[donspatch] 2012-08-01
- From: "Don (& Lisa)" <dondashguitar@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Donspatch <Donspatch@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2012 03:20:01 -0500
#175 August 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:
Seems like every time I run across a cheap-or-free, used
Pentium 4 computer I know of someone who needs it so I
install whichever version of Linux best suits the hardware,
install a basic selection of software which I feel they'll
find useful, tweak everything to make it as user-friendly
as possible and give it to them (that's sort of become my
hobby). Sometimes, however, folks give me computers which
aren't quite as easy to give away. The other day I realized
that I had six Pentium 3 machines, no two the same model but
all having about the same specs, taking up way too much
floor space. These aren't bad machines but I don't feel
comfortable giving them to anybody who's teen-aged or older.
Still, I decided they'd make a great summer adventure for
underprivileged kids 12 and under given the right operating
system. So I installed Xubuntu on them, which is
lightweight but full-featured, a good collection of games
and a wide assortment of software. Should have been simple
enough. It wasn't. The latest greatest Linux version of
the Adobe Flashplayer won't work on Pentium 3 hardware.
Oh sure, everything else worked and if the recipient doesn't
have internet access it won't matter. But it matters to me.
I want everything to work. So three full days later I
figured out how to replace the latest version of the
flashplayer with the last version that still worked on
Pentium 3 hardware. Problem worked-around (if not solved).
By talking to some neighbors and a detailed posting to
our local freecycle list... http://www.freecycle.org/
...it took me all of two days to find six deserving
youngsters, all under 12.
Now I'm going back through them one more time, making sure
everything still works and each one has a full set of
good accessories (keyboard, mouse, speakers and monitor).
With luck I'll be able to deliver them in a couple of days
and get back to work on the house.
It's a great life if you don't weaken.
See you next time.
Don
P.S. I left out a couple of sections this time, most
notably the reader's section, because I just couldn't get
to them. Not to worry, I'll just have more of them
for the next issue.
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Section One by Don.
You can take an armchair tour of much of the planet via
webcams. Here are a few examples.
Brown bear and salmon cam. http://explore.org/
Nevada webcams. http://www.exploringnevada.com/web-cams/
Hotel webcams. http://www.roomwithaview.com/
Webcams in Banff Alberta Canada and the Canadian Rockies.
http://www.explorerockies.com/banff-webcam/
Webcams in Alaska. http://explorenorth.com/webcam-ak.html
Bainbridge. www.explorebainbridge.com/pages/webcam.html
Redwoods. http://goo.gl/h4KwB [savetheredwoods dot org]
If your thirst for travel isn't quenched, here are more.
http://explore.org/
http://explorenorth.com/webcam-ak.html
http://www.internetcameras.net/site_info.html
My nephew, Bryan Gidge, posted this awesome video to his
facebook page. This has gotta be the best flashmob ever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBaHPND2QJg
Eclectic automobiles. http://www.conceptcarz.com/
I never heard of this 'dirty dozen' before a couple of
weeks ago and celery is the only item on this list which
we purchase often. From now on we buy organic celery.
http://goo.gl/V97Mm [huffingtonpost dot com]
1600 full color images from WWII.
http://goo.gl/PLtmP [pathfinderonline dot co dot uk]
After seeing apples at the top of the dirty dozen list
it figures I'd run across this great looking recipe.
If I can find organic apples, I have a dehydrator
so I can make this happen, you betcha.
http://www.edibleharmony.com/apple-pie-energy-bar/
End of Section One.
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to you by me, Don Crowder, my wife,
Lisa Miller, and //www.freelists.org
Section Two by Lisa.
The best Google features you're
probably not using.
http://goo.gl/1PAC2
Steve eats and reviews 'food'.
http://www.thesneeze.com/steve-dont-eat-it/
A blog on security and security technology.
http://www.schneier.com/
How Google works.
http://goo.gl/tIzt
A unique photo blog.
http://www.polarinertia.com/index.htm
How old is your brain?
http://www.freebrainagegames.com/
The Museum of London. Don't get lost!
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/
Burn this note.
https://burnnote.com/#/
Have an analytical mind? Like to cook?
http://www.cookingforengineers.com/
End of Section Two.
At the time this issue was posted,
the current subscriber count for
this publication was 357.
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.
http://theoatmeal.com/
http://zackkahn.com/
http://www.youtube.com/mybigblondelife
http://neverseconds.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.photowall.co.uk/
http://oedb.org/blogs/ilibrarian/
http://dailyinfographic.com/
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/
http://5by5.tv/inbeta/4
http://www.youtube.com/user/HalcyonShore/videos?view=0
http://www.volunteermatch.org/
http://what-if.xkcd.com/
http://www.designmom.com/
http://susieasado.com/
http://movingdifference.wordpress.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ld8kJ6jmyg
http://thenerdologist.com/
http://www.reverbnation.com/2wayradioband
http://www.youtube.com/user/JeffTheComputerGeek
http://goo.gl/RqHoJ [tinybuddha dot com]
http://wisevahistoricalsoc.org/
http://www.sothethingis.com/
http://www.littleindia.com/
http://cdllife.com/
http://eclectic.libsyn.com/
Section Three by Don.
Begin with a railroad spike, end up with a knife (video).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdZ6Tch3W1s
Guess that's it for Microsoft Gadgets.
http://goo.gl/o1qvW [foxnews dot com]
Matt likes to travel. A few years ago he decided to film
himself doing a goofy little dance in faraway places.
http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/
Matt's latest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwe-pA6TaZk&;
Outtakes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4quCAG4eCc&;
This is probably a terrible game cuz I suck at it.
http://www.realsimple.com/health/mind-mood/lights-out/
If, like mine, your system video doesn't support WebGL,
you're not going to be able to see some of these demos
but the few you can see are pretty cool.
http://mrdoob.com/
I was a Land Mobile Radio electronics tech for 25 years but
flunked the level 1 electronics quiz on this page. :(
They've also got mechanical, civil and chemical quizzes.
http://www.calculatoredge.com/quiz/mech.htm
An excellent site for electronics hobbyists.
http://www.electronicspoint.com/
Boy Scout jokes.
http://www.boyscouttrail.com/boy-scouts/boy-scout-jokes.asp
This is the youtube channel of the Voice of America.
http://www.youtube.com/user/VOAvideo
Imagine a fusion of Winnie the Poo and Star Wars.
http://www.jameshance.com/index.html
Common errors in English usage.
http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html
Pick a word, any word, and search out it's origin and
history. http://www.etymonline.com/
The Duck, webcomics. http://www.drunkduck.com/
End of Section Three.
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Section Four by Lisa.
5 great to-do lists.
http://lifehacker.com/5924093/five-best-to+do-list-managers
Abbey Road 24/7.
http://www.abbeyroad.com/crossing
How to do stuff at home.
http://www.hometalk.com/
A nice housecleaning site.
http://www.housecleaningcentral.com/
Supergreen US Government buildings.
http://goo.gl/cwQnH
A little gift for you.
http://goo.gl/sDc4W
Open legal documents.
http://www.docracy.com/
The art of traveling light.
http://www.onebag.com/
Jeff was lonely, now he's not.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18803128
End of Section Four.
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Section Five by Don.
Ever needed help with fractions?
http://www.helpwithfractions.com/
A free dropbox account might be fairly useful.
https://www.dropbox.com/
For 60 years (1922 to 1982) Checker automobiles were
perhaps the most reliable vehicles money could buy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checker_Motors_Corporation
http://www.checkertaxistand.com/
http://goo.gl/JvZrd [thetruthaboutcars dot com]
A web documentary exploring the prison industry.
http://prisonvalley.arte.tv/?lang=en
Learning for life. http://www.learningforlife.org/
Scientific web adventures from Rice University.
http://webadventures.rice.edu/
Know any web newbies? Send them here, it'll keep them busy
for months. http://www.ou.edu/research/electron/internet/
Nice graphics but my brain isn't going any further than
that. http://web.monroecc.edu/calcNSF/
Video, audio and plenty of reading on the topic of 'Justice'
from Michael Sandel, WGBH and Harvard University.
http://www.justiceharvard.org/
The splendors of the sea and the wonders of the universe.
http://www.seasky.org/
Exploring Constitutional Law.
http://goo.gl/tXf3r [umkc dot edu]
This isn't art. These birds were killed human-generated
trash they ate but couldn't digest. They were photographed
by Chris Jordan. http://www.chrisjordan.com/gallery/midway/
Midway is Chris Jordan's kickstarter project.
http://www.midwayjourney.com/
End of Section Five.
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Section Six by Lisa.
Teens can Do Something.
http://www.dosomething.org/
Dedicated to tracing quotations.
http://quoteinvestigator.com/
Mrs. Easton is obsessed.
http://melissaeastondesign.com/blog/
All about bugs.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/15740
Step-by-step repair guides.
http://www.ifixit.com/
Great open source productivity tools.
http://goo.gl/BzYov
Jen Stark sculptures.
http://jenstark.com/
The Five-Year Photo project.
http://goo.gl/3R8VN
Take a test to see which Presidential
candidate best suits your preferences.
http://www.isidewith.com/
End of Section Six.
Last word, from Lisa:
Finding time to work on the ezine has been a
little challenging this month, but I managed to
get enough links to get it done. I spend a lot
of time on Google+, reading and corresponding
with like-minded people. I'm just real Googly
that way.
I'm really enjoying getting back to doing my
English Practice Hangouts. Google+ has a feature
called Hangouts which is a videoconferencing tool.
With a decent connection, you can meet and talk
face-to-face with up to 10 people at a time
anywhere in the world. I knew there were people
who studied English, could read and write but
rarely got the opportunity to practice speaking.
So that's what I do, for an hour three times a
week. Here are some of the nice folks who have
come by to see me.
http://goo.gl/8RWh2
Hoping your month has been fun and productive,
Lisa
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Don Crowder and Lisa Miller
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
3:20 AM CST - Buchanan Lake Village, Texas, USA
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