I have wanted to create a custom URL shortener using Bit.ly for a long time and I just figured out how.

Step 1. Buy a Short URL

If you haven’t used domain.nr before it is the perfect place to find snooty, geeky domains that guys with trendy glasses who spend too much time sipping espresso will LOVE.  Names like Flickr, del.icio.us and buzz.io

Step 2. Set an A Record or CNAME record to point your tiny url to bit.ly

doing this is a little bit different on each web host but usually very simple.  bit.ly will give you the CNAME and A records to use. If you are doing a subdomain like I did (i.buzz.io) you MUST use the CNAME.

One tip: lower your TTL value so when bit.ly checks for it it will see it quickly

Step 3. Add it to your bit.ly account

Log into bit.ly and go to account>settings and you should see something like this:

That’s it – you should be ready to go.  Now when you add a link to twitter you can be as cool as the New York Times or other bigshots. This is a great tool for branding or any type of viral marketing.

Apple just announced iCar Apple iOS for your Automobile.  A new partnership just announced with Tesla Motors will make iCar standard equipment starting in 2014…

It isn’t true yet – but that is my dream headline.

A few weeks ago my wife surprised me by announcing that our fourth child was on the way.

Two things raced through my mind:

1. How are we going to pay for this?
2. Pretend to be super happy and not scared at all about #1 so you don’t ruin the moment.

I don’t know if you have ever done the math or not but the expense of a family grows exponentially after the third child.  You need a bigger house (5 bedrooms that is practically a mansion). You can’t all fit in a booth at a restaurant. On a flight you have to book the entire center row of a 747.  Plus you will need a bigger car.

We ended up getting an Acura MDX and let me just say right out loud (in case you missed it in the subtext) I am a cheapskate. This Acura is our first “modern” car with features like a navigation system, bluetooth phone, etc. As excited as I am to have these fancy high tech features I am also repulsed by them.  The interfaces are horrible the usability is terrible.  It takes longer to put an address in to the GPS than it does to drive around lost.

That is when I had a genius idea – Apples next big move should be to own all the screens in my life.  We already have Apple TV, Iphones, MacBook’s and Ipads.  What I really need is iCar.

Just imagine you could ask siri for directions instead of typing them in.  You could have your car read you emails.  Using the GPS and accelerometer you could have apps that tell you your speed, offer driving suggestions to conserve gas.  there are a billion possibilities. Most importantly it wouldn’t suck.

As it turns out a few people are already doing it.

Soundman Car Audio in California has a bunch of great shots.

ipad installed in Dashboard of ford f150

What apps would you want on your iCar?