Self-Help Guides, News, and Reviews

2014-11-17T15:00:00.002-08:00

Computerized Auto Safety Systems Projected to Eliminate Auto Fatalities

2011-12-30T20:08:00.000-08:00

Every day there are an average of 90 auto-related fatalities nationally. This statistic has troubled vehicle owners, auto-makers, and insurance companies to the extent that engineers from auto-companies have built computerized auto safety systems to minimized auto accidents.

The first of these auto safety systems is a feature that stops a vehicle automatically before it can hit an obstacle. Sensors in the car scan the car's path to detect if there are any obstacles in front of the vehicle. If the sensors determine that a driver is in line to hit an obstacle and the driver is not decelerating, the auto safety feature brings the vehicle to a stop.

The second of these auto safety systems works to minimize the impact of highway collisions. When this auto safety feature senses that a vehicle is in line to hit another vehicle and the driver is traveling at a highway speed, then the auto safety feature takes over, and gradually reduces the vehicles speed to 10 mph. While a wreck will occur, the risk of fatality is greatly reduced.

The third auto safety system reduces wreaks by keeping a vehicle in its lane. When this auto safety feature senses that a vehicle is swerving out of its lane, then the auto safety feature takes over and moves the vehicle back to its correct place on the road.

While some high end cars carry various advanced safety features, the goal for automakers is to equip these features in all future cars being produced. Insurance companies predict that widespread use of vehicles with advanced safety features would reduce auto fatalities by 1/3.

Kelli J. Lee

How to Copyright a Computer Game

2011-12-26T07:03:00.000-08:00

After spending a considerable amount of time creating any type of original intellectual property, such as a computer game, it is a good idea to legally secure the copyright to your hard work. While simply creating an original computer game makes you a copyright holder this is not enough to prevent copyright infringement. In order to get legal protection, you must register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office so that a public legal record of your computer game will exist. The cost for filing a basic claim online is $35 and will allow you to register all copyrightable parts of your computer game.

Methods such as the Poor Man's Copyright, the practice of mailing a copy of one's work to oneself in the hope of securing a copyright, are insufficient in the eyes of the law.

In order to register the copyright for your computer game in the United States, please use the following steps:

1) Go to http://www.copyright.gov
2) Click on eCO Login (The Electronic Copyright Office). You will need to pick a user name and password, answer a few other basic questions about yourself, and follow any other instructions on the screens.
3) Pick Motion Picture / Audio Visual Work when you are asked what type of claim you would like to file
4) Supply basic information about your computer game such as the title, the year created, the author, etc
5) On the Author Created section of the application there is an Other text space. In the text space type "audiovisual material and computer program"
6) Complete the application and pay the fee using your credit or debit card.
7) Send the first 25 and last 25 pages of your source code to the U.S. Copyright Office by mail or by uploading them online in a pdf document
8) Within 3 months of publishing your computer game, send the U.S. Copyright Office the final published version on a DVD along with a separate description of your work. I recommend submitting this package by mail and having the postal service track your package so that you will have proof that your package was received by the U.S. Copyright Office. The current address can be found at http://www.copyright.gov

Final Notes:

While a copyright is a powerful tool, the copyright does not protect the idea, only how a body of works expresses the idea. If you are interested in protecting your ideas, names or logos, you may want to research more about patents and trademarks.

Please check http://www.copyright.gov for updates and instructions.

Good Luck

Kelli J. Lee

Ligohi Software

2011-06-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

The Ligohi Software website specializes in creative software applications such as computer games, educational software, human-computer interaction applications and soundtracks for products.

For more information about Ligohi Software please go to http://www.ligohi.com

KJL

How to Grow Cherry Trees from Cherry Pits

2011-05-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

Not only do cherries taste great but they are sources of many potential antioxidants. If you would like to learn how to grow a cherry tree, I have included the steps below along with pictures of two small black cherry trees that I am growing.

Instructions:
1) You will first need to select the type of cherry tree that you would like to grow. You can do this by buying cherries from local stores and saving the pits from the cherries that you enjoyed eating the most. I recommend labeling each pit if you know the variety.

2) Next, you should check your growing zone. Growing zones determine the types of plants that you can grow in your area. You can check your growing zone at the National Gardening Association

If you are an Arkansan like me, your growing zone will range from 6-8. Zones 6-8 grow most types of cherry plants well.

3) Finally, you should place the cherry pits outside in a pot filled with potting soil in the fall so that they can germinate. You should be aware that some of the pits will not germinate, so it is important to collect and plant as many as possible.
-If the conditions were right, some of the pits that you planted will begin to produce a tree in late January to March.

Most cherry trees begin to produce summer fruit when they are from 3-7 years old and produce best when planted near another cherry tree.
The above cherries that I grew were both delicious black cherry varieties. In the future I am planning for a Rainer cherry tree. Please feel free to leave comments in the section below.

Related Information:

Cherries are presently being researched for their potential to fight many conditions such as infection, cancer, aging, disease, etc

-The Cherry Research Committee specializes in biomedical research related to finding the potential health benefits of cherries. To learn more please visit http://www.cherryresearch.com/

Choosecherries.com shares healthy ideas about how cherries can be used for pain relief.

Kelli J. Lee

How To Relate Graph Coloring to Sudoku

2011-03-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

Many people have played Sudoku puzzles at one time or another as they may be found in newspapers, books, or online and can be quite entertaining. The instructions below show how to relate Sudoku to the topic of graph coloring.

Graph coloring loosely means the assignment of labels or colors to a graph in the subject of graph theory. If we assume that a Sudoku puzzle is a graph, then we can assume the following:

1) In a Sudoku graph, there are 81 nodes and 9 colors that must be assigned for a proper 9 coloring

2) A node is connected to every other node in the same row, column, or 3x3 grid

3) A puzzle starts out with some colorings being already assigned

4) A player must extend a proper coloring of 9 to the remaining nodes to complete the puzzle

I have included a Sudoku Puzzle below for your enjoyment.

Good Luck

Kelli J. Lee

Supplied by Sudoku

Nature Walks

2011-03-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos of flowers that I took from one of my nature walks.

Where to download free audio books and ebooks

2011-03-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

If you have a portable digital media play, you probably received a free trial that lets you download audiobooks provided that you create an 30-day free trial account with a third party service. At the end of the free trial you have to pay the service to continue downloading audiobooks. In this blog post I have listed a few sites that allow users to download free audiobooks and ebooks without signing up for an account.

http://firefighters.org/
-Offers the entire bible in King James Version mp3 format, The recordings are split up by book, subject, readers and more

http://Librivox.org
-Offers a large library of audiobooks read by volunteers. There goal is to read every book in the public domain. All recordings are free and easy to download.

http://openlibrary.org/
-Offers over 1,000,000 free ebooks which can be read in pdf,Plain text, DAISY,ePub, DjVu streaming, MOBI,or sent to Kindle. While you don't have to sign up for an account to use the service, If you decide to you will have access to the worldcat library system, which will allow you to check out physical books in a participating library nearest you.

Project Gutenberg
-Offers 33,000+ ebooks that are free for download

Your local library
Many libraries have online programs that will allow patrons to download free materials

Kelli J. Lee

How to Plant a Watermelon Patch

2011-02-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

Planting a watermelon patch can be a source of food, enjoyment, and exercise for the entire family. By following the steps below you will be prepared to grow a watermelon patch of your own.

First you will need to pick one or more varieties that will grow in your area. If you have a local green house, Walt-mart, Lowes, or Home Depot you can buy seeds or live plants there. I prefer buying packaged seeds to buying live plants, as I tend to end up with far more plants. Furthermore, the seeds are usually cheaper. If you decide to plant seeds, then you will need to place the seeds in potting soil about four weeks before you are ready to begin planting your garden. The potting soil should be watered and placed in a warm, well-lit area. I usually plant my seeds in March. Once the seeds sprout, they will be ready for your garden. You can also plant seeds that you have eaten from store bought watermelons in the past; however, these seeds may not sprout if they are not the type that can grow in you area or if they came from a hybrid watermelon.

Second, you will need to till the ground of your garden until it resembles the sandy, loomy soil in which watermelons grow best.

Third, you will need to form hills in the soil. Each hill should be between one to two feet away from any other hills.

Fourth, you will need to plant one of the watermelon sprouts in each of the hills. I prefer to place my watermelon sprouts outside in April.

As the watermelons grow, you will need to continue to weed and till the soil around your garden, since they grow best when there is no competition for water and nutrients. Your plants will also produce long runners that can take up a lot of space, so you should prepare your garden in a place where the runners will have enough room to grow, or you might want to build at least one trellis.

Kelli J. Lee