I just ran across this article on Wired's Geek Dad blog and it reminded me of how much I hate Monopoly. Not just because it is a terrible game that takes way too long with way to little excitement, but because it has inspired countless people to hate any board game. Come on! When is that last time you actually completed a game of Monopoly where the other players didn't just give up out of frustration or exhaustion?

There are so many other, great board games out there! One of my favorite things to do is play a few board games with like-minded friends over some tasty beverages. It inspires conversation and competition, and with good games, players don't get knocked out to fend for themselves while everyone else plods away at Monotony, excuse me, Monopoly.

If you like Monopoly, or maybe just certain aspects of it, check out this video below from Board Games with Scott to see if there are some other games you might actually enjoy playing all the way through!

P.S. Scott, I'll miss your videos! Good luck on your next project!

I had an opportunity a few months ago to create a presentation using Prezi for graduate school. I waited a bit too long and was not able to really play around with the tools Prezi offers before I had to give the talk. I am used to using PowerPoint and Keynote, but Prezi was a completely new experience. The learning curve is steep, but worth navigating.

Take a look at some of the featured Prezi's, especially if you are about to create a presentation. This will give you some great inspiration, and help you think about your presentation in a new way. Forget about slides and points, and start thinking about illustrating your core ideas. How do you imagine your topic when you close your eyes? Do you see static slides with pictures and text, one after the other? Probably not. Prezi lets you zoom around from one idea to the next and connect them all together with... whatever you want! Just make sure you have something interesting to say, or you will be upstaged by your own presentation.

The editing controls are not as intuitive as I would like, but watching the tutorials will help you get a handle on them. Also, if you are using pictures, make sure they are of high quality, in case you need to zoom in. Also, a fast computer doesn't hurt.

Take a look at my first attempt:

As you can see, I still had a very hierarchical idea of what my presentation was. Prezi can accomplish this, but it is capable of (and suited to) so much more. I'm looking forward to really exploring it's capabilities.

About a year ago, I gave this presentation on SMS fundraising, such as what the Red Cross used (and is using) to support efforts in Haiti.

What do you get when you combine nonprofit ingenuity and desire to make a difference with powerful, free tools from around the internet? One hell of a potent combination, that's what.

How many organizations are doing this? Not enough.

How can I help? By setting you up with only what you need and pointing you in the right direction.