John W. Scherer Video Professor Blog Sept. 29, 2006

Talking About Technology!

Get out and vote!
What a great idea. Our forefathers gave their lives so Americans can have the right to vote. Unfortunately, turnout at the polls is less than desirable in most elections, especially in elections that don’t involve electing a new President. It’s my opinion that our younger generations of people are the ones who don’t take full advantage of this precious right. I’m glad to see that www.MySpace.com is taking measures to help voter turnout. The popular web site has made it easy for people to register to vote directly through the social networking site. Jeff Berman, who is a senior vice president at MySpace, said "Young people in this country are really engaged in what's happening in their community and want to make a difference. The key is to make it easy for them to get engaged. By putting these tools on MySpace and putting it in front of their eyes, you make it far more likely they will use them."
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Web making college choices easier
One of the biggest decisions a young person and their family will make is choosing the right college. With so many options available for higher education, the task of choosing where to matriculate can be daunting. If you’re a parent and need help, read this article. It has some great tips on how to find the right fit for your college-bound teen. Whether you have questions about location, campus info, curriculum or financial aid information, this may help find some answers.
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Can you spare a few extra hours?
Is it possible to get some more daylight? Can we slow down how fast the world revolves so we can get all our work done? According to a new study families are cramming 43 hours worth of activity into a 24 hour day. Technology keeps making our lives better, right?
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Going once, going twice… Sold!
This three-year-old must have used Video Professor’s “Learn How to Buy and Sell on eBay®” tutorial. This young Londoner was able to purchase a pink convertible on the popular auction site before his parents realized what had happened. The mom was surfing around eBay and thought she had logged off. But after just a few clicks, the young buyer was able to purchase a $16,000 car. Fortunately for the family, the owner of the car had a sense of humor and did not make the family finalize the purchase.
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Picks o’ the week!
I describe last week as “what could have been.” I went 1-2 on the week, but it could have easily been 3-0. That is why today’s NFL is so compelling. You just never know what’s going to happen each week. Denver took care of business on the road at New England. The final was 17-7, but that was a complete domination by the Broncos. They had Tom Brady confused all night. Granted, Brady doesn’t exactly have an arsenal to throw to right now, but Denver’s D needs some credit. As for the other two games I picked: Jacksonville couldn’t get it done, even though they were in control for a good portion of the game. As for the Vikings, they’ll wish they had that game back later in the season. They had every opportunity to pull off the upset and get a leg up in the NFC North, but give Chicago credit for fighting back. Anyway, I’m 6-3 on the season (though I could easily be 8-1). Here are the games I like this week:

Carolina over New Orleans: Wow, what an emotional win for the Saints last Monday night. The crowd at the Superdome was the best it has been in years. Everything seemed to go right for the Saints. They are a much improved team this year, but I think their winning streak comes to an end this week. The Saints will have a hangover from last week, and they play in a very hostile environment, against a Carolina team that is hungry to get even at 2-2.

San Diego over Baltimore: If you like hard-nosed, smash-mouth, defensive football, this is the game for you. Both defenses have played great so far, and what a treat it will be to see two of the league’s best linebackers, San Diego’s Shawne Merriman and Baltimore’s Ray Lewis, playing in this game. It’s going to be a battle, that’s for sure, but I give the edge to the Chargers. Baltimore has a great defense, but their game against the Browns last week proved that their offense still needs a lot of work. San Diego, with LaDainian Tomlinson, should be able to score enough to get the road win.

New England over Cincinnati: I look at this as another “let down game.” Cincinnati is coming of a HUGE win against their most-hated rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers. They have had to deal with some distractions this week, as linebacker O’Dell Thurman was arrested for a DUI and subsequently suspended for the remainder of the season by the NFL. Two other players were in the car at the time, though they were not charged. Combine that with the fact New England should be chapped after last week’s home loss to Denver, and I think the Patriots will pull off the win.

John W. Scherer
CEO and Founder
VIDEO PROFESSOR, Inc.