tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51315562009-10-09T02:05:04.347-04:00Welcome to The Smith Contraption where you'll find tips to save you time and help you retain your sanity in our information overloaded world. Please, don't work too hard - you do your best as it is. Take a moment to waste some of your well-deserved time on this earth to enjoy fantastic links served fresh to you daily.alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-20430532205107425362009-09-11T10:26:00.005-04:002009-09-11T10:56:48.247-04:00

For the past several years, my main specialty has been online marketing. Being from Miami, this town runs on marketing. The club scene (known worldwide) are heavy hitters here in the world of marketing and there are some who have sparked movements of music down here. I've followed some of these people for years and learning what they do that shakes up the scene around here and I've taken notes.

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-85601174808987272782009-09-04T10:30:00.003-04:002009-09-04T10:37:10.147-04:00

Being informed is crutial to making an informed decision. Recently with all this talk of Health Care Reform, I decided on setting up a mailing list to get as much information I can from people I know in all walks of life. So far, one of the best articles I've read has to do with the rising cost of current Health Care and it's drain on the US Economy. Here's a great article about where the US

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-32964968308205729352009-09-04T00:15:00.003-04:002009-09-04T15:56:56.793-04:00

I adore music. My friends know this and a bunch of them get their recommendations from me. That's as accredited as I am. I get exposed to a lot of music an I believe it's my duty to help spread the word....the gospel according to music.My choice for this first magical week will be a band from my local state of Florida called Blind Man's Colour. I learned about them on All Songs Considered (thanks

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-83915321340382613532009-09-03T10:26:00.002-04:002009-09-03T10:29:26.459-04:00

Own a home and taxes eating away at you? Here's a great article on how to reduce your property taxes by taking the property tax assessor on. Granted, lots of paperwork but minimal research using just the internet. I'm going to give this a shot and I'll update this along the way.How to fight the property tax assessor

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-88182426500636868872009-04-29T08:50:00.005-04:002009-04-29T08:59:07.088-04:00

If you're like me and find yourself on the road a lot you get tired of listening to the radio and your music collection. The audio book is the best remedy for these lackluster times of boredom while you're in your car, in a waiting room or even jogging. Recently, I've been checking out audio books from my nearby library (which I highly recommend over sipping a latte at Barnes and Nobel. There is

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-5822197777169515752009-04-09T20:00:00.000-04:002009-04-09T07:37:48.296-04:00

Any musician can tell you how frustrating it is to play an instrument that is not set up properly. Factors such as intonation, action and truss rod alignment can be huge issues that can determine how well you play an instrument. It will also affect its sound. In order to change these three factors on any type of guitar is seen by many as a highly complicated task. Recently I had to tackle this

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-36913770646773568512009-03-17T10:18:00.001-04:002009-03-17T10:20:03.766-04:00

So I decided on starting a new business for 2009. I ran a company several years ago called Portalpoint and it worked out really well for about 3 years. Learned things to avoid, pitfalls to having a corporation and the benefits and strengths it provides. In the past 2 years I've been thinking about a particular type of business involving social organizations meant to connect people.I'm a member of

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-4713261451764045982008-06-08T23:19:00.018-04:002008-06-08T23:59:54.937-04:00

Burning churches. Hooded men in concerts, naked with bags over their heads crucified. Heads of goats put on polls in front of the stage. So these are just some images from a Black Metal concert by Gorgoroth. This documentary goes into the world of Black Metal to explain its roots and follows the exploits of Norwegian Satatic band - Gorgoroth to uncover the mystery behind this type of music. I'm

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-67442070544118584122008-06-03T22:45:00.004-04:002008-12-11T18:01:35.146-05:00

Obama delivered his moving Democratic nomination acceptance speech earlier this evening. His speech dealt with a moment in time that we can reflect and remember how we succeeded over a challenge. A change in administration is one thing but a change for Washington is another. It is a poetic example of a true king's speech. If you take step back you can even hear the words of Henry V coming through

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-68253845287376567672008-05-27T11:52:00.006-04:002008-12-11T18:01:35.283-05:00

Imagine an artificial island that is coated with solar panels and covered with a strong plastic that can defend it from the elements. Can you see the potential electricity that can be generated. Let's give it a byproduct of steam that can then turn a generator and develop even more powered. Oh, and lastly, let's make it automatically adjust to where the sun is in the sky so it gets the most

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-39450219090326256082007-12-26T13:57:00.000-05:002008-12-11T18:01:35.415-05:00

Portishead is back with a new album coming out in April according to Pitchform Media There's been rumors of them performing at the upcoming Coachella Festival but no concrete sources has confirmed this. Earlier in 2007, Portishead played a surprise show in Bristol at the Grumpy Man DJ night at Mr Wolfs. You can see in the haunting version of Wandering Starts video Geoff doing some nice volume

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-51715690802770901192007-12-18T00:01:00.000-05:002007-12-18T00:10:00.824-05:00

This is an article about how to finish your New Year's Resolution - pick something fun.You know, if I can look back on this year, I can see that it is definitely a year of many accomplishments. All of this starting with one goal - I'm going to learn how to ski. I learned how to ski, I learned how to SCUBA-dive, I learned how to Dance Cha-cha, Tango, and re-learned East Coast Swing and in all

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-20290185638072496152007-12-13T10:49:00.000-05:002008-12-11T18:01:35.574-05:00

Who do I need to talk to to get a glow in the dark cat. Apparently South Korea has cloned cats that glow in the dark. Supposedly the use is for stem cell research that could be applied to other animals and humans. According to the Seoul Ministry of Science, the cats havea fluorescence protein gene and glowing under ultraviolet beams. The technology could help develop treatments for human genetic

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-57473471111501422222007-11-30T08:53:00.001-05:002007-11-30T09:06:58.873-05:00

Strange Particles is the name of my band and for the past several months we've been playing some shows, rehearsing, working on new material and establishing ourselves on the web. So today I am revealing the latest version of our site - www.strangeparticles.com. It took a while but all those years learning and working in photoshop finally paid off. Take a moment to visit our site and listen to

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-678103897142204902007-11-14T16:26:00.001-05:002007-12-17T23:59:38.628-05:00

This is a test. listenPowered by JottOK, it worked. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce to you - Jott! Jott is a voice-texting service that allows you to call a number, talk into it, it transcribes it and does what ever you want it to:Text message a friendPost to your blogAdd an event to your Google CalendarFind out how much a piece of property is worthI could talk up a storm by

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-44055776764895667022007-06-28T09:26:00.000-04:002008-12-11T18:01:35.603-05:00

I've been working in the airline industry for a little over 2 and a half years now and, although I'm not a seasoned professional, I'm constantly asked by people outside my job where to find the cheapest airfares. I decided to do a little research and following what I've learned in the industry and what I've been able to comb across different blogs I put a list together. Here are some tips that

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-31217146287468833742007-06-15T10:13:00.000-04:002008-12-11T18:01:35.761-05:00

Google Maps Street View has been the talk of the town for a bit and I think it's about time some of us get to really see what the full potential of this is going to be. As you can see in Street View, it looks as if you are in a car and you're moving down a street that was filmed. No doubt this is how it was done but it doesn't stop here. The company that is responsible for all this footage is

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-55677382963870963422007-01-15T16:34:00.000-05:002008-12-11T18:01:35.919-05:00

If you are into audio recording on your computer - do yourself a favor - look no further than Mackie's Tracktion 2. I've been recording music for over 10 years under my band Strange Particles using a variety of different hardware and software tools. Apple's Garage Band is a fantastic product, and Steinberg's Cubase SX3 is (imho) the best recording software out there - when it works. The problem

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-1160061815204871292006-10-05T11:23:00.000-04:002007-01-15T17:05:54.456-05:00

Trim that PC Belly:THE FUN PROGRAMSSeveral months ago I wrote an article all about installing software on your PC that was not so heavy as most commonly used programs (such as Norton Antivirus or Microsoft Office). I promised a follow-up for interesting and fun software. Well, folks, no more waiting. Here it is. If you are re-doing your machine or looking for new software worth checking out to

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-1160061598358586292006-10-05T11:12:00.000-04:002006-10-09T16:24:32.273-04:00

Are you tired of your PC? Are you looking to buy a new computer because your old one has become slower than 5 o'clock traffic? Have you been using the same old programs for the last 5 years? Here's some good news, start your PC off in a whole new direction next time you reformat. This is a guide to create a true fresh outlook on your PC.The Story So FarI recently purchased a Hard-Drive to replace

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-1159823390900533712006-10-02T16:31:00.000-04:002006-10-02T17:10:58.276-04:00

When looking for great tutorials, the web is the best place to find it. This technique from the Photoshop Photo Effects Cookbook from O'Reilly Publishing is a great tutorial for learning how to make a photo look like a sketch. Transform a photo into a SketchThe so-called "Sketch Filters" in Photoshop consistently yield very disappointing results; re-creating the quintessential sketch demands a

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-1159216885747200022006-09-25T16:37:00.000-04:002006-09-25T16:41:33.953-04:00

In the WebDe-Fu scale, this is a black belt technique that will get photoshop doing your work for you. I had a student once whose job it was to change the size of all incoming images to a particular resolution and size. I taught him how to do a Batch feature and cut his workload from 8 hours a day to 10 minutes. How? Looking to resize a bunch of images quickly? Looking to alter a whole plethora

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-1159216489664722392006-09-25T16:31:00.000-04:002006-09-25T16:34:49.680-04:00

This tutorial will help out Photoshop students figure out how to sharpen up their digital photos.The original article was geared to making subtle highlights like shadows standout for printed photos, but it seems to work for improving the look of images taken on a couple hazy mornings in China. The trick involves using some kind of Unsharp Mask filter, which as defined by the Photoshop Elements

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-1155052779114879712006-08-08T11:59:00.000-04:002006-08-08T12:03:52.043-04:00

Here's a problem for webdesigners - Internet Explorer does not render PNG files properly. If you are like me (a webdesigner) and have constant problems dealing with Internet Explorer well do I have a site for you. Bob Osola has made a page to help developers get their PNGs looking good in IE. The fix involves a JS file to include on your site and an include to drop into your HEAD tag. Trust me,

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131556.post-1154623293181644112006-08-03T12:41:00.000-04:002006-08-08T12:04:28.930-04:00

This is an exerpt from Napalm and Silly Putty - Part 2 - The Book and George Carlin Quotes. Every once in a while we need a good smile. Napalm and Silly Putty - Part 2 - The Book and George Carlin Quotes: "You say to a guy, 'How are ya?' He says, 'Fine and dandy.' Not me. I never say that. You know why? because I'm never both those things at the same time. Sometimes I'm fine. But I'm not dandy. I

alfredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08386079579267889704noreply@blogger.com0