I’ve been bragging about my smartphone since my first one – my Treo 600.  Well there’s a round robin going on right now where writers from four sites are swapping phones and giving their honest opinions of the hardware, software, and function of the phones they don’t use when compared to the ones that they are used to.  Participate in forum posts or the comments on the stories and you’re entered to win your choice of a smart phone.  People ask me my opinion of my phone often enough – here’s a good chance to get a comparison from the pros.

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3. Technorati Authority: 123 (down 1) rank: 51,581 (decreased 562)
4. Google Page Rank: 5 (up 1!)
5. Alexa: 185,347 (improved 8,384)
6. Page Strength: 4.5
7. Feedburner subscribers: 34 (up 3)
8. BlogTopSites: 115 (decreased 96)
9. Blog Juice: 2.3

Kaboodle is a decent way to collect things you want from many websites into one online wish list.  All you need to do is add some items and you have the chance to win them daily between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.  Check out the Wish-A-Day on Kaboodle rules.  Of course, by having a wish list and letting people know about it you’re far more likely to “win” an item from your wish list by having a friend or family member buy it.  But maybe Kaboodle wants to be your friend.

Well my credit score continues to slide due to a few missed payments a few months ago and the barrage of inquiries that the bike shop accounts caused.  According to the free service at WaMu my score is now 715.  I’m not worried.  I scheduled payments for most of my cards six months out (now to just be sure to do that again in a few months).  Also, when Cena and i return from abroad we plan on throwing all of our resources at eliminating all of our debt except the mortgage.  This will mean far fewer home improvements, even less dining out than we’ve done this year, and a definite reduction in our trips.

My net worth continues in a positive trend though.  This is made possible with my auto loan being completely paid off, continuing contributions to my retirement account, hefty payments toward the mortgage and continued effort to reduce credit card debt.  Next month should improve at a slightly better pace – i have almost $1,000 in refunds due plus the payment for one large web design contract should be made soon.  On a negative note, we will not have rental income for the month of December.  My total net worth is right around $50,000.

I got a confirmation letter from Chase today that i have paid off the auto loan for my 2002 Suzuki Grand Vitara.  it was a 0% interest loan so i wasn’t a rush to pay it off.  that will be one fewer payment that needs to go out each month though.  Woot!  I am already eyeing my next vehicle though.  I’m torn between opting for an all electric vehicle versus a diesel converted to run off of waste vegetable oil.  It will probably be quite a while before i get either though.

Burger King

Originally uploaded by zieak

Here’s my mask. It’s an official Burger King outfit. I made some mask customizations to help it keep its form. I sewed in two clothes hangars that hold the mask away from my face and cut part of the brim of a hat off and stapled a piece of cardboard to the top to hold the mask level and away from my face.

Stikine Inn

Originally uploaded by zieak

This is the second time we’ve stayed at the Stikine Inn. We have the “suite” and it still isn’t nearly as nice as any budget hotel. The room is big. The couch looks new. But the walls are painted paneling. The bathroom needs a serious updating. Overall this place really is lacking.

IFA to Wrangell

Originally uploaded by zieak

Cena and I are headed to Wrangell with Mitch, Josh, Jen and Angela to watch volleyball (uh huh) and go to their costume parties.

Zieak.com is once again valid html. It wasn’t too difficult and is a nice exercise to perform every now and then. The MyBlogLog plugin causes some grief with their ample use of ampersands and the code within WordPress for the drop down archive needed one letter changed to lowercase to validate.