"In The Air Tonight.... Naturally 7"

I was lucky enough to catch Naturally 7 in concert about a year ago.  I was captivated by their sound and stimulated by their harmony.  Here's a great rendition of an awesome and powerful song made famous by the one and only Phil Collins!

 

If you're bored, check out youtube for more of their sound.  

Enjoy!

When Is National Doughnut (Donut) Day? Free Donuts!

National Doughnut Day is celebrated the first Friday of June each year.  That's June 6, 2014 this year. This tradition stems from the Doughnut Day event established by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the men and women who served doughnuts to soldiers during World War I.  So this is actually a - no joke -patriotic day.  Most American Donut shops will be offering free donuts throughout the day!  If you find a shop that isn't offering free donuts, walk in and ask them why they are being unpatriotic!  Demand a Donut and declare that it is your patriotic right!

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts will be offering a Free Doughnut at most (if not all) of their locations.

I couldn't wait....   So I bought a box yesterday.  

A few of them were casualties and didn't make it home!

Sacrifices have to be made!

If you can't make it to a doughnut shop today, or just want to try your luck making some at home, here are a few great recipes:

Mom's Raise Doughnuts

Crispy and Creamy Doughnuts

Bon Appetit!

Creative Ideas, Food Replicators and 3-D Printing

Call me .....   "Late to the Picnic."  I really can't believe my eyes sometimes.  Advancements in technology continue to surprise, engage, and impress me.  And remember, I'm supposed to be a forward thinker.  The latest piece of technology to WOW me is an item that's actually been around for a few years.  The 3D Printer.  Now many of you are quite familiar with 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, and you surely have a great understanding of the potential of these devices and technology.  Others of you are wondering..  "What's with all of the hype? My inkjet printer works fine.  Why would I even consider an upgrade?  Cartridges cost too much already."

So here's the deal...    I have always been a fan of the series  Star Trek (all versions).  I wouldn't exactly consider myself a "Trekkie" but I do like the concept and franchise.  Over the years, many things have captured my attention from the show but at the top of my list  are two items I've always longed especially for:

The "Holodeck" and the "Replicator."

In short, the Holodeck is a simulated reality area where crew members could venture to explore and experience practically any virtual reality experience imaginable.  Imagine walking into this virtual recreational paradise and saying "Make me the Captain of a Pirate ship." You then spend the next few days Pirating, pillaging, swash buckling, and yelling Argh!  You get the drift.

The Replicator, also referred to as the "Food Replicator" was a device used to build or create virtually anything you wanted.  Usually a food related item.  See below...

 

So advance now to the year 2014 and the modern day version of what could have been considered to be only science fiction fantasy.  Arrive at a time when human body organs are being printed from the patient's own cells,  guns and aerospace equipment are being constructed  to meet very specific standards, and an practically an entire motor vehicle (Urbee 2),  all are being produced utilizing  3D printers and CAD technology.  

Wow.  This is crazy.  I've got to get one of the printers in my office.  In the meantime, can someone print me up some BBQ Ribs, French Fries, and a Very Cold Beer?

And after that, Please fix me up with the perfect sunset and a soft pillow!

Want more?  See - Nursing homes in Germany serve up 3D printed food.

Or -  3D printing Food, helmets and more at CES 2014

Thinking ahead -  How much does the ink cost?  Is this a good investment?

Google 101 - A new trick?

File this under - "You learn something new everyday."  

Isn't Google great?  You just type in what you want and poof....  literally thousands of links appear, usually pointing you in the direction of something close to what you're looking for.  Remember when you had to go to the library and use the "Dewey Decimal System in a Card Catalog?"  That was light years ago.

Now, you can look up that same information 1000 times faster at a touch of a keystroke without even leaving your bedroom.  What progress.  Even better, I learned something the other day that has made using Google even more efficient for me.  Some of you tech/Google savvy people will read what I'm about to say and think... "boy is this guy dumb."  You smart folks can now press the fast forward button and move to the front of the classroom where the geniuses sit.  I'll explain where I'm going with this to everyone else by highlighting a real life story below.

If you've read through my Blog at all, you've probably noticed that I like to "kick it" a bit with the wonderfully talented Jane Turley over at The Witty Ways Of A Wayward Wife.  It's a wacky relationship, but we have our fun with each other.  So the other day while I was putting together my "TED" post, I remembered that Jane had written some time ago about the movie TED and included a video clip.   So being the dutiful Blogger that I am, I sauntered over to her blog to locate her post so that I could link to it.  That's when the trouble started.  When I arrived, I noticed that in her update to her blog layout, she had removed the "search box."  Egad!  Now I was forced to sift through hundreds of zany posts to find the one post I was looking for.  An hour later with pain in my side from laughing at all of her craziness, I decided to give up the search.  I completed my post without the associated link.  So here's what I learned today that would have helped me over a week ago:  You can actually direct Goggle to search within a website or domain even when there's no search engine box inside of the site.  Duh!  I know....  Again, for those of you who, like me, didn't know this.

Here's how you do it:

The Solution:  Open a google search box and Type "Site:" followed by the URL of the website you'd like to search.  Then add your search terms.  This allows you to search for terms within the website.

Here's what I should have done to find the post on Jane's site:

Typed  "site:www.janeturley.net ted"

and Bingo...  4 post would have appeared in the results.

Here's the one I wanted to link to: Trouble In The School Changing Rooms


So there you have it.  If you want to read more about Google secrets and shortcuts,

go to: 14 Google Search Tricks That Make Life A Whole Lot Easier.


Happy Googling!