[donspatch] 2009-01-15
- From: Don Crowder <don@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Donspatch, " <donspatch@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:30:41 -0600
#109, January 15, 2009 from http://www.don-guitar.com
Online version: http://www.don-guitar.com/currentissue.html
Archives: //www.freelists.org/archives/donspatch/
First word, from Don:
One of the most controversial topics of the 'computer age'
is the issue of privacy. At one extreme is Identity Theft
which we can all agree is a very bad thing. Things begin
to get fuzzy at the other extreme. Does it matter if
anyone who googles you finds out you're diabetic because
you signed up for a forum and discussed your condition
with other diabetics? Does it matter if anyone can find
the names of your parents, siblings and children, via
google, because all of that information is mentioned
on your family website or in your blog? Does it matter
that anyone can type your phone number into google and
learn your name and address? I don't know two people
who have the same opinions on this topic. Here's a
small assortment of commentary from various sources.
http://bbs.freetalklive.com/index.php?topic=16133.0
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3078835/
http://www.nyrock.com/newz/privacy.asp
http://linkasa.com/L31
Google gives you the ability to remove your name and
address from their search database and they also give
you a list of other sites where the information may
still be listed.
http://www.google.com/help/pbremoval.html
Nor do they explain that all of this information
comes from the phone company database, available
under the Freedom of Information act so any new
directory website that comes along can publish your
name and address if they wish and, even if you manage
to remove your name and address from all internet
accessible websites, it's still available through
directory assistance unless you have an unlisted
telephone number.
For us, it's a non-issue. We don't care who has
our names, address and telephone number but it
remains a sensitive topic. You must decide for
yourself.
In lighter news, I needed some business cards a
few days ago and after about 30 minutes of research
(online of course) this company was, for me, the
best choice. http://www.123print.com/
200 cards, delivered, cost me a total of $15.45
(US) which works out to just under 8 cents each.
They'd have cost less in a higher quantity but
I don't really need more than that. If you know
of a better option, please, pass it on.
I took advantage of post holiday prices to purchase
an electronic keyboard for myself.
http://www.zzounds.com/item--CASPX320
Or, at any rate, I thought I was buying it for
myself (I've wanted one of these for about 20 years
now) but, as it turns out, Lisa is in love with the
thing so now I've got to haggle for equal time. :)
Now before you mention 'expensive toys', keep in mind
that I aspire to be a professional musician. Still,
whether it's tool or toy, I'm fortunate that my wife
has heartily approved the investment. She was undecided
but inclined towards disapproval prior to its delivery.
As always, the adventure continues...
Don
Our feedback form and contact info:
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Don's blogs.
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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.
Win-Vista goodies. http://www.windowsxlive.net/
Geeky programming goodies. http://www.devx.com/
Plenty of spiffy pictures. http://www.errantpixels.com/
Jan's collection is, in some cases, a little dated but
nevertheless interesting. http://jansfreeware.com/
Johannes' site has become somewhat more commercial in
recent years but still contains plenty of Windows
goodies if you're willing to go looking for them
(use the navigation menu on the left side of the page)
http://www.programming.de/index.php
If you need some complicated features added to your
website or specialized software here's a place you
might start. https://www.scriptlance.com/
Wanna hear a really great Public Radio station?
Try this one. http://kut.org
Wanna find more cool Public Radio stations?
http://www.publicradiofan.com/
It's difficult to say which Windows applications causes
the most grief for users but Outlook Express is most
likely in the top ten. Here are some helpful sites.
http://www.insideoutlookexpress.com/
http://www.oehelp.com/
We've occasionally been accused of offering very little for
Mac users but the truth is, there aren't as many resources
on the web for the Mac as there are for Windows and Linux.
That's been brought home to us rather dramatically lately
as Lisa's been trying to learn more about the Mac following
our acquisition of a desktop and a laptop running OS 10.2
(Jaguar). These used machines were a gift from one of our
neighbors. Lisa's first comment after a few days of using
the Mac was "Where's all the free software?". There again,
the Mac is different from Windows or Linux but, be that as
it may, here are a couple of good sites for Mac users.
http://www.mugcenter.com/
http://www.macfixitforums.com/
There are a few interesting things to see, read about and
do on the site of computing's most popular sound card.
http://www.soundblaster.com/
Winamp has, for years, been a very popular alternative to
the WiMP (my own personal tongue-in-cheek acronym for the
Windows Media Player). http://www.winamp.com/
If the Saints can't preserve us (Irish humor intended),
maybe these folks can. http://www.preservationnation.org/
This seems to be a social network for stock investors.
http://community.marketwatch.com/
Otto de Voogd's interesting website. http://www.7is7.com/
I believe that wikipedia is one of the web's most valuable
resources. It's more than worthy of our support.
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Donate/en
Aside from it's having been featured in Star Trek IV,
the Monterey Bay Aquarium is a very cool place.
http://www.mbayaq.org/
This site is intended to inform and entertain educators
about copyright issues in a non-profit setting.
http://www.stfrancis.edu/cid/copyrightbay/
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 //www.freelists.org
Section Two by Lisa
A site dedicated to the ampersand.
http://ampersand.gosedesign.net/
Synaesthesia is an interesting neurological
condition. http://synaesthetes.notlong.com
What's your brand? http://brandyou.notlong.com
Hours of enjoyment at Artlex, the Art Dictionary.
http://www.artlex.com/
For kids of all ages, lots of cool things to learn.
http://www.linkslearning.org/Home/_index.html
The web is all about communication, here are many
costless ways to get the job done.
http://www.fecg.net/
Need a way to send a fax, costless or cheap?
Start here. http://faxzero.com/
Helping you be a better home economist.
http://www.moneysavingmom.com/
A natural treatment for kidney stones.
http://www.jumpandbump.com/
Ever wonder what your life would be like
if you'd made some smart decisions very
young? Keep an eye on this young lady.
http://xtremesaver.notlong.com
Child actresses, then and now.
http://www.childstarlets.com/
This costless ebook can offer pointers on how to get
out and stay out of debt. http://debtfreebook.notlong.com
A spoonful of sugar and lots of spice helps the
medicine go down. Doc Gurley is my new hero.
http://www.docgurley.com/
Consult QuickMBA. http://www.quickmba.com/
End of Section Two.
At the time this issue was posted,
the current subscriber count for
this publication was 382.
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.
Section Three by Don.
If you live in the USA, or are planning to visit,
here's a site that might offer you some options
for sites to visit. http://www.nps.gov/
Did you Know?
http://www.didyouknow.cd/
http://www.kellys.com/know.html
http://www.cut-the-knot.org/do_you_know/index.shtml
http://www.myuniversalfacts.com/
Do you know someone who stutters?
http://www.stutteringhelp.org/
Harry Leichter's Jewish...
Humor (clean). http://www.haruth.com/jhumor/
History. http://www.haruth.com/JewishHistory.html
Recipes. http://haruth.com/foods.htm
Music. http://www.haruth.com/JewishMusic.htm
Women. http://haruth.com/jwomen.htm
More. http://haruth.com/JewishIndex.html
You can send text messages to a cellphone even if
you don't own a cellphone.
http://www.textacellphone.com/
http://smseverywhere.com/send.htm
Lots of useful info on wireless devices.
http://www.thewirelesswizard.com/
The good, bad and ugly about cellphones.
http://linkasa.com/C31
http://linkasa.com/D31
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,262392,00.html
http://www.andrews.com/cell-phones.html?art=tricks
http://linkasa.com/E31
http://linkasa.com/F31
End of Section Three.
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Section Four by Lisa.
Frank 'Sugar Chile' Robinson, then and now.
By the way, he's available for bookings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvBgzgsMxCk
http://sugarchile.notlong.com
http://blackkettleproductions.com/?p=22
Fun and facts from the National Wildlife
Federation. http://www.nwf.org/
All things handmade. http://www.etsy.com/
The beautiful photography of Rodrigo Pedrolli and
Michael Murphree. Caution; embedded sound,
but there's a button to turn it off.
http://www.aliennature.com/
Care and culture of pet rabbits.
http://www.rabbit.org/
A themed photoblog by two people who live far apart,
but connect on an artistic level.
http://3191.visualblogging.com/index.html
Items used in daily life from 40 countries.
http://xcd.aiga.org/everydaydesign/
Car repair estimates, user ratings and reviews
specifically for your area. http://repairpal.com/
Online piano lessons. http://www.zebrakeys.com/
Make a change, big or small, and improve your
life. Use stickK to make it stick.
http://www.stickk.com/
BBC has a wonderful Learning English programme.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/
How to begin researching the value of
your antique or collectible.
http://www.crawforddirect.com/worth.html
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
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Our feedback form and contact info:
http://www.don-guitar.com/contactme.html
Section Five by Don.
Who'd have thought there was anything secret
about cats? http://www.catsecrets.com/
English Grammar. http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/
Educational resources from the Smithsonian Institute.
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/index.html
I recently had a semi-spirited discussion with a friend
on the topic of privacy. For the most part, I've no
use for it and, yes, I know that makes me a little odd.
http://www.keepyoursecrets.com/
A cute little video on the topic of wealth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqXZCmVSXLg
This is the sort of site that normally goes into the
media section but it looked interesting enough to list
separately. http://consumerist.com/
A video preview of coming computer attractions.
http://linkasa.com/G31
The Open Source concept seems to be widening its
horizons. http://www.opensourcefood.com/
Halls of Fame (continued, part 4).
Rock and roll. http://www.rockhall.org/
Indiana Basketball. http://hoopshall.com/
Freshwater fishing. http://www.freshwater-fishing.org/
Distance running (US Nat.) http://www.distancerunning.com/
Snowmobile. http://www.snowmobilehalloffame.com/
Mountain bike. http://www.mtnbikehalloffame.com/
NFL events. http://www.nfl.com/halloffame
Musicians. http://www.musicianshalloffame.com/
Las Vegas Pinball. http://www.pinballmuseum.org/
IGFA fishing. http://www.igfa.org/hall.asp
Ecology. http://www.ecotopia.org/ehof/
Womens basketball. http://www.wbhof.com/
Paper industry. http://www.paperhall.org/
(to be continued)
A few interesting music videos and/or streams.
http://www.youtube.com/user/flatpicked
(just skip the Johnny Winters cover)
http://www.christielenee.com/Site/Media.html
http://www.youtube.com/user/druman44
(check out Nori Bucci!)
End of Section Five.
Archives for this ezine are available online here:
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The current issue is also available on our website.
http://www.don-guitar.com/currentissue.html
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Section Six by Lisa.
Radio astronomy reveals the hidden universe.
http://www.nrao.edu/
TopQualityFreeware deserves a mention on a regular
basis. http://www.topqualityfreeware.com/
The most valuable feature of the web is searching
for information. Here are some effective ways
to go about it.
http://infosearch.notlong.com
http://www.webuse.umd.edu/
http://psych.hanover.edu/Research/exponnet.html
http://lawsearch.notlong.com
http://howsearch.notlong.com
Indoor air quality info from the EPA.
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/
A software designer and interesting person,
Martin Fowler. http://martinfowler.com/
Technology Horizons in Education (T.H.E.)
Journal. http://www.thejournal.com/
A blog about food and wine and...life.
http://biggerthanyourhead.net/
A little parable that applies to
anything worth achieving.
http://sitdownanddoit.notlong.com
Lots of money management info.
http://www.investopedia.com/?viewed=1
A look at Windows 7 from a geek we respect.
http://win4beta.notlong.com
End of Section Six.
The Linux Corner.
Gedit is a very popular text editor with Linux users.
In fact, these very words were written in Gedit.
There are also a large number of plugins available for
Gedit. http://live.gnome.org/Gedit/Plugins
Justin Ryan, news editor for Linux Journal, is quite
an interesting character. http://u.nderblog.com/
Even if, like me, you can't quite justify the expense
of a subscription, the Linux Journal website is a
great place to visit... http://www.linuxjournal.com/
...and while we aren't always able to watch them. Lisa
and I especially enjoy their live podcasts on Thursday
evenings (at 7:30 CST).
http://www.linuxjournal.com/live
Not everyone (me very much included) has the technical
acumen to figure out how to use and IRC client but
there are excellent IRC channels for most Linux distros
and not a few of them are on Freenode.
http://freenode.net/faq.shtml
The blog of UK based Linux user, Stuart Duff.
http://broken-paradox.com/
The Linux Foundation video site.
http://video.linuxfoundation.org/
The Open Source concept is catching on fast in Europe.
http://stopsoftwarepatents.eu/
Shawn Powers is, among other things, the host of Linux
Journal's live podcasts. This is his blog.
http://www.brainofshawn.com/
A Little Humor.
A Martian lands to plunder, pillage, and burn. The Martian
goes up to the owner of the first house he sees and says
'I'm a Martian just arrived from the other side of the
solar system. We're here to destroy your civilization,
pillage, and burn. What do you think of that?' The owner
replies 'I cannot express an opinion based on a hearsay
evidence, I am a Chartered Accountant'
An auditor is hard at work, auditing an airline. The
auditor cannot understand an excess fuel consumption
on a Detroit to Erie route, for flight number 420. The
auditor calls the pilot and demands an explanation.
The pilot replies 'It was a late night, snow storm
was raging, and I lost my bearings.' The auditor
demands a statement, 'for what?' the pilot asks.
The auditor tells him 'for lost bearings.'
Auditors took an inventory of thermometers held
in a warehouse, in summer. The thermometers were
to be exported out of the country in January,
and are kept under lock and key. In December the
auditors ask management to redo the inventory
count. The surprised manager asks 'Why? Nothing
has changed.' The auditors respond 'The inventory
is overstated, in summer there is more mercury
in the thermometers.'
An expert accountant who was well versed in game
theory heard that his niece, who is five years
old, always takes a nickel, when given a choice
between a nickel and a dime. He explains to his
niece 'You must understand, a dime is twice as
valuable as a nickel, so you should take the
dime.' The niece responds 'But Uncle, then people
won't offer me any money.'
A man walking along a road in the countryside comes
across a shepherd and a huge flock of sheep. He tells
the shepherd, 'I will bet you $100 against one of your
sheep that I can tell you the exact number of animals
in this flock.' The shepherd takes the bet. '973' says
the man. The shepherd is astonished, because that is
exactly right. Says 'OK, I am a man of my word, take
an animal.' The man picks one up and begins to walk
away. 'Wait,' cries the shepherd, 'Let me have a
chance to get even. Double or nothing that I can
guess your exact occupation.' The man says takes the
bet. 'You are an accountant' says the shepherd.
'Amazing!' responds the man, 'You are exactly right!
But tell me, how did you deduce that? 'Well,' says
the shepherd, 'put down my dog and I will tell you.'
Tips for This Issue.
http://www.timeatlas.com/mos/
http://www.hints-n-tips.com/
http://www.immihelp.com/
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/ )
Share your medical story. http://www.carepages.com/
From our web sibling Jo-Ann (Jo) Burton:
( Jo's site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sharinglinks2/ )
A destination and portal for computer techs.
http://www.2tongorilla.com/portal/index.php
Banana art. http://tattooedbanana.blogspot.com/
A cheesey blog (honest). http://wp.cheesediaries.com/
Who's up for some strange quizzes?
http://www.sarcasmoscorner.com/quizzes.html
World's largest ball of...
Rubber bands. http://www.recordball.com/
Twine.
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/towns/Cawker/twine.html
Barbed wire.
http://www.thom.org/gallery/records/WYJHbarbwire/
Paint. http://ballofpaint.freehosting.net/
Aluminum foil. http://projectbob3.com/default.aspx
A wooden car with two engines.
http://www.tomstrongman.com/ClassicCars/JerryNickel/
A webpage that pretty much does nothing.
http://www.onebillionvisits.com/
Mistakes happen. http://www.regrettheerror.com/
From our 'other brother' Bill (Beeyil) Lanoue.
( Bill's blog http://ncvietvet.blogspot.com/ )
T'was the month after Christmas.
http://www.gomilpitas.com/humor/031.htm
From our web sibling John Lepse.
( John's blog: http://hucknjim.blogspot.com/ )
A couple of good music videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAbM9Yz9jUA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2PCBx6s9SY
n her 80s, Martha Linsley bought a small typewriter
from Montgomery Ward and began by hunt-and-peck
method to transcribe the hundreds of letters she,
her children, and her husband James wrote to one
another from June, 1932 to August, 1934. Their
correspondence may very well comprise the most
extensive written insight into the day-to-day
lives of a family dealing with the challenges
of the Great Depression.
http://www.deardaddy.com/our_story.php
2008 in review. Editor's Note: I've no idea why
but this site took about five minutes to fully
load on my computer.
http://www.fimoculous.com/year-review-2008.cfm
From our friend, neighbor and
fellow Linux user Steven Scott.
Put yourself on the cover of a magazine.
http://www.magmypic.com/
A podcast by the Linux Mint community for all
users of Linux. http://www.mintcast.org/
Linux tutorial blog.
http://www.linuxtutorialblog.com/
CD and DVD info.
http://www.swfpcug.org/faq/cd&dvd.htm
Um, I guess all you can call this is a google
mirror. http://elgoog.rb-hosting.de/index.cgi
When I made a comment about the fact that time
seems to move faster as you age, my neighbor
John S. sent me these links.
http://linkasa.com/M31
http://linkasa.com/N31
Here's some dirty art from our web sibling Norm
Koeckritz. http://www.dirtycarart.com/
Web sibling and fellow Linux user Herb Cee felt
that, as Debian user I'd appreciate this
article which offers some good reasons for
choosing Debian over Ubuntu. http://linkasa.com/O31
Herb, for numerous valid reasons, is a data junky
and is planning to use Zotera to manage his massive
collection. http://www.zotero.org/
Thank you Patrick, Jo, Bill, John,
Stevie, John S., Norm and Herb.
Last word, from Lisa:
Having been delivered of a bouncing baby electronic
keyboard, I'm starting to play and Don's picking up
his professional piano playing. It's one of those
'always wanted one' gifts that keeps on giving; the
gift of learning, one we never get tired of.
I've been inspired by a question I heard a few weeks
ago that goes, 'What will you learn this year?'.
Life is good, and love is wonderful. Happy New 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
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
4:30 PM CST - Buchanan Lake Village, Texas, USA
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