Americans may know that their Thanksgiving turkeys have to die before they can reach the family table. But most are loathe to watch it happen. Sarah Palin may have unwittingly opened many of our eyes to how our turkeys are harvested; ironically, minutes after "pardoning" another turkey named "Thanksgiving" at Triple D Farms in Wasilla, Alaska.

After having pardoned the turkey, Palin gives an interview in front of the slaughtering area (two cone-shaped contraptions into which turkeys are placed, upside down, so their heads can be severed and blood drained). A farm worker is inserting a turkey as the interview begins; he keeps looking over, and takes the turkey out at one point, evidently uncomfortable with chopping the bird's head off on-camera. But he's eager to get going and puts the bird back, holding its head at the bottom of the cone while it struggles and Palin says "certainly we'll probably invite criticism for even doing this too, but at least this is fun!"

As someone who's interested in "slow food" and sustainable farming practices, I wasn't horrified; I think it's probably a good thing for Americans to become more knowledgeable about what happens to animals before they're brought to the table. But this may be a rather harsh way of opening our eyes. The video interview is after the jump, complete with struggling bird and awkward farmer.

If you're still plunking your butt in front of the tube for your evening entertainment, you're depriving yourself of a universe of video available via the Internet. At the moment, the industry resembles the auto world of the 1910's, with hundreds of sites contending to become the GM Toyota of on-line video content.

One result of this struggle is that content is strewn across all of these sites, and finding your fav episode of "My Mother the Car" or "Pants Off Dance Off" can become an exercise in frustration. Accordingly, there is now a race to birth the perfect video search site, a meta site from which you can paw through the archives of every video content.

An recent candidate for this role, VideoFetcher.com, is refreshingly clean, uncomplicated and comprehensive. From its bare-bones search page one can search and follow the links to over 100 video sites. I used it to find Max Headroom content (loved loved loved that show- check it out). I'll be busy for days following all the links returned.

Thanks to Mashable

The creator of WonderHowTo.com is trying to enhance the online video experience. He's got a pretty simple concept: A search engine of sorts that helps people find the most relevant videos to help them learn how to do things.

He says YouTube is great, but users need to be able to find videos quickly in order for them to be the most useful. Venture capitalists believed in this idea enough to fund the company for growth. I'm not so sure about the concept. Isn't there already a search engine that helps you find videos... called Google?



Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

Get it on paper! If you come away from this video of Wal-Mart executives dressed in drag with only one tip, it's this: Remember to get your business dealings down on paper! (well, that and to avoid dressing in drag in front of a camera unless you want to be a Youtube star. )This rather embarrassing and possibly litigious situation could have easily been avoided if somebody, I don't care who, had taken the time to get a paragraph signed stating that Wal-Mart owned the content of these meetings. Even though Flagler Productions recorded the meetings for Wal-Mart it isn't apparent to me that the company actually produced anything; rather, it acted as a simple recorder of events.

While Wal-mart contends that the videos are of little interest to outsiders; a slew of anti-discrimination lawyers, documentary makers and late show audience members will likely disagree. If this goes to court it will be very interesting to see how the judge rules, given the intent of the parties and agreements which exist solely in the memories of two parties with significant stakes in the outcome.

I have to side with Wal-Mart in this instance, because no reasonable company would save a few bucks to pass on control of video from internal company events and meetings. The risks of doing so greatly outweigh any initial savings and I believe a judge will reach the same conclusion. Of course by the time any rulings have been made Flagler Productions may have already released footage of senior management dressed in bikinis rocking out to Bon Jovi.

If there are any two topics which rest heavy on our minds and light on our tongues these days, those two subjects would be how to save money and how to help the planet stay healthy. One concept which is a perennial favorite in both those realms is the classic do it yourself toilet modification. This simple yet effective gambit will reduce your water and sewer bills as it also reduces your impact on mother nature. So gather the family around your computer monitor to watch this short production from VideoJug and rediscover one cool way to show mother nature we still do love her... one flush at a time.

I have a great deal of regard and respect for people who have the motivation to help themselves without adding an additional burden to society. I think a lot of people share this attitude with me. That is why the following video caught my eye. This video is a quick yet effective tutorial about taking your inner talents and using them to generate income on the street. Unlike common panhandlers who generally solicit money by invoking pity, street performers are willing to provide entertainment for the funds they seek. I can respect that.

Check out the video if you'd like a few good pointers about earning income in the great public venue. Please leave a donation in the hat on your way out.

The storm season is rapidly approaching for my part of the country, and that got me thinking. Because our locality seems to be rather prone to lightening strikes, we had better make sure we have proper insurance coverage on our computers.

I've already had one modem fried by lightening. Luckily enough the manufacturer's warranty covered that one occurrence. But now, we have two rather expensive computers which are each used for generating income. You can bet that I'll be making sure they're protected by proper insurance before storm season hits.

Generally, homeowner or renter's insurance will provide adequate coverage for the average personal computer in the event of damage or theft. However, it's a good idea to check to see if the policy covers actual value or replacement value. Computers depreciate very quickly once we put them into service. In my own case, I'll gladly pay the modest up-front charge for a policy which provides replacement of my machine at current market prices for new equipment, if something unsavory should happen.

The daily deal for Sunday, February 10, 2008 is this great little digital camera presented by TigerDirect.com. The Norcent DCC-725 Digital Camera sports all of the needed features for a budget digital camera and it's brought to you for just $59.97 while supplies last. I shopped around for the sake of comparison and this is what I determined: For the selling price offered by TigerDirect on this camera, it blows most of the competition completely away.

Of all the digital cameras on TigerDirect which have megapixel ratings of 6.0 or better, the Norcent model is priced lower than all of them by at least $30. When compared to 6.0 megapixel or better digital cameras being sold at Newegg.com, the Norcent model at TigerDirect beat them all in price, starting with a difference of $20. Shipping cost from each of these web retailers will be about $6.50 for cameras of this type and size, depending on the delivery service you select.

The Norcent DCC-725 is a full 7.0 megapixel camera, boasting picture resolution as high as 3072 x 2304 pixels. This is about half the resolution you'd get from higher priced cameras but is absolutely great for general picture taking and printing. The camera also provides a video function with a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. Not a resolution you'd like for making family video memory treasures, but just fine for YouTube and such.

The camera has 3x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom for 12x total zoom potential combined. It has 15 different picture taking settings, built in flash, and a 2.5 inch LED viewing screen. The camera offers a focusing range from macro to infinity, meaning that you can photograph a coin on your desk or a mountain range on the horizon. The 16MB internal storage will hold 3 to 5 images, depending on the resolution setting, but adding a 1GB SD memory card for about $10 will give you storage for well over 200 images. You'll absolutely need a memory card if you'll be shooting video clips.

This would be a great starter camera for people who want to experiment with digital photography but are still skittish about trying it. It's probably not a device you'd want to give to a youngster, unless they've already had experience with cameras. A good first digital camera at a great camera price, that's what I would call this sharp little model. If I was in the market for a new digital camera with all the basics, I'd probably snap one of these up for myself!

Ken and Daria Dolan are widely known as America's First Family of Personal Finance.

Taxes?! Bah humbug! I know taxes probably aren't exactly the most festive thing to write about in the middle of the holidays. But taking advantage of some year-end tax tips now can save you big come April.

So pour yourself another glass of eggnog and spend a few minutes watching this video on some simple tax moves you can make before the ball drops on the 31st.

Ken and Daria Dolan of Dolans.com have hosted their own national radio program for 22 years, anchored their own television shows on CNN, authored six books on money matters, served as money contributors on CBS This Morning and have now launched a comprehensive web site and free e-letter at Dolans.com.