Dr. Bob's Hot TipsDr. Bob's Hot Tips
Need a little "spice" in your life? Getting bored with
the usual surfing products on the net? Want a little different
slant on the Web? Dr. Bob Lade spends a bit of time each day surfing
for those unusual yet entertaining Web sites he thinks most of
you CyberNetters might find amusing. Some of these links are serious,
some just plain fun. We'll try to update the listing monthly,but
if a hot URL shows up, it will be added ASAP. This month I'm a little
late with the page (only a month late!) due to a vacation up into the
Florida Panhandle to party and look at all the damage from Hurricanes
Erin and Opal. So, with that apology, here we go...
An aside comment here is in order...This is beta software and such contains
a lot of bugs (after all, that's why it's called beta). Don't get irate if
you experience a lot of crashes with beta products. Better, try to reproduce
the problem, take notes, and send your findings to the vendor so he can
put the improvements in the next version. Netscape usually has a "time bomb"
in their beta products, so be aware that the software has a limited lifetime
on your hard drive. While the bugs and bomb limitations are a drag, it's the
price you have to pay to have the latest and "greatest".
In keeping with our goals to keep our local internet SIG group up-to-date,
the program for this month's meeting will focus on this software product.
Come join us and check it out!
The other newly-found host is the
Black Avenger. Ken Hamblin is a 55 year old African American conservative
with a different slant on current events. He's an avid Harley owner (OK!) who
speaks his mind on a whole spectrum of topics.
Both of these shows are available nation-wide through syndication and can be
heard in the Ft. Myers FL area on WINK, 1240 kHz on your AM dial.
No longer! Just click on the
IRS page and you'll find not only the necessary forms, but the
instruction booklets as well. You'll need to download the software for
the forms reader, but think of all the gas you'll save. Better yet, run
down to the local software shop and pick up a copy of TurboTax by
Intuit. It will have all the forms you need and you can write it off
as an expense.
Enter the world of
World Wide Music: CDs, Cassettes
and More! Look at the album covers, read about the artists and if you
have a sound board (and who doesn't?), just click and listen to a portion
of some of the hit songs on the disc. Pretty neat. And according to
their literature, their prices are competitive with local "record stores".
Awhile back I recommended my vote for the best personel web page of the
year. Now I've got what I consider a runnerup. I generally rate web pages
by the time I spend browsing in and around them.
This one is excellent because
of its diversity. It has a little on math and science, chess, music, and a
lot of other stuff. Give it a try!
At the moment, I use a different piece of client software for each phase
of my internet activity. Eudora for mail, WS_FTP for uploading files, Free
Agent for reading Newsgroups, WS_IRC for the little bit of IRCing that I do,
and, of course, Netscape for browsing and downloading software. In the past
few months there have been a number of companies bringing multi-purpose
software onto the market. Now we can add Netscape to the list. To download
the latest version (2.0b at the time of this writing) pick it up at
Netscape's web page devoted to just that product.
I'm an insomniac and spend a lot of time listening to late night
talk radio. We get a pretty good selection of hosts in the Ft. Myers
area, including Rush Limbaugh and G. Gordon Liddy, but while traveling upstate
last month I ran into a couple of different ones. Both have links to
the internet via email and web pages and thus are of special interest to me
because I can put in my two cents.
Art Bell is conservative, just
turned 50 and is into alien conspiracies, and some paranormal stuff. A
little far out, but you have to admit he's pretty unique among a group of
very unique people!
Perhaps it's a little early to think about it, but in just 30 days
Uncle Sam will be mailing those little packets of Tax Forms to you.
Naturally, the forms you need are never included in the standard 1040
instruction packet so you have to call the IRS 800 number, or make the
trek to the local IRS forms office to pick them up.
I think the days of the music stores as we know them are numbered.
In the past they survived because you could go over to the local Peach's
and browse and even listen to an album before buying. They always have an
excellent selection of titles so you are rarely disappointed when it comes
time to purchase.
Looking for a used boat? One of the best sources for finding used boats
along the Eastern and Gulf coasts has been the publication "Soundings". It's
basically a newspaper with thousands of boats (power and sail) for sale,
both by owners and yacht brokers. Now they have gone one step further and
set up a Web Page to help prospective buyers find their dream boats. It's
set up as a
search engine
to aid in vessel selection. You can search by manufacturer and/or size
and/or price and/or age, etc. I imagine that the Real Estate people are
doing a similar thing, but I just haven't run into it yet. Click over
there and do a little virtual Island Cruising...
Sandia Corporation is/was one of the big government labs specializing
in atomic weaponry and the like. They also support a neat Web site and one
item of interest is their
Periodic Table page. Next time junior wants to know who discovered
the element silicon, just tell him to click over to the Sandia web site
and leave you alone. After all, the Gator season is getting more interesting
every day.
Perhaps you readers don't know it, but we are fortunate enough to have one
of the Florida Gator's biggest fans right here in the Ft. Myers area. He's
a regular attendee of of Internet SIG meetings, so if you want to hear someone
do a little crowing ("we're number one, we're number one, etc.") come join us
next month. More on that later.
I've got lots more "fun" spots to explore, but they'll have to wait until next time. In the meantime, if you run into something you would like to have me add to this list, give me a URL and short description via e-mail.
Don't forget to contact me if you would like to be put on an e-mail list for announcements for the Internet Special Interest Group (ISIG) meetings in the southwest Florida area. We plan on normally holding them monthly on the first Tuesday of the month. This month's meeting is going to be held on Tuesday, January 9th at Frankentech's office complex. Yes, that's not the first Tuesday, but hey, Florida plays for the national championship the night of the 2nd and nobody would show up! Our SIG sports UF's biggest fan (see above). Anyway, Frankentech's offices are located above the Outback Steak House on Cleveland Avenue. The address is 12995 S. Cleveland Ave., Suite 203. Their offices face U.S. 41. The meeting time is 7 p.m. and I look forward to seeing many of you there. The topic is has yet to be determined, so if you're interested in providing the program, or if you have a suggestion let me know.
Additionally, new schedules for the introductory internet course are being drawn up. If you have an interest in this class, or know of someone who is, drop a note to Frankentech, or give them a call at 936-6647. Have a friend interested in joining the fun on the internet? Have him call Frank and we'll get him started with the Frankentech introductory package.
In addition to the introductory class, I am also available for advanced instruction on the internet, Windows95, Word Processing, or what have you. My rates are $20/hour. Reasonable for individual instruction, I believe. Give me a call at 334-3803, or send me an e-mail message and we can talk about your particular needs.
Comments about this page should be sent to Dr. Bob Lade .Reactions, positive or negative will be carefully considered. You're also invited to visit my Web Page to learn a little more about me, my family and our lifestyle.
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