A very informative article on current and future cellular technology from http://arstechnica.com
The state of 4G: it's all about congestion, not speed
Monday, March 29, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Compromised email account
Sunday, March 21, 2010
El Sistema - We need something like this in Trinidad
If it works everywhere else, it could work here
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
How to open and convert docx or xlsx files for FREE
So you have Microsoft Office 2003 or Offixe XP installed and for years you have been working with no problem and then you get a file that is supposed to open in Word and it can't.
The problem is your version of office does not know how to open the file made in Office 2007 or later which has a default extension .docx for Word files or .xlsx for Excel files etc.
Office 2003 or XP uses .doc or .xls etc. extensions.
Do NOT pay money to convert files. There are web sites that convert the files for free but if you are critical about privacy this is not an option. There are a few free solutions but these are what I recommend.
- Download and install Open Office which is a suite just like Microsoft Office but it is open source software, so it is totally free, no catch to download and install, no adware, no malware, no popups. The current version 3.2 opens .docx files and allows you to then save in a variety of other formats, though not in .docx. This newly saved file can be opened by anyone with either Microsoft Office or Open Office, or any other appropriate program.
I recommend Open Office as it has a smaller footprint on your computer, using less hard drive space and system resources while it is running. You can install Microsoft Office 2007 but it uses at least twice as much hard drive space and take longer to perform any task compared to Open Office on a machine more than 3 or 4 years old. Did I mention Open Office is free? It is totally legal to share a copy with your friend too. The download and install is easy and straightforward as with most other programs in windows. It also looks and feels just like the MS version. One thing to note, after you install you will want to edit the default Save As type in the options, eg. .doc for word documents, .xls for spreadsheets etc. so that you will always make files other people can open easily by default.
Download Open Office HERE (Download from an http site close to you. The file size is ~150MB)
- Download the official Microsoft patch for Office 2003 or Office XP. If you install this patch without having MS office installed and try to open a .docx file, it will convert the file to .doc and let you save it. If you have MS office installed you can open and/or save .docx files as you would normally do in Word. To create a .docx, choose it in the 'Save as type' when you go to File -> Save As.
This is the simpler option but still leaves you with a heavy program on your system.
Get the patch from HERE. (Click the Download button on the left, it is 37 MB)
Windows 7 feedback form
Have you experienced Windows 7 yet?
Let MS know what you think, just maybe it might count for something.
Let MS know what you think, just maybe it might count for something.
The input box has a limit to the number of characters it accepts, but micro$oft did not bother to mention what the limit was, so save what you write somewhere else then paste it into the box incase it gets erased when you submit.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The Right-To-Die Debate
A suicide advocate from Australia argues for England to make suicides easier to do.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Hangover from eating sugar
Ever noticed that you feel the same way in the morning if you were drinking alcohol or had a lot of sweets the night before? This article explains why.
" Too much alcohol, just like too much sugar, affects your kidneys, liver, stomach and small intestines, which explains some of what is happening in your body. Dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, gastrointestinal disturbances and disruption of sleep are some of the results.
And if you are aware of the symptoms of candida, they too carry a similarity.
Candida floods your body with a toxic by-product called acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde produces similar symptoms to an alcohol hangover.
This serious toxin is poisonous to your tissues, is not easily eliminated and accumulates in your brain, spinal cord and muscles. Keeping in mind that your heart and intestines are muscles, you may now understand why you have symptoms of brain fog, muscle weakness and even pain. "
And if you are aware of the symptoms of candida, they too carry a similarity.
Candida floods your body with a toxic by-product called acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde produces similar symptoms to an alcohol hangover.
This serious toxin is poisonous to your tissues, is not easily eliminated and accumulates in your brain, spinal cord and muscles. Keeping in mind that your heart and intestines are muscles, you may now understand why you have symptoms of brain fog, muscle weakness and even pain. "
Bottom line: Sugars are bad for you.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Something I could read
The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet
I saw the author on The Daily Show, the book looks really interesting.
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The world of tomorrow belongs to the person who has the vision today
Playdium Arcade, Gulf View, Trinidad (Behind Sting Nightclub)
May 2014: Playdium has moved to a different building on the same compound.
The review below is for the old venue.
This game room and restaurant opened last Saturday and I visited on Sunday evening. You have to drive in the entrance in front of Ma Pau and then go to the back of Sting to get there. The parking lot is missing painted lines on the ground so it can be a problem with people who do not park straight and block you somehow or you get boxed in by people who block both ends on a path without watching the other end. Some spots on the road surface was soft and moved when cars drove on it so I imagine it could be messy during the day with heat from the sun making it softer. There is a ramp as well as steps so wheel chair access is easy. There is a guard/ bouncer at the door. Inside, there is one large open room with games to the right and food to the left. After the initial awe of noise and blinking lights I realised the games were limited. Tokens are $20 for 8 and most games (the good ones anyway) are 4 tokens to play.
There is a handful of regular joystick and button game boxes and the rest are more immersive. The most fun one seems to be a simulation where you sit in a mock Hummer (there is space for 2 in the ride) and drive through a stage. The seats are articulated and move all directions to give the feeling of being in the vehicle. Then there is another simulation where 2 people lie back on the seats and it moves to simulate a roller coaster. Fans that blow air on you during the ride. I do not see the sense of rides like these because we already have bad roads, dangerous drivers, poorly maintained cars, steep hills etc on our roads. Take a normal drive on many of our roads and your get more value for money. The games are obviously targeted for people who are not accustomed to our regular driving conditions.
In one row has 4 or 5 simulation shooting games, you get a gun and have to aim and kill the enemies, 2 tokens per play. Need for Speed Carbon is a car racing game with a cockpit style wheel and pedals that can be linked for 4 players or independently. I can't remember the price to play.
Further along there are 4 air hockey tables, 4 tokens to play. Then comes a 2 lane mini bowling alley that is poorly lit. I suspect it is intentionally so to hide the unevenness of the lanes as it was hard to get the balls to keep straight, or maybe the balls are not balanced, either way, 4 tokens to play per lane. Three strength games rate you, one you hit a hammer on a pad, one you box a target and the other you kick a football. You can race to fill a target with a water cannon, jump rope (lights), shoot out a horse's teeth or stop a running light on a target for tickets.
The biggest game physically I think was the pirates theme styled shooting gallery. 4 tokens give you 20 shots and you see how many targets you can hit to win a prize of tickets. You get tickets for playing some games and there are a couple ticket stations that eat your tickets and spit out a nice small receipt for the tickets it ate. The lower (affordable) prizes are the regular disappointing cheap plastic non-sense or sweets or stationery. The better prizes are 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 tickets etc. By the time you do get that amount you would have spent well over the worth of the prize itself.
The food is one counter and a wide area with seats and tables. I didn't check the menu or check out the prices. You get a chance to win a Toyota MR5 car when you spend $40 or more on food according to a banner, but it didn't say when the draw was or any other details and I didn't ask. There were a set of rooms above a part of the games with glass walls that advertised space for rent so there may be more attractions to come and 3 or 4 similar rooms were also along the side of the arcade.
This is a good way to sink allot of money without realising it and it does offer an experience like nowhere else in Trinidad. The setting resembles a mini Dave and Busters in the US. Note that there is the other new arcade Fun Station behind KFC which was open for a few months now. They have different games so it is what you prefer. I will not be visiting either of them again soon because I prefer to game on my new PC.
Update 3rd May 2010:
I heard the food tastes good, you pay by the weight, call it approx. $35 a box.
Update 18th July 2010:
Their official website is http://playdiumtrinidad.com/
Update: 4th September 2012
There have been a few new games installed and a bumper car section that takes 4 tokens for approx. 5 mins.
You may also like:
Zip lining
Caroni Bird Sanctuary tour
Top things to know about Tnt
Aerial tours
Update 3rd May 2010:
I heard the food tastes good, you pay by the weight, call it approx. $35 a box.
Update 18th July 2010:
Their official website is http://playdiumtrinidad.com/
Update: 4th September 2012
There have been a few new games installed and a bumper car section that takes 4 tokens for approx. 5 mins.
You may also like:
Zip lining
Caroni Bird Sanctuary tour
Top things to know about Tnt
Aerial tours
Monday, March 1, 2010
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