Hotsheet      This is an incredible web portal that provides current links to news, sports, directories, search tools, weather, references, travel, shopping, medical, entertainment, technology and so much more.  John uses this as his internet home page.  These links are always refreshed by the provider to make sure you do not encounter old, stale, dead links.

 

Skype      From Pat McHugh comes this great download.  Skype is a little program for making free calls over the internet to anyone else (in the whole world) who also has Skype. It’s free and easy to download and use, and works with most computers.

 

GoDaddy      GoDaddy is an amazing organization providing website domain registration, as well as website hosting.  Our Clover Park Class of 1965 40th Reunion website is hosted (lives on their servers in Scottsdale, Arizona) at GoDaddy.  Additionally GoDaddy has other products and services (such as "Traffic Blazer" which we use to promote the reunion website to search engines).  So, if you need web services, check out the options at GoDaddy.  By the way, their President, Bob Parsons is a very interesting fellow who does many things to support our troops!

 

MAKE      Remember the TV series MacGyver, with Richard Dean Anderson?  He would have to figure out how to make something out of the most ordinary items to avoid certain death.  Make magazine (MakeZine) brings the do-it-yourself mindset to all the technology in your life.  MAKE is loaded with exciting projects that help you make the most of your technology at home and away from home.  This is a magazine that celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology to your own will. Began in February 2005, MAKE is a hybrid magazine/book (known as a mook in Japan).  MAKE comes from O'Reilly, the Publisher of Record for geeks and tech enthusiasts everywhere.  It follows in line with the Hacks books and Hardware Hacking Projects for Geeks, but it takes a highly visual and personal approach. The premier issue shows you how to get involved in kite aerial photography — taking pictures with a camera suspended from a kite — and how to build an inexpensive rig to hold your camera. They also show you how to make a video camera stabilizer, a do-it-yourself alternative to an expensive Steadicam® and to create a five-in-one cable adapter for connecting to networks.  Some projects are strictly for fun, others are very practical, and still others are absolutely astounding.

 

Whatis?com      Ever wonder what that technology mumbo jumbo talk is all about?  Here's a great source for deciphering what your grandkids just learned in grade school.

 

ThinkGeek      Everything, T-shirts, apparel, gadgets, electronics, books and more for the geek.  How does the caffeinated soap sound to you?  No, you don't eat it.

 

IrfanView      IrfanView is a very fast, small, compact and innovative FREEWARE (for non-commercial use) graphic viewer for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003.  It is simple for beginners and powerful for professionals.  IrfanView was the first Windows graphic viewer WORLDWIDE with Multiple (animated) GIF support.  One of the first graphic viewers WORLDWIDE with Multipage TIF support.  The first graphic viewer WORLDWIDE with Multiple ICO support.

 

The GIMP      Have you ever wanted a good photo editor, but didn't want to spend all that $$$ on Adobe Photoshop?  No doubt that Photoshop is the cadillac of photo editors, but in the world of Freeware, the GIMP is very good!  It's a little tricky to install, but very worth the effort.  The GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program.  It's a freely distributed piece of software for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.  It works on many operating systems, in many languages.

 

In Great Detail      John's graphic design and photography website.  Portions of the site are currently under construction.

 

Custom Cartoon Art                Dave May, the artist, a Washingtonian since 1981 and currently a resident of Bellingham, can produce some amazing custom cartoons.  John commissioned Dave to do the artwork of the "Searching Warrior" which you see on several of the web pages of this reunion site.  He did a great job translating the requirements into an excellent cartoon.  Thanks Dave!

 

MovieLaughs      Another one of John's websites.  This started as a list of his favorite comedies.  The list grew and grew (and it is still growing).  Eventually his 2 sons (Matt and Mike) joined in and the 3 of them developed this website.  Over 700 movies (not all are comedies) are included and linked back to the Internet Movie Database.  John, Matt and Mike rate the movies.  Their individual scores, as well as the mathematical averages are shown.  There are also movie screen clips from some of the top scoring movies.  If you need a laugh, this is one place where you'll find one.  Dig the wild movie theatre carpet style background?  Hidden link on Matt's name.

 

Second Life      Some of you will find this just plain wierd.  It is an incredible outlet for creativity.  In the manner that video game designers design unreal virtual worlds, you become a co-creator in this virtual online 3D world.  Second Life is a 3D online persistent space totally created and evolved by its users, and you can become one.  Within this vast and rapidly expanding place, you can do, create or become just about anything you can imagine.  Built-in content creation tools let you make almost anything you can imagine, in real time and in collaboration with others.  An incredibly detailed digital body ('Avatar') allows a rich and customizable identity.  A powerful physics simulation running on a backbone of hundreds of connected computers and growing with the population allows you to be immersed in a visceral, interactive world that as of April 2005 covers more than 12,000 acres and 20,000 owned plots of land.  The ability to design and resell 3D content, combined with the ability to own and develop land and a microcurrency, which can be exchanged to real money means that you can build a real business entirely within Second Life. If you are simply curious about what it would be like to wander a world filled with colorful people in which the only limits are imagination, you will find the Second Life software easy to install, and the basic experience of moving around and experiencing the world simple and fun, with many friendly people waiting to help you once you arrive. If you are a 3D content creator, entrepreneur, game developer, artist, or software developer, Second Life is guaranteed to blow your mind.  It is a palette for creative self-expression like nothing you have ever seen.  Jump in, find a sandbox, and start building.

 

Google Earth      If you have a good PC with a high speed connection, you will want to check this out.  It's a free download.  You start by viewing Earth from space and zoom in.  Incredible graphics.  Type the name of any city on Earth and you will fly there.  You get down to ground level and tilt the view to see your neighborhood as though you are standing there.  Fly over the landscape.  Amazing.  Absolutely amazing using satellite images.  You'll be hooked viewing your favorite locations, as well as places you would like to visit.  Type in "11023 Gravelly Lake Dr SW, Lakewood, WA" and see where you go!

 

Tom's Hardware      This is an incredible source for technical comparisons of computer components.  If you want to learn more about what you have and what else is available, check out Tom's reviews.  Warning, this is fairly heavy on the technical side.

 

Tucows      Download heaven.  Excellent comparisons and lots of free downloads.  If you can't find it here, it doesn't exist.

 

Price Watch      The web's first and best price comparison search engine, for the lowest prices on computers, computer components, software and electronics.

 

ITA      Airline travel can be confusing and frustrating when trying to figure out the options.  ITA makes it easier.  If you need to research prices and schedules, ITA is a great tool to do that.  Just login in as a guest and compare what all of the carriers offer.  The best fares can then purchased by visiting the specific carrier's website.

 

Airliners.net      Enjoy looking at photos of aircraft (both civilian and military)?  This website is amazing!  Lots of ways to search and find exactly what you are looking for.

more to come ...