BenWoods.com

April 30, 2012 - I typically don't use my website to profess my obsession with University of Louisville sports. But the end of the 2012 season is worth documenting, not only for me, but for the ridiculousness (Russdiculous?) involved.

February 29, 2012 - I don't completely agree with the old adage "any press is good press," but I will say that it is true about 99 percent of the time. Being featured on Business Insider, which is one of the most prominent tech news sites on the Internet, can never be a bad thing, right?

February 17, 2012 - Between downloading your favorite songs, don't forget that iTunes has books, too. And not just any books ... you can pick up my books as well. Apple has recently launched a program to build widgets for book promotion, and well, here's a sample of it. "Corporate Ties" for 99 cents is a pretty good deal. I would say it can't be beaten, but I may have an answer for that in the upcoming weeks!

January 18, 2012 - Let's join Google, Wikipedia and others in telling Congress not to censor the web! Fighting online piracy is important. The most effective way to shut down pirate websites is through targeted legislation that cuts off their funding. There’s no need to make American social networks, blogs and search engines censor the Internet or undermine the existing laws that have enabled the Web to thrive, creating millions of U.S. jobs.

October 12, 2011 - The Goodreads giveaway for Corporate Ties has been a huge success. I had almost 400 people sign up to receive a free copy of my new book. Of course, not everyone is on Goodreads, so I thought I'd also do a Facebook giveaway. I'm giving away signed copies of the book to three random individuals who "Like" the Corporate Ties Facebook page.

September 23, 2011 - It's getting easier to check out e-books from U.S. libraries, now that Amazon recently announced that Kindle users could download e-books from 11,000 libraries. It's important to note that you don't have to have an actual Kindle to be a Kindle user; you can also use the free Kindle app available on many mobile devices, or the Kindle Cloud Reader from your browser. Previously, my book "The Developers" was available in hard copy in only a handful of local libraries, but now, it can be found in many more places. Of course, not every library has the availability - Amazon has instructions on how to go about finding the nearest library in your area.

April 08, 2011 - We're having a blood drive at work today. I unfortunately will not be participating today, or ever again, because the American Red Cross refuses to stop calling me.

This is a strange predicament for me because I've been a fairly loyal donor for about 15 years. But due to the Red Cross' refusal to remove me from its calling list, I'm really not that interested in donating again.

March 25, 2011 - Here are two recent releases to check out the next time you're in the need of a new book.

January 10, 2011 - I haven't had a chance to post much on my blog lately. I think most people know why I haven't ... baby on the way, new house, a bunch of new websites and a new book. Anyway, I don't want to quit on the blog completely, but I'll probably consider a new format at some point, especially since I will be contributing to the Spumoni Press blog as well. Until then, be sure to check out spumonipress.com, as well as my latest post - First year = crazy year.

November 08, 2010 - I had expected this note would give you an exact date, preferably in December, to announce the launch of "Corporate Ties." Unfortunately, it will have to wait a bit longer. I've been slightly busier this fall than anticipated … we purchased a house, we're preparing for a baby in March, among other things. The good news is that once I have a decent block of time to devote to the book, I should be able to finish it.

October 26, 2010 - Fellow Baltimore writer Spencer Compton will be sharing commentary from his new book, "Get Real" at 7pm tonight (Oct. 26) at Red Emma's Bookstore and Coffee House.

September 10, 2010 - As I attempt to find an agency to pitch my new book, I thought it might be a good idea to list some of the agents I have contacted. At this stage, I've run into issues where companies have listed communication methods, but they don't seem to follow through. I hope that my list will save the time of others who are attempting to find representation.

August 21, 2010 - August 21 is National Spumoni Day. Did you know that? I seriously doubt it. But who cares? It's an entire day to celebrate Spumoni! If you don't know what Spumoni is, check out the Wikipedia page. Better yet, let me explain why you should care about Spumoni in the first place. Today marks the grand opening of sorts for Spumoni Press, a book publishing/web development/technology company in Baltimore. Right now, it's a couple of guys who share the same ideas about books, websites and, most importantly, ice cream. OK, true, one of the guys is lactose intolerant, but deep down, he loves ice cream, I'm certain. Anyway, back to the important stuff. We're having a contest here. The winner receives a $50 Discover gift card. Entering this contest is about as simple as turning on your computer.

August 18, 2010 - I know I've said this before, but I am getting closer to publishing my new book, "Corporate Ties." There was a bit of foundation work that I needed to construct, edit, tear apart, rebuild, pulverize, stack up, decimate and recompile. Well, the good news is that I'm getting closer to the end. How do I know this? There seems to be a light at the end of each paragraph now.

  In the meantime, I've rebuilt the website and hope to give more updates as we progress toward the actual publication date. Also, there is going to be a BIG announcement on August 21, so stay tuned for it. Let's just say that you are in for a cold treat ...

August 10, 2010 - Google recently made a mildly surprising announcement (at least, to me) that the company is shutting down its online collaboration tool, Wave. Google does a lot of cool, neat and worthy stuff obviously, and I think Wave fits into this category. It's just that the actual marketing of it was rather peculiar.

  First, I've seen a number of stories that claim that Google claimed Wave was supposed to be Facebook, Twitter, email, the Internet and Elton John all wrapped into one. With the exception of "Crocodile Rock" being a decent but annoying Wave theme song, Wave should have never been positioned like that.

July 09, 2010 - The definition of "friend" has been watered down a bit with the advent of online social networking. It seems that now, your friend might be someone with whom you've never met, even someone with whom you've never communicated, with the exception of a simple button click on a website. This can be a good way to meet people, but it's a bit weird to call a person a friend when it's quite possible the individual on the other side could be an enemy, a fish or a hat.

June 01, 2010 - By now, I'm sure that everyone and his or her dog (assuming said dog is on DogBook) has heard the hubbub relating to new Facebook privacy policies. I have to be honest: I haven't read every single story about it, primarily because I don't intentionally publish stuff online that should be private. In general, people rarely read terms and conditions before signing up for something online, but hopefully now, people will check out Facebook's privacy terms and decide whether or not they want to keep their account.

  But what if Facebook, or another entity that allowed you to share info with friends, family and strangers, wasn't so helpful and didn't allow you to opt-out of things you don't want?

May 26, 2010 - As you have probably noticed, I haven't been writing as much on here lately. There is a reason for that: There are a few exciting things in the works over here, but I cannot divulge all of the information yet. Let's just say that besides a new book coming out, there's an entire foundation behind it, meaning a real publishing company (with books from people other than me!). We're still working out all of details, so I'll keep you posted!

April 28, 2010 - While the United States Post Office seems to be losing money each month, at least one Baltimore branch has decided to take matters in its own hands - by charging extra postage at random intervals.

The Waverly branch of the Baltimore United States Post Office charges an additional 17-44 cents for an article of mail that can be sent from the USPS Hampden branch for just 44 cents. It's pretty shocking that one would receive a different rate from various post office branches. Before compiling this story, I had to check with my own eyes to make certain this was accurate.

April 07, 2010 - The governor of Kentucky has decided to take on the online gambling industry himself. He has decided to sue the owners of the Full Tilt Poker website to recover losses incurred by Kentuckians.

March 22, 2010 - Twitter may have seemed like a new idea when it was launched a couple of years ago, but it wasn't. Check out this Robot Messenger that was used in 1935 at public places in London. For a fee, users could write a message on the "notificator," which would be visible for at least two hours. At least with Twitter now, your friends aren't lost after two hours!

March 11, 2010 - For no reason whatsoever, I've decided to over "The Developers" for a buck on the Kindle this month. I tried to offer it free, but the lowest I could go was a dollar. Anyway, if you have a Kindle, check it out!

February 14, 2010 - For those of you who have been following my literary agent list, you know that I've contacted a boatload of agents. Although some of given "Corporate Ties" favorable responses, I have not obtained an agent.

  Well, it's now time to move ahead without one.

February 02, 2010 - OK, technically speaking, I am a human being. But my friend, co-worker and "Corporate Ties" cover designer, Sean O'Connor, has constructed a robot in my likeness.

  All right, I guess "constructed" isn't the right word, as he hasn't built the robot (at least, not yet), but he has created a fair number of robot friends at the appropriately named site, my robot friends. Most of the mechanical inventions are based on O'Connor's friends, but he occasionally throws in a Santa Claus, Abraham Lincoln and so forth.

January 19, 2010 - When entire countries decide that your browser is a security risk, that's probably not good news for your company. That's the case with Microsoft and Internet Explorer, as French and German governments are recommending their people to use safer alternatives to IE.

January 17, 2010 - In the current state of the U.S. economy, it's pretty difficult to avoid being laid off, fired or, for whatever reason, not having a job for a certain period of time. True, sometimes the employee is entirely to blame for his/her predicament, but more often than that, a company is trying to consolidate, move offices or, in general, save money against the bottom line. Many times, those doing the actual firing and layoffs have to make decisions they would prefer to ignore, yet they have no choice.

  Enter Chester Burger's book "Creative Firing: Why Management Firings Happen - and How to Reduce Them." This book runs through the gamut of upper management decisions and how to maintain some control and honor throughout the endeavor. I've read many a business book, and even though this book was published in 1972, nearly every principle still applies.

January 07, 2010 - During the past couple of days, I've been taking mini-breaks to read Basketbawful, a blog about the worst of the worst in the NBA. If you know me, you're probably wondering why I would be reading this, considering that I follow college basketball exclusively, not the NBA, the NBA development league, European leagues, Upward basketball, etc. If you don't know me, I'm not sure how you ended up on this site, but feel free to look around and DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING.

  The site author has a running story called "Livin' Large," which, for all intensive purposes, is a coming-of-age story set a few dorm rooms down from where my college experience began. It's a great story, and I will admit that maybe I think it's so great because it's easy for me to relate. Nevertheless, I'd recommend that you check it out.

December 19, 2009 - As a writer, I am usually sitting on a few mildly interesting ideas for books, articles, etc. Last year, I wanted to create a children's book about the winter holidays, but I wanted to avoid writing about Christmas or any specific religious holiday. It occurred to me that I should write about animals, especially since my current pets do not seem to worship anything other than food. I'm considering publishing "The Animal Holiday Party" at some point, but for now, I thought I'd offer it in PDF format for anyone interested in reading. Also, the cover art was designed by online comic legend Brad Samuelson. You may know him from his comic strip AsTheGrassGrows.

December 17, 2009 - In the past, we've seen an octopus blend in with rocks, run on the ocean floor and solve a maze. That's not all they can do. Apparently, some octopuses pick up coconut shells and hide in them, the first evidence of an invertebrate using tools.

December 07, 2009 - Wow, I just realized how far behind I was in posting tidbits about good local writers. I met author Mohamed Mughal last year at a writers' conference, and we shared opinions and the like on our writings. He is a self-proclaimed literary cubist, and he's in the process of finishing his second novel, "Christmas in Mecca:  A Cubist Novel in the Existential, Absurdist Tradition of Canonical Literature, Squeezed from the Eternal Consciousness of Adam Hueghlomm." Anyway, HarfordNeighbors.net recently interviewed Mughal, so find out more about his writings on that website.