More Interesting Info

July 4, 2009

Independance Day

Filed under: Soapbox — seniorgeek @ 1:12 pm

What does this day mean for Americans? Our constitution give us certain rights and one of our founding fathers has these words:

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.
No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
– Thomas Jefferson –

He went on to say a little later in life,
‘I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.’

Can we learn from past great leaders? Apparently not.

June 28, 2009

Newsletter 06/28/2009

Filed under: newsletter — seniorgeek @ 8:19 pm

I hope everyone is now beginning to enjoy the summer. It finally feels like summer here, as we have had so much cool weather and rain.

I have succumbed to the social networking crowd and now have a Facebook account. Actually I am enjoying using it much more that I figured I would. I see why so many people have accounts an share info with friends and family and of course there are the games, networks, groups, and all the other custom applications built in Facebook.

While on the subject of social networking sites, I also have an account with Linkedin. It is more of a business related social networking site and with many business related networking features. Give it a try, especially if you are a consultant or looking to expand your business or business network of associates. It has helped many people find jobs, get new accounts, and locate business partners. I have used it for checking with others in my industry on what things work and what doesn’t.

MedicineNet.com is an online, healthcare media publishing company. It provides easy-to-read, in-depth, authoritative medical information for consumers via its robust, user-friendly, interactive web site. MedicineNet.com has had a highly accomplished, uniquely experienced team of qualified executives in the fields of medicine, healthcare, Internet technology, and business to bring you the most comprehensive, sought after healthcare information anywhere, or so says their web site. Check it out for yourself.
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/hp.asp

With all the political rederick that goes on, and the biased TV stations, how do you know what is true? Good question. I found a web site that its purpose it to find out what is right and what is not. Factcheck.org is here to help you make sense of the political garbage that goes on. They have many features at their web site that will help with finding out what is true and what it not. While you are there be sure to check out ‘The Fact Check Wire’.
http://www.factcheck.org

StateMaster.com is a unique statistical database which allows you to research and compare a multitude of different data on US states. They have compiled information from various sources such as the US Census Bureau, the FBI, and the National Center for Educational Statistics. More than just a mere collection of various data, StateMaster.com goes beyond the numbers to provide you with visualization technology like pie charts, maps, graphs and scatter plots. A very good feature that is available is called ‘The Full Wiki’. Its goal is to become a platform for an enriched user experience for wikis using open licenses. They want to provide serious hosting resources to make projects feasible.
http://www.statemaster.com/index.php

It is time once again to remind all of you that the National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. Most telemarketers should not call your number once it has been on the registry for 31 days. If they do, you can file a complaint at this Website. You can register your home or mobile phone for free.
ttps://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx

June 27, 2009

Panasonic – Poor Marketing Decision

Filed under: news — seniorgeek @ 7:59 pm

The following is a quote from Panasonic’s camera web site.

“Panasonic Digital Cameras now include a technology that can identify a genuine Panasonic battery. For the protection of our customers Panasonic developed this technology after it was discovered that some aftermarket 3rd party batteries do not meet the rigid safety standards Panasonic uses.”
http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/info/dsc_battery.htm

Based upon the quote above I would suggest that you boycott Panasonic products and send then an email stating that restricting what batteries are used in their camera is an unfair trade practice. What happens when you are in a remote location or in an area that doesn’t stock Panasonic batteries and you batteries die? Yup, just what I thought.

June 21, 2009

Newsletter 06/21/2009 Father’s Day

Filed under: newsletter — seniorgeek @ 8:48 pm

First, Happy Fathers Day to all the fathers out there and all the good work you do for your family.

The idea of Father’s Day was conceived exactly a century ago, by Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Wash., while she listened to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran who was left to raise his six children on a farm. A day in June was chosen for the first Father’s Day celebration — June 19, 1910, proclaimed by Spokane’s mayor because it was the month of Smart’s birth. The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers was issued in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson designated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Father’s Day has been celebrated annually since 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed the public law that made it permanent.

Did you know that the most collect calls are on Father’s Day?

I missed a couple of issues because I needed a little time of to accomplish some much needed tasks and update some other web sites. So back to the newsletter.

I have posted a few things on the blog that I didn’t send via the newsletter. A bit about police radars, an opinion on our countries financial situation and comments from past people regarding the same, and finally an article on oil in the US that most of you probably haven’t seen.

Father’s Day, usually brings out the BBQ so to try to keep father and the rest of the family healthy, I present the following list of the ‘world’s healthiest foods’ as listed by The George Mateljan Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation with no commercial interest. There goal is to be a new force for change to help make a healthier you and a healthier world. I was surprised to see some of the food that I eat regularly on the list but it is missing one very important food, ‘chocolate’. At least honey and maple syrup made the list.
http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php

Since the George Mateljan Foundation didn’t pay tribute to the best food group on earth, I feel that I must do my part in educating people on the benefits of chocolate. First as you all know I am not an expert on anything but do feel I know where to find the experts opinion on most things, and WebMD.com is a leading source for all things medical, so you must check out their opinion on chocolate.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20030827/dark-chocolate-is-healthy-chocolate

Now that we have established the benefits of chocolate, lets indulge a bit. I know moderation is the best practice but with all the fabulous things chocolate related, it is really hard to keep control. So why not just go to chocolate.com and bask in all of chocolates’ greatness.
http://www.chocolate.com

Now that I have had my chocolate, on to business at hand.

I am sure you have all heard the CPI or Consumer Price Index. It always seems to go in the wrong direction at the wrong time. I know that my price index keeps getting higher and higher. I‘ll bet your does too. So what does the government know about it? This site covers the CPI in detail and may provide some insight to helping you really know what it means. The link is to the database, charts, and calculators section of the CPI.
http://www.bls.gov/data

Actually I like the explanation of the CPI and the information related to the CPI that is found at Investopedia.com. This has been one of my top sites for all things related to investing, finance, stocks, bonds, etc. The explanations are very easy to understand for us common folks plus the wealth of information that is available on this site is phenomenal. It is a must bookmark.
http://www.investopedia.com/university/releases/cpi.asp

June 20, 2009

Oil in the US!

Filed under: news — seniorgeek @ 2:22 pm

It seems from A U.S. Geological Survey assessment, released April 10, 2008 that a 25-fold increase in the amount of oil that can be recovered compared to the agency’s 1995 estimate of 151 million barrels of oil is still available in Montana and North Dakota. The total is some where around 3 to 4 billion barrels of oil. So why are we not drilling and producing fuel from this area?

Quote for North Dakota Senator Dorgan…
“It is clear that the Bakken formation contains a significant amount of oil – the question is how much of that oil is recoverable using today’s technology?” said Senator Byron Dorgan, of North Dakota. “To get an answer to this important question, I requested that the U.S. Geological Survey complete this study, which will provide an up-to-date estimate on the amount of technically recoverable oil resources in the Bakken Shale formation.”

Now it seems that after much testing and checking that 3.4 Billion barrels are available to recover with current technology. Again so why are we not drilling and still relying to much on foreign oil?

The full report is available at the following location.
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1911

Quotes from the past apply to today

Filed under: Soapbox, news — seniorgeek @ 1:39 pm

Right now I feel that our country and us are so far in debt that it may be generations before
we even balance the budget. Just a quick question, do you have to balance your personal budget?
I do, and I can only borrow so much before I can’t make ends meet. Then what? Bankruptcy?
What happens if our country goes bankrupt? Oh that can’t happen you say?
Inflation sure can and it can make our dollar worth so little that is might as well be worthless.
Read the words of the past. They might surprise you.

“The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled,
public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be
tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be
curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work,
instead of living on public assistance. — Cicero , 55 BC

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative
and independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and
should do for themselves.
……Abraham Lincoln

So now what?

June 8, 2009

Newsletter 06/07/2009

Filed under: newsletter — seniorgeek @ 7:51 pm

Do you use Windows Explorer to view files and folder on your hard drive? I suspect that most of you do a lot and the rest of you have at least occasionally need to see a listing of files on your hard drive. One annoyance that Explorer has is that it does not show the size of each folder. I usually want to know how much space each folder is using so like a good geek I found a small little program that does this. Just download and install this program called foldersize and the next time you use Explorer you will see the size of each folder. Sorry Vista users, the version Vista is not ready yet.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/foldersize

In a previous newsletter I told all of you how to search and show HD quality videos in YouTube. If you forgot just search my blog and you will find the issue that give instruction on display HD videos. Next if you are sending a link to a YouTube video and you want to make sure the High Quality version is viewed instead of the poor standard version, add ‘&hd=1’ to the end of the link and it will link to the high quality version.

Autodesk has just released a Flash based program on the web site that let you design the layout of all the furniture and fixtures in your house. You can layout you house in 2D then switch to 3D and view your walls and how the changes you make will look. All the tools are there including multiple types of furniture, lamps, etc. This is a great visual design tool, so go design a new layout of your house or just have fun playing with some new furniture you would like to get and see how it will look in your home.
http://dragonfly.labs.autodesk.com/

Everything you need to help you find, apply, and get into the right school. School search, admissions tips, test preparation, financial aid, scholarships, school rankings, and more, is a quote from Yahoo education site. Actually it has a lot good stuff especially if you are looking for a college, searching for courses, or just trying to find a some facts.
http://education.yahoo.com/

ScienceDaily.com is one of the Internet’s most popular science news web sites. Since starting in 1995, the award-winning site has earned the loyalty of students, researchers, healthcare professionals, government agencies, educators and the general public around the world. No other web site offers readers the depth and breadth of breaking news about the latest scientific discoveries that Science Daily does in such a user-friendly format – all freely accessible with no subscription fees. Check it out.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/”

With a web site with the name of Instructables.com you would think it should explain and help you build something, repair something, make something, cook something, paint something, and well, you get the picture. I have used this site for many years and have found some of the coolest stuff to make, the neatest way to do things, and the quickest way to repair something, that I was feeling guilty that I had not shared this site with all of you. Ok here it is, so go and fix something, build something, make something, or just read some great articles.
http://www.instructables.com

Does this sound like you? Does leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn’t even have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it?

June 2, 2009

Are police radar cameras accurate? Maybe not.

Filed under: news — seniorgeek @ 7:33 pm

I just read an article from a web site that follows “the politics of driving’. Quite interesting. It seems the radar gun used by the Italian police were bought from a company that didn’t check the calibration of the units before they shipped them. Also the same serial number showed up on multiple devices in different townships.

Why does this not surprise me? These radar guns should be banned, especially one used by small towns in rural America for generating local revenue.
Check out the article for yourself.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/27/2795.asp

May 31, 2009

Newsletter 05/31/2009

Filed under: newsletter — seniorgeek @ 7:44 pm

Internet crime, computer fraud, identity theft, its all around us or so says the news media. My question to you is have you experienced any of these? You may have or have not. If you have it is not a fun thing to have happen. To help you combat the above the following sites should be on your list of sites to visit.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). IC3’s mission is to serve as a vehicle to receive, develop, and refer criminal complaints regarding the rapidly expanding arena of cyber crime. The IC3 gives the victims of cyber crime a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of suspected criminal or civil violations. For law enforcement and regulatory agencies at the federal, state, local and international level, IC3 provides a central referral mechanism for complaints involving Internet related crimes.
http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx”

This website is a one-stop national resource to learn about the crime of identity theft. It provides detailed information to help you deter, detect, and defend against identity theft. On this site, consumers can learn how to avoid identity theft – and learn what to do if their identity is stolen. Businesses can learn how to help their customers deal with identity theft, as well as how to prevent problems in the first place. Law enforcement can get resources and learn how to help victims of identity theft.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/

Phishing is a scam where Internet fraudsters send spam or pop-up messages to lure personal and financial information from unsuspecting victims.
http://www.onguardonline.gov/topics/phishing.aspx

Fight identity theft by monitoring and reviewing your credit report. You may request your free credit report online, request your report by phone or request your report through the mail. Free credit reports requested online are viewable immediately upon authentication of identity. Free credit reports requested by phone or mail will be processed within 15 days of receiving your request.
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

To continue on this them, I believe we need a Digital Bill of Rights. On August 25, 2008 Erick Schonfeld posted a very good article containing his thoughts on a Digital Bill of Rights. I agree with him completely and we should write our senators and congressmen to have them pass this or a similar bill of rights.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/25/what-we-need-is-a-digital-bill-of-rights/

One last thing, that maybe helpful or just needs to be buried.
The Social Security Administration Death Master File contains information on millions of deceased individuals with United States social security numbers whose deaths were reported to the Social Security Administration. Birth years for the individuals listed range from 1875 to last year. Information in these records includes name, birth date, death date, and last known residence.
ttp://www.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3693

In the 1400’s a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have ‘the rule of
thumb’.

May 25, 2009

Our Current Political Debacle

Filed under: Soapbox — seniorgeek @ 7:00 pm

The following is a quote from a very wise journalist.

“Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The president does.
You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of representatives does.
You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red…
If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ, it’s because they want them in IRAQ
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems…

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!”
(quoted from Charlie Reese)
Endorsed my me and many others. Now what will you do?

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