Staying connected....

If you are a heavy I.M. user and oftentimes, because of various annolying reasons, find yourself unable to access your favorite program such as Yahoo Messenger, MSN, etc. - you are in luck! Using any computer in the world that has Internet access, surf your way over to the "eBuddy" Web site, choose the messaging service(s) that you use (yes, you can access multiple services at once), log into each account and suddenly presented before you, will be a Web version of your favorite programs.

Now how's that for convenience? I'd say on the "Nifty" scale the site ranks around a 9 out of 10!

Digging a little deeper....

While watching television or a movie have you ever wondered about what kind of a life a celebrity may have had growing up? Or maybe a famous politician, or an industry mogul? Well if you have, there is a pretty good chance that you can read their biography online.

Wanna' take a guess where?

Check out "The Biography Channel" on the Internet. The site claims to have over 20,000 biographies available for reading.

I think that is pretty darn impressive don't you?

Cool Tools....

Telephone related tools that is - tools that will help you quickly track down an area code, telephone number, or a mailing address.

By utilizing the free services of "White Pages.com", one can access a great deal of information:

Find an Area Code or find out where an area codes originates - click here

Type in a telephone number and find out the address that it is assigned to - click here

Enter an address and look-up the telephone number for that location - click here

All in all, a great bunch of useful services and the best part is that they are all free!

Thinking about 9/11

Did you know that there is a digital archive of 9/11?

Click here to access all types of content that provides documentation of the events on that horrific date.

You can also submit your own content!

Test your I.Q. here...

Have you ever had an overwhelming desire to test your I.Q. or your personality?

If you have, then by all means click here to fulfill that urge. There are a lot of different kinds of tests at the site so if you like tests, well by golly - you are in for a treat!

Take a Look @ One Look...

In most cases, when I need to quickly look up a definition of word, I utilize either Google.com or Dictionary.com - both sites work really well.

But, if you are like me, you like multiple options.

Here's a new one: OneLook.com - the site accesses over 960 different dictionaries that cover various fields such as medicine, technology, business, and art just to name a very few.

There is a lot of knowledge packed within the pages of the OneLook Web site, and to think, every bit of it is accessible absolutely free for the taking!

Newspaper Cornucopia...

I don't know about you but I have lived in a LOT of places all over the country. Occasionally I get a hankerin' to see what is going on in some of my old stomping grounds. I figure the best way to do that is to read the online version of the local newspaper for the particular city or town that I'm interested in.

That is where Newspapers.com comes in handy - very handy.

Not only does the site provide an extensive listing of all online newspapers in the U.S., it does a pretty darn good job of providing links to overseas periodicals as well.

Bored? Visit the Library for Crying out Loud!

The "Internet Public Library" that is - a site started by one college and now maintained by another. You can do keyword searches or look up information by category.

It's the kind of site that you visit when you've run out of links to click on and Web addresses to type and you just want to explore the Web for awhile more.

You never know what useful and important information you just might dig up at the Internet Public Library.

Be quiet though and don't disturb the others!

How Things Work....

I've just stumbled across a Web site that explains how things work - all different kinds of things. The site is sponsored by a university in Virginia and contains lots of great information. You just never know when you just might be able to use what you've learned from the site.

It might even help you win your next game of Trivial Pursuit!

Click here to get smart.

Keepin' Kids Safe...

If you've got kids and you allow them access to the Internet, then you will need to constantly educate yourself on ways to protect them. The folks at CNET have put together some very good information on the subject, click here to access it.

Stay alert, be vigilant, and don't be afraid to use the word "No".

The Power of the Internet...

Lately, I've been receiving calls on my cell phone from a company that claims that I've won a ton of prizes. I politely decline to participate in whatever it is they are REALLY trying to sell me but they continue to call me back occasionally anyway.

Well, this morning I missed their call (how sad) but instead of the standard "Caller Unknown" identification that normally was associated with call, an actual telephone number showed up on the Caller I.D.

I quickly jumped over to Google and typed in the telephone number. Unfortunately though, the number is unlisted. There is some good news anway - there were at least a half-dozen references to that telephone number in various blogs and forums. I learned the name of the company, and that it was located in the Tampa area of Florida. More importantly I learned that if I were call the number back and quickly hit the "2" on my telephone keypad, I would be afforded the opportunity to have my telephone number removed from their calling list automatically.

I hesitantly made the call, I went through the automated process which seemed to work without a hitch, now I'm looking forward to a future without any more calls from that company - that is, IF they keep their word and don't really call me back.

I'm not holding my breath!

New Google Feature....

Did you know that you can now simply type a telephone number into the Google search box and receive back information regarding that telephone number? Besides the name and address, a link is also provided to a map of the physical location.

Now I know, a lot of folks will feel like that an ability for a total stranger to perform such a search is an invasion of privacy and that Google has no right to provide such information - yet, there are at least a half a dozen Web sites that have provided "reverse look-up" on the Internet for the past decade.

The only way to provide a high degree of anonymity when it comes to telephone numbers is to make sure you've got an unlisted number and that my friends is no absolute guarantee.

Disposable E-mail....

Now I know you are probably wondering why in the world would anyone need a disposable email account.

But take just a minute and think about it.

How many times have you been at a Web site that required you to provide an email address before it would allow you to have access to information that you wanted or needed?

A lot of times right?

And how many times, after providing your email address, did the amount of SPAM you received begin to quickly increase?

See any connection there?

From now on, quickly jump over to the "Guerrilla Mail" Web site. Within seconds receive a temporary email address that is good for about 15 minutes, do what you need to do, and then go on about your business.

No fuss, no muss, and no cost!

Getting back to normal....

Well, I'm back - finally.

I've been on a brief hiatus so to speak. If you didn't already know, I am a full-time college student (at 48 years of age). For spring break I decided to rent a car and drive over 4,000 miles in 10 days.

I was successful.

My wife and I explored parts of New Mexico and Colorado that we had never visited before. We think maybe we found our litt.e piece of heaven and it's located just south of Durango, Colorado.

It was during that traveling time that I also decided to greatly reduce my online exploration. I pretty much limited my access to checking the weather, road conditions, and email.

I think sometimes we need a break from technology. There are times that I feel like my brain is on overload and it is being constantly flooded with new data.

Do you ever feel that way?

Anyway, I'm gonna' start making frequent posts again - maybe 4 or 5 posts a week if I can.

I'm constantly searching for interesting, entertaining, and educational Web sites that I can share with my readers.

Enjoy Spring!