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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.
Time Wasters for the Holidays
Extreme snowboarding, mind-numbing puzzles, sing-along with Elvis, and a bunch more ways for you to kill some time.
In this issue:
Lots and Lots of Time Wasters
It's a holiday week, two in a row, actually. The tradition is that I fill the newsletter with things to keep you amused, challenged, and with some of the videos, laughing out loud. Let's get started.
Snow in the Pacific Northwest? It happens, sure, but drivers in Seattle and Portland apparently don't know how to handle snow on the road. Here's a wild ride with a safe view from a balcony and the other from street level. Watch the dummies jumping from their cars before impact and the guy getting in between the cars.
Once again, this video proves that police chases in Canada are extremely difficult. Watch the video and you'll see what I mean.
Anything's possible on the Internet: Here's your chance to sing along with Elvis. Dial a toll-free number, sing the on-screen lyrics,  and then share your recording of "Blue Christmas" by e-mail. And it's immaterial whether your friends and relatives like it -- or even appreciate your doing it -- you're already picking up the phone. And yes, of course I did one.
Play with a tarantula by poking and prodding it with your cursor. Point to a spot on the map with the cursor, hit the space bar, and watch the spider go after the little bug. Then put two bugs on the screen about the same distance apart from the spider -- watch it ponder and choose one of the bugs. Not into spiders? Try the snake game -- and be sure not to eat yourself. All this from the creative mind of Thomas Eriksson.
The OSHA picture of the year: Where's the bulldozer sitting, you ask? Check the full image.
What do you get when you grab a bunch of microwave ovens, a big warehouse, and a bunch of techno-wizards (with a good sense of timing)? A happy Christmas song like you've never heard before.
How good are your musical skills? I found a series of tests to determine if you're tone deaf, can hear musical shapes, and distinguish differences in rhythm. They're all challenging. Unfortunately, some of these tests will take as long as 20 minutes to complete. Interestingly, the author just finished medical school and plans to pursue a career in neuroradiology.
The first test is Music Patterns and I think it's the most difficult of the three. You'll need to listen to the patterns many times. Be careful: This isn't a "how fast can I click the button" speed test. After the music stops, pause a second before hitting either button because once you do, the next test begins.
My scores in Contour discrimination and Pitch discrimination were both 82%; Musical/visual abstraction was a low of 59%. My total score was 75%.
Now that you've started, there's no reason not to find out if you're Tone Deaf (I got a score of 72 percent) and if you've got Rhythm. (I got to 68 percent.)
Experts are afraid that Disney's hottest property, Miley Cyrus, from Hannah Montana television fame, is close to an over-exposure burnout. According to one report, if she continues at her current rate, she'll be toast by 2013. Watch the full news report.
If you still have some money and need a weird gift for your coffee and herbal tea-drinking friends, choose from The 11 Coolest Mugs for a Hot Cup o' Joe...
Artists are always looking for new ways to express themselves. Jason de Caires creates underwater sculptures. If you like them, visit his gallery and see the rest of the weird, spooky-looking collection.
You gotta be a little crazy to be a snowboarder. Maybe even crazier if you ride a helicopter to a gnarly, 7,000 foot peak in Alaska. The vertical limit is extreme and a slip can really test the limits of your HMO. Watch Terje's Extreme Snowboard EXtreme Descent and let's hope his mother doesn't know what he's up to.
You need a mind-challenge, so here's the Maze Mouse (nope, sorry, no hints. Okay, one: Don't touch the walls.) Here's another -- 50 States -- and one you can count on driving you nuts.
Don't Waste Any Time
No, I mean it. Don't waste another second, because your ex-spouse, former lover, and the guy who nailed you at that I.R.S. audit all need to spend some time with TechBite's latest collection of time wasters. Hurry, forward this newsletter, like, now, before you forget. If nothing else, send them the link to the signup page: http://www.techbite.com/
_____________________
Steve Bass spends hours -- no days -- searching for nonsense so you can while away the day. He might even get around to checking e-mail. Send him your pithy feedback.
No one can figure out how Bass became the chief technology officer at TechBite, nor does anyone know why he's still a PC World contributing editor. Nonetheless, he hasn't stopped pitching "PC Annoyances, 2nd Edition: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your Personal Computer," which continues to be available on Amazon. What, you didn't buy a copy this week? [sigh]
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TechBite is a joint effort of Steve Bass (in stormy Pasadena) and Mike Kronenberg (in snowy Denver).
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