Monday, January 30, 2012

Computer America Lineup for week of Jan 30, 2012

Monday
-------
Hour one: PC World Magazine. Steve Fox from PC World Magazine joins
us every last Monday of the month with the latest computer stories!

Hour two: Craig and Ben discuss the Technology News, announcements,
upgrades and other events of the day!


Tuesday
-------
Hour one: telyHD. telyHD gives consumers the freedom to share moments
big and small with friends and family around the world. Unlike
traditional computer-based web cameras, telyHD is designed for the
living room with a wide-angle camera that zooms, pans and tilts to
capture an entire room and all the participants in stunning HD video.

Hour two: Awareness Technologies! Brad Miller, CEO of Awareness
Technologies introduces their new Block Smart Software as well as
offering additional thoughts on protecting children online from
cyberbullies using WebWatcher, as well how these types of computer
monitoring programs work and how parents are using them.


Wednesday
-------
Hour one: It's Wednesday Madness! You never know who may stop in! Plus
it's OPEN phone lines! We answer your questions on ANY computer and
technology topic. We read your emails and Feedbacks, play your voice
messages, it's anything goes! Joining Craig and Ben is our Computer
America correspondent Mike Cermak, the Owner-Operator of Techguy.org.

Hour two: We continue with your phone calls, emails, feedbacks and
voicemails!


Thursday
--------
Hour one and a half: Christopher Breen, Senior Editor of Macworld
Magazine talks about the upcoming Macworld event as well as products
from Apple and supporting companies.

Last half hour: Craig and Ben discuss the Technology News,
announcements, upgrades and other events of the day!


Friday
--------
First hour and a half: Marc Ostrofsky. Mark is the Author of Get Rich
Click! The Ultimate Guide to Making Money on the Internet. The title
says it all.

Last half hour: Craig and Ben discuss the Technology News, announcements,
upgrades and other events of the day!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Censorship

1998 - After reading two pages of Toni Morrison's acclaimed American novel Song of Solomon, St. Mary's County, Maryland commissioners unanimously agreed with the school superintendent's decision to remove it from the curriculum, calling the book "filth" and "trash." The book was ordered to be removed from the schools' approved-text list, so teachers could not use it in their lessons. A spokeswoman said it would remain available in school libraries. None of the five county commissioners read the book beyond the two pages the superintendent gave them for review. The novel was considered to be Nobel winner Morrison's best work.

Today’s Poor Prediction

"It is not too much to expect that our children will enjoy in their homes electrical energy too cheap to meter."
- Lewis L. Strauss, chairman of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, 1954.

Rules of Internet Trolling

Rule #1 of Internet trolling: Excessive use of F word makes you look hardcore.

Rule #2 of Internet trolling: Be anonymous. Clip art avatar recommended, something to suggest toughness.

Rule #3 of Internet trolling: Don't attempt if you have a girlfriend. Girls do not, as a rule of nature, find this "hot."

Rule #4 of Internet trolling: Bring extra Funyuns for sustenance while slogging long hours in your mom's basement.

Rule #5 of Internet trolling: After engaging target with f bombs/death threats/aggression, complain when you receive negative attn.

Rule #6 of Internet trolling: Misspell things and use bad grammar because you spent too much time crafting tuff image.

via @DLoesch and her wonderful Twitter feed.

Computer America Show for week of January 16, 2012

Monday
-------
It’s Martin Luther King Day so there’s no live show. Please enjoy a
“Best of Computer America” and we’ll see you tomorrow!


Tuesday
-------
Hours one and two: Every third Tuesday of the month, we have an all
Linux show! Joining Craig and Ben once again is Larry Bushey, the
Creator and host of the “Going Linux Podcast.”


Wednesday
-------
First Segment: Sandy Berger. Sandy is a printer, digital camera and
consumer electronics expert. She’s just back from CES and is here to
update us on all of the exciting things she’s seen.

Hour two: We continue with your phone calls, emails, feedbacks,
Voicemails and the latest Computer News stories!


Thursday
--------
Hour one: The Neat Company. Hear all this amazing little scanner that
intelligently imports pages, receipts and business cards and can do them
all at the same time!

Hour two: Craig and Ben discuss the Technology News, announcements,
upgrades and other events of the day!


Friday
--------
Hour one: David Perry. He’s just back from CES and is here to tell us
more about everything he’s seen!

Hour two: Craig and Ben discuss the Technology News, announcements,
upgrades and other events of the day!

Genealogy

Do you have a family? Probably. Do you have a family you admit to being part of? I hope so.

I've started taking a genealogy class, finding out more about my family and history. The teacher has us starting with ourselves. It's the person you know best. Then you can work back to other people in your family.

You might print these out and write down your answers, or put them in a word processing document. These are only for example, you should feel free to ask whatever questions you feel comfortable asking.

1) Compile your letters, pictures, tings from childhood
2) Siblings
3) Early memories of your childhood home, news of the time
4) Friends, pets, favorite TV shows, radio stations, music, books
5) Where did you live, describe the house and town
6) Did you get into trouble, what rules of the house were there
7) Vivid memories
8) Trips to relatives homes, what were they like
9) Did you have any chores, how much did you get paid, how did you spend the money
10) What holidays did you celebrate
11) What did you do on weekends
12) Any unusual events
13) Where did you go to school, friends, after school activities, favorite subjects, teachers, grades
14) School field trips
15) What hobbies did you enjoy
16) Favorite things in childhood, food, music, clothes, movies, people you looked up to
17) Did you go to church
18) Dreams for the future
19) Experiences with death
20) Any family or neighborhood gatherings

You can add to these questions as you see fit and be as detailed as you feel comfortable.

These were paraphrased from Life History: Beginning to End

Friday, January 13, 2012

Married Four Times

The local news station was interviewing an
80-year-old lady because she had just gotten
married for the fourth time.
The interviewer asked her questions about her
life, about what it felt like to be marrying again
at 80, and then about her new husband's
occupation. "He's a funeral director," she
answered.
"Interesting," the newsman thought.
He then asked her if she wouldn't mind telling
him a little about her first three husbands and
what they did for a living. She paused for a few
moments, needing time to reflect on all those
years.
After a short time, a smile came to her face
and she answered proudly, explaining that she had
first married a banker when she was in her early
20's, then a circus ringmaster when in her 40's,
and a preacher when in her 60's, and now in her
80's, a funeral director.
The interviewer looked at her, quite
astonished, and asked why she had married four men
with such diverse careers.


(wait for it)


She smiled and explained, "I married one for
the money, two for the show, three to get ready,
and four to go."

Thursday, January 12, 2012

A long winded reply to tragic event

This is the reply I wanted to leave at a blog about a tragic accident. However, my talent to type lots has taken over and I thought it would be more appropriate here to leave a note of this length.

The original posting can be found here (http://blog.chron.com/goodmombadmom/2012/01/the-horrible-sounds-of-sirens/).

--

My mother was a fire fighter for 25 years. She retired on December 31, 2011. On the 27th, the station she worked at had a big party for her and the air ambulance gave her a little flight in their Bell 222. We had a great time.

About 15 years ago, we were out trying to get Christmas dinner for the two of us. It seemed that every time we tried to get to a store, there would be a call for her station. She was a paid call fire fighter at the time. The last call of the day found us on the freeway, heading the opposite way we had been trying to go hoping things would settle down.

She got a call for a vehicle accident, back the other way. I turned us around at the next exit and headed for the location of the crash. It was only a few miles from our house, as we live right next to a major freeway.

Because we were already moving, we got there just after the ambulance, but before the fire engine. Being a warm body, I was pressed into helping bring the gurney from the ambulance to where the car came to rest, about 200 feet from the road. The little Hyundai had landed on it's roof, with the driver, having been ejected, under the trunk of the car.

Mom had to go with the ambulance to the hospital. I had to drive the husband. I could already tell she had died. It was hard to not speed down the freeway and try to keep up with the ambulance. He prayed for his wife, begging God to save her. I kept quiet and drove.

She died on the way to a family dinner. They had driven over 250 miles and only had about 10 more to go when they got in an argument.

Christmas has gone from being my favorite time of year, decorating the house with my houses and lights to being a month I endure and hope will end quickly. Halloween is becoming my favorite time of year.

I think of that day often. I try my hardest to drive carefully, keeping my passengers and other drivers safe so we all get home at the end of the day. I don't use a cell phone while driving. I leave the radio on one of a few channels. I use my blinkers. I stop at signs for the full three seconds. I'm hardly a perfect driver, still a work in progress.

It's an event that will live with me forever.

Hug your family. Often. Think positive thoughts for both families. Think of the good her organs will do for other people. It's a tragic event all around. All my best to you and your family and the families involved.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Computer America, week of January 9, 2012

Monday
-------
Hour one: GiveBackMail. Hear about a free email service that donates to
charity for every email you send! You can even keep your current email
address! Tune in this hour to hear all about this service that gives
back!

Hour two: Craig and Ben discuss the Technology News, announcements,
upgrades and other events of the day!


Tuesday
-------
Hours one and two: It's CES! The Consumer Electronic Show is all about,
well, Consumer Electronics! This is the place where new electronic
products and services are unveiled before they appear to the general
consumer. Everything from computers. tablets, digital cameras, TVs and
more are unveiled here. Anchoring from CES and Show Stoppers in Las
Vegas are David Perry and Sandy Berger. You'll hear live interviews and
report for both hours. This is exciting stuff and you won't want to miss it!


Wednesday
-------
Hour one: LearnToProgram.tv. Study after study and metric after metric
has shown that software developers, programmers and other computer
professionals will remain in high demand for the foreseeable future.
This fact coupled with the pervasive nation-wide unemployment problem
has led one local entrepreneur to offer a solution. Mark Lassoff founded
LearnToProgram.tv to provide affordable, consistent, high quality
training courses for people who want to learn computer programming, web
and mobile software design. Tune in to hear Mark talk to us about
learning computer programming and maybe see if this is right for you!

Hour two: We continue with your phone calls, emails, feedbacks and
voicemails!


Thursday
--------
Hour one: EzWebCalendar. It's the online calendar Computer America uses
to schedules its guests and show topics! Having a web-based calendar is
an ideal way to keep everyone's schedule in sync and keep them informed.
It could be perfect for you as well. Check it out!

Hour two: Craig and Ben discuss the Technology News, announcements,
upgrades and other events of the day!


Friday
--------
Hour one: Scheduled is Animoto, the award-winning leader in online video
editing. They just announced an all-new version of its free iPhone app
that makes it easy for consumers to create and share stunning,
professional-looking videos - complete with music and text- from their
own photos. Instead of just sharing a single photo with friends and
family, the Animoto Video Slideshows app instantly creates a personal
video that is easy to share via email, text, Facebook and Twitter or to
save on the iPhone's camera roll.

Hour two: Craig and Ben discuss the Technology News, announcements,
upgrades and other events of the day!

Monday, January 02, 2012

Computer America, week of January 2, 2012

Lineup for the week: 2012 begins! Happy New Year!


Monday
-------
Hour one: LoJack for Laptops. Given how much and often priceless
information people generally keep on their laptops such as photos,
videos, work, bank/credit card information and more, it has never been
more important for people to protect their digital lives and personal
safety through theft recovery software. Absolute, with 18+ years of
experience and more than 20,000 recoveries, can provide practical
insight for consumers to ensure mobile devices, and the information on
them, are protected in case of theft or loss. Hear all about their
newest LoJack for Laptops on tonight's show!

Hour two: Craig and Ben discuss the Technology News, announcements,
upgrades and other events of the day!


Tuesday
-------
Hour one: Carbonite. The cloud is becoming more and more powerful in the
backup community, mainly due to a growing familiarity among consumers,
and is a much cheaper option than an external hard drive that is five
times the cost without all of the safety features. Tom Murray, Vice
President of Marketing at Carbonite, is here to further discuss the
trend of the cloud vs. external hard drives, and how external hard
drives are quickly becoming extinct, just like CDs/DVDs and USBs.

Hour two: Craig and Ben discuss the Technology News, announcements,
upgrades and other events of the day!


Wednesday
-------
Hour one: It's Wednesday Madness! You never know who may stop in! Plus
it's OPEN phone lines! We answer your questions on ANY computer and
technology topic. We read your emails and Feedbacks, play your voice
messages, it's anything goes! Joining Craig and Ben is our Computer
America correspondent Mike Cermak, the Owner-Operator of Techguy.org.

Hour two: We continue with your phone calls, emails, feedbacks and
voicemails!


Thursday
--------
Hour one: Scheduled is PCMag. Getting an ebook published takes more
than just talent, marketing savvy, and a manuscript. On PCMag.com,
Chandra Steele outlines the simplest and cheapest ways to get an ebook
on the digital shelves of the Kindle, Nook, iPad, Kobo, and more. Join
us and Chandra on how aspiring authors can transform their manuscripts
and dreams into a reality that will actually reach an audience.

Hour two: Craig and Ben discuss the Technology News, announcements,
upgrades and other events of the day!


Friday
--------
Hour one: Scheduled is Boston Acoustics. When it comes to speakers for
your home or your computer system, Boston Acoustics delivers! Tune in
to hear about what it is you should really be shopping for when it comes
to audio speakers!

Hour two: Craig and Ben discuss the Technology News, announcements,
upgrades and other events of the day!

Sunday, January 01, 2012

The Twilight Zone, The Monster are Due on Maple Street


The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices, to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own - for the children, and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to the Twilight Zone.

-- Rod Serling