Wonderful Thoughts A weblog about latest news and reveiws on technology,science,computing,software and autoblog. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 0 840

Articles from Wonderful Thoughts

FreelanceFolder.com - A Freelancer’s Resource 2007-08-30 16:37:57 What it does Get advice on how to boost our success in your entrepreneurial or freelancing career. FreelanceFolder.com posts daily on advice to become more successful in your entrepreneurial endeavors, with 32 different categories ranging from Advertising to Work-At-Home. The site offers sound advice written by mulitple authors for bloggers, artists and other entrepreneurs. The site appears to have very sound advice from the articles that I read with some very helpful tips about time management and expanding your customer base. The site links in to many other different sites that FreelanceFolder.com links to that can be very helpful for aspiring entrepreneurs as well. The site only shows posts for the last two months but already they have a vast array of articles on different subjects. In their own words Freelance Folder is a multi-authored blog dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and freelancers. Whether you’re a blogger, writer, publisher, designer, artist, small business o ...

InformedNetworker.com - Digg for Network Engineers 2007-08-30 16:37:57 What it does InformedNetworker is a social news network site modeled after Digg (but officially using the Digg-clone application Pligg) for those working in the computer industries. It covers a wide variety of topics including industry news, development, software, hardware, security, storage, servers, internet, etc. It tags and categorizes stories, and lists out the most popular stories of the day. It also has a section for reader comments on stories, which probably adds value and interest to those working in the industry (i would imagine that many stories of new products and technology generate lots of gossip and tidbits that networking professionals want to discuss). In their own words “A social news network for network engineers.” Why it might be a killer I am a fan of niche sites, and this is a niche Digg-type site. The site seems to successfully cater to those in the computer industry, as all articles revolved around that topic, which I believe may be quite useful to ...

Women can change flat tires, too. 2007-08-29 04:22:05 All right, many women can change a flat tire. But I will admit it right now, I am not one of them. I am somewhat embarrassed to confess this, but it’s true. I found myself dwelling on this thought this morning as I sat on the side of a busy highway dialing my brother’s cell phone number so that he could come help me out of a flat tire situation. Well, to be honest it was a blow out. I had somehow hit an invisible, very sharp piece of concrete and blown out my tire. As soon as I heard that awful thud, I had two simultaneous thoughts: one was about the safety of my 14 year-old son who was riding with me the other was the fact that at the age of 36 I still haven’t the foggiest idea of how to change a flat tire. Today my brother happened to be available to bail me out of my jamb, but there will be other times when I won’t be so lucky. When we got home from our adventure, I promptly looked up directions on how to change a flat tire. My sibling said he will teach me ...

Build a handheld laser ray gun 2007-08-29 04:22:04 As a kid my parents took me to see ‘Moonraker,’ and I remember how cool it was to see those semi-realistic lasers flashing and burning whatever they were pointed at. Later in life I bought a book that showed me how to build my own ruby rod laser, complete with battery backpack. And finally I got my hands on an Information Unlimited catalog, which has some literally hair-raising kits. Be warned: this is NOT a toy! It is a real class IV laser gun, packing 500 joules of pulsing energy that truly will burn holes in stuff. Hard stuff, not just plastic cups. Also, the cost of materials isn’t cheap– the xenon lamp costs $400 alone. But if you’re really set on your own laser gun, you probably don’t care about the cost, right? Hugo Drax didn’t care about cost, that’s for sure.   Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments More: continued here ...

Regular soap in the dishwasher and other common problems 2007-08-29 04:22:03 If you came across this post innocently you’re probably wondering how somebody would manage to fill their dishwasher with regular liquid soap. If you landed here because you were frantically searching for a fix then you probably have suds pouring out of your dishwasher and are looking for a solution after running it through 8 or 9 times without luck. This happened in my house, and we were all in quite a panic before we found this simple solution. Take out the dish racks and dishes. Wash them by hand. Scoop out as much of the overflow suds as you can. Grab a towel and sop up any excess water pooled at the bottom. Put a cup (or two) of white vinegar in the dishwasher. Adding ice will lower the water temperature and inhibit the sudsing action. Run it for a full cycle. Repeat if needed. So there really is no need to worry, this huge problem is just a cup of vinegar away from being your next funny story. If your dishwasher is acting up in other ways, you may still be able to ...

Make your own loofah 2007-08-29 04:22:02 Did you know you can grow your own loofahs? Also called Luffa, these are veggies that prefer to grow in a long, hot growing season (the plant is thought to come from Asia originally). Maybe with global warming we’ll all be able to grow them soon? Well if not, you can always build a hothouse. Anyway, I found this neat how-to on our sister site, That’s Fit: How to make your own loofahs. Doesn’t look much harder than working with any veggie, and the practical upshot is that you could have enough of the things to give away as inexpensive but very pleasant gifts. Oh, and you can keep the seeds and keep planting the suckers– isn’t nature wonderful?   Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments More: continued here ...

Step out of the shower and into high fashion 2007-08-29 04:22:01 Unless you’re one of the lucky ones sporting limited edition designer dresses this summer, then you’re probably like me; trying to make the best of some seasonal favorites from the typical mall retailers. You may even be one of the few who are flattered by these trendy colors and fits. If you are then you’re off to enjoy the sunshine feeling pretty fabulous; until you spot that same dress on three other people in the same afternoon. Suddenly you’re not feeling so fashionable. Melissa over at fehr TRADE offers an inventive solution with her resourceful use of untraditional material paired with classic patterns. Melissa looks stunning in the shots pictured here of her shower curtain dress. Next time you see some interesting fabric on a pillowcase or tablecloth, consider crafting a whole new piece. Melissa inspires us to look at fabrics through an inventive lens and opens up a whole new world of do it yourself Haute Couture. For those of us not quite brave enough ...

More glue for homeowners 2007-08-29 04:22:00 Yesterday, I wrote about a great website that will help you figure out which glue is the best one you can use for a particular job. In the comments, a reader associated with home expert Danny Lipford’s site noted that they’d also just posted a useful guide to glue, and because our readers are awesome, I thought the article deserved its own post. Jerri Farris’s article isn’t a substitute for ThisToThat.com, and it doesn’t really cover glues that would be used for most craft projects, only those you’re likely to use in home construction and improvement. It doesn’t go into great detail about the differences between specific brands of glue, either, or the differences in the chemical compositions of some of the glues it discusses. (”Instant Glue” may be a retail category and general name, but last time I checked, its formal name was cyanoacrylate glue. It’s an acrylic resin. Leaving out this info makes an article user-friendly, but ...

10 things you can stop cleaning 2007-08-29 04:21:58 You want a floor so clean you could eat off it, yet you can’t remember the last time you had the time to do some deep down real cleaning. In fact, sometimes you don’t have time at all … so when I saw this headline on iVillage: 10 things you can quit cleaning right now, I had to stop and read it. After all (as you can probably tell), I love having a clean house, but I wouldn’t mind being able to cut a few things out of my routine either. Many of the solutions are devoted to disposing of items instead of cleaning them. I used to be a big fan of tossing versus washing, and I’m still very tempted by the idea, but then again I feel guilty about creating more waste. Take a look at these 10 ideas and tell me what you think. Sneakers. Just buy dark-colored ones and wear them until they fall apart. Grill grate. When you’re done grilling, leave the grill going. Close the cover over the grate and let any residue cook off for 15 minutes. Throw that wire br ...

Do it yourself (and do it better) gift baskets 2007-08-29 04:21:50 I love receiving gift baskets. Wedding shower, new home, new baby, just about any occasion, it’s fun to dig through and uncover little treasures from the beautifully wrapped basket. Still, every time I buy a gift basket for a friend I can’t help but feel that I could have made it for half the price and chosen some better (or at least more personal) things to put inside. After years of thinking I could do a better job and still shelling out for the professional version, I’ve decided to make my own gift baskets and I thought I’d share the process with you here: Choosing the right goodies is an important step. Buy your basket items first. I know it’s tempting to start with the basket , but you don’t want your actual gifts to be restricted by the basket you choose ahead of time. When you’re considering what things to buy, try making your category as narrow as possible. It seems to be baby shower season over here, and I was looking for some new way ...

Making rose petal beads 2007-08-29 04:21:47 Do you keep rose bushes? How have they done this summer? Mine have had a rough year, between black spot (a fungal infection), Japanese beetles (who think roses are a good snack), and a late spring freeze. But I still love my roses, and I’m happy that they’re hanging on, even thriving. If you have roses, and haven’t had too many problems with them lately, you probably know that the second peak bloom of the year is coming in the next few weeks (well, at least if you live in a climate similar to mine, in Ohio, and don’t keep antique roses that only bloom in the late Spring). On a healthy plant, that usually means masses of blossoms. If you have a lot of roses, or neighbors who do and who just throw fallen petals away with the garden trash, you might be interested in C. Jeanne Heida’s recipe for rose petal beads. It will help you turn those piles and piles of discarded petals into a pretty necklace with an intense fragrance. It’s not a fast project, bu ...

How to safely remove a tick 2007-08-29 04:21:43 If you spend time outdoors, like I do, or you have pets or kids that go outdoors, you need to be aware of ticks. Ticks are small bloodsucking bugs that burrow into your skin (yes, it’s disgusting) and many species transmit diseases. You can get Lyme disease, Ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Tularemia from a tick. Here in New Jersey, Lyme disease seems to be the most prevalent. Some ticks are so small that they can be difficult to see — ironically the small ticks are the ones that you should be most aware of. Ticks may get on you if you walk through areas where they live, such as tall grass, leaf litter or shrubs. They also seem to fall from trees. Tick-borne diseases occur worldwide, including in your own backyard, as we know well. My husband recently got bit by a tick — which is what prompted this post. To help protect yourself and your family before getting bit, you should Use a chemical repellent with DEET, permethrin or picaridin (Use this to the ...

The $100 Laptop: Review, Comparison, and Competition 2007-08-28 23:42:45 By now everyone on the planet has heard of Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child Project (OLPC), which aims to "provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment and express themselves" by providing children in developing countries worldwide with a laptop. This ambitious venture has produced an inexpensive and extremely durable machine which will be sold to governments around the world and distributed to impoverished children. The laptop, called the XO, is currently in its final beta phase and is being prepped for mass production. What you may not know, however, is that the XO is not the only inexpensive computer being produced for this purpose. There is competition. Intel has been selling its version of the "cheap laptop" since March for $225. The company recently joined OLPC in an effort to maximize the benefits of this laptop development around the world. Vice President and director of corporate affairs at Intel Wil ...

Porsche flower wheel found in Russia 2007-08-28 23:42:42 click above image to enlarge According to English Russia, our favorite site of kitschy Russian culture, this unique form of self-imposed vehicular vandalism is all the rage in the former Soviet country. This particular example was caught in Moscow, and appears to be the wheel of a Type 996 Porsche 911 Carbriolet that’s overflowing with flora. Hmmm… hippies used to rave about flower power, perhaps the colorful decoration adds a few horsepower. [Source: English Russia] Gallery: Porsche flower wheel   Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments More: continued here ...

Opel Corsa OPC sets Nordschleife record 2007-08-28 23:42:41 Click image for a gallery of the Opel Corsa OPC During the same round of the OPC Race Camp that saw the introduction of the Opel Astra OPC Nürburgring Edition, former Opel works driver Manuel Reuter decided to update the official Nordschleife record book. He did this by taking a production-spec Corsa OPC and lapping the course in 8 minutes, 47.99 seconds — a new record for superminis on The Green Hell. The Corsa OPC is no stranger to the Nordschleife, as Opel uses the track regularly during the development of its automobiles. The little hot hatchlet is driven by a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that delivers 192 horsepower. Its peak torque rating of 169 lb-ft can be bumped up an additional fifteen percent thanks to the car’s Overboost function. We sit here waiting patiently for the next Corsa revision, so that we can see a Saturn-badged version take on the forthcoming Ford Fiesta/Verve/Whatever when both ultimately arrive Stateside. If the Detroit automakers coo ...