I mentioned .. HERE .. that I was planning to upgrade to the latest wordpress version and find a new template. Well, wordpress has been updated, but I have yet to find a suitable design I like.

I have thought about one design though .. except that it’s width is over 1000 pixels. According to my stats, only 6% of readers are using browser windows in 800×600 or smaller (?) .. so, I hope if I decide to go this route .. most will probably not notice ..

Here is a screen image of the view .. if you click .. HERE …

CAN YOU SUGGEST TO ME A BETTER DESIGN FOR 1-800-HART’s PICKS? Feel free to post some URL’s in these comments and I will take a look.

Features:

Robotic dog moves and grooves to the beat
Expressive face with 7 multicolored lights
Pleasing design details; works with most portable music devices
Communicates through fun flashing lights, movement, and sounds
For ages 8 and up

From Toysrus.com & Amazon.com

Editorial Review

Move over, man’s best friend, the iDog’s here! Nourished exclusively on music (although, like all of us, it appreciates a little positive attention), the palm-sized iDog moves and grooves to the rhythm of your musical beat. For a robotic canine, the iDog is remarkably expressive, employing an entertaining assortment of flashing lights, head tilts, ear lifts, and even growls (should you flick its tail). Plug it into a portable music device with the included dual connector cable, and watch it respond while the built-in speaker plays along. All dogs like to be off the leash, however, so iDog can go wireless, too–simply place it next to a speaker, or take it anywhere music is playing. With such winning design, even those skeptical of robotic toys may find themselves giving it a pat on the head to reward it for rocking well done, or pressing its nose to let the pup take a nap. Multicolored lights, sounds, and movements, along with a “personality” programmed by your continued musical input, keep the iDog fun and interesting. –Heather Lyndon

From the Manufacturer

iDOG – Little dog, big sound. iDOG Rocks to your music! And when you plug it in, it even plays your music! With a built-in speaker, a distinct array of moods, and a personality that changes with the music you “feed” it, iDOG is a faithful music companion. Included dual connector cable plugs into your music player so you can play tunes through iDOG; listen to your music through your headphones while iDOG rocks out or simply place it near a speaker and watch iDOG move and groove to the beat….

Product Description

Calculator provides advanced graphing for calculus, AP courses and university studies. Permitted for use on many state and standardized tests. Includes official AP calculus review questions on the enclosed product CD. Computer algebra system. 3-D graphing and real time rotation, contour and implicit plots. Complete with USB cable for instant computer connectivity. New style and more than double the memory than the previous TI-89. Includes EE*Pro App for electrical engineering. TEXASTI89TITAN TEXAS-TI89TITAN TEXTI89TITANIUM TEX-TI89TITANIUM TEXTI89T TEX-TI89T 033317192038 3331719203 TEXTI-89T TEX-TI-89T

Castle Guard Knight Lamp

Castle Guard Knight Lamp is a handsome knight that will help light your way. The knight is cast in polyresin and hand painted with amazing detail.

Castle Guard Knight Lamp stands 30″ tall and is crafted and painted to look like the original vintage. Exquisite realism and quality.

The term “knight” originates from the Anglo-Saxon name for a boy: “cniht”. Most early knights were not much more than hired “boys” who performed military service and took oaths of loyalty to any well-to-do nobleman or warlord offering the most promise of money or war booty.

Overall Height: 30″

Celtic Plate

The Celtic Plate is highly polished traditional 17th Century style 11″ pewter dinner plate, with the added detailed motif of Celtic Engraving. The Celtic Plate is hand made in England from fine English BS. 179828 quality pewter.

Celtic art appeared as an identifiable tradition in about 600 BC and flourished until the mid-1st century AD, when the expansion of the Roman Empire and the Roman conquest of the Celts of Britain, Gaul, and Germany largely extinguished Celtic culture. Celtic art is ornamental, avoiding straight lines and only occasionally using symmetry. Celtic art often involves complex symbolism. It includes a variety of styles and often includes slightly modified elements from other cultures.

There are three traditions of Celtic art, the first being the continental Iron age, which draws on native, classical and oriental sources; the second is the Iron Age art in Britain and Ireland which draws on the continental tradition while adding distinctive regional styles; and the third is the Celtic renaissance of the early Middle Ages in Ireland that borrows heavily from Roman motifs. This third tradition formed the basis for the relatively recent Celtic Revival art.

Narnia – Peter’s Sword

Narnia – Peter’s Sword is designed to be an exact replica of the original prop supplied by Weta Workshop Ltd., from The Chronicles of Narnia. The blade of Peter’s sword is constructed of durable hand-forged steel and sturdy full tang and features elegant acid-etched lettering details. The leather grip includes gold-plated, cast-metal details including an exquisite brass lion head. A nickel-chromed steel hand guard completes this authentic work of art.

Peter’s sword plays an integral part in the battle against the evil White Witch and the return of his errant brother Edmund, uniting the Pevensie family and liberating the Kingdom of Narnia forever.

THE PROP STORY

When Mrs. Pevensie sends her children to the country, she gives her oldest child a great responsibility: “Look after your brother and sisters.” Upright and honest, Peter takes his mission seriously, but doesn’t always know how best to accomplish it. His attempts to rein his brother lead directly to Edmund’s betrayal. Once Edmund has gone missing, it’s Peter’s sworn duty to get him back. As if that weren’t enough, Peter faces a growing and even greater responsibility: the saving of Narnia. As the future High King, it is up to Peter to lead Aslan’s army in battle against the White Witch. Will a fifteen-year old boy who can barely look after his own family stand up to an entire evil army?

Description:

Notation Technologies has revolutionized the music notation software market by creating Play Music, the easiest to use music notation software available. Please do not be fooled by this low price. This program has most of the features found in notation software costing hundreds of dollars more. Download a trial version and see for yourself. Mac version available soon.

Product Description

Brings the kitchen sink to your garden! Outdoor Water Sink & Workstation is a convenient outdoor wall sink perfect for cleaning garden tools, washing freshly picked vegetables, or repotting plants. Fold the faucet down and slide the shelves together for a big 25½inch. x 16½inch. work surface. Great for potting and other garden chores. It mounts on the wall next to your outdoor faucet and even includes a 4 inch feeder hose. No more endless trips into the house, brings the kitchen sink outside! The compact design of the Outdoor Water Station opens up to provide a spacious dual table work surface and deep sink with a tall fold-up faucet. Just connect the unit to any outdoor spigot with the 4/’ supply hose (included). Regular garden hose can be attached for outflow. The Outdoor Water Center includes two tabletop shelves that slide closed to protect the sink when not in use and provide an extra large, sturdy work surface (24″ by 19″). The water station is made of rugged, all-weather polymer construction, to provide you with years of outdoor convenience. This item cannot be combined shipped with any other of our items due to weight. Features:Faucet folds down and table slides shut to coverMeasures 25″W x 17.8″D x 15.8″H closedMeasures 36″W x 17.8″D x 20.1″H openedDrains to directly to the groundDrain accepts optional hose to divert drainage (not included)What do I get? Includes 4 foot hose to hook up to spigotAll mounting hardware included. Shipping cost is adjusted as product is oversize item.

These “Hot Deals” all Expire on or before June 1, 2006 .. if you plan to take advantage of these extra discounts – you have to click on these links!

Expires May 25, 2006

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FREE Hard Drive Upgrade on select Dell PCs!

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Save up to $400 on select DELL TVs!

Watch for this .. Tuesday May 23, 2006

The Tuesday Report – Dell is offering one BIG deal on a Dell business product every week in The Tuesday Report.

NOTE: Some of the techniques they suggest in the following courses … REALLY gives you the shortcuts you need to learning how to play the piano! Click on the following URL (it will open a new window) and on the title MastHead graphic .. click .. VIEW TRAILER!
http://www.hearandplay.com/402080/pj.html

P.S. – You might find more interesting information, techniques, or resources just by clicking around on their website .. For Example .. in the middle of the page there are 11 short videos to watch that give you some free tips just for watching! Naturally, all of that is in this course.

HART

Want to play Gospel?

I’m going to get right to the point, because I don’t know how long these new Gospel resources will be available. Do you want to learn to play like those award-winning pianists that you hear on the radio? Do you want to cut the learning time in half and, at the same time, sound as if you’ve been playing since the day you were born?

Have you played all the “smaller” stuff and want to play with the “Big Boys?”

I know you’re probably saying “of course I do… that’s a silly question.” Obviously, the response is yes. I know you do, but it can become very difficult for this reason that I’m about to share with you. Musicianship and the road to becoming a very talented artist tends to be extremely sacred. I mean, if you come up in the church or wherever you’re learning to play the piano, it is treated as a personal artform.

YOU learn, YOU evolve, and YOU progress through practice, practice and more practice. As a result, many musicians are a little protective of their skills. It’s just that simple. They do not wish to disclose many of their secrets that took them a very long time to learn and PERFECT! It’s very individualized and unique to them. That being said, I think I’ve found something that might help you get inside (so to speak).

I’ve found two amazing artists that, through the website below, are willing to share with you ALL they’ve learned. Not only are they going to play for you….

….In a WHOPPING ***7 HOURS*** and ***6 DVDs***,they’re going to personally show you step-by-step and over-the-shoulder ALL of the licks and tricks that have given them the opportunity to play with Gospel Greats.

I’m talking about Gospel icons that we all know and love: Yolanda Adams, Kim Burrell, Shirley Caesar, Donald Lawrence, Daryl Coley, The Kurt Carr Singers, Judith, Christie McAllister, John P. Kee, and more!

The Gospel Keys Ultimate Course contains not — but 3 courses together!

1. PJ Morgan: Contemporary Gospel Piano!

3. Cassandra O’neal: West Coast Piano!

WITH THIS PJ MORGAN CONTEMPORARY PIANO COURSE, YOU’LL LEARN…

>>> How to take traditional hymns like “His eye is on the sparrow” and spice them up with the use of various altered chords, inversions, voicings, melodic lines, and more!

>>> The core differences between playing the piano versus the organ (precision, accuracy, etc). Hint: While the notes are the same between the two instruments, there are some major distinctions that have to be known or you’ll never produce the contemporary sound you want!

>>> How to effectively transition between chords with melody lines. This concept is the secret to making your progressions sound more smooth!

http://www.hearandplay.com/402080/pj.html

>>> Explore extended chords like min9, m11, m13, dom13 and how to spice them up (using both open and closed voicings). Two musicians can play the same “kind” of chord (e.g. – min9) and make the sound totally different!

>>> The secrets to accurately choosing the right accompanying chords to a melody line (examples shown in “His Eye is on the Sparrow” and “Amazing grace” and others.

>>> How to master stride piano techniques (bass and chord in left hand while the right hand can play melodic lines, additional chords, or fill-ins).

http://www.hearandplay.com/402080/pj.html

THE PJ MORGAN ORGAN MASTER’S CLASS WILL TEACH YOU…

P.J. Morgan’s “Contemporary Gospel Piano” 3-hour dvd course is
for any spiritual musician ready to take their playing to the
next level! Step-by-step, you’ll explore:

—> Organ operations/drawbars

—> Organ tricks

—> Tritone techniques

http://www.hearandplay.com/402080/pj.html

—> Right hand grace note effects

—> Left-hand chords and voicings

—> Chordal substitutions

—> ii-V-I progressions

—> Organ “runs and preacher chords

AND…

Cassandra O’neal’s “West Coast Piano” 2-hour dvd course

Cassandra O’neal’s “West Coast Piano” 2-hour dvd course is for any musician seeking to develop a west coast contemporary sound. Step-by-step and over-the-shoulder, you’ll learn:

==> How to play songs like “Give Thanks” with fancy fill-ins, voicings, and tricks that no one else will show you.

==> How to spice up “Give Thanks” with even more alternative chord changes and voicings.

==> The art of arpeggiation and how to use it to create the “west coast” feel.

==> The secrets behind harmonic overtones and how to use them to contemporize any song!

http://www.hearandplay.com/402080/pj.html

==> Various chord changes “ready-to-play” as soon as you learn them!

==> The secrets behind effectively playing while someone is talking.

Note: These voicings work well behind any pastor or church clerk making announcements

http://www.hearandplay.com/402080/pj.html

Wow, I know that’s a lot. Hear and Play Music doesn’t play around over there. So, if you’re really serious about taking your piano playing to the next level and adapting a crisp and professional sound as well, you owe it to yourself to take them up on this incredible deal.

Just in case, check out their other resources website by clicking the site below.

http://www.hearandplay.com/402080/pj.html

Take care
HART

Product Details

Product Dimensions: 3.4 x 2.1 x 0.9 inches ; 6.4 ounces
Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds. (View shipping rates and policies)
ASIN: B000AYGDIO
Item model number: SD450 Digital ELPH
Average Customer Review: based on 80 reviews. (Write a review.)
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1 in Camera & Photo (See Top Sellers in Camera & Photo)
Yesterday: #1 in Camera & Photo
Date first available at Amazon.com: March 17, 2006

Product Features

5-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 13 x 17-inch prints
2.5-inch LCD display; optical viewfinder; 3x optical zoom
Shoot high-quality movies at up to 60 frames per second with Fast Frame Rate Movie Mode
DIG!C II Image Processor for faster processing, vibrant colors, and excellent image quality
12 shooting modes including My Color settings for customization while shooting

Technical Details

Type of camera: Compact digital still camera with built-in flash, 3x Optical/4x Digital/12x Combined Zoom
Type: 5.0-megapixel, 1/2.5-inch type Charge Coupled Device (CCD)
Total pixels: Approximately 5.3 megapixels
Effective pixels: Approximately 5.0 megapixels
Focal length: 5.8-17.4mm f2.8-4.9 zoom lens (equivalent to 35-105mm in 35mm format)
Digital zoom: 4x
Focusing range: Normal AF: 1.0 foot/30 centimeters to infinity; Macro AF: 1.2 inches to 1.6 feet/3 to 50 centimeters (wide), 1.0 foot to 1.6 feet/30 to 50 centimeters (telephoto); Digital Macro: 1.2 to 3.9 inches/3 to 10 centimeters (wide)
Autofocus system: TTL autofocus (continuous/single)
Optical viewfinder: Real-image optical zoom viewfinder
LCD monitor: 2.5-inch low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT color LCD
LCD pixels: Approximately 115,000 pixels
LCD coverage: 100%
Maximum aperture: f2.8 (wide) to f4.9 (telephoto)
Shutter speed: 15 seconds to 1/1500 second; Slow shutter operates with noise reduction when manually set at 1.3 to 15 seconds
Sensitivity: AUTO, ISO 50, 100, 200, 400 equivalent
Light metering method: Evaluative, Center-weighted average, Spot (Metering frame with Spot Mode is fixed to center or linked to AF frame)
Exposure control method: Program AE; AE Lock is available
Exposure compensation: +/- 2 stops in 1/3-stop increments
White Balance control: Auto, Preset (Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H), Custom
Built-in flash: Operation Modes: Auto, On/Off, Red-Eye Reduction On/Off, Slow Synchro
Flash range: Normal: 1.6 to 12 feet/50 centimeters to 3.5 meters (wide), 1.6 to 6.7 feet/50 centimeters to 2.0 meters (telephoto); macro: 1.0 foot to 1.6 feet/30 to 50 centimeters (wide/telephoto) (when ISO is set to Auto)
Recycling time: Approximately 10 seconds or less (battery voltage=3.7V)
Shooting modes: Auto; Manual, Special Scene (Portrait, Night Snapshot, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Underwater, Indoor, Kids and Pets), Digital Macro, My Colors, Stitch Assist, Movie
Photo effects: Vivid, Neutral, Low Sharpening, Sepia, Black and White
Self-timer: Activates shutter after an approximately 2 second/10 second delay, Custom
Wireless control: Not available
Continuous shooting: Approximately 2.1 frames per second
Storage media: SD memory card, MultiMediaCard
File format: Design rule for camera file system, DPOF Version 1.1 (Digital Print Order Format)
Image compression: Still Image: Exif 2.2 (JPEG); Movie: AVI (Image: Motion JPEG; Audio: WAVE (Monaural))
JPEG compression mode: Normal, Fine, SuperFine
Number of recording pixels: Still Image: 2,592 x 1,944 (Large), 2,048 x 1,536 (Medium 1), 1,600 x 1,200 (Medium 2), 640 x 480 (Small); Movie: 640 x 480/320 x 240 (30 frames per second/15 frames per second), 320 x 240 (1 minute at 60 frames per second), 160 x 120 (3 minutes at 15 frames per second)
Playback modes file: Still Image: Single, Magnification (approximately 2x-10x), Jump, Auto Rotate, Rotation, Histogram, Index (9 thumbnail images), Sound Memos, Slide Show; Movie: Normal Playback, Special Playback, Editing
Erase modes: Still Image: Single image, All images; movie: Part of movie, All of movie
Computer interface: USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
Video out: NTSC/PAL
Audio out: Monaural
Other: Memory card slot. Direct connection to Canon CP, SELPHY, PIXMA Photo Printers, and PictBridge compatible printers via camera’s USB cable.
Power source: 1. Rechargeable lithium battery NB-4L; 2. AC adapter kit ACK-DC10
Shooting capacity: Still image: approximately 150 shots (NB-4L/LCD on), approximately 500 shots (NB-4L/LCD off) (CIPA standard)
Playback time: Approximately 180 minutes (NB-4L) (Canon Standard Test Methods)
Operating temperature: 32 to 104 degrees F/0 to 40 degrees C
Operating humidity: 10 to 90%
Dimensions (W x H x D): 3.39 x 2.11 x 0.85 inches/86.0 x 53.5 x 21.6 millimeters
Weight: Approximately 4.93 ounces/140 grams (camera body only)
Mac requirements: Mac OS X (v10.2-10.4); Computer Model: The above OS should be pre-installed on computers with built-in USB ports; CPU: PowerPC G3, G4 or G5; Interface: USB (Models with Apple genuine USB interface only)
PC requirements: Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition/Me/2000 SP4/XP (including SP1 and SP2); Computer Model: The above OS should be pre-installed on computers with built-in USB ports; CPU: Pentium 500MHz or higher processor; Interface: USB (Windows 98/Me/2000/XP pre-installed models only)
What’s in the box: PowerShot SD450 body, lithium battery pack NB-4L, battery charger CB-2LV, SD memory card SDC-16M, wrist strap WS-600, Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM, USB interface cable IFC-400PCU, audio-video cable AVC-DC300

I have just upgraded this WordPress version 1.52 blog .. into the latest wordpress version 2.0.2 ..

Some plugins work and I will be obtaining other plugins that only work with version 2.0.

I am also entertaining the idea of a new template for this blog. Watch this space for further developments!

Wakazashi 21.125 in. Blade

The Wakazashi blade is made from AUS 1050 spring tempered steel. The handle, 6.5 inches long, is covered in ray skin and wrapped in the traditional “cross-over” style with black braid cord. The blade collar is hand-made out of polished brass. Wakazashi comes complete with black lacquered wood scabbard. The overall length of Wakazashi is 27.625 inches with a 21.125 inch blade.

Wakazashi is a Japanese sword, similar to, but shorter than Katana. The wakazashi was usually worn together with katana by samurai or swordsmen back in feudal Japan. When worn together, the pair of swords was called daisho, which literally translates to “large and small.” The katana was often times called the sword or the long sword and the wakazashi was the companion sword. Wakazashi were made with different shapes and sizes, usually thinner that katana. Wakazashi as generally used when the Katana wasn’t available.