What can you build with a bucket full of pennies?

What do a grad student, a test and a bucket of pennies have in common? Mitch Fincher gave a presentation while a Civil Engineer at Texas Tech University in 1980. His senior year he practiced giving technical presentations. For one of those presentations he used stacked pennies to build bridges, domes and pyramids. All stacks of pennies were done without any glue. Only the weight of the pennies provides the support. Behold the humble Penny!

Tip for getting FireFox and ZoneAlarm to work with each other.

To get ZoneAlarm to recognize FireFox Version whatever, open ZoneAlarm and follow these instructions. After it is open select the program control tab on the left side. Now select the main tab at the top. Set program control to medium. This will put ZoneAlarm into learning mode. Meaning when you try to connect to the internet with FireFox for the first time it will ask you if it is O.K. to let this program access the internet. It will do this with all programs that have not already been given the right to access the internet. This is a safety net so that programs that are viruses acting like legitimate programs don't gain access to update themselves or give away your information. Also make sure you do not have the Automatic Lock enabled. This will block all access to the internet from any program or only allow the pass-locked programs access to the internet. It is suppose to lock only when there is X minutes of inactivity or when the screensaver is set to come on. If you have already installed FireFox and it is running great and then you install ZoneAlarm turn on the Alert Advisor. Don't be afraid of it, it is your friend. It will recognize FireFox asking you only once if FireFox has the right to access the internet if you select it to remember the setting. If you are still having a problem with the both of them working together change the program control setting in ZoneAlarm to a lower setting until you have no problems. I hope this helps.

Having problems connecting to the Internet with FireFox?

Are you new to FireFox? And having problems getting it to connect to the internet? Try this simple solution. Run FireFox, in the task bar look for the Tools button. Click it. Now look for Options. Click it. A box will pop up allowing you to change the many features in FireFox to your liking. Look for the General Tab. Click it. At the bottom you will see Connection Settings. Click it. Select "Auto-detect proxy settings for this network" click ok and close FireFox. Now open Internet Explorer or the program provide by your ISP to connect to the internet. The way you have always done. Leave this open and running and start FireFox. FireFox will now automatically find all the information it needs to connect to the internet. You will now be able to run FireFox anytime you want without opening any other internet browser. If you are on dial-up, each time you open FireFox for the first time, each session, you will get a dialogue popup box asking for the email address and password that you have registered with you ISP. Enter that information and you will be on the internet as fast as your connection will allow. If you are on a always on internet connection, all you will have to do is click the FireFox icon and you will be on you favorite home page. After you have got FireFox up and running, you can make it work faster for you! I have found an application called FireTune that will tune FireFox for your computer and internet connection speed. It gets under the hood so to speak and tweaks certain settings to allow you to get the most out of your internet connection. Don't worry you don't have to know how to read HTML just select the option that best describes your computer and connection. FireTune will do the rest. If you are on ugh dialup you will notice a great improvement in connection speed. If you are on a high speed connection you will get the most out of your connection and might not notice any change. Because a faster connection can truly only be seen if you run a test from Broadband Reports to truly notice a before and after.

Buy stolen items legally! Not from the guy in the back alley!

Did you know that you can buy stolen items legally? Someone got the idea to help the police clean out the property rooms of unclaimed stolen property. At The Property Room you can not only buy stolen property but if you recognize an item that you had stolen, on the site, you can get it back for FREE. Think of it as an Ebay clone. You bid on an item to get it, just like Ebay. Forgive to pun but you can get some real steals on the site. There is a section on the site that you can buy stuff for a $1.00! Items on the site very from a pallet of computers to 29 lbs. of magazines! Just like Ebay items change daily. So if you cannot find what you what check back again later and it just might be there waiting for you.

Name Change yet again

Yes this site is still run by sanman294. I have yet again changed the name of the site. I feel this new name better suites the plan for the site. I want the site to have a wandering feel, changing topics at will. I want to be able to change topics and not be stuck talking about the same topic all the time. My interest vary and so do my thoughts. By the way this name change and idea for this site is in NO WAY related to or run by the idiots at G4. They are a subject for another post. As always you can find FREE Gmail invites and my thoughts on different things. So come back soon and see where my thoughts have gone next. This is why I changed the name from "wondering thoughts" to "wandering thoughts." While my thoughts may wander from topic to topic some times they might not be wonderful thoughts. So enjoy my "Wandering Thoughts" if you can follow along.

Ask an owner

Do you have a question about something you own that doesn't work any more? Or are you looking to buy a used product but do not know anything about it? Try AskAnOwner.com You just might find someone there that has owned the product right now or in the past. Much like Consumer Reports but not all of the money to test the products for you. The site is filled with people just like you and me that own stuff and have questions about them. So you may or may not find what you are looking for but you can post your question and someone will respond to it, much like in a forum. Think of it like asking someone you know about the product you have a question. Enjoy!

FireTune 0.2

FireTune 0.2 for Mozilla Firefox v1.x was developed for an easy and fast optimization of your browsing experience with Firefox. It is based on a collection of optimization settings collected and tested by Tweakfactor. Usually you have to optimize Firefox manually, which can be time consuming and difficult for the novice user. FireTune helps you here - it includes all the performance optimizations. The only thing you must do is: make your selection. FireTune does the work for you. ==Update== This program has been updated to FireTune 0.6 the above link will take you to the updated program. Check the link daily they seem to be updating the program daily.

Back again with some Gmail Invites

Don't forget to check the other posts on this blog for more Gmail Invites! For instance, checkout the "Even more Invites" post. http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-2d7661a3e7-3fbd1f4a72-d7e4b8ae26 http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-2d7661a3e7-3bb3a2264a-5abea4def7 http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-2d7661a3e7-0e48f2e3fd-ee140b6a15 http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-2d7661a3e7-3d25434e02-2689ff9734 http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-2d7661a3e7-33dd098395-6094f88325 http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-2d7661a3e7-d72e12277d-bea712e921 http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-2d7661a3e7-7e23302475-f08216e7d2 http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-2d7661a3e7-b72f4b3a16-d4325c1f50 http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-2d7661a3e7-139ca5687f-762c9c2b6f http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-2d7661a3e7-1e508e5915-7fc90adff2 Check back again I will be posting some more invites soon!

Free 3D software!

If you haven't seen the link in my "points of interest on the web." You will find TurboSquid. Here you will find a free program, intended for gamers who like to mod their favorite games. But the program does a whole lot more. The program "gmax" will let you create anything you can imagine. If you download gmax and the tutorials you will learn the basics to get you started. So don't worry if you are not a graphics designer, the tutorials will take you step by step familiarizing you with all the basic functions. They show you how to make a level, a mace, model a head, create a character, model an airplane and build a power charger just for starters. After you have become comfortable with the program you can take it further, only limited by your imagination. You could even turn it into a money making venture, selling your creations through the TurboSquid website. Speaking of TurboSquid, they are also a source to find many plug-ins to take this simple program a lot further. For instance "Thinking Particles 2.0" a plug-in you have to pay for was used to bring you the particle effects in "Blade: Trinity" If you did not see the movie this plug-in allowed the vampires to die as if they were made of dust blowing in the wind being only effected by the manner and environment where they died. So try gmax letting only your time and imagination stop your true potential.

COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTT

Abbott: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you? Costello: I'm thinking about buying a computer. Abbott: Mac? Costello: No, the name's Lou. Abbott: Your computer? Costello: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one. Abbott: Mac? Costello: I told you, my name's Lou. Abbott: What about Windows? Costello: Why? Will it get stuffy in here? Abbott: Do you want a computer with Windows? Costello: I don't know. What will I see when I look in the windows? Abbott: Wallpaper. Costello: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software. Abbott: Software for Windows? Costello: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals, track expenses and run my business. What have you got? Abbott: Office. Costello: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything? Abbott: I just did. Costello: You just did what? Abbott: Recommend something. Costello: You recommended something? Abbott: Yes. Costello: For my office? Abbott: Yes. Costello: OK, what did you recommend for my office? Abbott: Office. Costello: Yes, for my office! Abbott: I recommend Office with Windows. Costello: I already have an office with windows! OK, lets just say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need? Abbott: Word. Costello: What word? Abbott: Word in Office. Costello: The only word in office is "office." Abbott: The Word in Office for Windows. Costello: Which word in office for windows? Abbott: The Word you get when you click the blue "W." Costello: I'm going to click your blue "W"...OK, forget that. Can I watch movies on the Internet? Abbott: Yes, you want Real One. Costello: Maybe a real one, maybe a cartoon. What I watch is none of your business. Just tell me what I need! Abbott: Real One. Costello: If it's a long movie I also want to see reel 2, 3 & 4. Can I watch them? Abbott: Of course. Costello: Great! With what? Abbott: Real One. Costello: OK, I'm at my computer and I want to watch a movie. What do I do? Abbott: You click the blue "1." Costello: I click the blue one what? Abbott: The blue "1." Costello: Is that different from the blue W? Abbott: The blue "1" is Real One and the blue "W" is Word. Costello: What word? Abbott: The Word in Office for Windows. Costello: But there's three words in "office for windows"! Abbott: No, just one. But it's the most popular Word in the world. Costello: It is? Abbott: Yes, but to be fair, there aren't many other Words left. It pretty much wiped out all the other Words out there. Costello: And that word is real one? Abbott: Real One has nothing to do with Word. Real One isn't even part of Office. Costello: STOP! Don't start that again. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with? Abbott: Money. Costello: That's right. What do you have? Abbott: Money. Costello: I need money to track my money? Abbott: It comes bundled with your computer Costello: What's bundled with my computer? Abbott: Money. Costello: Money comes with my computer? Abbott: Yes, No extra charge. Costello: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much? Abbott: One copy. Costello: Isn't it illegal to copy money? Abbott: Microsoft gave us a license to copy money. Costello: They can give you a license to copy money? Abbott: Why not? THEY OWN IT! A FEW DAYS LATER . . . . Abbott: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you? Costello: How do I turn my computer off? Abbott: Click on "START"... (Costello passes out)

How safe is your computer from spyware?

PC World just released a 9 page article on spyware detection and removal. They tested seven products in the $20 to $40 range from big and small vendors: Allume Systems' (formerly Aladdin Systems') Internet Cleanup, Aluria Software's Spyware Eliminator, Computer Associates' ETrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware, InterMute's SpySubtract Pro, McAfee's AntiSpyware, Sunbelt Software's CounterSpy, and Webroot Software's Spy Sweeper. In addition, they tested two popular free programs--Lavasoft's Ad-Aware SE Personal and Safer Networking's Spybot Search & Destroy--and a third free program that operates very differently but no less effectively, Merijn.org's HijackThis. They also tested one product in beta, Microsoft's new Windows AntiSpyware. What were the surprising results? Ad-aware SE was tops in free spyware programs but failed overall. Scoring 65% scanning efficiency. CounterSpy a subscription based program won overall scored 85% scanning efficiency against 45 ad-ware and spyware programs they frequently run into in at work. These 45 applications created 81 separate files and processes--which proved a challenge for all apps to remove completely. The complete article can be found here http://tinyurl.com/56pbs

Spam!Spam!Spam!Spam! Spam!Spam!Spam!Spam!

Thanks to Monty Python we have a phrase to call all unwanted email. But it does not stop there. Every where we go we can see or hear all types of spam. Would you have an IPod or even the computer you are accessing this website if some had not told you where to buy it? Advertising is the original name for what we call spam today. If we go to the movies, before we even buy a ticket we see spam in the form of movie posters. Did we ask to see the "Sponge Bob" movie poster? Or the "Cursed" movie poster? At least I did not. Yet this is the same kind of spam that causes us to complain "I did not ask to get the Viagra email! yet it is in my inbox!" This is spam just in a different form. It does not end there. We continue to see spam every where we walk in the lobby of the theater. From the soon to be released movie ads spam to the "special" going on at the snack bar. spam It does not stop even in the lobby. Before you can watch THE MOVIE YOU PAID to see, you have to watch a TV commercial!? (I thought I went to a movie theater! I just seen that commercial before I left to go the movies.) After all the tv commercials (spam) we get to watch previews of movies that are now playing or coming soon spam. Then we get to see spam showing us the name of the movie theater we are currently in, in case you forgot! Every where we go we see some form of spam. All advertising something we did not ask to see, but someone thought we needed to know about it. Think about this. Would you be here reading this if I or some else had not told you to go here. We can thank our ancestors for spam advertising, truthfully and not Monty Python. Because someone long ago wanted to sell something and found success by spamming his/her neighbors. To that person, I say "Thank you" or should I say "Why? you have ruined life for the rest of us." Everything we have done since then has been to make more for ourselves in this some way. Whether it be in the form of money, land, or reputation. Because of this I do not think all the laws in the world will ever stop spamming. While we can now block spam email, I do not think we can ever get rid of spam. I am NOT a person who sends spam emails and do not think I am defending someone who sends them. This is just my thoughts on the subject. After all the web page you are reading this is called "Thoughts from a wondering Mind.

Even more invites

==UPDATE== Sorry all the invites in this post have either been used or they expired. If you are looking for a Gmail invite just email me or leave your email address in the comment section of this post. Either way I will send you a fresh, new Gmail Invite to you personally. You can email me at sanman294 at Gmail dot com.

This is what it would have looked like if I had emailed you a Gmail invite

sanman294 has invited you to open a free Gmail account. To accept this invitation and register for your account, visit ( invite link shown here) Once you create your account, san man will be notified with your new @gmail.com address so you can stay in touch with Gmail! If you haven't already heard about Gmail, it's a new search-based webmail service that offers: - 1,000 megabytes (one gigabyte) of free storage - Built-in Google search that instantly finds any message you want - Automatic arrangement of messages and related replies into "conversations" - Text ads and related pages that are relevant to the content of your messages Gmail is still in an early stage of development. But If you set up an account, you'll be able to keep it even after we make Gmail more widely available. We might also ask for your comments and suggestions periodically and we appreciate your help in making Gmail even better. Thanks, The Gmail Team To learn more about Gmail before registering, visit: http://gmail.google.com/gmail/help/benefits.html (If clicking the URLs in this message does not work, copy and paste them into the address bar of your browser).

More GMail invites

Here you go, have fun with these invites! If you would just leave a comment letting me know if you got an invite or what you think of this site. ==UPDATE== Sorry all the invites in this post have either been used or they expired. If you are looking for a Gmail invite just email me or leave your email address in the comment section of this post. Either way I will send you a fresh, new Gmail Invite to you personally. You can email me at sanman294 at gmail dot com.

More GMail Invites as Promised!

Well try these invites if the first one is gone! ==UPDATE== Sorry all the invites in this post have either been used or they expired. If you are looking for a Gmail invite just email me or leave your email address in the comment section of this post. Either way I will send you a fresh, new Gmail Invite to you personally. You can email me at sanman294 at gmail dot com.

Hello to anyone stumbling here.

I started this blog to give away my gmail invites. I did not want to spam them all over the web, so I put them in one location. If you want one they are free! So here is the first one to be given away here! More to come I have 100 so far. ==UPDATE== This invite has been used!