It's been a long way from May to December and my last post. The good news for Beacher readers (where my CyberScribbles column is buried deep inside) is that the website is posting all--or most--of its back issues.
And yet, links to my recommended sites have to be manually typed in. For a long time now I have attempted to help readers access those links right here. But I cannot promise you that I will be posting as often as I have in the past.
I'm busy with other websites and other writing projects that you can learn more about at my own website, DunesArtMedia.com. Plus, I have a number of other projects going--and you may see links here from time to time dealing with those projects.
Obviously, I'm not looking for mega-hits to this blog nor am I trying to make money off it--at least, not at this time.
Wishing all a happy holiday (whichever one you celebrate). See you back here soon.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Four Months Later....
I know, I know. It's been four months since I've posted the weekly column online. It has been running weekly in The Beacher, and you can read it via their .pdf files online.
Looking for an excuse as to why I've not posted here? Simple enough: lack of time.
I rarely check my stats. But today I had a look and was ASTOUNDED by the numbers. More than I expected.
I'll do what I can to post the columns here when I can. I know it's easier for Beacher readers to access this blog and go directly to the sites I talk about than to copy the URLs on paper and then look them up.
To my midwestern readers: stay cool.
Later, everyone.
Looking for an excuse as to why I've not posted here? Simple enough: lack of time.
I rarely check my stats. But today I had a look and was ASTOUNDED by the numbers. More than I expected.
I'll do what I can to post the columns here when I can. I know it's easier for Beacher readers to access this blog and go directly to the sites I talk about than to copy the URLs on paper and then look them up.
To my midwestern readers: stay cool.
Later, everyone.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Trade tricks. Bottle Art. Quiet Vacation
(Ditto to a lapse of the usual formatting..maybe I'll just keep leaving things this way)
The list of websites this week goes on. It’s a potpourri of interesting stuff, and the one-minute vacation is a welcomed change of pace.
One Minute Vacation (www.quietamerican.org/vacation). I was unaware of how many people carry recording gear around with them in order to catch snippets of sounds. This website provides a diverse sampling of unedited (mp3) recordings from “somewhere, somewhen.” The samplings come from all over the globe, and I found myself listening to just one more until I had whittled away at least thirty minutes. In that time span, I listened to church bells in Provence, tinkling bells around Moscow during Orthodox Easter, a musical party in a little village in Ecuador, pennywhistles and fiddles from an Irish pub in County Cork, and French chatter in a Paris café. Each recording is about 60 seconds in length. So, if you feel stuck and want to drift away to another part of the globe for a short break, this is a great way to escape for a little while.
Folk Art in a Bottle (www.sdjones.net/folkart/). Most of us are familiar with ships in bottles, but I had no idea that folk artists also had created tiny chairs, fans, scenes, tools, photographs, and spinning contraptions inside clear glass bottles. This website gives a nice description of the who’s, why’s and how’s of the craft. Visual samples are included, of course. One link on the site leads to a contemporary ship bottle artist who displays his work and reveals the secrets to how those ships actually get into the bottles. You’ll find that information at http://seafarer.netfirms.com/2-bottle.htm.
Tricks of the Trade (www.tradetricks.org). Thanks to contributors from many different professions, the rest of us can gain information from insiders that can be helpful sooner or later. For example, a cab driver reveals (to other cab drivers, we assume) that if he fumbles around slowly to give change to his passenger, the passenger very likely will tell him to keep the change. A bakery chef recommends that brownies be cut with a plastic knife—that way, they won’t crumble. The archives are loaded with hints—some useful, some maybe not. And, if you have a professional hint to pass along, you can send it in for the rest of the Internet world to learn from.
Metrosexual Tarot (www.thomasscoville.com). This satire is described as “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy collides with the occult.” It’s fun to read the card interpretations. Minor arcane card suits have been altered from traditional decks into these suits: potions, cups (a martini glass), forks and shoes. Major arcana cards likewise are altered to reflect the so-called metrosexual lifestyle.
Age Guess (www.ageguess.com). This is a fast, fun little game where you are asked to guess a person’s age. Apparently, real people send in their pictures for this game, with the added benefit of a potential match-up. Each photo comes with a caption, “would you like to meet this person?” Most of the photos I viewed were of young men between 15 and 32. Find out how good you are at guessing ages and if you’re good at it, you might want to hire yourself out to a carnival.
Telephone Lady (www.myinsulators.com/commokid/telephones/). Lest we forget, phones at one time were heavy and bulky and attached to cords. This website is a virtual museum of old phones and phone advertising. It made me wish that I still had my old Princess phone where the dial lit up. I do have a rotary wall phone in operation currently, and this website told me that it is from the early 1960’s too. If you like nostalgia and would like to see the return of those substantially big telephones, you can at least dream and remember the good old days.
The list of websites this week goes on. It’s a potpourri of interesting stuff, and the one-minute vacation is a welcomed change of pace.
One Minute Vacation (www.quietamerican.org/vacation). I was unaware of how many people carry recording gear around with them in order to catch snippets of sounds. This website provides a diverse sampling of unedited (mp3) recordings from “somewhere, somewhen.” The samplings come from all over the globe, and I found myself listening to just one more until I had whittled away at least thirty minutes. In that time span, I listened to church bells in Provence, tinkling bells around Moscow during Orthodox Easter, a musical party in a little village in Ecuador, pennywhistles and fiddles from an Irish pub in County Cork, and French chatter in a Paris café. Each recording is about 60 seconds in length. So, if you feel stuck and want to drift away to another part of the globe for a short break, this is a great way to escape for a little while.
Folk Art in a Bottle (www.sdjones.net/folkart/). Most of us are familiar with ships in bottles, but I had no idea that folk artists also had created tiny chairs, fans, scenes, tools, photographs, and spinning contraptions inside clear glass bottles. This website gives a nice description of the who’s, why’s and how’s of the craft. Visual samples are included, of course. One link on the site leads to a contemporary ship bottle artist who displays his work and reveals the secrets to how those ships actually get into the bottles. You’ll find that information at http://seafarer.netfirms.com/2-bottle.htm.
Tricks of the Trade (www.tradetricks.org). Thanks to contributors from many different professions, the rest of us can gain information from insiders that can be helpful sooner or later. For example, a cab driver reveals (to other cab drivers, we assume) that if he fumbles around slowly to give change to his passenger, the passenger very likely will tell him to keep the change. A bakery chef recommends that brownies be cut with a plastic knife—that way, they won’t crumble. The archives are loaded with hints—some useful, some maybe not. And, if you have a professional hint to pass along, you can send it in for the rest of the Internet world to learn from.
Metrosexual Tarot (www.thomasscoville.com). This satire is described as “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy collides with the occult.” It’s fun to read the card interpretations. Minor arcane card suits have been altered from traditional decks into these suits: potions, cups (a martini glass), forks and shoes. Major arcana cards likewise are altered to reflect the so-called metrosexual lifestyle.
Age Guess (www.ageguess.com). This is a fast, fun little game where you are asked to guess a person’s age. Apparently, real people send in their pictures for this game, with the added benefit of a potential match-up. Each photo comes with a caption, “would you like to meet this person?” Most of the photos I viewed were of young men between 15 and 32. Find out how good you are at guessing ages and if you’re good at it, you might want to hire yourself out to a carnival.
Telephone Lady (www.myinsulators.com/commokid/telephones/). Lest we forget, phones at one time were heavy and bulky and attached to cords. This website is a virtual museum of old phones and phone advertising. It made me wish that I still had my old Princess phone where the dial lit up. I do have a rotary wall phone in operation currently, and this website told me that it is from the early 1960’s too. If you like nostalgia and would like to see the return of those substantially big telephones, you can at least dream and remember the good old days.
Best Lists; Olympics; Kooky
Note: I'm forgoing my usual formatting this week to get this to you. It's a little faster, and I'm behind schedule. Hope you don't mind...
It has become a tradition for media to post “Best of” lists as the old year folds into a new one. I’ve found two worth noting this week. Also, as we look forward to February, many of us will be watching the Winter Olympics on the tube. Knowing how each sport is judged is easy enough with a mouse click. Plus, I’ve found two wacky websites to put a grin on your face.
MSNBC Year in Pictures (www.msnbc.com/modules/yip20005/). Get ready for some spectacular photojournalism. In this slide show set to music, you’ll see some photos that are downright pretty, and others that are difficult to look at. All capsulize the year we’ve put behind us. Let’s hope that 2006 brings us all pretty-to-look-at pictures of major news events. At the end of the slide show, you’ll have an opportunity to vote for your favorite.
Best of Online Games (www.jayisgames.com/best_of_2005.php). I have no idea how many office workers find time to play video games on the clock. I have to guess that the numbers are large, based on the shear numbers of “best games” found at this website. The games could keep a person busy for an entire year, nonstop. One redeeming factor is that there are a few categorized as “Games for the Brain.” That ought to keep senility at bay.
2006 Winter Olympics (www.olympic.org/uk/games/torino/). The athletes who participate in the Winter Games learned long ago that if you can’t beat the cold, snowy winters, you might as well get out there and enjoy a winter sport. The rest of us who waited to long to pick up on that philosophy can sit in our warm homes and watch the action in snuggly comfort. This website is the official Olympics organization site with plenty of stuff to click on. It’s a good place to get information about how each sport “works,” or is judged. The site provides links to Turin’s official Olympic website, too. You can keep track of athletes and scores by country, too.
M-Law’s Wacky Warning Labels (www.mlaw.org/wwl). This website is officially the “Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch,” where outrageous litigation within the state is monitored by a nonpartisan organization. Go ahead and wade through the litigation examples, or if you’re not up to it, just skip over to the wacky labels. They’re more fun, anyway.
Kooky Chow (http://www.kookychow.com/). When I first saw this site, I thought that it would be perfect for our food writer, Carolyn McConnell, to review. There are some very strange concoctions on the market. Bloater pate is one of them. Tuna jerky is a treat for dogs, cats, and yes, humans too. The pickled fiddleheads do not sound too outrageous, though. Have fun looking around this online grocery sampling.
Consumer Reports Webwatch (http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/). The slogan for this information-packed site is “Look Before You Click.” This is a good place for anyone new to the Internet to begin learning the dangers of surfing and possibly messing up a perfectly good computer system.
It has become a tradition for media to post “Best of” lists as the old year folds into a new one. I’ve found two worth noting this week. Also, as we look forward to February, many of us will be watching the Winter Olympics on the tube. Knowing how each sport is judged is easy enough with a mouse click. Plus, I’ve found two wacky websites to put a grin on your face.
MSNBC Year in Pictures (www.msnbc.com/modules/yip20005/). Get ready for some spectacular photojournalism. In this slide show set to music, you’ll see some photos that are downright pretty, and others that are difficult to look at. All capsulize the year we’ve put behind us. Let’s hope that 2006 brings us all pretty-to-look-at pictures of major news events. At the end of the slide show, you’ll have an opportunity to vote for your favorite.
Best of Online Games (www.jayisgames.com/best_of_2005.php). I have no idea how many office workers find time to play video games on the clock. I have to guess that the numbers are large, based on the shear numbers of “best games” found at this website. The games could keep a person busy for an entire year, nonstop. One redeeming factor is that there are a few categorized as “Games for the Brain.” That ought to keep senility at bay.
2006 Winter Olympics (www.olympic.org/uk/games/torino/). The athletes who participate in the Winter Games learned long ago that if you can’t beat the cold, snowy winters, you might as well get out there and enjoy a winter sport. The rest of us who waited to long to pick up on that philosophy can sit in our warm homes and watch the action in snuggly comfort. This website is the official Olympics organization site with plenty of stuff to click on. It’s a good place to get information about how each sport “works,” or is judged. The site provides links to Turin’s official Olympic website, too. You can keep track of athletes and scores by country, too.
M-Law’s Wacky Warning Labels (www.mlaw.org/wwl). This website is officially the “Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch,” where outrageous litigation within the state is monitored by a nonpartisan organization. Go ahead and wade through the litigation examples, or if you’re not up to it, just skip over to the wacky labels. They’re more fun, anyway.
Kooky Chow (http://www.kookychow.com/). When I first saw this site, I thought that it would be perfect for our food writer, Carolyn McConnell, to review. There are some very strange concoctions on the market. Bloater pate is one of them. Tuna jerky is a treat for dogs, cats, and yes, humans too. The pickled fiddleheads do not sound too outrageous, though. Have fun looking around this online grocery sampling.
Consumer Reports Webwatch (http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/). The slogan for this information-packed site is “Look Before You Click.” This is a good place for anyone new to the Internet to begin learning the dangers of surfing and possibly messing up a perfectly good computer system.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Fun Stuff, Serious Stuff
Take a look at this week’s lineup: no more punching a zillion numbers to reach customer service; generate a poem, proverb, plot or dozens more fun things; click your mouse to ‘donate” to humanitarian projects; and last but not least, participate in a science-based project to find out how strong your psychic powers may be.
IVR Cheat Sheet. IVR stands for “interactive voice response”—we know it as the computerized voice on the phone that tells us to punch 1 for this, 7 for that. Who doesn’t get annoyed by having to punch in all those numbers? We can now avoid all that and talk directly to a human, thanks to the work of Paul English. He has compiled a “cheat sheet” of instructions on how to access a human voice at several credit card companies, large banks, phone companies and many, many other businesses. Paul English also suggests that we send in our own cheat codes for businesses not listed, if we happen to know them. So far, NIPSCO is not on the list. Too bad.
Generator Blog . Here is a place to find dozens and dozens of links to mini-programs that instantly generate fun stuff. Want to morph a face of your least-admired politician? Hint: you can morph, print, and make a dart target out of it. That’s just one example of the variety of generators found around the Internet. You can generate crazy names for yourself, from an outlaw biker to a Star Wars or Tolkein character. You can write a message and have a penguin create it for you—watch as it slides through the snow. Plug in some words and instantly generate a poem with them. Or, if you don’t feel like writing in any information, just have the plot generator come up with an idea for you. The latter comes in different genres, too. The list of generators is huge, and amazing. Have fun.
Click to Donate stopviolence.care2.com. I’ve listed two different sites where you can contribute to a humanitarian project just by clicking your mouse. Free Donation has been around for several years, and I’ve mentioned it in this column before. The second-mentioned website appears to be newer—click to help the nonviolence movement, and on the same site look for other projects that may be dear to your heart. We’re limited to one click per day. Who knows how much one click is worth, or how much has been collected so far from the people who regularly add a click each day. That is a question worth researching.
PSI Arcade (www.noetic.org/research/psi.cfm). I’m not big on video games, but I am a fan (and past member) of the Institute for Noetic Sciences, founded by former astronaut Edgar Mitchell. The Institute has been researching paranormal and consciousness studies for more than 25 years. The PSI Arcade is an experiment where we can test how strong our intuition, intention and perception is. The games can be played anonymously, or if one registers (free), the results are added to the project’s research database. You can see how you measure up to other players. In addition to one game that involves 3 doors, there is another “garden” game with several different activities. See how well you think you can perform remote healing or sense where an object will appear on screen. When you’re finished, have a look around the rest of the site to see the other interesting projects that the Institute is involved with.
IVR Cheat Sheet. IVR stands for “interactive voice response”—we know it as the computerized voice on the phone that tells us to punch 1 for this, 7 for that. Who doesn’t get annoyed by having to punch in all those numbers? We can now avoid all that and talk directly to a human, thanks to the work of Paul English. He has compiled a “cheat sheet” of instructions on how to access a human voice at several credit card companies, large banks, phone companies and many, many other businesses. Paul English also suggests that we send in our own cheat codes for businesses not listed, if we happen to know them. So far, NIPSCO is not on the list. Too bad.
Generator Blog . Here is a place to find dozens and dozens of links to mini-programs that instantly generate fun stuff. Want to morph a face of your least-admired politician? Hint: you can morph, print, and make a dart target out of it. That’s just one example of the variety of generators found around the Internet. You can generate crazy names for yourself, from an outlaw biker to a Star Wars or Tolkein character. You can write a message and have a penguin create it for you—watch as it slides through the snow. Plug in some words and instantly generate a poem with them. Or, if you don’t feel like writing in any information, just have the plot generator come up with an idea for you. The latter comes in different genres, too. The list of generators is huge, and amazing. Have fun.
Click to Donate stopviolence.care2.com. I’ve listed two different sites where you can contribute to a humanitarian project just by clicking your mouse. Free Donation has been around for several years, and I’ve mentioned it in this column before. The second-mentioned website appears to be newer—click to help the nonviolence movement, and on the same site look for other projects that may be dear to your heart. We’re limited to one click per day. Who knows how much one click is worth, or how much has been collected so far from the people who regularly add a click each day. That is a question worth researching.
PSI Arcade (www.noetic.org/research/psi.cfm). I’m not big on video games, but I am a fan (and past member) of the Institute for Noetic Sciences, founded by former astronaut Edgar Mitchell. The Institute has been researching paranormal and consciousness studies for more than 25 years. The PSI Arcade is an experiment where we can test how strong our intuition, intention and perception is. The games can be played anonymously, or if one registers (free), the results are added to the project’s research database. You can see how you measure up to other players. In addition to one game that involves 3 doors, there is another “garden” game with several different activities. See how well you think you can perform remote healing or sense where an object will appear on screen. When you’re finished, have a look around the rest of the site to see the other interesting projects that the Institute is involved with.
A Variety of Unrelated Sites
The size of the World Wide Web continues to expand, and websites continue to become more sophisticated. The Internet is an easy place to fall prey to information overload. I discovered that last year, when my brain became numb trying to organize this column into weekly themes. In this fresh, new year, I resolve, to go with the flow, ride the wave, and leave the upstream current to spawning salmon. That means less desktop clutter and forgotten web addresses for me, and more random site reviews for you. Let’s begin, shall we?
Million Dollar Homepage . Alex Tew wanted to pay off his student loans. He did some old-fashioned brainstorming. By old-fashioned, I mean that he unplugged his computer and allowed himself to daydream. He came up with an idea that involved just a tiny investment of money. Alex decided to put up a site where anyone could “own a piece of Internet history” at one dollar per pixel. The maximum number of pixels for his web page would be one million, and anyone could participate for a minimum of 100 pixels or $100. Alex has earned, as of this writing, over $920,000. Only 80.000 pixels are available now, so if you want to be part of this “historic” webpage, you’d better hurry. It will be left online definitely for 5 years, and as Alex said, hopefully much longer. Alex’s brilliant idea has made him wealthy, and he has yet to finish his business degree. Among the items he wants to purchase (after paying off those loans), is a few pairs of “decent socks.” Check out Alex’s (almost)-million-dollar website. I guess this is a lesson for all of us to dream big.
Yoga Everywhere . If you spend long hours in front of the computer each day, you’ll be happy to know about Yoga Everywhere. Easy instructions with illustrations show you how to stretch and limber up gently to avoid eye, neck and shoulder strain. Excercises are provided for travelers and office workers (non-computer) too. Surf the links and you’ll find a boatload of information to promote wellness and relief from stress.
Magnetic Poetry . Maybe you’ve run across these little kits in bookstores: word magnets you can put on your fridge and rearrange to make an artful poem. Now you can do the same thing online without magnets. Just rearrange the words with your mouse until you’ve “written” some lines you like. It’s easy, it’s fun, and you’ll be amazed at your poetic writing skills. You can email yourself your finished poem, so that you won’t forget your brilliant writing skills. You’ll find it a fast way to get those creative juices flowing.
Draw A House Personality Test . I was skeptical when I found this, because I could not believe that drawing a house could really reveal any kind of reliable personality data. So, I was surprised when my awkward drawing came back with a report that fit me well—at least how I see myself. This is a fun site, and no fee is involved. If you don’t like your report, go back and draw another house. After you’ve submitted your mouse-drawn abode, you’ll be asked a series of questions. You don’t have to input any personal data about yourself, so enjoy!
Wildlife Photography Winners . The photo contest sponsored by the National Wildlife Foundation has produced spectacular images by amateur contestants. Except that the winning images look like they came from top professional photographers. Find the link on the homepage to the winning pictures. This website is definitely worth a visit!
Million Dollar Homepage . Alex Tew wanted to pay off his student loans. He did some old-fashioned brainstorming. By old-fashioned, I mean that he unplugged his computer and allowed himself to daydream. He came up with an idea that involved just a tiny investment of money. Alex decided to put up a site where anyone could “own a piece of Internet history” at one dollar per pixel. The maximum number of pixels for his web page would be one million, and anyone could participate for a minimum of 100 pixels or $100. Alex has earned, as of this writing, over $920,000. Only 80.000 pixels are available now, so if you want to be part of this “historic” webpage, you’d better hurry. It will be left online definitely for 5 years, and as Alex said, hopefully much longer. Alex’s brilliant idea has made him wealthy, and he has yet to finish his business degree. Among the items he wants to purchase (after paying off those loans), is a few pairs of “decent socks.” Check out Alex’s (almost)-million-dollar website. I guess this is a lesson for all of us to dream big.
Yoga Everywhere . If you spend long hours in front of the computer each day, you’ll be happy to know about Yoga Everywhere. Easy instructions with illustrations show you how to stretch and limber up gently to avoid eye, neck and shoulder strain. Excercises are provided for travelers and office workers (non-computer) too. Surf the links and you’ll find a boatload of information to promote wellness and relief from stress.
Magnetic Poetry . Maybe you’ve run across these little kits in bookstores: word magnets you can put on your fridge and rearrange to make an artful poem. Now you can do the same thing online without magnets. Just rearrange the words with your mouse until you’ve “written” some lines you like. It’s easy, it’s fun, and you’ll be amazed at your poetic writing skills. You can email yourself your finished poem, so that you won’t forget your brilliant writing skills. You’ll find it a fast way to get those creative juices flowing.
Draw A House Personality Test . I was skeptical when I found this, because I could not believe that drawing a house could really reveal any kind of reliable personality data. So, I was surprised when my awkward drawing came back with a report that fit me well—at least how I see myself. This is a fun site, and no fee is involved. If you don’t like your report, go back and draw another house. After you’ve submitted your mouse-drawn abode, you’ll be asked a series of questions. You don’t have to input any personal data about yourself, so enjoy!
Wildlife Photography Winners . The photo contest sponsored by the National Wildlife Foundation has produced spectacular images by amateur contestants. Except that the winning images look like they came from top professional photographers. Find the link on the homepage to the winning pictures. This website is definitely worth a visit!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
