NOISES FROM THE BASEMENT

1) Timely Tips - "Start Me Up"
2) File Find! - "Metapad"
3) Sites-Seeing - "Ask A Scientist\SpeedyCam Webcam"
4) Email Funny - "It Couldn't Get Any Worse..."
5) They Said It - quotes to give one pause
6) Hodgepodge - that what fits no where else

Wow, here it is, time for another issue of NFTB! Where does the time go? Hope this finds you having a good day, or at least a tolerable one... and a big Welcome! to all new subscribers--which it's good to have you aboard because...

Did you know? Every issue The Basement loses around 75-100 subscribers (and that's on the very low end of the industry average) because of "bounces". A bounce is an email that, quite simply, doesn't make it to the subscriber. Many times this is due to full inboxes; most of these are with Yahoo or Hotmail. Other times, people drop or switch their ISP service and don't remember to update their subscriptions. And sometimes, there are just plain missed connections, corrupted files, line noise, and down servers. When an address bounces back to me, I'll put it on a "watch" list...and I routinely cull those that continue to bounce.

Don't miss YOUR dose of BasementNoises - keep those freemail boxes cleaned out and let me know both your old address and your new, if you move!

There's plenty of E-Mail Dave links scattered around, you can use those to let me know of those address changes or whatever else is on your mind! - Dave
 

This past week I once again found myself installing a "basic" setup of routinely used applications on a new drive. I thought I'd share a normal install list with you:

That most of it, I've omitted a few specialized apps I use. As you can see, a lot of work goes into getting a drive ready for it's initial use. How long would it take you to reinstall the programs and files that you rely on every day? You might want to make an inventory of those programs you have added to your system over time. Start with my checklist and build one for your own use!

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2) File Find! - "Metapad"

While Word is fine for those big documents, sometimes something simpler is called for - a plain text editor. Most people are familiar with Notepad, in fact it is often the first "word-processor" that new computer users learn.

For this week's File Find, I'd like to share with you a text processor that I've enthusiastically used for years - Metapad. Consider it a souped-up version of Notepad, with all these features:

• Configurable primary and secondary fonts
• Block formatting
• No file size limit
• Intelligent Find & Replace
• Recent File and Favorites menus
• File Browser launcher - great for tweaking HTML files!
• Clickable hyperlinks
  - and -
• over 20 different language translation plug-ins!

Give Metapad a try and you'll soon forget Notepad existed - Click here to download Metapad!

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The Archival home of over 12,000 questions asked since November, 1991; this U.S. Department of Energy site contains answers to just about any question you might have in the fields of Astronomy, Biology, Botany, Chemistry, Computer, General Science Topics, Engineering, Environmental, Mathematics, Molecular Biology, Physics, Veterinary, Weather, and Zoology!

Check out the Ask A Scientist archives, a service of the Newton BBS

 ≥≤  ≥≤  ≥≤  ≥≤  ≥≤  ≥≤  ≥≤  ≥≤  ≥≤  ≥≤  ≥≤  ≥≤  ≥≤  ≥≤  ≥≤  ≥≤  ≥≤  ≥≤

I'd like to be a traveling demon this summer, but lease-contract mileage restrictions and budgetary constraints keep most of my travels on the Infobahn. Sites such as SpeedyCam Webcam, the "Home of Time-Lapse Road Movies", offer a chance to experience the virtual wind blowing through my hair on the roads of Germany, Ireland, Belgium and Australia, in addition to the U.S.A.

Webmaster Joe Savelberg offers QuickTime movies snapped one picture every second (with QuickCams), over the highways and bi-ways, day and night, weather fair and foul. Take a mini-vacation and find out what it feels like to drive on the "wrong" side of the street!

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Little videos like this week's Email Funny serve as a helpful reminder not to imbibe too much of your favorite inebriating beverage, as the results can be quite painful - in a number of ways...

Click to download It Couldn't Get Any Worse...  [1.16 Mb/Zipped MPEG]

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"Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, ''Certainly, I can!'' Then get busy and find out how to do it. - Theodore Roosevelt

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< * >"As you pass one of the tubs, a motion-sensor chip triggers a digital sound device that yells, "Butter!" And another chip makes the tub wiggle slightly."< * > The Sounds of Silence - Did one musical talent violate the copyright of another by copying - nothing?< * > Artist mixed-up by street sign takes matters into his own hands - and no one knew that his fix for the problem wasn't the real thing! < * > Publishers pursue pop-ups! - "Gator is essentially a parasite on the Web that free rides on the hard work and the investments of plaintiffs and other Web site owners." < * > "Welcome to www.villainsupply.com, your best online source for everything EVIL. If you are a super villain, mad scientist, warlord, dictator, or despot, then this is the place for you." < * >

G'nite, and thanks for reading!

Dave Gretz

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 Dave Gretz,
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Steve Gibson's
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Fred Langa's
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Tara Calishaine's
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Randy Cassingham's
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Declan McCullagh's
POLITECH

Roger D. Hodge's
HARPER'S WEEKLY

Barbara Mikkelson's
URBAN LEGENDS

Jerry Lerman's
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Chris Pirillo's
LOCKERGNOME

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