In today’s world of social media and networking clearly dominated by Facebook and Twitter, it has become easier and easier for businesses to reach a large and highly-targeted potential new customer base. Most companies with an online presence have made it a point to also have a Facebook account, and most have Twitter as well (though typically not updated as often as they should be).

Both of these sites can make great new marketing tools for your business through advertising and Facebook tie-in promotions. However, before the advent of such networks, a large amount of new business was generated via word-of-mouth recommendations, and many business owners are looking for a way to simply and easily bridge the gap between the massive social network sites and clients telling friends about their good experiences. They’re also looking for an easy way to reward loyal customers and to entice new ones. This is where FourSquare comes in.

Briana and I saw X-Men: First Class last night at the Willow Knolls Theatre (because you wanted to know). I had a Mt. Dew, and Bri ate a plastic baggie full of Captain Crunch with Crunchberries labeled “Bri’s Tasty Treats”.

For some spiffy pictures and my smarmy opinion of the film, just read on »

It’s been on my mind for a while (I’ve previously posted some designs), and I’ve finally built my Terrariums!

Read the full post for all of the hard-core terrarium action shots!

I was there at dawn on June 1st, 2011. I was just leaving work, having set up all of the new Gemstone Confections promotions, and updating the CIRA Doctor of the Month. It was somewhere between 4:30 and 5:30 am (It was like 5 days ago, give me a break), and I snapped this shot just before the sun came up.

What else have I been up to? Read the damn post and find out!

In case you haven’t heard, I have moved from 1723 to 1704 W Callender Ave. in Peoria. It’s been a long voyage to this point, but I am finally in my bedroom after spending a week and a half using one of the living rooms as my bed room. Bri is all moved into her new place, which is awesome, too!

Read the full post to read more about what I’ve been up to, some photos of the progress around 1704, and… you know, the usual random crap I write.

Bri, Abby, Lane, Sarah, Nora, and I watched The King’s Speech last night. In today’s entertainment world of non-stop explosions, it was great to watch a historical drama, more in the vein of Good Night and Good Luck. While I’m sure the movie was much more enthralling to me than my companions (there were some historical references that only I laughed at), it was received quite well overall!

Designed by KWK Promes, a Polish architecture firm, the 6,100 square-foot Safe House was designed with “maximum security”. The end result, when closed up for security, appears to be nothing more than a concrete block with a great lawn, but upon opening reveals a beautifully designed, fully modern residence.

The house features numerous moveable walls, and a massive security gate which closes off the rear section of the house from the back yard. This leaves the house with only one entrance, securely located on the second floor, and accessible only via a working drawbridge.

Read the full post for images of the whole thing closing down for the night »

It’s easy when designing a sleek, modern bedroom to get wrapped up in all of the gray-scale possibilities available. Sometimes, however, a bold splash of color can not only tie the design of a room together, but also breathe some much-needed life into an otherwise sterile-looking room.