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Virtual Makeovers
I have found that a website that’s kept me under its spell for way longer than I’d anticipated. I‘ve been to this kind of site before and the results are generally poor, so I never hang around long. But this particular site had me impressed, amused and addicted.
The site is MakeoverSolutions.com. You get to sign up for a free account, upload an image of yourself and then you move on to the really fun part: making yourself over. New hairstyle? Different make-up? A bit of punky look, perhaps? Add some earrings or a hat too! The sky’s the limit.
So I started by creating my account and then uploading the best, full-face image of myself that I can find. Then I followed through the website’s set-up wizard and marked the image with their pointers to determine where my eyes and mouth were, as well as the shape of my face.
After that, I chose hair and “tried on” a huge range of styles and colors, highlight and lowlights. Then I moved on to make-up. I ended up looking like a bit of hussy and had to tone it down a bit. It’s very easy to get carried away. I added a beautiful blue flower to my hair and voila! After a few failed attempts at making myself gorgeous, I finally settled on this lovely makeover. What a knock-out I am!
And if you check out their Makeover Gallery, you can see how other visitors have been made over.
On Friday, I’m getting highlights in my hair for the very first and I think I’ll play around with this site a bit more to see if I can determine which color I should go for.
2007 BP Solar Decathlon
“Save the environment”. It’s a vague term, but one we hear so often. What does it mean? How can we help? Here, at our house, we recycle, as most people do. But wouldn’t it be wild if we all lived in solar-powered houses and drove solar-powered vehicles? This could very well be the way of the future and it seems that students, scientists and businesses from all around the world are working to make that a reality.
The US Department of Energy, along with proud partners BP, have selected twenty teams from colleges and universities from all around the globe to compete in the 2007 BP Solar Decathlon. Each team will strive to design and build the most energy-efficient and most attractive solar-powered home.
Later this month, the teams will relocate their creations to the National Mall in Washington, DC where they will compete in 10 contests to determine the winner of the Decathlon.
Canada is represented by Team Montreal, made up of 40 students from three different universities around Montreal. I will be rooting for them, of course.
So if you’d like to join in the festivities and have a sneak peak at the houses of the future, head to Washington, DC between October 12th and 20th. The houses will be open to the public from 10 to 5pm on weekdays and 11 to 3pm on weekends. There will also be consumer workshops, educational exhibits and an awards ceremony. Check out the website’s Schedule of Events for details and directions.
Also, to keep up with how the teams are doing and to learn more about solar power from the very people who are designing these homes, check out the BP Solar Decathlon Blog.
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Hawaiian Shirts at Mad Gringo
A guy I know from work named Dave always wears a Hawaiian shirts the day before he has a couple off. It’s his way, he says, to celebrate the impending break in his schedule and to take a step toward the rest and relaxation that is to follow. He always looks bright and happy when he wears his Hawaiian shirt and definitely takes on the ‘go slow’ attitude that leaves him in a state of nothing-can-bother-me-now.
You’ve got to admire a guy who can express himself like that!
That ‘go slow’ attitude is shared by the folks at Mad Gringo, who sell a wide range of the coolest Hawaiian shirts. The mantra on their front page goes: Drop the to-do list, lose the cell, grab the flip-flops. The website furthers the sentiment by instructing its visitors to watch more sunsets because “every day there’s one less of them”. And really, that sums up ‘go slow’. It means to slow down your life. Appreciate the little things that we all take for granted.
Sit back and wait for that perfect wave!
Dave’s shirt is similar to this festive beauty that I found at Mad Gringo called the Bula Blue. With a cheerful, bright blue watery background, dotted with giant palm trees, this shirt would go great with jeans, shorts or even a bathing suit. It even has real coconut buttons!
I’ll have to tell Dave about this site so that we don’t always see him in the same shirt!
Proclaimers Tickets
I remember it was around 1988/89 when I first heard The Proclaimers. I was living in Canada at that time and, when I heard them sing, I just knew that they must be Scottish. Their accents were so strong, even while they were singing, and I thought they sounded great. The band comprised of twins Craig and Charlie Reid and they were cute too.
The song that I first heard from them? I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles).
"And I will walk 500 miles and I will walk 500 more, just to be the man..."
Such an amazing song. I know now that the song came from their album Sunshine on Leith released in August of 1988.
Among only a handful of other hits from the band (that made it over to Canada anyay), was Letters from America, a song I still find myself singing in the shower. With my very own Scottish accent, of course!
As it turns out, The Proclaimers are playing in London on October 13th and I'd love to see them. Stephen would too, I'm sure. They are a band that is, well, timeless. I found these tickets for sale on Viagogo.co.uk, where you can both buy and sell concert tickets, sports tickets and the like. The website matches buyers and selling of event tickets and they are apparently the leading ticket hub in Europe. Viagogo is easy to use and organized well. Music, sports and theatre tickets are broken down into more specific categories so that finding the desired tickets is simple.
At the moment, the London concert is the only one listed but, perhaps, more dates will become available in time.
The Proclaimers tickets really tickle my fancy. My birthday is coming up in November, by the way. Concert tickets would be greatly appreciated. Oh and a flight to London please!
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Shampooing our Carpet
As I type, Stephen is shampooing our basement carpet with a carpet-cleaning machine that I rented from the store where I work. We moved all the furniture in the living room and did the carpet in here first, as this really was our problem area, but with soap left and time remaining on our 4-hour rental, we decided that the basement would be done too. We’ve also saved just enough soap to do the upstairs landing. But that will need to wait until Abby wakes up.
Interestingly though, DoItYourself.com, a free website with thousands of articles and over 100 active forums scanning a huge range of DIY projects, suggest that soap or shampoo for a carpet is not the best product to use. The explanation?
- "Ever wash your hair and forget to rinse out all the shampoo? The same thing happens to your carpet. The shampoo can't be completely rinsed out, leaving a sticky residue. That residue acts like a big magnet pulling the dirt from the bottom of your shoes. Now you have clean shoes and even dirtier carpets."
The articles, written by a Mary Findlay who apparently spent 12 years professionally cleaning homes, suggests instead that we should be adding 1 cup of vinegar to 2.5 gallons of water in our carpet-cleaning machine. Vinegar pulls out the old shampoo and helps to clean the carpet. Then you just go over it one more time with plain hot warm and your carpet will end up “soft and free from grime”. Sounds good!
So now I’ve just got to relay to Stephen that he better go over the carpets again with vinegar and water. Maybe next time, I’ll read about the task at hand before we start!
Anyway, the website is full of useful tips and suggests many, many DIY projects that I would just love for us to undertake. Our home tends to have the must-haves done to it, like when something breaks, but we would like to become the type of people who take on a new task because we’d like to see the improvement to our home. But with two young children, that’s a tall order.
DoItYourself.com easily replaces one of those hard cover DIY books that you see in the local hardware store, but this one is free and always at your fingertips. They’ve got useful articles on how to install key in knob lock, how to build a wood fence, and even how to make your own Christmas tree ornaments from wrapping paper.
Be sure to check out their home improvement and repair DVDs section. Because knowledge is power!
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Morphing Images
For those who are into web design, creating computer graphics and altering digital photographs, like I am, there are a few must-have pieces of software. Some people will swear by the bigwigs - you know, the programs that cost an arm and a leg and normally take up half your hard drive – while others support open source software, created by some of the Internet’s greatest minds, who aren’t asking you to re-mortgage your home for the privilege of using it. But whether you choose the professional/expensive option or the sometimes-bugged but very affordable option, we all have our favorites. A healthy hard drive, in my opinion, holds a bit of both and everything in between.
Over the years, I have found amazing programs. Some help you create new designs, while other simply make your life easier by helping you skip a few steps to reach your design goal. And once I find something that does the desired job efficiently, I stick with it. I still use some of the software that I acquired quite a few years ago.
One such piece of software, which I imagine I’ll still be using in years to come, is Morpheus Photo-Morpher. The program allows you to quickly and easier morph one image into another. For example, you could morph the picture of a baby into that of an adult. Use images of objects to morph into one another. Change yourself into Marilyn Monroe. Or better yet, morph your annoying little brother into an alien. Just joking.
The resulting morphed files can be saved in various formats making it easier than ever to embed your animation into a website or blog. With easy-to-use tools and professional results, you’ll be creating Hollywood-style graphics in no time. The possibilities are endless.
How does it work? You simply create ‘dots’ on your start image and then move the corresponding dots on the end image so that the program knows which two spots on each image correspond to each other. For instance, mark the centre of the left eye with a dot on the start image. A dot will appear in the same location on the end image. You’ll need to move that dot on the end image so that it lands in the centre of the left eye. When the image is animated, you’ll see that one eye literally morphs into the other. The more dots you use, the smoother the morph will be.
Here is a screen shot from my morph:
Click to see the larger version
You’ll see that my start image is on the left, my end image is in the middle and the right pane holds the morphed animation. If I hit the ‘play’ button above that animation, my morph plays so that I can test it out. Not smooth enough? Just add more dots or move the dots around.
The program is easy and it’s fun. No technical skills are required. It really is that simple. Click here to check it out for yourself.
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VoIP Phone Services
I love the Internet. Have I mentioned that before? Yes, I probably have. I’m one of those people that believes that everything I could ever want can be found on the world wide web. Shopping, communication, information… heck, I need never leave the comforts of this computer chair that has taken on the shape of my backside.
But let’s face it. We do have lives away from our computers and sometimes we need to push back our chairs and stretch our under-used limbs. But that doesn’t take away from the Internet’s worth. Our high speed connections can be of value even when we’re not slumped in front of our screens and, although we have yet to take the plunge, I’ve been researching VoIP phone services. By getting rid of our regular landline services and taking on an Internet phone services, not only would our monthly phone bills drop, but we’d also have some pretty amazing features available to us at no extra charge.
For instance, we pay $29.95 for our phone service right now and we get just that: phone service. We can make and receive unlimited local calls. But for a similar price, $29.99, Packet8 offer their Freedom Unlimited Global plan, which incredibly includes unlimited local and long distance calling within Canada and the United States (our phone company offer that at an extra charge of $24.95 per month!) and unlimited calling to a long list of other countries, one being the United Kingdom, which would be very useful to us. And all of their calling packages include great features like voicemail, caller ID, call forwarding, three-way calling and much more, at no extra cost.
And then there is the video phone called the Packet8 DV326, which offers high-quality, crisp and clear color images at up to 30 frames per second. When used alongside one of Packet8’s calling packages, you’ll never need a keyboard, mouse and monitor again to see and talk to the ones you love. Like any ordinary phone, the DV326 is plug-and-play. Simply plug it in and you’re ready to go. No complicated set-up! The screen offers picture-in-picture, giving you a local camera view.
The Packet8 DV326 is attractive and it looks like so much fun. If I can convince Stephen to cast aside our antiquated phone service provider in favour of the streamlined service of Packet8, I’ll have the DV326, along with unlimited calls to my Mum and sister in Montreal as well as to Stephen’s family in the UK. Please. 
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Free Home Surveillance System
I have been asked to do a fair and impartial review of Home Camera, toted as the world’s easiest to use Internet home surveillance camera system. By that, they mean that you use your own webcam, set up on your home computer, to monitor your residence or business. You can then log in to the Home Camera website from any computer around the world to check in.
I feel like this is a topic close to my heart as I have tried several services similar to Home Camera and I have also had my own webcam site for many years now. We initially started using the webcam to enable my family in Canada to check in on my new life in England with my new husband. Then, as strangers started writing to us, it grew into a website of it’s own, with four cameras set up. While at work, it enabled me to check in on my stepdaughters and to make sure that everything was secure.
Having downloaded the Home Camera software, installed it and had a scrupulous look around the Home Camera website, I am able to tell you more about it:
- Home Camera is still in beta phase and is completely free during this period. The company will soon “go commercial” but promises that all users that sign up whilst in its testing faze while be updated to Home Camera Lite free of charge.
- Set-up took me about 3 minutes. First, I signed up to the website (all they ask is name, email address, time zone and country), then downloaded the file (3.48 Mb) and installed the software. My webcam was already plugged in to my computer and the software found it immediately. (I’ve got to say that not all webcam software finds the camera that easily!)
- Images and video from your webcam are available for viewing from any internet-ready computer anywhere in the world. Or, if you have a mobile phone that can play video, or even a PDA.
- You don’t need to buy a special webcam or purchase any expensive software. The Home Camera system will work with any webcam and the software is free.
- All the advanced home surveillance features that you could ever need are included. Motion detection, webcam sharing, time-lapse recording and more.
- Home Camera offer 24/7 telephone and email support. Although I can’t imagine that you’ll have any troubles setting it up or using it.
Pretty impressive features for the price tag, I’d say. In the past, I’ve used free services – they didn’t have the long list of features – and I’ve paid for webcam services and software – they tend to be a much more do-it-yourself kind of thing.
What do I think of Home Camera?
- Free. You can’t go wrong with free.
- Easy. So very, very.
- Clear. Set-up instructions were clear and simple. The images from my cam were crisp (and available to be viewed in several different sizes). And once logged in, you can very clearly set up more cams and browse through your account.
- Private. Only you can log in to see what’s happening in front of your cam, unless you decide otherwise.
All in all, I’ve been impressed with the Home Camera system and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants an inexpensive way of simply and efficiently keeping an eye on something that’s important to you. Your pet, your home, your business or even just the weather.
But sign up soon, because it's free now.
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Fall Decorations
Ruth came upstairs a few minutes ago and announced that she was making a sandwich “for tomorrow”. Why, I asked, are you working? (As a side note, this assumption was rather foolish of me as she works at McDonald’s and has yet to ever pack herself a lunch). No, she replied, with a look that told me that I was the dumb one in this conversation, school starts tomorrow.
And then it hit me: it’s September and the summer is coming to a close. Where does the time go?
But it’s not all bad. Autumn is coming and it just happens to be my favorite season. The leaves start to turn on the trees, the weather is cooler and oodles more bearable and then there is the best holiday of them all: Halloween! So it’s time to decorate the house with lovely Fall decorations in oranges, reds and browns and to dust off that old witches costume.
My Mum has always been one to pack away one season’s things and unpack the next. She does a day of house cleaning and updating of the décor. I’ve have always wanted to be posh enough to get the Fall plates out, like she does, but unless I actually purchase these, I’ll have a tough time doing that.
But I could definitely and quite easily get this fantastic scarecrow and the painted tin pumpkin for the door. The cornucopias? I could stuff them with artificial leaves and other Fall items to make a lovely table centrepiece.
Fall (or Autumn, depending on who you talk to) really is the best time of the year.
The Online Discount Mart are also having an “end of summer” sale. Amazing deals on things that you can pack away for next Summer. You could be posh, like my Mum.
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Just Thoofing Along!
As I am one who works (reasonably) hard to drive traffic to my various websites, I am always excited to find a new and easy way of doing so. Thoof.com is a good example of a website that is good for everyone. It’s good for visitors to Thoof because it provides personalized news and exciting feeds from news sources and from blogs. And it’s great for a blogger like me because I can submit my most interesting posts to Thoof, which not only drives traffic to my website but it also adds to the vast list of stories that Thoof has on offer.
The other thing about Thoof.com that I really like is the ThoofRank Badge. Look to the right and you’ll see mine. The number is shown as a percentage and starts off low (mine is at 4% right now), but will surely rise as more and more people check out the story that I’ve submitted. The badge rates my story’s popular versus stories with similar tag words.
Stephen submitted a story to Thoof a little while ago and has been impressed with the number of visitors Thoof has sent his way. And as every web designer/blogger knows, that’s what we want: visitors.
So, if you have a story that you think should be read or if you’re simply looking for a wide range of interesting and sometimes wacky news stories to read, then Thoof.com is the place to be.
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