What did the blogosphere have to offer us this week? Let’s see!

Shelly Tucker recently went on a short vacation, but she didn’t choose to eat in the safest and most tourist-attracting of places. Instead, she went where the locals eat to find the “Pollo al Horno” at Sol Food. That looks delicious!

Gus Fosarolli waited in line. And then he waited some more. But at long last, he got an Apple iPhone 4. By and large, he’s been very happy with his new smartphone and he has not suffered from any of the “death grip” issues that seem to be plaguing many other users.

Joseph Planta has been at his game for quite some time and now he’s able to celebrate sixth anniversary of On the Line, his online interview segment on The Commentary. In the “clip show,” he goes through many of his favorite guests over the years. Despite having several appearances on the show, Michael Kwan sadly goes unmentioned.

Sunday O’Brien has a guest post up on The Urban Muse, shining light on how we can make our writing more interesting. Remember that blue is boring, but azure is alluring. Instead of pink, try writing about fuchsia, magenta, or coral.

Darren Barefoot makes an observation about how Americans treat their soldiers and how this treatment is diametrically different from how, say, Canadians treat their armed forces. What is it about American culture that changes that kind of perspective?

With so many different advertising opportunities in both the online and offline realms, you have many different options when it comes to spending your marketing budget. As such, it is in your best interest to spend wisely, reaching your target demographic as much as possible. For instance, let’s say that you have a product that appeals to teenagers.

It likely would not make much sense to take out a full-page ad in the local newspaper, since teenagers are more likely to get their news from sources other than a printed newspaper. Taking out an ad on the radio may not be as effective either, as they may be more inclined to listen to their iPods or stream music from Pandora. Even television ads may not hold as much weight as they have in the past, thanks to services like Netflix and Hulu.

So, what can you do to reach this demographic? It is worthwhile to consider reaching a little outside of the conventional realms. Regular banner ads on the Internet may work, but having video ads inserted before YouTube videos may be even better. This advertising model is increasing in popularity. Similarly, you could offer free wallpapers and other content through channels like Xbox Live. Facebook advertising may work too.

These strategies likely would not be nearly as effective with the senior population, by contrast. Just because you hear that a certain form of advertising is on the rise, is a good value, and is something you need to do right now doesn’t mean that you should necessarily explore that option. Keep your target audience in mind and where their habits may lead them.

Blog should be more than soapbox platforms. They should be a venue to facilitate a two-way conversation between the blogger and his readers. One part of fostering this relationship is through blog comments, but having a good comment form is very valuable too. This is true of both personal and professional blogs.

Offering a robust set of features is Fast Secure Contact Form. As its name implies, this WordPress plug-in allows you to create both a fast and secure contact form. It fully supports anti-spam measures like Captcha and Akismet, but it also comes with a number of other notable features that separate it from other contact form plug-ins.

For instance, it allows for the creation of multiple contact forms on the same blog, the creation of a single contact form with multiple destinations (e.g., sales, support, customer service, advertising inquiries, etc.), optional extra fields of any type, support for file attachments, configuration as a newsletter signup form, optional redirects to any URL after message delivery, e-mail syntax validation, automatic form fills for logged-in users, and customizable CSS style.

To get more information on this updated version of Fast Secure Contact Form (formally Si Contact Form), check out the official page in the WordPress Plugin Directory or the developer’s site. Both sites include screenshots and download links.

More and more people are working out of their homes and an increasing number of these people also happen to own their own businesses. They may be independent real estate agents, freelance writers, or professional web designers. Whatever the case, they have legitimate businesses and many have business cards for this reason.

When it comes to most conventional business cards, a standard set of information is included: name, company name, job title, phone number, office address, and email address. That much makes sense, but what if your home also happens to be your office? This could run into some privacy concerns, melding the personal and work worlds a little too much. Do you want your clients and colleagues to know where you live?

On the one hand, you want them to have a mailing address where you can receive letters, shipments, parcels, and the like. On the other hand, it is advisable to separate your work and personal lives just a little bit. One way to overcome this conundrum is to rent a post office box somewhere or to use a mail receiving service of some sort. These are added expenses, however, that not every business owner is prepared to absorb.

And here’s where we turn to you, the Bluefur community: What do you think about the matter? If you own a home-based business, do you include your home address on your business cards?

Looking to make a real impact at your next sales presentation? Maybe you just want a little something to stick out from the crowd or maybe you need to point to something under some slightly different conditions. Whatever the case, you should check out this green laser pointer by tMate Accessories.

The green 50mW pen style laser pointer comes bundled with five interchangeable caps and heads. These allow for different laser patterns on the fly, in addition to the usual solid beam. The caps screw on and off, so they won’t fall off or get lost while you are using the laser pointer. Also included in the package are the required AAA batteries and the free carrying case.

But why would you want a green laser pointer over a more conventional red laser pointer? This true green wavelength (532nm) laser is much brighter and more effective than the regular red beam. The laser pointer has been hand calibrated to ensure a pure green light, offering a range of up to 72,000 feet.

This pen style green laser pointer is currently on sale for $24.99 from TechMart Electronics via Amazon Canada. That is $30 off from the regular price.

Have you ever wanted to learn more about the military history of Canada? More specifically, did you want to gain some knowledge on the Royal Canadian Air Force? Look no further than RCAF.com, which happens to the BlueFur Customer of the Week.

This online resource is completely unofficial and it is not at all affiliated with or endorsed by the Department of National Defence, nor is it related to the Air Force Association of Canada. Even so, it has a wealth of useful information related to the different aircraft that have been deployed by the Canadian Forces, for instance.

Do you know if someone in your family was in a particular squadron? You can read up on specific squadrons and units on RCAF.com as well. Take No. 435 Squadron as an example. Learn its motto, read about its achievements, and find out the number of flying hours.

Do you use BlueFur as your preferred web host? 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, and a brief description of what you’d like to see highlighted.