Search Engine Wars - Money for the Masses?

I stumbled upon a new search engine recently. It is called Scour.com and it claims that it pays back to the user some of the "billions" of dollars made by search engines annually. I uses combined results from Google, MSN, and Yahoo, as well as user votes and rankings. Since I use Google for almost everything, I figured I'd give it a whirl. The best feature, in my mind, is that, at a glance, you can see where in the results the site ranks on Google, Yahoo, and MSN; it is pretty handy for figuring out which sites you want to visit. Anyway, here is their official mumbo-jumbo:

The top search engines make billions of dollars a year in advertising revenue, wouldn't it be cool if the users got a piece of that too? Enter Scour Points! Every member is awarded one point for every search, two for a vote and three for a comment with a maximum of 4 points a search. Once you aggregate at least 6,500 points you can cash them out for a $25 Visa gift card... it's more than you currently make from searching, right? On top of that, we offer referral points for the friends you introduce to Scour where you can earn 25% of the points they make. So if you invited 25 friends that used scour regularly in addition to yourself, that's an easy $125 in your pocket for a year of what you already do! Check out how much you could earn with the Scour Points Calculator. This isn't a pyramid scheme and we're not trying to get you rich quick, we just think it's a good idea to share our success with those who help make it possible.

Great eh? Well, if you're interested, check it out here: http://scour.com/invite/tysonsnow

Random Musings for a Friday

Hey everyone, just a couple of random thoughts to keep me distracted from the gigantic stack of papers on my desk (and the four bankers boxes stacked in the corner that are full of documents for me to review).

First, I love Firefox 3. I've never been a big fan of the Firefox browsers. I used Maxthon for a long time. But I've been using Firefox 3 for several weeks now and I think it is going to replace Maxthon permanently as my browser of choice. The add-ons are fantastic. I suggest FaviconizeTab and ColorfulTabs. Make sure you get those two.

Second, while I was riding TRAX into work today (as of today, I can drive again, but Sara and I are going to a Bees game tonight so I took TRAX), I noticed a huge line of people outside of the at&t wireless store. I think the new iPhone 3G gets released today and I'm guessing that all the people were lined up so they could be the first people to have the latest and greatest toy from Apple. But seriously, it was 7:45 in the morning. If you don't have to be to work early, do you really want to spend that extra time waiting in line to get a phone (so that work can get ahold of you at anytime and anyplace?). Surely they could have waited until tomorrow. As for me, I'll stick with my Treo 750 for a while longer (my contract is up in August and then I'll see what kind of deal I can swing on a new plan).

And finally, Lagoon is awesome. You should go. And while you're there, be sure to eat a big, chewy pretzel in honor of me.

Have a great Friday everyone. Peace.

Why I Love Soccer...

The following story concerns a match played between Barbados and Grenada in cup competition:

Barbados needed to win the game by two clear goals in order to progress to the next round. Now the trouble was caused by a daft rule in the competition which stated that in the event of a game going to penalty kicks, the winner of the penalty kicks would be awarded a 2-0 victory.

With 5 minutes to go, Barbados were leading 2-1, and going out of the tournament (because they needed to win by 2 clear goals). Then, when they realized they were probably not going to score against Grenada's massed defense, they turned round, and deliberately scored on their own goal to level the scores and take the game into penalties. Grenada, themselves not being stupid, realized what was going on, and then attempted to score an own goal themselves. However, the Barbados players started defending their opponents goal to prevent this.

In the last five minutes, spectators were treated to the incredible sight of both team's defending their opponents goal against attackers desperately trying to score an own goal and goalkeepers trying to throw the ball into their own net. The game went to penalties, which Barbados won and so were awarded a 2-0 victory and progressed to the next round.

Awesome! Who doesn't love a sport that sometimes requires you to "lose" in order to "win"?

Source: Snopes.com

Awesome Internet Easter Eggs

I stumbled across the following article on Webware.com and it has kept me entertained for nearly 30 minutes now. Good stuff I tell you, good stuff indeed:

10 Awesome Internet Easter Eggs

Jet's FIDM Graduation

Sara and I met up with my parents, and Jet of course, in L.A. over the weekend for Jet's graduation from FIDM. It was fun; we went to the fashion district in downtown L.A., to the FIDM campus, to Santa Monica Beach and Pier, to the Staples Center (the graduation ceremony was in the Staples Center) and to the Outback in Buena Park to meet up with the Walkers. Here are a few pictures for y'all:

Four Popped-Collars Cool

If you were a "yes" on any of the quetions on the post immediately following this one, you are probably cool, but you'll never be four popped-collars cool:

Growing Up in the 80's...

For the most part, I like to consider myself a 90's-kid, but way too many of the following apply for that designation to be appropriate. Time to peg my jeans, grab my lunch box and garbage pail kids cards, and rock out to Bon Jovi (thanks to Sara for forwarding me the list and helping me to confirm how "cool" I was back then lol):

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE.
2. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton
3. You know that 'WOAH' comes from Joey on Blossom
4. If you ever watched 'Fraggle Rock'
5. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
6. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.
7. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
8. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.
9. You played the game 'MASH'(Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House)
10. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.
11. You know the profound meaning of ' WAX ON ,WAX OFF'
12. You wanted to be a Goonie.
13. You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (some of us...head-to-toe)
14. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted. (and he was still black)
15. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
16. You took lunch boxes to school...and traded Garbage Pailkids in the schoolyard.
17. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.
18. You still get the urge to say 'NOT' after every sentence.
19. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.
21. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes.
22. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying 'I know you are, but what am I?'
23. You remember 'I've fallen and I can't get up'
24. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.
25. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
26. You remember boom boxes and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.
27. You remember watching both Gremlins movies.
28. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot.
29. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.
30. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool...and don't even flinch when people refer to them as 'NKOTB'
31. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on 'Saved By The Bell,' The ORIGINAL class.
32. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
33. You just now sang those words to yourself.
34. You still sing 'We are the World'
35. You tight rolled your jeans.
36. You owned a bannana clip.
37. You remember 'Where's the Beef?'
38. You used to (and probably still do) say 'What you talkin' 'bout Willis?'
39. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren't you!

Snow Family Retreat (May 2008) @ Johnson Mill in Midway, Utah

Sara, being the fantastic wife that she is, planned us a weekend getaway for May 17th and 18th to a bed and breakfast in Midway. I was supposed to be in trial two weeks ago and last week was blocked out for me to catch up with all my other work; the weekend away was definitely timed well.

We had a great time and highly recommend Johnson Mill for anyone looking for a place with a pond, a paddle boat, and a bunch of signed pictures of old hollywood types (as the owner was/is apparently a hair-dresser for numerous movies--the best pictures is the one signed by the entire cast of Newsies). I love the Midway gas-station (the old one). I used to stop there when I was getting scuba-certified at the Homestead and it was fun to stop there (multiple times) over the weekend. Here are the pics (click the pictures if you would like to see them individually):

Happy Engagement Anniversary To Us

May 13th is the day we got engaged. We stole the thunder from Mother's Day in 2007 and I proposed at the Sego Lily Water Gardens here in Sandy. Our celebration was low key given that Mother's Day was on Sunday (we visited both families) and that Sara's brother and sister-in-law (Nick and Jyllian) had their two you anniversary on Sunday (and recently bought their first house!). We went to the Olive Garden (where else) and celebrated it home. As a follow-up to the lovely evening spent together remembering all the great things from the past year, we're off to the dentist this morning. You know what they say about all good things after all...

Being the Older Brother...

I'm blatantly stealing this from my cousin's blog, http://www.smoothharold.com, but as an older brother, I couldn't resist. Have you ever wondered why it rocks being the older brother? Wonder no more (take that Boy):