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Common Sense and a Gas Cost Calculator
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The world has gone gas price crazy. To read CNN you would think that the last barrels of oil are on their way right now. Articles like this article from CNN prove just how far crazy things have gotten. Buying a $9000 Geo Metro to save gas just defies math. For one, the Geo Metro is worth only $500. So that gives you a vehicle that has to save you $8500 worth of gas. Even with my big 6 passenger Durango I could drive over 2 1/2 years on that gas. With an average car you could drive 5 years on that gas and equal the same amount. After you are done with Geo you have a vehicle that is worthless and more than likely have to be junked causing environmental damage. While the average car will keep on trotting along and will most likely be sold returning some of your money. During your tenure with the Geo you will suffer along with no amenities (most likely no air conditioning and crank windows), extremely bad acceleration (you won’t be able to get out of the way of traffic), and crash worthiness of a beer can. Its true the US uses too much foreign oil and alternatives need to be found but common sense seems to be something we are lacking more than oil reserves. If people bought vehicles that fit their lifestyle and purchased the greenest car they could we would be vastly better off. We in no way need to resort to buying beer can cars, the solution to our problem is buying the best car, the longest lasting car, the most logical solution for our daily transit. For that reason I am including a Fuel Cost Calculator link, this way you can do that math and see how much you were spending last year and this year and then make your own judgment. For me and my gas guzzling Durango my extra expenditure this year would be about $600, far out weighing the hit on resale I’ll take if I were to trade it in.
Demonoid is back
If you are fan of the mighty torrent you might have noticed that one of the best trackers for a torrent recently disappeared. It was like a million voiced cried out in pain and all at once were silenced. Demonoid was shuttered for a million different reasons that I’ve heard, but whichever one you want to buy into the simple truth remains…They’re back. If you come on back to Demonoid you will see your old account waiting there for you like old hound waiting patiently. The torrent Jedis can now rejoice in having our old friend back. If you haven’t already noticed I am also back, my reason for not posting for a while? Well I blame a hectic day job schedule and being thouroughly burned out without a helping hand to keep the posts coming. So here’s to a new birth in Demonoid and Noheat.com
Collect data on your website with Google Forms
Looking to create a form for your website or to collect data from someone remotely? Google has added a new feature to their Google Docs that allows you to create forms and automatically insert data into a Google Spreadsheet. Your users will not even need a Google account to submit info, the form you create is one that anyone can access just like any web form. Just start with a spreadsheet and create your fields, then click the share button. Select the third option called “to fill out a form NEW” and follow the on screen prompts. Google forms give you plenty of options for creating your form such as text, paragraph text, multiple choice, check boxes, and lists. The great part is all your data ends up in a nice Google spreadsheet that you can easily export into any popular file formats such as Excel or a comma delimited field.
Wi-Fi on the go: what’s free and what’s not
We have children and they love their chicken nuggets and playlands/playgrounds. It’s nice to be able to get catch up on things while they play. So once in awhile the laptop comes out so we can read emails and news, finish that one client deliverable now that the mind is clear and uncluttered, etc. Imagine our surprise when we found out McDonald’s charges for Wi-Fi access. To quote their website, “Connectivity and/or usage fees may apply and be required for Wi-Fi services.” So, how do you find free hot spots? There are a number of websites to assist. Here’s a quick review of each.
openwifispots.com has over 24,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in the U.S. and many new listing added each week. No sign-up or login required. There are only a few listings in my area, some of which are restaurant favorites and we were completely unaware of their free Wi-Fi offerings. And you have the added ability of searching by location type. The site is promising with their continuously updated by a growing number of community users.
hotspotr.com – Wi-Fi Cafes and Hotspots – is a user driven reporting system where anyone within the community is able to “Add a Spot.” When the user enters the information, they indicate if it’s free or on a charge basis. Pay as you go services are shown with a pink marker and a dollar sign. They have over 7300 spots in over 1800 cities and even a few café reviews, yet no hotspots in my area.
wififreespot.com is a little crude with no listings in my immediate area. The feature I do like is the quick lookup of companies (like Panera Bread), airports, hotel chains, RV parks, campgrounds and vacation rental properties that offer free Wi-Fi.
ilovefreewifi.com is a newer service (started in 2007). The owner of the site is still working out the bugs and functionality needs. Though the number of hot spots is not touted on this site, there are few major cities with a significant number of locations shown.
jiwire.com lists 200,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in 135 countries. There are nine locations listed in my immediate area with the provider/access specifics listed. None of these locations have been rated by users, making me wonder if the site is often used. JiWire is a Wi-Fi advertising network that delivers national- and local-targeted ads at Wi-Fi locations. So, you have to wonder about their motivation.
Do you have a favorite site for finding free Wi-Fi wherever you go? Tell us about it.
Weight loss the Web 2.0 way
Are you counting calories as spring approaches? How do you know how many calories you should be able to eat to maintain or loose weight? Well the thinnerself has created a little calculator that allows you to see how many calories you should be eating. There have been some great formulas on the web but if you are mathematically challenged it can be hard to see where you should be at. Enter your information, such as weight, height, and age and it will calculate how many calories are required to maintain your current weight. Just remember that 3500 calories equals one pound so if you cut 3500 calories a week you should be loosing one pound each week. Not sure how many calories you are taking in? Read our review of DailyPlate that will show you what you plan on or already ate today so you can get a grasp on your calorie intake. This simple web 2.0 search engine will get your calorie information from everything from a Big Mac to Special K bars. First off though you need to see how many calories you should be consuming to determine when your body’s fuel gauge says full so head over to thinner self and get started with your new health goals.
Check it out
Print your Window’s file directories easily
