CD to MP3 conversion is simple

A respected friend told me he tries never to pay for work he could do himself. Don’t know how? Learn. If the tools are affordable, get them. You’ll save money long term, and be better prepared for new adventures. Now, my friend and I were talking about cars, but this philosophy applies beyond the greasy, […]

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PBEM (Play By Email) Games, Recommendations and Resources

Sitting around a table, you take a swig of caffeine and roll the dice. Making your move, you munch handfuls of heavily-salted snacks. I love playing games, and not just because of caffeine and salt. Tabletop, RPG, video and card, all game types are wonderful ways to pass the time with friends. But I rarely […]

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Free karaoke software: EvilLyrics

A while ago I had the lucky experience of going to Japan as a bright-eyed foreign exchange student. One of my favorite parts? Karaoke. It’s not the same in the USA. Here, a standard karaoke night involves a smoky bar, dozens of strangers, and one too many drinks with names like “Bahama Mama”. If you’re […]

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Solar Sails – Science fiction made fact

The description of “solar sail” spaceships smells like science fiction, but taste it: It’s real. Think of a kite. It’s held in the air by a rigid, lightweight frame, kept in the air by the force of the wind. A solar sail spacecraft works much the same way, only instead of wind, the sail is […]

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OBD-II code readers: Listen when your car speaks

You’re standing next to someone and they suddenly yelp “technology!” What would you think? First, you should back away slowly. After you’re safe, avoiding eye contact, you’d think, “Technology. Beeping, blipping computers. Things we type on and talk into and sometimes want to smack with a large hammer.” Well, not today. Today we’re getting dirty, […]

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Get charged by geek chic watches

Andy’s Law of Accessories states: “The inconvenience of physically wearing an object must be inversely proportional to its functionality.” This means if I wear something, it better do more than look nice. For example, we have clothes: Slightly inconvenient, but they compensate by keeping me warm and saving my oddly-shaped body from public embarrassment. At […]

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DataDot DNA review: Protect expensive investments cheaply with electronic DNA

“Okay, punk, gimme the iPod.” As the bully shoved him up against the locker, Chris thought he should be pretty freaked out. But, though he handed over his new multi-hundred-dollar media player with a shaking hand, he started to relax. The bully would take the expensive device, and, like the handheld video game and DVD […]

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Pirated TV DVD scams: Protect yourself

DVDAvenue.tv: See this page to read more user experiences with DVDAvenue, or report a problem. DVDDonkey.com: See this page to read more user experiences with DVDDonkey.com, or report a problem. A reader has a big problem with a recent DVD scam: I found a site called “DVDAVENUE.TV”. They advertised various TV shows on their site and I […]

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What is CMOS? What is BIOS? And how the heck do you pronounce them?

CMOS and BIOS are often used interchangeably, but you can think of the BIOS as software, and CMOS as the hardware running it. If someone tells you to “go into your computers CMOS,” or to “go into BIOS and change something”, they probably mean the same thing: Enter the low-level settings on your PC to […]

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