Transparent Government, Lie Detection, Price Protector

A survey written about in a recent AARP newspaper revealed that people 50 and up tend to use the internet for information gathering, whereas those under that age group are more prone to using their computers for entertainment. No surprise there. The former-mentioned demographic probably will like this week’s picks; yet this being an election year, some of these sites may help with  your decision-making no matter what your age when you vote.

 

Sunlight Foundation (www.sunlightfoundation.com). I consider this effort one of the higher uses for the internet. This foundation’s goal is to make the workings of our federal government as transparent as possible, so that we citizens can closely track what Congress is doing. The site’s goal is to foster the public’s trust in our government, and to help reduce corruption. You will find several major website links within the Sunshine Foundation, including Project Vote Smart, Legistorm, and Congresspedia. If you want to know who is getting those huge grants, what the salaries of legislative staff is, or what bill is currently being debated in committee (and by whom), you will find all that and more here. You can be sure Washington-beat journalists use it. This is a very useful cluster of websites for those who want first-hand, unbiased information.

 

Eyes for Lies (http://eyesforlies.blogspot.com). Some people have an inborn knack for uncovering deception. Scientists have identified only 50 people who are able to spot deception with great accuracy and this individual (whose name I do not know) is one of them. He has some very interesting opinions about Drew Peterson, for example. Also, he believes that John Ramsey (Jon Benet) has not been entirely truthful. The blog is full of the writer’s insights about several suspects of high-exposure criminal cases, and he tells us his method for detecting falsities. Plus, the blog posts a record of hits and misses—more hits than misses, it appears. There is a link to a short quiz where you can attempt to pinpoint micromessages—facial expressions that can betray a speaker’s words and make one question the truth. I could have stayed at this site for another hour or so, just to read the insights about all the cases currently in the news. If you can follow these insights and practice them, then maybe you can detect the level of candor of our Presidential candidates. However, as of this writing, I have only seen comments about suspects or “persons of interest” in criminal investigations at this site.

 

Wild Mood Swings (www.wildmoodswings.co.uk). Be careful with assumptions—this website is a service offering surfing recommendations based on your current mood. A drop-down menu lets you click on a “mood,” which can be anything from “cute” to “the truth is out there.” So of course I picked a bunch of moods to sample to see where the site would send me. I was a little disappointed. “Cute” sent me to Cute Overload (baby animal pictures). “The Truth is Out There” sent me to the SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence) site. “Secretive” sent me to Post Secret (where people send in their deepest secrets). As I looked through the menu of moods, I started guessing where the link might send me, since I surf enough to know many of these websites. But then, you might like it.

 

Price Protector (www.priceprotectr.com/). We all want to save money on our purchases, and this website can help with both online and regular store purchases. It will look up any price reductions for merchandise you’ve purchased with a price protection period, and notify you if the price has dropped. To find out, you copy and paste your online purchase from the page where you add the item to your shopping cart. The site also has coupon deals. I don’t know about you, but when I shop online I usually wonder if I’m missing some deal because I don’t always have a promotion code to lower the price. Anyway, more than 100 stores support the efforts of Price Protector, including Circuit City, Costco, Target, Gap, Sears, Old Navy, and dozens more. We all need to save a buck. This website can help us. And it’s nice to know that they promise not to spam you, either.

Unusal Summer Festivals

 

            The big question for many families today is, “Do we plan to take a vacation this summer now that the gasoline prices have risen so high?” If the answer remains “Yes!” then here are a few zany festivals you might want to consider attending.

 

Summer Redneck Games (www.summerredneckgames.com). Outside of Atlanta, Georgia, in the little town of Dublin, the folks have been hosting this event since 1996. When Atlanta hosted the Summer Olympics, Dublin citizens decided to offer a down-home alternative. Starting with the arrival of the propane torch, the games include a Mudpit Belly Flop competition, Bobbing for Pigs feet, and a Hubcap Hurl, among other amusing distractions. The event occurs in July, but as of this writing, I am unsure of the exact dates.

 

Mashed Potato Wrestling Days (www.potatodays.com). All spud lovers would be happy to mosey over to Barnesville, MN on August 22 &23 this summer. In addition to ingesting various potato recipes, visitors can witness the Miss Tator Tot Pageant, Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head contest, Potato Car races (like the pinewood derby but with potatoes), a potato sculpting contest, potato sack fashions, potato stacking competition, and potato peeling contests. Potato wrestling—a variation of mud wrestling, is also on the list of events. The organizers call the festival “Spud’riffic fun.”

 

Gilroy Garlic Festival (www.gilroygarlicfestival.com). Actually, next to the potatoes, this California town’s festival sounds tame, except maybe for the pungent odors that must float around the festivities. No garlic eating contests, just a Great Garlic Cookoff where entrants submit some superb recipes. Last year’s winning recipes are on the website. Expect a parade, musical entertainment, and a juried arts and crafts festival, garlic, and that’s about it. Do you want to drive all the way to California for that? If so, reserve your last full weekend in July.

 

Oatman Sidewalk Egg Fry (www.oatmangoldroad.com). If you are lingering out West waiting for the Garlic Fest, head over to Oatman on July Fourth for their Sidewalk Egg Cooking contest. This northwest Arizona town should be mighty steamy—well, dry heat, that is, at the height of summer. Oatman is famous for the wild burros that roam around town. Another of its festivals is the International Burro Bisket Toss, date not listed. You would do just as well here in the Midwest at one of the cow chip throwing events.

 

Blythewood Kudzu Fest (www.kudzufest.net). I’m beginning to think that these small southern towns have the most creative festivals. Blythewood, South Carolina is overgrown with kudzu, and in the spirit of spinning the nuisance into a positive, the townsfolk have come up with an original. Fiber artists use the vine to create baskets, fishing creels, angel sculptures and more. Winner of the Miss Kudzu crown wears a gown with a kudzu theme. I am not sure if the kudzu-eating contest is for real. What is hilarious is an article on this site about How to Grow Kudzu. Festival organizers say, “Kudzu—we support it, we appreciate it, and we’re just trying to make it a happy thing.”  The event happens in September. The locals also mention that kudzu covers 7.7 million acres of the southeastern United States. Maybe those of us around Michigan City ought to think of organizing a Garlic Mustard, or Purple Loosestrife Festival?

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Happy Stuff

Upbeat, happy, nice and good are keywords that describe the majority of sites I found over the past week. As I sit writing this, we are in our umpteenth day of cloudy and wet weariness. I’m hoping that by the time this column is in print and in your hands, those dreary days are finally behind us.

 

Happy News (www.happynews.com). News addicts might want to counteract the effects of daily, negative news reports with a thoroughly enjoyable dose of all positive news. This is the place to find all sorts of good news (after reading the Beacher, which comes first). I’ve known doctors to tell their patients to stop watching the network news and daily newspapers as an effort to promote wellness. At this site, news addicts can have their news and enjoy it, too. Nothing to grumble about.

 

Do One Nice Thing (http://.doonenicething.com). Debbie Tenzer, who established this website, wanted to do something to contribute to humanity. She suggested starting the week off right by doing something altruistic on a Monday, the day many of us dread just because it’s the start of the workweek. She urges everyone to become a nice-oholic by finding something to contribute to the needy. Through her efforts to establish a worthy place on the Internet, Do One Nice Thing site visitors have contributed 140,000 pounds of school supplies to U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan to give to local children. That is just one of several success stories. The site lists current needs from various places and organizations, and another section allows you to submit suggestions for specific giving campaigns. Much of the giveways deal with schoolchildren’s needs. If you have reams of unused paper, stacks of unused pencils, or folders, or what-have-you, you can find a place to donate them here.

 

Free Photoshop Express (www.photoshop.com/express). If you’ve watched the digital editing world pass you by because of the steep price of Photoshop, or don’t have spare change for Photoshop Elements, its less-expensive clone, then raise a cheer for Photoshop Express. Launched in late March of this year, it is a web-based program that lets you have as much fun with your photos as those who own the fee-based software. Although I haven’t taken a spin around the site yet, it says that it is easier to use than its big brothers’ programs. Don’t expect all the bells and whistles, I’m guessing. Now, go make yourself a masterpiece.

 

Giveaway of the Day (www.giveawayoftheday.com). It’s worth a daily glance to see what the day’s free (computer software) giveaway might be. This is the full version of licensed software that you get, not a watered-down ir trial version. I noticed several spyware sweepers, registry fixers, and other helpful computer maintenance tools from past giveaways. Each software offer has been checked for potentially harmful viruses, so it looks like a safe bet. Each product comes with an in-depth review, so you can pick and choose what is right for you.

 

Free Movie Scripts (http://sfy.ru/). Free screenplays to read will appeal to movie buffs who might want to search for some specific lines from a favorite movie. Maybe. Or, those buffs will rent and watch the movie to find those lines. On the other hand, if you ever have considered writing your own screenplay, you now have a valuable reference point for formatting your creative product. And if anyone wants to perform a particular scene from a favorite movie, voila! Here you have the script. Choose from a huge selection of movies, and have fun.

Blame it on the weather…

see more crazy cat pics

Fancast, Design, Ripoffs

Last week I told you about the B-Movies site, where you can watch older, classic, and somewhat recent (within the past 15-20 years) movies on your computer. This week, I found another place to watch full-run movies free. In addition, I found a place where you can register your complaints about companies or individuals who scam you. Plus, you might like to see some design and oddball home websites while you wander around cyberspace.

 

Fancast (www.fancast.com). Some of us, including me, do not have cable television. In fact, we need to apply for those coupons the government is giving away so that we can watch digital television next year. But when you cannot find anything decent on the tube to watch, or you are not an NCAA basketball fan, then you can turn to fancast and enjoy a variety of movies or full episodes of select television shows instead. Of course, I’m assuming that you have a fast internet connection. Otherwise, don’t bother. You can watch Sideways, or The Big Lebowski, for example. Or, for us cable-deprived, we can catch full episodes of Ghost Hunters, Monk, Arrested Development, and lots more. Again, I’m assuming that the weather is going to still be cold and wet and therefore parking in front of the computer is not too unhealthy a thing to do. Fancast is in Beta (meaning testing mode), and is brought to us by Comcast. How cool is it that we don’t have to subscribe to cable to feel like we are not being left out?

 

Strange Closets (www.strangeclosets.com). Don’t be fooled by the name. This Chicago-based offering describes its mission thus: “When design takes priority, the result is often strange closets.” Still doesn’t explain what this website is about? Well, how about taking an informal tour of places (stores, hotels, restaurants) where this native Chicagoan finds inspiration? He spotlights his favorite stores in short bursts of narrative that promise not to bore.  If you like his visuals you might want to take a trek to Chicago just to find these off-the-radar places.

 

Fresh Home (www.freshome.com). The “tips, gadgets, and inspirations for your home” include a selection of “extreme beds,” among other things. Imagine living in a very small space where you can store your full-sized bed above you near the ceiling. You have to see for yourself to appreciate the design and innovation. This website is not a store selling anything. It’s just for inspiration, and maybe adapting some of the many ideas it presents.

 

Offbeat Homes (www.offbeathomes.com). Next to Lol Cats and Cute Overload, I enjoy wandering the Web looking at all sorts of homes. Two worth mentioning are: a recycled house made from an airplane, which looks like it belongs on Lost Island; and an egg-shaped abode. Click the link on the page (What the Flip) to see more odd dwellings.

 

Ripoff Report (www.ripoffreport.com). I am certain there are other consumer complaint websites that may be even better than this one. However, you might find yourself feeling like a voyeur when you read some of the sad tales people have submitted. This site was created by consumers for consumers, and so everyone who posts is responsible for filing and documenting their complaints. One caveat posted is that not all reports are authentic or necessarily accurate. The overall intent of the site is to educate consumers. It is also a place to sound off, as you’ll see from the postings.