy is always doing to Charley Brown with the football.

I will keep you updated as the saga continues.

Late
Gary Pool

fcayphqgb7 is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Google Combats BlackHat Techniques with a Search Engine Ranking Algorithm Change!

Rumor has it that Google is going to be making changes to their search ranking algorithm. This change is said to be implemented to help combat the outpouring of links leading to malicious web pages at the top of some of Google’s search results, according to an inside source at Google.

During the past few months, blackhat SEOs have been using techniques to manipulate the search rankings. When this first began, their results were marginally successful at following Google Trends to find hot search queries and elevating their newly created targeted web page. But after just a short period of time, the blackhats appear to have become extremely effective.

A Googler speaking on condition of anonymity told WebProNews a ranking change is pending that tackles spam of this kind. Once the change goes live, users shouldn’t see it “nearly as often.”

One report from security company PandaLabs identified over a million links targeting malicious web pages ranking for auto part searches. Google noted that many of the phrases mentioned in the report were rare. A phrase like “1989 Nissan Pickup Truck Engine Check Light Troubleshooting”, for example, only appears on attack sites set up by spammers, which explains why Google returns so many attack sites in response to this query and ones similar in nature.

Google’s response appears to be a statement about just how difficult it is to provide fresh, timely search results while combating spammers simultaneously.

Google cannot and does not control for content appearing on the web as a whole, and historically their famous algorithm has performed better than any of the others at weeding out spammy web pages and malicious results. But that was when the web was young and slow moving. With the speed of the increase of information and its availability on the web… You fill in the blanks.

Google as usual didn’t have a comment on the “link velocity” ranking factor that has been thrown around by the SEOs. Search engine optimization experts have coined “link velocity” as the speed at which organic links appear as a possible important influence.

Late,
Gary Pool

Google To Change Search Engine Ranking Algorithm is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Web 2.0 Expo is Now Underway!

Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco began today and SEOPDX is here.

On the way down today from an overnight stay in Medford, Oregon we saw a beautiful view of Mt Shasta. I had to pull over and set up the camera to catch such a spectacular sight. So here it is.

We had great BBQ at the base of this gorgeous mountain in a town called Weed and headed on to San Francisco where I will be giving nightly reports from Web 2.0.

Late,
Gary Pool

Web 2.0 – Beautiful View of Mt Shasta is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

When I got up this morning the ground was covered with a fresh blanket of clean white snow. (I’m not talking about Aurora Snow that was another post.) I had plans on heading out to Beaverton this morning. The trek to would have included a trip over the Sylvan Pass. This Sylvan Pass is known for gathering large amounts of snow even when everything else is passable. Did I make it?

Don’t send out the snow patrol. I stayed comfortable and cozy by the fire and watched the show through the big picture window and Lethal Weapon 5. No I watched Lethal Weapon 3 (Directors cut of course) and 4 on the tube. Lethal Weapon 2 according to the TV Guide had been on TV this week and it just primed the pump for me to watch the last 2 in the series, at least until Mel Gibson changes his mind and they film they film Lethal Weapon 5.

I didn’t have to worry about which was the best snow blower or even which were the top rated snow blowers. Later in the afternoon all the walkways, driveways, and streets had cleared them selves.

I find that snow is always better if you don’t have to go out in it for anything but to have fun. Those of you who have to live in the real stuff will probably get a good chuckle from my snow tales. Those of us who live in the areas where it is an occasional thing get a real kick out of the snow.

Late,
Gary Pool

Just a little bit of snow shuts me down! is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

I would like to take this time to thank all my readers and wish you all a Happy New Year!

When the clock strikes twelve tonight, people all over the world will cheer and wish each other a very Happy New Year. For some of these people, this event is nothing more than a change of a calendar. For the lucky others, this New Year will symbolize the beginning of a better tomorrow.

May the dawning of this New Year, fill your heart with new hopes, open up new horizons and bring for you promises of brighter tomorrows. May you have a great New Year.

I put together a little year in summary pictorial with the help of Joshua Held (TheNoses.com) and I found a great little video to share with you.

T. S. Eliot
For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.

Have a Happy Prosperous New Year,
Gary Pool

New Year Wishes for 2009 is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Can a company, especially one that is no longer in business, keep you from reporting facts about them on your website?

Here is an attempt by one such company. This ex-catering company wants to be perceived as zen but comes off as ninja.

Are they really protecting something or are they just being bullies?

As of August 1, 2007, we will not be scheduling any further caterings. Jennifer and I have decided it’s time to see the world and pursue new professional opportunities.”

When this catering company moved out of it’s building and left it vacant my client moved in and reported that they had moved into a building with a sustainable history and mentioned such on their website. The bully catering company wasn’t the first catering company in this location with a sustainable history and that was reported also.

Zen or Ninja?

The Power of Attorney Threats

They sent my client the following in an email:

We received a phone call last week from a previous client of ours who was confused to find our company name on your company’s website. As we are not affiliated with you, we were confused as well.

While I appreciate that you are indeed in our location, and hopefully enjoying it as much as we did, we are requesting that you remove any instance of our company from your website effective immediately. This includes the use of Zen Kitchen Catering, Zen Kitchen Inc., and www.zencatering.com in your content and/or metatags, as well as images affiliated with Zen Kitchen.

I have included our attorney on this email as well. Please let me know if you have any questions.”

Upon my clients request I removed any reference to the retired catering company.

Now if this would have been one of my sites I would have left it the way it was. All we were doing was reporting actual facts, not any affiliations. The only connections we sited were the location and the sustainability mind set.

Interesting facts about culinary arts or culinary artists exist in their actions. “Just the facts Mam”. Can someone control the use of their expired company name being used in the reporting of actual facts?

I believe Zen Kitchen was being very heavy handed in their handling of this. Maybe they will send me an email for quoting them and using their name on my blog?

Late,
Gary Pool

Ninja or Zen You Decide is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

LinkedIn not only a Bully but Incompetent too!

Over a week ago I spent nearly 2 hours leaving 86 LinkedIn groups after they sent me an email stating that they were limiting the groups I could be a member of to 50. See my blog post LinkedIn Just the Neighborhood Bully.

A couple of days ago I went in to manage the groups I had created and much to my chagrin all 86 groups that I had painstakingly chosen to leave were back. I was back to the 136 LinkedIn groups that I had spent my time choosing to join. These 136 groups included the 86 I had been forced to leave and spent nearly 2 hours of my time doing so.

In the email I sent to linkedIn and shared with you via my earlier post LinkedIn Just the Neighborhood Bully I had asked for check boxes to be able to select multiple groups to leave. Did they deliver such a tool? No way they gave me a “Leave Group” link.

This fancy “Leave Group” link sped up my leaving time by maybe 10%, WOW! At least this time I had a pretty good idea which groups I was going to leave. So I blew over an hour of my time once again to leave the same 86 LinkedIn groups I had already left a few days earlier.

I have spent over 3 hours of my time to appease the LinkedIn gods. That isn’t even the end of LinkedIn’s incompetency. Two days after I had left the 86 groups the second time they sent me the following email.

Dear Gary,

This is a follow-up to the email we sent on 8/4/08 regarding upcoming changes to LinkedIn Groups. Please note that your action is required by 9/12/08.

We regret to inform you that you have exceeded the limit of the number of groups you are allowed to be a member of. The limit, which applies to all users, is fifty (50) groups per user. We apologize that these limits were not in place earlier, but with upcoming enhancements to Groups, we are forced to put in these limits without exception. We’re confident that these improvements to Groups, intended to spur communication and collaboration, will make the product more useful to you on a day-to-day basis.

We need to ask you to please get below the limit of 50 by leaving some of your groups. We have added a quick “Leave Group” link to the My Groups page for each of your groups ( http://www.linkedin.com/home?myGroups=&trk=grplimit2 ). If you need assistance because you are significantly above 50 groups, customer support may be able to help streamline the process. Please email groups@linkedin.com for more information. Since this is a timely issue, we will prioritize any email with “Help Removing Groups” in the title until the deadline of 9/12/08.

If you do not take the required action by the deadline, we will automatically limit your membership to the first 50 groups you joined. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes you, but unfortunately we are unable able to maintain the current level of groups.

Regards,
The LinkedIn Team

Have you checked out Konnects? This site is looking better and better to me all the time.
If you haven’t checked Konnects out yet I would suggest you do.

late,
Gary Pool

LinkedIn | Does LinkedIn Even Care? is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician