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October 2024 – OneDrive and the meaning of life

September 2024 – Many Oregon and SW Washington libraries are part of the Metropolitan Interlibrary exchange. This means that people living in one county can get library cards, from any of the other libraries. This allows them to access the services, books and videos of those other libraries. I borrow e-books and stream movies and TV shows from both Multnomah county libraries and Washington county libraries.

For fun

September 2024 – Does Amazon travel through time? What if Google acquired Pizza hut?

For fun

August 2024 – Two more fun signs, and a woman who quit her job at the donut factory.

For Fun

July 2024 – Some signs I found online.

For Fun

June 2024 – Stranded on a desert island. Will they be found?

Interesting Articles

June 2024 – The new Kobo readers are repairable. Smart cars and TVs are selling your driving and viewing habits.

Getting Free and cheap Ebooks

May 2024 – Free E-books are not all they are cracked up to be, but cheap e-books are really much more available and prevalent than most people realize. Here's a deep dive into both free and inexpensive e-books.

For Fun

May 2024 – A few short questions and answers, and an incredible website that shows AI generated videos as well as the prompts used to create them. Just sit back and enjoy a few. Bet you can't consume just one!

Interesting Articles

May 2024 – Batteries from paper and magnesium, new privacy laws possible for the USA and a new broadband definition.

E-book Readers

April 2024 – Specialized E-book readers provide a better way to read books. You can adjust the font, font size, margins, spacing, and background. You can look up a word in the dictionary, the Internet, or the book itself. They are light, easy on the eyes and have long battery lives. Here are some things you should consider when choosing one.

Libby

April 2024 – Libby is the App used by many county library systems to allow you to immediately check out E-books. Here's how to use it.

For Fun

April 2024 – A math professor fighting with his shadow and an Easter bunny falling in love.

Interesting Articles

April 2024 – 3D Printed food! CISA's router recommendations and my own article on router safety.

Interesting Articles

March 2024 – Four articles that caught my interest recently. Historical photos, Google settles a $5 billion privacy suit, here's why. Police are getting our medical records without a warrant and the FBI warns of QR code scams.

For Fun

March 2024 – Driver safety instructor, and cats worshiped in ancient Egypt.

For Fun

February 2024 – Only hiring twins. One for the cloud backup.

Interesting Articles

February 2024 – Switzerland E-voting system vulnerable, Wyden want more transparency from government surveillance and 3D printed houses!

For Fun

January 2024 – Politicians make promises, but ...

For Fun

December 2023 – Before time was invented, and Antenna romance.

Interesting Articles

December 2023 – 1. Coin Flips are not 50/50. They tend to come up with whatever side they started with. 2. Amazon has had many phony AI generated bestsellers

For Fun

November 2023 – Three short jokes.

Kanopy - Free High-Quality TV and Movies

October 2023 – The library does more than just lend books. It also provides a full-blown streaming service with a wide selection of movies, classics, TV shows and documentaries. These are available for free with a library card. Here's how to start streaming programs and movies from your library's collection.

For Fun

October 2023 – A Wifi Password and 50 years of going to Hooters after golf.

For Fun

September 2023 – A historic landmark and a cat helping a man use his mouse.

For Fun

August 2023 – Four very short videos of strange and scary things, a gutless wonder, The Blob, Men building the Chrysler Tower and a roller coaster becoming unhinged.

For Fun

July 2023 – Just an interesting picture of a smoke alarm and a small joke.

For Fun

June 2023 – Alien mad that person used his name as a password!

For Fun

May 2023 – Just a few jokes.

For Fun

April 2023 – A few short videos with birds, taking a woman's lunch, eating from a woman's hand, getting jealous and opening a package.

For Fun

February 2023 – Back in the day and things to do when the Internet is down.

Chatbots

January 2023 – Is AI (artificial intelligence) the next electricity or the end of the world? How can you experiment with it? What can it do for you now? What are its benefits and problems? All this is in one short article!

For Fun

January 2023 – Two funny cartoons

Computer Generated Art

December 2022 – How you can use digital art or just play with this technology for free. The results can be amazing and useful. I include a site that allows you to play and make useful images for free.

For Fun

December 2022 – Synopsis 1. Dog stops Jiu-jitsu match. 2. Picture from NASA of moon and Earth from Artemis 1 3. Chesterton quote about tradition

Listening to Podcasts

November 2022 – What are podcasts? How can you find ones you'll like? You'll be surprised how much entertainment and information is available through podcasts. Podcast republic is an app to help you find, manage and listen to podcasts.

For Fun

November 2022 – This is a wonderful 1.5-minute video showing a woman and her dog rolling out their yoga mats and doing their exercises.

For fun

October 2022 – 3 one liners worth at least 2 groans

Listening to books

October 2022 – Five ways to listen to books on your mobile devices. You download the books and listen with their app, even when off-line. I describe two subscription services, a place to get really cheap books, and two ways to get free audiobooks.

Interesting articles

October 2022 – Four articles I found particularly interesting last month.

Clara Ebook Reader

September 2022 – Kobo makes a wonderful e-book reader which integrates into your library system and Pocket's read it later system. Here's my review.

For Fun

September 2022 – People want more stuff, but we must inquire within.

Some more one liners

August 2022 – Funny One-Liners

For Fun

July 2022 – Picture book for parents

For Fun

June 2022 –

For Fun

May 2022 – The only way to be totally safe.

Interesting Stuff

April 2022 – A space hotel could open in 2027! Also, how browser tracking is increasing what you pay for items.

For fun

March 2022 – I love this cartoon.

Interesting Articles

February 2022 – Links to articles I've found particularly interesting. Smart TVs, FBI Warnings and more.

For Fun

February 2022 – A 60th High School reunion and a marriage proposal with a happy ending.

For fun

January 2022 – Windows originally came out in 1985 on 4 floppy disks. Guess how many it would take now?

For fun

December 2021 – From Astronauts to my own indecisiveness. All for fun.

Does Facebook spy on us?

November 2021 – Does Facebook spy on us?

For fun

October 2021 – Looking for an electrician and tech-support anxiety

For fun

September 2021 – Do people land on their feet?

Interesting articles

September 2021 – 3 articles I found particularly interesting this month. What happens to some online accounts on your death? NY City's biometric privacy laws and and inside look at an industry that uses cell phone apps to track and unmask you.

For Fun

August 2021 – Trouble with a time machine and a funny cat video

Interesting Articles

August 2021 – Driverless car Indy 500 race and Intuit decides to share your payroll data with Equifax.

For Fun

July 2021 – The next step for Ikea's do it yourself leather couch.

Interesting Articles

July 2021 – Three articles I found very interesting this month, from methods to deter mosquitoes on your patio to 3d printed homes.

For Fun

May 2021 – 2 fun cartoons

DarkSky weather site

April 2021 – Darksky is the best weather site I've seen.

For Fun

March 2021 – A quote and a joke for fun

For Fun

February 2021 – These books are real mysteries.

Fake security

January 2021 – So often there are security measures like the above, which seem more theater than actual protection.

For Fun

December 2020 – Letting the NSA know they are appreciated.

For Fun - Math for Dummies

November 2020 – The cost of Math for Dummies

Windows Emoji picker!

October 2020 – Here's how to use Windows itself to embed emojis into any program that will display them. Also links to emoji meanings.

Browser games

October 2020 – Hidden games in modern browsers.

Bargain Alert!

October 2020 – Amazon is having its Prime Days October 13 and 14 this year. Big bargains available.

Illusions

September 2020 – Fun illusion, where a black-and-white image with colored lines, appears to be fully in color

For Fun

August 2020 – A six minute tour of the universe created by the American Museum of Natural History

Old time radio player

August 2020 – Travel back in time and listen to great radio mysteries, dramas and comedies from yesteryear. Over 15,000 episodes from more than 130 shows are available, all free of charge.

For Fun

July 2020 – How To Geek is an excellent website for learning about computer tips and tricks. They also have a daily comic and an interesting daily newsletter.

For Fun

June 2020 – A couple of sites that offer fun videos about the English language.

YouTube hotkeys

June 2020 – A quick explanation of YouTube hotkeys.

For Fun

May 2020 – These amused me.

For Fun

April 2020 – Pants sales plummet as people begin working from home.

Living Robots Now!

March 2020 – An interesting 8 minute video about using living cells to create a robot. This research is in the very early stages, but is fascinating.

For Fun

March 2020 – 2 more funny 404 messages

For Fun

February 2020 – Gary Larson of Farside fame has put his cartoons on his own website for our entertainment.

Funny 404 error messages

January 2020 – 404 errors are what web servers use when they can't find the page you requested. Sometimes sites offer amusing messages, instead of simply Error 404 - Not Found.

Peacock flying

December 2019 – I thought this was interesting. I'd never seen a huge peacock fly.

The power of punctuation

December 2019 – Demonstrating the power of punctuation.

Seen in a doctor's office

November 2019 – A fun sign seen in a doctor's office.

For Fun

October 2019 – Institute of Philosophy's Directory panel.

For Fun

September 2019 – A New Yorker cartoon about a new app that steals your social security number.

For Fun

August 2019 – 2 funny cartoons. Doctor's strike and autocorrect.

For Fun - Wrong Door

July 2019 – Use the other door. Funny sign.

American Bald Eagle

June 2019 – Why is the American bald eagle always photographed from the side?

For Fun

May 2019 – Why Science teachers should not be given playground duty.

Invisible Gorilla

April 2019 – It is amazing how little we see, particularly when we are focused on something else. Many experiments demonstrate this to us.

Pandora's Inbox

April 2019 – What can it hurt to open a little attachment?

For Fun

March 2019 – A future bedtime story and an alternative data entry device.

Back to Nature

March 2019 – The most joyous twitter feed I know about.

For Fun

February 2019 – A fun sign from a cafe with no wifi.

Funny wifi passwords

January 2019 – Some very funny Guest WiFi passwords. Imagine your friend telling you this and and you trying to type the password.

Boy versus Dog Pasta race

December 2018 – Who can eat a bowl of noodles faster, the boy or the dog?

10 cool optical Illusions

November 2018 – 10 really cool optical illusions with short explanations.

Portia, super spider

October 2018 – A short video showing a super spider demonstrating its super powers.

Newsvoice, An interesting News App

October 2018 – Newsvoice is an interesting App and site that collects news from other sites, actively uses crowd sourcing to rank articles.

Earth Galaxy Universe

September 2018 – A 2 minute video showing the size of the universe from Earth outward.

Interesting and fun Quotes

September 2018 – Quotes I liked

Soaring Teapot

August 2018 – Neighborhood Nursery designed, and built the floating Tea Pot fountain at Camellia Square in Temple City, CA. Here are some pictures of this unique landmark.

Fun Quotes

August 2018 – Some Quotes I enjoyed

Protect yourself from Knife assailant

July 2018 – Short YouTube video demonstrating how to protect yourself from a knife wielding attacker.

Internet Archive

July 2018 – Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more. It includes the Wayback Machine and hundreds of collections of categories of sites and media. All items are free to download, view or listen to.

Size measures

June 2018 – A simple explanation of bits, bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes and terabytes.

Skateboarding Dog

May 2018 – This dog actually skateboards. Short video.

Uber's self-driving vehicles

April 2018 – Uber's moving into self-driving trucks as well as cars.

Hyper-Hacker Typer

April 2018 – Just go here and press keys. Impress your friends. This site is often used on TV shows and movies, as well as product demonstrations to illustrate how clever super hackers are. Now you too can appear super.

The nature of reality

April 2018 – The nature of Reality is a fun place to hang out. Part of PBS's Nova series. Lots of very short videos about science and reality.

Jet powered hoverboard

March 2018 – Finally, a jet powered hoverboard. Fly fast on kerosene powered jet engines.

For Fun

March 2018 – Kids not getting wifi from paper books.

Real life trick shots 2 by Dude Perfect

February 2018 – Trick shots 2 by Dude Perfect.

Who owns your stuff?

January 2018 – Who owns the books you buy from Amazon, Audible or Kobo? I chatted with their support. Here are the answers I got and suggestions for leaving your collections to your heirs.

For Fun

January 2018 – Tech Support made easy.

Robotics Update

December 2017 – A couple of interesting developments in robotics.

For Fun

December 2017 – Joy of Tech cartoon about Google's insertion into all aspects of life.

Late Halloween Cartoon

November 2017 – Did you call for Hex support?

Etymology online!

October 2017 – etymonline.com is a great place to hang out and learn about the etymology of words

Two Interesting videos

September 2017 – Are you above or below average? Does correlation imply causation? Two short videos from two great channels.

Glasbergen Cartoon

August 2017 – Glasbergen Cartoon

Are you vulnerable to CIA hacking?

July 2017 – Here is a short 1 minute video that will explain whether you are vulnerable to CIA hacking.

Amazon Echo Silver

June 2017 – SNL (Saturday Night Live) did a great skit available on YouTube about a new Amazon Echo Silver, for the older generation. (Youth Challenged?)

Interesting educational places to visit

June 2017 – Four sites to visit to expand your horizons with free courses and more.

For Fun, Penspinning

May 2017 – Penspinning is very cool. Watch a number of videos.

For Fun

April 2017 – Glasbergen twisted sense of humor

For Fun

March 2017 – Two funny images. Reselling your pigeon on Ebay and a kitten attack on a toddler.

Changing a high lightbulb

February 2017 – An interesting drone video of a man changing the light bulb at the top of a 1,500 foot TV tower.

4 funny Oreo Advertisement

January 2017 – 4 funny Oreo advertisements

Organic Food?

November 2016 – Is organic food good, bad, healthy, unhealthy? Find out.

For fun

November 2016 – Nest smoke alarm cartoon from Marketoonist.com

Warner Brothers claims copyright infringement against Warner Brothers

October 2016 – Warner Brothers demanded that Google remove links to some of Warner Brothers official movie sites. Apparently, they believe that they are infringing on their own copyright.

Is your stomach your second brain?

October 2016 – ASAP Science has a great short video showing how the stomach and its microbes controls your mood and your other (upper) brain.

For Fun: 5 hot new Google Inventions

September 2016 – A funny parody for five new Google inventions.

SideClick Remotes

August 2016 – The SideClick Remote control replaces your TV, soundbar and other remotes and clips to your streaming device remote.

A Hackers Revenge

August 2016 – They messed with his mom. He made them pay.

Fingerboarding

August 2016 – Introduction to fingerboarding

ISideWith

August 2016 – A site to check how you align with various political candidates and how their positions compare with yours. Other cool things on site as well.

Interesting News

July 2016 – CityGroup seems to be claiming it has trademarked Thankyou. It is suing at&t for using "AT&T thanks" in their loyalty program. Also buy stampedo ransomware service for just $39 for a lifetime license. It's really easy to use.

Laura Williams' Self Portraits

July 2016 – This young photographer produces really interesting work.

For Fun: Our identity

June 2016 – Who are you? one person, 2, a billion? and are we living in a simulated reality?

Find Streaming Movies

June 2016 – FlixFinder is shockingly cool for those of us who want to find movies we can watch with whatever streaming subscriptions we have. You are able to find movies that meet your criteria.

Interesting News

May 2016 – A gun that looks like a smart phone, and Chrome stops supporting Vista.

For Fun, Who's on First?

May 2016 – Perhaps the definitive comedy sketch of the 20th century, Abbott and Costello's Who's on First? is still hilarious. It is also a cultural landmark.

Just for Fun

April 2016 – Saturday morning breakfast cereal nsa spying

For Fun

March 2016 – Thumb Drives that look like a thumb, and the best cartoon I've seen about the FBI / Apple phone encryption fight.

Interesting News

March 2016 – New movie about drone attacks. How NSA's Skynet program uses cell phone data to target drone attacks and a Girl's iPhone bursts into flames above the Pacific.

For Fun

February 2016 – Funny video about pot smugglers getting high and paranoid and calling 911 to turn themselves in. Also a great devil's fork illusion.

For Fun

January 2016 – Don Friesen does a comedy routine about remembering passwords. The Onion does a parody about China's inability to recruit hackers fast enough to keep up with our vulnerabilities.

For fun

December 2015 – An Optical illusion transforming a black and white picture to color, a Portland company selling 3d printed electric cars, and Mr. Forthright's YouTube channel.

Magic Leap has taken VR to the next level

November 2015 – Google invested $542 million in the company Magic Leap. Their Virtual reality technology just might be a complete game changer. It is beyond amazing.

For Fun

October 2015 – Some Google search fun tricks and a video exposing the dangers of selfies

Online clocks and timers

September 2015 – Here is where you can find online clocks and timers

For Fun

September 2015 – A cartoon of me on weekends, and an actual picture of a UFO which was caught on tape.

Checkboard Shadow Illusion

August 2015 – My favorite illusion. This shows how we adjust what we see according to inferences and surroundings.

For Fun

July 2015 – Conan O'Brien explores Andy's new Apple Watch, the best illusions of 2015 explained, and are cows are 20 times as dangerous as sharks?

For Fun

June 2015 – An android app and project for opening doors. Is Portland really weird. Does a man on a BB-8 Droid playing flame shooting bagpipes seem normal?

For Fun.

May 2015 – 5 mysterious ways earth is changing, and a man shoots his computer. Gets a ticket.

For fun - Summer Life Hacks, Gabi Mann and crows, trojan horse

April 2015 – Fun videos about summer life hacks, Gabi Mann and her friendship with crows and a Trojan horse trick tried again.

For Fun

March 2015 – Zach King 6 second magic

Big BookBub Improvements

February 2015 – Bookbub has added new vendors and author notification. These make a fabulous source of inexpensive books even better.

For fun

February 2015 – 9 tips to stay healthy, and a notification from the Time Travel Special interest group

News360

December 2014 – This is a fabulous News aggregator for mobile devices (or Windows). It collects news from over 100,000 sources and allows you amazing customization choosing (or searching) from over a million topics.

Fun Videos

December 2014 – What is better, paper towels or a hot air dryer? Humorous time travel short video, kitchen tips, stopping your car from steaming up.

Haystack TV News App

December 2014 – Haystack is a News Aggregator app for phones and tablets that collects video news segments rather than printed articles. It is done well and I really like it.

Fun Videos

October 2014 – A few fun videos. A 5 year old girl doing a good Jean-Claude Van Damme impersonation, A better way to peel Kiwi fruit, and an Ikea commercial that seems a lot like an Apple commercial and a video about keeping animals away with psychological fences.

Where I Buy Books

October 2014 – The leading Ebook retailers I use and some factors to consider.

BookBub

August 2014 – Bookbub offers thousands of free and deeply discounted Ebooks culled from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google, Kobo and Smashwords.

Fun Videos

August 2014 – Mohammed Ali meets kids on candid camera, the world's smartest dog, 10 bar bets you can win, and a 6 year old skating savant.

Fun Video

June 2014 – Pets can protect you before you are even born! Some interesting documentaries

Fun Links

April 2014 – Stuff I've recently found interesting and amusing.

What is Reddit?

April 2014 – CGP Grey explains Reddit. Great video.

For Fun February 2014

February 2014 – Toddler trick shot basketball expert Titus displays his amazing talent. - Also, remote controlled (using a cell phone) paper airplanes.

Monkeys riding dogs herding sheep

December 2013 – Fun video

Android App of the Month - The Portland Trailblazers

December 2013 – Portland Trailblazers NBA Basketball team has a new mobile app that is really very good.

For Fun

October 2013 – Just some fun things I've stumbled upon.

For Fun

August 2013 – Just a few fun sites

Fun Videos

June 2013 – Ipencil and Ellen Degeneres' password protector videos. Also a wonderful Audi commercial, with New Spock versus Old Spock.

My Favorite Android Tablet Apps

June 2013 – These are my current (May 29, 2013) favorite Android Apps for my tablet. Perhaps you'll find something new in here.

Fun Videos

April 2013 – An Expert Pickpocket and a fun science YouTube channel are the fun video selections.

Free Market Series

April 2013 – The Free Market Series is a 14 episode television series for American and Canadian audiences produced by The World Show in partnership with the Montreal Economic Institute

Coursera

April 2013 – Combine top universities, top flight educational technology and great professors and you have university level courses offered by Coursera. Currently there is no charge.

Free Books from Amazon

February 2013 – Freebooksifter gives you a great tool to help find free books on Amazon. It presents a categorized listing so you can browse through books and find neat stuff. It sorts by popularity and ratings.

Fun Videos

February 2013 – 2 short videos. One explodes 8 misconceptions about animals the other explores the wonders of coffee

Interesting Outsourcing Event

February 2013 – American Infrastructure Employee secretly outsources his job to a Chinese contracting firm. This throws his company's security team into a panic as their secure VPN channel is being used by unknown Chinese, despite requiring two factor authentication.