A Long Hiatus....

Hi,

Thanks for visiting this Web site. As you can tell, I've not added any addtional web site recommendations in some time. There just doesn't seem to be that big of an interest in my blog as of late.

I've redirected my energy into writing my first fiction novel. The Clovis Chronicles has just been published! Please visit www.ClovisBooks.com to learn all about this very first book in a brand new series. By the way, there are a number of entertaining short videos on the Web site.

Kindest regards,
Tom DiFrancesca III
"Tracker Tom"

Wonderful Wonders....

I've previously written about 360 degree panoramic views that are available on the Internet, I'm gonna' write more about that now. I just found yet another really great Web site that offers not only views of 7 wonders of the world, but a whole lot of other interesting places as well.

Strap on your seat belt and hold on tight, then click here to start your adventure!

Are you a history buff?

If you are a teacher, a home-schooler, or a history buff, then you need to check out the "History Buff" Web site. It is chock full of great historical facts and history lessons.

Help promote a band and make money!

If you are into music and you'd like to help "undiscovered" bands make it big, then you need to check out the "Sell-a-Band" Web site. I'm really impressed with the unique concept of the service. In a nutshell, you explore the site and find a band that impresses you. You make a very small investment in their future and then help promote them. In return, you can earn money off of the sale of their music.

Join a Group - Start a Group....

It's possible through the "Group-o-Matic" Web site.

Here's the description that's on the site:

"Group-O-Matic helps local groups & clubs start, get members, and schedule events. Our service is free, private, and simple. "

I did a quick check for my area and so far no one is using the service yet. Give it time though, I can see some real potential for its use.

Creativity Enhancer....

Have you been struggling lately to come up with yet another innovative product or service? Have you found your creative energy deficient of late? Well, don't give up, there's hope for you yet.

Click here to access the "Idea Generator".

Press a button and a series of three words will appear in combination with each other. Keep whichever words seem interesting to you and then cycle through various words to replace those that you don't like. Believe me, it sounds much more complicated than it really is - try it!

Build up your DVD collection.....

If you are trying to build up your DVD collection, you need to find ways to do it as cheaply as possible (and not break the law). Click here for a great list of suggested ways to accomplish your goal.

Online Snooping.....

On one hand, it's real nice to be able to just jump onto the Internet and quickly track down an old classmate or a long lost uncle. But on the other hand, as the amount of personal information being uploaded to the Web increases, just how much of that info about us do we really want available? Click here to read a Time Magazine article about the subject.

Help for Staying Healthy....

There are a lot of health related resources available on the Internet. Sifting through thousands of Web sites is big task though. Click here to view a listing of the top 20 health related sites.

It's a great list!

Videos Galore....

It seems to me, that in the past year or so, almost weekly - a new video streaming Web site pops up. It's hard to keep track of them all. Some sites work great and some, well - they might work great sometimes.

Also, depending on the bandwidth of your Internet connection, some sites work much better than others. Here's another site to check out, it's called "LikeVid". Supposedly, the site offers 381 channels of entertainment. I've not really bothered to try and count all of them, but there are a lot of channels there.

Give the site a shot, you just might find something special to watch there.

Keeping Track of the World....

How many times have you found yourself wondering about the exact time of sunset for the spot that your at? Or maybe, you're real nosey like me and are curious about the times for sunset, dawn and dusk in other locations. Well, click here and you'll never be lacking in that information again!

Breaking News....

I'll be on a brief hiatus for the next 10 days. After that, I will begin making regular postings once again. I appreciate your continued support, encouragement, and patronage!

Do you own a boat?

If you do, and it's the kind that you can put on a trailer and tow it from place to place, then you'll probably want to check out the "Boat Launch Locator" site. You'll find information on more than 25,000 boat launch locations and the database is growing quickly.

Hit the road and hit the water!

The Clovis Chronicles Project

I'm working on my first fiction novel and I've started posting portions to the Internet. Click here to learn more. You're invited to make comments and suggestions.

Do you own a digital camera?

Ownership of those devices is getting more and more common. If you do own a digital camera, then you should check out the "PhotonHead" Web site. There is more free information there about digital cameras and photography than you can shake a stick at. You owe it to yourself to make sure that you get the very best images out of your camera.

More on "Hot Keys"

Another one of my favorite keyboard combinations is:

CTRL+N

This key combo immediately opens up a new browser window. A lot of folks don't realize that they can open multiple browser windows and use them simultaneously. I hardly ever surf the Web without at least three windows. Some pages/sites take longer to load than others and so while one or two pages are loading, I'm reading the content on another page.

Do you oftentimes find yourself straining to read the small text on a Web page? I know I do. Now, this little tip isn't really a "hot key", but it's close. After a page loads, hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard and at the same time scroll the little wheel that is located on your mouse. When you scroll one direction, the text should get larger. Scroll the other direction, the text gets smaller. Simply use this technique to adjust the font size to whatever is the most comfortable for you.

Hot Keys....

As you may well know, most of the programs that run under the Windows operating system can be navigated with "hot keys". "Hot Keys" are a combination of key strokes that perform the same operation as a mouse click.

Why is that important?

Sometimes, it's actually more convenient to just tap a few keys than it is to take your hands off of the keyboard, place your hand on the mouse, move the cursor over the desired spot, and then to click on it.

I frequently utilize "hot keys" while navigating the Internet with Internet Explorer.

Here are my favorite:

ALT+D = This key combo takes you directly to the Address bar where you can quickly type in Web address.

CTRL+ENTER = I love this one. Let's say I want to go to the homepage for Yahoo. I jump up to the Address bar (using the first combo above), then I simply type in "yahoo" (no quote marks please), as soon as I finish typing "yahoo", I press the and keys at the same time. Magically, the "www." and the ".com" are added to the "yahoo", and I'm taken directly to the http://www.yahoo.com/ Web site.

I think you ought to go play with these two key combinations for awhile. I'll post some more tomorrow!

Virtual Views

Here's something a little different. It's a listing of the top 18 most beautiful city skylines in the world. Of course, there are pictures offered up also. Click here to check out the list.

The Dangers of E-Cards....

Who would have thought that digital greeting cards would become dangerous? But, leave it up to some twisted individuals to give it a try. Just today, sitting in my e-mail inbox was a message, and the subject line read:

"You've received a greeting postcard from a neighbour!"

I immediately became suspicious because normally, when someone sends me an e-card, their name is listed in the email and I recognize it. The second red flag for me was the fact that the link provided for me to click on to view the card, was not the AmericanGreetings.com Web site address. No, instead of that domain name, there were a series of numbers (an I.P. address). I often see the same type of Internet addresses as links in bogus messages pretending to be from e-Bay.

After a quick search at Google, I found a lot of information on fake e-cards and of the potential damage that they can do to our computers. I suggest that you do your own search and learn as much as you can about the subject. Not just for yourself mind you, but for those you come into contact with often. You can click here to read a short article on the subject at the Trend Micro Web site.

Be careful and be diligent!

Take a Little Trip...

On a cruise ship that is and use the "Cruisemates" Web site to explore all of your options and to get the best deal. And by the way, I'm not being paid to mention the site.

A Different Type of Search Engine...

It's called "Pixsy" and the claim is that it searches through millions of Web sites, blogs, and RSS feeds for photos and videos. Time magazine listed the service in its "Top 50 Coolest Web Sites" of 2006.

A Different Kind of Search Engine....

Try "Accoona", if for anything but a nice break from Google. Take a look at what other new search engines are doing once in awhile. It can give you a different perspective at times.

With Accoona, you get some nice search targeting features right up front at the beginning of your search.

It's worth a peak at I'm tellin' you.

Everything Coast Guard....

The first site that you should check out is "PostCoastie.com" - it's a sister site to this one and I'm the editor of it as well.

The second site is "The Coast Guard Channel" which provides access to short videos, documentaries, and written stories - all related to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Why do I care? I'm a veteran of that service. Why should you care? 'Cause it's the best darn branch of the military services that's why. Not that I'm prejudice about the subject or anything like that.

If you have any friends or family members who are associated with the Coast Guard, would you please let them know about the two sites listed above? I'd sure appreciate it!

Nuthin' Like Free Software...

It's called "Freeware" and there's lots of it available on the Internet. Click here for a site that lists the some of the best free software available. The site also provides a link to each particular program.

Mapping out Terrorism....

Check out the "Global Incident Map", I did and I was very impressed with the magnitude of information that it provides. The site is updated every fifteen minutes or so and one can keep abreast of possible outbreaks of terrorism worldwide.

Out of this World Images....

All free and all beautiful. Thanks to the folks at NASA.

The "Astronomy Picture of the Day" Web site is really great. Click on the link once a day and be presented with a new Space related image. But there is also a lot more to the site than that. In fact, by using either the "Archive" or "Search" links, one can view hundreds upon hundreds of images.

Have fun Space explorers!

Easy E-mail Access

For most folks, checking their email when they are away from home is pretty easy these days. Almost all of the big Internet access providers provide a Web based log in page. Well, for a lot of folks though, who still use local ISP's, checking e-mail remotely an be a problem.

Not really.

Not if they know about the "Mail2Web" site.

As long as one has Internet access, be it anywhere in the world, all they have to do is jump over to that site and then type in their email address and password. Once that's done, quick and easy access to their e-mail is right before them.

Pretty nifty I say.

Volcano Watch....

Here's an interesting fact. The state of Alaska has a volcano monitoring program whereby scientists utilize Web cams to keep an eye out for possible volcanic activity.

If you ever get really, really bored and feel like standing "volcano watch" sometime, click here and you can participate also!

Become a Google Master in 20 easy steps....

Yes my friend, you heard me right. Now step on up to the front here and listen to closely. Did you realize that although Google is probably the best darn search engine on the Web, there is a lot that you can do to greatly reduce the number of results that you are presented with? Wouldn't it be nice to only be presented with the results that contain exactly the data that you are looking for?

No more wading through hundreds of links just to find what you are looking for would be nice wouldn't it?

Well ladies and gentlemen, your days of needless wading are almost over. Click here to access a list of search tips that will make your time at the Google Web site much more productive.

Test your "Net I.Q."...

If you are still pretty new to the Web, click here and take the "Net I.Q." test. The test results will indicate to you the areas in which you need to progress. Now I know, some folks look at the Internet only as an entertainment venue, but could you imagine if a person actually knew how to use it for other purposes?