The blogging continues

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Thank you.

"Words are also actions, and actions are a kind of words". Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have you ever wished you could program some websites to alert you when certain things happen? As an example I want a text message if my username on Twitter gets used but how do I go about it? First head over to if this then that (ifttt) and sign up. Yes it’s for free. Now you have two choices start with a premade recipe or create your own. I would recommend for the first couple of times to use the premade recipes till you fully understand it. In the recipes you will see both triggers and actions. The recipe I setup last night was very simple. IF the local temperature drops below 40 degrees THEN text me to bring in the plants before they freeze. All I have to do is choose the recipe and change any of the details like how I get informed (text, phone, email) and what details trigger it like the exact temperature. You can create your own using channels. This is the name they have given to websites or services. I could create a recipe that saves me time. As an example, when I post something on Twitter I want the same thing to be written on my Facebook wall. Again I choose the channels, twitter, and Facebook, then what actions to happen. It is so easy and elegant that I would recommend just heading over to the site to play around. Finally someone has taken all the wonderful services and allowed them to speak to each other.

“Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.” Gertrude Stein

I know I've written of Facebook scams before and the simple method of Googling some unusual link a friend posted before clicking on it. But I believe you should be a little proactive with your Facebook scam knowledge. Recently I came across a FB page called FaceCrooks that’s main purpose is to keep you up to date of the current badness going on in the FB universe. To join FaceCrooks, do what you do with any page that’s cool or interesting, hit the “like” button. Now when they post you’ll see it in your feed. By you being more aware you can warn your friends and in turn you will see less spam.

“A box without hinges, key, or lid, yet golden treasure inside is hid.” J.R.R. Tolkien

So you’ve misplaced your thumbdrive for the billionth time and you don’t have time to wait for a CD to burn but you need to transport some files. You could attach them to an email but some inboxes have a size limit and they’re not the easiest way to handle files. Enter Dropbox, a free site storage option. All you do is head over to Dropbox.com and signup. From there you have many options. Add files through their website, which is easy, or download and install their software. The neat part about the software is that when it becomes part of your system it looks just like the folders you are already used to. You can drag and drop directly into a folder and as soon as you do it’s now available everywhere like home. Plus many smart phones have an app so you can take advantage of your files on the go. You could also use it as a quick backup but I would'nt depend on it that greatly (not yet). Also if you don't own a computer this is a great way of having all your files with you at any one time. One last part that makes this service so useful is the ability to put a file in your folders and it will get a web address that you can send to anyone, making sharing quite an easy feat. To put it simply if you’re tired of a pocketful of junk used to move your files around then give this a try.

"Between truth and the search for it, I choose the second." Bernard Berenson

Google just got way better! Many times I do a search and see a result and give it a click. I then find I am on some page that is essentially an advertisement and not information. I return back to the results page only to find that most of the links are to that same website. UGH! Finally I can do something about it. When you return unsatisfied from a result you will see the lovely words block all results from example.com. This means when I do a search I can finally weed out some of the complete junk sites that always come up. If you do it by accident there are a couple of things to do. The moment you block a site it says undo. Also when you do the same search in the future it will have, at the bottom, a manage blocked sites button. You can use this to return them to the search or just to peruse the sites. I have the feeling today is I am going to go on a blocking spree. Give it a try,

“You know an odd feeling? Sitting on the toilet eating a chocolate candy bar” George Carlin

When was the last time you ate a sandwich in a bathroom or more specifically on the toilet? I haven’t either (fine one time but I was hungry) but I bet you eat at the computer. Is that a yes? Well it would be better to eat off of the toilet. It seems our keyboards are far grosser than imagined. They contain a whole myriad of bacteria and viruses, yum. An English company, called Which did a study for Geek.Com, found that keyboards are five times dirtier than the toilets. They have bacteria like Staph which can cause skin infection and food poisoning. Alright so you are sufficiently grossed out and you’re looking at the keyboard like it’s a horrible monster so what now? Well several things actually. First ThinkGeek carries a product called Cyber Clean, which is putty specifically designed to clean your keyboard and mouse. It seems to do a great job cleaning and states that it kills 99.99% of bacteria plus it can get into the crevices. There are also plenty of websites with instruction as well. DO NOT USE WATER! It seems obvious but people will do strange things. Lysol, The company known for cleaning bacteria, makes wipes that do a nice job. No matter what you choose unplug the keyboard before starting. I always like to start with the simple flipping the keyboard over and tapping it from the back. You’ll be amazed at the amount of crumbs and other neat things that fall out. So before you reach into the bag of chips at your computer think twice.
Don't forget the mouse! YICK!