It's So Simple To Google: A Quick Review

Weather: type weather followed by zipcode or city name. weather by itself gives you weather in your current location. weather princeton

Local Businesses: type location followed by category of business e.g. new york beads

Flight tracker: for flight status, type name of airline and flight number e.g. aa 3

Currency Conversion: type in e.g. 10 USD in GBP

Unit Conversion: type in desired conversion e.g. 4 lbs in kg

Movie Times: movies automatically shows movies near you, or showtimes for nearby theaters remembered by the computer from a previous search.

Sport Scores: for scores and schedules, type team or league name e.g. dallas cowboys

Dictionary: type define and the word e.g. define desire

Time: type in time and name of city e.g. time new york

Stock Quotes: Simply type in the ticker name e.g. GOOG with more inside from Google Finance etc.

Calculator: type in equation e.g. 16/20

Earthquakes: type in earthquakes for recent activity

Cooking Conversions: type in e.g. 2 cups in ounces

Fill in the blank: start a sentence e.g. Ronald Reagan died or (name of business) tel. (for a telephone number)

Package Tracking: type in tracking number from UPS, Fedex or USPS directly e.g. ABCDE123

Area Codes and Zip Codes: simply type in numbers e.g. 12345

Mortgage Rates: google mortgage rates

Public Data: For population trends and unemployment rates: type either one and then location e.g. population New Jersey or unemployment rates NJ.

Courtesy: Google Tips

Please comment and add more of your favorite searches.

Conflict Management: "Fighting Happily Ever After" - from The Wall Street Journal

Super-caffeinated "Beverages" Are Actually "Drugs"

Did you know that one can of heavily marketed energy drink WiredX505 has the caffeine equivalent of ten (10!) cans of cola? How do the makers of these drinks get away with masking the truth? They're so loaded with caffeine, children shouldn't drink them and containers should be labeled to indicate they are drugs.

The editors of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) warn that drinks such as WiredX505 and Fixx are really drugs marketed as tasty syrupy refreshments. Fuzzy labelings on caffeine-loaded drinks have lulled and by now repeatedly tricked consumers into buying products that doctors warn "have crossed the line from beverages to drugs." They maintain official warning labels on drinks are not comparable to those currently mandatory for caffeine tablets as they should be.

Dr. Noni MacDonald, Dr. Matthew Stanbrook and Dr. Paul C. Hebert in the current month's editorial, just published, entitled "Caffeinating children and youth" (CMAJ, July 23, 2010) exhort advertisers of these drinks to end promotions targeting vulnerable children who are "notorious for making poor health choices." Dr. MacDonald, Professor of Pediatrics at Dalhousie University et al. assert the marketing of energy drinks is "distinctly different" because companies increasingly target children and youth through sponsorship of events such as snowboarding and skateboarding competitions.

Noni MacDonald, M.D.
cahs-acss.ca

Astoundingly, caffeine information is invisible on these products,  and containers should be properly marked to warn consumers of the dangers. Too much caffeine is well known to cause "nervousness, irritability, sleeplessness and, occasionally, rapid heart rate." Red Bull was prohibited in France until 2008, and in Denmark until 2009. 

These drinks are often mixed with alcohol by college students, creating potentially hazardous combinations. A survey showed that "college students who mixed alcohol with energy drinks were three times more likely [than other patrons] to leave a bar highly intoxicated and four times more likely to drive while intoxicated." 

Blogging Tips For Newbies

Here are some tips I'm going to try to follow in the future from Copyblogger, a blogsite with tips for bloggers. This could be a good set of tips for new bloggers to read:

1) Have a conversation. It's true, the personalities of bloggers tend to shine through their writing. If you feel worse after reading posts time after time, stop reading even if  you feel you should.

2) Lighten up. Everyone loves a good laugh, and as a writer you want to make people feel more comforted and happier than when they started. I hope readers can relate to some issues I write about.

3) Be yourself. The older you get, the easier it is. Trust me on this.

4) Be nice. Mamma said so (as did Copyblogger).

5) Get over yourself. It's all about the readers. Keep the focus on the audience.

6) Help people. "The people who run these blogs are constantly thinking about how they can help..Helpful people are popular people."

7) Stop trying so hard. Posts aren't sales pitches.

Hotel Pools: a slideshow

 Villa d'Este, Lago di Como, Italia.  courtesy: Daily Beast

Summer Dreams

Just in case you love pools, you will want to see a wonderful slideshow of amazing ones at locations around the world. Click at Hotel Pools. Have you any other hotel pool favorites?

Online Sites Make Cell Phone Decisions Easier

There are multiple decisions to make before venturing to a store to purchase a new cell phone. Especially if you're thinking of buying a fancy new smartphone, you will need to plan which store to go to in the first place. It's wise to take the time to determine which phone to buy through internet comparisons. Your effort will help you decide ahead whether or not to buy a smartphone (and all the internet capabilities they deliver) along with which carrier and exactly which plan will fit your needs in the future.

To help you make a decision, as a preliminary, try adding a few pieces of data into this website to find the most recent percentage data of cellphone users in the United States using smartphones as opposed to regular cell phones, as well as the most popular makes. For a greater worldview of cell phone use, try reading this site for statistics at getjar.com.

To help you decide which carrier to use, you can search local cell phone towers close to the areas you will usually be using at a website at cellreception.com. The site also very usefully rates the effectiveness of wireless providers, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and Nextel. A table of consumer reviews of providers is linked here. You can check with individual providers for their best plans online at wirelessguide.org.

In addition, this site published by CNet lists the highest-radiation cell phones in the United States. See where yours falls in the list by manufacturer and model. Hope yours isn't second in the list like mine is.

We all have different needs for phones, and making the decision easier is the point of this entry post. Mulling over the current options available for new cell phones had me checking out websites. I'll need one a new one for my new career as a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty.

Speaking Up For Stricter Gun Control is Helpful

"Silence Always Favors the Wrongdoer" - Gloria Allred

The subject of guns makes me want to speak up in support of stricter gun control laws in America. It takes a lady whose husband was killed by a gunmnan on a rampage and elected to public office -- Carolyn McCarthy, D-NY -- to have the strength and power to publicly support stricter gun control laws. This is my personal platform to support her and add my single, small voice to the good, quiet individuals with the nerve to publicly support gun control laws.

According to this article in today's New York Times, N.R.A. [National Rifle Association] lobbyists have succeeded in loosening gun control restrictions recently. With the so-called Disclose Act, four million gun-toting Americans (all N.R.A. members) are now legally secret and anonymous political and financial backers of the N.R.A. At least they're not the majority of Americans. But clearly, the greater good of society has lost some freedom in the elusive quest of progress toward greater civilization.

With retrogressive gun control laws, America becomes, in a sense more primitive, less civilized, less hospitable. Healthcare is an urgent need for gun shot victims. Republicans  who recently successfully destroyed gun control laws are also undermining healthcare reform. Insurance companies, too, are now banned from charging higher premiums for people with guns in their homes. Guns create a much more violent society, and one that many sane and rational people in other developed countries choose not to inhabit or even visit.

The perennially charming National Rifle Association has succeeded at winning over politicians, somehow, while my (and our) silence has not. Actually, this baffles and disappoints me, because I thought President Obama's government would help crush the overwhelming power of lobbyists in D.C. Obviously, lobbying by special interests hasn't gone away and is still enormously effective, whether or not at the will of the majority.

What is the good in promoting relaxed gun laws anyway? No, don't let me know, I don't care for the other side of this topic. To my set of values, unfortunately the bad side won - a shame for America at home and abroad, and just plain ugly for business and the future. Pity.

Washington's National Cathedral Thrives Amid Sweltering Heat

Washington, D.C.'s National Cathedral had another wonderful service last Sunday, July 11, 2010, with The Very Reverend Samuel Lloyd III giving the sermon. It can be viewed online at the National Cathedral website. The service leaflet is also available, and can be followed at the same time. Many wonderful old hymns, many of them my personal favorites were sung, and the service was very satisfying to see.

 Hyfrydol's "Love divine, all loves excelling" is one of my especial favorites. I always love to hear the "Presentation Acclamation" : "We gather at your table, Lord: we humbly lift our hearts to you! Here all are welcomed, all restored, and all are given work to do."

This month, the new Cathedral Provost, The Rev. Timothy Boggs, has participated in services as well. The music played throughout by Michael McCarthy, Director of Music, finished with the Allegro Maestoso by L.Vierne.  All the service can be heard and enjoyed online, a great new resource offered by the National Cathedral. Please give generously to the nation's National Cathedral.

Fascinating Fascinators

Fascinator: a hairpiece, a style of millinery like a hat, also called a cocktail hat, commonly made with feathers, flowers and beads. Fascinators are popular at events where hats were traditionally worn, such as horse-racing events, as an alternative.

Although this term fell into disuse by the 1970s, it is used in a newspaper article referring to hairpieces worn by women at church at St. James Cathedral in Toronto, Canada today.

The Queen is noted for her hats, and she was certainly not upstaged. But there were quite a few women in the church who also wore hats and fascinators.

TheGlobeAndMail.com

Silk flowers, too can be just the perfect finishing touch for a coat or suit or even a dress. Many are available at M and J Trimmings, 1008 Sixth Avenue, (nr. 38th St.) New York 10018 tel.1.800.MJTRIM. This large store bills itself as "the world's Premier Trimming Resource since 1936. With one location at over 5000 square feet, they are highly recommended for over-the-top trimmings and tassels for clothing and furniture and jewelry designs. They have lace, buttons, tassels, belt buckles, bullion crests, and patches and are located in the middle of the jewelry and garment district, and now have items available online. See that website for a wonderland of creations for use in fabulous designs.