Just in case you haven’t had enough of The Rock:

So, yeah, its been awhile. No rest for the weary. I have had tons going on, between lots of work, tennis and soccer season, I am on the move these days! And well there was that lost week in Vegas. I came home from Blog World Expo super-renewed though (thank God not super hung over and exhausted…LOL), and until a massive workload brings me back down to reality again, I am working hard on some special projects. The first one is video production.

I have been dabbling with this, but only to the extent of overcoming my fear of putting myself out there - and I guess I am officially past that now, so its time to move on to the next step. I spent some time in Chicago this summer at BlogHer talking to my dear friend Robyn about videoblogging - she is a pro, but unfortunately, she is a Mac fangirl (as opposed to a MAC addict, like me). So, while she was an absolute wealth of information on important things like lighting, she wasn’t able to help me much on software, which is the first thing I need to tackle. So I chatted her up again in Vegas last week, and tried to pry PC video software ideas from a Mac girl. Again. Not a great idea. LOL So, I have been doing some serious homework, and have tried out Sony Vegas (oy-confusing!), Cyberlink Power Director (worst. program. evah. to try to get off your computer, but easier to understand than Vegas, BUT it didn’t seem to like my Vista computer much), and Pinnacle Studio (I think I am going to like this one best).

My next issue is getting my DV video camera to talk to my computer. I can hook it up with good ol USB cables, but boy does that give me some crappy results. Ok for webcamming, not so good for actual video capture/transfer. It is time to upgrade. So, I headed out to the dreaded Best Buy for a FireWire/iLink/1384 cable tonight after work. Oy. $50 bites the dust, and after I cussed and fussed about not being able to fit the dern plugs into the holes, I finally got them in. Apparently this is a common problem for the first time you plug them in. So all is well there - I think.

So why do you care about this? You probably don’t, but I am really trying to encourage and help my fellow Beauty & Style bloggers to branch out into video blogging, so I thought that chronicling my adventures might be helpful. And if a PC video producer happens by, maybe they can point me in their version of the right direction.

So, tomorrow morning, I am going to try to shoot an actual little video and see what I can do with it. I look too rough today to shoot myself, but Marshall has long wanted me to get The Rock on the web, so tomorrow, he is going to be the star. The next step after that is to figure out where I want to post these videos - I feel the need to branch out from YouTube, I think. Stay tuned, and if you have any video advice for me, please feel free to give it.

I have been meaning to write about One Note for a VERY long time, but who has the time? Not I, said the fox. But, I want to at least make a mention of it while it’s on my mind this morning.

I got One Note on my computer when my step son needed it for something he was doing at school and downloaded it on my computer. Well, back to school he went (LSU), and here sat One Note. Man, is this a great program. It is a note taking software - you can add just about anything to it - plain text, web clippings, mp3 files, images, documents, spreadsheets - anything you can imagine. You organize these things in notebooks and folders, just like you would if you were in school and living in a non-geeky world. I upgraded to One Note 2007 as soon as it became available, and it was a massive improvement mostly in the organizational options. Whereas in the older version you could only easily have one notebook (with folders within), you can now have multiple notebooks (aligned vertically along the left hand side below), which really suits me since I wear so many hats these days.

This has been truly a lifesaver for me. One Note can be set up on two computers and with just a little bit of configuration will sync itself - so it is on my desktop, that I use most often, and on my laptop, where all the information can stay current, and I can hit the road without fear of not having everything I need. I use OneNote mostly for my b5media work, where I have it organized into a notebook with all of my various non-content related projects, one notebook for the content team, another for channel editors, another for the Beauty & Style channel, one for Blogging, and one for all my personal stuff. Pages and sections are easy to move and copy from notebook to notebook - this is the perfect organizational program to me. And One Note 2007 is a much improved version, so definitely spring for that one. If you have Office 2007 and have just ignored the One Note packaged in with it, open it up - you might find it to be a great tool like I have, whether you have 92,000 projects to keep up with or just one.

With the build 600 version of BlogDesk, it is now fully functioning on my Vista laptop! w00t!!! The prior problem was that when clicking the add picture button, nothing happened - no “browse for the picture” window.

Thanks Johannes - you still have the most kick ass editor out there! If you love BD like I do, think about slipping Johannes a little skin - I sure don’t want him to quit updating!

I will say that Windows Live Writer has worked in the off season though, so it is good to know it works and I can fall back on it.

Passive Aggressive Notes is a fun website that just slipped into the “just for fun” section of my feed reader next to Desperately Seeking…Something (NSFW!!), Post Secret and True Wife Confessions. Check it out, its most humorous.

Suzzann, this means you.  And anyone else who loves music - b5media is looking for music bloggers to fill up our soon-to-come Music Channel.  Do I need to tell you that b5 is a fun place to be if you are passionate?  I hope not. :)  It really is.  If you live and breathe music, whether it be a specific band, genre or even an especially music friendly locale (*cough* Suzzann *cough*), b5media wants to hear from you.  Please head on over to our application and tell us about yourself.  If you are a writer and think you can write about anything, this is probably not the job for you.  We want passionate music lovers so we can create the best music channel working the tubes.  I know you are out there - if you think I am talking about you, I probably am, so come on and join us.  

Immediately after posting “The Perfect Guy,” this ad shows up:

ROFL

I already have mine, but if you need yours, find a man who reads Men’s Health - OR SheKnowsBest. Dexie shares these fine points of how to be the perfect man - with my comments added instead of hers:

1. Don’t worry about looking like Brad Pitt - thats always good though.

2. Do something when she’s in a bad mood - let her take a nap - feed yourself - feed the kids - feed something so she doesn’t have to (or do some dishes, if all else fails)

3. Know when — and how — to be a gentleman

4. Ditch any and all jealousy triggers - jealousy will run off your woman something quick - or at least it should. Same goes for you, girls.

5. Hone your kissing skills

6. Take your sweet time in the sack.

7. Give her the best orgasm of her life. 5, 6 and 7 - OH YEAH.

Now, what I really want to know is what MY hubby thinks about this “perfect man” list. This should be good.

Check out Dexie’s original post for her commentary on the perfect man list.

I probably should not be rewarded for crankiness, but my *oh so wonderful* bossman at b5media did just that. You *might* have noticed a little frustration in me last week - we have so much going on at b5media right now - and so much of it felt like it was landing square on my head last week. So yesterday, there was a knock at the door, and lo and behold, the FTD guy swooped in with the most beautiful basket of flowers, and such a nice note from Mark, thanking me for my hard work. Thanks so much, Mark - funny how flowers do wash away bad feelings. Men have known this for a long time, I guess. Women are great, but they are funny too. Thanks so much Mark, and everyone at b5 - I really do love working for you all!

I hope I am not the only one who celebrates this occasion! That said, if you are waiting for a response from me, please let me know. I hope I didn’t overzealously archive and delete - but its always possible. Its a great day!