Tips: AOL Jacked your firefox search.

So you use the URL bar to search google, all the time. One day, after installing AIM, your search magically changes. What should have been Google results in Firefox are now AIM results. Your search has been hijacked by AOL. Not the first time they've done something shady but, fortunately there's a solution.

1. Open firefox, type in "about:config" in the keyword box
(where you usually type you web addresses).

2. Type in "keyword.url" at the top where it says "filter"

3. Right click "keywork.url" from the results and select reset.

That's it. Problem solved. You're welcome.

Hydrogen Peroxide Works Wonders

I was recently amazed at some of the common ailments that simple hydrogen peroxide (sometimes diluted with water) can cure. I had an ear infection, went to www.earthclinic.com and read a lot of comments about hydrogen peroxide. Among other things, it cures ear and sinus infections. So I tried it. Yes, it works. I got a free syringe from the pharmacist and squirted some into my ear, let it sit for a few minutes and then drained and dried it. Repeat. People have posted some variations of this cure in detail on that site. Check it out.

I also had weird dry scaling patches (psoriasis) on my eyelids. I had tried lotions, oils, tea tree oil (which is usually a favorite), alcohol, antibiotic cream, etc. Once the hydrogen peroxide started working for my ear infection, I figured - why not. In only a few days of applying it once or twice a day, the tender, flaky, irritated, embarrassing patches were completely gone! I am quite pleased. But wait there is more.

I was originally turned on to earthclinic because a friend had a bad yeast infection and didn't want to take a week of medication prescribed by her doctor. Wanting a more natural approach she searched and came across an easy quick cure using hydrogen peroxide on earthclinic.com. This site is great because it is everyday people like you and me posting natural cures and comments about cures.

The first time I was impressed by hydrogen peroxide was several years ago when I had inadvertently gotten bug repellent (100% deet) on my tongue. Ok, I'll tell the story. I was in Africa and applied it to my face (surprisingly, it didn't melt my face off but it melted some of my plastic stuff). Soon after I licked my lips, getting a little deet on my tongue. Well, I couldn't taste anything for almost 2 weeks. I felt like I had paint on my tongue. I went to the doctor when I returned to the States but he was of no help. I tried the CDC but they were useless as well. I was loosing my patience because not only had I lost my sense of taste but also my sense of smell. That deet is some nasty stuff. So in frustration, I went into the bathroom and looked for ANYTHING I hadn't already tried to relieve my suffering. Wouldn't you know it. I gargled once with hydrogen peroxide and my tongue was back to normal. I was so grateful and amazed.

Just recently I have been learning about the amazing properties of water so it doesn't shock me anymore that hydrogen peroxide could be so healing. What shocks me is the fact that such easy, safe and inexpensive cures have been kept from pubic knowledge for so long. I'll address my amazing water findings in another blog but for now, if you know of any great home remedies, go to earthclinic and share with the rest of us.

Quotes I love

Love all, trust few, wrong no one

Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding. ~Albert Einstein

"Don't make someone your priority when they make you their option"


The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.

- Ernest Hemingway

Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future.

- Fulton Oursler

"Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men."

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Lying is done with words and also with silence.

- Adrienne Rich

Counting your time is not so important as making your time count.

-Unkown

Don't try to be different. Just be good. To be good is different enough.

- Arthur Freed

Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives.
- A. Sachs

You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it.
Bill Cosby

Women don't want to hear what you think. Women want to hear what they think - in a deeper voice.
Bill Cosby

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
Bill Cosby

Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it.
Bill Cosby

I am not young enough to know everything.
James M. Barrie

If you're good at something, never do it for free.

- The Joker

One characteristic of winners is they always look upon themselves as a do it yourself project.

- Denis Waitley

If you want to make enemies, try to change something.
- Woodrow T. Wilson

When deali​ng with peopl​e,​ remem​ber you are not deali​ng with creat​ures of logic​,​ but creat​ures of emoti​on.​

- Dale Carne​gie

Happi​ness is not a rewar​d it, is a conse​quenc​e.​ Suffe​ring is not a punis​hment​, it is a resul​t.​

- Rober​t Green​ Inqer​soll

Only a fool tests​ the depth​ of the water​ with both feet.​

-unknown

You can only blame your problems on the world for so long, before it becomes the same old song.

-uknown

Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than what people do or say. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill.

-W. C. Fields

Fortune and love favor the brave.

-Ovid

News: X-rays emitted from ordinary Scotch tape

No, it's not an April Fool's joke. (I checked the date of the article) MS NBC reports that scientists have discovered that ordinary Scotch tape can produce X-Rays. Though don't worry about exposure it can only occur in a vacuum the presence of air somehow nullifies the X-Ray production.

Read about it here

Practical Tips: Green Apples- The Greener side of Apple Computers

You may have heard that apple will take an old ipod back and safetly dispose of it. What you may not have heard is that they do the same for computers, monitors, cell phones and laptops. Apples recycling program will allow you to recycle your old computers and monitors when you purchase a new mac regardeless of make or model. The same goes for your old monitors or laptops. Apple will also take back ANY old cellphone, no purchase necessary. As if that isn't kind enough they've teamed up with FedEx to offer free recycling. Who knew going green would get so easy?

For the no purchase ipod and cellphone recycling program just click the link below.
Apple Ipod/Cellphone Recycling

Cure Cancer and Some Other Stuff Too

I recently attended a raw (vegan) food festival in Sedona, AZ called Raw Spirit. I went, as a favor to a friend, with an open mind to learn what I could and have a good time. I never thought I would be advocating a raw food diet but now I am. All of the "raw people" I met were healthy, glowing, toned, energetic, clear thinking and happy. Many I spoke with said they turned to eating raw because they had serious health problems like cancer or diabetes. All of the ones I spoke with had been completely cured and don't even get common illnesses like colds or the flu anymore, nor do they experience typical aches and pains associated with their age or life in general. There were "less healthy" raw people there but they would always confess to not being 100% raw or having had relapsed into an unhealthy diet for one reason or another.

I attended some seminars on fighting cancer and diabetes and was absolutely amazed. I listened to doctors who cure people of cancer and diabetes in days or weeks without chemo or radiation unless absolutely necessary. So if you know of anyone with these health problems or any others, please encourage them to look into raw foods. It could save a life. There are "healing centers" across the country. It is worth some research time online to find a legitimate place near you or a sick loved one. I am not going to bash "traditional" doctors in this blog but I will say that they are just not trained for this kind of stuff so they can't guide you in this direction. I wouldn't ask my dentist advice about open heart surgery, so why ask a traditional drug prescribing doctor advice on natural cures?

Another thing I never knew is that cancer feeds on sugar. A friend, who is overcoming her cancer now, was told by her raw food nutritionist that everyone with cancer has Candida, which causes cancer and other lovely health problems. A quick google search of the terms "candida and sugar" produced several websites that said the same thing. This is not a plug for artificial sweeteners, they are also bad for us. But if sugar causes candida and candida causes cancer - lay off the sugar!

Superfoods are also extremely important. Superfoods provide high concentrations of the minerals and vitamins we need making it less important for us to eat large quantities of food to thrive. Most raw foodies say they don't even eat 1/2 of what "normal" portions are because they are getting what the body needs already. Although Superfood is not an "official" term, even sites like WebMD are hip to their power.

I don't have all the answers after one weekend but I can say that I have lost weight and feel better after eating raw for just a little over a week. And I'm not even 100% raw (maybe 75-80%).

I encourage anyone interested in feeling better than they ever have, being healthier, stronger and maybe even smarter than they have ever been, to look into the raw food lifestyle or at least Superfoods. I won't say that it is easy, raw foodies all own food dehydrators, cookbooks, blenders and buy organic veggies. But I will say that after a few days I could feel a difference. So for me, the extra work and ridicule from my "cooked" friends and family is worth it. I got sick when I ate meat after a week of eating raw - of course fast food wasn't really a good choice. I won't be giving up my sushi anytime soon but I also don't want to go back to feeling how I did before (which I thought was pretty good at the time). Some of the raw food is really really good. And some of it isn't so great. But you can say the same for cooked food.

Take a raw food challenge for your health - read up on it, download some recipes and try it for a couple of weeks. Start out gradually. It's very hard to jump straight into 100% raw. Just like you can't go from being a couch potato (cooked or not) to a marathon runner in one day. Eat happy, eat healthy.

Ecstasy Myths Debunked

One of the major myths pertaining to MDMA, also known as ecstasy, involves "ice cream sized scoops" being destroyed in the brain. This is not true. The myth started circulating after an erroneous study that was published. You can read more about it here. You can also hear the retraction on an NCR news cast that I found on youtube here.

Other myths include dangers of drinking too much water.
Also False. Drinking too much water is only dangerous due to depletion of electrolytes. Drink a Gatorade, Disani or Powerade every few bottles and you'll be fine.
Water myth debunked here

And finally does ecstasy drain your spinal fluid?
No. You can read more about that one here.

Tips: Natural Birth Control Method

clipped from www.lifescript.com Birth Control, The Natural Way The pill doesn’t thrill you. You’re sick of fumbling with condoms, sponges and foams. You’re in a committed, monogamous relationship… but not looking to start a family. Well, there’s an all-natural – and widely misunderstood – option that can keep you from getting knocked up. And no, it’s not the rhythm method… Is FAM the Right Choice for You?

News: Inhaled Sugar Helps Clear Lungs in Cystic Fibrosis

clipped from www.lifescript.com Inhaled Sugar Helps Clear Lungs in Cystic Fibrosis NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Inhalation of a sugar called mannitol improves lung function in patients with cystic fibrosis, a serious genetic disorder characterized by abnormally thick mucus secretions in the lungs and other organs, according to a report by Australian researchers in the journal Chest. Anna Jaques, of Pharmaxis Ltd. in Frenchs Forest, New South Wales and colleagues explain that inhaled mannitol works by drawing fluid into the lungs, which dilutes the thick secretions in the air passages. These diluted secretions are easier for the patients to clear from their lungs.

News: Laser light switch toggles beam up to 100 billion times a second

clipped from www.nytimes.com Engineers Make Leap in Optical Networks Published: October 27, 2005 SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 26 - A team of Stanford electrical engineers has discovered how to switch a beam of laser light on and off up to 100 billion times a second with materials that are widely used in the semiconductor industry. The group used a standard chip-making process to design a central component of optical networking gear that is potentially more than 10 times as fast as the highest-performance commercial products available today. The communications industry now uses costly equipment to transmit data over optical fibers at up to 10 billion bits a second. Researchers, however, are already experimenting with optically linked computers in which components may be located on different sides of the globe. Cheap optical switches would also make it possible to create data superhighways inside computers and reorganize them for better performance.

Tech: Removing Knight.exe

I bought a new flash drive from OCZ a beautiful 16GB flash drive. I connected it to a foreign machine and when I put it back into my computer, virus. No big deal AVG detected the virus and I selected remove. At first I thought it a bit odd cause the other machine didn't have access to any network or internet. I should have known better. The next thing I knew the flash drive stopped working. When I plugged in the drive I received a "mixed content" popup. The normal choices to open in folder view or to open selected files with a video player had dissapeared. I tried accesing the drive from my computer but it simply asked me to choose a program to open the "whole drive" with, as if it was an application. I stumbled across the directions below to remove "knight.exe" which still didn't give me access to the drive, and since I didn't have access to the drive I couldn't do one of the steps (Step 3b). I realized I might be able to access the drive another way. I opened the drive using izarc as if it were a zip file. I needed to open it directly through izarc's menu. Nothing shows up initially but if you choose, file type>all, you'll see the file autorun.inf. Delete that and you'll be done. I recommend you follow the instructions bellow in their given order until you get to that step. Paste a comment if this helps.

Note: You may be able to use any program to access the drive through the program's "Open" Dialogue, as long as the program has a "show all files" option. To delete simply right mouse click and select delete.

These instructions courtesy Precise Security:
1. Temporarily Disable USB Drive to autorun (Windows XP):

a. Open Windows Explorer or press the Windows + “e” key.
b. Right-click the drive of the USB Drive. Then select Properties. Drive Properties will appear.
c. Select the AutoPlay tab.
d. Choose Select an Action to Perform
e. At the bottom of the selection, click Take no Action, then click Apply.
f. Click OK to exit Drive Properties.

2. Show Hidden Files
a. Open Windows Explorer
b. Go to Tools > Options
c. On View tab, mark Checked the “Show Hidden Files and Folders and “Hide Protected OPerating System Files” Unchecked.

3. Delete the files manually
a. Go the USB Drive and delete autorun.inf
b. Go to C: Drive and delete autorun.inf
c. Go to C:\Windows and delete Disk Knight.exe

4. Modify Windows Registry
a. Go to Start > Run then type regedit
b. On Registry Editor, go to Edit > Find and type “knight”
c. Delete all entries it found.

5. Connect to Internet and update your AntiVirus

6. Reboot your computer in SafeMode
a. During BootUp process Press F8 continuously until selection appears
b. Use Arrow Up+Down to select SafeMode on the selections menu.
c. Hit Enter to proceed.

7. Scan your computer with an updated AntiVirus and delete all infections it founds.

Note: You may enable autorun of the USB Drive by reversing the process in Step 1.

Tips: Geotagging Photos with Picasa

Every digital image is encoded with digital information, EXIF, aside from the actual picture. That information holds interesting data: When the picture was taken, if it was modified and when it was last modified, Camera information, focal length, Camera make and model among other information.

We'll be focusing on one of the little known and little used fields called a geotag. A geotag allows you to identify the location where the image was taken using longitude and latidude based coordinates. This can be determined from the camera, external GPS device or embedded later. This gives you a new way to sort and search through your photo.

Another option is to wait until you've finished taking photos and add all the location details once you've downloaded the images to your PC. There are a variety of ways to do this, but one of the most straightforward uses a combination of Google's Picasa software and the company's Google Earth application.

This Excerpt is courtesy of Cnet (Click title for full article)

After downloading your photos into Picasa, it's simply a matter of clicking on the tools tab and selecting the 'Geotag with Google Earth' option. This opens the mapping application in which you navigate to the place where the photo was taken. A single click then embeds the relevant latitude and longitude details into the photo's EXIF metadata file.

Grammar: NEVER end a sentence in a preposition or not

We're told in school to never end a sentence using a preposition.. why? I ran into the answer.

It was John Dryden who first promulgated the doctrine that a preposition may not be used at the end of a sentence, probably on the basis of a specious analogy to Latin. Grammarians in the 18th century refined the doctrine, and the rule has since become one of the most venerated maxims of schoolroom grammar. But sentences ending with prepositions can be found in the works of most of the great writers since the Renaissance. English syntax does allow for final placement of the preposition, as in We have much to be thankful for or I asked her which course she had signed up for. Efforts to rewrite such sentences to place the preposition elsewhere can have stilted and even comical results, as Winston Churchill demonstrated when he objected to the doctrine by saying "This is the sort of English up with which I cannot put."·Sometimes sentences that end with adverbs, such as I don't know where she will end up or It's the most curious book I've ever run across, are mistakenly thought to end in prepositions. One can tell that up and across are adverbs here, not prepositions, by the ungrammaticality of I don't know up where she will end and It's the most curious book across which I have ever run. It has never been suggested that it is incorrect to end a sentence with an adverb.

Source: TheFreeDictionary.com (click title for page)

Firefox Addons: Clipmarks

What can I do with Clipmarks? Save your clips on clipmarks.com. You can save clips publicly for others to see, post them to Facebook, or embed a widget of them on your own site. You can also save clips privately for your own viewing later. Your clip collection is searchable from any computer with an internet connection (including your iPhone, Blackberry, etc). Post anything you clip directly to your blog. It's by far the quickest way to update your blog with compelling things you find on the web. Supports Blogger, Wordpress, Typepad, LiveJournal and more. Email anything from a web page without ever leaving the page. Import your contacts to instantly email friends and family interesting things from the web. The content you clip and a link to the page is automatically included with each email. Print just the parts of the page you really need. Save paper, save money, save trees.

Emails: 2 Tough Questions: Modified

Starting a new section of useful email based info I've received. Useful for any reason, it may be spiritual, inspirational or educational.

It is time to elect a new world leader, and only your vote counts.
Here are the facts about the three candidates.. Who would you vote for?


Candidate A
Associates with crooked politicians, and consults
with astrologist
He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and
drinks 8 to 10 martinis a
day.


Candidate B
He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until
noon, used opium in
college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.


Candidate C
He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian,
doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and never cheated on his wife.





Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt
Candidate B is Winston Churchill
Candidate C is Adolph Hitler

Tips: Gas Tips

At the price of gas nowadays we can always use a little info on how to stretch the galon to get more bang for out buck. Below is an email I received from a friend. If anybody can give me verifiable citations I will gladly add it to the article. As it stands these tips really don't hurt to try.

Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline. One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.


* Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.


* When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.


* One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Un ike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.


* Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up -- most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

News: Content sensitive image resizing

This one's is pretty impressive. A group of scientist came up with an algorithm for resizing an image. The idea is to stretch or shrink the image while maintaining the image's main focus. Unlike standard non-uniform stretching or contracting, which leads to distortion, this method allows the subject to stay uniform while modifying the contents of an image. The image is treated a lot like an MP3. What MP3 does for compression is it removes sounds that people cannot ordinarily hear and thereby makes the file size significantly smaller. Click heading for video. I've also added a link to the internet resources section, on the right, to a web based application based on this algorithm.

News: 10 Times Longer Battery Life

Stanford materials scientist Yi Cui has found a way to create a silicone anode. Scientists knew that this material would create, at least theoretically, an enormous 10 fold increase in charge capacity but they were never able to achieve it. The problem was the silicone anode would crack or degrade due to extreme expansion. That was overcome by creating a an anode out of silicone nanowires. The space between the nanowires would allow for the expansion to take place without the anode cracking. (See picture above) As always, click heading for full article.

News: I can finally eat KFC

For quite some time I've been boycotting KFC because of their inhumane treatment of chickens prior to slaughter. I can happily say that Both KFC, their parent company(Yum!) and Tyson have instituted a policy for humane treatment of their chicken. I'm not too sure about Tyson's policy but you can read about it in this pdf.

Yum! is also the parent company of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silver's and A&W. Click heading for full story.

News: Running on Water

Here are two stories about two, apparently different, Japanese car manufacturers that claimed to have produced vehicles that run on good ol' H2O... I'm not so sure..

Vehicle 1

The problem with this vehicle is, although it seems great.. where are they getting the hydrogen from? There is no talk about using electricity to extract hydrogen. The paperwork that the company files even claims it runs on compressed hydrogen. How do they generate the Hydrogen and if they generate it in the vehicle is the compression done on the spot? Although it works with hydrogen, based on what I've seen, I would classify this vehicle as a steam vehicle. If they can prove that the hydrogen is derived from the water.. then we're talking.

Vehicle 2

The problem I have with this vehicle is how does it generates electricity from water. How? We all know how to generate electricity from hydrogen, which in and of itself it's hard enough. The second problem is you also need electricity to separate the hydrogen from the water (As far as I know). If you keep using and generating electricity.. what's left to fuel the vehicle? I'm not a physicist and can't do the math.. but I think somethings up here.. If I'm not mistaken, every time you convert energy from one form to another some energy gets expelled... something gets used up. I don't know. Though I would love to know how these two vehicles really work.

Namco Mamebook

This guy made what's known as a cocktail arcade game.. using a mac laptop and a piece of ikea furniture. As always.. click title for more details

Difference Between Who and Whom

The Bottom Line

The difference between who and whom is exactly the same as the difference between I and me, he and him, she and her, etc. Who, like I, he, and she, is a subject - it is the person performing the action of the verb. Whom, like me, him, and her, is an object - it is the person to/about/for whom the action is being done.

Sometimes it helps to rewrite the sentence and/or replace who/whom with another pronoun so that you can see the relationships more clearly.

This is who warned me > He warned me (not "him" warned me)

Jack is the one who wants to go > He wants to go (not "him" wants to go)

This is the man whom I told you about > I told you about him (not about "he")

Lisa is the girl with whom I'm driving to Maine > I'm driving to Maine with her (not with "she")

News: 256 GB on a Sheet of Paper?

In 2006, in Banglore India, a student has discovered a way to store 256GB of information on a single A4 sheet of paper (Roughly the size of a standard sheet of paper). The application paves the way for CD/DVD/Blu-Ray less info. Imagine the cost/benefit relationship. Not to mention the accessibility and storage capacity vs size. Imagine a standard business card housing an artist's portfolio or a film director's card housing movie clips. Click the title for the full story.

Google Labs

If you haven't visited Google Labs it's about time you do. There are several really cool apps that Google offers for free. Take a look.

Here are a few of my favs:
Text Google from your phone
Text from Firefox
Google Suggests(Kind of like autocomplete from google)
Google 411, just call 1-800-466-4411 (1800 Goog 411)

Faster PDF

A long time ago Adobe Created the PDF. There was a time when it was a pretty decent format but as we all know the application has become extremely bloated. It takes time to open and often hangs your browser while u wait. Although I haven't associated it with my browser, yet. I still think this program is an amazing alternative. On my machine opening a PDF is virtually instantaneous.

Download Here

How to Handle an Annoying Seatmate on the Plane (from Ger to Rashid)

If you are sitting next to someone who irritates you, follow these instructions:
1. Quietly and calmly open up your laptop case.
2. Remove your laptop.
3. Start up.
4. Make sure the guy who is annoying you, can see the screen.
5. Close your eyes and tilt your head up to the sky and move your lips like you are praying .
6. Then hit this link.

Tweaks: DIE CTFMON.. DIE!

Okay, that was a little melodramatic, but this thing has been popping up, forever. If you're running a windows machine it's probably running right now (Ctrl + Alt + Delete then look at the Processes tab)

What is it?
Ctfmon is basically "Advance language options" seen mostly by the presence of the language bar. (That little microphone and question mark that show up on the right side of your task bar).

Why do I care?
It's wasted space, it uses my computer for no reason and slows down the time it takes my computer to start up. So far I don't need it and I don't think I'll ever need it but just in case I won't delete it.

How do I stop it?
To simply turn off ctfmon.exe go to
Control Panel>Regional and Language Options>Languages>Details>Advanced,
and check the box that says "Turn off advanced text services."
Done.

Found on a forum reference with this article. (Last post)

Practical: Get Rid of a Hickey

How To Get Rid Of A Hickey

Practical: Truly FREE Credit Reports

Most people aren't aware that, as a consumer, you are allowed to get one free credit report per year. The government has instituted a law that allows you to free access to your credit report. You do not have to be turned down or even apply for anything. You simply go to the site, referenced with this article, and you fill in your information. The report usually stays open for about 30 days though you can keep it open longer if you have anything to correct or dispute.

Alternatively, if you were denied a credit line you may also contact the company that denied you to receive your free credit report but you are still entitled to one free report per year.

News: Laser Light Switch

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 26 - A team of Stanford electrical engineers has discovered how to switch a beam of laser light on and off up to 100 billion times a second with materials that are widely used in the semiconductor industry. (Read More)

This means that there will be a way to make light based computers and networks. The possibility to run multiple computers together at a speed that would seem like it's one machine. There are systems of arrays set up with multiple computers that share processing power. Imagine if the network and communication in the machine were all based on light. This would change the way computers work all together. It reminds me of the nervous system where you have impulses that are electrical until they reach the synapse and are converted to chemical and back again. I wonder how light will be converted into a storage medium. I'm sure they have implemented a procedure but I wonder if there is something more efficient. Right now you can get a network that runs on fiber optics. I think we need to move this inside the machine and this is what this article is all about.

News: Blue Rose

In 2004 an Australian company Florigene and the Japanese company, Suntory, created the first blue rose. I have to say I wouldn't call it a blue rose but if you happen to stumble upon a bluer rose then let me know about it. If I do I'll post it here. Ultimately the idea is to be able to buy one, but first we need to find it. The picture below is from Florigene's news article at the link that is referenced.

Tutorials: Best Photoshop Tut on the Web!

This is a great little tutorial on photoshop using a screen recording app called Camtasia Studio.
Take a look at it and visit Camtasia's website at the link below.


If you need a screen recording software this is a full blown professional version with several cool options like PIP video, voice overs, title tracks, and soundtracks. The interface is simple and the company provides various video tutorials in order to help you get the most out of your experience.

The interface is user friendly and well thought out with the essentials placed in all the right places.


Camtasia Studio

Helper Apps: Batch Rename Tool

Here's a simple program that let's you rename a bunch of files at the same time. You can use data types like string, date, counter, left, right, creation date, modified date, access date, and size.

This is how it works you have about 5 fields that you can choose from for each of these types so you can stack them together.

ex:


Would yield files like:
Hawaii_07-10-15-01.jpg
Hawaii_07-10-15-02.jpg
Hawaii_07-10-15-03.jpg
Hawaii_07-10-15-04.jpg
Hawaii_07-10-15-05.jpg
Hawaii_07-10-15-06.jpg

This program works on any file format.
String is for text

Left is the amount of characters you want to copy from the curren file name starting from the left

Right is the amount of characters you want to copy from the current file name starting from the right

The rest of the options are self explanatory.

Tip: When renaming pictures add the creation date so that way you will always know when the picture was taken just by looking at the filename.

Helper Apps: IZArc Compression Tool

This app is a feeware replacement for winzip or winrar. No pop ups, spyware or adware. Open a plethora of compression file formats. Below is the description from IZArc's stie.

IZArc is the ultimate freeware archive utility supporting many archive formats like: 7-ZIP, A, ACE, ARC, ARJ, B64, BH, BIN, BZ2, BZA, C2D, CAB, CDI, CPIO, DEB, ENC, GCA, GZ, GZA, HA, IMG, ISO, JAR, LHA, LIB, LZH, MDF, MBF, MIM, NRG, PAK, PDI, PK3, RAR, RPM, TAR, TAZ, TBZ, TGZ, TZ, UUE, WAR, XXE, YZ1, Z, ZIP, ZOO.


Download it here

Interview: Saucernaut's Charlie Mewshaw

Saucernauts Jeff(green) and Teddy (blue)

Before creating the Saucernauts did you have any other experience in vinyl toy industry?

My toy experience before launching the SaucerNauts line was mainly relegated to customs and blank figures like Qees, or Munny's being done for fun. I've always enjoyed design, be it web design, print layouts, skateboard decks - it all interested me. Something just clicked one day and I decided to pop some of my own characters and designs off the page and into 3D.



What type of research did you do and are there any good sources, that you know of, that would help people who want to make their own vinyl toys come up with a popular product.

My research was mainly listening to what people had to say, and keeping an open mind.

I had been playing around with the Geoff character for a while, just drawing him doing different things, when I decided to make a sculpture of him. My wife came home and saw the little green guy sitting on a table and decided to make one herself. She then added to the character, putting some of her own style into it. Those first sculpts were definitely a team effort between the two of us.

From there I took that hybrid sculpt with concept art, and showed it around to friends and people I knew, asking if they thought it would make a good toy. My research was mostly just word of mouth, asking people what they liked and what they didn't like about the character.

As far as resources for assisting in gathering feedback, check out the forums on designer toy sites. There's a great community of collectors and creators out there. Take your ideas by your local shop if you have one. Here in Baltimore, MD we have a great shop called Atomic Pop, where the staff is really approachable and always willing to just talk. If you're fortunate to have a similar shop, don't be afraid to share what you're working on with them.

I think that if you have a concept that you feel would make for a good toy, that you should step up and give it your best shot on your own. Then take that concept and show it around, it doesn't have to be perfect, just taking that first step is the most important part.



Any design tips that you'd care to share?

Keep things true to what you enjoy. Don't make something you wouldn't be interested in yourself. I think everything turns out better if you stick to what you like.


Are there any things a person who wants to make vinyl toys stay away from. Like famous flops in the industry.

I don't really want to call anything a "flop" b/c someone believed in it enough to take a chance on making whatever particular toy that would be. I would say, stay away from doing something just b/c you think its easy, or something that directly bites off someone else. Develop your own voice, don't just jump on whatever happens to be hot that month. Also, don't beat a dead horse, always be open to expanding the scope of what you think your ideas can achieve.



How did you choose a manufacturer?

There are a lot of places that are willing to take your money. For series one it was about building a relationship and actually making some friends. I was pretty fortunate to be able to work with like minded guys who understood what I was trying to do with the first figures. The guys over at Onell Design were really instrumental in making series one happen. They were hands-on and patient with me (this was after all my first attempt!). They guided me through the process, and together I think we put out a great little line of hand-crafted guys.

For this first plush line, I was looking into overseas production, so I mainly went off who had the best quality product, customer service, production timeline, and who could deliver those three things within my budget. It took some time, but with the power of the internet its not too hard to find people that mesh well with your vision.

There are a TON of domestic places in the US that do rapid prototyping for short runs, or overseas factories that do full runs, so finding a production source isn't the hard part. The hardest part is coming up with a concept.



What type of expense can one expect to spend on vinyl toy production?

Ha! A lot…seriously, it's an investment. Open some credit cards and keep your day job. For individuals that haven't gotten to the point where the larger manufacturers are interested in helping out with costs, I would liken it to an unsigned band self-releasing a CD. To do it right, it's going to be a struggle.



Was there any business model that you followed to achieve such a successful product?

Baby steps. Things can look overwhelming at times when you're trying to get started. Personally, I try and focus on one task at a time. Of course it's great to daydream about production runs with tons of characters, or getting your own blind box assortment, but at the end of the day if you can put out even just one of your ideas, you're a success. After all, how many people actually take the initiative to do it and follow through?


Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions.

---

You can find out more about the Saucernauts at their website: www.saucernauts.com
or at his blog here on blogger

Flash Drive Applications

You bought a flash drive... now what?

Surf on over to Portableapps.com. This site offers a shitload off free apps that turn your flash drive into a fully loaded library. I've listed just some of the applications that they're offering.

• 7-Zip
  Here's a replacement program for winzip/winrar users.
  
  
• AbiWord
  Simple word processing program. Kinda Microsoft office 2003
  
  
• Audacity
  Sound recording and editing software.
  
  
• ClamWin Portable
  Anti-virus App
  
  
• Command Prompt Portable
  Self explanatory
  
  
• FileZilla Portable
  The ever popular ftp application now portable.
  
  
  
• GIMP Portable
  Here's a full blown photo editting application. Photoshop like.
  
  
• KeePass Portable
  Stores all your passwords in a secure database under a master password
  
  
• Miranda IM Portable
  Multi Chat protocol supports MSN, ICQ, AIM, Yahoo, and IRQ to name a few.
  
  
• Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition
  Portable version of firefox browser. When you bookmark your links they stay on your thumbdrive
  
  
• Mozilla Sunbird, Portable Edition
  Calendar Application from Mozilla
  
  
• Mozilla Thunderbird, Portable Edition
  The ever so popular email client, now to go!
  
  
• Notepad++ Portable
  More powerful than notepad classic. This is geared towards programmers. It includes syntax highlighting and macros.
  
  
• Nvu Portable & KompoZer Portable
  A web editing app that works a lot like Front Page or Dreamweaver.
  
  
• OpenOffice.org Portable
  Full office suite.
  
  
• Pidgin Portable
  Another Multi Chat Protocol App
  
  
• PokerTH Portable
  Texas Hold 'em that goes with you.
  
  
• Sudoku Portable
  Name says it all
  
  
• Sumatra PDF Portable
  Lightweight pdf viewer.
  
  
• Virtual Magnifying Glass Portable
  um.. yeah.. that simple
  
  
• VLC Media Player Portable
  This is one of the best media players, it will play almost anything that you throw at it. No codecs needed.
  
  

These a just a few, if you have a flash drive or an ipod (and carry your cable with you) I recommend that you check it out.

http://portableapps.com

So... you suck at photoshop?

Below a series of videos that show you how to use photoshop. The educational value is minimal but the comic value is priceless. Enjoy. (Thanks Richie)

First part


Second part


Third Part


Fourth

Fifth

Helper Apps: Startup Control Panel

Here are two programs that are amazing. Don't you hate it when programs add themselves to your startup. Like all these programs load in the system tray (the group of icons right by the time) and you don't know where they are or how to disable them. Well welcome to a world of no more bull$hit, ahem.

Startup Control Panel
This program is a simple little thing that adds an icon to your control panel. It gives you simple check boxes on a few tabs and by simply unchecking a box you will disable a program from starting up and slowing down your computer on boot.

Startup Monitor
Even if you choose not to install startup control panel this little program is well worth the download. Startup monitor works in the background and it's sole purpose is to alert you when a program is trying to add itself to startup. You'd be surprised how often this happens. The savings of wasted boot time and memory hogging alone is worth the download.

Firefox: Tips & Add Ons

Firefox Tips:

KeyBoard Shortcuts & Mouse Shortcuts

Move through tabs quickly:
Use Ctrl + Tab to switch between open tabs quickly. Hold down the Ctrl button and cycle through by tapping on Tab. Incidentaly you can reverse the direction by Holding down Ctrl + Shift while tapping on tab.

Keyboard shortcut to address bar & Seach Bar:
Atl +D, you can also hit tab to move to the search bar from here or use Ctl + K to go directly to the search bar.

Tips

Multiple Homepages:
Let's say you constantly visit the same 3 or 4 pages when you open your browser. All of us know that we can set a page as our homepage but most people don't know that you can set multiple pages (using tabs) as your home page.

Simply open up firefox and all the pages that you want as your homepages, each in their own tab. Then hit Alt + O (or go to Tools>Options) and hit the "use current pages button.

Add custom search engines:
You can add almost any search engine you wish to Firefox. Most of them are already made just click on the drop down for selecting searches and select manage engines. Here you can change the order of the engines and even add more search engines. Just click the link to add more search engines in the dialogs box that pops up. If you don't see the engine you're looking for on the main page just scroll down to "Additional Resources" and select the first option "Browse through more search engines at mycroft.mozdev.org" or just click the link above. If you can't find it there you can still create it.

Firefox Add ons:

1. All in one Gestures
: This little add on allows you to use your mouse more efficiently to move through the web and control tabs and window.

ie: You want to close the tab you're looking at. Hold down the right mouse button and draw an L anywhere on the screen. Move back: hold down the rt mouse and draw a line from right to left. Move forward: hold down the rt mouse and draw a line from left to right. New tab: hold down the rt mouse button and draw a line from bottom to top.

2. Tab Catalog
If you've used the latest version of internet explorer you'll notice that it has a feature that allows you to visually see what tabs are open. This extension does just that but takes it a step further. The extension allows you to see a grid off all the open tabs as thumbnails. You can see the page title and even click on a close button or links (You'd have to set some of this up in preferences).

ie: You click the right and left mouse buttons simultaneously or hold your mouse over the new icon that is to the right of your search bar. A grid with all open tabs will appear in thumbnail format. You may click on any thumbnail to switch to that tab. You may also hold alt + tab to see the grid temporarily.

3. Image Zoom:
This little extension simply lets you zoom into an image. It doesn't make the image clearer it just stretches it out so you can see a little more in the image. Although it's not perfect it does come in handy every once in a while when you can't see some detail in a small pic. You can even make images smaller, the type that fill your whole screen and go off the screen in some cases.

ie: Just hold down the right mouse and scroll the image will resize, up or down, depending on the direction you choose to scroll.

Helper App: Shell Enhancer

What is ShellEnhancer?

ShellEnhancer includes two types of taskswitcher (Enhanced TaskSwitcher and Mosaic TaskSwitcher) which you can use to replace the default Windows Alt+Tab taskswitcher. The Enhanced TaskSwitcher supports live previews.

ShellEnhancer allows you to make your own tasks. Tasks consist of a number of commands which get executed one after the other. Available commands include: insert text, send keystroke, manipulate windows, run program, start screensaver, lock workstation and many other.
Tasks can be executed with hotkeys, mouse gestures or screen corners. An On Screen Display (OSD) can be shown when a task is run.

With X-Window style moving and resizing you don't have to move your mouse to a corner of a window to move or resize it.

Other features include: rolling up windows, making any window transparent, always on top, keep focus, ... This can also be automated with the Auto Managed Windows feature.

You can download it here

To all the fellas

I wanted to put this out there for all the younger guys that I know that are having trouble with the intimate side of a relationship. This is what I've worked out so far. The way a person gets good in bed is by caring about the person in bed with them.(Sounds pretty obvious). She's the one that is going to say you're good or not. Now that's the end game: coming out looking good. So what' the pregame.. well it starts with her. This is what you need to do. Learn to step back. Say no to her. If she's not ready and you realize it first. Then stop. Let her know you can wait. That little bit of explaining goes a long way. Why? A woman has sex in her head. A man has sex in his penis. So how do you match the two? Clear her head, don't ever lie. Just be honest and explain what you want and what you can offer. Exchange ideas and refined and define your commitment or lack there of. If she's not gunna agree to what you want or vice versa than you two should step back. Otherwise your whole realtionship will have turmoil. Give her peace of mind and in exchage you will have good sex. Give her honesty and trust and in exchange you will have great sex. Give her monogamy and fidelity and in exchange you may even have amazing sex. Give all you can and be upfront about what you can't and what you can give and with each thing that you're willing to commit to it will get better.

Oh yeah, and be sure that you don't get pu$$y whipped. C'mon guys really if a woman calls you for a booty call don't drop everything. Apologize and let her know what you would do to her if you were there but make sure she knows that, if you're in the middle of something, you still have your priorities in line. She may hate you for the moment but she will respect you for it. Sex is a man's kryptonite every time you say NO it ends up building up a wall that make it look like it doesn't affect you. That will make her trust you more, if you can say no to one woman you can say no to another. It will let her know that you can turn down open invitations if you are not logically connected. When you say that you have to go make sure you end with a kiss that will leave her weak in the knees, that is if you want to come back. She should think about that when you're not there. Leave smiling and it's okay to be playful but be respectful. Public displays of affection were good in Hisgh School but c'mon. Keep intimate moment in private. You never know who out there is lonely and wishes they had what you have. It's not right to rub it in someone's face not to mention the different religous factions that doen't accept such things. We've all done it but we need to keep up the effort of self control.

Helper Apps: Slickrun

There are several applications that I install almost immediately on any computer that I'll be working on. These applications make life easier and the best thing about it is that they're free.

Slickrun:
Without a shadow of a doubt this application is, by far, the most useful app that you will ever install. Slickrun is a command line interface that uses "magic words to expand its functionality. It's has an extremely small footprint, meaning that the filesize of the program is very small, in fact it's less than 1 megabyte (Small enough to fit on a floppy disk with room to spare.

What does it do?
In a word... Everything. I'm still trying. I've been using it for over 2 years and I'm still finding new things I can add.

You use keywords to launch things like
• Applications

Say I wanted to launch photoshop I just type PS and hit enter. Thunderbird, type mail and hit enter, Firefox, just type firefox and hit enter. With autocomplete built in you rarely have to type more than the first 3 letters.

• Websites

Before you even launch your browser you can type the address in slickrun and go directly to the page as the browser launches.

• Searches

You can search before you even reach a page. Let's say you wanted to search google for information on dogs. Simply type google into slickrun and hit enter. Another box will pop up for your search request. Enter "dogs" into the search and your browser launches with the results. This eliminates the time to 1, launch the browser, 2, navigate to googles site 3, wait for the result.

• Jot

Ever needed to take a quick note? With jot you can simply hit windows key + J and you will have a collapsible, searchable text file that autosaves. Before this I used to have my desktop littered with notepad files.

• Multi

Everyday we repeat the same repetative tasks. We open the same applications when we start our computers, write a paper, or do research. with multi you can now launch multiple applications at the same time.

Let's say every day you open Thunderbird, Firefox and AIM. Now you can launch all of these with one word. Once configured you can launch all three apps by typing in something like "morning". There is no restriction to the amount of apps you launch at the same time. You can even add delays to the launch and select the sequence that you wish.

Slickrun can be found at Bayden.com below is a URL to the download page.
Slickrun Download Page

Slickrun Tips:
Below you will find tips and tricks for slickrun.