feedIn Stock Again at Amazon.com
Amazon finally has You Are a Dog back in stock. Makes my heart go all aflutter.Labels: Amazon, Amazon.com, author, dog, dog book, dogs
New Amazon Widgets Features a Cure for Smoking
So I was just glancing at my email headings and I was pretty sure for a second there that one of the new features on the Amazon widgets was its ability to cure your smoking habit.
This, apparently, after much detailed review, is not actually the case.
I suppose it could have been worse. Not all of my SPAM is quite so g-rated. (Please note, this message has not been reviewed or approved by the MPAA or its affiliates... I use the term 'g-rated' in the most widely-understood way... so that you know that this message contains no actual reference to inuendous or otherwise fancypants materials). That is all.
Oh. Except maybe to show you the widgets, which I think I'll put at the bottom of this here page so as not to interfere with my textual thoughts (which are many and very nearly random).
[[oops... accidentally posted the widgets here the first time around... sorry about that... see what I mean by random?]]
The new features are these, in case you were wondering.
- Shuffle Products: While building 'My Favorites' and 'Slideshow' widgets, you can now select the Shuffle Products option to show your products in random order each time the widget is displayed. You can also go to My Widgets and enable this option in previously saved widgets
- Default Search Term: With the new 'Use default search term' option in the Search widget you can specify a search term that will be used to populate the Search widget when it is first displayed. Remember, you can always add a default search term to previously saved widgets by going to My Widgets and editing your saved Search widgets
- Delete Widgets: Is your My Widgets page cluttered with widgets that you no longer use? Use the delete icon besides each widget on the My Widgets page to permanently delete unused widgets
- Tracking Ids: Monitoring your widgets with custom Tracking Ids has never been easier. You can now easily change the tracking id associated with each widget by locating the widget on My Widgets and clicking the change link in the Tracking Id column.
See that? Not a single mention of smoking. But you know what? If it can be done, I bet you Amazon will be one of the first to do it. Maybe they'll set it up as part of their Mechanical Turk program.
Blessings. And, as I said, widgets:
Labels: Amazon.com, widgets
The Tales of Beedle the Bard
My question, I suppose, is this. If you order The Tales of Beedle the Bard (from Sotheby's in London, you see), and you choose super saver shipping, will it arrive by Christmas?
« ...Amazon has purchased J.K. Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard at an auction held by Sotheby’s in London. »
Furthermore, if you spend more than one million nine hundred thousand pounds, do you get free shipping?
Important questions, I should think... but I see no answers forthcoming. Sadly, we may never know.
Meanwhile, it's a winter wonderland outside my house. I'm trying to figure out how I can convince the dog to go out and shovel the walk, then move the trash out to the corner. Maybe if I turn it into a game? Pretend the trash is a small group of sheep?
She's too clever for me, that dog.
Blessings.
Labels: Amazon.com, booklinks, books, Harry Potter, HP7
Enviably Odd Book Title: The End of California
Okay. It could just be that I have a thing about California, but it could also be that this is just a completely odd and beautiful title.
Also? Piggly Wiggly on the cover of your book? That is totally awesome (though the paperback doesn't have the same cover, regrettably).
Axis of California
flickr
Labels: Amazon.com, booklinks, books, Enviably Odd Book Title
Spinning the Amazon Helper
Labels: Amazon.com
Fun Amazon.com Book Cloud
...enjoy...
...and have a nice day...
Labels: Amazon.com
Amazon MP3 Downloads Should Give iTunes a Run for Their Money (Finally)
Now here's a company that could actually give Apple and the iTunes store a run for it's money. Amazon.com is now offering mp3 downloads, and they're high-quality, no DRM versions of the tunes, often at lower prices than you can buy them at the iTunes store. The top 100 songs are always 89 cents.
Go check it out: Amazon.com mp3 Store
I should probably note that I'm a big fan of the iTunes store, and love how it works, and I'm such an Apple booster that I'm invested in the company and won't buy a computer without that fruit on it and a bite taken out. But I will buy songs from Amazon.com if they are cheaper and better quality, and I will bet you that the songs (and the software Amazon.com supplies to get your mp3 downloads on) will run slickly on my mac and on your mac and on your pc and on your iPod and any other thingamabob you might play music on.
If I purchase and play and find any different, I'll let you know. Because I'm that sort of guy. Letting you know.
Hm. What should I try first?
Labels: Amazon.com, itunes, music
Buy Two Random House Paperbacks at Amazon.com and Get the Third Free
Right now if you Buy two Random House paperbacks at Amazon.com, you get the third free... 
...which is not a terrible deal, you know, because Random House has some good books in paper. So go look at that page and come back and tell me what you bought. Or what you didn't buy but almost bought. Or what you would have bought but you thought maybe you'd better go to an independent bookseller even though it's going to cost you more because otherwise that indie might not be there tomorrow. Moving right along.
Labels: Amazon.com, booklinks, books
Tags for Amazon Search
Cool Beans. I love it when Amazon makes changes to their website and then contacts me like I'm some kind of insider (which I'm not).
Dear Amazon.com Customer,Now then. You'll be using this right away, won't you?
As a previous user of "Search Suggestions", we thought you would like to know about an important change to this feature. "Search Suggestions" is now known as "Tags for Amazon Search". You can access the new feature by signing on to the main Amazon.com website and following the instructions below.
Tagging products for Amazon Search (make a Search Suggestion):
* Go to the Amazon.com detail page for your chosen product (e.g. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1400052424/).
* Find the section titled "Tags customers associate with this product"
* Locate the subsection at the bottom of this section titled "Help others find this product - tag it for Amazon Search"
* You can "tag" the product from here.
Managing your existing Tags for Amazon Search (updating Search Suggestions):
* Go to the Amazon.com detail page for one of your products (e.g. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1400052424/).
* Find the section titled "Tags customers associate with this product"
* Locate the subsection at the bottom of this section titled "Help others find this product - tag it for Amazon Search"
* You will see the link to manage all your Tags for Amazon Search there.
We hope this clarifies our new process, and we hope that you continue to help others find items by tagging them for Amazon Search.
If you have any further queries, please contact tags-feedback@amazon.com.
Kind regards, Amazon.com
I thought so.
Labels: Amazon.com
Me and My Little Chrome Braising Pan
Amazon seems to think I'm interested in learning how to use a braising pan.
I do not know why.
But there it was on my home page this morning, along with the term it thinks I want to know. Sometimes I am confounded by the Amazon matching doo-dads, but I'm also fascinated by them. I'm betting at some point in my history with this company, I did indeed (or someone sitting at my computer did indeed), have use of the term "braising pan." Though I have no recollection myself of doing it, I'm sitting here thinking about it now, and my fascination is such that I've spent at least 15 minutes looking at cooking textbooks.
Whether I ever looked up the use of a braising pan or not, that is a successful method of getting me to hunt around, to do some shopping, to waste time otherwise spent on wasting time somewhere else.
Good show.
Labels: Amazon.com
Pirate's Booty
You know, I don't care how much of a curmudgeon you are, a product called Pirate's Booty has to put a smile on your face. Doesn't it? So stop with the grimace. You need to lighten up a bit. I'm telling you. So do it. Lighten. Also, the Pirate's Booty is a tasty snack. I do enjoy them myself.Labels: Amazon.com, grocery
My Favorites Amazon Widget
Coolish newish widgetish from Amazon.com that shows your favorite Amazon.com stuff on your blog or webpage. I didn't go all nuts on the favorites, but wanted to see how/if it worked, so here I am sharing it with you. I have only to ask, how many widgets does one boy need? A person will have to start trimming them soon, methinks. Strangishly, I can't seem to get the newish widgetish coolish Amazonish to workish. Maybe it will and maybe it won't. Why is nothing a breeze anymore? Etc.Later, it's still not working, but I'm going to leave the post here with a big blank space in it for posterity. If it ends up with a groovy widget there someday, just assume that it's fixed, okay? Okay.
Labels: Amazon.com, widgets
The Harry Potter Card
Okay, so the folks at Amazon.com are totally playing the Harry Potter card to the hilt.
Um. Though I guess that would be playing the Harry Potter sword to its hilt. Whatever. If you order Harry Potter now, it looks like you get five bucks back to spend in August. And the thing is 49% off the regular price. And if you pre-order, they guarantee the delivery on the release date (July 21). That's what I call a loss leader, folks. It's like the dollar gallon of milk at the Piggly Wiggly. Get you in to the store and maybe you'll buy more. In fact, give 'em five bucks to do just that.
Oh, but look at that. You have to spend $20 to get the five back... clever. Of course, the book itself is but $17.99, so you gotta spend at least another $2.01.
I wonder if Amazon.com has anything for exactly that price. Maybe I'll go have myself a looksee.
No. That's too difficult for me to figure out. Instead, I recommend you buy 5 Amazon shorts. That will put you over the limit--they're only forty-nine cents. And they're often quite good.
So here's a link to Amazon Shorts
Labels: Amazon.com, Harry Potter, shorts
Amazon Grocery
I'm guessing you all. Do your grocery shopping at Amazon.com, right?Okay, that's sort of a joke. But honestly, have you ever purchased a grocery product from the big A? If so, how'd that work out for you? Any complaints? How'd the price compare with your local shopping place? Will shopping for groc at Amazon stay or will it go the way of the penny candy? (Sorry about the flashy Amazon ad. It's frankly more fun to make my post obnoxious.)
Labels: Amazon.com
