Safeguarding Family Internet – Overview
(Haven’t posted in a long time–sorry for that. Been busy. Having twins unexpectedly (as if there were any other way) will do that to a guy.) Home Networks My wife and I home school our children using excellent videos from Abeka, and it works out very well. They can travel with me when the opportunity arises, work from the dentist’s waiting room, or whatever. Except for the problem of how to let the kids get to the Internet safely. Well, there’s all kinds of thoughts out there on the subject. Everything from “Don’t” (absolutist) to the school of thought that says “They’re Going to See It Anyway” (defeatist). Then there are the people who say, “My kids would never do anything like...
Wilbur Curtis and the Warmers
Wilber Curtis and the Warmers broke onto the scene back in 1987 with their first album, “Ready to Brew.” Taste the music the way it was before the commercialism and the “pop” sellout. This album has percolated around my attic for years without much play, now I find that it’s strong and dark flavors keep me up at night. Some cuts are sweet and sugary, some are dark and bitter, but the cream of the crop are probably “Up for the Daily Grind” and the nutty-flavored “Rain Drips”. Man. I think I like...
Buzz Light Year – Fisher Price Power Wheels Hack
Yeah, I know it’s for toddlers, but really–how pointless to not have a reverse. Just so everyone’s clear, this was done with only the purchase of a DPDT rocker switch at RadShack for $3 or $4 (can’t remember). Everything else came from stuff I already had–so please don’t comment on how lame I am using solid core 14-gauge wire. I pulled it out of a chunk of Romex I had in the basement. I didn’t really want to go spend the cash on heat-shrink tubing, the proper hookup wire, connectors, and such. Here’s my philosophy on the matter: Whatever I used and however bad the solder joints look, they will still WAAAAAY outlast this $50.00 electric scooter. This is what I’m going for. A simple rocker switch...
RecordingHacks Microphone Contest – Royer
Pop over to RecordingHacks and enter the contest–they are giving away a new Royer R-121 Ribbon Microphone! Here’s the link: http://recordinghacks.com/contest/
Use Google SketchUp for 3D Drawings
I’ve never claimed to be an architect, but I love great tools that work well. Â One such tool belonging to that category is Google SketchUp. Â In the past, I’ve fiddled with 3D software before. Â I think that Blender is awesome…but it also has a steep learning curve. Â Almost a learning cliff. It honestly is just to much for my needs. Â Case in point, I wanted a quick floorplan diagram to post to the Studio Central forum for comments on my new home studio. Â Blender just isn’t the choice for that. Â Now, if I wanted to make a cool 3D animated cartoon over the next few years, that’s a different matter… [amazon-product]0470277394[/amazon-product] The image above was completed in about two hours total time....
Piriform Defraggler – Best Free Windows Defragmentation Program
Way to go Piriform! Â I haven’t seen a defragger that made me this happy since MS-DOS 6.22. Â I could continue to gush about this, but really, the proof is in the pudding. Simple Recipe for Better Performance: Download Defraggler now, and run it. Let it get finished, reboot, and run it again. Now, just tell me your computer doesn’t feel snappier. It really is that simple. Â In the future, activate Defraggler a few times a month, or use it’s handy scheduler. Â When opened, the main window looks like this: Click the Analyze button and let it do it’s thing. Â After a few moments of counting on electronic fingers, you should see a report like this: It has the measure of the drive…now, one more thing…let’s move...
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