[donspatch] 2008-12-15

#107,  December 15, 2008  from http://www.don-guitar.com

Online version:  http://www.don-guitar.com/currentissue.html

Archives:  http://www.freelists.org/archives/donspatch/ 
 
First word, from Don: 
 
Christmas is but a few days away, again.  The older I get
the shorter the years seem to become.  I wonder if there's
not some sort of age-related inverse square law that
affects our sense of time though I can't complain.  Time
may appear to be moving more quickly but I'm enjoying every
moment, more than I ever have before.  I wish I could
teach others to be as happy as I am but I can't.  I don't
know exactly what I'm doing right any more than I know
what I was doing wrong for the first fifty-some-odd years
of my life.  I've given up trying to figure it out in favor
of simply enjoying it while it lasts.

Happy holidays everyone and, by the way, we'll be making
our annual holiday calls in the next few days so please
be sure to email us your Skype identity or telephone
number if you'd like to hear from us.  We'll get back with
you via email to set up a contact appointment.  If you live
outside the U.S.A and don't have Skype, we hope you'll settle
for a 'Happy Holidays' email (we can't afford international
long distance charges).  :)

Don 
 
Our feedback form and contact info:
http://www.don-guitar.com/contactme.html 
 
Our personal news page. 
http://www.don-guitar.com/babbleon.html 
 
Don at myspace.com http://www.myspace.com/donguitar

Don's blogs.
http://www.lockergnome.com/nexus/eldergeek/
http://don-guitar.blogspot.com/

Lisa at myspace.com.  http://www.myspace.com/81825549

Lisa's blogs.
http://www.lockergnome.com/nexus/dirtgoddess
http://thedirtgoddess.blogspot.com/ 
 
 
Section One by Don. 
 
An interesting online image editor and painting applet.
http://www.izhuk.com/painter/

A Windows 'gimme' from HP.   http://linkasa.com/H01

I found a keychain at a flea market that says
'Gramm President'.  A little research told me it
probably came from Phil Gramm's 1996 attempt to get
in the running.  Along the way I discovered this site.
http://www.politicalheritage.com/

As a 'Texan by Choice' I enjoyed being impressed by
this site.   http://www.famoustexans.com/

Kids and Family collection.
Disney.  http://familyfun.go.com/
Kaboose.   http://www.kaboose.com/
Give your kids something to do.   http://www.otterhop.com/
Kulture Kids.   http://www.kulturekids.org/index.html
Kids stuff from the Rare Species Conservatory.
http://www.rarespecies.org/kids/
The USGS TerraWeb for kids.
http://terraweb.wr.usgs.gov/kids/
Kids stuff from the American Dental Hygienists' Association.
http://www.adha.org/kidstuff/index.html
Sparky the fire dog.   http://www.sparky.org/index.html

It's still rather unusual but the I think stay-at-home
jobs are becoming more common.
http://www.sutherlandathome.com/At_home_Employment_Details.asp

Twitter is all about 'what are you doing now?'...
http://twitter.com/
...while brightkite is about 'where are you doing it?'
http://brightkite.com/

Seems like every imaginable activity, even goofing off at
work, has a website.   http://www.ishouldbeworking.com/

A collection of travel related info.   http://www.quixo.com/

A huge variety of articles.   http://www.essortment.com/

Make stuff! (has pop-ups)   http://www.make-stuff.com/
 
End of Section One.  
 
 
This publication is only mailed to verified 
double opt-in subscribers, and is brought 
to you by me, Don Crowder, my wife, 
Lisa Miller, and http://www.freelists.org 
 
 
Section Two by Lisa 
 
(Have a beautiful Christmas tree.
http://designertree.notlong.com

'Tis the season to wonder about Nativity Scenes.
http://www.hansgruener.de/cribs.htm
http://nativities.notlong.com
http://www.portanapoli.com/Eng/Culture/crib.html

It's estimated that Fannie Palmer (1812-1876) created
well over 200 works for Currier and Ives, the largest
supplier of lithographs in America. She was a profound
influence upon our culture.
http://fannypalmer.notlong.com.

The FTC protects America's consumers.
http://www.ftc.gov/index.shtml

Serious thought has gone into the proper use
of toilet paper.
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/13503

Ken Rockwell has a lot to tell you about photography.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/index.htm

One thing you can do today that will put you in
better financial shape tomorrow-guaranteed.
http://spendnothing.notlong.com

How to floss your teeth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEgp3SEtB0I

Keyhole Magazine; fiction, poetry, articles
and more.   http://www.keyholemagazine.com/

Create and share your lists for play, life and work.
http://www.blist.com/what-is-blist

Are you or do you need experienced talent for
employment opportunities?  Here's a good place
to start.   http://landonmyfeet.com/

Watch TV, movies and videos-for free.
http://www.hulu.com/

Bryan Hutchinson explores the life experiences
and coping skills necessary for those with adult
ADD ADHD.   http://adderworld.com/ 
 
End of Section Two. 
 
 
At the time this issue was posted, 
the current subscriber count for 
this publication was 391. 
 
 
This issue's collection of online news, blogs, 
magazines, videos  and/or other informational
sites.  These are chosen for maximum diversity
regardless of "spin" and in some cases may
have offensive or questionable content. 
http://texascook.blogspot.com/
http://www.culturefeast.com/
http://www.somethingawful.com/
http://www.bspcn.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/taylormali
http://www.irshadmanji.com/
http://www.ifgogo.com/
http://www.yesbutnobutyes.com/
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/17562392
http://www.exacteditions.com/
http://www.earthscan.co.uk/
http://www.inderscience.com/index.php
http://www.istl.org/
 
 
Section Three by Don. 
 
A sort of online self-help variety magazine.
http://www.clickit.com/

While I'm a big fan of Les Paul, I think his
website is a little too in-your-face.
http://www.lespaulonline.com/

An interesting resource for business-persons.
http://www.businessballs.com/

Mark Smith's travel site.
http://www.seat61.com/index.html

I was trying to tell a web-friend, who lives in
Bangladesh, what the temperature was here.
http://www.wbuf.noaa.gov/tempfc.htm

I'm guessing this is another of those schemes where
you wind up spending more than you make and it gets
to the point where all your friends hide when they
see you coming.   http://www.dropshipaccess.com/

The game, which has been around for a while, is called
'Zork'...   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zork   ... and
while some newer versions can be purchased, some early
versions are available without cost.  Windows/Mac:
http://www.infocom-if.org/downloads/instructions.html
http://blog.the-erm.com/archives/232 (even Linux)
get it here.
http://www.infocom-if.org/downloads/downloads.html

Got one or more combination locks?  Want some help
remembering the combinations?   http://www.combolocker.com/

A site for RV junkies.   http://escapees.com/index2.asp

'Web 2.0' is, essentially, applications that are located
online, rather than resident on your computer, and they
run in your browser Window.  Here are 100 of them.
http://linkasa.com/J01

A Windows-centric but interesting productivity blog.
http://www.productivitycafe.com/

Here's one more Web 2.0 gadget that allows you to create
interesting slideshows.   http://www.slideshare.net/
Another take on the topic.   http://animoto.com/
Yet another.   http://photosynth.net/Default.aspx

It's about getting stuff done in a computer-centric
world.   http://lifehacker.com/
More of the same.   http://www.lifehack.org/

Chronic organization syndrome?   http://www.43folders.com/

I tend to be skeptical of anyone who offers to tell me how
to make more money but, in the interest of diversity...
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/

This looks like an interesting info source.
http://www.dumblittleman.com/

Sense about science.   http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/

A short and easy search engine tutorial.
http://www.pandia.com/goalgetter/index.html

Three great ways to find images (info from pandia.com).
http://linkasa.com/K01

An 'online magazine rack' of popular topics.
http://alltop.com/

Social Bookmarking in Plain English (video).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x66lV7GOcNU
More plain English explanation videos.
http://www.youtube.com/user/leelefever 

The Demarco digital archive.
http://www.demarco-archive.ac.uk/
 
End of Section Three. 
 
 
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Section Four by Lisa. 
 
Winkflash has a great offer; 50 4x6 photo
prints for $.99.   http://freeprints.notlong.com

Before you get that tattoo...
http://health.howstuffworks.com/tattoo-removal.htm

Rulers are essential 'life tools'.  How much
do you know about them?
http://www.vendian.org/mncharity/dir3/paper_rulers/
http://www.rickyspears.com/rulergame/
http://www.onlineconversion.com/faq_05.htm
http://www.mioplanet.com/products/pixelruler/

How to do all the things nobody taught
you in school.  http://www.soyouwanna.com/

There's a fire-ant mound in my cross-hairs.
This looks like too much fun.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Kill_AntBeds_for_GOOD/

News and views on tech.
http://arstechnica.com/index.ars

D-Lib Magazine, digital library research
and development.   http://www.dlib.org/

Original, fictitious inventions, edited by its users.
I like the Bed Snorkel.   http://www.halfbakery.com/

Animal traps, old and new.
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/andyspatch/gintraps.htm
http://people.hws.edu/cicciarelli/trapic1.html

Have computer questions?
http://www.answersthatwork.com/

Share and find presentations.
http://www.slideshare.net/
 
End of Section Four. 
 
 
We welcome all comments, suggestions, or
criticism.  The form doesn't access your
email client (it's a CGI form), so your
privacy is assured.  If you know of a
website that would be a good candidate
for this ezine, please pass it on via
our online feedback form (link above).
Our feedback form and contact info:
http://www.don-guitar.com/contactme.html
 
 
Section Five by Don. 
 
Halls of Fame (continued).
Photoblogs.   http://www.photoblogs.org/hall-of-fame/
WWE.   http://www.wwe.com/superstars/halloffame/
National wrestling.   http://www.wrestlinghalloffame.org/
Women (U.S. National).   http://www.greatwomen.org/
Rockabilly.   http://www.rockabillyhall.com/
Bicycling.  http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/
Anagram.   http://wordsmith.org/anagram/hof.html
AMA motorcycle.   http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/
International gymnatics.  http://www.ighof.com/
International bowling.   http://www.bowlingmuseum.com/
WITI.   http://www.witi.com/center/witimuseum/halloffame/
Photography.  http://www.photo-seminars.com/fame.htm
Boxing.   http://www.ibhof.com/
(to be continued)

User controlled file sharing.   http://drop.io/

Yet another file sharing site.   http://www.esnips.com/

Publish or purchase books, art or music.
http://www.lulu.com/

Create your own multimedia presentations.
http://www.capzles.com/

Create your own Flash content.
http://sproutbuilder.com/

Video sharing.   http://www.vimeo.com/

Eclectic reading matter.
http://lendinglibrarians.googlepages.com/freeforall

WWI digital poetry archive.
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/gwa 
 
End of Section Five. 
 
 
Archives for this ezine are available online here: 
http://www.freelists.org/archives/donspatch/ 
 
The current issue is also available on our website. 
http://www.don-guitar.com/currentissue.html 
 
RSS feed is available via this link. 
http://www.freelists.org/archives/donspatch/feed.rss 
 
 
Section Six by Lisa. 
 
Magazine of Persian culture.
http://www.persianmirror.com/index.cfm

Wikepedia is available for mobile devices.
http://wapedia.mobi/

How to organize a group to care for someone who
is seriously ill.   http://www.sharethecare.org/

Medical News Today Magazine.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/

Answers to life's vexing cooking questions.
http://www.ochef.com/

Words and pictures tell what's important today.
http://tenbyten.org/10x10.html

Roger Miller was an amazing man.
http://www.rogermiller.com/bio1.html

Listen to any archived program of
the Prairie Home Companiom.
http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/programs/

Secrets of super-healthy people.
http://superhealthy.notlong.com

Read comics, or make your own.
http://www.comicgenesis.com/

The North American Butterfly Association.
http://www.naba.org/

Great ideas on web design.
http://www.sensible.com/

Providing security through blankets.
http://www.projectlinus.org/

Literature, history and culture
in the age of Victoria.
http://www.victorianweb.org/

Matthew Stibbs writes about business,
technology and marketing.
http://www.badlanguage.net/

Coffee Concentrate, what a great idea!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5728227/ 
 
End of Section Six. 
 
 
The Linux Corner. 
 
Linux news, reviews, guides, and more.
http://www.linuxloop.com/

The Linux Documentation Project is a monstrous
multi-lingual resource...   http://tldp.org/ 
...filled with usefull 'goodies' like this
collection of data on the Linux Command Line.
http://linux-cli-tools.notlong.com

Linux Admin IQ test.   http://linkasa.com/O01

Manmath Sahu of New Delh, India is, like my wife, a
user, fan and supporter of PCLinuxOS.  This is his blog.
http://pclinuxos2007.blogspot.com/

A nice collection of PCLinuxOS information and
tips from an individual known only as kingfisher.
http://kingfisher.wikidot.com/pclinuxos

It's still in Alpha and there's no way I'm going to
try it before it gets our of Beta but at least they're
producing a Linux version of Adobe AIR.
http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/AIR_for_Linux

What's all this Alpha and Beta stuff?
http://www.3am.pair.com/beta.html

 
A Little Humor. 
 
Q:  How many programmers does it take to change a lightbulb?
A:  None, that's a hardware problem.

Q:  Why do elephants drink so much?
A:  To try to forget.

A guy walked into a bank and asked the teller to check
his balance. So she pushed him.

A guy went to the optometrist's office. 'I keep seeing
spots in front of my eyes,' he said. The receptionist
asked, 'Have you seen a doctor?' 'No,' the guy replied,
'just the spots.'

The wages of sin are death, but by the time taxes are
taken out, it's just sort of a tired feeling.

Ever wonder about people who spend two dollars for a
bottle of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backwards.

Democracy is the art of running
the circus from the monkey cage.

You don't need a parachute to go skydiving,
you need a parachute to go skydiving twice.

Did you hear about the thieves who broke into the
police station and stole all the toilets? The
police say they have nothing to go on.

'The other day I broke 70.
That's a lot of golf clubs.' (Henny Youngman)

Q:  What do you get when you divide the
    circumference of a pumpkin by its diameter?
A:   Pumpkin pi.

A guy shows up in a doctor's office and says,
'Help! I think I'm a moth!' The doctor says,
'I don't think I can help you, you need the
psychiatrist next door. Why on earth did you
come to me?' The guy replies, 'Your light was on.'

Q: What's the definition of a lawyer?
A: A person who writes a 10,000 word
document and calls it a 'brief.'

Werner Heisenberg was pulled over by a traffic
cop. The cop asks, 'Do you know how fast you
were going?' Heisenberg responds, 'No, but
I know exactly where I am!'

I don't want to achieve immortality
through my work. I want to achieve
it through not dying.' (Woody Allen)

If one synchronized swimmer drowns
 do the rest have to drown too?

The two rules for success in business are:
(1) Never tell them everything you know.

 
Tips for This Issue. 
 
Geekgirl's plain English computing.
http://www.geekgirls.com/index.htm

Help with Windows.   http://www.helpwithwindows.com/

Win 95, 98, NT data.
http://www.windowsgalore.com/

50 Kitchen tips.   http://linkasa.com/P01

Home and garden tips.   http://www.usefultips.net/

 
Contributions From Our Readers. 
Links from readers are always 
welcome and you can even write 
your own link descriptions if you 
like.  Guidelines are available here: 
http://www.don-guitar.com/descriptivetext.html 
 
From our web sibling Patrick Barden. 
( http://rrwbushangel.blogspot.com/ )

A little Christmas music.
http://www.mikesradioworld.com/xmas.html

Your evil plan guide.
http://www.darksites.com/evilplan.php


From our web sibling Jo-Ann (Jo) Burton: 
( Jo's site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sharinglinks2/ )

English is absurd. 
http://www.spellingsociety.org/news/media/poems.php 
 
Ancient and lost civilizations. 
http://www.crystalinks.com/ancient.html 
 
Shel Silverstein's site for kids. 
http://www.shelsilverstein.com/indexSite.html 
 
Lots of kids stuff from Jan Brett. 
http://www.janbrett.com/ 
 
The world stupidity awards. 
http://www.stupidityawards.com/Intro.html 
 
The photography of Jorn Olsen. 
http://www.jornolsen.com/ 
 
Strange and interesting.   http://generatorblog.blogspot.com/ 
 
Boy Scout lore and info.   http://www.inquiry.net/ 
 
Another photo/video sharing site.   http://www.putfile.com/ 
 
The driftwood and bronze sculpture of Heather Jansch. 
http://www.jansch.freeserve.co.uk/index.htm 
 
One wheel madness.  http://www.unicycling.org/ 
 
Listen to nature.   http://www.bl.uk/listentonature/main.html 
 
Cow parade.   http://barcelona.cowparade.com/cow/gallery 
 
Way too cute.   http://www.babyanimalz.com/


From our web-sister-in-law Terri Lanoue.

Loldogs.   http://ihasahotdog.com/

A very cool internet radio site.
http://www.theradio.com/

 
From our web sibling John Lepse. 
( John's blog: http://hucknjim.blogspot.com/ )

Here's a nice web culture information and 'goodies'
magazine.   http://www.smashingmagazine.com/

A strange little film with justice in the end.
http://www.flixxy.com/black-hole-short-film.htm

The incredible story of Carl Joseph.
http://w.greatsportstory.com/
Video of Carl.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kViBAohA_nI

John lives in Cedar Rapids (Iowa) where there was severe
flooding last June (video).   http://vimeo.com/2500012/

Photos of unusual, odd, or just plain strange buildings.
http://villageofjoy.com/50-strange-buildings-of-the-world/

Guitarist Chris Sainsbury plays an original composition.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDs2yEyjznI


From our friend and fellow Highland Lakes
Linux User Group member, Cranz Nichols.

Distracting Miss Daisy (an article).
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/traffic


From our friend, neighbor and
fellow Linux user Steven Scott.

A podcast by the Linux Mint community for all users of
Linux.   http://mintcast.org/


From our reclusive neighbor and friend John Nameless;
home employment opportunities.
http://workathomemomrevolution.blogspot.com/


From our web sibling Ken Thomson.

A wealth of coupons.   http://www.couponcamp.com/

Where is your favorite username registered?
http://www.usernamecheck.com/

A super spiffy internet radio station.
http://pandora.com/


Thank you Patrick, Jo, Terri, John Lepse,
Cranz, Stevie, John (withheld) and Ken.

 
Last word, from Lisa: 
 
Like most people, we love the holiday season.  It's
a time of remembrance, caring and thoughtful living.
We reorganize our priorities and remind ourselves to
take care of our hearts, our families, our friends.
The rest of the world generally sorts itself out
with very little supervision on our part.

To all of you, we wish the best of everything;
love, luck and laughter.

'Til next year,

Lisa 
 
Our feedback form and contact info:
http://www.don-guitar.com/contactme.html 
 
Lisa at myspace.com.  http://www.myspace.com/81825549

Lisa's blogs.
http://www.lockergnome.com/nexus/dirtgoddess
http://thedirtgoddess.blogspot.com/

Don at myspace.com http://www.myspace.com/donguitar

Don's blogs.
http://www.lockergnome.com/nexus/eldergeek/
http://don-guitar.blogspot.com/ 
 
Our personal news page. 
http://www.don-guitar.com/babbleon.html 
 
Don Crowder and Lisa Miller 
Sunday, December 14, 2008 
11:59 PM CST - Buchanan Lake Village, Texas, USA 
Served by the U.S. Post Office in Tow (rhymes-with-cow), Texas 
 
 
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