December 2003 Vol. 1

I have added a page to my web site at www.thecomputerman.biz where you can find all of my past and present newsletters so you can refer to them at any time you wish, or tell your friends about them too....

Welcome to the Christmas edition of my Tips Newsletter.
I hope you find something in it that interests you. I try to provide informative, interesting, and some fun things for you to explore. I should mention that I check out all web sites I mention and believe they are functioning at the time I created this news letter. Perhaps at a later time when you try them they may be out of service or no longer available on the web.  Enjoy.... Jules

www.realchristmastrees.org

You can find item such as information on types of trees, care and feeding of the tree, and much more. Check this one out...

Strange Facts

One of my favorite sites on the net is Strange Facts. I have a love for the curious and unusual and this site has it, and it's factual. You can read strange facts that were featured in USA Today, and the Chicago Times, not to mention a huge "As Seen on TV" section.

Here are a few strange facts to wet your appetite:

"Saturday mail delivery in Canada was eliminated by Canada Post on February 1, 1969!"
"The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache on a standard playing card."
"Tourists visiting Iceland should know that tipping at a restaurant is considered an insult."

http://www.strangefacts.com/

http://www.epicurious.com/

Do It Yourself

Another fabulous site for those of you who like to "do it yourself" rather than pay someone to do it. In the world of home repair and such, too many of these sites can’t be anything but a blessing. I know it is to me.

And believe me, this site has it all from the do it yourself tips to a loan center to help you get the money for those repairs and the occasional blunder you need to fix. You can choose your repair tips by topic, or search for it with their search engine.

Topics include: Build/Remodel, Repair/Fix It, Decorate, Outdoors and Living/Finance. Each of those topics drop down into more specific areas to be more helpful for you when looking for the particular tip needed at the moment. I give this site an A+.

http://www.doityourself.com/

A Walk Through Time proudly brought to you by the NIST Physics Laboratory. This site is neat. It shows the progression of time measurement throughout the ages. From the earliest calendars to the first simple time keeping devices.

I think my favorite section was the Earliest Clocks. You can learn about sun clocks and water clocks. Egyptian Shadow Clocks RULE!

This site has an excellent progression and is interesting to read—not dry like a textbook. I think our cultures have been fascinated with time and will continue to be, so what are you waiting for? check it out!

http://physics.nist.gov/GenInt/Time/time.html

How about some of my Christmas graphics for you?

You can right click on these and save them on your computer and use them in letters, e-mail messages as much as you want: Here are a couple for you.....

www.hp.com/go/7holiday

This is a web site sponsored by Hewlett Packard company. You can create a holiday card (all major seasons) and add a graphic (theirs or yours) insert your text greeting and print the card for your use. Also for any season, you can create a personal newsletter on this web site by inserting borders, pictures and your text message for everyone. You enter the e-mail address of everyone you would like to get the newsletter and the site e-mails it to everyone on your list. Instant holiday newsletters. Neat, huh?

Here are some links to holiday music you can play. Click on the link and the music will play while you read this newsletter. You can right click on these links, choose "Save target" and download and save these songs on your computer to play any time you want the music. Put the songs in your "My Music" folder and you can always find them again. By the way you can copy and paste (you remember how to do that, right?) the link into an e-mail message and send it to your friends and family to enjoy.

This is the web page I found the music on...They also have the words to the songs there too
 http://www.santaland.com/song.html

Here are some links to songs from that page:  Enjoy, and Merry Christmas to you all.....

Ave Maria           As I Wander           Do you Hear What I Hear-      God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman

 Let there be Peace on Earth      Oh Holy Night     White Christmas

Go to the web site ( http://www.santaland.com/lyrics.html ) and find the lyrics and sing along. Might be just what you need to get the spirit going!

Weather Satellites

Want to see satellite images of the weather here in the US? Here's a site that lets you. They have visible, infrared, and water vapor images available. You can view either still images or movies. Take a look.

http://www.goes.noaa.gov

Knowledge Hound

This site claims to be "the Web's biggest directory of free do-it-yourself tips and tutorials. From sports to cooking to computers and much, much more, we'll help you become one smart puppy."

From surfing around their site, and checking things out, I'd have to say they have the right to their claim. I think you'll love the categories and then the array of information that you'll find. I started out by choosing sewing (and I know there are some of you who love this particular hobby) I am a very uneasy beginner and found great tips and information, not to mention links. I think I'll take up crocheting too.

I also loved the sections on weight maintaining, personal finance, and automotive help. I think this site is diamond in the rough, so check it out.

http://www.knowledgehound.com/

I love hot rods! I've always wanted to build my own hot rod from the ground up. If you've been a fan of the magazine for years, you will love their website.

You can read about the technical side of hot rods, get important how-to information, check out their featured cars, project cars, the history of hot rods, and find out about rodding events around the country.

I loved the sweet pictures of the flaming ’51 Kaiser Special.

Cruise on over!

http://www.hotrod.com/
 

World War I—Trenches on the Web

“These pages contain information on the people, places, and events that comprised one of the worst calamities of modern history. Entire kingdoms were to vanish in the clash. The map makers of the world would be busy indeed!” What is this site owner talking about, why World War I, of course.

This site is fabulous, I particularly enjoyed the Willy-Nicky telegrams. You can view the entire set of telegrams between the Kaiser and the Tsar. I read through them all and found myself awed by the two rulers pleas to each other.

You’ll also enjoy the World War 1 Document archive where you can read more about the war from other viewpoints and gather your own perspective. This is one to bookmark, I think.

http://www.worldwar1.com/

CyberSleuth Kids

“An Internet Search Guide for the K-12 Student.” Is their slogan, but how good are they? Fabulous. With tons of links to information your student really needs. There's clipart to make those school projects a lot snazzier, learning software, educational tools like flashcards, math work sheets, and an online word search will help your child out.

For teachers there are at least 1,000 free lesson plans. You will find a search engine to help you and your students find the information they need. Sections are conveniently grouped and linked by subject, for instance, Art & Music, Health, History, Language Arts, and Media.

This site is a handy tool to anyone in school, bookmark this one today.

http://cybersleuth-kids.com/

Whale Net

Whale Net focuses on whales and marine research. The page comes in four different languages as well. Whether you are a student, a teacher, or just curious you can easily enjoy surfing through this site.

I highly recommend taking the Whale Net tour. It will give you a nice overview of the site features and it is well put together. Follow the links and have fun. I also think you’ll enjoy the satellite tracking section. Dive in!

http://whale.wheelock.edu/Welcome.html

Gadzillion Things to Think About

Let’s start with an example: “Why is it that when you've got loads of work to do, you're not organized, but when you've got no work to do, you're lazy?” Now sit, and ponder young grasshopper.

You’ll find tons of things to think about on this site from Advertising to Situational to the weather. Lots of oddball phrases, wacky quotes, and thought provoking meandering that you’ll enjoy and probably want to share with your friends and family.

http://www.gadzillionthings.net/

A Boke of Gode Cookery

I know you are sitting there going "what the heck kind of a title is that?" Well, I thought the same thing. Welcome to a site about medieval recipes for your 21st century kitchen. This one is definitely a keeper.

There are tons of recipes on this site, from medieval to renaissance cooking, and little something thrown in for you gentlemen chefs. You definitely want to check out the section "A Word from the Cook" to get up-to-date info and current news on the site and the cook. I’m off to the kitchen now to make dowcetts (A delicious sounding tart!) .

http://www.godecookery.com/godeboke/godeboke.htm

About Famous People

This site has a fabulous collection of information of famous women throughout history. From First Ladies to Spies, you’ll find it all here, not to mention famous men as well.

Get information on the Presidents, and their first ladies, homes and monuments that were erected to honor famous people, what days of the year are dedicated to famous men and women around the globe. All in all I was fascinated and captivated by this site for several hours. Check it out!

http://www.aboutfamouspeople.com/

This is their welcoming slogan: "In just one minute, you can read entire books and learn everything your teachers will expect you to know." Sounds hard to believe, well they thought that everyone would think that too.

So I gave them a try and discovered that they were witty if not truthful. The summaries do apply to the book, I just don’t think it fills all the information that a teacher would want you to know for report. But this is pretty funny so check it out.

Here's an example:

The Collected works of Jane Austen—Ultra-Condensed by Christina Carlson and Peter da Silva

Female Lead: I secretly love Male Lead. He must never know.

Male Lead: I secretly love Female Lead. She must never know.

(They find out.) The End

http://www.rinkworks.com/bookaminute/classics.shtml

All the World’s Maps

Need a map for a report? Need a map of a country for your vacation? This is the place to get your maps. How does it work? Choose a map from the drop down box and then click the Launch Map button and ta-da you have a directory of sites to choose your map from.

Better yet you can even get maps of specific cities within that country. There are tons of maps on this site, and it’s very well organized. Go grab yourself a map and enjoy!

http://www.embassyworld.com/maps/maps.html

Play a song... click on the next line:
 Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

http://www.freechristmasscreensavers.com/elfbowling.htm

Download and play this game for a few laughs at the Elves' expense. 

Do you enjoy puzzles? Well then, you’re going to love this site. Start by clicking the logo to begin your playtime. Select a shape to start your puzzle. My favorite puzzle is "Snowflake Square".

Choose a piece and place it on the puzzle surface—you can rotate pieces by pressing the right arrow key on the keyboard, and if you mess up you can reset the puzzle at anytime. Some of these puzzles are difficult, but very enjoyable.

http://www.gamepuzzles.com/pparlor/puzzleparlmm.html

Here's another great game site. With tons of categories like: action/adventure, mind puzzles, board games, card games, classics, educational, racing, and shooting games for you pleasure. And better yet, you can play them free.

Each game will tell you what it requires. I suggest you check out Bug Splat in "Other", Baby Dance, Gulpy, and Blobs. All are super fun and addicting, especially Bug Splat. You may remember this site as the providers of Hangaroo – a kangaroo hangman game.

Have fun!

http://www.ncbuy.com/entertainment/gamehouse/

Can you build the fastest, scariest roller coaster known to man? Well then click on this link and go to the Discovery Channel's interactive roller coaster builder. You can build and test out your coaster, watching the fear level to know how successful you are.

You can choose from lots of loops to steep drops, or heck, why not build with both. Test your coaster and put fear into the hearts and stomachs of virtual riders. Drag the section of roller coaster where you want it and then drop, it will connect itself to the track. Easy and fun, how much fun can you have a mile a minute.

Enjoy!

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/coasters/interactive/interactive.html

No, "puzz" is not some Yiddish insult, it's short for puzzle. This site is both for puzzle lovers and for test takers. You can find tons of both here along with other goodies that will keep you quite busy.

You'll find IQ tests, trivia, puzzles and a lot of other stuff. Scroll down the page to visit all their links. A lot of them are owned by puzz.com, but quite a few are independent sites that have their own mysteries to explore. So, if you love puzzles this site is for you.

http://www.puzz.com/

This site is a gem. You can teach your children the basics of music appreciation here. They can make their own tunes, listen to music, view pictures, learn music notes, and play in the music lab.

I am a firm believer in teaching children how to read music when they are young. I've always wanted to learn, but it just doesn't stick in my mind. But if it was taught between the ages of 3 and five or six, I believe it would stick. Hey kids should learn foreign languages then too. That's when the mind is like a sponge and just eats up knowledge. But this site is good for anyone - because they make learning it fun. So to start learning the music notes, click on meet the notes.

I especially loved the Composerizer. In the Composerizer, your child can make music of their own. They drag and drop the measures as they wish and in any order they like and then hit play, and presto! They have composed their own line of music. You can then choose start over and make music as much or as little as you like.

This is a fabulous learning site. I wish it had been there when I was five. Thank you San Francisco Symphony. Enjoy!

http://www.sfskids.org/

Thanks, Jules

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