You may have noticed the recent news that Amazon is launching the Kindle 2 — the second version of its wireless reading device — on February 24, 2009.

I am super-excited about the Kindle 2, especially for people like you and me who care about better communication.

You probably read as much as I do.

And the Amazon Kindle is a revolution, in my opinion, in how you can get and read books.

The Amazon Kindle 2 takes this revolution to the next level.

Sure, there are critics who complain about such things as the Kindle 2 using a sixteen-gray-levels screen instead of a color screen, but many of these criticisms relate to cost-versus-benefit decisions that Amazon had to make.

For example, what manufacturer has created an affordable book reader with a color screen that is readable in bright sunlight? I dare say, “None.”

The day that I heard about the launch of the Kindle 2, I made two decisions:

1. I was going to buy one.
2. I was going to set up a website about Kindle 2 tricks.

Do you want to know something funny?

I was just about to click the submit-order button at Amazon to get my Kindle 2, when I decided to step away from my computer and tell my wife about it and how excited I was about the Kindle 2.

And guess what my wife said? She said that earlier that day she had ordered one for me for Valentine’s Day.

What a sweetheart, and what a coincidence! And my first goal became moot.

As I write this, another week must pass before Amazon starts shipping the Kindle 2. (I can hardly stand it.)

So I do not have one now, but this has not stopped me from pursuing goal #2.

I set up Kindle2Tricks.com as a resource for anyone who wants to know how to get the most out of the Amazon Kindle 2.

What do you want to know about the Kindle 2?

Go to Kindle2Tricks.com, and tell me!

Valentine’s Day can be painful when you are missing your ex — your ex-boyfriend, your ex-girlfriend, your ex-husband, or your ex-wife.

I know how it feels to be in this state. It is no fun.

Sure, it can be different if you were in a relationship, broke up, and discovered afterward that the break-up was for the best.

But what if you have done the post-break-up soul-searching, still miss your ex, and want to get back together with him or her?

Until just a few weeks ago, I had never seen a system that intelligently, honestly, and kindly teaches you how to get back together with your ex.

I now know about such a get-your-ex-back system, and I want to share it with anyone who wants to make up with his or her ex.

As a reader of my blog, you know that my site’s focus is on “Better Communication for Smart People”, and you can have better communication with your ex!

I know where you have been, and I believe so strongly that you can communicate better with your ex — and very possibly get him or her back — that I have collaborated with the creator of the get-your-ex-back system to send tips to you as fast as we can assemble them, but no more often than daily.

Each tip in this newsletter will focus in one way or another on better communication between you and your ex.

If this newsletter would be helpful to you, then simply tell me where to send it:

Once you click the button, please look for a confirmation email message and click the link inside to start getting the newsletter.

I will then start your newsletter subscription for the tips.

And of course I will tell you more about that wonderful get-your-ex-back system that handles the subject in an intelligent, honest, and kind manner.

I look forward to sending this information to you.

Just send me your name — a first name will do — and email address to get started.

If you have ever visited a Whole Foods Market (WFM), then you probably have seen WFM’s shopping row that contains dispensers for all sorts of wonderful nuts, sweets, and other snacks, as well as beans, grains, and cereals.

WFM refers to this aisle as “the bulk section”.

Each dispenser has a pull-down handle that opens a chute at the bottom of the see-through storage bin.

Pull the handle, and the goodies begin to flow — hopefully into a plastic bag that you put beneath the chute ahead of time!

The experience is somewhat like being a kid at a gumball machine but with the power to keep the goodies flowing as long as possible. — Very clever marketing, in my opinion.

I believe that WFM refers to this experience as “buy in bulk”, but there is a problem with this expression.

The applicable definition of the noun “bulk” to this situation is goods not in boxes or packages, typically transported in large volume.

This makes sense because the word “bulk” comes from the Old Norse word bulki, which was coined in the early 1400s to refer to a ship’s hold.

The idiom “in bulk” means in large quantities.

So “buy in bulk” implies that someone is buying a large quantity of loose goods.

But the WFM shopper fully controls the act of dispensing nuts, sweets, or snacks into a plastic bag.

In other words, one can buy as little as a fraction of an ounce of some delectable treat — not exactly what I would call “buying in bulk”!

Perhaps WFM intentionally uses the confusing expression “buy in bulk” because it convinces at least some shoppers that they are getting a bulk discount, but WFM does not charge a discounted rate for larger volumes.

Despite the confusing expression, you cannot beat the experience of walking down an aisle, seeing all sorts of goodies in clear-plastic bins, putting a plastic bag beneath your favorite bin, and holding down the bin’s handle for as long as you want — or until the bag almost overflows or you have run out of money!