Oct 21, 2009
Quotable
Discovery consists of seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no-one else has thought.
Father of the Internet
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, born 1955, and inventor of the Web’s software standards in 1989, tends to be fast-paced and nonlinear. He is currently director of the World Wide Web Consortium and a professor at M.I.T.
When asked if he were do it over again today, would he do anything differently, he admitted he might make one change. He would get rid of the double slash “//” after the “http:” in Web addresses. He said the double slash, a programming convention at the time, turned out to not be really necessary. Amazing to think the web is only twenty years old and how much it has changed the world. In fact, the world wide web (WWW) was first mentioned in print in the New York Times in 1993.
Here's a tip, when typing in a site name, just type the name, such as 'shubsthoughts' then hold down the 'ctrl' key and hit 'enter'. Your web browser will fill in the rest for you and send you to the site.
When asked if he were do it over again today, would he do anything differently, he admitted he might make one change. He would get rid of the double slash “//” after the “http:” in Web addresses. He said the double slash, a programming convention at the time, turned out to not be really necessary. Amazing to think the web is only twenty years old and how much it has changed the world. In fact, the world wide web (WWW) was first mentioned in print in the New York Times in 1993.
Here's a tip, when typing in a site name, just type the name, such as 'shubsthoughts' then hold down the 'ctrl' key and hit 'enter'. Your web browser will fill in the rest for you and send you to the site.
Quotable
Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true, and the tendency to miss lunch. Tim Berners-Lee
Free Faxes
Time to get rid of that old fax machine collecting dust in your home office. Now there is a way to go online and send and receive faxes for free.
Do you need to send faxes just once in a while? Ditch the fax machine and the trips to Kinko's, and use free-to-try online services such as Qipit and FaxZero.
Qipit lets you send up to five faxes each week for free. You can upload JPEG images or even send them directly from a camera phone. Free faxes include a header banner that mentions Qipit.
FaxZero limits you to two faxes of three pages each day, and its transmissions include a FaxZero-branded coversheet. Instead of sending images, FaxZero takes PDFs and Word documents.
You can even cancel your dedicated incoming fax line and have people send physical faxes to you online. eFax Free handles everything, digitizing faxes and routing them to your e-mail account. You get a free phone number that is connected to eFax and is always listening for incoming calls.
eFax Free has a few limitations, however. You don't get to pick an area code for the incoming number, and you can't receive more than 100 pages each month. Plus, you have to read faxes in an eFax application, in its proprietary .efx format.
Do you need to send faxes just once in a while? Ditch the fax machine and the trips to Kinko's, and use free-to-try online services such as Qipit and FaxZero.
Qipit lets you send up to five faxes each week for free. You can upload JPEG images or even send them directly from a camera phone. Free faxes include a header banner that mentions Qipit.
FaxZero limits you to two faxes of three pages each day, and its transmissions include a FaxZero-branded coversheet. Instead of sending images, FaxZero takes PDFs and Word documents.
You can even cancel your dedicated incoming fax line and have people send physical faxes to you online. eFax Free handles everything, digitizing faxes and routing them to your e-mail account. You get a free phone number that is connected to eFax and is always listening for incoming calls.
eFax Free has a few limitations, however. You don't get to pick an area code for the incoming number, and you can't receive more than 100 pages each month. Plus, you have to read faxes in an eFax application, in its proprietary .efx format.
Pogo
The first written occurrence of the phrase "We have met the enemy and he is us" was on a 1970 Earth Day poster written and illustrated by Walt Kelly, featuring Pogo and Porkypine. Below is the 1971 version.
The history of the phrase goes back farther than that. In the forward to The Pogo Papers, 1952, Walt Kelly wrote - “In the time of Joseph McCarthyism, celebrated in the Pogo strip by a character named Simple J. Malarkey, I attempted to explain each individual is wholly involved in the democratic process, work at it or no. The results of the process fall on the head of the public and he who is recalcitrant or procrastinates in raising his voice can blame no one but himself."
"There is no need to sally forth, for it remains true that those things which make us human are, curiously enough, always close at hand. Resolve, then, that on this very ground, with small flags waving and tiny blasts of tiny trumpets, we shall meet the enemy, and not only may he be ours, he may be us."
As years passed, the final paragraph was reduced to, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” How prescient he was, back in the old Okefenokee Swamp.
The history of the phrase goes back farther than that. In the forward to The Pogo Papers, 1952, Walt Kelly wrote - “In the time of Joseph McCarthyism, celebrated in the Pogo strip by a character named Simple J. Malarkey, I attempted to explain each individual is wholly involved in the democratic process, work at it or no. The results of the process fall on the head of the public and he who is recalcitrant or procrastinates in raising his voice can blame no one but himself."
"There is no need to sally forth, for it remains true that those things which make us human are, curiously enough, always close at hand. Resolve, then, that on this very ground, with small flags waving and tiny blasts of tiny trumpets, we shall meet the enemy, and not only may he be ours, he may be us."
As years passed, the final paragraph was reduced to, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” How prescient he was, back in the old Okefenokee Swamp.
Dancing Smoke
Relax, calm down, and take a few minutes to reflect while you watch this very soothing video of smoke dancing to music. Watch it at least until the violins come in.
United Nations Day
October 24 - The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries (now 192) committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights.
Oct 19, 2009
Oct 16, 2009
Edgar Allen Poe
Devotees celebrated Poe's 200 year funeral last Sunday, Oct 11 in honor of the originator of detective stories, and some say the creator of horror writing. He died in 1849. The Raven - "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary" over many Blogging Thoughts. . .
Warmest Year Ever
What is globally the warmest year on record? 1998. It has been cooler every year since then and many scientists are predicting it to continue. Seems that 98% of the earth's warmth comes from the sun, not man. Hmmm!
Benefits of Humor
Here is one from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. In my never ending Quixotic quest to finding what is funny, I stumbled on this tidbit that suggests that watching comedy can increase your creativity, but it still does not answer 'what is funny'.
Researchers found that watching a comedy film has several benefits. First, that it makes you feel better and we all know that. Second, that it makes you more creative. Third, that it aids in problem solving.
Are you bored and wondering what to do next (after finishing this). Well, view a comedy film, or maybe this quickie of Mr. Bean making faces.
The movie makes you laugh and it makes you feel better. Now, don't you feel more creative?
Experiment results from, Isen, Daubman, and Nowicki found that people who watched a comedy film were more likely to solve a problem requiring a creative solution than people who watched a neutral film.
Another experiment involved a comedy film and the Remote Associates Test. The mean number of items correct on this test was higher for people who watched a comedy film than for people who did not watch a comedy film. The hypothesis was that positive emotion would foster creativity.
The bottom line is that if you are working on a problem at home or work that requires a creative solution, it may be good to first view some comedy. I know that I always feel better after watching Laurel and Hardy, but am not sure if it makes me feel more creative.
Researchers found that watching a comedy film has several benefits. First, that it makes you feel better and we all know that. Second, that it makes you more creative. Third, that it aids in problem solving.
Are you bored and wondering what to do next (after finishing this). Well, view a comedy film, or maybe this quickie of Mr. Bean making faces.
Experiment results from, Isen, Daubman, and Nowicki found that people who watched a comedy film were more likely to solve a problem requiring a creative solution than people who watched a neutral film.
Another experiment involved a comedy film and the Remote Associates Test. The mean number of items correct on this test was higher for people who watched a comedy film than for people who did not watch a comedy film. The hypothesis was that positive emotion would foster creativity.
The bottom line is that if you are working on a problem at home or work that requires a creative solution, it may be good to first view some comedy. I know that I always feel better after watching Laurel and Hardy, but am not sure if it makes me feel more creative.
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