Everything In Its Place

Easily find Flickr photos of mostly one color hue, or a mix of up to five, using Multicolr Search Lab. Pick your color or colors, and see the photos in your chosen range. Loads fast, and is quite fun to see just how many combination's really exist out there in Flickr-land. Could also be a handy way to see how certain colors look together, say, if you're thinking about redesigning a room or creating a background/craft item/some other colorful endeavor. Quick and interesting way to see how creative people can be. This goes for the site creators as well the photographers.
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Always in need of free image hosting. The latest and greatest available currently is Imgur, pronounced as "image-er." (I still hear it as "imgurrrr" in my head but that's me).

This is really the easiest way to upload and share any image. You can drag & drop from your computer, you can upload the usual way too if that doesn't work, you can copy the url to their link uploader. It takes seconds, and you do not need to log in, or sign up for anything. Just upload and link, and move on. Finally, a simple way to share. Free. That's the best right?

There's another possible benefit with Imgur besides free and easy pic sharing. If your image is popular, it ends up in the gallery where it'll remain viewable to all, though not searchable. Do yourself a favor and read the FAQ (it's short) because it explains how to delete your photo if you need to do so, as well as other helpful info.

To those who created Imgur, thanks! You're just what I was looking for.

Labels: free, image sharing, Imgur

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Ok, I know this is just silly but I had fun for a few. Go ahead and play with Stretch and see for yourself. You can shake him and throw him and wiggle him and toss him out of view. He's a trooper, always comes back for more. He's the "funnest" adopt-a-pet ever. (Just imagine him as someone who's getting on your nerves, TOSS! SHAKE! THROW! Ahhh, isn't that better?)

adopt your own virtual pet!

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Wow, cyber stalking has really improved with all the mapping options available. Pretty scary if you're one of those people we need to worry about. But if you're really just curious, like me, it can be a really interesting time waster. Especially if you want to see where your favorite celebrity used to or (?!) currently lives, or hey, is there really a Rydell High? Yes! Well, it's actually Venice High but it's also Rydell (in the movie Grease). Nice.

Kind of scary to me that it's a lot easier to see where the stars (or anyone else for that matter) live but also kind of fascinating to see the type of house and location. Virtual Globetrotting is a good site to visit when you want to see the world, or maybe just your favorite celeb's neighborhood from the comfort of your pc. Seems to me this site focuses more on famous homes than landmarks but it's fun to see those too. Surf safely now.
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I'm sure the weather has inspired today's blast from the past. Rain...lots of rain.

There was this short TV movie that I remember seeing once when I was kid, that was so profound I still think about it as an adult. I remember most of the story with no problem. All except for the title. The title always eluded me. Instead I'd think "Flowers for Algernon*" which is also a good story but not the right one.

A little girl, living on a planet where it rains all the time except for one short instance. And that only happens after long years of rain. During this time, which is today in the story, the little girl so longing for that sunlight is locked in a closet by cruel classmates. The dreaded rain stops, the dark world brightens. The kids run and play and marvel at the joy and light of sunshine and bright blue skies. From the darkness of the closet, she sees a mere sliver of the sunlight she so needed, and is missing out on. Then, darkness. Then, the kids remember they locked the little girl in the closet and feel bad about it, and let her out. It's too late though, she missed it.

It was just a short, cheesy TV movie (episode really) but it was one that's supposed to make you think about the moral consequences of your actions.

But what's the title? I could never remember the title.

Ah, Google. And YouTube. Thank you.

The title? "All Summer in a Day*

I don't remember ever actually reading the story but I found it here. Quick read. Good to finally read the text.

Found 3 parts of the TV movie on Youtube too:

P1


P2


P3


Kind of baffles me sometimes what I remember from 20-30 years ago yet sometimes I can't remember what I had for dinner last night or where I put ______ (whatever item is missing). Joys of aging. Not.
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There are plenty of free image hosts* out there. Photobucket and Flickr, are easy. Both are free but require you to sign up. What if you just want to post the occasional image, or, don't want a plethora of random images cluttering up your Flickr stream or Zooomr collection?

I have Flickr, Zooomr, and a Photobucket account, but when I want to post a one time photo or just don't want that particular one in my photo collection or sucking up space in Picasa, I use one of two alternatives (lately).

Allyoucanupload.com* was the best one but has since become part of WebShots (which is probably good too but requires signing up). So for me, for now, that leaves ImageShack, and Tinypic.

ImageShack (you can sign up it but it's not necessary) seems to be available only "sporadically" and Tinypic gets bonus points because it also allows video. I always wonder how these sites can afford to host so many images for free. But I have adblock (Firefox add-on) so I don't see any ads. Maybe they're overloaded and I don't see it.
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Lately there have been a ton of commercials on TV for Ask.com. Why? Anytime I've ever gone there and asked a question, it never gives me a satisfactory answer. They seemed to have at least improved the results page formatting. But answers? Not to my questions. Disappointing.

To their credit though, Google gave me similar results to my latest query: "Why is potato bread yellow?" (Anyone know? Maybe I should have asked why commercial bread makers add food coloring to make the potato bread yellow. Could be all in the wording.)
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Did You?
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Ever try logging into, or even just loading a popular website and not be able to?
Instead of driving yourself crazy trying over and over again, try this: http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/.

Enter the URL, hit [enter] on your keyboard (or click "or just me"). Answer your question and end your frustration in one go. Ahhhh, isn't that better?
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Whether or not you like a show (or movie for that matter) shouldn't depend necessarily on its theme song but it's sure nice when it's a good one. There are a few I intentionally forward through because I can't get them out of my head -- like the one from Monk, the hypochondriacs theme song. Sure, good song, but it's too catchy, stays with me when I don't want it to. I like the original better.

There are some I let play, and even rewind and play again (some are too short, imagine that). What's great is they're out there. YouTube is a goldmine of just about anything and everything. All media, just waiting to be found. And if you don't know the name of the song, just search the lyrics you remember (hello google) and you'll likely figure it out.

Whether it's TV theme songs*, or some blip of something heard on the radio, it's suddenly wanting to hear that song, and actually being near a computer when I do. (this time)

Found the one I was thinking of, and them some.

A few favorite theme songs, new and old:

From Saving Grace*, didn't realize there's a full version, nice!

They play such a short clip of it before the show, good to hear the full version.


From Psych*... this shows theme song changes with the occasional episode (ever hear the Spanish version?). Pretty clever.


Remember the show Windfall*? It didn't last long, but it had a good theme song:


I think my all time favorite is the one from Charmed*:

If you don't like Charmed, maybe this video with scenes from The Craft* might be more your style. I couldn't find one with the actual band singing the song.

That's all I can think of right now. I know there are plenty more. In this instance I'm thinking more of the theme songs with lyrics, and possibly radio airplay (though I know there are well known instrumental theme songs that are still being played...like this one).

For some reason all my YouTube links are Canadian. I'm pretty sure I'm still in the USA but I'm not sure that if I remove the "ca" from the links, they will still work so I'm leaving them in.
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Are you a regular Amazon.com shopper? Or even an occasional one? Then here's a website for you! Refundplease.com helps you keep track of price drops on stuff you order. If the price drops within 30 days of your order, you may be eligible for a refund. The only thing is, Amazon.com won't contact you with that information, you have to keep track yourself.

Refundplease.com will keep track for you! After you've made your purchase, visit the website and enter your purchase information (product #, price, date purchased, and an e-mail address) and the site does the rest. If the price drops, you'll be sent an e-mail with instructions on how to submit your claim, including a direct link to where to make your claim. Easy!



Edit 12/17/08 -- Currently, Amazon.com has discontinued their price matching policy. If they revive this policy, Refundplease.com will resume their tracking service.
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Did you know there was a Do Not Mail Registry? Similar to the Do Not Call Registry, Do Not Mail is committed to ridding the world of junk mail.

Besides saving some trees and hey, who knows, maybe even the planet... just imagine how much precious time could be saved from not having to sort through or shred and deal with the horrendous amount of junk mail so many of us get! Weekly! I get tons and I'm so sick of it.

Did you sign the petition? Head on over!
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There are many websites out there that help you create animated gifs and avatars (say, for message boards and forums).

Two I like lately are Shrink Pictures and Picasion.

With Shrink Pictures, you can easily choose a jpeg from your hard drive and customize the size, pick which crop/version you want (choice of three), save it to your hard drive, and you're all set.


Similarly, with Picasion, you can choose several jpegs, even photos from a Flickr account (like I did using mine, just enter the username and), choose the photos you want, click 'create animation' and save it to your hard drive. Note: Picasion adds the text 'picasion.com' to your photos. And if you use their html code, it adds a link-back text code under the animation.

All fine with me because when I want to create something like this, I want to do it without the bells and whistles, and without pages other things to distract me from trying to do this one (or two) simple thing(s).

I have Firefox and the add-on Ad Block Plus, so I don't know if there are any ads to worry about. Hopefully not!
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Sure we could all could use one, right? Found this on Flickr (here):
--


"It was then that Tom realized Def Leppard is no longer relevant."

--
I think they're plenty relevant (they're * * * my favorite band) but I wouldn't suggest trying the sugar thing. Really.
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Dead Like Me fans (like me!) have something to look forward to. According to TV Squad (in May! How'd I miss that!?) there will be a straight to DVD movie coming out. Supposedly, it's already in production. I'd feel better if their website said something about it though.
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I was so entranced by the Live 8 concert last year that I had a hard time NOT watching it. Before seeing it, I had never heard of having a 24hr concert on tv, not to mention one that spans the globe. Amazing! They got their point across for sure. I hope it did some good.

This year (scheduled July 7th) it's Live Earth, and the concert focuses on global warming.

From the site:

"SOS-Save Our Selves is designed to trigger a mass-scale movement to combat our climate crisis. Our climate crisis affects everyone, everywhere. That's who SOS is aimed at. The magnitude of the climate crisis makes it so that only a global response can begin to address it. SOS asks all people to Save Our Selves because only we can.

SOS will reach people in every corner of the planet through television, film, radio, the Internet and through Live Earth, which will bring together more than 150 of the world's top musicians for 24-hours of music from 7 concerts across all 7 continents. Live Earth alone will engage an audience of more than 2 billion people. That audience, and the proceeds from the concerts, will create the foundation for a new, multi-year global effort to combat the climate crisis led by Vice President Al Gore."

Sounds promising. Maybe we'll learn something while we're being entertained. (which is probably the point, eh?)

Are you going to watch?
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Will you live to be 100? At Livingto100.com you can use the Life Expectancy Calculator and find out. You answer questions about your living, eating, sleeping, and other habits and it calculates your number based on your answers.

My expectancy is currently "65".
How much better will you do? Give it a shot.

Nothing can determine for sure your actual life expectancy, but this is an interesting way to gage your current habits. Only takes a few minutes. The site also offers suggestions for improving your number. Not a bad way to spend a few idle minutes.
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Hee! I saw this on HGTV's "I Want That!" (I'm kind of an HGTV junkie, if only I could put all that good advice to use). They're goggles for dogs--doggles! For those times when the wind from those car rides is just too much. Plus it seems, they protect your pooch's eyes from harmful UVB's and flying debris. Good idea. And just too cute. Laughed like hell when they showed that segment. Adorable!
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Ahh, Wal*mart. Regardless of its popularity and so-called "roll-backs" I can't say that I'm a fan. The local store in my area is a not-so-clean place with unpleasant employees and I try not to go there if I can avoid it. Sometimes they're the last resort though. Like for the a/c I needed in a hurry two summers ago and again for the mini-me tv because the old one died unexpectedly. The latter bought at a larger slightly cleaner store. The cashier actually said hello and smiled. Imagine that.

For those need-it-now and need-it-cheap occasions, it has its place I guess.

But... free samples? Did you know that Wal*mart offered free samples?

The product pages say these samples are only available in stores, not online, which is a little confusing. Because if you click the sample link (choose a product you want a sample of from the main sample page, on the product page, the top right box will show a "Tell a Friend" option, among others--click "Free Sample") a pop-up window asks for your info and within a week or three, you actually get the sample.

Neat!
I think the sample items change monthly but it doesn't hurt to check sooner.

There may be a catch, but if so I haven't experienced it yet (I'm already subscribed to their newsletter so maybe that's it). I elected to fill out the survey if notified. Perhaps you only get the sample if you agree to answer questions about the product. If so, I guess that's only fair. Of course that may not matter at all. Maybe the point is to get return visitors to the website. Who knows?

Everyone likes a freebie, right? Go get yours!
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Why see the world for real when you can see it from home? Google Sightseeing utilizes Google Maps in a brilliant way listing famous and not so famous landmarks and satellite views. All nice and easy to browse by category or by location. You can submit your own (but don't hold your breath) or just enjoy the many places already found.

It's a fun (and less expensive) way to see the world.
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I read about this here (newspaper version) and remembered my aunt once telling me that when she was a child, she was led to believe that people would be driving their flying cars to work (among other things) someday.

Hee! Wouldn't that be cool!?

Well, it seems the car of the future is finally here. Well, sort of. If you can afford a car that costs as much as a small house, and have a license to fly, then yes, great! This is the car for you!

Still...it's an awesome concept. By Terrafugia. Definitely worth checking out.
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I thought Google Earth was cool but now, there's Google Mars!

I almost hate to ask what's next....
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I love critter cams. To go along with the other cams I've found, here's a tiger cam and a penguin cam. There's a few more cams here too.

☺

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I love apples. I have one every day for lunch M-F (at work) but never know which kind is in season, or when. We have supermarkets on every corner these days and they usually have plenty of varieties to choose from. Having variety is nice, but you can't tell just by looking or by what's available, which apple tastes best, in which season.

Luckily I found PickYourOwn.org. Here I can check seasonal information as well as whether or not a certain type of apple is best for baking or eating or whatever else (like canning... people still do this? neat!)

This way I can make sure I'm choosing the best apple for whatever I plan to do with it. (eat it for lunch, make the cobbler I always end up making my SO when he visits...bake it with oatmeal, etc.)

If you're into picking your own goodies, you can find that info here too.
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One of many (Katrina survivor sites) but a good idea nonetheless. The more ways there are for survivors and family to contact each other the better.
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Now Google Maps has a Katrina button and an updated satellite view of New Orleans. If all the images on the news aren't enough, you can compare before and after shots and see the flooding and destruction hurricane Katrina caused. So far, this is only available for the New Orleans area. It's unbelievable.


I don't see why they didn't have some type of evacuation plan in place. Didn't they have buses in New Orleans? Why couldn't they have provided free transport for all of those who couldn't afford to leave any other way? If they knew this could happen during even a category 4 hurricane, shouldn't they (they, who? I don't know, the governor, the mayor, the city planners? whoever is in charge of the safety of the citizens living below sea level) have sent emergency vehicles up and down the street with someone yelling on a bullhorn that it's absolutely necessary to evacuate, board the bus now, hurricane coming!?

I know it's not just this city that's been devastated. The same kind of evacuation plans could've been in place in all the gulf cities. Easy to say, blame, accuse, and whatever else after the fact, I just hope this tragedy shows those in charge that they need to better prepare for natural disasters. Before them and after them. Posting "evacuation route" signs isn't enough. Have meetings, mail flyers, post "how to" information where everyone can see it (like in the supermarkets, everyone needs to shop for groceries, right?).

If you haven't already donated... please consider it. Even a small donation can help. Make sure you donate wisely though. (see the previous post)


*Update... there is an even better map available here.
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You can see the images on every news station. It's just unbelievable. This isn't some third world country, this is happening right here at home. It's devastating. And it's getting worse.

If you're like millions across the nation, you might feel the urge to help. If so, do yourself a favor and take a tip from the Better Business Bureau and Donate Wisely. You can find out information about any charity they have listed. I encourage you to do so before donating.

There are hundreds of charitable organizations out there and you have the right to verify that the charity (or charities) of your choice are legitimate.

You have a responsibility to yourself to make sure you are not taken advantage of, and that your well intentioned gift actually goes to those who really need it. It's unfortunate but true, that during times of crisis and humanitarian relief, those less scrupulous make the best profit.

Protect yourself.

If you donate online, type in the URL instead of clicking a link from another site or from an e-mail. And if you're seriously paranoid (as I am, can't help it), test the URL here (Spoof URL checker) and make sure the website you're on, is the same as the one you think you're on. If you want to mail a check or money order instead, call the organization directly to verify their mailing address.

Most of all, look around you. Thank goodness for those you love and care about being safe.
Hope for the safety and survival of those less fortunate.
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I noticed tonight that Google Maps has something new.... a "hybrid" option. When you click it....sometimes, (depending how close you're zoomed and whether or not there is a satellite view that close) you can see routes as well as whatever satellite image it shows. This works really great on those places you can zoom in the most.

I tested this on Dennis, MA (among other places), scrolled the entire shoreline, because I wanted to see (all of the) Cape Cod, (shoreline, and all of that beautiful ocean. I'm happy even just seeing satellite views of beautiful ocean, silly huh?), and route 6 (and 28) and scenic 6A.

The Hybrid option shows the route on the satellite view, so you can clearly decipher the "road" among all those road-looking lines, to know for sure where it is, and how close to the water it really is (as well as those side streets that get you closer to a magical view).

What a great way to map a scenic drive!
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........good idea. But what about the veggies? This site actually sends e-mail reminders to those who need it. Do you need to be reminded?

I found this amusing. (this and other 'pointless' amusements originated here) At least they have some interesting "fruit facts" on their home page (reload to see a different one). I wonder if they include them in their reminder e-mails (no, I didn't sign up).

Eat your fruit! But eat some veggies too. (maybe there's a reminder site for that too.. heh, should anyone need one)
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It's times like this that I wish I could draw better. Found the link here (amusing toons here too)... decided to give it a shot. The results were amusing. I'll admit that some of it might be true, and some might not. But I'm not saying which! :)

Want to try it yourself? Go Draw a Pig and see what your drawing says about your personality.
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