“I had beautiful wavy hair and a waxed mustache.” Curly Howard

Before I begin this post a couple of small notes first if you don’t mind. I would like to apologize for the lack of posts. I have been sick and am now playing catch up. Also I thought I should mention a birthday. Growing up I had several people I looked up to, but this person was one of the tops. Today is (would have been) the 103^rd birthday of Curly Howard. So to Curly we can only wish him a happy "nyuk-nyuk-nyuk!". Now onto the post.

Recently I was on a message board reading other peoples thoughts and I started looking on the left hand side of the screen at the avatars. Avatars are the small pictures we choose to represent us when we step into a forum or a virtual social group. As I looked at them I noticed many that were left blank. I thought this was so strange. It would be like talking to someone at a party who is faceless, kinda creepy. So where does one get an avatar? Well there are tons of places on the net that have every style you can imagine. However for today I choose to highlight Meez. They have been around for a while allowing you to create static (non moving) or animated avatars. It is free. But if you want certain special extras, you can pay for them. Essentially you register an account on Meez and then go into creative mode. You can choose pretty much every part of your character down to the eyebrows. I think my favorite part is the animation that you can choose from. They have stuff like dance moves or expressions or foods for your virtual character to eat. Once you create your character they will give you a bit of code to paste into your registration page of the forum your in. If you are confused, they have a decent help page as well. Give yourself some style and give it a try.

“95% of this game is half mental.” Yogi Berra

This week I hope to post about some things the average computer user should, if not know intimately, at least should be aware of. Now I do not expect you to run out and start using these sites but in the same way a gigantic portion of the public watches the show American Idol or pays attention to what happens in baseball we should at least be aware there are such things even if we do not watch it.

To begin, this is a game that has eight million registered users that use their service called World Of Warcraft. It is a type of game called a MMORPG, a massive multiplayer online role playing game. This means you sign on to a virtual world that is gigantic. You can follow the game goals like killing monsters and collecting treasure and the like but it also serves another purpose, socializing. Because the game is available worldwide you play and interact with people from all over the planet. You can adventure with them as a team or act out your character. This is not a game you play lightly;it is a commitment that may take up to eight hours a day. To understand this game and it's players you must stop thinking of the game that has an end and then you are finished because this game is effectively without one. You play, make your character grow over time and hopefully meet some new friends. If you go the their site you can watch trailers about the game and it's play. If this inspires you give it a try.

Dewey or don't she

Do you find that Yahoo and Google are too efficient with your time? Are you looking for a search engine with something different, like a bit of an attitude? Well if the answer to these questions is yes then it is time to try Microsoft’s new search engine. It or rather she is called Ms. Dewey. She answers search queries using the windows live search engine. It is amusing for a while but I am unsure if it would continue to amuse if someone would use it all that much. I put it here so that you can decide. Also, because Ms. Dewey is a Microsoft project, try typing in products like Halo to get different responses. She reminds me of the much hated Clip-it assistant from Microsoft office fame that was killed off in 1998. Give it a try!

I have a ringing in my ears

Need to call someone somewhere but don’t want to pay a lot for it then Skype is your best friend. All you do is create a free account with Skype and then use their software to call all over the world. It is very cheap. You will need a microphone and it is easier with earphones also. Many people refer to it as VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). You can use it to call out or have a number that people can reach you at. It uses your computer to make the call through the Internet. If you call and use Skype to call another Skype user, it is free. I recommend that you watch their intro video on the first page. Give it a try!

I did not know I needed another one

The first post was about how to read more posts so I thought you had been shortchanged.

Are you tired of life with it's usual, repetitive days? You most likely cannot fly and this depresses you. Well then it is time for a new life, a Second life. Second Life is an extremely popular virtual world that exists on the web. Why would anyone want to hang out in a virtual world? Well, that is not always so simple. Some people wish things were different. I wish I could fly or I was taller or I was a girl or squirrel looking thing. If you want to be different or do different things then you are perfect candidate. Now that you understand why then the next question should be “what goes on in this perfect world?” Essentially anything goes. Concerts and art openings are happening there first. People are creating things out of their imagination. Many go to meet up with old friends or meet new ones all from all over the world. Some are saying this is the future of the net instead of page after page of static information. Your final question should be “when can I start and how much is it?” The answer is now and free. It is free but if you want to do some things like own virtual land so you can build houses you will need real money but otherwise it is free. You will need a good broadband connection (cable or DSL) to use it though. If you want to read more. Give it a try or just a look.