Get Rich Quick – All It Takes Is a Pretty Face and Some Jewelry

by Jack White

This goes in the category of inspiring business stories. First, you need an idea. Then you need some jewelry and Jessica Simpson and a nice website and lots of pretty faces.

Oh, then you send people jewelry. Amazingly people are attracted to pretty faces, and women do seem to like jewelry. The service is called JewelMint and TechCrunch has the entire story.

Basically, it’s like the book-of-the-month club. Only with jewelry.  They send you a new piece every week at a good price and then you wear it. But why stop there? I mean, if you’re busy getting rich with your line of websites named something-or-other Mint, always with a capital M, of course, why not keep building them?

Here’s TechCrunch.

Things went so well, in fact, that the company raised $23.5 million at a rumored $150 million valuation this past June. They followed that up by launching with their second vertical, StyleMint, in July — this time backed by the Olsen Twins. And now they’re ready for round three. Their latest vertical: Skincare.

On Monday the company launched BeautyMint, a service that’ll ship you a fresh supply of cleansers, toners, moisturizer, and creams every month. Rather than sending a random smattering, though, each user receives a personalized kit, depending on factors including their skin type, where they live, and the time of year. So far, the site is off to a very good start, with over 500,000 visitors in its first 24 hours. And that huge first day traffic was no doubt spurred by the fact that Jessica Simpson is onboard as the face of BeautyMint.

Cool, huh? And sure enough they’re taking my advice. They’re not stopping, as the article continues:

BeachMint has more verticals coming soon, too. Later this month, the company will launch ShoeMint, which will ship users shoes each month that have been designed by Rachel Bilson, Nichole Chavez, and Steve Madden. The founders add that they have more celebrities lined up for future verticals that they aren’t ready to announce just yet.

There’s a lot of potential here. I’m thinking of PuckMint. Every month it sends you a new hockey puck? Whattaya think? Got any ideas of your own?

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Do a Barrell Roll

by Jack White

If you go to google.com and type this in: do a barrel roll.

Something cool might happen. But maybe not for long.

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Steve Wozniak on Steve Jobs

by Jack White

How sad.

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There’s Tigers in Maryland, Fortunately They’re Mosquitos

by Jack White

Unfortunately they’re pests, they’re dangerous, and they’re spreading. I’m talking about Asian Tiger Mosquitoes.

Notice the stripes.

They don’t actually belong here. Apparently they hitched a ride in on used tires from Asia and were first spotted in Baltimore in 1987. Now they’re just about everywhere in the state, including Carroll County.

Here’s a very good and very detailed and pretty darned interesting article from the state that probably tells you everything you want to know about these guys.

But the main thing is this. Don’t leave containers of water anywhere in your yard. That’s where the eggs will hatch. Then the bugs will hang around. They don’t travel far. Only the females bite. They do most of the biting earlier in the day, and they like to get you in the ankles.

Here’s what the article says about preventing them from thriving in your yard.

The most effective method of controlling tiger mosquitoes is reducing or eliminating the containers which are the source of the problem. Draining or removal of water holding containers, even on a localized basis, will produce remarkable long-term reductions in mosquito annoyance. The list of breeding sites is extensive and includes any water holding containers, but the primary sites in residential areas include clogged rain gutters, tires, buckets, cans, bottles, boats, flower pots, bird baths, outdoor statuary, ornamental pools, plastic or canvas tarpaulins, children’s toys, rain barrels, and pet food and water dishes.

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Robots in Flames

by Jack White

It hurts me to see one of my brethren burning.

But that’s what the world’s come to, especially at the Robogames, which thank God, are over. Check out this tragic action. It doesn’t take long, but it will break your robot heart.

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Alien Plants versus Piney Ridge Elementary

by Jack White

Did you know there were alien plants in the area? It’s true. We’re not sure what they look like, but they walk among us, and if you’re not careful, they can do this to you. These are actual students from a Virginia school after exposure to the alien plants. It’s very dangerous, because these plants are now active in Maryland.

Which is why it’s so great that the kids at Piney Ridge Elementary are risking it all to take them on.

Alien plants invade Sykesville

How do we know? Because it says this in the Piney Ridge Green School Update:

Piney’s Earth Day Celebration – Wetland Project

Each grade will be invited to participate in the alien plant clean-up in the wetland area.

So there you go. And they’re warning you to make sure the kids bring an extra pair of shoes. It’s dirty work, but someone’s got to do it.

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Meet The Human Camera

by Jack White

Imagine if you could fly over Sykesville for a minute, then return home and draw the entire town, every single detail, perfectly, from memory. This guy can.

Meet the human camera. He’s amazing.

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Darkness is Coming

by Jack White

Embrace it.

Sykesville Middle School has. If only for an hour.

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Robo-Lions on the Prowl in Baltimore

by Jack White

What do you get when you cross a robot with a lion? The Liberty High Robo-Lions, of course.

We wrote a story about the Robo-Lions last year, but in case you don’t remember, they’re a team of high school robot makers, who build, test, and run their own robots for competitions like this one, color-coordinated shirts, referees, and all.

Heading to Baltimore and Beyond

Well, they’re at it again this year, designing and building two robots in just six weeks, and they’ll be heading to the Baltimore Convention Center shortly to compete in the 2011 Chesapeake Regional Competition against 54 other schools across the east coast.

The 2011 action in Baltimore gets underway Friday the 18th of March and culminates in the elimination rounds the next afternoon. For more information, check out the team’s website, or contact Mrs. Rose Young at rmyoung@carrollk12.org. And if you really want the scoop, read the Sykesville Online Robo-Lion article. It’s exciting stuff.

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Low-Tech Helmet in a High-Tech Revolution

by Jack White

It was technology – Facebook, mainly, which means computers, smart phones, Internet – that got the revolution started. But once they took to the streets, the Egyptians trying to overthrow their government had to resort to some low tech means of self-protection.

This picture’s funny, but it’s inspiring, too, and a little sad.

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