As I started to write this, up popped a notice from my Spysweeper antispyware that someone was trying to land a Trojan horse program on my computer. Trojans are used by criminal hackers to take over a computer, and they have taken over hundreds of thousands. And here I was just connecting to the Internet. I hadn't gone anywhere yet! Spysweeper offered me a chance to see what was in my quarantine area, where it puts the bad stuff so it can't harm me. I found a lot of really dangerous spyware I'd collected over the past months, including a 180 Solutions program I'd been warned about repeatedly. Spysweeper had nabbed all of them and protected me from them over the months . . . and I hadn't even known!

     So let me put in a big plug for Spysweeper. It's been the top rated antispyware for years. It costs all of $30, and it's great. If you already have a lower rated antispyware program, I'd suggest you either substitute Spysweeper for it or add Spysweeper and keep both. (It's okay to have two kinds of antispyware, though more than that will cause problems.)

     And if you don't have the $30, buy cheaper groceries this week and take it out of the grocery money. I'm serious. You can save yourself a peck of trouble and big computer repair bills by downloading it now. You'll find it by going to Download.com and clicking on "Security & Spyware":

http://www.download.com/

     And now for the fun in this issue. I'm reviewing wiki websites where you can create your own web page and do amazing things with it. The possibilities for imaginative home schoolers (or regular schoolers) and grownups of all ages are endless.

     Janette

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1. KEEPING MOM OUT OF THE NURSING HOME

     How many elderly men and women - mostly women - have been hauled off protesting to nursing homes by their concerned children? The kids worry about Mom living alone. She might have a stroke or a fall and lie helpless and in pain for hours, maybe days. But Mom thinks the pendant she can use to call for help is a nuisance, and she forgets to wear it.

     Well, now you can find home systems that monitor Mom in her own home, and she doesn't have to wear anything or remember anything. The cost is also much less than that of a nursing home or independent living facility. These home monitoring systems are, in fact, the wave of the future, and they'll enable many elderly people to live in their own homes until they really do need help. The following sales page for Quiet Care describes the use of "small, unnoticeable sensors strategically placed throughout the home" to monitor motion patterns and alert caregivers in the case of accident or illness:

http://www.elderlyhomemonitoring.com/partners.html

     If you'd like to research the latest developments in this cutting-edge topic, put the following into the Google search box: motion monitoring +elderly.

     (The +elderly, with no space after the +, cools Google's passion for motion monitoring of earthquakes and burglars.)

2. CREATE YOUR OWN COUNTRY AND WESTERN SONG

     You know what happens when you play a country and western recording backwards? The dog comes home, the pickup gets fixed, and your sweetheart loves you once again.

     The website below lets you write your own country and western song. It supplies the right phrases, and you put them together to form a unique masterpiece! Try it. It's hilarious.

http://webpages.marshall.edu/~hartwel1/humor/misc/do_it_yourself_cw.html

3. THE PERILS OF WIKIPEDIA

     I can't believe I've been doing the newsletter this long and haven't yet reviewed Wikipedia. Wikipedia is famous, and you've probably been using it for ages. It calls itself "an encyclopedia made with a wiki, which means that anyone can change the encyclopedia or create new articles." So if you're an expert on, say, cauliflower breeding, you can write an expert article on that and get it into the Wikipedia for all the world to see. Or you can go to the existing article on cauliflower breeding and edit it. Of course the person who wrote the original article might get indignant and change that item back to what it was before. And then you change it back to what you had, and . . .

     You get the picture.

     As you might imagine, Wikipedia has run into problems. Like the person who wrote an article claiming George Washington did not have slaves. (He did have slaves.) Someone removed that bit; he changed it back. He didn't want George Washington to have slaves, and by golly George was not going to have them. Eventually that article had to be restricted from on high. Wikipedia's top editors have, in fact, placed a protective barrier around a number of subjects, including Hitler, Einstein, and George W. Bush.

     With all its flaws, Wikipedia is the place to learn about the latest Internet innovations and problems. It also summarizes recent developments on many topics. It is not, of course, the place where a child should learn about George Washington.

     You can learn more about Wikipedia by putting into the Google search box, "about Wikipedia." The first item will be Wikipedia itself, and then you find out the experiences others have had with it.

http://wikipedia.org/

4. CREATE YOUR OWN WIKI WEB PAGE

     It's all at PBwiki.com. The PB stands for Peanut Butter, meaning that you can make your own web page as easily as you make a peanut butter sandwich! And, if you like, your relatives or friends or coworkers can edit it and add to it, just as people edit the Wikipedia. Examples: a recipe exchange, planning a trip, a round-robin family letter. And kids can have a LOT of fun working together on a wiki project.

http://pbwiki.com/tour/1.html

5. PLAY WITH A WIKI FOOD SITE

     This site doesn't say it's a wiki, but it talks like a wiki, acts like a wiki, and it must BE a wiki. Here are a few of the things its creators say you can do at GROUP RECIPES:

• Create your own food page
• Share your personal creations and get feedback as well as honors
• Meet other foodies
• Get personalized meal suggestions

     You can do another thing they don't mention: find ideas for playing with your very own peanut butter wiki.

http://www.grouprecipes.com/

6. EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS WITH OPEN SOURCES

     OPEN SOURCE PROJECTS are close relatives of wikis, and they're also horizon expanding. They allow many people to pool their knowledge in working on a project, or they enable individuals to create their own versions of one. See Lego's site at Mindstorm, for example:

http://mindstorms.lego.com/

     MINDSTORMS encourages kids to build their own "virtual" online projects, then buy the material to make them in solid form. Yes, it sells Legos, but it also expands kids' minds. And not just kids' minds. While you're on the site, check out the Big Robot project that's expanding minds on college campuses too.

     To expand your own mind and your own horizons, put "open source software" into the Google search box and watch the possibilities open up.

     Or simply take advantage of the FREE, OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE FOR WINDOWS at

http://www.opensourcewindows.org/

7. VISIT THE OLD HOUSE WEB

     Are you living in an old house, either accidentally or on purpose? Then this site is for you. The advice ranges from how to bronze an old radiator to techniques for repairing old chimneys and building new, historically accurate ones.

http://www.oldhouseweb.com/

8. 6.6 MILLION PARTS FOR YOUR APPLIANCES

     Yes, the people at Sears have 6.6 million parts for your appliances, lawn equipment, power tools, and home electronics, whether or not they were made by Sears. And, if you're not sure which part to order, they say they have "over 750,000 diagrams to help you find the part you need."

http://www3.sears.com/

9. TROUBLE SLEEPING?

     Are you having trouble sleeping? The next time that happens to you, why not go to your computer and explore the offerings of the NATIONAL SLEEP FOUNDATION:

http://sleepfoundation.org/

     Seniors may also want to go to the NIH's special page for seniors with sleep problems:

http://nihseniorhealth.gov/sleepandaging/aboutsleep/01.html

     Or, if you like to sink your teeth into a problem and really research it, go to

http://firstgov.gov

     Into the search box put "sleep problems," and you'll find hundreds of U.S. government sponsored sleep studies listed. I recommend Firstgov.gov rather than Google, because Google gives you garbagy health information along with the good stuff. Firstgov.gov gives only government-sponsored research. Which means the research has been peer reviewed; that is, other scientists have reviewed that research, to ensure that scientific standards have been upheld. Don't know about you, but I'm a strong believer in upholding scientific standards where my health is concerned. Do try Firstgov.gov as your first step in researching any health problem. It removes the quacks and the cranks that make the Internet a dangerous way to get health information.

10. PUZZLES, MAZE, AND GAMES FOR GROWNUPS

     This is a good site to play with if you have insomnia the National Sleep Foundation hasn't cured. As a lifelong insomniac, I think of those things.

     Besides the free picture puzzles, you'll find a maze and some Javascript games.

http://www.mcjeff.com/la/puzzles.html

11. A VISIT TO THE PAST

     G'ma H, who also goes by "Naomi," has sent me the charming story of a 1930s Christmas. I've posted it on my Nostalgia page, and you can read it by going to the following address and clicking on the 1930s:

http://foodandfiction.com/Nostalgia/index.html

     And don't forget . . . you can send me your memories too.

12. "FREE" DENTAL PLANS

     Well, you and I know that dentists aren't free. If you poke around the "Free Dental Plans" site, you'll find that, if you sign up with one of their participating dentists, you will receive your first dental exam at half price. On later visits you will get a 10% to 20% discount. The plan itself is free for you, but not, I assume, for the dentists.

     Once you get past the hype, it's still a good deal if you're looking for a dentist who charges less.

http://www.freedentalplans.com/

13. SCARED OF THE DENTIST?

     For people who are really, really scared of dentists, there are now special sedation pills. The pills relax even those of us with strong fears, so the dentist can work on our teeth. To find a dentist near you who is trained in sedation, go to:

http://www.1stsedationdentist.com/

14. RECIPE: CINCINNATI CHILI

     Cincinnati chili has had a long run in my kitchen. My version is highly bastardized, but Bill and I love it anyway. I'll give you the authentic recipe, venerated by generations of Cincinnati chili enthusiasts, and let you bastardize it to your own taste. It's good enough to withstand a lot of meddling. Proper Cincinnati chili is not only served over spaghetti, its special flavor is due to an exotic spice blend supplied by a Macedonian cook long ago. But . . . do watch out for that cayenne pepper.

2 tablespoons oil
2-1/2 pounds ground beef
1 quart cold water
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
2 large onions (diced)
1-1/2 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon Lea & Perrin Worcestershire sauce
1 or 2 large cloves garlic (crushed)
2 tablespoons chili powder
5 bay leaves
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoons allspice
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1-1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
salt and pepper to taste

     In a heavy gauge pot, heat oil, cook beef until brown, add onions and water and bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat, add tomato paste and all other ingredients, and let simmer 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste. Remove bay leaves before serving.

     In Cincinnati the true enthusiasts have their chili in one of five ways: 1. Plain. 2. "Two Way" - spaghetti and chili. 3. "Three Way" - chili, spaghetti, and cheddar cheese. 4. "Four Way" - chili, spaghetti, cheddar cheese, and onions. 5. "Five Way" - chili, spaghetti, cheddar cheese, onions and kidney beans.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

     This version is from http://homecooking.about.com/.

MISSED SOME ISSUES?

     Have I got a solution for you! Now that we are using a frame for each issue, you can just look over to your left and find all the back issues nicely set out. Simply click on the ones you missed. That means too that if your e-mail service provider gets sticky and decides that Tour the Sites is spam (it is NOT spam), you can foil it and find the newsletter at this address.

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WARNING!

     If your e-mail box sometimes gets full, you are in danger of falling off the subscription list of Tour the Sites. Not because I want to lose you, but because, if your box is full when I send out a newsletter, you are automatically kicked off the list. I don't like that policy, but I don't have any say. If you change your e-mail address or get a new kind of spam filter, you may also fall off. So do keep an eye on your newsletters, which should arrive around the first and fifteenth of each month. If you haven't gotten one for a month, let me know and I'll be happy to put you back on the mailing list. Because I'd really hate to lose you.

Janette
Newsletter@tourthesites.com

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© Copyright 2007 Janette G. Blackwell. All rights reserved. You may copy and use portions of this newsletter for noncommercial, personal use only. You may forward a copy to someone else as long as the copyright notice is included. Any other use of the materials in this newsletter without prior written permission is prohibited.