Any time that you have a blog that allows for comments, you are opening yourself up for comment spam. That’s just part of the territory and that’s where utilities like Akismet and Captcha codes can come in handy. Similarly, if you publicly post your email address somewhere on the Internet, you become increasingly susceptible to spam that way too.

In regards to comment spam, you may find that your filter is constantly picking up comments left by a certain IP address or IP address range. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could prevent people from that IP address from posting spam comments (or malicious code, for that matter) on your blog? You can. And all it takes is a simple plugin.

The appropriately named IP Ban is a plug-in for WordPress that, when activated, will return a 404 error message “for IP’s visiting your blog specified in the IP Ban option on the Discussion Options page.” This “page not found” error will effectively prevent them from not only leaving spam comments, but from viewing your site at all.

You can download IP Ban directly from the Plugin Directory on WordPress.org. As always, it is a free download.

Let me preface this by saying that I am not an accountant nor do I claim to be. It is always in your best interest to consult with your tax professional for confirmation and advice, but this post may prove very useful for all the small business and home-based business owners in the audience.

What happens when you purchase something for the purposes of your business, but you do not have a receipt to record the purchase? Can you still “write it off” like any other expense that your business may incur over the course of its daily operations? The short answer appears to be yes, but it comes with several caveats. It is always easiest if you are able to get some sort of proof of purchase, even if it is just a hand-written receipt from the seller, but this isn’t always possible.

In order to “write off” this expense, you have to ensure that the transaction is properly recorded in your books. Note the date of the purchase, the name of the seller (whether it is an individual or a business), the contact information of the seller (if available), the product or service being purchased, the effective sale price, and any other information related to the transaction. You can hand-write a note to document this, as well as entering it into your books.

If you take care to note as much as possible about the transaction, you can then show this information to the government in case you get audited. This information can also be forwarded along to your accountant, who can then have it included as part of your annual tax files.

Having a pocket camcorder is great. This is true if you choose to go with a Flip UltraHD, a Sony Bloggie, or a Kodak Zi8. However, one obstacle that you may encounter in their use is that your hands are shaky. As a result, those high-definition videos leave your viewers with all kinds of motion sickness. Not good.

Helping you shoot better movies is the ReadySteady video stablizer. The super portable device connects to the tripod mount part of your pocket HD camcorder and helps to provide a counterweight for steadier video-shooting. The entire product is made from aluminum, not plastic, and can be easily rolled up for easy transport.

The ReadySteady won’t be good enough to replace a traditional tripod or monopod, but it is a lot more portable. The base can be placed on a flat surface for extra stability, but even in a handheld configuration, the extra weight at the bottom can make for much steadier videos. This is thanks to its “patented design and physics” to create balance between the device and your digital camcorder. Better still, it is made in the USA.

Find more information at ReadySteadyVideo.com. The ReadySteady stabilizer sells for $29.99, including free shipping. Choose from aluminum or black.

Paper maps? Who uses those anymore? When trying to make our way around the city, it’s easy enough to whip out a Garmin GPS with turn-by-turn directions. It makes perfect sense to use Google Maps on an Apple iPhone. However, what if you need mapping information that isn’t included in these devices?

For that, you can turn to the services offered by Right Point GPS, based out of Sechelt, British Columbia. This company offers “basic reconnaissance mapping services for planning property development, and resource mapping.” If you need to have a biking trail properly mapped, for instance, they can do that for you.

Looking at the services page, you can see how this kind of GPS mapping can be positively invaluable to property development, tourism-related business, and other similar situations. You can look at the recent works to see what you can expect and the contact page to get more information, including rate quotes.

Do you use BlueFur to host your websites? Let us know and we can feature you in a future blog post. Send an email message to blogfeature@bluefur.com with your name, website URL, and a brief description of what you’d like to see highlighted.

Do you like that “out of focus” look when it comes to certain artistic photos? The depth of field that can add huge sparks of personality to an otherwise nondescript picture? If so, then you may really like the overall appearance of Glossy Stylo.

This free WordPress theme offers a colorful “out of focus” background as the image behind the content, but the main content area has some really interesting transparency effects. This way, you can still see some of that background image without impeding on the ability to read the core blog posts and other content.

The Glossy Stylo theme has two columns with the single sidebar aligned to the right of the main content column. The widget-friendly sidebar can easily be populated with a number of lists and features, as you see fit. Each blog post is also shown as a single “block” in the content column for added personality.

Find Glossy Stylo in the Free Themes Directory on WordPress.org. That is also where you will find the free download link and a single screenshot.

Hop on board the blogosphere train as we make our way through quite the varied set of blog posts!

Buzz Bishop likes to think that he stays on top of the world of technology, but it seems that world may not be so sanitary. Do you realize that your iPhone is disgusting? Many cell phones are breeding grounds for nasty little things, harboring all sorts of environmental bacteria.

The Simple Dollar offers a very honest and open blog post about how the site works. It’s clear that Trent is making money from his blog, but he’s also quick to remind us that he is nowhere near getting rich from running that money management website either.

About:Blank reveals something that you may not want. You know how KFC has that sandwich where the buns are replaced with pieces of fried chicken? Perhaps you should take a look at the KFC Skinwich instead. It features five fried chicken skins, American cheese, and some bacon.

Vance Sova shares his less than favorable experience with trying to install Windows 7 on a Mac. It’s supposed to “just work,” but that’s not exactly how his ordeal panned out. Not even the Apple Care “geniuses” were of any help, despite multiple calls and multiple visits.

Jennifer Mattern reminds all of the freelancers in the audience about the inaccuracy of certain common perceptions. More specifically, web writing can indeed pay as well as print writing. You don’t have to end up in a newspaper or magazine to land the big bucks; you just have to know where to look.