Chexed these Cool Sites

Sci-Toys.com

2011-04-18T21:18:00.001-07:00

Like science stuff? Me to and I love the experiments that go along with it as well.

I stumbled across this very well written and detailed website with fun science projects ranging from tiny to big.

Sci-Toys.com
http://sci-toys.com/

Magnetism, radio, thermodynamics projects and more!
Make stuff with your kids (or by yourself- nobody's looking!)

Latin Translations To And From English

2010-10-02T07:31:00.000-07:00

I'm a lover of language, though you wouldn't know it unless I told you because I really only know one language. I dabble in Spanish, French, Chinese & of course PHP though :) The following site is a great resource for figuring out something in Latin:

Latin Word List
Latin to English & English to Latin Word Lists

A major bit of knowledge not spread well in the world is that the history of words (etymology) greatly inceases the understanding of words... At least until this point, it's been taught in public schools without acknologement: i.e. Students are taught prefixes and affixes which ties in greatly with etymology, but not taught where they come from, which could open the door to more knowledge even without more teaching. These prefixes bring us to another link!

InfoPlease.com
Latin Roots for Prefixes, and Suffixes

Three links in one day? Yes! Partially because it's been so long since I've posted and partially because there so much great information for etymology. This following link is more about etymology than Latin, but because much English does come Latin, it will be referenced frequently.

Dictionary.com

(Has roots of many words with definitions, but WATCH FOR POPUPS)

When you look up a word on dictionary.com they often have interesting little tid-bits of the words roots / history, but in the past I've had to battle pop-ups- to forewarn you. Sometimes it's actually worth the pop-ups though, but I personally can't spend any length of time there anymore. Your first few visits though you may find yourself unable to leave.

Koyote Soft - Free Software

2010-01-20T09:46:00.000-08:00

Among the lot of free software, Koyote Soft offers is a "Free Videos To DVD" piece, which allows you to put your home movies on DVD really easily (but I haven't gotten the menu option to work on my actual DVD player, I have to hit "skip" instead of "play".

Koyote Soft
Get Your Free Legal Software Groove On

They also have a free CD ripper, which will let you take tracks off of your CD for backup or your MP3 player (where legal).

If you're in need of video conversion software, while not free, you can at least test out their video conversion software in the trial, then purchase if necessary. I've used their "Free Videos To DVD" software and their "Hot Jingle Player" before, both which work great. Purchasing the Hot Jingle Player is not an option right now though, as their link is broken for that particular piece and I tried contacting them to no avail.

All-in-all, there's some great free software on the Koyote Soft website, and although I haven't yet needed a piece of their paid software yet (except the jingle player), I assume their paid software works at least as well as their free software. Great stuff.

Also, you might want to check out my post on my Graphics Blog about another free bit of software for editing photos in a browser, Picnik! It's basically a "Cool Site", but I try to keep graphics oriented things over there a bit and didn't want to double post in case you subscribe to both blogs, that way you wont get the same thing in your inbox twice.

File Hippo

2009-06-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

Like downloading stuff? Me too. Like downloading useful stuff more? Me too! We're so much alike- you and I. That's why I'm providing you with a nifty link to the File Hippo. We can ride on it together. Hippos are big, so we can both fit on it.

File Hippo
(Ride the hippo with me!)

Although it appears to be a website to stay updated on downloads. I think it's something more than that-and better than that. They seem to have very short and accurate reviews (time-saving!) of the downloads and many of the programs are new to me, but look stable, fun to try and most of all- useful!

While Mailwasher can be checking my email for spam in my mail client- Thunderbird, I can be listening to music with SUPER and riding the hippo with Opera- e.g. surfing the web ;)

- Scratch the below "Post Script" note - Things not going as planned for now. -

P.S. I may be switching this blog over full time to my main website, http://Chexed.com/ I just want to give you the warning so if you subscribe to my blog you wont be surprised when you land at Chexed.com. I'm twice as friendly there as I am here though and half as funny- so you have nothing to worry about. Ok, so sometimes I'm funny there maybe. I'll be redirecting my feed here to pick up at Chexed.com.

If you have any thoughts on this please let me know! Thanks! David

On the Prowl For New Trends!

2009-03-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

I recently came across a site who finds out new trends and posts about them! They almost always post pictures with them from my experience and there are sure some strange pictures! You can even signup as a trend hunter to post new trends and make a bit of money, which makes this a useful tool.

Trend Hunter
See a hot trends or let your writing fingers bend!

The thousand words these pictures tell are funny, awesome, or disturbing. All of which is entertaining, right? :D I'm labeling this site occasionally offensive due to some sexually provocative imagery that's sometimes displayed in trends.

Art Fire - Sell Your Art Without Fees

2008-12-13T08:54:00.000-08:00

Art Fire is a place where new artists and old artists alike can sell their art in form of home decor or body decor! Body decor is of course a fancy pantsy method of saying Jewelry I just made up since it does fit the description "Body Decor."

Art Fire
"Sell without Fees. Create without limits!"
(That's their tagline, I didn't make that one up)

Here you can buy jewelry, chairs, gloves, dolls, toys, tools to make those things yourself and much more! Just go to their site and look at their category list (currently on the left side). The contents are interesting enough that you'll enjoy looking at a couple of the categories.

Oh, and I forgot the most important part, they don't charge the sellers to sell! That's good news for sellers and buyers, because buyers don't have to pay jacked up prices to cover for fees! Everyone wins :) The company makes their money apparently from advertising, but that's nothing new... There's ads where people pay close to the most to sell, eBay.

Who Needs an Ego Boost?

2008-10-12T09:59:00.000-07:00

This is just a cute little site that may make you giggle, or someone else like a friend for that matter who may need a bit of cheer. Make sure you click on the different categories to explore and click "Click here for another compliment."

Giant Ego
Get all of the compliments you'll ever need.

In case you didn't know... You are AWESOME!

A Beautiful Reality

2008-09-16T02:14:00.001-07:00

I've come across many websites on the web. The ones that stick with me the most are usually the ones which have the biggest impacts on my life. They're not always Web 2.0 tools, search engines, or social websites.

The Great Illusion
Sometimes they're mindful to the soul.

With well written words and well chosen complimentary images, if read slowly or many times, the meaning that can be found here can make one much wiser.

Disturbed but Safe at Work!

2008-09-02T15:42:00.000-07:00

I found this a somewhat disturbing website to promote work safety. However, I think this will make people think a little more about safety at work.

Rating: Somewhat Disturbing

Not Worth It
(Think before you make a stink!)

This could be useful to employers to help make their employees more safety conscious at work as long as it's not psychologically damaging to them lol. I suppose it may have only been a shock to me because I had no idea what to expect. If you've ever seen a work safety video, you may have a taste of this already. If not, don't eat anything really slimy before you look hehehehe... (It's not gory, just the manner it was presented in I found somewhat disturbing).

oSkope Visual Search

2008-08-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

Very similar the image search engine "elzr imagery," Oskope also searches multiple image directories. While I don't consider it as practical because it's a bit more resource heavy (slows computer a bit + needs Adobe Flash to run), I do consider it more appealing to the eye and much more functionable!

The search works different in the respect that you can only search one service at a time. The list of services where images can be pulled from is Amazon.com, Fotolia, eBay, Flickr, Yahoo, and YouTube.

oSkope
Get your image search on!

Now, onto the functionality I was talking about. The functions include making thumbnails bigger (little drag-bar on the right side), changing the basic layout of the pictures (left side), and a little folder that you can drag pictures into and email them to someone else or yourself as a reminder. I've been playing with this site for a while :D

Cuil Search Engine

2008-07-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

"Cuil (pronounced "cool") is offering a new search service at www.cuil.com" as was said in this Reuters article. They also mentioned that the creators of this search engine were former Google engineers, which makes this an interesting look.

Cuil
Cool, just like the Cool Sites here :)

We'll see just how cool it is. I've been messing with it lately. It does seem to work really well, but I haven't had the need for a complicated search yet. You know those rare cases when you're looking for something on Google, but can't find it? Well, that to me seems like a perfect opportunity to try a search on Cuil. Of course it would be advisable to use it on a semi-regular basis to, just to calculate the ease of use- i.e. Is it clunky?

Over 400 Free Software Programs!

2008-07-17T06:02:00.000-07:00

First a rather small list of programs (but much less well known) is what I'm going to link to. They're made by a guy named Prakashatma Mishra who appears to live in India. The programs range from games to useful computer monitoring software. I've downloaded and used the MusicalKEYS Piano myself in hopes that it may help me make some music.

Programs

Now for the big list of software. Many of these are well known (like FireFox), but you may find a few gems in there useful to you too!

400 Freeware Programs

Enjoy!

Like WOAH, I mean WOW!

2008-06-30T18:44:00.001-07:00

There's at least thousands of websites out there that find pictures, videos, and other funky stuff on the internet and post them on their blog. As you should well know, I am the person who finds those sites for you!

WOW!
World of Wonder (archive)
Rating: Occasionally Offensive

I stated rating things!~

Some High Quality internet TV

2008-06-16T12:16:00.000-07:00

Do you like watching free TV on the net? Me too, especially when it's high quality! I a list of high quality videos provided by a company called BrightCove. Here's the list including videos from Discovery, History channel, FOX and much more!

BrightCove Customer List

Oh yeah! SNAP INTO A SLIMJIM!!! Oops, I quote Macho Man from the slimjim commercial when I get excited sometimes.

While we're on the subject of TV, some interesting Film/Movie sites regarding talking and discussing movies (reviews too) are:
http://www.fanoffilm.com/
http://www.moviehole.net/

I'm also going to add these websites to a more extensive list of legal free internet tv sources I've been keeping updated.

Colorfully Arranged Quotes

2008-05-10T21:49:00.001-07:00

I stumbled across a list of quotes here organized into colors and categories. I enjoyed reading some of them so I thought you may as well.

http://eemadges.com/
"Beautiful Descriptions"

Parkour

2008-05-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

What I've posted here this time is not another site as usual. It's a little information on a rising art that deals with maneuvering the human body to adapt to its urban habitat! While that may not sound very exciting, once you watch the first video I watched of parkour in action, I think you too will be moved as to what you believe the human body and mind is capable of.

Like I said, although this isn't a site, it's a collection of information (just like on a site) that may inspire or entertain you as if it were a full site. I'm giving you a link to a search term on YouTube and a Wikipedia link for more information on it. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the new "High Quality Youtube Feature" when looking at these videos, I haven't found any high quality ones on parkour yet myself.

This hardly-known art is definitely something worth knowing about! Since it's hardly known, that's why I felt the extra incentive to post it for you!

Parkour on YouTube
http://youtube.com/results?search_query=parkour&search_type=

Wikipedia Article:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkour

Nabaztag Robot Helper

2008-04-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

Whenever you're in need of the weather report, your TV isn't working, and your too lazy to turn your computer on, you can rely on this little guy to get you the weather.

It seems s/he's a rabbit that you can ask basic questions and it gives you answers like the weather and news reports, but much more. You can make it say things apparently and perhaps even sing, maybe the music in the background of the site made me think it was singing when it really wasn't though.

http://www.nabaztag.com/en/index.html

It seems most awesome. I call it the funny bunny... I'm guessing the antennas are inside the ears and that's why they chose a bunny for the robot body... We wouldn't want any body (especially kids) falling on those pointy ears now would we? They could get away with using a monkey shell too with the ears and/or tail as the antenna housing. Pretty cool!

Tru TV

2008-04-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

Many clips of "tru tv" or real events that have been recorded can be found here. They all seem high quality and it appears you can watch full length episodes of some (or all) of their shows.

Tru TV
Funny, scary, real.

Yep, I'm spending some time there right now.

Space Dust Funny Pictures

2008-03-30T20:58:00.001-07:00

There's lots of sites with pictures on the net, this happens to be one of them. I'm tagging this as a "list site" since it's basically a list of funny and odd pictures.

Spacedust.Atspace.com

Get your funny picture seeking on for the day.

InventNow.org

2008-03-30T02:12:00.001-07:00

I have lots of ideas for inventions myself. Most of which I haven't created yet, instead focusing on the few "more likely" since I have a family and must control my risk taking. I've found a good place though that seems to be geared towards kids, but adults can use it too.

InventNow.org

It looks like a great place to get some exposure for those kids at heart that never got a chance... I suppose most inventors are kids at heart right? How else do we keep seeing things with "new eyes?"

They need to clean up their Terms of Use (TOU) since paragraph one says ", we ... do not have any copyright to any original work submitted to Inspiring Invention" and paragraph two says "By submitting materials to the site, you automatically give The Ad Council and our partners nonexclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, and distribute your work." ... "We don't own your work, but we do." I feel it's a mistake on the wording of the TOU and what they probably mean is "we don't claim ownership of your inventions, but anything submitted to this website may be used to publicize it and our mission." I feel it was a mistake, because otherwise the US Patent and Trademark Office shouldn't and wouldn't be supporting them for trying to conclude work from anothers efforts, especially those who are younger which the ads are being marketed towards. Send them an email if you want to let them know their TOU contradicts itself in the beginning.

Classic Internet Information Sources

2008-02-23T14:41:00.001-08:00

Other than your typical search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, Dogpile, etc. There are a few other engines that can help you find things. Their search functions in my opinion aren't nearly as useful as traditional search engines. But you can find something interesting ridiculously fast.

I have two sites for your today that if you haven't heard of, you would probably be happy you've checked them out.

StumbleUpon
People stumble across things on the web all the time. I do and I post things here for you. Other people do and they post them in this social website. Great for finding interesting pictures, videos, and articles.

Digg
When something in the news is controversial, you're bound to find it here really fast! Just checking out the front page of Digg will get you into it.

Stand Out Jobs

2008-02-01T11:07:00.001-08:00

There's a new Monster (pun intended) in the job seekers arena and it's name is...

Stand Out Jobs
(Tell me that doesn't stand out?)

It seems like it really gives employers control over how they present themselves, which makes it for a visually pleasing experience for job hunters. That's my favorite part, but also, if you need a job, you can find some interesting and unique positions available on the web (many of them are likely telecommute-aka work at home jobs).

Qassia

2008-01-16T18:31:00.001-08:00

The new tool for searching information on the net! It's in beta right now, so you can't search on information for it yet, but if you sign up, you can contribute some thoughts and look around at a few of the articles that have already been submitted. Get a behind the scenes peak!

Qassia

List of Video Hosts

2008-01-13T19:45:00.001-08:00

I've posted some video host sites on here before and it didn't hit me. I've written a list of over 100 video hosts not too long ago where you can submit and upload your video for maximum distribution or search these sites to find the ultimate undiscovered videos.

Video Host List

Soundboards!

2008-01-12T09:43:00.001-08:00

Have you ever heard one of those fake celebrity voices on a telephone? Well this website has a bunch of them!

You can call up your friends, relatives, and anyone else who you're not harrassing and make jokes with them, impersonating Beetlejuice, Borat, or Dave Chappelle

There's much more on that site than I've linked to here, so make sure you visit the main soundboard link!

Soundboards