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Check
outGo to Homestarrunner for some entertaining and humorous cartoons.
Not for the kids, but nothing bad.
Skip at 5:07 AM
There is an ever decreasing amount of free services available on the internet. In the good-old-days everybody was giving things away for free. Most of these services were made up by dreamers who though that money would somehow arrive at their doorstep if they gave enough stuff away for free! The commercialization of the web didn't arrive in time to stem the bankruptcies.
There were users who didn't want to make fortunes. They wanted to make communities of like minded people. One of these which is still going strong since 1987 is SDF. SDF stands for Super Dimensional Fortress. They are a networked community of free software authors, teachers, students, researchers, hobbyists and enthusiasts. It is operated as a non-profit and is supported and governed by its members. There are many layers of membership but the best deal is free. Users get 20mb home, 20mb web, 20mb mail, mutt, pop3, webmail, icq, chat, bboard,games, TOPS-20, mud, gopher & more. After account validation you get elm, pine, mailx, rmail, lynx, cgi/php4, bash, ksh, tcsh, rc, zsh, tclsh, http://yourlogin.freeshell.org, hundreds of shell & network utilities as well.
This is a great offer to help you learn and use a Unix system. You don't have too, but you can upgrade to a variety of membership levels once you settled in. Check this one out.
Skip at 7:07 AM
Last weekend the Canadian Association of Journalists held their annual conference in Toronto. One of the sessions was on Weblogging. Rannie Turingan of Photojunkie.org was one of the panalists and in the May 26th entry on Photojunkie.org he writes a bit about the session and elaborates on some notes he made. It is worth checking out to see his take on blogging and check out some of the resources and links he has listed to help bloggers.
Skip at 5:49 AM
If you are reading my blog, have you ever considered that you are addicted to the NET? There is a site to help people in the situation called Netaddiction.com. I have no affiliation with them. They claim to be able to help people with problems with online auctions, cybersex, day trading, gambling, etc. There is a book for sale there on the subject. But the reason I mention them is that you can take the Internet addiction test there to see if you have a problem. After reading the questions, I think I am probably addicted. I'm not going to total up the points to confirm it. As long and I don't know it can't be true!!!!
Skip at 4:42 AM
Happy Memorial Day to all my American friends.
In honour of your holiday I'm just going to relax and enjoy this day too.
Skip at 4:44 AM
As I have said in the past, I have been using POPFILE as a spam filter for the past few months. This is a free program that uses Bayesian filters to learn what is spam to you. I have been so happy with the results I will not change now. It is filtering 96.6% of my spam with such ease that I can't believe how I used email without it before. It is worth checking out.
However if you don't want to 'train' the POPFILE filters (it is easy but you do have to do it!) then you might be interested in SPAMPAL. It is another free spam saver but instead of Bayesian filters, it uses what is called DNSBL (DNS Black Lists). These are lists created by volunteers from ISPs that have blocked spammers. If more then two ISPs have blocked email from a DNS it is added to the list. Any email you get from a DNS on the list is marked as spam. There are several black lists available and SPAMPAL allows you to use any or all of them to check.
I like the ability to decide what is spam and what isn't but you may prefer to use the knowledge and experience of others to pick out spam.
Skip at 5:30 AM
A long time ago I mentioned that I listened to some computer shows on the internet. Just to recap for anyone who might be interested, the two I enjoy the most are Geeks on the Radio and Geek Radio. While the names are very similar the shows are very different. Geek Radio is set up as a call in help show. They do some news and general chat but the main part is the call in help. Geeks on the Radio has a guest format. They usually have one guest, such as a softeware developer, who will discuss their programs abilities and uses. Both shows are usually interesting and worth checking out.
Skip at 5:54 AM
Blogrolling has created a way to track portfolios and holders in your Blogshares account. I have set up an account and added the javascript to the right-hand sidebar. We'll have to see how it works out. Meanwhile I will maintain my own list of sites of my blogshare investors. As I stated earlier, if anyone who has bought shares in Skip's Ramblings will be listed in my sidebar. I try to check every day but if I don't act fast enough for you just email me. Or if for some reason you don't want to be listed email me too.
Skip at 5:34 AM
Another week starts. On a Tuesday this time. Nice to have a four day work week occasionally. I don't have anything of import to impart today. I'm just trying to get back into the work ethic. When I awoke last Friday, here in Toronto, the weatherman was talking about windchill factors. It was so cold and rainy that I was getting depressed before the three day weekend. Saturday dawned a little cloudy but by afternoon it was turning into a beautiful weekend. Sunday and Monday were delightful. The news was warning everyone to put on the sunblock. What a crazy Spring to match the crazy Winter we had! Hope summer is a bit more normal.
Skip at 5:17 AM
Just a bit of fun again today:
Check out these front-ends for GOOGLE:
Elmer Fudd
Pig Latin
Hacker
Mondy is Victoria day here in Canada. See you Tuesday.
Skip at 5:50 AM
News of the arrest of the Buffalo spammer, greeted me this morning. It certainly brightened up the morning. This is the guy who is accused of stealing some Eathlink accounts and sending out 825 million pieces of spam. One charge is that he possesses software that will forge headers. I hope the court concentrates on this aspect and sends the message that this is a crime!
An interesting article in Darwin Magazine discusses humanity. The last few lines contain, "But we will still meet in the clearing and tell stories". I was taken by that line as I sat in front of the computer screen and started typing this blog. The clearing has turned into the internet but we still meet and tell stories!
Skip at 5:27 AM
I haven't mentioned this for a while, since I haven't had any hits. I wanted to try again just to get one more person using Wheres George and Wheres Willy. It great fun to enter the serial numbers from money that passes through your hands into the Where's George or Where's Willy database and wait for someone else to find and enter the same bills. Wheres George is for US bills. Wheres Willy (don't worry about the name! Willy is from Wifrid Laurier pictured on the 5 dollar bill) is for Canadian.
I've been entering my bills for a long time now and I have had 30 of them re-entered from all over. When they are re-entered you get an email with the location of the person who entered the serial number and a link. When you go to the link the site will calulate the time and distance the bill has traveled for you. You and they can also enter a few lines of text, describing the condition of the bill or anything else you want to record, si you will see that too. Both sites have an active forum to use. If you want to see what it's about both have the normal FAQ as well. Check it out and have some fun.
Skip at 6:55 AM
News of the FIZZER virus/worm made my local paper today. It has been all over the net the last day or two and seems to be making the general public take notice now. I don't mind that it spreads itself via Kazzaa, but it also comes in via emails as an attachment. Better make sure you have your guard up.
News.com today had an item about Apple's iTunes. Seems it has the built in ability of sharing downloaded iTunes to anyone on the local computers network. Now some people have claimed to figure out how to spread that sharing to the Net. The article points out that the sharing will be quite limited as it is tied to the bandwidth of the computers connection to the net. I hope this is something that can be fixed soon. I would like to see Apple's effort to legitimize music downloads succeed.
Skip at 5:35 AM
A lot of geeks, besides of what you normally think of that makes them geeky, like the stock market. We may not have lots of money left over after buying the latest in computing hardware, or that great new piece of software, but we still like the ups and downs, news and intrigue, and unpredictableness. For those of you cash strapped there is a site I like to visit. It's OneShare.com. There you can buy one share of many different companies. You can have it framed and delivered to you. This particular month they offer one share of Gardenburger, or one share of Dennys, framed and delivered for a special price $29.00. Each month one stock is offered on special. Usually, $10 off or special framing, or some other deal. Check out the site. Even if you don't buy anything its a fun place to visit.
Skip at 4:57 AM
I have added a new section to the sidebar. Anyone who buys my stock on Blogshares and keeps if for more than a day will be listed. I will put a link in to your blog and if you want I would appreciate the same (but you don't have to). If I don't move fast enough just email me and let me know you are a shareowner.
Skip at 5:42 AM
I heard that anything with X in it is irresistible to the general public in North America. X is popping up everywhere. There is the X-Box, XXX the movie, X-treme deodorant, X this and X that. X is so mystic, X is so powerful, X is always the unknown. I was thinking I should rename Skip's Ramblings to something with X in it. Skip's X Ramblings sounds neat, but the family audience would be lost for sure. Skip's Rx amblings sounds professional but I might be sued by some of the drug sites or the FDA for not being licensed. Maybe XXX the BLOG, except it's probably already taken. No on reflection I think I leave things just as they are.
If you are into java and like to get some good tips check out Builder.com. It's part of CNET but I've never let that bother me. They have several newsletters you can sign up for (like Unix, .NET, etc.) but I only get the Java Tips. They have been very good and I haven't received anything else from them so I feel OK in recommending them. You can go to the site for the tips but I like to get the occasional email that isn't spam.
Skip at 5:50 AM
Middle of the week and no 'umph' to get over the hump. I was reading several blogs this morning and almost everyone had the same content. "Nothing new to report in my boring uninteresting life! Check back later." I think it must be the Wednesday curse. I was trying to read these to get motivated to write an entry here. Instead I just got depressed and almost lost the will to blog. I really have to find a different set of blogs to visit.
One place I think I'll go is to Blogshares. I've been playing the blog market and parlayed my 2 grand into about 34 now. Not spectacular by any means but it has been fun to watch. It is an interesting way to get to see some blogs and better then a random webring. If you get bored stop by My blog and buy some shares.
Skip at 5:48 AM
In the heyday of the internet there was a whole range of sites that would host your personal files. Anyone remember FreeDrive.com or XDrive.com? They were very handy services where I could upload a file and then access it anywhere, from any computer. During the height of all this Yahoo came up with a free competitor to these services called Briefcase. A lot of people don't seem to be aware that this service still exists. For free you can get 30 meg of space to save files for backup, or if you have close friends or family you can trust your Briefcase password and share files. As with any Yahoo product these days you can buy extra space but 30 meg is a good starting point to keep some valuable backups. I miss the good old days when I had gigs of space for free (although at the time a 56k modem was a problem!).
As an aside, looks like Apples iTune is off to a good start. Over a million songs sold so far. I haven't checked it out since you must have an Apple and live in the US.
Skip at 5:45 AM
Here in Canada we get lots of US media. TV, radio, magazines all full of great contests and offers. The only thing is that almost all of them, in the fine print say only valid in the US. Contests are not as prevalent here and most of the prizes are pale imitations of what is offered below the border. A great site for those who are still interested is Chezcomfy where there is a daily list of new contests. The list also include the rare ones in the US or UK that are open to Canadians. They often have some computer things, like mouse pads, books, etc in some of the contests listed. I probably shouldn't put this info here since it will probably limit my odds of wining anything. Come to think of it I have never won anything so I will post this after all. If you do win anything be sure to go back to Chezcomfy and leave something tin the Paypal tip jar. You can always send me a tip, too!!!!
Skip at 5:51 AM
While looking around the web this morning I found there seems to be more and more 'blogs of blogs'. I guess there are so many and with RSS and XML feeds it is easier to amalgamate the thoughts and postings of many into fewer. If your blog isn't famous by now it is probably too late. If you are brilliant and can get picked up by the amalgamaters you might get some people stopping by via links. Blogs will go back to the status of 'Home Pages' where only your friends and family will show up.
If you are into NEWS, one spot I did like and will check out again, is The Agonist. It has a side bar with links to almost every major newspaper in the world. They cull the news from all over and post headlines and stories. They also have links into business and corporate intelligence. If you want more the Google News check this out.
Skip at 5:26 AM
My favorite subject of spam was in the news this week. It must be bad if AOL, MSN, and Yahoo are teaming up to fight spam. I was glad to see this item in almost every news source available. It made all the local papers, even the ones that almost never put in any tech news. The other big story was Virginia's new anti-spam law. It sends a nice message. I don't know how they intend to enforce it but I do hope there is some teeth in it. At least the governor got some good press. I wonder if he is up for election soon?
Today is supposed to be the live date for Blogshares. I just logged in and the 'beta' banner is still up. Beta or live it is great fun. I'm so far back in the pack it will never be possible to catch up, I just enjoy looking around and buying something that sounds interesting. I presume that is what happens when the occasional person buys some shares of this blog. It can't be because there is any real value!
Skip at 5:14 AM
Helping to lower the average quality of Web content almost daily.