[donspatch] 2012-04-01
- From: "Don (& Lisa)" <dondashguitar@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Donspatch <Donspatch@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 1 Apr 2012 01:46:12 -0500
#171 April 1, 2012 from http://www.don-guitar.com
Online version: http://www.don-guitar.com/currentissue.html
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First word, from Don:
I usually try to post this thing at a few minutes after
midnight on the morning of the first but it's 12:23 AM as I
type this and it'll be later, depending on how much babbling
I do, when I finish typing. Actually I spend more time
thinking about what I wish to say and getting another glass
of iced tea than I do actually typing but it's all part and
parcel of the 'creative' process for me.
I'm still working on the house every chance I get but I
won't post a link to the photo-journal this time because
I don't think Lisa has had a chance to chronicle our most
recent progress. I'll save that for next time.
I wish I could itemize all the great things I've gotten
accomplished but as soon as I got all my irons in the fire
the fire went out. By which I mean to say, I've got a long
list of incomplete projects and can't think of a thing I
can pat myself on the back for. :(
Is anyone besides me hooked on twitter? For days on end
my twitter timeline is an endless stream of inanity and
then, all of a sudden, for a minute or two it becomes a
meaningful exchange of ideas and information so I'm all
roped in for another few days of meaningless pap. Very
frustrating. Facebook is similar in that it's mostly, but
not always, useless babble while Google Plus (G+) is
becoming more interesting all the time but I don't have
time for it. Social media is a mixed blessing. Yes? Yes.
See you next time,
Don
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Section One by Don.
Think of it as a free 2 GB thumb drive that you don't even
have to carry in your pocket. https://www.dropbox.com/
A bunch of useful little gadgets all rolled into one app.
http://www.picpick.org/
Which application is using which file?
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653
Looks like a good Open Source media player.
http://www.jaangle.com/
My personal favorite media player (for Windows, Mac or
Linux), http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
One password to rule them all (make it a good one).
https://lastpass.com/
A usefull tool for Windows power-users.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902
Yet another costless and powerful image processor.
http://www.getpaint.net/
A fairly useful tool for software junkies.
http://goo.gl/Z1R1 [revouninstaller dot com]
A useful "housekeeping" utility when cleaning your HDD.
http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/duplicate-file-finder/
Helpful if you work with images in large batches.
http://wiseval-photophant.en.softonic.com/
The best file compression utility you can't buy (cuz it's
free). http://www.7-zip.org/
It began with a portable recording studio and some geeks
who liked to travel. It became Playing For Change.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vT_7AX06UQ
What flickr.com is to photos and youtube is to video,
soundcloud is to audio. http://soundcloud.com/
Networking for conscientious students.
http://www.myschoolhelp.com/
http://www.noteswap.com/
How British are you?
http://darrenlondon.tripod.com/britquiz1.htm
Do you need a password manager?
http://goo.gl/1DzCv [smashingapps dot com]
The photo you use with your G+/Facebook/twitter (or other
online accounts) is called an 'Avatar' and avatars are
becoming serious business in many circles.
http://en.gravatar.com/
End of Section One.
This publication is only mailed to verified
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to you by me, Don Crowder, my wife,
Lisa Miller, and //www.freelists.org
Section Two by Lisa.
Wonderful new OKGo video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb4lgOiHBZo
Seth Godin's new book is free.
http://www.squidoo.com/stop-stealing-dreams
Alfre Woodard's rendition of Sojourner
Truth's 'Ain't I A Woman?'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vr_vKsk_h8
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain't_I_a_Woman%3F
Um...I think I'm an Anti-Authoritarian.
http://goo.gl/c3DdA
Happiest animals in the world.
http://goo.gl/Uhv5W
How does your site look on a phone?
http://goo.gl/2X7CH
Young women are linguistic trendsetters.
http://goo.gl/HblR0
Are you normal or nuts?
http://www.rd.com/health/are-you-normal-or-nuts-2/
Kids aren't crazy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8QFh1vRZMs
What is single-payer healthcare?
http://goo.gl/grTDz
A world of symbols.
http://www.symbols.com/
One mom's quest to ace the SATs.
http://perfectscoreproject.com/
Google has free Python lessons.
http://blog.hartleybrody.com/2012/01/google-python/
Two ways to relax.
http://www.donothingfor2minutes.com/
http://thequietplaceproject.com/90seconds
You know what you think, what does
the Internet think?
http://www.whatdoestheinternetthink.net/
Is your fear on this list?
http://phobialist.com/
End of Section Two.
At the time this issue was posted,
the current subscriber count for
this publication was 361.
This issue's collection of online news, blogs,
magazines, videos and/or other media related
sites. These are chosen for maximum diversity
regardless of 'spin' and in some cases may
have offensive or questionable content.
Section Three by Don.
One good way to teach someone how to do something on the
computer is to give them a movie of how it was done.
http://camstudio.org/
You needn't buy anything just to look a the pictures.
http://1x.com/
Good song + talented young man + recording software.
www.youtube.com/user/jacobcolliermusic
The story of a legendary Russian pop song.
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/trololo-russian-rickroll
...and its latest incarnation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL8CD8PjVmA
What is Cloud Computing?
http://www.trycloud.com/article/what-is-cloud-computing
Would you like to participate in HP's cloud venture?
http://hpcloud.com/
Believe it or not, I voted for this guy 'back in the day'
(by write in). http://www.paulsen.com/pat/
A browser for social media junkies (wonder if there's a
Linux version). http://www.rockmelt.com/
100 dreams, 100 minds, 100 years.
http://100.steelcase.com/
Aimee Mullins and her 12 pairs of legs (video).
http://goo.gl/b4sW [ted dot com]
I could go for this type of sixth sense (video).
http://goo.gl/PunX [ted dot com]
The fifty worst cars of all time.
http://goo.gl/WFf1J [time dot com]
Fifty weird and crazy cars.
http://villageofjoy.com/50-weird-and-crazy-cars/
As usual, I may have to wait for Patrick Barden to figure
this one out for me (maybe it just doesn't work on Linux?).
http://hackasaurus.org/en-US/
We have an excellent. and very inexpensive, little battery
powered kitchen timer which we've used for years but,
every once in a while, we need two timers at once. That's
when I turn to the web.
http://www.online-stopwatch.com/
http://www.timeanddate.com/counters/customcount.html
http://countdown.onlineclock.net/generator/
http://classtools.net/education-games-php/timer
http://e.ggtimer.com/
http://timerrr.com/
http://www.timercountdown.net/
http://www.7is7.com/otto/countdown.html
http://theinsomniacsociety.com/timer.html
Software solutions for Windows users.
http://free-countdown-timer.com/
http://www.timeleft.info/
Templates for home and office documents.
http://templates.libreoffice.org/
http://templates.services.openoffice.org/en
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/
https://docs.google.com/templates?pli=1#
http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/Templates-%26-Software
http://goo.gl/UKiXQ [score dot org]
Web templates.
http://www.freewebsitetemplates.com/
http://www.dotemplate.com/
http://www.freecsstemplates.org/
http://www.freewebtemplates.com/
End of Section Three.
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Section Four by Lisa.
Cesar has some great advice for all of us.
http://www.cesarsway.com/
This commercial site has some pretty cool gadgets.
http://currentwerks.com/
You know you have Spring Fever.
Plan your garden here for free.
http://www.smartgardener.com/
The documents you need before you die.
http://goo.gl/JLJPE
Free technology for teachers.
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/
Make your own crossword puzzles.
http://www.eclipsecrossword.com/
http://goo.gl/YjPZq
Encourage young people to be who
they are without fear.
http://bornthiswayfoundation.org/
Free Photography e-books.
http://goo.gl/Ojp23
Search better on Google.
http://goo.gl/Ojp23
The best free fonts.
http://www.dafont.com/
Current heart science isn't working.
This may be why.
http://goo.gl/rxPV2
This method of handling records
works well for some people.
http://goo.gl/hfD7T
Beautiful tiny things.
http://goo.gl/zhwQn
Venomous spiders by state.
http://goo.gl/DKhk0
A cool countdown clock for your site.
http://www.7is7.com/otto/countdclock.html
Education is now free.
I love the Interwebz.
http://www.openculture.com/
End of Section Four.
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Section Five by Don.
Lisa and I use xmarks to sync out browser bookmarks
(favorites) from computer to computer and browser to
browser... http://www.xmarks.com/ but if we ever start
using portable computing devices we'll need something like
this. http://www.sugarsync.com/index.201203a.html
Would you like to be notified whenever new information on
any topic of special importance to you appeared on the web?
http://www.google.com/alerts
A singer/songwriter friend of mine asked me how she could
collaborate with other musicians online.
http://www.kompoz.com/compose-collaborate/home.music
http://www.indabamusic.com/
http://myonlineband.com/
http://www.cocompose.com/
http://www.musicianscollaboration.com/forum/index.php
Even if you're not an outspoken advocate of the Occupy
movement it makes sense to move your money from a large
corporate bank to an independent local bank.
http://www.icba.org/
What happens in an Internet minute?
http://scoop.intel.com/what-happens-in-an-internet-minute/
Like jazz? Give a listen to Jason Parker (and his band).
http://oneworkingmusician.com/my-music
Not exactly my favorite genre but I enjoyed
listening to the music of Australian, Fiona Joy Hawkins.
http://www.fionajoyhawkins.com.au/listen
Wanna learn something?
http://library.thinkquest.org/5794/
http://www.unclefred.com/
http://armorgames.com/play/3789/learn-to-fly
http://www.dailystep.com/
http://www.dancetv.com/
http://goo.gl/X3WY4 [jugglingdb dot com]
http://www.cdc.gov/features/concussion/
http://www.fool.com/how-to-invest/index.aspx?
http://cmhc.utexas.edu/booklets/assert/assertive.html
http://www.soyouwanna.com/
http://meditation.org.au/online.asp
http://www.dreamwidth.org/
End of Section Five.
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The Linux Corner.
Hacks and tweaks for your Android (yes, Android is Linux).
http://goo.gl/EjtuP [littlergreenrobot dot co dot uk]
Do you remember the Tricorder on Star Trek? Not only is it
becoming a reality, it's an Open Source reality.
http://www.tricorderproject.org/
The city of Munich, in Germany, has switched to Linux.
http://goo.gl/NZCse [pcworld dot com]
Been reading about this distro a lot. Tempted to try it.
http://www.pear-os-linux.fr/
A Little Humor.
As a passenger jet was flying over Arizona on a clear day,
the co-pilot was providing his passengers with a running
commentary about landmarks over the PA system.
'Coming up on the right, you can see the Meteor Crater,
which is a major tourist attraction in northern Arizona.
It was formed when a lump of nickel and iron, roughly
150 feet in diameter and weighing 300,000 tons, struck
the earth at about 40,000 miles an hour, scattering
white-hot debris for miles in every direction. The hole
measures nearly a mile across and is 570 feet deep.'
From the cabin, a passenger was heard to exclaim, 'Wow!
It just missed the highway!'
Tips for This Issue.
Lisa and I have been full-time Linux users for several
years now but we still get calls for help from neighbors
who're still using Windows and when the neighbors have
problems it's almost always due to malicious software.
Slow performance, the #2 Windows complaint, is, as often
as not, caused by malicious software but, in either case,
here's what you can do:
Anti-virus software is vital to Windows users. I prefer to
use free AV apps but not everyone agrees with me. The best
non-free AV software is, in my opinion, Bitdefender.
http://www.bitdefender.com/
The best free AV software is, in my opinion, Micrsoft
Security Essentials. http://goo.gl/jq1CV
But Anti-virus software, by itself, isn't enough; Windows
users also need anti-malware software and I know of no
single application I'd trust to do the job.
I normally install the free versions of Malwarebytes...
http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free
and Spybot Search & Destroy.
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/home/index.html
Each of these has its own quirks.
Once you've installed Malwayrebytes, when you first attempt
to use it, it offers you a trial of the non-free version.
To enable the free version you must decline this trial
offer.
During the installation of Spybot Search & Destroy it
will also install, by default, something called a Tea Timer.
Be sure and uncheck the Tea Timer when it's offered. Unless
you're far more patient than me, you DON'T want it.
Once your computer is free of evil stuff, slow-downs are
usually caused by simple clutter and the best tool I know
of for eliminating the worst of the clutter is ccleaner.
Free version. http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner
After that, Windows systems need occasional defragmentation
and there are a couple of very good costless apps for that.
http://goo.gl/Zke7 [cnet dot com]
http://goo.gl/HJnuL [cnet dot com]
All that's left is to occasionally check the hard drive for
errors. http://goo.gl/rIadm [microsoft dot com].
If the info above is difficult for you to understand, try
searching for instructions specific to your OS. For example:
error check windows xp
error check windows vista
error check windows 7
Contributions from our readers and/or friends
are always welcome and you can even write
your own link descriptions if you wish (just
tell me when you send them if that's what you
intended). Guidelines are available here:
http://www.don-guitar.com/descriptivetext.html
From our web-sibling Jo-Ann (Jo) Burton:
(Jo's site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sharinglinks2/ )
Here's where you go to learn obsolete skills.
http://obsoleteskills.com/
The Morning News (TMN) is an online magazine of essays, art,
humor, and culture published weekdays since 1999.
http://www.themorningnews.org/
People falling (video).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT9wAUKGrO8
The people on the playing cards.
http://www.woodenhorsebooks.com/Playing-Card-Names.html
The Collier classification system for very small objects.
http://www.verysmallobjects.com/
PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/
John Cooney's stuff. http://jmtb02.com/
Daryl Cagle's cartoons and commentary.
http://www.cagle.com/
The art of Katy Horan. http://www.katyart.com/index.php
Hypoallergenic pets. http://www.lifestylepets.com/
Note: 'Hypoallergenic' may, in this instance, be a code
for 'extremely expensive'. :)
Interesting videos from Dan Ariely.
http://danariely.com/videos/
Some online games.
http://www.gimme5games.com/
http://www.retrosabotage.com/
A baseball fanblog. http://umpbump.com/
An eclectic food and recipe site. http://fxcuisine.com/
Here's a joke I snagged from Jo's ezine.
The local news station was interviewing an 80-year-old lady
because she had just gotten married -- for the fourth time.
The interviewer asked her questions about her life, about
what it felt like to be marrying again at 80, and then
about her new husband's occupation. 'He's a funeral
director,' she answered. 'Interesting,' the newsman
thought. He then asked her if she wouldn't mind telling him
a little about her first three husbands and what they did
for a living. She paused for a few moments, needing time
to reflect on all those years. After a short time, a smile
came to her face and she answered proudly, explaining that
she'd first married a banker when she was in her early
20's, then a circus ringmaster when in her 40's, later on
a preacher when in her 60's, and now in her 80's, a funeral
director. The interviewer looked at her, quite astonished,
and asked why she had married four men with such diverse
careers. She smiled and explained, 'I married one for the
money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to
go.'
From our web-sibling Vinette (Vi) DePhillipe.
The magic of water. http://goo.gl/oyJUU [blogspot dot com]
Arigato from Japanese earthquake victims.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS-sWdAQsYg
Some of the dire warnings making the rounds make it
sound far worse than it actually is but this remains
a scam which you should wary of.
http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/809.asp
From our web-sibling Norm Koeckritz. Be sure to turn off
your cellphone while you're attending church services.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/D2_c81Nnsc0
From our web-sibling John Lepse.
( John's blog: http://hucknjim.blogspot.com/ )
An impressive video. http://vimeo.com/28040685
What we need is... http://goo.gl/imrhG [nytimes do com]
Thank you Jo, Vi, Norm and John.
Last word, from Lisa:
Here in Texas, our roadsides and the adjacent properties
have exploded into bloom. It rained here in Texas at
perfect intervals all winter and into Spring. Riding
down every road puts you in a euphoric state, all the
time. Texas DOT seeds the roadsides,
http://goo.gl/TKXXi
in a mature program that helps Texas biodiversity,
saves taxpayers millions in maintenance and makes Texas
famous the world over for its thousands of miles
of roadside beauty.
Yes, folks, it really looks like this right now,
everywhere.
http://goo.gl/ttzIQ
Waves of other species will follow
throughout the rest of the Spring and Summer,
ending with Indian Blanket and Sunflowers near Fall.
I really enjoyed a couple of new adventures last
week. Here are a couple of Google+ posts I made
about them.
Our $50 stove;
http://goo.gl/NdaC5
Free food!
http://goo.gl/ZAXcJ
As you can see I still love my Google Plus and spend
way too much time on it. I like to post our adventures
with pictures and share them with old friends from
Google Wave and Google Buzz. Google has done Social
right with Google+.
Another thing that keeps me up way too late is
designing web sites. Here is one I did for the local
chapter (pod) of the Chili Appreciation Society
International (CASI), the Howdy-Roo Chapter in
Marble Falls, Texas.
http://www.howdyroo.com/
It's an organization of people who get together
and have chili cooking competitions, leading up to the
Terlingua Chili Cookoff in Terlingua, TX. All proceeds
go to charity. They're a great bunch. This is a Google
Site, with free hosting. The only added expense they
have is keeping up their domain name registration (at
around $10 a year). It's a pleasure working with them
and I'll be their webmaster as long as they need me.
And once again, the adventure continues...
Lisa
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Don Crowder and Lisa Miller
Sunday, April 1, 2012
1:46 AM CST - Buchanan Lake Village, Texas, USA
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