stuff123

Many of you will already know how to do this and others may not. Sometimes it is easier to adjust the screen size in your browser to show more game information so you are not constantly scrolling down to show items that are on the bottom of the page.

Simply hold down the Ctrl key and the minus sign key together until the fonts shrink and more detail show. To bring it back up one screen size at a time, just hold down the Ctrl key and the plus sign key.

To restore it the the default size, hold down the Ctrl key and the zero (0) key on the number pad.

This will also work on any browser page that may need adjustment for easier reading or viewing. If you enlarge the screen be aware that images may start to get harder to view depending on the actual image size that is loaded on that page.

If you are looking for a very educational Facebook game to play along with your children, then Farmville is a very solid choice. The game is fun for all ages and is non-violent. Animals are not slaughtered but are used as a resource for eggs, down, horsehair, milk and other items. You build the farm the way you see fit.

There are numerous trees that will yield fruit. There are buildings and other items to add to the farm. The game is a useful math teacher in that you need to understand the clock and the yield for crops when buying the seeds. Planting strawberries before the children go to bed will result in a wilted crop because they grow fully in 4 hours so you need to look for crops that plant in daily cycles if the children are going to play this game at roughly the same time each day.

There is also a spirit of cooperation amongst players where you can help the other players  with their farms in tasks like weeding, raking leaves and ridding the fields of crows. All of these pay a small reward for your efforts and can only be done periodically.

Patience is required to watch the farm grow. One of the very good features of this game is that nothing is fixed in position so anything can be moved around over time. You can delete a piece of land if you don’t want it there anymore. A good time is when the crop has been harvested.

The player also has the opportunity to send gifts to other players (free) and invite them to be neighbours. Although the game has limited penalties, it still has some features that come into play for neglect so it does teach some real life values.

The game is actually fairly simplistic so it doesn’t take a genius to play it and it is flexible enough that any child can make it what they want. It is a lot like a digital set of building blocks with the added advantage that it helps with dexterity and physical placement skills. It is simply a fun type game for just about anyone.

Once again,  I took a simple graphic and loaded it into Picnik and started playing with it. The primary graphic was a photo of the devastating bush fire that took place in Kinglake, Australia this oppressively hot Aussie summer and the winter for us up north. I certainly hope the country there is recovering from this awful situation. I still don’t know if they have finally determined if it was deliberately set or not. I hope everything is improving.

But back to the exercise here for me in graphics 101. Using the photo, some simple steps like posterization and adjusting the saturation and hue were undertaken but most of it was fairly mild unlike the extreme versions at the bottom. The purpose of the two overlays of text is to help me understand how dramatic a simple change in colour choice and using a different type effect can have on the overall feel. Certianly the one with less contrast is much softer in feel.

Basically, I am looking towards building a library of backgrounds that can be used in blogs or hubs where a suitable photograph doesn’t work or can’t be found and some added colour is needed to draw attention to the story. The problem I am seeing on the Internet is that there is so much going on in every page, that your story is easily lost in the jungle. The best examples for me are any of the major sports network’s websites. They are just jammed with pictures, videos and mice print.

Since a lot of hosting sites for blogs and hubs restrict the use of personalized templates, you have to find ways to be more creative so this is my attempt and I’m learning. I hope to see that they will improve over time. Meanwhile, it’s just a lot of fun so it’s all good.

I like to play around with Picnik as my choice of graphic editing program and just see what comes out. This particular set was derived from a shot of end grain wood and manipulated to create the starting graphic. The rest of the images are just changes that can be made using various preset options that are provided with the program. Some are only available with the purchase of the premium option which I highly recommend.

Then some of the options are tweaked by moving sliders much like you would on a mixing console in a sound recording studio. Most of the time, the end result is just something that I find pleasing to my eye.

The end result is a number of background graphics that can be used as backdrops for titles for blogs or hubs . Adding graphics only enhances the look and feel of your post and it has the added benefit of being something that search engines crawl and log. So you have an even larger presence on the Internet.

Besides it is a lot of fun to just play in the sandbox.

Most of the time, when I write these “What Will Replace” stories, I don’t have a valid suggestion for the topic. Instead, the post is intended to make you and others think about possibilities for the replacement.

But in this case, I actually have a very feasible option that can be created using graphic editing software such as Photoshop and in my case Picnik. The concept is based on those algorithim things that mathematicians and computer geeks understand. I only know that they are a bunch of numbers and formulae that can be run through various iterations. The resulting jumble of numbers is pretty difficult to decode, I would think.

So I started with a graphic that I created and set it to 256 x 256 pixels. I learned that computers work well with numbers like 128 and 256 because they are divisible by 8 and return an even number. So this could be considered a variation on 128 bit encryption with the additional complication of colour and a password.

The next six graphics might make this a little easier to understand.

1. Original graphic
2. Addition of a password using a font. In this case, Georgia-Bold-Italic in various colours using the full range available in Windows. It could be randomly resized.
3. Rotating the password on an axis. In fact the password could probably be the owner’s real name or a username.
4. Resetting the font to difference in the text options in Picnik.
5. Run the new graphic through the Hypnotic option.
6. Set the Hypnotic option to Difference.

The final graphic could be used as a sort of electronic colour signature that would have to be matched on either a high resolution printed document or via a digital transmission. Scanners and id matching software would probably be required to identify the sender as the owner.

It seems to me that this has promise. Maybe the CIA can play with it and see if they can decode it. I’m hoping they might advance me funding for my research project. The annual fee for the Picnik Premium upgrade is $24.95 US.

Maybe you could send it on my birthday every year. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you what it is. I’m thinking you might already have it on file.

Sing it Sheryl
“All I wanna’ do…..

secretdealsearch.com

While researching Hi Speed Internet Connections the other day, I tripped over this website and thought it would be useful to any reader looking to save a buck or two. In today’s world, that would pretty much include everybody I would think.

The site is more than just deals on computer realated items and services. There are listings for travel destinations and beauty salons. The following is a sampling of some of the links within the site.

Victoria Secret’s Official Website - seems kinda’ appropriate, doesn’t it?

Oprah Winfrey’s Diet Secret Revealed - ah, not gonna’ go there!

Cheap Perfume - isn’t that an oxymoron?

Cheap Domain Names - lots of links for those looking to set up their own website.

Cheap Package Holidays - who wouldn’t want to investigate this one?

Build A Website - 25,000+ Templates. Maybe you will find one you like.

Hi Speed Internet - DSL and Cable are some of the choices.

And for fun, I tried typing in some searches to see what they would return.

Politics - like there are no secrets in politics.  It came back with links for bullet-proof clothing,  and campaign buttons, and a CD for getting free money from the government. That last one seemed a little shady but consider the category.

Ice Hockey - it came back with links for equipment, jerseys, renting a goalie. I hung up my pads a long time ago. Teams were always looking for a goalie. Only so many of us were stupid enough to put on the pads. I loved it.

Fire - it came back with links for fire protection equipment and clothing, fire retardants and fire doors. I’ll let you try Earth and Wind.

So it looks like you can consider using this as a starting point for just about anything that you are considering as a purchase.

I guess it’s true. There really are no secrets. I couldn’t find anything that would come up blank. The infamous “No Matches Found”. Go look in the kitchen drawer. There’s always some in there.

Rather than end up as just another request in either the forum or an email to today.com, I thought I would share my feelings about the one only approach to everybody’s blog—specifically the new single look and feel. I can understand that it makes it easier for the folks at today.com but it takes away a major method of expressing one’s individuality.

I will find ways to work around this problem, but there are lots of folks out there writing that don’t have the knowledge or skills to do so. It is, in my mind, a very poor way to treat the contributors.

Some of the design changes are very good. It is a well organized layout but is over dominated by ads. The today.com heading is far from neutral so I think a better way to separate it from everyone’s header is to reverse the blog name (in white) out of one of the darker greys used in the page selction icons. This would create a fairly solid bar between the today.com header and the blog header. It is then up to the contributor to decide what that header should be. Neutral is always good as transition between a dominating red and whatever the contributor chooses.

The type is just too small. Maybe they should read mice print. Not everyone has 20/20 vision. There is a workaround using the Ctrl keys in conjunction with the +, -, and 0 keys. (see altering , last few paragraphs. The change has also destroyed some of my formatting changes and positioning of the graphics. Since it is an older article today chooses to lock you out of any editing possibility so the information in the post is now incorrect)

The choice of colours is not so much a problem as the lack of contrast and thickness in the fonts to make links stand out better. The font choice is not what typographers consider a better choice for reading. It is a sans serif font, meaning it has no tails and hooks on the letters that make them easier to read. I chose Georgia in another blog for that reason. Don’t try to change your font. There are defaults within the editor that will override your choice in many cases and especially if you use anything but paragraph for style selection.

There also needs to be more of a definitive break between posts. A rule about 12-16 points in the grey that matches the page icons would work nicely.

I tried to create a more casual tone with the look and feel so that the overall image was not so formal. This layout is more suited to documentation than writing that is more free spirited.

I’m sure the forum and customer support will be swamped with a lot of angry contributors. I really don’t see any reason to contact them because I am finding them more and more a large waste of time. The people that staff them are trained to deflect the problem rather than solve it. But I’m sure there will be more and more contributors looking for the delete button for their account in the next month or so.

I only have one word for today.com’s approach to changing the creative environment within these blogs.

Disappointing.

SM has such weird dreams sometimes! Just doesn’t make sense most of the time

That is the notation under SM’s Facebook status today.

We all have awoken in the middle of the night and said to ourselves “What was that all about?” in response to some strange dream that we just had. It might not even be considered a nightmare because scary probably isn’t correct, while weird is probably much closer to the truth.

Some of my more memorable ones involve being in numerous places wearing just my birthday suit and find myself trying to figure out why am I in this place. Another one that seems to be repeated is where I park my car in some mall parking lot or somewhere in the centre of a big city and walk around aimlessly looking for that stupid car. It isn’t too far from reality at times.

Of course, I get out of bed and look outside to see if the car is still there and, of course, it is just fine. I have only had the misfortune of having one car stolen in my life. I will never understand the thief’s thinking. The undercover policeman bought the 6-month old car for $250 from a drug pusher.

The dreams I feel are just how we handle the anxieties and frustrations that we create for ourselves. I like to think that it is how we keep our sanity. If you found yourself worrying about every possible thing that could go wrong you will eventually end up in the rubber room. If you try to figure them out like Tim Allen wrestling to understand the bigger questions you will only end up hurting yourself.

A copy of Tim’s book I’m Not Really Here sits on the floor in my favourite reading room opened at page 110 reminding me that I wanted to here Tim’s musings about stuff, much like the fence classes he had with Wilson Wilson Jr. in Home Improvement.

Instead he got into Quantum Physics and the bigger questions. He was attempting to resolve his dreams in the book, in my opinion. He said it best in the book “The chances of an answer – much less a coherent one – are about as slim as bumping into Mother Teresa at a Madonna concert.”

Do yourself a favour. Just roll over and go back to bed. It’s just your mind flushing the trash bin.SM might consider not eating that peanut butter sandwich or that tasty chocolate bar before going to bed. It’s very normal and you are going to have more of them in your long life.

Another thing not to do with dreams is assume that a good idea comes out of them and you should keep a notepad or voice recording device (no one uses a tape recorder anymore do they?) next to the bed. Have you ever tried to write in the dark and if you listen to the tape, you leave yourself wondering who was that talking and what is all that jibberish about plaid golf balls and motorized donkeys.

I still find that my best ideas seem to come ffrom a trigger in the real world like SM’s Facebook status that comes as a news feed on my homepage. SM accepted me as a friend and because her security setting is set to viewed by Friends, that information appears on all Friends news feed. It is harmless stuff, but it reminds us that some things should not be made available so freely like telephone numbers and addresses. Use personal messages to relay that information just like you would in a face-to-face encounter.

The best advice on how to handle dreams that don’t make a whole lot of sense might come form Mick Dundee.

No worries mate.

Since I have never actually been to New York City, I thought using the Internet would be a good way to research this concept. As points of reference, most of us are familiar with the Ed Sullivan Theater (site of the David Letterman Show), the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the Apollo Theater and Radio City Music Hall.

To start the research process, I used Google maps to first give an idea of where these entertainment venues are located and also to create a directional map, if I decide to drive instead of fly. Just click on Get Directions. The next thing to do is click on the “more info” link next to the Radio City listing (#1) in the left column. Now you will have several more links to help you find more pertinent information about entertainment in the city of New York.

There are several other great features in Google maps. Here are a couple of useful ones that make the research project even more rewarding. If you click on the Satellite button in the upper right hand corner, you will now see the map as it is seen from outer space and you are able to zoom in even closer.

Now go to the final destination listing in the left column and click on it. You will now be given two new views. The upper one is images of the entire trip. You can go backwards through the entire trip and view some points of interest that you may decide that are of interest to you.

So now you may create a completely different trip. It is quite remarkable.

You could use this technique to take a virtual vacation just about anywhere in the world. So if it’s winter, and you would like to go to Hawaii and you can’t get the vacation time or the mortgage payments don’t make that possible, try Google maps.

Just type in Hawaii or Kapalua or or Maui or Pearl Harbor as your destination and start your “voyage”. The wonders of the Internet never cease to amaze me.

It isn’t perfect because I thought I would have some fun with the program. I asked it to give me driving directions between Toronto and Tokyo avoiding highways and tolls.

It seems that Google Maps has a pretty good sense of humour.

Driving directions to Tokyo, Japan

9,504 mi – about 36 days 14 hours

That’s part of a Facebook conversation I had today with LS, another really friendly Aussie. We were talking about the weather and how we both suck at typing because we have “fat fingers”. She responded with the title and like the great “thief” that I am, I pounced on it. A lot of my story ideas come about this way.

And what is it with the Aussie ladies? That’s the third one this week that has shown me how “refreshingly easy” they all seem to be.

OK, get your mind out of the gutter. I already have dibs on it and it’s not big enough for all of us to fit anyway.

What I mean by “refreshingly easy” is the ease in which these three really nice people have accepted me in conversations that we are having on the Internet. As you may know I am Canadian and like most Canadians, well we are pretty harmless. We have an army of sorts but we are more like the welcoming committee in a new neighbourhood. Most of the weaponry belongs in some museum and that suits me just fine. War is really outdated anyway. It might be best done in computer simulations and the “winner” gets reward points from the loser. That’s another story for another time.

The “fat finger” syndrome is more about how all of us are with sharing our thoughts on the computer. We are in such a rush to spit out and share what’s on our minds that the keyboard just gets in the way. When you really look at, the computer keyboard and its predecessor, the typewriter makes no sense really. The QWERTY concept of a keyboard was something that others have tried to change with pretty much no success.

I guess I’ll have to write the “What will replace the computer keyboard” story some time soon but like the other what-will-replace stories I never have the answer, just more questions. I don’t think voice recognition software is the answer either.

It can’t get into your mind and heart and figure out what you are really saying. It has trouble with people who have speech impediments and with background noise so don’t be using that software for your next business presentation with the latest porno thing playing in the background.

If somebody is developing the next level of that software, pick me as part of your beta testing program. If it can figure me out, it’s got a good chance of figuring out a lot of other people, too.

The thing I am learning in my most recent Internet adventures is that people all around the world are full of surprises. Sometimes all it takes, is a passing comment about the weather at the coffee shop.

That’s how I see Facebook and the news feeds now. LS accepted me as friend as part of my “recruiting” game (another story for later) and now we are starting to get together over a cup of coffee.