I just finished playing the Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty video game (for the Sony Playstation 2), since I wanted to catch up on it before the new Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots debuts for the Sony Playstation 3 this summer. Sons of Liberty is a direct sequel to Guns of the Patriot, which is set to release on June 12, 2008.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is a story-driven adventure game for the Playstation 3, with seasoned hero Solid Snake drafted for one final mission. Set across stages including the Middle East and South America, the now aged Snake has been asked to assassinate his old adversary, Liquid Ocelot. To do this, however, he must make his way through a series of battlefields, using his legendary stealth abilities and all-new OctoCamo suit to avoid detection and to reach his target. With series favorites such as Meryl Silverburgh, Raiden, Hal ‘Otacon’ Emmerich, Eva and Roy Campbell returning, and with all new gameplay features including a remote-controlled Metal Gear Mk. II and enhanced CQC (Close Quarters Combat) system, Metal Gear Solid 4 rounds out the Metal Gear saga with a fittingly cinematic and gripping final outing.

Developer(s): Kojima Productions
Publisher(s): Konami
Designer(s): Hideo Kojima (producer, director, writer), Shuyo Murata (director, writer), Kenichiro Imaizumi (producer), Yoji Shinkawa (director, character designer), Harry Gregson-Williams, Nobuko Toda (composers)
Series: Metal Gear
Platform(s): PlayStation 3
Release date: Flag of World June 12, 2008
Genre(s): Stealth Action
Mode(s): Single player
Rating(s): ESRB: M (Mature)
Media: Blu-Ray-DL Disc

For more information, check out the official Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot teaser site!

Following are five simple ways to measure the quality of your blog.

1. Number of comments per blog entry – Only quality blogs evoke user responses. If readers took the time and effort to comment on your blog, then it means that they found your blog entry to be of high quality.

2. Rating of your blog entries – Your blog ratings should give a general sense of the attractiveness of your blog. The more ratings you have, the more accurate this becomes. Obviously, you want ALL your readers to give you rating; you should strive to deserve that with your writings.

3. Number of Repeat visitors – Besides your closest friends, are you getting a good number of repeat visitors? Did all the readers who commented on your previous blog entry come back to comment on your current blog entry? Just as in business, there is nothing more indicative of quality than repeat clientele.

4. Number of New visitors – Are you seeing comments from a few new faces with every new blog entry? Good blogs spark conversation among people. If that conversation and word-of-mouth is happening for your blog, you would find a trickling stream of new readers for your blog. Refer to my old post, Building Readership.

5. Number of websites that link to you – While this is tricky to measure, it is a good way to evaluate the value of what you write. There are several blogs, forums and websites in the internet today. If you write something valuable, it will be picked up and linked too. You should consider every incoming link (external websites that link to your blog) as a badge of honor and a strong indication of the quality of your content.

Your blog is your brand. It says a lot about you. It defines you in some ways. Constantly keeping an eye on the above five quality metrics and using it to improve your blog is the sure fire way to build a killer brand for your blog.

2008 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals - Round #1

Montreal Canadiens (#1) vs. Boston Bruins (#8) - Canadiens lead 1-0

Pittsburgh Penguins (#2) vs. Ottawa Senators (#7) - Penguins lead 2-0

Washington Capitals (#3) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (#6) - Capitas lead 1-0

New Jersey Devils (#4) vs. New York Rangers (#5) - Rangers lead 2-0

2008 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals - Round #1

Detroit Redwings (#1) vs. Nashville Predators (#8) - Redwings lead 1-0

San Jose Sharks (#2) vs. Calgary Flames (#7) - Series tied 1-1

Minnesota Wild (#3) vs. Colorado Avalanche (#6) - Series tied 1-1

Anaheim Ducks (#4) vs. Dallas Stars (#5) - Stars lead 1-0

SCHEDULE: Saturday, April 12th

Boston vs. Montreal - 7pm ET

Nashville vs. Detroit - 2pm ET

Dallas vs. Anaheim - 10pm ET

Stay tuned for regular updates!

Who’s your favorite Victoria Secret model? Out of all the Victoria’s Secret models, Alessandra Ambrosio has to be my favorite!

This Brazilian bombshell was born on April 11, 1981, and is best known for her work in Victoria’s Secret. She was claimed to be “the future of the modelling world” by Tyra Banks, and was rated by Askmen.com as #2 out of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2008 (just behind Katherine Heigl).

Alessandra Ambrosio has appeared in dozens of fashion campaigns, for the likes of GUESS, Revlon, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren. In 2008, Alessandra signed on to replace Gisele Bundchen in Victoria’s Secret’s popular Angels campaign

Check out her pics below and for more information, visit her official page at alessandraambrosio.com.

Well it’s that time of year again! The NHL will kick start the Stanley Cup Playoffs tomorrow, April 9, 2008! I’m from Vancouver, BC, so my resident team would be the Vancouver Canucks, but unfortunately they didn’t get to make the play-offs this year. But nevertheless, here are the match-ups for the each of the conferences.

2008 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals - Round #1

Montreal Canadiens (#1) vs. Boston Bruins (#8)

Pittsburgh Penguins (#2) vs. Ottawa Senators (#7)

Washington Capitals (#3) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (#6)

New Jersey Devils (#4) vs. New York Rangers (#5)

2008 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals - Round #1

Detroit Redwings (#1) vs. Nashville Predators (#8)

San Jose Sharks (#2) vs. Calgary Flames (#7)

Minnesota Wild (#3) vs. Colorado Avalanche (#6)

Anaheim Ducks (#4) vs. Dallas Stars (#5)

SCHEDULE: Wednesday, April 9th

Ottawa vs. Pittsburgh - 7pm ET

Calgary vs. Anaheim - 10pm ET

New York vs. New Jersey - 7pm ET

Colorado vs. Minnesota - 9pm ET

Stay tuned for regular updates!

Are any of you readers still having this issue?

I wasn’t aware that both web browsers would view my blog differently. From now on when modifying the template, I’ll be sure to check both! All of you new bloggers out there, be sure to check both browsers too, so you get the most of your readers! You don’t want to deter readers with a disorganized layout!

Let me know if you are having issues viewing anything else on my site.

Thanks!

From the last Blogging for Beginners (Part 1) post, ensure that you are writing compelling content. At the end of the day, readers will come to your blog repeatedly only if your content is useful, unique, entertaining, and well-written. Make them feel that reading through your blog is worthwhile. They will soon be telling all their friends about your blog and spread the word for you. Additionally, make sure you write regularly. It’s hard to build readership with one-off blog entries. You want your readers to form a habit of visiting your blog at a regular interval. You will achieve that if you blog at a regular frequency and consistently stick to that schedule.

Here are some additional techniques to help build a strong readership for your blog:

1. Interlink your blog posts - In each of your blog entries, if relevant, reference your other blog entries and link to them. Say something like, “In my last blog, I talked about how to start your very first blog in Blogging for Beginners (Part 1)“.

2. Encourage comments - When a new reader glances at your blog and finds that there are several comments on it, they view this as an indication of the quality of your blog. Only good blogs evoke user responses. It’s a good practice to end your blog asking a question or encouraging readers to share their opinion. Respond to every comment individually as it shows your respect for the commenter’s time and thoughts. Also, your involvement in the conversation increases the willingness of your readers to participate.

3. Comment on other people’s blogs – Find blogs that are similar to yours and make thoughtful comments on them. Most blogs will allow you to leave a link in the name/signature or as part of the comment. That is how others find out about your blog. Be careful not to scribble a line, just to get your link.

4. Add a link to your blog in your personal email signature – This is an effortless way to let many people to know about your blog. Once you set it up, this technique will work to drive traffic without you even consciously thinking about it.

5. Get linked from other bloggers – I am sure that most of you visit and read other blogs. Ask for a link to your blog in their blog roll. If you ask politely, most bloggers will oblige your request.

6. Write an effective, attention-getting title for your blog entry – 99% of the people make the decision to read a blog by reading the blog title. For your blog entry to be read, you should spend the time to think about a title that hooks the reader’s attention and motivates them to read on. On the other hand, make sure that you payoff the title with good content in the body of your blog entry.

7. Request them to subscribe to your blog – Once a new reader stumbles upon your blog and have a stellar reading experience, you want to capitalize on that and make them a regular reader of your blog. The way to do that is by asking them to subscribe to your Full Feed RSS. By subscribing to your blog, members will get instantaneously notified of any new blog entry you make.

If you follow these techniques for building readership, you will soon make a name for yourself and a loyal following for your blog.

These are just a couple of techniques that I came upon; I’m sure there are many other techniques that have worked for you as a blogger. Please share it in the comments section below so everyone can benefit from it.

Yesterday I was able to check out the 2008 Vancouver International Auto show.

The Vancouver International Auto Show is well over its 80th year of annual presentation. The show is put on by the New Car Dealers Association of BC (www.newcardealers.ca), and is Canada’s third largest Auto Show, and one of Western North America’s premier automotive exhibition events.

The show displays new and upcoming automobiles for the 2008-2009 year, also including new and innovative concept vehicles. The exhibition includes vehicles from makers such as Ford, Chevrolet, BMW, Mercedes, Mazda, Audi, Lexus, Nissan, and much much more!

I took the liberty of taking some pictures for all of you! So check them out!

GTA IV reinvents the series with a renewed version of Liberty City detailed to the last pothole and rooftop vent. There are now four boroughs to explore plus extra area outside of Liberty City proper. With the ability to climb obstacles, drive cars, steer boats and pilot helicopters, the world of GTA is more accessible than ever before.

Published by: Rockstar Games
Developed by: Rockstar North
Genre: Action
Number of Players: 1-16
Release Date:
US: April 29, 2008
Japan: April 29, 2008
Europe: April 29, 2008
Australia: April 29, 2008
MSRP: $59.99 USD
Also Available On: PlayStation 3

Features: 720p Support, Dolby Digital 5.1, Memory Unit, Downloadable Content

Screenshots: Click to view

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a good weekend!

On the weekend I was able to catch the new Jumper movie that was released in theaters on February 14, 2008.

Imagine having breakfast on the Sphinx in Egypt, surf in Fiji or some exotic getaway at brunch, have lunch in London, and then have dinner in the middle of the desert, all in one day! This is possible… for Jumpers! Jumper stars Hayden Christensen (Starwars) as David Rice, a “Jumper”, who has the power to teleport wherever in the world he desires. Rachel Bilson (The OC) plays the highschool love interest, Millie. Samuel L. Jackson (Starwars) plays Roland, a “Paladin” and also the bad guy, determined to kill all Jumpers.

David’s power allows him to rob banks to subsidize his rich lifestyle. In one day alone, David teleports to Egypt for lunch, London for a one-night stand, and Fiji for surfing. For David, with great power comes great irresponsibility, but he’s about to learn that he’s not the only Jumper in the world. After taking Millie on a Roman holiday, David is confronted first by Griffin (Jamie Bell), another Jumper, and then by Roland and the Paladins.

As Griffin tells David, Paladins have been hunting Jumpers for centuries. The Paladins are a secret order of zealots who view Jumpers as an abomination and believe only God should have the ability to be everywhere at the same time. Roland leads a squad of Paladins in search of David, who is saved by Griffin.

As might be expected, Millie soon learns of David’s superpower and becomes a pawn in Roland’s quest to catch and kill David. Along the way, David learns more secrets from his past and realizes that his newfound ally, Griffin, may have a different longterm approach to dealing with Paladins than he does.

All in all, if you like super powers, comic books, or plain ol’ good guy vs. bad guy movies, you should see Jumper. I encourage everybody to go see it, because if Jumper is a success, maybe they will make a sequel, which could have so much potential.

I believe there is a small comic book released just to go along with the movie, but I don’t think it’s a major running comic book. Please correct me if I’m wrong in the comments. Personally, I would love to see this idea turned into a major comic book by one of the big publishers like Marvel, DC, or Dark Horse.

Overall, I rate this movie a B+!