Put on your thinking cap when you visit CITB - here you'll find Concepts, Ideas, Thoughts and "Outside The Box" thinking, plus we call Bullsh!t for what it is. Enjoy the ride, and if we stimulate your brain, please tell others about us!
Posted by Thom Byxbe | Under Concept, Idea
Tuesday Mar 11, 2008
In the course of writing CITB we read and research a LOT of web sites. While surfing the web today I saw a link to VistaRewired.com. I no longer am a Microsoft Windows user having made the move to Linux several months ago. But, in my humble opinion, no Microsoft operating system is more bloated and convoluted than Vista. When I visited Vista Rewired I knew I had found a site that was a gold mine of simple, easy to use, solutions to the mysteries of Windows Vista.
Vista Rewired was created by two aspiring young entrepreneurs with the intent of solving the headaches of Windows Vista users, and to educate them on the operating system. The easy to use tips and tricks will help Vista users so they can use the operating system to its full potential.
Here is a LIMITED selection of links to Vista Rewired articles that I felt many users would find helpful.
The complete index of articles on the site can be found HERE. Remember that this site is adding important information and growing daily. Be sure to bookmark it or subscribe to their RSS feed to stay updated on this VALUABLE resource to Windows Vista.
We give this site our HIGHEST recommendation. We think it such a valuable resource that we have added it to our permanent list of Important Blogs on CITB's sidebar.
CITB Quote of the day: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work!"- Thomas Edison
Posted by Thom Byxbe | Under Thought
Wednesday Feb 27, 2008
The Mayans created the most sophisticated calendar system of all the known civilizations. Their knowledge of the celestial cycles thousands of years ago rivals our collective knowledge today. The Calendar has never erred. On December 21, 2012, our solar system will enter into its Galactic Day for the first time in Humanity's history. The Calendar has prophesied that as we move out of the darkness, great calamities will come with it. They warned us...
Never before in history has one date, one moment in time, been so significant to so many cultures, so many religions, so many scientists, so many governments and to so many people all around the world.
The ancient Maya believed the Earth's final day will be December 21, 2012. Native Americans, Egyptians, Chinese and others arrived at a similar conclusion, each without a knowledge of the other. The Maya claimed that this future end-time would include a solar shift, a Venus transit and mounting earthquakes.
2012 is sometimes claimed to be a great year of spiritual transformation (or apocalypse). Many sources interpret the completion of the thirteenth B'ak'tun cycle in the Long Count of the Maya calendar (which occurs on December 21 by the most widely held correlation) to mean there will be a major change in world order.
Polar Shift
Polar Shift is a theory that on December 21st 2012 Earth will experience earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or other natural disasters. In 2012 the next polar reversal will take place on earth. This means that the North Pole will be changed into the South Pole. Scientifically this can only be explained by the fact that the earth will start rotating in the opposite direction, together with a huge disaster of unknown proportions.
Magnetic Somersaults
In the first quarter of 2001, the Sun switched magnetic poles. This occurs every eleven years. Prior to this the Sun's north magnetic pole was at the north rotational pole. Now the Sun's north magnetic pole is at its south pole. Since opposite poles attract, the magnetic poles of the Earth and Sun are now at their most stable.
Just about the time of 2012 Winter Solstice, the Sun's poles will switch back. During this switch there will be a tendency for the Sun's magnetic field to pull the Earth's field with it.
If the Earth's magnetic poles switch, this would put stress on the planet aggravating earthquakes and volcanos, not to mention destruction of the electrical power distribution grid. And, if the switch happens fast enough don't ever expect your computer to work again. But if you have old tube type equipment, keep it. It should survive just fine. It will work if you can find electricity.
December 21 2012 THE END
A recent Google search of the date "December 21 2012" produced 147,000 results. There are entire websites dedicated to this moment in time. There are blogs, discussion boards, chat rooms and scientific studies.
I have read stories the last few months about underground cities and government actions that make sense if we are preparing for an ELE (Extinction Level Event). Take a look at the underground complex at Yamantau that the Russians are building. Could this be a haven for surviving a solar blast? And the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is investing along with the Rockefeller Foundation, Monsanto Corporation, Syngenta Foundation and the Government of Norway, in what is called the "doomsday seed bank". Officially the project is named the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen.
We offer this story as food for thought. There will be much more excitement and controversy as December 21, 2012 draws closer. We plan to explore anything that offers credibility to the many theory's surrounding this topic. Please give us your feedback and opinions.
TWB
CITB Quote of the day: "The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible." - Albert Einstein
Posted by Thom Byxbe | Under Thought
Wednesday Feb 27, 2008
Here's some good news for cell phone users:
Only a few months after launching an online cell phone directory with over 90 million numbers, Intelius has shut it down, following an outcry from both the wireless industry as well as consumers.
Apparently, according to the article, Verizon Wireless exerted some pressure to help make this happen. I'm glad that Verizon Wireless is concerned about their users' privacy, but viewed one way they are being a bit hypocritical, in that they still charge their wireline customers an extra monthly charge for an unlisted number, just because they can. Hey Verizon, how about dropping the extra charge for NOT putting your customers' personal information in your (ever-shrinking) telephone directory? Don't forget, the customers that leave because they are sick of being nickled-and-dimed to death might go to another wireless carrier or a VoIP service - you have no guarantee that they will remain your customer.
According to its Web site, Seattle-based Intelius says that it will charge consumers a fee to find a number that is “unlisted or unpublished” and will identify a consumer’s wireless service provider. This information is mined from the Internet, personal Web pages and other sources, and has not been authorized by individuals to be sold for this purpose.
Steve Zipperstein, vice president and general counsel of Verizon Wireless, is also quoted as saying,
“Trolling the Internet, using data mining techniques and simply buying lists to create a directory are actions that clearly violate a consumer’s right to privacy”
And the press release states that, "Verizon Wireless intends to take whatever steps might be necessary, including litigation, to protect its customers’ numbers and privacy."
So this may not be the end of the story. I would just note that if you want to keep a phone number truly private (be it cell phone, VoIP, or unlisted landline), the best advice is to never give it to anyone except people you trust implicitly (and by that I mean close personal friends). Get a different number to give to people you cannot fully trust, perhaps a Grand Central number if you can score an invitation from an existing user, or a temporary number from some other source (use Google to search for "Free Phone Number" or "Free Voicemail").
Posted by Thom Byxbe | Under Idea
Friday Feb 8, 2008
Source: WikipediaThanks to our friends over at Firefox Facts and some creative map loving developers there is no way you could ever get lost as long as you had a laptop, an internet connection and that lovable Firefox.
Map+ - View the Yahoo Map of any address without having to open a new tab or window.
GDirections - Find where your going or where you have been on Google and Yahoo Maps based on your selected text and one of various home addresses.
Shazou - A unique Japanese mapping service and tool that enables the user with one-click to map and geo-locate any website they are currently viewing.
GeoLocateFox - Find where any web site’s HQ is with this tool. It tells you the location if contains GeoLocation metadata within the HTML on the web page.
GMiF - An addon for Flickr that will tell you exactly where those photos were taken via Google Maps.
Geo - Another extension that opens a Google Map for a web site’s location if it contains GeoLocation meta data or is geographically marked with ICBM.
CITB Quote of the day: "Just because someone is related to you by blood that doesn't make them family. UNCONDITIONAL love, loyalty and support is what makes one family in our brotherhood. All of you judgmental self-righteous hypocrites wonder why we are so strong and how our numbers keep growing. We offer a loyal family structure for the true warriors that are often condemned by your so called society." - Sunny Barger
We use Backpack here at CITB everyday. After trying a LOT of software solutions to manage the multitude of tasks necessary to plan, schedule, and coordinate the day to day operations of our 3 blogs we chose Backpack.
Please click below and take advantage of the FREE version of Backpack.
Thomas Byxbe is the Publisher and Editor of Concepts, Ideas, Thoughts & Bullsh!t.
Thom has been a respected Internet author for over 12 years. He has written extensively on the Internet, Technology and Lifestyle topics. Concepts, Ideas, Thoughts & Bullsh!t is one of 3 current blog projects he writes and manages.
Mr. Byxbe is President and Chief Internet Visionary of Metamorphosis Idea Lab located in Madison Heights, Michigan.
In addition, Thom is an Ordained Minister focused on pastoral counseling. He has been a certified Neuro-Linguistic Practitioner for over 20 years. In his current counseling practice he utilizes a blend of talk based counseling with NLP programming techniques.
If you have suggestions, comments or would like to submit recommendations for articles to appear in Concepts, Ideas, Thoughts Bullsh!t, please feel free to contact him at:
"Change... We don’t like it. We fear it, but we can’t stop it from coming. We either adapt to change or we get left behind. It hurts to grow, anybody who tells you it doesn’t is lying, but here’s the truth… Sometimes the more things change the more they stay the same. And sometimes, oh, sometimes change is good. Sometimes change is everything." - Dr. Meredith Grey "Grey’s Anatomy"
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