Robs Blog

Amazing Program: Aardvark

robertborgersen — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:40:46 +0000

One service I am finding very useful lately is Aardvark (vark.com). The concept behind Aardvark is simple: people are nice and are usually very willing to answer questions about concepts they know about. Aardvark is the connection between people with questions and people with answers. ...

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Where to purchase Computer Equipment online in Canada

robertborgersen — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 17:35:54 +0000

Here is a quick list of some of the best and some of the less known sites to purchase computer equipment in Canada. I will update this list periodically, and write some more notes on each of them over time. ...

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BlueHost … .com, .net, or .org?

robertborgersen — Sat, 29 May 2010 18:05:00 +0000

So it seems I have stumbled across a possible scam.

BlueHost.com (link) is a great web hosting service which I have now used for a number years. They give me what I think is a pretty good deal ($80 a year for essentially unlimited everything), and I am quite happy with them at the moment. They have 1-800 numbers you can call, and are based in Provo, UT.

BlueHost.net (link) is a completely different web hosting company…but their website looks surprisingly similar…and they link to BlueHost.hu, which is based on Hungary, specifically Szentendre, Hungary (based on the telephone number given on ...

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Participating In #EdChat

robertborgersen — Mon, 10 May 2010 21:47:29 +0000

What is #EdChat?

EdChat is a chat created by educators for educators that takes place on Twitter using the hashtag #EdChat. You can find out more about what exactly it is by watching the video below, and by visiting here. #Edchat takes place on Twitter Tuesdays from 11am-12pm and again from 6pm-7pm.

I am just starting out using EdChat, and so I had to figure out how to do it, and how to do it in the most productive and effective way. I am still learning, but I thought I would put together this document for those like me who want ...

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A Live Google Wave on my Blog

robertborgersen — Tue, 04 May 2010 01:47:12 +0000

A real live Google Wave embedded in a blog for ALL to see (not just those who have a Google Wave account!). In the past I was able to embed a Google Wave into a blog post, but it could only be seen by people who had Google Wave accounts (a select few), which was a HUGE downside. Today Google has released the ability to put up a wave that EVERYONE can see. ...

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The Rule of 72 (Investing)

robertborgersen — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:26:29 +0000

Introduction

When investing in anything, the investor always wants to know “when do I get my money back?”. This question elicits the following math problem:

Given an interest rate i, when will my principle P double in value (that is, I have made my money back)?

First off, this question is not quite well defined – we are not told how often the interest is compounded (or if it is compounded), but we will work with that.

The rule of 72 is a very convenient little trick for those interested in this rule. The rule states:

Divide 72 by the interest rate. This will ...

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Sony AF 75-300mm for $229.99 and finding deals

robertborgersen — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:17:45 +0000

A friend of mine recently posted something on his blog about price matching in Winnipeg. He said that, like me, when he wants a deal, he would in the past go to NCIX, a great site for finding electronics and computer equipment quite cheap. Better still, they have a great price match policy – find the same item advertised anywhere else for a cheaper price and they will match it. This allows you to find all your items at the best price and order them all from NCIX to save on shipping. Not too shabby.

However, he points out that the biggest ...

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Personalized products & Selling online

robertborgersen — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 04:05:54 +0000

I wanted to write quick post about on demand manufacturing. Here’s the idea: you create a style for a product (be it a picture for a T-Shirt, or a type of journal, or a calendar, or something like that), and you market it and sell it. When the item is sold, the business will THEN create the item (on the fly). The business takes care of all shipping and collecting of money. They pay you a commission on each item you sell.

The big player in this field is CafePress. CafePress seems to have really started it up, but there are ...

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Feedback appreciated!

robertborgersen — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 21:02:58 +0000

I’m using my first Google form to ask for some feedback from those who find themselves on my blog

Related posts:Writing Math on the internet! A First Google Wave Post Google ...

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Writing Math on the internet!

robertborgersen — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:29:20 +0000

With the development of Google Docs (http://docs.google.com/), one has to do word processing on their computer less and less. Working online is usually faster (just a browser to load), and allows your data to be stored in “the cloud”–that is, online rather than on your computer, making the files more secure.

However, for mathematicians there has always been a problem with this–LaTeX. Many of us use LaTeX to write everything. Academic papers, tests and exams, assignments, and even worksheets and letters (my CV was even made in LaTeX). Because of this there has not been much opportunity to switch over to using ...

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