Step2 reviews!

About the middle of last month we launched a reviews service on our website at Step2.com. Armed with our email newsletter subscriber list, we sent out a request for previous customers to come visit the site and review the items they had bought.

The response was overwhelming! Within a couple of weeks we've gathered over 950 product reviews, including over 900 toy reviews. We decided to take a chance and publish both positive and negative reviews, because we feel that this will help moderate expectations. While we do everything we can to make our products completely satisfying, some parents and/or children might not like certain aspects of the products we sell. By helping the consumer get a more "real-world" view of what these products are like, we're hoping that they'll feel much more comfortable purchasing our toys.

After all, there's reviews elsewhere on the web that customers will go to if we're not willing to provide them, and we'd much rather have them learning about our products at our site, where we can respond accordingly if concerns are voiced.

So far, it looks like the program has been a pretty big success. But don't take my word for it--go check out some of our Step2 toy reviews at our site!

It worked! Sweet!

Heck yeah, BigCrumbs.com is legit! I just got my account credited for $11.50 off a purchase I made at Target.com, which was in addition to the 10% discount that I got at the time of purchase. If you haven't already, I highly recommend that you sign up for this site.

10% off at Target PLUS cash back?

(I know, sounds SPAMmy) That's what BigCrumbs.com claims. So I tried it, and the 10% off part worked, so it's already a winner situation, and if I get the other cash back will be even better.

If you're going to be shopping at Target.com, you owe it to yourself to give it a try if for nothing else than the 10% off. There's also a ton of other stores on the list including eBay, Macy's, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.

Moved. Yup, moved.

This blog has moved to http://www.gopulls.com/blog, and you should be redirected there automatically in a few seconds. If you have this site bookmarked, please update your bookmarks.

Off the SERPS?

A year ago, you could find the Step2 website page for the Up and Down Roller Coaster on the first page of Google search results. Today, not in the first 40 results.

What happened?

I have no idea. But it is a great toy. I guess this is why Search Engine Optimizers charge $250+ per hour and get away with it.

Movin on up

I just made the move to WordPress. Holy friggin cow, what an incredibly more advanced blogging tool. If you haven't ever considered the WP, now is the time.

The front end looks pretty similar (see my new blog location), but the backend is fabulous. Categories, easier customization, sweet effects that make you feel like you're ruling the world, etc.

What's not to like?

The coolest part, though, is that you can import your entire Blogger blog straight into wordpress, comments and all.

Heck yeah.

What to blog about?

Well, I've got so much to say. Kind of. One personal-related thing, and two personal-work related things. Where do I start?

Personal. Tonight I have to give a sort of devotional to the upcoming Navs student leaders at Kent State on Biblical Integrity. Why am I doing this? Because I'm passionate about it.

How do you listen to preaching? On what do you base your theology? Unfortunately, many people just either assume "if it sounds right, it must be true", or "if a pastor says it, it's gotta be true." My dear friends, this is not so. First of all, you're living in America, so what sounds right to you is American philosophy, such as "I deserve to be rich," "if it feels good, do it," "I don't owe anything to anyone," and "whatever you want to do, if you work hard enough you can do it."

I don't have the time to go into all the reasons that these ideas are dangerous and in some cases downright sinful. But if you listen to many preachers out there, that's what they'll say. I dare you to find them in the Bible. (and I mean the whole Bible, not just the half of the one verse that said pastor likes to quote)

So tonight I get to tell these kids that:

#1 The Bible is authoritative, and the only thing that they can pass on and know that others will always be able to come back to. (Your 4 fancy points beginning with the same letter will be forgotten within a day, I guarantee it)

#2 You must know the Bible in order to teach it. Fred Phelps (a Kansan preacher who anually claims that God hates ____ (gay people)) honestly thinks he's preaching truth, but he evidently doesn't know the Bible. 90% of the truth is often the most dangerous thing in the world. If you're not in the Word, you've got no business teaching others what it says.

Learn the Word first, and fancy tricks to make it more easily accessible second.

Blogging for Step2

Ah, the day has finally come where I can get paid to blog. Well, kind of.

We've started a Step2 blog over at Step2.com, and now part of my job will be blogging. We're excited to put more of a personal touch on the company's image by allowing our personalities (and they are definitely personalities) to be visible in some way.

Rob and I will mostly be talking about stuff Step2 is doing, odd facts about the Step2 Direct program, information about new products that are coming, news about special offers, and possibly some child psychology information that illustrates ways our toys can help your child learn and grow.

Go on, check it out.

Windows Vista is a Memory Hog

Yes, it's official. I installed the x64 version of the Windows Vista Beta about a month or so ago, and I've been playing around with it. I built a new system specifically for this purpose, as my old laptop just wasn't going to cut it. (Mobile Athlon 2400+, 512MB of RAM, w/ 128 shared to video)

I wanted to build a cheap machine that would be nice nonetheless. After all was said and done, I had an Athlon 64 3200+ (San Diego), 1GB of PC3200 RAM, and an EVGA 7600GS card with 256MB of DDR2 Ram. I also threw in a DVD burner and 19" LCD monitor, and used an old 80GB hard drive I had laying around. I took a dremel to an old Gateway 2000 case my wife had, and viola, brand new "old" computer. I figure that all the parts cost me around $560 (yes, with the 8ms monitor).

I installed Vista x64 without any problems and noticed right away that it was hogging 650MB of RAM. Holy freaking cow. The monitor, motherboard, and ram I bought dropped in price at TigerDirect.com (where I bought most of the stuff), so I called them up and they agreed to credit me the differences as store credit. I happily agreed, and ordered another GB of ram a few days later. (LONG story on the TD credit--their CS is pretty crappy and helpless, and if their management can't fix the mess they made, you'll read about it here)

So I pop in my second gig of ram a few days later, and I boot up Vista again. Now it's using 995MB! Holy crap! You need an entire GB of RAM just to run your OS?!?! Who does Microsoft think they are? And this, after all the talk about using your GFX card for visual effects to spare the rest of the system. I sure hope they're not using 995MB plus my 256MB card...

So I guess the bottom line is this: if they tell you that you can run the x86 version on 512MB, they're probably referring to "running" quite loosely. Like molasses on a January day loosely. When they require 1GB for x64, they certainly aren't kidding. Looks like your best bet is to just buy a friggin Mac. Or install the 4GB of RAM you never thought that you'd ever use in your wildest dreams. Or just keep running XP Pro. (My commit charge w/ the same system in XP Pro? 176MB)

It's like the Matrix, only real. Some geeks are an odd bunch...

Remember all those people who used to dress up like Neo and go to the latest installment of the Matrix trilogy? They talked about "there is no spoon" and all that jazz, and normal people just shook their heads? Well, despite all their weird musings on the philosophy behind the Matrix, it's really happening. And they're unwittingly putting themselves into the Matrix.

Now what would make you say such a ridiculous thing, you may ask. Simple. It's called MMOG. For those of you not in the know, Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming. The whole idea is that hundreds, or thousands of users across the globe all insert themselves into a totally imaginary world, where they interact as if they were real people in an "real" mythical world. I remember back in my college days when people played Everquest, then there was Everquest 2, and now you've got World of Warcraft, which is obscenely huge, some Star Wars version, and a gazillion other of these games.

It's scary, really, because these people abandon their real, physical lives for an imaginary one in front of a computer screen for hours upon hours upon hours every day. Rather than get out and enjoy the real world, they isolate themselves in their houses (or apartments, or parents' basements) and begin to think of themselves as Ganthor or Mithrand or Yodette or something like that. No, I'm not against gaming, and I love to spend a couple hours each week with a RTS or First Person Shooter game, but some of these people trade in their lives entirely, often spending large sums of real money on imaginary items in a false world.

They really do live in a Matrix, a computer-generated world that keeps them blissfully unaware of the pathetic state their real lives are in. Do you MMOG? More than you LITRW? (Live in the real world) Go outside, enjoy the sunshine, talk to a real person, do some good deeds, spend some time seeking after God, who has an actual purpose for you in this real world.

And a totally random thought...

I wonder, how long until we see MMOG missionaries?

The World Trade Center -- Tragedy #2

It seems that they've found a way to get the WTC memorial closer to a $500 million cap, according to the New York Times. Honestly, this makes me sick.


Yes, 9/11 was a tragedy. Yes, we should remember the dead, and especially the brave people who sacrificed their lives saving others'. But is flushing $500 million down the drain on two huge waterfall pits the best way to do that? Why not erect a simple monument (like the Vietnam Memorial) with their names and the story ingraved in it, put in in a grassy square, and call it good. Then, send the other $499 million to feeding some starving refugees in Africa, or to hurricane relief, or earthquake relief, or tsunami relief, or whatever else is the disaster of the month. Honestly, there is no shortage of truly noble purposes in the world that could really use a couple hundred million dollars of support, and we've got people whining that their deceased relatives' names are going to be inscribed above ground instead of below.


America, wake up. Quit thinking about your own pity party, and help someone else who is alive and in need. And quit wasting money like it's going out of style.

Wii -- a Genius idea. Evangelistically genius.

Nintendo recently announced that their new gaming console (previously known as the "Revolution") would be called Wii. You pronounce that to rhyme with pee, by the way, and the whole electronic world is talking about how dumb of an idea that was. I have to disagree. It's a remarkably smart decision.

Why? Word of mouth. Many Christians have looked at Evangelism this way for a long time--if you hear something from someone you know and trust, you're infinitely more likely to pay attention. Just as the guy standing on the street corner can be "heard" by thousands of people, he's unlikely to influence more than 1 or 2 (and that may be negatively!). In contrast, if he were talking to one friend, that single friend would at least listen as he finished his thought. So it is with Wii.

As we speak, those outspoken gaming nerds are all asking their Moms/Sisters/Non-Gamers (ie, the Wii's target audience) what they think of the name Wii for the new Nintendo. All those people, obviously, are saying stuff like "What's that? Nintendo has a new gaming system? etc." Then they're all being treated to this diatribe about how Nintendo is trying to get non-gamers to play by...yadda yadda...

So these people who would instantly tune out a Gaming system commercial are getting it first hand from someone they trust to know about gaming. They can't forget the name Wii, (because of course they're thinking "heh, heh, it rhymes with pee!") and they'll probably end up telling their non-gamer friends about it.

Nintendo wisely gave some touchy-feely cheesy reasoning behind the name, which will inflame gamer controversy even more, fueling the free PR fires.

Nintendo, can we have that ad guy? He's got Insight. Genius.

It's all Greek to me

Sorry I've been gone for so long (over two weeks now!). I've been pretty busy at work, and given the nature of my project (ie, a lot of fun), I've also been working at home a bit. You can see my Wagon handiwork by clicking the 3d demo button underneath the T3 Traveler on the page.

Anyways, enough of excuses. A few things have been leading me back towards the desire to attend seminary sooner rather than later, so I've been doing some digging into what it will take to earn my M.Div (Masters of Divinity) at Trinity. Answer: knowledge of Greek, plus 96 hours of classes and some other stuff (internships and the like). Since Kent State would charge me about $1500 per semester to learn Greek, I'm off to finding a way to teach myself.

A pastor friend of mine suggested that I buy "Mounce's Greek," which would teach me pretty much all I need to know, but I love computers and hate spending money. SOOOooo, I dug, and dug, and dug around the internet, and I found an amazing resource by a lady at the University of Houston. Apparently, she has three entire semesters of her Biblical Greek classes posted online, and encourages people like me to work through it and learn for free! Booyeah.

So far I've found that there's a ton of good stuff, from mp3s of pronunciations, to a vary well-organized methodology of learning the language. I'm excited to keep going here, and I highly recommend that anyone who is interested to come learn Greek with me.

Are you feeling Naturally Playful?

At Step2, we've got this great line of toys that have realistic wood and stone colors and textures, and they've become quite popular. It seems that nobody wants bright yellow and pink in their back yard (or worse, faded yellow and pink). Up until now, though, you had to sort through our entire website to find your options. All that has changed!

Now you can find the whole gamut of Naturally Playful toys at the Step2 Website. I created this overview of the whole toy line for a few reasons--to explore the reaction to a new color scheme, and to ease the shopping process for people who just search for that term on the web.

Check it out--do you prefer the more muted colors, or the old style?