POLITICAL: Where I disagree with Ron Paul

Sunday, December 16, 2007

http://www.lewrockwell.com/casey/casey12.html

An Interview With Ron Paul
by Doug Casey

*** begin quote ***

DC: Much of the politicking this campaign season has certain religious overtones. Are you a believer in a strict separation of church and state?

RP: Yes. However, I believe state and local communities have the right to adopt policies such as school prayer without interference from the Federal Judiciary or any other branch of the federal government.

*** end quote ***

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not wavering in my support for Ron Paul. He’s closer to my thinking than any politician that I can EVER remember. I can only think of one fellow who I think might have been a better President and that would be Harry Browne.

That being said. Lest you think I am a mindless sheep.

I disagree with Ron Paul on the role of gooferment in education AT ANY LEVEL. Federal, state, or local. I see ZERO difference between the radiclization of Muslims in their subsidized schools, the communist “reeducation” camps, education in totalitarian regimes, and our gooferment skoolz in the good old US of A.

Remember that the purpose of “gooferment skools”, as designed in Prussia and imported to the US by Horace Man and his ilk, was to make easily led soldier for the army and factory workers for the elite.

No, sorry, every human is an “elite”. The Intelligent Designer put parents in charge of children. That’s good enough for me. Parents had them and they should provide for them. It’s not the gooferment’s job to eddycate them. And, no one should be forced at gunpoint to pay for it. That’s theft. Socialism at its best.

Ron’s right on abortion. It’s is a very hard issue. But, sticking the Federal Gooferment in the issue hasn’t helped at all. It’s very tough because the one role of gooferment is to protect our rights from foreign and domestic “enemies”. One of the rights enshrined in the Constitution is a right to life. But, we are a long way from calmly sorting that one out.

SO we have Big Gooferment in all sorts of stuff it shouldn’t be in and failing in its duties in the things is should be in. That’s a “big stable” to start mucking out. I’ll be happy if Ron Paul gets elected. It’s a very big load of “barbara streisand” to shovel out. Regan said something like a President can only get a few things done. He admitted a list of three things of which he only accomplished two. (Honest fellow!) If Ron can get two done, we’ll be much better off.

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POLITICS: Sunday December 16, 2007 – The day of Ron Paul will be placed in hearts of Americans everywhere!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKZmIzEMUN8

I have my Cnote ready to sing. It’ll be the “opera” of the schmoes. Let them know that we are coming to clean “house” … the white house, the congress, the goofermnet in general. Time to delouse the places where all the “elite” plan “what’s good for us”. Argh!

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RON PAUL: Tea Party 2007: Show your commitment to Ron Paul

Sunday, December 16, 2007

*** begin quote ***
On December 16th, 1773, American colonists dumped tea into the Boston Harbor to protest an oppressive tax. This December 16th, American citizens will dump millions of dollars into the Ron Paul presidential campaign to protest the oppressive and unconstitutional inflation tax.
*** end quote ***
Looks like it’s at 1.5 after the wee hours of the morning!

read more | digg story


LINKEDIN: never ever use your current employer’s email in LinkedIn

Sunday, December 16, 2007

FROM A LINKEDIN CONTACT ABOUT “LIVELINESS”

*** begin quote ***

I decided to perform a small test of my own today… by simply sending out recommendation requests to those people I have actually worked with (as opposed to all the recruiters that are in my network). I’ll et you know the final results… but I’m already getting replies from people who have taken over colleagues email addresses at companies asking me who I am!!! Not a real good sign.

*** end quote ***

Amazing what you find out when you look!

Here’s another reason why you should never ever use your current employer’s email in LinkedIn.

I rant about this all the time. Not your current employers! Not your ISP! Not gmail, yahoo, or whatever! It has to be from your own domain name.

Like “reinke.cc”!

No excuses. No reason not to. You’re supposed to be a pro, professional, it can be done for well under $100 bucks a year. It’s probably in the 60$/year range. That’s a little more than a dollar a week.

There’s no excuse for it.

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INTERESTING: John Stossel Interviews Ron Paul

Sunday, December 16, 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPiDvB2Tcqw q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOv8b438LrQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnR0P9BsN-I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDNUGPB6wfs

Absolutely great. He asks Ron Paul tough questions and lets him answer.

Makes sense to me!

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LINKEDIN: “Ron Paul” is also on LinkedIn

Sunday, December 16, 2007

FROM AN MLPF EMAIL

>Re: Hilary For President
>Posted by: “Verdegem, Luc”
>Fri Dec 14, 2007 3:58 pm (PST)
>Sorry for this question,
>I was just wondering why there are not more “smart” politicians that use

Interesting.

“Ron Paul” is also on LinkedIn. I’m one of “his” loons. But, I would know more think of doing the old Star Trek Vulcan Mind Meld with that pseudo person

(I have to update my taxonomy of “Trolls you find on LinkedIn” with a new one “political alter egos”! — POLITICIANS. Sort of the opposite of ABILLGATES that high value target. This is imho a low value target.)

LINKEDIN: Updated taxonomy of LinkedIn “identities”
https://reinkefaceslife.com/2007/11/29/linkedin-updated-taxonomy-of-linkedin-identities
http://tinyurl.com/25b5mw

Those have to be a violation of the LinkedIn TOS, contrary to the spirit of LinkedIn, and injecting your politics into an inappropriate venue. IMHO.

I can’t see any upside to doing this. What’s next? Linking to your favorite cartoon character.

(Shaking my virtual, not virtuous, head in amazement.)

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POLITICAL: there are some very tough questions that could be asked of Ron Paul

Saturday, December 15, 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maJz0kTQJyI

http://samspoliticaltruth.blogspot.com/

*** begin quote ***

Ron Paul interviewed on political chowder part 1

this is an older interview but very important

*** end quote ***

An excellent interview of Ron Paul. I’m told that she’s a liberal, but I thought she was quite good and quite fair. She asked so very tough questions.

Thought you might find it amusing,

# – # – #

I think there are some very tough questions that could be asked of Ron Paul.

But that won’t happen. It’s be interesting. See it would take a real understanding of libertarianism to knife tot he heart of some tough issues.

How do you KNOW that what you prescribe will work? How do you get Congress to cooperate? How will you deal with an economic dislocation on a par with the end of ww1 or ww2? How will you pardon all non-violent drug offenders? Abortion goes back to the states; what about a right to life as enshrined in the Constitution? Isn’t the Statue of Liberty is inconsistent with troops on the border?

But, today’s “interviewers” are all about making themselves, or their choice for prez look good. Most interviewers are biased and lame. At least this lady pitched some high hard ones at him.

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TECH SOFTWARE: INTERRUPTON to measure how distracted you are?

Saturday, December 15, 2007

http://www.workingcogs.com/interruptron/

Interruptron

***Begin Quote***

In the attention economy, what matters is your attention. Modern life is plagued with interruptions, some self-imposed (do you have a popup that lets you know when new mail arrives?), some not (phone ringing, people knocking on your door). The axiom is simple: your productivity is inversely proportional to the number of interruptions per hour. There exist psychological research that proves that doing two tasks -A,B- in an alternating sequence -ABABAB- is a lot harder than doing them on batches -AAABBB-. This is called task switch cost. Some research on economics proves that the same concept –switching tasks often is bad for productivity- is true organizations.

This is so simple it’s staggering. We thought: well, we don’t know how often we are interrupted, but we should! That’s how the interruptron was born.

The modern knowledge worker has a very short average time between interruptions. Some estimates are as low as 10 minutes. We need to be aware of when we have been interrupted and try to stretch time between interruptions as much as possible. Also, it’s important to be aware of when we are floating into ‘unproductive time’ and have some method to nag us back to work. This is the goal of the interruptron. Run it always, and you’ll have a good gasp of where your time goes.

***End Quote***

It’s impossible to get any serious thinking done in the office with all the noise and interruptions. This will just help you quantify it. Now if it could just get you into the “zone”.

Donation ware, so how big a risk can it be?

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RANT: Went 14 for 14 in last week’s fantasy league

Saturday, December 15, 2007

*** begin quote ***

Sure, I can’t be in Vegas and go 14-0 on a teaser card. Wish it was skill! I think the pay tables only go to 14. http://www.sportsbook.com/info/comparative-odds.php#teaser I’d be getting 150-1. So my 10$ bet would be 1500. And, all my lesser ones would have won as well. I usually played 100$ with 4,6,8,10,12! More on the lower ones and less on the higher. Argh! And, I’m still behind Frenchy.

*** end quote ***

I usually bet 50 on four, 40 on six, 30 on eight, 20 on ten, and 10 on twelve!

That would have returned 150+240+450+1000+500=2340

Argh!

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LINKEDIN: LinkedIn is dysfunctional

Saturday, December 15, 2007

*** begin quote ***

Please note: You are now required to enter an email address to send invitations from this page because several recipients of your invitations indicated they don’t know you. This safeguard is in place to prevent users from receiving unwanted invitations from people they don’t know. Customer Service can remove the restriction at anytime once you indicate that you understand this policy.

*** end quote ***

I don’t know what they are talking about. I don’t invite ever since Linkedin instituted their dumb “5 I don’t knows and your suspended”. I only accept invites.

The funnier think is that I am not, nor have I ever been, what they hate … an “open” networker.

?

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LINKEDIN: in LinkedIn you need to connect to a few “mega connectors” to be “findable”

Saturday, December 15, 2007

FROM AN EMAIL EXCHANGE WITH A LINKEDIN CONTACT

>and LinkedIn stays on my personal e-mail which is second priority. I’m cleaning e-mail today .

Well, just as long as you remember, that one’s first duty, the 2008 Prime Directive, is to find your “next” job! Too many times, as you’ve probably heard me blog, I hear my turkeys tell me that “they were too busy with work to … …”. With unfortunate results. Both in family life and earning power.

>I agree with your blog comments. I think one interesting question is how “linked” are we through affiliations.

I think that “affiliations” can lead to “linking”.

> I would not hesitate to recommend you or introduce you, based upon my view of your work on XXXXXXXXXX and your writings I’ve seen.

Thanks for the kind words. If one can’t be “good”, be “persistent”? :-)

>I wouldn’t offer the same to someone just because they XXXXXXXXXXX.

No, but I bet you might be inclined to take a Lucht-style networking meeting with them. See that is the theory of the “granfalloon” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granfalloon where one can parlay an “imaginary connection” into a chance to create a weak link. Which then, over time, you can build to a strong one. I used that extensively first in my career, and later in selling.

>interesting that in at least four – I was linked to these people through you – two or three separations.

Well, in LinkedIn you need to connect to a few “paul revere” types or some of the “mega connectors” to be “findable”

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LINKEDIN: “canned invites” should just be automatically ignores

Friday, December 14, 2007

EMAIL ABOUT USING LINKEDIN’S IDKs

>Re: “Running out of invitations…”
>Posted by: “Mario P. Lopez”
>Thu Dec 6, 2007 7:41 pm (PST)
>Should we give the IDK “prize” to canned invitations, forget about it
>(and maybe avoid potential problems) and mind our own networking business?

While I am always up for a good “tar’n’feathering”, I’d suggest that “canned invites” should just be automatically ignores. I’d suggest that IDKing them might “freeze” a newbie who might not know any better. Since it will take a lot of work to determine exactly what is on the other end of the invite, and even more work if it is a newbie, I vote to just archive it.

I do, however, support identifying the spammers who should know better (i.e., the Blue Chip) and collectively determining to punish them for their annoying behavior.

When everyone was citing the Blue Chip spam, I thought that would be a good use of IDK.

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LINKEDIN: Found some one who dropped me. And, I’ve asked why!

Friday, December 14, 2007

Found some one who dropped me. And, I’ve asked why!

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JOBSEARCH: Your resume, your ssn, and birthday are the keys to identity theft

Friday, December 14, 2007

FROM AN EMAIL WITH A TURKEY

>the recruiter has asked me to provide my SS#, birthday, and references

As an infosec sme, red flags should be going off.

Your resume, your ssn, and birthday are the keys to identity theft.

Also, as the big fat old turkey hisself, it’s my personal policy, and one I urge on others — no references until we are at the offer stage. You need to protect your refs from burn out. And, burning them by over use makes you look like a “loser” to people who’s enthusiasm you need.

Like a swimmer going down for the third time, some seekers seek to rush the process to get to the finish line. You should have a process that you are following — all the job search books have variations of it — like a formalize kabuki dance — to prevent you from appearing over eager. That’ll cut the offer. “Hungry? Maybe we can get a bargain!”

Tread carefully.

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TECH SOFTWARE: TIMEASSIST is better than the egg timer I have on my desk

Friday, December 14, 2007

http://www.donationcoder.com/Forums/bb/index.php?topic=11163.msg87431#msg87431

Timer Assist

***Begin Quote***

I work at a hospital and have to chart the patient’s vitals every 15 minutes after surgery. This has to be done at 15 past the hour, 30 minutes past the hour 45 minutes past the hour and on the hour.

I need a timer that will sound a user chosen wav file (some sounds can be irritating to recouping patients so one that is tolerable has to be used) on the 15’s, display a user defined message that will only go away after acknowledgment and continue counting happily away without user intervention. That is it will alarm at the next 15 even if the message is not acknowledged.

Most timers will not auto continue after sounding.

***End Quote***

Donation ware — how can you go wrong?

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JOBSEARCH: will wind up with contracts for everyone any way

Friday, December 14, 2007

FROM AN EMAIL EXCHANGE ABOUT EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS

*** begin quote ***

> I tried my best to get someone, anyone on list to support your suggestion to get an employment contract

Well if we become a nation of consultants, then we will wind up with contracts for everyone any way. Costs for both sides of the contract will probably go up. For example, companies can buy medical benefits cheaper than an individual can. Contractors will demand higher rates for the uncertainty of term lengths. Based on my experience, I had an annual rate that I wanted. SO if someone wanted less than my annual target say one month, I figured my down time was a month or two to get earning again. So a one month engagement was really calculated as a 3 month engagement. Therefore, my one month rate was three times the one twelfth the annual rate. So that’s going to happen whether folks want it to or not.

>It must be time for me to become self-employed.

It’s an illusion. You are already. See when you have a “job”, you are really a consultant with a restricted choice of what you can work on. And, you get less money than your “riskier” brethren. The funny part is I think being an employee is very risky. I guess it’s all in your pov.

*** end quote ***

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MONEY: Facing the old age home

Thursday, December 13, 2007

It’s a fact of life that the “old folks” who go into nursing homes run out of money and become wards of the state. It happened to a wealthy aunt decades ago, who took a “fortune” and wound up on the dole. (I was young and not privy to the exact numbers.) And, it’s happening to another aunt and I am privy to the numbers.

She worked her whole life at menial jobs. Saved her pennies and accumulated a nice nest egg. (Probably 5 times her annual salary!) Had social security and a tiny pension. And she’ll die on the dole. (I’m not planning on telling her because she just get upset.)

It’s NOT her fault.

That “social security insurance” theft didn’t provide her with “social insurance”. Proper insurance with MetLife, Prudential, or Allstate over fifty years would have given her a substantial annuity.

Argh!

Now I read about folks going into assisted living. I read about old folks living on cruise ships. I read about people going overseas for expensive medical procedures.I read about old folks in Japan needing robots.

Will old people become America’s new export? Will the American equivalent of the Eskimos putting old folks on ice flows going out to sea be sending our old folks to old age homes in Third World countries where they can get taken care of “humanely”?

Warped thought, but who is going to take care of an “old” America?

Is that a consequence of our love of abortion and our failure to cherish life?

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INTERESTING: Is there ever a “we”?

Thursday, December 13, 2007

FROM A LINKEDIN QUESTION

*** begin quote ***
Do you think we can drive new concepts, lifestyles, value systems… “Our Values – powered by IP – us / WE?”

Do you think we can drive new concepts, lifestyles, value systems… “Our Values – powered by IP – us / WE?” Can we come together and help the world through LinkedIn.com while at the same time help our own? Through groups of the smartest and brightest from around the world, can we create this next revolution online?

*** end quote ***

Implicit in the question is a collectivist concept. The “we”. Is there ever a “we”? Does there have to be a “we” to accomplish worthy goals? I answer a question with a question deliberately.

The “invisible hand” of Adam Smith’s “free market” has no “we” in it! (Like there is no eye in team?) It’s just a bunch of very greedy people each selfishly pursuing what they perceive as “best” as measure by their own self interest. Walk through WalMart and see what the “free market” produces for you.

In addition, that very greedy behavior is essentially cooperation. It’s accomplished by inducing one’s fellow man into giving you one or more “certificates of appreciation”. Satisfy another person’s needs and you get to satisfy yours.

The Mayflower colonists starved because of “collectivism” and thrived when they discovered “greed”.

I’d suggest that by chasing our own individual dreams vigorously, and unhampered by the collectivists (i.e., governments, communists, socialist, and “do gooders” of all ilks) then “good things” will appear as if by magic.

If one insists that there is a “we”, then I think those good things will be delayed.

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RANT: Hey Governor Corzine — still wanna hear about state cars? … (continued) …

Thursday, December 13, 2007

You don’t? TOO BAD!

This morning 13 Dec 07 @ 0715 Route 295 South milepost 42.3 … …

… white suv td11116 … …

… at leisurely 75 or 80 (It was nearby for very long.) (Your serf speed limit is 65)

… tailgating the poor peon in his way

… never left the left lane (Do you teach them to do that, or is that a qualification for working for the state of nujerzee!?)

Any way I am sure that he was hurrying to get away from I assume trenton after protecting and serving me.

Arghhhhhhh!

P.S.: Dear reader, I don’t write these every day. Just when I ARRIVE early for work, particularly agitated aggravated and have to wait for my employer workstation to get online.

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TECH SOFTWARE: HOWLONG2IT counts down to a deadline

Thursday, December 13, 2007

tiny

http://www.donationcoder.com/Forums/bb/index.php?topic=11169.msg88769#msg88769

HowLong2It

***Begin Quote***

HowLong2It is a way to keep track of how many days since some date in the past and how many days until some date in the future. The applications is always only a click away. Click on the tray icon and the status window will popup to show you the dates/tasks you are tracking.

***End Quote***

Might be useful if you have a real deadline. Donation ware!

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PRODUCTIVITY: Half an hour?

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2007/12/09/half-an-hour

Half an Hour December 9, 2007
Posted by Andy Roberts

***Begin Quote***

Today, December 9th 2007 the clocks go back in Venezuela – by Half an Hour.

Half an hour?

Yes, half an hour. That may sound a bit like the craziest thing a whole country has ever done in recent times but actually it’s just a reversion to the time zone which was used previously by Venezuela between 1912 and 1964 in the twentieth century.

The new official time zone of Venezuela is determined by meridian 67° 30? west of Greenwich, in South East London, UK. This meridian divides Venezuela into two almost symmetrical areas and represents a -4:30 hour offset from Greenwich Mean Time.

So what’s the time now? Here, very near Greenwich when it’s eight o’clock in the morning 8.00am – GMT, in Caracas, Venezuela it will be half past three: 3.30am.

***End Quote***

It does sound like a “dumb idea”. For the life of me, I never understood why people don’t just set their clocks on GMT and organize their lives around whatever time they need. What’s so sacred about working 9to5? Who cares if you go to bed at 11PM, 2300 local, or 0400+1? I know at my employer, GMT would save a lot of time zone confusion providing across the USA. When I was in the USAF many many decades ago, everything was ZULU this or ZULU that. Guess that’s politically incorrect now? But, there was never any time zone confusion. When I returned to my civilian employer and tried to bring this insight to our datacenter operations, everyone poo pooed it. Every years I’d watch them struggle with Daylight Savings Time or a national time zone confusion. Sigh. Some memes are just too powerful to change. I guess?

*** in addition ***

Notice the fine hand of gooferment in the people’s lives.

Not to make things simpler. But to make a role for themselves.

Why not just go to GMT and allow people to organize themselves. It’s not like businesses could figure out what time they should open to best serve their Customers. It’s not like people couldn’t figure out what time they should hit the sack or get up. It’s not like life wouldn’t go on regardless of what digits were on someone’s clock!

In protest, I’m going to be GMT. As soon as I can find my watch!

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FUN: Scrooged

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Check it out. I just Scrooged myself. Have a look by clicking on the link below. http://www.scroogeyourself.com/?id=1341328175 This holiday greeting brought to you by OfficeMax®.

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MONEY: We tend to define our lives by the big events

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/10/24/understanding-the-seven-habits-of-wealth

Understanding the Seven Habits of Wealth
Wednesday, 24th October 2007 (by J.D.)

This is a guest post from Dough Roller, a Washington D.C. blogger who writes about building wealth, one dollar at a time.

***Begin Quote***

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. — Aristotle

We tend to define our lives by the big events: graduation, marriage, children, a big promotion, retirement. What often gets neglected are the little things we do every day, the little things that make the big events possible. As Aristotle said, it’s what we “repeatedly do” that produces excellence. When it comes to money and wealth, what do you repeatedly do?

***and***

Hard Work
Modest Living
Patience
Perseverance
Balance
Self-Awareness
Learning

***End Quote***

I remember, but didn’t “learn” until much later, that “small leaks sink big ships”.

Singularly, I have demonstrated “big leaks sing ships quickly”. It’s my personal objective to plug all my “big leaks” before I “sop earning and start burning”.

I have to get organized!

:-(

Maybe that’s the “eighth” idea. Organization. You have to be organized to succeed?

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RANT: Father killed daughter for not wearing hijab

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=071211175557.p3d3kaah&show_article=1

Father killed daughter for not wearing hijab, her friends say
Dec 11 12:56 PM US/Eastern

*** begin quote ***

Friends and classmates of a 16-year-old girl who police say was murdered by her devout Muslim father in a Toronto suburb told local media Tuesday she was killed for not wearing a hijab.

*** end quote ***

Here we have a conflict of religion and liberty.

Didn’t the girl have a “right to life”?

So much for the protection of the “state”. It’s fictional; an illusion.

You have only the rights you are willing to defend.

Sad.

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FUN: Status quo

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

“‘Status quo,’ as you know, is Latin for ‘the mess we’re in…'” Attributed to former President Ronald Reagan

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TECH SOFTWARE:ANOTHERONEDONE records progress to your goal

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

http://www.appsapps.info/anotheronedone.php

AnotherOneDone

***Begin Quote***

AnotherOneDone
What it does:
Helps you keep track of your progress with a numerical goal, such as the amount of books you want to read, blog posts you want to make, batches of cookies you want to bake, etc.

Features:
* Autosaves the amount of your goal.
* Autosaves how many you have done.
* Calculates the remaining amount left to go.
* Copy info to clipboard.
* Progressbar.
* Stays on top.
* Minimizes to tray.
* Access to some controls from tray menu.

How to use:
* Enter the amount of your goal in the top box.
* Click the Set button.
* Each time you complete one towards your goal, click the Add 1 button.
* Once you have reached your goal, click Reset and begin again to set a new goal.

***End Quote***

Donation ware. Sounds useful.

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