The Magic Fish is really a type of Killifish which hatches right out a sachet of eggs. The pack also comes with some brine shrimp which you also get to grow yourself. So today we got everything set up and we’ll see if we manage to get a baby fish and some brine shrimp tomorrow. You have to let the water settle for 24 hours, just to get the chlorine out of the water. We also prepared some salted water with the brine shrimp eggs in it, which should hatch just in time to feed to the baby fish. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they hatch as planned. I’ll keep you updated.

There’s a great range of things at Prezzy Box, which is where the Magic Fish came from. I’ve got a Secret Santa gift to get over the next few days and there’s a whole selection of things there. Check out their website. You’re bound to find something you like.

The different stages are:

• The Surge Diverter
• The Low Impedance Isolation Transformer
• The Power Line Filter
• The Voltage Regulator
• The Battery Backup
• The Frequency Regulator
• Ground Guard

You can read all about them in their concept document titled The ABCs of Power Conditioning. It describes every stage in a bit more detail and once you’ve read through it you’ll understand a bit more too.

Here’s the interesting thing about the PowerVar website. By sharing the information above, they are making their site more memorable to its visitors. They are providing value that people can share with one another and in this way creating conversational value that turns into thought leadership. This is the sort of value that people need to focus on when building a website. If the site just focused on the company and their products I probably would have never mentioned it here, and linked to it in the process. They actually have a whole section of their site dedicated to technical articles which make some really good reading.

So next time you’re looking for a UPM solution, Uninterruptable Power Supplies or Power Conditioners, check out the PowerVar website. There’s lots to learn there.

Here’s one interesting T-shirt that’s built with one of the stock images from the website. There are literally thousands of stock images you can use to create your T-shirt, and you can add text, your own images and as much flair as you like to the T-shirt, shorts or whatever garment you are creating.

The process starts with picking out a garment or item to print on. They have a selection of clothes, from hoodies to fitted T-shirts, and also other items like mugs, aprons and even underpants! Once you pick your item, you get a blank canvas to paint your creation on. I had a play with creating a mug for work. It would have cost me £8.99 for the mug and delivery, which really isn’t all that much for a personalised item.

One great option is to set up shop and sell your creations. The site will manage the whole process for you, from ordering to dispatch. All you have to do is create your items and wait for your cheque to appear at the end! Try it out, it’s great fun!

Image via Wikipedia

A new version of WordPress (codenamed Gershwin) is finally out in the wild. It’s been ages in coming and loads of people have been using the test versions to try and iron out as many bugs as possible. Here’s the blurb on the new release:

The focus for this release was making WordPress faster and lighter. The first thing you’ll notice when you log in to 3.2 is a refreshed dashboard design that tightens the typography, design, and code behind the admin. (Rhapsody in Grey?) If you’re starting a new blog, you’ll also appreciate the fully HTML5 new Twenty Eleven theme, fulfilling our plan to replace the default theme every year. Start writing your first post in our redesigned post editor and venture to the full-screen button in the editing toolbar to enter the new distraction-free writing or zen mode, my personal favorite feature of the release. All of the widgets, menus, buttons, and interface elements fade away to allow you to compose and edit your thoughts in a completely clean environment conducive to writing, but when your mouse strays to the top of the screen your most-used shortcuts are right there where you need them. (I like to press F11 to take my browser full-screen, getting rid of even the OS chrome.)

Under the hood there have been a number of improvements, not the least of which is the streamlining enabled by our previously announced plan of retiring support for PHP4, older versions of MySQL, and legacy browsers like IE6, which allows us to take advantage of more features enabled by new technologies. The admin bar has a few more shortcuts to your most commonly-used actions. On the comment moderation screen, the new approve & reply feature speeds up your conversation management. You’ll notice in your first update after 3.2 that we’ll only be updating the files that have changed with each new release instead of every file in your WordPress installation, which makes updates significantly faster on all hosting platforms. There are also some fun new theme features shown off by Twenty Eleven, like the ability to have multiple rotating header images to highlight all of your favorite photos.

Awesome stuff. I’ve just rolled it out on this blog and the admin is looking just fine! If you’re running WordPress, go ahead and upgrade as soon as you can!

It’s a website dedicated to Holiday lets called Owner’s Direct that lets owners of different properties around the world advertise holiday villas and apartments available for rental. They currently have a database of over 37,000 properties that you can rent directly from the owner using the website. I had a quick look around, searching through Villas in Lanzarote and there are hundreds of properties to choose from. The search facility lets you zoom in to particular categories of properties, those with swimming pools, or with Wifi access, or ever those with disabled access. There are special categories for skiing and golfing destinations, I suppose as these are probably pretty popular holiday types.

Once you find a property you like, the website has a comprehensive description of the property, the facilities available and even profile information on the owners. The great thing about the website is that each of their properties can house a number of occupants, but you pay a single price to rent the property regardless of how many people are staying. This means that if you’re travelling as a group, staying in rented accommodation is better than getting multiple hotel rooms. Not only is it cheaper, but you get greater flexibility and a host of facilities that you possibly wouldn’t find in a hotel.

So, the next time we’re thinking of that sort of holiday, this site will be one of the first I’ll be looking at!

So, here are some suggestions from the article, called Domain Names 101. The article talks about choosing a domain name, purchasing it and setting it up. Choose domain names that are:

• Short and Catchy – Easier to Remember
• Easy to Spell
• No Complicated characters
• Describes what your business does – although not essential

Common sense you may say, but next time you come across a domain name you can’t recall or recognise, check if it fits these simple rules. You’d be surprised how easy it is to mess up. The reality is that there are millions of websites out there, all with their own name. There are a number of techniques to make people notice your site, but the most basic one is to have the right name, a memorable one and one that people can remember. Have a look at some of the top websites on the web and see how their domain names are formed. There’s lots to learn from the sites out there; however don’t think that all the best names are taken, there are always more!

The site has some other interesting sections too, from listing the best 10 cheap web hosting services to trying to rate the best web site hosting available on the market at the moment. The site also has a great hosting resource centre with a huge collection of articles related to web hosting, domains, security issues and SEO. Check it out if you’re interested in learning more about the subject.

There is an easier way to find a unique gift though. Enter NotOnTheHighStreet.com, a website dedicated to bringing you the best and brightest ideas from dedicated retailers who are dedicated to turning up with some of the most spectacular and unique products around. They work with small independent retailers around the country who provide them with a host of unique products. I had a look at their Christmas Gifts section to see if I can get any ideas that might work for me.

First of all, what about the babies? Well, I’m sure they would love this stripy crocheted bunny:

We’d obviously have to get two of them, the twins have only just turned one and they’re not very good at sharing yet

Then there’s Arthur. I must say I did spend some time perusing the site, until I finally came across world jigsaw puzzle:

Here’s into his countries and continents at the moment and having a puzzle to build and complete will help reinforce what he’s learning.

And what would I get Camille? Well, there’s a huge choice of things that would be just great for her, but the one I loved was this silver starfish charm bracelet:

There are loads of choices and I’ll certainly be back to look at their range of products. Maybe as we get closer to Christmas …

Here’s a great idea; a digital frame that sticks right to your fridge. You can load it up with a bunch of photos and get them to run a slideshow of your loved ones.

Or how about a Laser Cosmos, a projection unit that can display a magnificent stellar display in your room.

Both these items are in the Christmas gifts section on I Want One Of Those. Check them out, there’s a great collection of stuff.

It’s been a couple of weeks since we enjoyed a pizza from Domino’s Pizza, but I have a secret weapon up my sleeve next time we order. I found a website that has a dominos code that gives me a 25% discount when used. It’s not the first time I’ve come across dominos discount codes but this one looks like it should work.

That link is off a website called VoucherHub which has a nice advantage over other coupon sites. It allows users to rate vouchers and to mark whether they worked for them or not. This enables the site to clean up vouchers that don’t work any more and to highlight those that were successfully used by others. They have a variety of places they offer coupons and vouchers for, including a tasty little pizza express voucher (though we don’t have one of those in the Isle of Man). They even have an option for people to submit their own vouchers, which is an excellent way for them to grow their database.

So, any other Domino’s fans out there? Ever used one of these coupons?

The interesting thing about their platform is that it provides a great platform for cloud hosting you application without having to worry about the underlying technology or management necessary for your application to work. The can scale their platform depending on application needs and therefore reduce the cost of running massive applications.

Check them out, there’s some interesting things to learn on their Technology page.