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Seven More Articles for Suite 101 to Start the New Year (January, 2010)

2010-03-04T13:27:00.001-08:00

Another seven articles found their way into Suite 101 in January to start the new year. It's beginning to feel like a trend. Seven a month that is. Well, here they are.

Three Articles About Holidays and Special Dates

Celebrate Chinese New Year in the Classroom. This is the Year of the Tiger according to the Chinese calendar. Find out what activities are available and appropriate for classroom celebrations.

Celebrating World Tai Chi & Qigong Day. For those practitioners of Tai Chi and Qigong, every last Saturday in April is World Tai Chi and Qigong Day. If you've thought about this gentle martial art, this is an excellent way to find out more about it.

President's Day in the Classroom. This consists of suggestions about activities in the classroom on or around President's Day.

Two Articles for Better Use of the Internet

Copy Text From Web to Word with Paste Special. If you've ever copied data from a web page to a Word document and got a whole lot of reformatting to perform, then this is the article that will help you to deal with the problem more efficiently.

Free Internet Recipes for All Tastes. If you like to cook or are just looking for a couple of recipes, this article shows the way to filter through to find the best choice.

Two Potpourri

Advice to Beginning Tai Chi Chuan Students. A brief article informing people of what's involved in beginning a training program in Tai Chi Chuan.

Historical Trips Around the World. Magellan to Fosset and a number of folks in between are discussed and how they made it around the world.

February listings will be coming soon.

Sample Resumes for Job Seekers

2010-02-25T13:46:00.000-08:00

Whether looking for a job the first time or you're a well seasoned veteran of the job resume, this site has things to offer. It provides sample resumes in a wide variety of fields. Anyone can get something from looking at these samples.

Seven Articles Posted to Suite 101 for December 2009

2010-02-25T13:03:00.000-08:00

During December our articles covered a lot of territory. In the middle of December we had 3 articles about PowerPoint. The remaining four covered a lot of different territory.

Three PowerPoint Articles

Bullet Point Errors in PowerPoint This one focuses on the misuse of bullet points in PowerPoint, more specifically overuse. You'll want to look at my recommendation to follow the 6 x 6 rule when using bullet points. Your audience will appreciate your efforts.

Common Text and Font Errors in PowerPoint This article discusses such things as how to pick the right size typeface, the viewability of different text/background combinations, and the importance of correct spelling.

Less is More with PowerPoint Even PowerPoint can go over the top if you let it. It works best when it is used in a simple straight forward fashion. Those new to PowerPoint and all its power tend to overdo things a bit. Too much transition, too many fonts, far too much sound and animation. These can distract rather than gain attention for a presentation.

Two Articles about Eating

How to Get Free Birthday Meals Many chain restaurants have special programs in effect that give people free meals on or around their birthday. Advice on which restaurants do this and how to properly take advantage of it are provided in the article.

How to Reduce Salt in the Diet If you eat processed food of any kind there's a very good likelihood it contains salt. This article provides some suggestions for reducing your salt intake. It doesn't suggest eliminating all salt, just reducing it.

Happy New Year--Chinese Style

Matching Birth Dates to Chinese Zodiac Animals If you think you know your animal in the Chinese zodiac, you may have to think again--especially if you were born in January or February. Since the Chinese New Year occurs on a different day every year, your animal may be different than you think. This sight explains more thoroughly how to discover the animal that fits your birth date.

Editor's Choice Award

Accessing Extinct Websites This one received an Editor's Choice award, which means the editor really thought it was a good article and it gets linked on several special locations within the magazine besides the contents page. The article talks about what to do when a website is no longer available on the net. Many times it's still hanging around somewhere. This article tells you how to find it.

November Articles in Suite 101

2010-02-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

We wrote seven articles for Suite 101 in November of 2009,. Two of them have already been listed here. The two are: "Classroom Suggestions for Veteran's Day" and "Setting Google Preferences."

Three Articles for Teachers
"Gettysburg Address in the Classroom" is covers presentation ideas for the classroom. The reason for the article in November is that this is the month when the speech was given. To put some variety in the classroom, teachers might find it interesting to discuss and promote Lincoln's speech now instead of waiting until Presidents' Day in February.

"Holiday Activities for Children at School" presents ideas for projects in and out of the classroom to celebrate the various holidays that occur during the month of December and throughout the winter.

"Use Reenactors to Make History Come Alive" discusses various types of reenactments that take place throughout the country all year long. The article covers military reenactors to residential reenactors who are basically docents at museum and historical gatherings explaining the past.

One for Computer Users and Teachers
There's something for teachers and computer users alike in this article titled: "Teaching Cyber Safety in School." Different sources are provided that can help both in and out of the classroom in dealing with Cyber Safety.

This One is for the Working Computer User
"Computer Security Day in the Workplace" presents this very special day and its purpose. What follows is a discussion of suggestions for making employees more aware and concientious in the Workplace.

I'm Back with Apologies for Being Away So Long

2010-02-20T13:04:00.000-08:00

Things got kind of hectic around the last two months of the year in 2009 and I couldn't quite give enough time to maintaining this blog. We will attempt to do better in the future. As stated in previous blogs, I will post websites that I consider interesting to me and that I may consider to be interesting to those reading this blog.

In the past I have tried to post a blog every time I found a new site or wrote a new article. I think the entries are going to be a bit less frequent now. Most likely I will post only about once per week. Articles I write for Suite101.com will be listed monthly in a single blog entry. This should cut down on the time needed for blogging. If a picture happens to make itself available and is appropriate and easy to obtain, I'll pop it in. Otherwise images will no longer be included in each post.

I should be starting this new system within the next week. In the meantime, please let us know what you think of the materials we post. If you like a piece let us know, if you don't let us know that too.

Who's Watching and What are They Looking At?

2009-11-11T14:30:00.000-08:00

When was the last time you waded through a privacy statement? Be honest now. Any site that requires a login has a privacy statement. Some of the data is kept in cookies on your computer and other data is kept and shared offline. At PrivacyChoice you can choose from a list of home pages and find the short version, as well as the long one, concerning your terms with any particular site. Click on a URL from a long list on the left. The right side displays a thumbnail of the home page and four buttons below it to explain the sites privacy policy and what software is being used as well. PrivacyChoice also provides the ability to opt-out of various info gathering online gathering services. For the privacy minded this is a must visit.

Setting Google Preferences

2009-11-06T14:03:00.000-08:00

Whenever a new program is installed on our computer, there is usually an option that allows us to see the tools available for modification. We go to something like Tool/Options or Apple/Program Preferences. We make a couple changes from optional ways for the software to run and the program becomes more useful than it was before. Google also has preferences that we can set. As long as the machine we use has cookies turned on, we can tell Google exactly how we want it to run on our computer. To explore some of the possibilities read the article "Setting Google Preferences."

Veteran's Day in the Classroom

2009-11-05T13:18:00.000-08:00

As a youngster in grade school, I remember Veteran's Day as being a day off between Halloween and Thanksgiving. I didn't know much more than that. I did know that if I was with my parents on that day, we would stop and be quiet for a minute or so at 11:00 AM. I didn't know why but I figured as long as I got out of school it was okay and I could keep my trap shut for a minute or so. Needless to say, I've learned a bit more about Veteran's Day and what it's all about over the years. But it still has a tendency to be an overlooked holiday--and it shouldn't be. Men and women have fought and died to preserve our way of life in this country and the least we can do is celebrate their gift to us. If you're a teacher or work with young folk help educate them about Veteran's Day. Let them understand why the holiday exists and what it means to our way of life. If you'd like some ideas for classroom activities, visit "Classroom Suggestions for Veteran's Day." The photograph here is of the Moving Wall, a 1/2 scale replica of the Vietnam War Memorial from Washington, D.C. It travels around the country and is displayed at various festivals, events, American Legion, V.F.W. posts and other locations. Visit the Moving Wall schedule to see when the wall may be appearing near you.

Replace Missing Military Medals

2009-11-03T14:08:00.000-08:00

Veteran's Day is almost here. For various reasons many vets no longer have the medals, ribbons, and commendations they earned while serving in the United States military. Sometimes they get lost, stolen, or even destroyed in a catastrophe like fires or floods. The military keeps a record of everything--including the medals earned by the men and women of the armed forces. To find out how to get these medals replaced at no charge, read: "Request to Replace Missing Military Medals."

Google Street View Guys

2009-10-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

Most people now know about Google Maps and its popular street view. The method used to get the street view photos require a special car with a 360 degree camera on the roof. This car drives the highways and byways of America and the world recording street view scenes. Have you ever wondered what the driver and navigator talk about as they travel the roadways of the world? At College Humor someone has. And here it is in "Google Street View Guys."

International Magic Week (October 25-October 31)

2009-10-27T18:32:00.000-07:00

Belated Happy Magic Week. Sorry for the late notice. But this is indeed International Magic Week. Of course the week ends on October 31 and is Halloween but it is also the anniversary of the death of one of the greatest magicians that ever lived--Harry Houdini. Some time this week everyone should go out to their favorite search engine and visit an online interactive magic site. There are lots of them out there. The first time you participate in a magic trick and it seems like the Internet has read your mind it's a little freaky. But catch your breath, relax and concentrate. You'll be able to figure out most of the tricks if you give it a little thought. You can start your journey by visiting RealMagic.Net or reading the article Teach Math Magic During International Magic Week. There's a trick in the latter that's seems very appropriate for the week following Halloween. Math teachers will probably find both sites a lot of fun for themselves and their students.

If You Don't Know What It's Called, Maybe You Know What It Looks Like

2009-10-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

There are a multitude of dictionaries on the Internet. But sometimes it's not so much defining something as it is trying to come up with the right term for a thing. That's where the Visual Dictionary comes in. You can look things up visually. It begins with basic category words. After clicking on the first category, more are displayed. Then the pictures begin. I tried looking for a horse's withers. I didn't know what it was called but I found it through the Visual Dictionary.

As Lincoln Reaches Bicentennial, Lincoln Penny Hits 100

2009-10-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. It also marks the 100th anniversary of the introduction of the Lincoln penny. This year the U.S. Mint is honoring these two anniversaries with four special versions of one cent coin. There will be four different reverse sides (tails), each depicting a different time in Lincoln's life. They are pictured here. The log cabin represents his birth state of Kentucky. Reading a book while on a break from railsplitting in Indiana, his professional growth in Illinois and the capitol dome in Washington, D.C. round out the quartet of special coins. To find out more about the Lincoln penny, read "100 Years of the Lincoln Penny."

$2 Bill--The Facts, the Myths, the Weird

2009-10-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

While the U.S. Treasury doesn't print a whole lot of them, the $2 bill is still a member in good standing of the paper currency of the United States of America. "Two Dollar Bill--Fact and Fiction" explores the history, legends and just plain strange information about this least frequently seen member of the paper currency of this country. Discover the various historical figures that have appeared on the "deuce." Does the fact they are seldom seen make them worth more than face value? Find out what Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computing, does with the $2 bill.

Cisco Produces Short Video on the Future of Shopping

2009-10-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

Go shopping with your spouse and you spend 80% of the time waiting while they are in the changing room trying on one more item. Take a look at how the same shopping trip will be in the not to distant future. This is an advertisement for Cisco. I'm not sure how much of this technology is available now and what is predicted for the near future. If it's not here now, I hope it gets here soon. Future of Shopping

Physician's Desk Reference Online

2009-10-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

Probably one of the best medical reference books around is the Physician's Desk Reference, commonly referred to as the PDR. There is now an online version of this great resource. It allows the user to reference the prescription drugs they are taking, check for contraindicated drugs, find information on various diseases and conditions, along with discussions on clinical trials and surgery. This is a site well worth putting in your favorites list.

This Car is Fueled by Sea Water

2009-10-19T14:08:00.000-07:00

This is a video from the BBC program "Top Gear." it demonstrates a car made by Ford that runs on sea water instead of gasoline. This is currently a concept car but seems to work pretty well. The demonstrator takes it for a test drive in Germany. It also discusses how easy it is to change the cars overall design. The driver can drive from the right or left side of the car. The steering mechanism moves back and forth. To go from a family coupe to a sporty convertible, just unbolt one shell and replace it with another. The other unique aspect of this car is that it has no pedals. All travel controls work from the steering mechanism. Look at the HyWire and see what you think.

What's Your Secret Identity?

2009-10-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder what superhero you would be if you were a superhero? Well now you can find out by taking a short personality survey. Which Superhero Are You? will analyze the results of your survey and come up with a probability percentage for 11 superheroes that might fit your persona to varying degrees. My answers matched up with those of the old neighborhood webslinger, Spiderman. Both DC and Marvel comics are represented.

Walking in Cold Weather

2009-10-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

Winter's coming soon. For those who would incorporate walking in their fitness activities, it might be workj their time to read "Walking in Cold Weather." The article contains suggestions for proper preparation and strategies for walking in the cold.

Let Google Alerts Track What Interests You

2009-10-15T10:13:00.000-07:00

Google Alerts is a tool provided by Google to help you conduct searches even when you're not online. It does this by tracking the changes in sites that might be of interest to you. If there is some topic that you would like to track 24/7, Google Alerts will do it for you. For a brief description and strategy for using this Google application, read: "Get Latest Results With Google Alerts." If you want to jump right into it go directly to Google Alerts.

Is That Your Picture?

2009-10-13T13:48:00.000-07:00

The question would better be phrased is that picture the one you took with your camera? Did you post one of your own photographs and could someone else be using it on their web site? The answer is it could happen and you'd probably never know about it. That is until TinEye came along. With TinEye you simply upload your photo and TinEye looks through the Internet to see if anyone else has "borrowed" it.

How Much?

2009-10-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

You've been throwing your spare change in a jar now for a couple months. You think you'd like to take it to deposit it in the bank. The problem is you're unsure of whether there's really enough to make it worth your while to count it out or to ask the bank to count it. Well the Coin Jar Calculator has a solution.

Weigh the coins

Grab a handful

Count out the number of each type of coin (penny, nickels, dimes, etc.)

Enter the info into this site and it will give you it's best guess as to how much it comes to.

King Midas had nothing on these guys.

Crime Map

2009-10-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

If you live in a large metro area or a large enrollment college town you can get a nice little view of recent crime in your area at Spot Crime. If you live in a smaller town or suburb, you won't get to see too much. The image represents a part of a map with the icon key immediately above.

Did You Know

2009-10-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

So far it appears as if there are now four Did You Know videos posted on YouTube. These short videos present all sorts of interesting statistics about how technology is affecting our culture. This usually carries various metaphors and analogies to past events. If you go out to YouTube and search for "Did You Know," (no quotations) you will find the first video in the series, "Did You Know" and then versions 2, 3, and 4.0 appropriately labeled. Here is a link to the latest one, "Did You Know 4.0." You'll have to do your own search in YouTube to see the others. Sources are provided for the statistics at the end of the video but you'll need to view these in full screen. Also make sure you have your pointer on the pause button as some of the data pops on and off quickly.

Create a Professional Image with Email

2009-10-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

In a 2007 study by the American Management Association, it was discovered that 28% of companies have terminated employees for improper use of company email. For ideas on how to make yourself look more professional through the use of better email format techniques, read "Creating a Positive Image With Email." It discusses everything from the proper type of email address to the signature at the end of your message and everything in between.

Autumn Gem: A Movie About an Extraordinary Woman

2009-10-11T07:31:00.000-07:00

As a former member of the faculty of Columbia College Chicago, one of the things I miss most about the school is the special events that were always going on somewhere at the school. This is about one of those events--an event I found out about the day after it happened.

There was a screening of the film Autumn Gem. This film was co-produced and co-directed by Rae Chang, a film maker, dancer, martial artist, and all around artist. Her film is about the life of Qiu Jin (1875-1907), a Chinese revolutionary heroine and women's rights activist. She lived in a China much different from today. This was a China where women were subject to footbinding, arranged marriages, and denial of education. This biographical documentary tells the story of the woman considered to be China's first feminist. The Autumn Gem website has a list of additional screenings, as well as a trailer and additional historical information. It's scheduled to be released on DVD at the end of October 2009.

National Cyber Security Awareness Month

2009-10-09T09:27:00.000-07:00

October has been declared Cyber Security Awareness Month by both the U.S. and Canada. This is the time to review your security settings for your computer/s. Make sure you have the latest updates for all security software such as anti-virus, firewall, and spam filters. For a set of Guidelines for Safe Social Networking visit "Social Networking Safety Guidelines." For more information and additional sources concerning cyber security visit Homeland Security.

Google Labs--Google Technology of the Future

2009-10-07T12:40:00.001-07:00

Google does more than just keyword searches for sites on the Internet. It searches for images, is the parent company of Blogger where this site is located, provides free software like the photo-editing software of Picasa, and a whole lot more. Many of these Google offspring have their start in a Google engineer's mind. Google is smart enough to allow its employees a place to test their ideas. This place is called Google Labs. For an overview of what's in Google Labs read Google Labs--Home of New Google Apps. Then go to Google Labs and see the current set of experiments going on today. Then visit again next month and see what's still around and what has gone away. Be certain to read instructions for using these experimental applications.

Happy Birthday, Monty Python

2009-10-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

Lots of birthdays this month. Monty Python turns 40 today. It aired for the first time in the United Kingdom on October 5, 1969. With a mere 46 episodes of the original series, it soon became an icon to the European and American cultures. It spawned 3 motion pictures and a Broadway Musical, for which it won 3 Tony Awards. It even managed to impact the computer world with its spam skit. Long before the first junk email was sent, Monty Python was using the word. When the technology cam along and the bad online behavior began to happen, "spam" was the obvious choice. For a link to more Monty Python sites and the origin of spam for junk email, read: Forty Years of Monty Python.

Happy Fiftieth Birthday, Twilight Zone

2009-10-02T16:40:00.000-07:00

“There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.”

With these words, Rod Serling launched untold numbers of nightmares upon the world of television viewers. Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the premiere episode from the unique dramatic series. In that fifty years it has won Emmys, Golden Globes, Hugo awards and more. It has been made into a movie with another scheduled for 2011. Two attempts to revive the show have been made--one in Australia (3 seasons) another in the United States (1 season). It's a staple on the rerun circuit of SyFy channel and dozens of local late night broadcasts. Read more in the article: Twilight Zone Hits Fifty

Source of Free Templates for Use with Microsoft Office Applications

2009-09-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

Do you find yourself creating, or recreating, a form for a memo or expense report and spending nearly as much time creating the form as you do entering data into it? Well it may no longer be necessary thanks to the hundreds of ready made templates available through the Microsoft Office Template Home Page. Read "Free Source of Microsoft Templates" to find out more about templates and where to access them.

Baby Name Wizard

2009-09-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder how original your choice in a name for your child is? Now you can find out using the Baby Name Wizard at NameVoyager. This site allows you to type in a first name and find how it ranks in popularity. This is not just current rank, but includes over a century of rankings of each name. Along with this information you can find information about the name origin and more.

Some Word Shortcuts

2009-09-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

Type "Mr. Mxyzptlk" 5 times as fast as you can. Did your fingers get twisted because of the unfamiliar character order? If they didn't you've been spending far too much time in the Superman forums. The point is that in today's culture, there are many names, companies, products and more that will be difficult to type accurately and in a timely manner. If you find yourself typing something like this on a regular basis you could benefit from the article: "Using the Autocorrect Feature of Microsoft Word." Those big name companies with unpronounceable named executives with even stranger spellings for their products can be typed swiftly and accurately with just a few keystrokes.

Edit Photos with Picnic

2009-09-24T14:03:00.000-07:00

If your photo editing needs are simple, then Picnic may be the site for you. This site allows a user to upload a picture and then have full access to a wide variety of editing tools online.

Making Special Non-Keyboard Characters in Word

2009-09-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

If you have need of the non-standard characters like ©, §, or €, then you will probably want to read the article: "Using Non-keyboard Characters in MS Word." There are thousands of special characters that do not appear on the keyboard but are available through the magic of the judicious use of ASCII and Unicode data. Find out how from this article.

Use Your Local Library's Website as a Starting Point for a Research Adventure

2009-09-19T14:26:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you think that as far as research is concerned, libraries are passé. Well, you're wrong. By accessing your local library online, you may find you now have access to databases and websites that were only available for a fee. By going through your local library these sites and services are now free. Read the article "Libraries Online" for more information about this topic. What an appropriate article to read during Library Card Sign-up Month (September).

Instructions on Using Format Painter in Microsoft Word

2009-09-17T08:49:00.000-07:00

My latest article, Format Painter in Microsoft Word, in Suite101.com discusses using the Format Painter command in Microsoft Word. While the article focuses on the use of the tool in Word, it is also available in other Microsoft Office programs. It exists in both version 2007 and earlier versions as well.

Twitter Apps You Should Know About

2009-09-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

If you Twitter, you must read "20 Twitter Apps You Should Know About." It is from eWeek magazine. It posts 20 Twitter apps that may be of interest to Twitter users. The apps deal with TweetMeNews is a news personalization engine that sends latest news stories based on the twitterer's own interests. Twitvid lets users upload and tweet videos. Twtpolls allows you to create polls using Twitter. Along with these are seventeen additional Twitter apps. I didn't see URLs for the apps but was able to find the ones I wanted with a simple www.twitapp.com, where "twitapp" represents the app name.

Computer Training Classes

2009-09-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

A little plug for computer classes taught by me. I teach a number of computer classes at Lyons Township Adult and Continuing Education in LaGrange, Illinois. There is quite an extensive lineup of computer classes, not all taught by me. There's a little bit of everything: Adult Keyboarding (Typing), Selling on eBay, Coding and Web Design. Then there are the classes I teach: Intro to Excel, Excel tips & tricks, Word Tips & Tricks, and Beyond Google (more than just searching). In addition to computer classes, there are dozens of classes in other areas like Fitness, Foreign language training, and Photography. If you live near LaGrange, Illinois, you owe it to yourself to look at the online catalog of classes they offer.

Computer Classes offered: http://tinyurl.com/qnler8

The Lyons Adult & Continuing Education Catalog: http://tinyurl.com/rbxf4u

25 Years of Cyberspace

2009-09-12T14:20:00.000-07:00

Cyberspace is just one of dozens of new words that have entered our daily vocabulary over the last several decades as computers have become a bigger part of our life. Discover orgigins, meanings and other info about some of these terms by visiting Twenty-five Years of Cyberspace at http://internet.suite101.com/article.cfm/twentyfive_years_of_cyberspace

Warm up Batter

2009-09-12T14:14:00.000-07:00

You may have to watch this video several times to realize what's so special about the way this batter warms up. Watch the bat very closely. It's not as easy as this guy makes it appear. Ever Seen A Baseball Player Do This? http://www.flixxy.com/baseball-bat-skills.htm

Tribune Tower Rocks

2009-09-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

As I write this blog, Oprah Winfrey should be starting her two hour broadcast of her 24th anniversary season. The broadcast is being made from Michigan Avenue just north of the Michigan Avenue bridge. That's just outside of Tribune Tower, for those not from Chicago. Everyone knows about Oprah but not every one knows about Tribune Tower and the historic treasures embedded in its facade for public viewing 24/7. Read about this fabulous collection of geological, historical, literary, and architectural treasures in my article: Tribune Tower Rocks. http://modern-us-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/tribune_tower_rocks

Free Maps for Your GPS

2009-09-07T16:18:00.001-07:00

I usually struggle around finding my own way or with a little preparation and planning I may use Google Maps or MapQuest. But for those that are a little more tech savvy, you might want to try OpenStreetMap. These are maps are free and have been created by people like yourself. They are in a format that can be loaded into most standard GPS units. The catch is there's a tech side. That's the part I can't help you with. Load these at your own risk. There is some tweaking of your system necessary and you are the one that has to do the tweaking.

Check Your Internet Access Speed

2009-09-07T16:11:00.000-07:00

Maybe you know how fast your Internet connection is supposed to be. But this site will tell you how fast--or slow--it really is. It's called Speakeasy and it will run a test to a server of your choice and measure both download and upload speeds.

Computer User Groups

2009-09-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

If you've never physically attended a computer user group meeting you should find one and attend it. At a good meeting you will find users with varying interests. There are hardware types and software types; system administrators and game programmers. Most meetings I have attended at the Chicago Computer Society have friendly and knowledgeable people more than willing to advise and teach folks how to use their computers more effectively. I've written an article on the topic with links to resources for finding a computer user group near you. The article is titled: Offline Computer Groups. http://computeraccessories.suite101.com/article.cfm/offline_computer_groups

Insights Into Google Insights

2009-09-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

When do people start searching the Internet for Christmas gifts? Valentine gifts? The answer is a lot earlier than you think. The peak time is in December and February respectively but the hunt begins much earlier. Marc Bitanga, in his Suite101.com article "Forecasting Seasonal Demand - When to Publish Your Articles," suggests using Google Insights. This allows you to type in keywords and retrieve a chart of when search numbers are highest for that particular term. Marc discusses this in terms of writers preparation of seasonal articles. It can also be good for marketing to special populations. The search for wedding gifts drops to its lowest point every December... and then it begins to rise. A useful tool for those seeking insights.

Wireless Electricity--Believe It

2009-09-01T13:47:00.000-07:00

Apparently there is a possibility of wireless electricity. No longer will you have to worry about your cell phone battery running dead. The new electronic cars will simply park on a mat and get charged with no fuss. Eric Giler demonstrates this "witricity" in this YouTube video.

Now is the Time to Update Your Résumé

2009-08-31T15:37:00.000-07:00

September is International Update Your Résumé Month. It is sponsored by Career Directors International. There are lots of reasons to update that old résumé. In these economic times one can never tell when the company may decide to cutback staff. One of your many business contacts knows about a position that has opened up that would be perfect for you and result in significant advancement of your career. The annual review is coming up and it's nice to review your accomplishments over the last 12 months. For a discussion of the types of things to change in your résumé you may want to read my article: Update Your Old Résumé Now at http://career-advancement.suite101.com/article.cfm/update_your_old_resume_now

Selecting Large Text Blocks in Microsoft Word

2009-08-27T13:26:00.000-07:00

Selecting small blocks of text is simple in Microsoft Word. When it becomes necessary to select several pages or all the body copy, the simple press and drag technique slows things down. Learn how to speed up the process by reading the article: Select Large Blocks of Text with Microsoft Word at: http://office-software.suite101.com/article.cfm/select_large_blocks_of_text_with_microsoft_word

For a complete list of all of Joe Nowak's articles, go to: http://www.suite101.com/writer_articles.cfm/writesstuf

No Knot Extension Cord

2009-08-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

The fellow on the YouTube video "No Tangle Extension Cord Storage" seems to have discovered a method for eliminating the knotting process of most extension cords. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaEv9wm6gy0

Searching for Specific File Formats with Google

2009-08-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

Using Google to find information about a particular subject is old hat. But what about using Google to search for a particular subject and a file on that subject in a particular file format? That's the topic of the article: Google Filetype Command, written for Suite101.com. There's a storehouse of files out there on the Internet: Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, even Flash video files. Learn how to find them in this article. http://internet.suite101.com/article.cfm/google_filetype_command

Bibliophile Dream Site

2009-08-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

If you like reading the classics, you'll love this site. Feedbooks contains the text of thousands of public domain texts. Many of them are classics from days gone by that have gone to public domain status. Others are more current but are for one reason or another in the public domain. http://www.feedbooks.com/publicdomain

Two Twitter Sites

2009-08-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

Here are two Twitter sites of interest.

The first allows the user to access their Twitter and Facebook accounts in a multitude of ways. The product is called TweetDeck by Adobe and is currently in Public Beta. It is free for the downloading. http://tweetdeck.com/beta/

The next site is a bit humorous. The folks at College Humor have done it again with a video called TweetleJuice. The characters are similar to those in the movie Beetle Juice and the title character is just as obnoxious. Be sure to watch it all the way to the end.

How to Motivate Yourself to Continue Your Walking Program

2009-08-21T17:07:00.001-07:00

Today we published another article for Suite101.com titled: Motivation for Walking. It discusses techniques you can use to keep yourself motivated to continue with the walking regimen you've started. http://fitness-trends.suite101.com/article.cfm/motivation_for_walking

Origins of Moonwalking

2009-08-20T13:17:00.001-07:00

Decades before Michael Jackson was born, there were entertainers performing variations of the moonwalk. This is just one video of several on this topic. It's my favorite. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxZcLWAmdco

Video from Space

2009-08-20T12:53:00.000-07:00

This really is a video from space. One day the folks that control the Hubble telescope decided to do something weird, They aimed the giant lens at a part of space that has always appeared empty. What the Hubble saw will amaze you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAVjF_7ensg

Free Online Substitute for Photoshop

2009-08-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

You'll have to judge for yourself with Aviary. I have only minimal experience with Photoshop. But according to the hype, this online site will provide you with many of the filtering tools available in Photshop. Watch the video on the home page to determine if this is the right product for you. http://aviary.com/

The Rise of Socialnomics

2009-08-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

An interesting video filled with statistics and an irritating sound track provides numerical information in the form of percentages, ratios and huge numeric quantities about social networking that has now entrenched itself in our culture. This is the focus of a video titled: Social Media Revolution. While the video claims to get its stats from the home page, it's a little difficult to find validation for the numbers. Some are probably correct and perhaps they all are. If this is the case, we are probably going to be seeing a massive change coming in our culture very soon. http://socialnomics.net/video/

Where Do You Walk When the Weather Doesn't Cooperate?

2009-08-18T10:28:00.000-07:00

Two more articles have been published at Suite101.com. Walking Indoors When the Weather is Bad discusses alternatives to walking outdoors--mainly walking indoors and where to go to do it. The other article is titled: Walking in Hot Weather and discusses tricks and strategies for walking outdoors during even the hottest weather.

http://fitness-trends.suite101.com/article.cfm/walking_indoors_when_the_weather_is_bad

http://fitness-trends.suite101.com/article.cfm/walking_in_hot_weather

To see a more complete of all of Joe's articles at Suite101.com, go to Articles Written by Joe Nowak. http://www.suite101.com/writer_articles.cfm/writesstuf

How Much Will it Really Cost?

2009-08-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

With the economy in turmoil, sellers are getting creative with their sales pitches. Get $500 instant rebate on a new car with 3.9% financing for 60 months or no instant rebate with 0% financing for 60 months. Which is cheaper. Whether it's automobiles or homes or any other big ticket item, the terms can be confusing and sometimes just down right misleading. Enter What's the Cost? This site allows you to enter the appropriate info (base price, interest rate, time, etc.) and find out how much this adds to the real price. The bad news is it is set for British pounds. However if you just ignore the British pound sterling sign and substitute the dollar sign in your head, you'll have a better idea of what your payments and final costs will be. http://www.whatsthecost.com/

Anonimize Your Email Reception

2009-08-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

You have a blog site, facebook, and twitter account. You'd like to hear from people that read the info you place on the Internet. If you post your true email address, you run a strong risk of receiving more spam than legitimate contacts. Contactify helps you solve this problem. Enter your name and email info here and you will be assigned a web address that you can use as a contact. When someone clicks on this it takes them to a message page. Users write their message and send without knowing your real address. It uses a distorted character test to discourage spammers. http://www.contactify.com/

Erasing Cell Phone Data

2009-08-14T10:13:00.000-07:00

You want to donate that old cell phone to charity or maybe pass it on to a family member. You don't want to have it retain your call history, contacts or other private information. Just go to Wireless Recycling to get instructions on how to properly erase this telltale data from your cell phone. Enter the brand, model, carrier, your email and you will receive downloaded instructions on how to delete the personal data. http://www.recellular.com/recycling/data_eraser/default.asp

World's Biggest Water Slide

2009-08-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

It's summer time. Young and old alike are at their favorite water park sliding into a giant pool at the bottom of a slide. What if the end of the slide is nearly 100 yards away from a back yard swimming pool. See if it works with the World's Biggest Water Slide. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXXC2etJeZQ

Lost Your User Manual? No Problem

2009-08-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

Manuals Online is a source of owner manuals for appliances and devices found in the home and office. It is sponsored by OwnerIQ, a site that provides advertisers with the opportunity to connect to people who are already using their products or similar and older products. It doesn't have every manual out there but it does have a lot of them (over 300,000) and provides them at no charge in pdf format. http://www.manualsonline.com/

2 New Microsoft Excel Articles at Suite101.com

2009-08-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

I've just published 2 articles for Suite101.com. The first one is titled: Excel's Powerful Copy Tool--The Fill Handle It discusses methods for copying data into contiguous cells. The second article is titled: How to Use Comments in Microsoft Excel. It explains how to use Comments in Excel to clarify and explain data that might otherwise prove difficult to properly interpret.

Ink Cartridge--Bright Idea???

2009-08-05T12:10:00.000-07:00

With the phrase "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle" so prevalent these days, someone came up with a reuse for Epson print cartridges--turn them into lights. That's right. Just go out and visit Etsy's BoxLightBox site and you will see several different versions of print cartridges turned into lights. The picture shown here is listed as an Ink-cartridge Chandelier for a mere $200. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=19381

A New Blog Begins

2009-08-04T10:15:00.000-07:00

I just received notice that I have been accepted as a writer for Suite101.com, an online magazine. I will be writing about a wide variety of topics with computers, health & fitness, and history being my primary focus.

In addition to posting info concerning new articles for Suite101.com, I will be passing along additional information on these topics that might not fit into the magazine's format. Look for quick computer tips & tricks, history trivia, and health and wellness tips.

Feel free to tell your friends and relatives about this site.

Joe Nowak