Patrick Jake, Thanks for the response!(SIDE NOTE: Do I use a lot of putotuanicn or what?)I agree that Reefbuilders, GlassBox Design, and NanoReefBlog are different. I also think I am different from you (at least I hope so). I was not lumping you into the same category as forums. But, I disagree that forums and blogs are very similar. I think they are quite different. But, I also think they are a natural progression from forums. In forums, its about all people having an equal voice. In blogs there is a hierarchy. The blogger and those who comment. Also, blogs enable you to stand apart and stand on your own. Forums are not about individuals. You could never post again on ReefCentral and it will get along just fine. You stop posting on ReefBuilders and its gone. Forums are able sharing information with everyone having a voice. Its a dialogue. The dialogue exists but is muted in blogs. Both exist and thrive for different reasons. Finding out that Hydor is recalling heaters is a good example. I may never know that, even if it was stickied in a forum. It might just get lost. But, with the blog its front and center.

Halina And I am on the opposite end of the sptecrum. I don't like reading this emotional sort of stuff, it kills me. It's the same reason, won't go to certain movies. Heck, I cry at virtually every Disney movie. When the crawdad died in the Princess and the Frog, I went through three Kleenexes! And then, when he was reunited with his first love . . . well, my nose started running!I HATE raw emotion. I'm sorry, Karin, but I can't read this sort of stuff. I just can't handle it.

Placida Yes the high-tech high-speed culture of the day spiloing the joy of toil and soil. Thank God,these instant noodle' people have not yet invented the instant child birth', yet!

Mohammed We just got back from two weeks in Japan, mainly Tokyo, Yokohama, and Kamakura. I can't tell you where to stay chaeply as we stayed at the Mandarin Oriental (as in Lost in Translation) and it was simply fabulous (and fabulously expensive). But I can echo a few other commenters.1. It is hot. It will be hotter than Florida or Southern California. It will be humid. You will sweat buckets. That is why the Japanese carry washclothes. They wipe the sweat off their faces at every opportunity. Japanese airconditioning will not be able to cope. Sometimes it is cooler, but never as cool as San Francisco is naturally.2. We spoke no Japanese. We could get around in the stores by pointing and in the train and subways by reading the Katakana (Roman) characters on the stations. You will not be able to read Kanji. It is very complex. The hardest thing for us was food. You might think you like Japanese food, but when you get to Japan you will eat food that you can only guess whether it is animal, vegetable or mineral. Some of it is very good (I loved the Tonkatsu), but breaded, fried things can contain anything. I got a Yakitori I thought was beef, but it was liver. I did love buying food in the department stores as sometimes I had samples and sometimes I could tell I what I was buying (eel!)3. YES! Get a Japan East Rail Pass. You should be able to buy one here before you go. It was well worth it for us, although we also rode a lot of subways. At Narita go to the JR (lower) level and get a Narita Express RESERVATION (they can get you one for the next train out). Be sure and get a JR East Rail Map (I printed one out from the JR website). Also get a Tokyo Metro Subway map (also printed from the web). But be aware THERE IS MORE THAN ONE SUBWAY SYSTEM IN TOKYO and your day/trip pass may not let you transfer from one to the other. We found this out the hard way. But even if you need to buy another ticket, it is not too expensive (170 yen, about $1.50). Going back to Narita you can also go to any main station (like Yokohama or Toyko) and make a reservation in advance on the NEX for your return trip.4. Yodabashi Camera in Akihabara is definitely a trip to visit, but I don't recommend buying electronics there. I bought a tiny portable mouse for my MacBook Pro and IT DID NOT WORK. Luckily I got the concierge to call the company and tell me how to return it. She even wrote me a letter to take to them. No one in the store speaks English. What I did buy there that I love is tiny, tiny Japanese plastic food. It comes in sets of boxes like Cracker Jack toys. The box tells you which set this is for, but not which exact food items are in it. We bought three boxes and luckily for us, all of them were different. I guess it is like collecting game trading cards. The eighth floor there is full of restaurants. We went to the sushi boat one and it was good.4. For something completely different than Tokyo, I suggest Kamakura. It is a little less than an hour from Tokyo and full of temples. We got off the train at Kita-Kamakura and walked around two temples, then caught a taxi at the train station and took it to the large Buddha. I love cats and found a cat store (many of the stores in Japan are very small and very specialized) just a block or so from the Buddha and bought a bunch of fabric cats holding one paw up. We were going to take a taxi to the main Kamakura station, but the locals (speaking no English, us holding our JR Rail Passes out) told us to get a bus. Get a ticket when you get on the bus and pay when you get off. It was only 160 yen to take us down the hill over a mile. And they give change.5. Speaking of change. You might want to bring a change purse. The smallest yen bill is 1000 (less than $10). You will end up with a LOT of coins (500, 100, 50, 10, 5, and 1).6. We spent most of our time in museums Contempary Art, Modern Art, Crafts, and Photography and shopping. Brought back sake cups and chopsticks and handmade books. Lovely.Have a good time. It is clean, safe, and lots of fun.

Sercan Jason,Check back later (next year) for the 2008 meetup! I hope to see you then.Jim,I miessd to answer this part of your question: any customization tips? Actually the presentation were less tutorial-like (they hardly showed codes even on the second day: developer day). But like you said today I would have liked it a lot if they had a little more technical session on best practice in plugin writing' or something.

Avinash MILANO DOUBLE STANDARDOra che tutto sermba gie0 stato detto, ora che tutto, sermba gie0 stato scritto dappertutto, tutto!Quello che ci resta quello che, cosa siamo.La Pratica e8 in pratica un suono.Ogni 1! Uno rappresenta con il suo Soun System, Ogni 2…Uno e8 chiuso in casa e cura il proprio home business, si.Sospetto di Sapere si, quii. Dove andiamo, in diretta, segnaliamo a Milano… Indice in ribasso per gli investimenti in capitale umano.2.All’aperitivo delle sette, risse di GSM, tra tutti che ci provano nessuno riesce a smettere.Cazzate on ice! In cocktail glass antiproiettile.Pitbull, Clockers, gente con la goccia al naso e Killer potenziali in giro.Con noi di pif9 , di pif9 di Tutto, Tutto e il contrario di Tutto.Scomponi tutto in pezzi ingoia una bottiglia d’acqua e vai a letto. Passando sopra mucchi di scassati stiamo ora Rincasando, Meditando, Valutando.I Limiti dei Limiti d, d--della Riduzione del Danno…Milano sembri stanca torna a casa,…fuori dal controllo sfila,…folla folle avanza guarda Armani e Albania,Milano ha un Doppio Standard!3.Milano 7 di mattina chiudono una casa, fuoco sulla stradaWelcome ben trovati, all on board si dia inizio al musicaaal!Protagonisti interpreti incriminati e assolti eseguono d’accordo, troppo-d’accordo, coreografie d’altri tempi, diamo un occhio a i presenti.Alle Finestre, Spettatori non paganti dal profilo intollerante a tutto, proprio tutto, tranne che per sesso e soldi, ora…Milano e8 in Coda ancora in Coma…Controlla la cronaca analizza la Rosa…vedo un giovane ucraino radioattivo andare in goal!…gli alla centrale dichiarati out law…appaiono e scompaiono…come comparse fantasma dentro il musical4.Bambini cresciuti troppo in fretta, arrivano, giocanoseminano il panico osservano E sul muro scrivono“ lui al sicuro pensa perche9 ricco. Ratko”Niente da perdere, niente paura, Tu dammi-dacci-dagli quattro mura. Dagli una Casa una storia pif9 sicura*c8 lo scenario di un citta che si deforma, fantasmi al metro quadro zone d’ombra. Guardati attorno, Invisibile Pulviscolo Velenoso nelle vie Respiratorie Strane storie,Scritte sui muri contro stronzi di cane sui marciapiedi, Milano e8 questo standard, Milano veri falsi problemi.

Ronald Derek, you've put together a rellay great post here. Thanks for mentioning NanoReefBlog.com alongside the likes of Glassbox-design.com and Reefbuilders.comYou are right in that both GBD and RB are more like magazine sites than blogs, however GBD still center's around the Glassbox' 90g reef, making it more blog than mag, kind of like NRB. RB is a full blown community with their forums.I see each of these 3 sites sitting nicely in a niche at the moment. RB is very generalised, GBD leans more towards the design/modern side of the hobby and well, the nano arena is for NRB. At times certain things will overlap across all three sites and the other great blogs out there -it's just going to be a race to see who posts that breaking' story first, ha ha. I just wish we could all work together in the blogosphere and in turn further contribute to the growth and innovation of this hobby. If the webdesign community can work together, surely us reefers can do the same?As for forums been down that road too. I've seen a very small scene split down the middle and two forums born as a result. One thing to remember as markets saturate, competitive nature rears it's head, and those who won't/can't play ball get left behind and are forgotten.

Nawaf I loved visiting the gadern in Okayama City. The city in general had a very green' feel compared to most other Japanese cities I've been to. Plus you can get mexician food by the station! Always a bonus.