I’ve been wanting to create a Squidoo Lens for a few months now but couldn’t come up with a good topic. I thought that a good topic might be something where a simple Google search doesn’t returns the results I was after. Well, that finally happened a few weeks ago when I started looking for sport sedan comparison tests. I was after the most comprehensive tests that are normally written by magazines such as Car & Driver, Road and Track, Automobile, and Edmunds. But it took a lot of searching through sites to eventually find the best comparisons.

So I gathered the information I’d found and created my first lens: The Very Best BMW 3 Series Comparison Tests

I’d love to hear if you’ve come across a good comparison that I’ve missed.

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I know it sounds like a fad and very may well go the way of Friendster. But that doesn’t make it any less addicting. I’m talking about Twitter.

If you give it a try go ahead and add me if you’d like. Here’s my profile.

The Happiness Project lists a number of items that make an office comfortable to employees. How many of these does your employer provide? Or do you feel like Milton from Office Space?

1. There’s a wall behind you (so no one can sneak up behind you)

2. There’s a wall to one side (too much openness makes you feel exposed)

3. Your workspace is 50-75% enclosed by walls or windows (so you have a feeling of openness)

4. You can’t hear workplaces noises that are very different from the kind of noises you make at work (you concentrate better when the people around you are engaged in similar tasks, not very different tasks)

5. You can face in different directions at different times.

I’m not a huge fan of Microsoft Powerpoint but I did like this quote from Guy Kawaski that I came across at the Business Rules of Thumb Wiki:

“The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint: a PowerPoint presentation should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points”

I’ve seen checks with pretty flowers, waterfalls, and mountain scenes. I once bought a box or two of checks emblazoned with my alma mater’s colors and logo.

But I’ve never thought about ordering checks with pictures of Donny Osmond in various poses. My brother-in-law told me about Checks Your Way that prints up check in such categories as “Family”, “Dog”, “Cat”, “Scenery” and “Donny Osmond”. Given that Donny has his own category makes me believe that Checks Your Way had so many requests for checks with his image they couldn’t help but give Donny his own category.

I’d like to get a box or two with the following pose just to see people’s reactions.

Dave Winer details his experience of trying to find someone to repair his water heater. Years ago this type of crappy service would only make the rounds around those you could tell in person. But with blogs the good, bad and ugly have a much further reach.

Do you live up to your name? Or as Dave found out, this water heater company couldn’t live up to it’s online hold message.

“I recorded their hold-message, which ironically tells you how important water heaters are (I know!) and how much they care, and how professional and responsible they are. That I had enough time to think of recording it and actually do it gives you some idea how much time I spent on hold”

Over the past few weeks I’ve done a lot of research online for cars and have compiled my favorite car related websites.

1. Edmunds – This is my top choice for researching a new or used car. The website is very well organized and written. I especially enjoy their numerous comparison tests, Editors Most Wanted, and Used Car Best Bets.

2. Carpoint – I use for their easy to use Kelley Blue Book, New and Used car finder (most sites have this but Carpoints feels easier to use), and Consumer Reports articles such as “Best and Worst Depreciation“.

3. Craiglist Cars (Seattle) – You never know what you’ll find here, but it’s a good gauge to see what private sellers are asking for certain models. You’ll even find dealers listing “hot” models for more than sticker price. It’s probably more entertainment than research but it’s interesting.

4. Autobytel – I used this site a while back to buy a Nissan Pathfinder. You can research models here and then submit what model you’re after to a preferred dealer who will provide you with a price quote. For those that don’t like to haggle in person, this is a great option.

5. Cars.com has my favorite loan calculator as well as a quick loan approval process. I also like their “Best and Worst Resell Values” list.

6. CarSmart has a number of very good video reviews. While you’re here, check to see which models have rebates and incentives running.

If you’ve recently made the switch to Windows Vista you may already know some of your hardware will require driver updates not found on the Vista CD. If you’re luck, Vista will install a general driver so you’re device will at least run, but for optimal performance and stability, you’ll want to poke around the device manufacturers website to see if they have Vista drivers available for download.

Once you’ve installed Vista bring up the Device Manager (Windows Logo, Search, type “device”) and check to make sure that Vista found all your hardware. Vista will usually list a brand and model such as Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT for my video driver. If you see general names for hardware such as video cards, sound cards, or monitors that’s a hint that Vista probably wasn’t able to find the latest driver for that device. For such devices you’ll need to hunt down the latest Vista compatible drivers from the manufacturer’s website.

Below are a few devices and brands I’ve noticed the biggest improvement when I’ve been able to find the Vista compatible driver.

1. If you’re running an Nvidia video card you can download Vista drivers here. Vista compatible drivers for ATI can be found here.

2. If you’re running a newer Creative brand sound card such as the X-Fi series, you can download Vista drivers from here.

3. Microsoft has a number of updated drivers for their webcams, mice and keyboards you can find here. I bought a Microsoft Lifecam webcam yesterday and the drivers it came with were two versions old.

4. Dell has released a number of Vista compatible drivers for their monitors you can find here.

5. Search HP for updated Vista drivers here.

Other Resources:

RadarSync has a nice list of Vista drivers

If you finally got around to updating Windows Live Messenger to the latest build (8.1.0178.00) you’ll be happy to know that those gurus at Mess have been working just as hard to rid your instant messaging experience of those annoying ads found at the bottom of windows.

How do I get rid of the ads you ask?

1. Check to see what version of Windows Live Messenger you’re running. From the main window go to Help/About Messenger to find out.

2. If you’re running another other than build (8.1.0178.00) then install it from here.

3. Download the Mess Patch from here.

4. When you install the Mess Patch you see a few options. Look for the options under Main Window and make sure put a check next to “Remove advertising banner”. Under Conversation Window Options put checks next to “Remove bottom text advertisement” and “Remove advertising space area”. I also disable “Nudges” and “Winks”.

Enjoy your ad free messaging experience!