At any rate during their celebration of 200 years as a state, the state of Ohio painted bicentennial murals on barns throughout the state - one barn per county. On our trip to Kentucky, we passed the barn in Ross County which was also the county that hosted the first state capitol of Ohio.

So here is Penguin with the Ross County Ohio Bicentennial barn! I took this photo on May 11, 2008.

About the Penguin
Penguin is a Jen Goode creation. If you travel a lot and would like to have a plushie penguin of your very own to travel with you, visit Jen’s Etsy shop or if you just want cool cartoon penguin shirts/gifts visit The Lil’ Penguin Shop. In addition to my adventures with Penguin that are cataloged at ShawnIngram.com’s Traveling with Penguin, you can see adventures Penguin has with others by visiting his website at My Penguin Travels.

Do you love Ohio and Penguin? Get your own “I love Ohio” Penguin items today!

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About the Penguin
Penguin is a Jen Goode creation. If you travel a lot and would like to have a plushie penguin of your very own to travel with you, visit Jen’s Etsy shop or if you just want cool cartoon penguin shirts/gifts visit The Lil’ Penguin Shop. In addition to my adventures with Penguin that are cataloged at ShawnIngram.com’s Traveling with Penguin, you can see adventures Penguin has with others by visiting his website at My Penguin Travels.

Do you love West Virginia and Penguin? Get your own “I love West Virginia” Penguin items today!

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About the Penguin
Penguin is a Jen Goode creation. If you travel a lot and would like to have a plushie penguin of your very own to travel with you, visit Jen’s Etsy shop or if you just want cool cartoon penguin shirts/gifts visit The Lil’ Penguin Shop. In addition to my adventures with Penguin that are cataloged at ShawnIngram.com’s Traveling with Penguin, you can see adventures Penguin has with others by visiting his website at My Penguin Travels.

Do you love Virginia and Penguin? Get your own “I love Virginia” Penguin items today!

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About the Penguin
Penguin is a Jen Goode creation. If you travel a lot and would like to have a plushie penguin of your very own to travel with you, visit Jen’s Etsy shop or if you just want cool cartoon penguin shirts/gifts visit The Lil’ Penguin Shop. In addition to my adventures with Penguin that are cataloged at ShawnIngram.com’s Traveling with Penguin, you can see adventures Penguin has with others by visiting his website at My Penguin Travels.

Do you love Kentucky and Penguin? Get your own “I love Kentucky” Penguin items today!

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Luckily a good friend of mine (or is it a Goode friend? :p) named Jen Goode sent me a buddy to hang out with me during these journeys. She said he loves to travel and see new places. I figured cool, a travel buddy may keep me occupied enough to where the time passes fast enough that I don’t miss the internet as much. Boy, was I right about being kept occupied!

So after a bit of a wait, the UPS guy shows up at my door with a little box. In getting inside the house, I tear into the box to find a couple books that Jen had offered me. I take out the books and there sits Penguin with his face covered in chocolate smiling up at me innocently. I look closer inside the box and I find the brownie wrapper of the brownie Jen had sent me.. (Jen, next time you ship Penguin with brownies, you might wanna send two!)

At any rate, now that Penguin is here we have a lot of adventures planned. I have a lot of pictures of me and Penguin from my recent trip to Kentucky where we went to visit an uncle in the hospital with cancer. No, Penguin didn’t visit the hospital, but we did take the opportunity to visit a few other places while down in the area.

With the adventures we have had and the adventures we have planned, I decided to add a new category to the site here specifically for cataloging our adventures. (Don’t be surprised to see posts from Penguin… I mean I’ve already caught him playing World of Warcraft late at night on my computer so its hard to tell where he ventures to on the internet!)

About the Penguin
Penguin is a Jen Goode creation. If you travel a lot and would like to have a plushie penguin of your very own to travel with you, visit Jen’s Etsy shop or if you just want cool cartoon penguin shirts/gifts visit The Lil’ Penguin Shop. In addition to my adventures with Penguin that are cataloged at ShawnIngram.com’s Traveling with Penguin, you can see adventures Penguin has with others by visiting his website at My Penguin Travels.

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Working on the computer for hours a day, I work on developing programs with PHP, designing page layouts with CSS, managing ad campaigns on my sites, managing my photography at a bunch of different places, (and the list goes on with similar tasks). One would think the last place I would turn to for any kind of fun would be on the computer. But in addition to many of the off-computer things I find fun, I also enjoy the world of MMORPG gaming.

I was first introduced to MMORPG gaming by a consultant that I’d brought in to do some work for us back around 2000. At the time, I was playing a text based multi-player adventure game and refused to give up a game which challenged me to draw the world I was in with my mind for one that would bog down my computer with the graphics and take away my imagination. I finally caved and tried the MMORPG he had been playing towards the end of 2000. I was immediately hooked! Since then I have adventured through five different worlds (and five different beta test worlds).

Currently my family of characters live on the world of Telon (Vanguard: Saga of Heroes) where they are a mixture of adventurers and crafters. I have found that throughout the years that I have been playing MMORPGs that although the graphics are before me, the creativity of an active imagination is not robbed… There are also histories to be pondered and stories to be imagined and created even in the present. Within Telon you may find me on the Seradon server as Dartinus, Kandayael, Kitario, Kukthar, Thardon, Tordey, Domoro, or Annamael. Each has their own personality and history.. Following are snipets on a couple of them…

Dartinus Ashenblade (Dread Knight and Tailor)
As a young boy Dartinus had it rough. His family moved from their homeland of Halgarad on Telon to the deserts around the town of Lomshir when when was only a baby. The continent of Qalia was a big change for the family of lesser giants and a lesser giant boy was a BIG change to the human children of Lomshir. It is little wonder that at the age of calling, young Dartinus began to turn to the teachings of the dread knights with their dark magic and visions of war. Adorned in his mix of chain mail and plate armor, armed with his new squire’s sword and a few spells the young adventurer walked into the wilds to make a mark on the world. The question is, will the mark be for good? Or will it fall more towards his chosen career path of darkness and dread?

Thardon Ashenblade (Cleric and Armorsmith)
“What an evil place”, ponders Thardon as he exits the tomb of Lord Tsang for the fifth time in a week. Loosening the buckles on his chestplate, he lets it drop to the ground before relaxing in the thick growth of bamboo, camouflaging his presence from any wandering nearby. For the first time he notices all the blood from his comrades who, without his spells of healing, would surely have perished. He then notices for the first time since leaving the haunting tomb the continual rain as its drops begin to wash away some of the blood. “It always seems to be raining when I leave this place”, he thinks to himself. “Almost as if the gods are crying because of the desolation that is trying to take over these forsaken islands.”

Tordey(Necromancer)
Life has always been a nightmare for Tordey. Abandoned by a mother who didn’t want her as a child and not knowing who her father was, Tordey ended up in an orphanage in Tanvu. She never got along with the other children and her seething hate for everyone and everything bled through in her interviews with prospective parents. This left little to no chance for her getting away from the horrid place. Little did she know that even for the forgotten and unwanted, there was still a place for everyone in Telon’s society. Now in her thirties, looking back on those days brings a crooked smile to her face. She adoringly strokes the head of her abomination, a creature pieced together with parts harvested from the various creatures she has had to kill. Its long savage claws scrapes the huge granite boulder they are standing on as it looks up waiting for its master’s command. After she checking her quest list from the local garrison, she looks down to the forest below and after a moment spots an enraged treant. She simply points and the abomination goes off in a flurry. As she finishes the incantation of the first of many dark spells to come, she hears the battle start up in the distance. She opens her eyes and again points toward the now fighting treant as streams of complete darkness travel from her fingertips to engulf it and the powerful warmth of her spell’s energy engulfs her once again.

Tuesday’s Topic is inspired weekly by Jen Goode

Below are the MMORPGs I’ve played and/or tested… For more games or gamer gifts be sure to check out our MMORPG Gear site.

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Seriously though, focus is something that I am in a constant struggle with. I’m one of those folks who are constantly thinking. New ideas popping into my head at a constant rhythm. At times there are so many ideas that I haven’t had time to turn into action that the rhythm drops totally out of key and starts to sound like a chorus of one year olds banging on mom’s kitchenware with the largest cooking utensils they can hold!

For example.. Yesterday… I started the day opening up Dreamweaver to clean up some code in my CafePost plug-in to be able to adapt the administration portions to my other plug-ins which have been on the backburner for way to long (I should have focused on them long ago.. lol).. I start going through the code and I run across an IF statement for the excerpt processing and get distracted into fixing the except portion of the code.. As I’m fixing the excerpt code I run across a page talking about fixing WordPress themes to support widgets (which the theme I switched to here does not, but now soon will if I can get to focus on fixing it..) So I start digging into my theme’s code and decide that instead of hardcoding the ads into the theme, I want to use the wp-ads plug-in in order to get ad rotation and balancing.. So I go into one of my affiliate networks and start adding ads to wp-ads and decide that instead of doing that for every one of the websites in the ShawnIngram.com network of websites that I want to initially load the ads for all my partnered merchants here at ShawnIngram.com and then import them into the other site databases from here. So I get distracted from loading ads from the other three networks I belong to and start trying to figure out how to export just the wp-ads stuff. Off and on all through this, I am skimming through various “How to draw manga” type books trying to get a grasp on the techniques to draw characters to illustrate my sites. I’m also thinking of how to include the illustrations into my layouts . At the same time, I’m trying to figure out how to use CSS in different ways along with the illustrations and to eliminate old html tables. Thoughts of things to add to the myNicheShop plug-ins I am trying to develop are also struggling for mind time along with thoughts of changing the database/post interaction for CafePost and myNicheShop plug-ins… Talk about a focus train wreck..

So today, once I finish this post, my day will once again start off with the goal of opening up Dreamweaver to clean up the code of CafePost to adapt the administration portions to my other plug-ins.. With luck, and some focus… Maybe I’ll make more progress before getting distracted today. Out of all the things I started to work on yesterday, I think the only thing I finished was lunch.. :p

So here is to Jen and her Tuesdays Topic. May focus be with each and every one of us.. At least for today. lol

NOTE: Jen’s Tuesday’s Topic post about focus can be read here!

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‘OnlineGames.dr’ comes into computers via offers and help notes posted by crooks in game forums or by exploiting browser vulnerabilities. Written in Delphi language, ‘OnlineGames.dr’ injects its DLL component into running processes and places an ‘autorun.inf’ file in the root of each drive to ensure that it gets activated every time a drive is opened.

Once active, it snoops on user activity, steals confidential account information from unwitting victims and sends it to a remote attacker. In a few cases, the Trojan also posts this stolen information to certain malicious websites. With the username and password of a virtual game player in his hand, the Trojan writer can directly log on to the victim’s account and sell off the characters and other goods for real world money.

This Trojan targets ‘Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games’ (MMORPG), particularly the ones like Gamania and Wowtaiwan, meant for the Taiwanese audience. MMORPG is a genre of online computer role-playing games where a huge number of players interact with each other in a fantasy world. Every participant plays the role of a fantasy character and buys and sells fictional goods online, while they also barter stuff among each other. On many websites you can buy goods and characters using actual currency and do vice versa.

“The magnitude of the online gaming economy is much bigger than what meets the eye,” points out Govind Rammurthy, CEO of MicroWorld Technologies. “The total amount of real world money connected to all gaming sites is close to half a billion dollars, and there you can see why malware writers are training their guns on virtual game players. Trojans are known for their direct or indirect financial motives and this breed is no different”.

Password stealing Trojan variants lurking in the web are many and their targets varied. While most of them eye credit card and banking information, some of them go after eBay or Paypal accounts. A good number of Trojans send the stolen information to its creator via email where as others connect to the attacker through ports.

“Malware targeting online game accounts has been in existence for a long time, but the stakes were never as high as they are now. To combat this menace, gaming companies need to come up with more sophisticated authentication procedures while users should deploy competent protection for their computers. Because when you are pitted against a cyber criminal, neither does he play by the rules of the game nor does he give you a second chance,” says Govind Rammurthy.

MicroWorld Technologies Inc.
MicroWorld Technologies is the developer of highly advanced AntiVirus, Content Security and Firewall software solutions eScan, MailScan, and eConceal. MicroWorld Winsock Layer (MWL) is the revolutionary technology that powers most of MicroWorld products enabling them to achieve several certifications and awards by some of the most prestigious testing bodies, notable among them being Virus Bulletin, Checkmark, TUCOWS, Red Hat Ready and Novell Ready.

We originally posted at MMORPG Gear.

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Contact: Bob Roberts, Kids 4 Truth, 866-754-4272

MEDIA ADVISORY, Sept. 20 /Christian Newswire/ — Has the God of the universe spoken? Yes, He has. He has communicated His existence in such a way that no one can avoid His message. God’s created universe continually heralds the truth of His awesome presence and power.

In other words, Creation is speaking. Are you listening?

Whether they enjoyed the privilege of hearing a preacher carefully articulate the Bible, or whether they never once heard the name “Jesus Christ,” all people who have ever lived on Earth have been exposed to God’s revelation of Himself as almighty Creator. The testimony of the created universe is so clear that nobody could ever claim a legitimate excuse for failing to acknowledge that God is real. We are all accountable to answer to Him and to seek after Him.

“Creation’s Voice” graciously confronts viewers to stop, look, and listen carefully to the message that “nature” has been broadcasting for thousands of years. We must pay attention to the greatest Reality that ever was or ever will be: GOD.

Watch the “Creation’s Voice” dynamation now: http://www.kids4truth.com/CV/voice.html

About: Kids 4 Truth International strives to inspire and equip Christians to teach boys and girls essential Bible truth. We want kids to know what Christians believe and why they believe it.

The cornerstone of our ministry is the Kids 4 Truth clubs program and curriculum which attempts to fortify young hearts and minds with the essential teachings of the authentic Christian faith.

Children’s Clubs: http://clubs.kids4truth.com
Children’s Daily Devotionals: http://devos.kids4truth.com
Home Page: http://www.kids4truth.com

We originally posted this at Scripture-Tees.

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– AKC Educational Match at Hunterdon Developmental Center Invites Dog Lovers to Learn About the World of Canine Competition –

The American Kennel Club® (AKC) will hold an AKC Educational Match on Saturday, September 29th on the grounds of the Hunterdon Developmental Center (HDC) in Clinton, N.J. In the world of canine competition, the word “match” refers to a dog show that is intended for newcomers or those who want to practice dog handling skills without actually competing for Championship points.

The event is open to the public and offers a friendly forum in which to learn about the sport of purebred dogs as well as an opportunity for Hunterdon residents to partake in an event which will have therapeutic benefits for both man and animal. Hunterdon residents have benefited from ongoing interaction with dogs since 1994 via a number of other AKC events held on the grounds, therapy dogs who make regular visits and the employees who bring their dogs to work every day.

Several dozen of the HDC residents will contribute to the event in numerous ways. They will kick off the festivities by singing the national anthem, accompanying dogs and volunteers in the ring for an “Honor Parade” and “Parade of Breeds” and serving as trophy presenters.

“Many of our clients have a great fondness for animals- dogs especially,” says Connie Butherus, HDC’s Human Rights Committee Chair and the liaison between AKC and HDC. “The dogs enjoy the attention and reward the residents with never-ending demonstrations of affection. The combination of the residents and the dogs is a win-win situation. It is so inspiring to watch the mutual affection that is given and enjoyed, to the benefit of all.”

“Many people enjoy watching dog shows on TV but don’t realize that it’s a fun, family sport that’s easy to get involved in. Learning to show your dog can be intimidating to a novice so we are holding this unique event specifically to create a welcoming and educational environment for newcomers,” said Gina DiNardo Lash, AKC spokesperson. “We are so thankful to Hunterdon for use of their grounds and thrilled to be able to encourage the beneficial interaction between dogs and the developmentally disabled.”

Dog owners in attendance will learn how to groom, train and show their dogs with the help of AKC staff and local area AKC club members. The educational portion of the event — running 9 a.m. through noon — is free and open to anyone with an interest in dogs. Planned activities include:

* Handling classes for adults and juniors
* Grooming demos and one-on-one tutorials
* Dog show 101 classes - how a dog show works, descriptions of different classes, how to become an AKC Champion
* Dog show entry assistance from an AKC licensed superintendent
* Equipment advice - breed specific advice on equipment and tools
* AKC Canine Good Citizen information and testing
* Agility, Obedience and Rally demos

At 10:00 a.m. an AKC C-Match will be held for Obedience and Rally, at noon a Junior Showmanship competition will be held and at 1:00 p.m. an AKC Conformation B-Match will be held. CGC Testing will be open to the first 40 dogs that sign-up and will be held from 11-noon and 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm. The entry fee for the match is $5.00 per dog for Conformation and $5.00 per run-through for Obedience and Rally.

More information about attending the AKC Educational Match

We originally posted this at Nuthin\\\’ But Dogs.

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