Calling all Jedi Masters. Check out this hot new toy that will be coming out this summer called the "Star Wars Force Trainer" which allows you to physically move stuff with your mind like in the Star Wars movies.

Read more about it here at Foxnews.com/story/brain_wave_toy...
May the force be with you.

We want to know do you Bump and Run or do you hang out and browse the bumps?  Please take a few seconds and vote in our new Bump Poll just scroll to the bottom of our home page to take the poll.  Every week or so we will be posting a new poll so keep checking back to find out what the the bump community is thinking.

To visit this weeks poll "When you visit AuctionBump.com do you..." click here: The Bump Poll       (scroll down bottom center) 

*If you have already voted, click the view results to see how the bump community is voting.

My daughter and I went to  Bethany Beach Delaware this weekend to visit my father.  Have you ever been to Bethany Beach Delaware?  Bethany Beach is a nice quiet town located on the eastern shore just north of Ocean City Maryland and Fenwick Island.  This ocean resort is a very family friendly resort town.  When my daughter was young we  would vacation here every year for that reason.  Way away from the hussle and bussle of OC MD.

We went to the beach today and visited the boardwalk for some nice ice cold lemonade.  The waves were small today, even though it was high tide.  Maybe tomorrow we will be able to break out the boogie boards.  See you on the surf! 

Acrophobia anyone?  Do you have a fear of heights?  Wow check out this video from the Grand Canyon Skywalk.  The Grand Canyon Skywalk is a glass walkway that extends out of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.  Would you go out on this ledge?  I am not sure I would... but it is pretty amazing.  Mr Bump has been to the Grand Canyon before, pictures, movies does not due it justice.  The only way to really feel the vast depth and size of the Grand Canyon is to visit it yourself.  Wow, no wonder it is one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

Watch the Grand Canyon Skywalk Video Here

Learn More about Acrophobia here.

I was wondering if being vague was now in vogue?  It's seems that lately people are trying to be as vague as possible... on purpose.   

Let me give you a couple of examples: 

1. Received the following email from coworker.  "My report is broken".  Ok, fine your report is broken, but don't you think it would be helpful if you actually told me what report you are talking about and what exactly is broken about it?  Hello???
   
2. Local News story:  A Maryland man was arrested today at his place of work and is being charged with the murder of his wife.  Fine, but what man, and where did he work?  How did he kill his wife?  What was her name?  A few details would be helpful, why bother making this news, what do they just make this stuff up?
   
3. Meeting request:  So you're sitting at your office desk and you receive an electronic email meeting request for a 2:30 meeting. Fine, but the sender does not include a subject in the subject line to give you a hint to what the meeting is about.  Text of message is "Discuss Issues".   Hum, issues?  What issues?  Maybe I could be of some help if I could prepare some before the meeting actually take place or are the issues secret???  Details people.... Details!!!    

From webster dictionary here is the defination of the word: Vague

Is being clear and articulate out and being as vague as possible in?  What do you think?

In this tough economy you might want to save some big dollars and make your own laundry detergent. Mr Bump has been making his own laundry detergent for several months now and thought that I would share this little money saving secret. In this blog on TheSimpleDollar.com this guy Trent has a really detailed how to article on making your own laundry detergent. The blog has over 200 comments and includes pictures and a test case using mustard on a white t-shirt.

Way to go, Trent. So far Mr Bump's clothes are fresh and clean using this simple money saving instructions on how to make your own laundry detergent.

Shout out from Mr Bump to all the dads, Happy Fathers Day! The best gift I ever got was becoming a Dad. I tell my daughter all the time that everyday is fathers day for me, because of her.

Did you know that Free eBay Auction Advertising on AuctionBump.com is so popular that we get traffic from all over the world?

From today's traffic report, just to name a few, we have traffic from the following cities, states, and countries.

Longwood, Florida
Bergenfield, New Jersey
Miami, Florida
Boiling Springs, South Carolina
Nottingham, UK
Meppel, Drenthe, Netherlands
Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic
Davenport, Iowa
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Midland, Texas
Melbourne, Florida
Savannah, Georgia
Blue Springs, Missouri
Portland, Oregon
Cheshire, Massachusetts
Port Clinton, Ohio
Sparta, New Jersey
Towson, Maryland
Seattle, Washington
Manila, Philippines
Lorton, Virginia
York, Pennsylvania
New York, New York
Paris, Ile-de-France
Calcutta, West Bengal
Columbiana, Ohio
Atlanta, Georgia
West Palm Beach, Florida

This is just a sample of the world wide traffic that free eBay auction advertising on AuctionBump.com gets daily. We are global!

Hey UK eBayers, you now have your own free eBay UK Auction Advertising website.  You can advertise your UK eBay auctions free, on the brand new eBay UK Auction Bump.co.uk

Andrew from the UK bought the UK Auction Bump script and started this new website, so if your in the UK and on eBay you have got to go bump your auctions free at the brand new AuctionBump.co.uk website for free eBay UK Auction Advertising.

Calling all Muggles.... did  you know that  Universal Studios, Orlando Fl is opening a new theme park based on the Harry Potter books?  The new park will be located in the Island of Adventures park as a "park in a park" and will take up about 20 acres.  

The new park is slated to open in as early as December 2009, but will be open by sometime in the Spring 2010.  If your a Harry Potter fan and haven't heard about this park yet, I suggest you visit my new blog/site MuggleVacations.com where you can read all about it.

Mr Bump is a big fan of the Harry Potter books, PS games, and movies (thanks to my daughter) and we are very excited about the new theme park based on the Harry Potter books.

When we hear about a daring rescue attempt that saved a life, some of us ask ourselves whether we would’ve been able to be as brave had we been given the opportunity.

Susan Zien’s The Heroes Among Us in last week’s Jewish Press, explores this question. Ms. Zien simplifies the dilemma a little bit by pointing out that even a so-called minor demonstration of compassion can turn a person into a hero. She introduces us to a Bulgarian baker who saved innocent lives at great personal risk. (She did not write that the baker was so severely beaten by the police later that he had trouble with his eyesight for the rest of his life). The “meat” of her story, however, is about her own personal heroes, the heroes of her childhood. They did not risk their lives to save hers, but rather showed her widowed mother and siblings that someone cared about them.

It makes one wonder if all it would take is a kind gesture to someone in a less fortunate situation then our own to be a bit of a hero.

Susie Zien is a coworker of mine (Mr Bump). We are all so proud of her.

My favorite season of the year. Summer! I like it Hot, Humid, Sticky, and Sweety. I also like my cookouts, cold beer, hotdogs, hamburgers, and corn on the cob. I love summer, but why is it so freaking cold out? Global warming it is not. I want my sizzling summer days back!

Hey Hon, break out your big sunglasses, whip up your beehive hair-do and join the fun at the 2009 Baltimore Hon Fest which was this past weekend. Why am I telling you about it after it happened? So you can put it on your calendar for next year. Don't forget to bring your camera!

Honfest started as a modest pageant that was a tribute to all of those industrious women who use the word “hon” in conversation. These women happened to favor beehive hair-dos, ’60s-style clothing with lots of leopard print, pedal pushers, poodle skirts and stripes, and they thought nothing of combining spandex with bright blue eye shadow. Read more here.

Today June 14 is flag day in the United States of America, the day us proud Americans display the Stars and Stripes outside our homes and businesses.

I am very proud and thankful for living in the freest country in the world the United States of America! Godbless our troops!!!

Click here to learn more about the history of flag day.

Social networking... yea, I wish I had more time... or maybe more hair?

Let's see there is Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, Squidoo, MyLife, Vox, and Jaiku, and then there is also YouTube, Blogger, and the eBay community just to name a few. You can Digg, Follow, Search, and blog, but who has time for all this? Surely not Mr Bump, although I try as best I can to keep up with out pulling out my hair.

Social networking can be defined as a group of people with like minded ideas who meet online on popular websites to discuss and trade information, make friends, and promote their online businesses. In a nut shell, social networking means big bucks to those that have the time and skills needed to engage, contact, respond, and followup.

So how do I keep up? Like everyone else, I spend my online free time blogging, and then visiting the more popular social networking sites first, before moving onto the other less popular social networking sites. I won't name them by name because each site works differently for everyone. But I will say that I am not here to give you advice on the best place to social network, but the advice I do give you is not to try to do it all, choose your poison, drink it, just don't pull your hair out trying to do it all. You can make better use of your time concentrating on one or two social networking sites than pullng your hair out trying to do it all.

As for me, like many of you may be, I am a single parent, with a day job. I also own and run the very popular AuctionBump.com website. Time is tight, and hair is well better left on your head.

Here is a current list of active social networking sites from wikipedia Social Networking List

So many, so little time...

Last week, the Check Engine Light (CEL) on my daughters 97 Honda Civic came on so instead of blogging on my blog yesterday (6/12), I was off to AutoZone to get the Free check engine light diagnostics run. There error code was P1259 which is VTEC Solenoid Valve fault which surprised me because we just replaced the o-ring (gasket) on that very same part for an oil leak back in Florida when we were readying it for the drive home to Maryland.

Anyhow, luckily they AutoZone did not have the part and told me that I would need to get this part from the dealer. So I drove home and called my brother Chris who is a mechanic. He told me before I buy the part ($150), to just take the VTEC Solenoid off myself and clean it and put it back. So, that’s what I did.

Turns out, when I replaced the o-ring last month, I added some extra sauce (gasket gum), which leaked into the solenoid gasket screen blocking the oil, which caused the light to go on. Anyway, I cleaned out the nasty gasket gum, re-cleaned the part, replaced it, and what do you know. The CEL was off, no more oil leaks, working good as new.

Thanks to my brother Chris, I am NOT out the $150 bucks, and I learned a good lesson that if it doesn't require gasket gum, do not use gasket gum! I also learned what a VTEC Solenoid is. Ha! Yea!!!

Introducing the new Twitter Bump on auctionbump.com You can visit: Twitter Bump here. The Twitter Bump is brand new today so I hope it's going to be a big success!

The Twitter Bump is a great free advertising tool for the bump community help keep them connected via tweeting.

Free Advertising for your Twitter Profile. Follow and be Followed by like minded Bumpers! Bumping is the number one free advertising solution on the internet because it's Free and Instant.

Follow your bump!!!

Today I was reviewing my online articles and noticed that on my top money making article I accidentally misspelled a word in the title. Since this article is my top money making article there was no way I was going to fix it. That got me thinking...

Could the misspelled word be the reason I am making money from it? Should I fix it and see what happens. Would the cash cow article cease? Could the misspelled word actually be a good thing?

I know about keywords and how to use misspelled words to your advantage when searching eBay so I guess it is the same with Google searches. I'll leave it as it is. I also just finished up an identical article of the opposite direction but spelled the same word correctly. I'll keep you posted in a month or so on it's money making progress.

What word did I misspell? Sorry, can't give away my secret misspelled word. Here is a link to the Top 100 Misspelled words although mine didn't make the list.

Hey Dad... Can I borrow your car? This phrase is sure to be coming soon to the Bump House. My daughter started Drivers Education today. What's a parent to do?

I started her driving education when she was about 7 years old, she took the controls of the playstation and drove through city streets, mountains roads, corn fields, streams, futuristic roadways, and even NASCAR tracks. We survived every trip. So when she turned 15, I let her drive the family Jeep. See it here on youtube Drive way driving 101 The keys got stuck, but she did just fine.

Now she is 16 going on 17 and her drivers license and freedom is just weeks away.... What is a dad to do...

Dear Sirs, this is a urgent request.  My great uncle has left me millions and request that I forward half of his millions to his long lost relative which is you sir, we have tracked you down in the land of twitter.    Please sir, this is not a scam, just Follow my Tweets and I will give you $10,000,000, that's right... follow me and I will give you 10 million dollars!  All you have to do is click this link: to follow me and I will give you 10 million dollars.

Thanks for following me, I trust in your as you trust in me as I will forward your $10 million dollars through my bank in nubia and have the funds deposited into your twitter account immediately when the bank opens for business this day.  This I promise you sir.

Follow me and I will follow you.  Hope you enjoyed my story.

The Auction Bump Script has made the eBay Pulse as a most watched item in the eBay Pulse category: eBay User Tools.  You can see it here in the:  eBay Pulse Bump 

No wonder we are the number one EPN eBay Affiliate script on the internet today.  That is right the best money making EPN affiliate script on the market.

Did you know you can make money sending taffic to eBay as an eBay Partner Network Affilate?  Got to the eBay home page and click on the Affiliate Link at the bottom of the home page to join.   

Please watch our eBay Pulse Item to help keep us in the eBay Pulse!  Thanks Friend!!!

Tired of google? Need a change? Try the new Bing search engine from Microsoft. No more plain white home page, bing has really nice new background picture featured daily. I immediately liked it. Go check it out.

I heard about Bing the new search engine from Microsoft the other day and was curious about it. So being the curious guy that I am I pointed my browser over to www.bing.com and immediately set my browser default page to it. I did a few familar searches and was really impressed with the results. Not only did I find what I was searching for but I found exactly what I was searching for on the very first page. Goodbye google logos, hello cool backgrounds.

Also, for you webmasters, I really like the Bing Webmaster Tools (click on the EXTRAS link - top right). I was able to setup my website in just minutes with immediate crawl and submission. The back link results more powerful than google along with other information available is outstanding.

I'm not usually a cheerleader for Microsoft, but what I have seen so far I really like. Don't forget to try out there Image Search, very cool!

With $20,000 in Cash Prizes up for grabs here is your chance to get a piece of the eBay pie.

If your an EPN affiliate, then starting today, from June 1st through July 31st eBay/EPN will be giving away nine $1,000 Weekly Cash Prizes, one $1,000 Best Daily Deal Integration Prize, and a $10,000 Grand Prize!

Signup is free and easy, and then just post a Daily Deals banner on your website. You dont have to do anything else. eBay chooses the daily deals everyday, so it's a win win for you and hopefully a win win win!

Does spelling really matter that much?

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rest can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Prttey amzanig huh?

Well it does matter to me (even though I am a terrible speller) because I feel it refects poorly on the writer.  To cut down on my misspellings, I always proofread everything I write, and try to use a spell checker if one is available, but sometimes misspelled words slip by.  It does matter, but it doesn't bother me when it happens.  I edit!

Do I want to know if I misspelled any words in my blogs postings?  Only if it bothers you, yes, then please let me know.

B2evolution is a powerful free open-source (GPL) blog tool software that you can install on your own website.   I tried it, I liked it, now I use it here on my blog Ramblings from Mr Bump

I tried wordpress, blogger, but none-compare to the ease and use of B2evolution blog script.  This free script includes many features such as file and photo management, blog post advanced features, and even a ping list for blog promotion.

This free open-source blog script runs on any webserver featuring PHP and MYSQL!  You can learn more and pick up your free copy here: B2evolution.net

The great thing about hosting your blog on your own website is that your website benefits from the SEO generated by your posts.  Which helps your website rank among the search engines.

These are the 3 most popular "I Don't Really Care" email replies I get back from coworkers,  regardless of the question or issue.  Words never seem to fail me when I receive these cut and paste replies.  I'm pretty sure I have them all figured out.  They aren't fooling me.  I will briefly try to explain each one to you.

1. Thanks for the update - This first one basically implies that you are aware of my concern or issue, and that you are currently looking into it, You replied so I should just be happy. What it really means: That You really don't care about this at all.

2. Keep me posted - This gem basically says that you are still in the loop, but that it's not your responsibility. What it really means:  You really don't give a rat's ass about this issue, but it also shows your concern so just in case upper management needs to focus blame, you are off the hook.

3. Sounds good to me - This basically says that you have no idea what I am talking about, but since I seem to know what the solution is, have at it. What it really means: This removes all blame from you (sender), because basically you are just saying that it "sounds good", not full approval, it leaves squiggle room for the sender to blame elsewhere me (receiver).

I'm filing this under ramblings, because well I am rambling.