TechBite Technology
Steve Bass's Weekly Newsletter
TechBite's columnist Steve Bass writes weekly commentary on the technology products he loves, the strategies for getting the most out of them, and the gotchas that can cause computing misery.
New Year's Time Wasters
Videos with smart dogs (and cats), games to drive you nuts, and a couple of other weird time wasters.
In this issue:
TechBite Follow-ups
My Video Still Won't Play
Tracfone: Mea Culpa
Cascading Style Sheets: Are you an expert?
Time Wasters
Don't Waste: Post Haste
It's the second week of the year-end holidays and I know you're goofing off. (I know I am.) So I filled the newsletter with things that won't make you a better person (or your PC any faster), can't help you with the recession, and who knows, may even rot your teeth.
TechBite Newsletter Follow-ups
Before we start wasting your time, some TechBite housekeeping.
My Video Still Won't Play
The first newsletter of the new year will tackle why some of you still have tsuris, and even problems, with playing YouTube and other Flash videos. There are a handful of things we can try and I'll rattle them off on January 7.
Tracfone: Mea Culpa
When I goof, I do a royal job of it. My math was off when I loudly proclaimed in a previous newsletter how little Tracfone prepaid phones cost. I was off by about a dime a minute, enough to make those of you who caught the error shout at me, luckily just through e-mail. I'm embarrassed by and regret the mistake, and astonished I didn't catch it; nonetheless, my creditability took a hit and I'll do my best not to do anything so dumb again.
What I found fascinating about the 80 e-mails I received, a dozen or so helped me with the math. More interesting, the majority were motivated to explore prepaid phones, ignored my Tracfone advice, and found services and plans more suitable to their needs. And yes, some were cheaper than Tracfone.
Thanks to all of you who took me to task; don't hesitate to do it again (and, LOL, I know you won't).
Cascading Style Sheets: Arte You An Expert?
The TechBite blog is almost ready to go. But we used a WordPress template and I'm not happy with the look. To customize it, I'll have to learn how to use cascading style sheets, something akin to replacing a water heater. If you're an expert and can offer some advice and guidance, please lemme know.
Now on to ways to kill some time.
Time Wasting Games and Sites
Here's FactoryBalls, a little something that proves that if you have a lot of synapses, the better your chance is to figure out how to solve this tough puzzle. I was stumped on level six. Here are some hints: Think drag and drop. Think patterns. Think order.
I haven't held a weapon since I was in the service; even then, I preferred holding a bottle of beer. Nonetheless, skeet shooting is the hobby of lots of folks, so here's your chance to brush up on your technique. Repeat after me: Pull! 
I don't know if you heard, but Disneyland has a new marketing idea. They dedicate the park to you, or in this case, me, for the day. You think I'm joking, I know, but check it out.
Do you need some extra money? There's a position available as a surveyor. The salary's good, about $200 per an hour, although there's one qualification: You really oughta be fast on your feet. Here are the job details.
Tip over the hourglass. Yep, that's all it does and it's pointless, sure, but it'll build up your confidence as you play with other mindless games.
Draw Play is devious. It starts out easy -- like really easy. Give it a few levels and you'll understand the word devious. Here's how: You want to get to the flag. Do it with your arrow keys to move and jump; hold down your left mouse button to draw a line to get to the flag.
Time Wasting Videos
Firemen are known for their tomfoolery. Here's an example of what they do with their hoses when not fighting fires. [Discovery Channel's Mythbusters did a long segment duplicating this. It wasn't that easy. -- Rod.]
There are smart dogs and then there are really smart dogs. This video has a genius of a pooch, one that's ready for the Letterman show.
Your time is up. Right around 2012. That's because of a cataclysmic planetary, galactic alignment that will cause tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, and the eventual takeover by the Republican party. Oh, wait, that's another catastrophic event. The 2012 one is, according to scientists, not true. Watch The End of the World video for details.
Have you ever wondered exactly what makes up a shooting star? A NASA official gives you the true story (and you probably don't want to know...)
Don't Waste: Post Haste
If you're new here, there are rules. The first is to read my newsletter thoroughly. Then forward it to your nearest and dearest, your girlfriend, boyfriend, partner, or spouse, and maybe even a couple of your siblings. If you do it right now, you won't forget ('cause you know how your memory is...). If nothing else, send them the link to the signup page: http://www.techbite.com
_____________________
Another week, another dozen time wasters. Steve Bass plans to get back to business next newsletter with some technology. In the meantime, send him your smart and witty feedback.
Whether he likes it or not, Steve Bass writes and publishes the TechBite newsletter; he's also still a PC World contributing editor. He's also the author of the absolutely fabulous "PC Annoyances, 2nd Edition: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your Personal Computer," which continues to be available on Amazon. You oughta buy two or three copies today.
Newsletter Subscription Resources
Sign up for TechBite's free Steve Bass Technology newsletter by heading to our, well, signup page. Previous newsletters are available online.
Want a TechBite RSS feed? Here's the link to stick into your RSS reader.
To change your e-mail delivery address, or to unsubscribe, click the link at the very bottom of this newsletter.
Worried that your ISP may someday arbitrarily black list this newsletter? Us, too... So take a proactive approach: Find your ISP in our handy How To Whitelist TechBite in your Spam Filter ditty, and white list yourself.
TechBite is a joint effort of Steve Bass (in sunny Pasadena) and Mike Kronenberg (in still snowy Denver).
|
|
|
