RANT: My comment on the Hudson River landing (UPdated: 20090117)

Friday, January 16, 2009

May I point out that perhaps there was some luck involved, when the pilot “placed” the plane down on the Hudson River. (I don’t think it qualifies as “ditching”, “splashing”, or “crash landing”; too neatly done.) I watched with horror as the politicians arrived to tells us how “heroic” the police, fire, and other government responders were. Having watching the early coverage, the Ferry Captains were there “long” before any of the government troops were on site. The ferry passengers pitched right in. Business suits and all. I think those folks deserve the lion’s share of the credit for saving those passengers. All the media reports these people were way down the list for credit. That annoys me. And, I think it hides the true American spirit.

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UPDATE: 20090117 @ 9AM

Someone else noticed!

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/lelong10.html

The Takeover of New York Harbor
by A.D Lelong

*** begin quote ***

I looked at all the photographs of the scene. While the plane was still relatively afloat, the only responders I saw were the NY WATER WAYS vessels. The photos that showed governmental vessels were taken after the plane had sunk considerably, and most of the passengers had been put on the ferries.

On Friday morning at 11:40 AM Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a press conference to honor the “first responders.” Behind him were cops, coast guard, fire officials – a whole platoon of uniformed men. Lost in the crowd were two skippers of the two ferries which responded first.

*** end quote ***

Wake up, people! It’s the gooferment. They’ll certainly claim MORE than their share of the credit to justify financially raping the taxpayer.

And, did anyone notice the mayor’s press conference was partially in Spanish? Thus pandering to another voting block!!

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MONEY: Ron Paul on Obama’s “Trillion Deficits for years to come”

Friday, January 16, 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUQo5QQSlys&eurl=http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/024759.html&feature=player_embedded

Guess this is the “change” we were promised?

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SERVICE: GOOGLE NOTEBOOK takedown is symptomatic of cloud computing

Thursday, January 15, 2009

http://lifehacker.com/5131781/where-to-go-when-google-notebook-goes-down

Where to Go When Google Notebook Goes Down

By Kevin Purdy, 8:10 AM on Thu Jan 15 2009, 9,709 views

*** begin quote ***

Google’s Notebook webapp was tightly integrated with other Google apps, had a killer Firefox extension, and was great at getting things done. “Was,” though, because Google is ending support. Here’s where heartsick users should turn.

*** end quote ***

OK, here’s why you can’t trust “free” software, “beta” software, or “the cloud”.

Next time you’re going to bet your data on one of these, think “what will I do when?”.

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POLITICAL: Despise Health Insurance Companies? Just wait!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

http://distributedrepublic.net/archives/2008/12/23/simple-indeed-or-the-audacity-cluelessness

Simple Indeed, or The Audacity of Cluelessness
Submitted by Brandon Berg on Tue, 2008-12-23 21:52

*** begin quote ***

The International Herald Tribune showcases the astonishing cluelessness of people who are presumably among the best and brightest of Obama’s supporters:

   When a dozen consumers gathered over the weekend to discuss health care at the behest of President-elect Barack Obama, they quickly agreed on one point: they despise health insurance companies.

   They also agreed that health care was a right; that insurance should cover “everything,” not just some services; and that coverage should be readily available from the government, as well as from employers.

   “We have to keep the momentum going,” said Hijane, 34, who was a volunteer in the Obama campaign and is active in women’s health advocacy. “We are not lobbyists. We are simple citizens.”

*** end quote ***

Get ready for national health care. Delays, Higher Costs, Rationing, and … … yes, sadly, deaths.

That’s what happens when the Socialists take over.

Sigh.

Need a new category … STUPIDITY!

Anyone want to start an insurance company? No. Me neither!

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PRODUCTIVITY: Why don’t businesses use blogs … …

Thursday, January 15, 2009

… … with rss for knowledge worker’s. I’ve tried this several times. But, never could get management or leadership interested. Most want a big central system tied into “human resources” and annual performance appraisal “systems”. Unfortunately, it’s about productivity; not “gotchas”. Might be just my impressions, but the honchos were worried about bad press. As opposed to getting all their “human resources” in alignment. With the appropriate categories and tags, anyone in the Enterprise could tap into status information.

Might be interesting to work that idea up for some one?

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GUNS: Another politican wants to disarm the people to protect the children

Thursday, January 15, 2009

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=86039

WND Exclusive WEAPONS OF CHOICE

Big Brother’s new target: Tracking of all firearms
‘This is nothing less than a declaration of war on American gun owners’
Posted: January 13, 2009
10:08 pm Eastern
By Drew Zahn

*** begin quote ***

U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., is hoping to pass a firearm-licensing bill that will significantly rewrite gun-ownership laws in America.

Among the more controversial provisions of the bill are requirements that all handgun owners submit to the federal government a photo, thumb print and mental heath records. Further, the bill would order the attorney general to establish a database of every handgun sale, transfer and owner’s address in America.

The bill claims its purpose is “to protect the pubic against the unreasonable risk of injury and death associated with the unrecorded sale or transfer of firearms to criminals and youth.”

*** end quote ***

Columbine, all the school shootings, Mumbai India, and countless examples. The problem is not too many guns. The problem is not enough guns. Heinlein put it best: “An armed society is a polite society”. What do you call an unarmed person? A victim! … just waiting for an attacker.

Why do we have an unarmed populace?

Liberal politicians who live in a make believe world. (And, they usually have an armed security detail protecting them. You, however, are on your own!)

Look at Africa, where the corrupt gooferment disarms the people it seeks to scape goat, before it kills them. Look at Israel, when\re schools used to be a prime terrorist target, before grandparents started taking guns to school. Look at Columbine, where the armed police waited outside till the shooting stopped.

No, sorry, we allow school caretakers to carry knives, screwdrivers, bug spray, rat poison, and other power tools. A gun is no more dangerous than any other TOOL! Personally, if I can’t have the real Second Amendment back, then I’d repeal the “gun free zone” law. That just ensures that the law abiding will be unarmed. And, I’d encourage any one who works in the school to carry if they feel comfortable doing so.

See, to be safe, not everyone has to be carrying. The trick is that the bad guys won’t know who is a sheep and who is a sheep dog. They guess wrong; they die. They die; innocents live. A very efficient solution.

Argh!

Seems so obvious.

Gooferment ills its citizens with illusions of protection and down right genocide!

Wake up sheeple.

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GUNS: Nobody can sell any ammunition after June 30, 2009

Thursday, January 15, 2009

http://tslrf.blogspot.com/2009/01/they-are-coming-after-our-ammo-by.html

Wednesday, January 7, 200
They Are Coming After Our Ammo- By Hermit

*** begin quote ***

Subject: Nobody can sell any ammunition after June 30, 2009

It has already started…

Ammunition Accountability Legislation

Remember how Obama said that he wasn’t going to take your guns? Well, it seems that his allies in the anti-gun world have no problem with taking your ammo!

The bill that is being pushed in 18 states (including Illinois and Indiana) requires all ammunition to be encoded by the manufacturer and dealers to keep a data base of all ammunition sales. So they will know how much you buy and what calibers.

Nobody can sell any ammunition after June 30, 2009 unless the ammunition is coded.

Any privately held uncoded ammunition must be destroyed by July 1, 2011. (Including hand loaded ammo.) They will also charge a .05 cent tax on every round so every box of ammo you buy will go up at least $2.50 or more!

If they can deprive you of ammo they do not need to take your gun!

This legislation is currently pending in 18 states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington.

* end quote *

Argh! Always, have to be ready to fight the gun-grabbers.

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POLITICAL: Age limit for congresscritters

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/130929.html

Should We Apply the Logan’s Run Principle, Updated for Inflated Life Expectancies Of Course, to Congress and the Courts?
Nick Gillespie | January 7, 2009, 7:43am

*** begin quote ***

The author of Nanny State concludes: “Theoretically, it would be nice to allow citizens to vote for anyone they please, young or old. But since we already have a minimum, constitutionally mandated age limit to serve in place, why not a maximum age? How about at least placing it wherever the average life expectancy falls?”

Because, right now, Washington looks more like Del Boca Vista than America.

*** end quote ***

Sounds like a good idea. There’s even an age limit for voting for Pope!

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JOBSEARCH: High-End Help for Job Hunters: Does It Pay?

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123118267978154615.html?mod=rss_Careers

High-End Help for Job Hunters: Does It Pay?

   * MANAGING YOUR CAREER
   * JANUARY 5, 2009, 11:35 P.M. ET
   * Joann S. Lublin at joann.lublin@wsj.com
   * Wall Street Journal Online

*** begin quote ***

Reach recently launched a free “Career Bailout” program — in which 13 certified strategists provide services such as a résumé review and online identity evaluation. Yet few victims are using the limited assistance. “We have not spent enough time making the program visible,” Mr. Arruda says.

*** end quote ***

Bottom line: Even though the WSJ was to PC to say it. Doesn’t sound like it pays.

I have three objections: no objective results; pay upfront; and it’s like a black box.

But, I’m going to try the free service.

:-)

Free is the right price for any seeker!

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SERVICE: KRUNCHD! Possibilities; but not a TINYURL competitor

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

You have successfully Krunchd a URL and here it is for your convenience and sharing:

Title of Krunch: The collective sites of FJohn Reinke

URL: http://krunchd.com/reinkefj

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JOBSEARCH: “Quick networking building” is “jumbo shrimp”

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1331895  

8 Simple Ways for Building a Network Quickly! by George Hayes

# – # – #

IMHO, there is no way to build one quickly.

“Networking” is the creation of a web of interested people, that you have bonded with in someway, who will alert you to things you should know. It’s using the law of weak links to create a vast army of job search agents. They know what you want and are standing by to “call it in to you” when they see it.

By definition, you can’t do that quickly.

As readers here know, I “subscribe” to the Lucht school of networking. A formal process of gettikng in front of someone and asking for help.

Effective, but time consuming.

IMHO, networking is “first seek to help, then be helped”.

By definition, you can’t do that quickly.

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PRODUCTIVITY: Free ebook on “less”

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

http://thepowerofless.com/2008/12/free-ebook-thriving-on-less-simplifying-in-a-tough-economy/

Free Ebook: Thriving on Less – Simplifying in a Tough Economy

*** begin quote ***

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein

A FREE download is available now: Leo Babauta has written a companion to The Power of Less — a free ebook called “THRIVING ON LESS: Simplifying in a Tough Economy“.

Thriving on Less: Simplifying in a Tough Economy (pdf format)

Feel free to share it on your blog, via email, on forums, in social media, or however you like! (Click on the “Tell-a-friend” button below to easily share with friends.)

*** end quote ***

Always appreciate free wisdom.
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SERVICE: Tabloid makes an rss feed into a pdf

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

http://www.tabbloid.com/

Take one or more RSS feeds, add them, select a schedule! You get emailed a PDF.

Interesting alpha. Needs a way to limit the amount of RSS feed it takes. Like a daily take, should limit it to a day.

Maybe?

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POLITICAL: How can the people get an honest shake

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/01/leveraging_election_fraud_with.html

January 06, 2009
Leveraging election fraud with census fraud (updated)
Tom H. Sleeter

*** begin quote ***

Vote fraud can thereby live on, not only through phony votes cast on Election Day, but through phony people being created for the census. It would be wise to be vigilant on this as 2010 approaches.

*** end quote ***

As evidenced by the MN Franken election, keep counting until you get ehr result you want and then urge everyone to stop.

Clearly, the census and vote are gooferment process subject to honest effort and deliberate fraud.

Argh!

It would seem that we have to get the “electing” done once at a very local level and then use representatives all the way from there. Once you vote for your alderman, then they vote for mayor. Then, the mayors select a county executive. The county execs vote for guv. Guvs vote for president.

Truly representative republic!

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TECHNOLOGY: “Online Profits” attempt to teach inet money making

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

http://www.onlineprofits.com/

Online Profits

*** begin quote ***

Many people wrote emails to congratulate me for the launch of the Online Profits training program, saying that they think it is a excellent course, and that they would love to join, but they don’t have the funds to be able to.

Thinking about that I decided to run a contest giving away 10 free memberships (each one worth $288). Those free memberships will give you full access to the training program for 6 months.

*** and ***

Join the Most Complete Internet Marketing and Online Business Training Program, and Make 2009 Your Best Year Ever!

   * Learn all the facets of Internet marketing

   * Create your own online business

   * Take your existing projects and websites to the next level

   * Discover the tools and strategies that you need to succeed

   * Get access to a vibrant community of Internet marketers and entrepreneurs

*** end quote ***

No secret: I’m cheap. If I won six months free I’d explore it.
Paying 300$, I’m not so sure.
Maybe if I was a young risk taker, I’d jump on it.
Now, I’m always concerned about a “Mad Dog” (i.e., a faud). In this case, I’ve been reading some of these folks for more than a year and I think they are serious and believable. I AM concerned that (1) I’m untrainable; (2) I can’t do it; and 93) I might not WANT to do it.
Argh!
YMMV!
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NJ: Budget “cuts” are too late, too little, and don’t “solve” the problem

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

http://lonegan.com/Where_Steve_Stands.aspx

*** begin quote ***

CORZINE’S BUDGET “CUTS” — A SCALPEL WHEN AN AX IS NEEDED

Governor Corzine yesterday issued a budget proposal that tinkers around the edges when real solid cuts are needed. While the Corzine proposal requiring unions give up a scheduled pay raise is a good one, the Governor refuses to eliminate any of the thousands of state government bureaucratic fiefdoms that helped (along with the Governor’s own mismanagement and ineptitude) created this budget crisis.

Unfortunately, Corzine refuses to end the mandates on local communities through the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) — the group currently pushing 100,000 Low Income Housing units on every New Jersey town. And Corzine continues to support the Abbott court decision that has led to exploding per pupil costs in (Democrat-run) urban areas as high as $25,000 per student.

Meanwhile, suburban towns have had their state aid nearly eliminated — even though the sales tax and the income tax was sold on Garden State residents as a way to reduce “high property taxes.”

*** end quote ***

The State Gooferment politicians should be in jail.

Corzine, the financial genius from Goldman Sachs, earlier said “no problem”. Some genius. Anyone with an IQ higher than a rock knew that the state was out of control.

If a private business didn’t make it’s pension contribution for decades, then the corporate officers would be Bubba’s girlfriend.

But the State can just ignore it. And the State Workers’ Union is in the bag going along with it. Bubba should have them as well.

And, state pensions shouldn’t be for anyone who makes more than 75k. Or, any political appointee.

Argh!

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FUN: Monkey Bailout Parable

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

FROM LUDDITE, FORWARDING SOMETHING ON:

*** begin quote ***

Once upon a time a man appeared in a village and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each.

The villagers, seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them.

The man bought thousands at $10 and, as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort. He next announced that he would now buy monkeys at $20 each. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again.

Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer increased to $25 each and the supply of monkeys became so scarce it was an effort to even find a monkey, let alone catch it!

The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50 each! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would buy on his behalf. In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers: “Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has already collected. I will sell them to you at $35 and when the man returns from the city, you can sell them to him for $50 each.”

The villagers rounded up all their savings and bought all the monkeys for 700 billion dollars.

They never saw the man or his assistant again, only lots and lots of monkeys!

Now you have a better understanding of how the WALL STREET BAILOUT PLAN WILL WORK !!!!

It doesn’t get much clearer than this…………….

*** end quote ***

Funny. AND all to true!

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QUOTE: all politicians, of all parties, are fundamentally unqualified!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

“Once again, we believe all politicians, of all parties, are fundamentally unqualified to decide how other people should live. We do not believe in top-down social engineering by Republicans, Democrats, or anyone else. We believe in critical thinking, limited, decentralized power structures, individual liberty, and personal responsibility.” — D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h (DownSizeDC dot ORG)

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SERVICE: Found another limitation on Facebook!

Monday, January 12, 2009

*** begin quote ***

How many Friend Lists can I have?

You can have up to 100 Friend Lists.

*** end quote ***

Argh!

Where’s the Facebook competitor? Like LinkedIn, hard coded limits … … just shaking my head!

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POLITICAL: “Government investment” is Orwellian

Monday, January 12, 2009

http://mises.org/article.aspx?Id=1423

Repudiating the National Debt

Daily Article by Murray N. Rothbard | Posted on 1/16/2004 12:00:00 AM

*** begin quote ***

In reality, however, government spending only qualifies as “investment” in an Orwellian sense; government actually spends on behalf of the “consumer goods” and desires of bureaucrats, politicians, and their dependent client groups. Government spending, therefore, rather than being “investment,” is consumer spending of a peculiarly wasteful and unproductive sort, since it is indulged not by producers but by a parasitic class that is living off, and increasingly weakening, the productive private sector.

*** end quote ***

# – # – #

Here’s how to think about the bailouts and other “government spending”!

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RANT: Feel sorry when anyone gets “screwed”

Monday, January 12, 2009

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Play-clock-was-at-zero-for-crucial-Ravens-first?urn=nfl,133498

Sat Jan 10, 2009 7:47 pm EST
Play clock was at zero for crucial Ravens first down
By Chris Chase

*** begin quote ***

Another game, another officiating error in the NFL.

*** end quote ***

Guess we need an automated “goal light” that “prevents” the game from proceeding.

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POLITICAL: O’s “Raw Deal” and how it ends for us little people?

Monday, January 12, 2009

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/how-this-happened.html

How This Happened
by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

*** begin quote ***

Will this go on for ten years like the last time? Will it end in World War III, as if following some historical script? Is it possible that we will go the way of Germany in the 1920s, straight into the abyss of hyperinflation and into the hands of a ghastly dictator? It is unwise to rule it out.

And yet, I’m not that pessimistic. It is extremely crucial to realize that there is a difference this time. In the 1930s, technological limits put severe restrictions on information delivery. Government propaganda easily dominated the culture. All of that has changed. Despite everything, people simply do not trust the government as they once did. Obama will enjoy a short honeymoon but it will be over by summer.

*** end quote ***

I’m not so sure. I think Hannity got it right when I heard him say something like: ” … It’s not that these programs get passed. It’s that it’s impossible to kill them. They get a life of their own.”

Look at the Income Tax impoverishing us.

Look at the Social Security Ponzi scheme unraveling.

Look at the Medicare socializing medicine.

Look at the TSA “teaching” us to be “sheeple”.

Look at the double whammy of the monopoly in banking represented by the “Federal Reserve Bank” which is a private cartel of bankers with some lipstick pretending to be answerable to the gooferment. Double! It permitted the NIJA (no income no job no paperwork no hope of being repaid.) mortgages, that it could have prevented with the stroke of a pen on a regulation like short stock. (Requiring a 50% down for the privilege of having ZERO paperwork. Would have ended that REAL quick!) It manipulated interest rates and inflate the currency that allowed the congresscritters to spend wilily nelly with impose a hidden tax on all holders of dollar bills. (That ignited the run up in oil prices. Sadam got knocked off because he dared to suggest to OPEC that oil be paid for in gold. Right idea; wrong to be right when the biggest force in the world is wrong!)

No, I’m not so optimistic how this all ends up!

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TECHNOLOGY: Microsoft Tag – My #2

Sunday, January 11, 2009

It's a secret what it points to!

Microsoft Tag is supposed to make it easy for you using your mobile phone to get to “something”.

Does it work?

Only you can tell me.

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TECHNOLOGY: Microsoft Live Tag? My first

Sunday, January 11, 2009

My mystery barcoderfl_smart_tag

http://tag.microsoft.com

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RANT: Some Habitat Homes are falling apart; flawed concept imho

Sunday, January 11, 2009

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5439388.ece

January 4, 2009

Charity homes built by Hollywood start to crumble

John Harlow in Los Angeles

*** begin quote ***

RESIDENTS of a model housing estate bankrolled by Hollywood celebrities and hand-built by Jimmy Carter, the former US president, are complaining that it is falling apart.

*** end quote ***

Another liberal love fest goes down in flames.

There is no substitute for someone saving their coins and buying their own home by the sweat of their brow.

Liberals ignore the learnigns over eons at their own peril.

There ain’t no such thing as free lunch.

The determination to get out of poverty must come form the individual. Sure there can be “help” along the way. Or at least, no concerted effort like the Liberal’s psuedo-drug-war, to keep the poor down trodden or the LBJ “war on poverty” which destroyed the “black family”, the “black churches”, and the “black neighborhoods”.

To me the biggest crime has been “gooferment education”. Huge amounts of money flushed down ratholes. The illusion of education. That’s the tradgey of our generation. A lost generation.

Second, is abortion. We’ve killed all those children who would have made who knows what contributions to society.

We are fools!

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WEBSITE: An online diary? with TWITTER-like limits. Good for kids?

Sunday, January 11, 2009

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/cool-websites-and-tools-238/

As suggested by MAKEUSEOF

*** begin quote ***

(2) Memiary – Online diary keeping tool that helps you remember what you did each day and come back to it after years. You’re given a simple template where you can add 5 interesting things that you did today. Read more: Memiary – Online Diary Keeping Made Easy.

*** end quote ***

A tool for youngsters who don’t keep a diary?

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