Cameron's comments

I'm very excited that Green Festival is coming to Seattle next April. This is a pretty huge event that started in San Francisco; they also have done Green Festivals in Chicago and Washington, DC. It'll be a weekend full of terrific speakers (150 of them on 5 stages) and exhibits (300). http://www.greenfestivals.org/

Also, Green October is coming up next month. Lots of local events. http://www.greenoctober2007.com/

Think I'm going to have to miss this, unfortunately. Traffic is ridiculous from the North End this evening because of the Seahawks preseason game -- triple the normal drive time.

Promoting sustainable businesses and enterprises is what my career is all about -- thanks for hosting this! I don't think living green is so extreme anymore -- it's becoming a lot more mainstream these days. We're seeing a sea change in public attitudes in this topic.

This sounds like fun -- I'd like to check it out.

I had a great time. Lots of awesome people at this event. Thanks for hosting it!

Cool -- I played with another Biznik group earlier this year. It's a lot of fun!

Overall, it's good. Simple and easy to navigate; pretty user-friendly.

I don't like the scrolling pictures -- the scrolling serves little purpose except to irritate. Much better in my opinion to keep the pictures stationary.

Brown text on a beige background is not as easy to read as some other combinations. Studies have shown that black text on white is easiest to read; if you vary from that basic formula, try to make sure you're maintaining good, legible contrast in your text.

The "Welcome To Time well saved" header at the top stands out awkwardly. Better to make that section functional and/or pretty. One thing I'd be tempted to try is to move the collage of pictures (removing the scroll feature) from the middle of the page into that space.

On a broader level, a quick glance of the web site doesn't say "ADHD" -- I have to read the text to know that's what the web site is about. The header area could make it more clear to people what kind of web site it is at a glance.

A few typos in the text -- a "client's" that should be "clients", an "it's own" that should be "its own".

The page title, at the top of the browser, is generic: "Welcome to Time well saved". It's a good idea to use that real estate to incorporate keywords that will help you in the search engines. You could start the page title with "Time well saved:" and then list some keywords, such as ADHD, coping strategies, etc.

I tried to cancel for this event a few days ago because of a scheduling conflict, but I see that I'm still on the roster. I'm canceling again to try to make room for somebody else.

Have fun, wish I could be there!

I have a Canon Powershot S2 IS and I love it. It has a 12x optical zoom (with image stabilization), which is a lot of fun to play around with. (I couldn't be satisfied with 2x or 3x zoom after using 10x or 12x.)

It has five megapixels, which is plenty for my needs. I think you can get it for less than $300.

It also uses rechargeable batteries (AA), which I consider a must. The rechargeables last for plenty of shots (hundreds, usually, the way I take pictures), but regular batteries from the store would probably be very short-lived.

It does have plenty of manual controls, or you can go fully automatic -- or a combination. It's very versatile and user-friendly that way.

It has video, but I never use that. If I were serious about video, I'd get a dedicated digital video camera.

I've also owned an Olympus digital, and was quite happy with it, but it was a few years old and only 2 megapixels, so it was time to upgrade.

I second the http://www.dpreview.com web site recommendation. I also find it very helpful to read product reviews on Amazon.com. The Canon got such great reviews there that I was convinced it would be perfect for me.

Yeah, I've been to a few. It's kind of hit or miss, depending on the venue (which changes monthly). The best one I attended was at the aquarium, since it was very spacious and there was a lot to see there. The one last night was very, very crowded in the SAM pavilion and less enjoyable.

I'm glad to see that there's so much interest in the environment in Seattle.

"we did not plan to permit members to edit a message that's already been posted"

Just out of curiosity, Lara, why not? Seems like a helpful feature to have.

Cameron, The Former Reporter/Editor Who Likes To Edit His Remarks Sometimes

I can't recommend this class highly enough. Cindy is an amazing healer and teacher, and you'll really enjoy her warm, positive energy. And I've found the things she teaches -- EFT and Donna Eden's Energy Medicine -- to be profoundly life-changing. I'm sure any Bizniker can benefit from this class!

Hmmm.

I tried just now to walk with my toes pointing in, and found it very uncomfortable.

Toes pointing out is also uncomfortable, but much less so than pointing in.

Toes pointing straight ahead feels just right. I've walked that way all my life, and just assumed everybody else does too!

Wow, that game was great fun. Highly recommended!

It was the first time playing for several of us, so we were just learning the ropes, but I can see why people rave about Cashflow. It definitely gets you thinking about some good financial concepts.

Wow, Brianna, a classy-looking MySpace page -- that's a first for me! <smile> Nice job. Hope you can round up some Tulsa folks for a cool Biznik event.

I haven't, and most likely would not consider it. MySpace is so tacky, at least the parts of it that I've seen. It seems like a fun place for kids, but for serious businesses? I don't see it.

Would MySpace be suitable only for certain kinds of businesses, such as bands, artists, authors? I'm not sure if it translates to web design and marketing business (our business), or financial services, or what not.

We get most of our business through word of mouth, which I really enjoy.

Personally, I would look to other, more professional, online sources (such as Biznik!) before I'd look at MySpace.

I have to cancel, unfortunately -- will be traveling at that time. I hope there will be more events up north!

Amy, it was a great event -- sorry you couldn't make it! It's nice to meet lots of Biznikers who are thinking green.

We talked a little bit about how to use the upcoming Biznik 2.0 release to foster more community for green business fans. More cool stuff to come!

I'm in Edmonds, so it'll be fun to meet some folks from the north!

I have a question about the venue. A Google search shows Mama Mia's at the 4809 Evergreen Way address cited above instead of Amante. I have Amante Pizza & Pasta listed at 4730 196th St. SW in Lynnwood. Just want to make sure we get clear on the location. Thanks!

Thanks for putting this event together, Kara-Lee -- I'm glad to see that green business is becoming quite popular these days!

Green business fans may be interested in checking out the 3rd Annual Sustainable Ballard Festival from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 1st. I haven't been to the festival before, but it looks like a cool event. Check out http://www.fest.sustainableballard.org/.

Very cool -- thanks for implementing the comments idea so quickly, Dan!

Another idea: Most of the message boards I come across bump up the thread when someone replies. That way, when looking at the board, you can see which threads have been replied to. On this board, I need to either keep track of how many replies a thread has (and then open the thread if the number of replies has gone up), or I need to open the thread to see if a reply has been made.

Older threads may get buried and ignored as a result.

I'd prefer that threads that are replied to get bumped to the top, so people can tell at a glance if that thread has had recent activity. Being able to see a time stamp on the main board for the latest reply in a thread would be useful as well.

Does having the RSS feeds hinder this?

One thing that I like about the Meetup web site is that when people sign up for events there, they have the option of writing a short comment. Those comments are then displayed for others to see when they look at that event.

I think it would be a nice addition to Biznik. It gives people the opportunity to give more context about why they want to attend a certain event -- or simply make some fun, friendly remarks!

It was a fantastic event. I'm sorry I didn't get to check out your panel. I saw in the program that you guys were going to talk about "Weaving Washington", and I'm wondering if you can share a little more about that here?

The highlight of the weekend for me was watching architect Mark Lakeman's City Repair presentation, all about helping people reclaim their urban spaces. I encourage people to visit www.cityrepair.org. It's based in Portland, but there's a group in Seattle as well. Power to the grassroots!