Barbaric Yawp

Phoebe swimming 2

2010-08-26T18:47:00.000-04:00

Phoebe swimming

2010-08-26T18:42:00.000-04:00

How to make a good cup of coffee

2009-11-08T12:08:00.008-05:00

Every now and then you get a cup of coffee that is superb. The temperature is right,the flavor is right, and you say "that is so good!" There are a lot of things that go into a good cup of coffee including good coffee. But even with grocery store bought brands like Folgers and Maxwell House, it is possible to get that "so good" coffee taste.

The first thing is to make sure you coffee maker is clean. A dirty coffee maker will effect the flavor and make it taste like mud.

The second thing is to use filtered water. Filtered water has fewer minerals and you get better infusion. Also water retains odors and tastes that are removed by filtering the water.

The third thing is to use chilled water. There is something about starting out with cold water that has an effect on how the coffee ends up tasting. Nobody is sure why this is so.

Get the right coffee to water ratio. The typical recommendation is one table spoons to 6 ounces of coffee. I use a little less. When I make 6 cups I put in about 5 table spoons and maybe just a pinch more.

Then turn on your coffee maker and brew the coffee.

Let the coffee maker finish dripping all the coffee. The last bit of water in the filter basket tends to brew a little longer than the rest of it and it has a noticeable effect on the flavor of the coffee.

Now there is one more important factor about getting a good cup of coffee and that is how soon you drink it. Coffee looses its best flavor 30 seconds after brewing so get that first cup poured quick.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee

http://www.coffeereview.com

http://www.coffeeforums.com

Is it a responsibility to vote for a president?

2009-11-07T14:09:00.001-05:00

How often has it been evangelized that a responsible citizen will vote. But honestly can we really vote responsibly? How can one really know who would make a good president? Before George Bush became president the first time there were a lot of people that thought he was the best choice. Many of those same people have since changed their minds.

Until someone is president it is difficult to say what kind of president they will be. Most presidents were mostly unknown to the public before they ran for president.

So first off the candidates are unknowns. Unknown quantities until they make into the office then we see what kind of president they will be. Character is hard to know outside of the testing of it. I can honestly say I do not even know myself all that well. Things come out in a persons character under pressure that are completely hidden otherwise.

Second off it is even more uncertain what a president will have to face. Look at all the events in the past 20 years and tell me which ones were predictable. We do not know what the next president will have to face in the next 4 years and that makes choosing a president even harder. About the only thing we can say about the way we select a president is that if someone makes it to office then they have endured through the riggers of a presidential race. That is something at least. But enduring a presidential race is a far cry from enduring 4 years of being president.

Someone might say that if you stayed on top of current events and followed politics that you could reasonably make a good choice. I do not think so. Besides your day job and all the responsibilities of life you have precious little time to keep up with all of that. Even if you spent all your time immersed in news sources, events, and a myriad of other things such as finance, foreign countries and leaders etc... you still would not know enough to make a good choice. How much more is there that you don't know?

Honestly none of us know enough much less have the time to get the needed knowledge. Can anyone honestly say they predicted that Moscow would attack Georgia? There is no way we can know enough to say for certain who would make a good president.

It seems to me that it can not be a responsibility to vote for a president seeing that we have so little to go on in making an intelligent choice. It is more responsible to ask ones self if one really knows who the best choice is before deciding to vote.

Internet Protocal Security Flaw allows hackers to intercept data being transferred

2009-11-06T18:04:00.002-05:00

The API used for making secure internet connections and transferring data back and forth allows hackers to intercept data transfers and decipher the data.

Fast Company tells the story.

---> Secure Browsing is not so Secure

Human Seminal Plasma Hypersensitivity

2009-11-05T20:34:00.001-05:00

A rare disorder where a woman is allergic to a man's semen. Apparently there are a number of sexual disorders that are strange like this. Aolhealth.com tells the story and has a video of the couple.

---> Woman Allergic to Husband's Semen

---> Human Seminal Plasma Hypersensitivity PubMed.gov

Bad Economy Stimulates Home Based Business

2009-11-05T19:49:00.002-05:00

There has been an increase in home bases businesses as a result of the bad economy.
Here is an article from Business Week that tells the story.

---> Rise of the Homeperneur

The comments from many visitors to this article are invaluable for people looking to start a home based business. Lots of ideas from people that have been successful working from home.

---> Comments on Article

Facebook Developer Yvo Schaap uncovers Gaping Vulnerability in Facebook and MySpace

2009-11-05T18:11:00.001-05:00

There are about 300,000 programmers developing software to operate on Facebook. One of them, Yvo Schaap uncovered a gaping vulnerability that allows anyone that knows how to develop(program) applications for Facebook to access all of users personal information including pictures. As of January of this year Facebook has over 150 million users.

Tech Crunch tells the story.

---> Massive Facebook and MySpace Flash Vulnerability

Technomads and Digital Vagabonds nomadic life styles in the USA

2009-11-05T17:19:00.000-05:00

An interesting article featured on Technorati about one couple and one individual that live a nomadic lifestyle in the USA having no permanent location.
The feature offers two websites with first hand information and videos of the lives of these people along with lots of information about how to become a Technomad(Tech-Nomad) in the USA.

---> Pursuing an Independent Lifestyle

Weekend Plans? Here are some ideas.

2009-11-05T14:30:00.000-05:00

New powder in Colorado, Beer in San Diego, Hikeing in CA. Some nice get away ideas from Men's Journal.

---> Getaway Ideas for this Weekend

Couple in China Did Not Know How to have Sex

2009-11-05T11:08:00.001-05:00

Sex Liberation and sex education is just getting underway in China. This article from state.com tells how one couple did not know how to use a condom and when the found out did not know what to do afterwords either and had to do research just to learn how to have sex

---> Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex (But Didn't Learn Because You Grew Up in China)

Learn How to Cook Like a Man

2009-11-04T14:34:00.002-05:00

A great article from Men's Journal on basic cooking techniques tailored to single men. Get in and out of the kitchen and get good nutrition while your at it.

---> Learn to Cook Like A Man

What is the Value of a Raffle Ticket for a $25,000 car

2009-11-04T12:54:00.000-05:00

This was a homework assignment.

1. Q: What is the value of a raffle ticket worth to the purchaser of the ticket if there is one winner of a new car worth $25,000 and there are 1,000,000 one dollar tickets sold?

A: Val(raffle ticket); 1 car @ 25K, 10^6 tickets @ 1.00
E(e) = p(e) * V(e)
= 1/(10^6) = .000001 * 25,000
= $.025 per raffle ticket

2. Q. What is the expected total value of a raffle worth to a raffle operator if there is one winner of a new car worth $25,000, there are 1,000,000 one dollar tickets to sell, and the probability of selling all the tickets is 75%?

A. Probability of success/failure times the value of success/failure
.75 * 10^6 = 750,000
750,000 – 25,000(the car cost) = 725,000

These questions were taken from the following booklet

The Role of Probability Theory in Systems Analysis (SA)
Stanley Schuyler, 16 August, 2005
---> users.edinboro.edu/sschuyler/

Broadband Backpack Get Connected From Anywhere in the World.

2009-11-03T22:56:00.005-05:00

From BBC News: An internet connection in a back pack. All you need to connect via satellite from anywhere in the world. You have to pay a provider that offers satellite internet which is a bit pricey but you can connect to the internet from anywhere. It is a great emergency tool for anytime you need it.

---> Broadband Backpack BBC News

Probability of being in an automobile Accident

2009-11-03T19:38:00.001-05:00

1. In 1995 the number of vehicle miles observed was estimated to be 242,282,300 miles [2]. The total number of fatalities was observed to be 41,817. What is the estimated probability of being killed in an automobile accident in 1995?

p (death/mile 1995) = 41,817 / 242,282,300 = .000173 or about .02%.

2. In 2003, 42,028 deaths were observed over 289,089,300 vehicle miles driven [2]. What is the probability of being killed in an auto accident in 2003?

p (death/mile 2003) = 42,028 / 289,089,300 = .000145 or about .01%.

This information was taken from:

The Role of Probability Theory in Systems Analysis (SA)
Stanley Schuyler, 16 August, 2005
---> users.edinboro.edu/sschuyler/

Yotta, Yotta, Yotta: NSA is storing yottabytes of servailance data

2009-11-03T12:19:00.001-05:00

---> NSA to store yottabytes of surveillance data

NSA is constructing a data center in Utah that will store yottabytes of surveillance data. What is a yattabyte? Read the article at TechCrunch and find out.

How to remove personal information from a Word Document

2009-11-02T23:36:00.000-05:00

Personal information lingers in many places in a MS Word document. If you have a current version of MS Word there is a tool to remove this information for you. But for those you that have older versions of MS Word you can use this article published by Microsoft to remove the personal information.

---> Remove Personal Information From MS Word Documents

White Nose Syndrom threatening bat population on US Eastern Seaboard

2009-11-02T18:16:00.003-05:00

---> White Nose Syndrom

<excerpt from green.yahoo.com>
Bats on Eastern Seaboard are being killed off by a cave dwelling disease known
as White Nose Syndrom. Read the story at green.yahoo.com

---> http://green.yahoo.com

How to browse without leaving a trace

2009-11-02T13:57:00.003-05:00

---> Erase your Internet Footsteps

A browsers private mode is not effective enough to remove internet browsing foot prints. The operating system stores plenty of information on where you have been on the internet This article from www.lifehacker.com shows how to remove your internet footprints from your computer.

Is the body built for distance?

2009-11-02T13:39:00.003-05:00

---> Distance Running Article

A great NY Times article about the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, a tribe known for running extraordinary distances in nothing but thin-soled sandals. New research indicates that long distance running without the high tech footwear is better for you. A new best selling book titled Born to Run is the center of debate.

---> The Book Born To Run at Amazon

Americans are using less water.

2009-11-02T13:28:00.005-05:00

---> Americans are Getting Better at Water Conservation

An Article at CS Monitor
Scientists at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change say that climate change will make world water shortages worse. Computers that model the Great Lakes water levels indicate water levels will be substantially lower by century’s end.

But current data shows that Americans are using less water and probably are learning to conserve water better.

Tilling the ground is a major cause of Green House gasses in the Atmousphere

2009-11-01T18:18:00.002-05:00

---> Caring for the soil by Harvey Ussery

This is a great article at www.motherearthnews.com on caring for the soil in you garden but it also makes the point that the way we till the soil is a major contributor to our atmosphere problems.

Top search phrases at the NY Times.

2009-11-01T16:16:00.000-05:00

---> Most Search New York Times

It is interesting to take a look at this from time to time.

The Red Carpet for our Brightest Kids is rolling up.

2009-11-01T16:11:00.003-05:00

---> Constraining Americas Brightest

Another great article from the NY Times explaining how the best and brightest college grads are being constrained during their most productive years.

How smart dogs really are

2009-11-01T16:03:00.003-05:00

---> Good Dog Smart Dog

A great article from the NY Times on the obvious intelligence of dogs.

What keeps a woman looking young.

2009-11-01T12:45:00.009-05:00

This great article from www.stylelist.com has several interesting tips on what keeps a woman looking young and what makes them age.

---> What keeps you young

eHow a place to learn and teach others how to do things

2009-10-25T17:31:00.003-04:00

http://www.ehow.com

Learn how to do just about everything at eHow. Expert Village is now a part of eHow, adding expert How To videos to eHow, the world's most popular place to ...

20 Healthiest foods for under $1.00

2009-10-25T17:28:00.002-04:00

20 Healthiest foods for under a dollar

Food is such an expense for everyone. A trip to the grocery store just for one person can run several hundred just for one months supply of food. This article at
www.divinecaroline.com gives a list of the 20 of the healthiest foods you can get for under a dollar.

Pumpkin Nog

2009-10-25T17:16:00.002-04:00

Pumpkin Nog Recipie

Pumpkin Nog recipe by a professional Mixologist.

Pumpkin Wine Recipie

2009-10-25T17:11:00.005-04:00

Pumpkin Wine Recipie

Leo Zanelli's recipe for Pumpkin Wine.

Recipie for Apple Jack

2009-10-25T14:15:00.001-04:00

Apple Jack Recipie

An easy home recipe for making Apple Jack (Hard Cider)

Find Land for sale in the Wilderness

2009-10-25T13:51:00.005-04:00

Land and Farm Website
Buy hunting land in the wilderness or an organic farm out in the wild.

Heat a room with a Heat Grabber

2009-10-25T13:34:00.003-04:00

Heat a Room with a Heat Grabber

A heat grabber is an easy to make box that captures the sun's heat and can heat a small room.

Build a Log Cabin for $100.00

2009-10-25T13:28:00.003-04:00

Build A Log Cabin For $100.00

Image Gallery

Author Bill Sullivan and his wife built this log cabin home in Oregon.

Gene Therapy Restores Vision

2009-10-25T13:12:00.002-04:00

Gene therapy restores vision in child that has rare genitic disorder.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/EyeHealth/gene-therapy-restores-vision-blind-children/story?id=8908584

Still don't have a workbench? This one is easy - Fine Woodworking

2009-10-24T14:35:00.006-04:00

An easy to build work bench from Fine Woodworking

Posted using ShareThis

Sigmund Freud's Cocain Addiction

2009-10-19T18:27:00.000-04:00

From Letters Freud sent to his colleague Dr Fliess and to his fiancee show Freud's promotion of cocaine and his own cocaine addiction for over 10 years. Excerpts From the Freud-Fliess letters: [May 30, 1893] A short time ago I interrupted (for one hour) a severe migraine of my own with cocaine, the effect set in only after I had cocainized the opposite side [of the nose] as well. [January 24, 1895] Last time I wrote you, after a good period which immediately succeeded the reaction, that a few viciously bad days had followed during which a cocainization of the left nostril had helped me to an amazing extent. I now continue my report. The next day I kept the nose under cocaine, which one should not really do; that is I repeatedly painted it to prevent the renewed occurrence of swelling. [April 20, 1895] Today I can write because I have more hope; I pulled myself out of a miserable attack [of nasal problems] with a cocaine application. [April 26, 1895] I put a noticeable end to the last horrible attack [of nasal problems] with cocaine; since then things have been fine and a great amount of pus is coming out. [June 12, 1895] I need a lot of cocaine. [July 24, 1895] This was the occasion of Freud's dream about Irma's injection, the dream that many Freud scholars have identified as the stimulus for Frued's theory regarding dreams as wish fufillments. In reporting it in The Interpretation of Dreams Freud noted: I was making frequent use of cocaine at the time to reduce troublesome nasal swellings. In 1894 in a letter to his fiancee: Woe to you, my Princess, when I come. I will kiss you quite red and feed you till you are plump. If you are froward you shall see who is the stronger, a gentle little girl who doesn't eat enough or a big wild man who has cocaine in his body. In my last severe depression I took cocaine and a small dose lifted me to the heights in a wonderful fashion. I am just now busy collecting the literature for a song of praise to this magical substance. These excerpts are taken from Dr. E. Fuller Torrey's book Freudian Freud. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780060923785&itm=2 Dr. E. Fuller Torrey began to suspect Freud's theories while attending Princeton. He has since debunked Freud and has led the fight in moving physiological causes to the forefront of Psychiatry.

How to modularize vbscripts and make a script library

2008-08-14T19:29:00.007-04:00

Wouldn't it be nice to load vb scripts at run time? With the following code you can load any text file at run time. I call this function LoadScript. The idea is to simply call LoadScript at the beginning of each program that needs to load a script like this: LoadScript "adoconst.txt" LoadScript "fso_lib.vbs" LoadScript "sql_lib.vbs" etc.... It works kind of like Java import statements. Of course you can call the function what ever you want so if you want to call it Import and use it like this: Import "adoconst.txt" Import "fso_lib.vbs" Import "sql_lib.vbs" That works just as well. Here is the function. Sub LoadScript(p_file_name) Dim fso, f, ws_shell, ws_env Dim code 'get the path to your script library set ws_shell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell") set ws_env = ws_shell.Environment("SYSTEM") p_file_name = ws_env("SCRIPT_LIB_DIR") & "\" & p_file_name 'open up the script file set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") set f = fso.OpenTextFile(p_file_name, 1) ' 1 means ForReading code = f.ReadAll() f.Close 'This places your code in the global scope 'so it is available everywhere in your script ExecuteGlobal code 'clean up set ws_shell = nothing set ws_env = nothing set f = nothing set fso = nothing End Sub One last thing to do. Open Control Panel. Then Open System. Click on Advanced System Settings. Click on Environment Variables. Click on New under System Variables. Name the new variable SCRIPT_LIB_DIR Then give it the path to your script library The environment variable makes LoadScript more robust and easier to use. Now you can place all your vbscript modules in one directory and load them by using the LoadScript sub routine. Just place the LoadScript function in any script that needs to use another vbscript module and load your scripts.