Need some Christmas decorations, wrapping paper, or heck, maybe your very own Santa suit? Well, I have opened up a new affiliate store to help you with all of that stuff -> Santa’s Attic

Economy Flannel Santa Suit Adult CostumeIncludes: Jacket,Pants,Hat,Gloves,Boot Tops,Belt.In stock, ready to ship! Retail price: 44.99 Our Price: 37.99	A Christmas Story Beverage Napkins (16 count)Includes 16 beverage napkins.In stock, ready to ship! Retail price: 2.99 Our Price: 1.99	Baby Santa Infant / Toddler CostumeIncludes: Jumpsuit and hat.In stock, ready to ship! Retail price: 39.99 Our Price: 34.99	Velvet Miss Santa Adult CostumeIncludes: Dress,Hat,Capelet,Belt,Boot Covers,Gloves.In stock, ready to ship! Retail price: 79.99 Our Price: 68.99
Soft Velour Santa Suit Adult CostumeIncludes: Jacket,Pants,Gloves,Belt,Hat,Boot Tops.In stock, ready to ship! Retail price: 59.99 Our Price: 54.99	A Christmas Story 9 oz. Paper Cups (8 count)Includes (8) 9 oz.In stock, ready to ship! Retail price: 3.49 Our Price: 1.99	Imperial Santa Suit Adult CostumeIncludes: Hat,Jacket,Pants,Belt,Boot Toppers.In stock, ready to ship! Retail price: 229.42 Our Price: 199.50	Christmas Tree CenterpieceMade of green foil fringe coiled into a collapsible Christmas Tree.In stock, ready to ship! Retail price: 6.89 Our Price: 5.99

Also, save a few bucks with these coupon codes at check out… (check the upper right hand corner of the site for the latest codes – updated daily!)…

BLACK20 – save 20% off your entire order

Free Shipping on any order over $65, no code required!

Small Business/Tech Links…

• Social Media Dashboard MarketMeSuite Helps Turn Followers Into Customers
• AT&T Wants You to ‘Make a Case’ for an AT&T 4G Phone via Facebook
• 9 Tips for Activating the Entrepreneurial Spirit

Funny/Interesting Links…

• It’s Time – thank you Zul
• The Bicycle Animation
• Damn, Nature, You’re One Sexy Beast!

Abbe and I just received another VERY cool raffle prize yesterday for our Beef N’ Beer Fundraiser for LLS, a 60 minute hot stone massage from With Heart & Healing Hands Therapeutic Massage for Women! Dawn Marshall is a close friend of my family and was kind enough to donate this session that will go to some lucky winner that attends our Beef N’ Beer being held at the Marlton Tavern on December 4th.

Prizes now include:

• 4 Tour Tickets to the Battleship New Jersey
• 4 Tour Tickets to the Philadelphia Independence Seaport
• 1 T-Shirt and 1 Autographed Photo from Frankie Edgar, current UFC Lightweight Champ
• 1 Free Nutrition Consultation w/ a Whole Foods gift card from Dr. Mike Kirk at Performance Health & Chirpopractic
• 1 60 Minute Hot Stone Massage from With Heart & Healing Hands Therapeutic Massage for Women

For tickets to the Beef N’ Beer, please email myself orAbbe, they are $30/adults and $15/kids.

If you are unable to attend, please consider a donation: - http://pages.teamintraining.org/nj/wdw12/AllForLayna

Small Business/Tech Links…

• 14 Popular SEO Myths Examined
• How to Build a Strong and Powerful Business During a Recession
• DIY: Backlinking Strategy
• How Opera’s Latest Beta Advances HTML5 Support
• Measuring Social Media ROI: 3 Things to Consider
• Facebook Fights Flood of Violent and Pornographic Spam
• Google+ Pages Can Now Be Managed With Third-Party Apps
• Two-Thirds of Online U.S. Adults Use Social Media — But Why? [STUDY]
• VP Joe Biden Explains Why SOPA & PROTECT IP Are Anti-American & A Bad Idea

Funny/Interesting Links…

• baconlube – thanks Carly
• Apostrophe Abuse – thanks Abbe
• Clay Chess Stop Motion – thanks Amy
• Bruce Wayne’s medical history, from Gotham City General Hospital.
• Sam3′s telescope mural

Well, at some point yesterday, my Verizon FIOS Internet and TV service went down, so I’m rocking a 3G connection from my iPhone until Verizon gets this working again. I believe it is due to the winter storm that hit several days ago (although we did not get much in my area).

A blog reader this morning pointed out a bit of hypocrisy on my part in yesterday’s post, the ads. Here I am spouting off to buy local and I’m showing ads on my blog from Office Depot and Amazon. Well, if you noticed – they’re gone now. Truth is, those ads have amounted to probably $20 over the past year. Wasted space in the grand scheme of things for sure.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I fault absolutely no one for shopping at Wal-Mart or Office Depot because their prices are low. We are all faced with tough times and saving money for my family is absolutely my top purchasing decision point. If there is a local merchant that is at least competitive with their prices, great. There is nothing wrong with shopping at a national/international chain store at all when there is no local option. Or heck, what if the guy at the local shop is a dick -  by all means, shop at the non-dick run store.

The point of my post yesterday was squarely aimed at the folks that are distraught at the cheese shoppe’s closing that never shopped there and to a larger extent, the folks that complain about the sad state of Main Street and do nothing to help.

In addition to taking those ads down, I will offer ad space on my blog to any local merchant for $10 a year (for either a 468×60 banner – between the posts or a 160×600 skyscraper – sidebar). Only caveats are no porn, violence, or gambling links. My blog averages around 1,300 uniques per month, this is a very fair deal – but if any business owner has another offer, I’m all ears.

On the lighter side… Titan is doing well after a visit with Dr. Frame on Tuesday. He either pulled a muscle in his back leg or bruised something while hopping up into the back of the car. He was whimpering whenever he put weight on his back leg going up stairs, but was walking without a limp. He is going up stairs with no pain and hopping back onto the couch (when he has permission) just fine already… see?

And this is really sweet… all Viv asked for when we were searching for a dog was a big doggy she could put her head on and cuddle with when she watched TV at night. Mission accomplished. Good boy, Titan!

Movie Review…

Source Code - I think this was the strongest of the recently released alternate reality films (Limitless, Adjustment Bureau). The story, acting, and action were all much better.

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold – what a great concept and although the material was sorta weak, Spurlock’s personality and directing really carry the film. Abbe and I really enjoyed this one.

Small Business/Tech Links…

• Are You a Victim of the 5 Biggest SEO Content Myths?
• MacTech benchmarks Parallels and VMware Fusion
• Apple Confirms iOS 5 Battery Issues, Software Fix Coming
• A Free Task Management Tool From Asana
• Generate HTML Forms From SQL On the Fly
• 7 Ways to Create a Memorable Customer Experience With Social Media

Funny/Interesting Links…

• BAYHEM
• Katana + Butterfly Knife + Corgi + Grandma
• We’re Going To Be Friends
• Mike Tyson Quotes: The Song

For those of you that had not yet heard, The Carriage Trade Cheese Shoppe is closing. Abbe, Caroline, and Laurel are crushed. These are more tough times for Main Street. And for those folks in the Medford, NJ area that think, “oh what a shame, I loved that place!” – well, where were you? For all of the friends I have told the bad news that had that same reaction, I can count on one hand the number of them that had visited that shop more than once in the past 12 months.

There are now three restaurants left on Main Street and honestly, I would not be surprised if that number dwindles down to one before the end of the year. And yes, that is an honest and well-informed statement.

Shop locally folks, don’t just promise to do it and nod your head in agreement when I say it. Here’s an example… Pride Paws, a pet store on Main Street has better prices and is 5 miles closer than that Petsmart in Marlton. In addition, Pride Paws provides training and employment for people with such developmental disabilities as autism and Down Syndrome. The staff is incredibly friendly and helpful.

That said, it is not just the consumers at fault. Medford Township, stop pushing away retailers. Stop trying to stop restaurants from putting sidewalk signs out to attract customers. Stop complaining that the Jamaican restaurant’s sign is too bright. Heaven forbid if these establishments actually make money and attract foot traffic for all of the other shops in the area.

My fiancee lost an incredible job that she loved. She honestly enjoyed every single day she went to work. She didn’t have health insurance, she didn’t make much money. But she happily went to her job every single day. And her customers loved her.

These local businesses aren’t looking for handouts. They want your business. And I know firsthand, that if you would just give them a chance, the customer service and knowledge of a business person investing in your local community will knock your socks off.

So stop it folks. Stop acting the part of a parrot and repeating what you think you should say, i.e. – “Shop locally, braaaaak. Now give me a bloomin’ onion.” Do it. These local business owners are the ground swell that can change this economy and provide jobs for all of us struggling.

Movie Review…

Captain America: The First Avenger – whew-weee!.. what a stinker. Well, I guess if you thought the Iron Man movies were frickin’ awesome, you might also like this one. The movie does stay fairly close to the original story of Captain America (one of my favorite super heroes as a kid), but the acting could have been done by cardboard cut-outs. Tommy Lee Jones, what the hell are you doing?

Small Business/Tech Links…

• What Facebook Changes Mean for Your Brand
• Two new Mac malware concerns: Tsunami and DevilRobber
• 9 Tips for Raising Startup Funds on AngelList

Funny/Interesting Links…

• November
• Lego porn

As of tomorrow around 11:30am, Titan will officially be our dog…

We really can not say enough about the staff at Brookline Lab Rescue. After a sorta rocky start, they worked with us to help Titan get settled. His eagerness to make us happy and plenty of work, has made this his home. There is still lots of work to do with his manners, but welcome home, buddy.

Movie Review…

Bridesmaids - Kristen Wiig is great. Melissa McCarthy is great. There are some really great scenes, and as long as you take this flick for just fun, you’ll probably think it’s a so-so, but decent comedy.

Small Business/Tech Links…

• Herding Cats with WordPress Plug-ins
• Small Businesses and Local Search Marketing
• 9 Ways Top Brands Use Social Media for Better Customer Service
• 9 Incredible Tech-Themed Halloween Costumes
• How To Build A Site That Looks Great On Every Screen
• Facebook Says 600,000 Accounts Compromised Per Day

Funny/Interesting Links…

• YouTube’s Spookiest Halloween Videos [BOO!]
• Churches Made of Bones
• VanAssteroids - Watch out for Sammy!
• Metalachi
• @AdsofYore
• sticky thing