This post isn't as focused as those previous, but read on, kind sirs and madams:
A big week for me at Angie's List and for Adopt An Animal. At Angie's List, I set up our magazine department's blog and released List-en up!'s first true video podcast. I say "true" video because previous episodes were in what was technically a video format, but were basically a still-image slideshow with pictures to accompanying the audio. This time, though, I actually followed a home energy auditor and videotaped the house-inspection process. After watching the video, I hope you have an audit performed on your home to find out how much money you can save through some simple energy-efficient upgrades.
As for the blog, you'll notice that its design is basically the same as the Angie's List podcast site. For the "Blue House Blog," as we're calling it (thanks to Brandon Smith, Angie's List magazine artist and Goldfish Don't Bounce bandmember, for the awesome logo!), I used the same Wordpress content management system, and the same theme, K2, simply because it works well. It looks good on its own, but is easily customizable and functions quite well for the most part. And though I have little PHP-programming experience, going into the code and fiddling with certain things isn't too difficult. And there's a tremendous network of free plugins, forums, and bloggers that serve as terrific resources for any Wordpress-related problem.
On a Wordpress-related note, I've posted some more dogs for adoption in Indianapolis at my Wordpress-based Adopt An Animal site. Please check them out (an adult female German Shepherd and adult male Pit-bull mix) and let me know if you or someone you know is interested.
Finally, I hope to install Ableton Live this weekend and create my first digital mix of some songs I've been really into lately. If you have any experience with Live and have tips to offer, please let me know. Thanks!
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Thanks goes out to Gregory Boop at business blog Bizinformer, who just wrote this post about educational opportunities via podcast, and what does and doesn't work. Apparently he thinks the "stories about consumer scams and customer service" in List-en up! The Angie's List podcast are good sources of information. If I'm lucky, he'll think AdoptAnAnimal.org's podcast (link opens in iTunes) is a good source, too.
I'm thrilled to see Boop's post, and especially thrilled that the podcast is mentioned right alongside an NPR podcast. Not bad company to be recognized with, in my humble opinion. :)
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In the first episode of List-en up!, the Angie's List podcast, Marion County, Indiana lead inspector Buddy Compton mentioned that store-bought lead-testing kits can be effective for testing surface paint, but they might not detect dangerous lead in deeper layers. The Consumer Reports on Safety blog tested several of these kits and posted their results here. You might find these results helpful before purchasing a kit yourself or deciding to have potentially poisonous paint professionally tested (hurray for alliteration!)
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