This is kind of scary...plug in your cellphone number (including area code) and watch the satellite locate you in real time.
Try it out here
Friday, June 29, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Get some new wallpaper
My guess is that many of you know how to do this already. I think I have mentioned it before. But, no matter how well-known a computer tip might be, there are always a few people that say, "Wow, I never knew that before!". And it is pretty handy.
If you want to change the background picture on your computer screen, it's very easy. That picture is actually called the "wallpaper" (some people call it the screen saver, but that is not correct). Just about any picture you see on the internet can be used as a wallpaper on your computer. Here is a great way to find wonderful wallpaper pictures.
Go to Google Images and type in the name of the kind of pictures you want to see, such as sunset, mountain, lake, whatever. It is also a good idea to select the "Large" option so that you only see higher resolution pictures.
When you see a thumbnail image you like, click on it. Then when the next page comes up, click the link that says "See image full size".
When it is full size on your screen, do a right-click on the image and choose "Set as wallpaper". If another window comes up asking for the formatting of the picture, choose "Stretch". Now you have a new wallpaper! You can do this for almost any picture you see on the web.
My nephew Adam has already seen this week's video, and he has suggested a title. So here it is - the Crazy Baby:
If you want to change the background picture on your computer screen, it's very easy. That picture is actually called the "wallpaper" (some people call it the screen saver, but that is not correct). Just about any picture you see on the internet can be used as a wallpaper on your computer. Here is a great way to find wonderful wallpaper pictures.
Go to Google Images and type in the name of the kind of pictures you want to see, such as sunset, mountain, lake, whatever. It is also a good idea to select the "Large" option so that you only see higher resolution pictures.
When you see a thumbnail image you like, click on it. Then when the next page comes up, click the link that says "See image full size".
When it is full size on your screen, do a right-click on the image and choose "Set as wallpaper". If another window comes up asking for the formatting of the picture, choose "Stretch". Now you have a new wallpaper! You can do this for almost any picture you see on the web.
My nephew Adam has already seen this week's video, and he has suggested a title. So here it is - the Crazy Baby:
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Woot
I think I have mentioned this website before, but it is worth talking about it again. The website is www.woot.com.
At Woot, they offer one item for sale each day. When that item sells out, you're out of luck until the next day when a different item shows up. This is the type of site that you want to have as part of your home page tabs, because you need to check it each day to see if they are selling something you need.
A word of warning - a description is written about each item for sale. I find them difficult to read. They try so desperately to be clever, hip, witty...and I just want to get the details about the item for sale. I guess a lot of people consider the ad copy as part of the charm; I find it to be annoying. I just scroll down past the few paragraphs of text and read the list of features to get the information I need.
Sometimes the Woot is a great bargain, and sometimes it's not. Bargains usually sell out at some time during the day (the new daily item actually gets listed at 1 am eastern time, and some of the devoted Woot fans stay up to see what it is). If you are not sure if an item is a good value, click the link that says "Discuss this product" and read what some others are saying about it.
This week's video - there is a show in the UK that is roughly the British equivalent of American Idol. The show is called Britain's Got Talent. I am not really a fan of these types of shows, but I came across this clip that is worth watching.
At Woot, they offer one item for sale each day. When that item sells out, you're out of luck until the next day when a different item shows up. This is the type of site that you want to have as part of your home page tabs, because you need to check it each day to see if they are selling something you need.
A word of warning - a description is written about each item for sale. I find them difficult to read. They try so desperately to be clever, hip, witty...and I just want to get the details about the item for sale. I guess a lot of people consider the ad copy as part of the charm; I find it to be annoying. I just scroll down past the few paragraphs of text and read the list of features to get the information I need.
Sometimes the Woot is a great bargain, and sometimes it's not. Bargains usually sell out at some time during the day (the new daily item actually gets listed at 1 am eastern time, and some of the devoted Woot fans stay up to see what it is). If you are not sure if an item is a good value, click the link that says "Discuss this product" and read what some others are saying about it.
This week's video - there is a show in the UK that is roughly the British equivalent of American Idol. The show is called Britain's Got Talent. I am not really a fan of these types of shows, but I came across this clip that is worth watching.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Linkwad
One of the things I love about using the Firefox web browser is that there are hundreds of ways to customize it by using what are called Extensions. An extension is a small bit of software that makes Firefox do something interesting or handy - something that it originally was not designed to do. I have lots of extensions already installed, but I found a new one this week that is wonderful.
The new extension I just discovered is called Linkwad. If you use a lot of tabbed browser windows in Firefox, you might like it too.
If you use Firefox, you know that one of its great features is tabbed browsing. You can have 2 or 3 or 10 different websites open in one window, each one with its own tab. My problem is that I have too many tabs - I have a bunch of websites that open up automatically when I start Firefox, and even on high speed it can seem to drag a bit while all those sites are loading at the same time.
With Linkwad, you can have different groups of tabs. For example, you could have one group that opens automatically when Firefox starts. Then you could have another group of sites that are all political blogs. Then you could have a different set of tabs that are all news or entertainment sites. Another group could be a set of different pre-set eBay searches. There really is no limit! All you do is create a set of tabbed sites, then save that set (each set is called a "wad") by giving it a name.
Linkwad always resides at the top of the Firefox window, and you have the command to Open a set of tabs you have already saved, Save a set of tabs you just created, or Close the current set of tabs. And of course, it is completely free.
You can read about Linkwad and download it here.
By the way - I had a lot of people respond to last week's post about the early days of video games and the new program called Joost. I gave out about 70 or so free invitations. I am glad you are enjoying it. Here is what my 9 year old nephew had to say about that post:
I love this post! It's sorta like a History lesson on the internet. And you can actually imagine what happened at that time. I'd be excited too if I was around that time. I mean, the FIRST video game. How exciting was THAT! I give your latest post a A++ (aka 100 A+).
Thanks Adam! Glad you enjoyed that history lesson!
This week's video is a news reporter, doing a report on a new roller coaster ride somewhere over in Europe. I don't know why they chose her for this report - she doesn't seem to be a big fan of roller coasters.
The new extension I just discovered is called Linkwad. If you use a lot of tabbed browser windows in Firefox, you might like it too.
If you use Firefox, you know that one of its great features is tabbed browsing. You can have 2 or 3 or 10 different websites open in one window, each one with its own tab. My problem is that I have too many tabs - I have a bunch of websites that open up automatically when I start Firefox, and even on high speed it can seem to drag a bit while all those sites are loading at the same time.
With Linkwad, you can have different groups of tabs. For example, you could have one group that opens automatically when Firefox starts. Then you could have another group of sites that are all political blogs. Then you could have a different set of tabs that are all news or entertainment sites. Another group could be a set of different pre-set eBay searches. There really is no limit! All you do is create a set of tabbed sites, then save that set (each set is called a "wad") by giving it a name.
Linkwad always resides at the top of the Firefox window, and you have the command to Open a set of tabs you have already saved, Save a set of tabs you just created, or Close the current set of tabs. And of course, it is completely free.
You can read about Linkwad and download it here.
By the way - I had a lot of people respond to last week's post about the early days of video games and the new program called Joost. I gave out about 70 or so free invitations. I am glad you are enjoying it. Here is what my 9 year old nephew had to say about that post:
I love this post! It's sorta like a History lesson on the internet. And you can actually imagine what happened at that time. I'd be excited too if I was around that time. I mean, the FIRST video game. How exciting was THAT! I give your latest post a A++ (aka 100 A+).
Thanks Adam! Glad you enjoyed that history lesson!
This week's video is a news reporter, doing a report on a new roller coaster ride somewhere over in Europe. I don't know why they chose her for this report - she doesn't seem to be a big fan of roller coasters.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Free invite to Joost
When I was a kid, the primary form of electronic entertainment was television. We didn't have computers, or even video games. I remember the excitement that was in the air when Pong was introduced - what an amazing invention! You may remember, Pong was the first "video game" that came out (it was introduced in 1972). It looked like this:
Each player controlled a paddle, and the white dot moved back and forth like a ball. All you had to do was keep the ball in play. What amazing technology! It sure seemed like it back then.
Fast forward to 2007...now everyone has a computer, most people have high speed internet access, and video games now have graphics that are virtually lifelike in quality. But things have come full circle - now you can watch TV on your computer! I am not talking about a TV card that you can install. I am talking about Joost.
Joost is a free service that delivers video content right to your computer screen from the internet. Here are some screenshots:
Each player controlled a paddle, and the white dot moved back and forth like a ball. All you had to do was keep the ball in play. What amazing technology! It sure seemed like it back then.
Fast forward to 2007...now everyone has a computer, most people have high speed internet access, and video games now have graphics that are virtually lifelike in quality. But things have come full circle - now you can watch TV on your computer! I am not talking about a TV card that you can install. I am talking about Joost.
Joost is a free service that delivers video content right to your computer screen from the internet. Here are some screenshots:
So how do you get Joost? It's free, but you can't just go there and sign up - you need to be invited by someone who is already a user. Lucky for you - that's me! If you want a free invite to Joost, just send me an email at the email address on the right side of the screen. The information I need is your first name, last name, and your email address.
This week's video shows a conflict between a snake and a rabbit. You might be surprised at which one comes out the winner!
Saturday, June 2, 2007
I just had Lasik surgery!
I have thought for a long time about having vision-correcting surgery. I have had either glasses or contacts since third grade, so being glasses-free certainly sounded nice (those of you with glasses know what I am talking about!). My condition is nearsightedness - I can read fine without glasses at all, but I could not see things in the distance - so I have to wear glasses all the time. Of course, when I first heard of the procedure years ago, I was concerned because of how new it was. Back then, the procedure of choice was RK (Radial Karetotomy).
Today, the most popular procedure is called Lasik, and a more advanced variation of that is Lasik Custom Wavefront. I found an eye doctor here in Tampa that has done more than 30,000 of these procedures. Although there is a small risk involved (as with any surgery), the procedure is considered very safe and has an extremely high success rate.
I went in on Friday, May 25 for an initial consultation and multiple tests to see if I would be a good candidate for Lasik. The doctor told me that all indications were that it would work wonderfully for me.
(I also had a choice to make. When doing the surgery, they can correct for nearsightedness or farsightedness. If they fixed my nearsightedness, I would be able to see things at a distance, but would probably need reading glasses for up close. But there is also an option called Monovision - this is where one eye is corrected for nearsightedness, and one eye is corrected for farsightedness. So you would use one eye for viewing in the distance, and the other eye for up close. They let me "try out" what that would be like, and I did not like it - depth perception was different, and it just didn't "feel" right. I probably would have gotten used to it eventually, but I decided that reading glasses are not all that bad to deal with.)
I made the appointment to have the procedure done a week later, on June 1 (yesterday). All of the financial arrangements were taken care of, and I was brought into a pre-op room to ask the doctor any questions I may have thought of. Dr. Groden is excellent. He has a very good manner of dealing with people, and it is obvious that he knows that some people would be very nervous about having their eyes operated on (even though they have made the decision to have it done). He talked and "coached" me throughout the entire procedure to let me know that everything was going fine.
The procedure itself took about 20 minutes total. You are awake the whole time, but there is no pain involved at all. The first thing they do is put a couple of drops in your eye that numbs it. This works almost immediately, so you don't feel anything. The feeling I guess could be best described as brief "pressure", or "discomfort". On a pain scale of 1 to 10, I would rate it as a 1.
After it is completed, more drops were put in my eyes for lubrication, to prevent infection, and to insure a speedy healing process. I was also given some sunglasses with the instruction to wear them all day and even that night while sleeping. The purpose was not really for blocking light - it was to prevent me from accidentally rubbing my eyes, which could mess things up and delay healing. On the way home, my eyes were very watery and blurry, and it felt best just to keep them closed (this was all very normal).
The doctor recommended that after the procedure I go home and take a nap. This is mainly for the therapeutic effect of keeping my eyes closed and relaxing them for a while. When I woke up, the difference was amazing. Not nearly as watery or blurry, and best of all...I could see everything clearly, even at a distance. It was incredible! I didn't do too much the rest of the day. I wore the sunglasses all day and overnight.
This morning I went back for a follow-up visit, and everything is fine. In fact, I now have 20/15 vision! And I can read the computer screen without reading glasses. I can also read a printed page without reading glasses, but it is easier if I use them. I will continue to use two different eyedrops four times a day for the next week and I have one more follow-up visit, and that's it. I also have free enhancements for life, should I need any further correction.
As you can probably tell, I am very pleased with the outcome. If you are considering having Lasik done, do the research and if you feel it is right for you, go for it!
Today, the most popular procedure is called Lasik, and a more advanced variation of that is Lasik Custom Wavefront. I found an eye doctor here in Tampa that has done more than 30,000 of these procedures. Although there is a small risk involved (as with any surgery), the procedure is considered very safe and has an extremely high success rate.
I went in on Friday, May 25 for an initial consultation and multiple tests to see if I would be a good candidate for Lasik. The doctor told me that all indications were that it would work wonderfully for me.
(I also had a choice to make. When doing the surgery, they can correct for nearsightedness or farsightedness. If they fixed my nearsightedness, I would be able to see things at a distance, but would probably need reading glasses for up close. But there is also an option called Monovision - this is where one eye is corrected for nearsightedness, and one eye is corrected for farsightedness. So you would use one eye for viewing in the distance, and the other eye for up close. They let me "try out" what that would be like, and I did not like it - depth perception was different, and it just didn't "feel" right. I probably would have gotten used to it eventually, but I decided that reading glasses are not all that bad to deal with.)
I made the appointment to have the procedure done a week later, on June 1 (yesterday). All of the financial arrangements were taken care of, and I was brought into a pre-op room to ask the doctor any questions I may have thought of. Dr. Groden is excellent. He has a very good manner of dealing with people, and it is obvious that he knows that some people would be very nervous about having their eyes operated on (even though they have made the decision to have it done). He talked and "coached" me throughout the entire procedure to let me know that everything was going fine.
The procedure itself took about 20 minutes total. You are awake the whole time, but there is no pain involved at all. The first thing they do is put a couple of drops in your eye that numbs it. This works almost immediately, so you don't feel anything. The feeling I guess could be best described as brief "pressure", or "discomfort". On a pain scale of 1 to 10, I would rate it as a 1.
After it is completed, more drops were put in my eyes for lubrication, to prevent infection, and to insure a speedy healing process. I was also given some sunglasses with the instruction to wear them all day and even that night while sleeping. The purpose was not really for blocking light - it was to prevent me from accidentally rubbing my eyes, which could mess things up and delay healing. On the way home, my eyes were very watery and blurry, and it felt best just to keep them closed (this was all very normal).
The doctor recommended that after the procedure I go home and take a nap. This is mainly for the therapeutic effect of keeping my eyes closed and relaxing them for a while. When I woke up, the difference was amazing. Not nearly as watery or blurry, and best of all...I could see everything clearly, even at a distance. It was incredible! I didn't do too much the rest of the day. I wore the sunglasses all day and overnight.
This morning I went back for a follow-up visit, and everything is fine. In fact, I now have 20/15 vision! And I can read the computer screen without reading glasses. I can also read a printed page without reading glasses, but it is easier if I use them. I will continue to use two different eyedrops four times a day for the next week and I have one more follow-up visit, and that's it. I also have free enhancements for life, should I need any further correction.
As you can probably tell, I am very pleased with the outcome. If you are considering having Lasik done, do the research and if you feel it is right for you, go for it!
