Monday, March 21, 2005
Where's the Weather Blog?
If you are looking for this week's weather column from the Beacher, I posted it here two weeks ago. It's just that the Beacher ran it a little later than I expected. Just check the March archives and you will find it there.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Family Focus
(My apologies for posting this week's column a few day's late...)
March 17 is not only St. Patrick’s Day, it is also “Absolutely Incredible Kid Day.”
The Senoi tribe in Maylasia is reported to spend family time each morning discussing the previous evenings’ dreams. This daily ritual solidifies togetherness and confict resolution. I’m suggesting websites that parents and children can freely share and discuss. I hope I’m wrong, but I have this picture in my head that kids go off to their computer and mom or dad goes off to a different computer, and the twain don’t meet. I hope I’m wrong.
One website that I highly recommended several years ago, Surfing the Net With Kids, disappointed me when I logged onto it recently. Now it is full of ads and pop-ups and seems to have altered its focus to money making. I found it hard to navigate and a nuisance. And this week, it took ample amounts of surfing to find appropriate sites without a lot of selling, selling, selling. Here are some:
Whatsfordinner. The mission of this website is to make dinner family time. Whoever does the cooking in the household can appreciate the easy recipes, new each day, and additional aids that go along with each recipe such as the built-in shopping list. But this is more than a recipe site. Suggestions for ways to spend quality time is another category on the page, right below the recipe-a-day. I don’t run across many websites like this. I think it’s worth a look.
Kidscastle .The Smithsonian Institution sponsors this site, so parents don’t have to worry about their kids clicking on ads for toys, etc. As if parents don’t have enough to worry about with the amount of trash sites on the so-called “information highway.” And just because this site is from the Smithsonian, there is nothing stuffy and boring here. Games, cartoons, and activities that are fun as well as educational fill the website. I especially liked the Crazy Holidays Calendar and the Food Days Calendar. Some other activities include Name the Bug; Create a Sculpture, Build a Sod Hut (really!), and the Giant Panda Challenge.
Upbeat . This is sort of an anti-grim-daily-news place where all of the brief features are positive, optimistic and inspiring. The stories are about real people overcoming odds, or spreading light and joy to others. Now that would make for a nice discussion around the dinner table.
Funology. Funology’s tagline is “the science of having fun.” Don’t let the word science drive some of you away, though. Learn new magic tricks, or recipes for making a volcano. Or, try the Boredom Busters. Read the That’s Odd clips. The website is not cluttered with ads, and the activities are entertaining.
Imagination Factory . If your family is committed to the environmental benefits of recycling, then you will be happy to discover a host of projects that use would-be discards for crafts. Find creative ways to recycle at this site.
Kids Gardening . The motto at this site is that gardening is for all ages, starting with preschoolers. There are classroom activities for teaches as well as a Parents’ Primer for helping your child get started with his/her own projects.
Celebrating Families . Included on this site is a monthly calendar of national events geared to celebrating and strengthening families. It was here that I learned about “Absolutely Incredible Kid Day.” Celebrated each March 17th since 1996, the day is meant to tell the children and grandchildren in your life how important they are in your life.
As I mentioned earlier, it was challenging for me to find kid’s sites that do not bombard the surfer with advertisements. Stick to the tried-and-true websites such as museums, acquariums, PBS sites, and other non-commercial places on the Web. I am assuming that those parents reading this monitor their children’s surfing habits and have enabled restricted access to questionable websites.
March 17 is not only St. Patrick’s Day, it is also “Absolutely Incredible Kid Day.”
The Senoi tribe in Maylasia is reported to spend family time each morning discussing the previous evenings’ dreams. This daily ritual solidifies togetherness and confict resolution. I’m suggesting websites that parents and children can freely share and discuss. I hope I’m wrong, but I have this picture in my head that kids go off to their computer and mom or dad goes off to a different computer, and the twain don’t meet. I hope I’m wrong.
One website that I highly recommended several years ago, Surfing the Net With Kids, disappointed me when I logged onto it recently. Now it is full of ads and pop-ups and seems to have altered its focus to money making. I found it hard to navigate and a nuisance. And this week, it took ample amounts of surfing to find appropriate sites without a lot of selling, selling, selling. Here are some:
Whatsfordinner. The mission of this website is to make dinner family time. Whoever does the cooking in the household can appreciate the easy recipes, new each day, and additional aids that go along with each recipe such as the built-in shopping list. But this is more than a recipe site. Suggestions for ways to spend quality time is another category on the page, right below the recipe-a-day. I don’t run across many websites like this. I think it’s worth a look.
Kidscastle .The Smithsonian Institution sponsors this site, so parents don’t have to worry about their kids clicking on ads for toys, etc. As if parents don’t have enough to worry about with the amount of trash sites on the so-called “information highway.” And just because this site is from the Smithsonian, there is nothing stuffy and boring here. Games, cartoons, and activities that are fun as well as educational fill the website. I especially liked the Crazy Holidays Calendar and the Food Days Calendar. Some other activities include Name the Bug; Create a Sculpture, Build a Sod Hut (really!), and the Giant Panda Challenge.
Upbeat . This is sort of an anti-grim-daily-news place where all of the brief features are positive, optimistic and inspiring. The stories are about real people overcoming odds, or spreading light and joy to others. Now that would make for a nice discussion around the dinner table.
Funology. Funology’s tagline is “the science of having fun.” Don’t let the word science drive some of you away, though. Learn new magic tricks, or recipes for making a volcano. Or, try the Boredom Busters. Read the That’s Odd clips. The website is not cluttered with ads, and the activities are entertaining.
Imagination Factory . If your family is committed to the environmental benefits of recycling, then you will be happy to discover a host of projects that use would-be discards for crafts. Find creative ways to recycle at this site.
Kids Gardening . The motto at this site is that gardening is for all ages, starting with preschoolers. There are classroom activities for teaches as well as a Parents’ Primer for helping your child get started with his/her own projects.
Celebrating Families . Included on this site is a monthly calendar of national events geared to celebrating and strengthening families. It was here that I learned about “Absolutely Incredible Kid Day.” Celebrated each March 17th since 1996, the day is meant to tell the children and grandchildren in your life how important they are in your life.
As I mentioned earlier, it was challenging for me to find kid’s sites that do not bombard the surfer with advertisements. Stick to the tried-and-true websites such as museums, acquariums, PBS sites, and other non-commercial places on the Web. I am assuming that those parents reading this monitor their children’s surfing habits and have enabled restricted access to questionable websites.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Weather
March has roared in like a lion, making us wonder how long snow will remain in the forecast. We can peek into the future at most of our favorite weather sites.
Most Internet Service Providers have a page filled with up-to-date news headlines, daily astrology, shopping links, and a current weather report. I’m guessing that most users are like me—they check the weather provided by the ISP and quickly move on to other things. But the weather websites have loads of information to share that goes way beyond current temperatures. Here is a look at some weather websites. You might find a favorite that you will want to bookmark.
Weather Channel . Like most of the weather sites, all you do is type in a zip code for a current report. You do not have to get upset if you fall asleep during the 10 o’clock nightly weather report, because you can get as much information as your television weatherman gives you. You will know whether to take along an umbrella in the morning.
Accuweather. Basically the same information as the Weather Channel, but in a different format. You can download a desktop weather reporter but the free download comes with advertising. If you don’t want ads (who does?), check out the download at Intellicast’s site, mentioned below.
Intellicast. I’ve written about this website in a past column and had found it to be my favorite at the time. It is still a good choice, although the interface may be less appealing to some surfers. In addition to giving you the usual stuff, you can find sunrise and sunset times for today or a date in the future; wind chill factors, and information related to outdoor activities such as sky watching, travel, golf, and beach plans. What I especially like is the “aches and pains map” for arthritis sufferers. The map covers the entire United States, so you can compare easy-on-the-bones areas with what you might be up against in Northern Indiana on a given day. The site also has an allergy sufferers’ report. And their desktop download for current weather conditions is free of ads.
Weather Underground . Besides the usual stuff, this website provides local weather station information, which I did not find on the other sites. I was able to get current temperatures from south Lake County (yours may be different since it depends on the zip code information you type in). And it had flood-stage information for the Kankakee river during the rainy time when I accessed the site.
USA Today Weather . This is a good teaching/learning website with explanations of weather patterns, air pressure, fronts, floods, hurricanes and so much more. All this in addition to regular forecasts.
Weather.com . Check out the hourly fitness forecast here. It even tells you how to dress if you are planning to go out running at 5 a.m. or whenever.
National Weather Service . The Weather Point Forecast gives you forecasts in a choice of formats: digital/tabular, Meteorgrams, text and grid points.
A reminder: The Michiana Area Computer Club will host its next meeting on March 15 at 7pm. They meet at Michigan City High School and the March meeting will be all about spreadsheets.
Most Internet Service Providers have a page filled with up-to-date news headlines, daily astrology, shopping links, and a current weather report. I’m guessing that most users are like me—they check the weather provided by the ISP and quickly move on to other things. But the weather websites have loads of information to share that goes way beyond current temperatures. Here is a look at some weather websites. You might find a favorite that you will want to bookmark.
Weather Channel . Like most of the weather sites, all you do is type in a zip code for a current report. You do not have to get upset if you fall asleep during the 10 o’clock nightly weather report, because you can get as much information as your television weatherman gives you. You will know whether to take along an umbrella in the morning.
Accuweather. Basically the same information as the Weather Channel, but in a different format. You can download a desktop weather reporter but the free download comes with advertising. If you don’t want ads (who does?), check out the download at Intellicast’s site, mentioned below.
Intellicast. I’ve written about this website in a past column and had found it to be my favorite at the time. It is still a good choice, although the interface may be less appealing to some surfers. In addition to giving you the usual stuff, you can find sunrise and sunset times for today or a date in the future; wind chill factors, and information related to outdoor activities such as sky watching, travel, golf, and beach plans. What I especially like is the “aches and pains map” for arthritis sufferers. The map covers the entire United States, so you can compare easy-on-the-bones areas with what you might be up against in Northern Indiana on a given day. The site also has an allergy sufferers’ report. And their desktop download for current weather conditions is free of ads.
Weather Underground . Besides the usual stuff, this website provides local weather station information, which I did not find on the other sites. I was able to get current temperatures from south Lake County (yours may be different since it depends on the zip code information you type in). And it had flood-stage information for the Kankakee river during the rainy time when I accessed the site.
USA Today Weather . This is a good teaching/learning website with explanations of weather patterns, air pressure, fronts, floods, hurricanes and so much more. All this in addition to regular forecasts.
Weather.com . Check out the hourly fitness forecast here. It even tells you how to dress if you are planning to go out running at 5 a.m. or whenever.
National Weather Service . The Weather Point Forecast gives you forecasts in a choice of formats: digital/tabular, Meteorgrams, text and grid points.
A reminder: The Michiana Area Computer Club will host its next meeting on March 15 at 7pm. They meet at Michigan City High School and the March meeting will be all about spreadsheets.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Installing Love
If I had had my act together, I would have given you this around Valentine’s Day. But the message has no deadline. I enjoyed this so much that instead of a website review this week, you are getting this. Enjoy!
INSTALLING LOVE
Tech Support: Yes, ... how can I help you?
Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install
Love. Can you guide me through the process?
Tech Support: Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?
Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What
do I do first?
Tech Support: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located
your Heart?
Customer: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is
it okay to install Love while they are running?
Tech Support: What programs are running?
Customer: Let's see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and
Resentment running right now.
Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually delete Past Hurt from
your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory, but
it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override
Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem.
However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs
prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off?
Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?
Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your Start menu and invoke
Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and
Resentment have been completely deleted.
Customer: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that
normal?
Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program.
You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the
upgrades.
Customer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error -
Program not run on external components". What should I do?
Tech Support: Don't worry. It means that the Love program is set up
to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In
non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before
you can Love others.
Customer: So, what should I do?
Tech Support: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following
files: Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge Your
Limitations.
Customer: Okay, done.
Tech Support: Now, copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system
will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty
programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all
directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely
gone and never comes back.
Customer: Got it. Hey! My Heart is filling up with new files Smile is
playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying
themselves all over my Heart. Is this normal?
Tech Support: Sometimes. For others, it takes awhile, but eventually
gets it at the proper time. So, Love is installed and running. One
more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and
it's various components to everyone you meet. They will in turn, share it
with others and return some cool components back to you.
Customer: Thank you, God.
-- Author Unknown
INSTALLING LOVE
Tech Support: Yes, ... how can I help you?
Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install
Love. Can you guide me through the process?
Tech Support: Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?
Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What
do I do first?
Tech Support: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located
your Heart?
Customer: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is
it okay to install Love while they are running?
Tech Support: What programs are running?
Customer: Let's see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and
Resentment running right now.
Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually delete Past Hurt from
your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory, but
it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override
Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem.
However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs
prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off?
Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?
Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your Start menu and invoke
Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and
Resentment have been completely deleted.
Customer: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that
normal?
Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program.
You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the
upgrades.
Customer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error -
Program not run on external components". What should I do?
Tech Support: Don't worry. It means that the Love program is set up
to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In
non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before
you can Love others.
Customer: So, what should I do?
Tech Support: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following
files: Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge Your
Limitations.
Customer: Okay, done.
Tech Support: Now, copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system
will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty
programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all
directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely
gone and never comes back.
Customer: Got it. Hey! My Heart is filling up with new files Smile is
playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying
themselves all over my Heart. Is this normal?
Tech Support: Sometimes. For others, it takes awhile, but eventually
gets it at the proper time. So, Love is installed and running. One
more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and
it's various components to everyone you meet. They will in turn, share it
with others and return some cool components back to you.
Customer: Thank you, God.
-- Author Unknown
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
