Instant messaging, text messaging, email, blogs, vlogs, and podcasts. With technology moving faster than a T1 connection, every day brings another way to keep in touch without actually having to show up in person.
What started as a fun pastime has turned into a modern-day obsession unlike any other. It seems that the more connected we are, the more disconnected we become. Because of the obsession, people have become more overweight and relationships of every kind have disintegrated under the spell of computer games and chat rooms.
In addition, people of all ages are developing at a staggering rate:
1. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
2. Computer Vision Syndrome
3. Back problems
4. Financial problems
5. Circulation problems
And more
No longer are real communities connected. Instead, people choose to connect to online communities and have virtual friends and romantic “relationships” instead of face-to-face contact.
People hide behind their “defenses” (computers, cell phones, etc.) making their own version of a “real connection” with computer games that allow users to build and have a “relationship” with their idea of a perfect family or mate. Couples often jump faster into bed with their laptop than they do their partner.
How can we change the world we live in and start reconnecting with reality when we are so disconnected? Like any other addiction, the only way to conquer it is to take it one step at a time, one day at a time. Here are a few helpful suggestions to help you start on the path of reconnection without technology:
1. If you have family and friends that are far away, why not send them a real letter? Stamps are available at that place called the Post Office.
2. Have a conversation in the flesh with someone that does not involve hardware or software as an intervening third party. Walk to a friend or family member’s home and have a dialogue without email or texting. If you find that your verbal skills have become rusty, write a script of casual topics of discussion with questions like:
A. What did you do today?
B. How is your family?
C. How was school / work?
D. Ask general questions to get the conversation started and listen to what the other person has to say. If you really listen, you will be able to pick up additional questions you can ask along the way.
1. Parents, just say no. When did the word no become such an evil word? You are not abusing or depriving your child by using it. Disconnect the computer and safeguard your children. If they need to research a paper for school, take them down to the library or help them with their research on the Internet.
You can then monitor what they view and do online. When the work is done, disconnect and remove the computer when you aren’t around. Get your children involved in life so computers don’t become their life.
2. Stop playing computer games and get back into some of the classic board games such as Life, Monopoly, Yahtzee and other games.
3. Restless and bored? Go to a park and fly a kite. Head to the beach and take a picnic with you. The point is to get outside and start moving.
4. If you’re addicted to chat rooms, why not start a face-to-face chat room in your own home. Set up a theme night and invite family and friends over to partake in a real life chat room. No hardware, software, cell phones or wireless connections allowed.
If some of your guests become antsy about not using their cell phones, remind them that you have a landline they can use.
5. If most of your relationships live on the Internet, join a local social or sports club or become involved in a local charity. Learning to socialize in new ways can be fun.
These are just a few steps to help you get back into the game of life and away from meaningless connections.
The Internet, computers, wireless connections, cell phones, iPod’s, etc. are useful and can make life a lot easier and fun.
Technology is not the enemy; it’s the uncontrolled use of technology that’s ruining our society and our relationships.
Jaci Rae
http://www.articlesbase.com/motivational-articles/internet-addiction-learn-how-to-connect-without-wireless-connections-112964.html
Among Wii’s major selling points, you will find the price. The Wii gaming unit, at a MSRP of two hundred and forty nine dollars plus tax, will not quiet be as burdensome as the Xbox 360 or the PS3. With the Wii, you certainly aren’t going to have to take out a second mortgage in order to purchase this gaming system. The Wii is also the very first gaming console within the last decade that comes with a pack-in game.
For two hundred and forty nine dollars, not only will you be getting the console but you will also be receiving five games all in one, so that you are able to begin with the goodness of gaming just as soon as you hook up your Wii gaming system. Even though the sports titles for the Wii aren’t going to win any type of graphic superiority awards, it will win an award for revolutionary game play, on behalf of the Wii remote controller in part. By just taking the time to hold the Wii remote controller in your hand that resembles a television remote control and then to waive it around like it is a racket or to swing it like it is a baseball bat, everybody can take hold of the Wii remote controller and participate.
There are some people that have even tried this within their office, they would set up the gaming console and load up one of the sports games for the Wii and just started playing. Some of these people were previously against video games because of the controller’s complexity mainly. However, these exact same people were drawn quickly to the sports games for the Wii, and there were even some that asked if they could play and were able to catch on to the game and play without an ounce of instruction.
The remote controllers for the Wii are definitely changing the way that games are going to be played on the gaming console. The gamers are now able to punch, swing, throw, dodge, pull, and point all be simply performing all of these exact motions with the remote control for the Wii in hand.
The Wii is also completely compatible backwards compatible with the gaming console known as the GameCube, which allows you the ability to connect up to a total of four controllers for the GameCub as well as memory cards. In the event that you have already traded in your GameCube for a Wii, you are now able to play every single one of your favorite GameCube games on the gaming system without one problem.
When in the WiiConnect24 mode, your gaming console will be allowed to remain connected to the internet wirelessly either by using an IEEE802.11, or though a Wii LAN Adapter, even if the Wii is powered down. This will allow your Wii gaming console to communicate to the Nintendo DS wirelessly and receive updates and game information.
Even though you may not be blown away by the graphics or have the savvy online support that you will receive from the Xbox 360, you will be bale to easily pick up and play this system mechanic and that is enough to turn quiet a few heads.
Abdelrahim Mansour
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/what-is-so-good-about-wii-430629.html
Computer software is so called in contrast to computer hardware, which encompasses the physical interconnections and devices required to store and execute (or run) the software. In computers, software is loaded into RAM and executed in the central processing unit. At the lowest level, software consists of a machine language specific to an individual processor. A machine language consists of groups of binary values signifying processor instructions (object code), which change the state of the computer from its preceding state. Software is an ordered sequence of instructions for changing the state of the computer hardware in a particular sequence. It is usually written in high-level programming languages that are easier and more efficient for humans to use (closer to natural language) than machine language. High-level languages are compiled or interpreted into machine language object code. Software may also be written in an assembly language, essentially, a mnemonic representation of a machine language using a natural language alphabet. Assembly language must be assembled into object code via an assembler.
The term “software” was first used in this sense by John W. Tukey in 1958.[2] In computer science and software engineering, computer software is all computer programs. The concept of reading different sequences of instructions into the memory of a device to control computations was invented by Charles Babbage as part of his difference engine. The theory that is the basis for most modern software was first proposed by Alan Turing in his 1935 essay Computable numbers with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem. [3]
[edit] Three layers
Starting in the 1980s, application software has been sold in mass-produced packages through retailersUsers often see things differently than programmers. People who use modern general purpose computers (as opposed to embedded systems, analog computers, supercomputers, etc.) usually see three layers of software performing a variety of tasks: platform, application, and user software.
Platform software
Platform includes the firmware, device drivers, an operating system, and typically a graphical user interface which, in total, allow a user to interact with the computer and its peripherals (associated equipment). Platform software often comes bundled with the computer, and users may not realize that it exists or that they have a choice to use different platform software.
Application software
Application software or Applications are what most people think of when they think of software. Typical examples include office suites and video games. Application software is often purchased separately from computer hardware. Sometimes applications are bundled with the computer, but that does not change the fact that they run as independent applications. Applications are almost always independent programs from the operating system, though they are often tailored for specific platforms. Most users think of compilers, databases, and other “system software” as applications.
User-written software
User software tailors systems to meet the users specific needs. User software include spreadsheet templates, word processor macros, scientific simulations, graphics and animation scripts. Even email filters are a kind of user software. Users create this software themselves and often overlook how important it is. Depending on how competently the user-written software has been integrated into purchased application packages, many users may not be aware of the distinction between the purchased packages, and what has been added by fellow co-workers.
Kashan Junaid
http://www.articlesbase.com/hardware-articles/relationship-to-computer-hardware-140781.html
My sports survey shows that betting on the outcome of local and national sporting contests is the number one illegal form of gambling in the United States-illegal off-track race betting is second. This great upsurge in sports betting is due primarily to extensive television sports coverage on all sorts of sporting events and the great team expansion of professional football, baseball, basketball and hockey. Today about 60 million Americans are wagering approximately $30 billion yearly on all sorts of amateur and professional sporting contests. My New York City sports survey agrees with the one conducted by the Oliver Quayle organization for the city of New York. Both estimates state that New York City’’s sports fans bet over $1 billion yearly.
About half, or $15 billion, of the total national sports handle was wagered with friends and acquaintances in bets ranging from a dollar to several. thousand dollars. These private wagers on sports and other events rank in volume as follows: football, baseball, basketball, hockey, boxing, golf and political elections, and such skill contests as bowling, horseshoes, Checkers, Chess, billiards, pool and Teeko.
The remaining $15 billion is wagered each year by countless millions of Americans with thousands of sports bookmakers and hundreds and hundreds of horse bookies. The books retain about 4¢ of each dollar they handle, gross revenue on the $15 billion of $600 million. About 60% of this goes for operational expenses-salaries, gamblers” losses not collected, phone charges (one such bookie is known to spend $10,000 a month on phone calls in order to operate his trans-country sports business) and graft paid to corrupt police officers and politicians. This leaves a net profit of $240 million. One example of how important sports betting in this country has become is a Federal investigation and trial of the operators of a sports office in Terre Haute, Indiana. The government subpoenaed 175 of the country’’s big time bettors-a list which included several multimillion¬aires, movie people, hotel owners and other business tycoons. The evidence indicated that some of these bettors wagered as much as $25,000 on a single football game.
SPORTS OFFICES AND BOOKMAKERS
There are now about 4,000 bookmakers in America who handle sports wagers exclusively, most of whom will not take horse-race bets. Two of these, both big ones, are women.
In addition, there are more than 300 sports offices. A sports office is a combine or syndicate of three or more of the top sports bookmakers who have joined together so as to be able to handle the sports betting of the nation’’s biggest bettors. As a rule, the smallest bet these offices will accept is $100 on a single contest, the largest, $20,000. But this $20,000 maximum limit is sometimes upped for special customers; and for the Super Bowl and World Series play the sky is the limit.
The day’’s handle for one of these offices may run from a low $50,000 to a high of $500,000 or more.
Baseball sports betting accounts for about 40%, or $6 billion of the bookies” yearly sports handle; football, about 45% or $6.75 billion, and basketball, hockey, prizefights and state and national political elections, 15% or $2.25 billion.
The bettors who patronize the big time bookies or sports offices are tens of thousands of people in all walks of life: industrialists, politicians, judges, lawyers, stock brokers and manipulators, oil and movie magnates, as well as Numbers operators, bookmakers, casino operators, racketeers and other easy-money boys.
Most of the betting online involving the big bettor and the bookie or sports office is conducted by phone and courier. The courier, or runner, merely collects from the losers and pays the winners. This is done strictly on a cash basis-"No maps (checks) accepted." If the sports office and the big time bettor are in different states the winner of a big wager (bookie or player) must travel to the loser to collect.
Betting conversations by phone are usually in code, and no names are ever mentioned. The necessary bookkeeping is also coded, numbers representing the names of superstars, teams, etc. These codes are used primarily to make it tough for Federal law-enforcement agencies to get evidence. Formerly, bookies operating within the borders of a single state had no fear of Federal prosecution, but the enactment of the 1951 Federal gambling law requiring a bookie to purchase a $50
license stamp annually and pay 10% of his gross handle as a Federal tax changed that.
The 10% tax is highly unrealistic. As one bookie told me disgusted, "I would go broke in one day if 1 paid the 10% Federal bookie tax. Look what would happen when a player bets me $1,050 to $1,000 on a Pick ”em ball game and he wins. 1 lose $1,000 and must still pay Uncle Sam $105 for accepting the bet. If 1 take a $1,050 baseball bet on each of two opposing teams, I”d earn only $50 on the $2,100 worth of action, and would have to pay Uncle Sam $210. That would put me out of business in short order-so 1 don’t buy the stamp. 1 just pay Uncle Sam what he rightfully has coming when 1 file my income tax."
The nation’’s number one sports betting online contest is the annual Super Bowl. The runner-up is, of course, the World Series, with the Kentucky Derby running third. Approximately $600 million changes hands on the Super Bowl game and about $500 million is wagered on the outcome of the World Series plus the single games. The largest single bet to this author’’s knowledge was made by a Midwestern betting combine with a number of western sports offices. They wagered $825,000 on the outcome of a World Series game. A $200,000 wager is the largest single wager known on a Super Bowl game.
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT BETTING SCALPERS
Many bookies who handle baseball action believe that scalpers (bettors who wager on two opposing teams in order to minimize their losses through some mysterious mathematical formula unknown to the bookies) have a sure-fire winning proposition when they scalp a World Series. As one New Jersey bookie told me, "Scarne, these baseball scalpers bet big on the Series favorite, then turn around and bet the underdog in each single game. They are sure to win money. How they do it 1 don”t know, but, believe me, they do it." This is like the old joke about the woman who thinks the department store loses money on every item it sells, but makes millions yearly because it sells so many thousands of each item.
This misconception about scalpers arose years ago when a sports office considered its price maker, or handicapper, not only a baseball whiz and a mathematical genius but a prophet to boot. They would quote a price and accept bets weeks before game time not only on the outcome of the Series, but also on each of the seven scheduled games. With this betting setup a sports scalper with a fair knowledge of simple arithmetic would seek a sports line on the World Series and the individual games from as many bookies and sports offices as possible.
He would then select the best price on the outcome of the Series and the best price on each of the individual games. This could involve selecting as many as eight prices each from a different bookie or sports office. By comparing the World Series price with the combined price line of the individual games, he could easily determine if the difference resulted in a minus or plus expectation. If it was minus he forgot the matter. If plus, he would bet his money with the different bookies, laying the shortest price on the Series favorite and taking the longest odds on the underdog in the individual games. This would guarantee him a profit, no matter what happened.
But the scalper can”t do this today because he can”t get a bet down on any single game until the day of that game; bookies only quote prices day by day on World Series games. The only sure thing about scalping the Series today is that the scalper is paying the bookie a greater profit because he is making a greater number of bets.
viru
http://www.articlesbase.com/online-gambling-articles/betting-on-sports-events-134439.html
These days, even if we quote ourselves as lucky then also it would be an offense. As a matter of fact, we are more than lucky as we have various types of gadgets at our disposal. In other words, almost nothing requires much physical work and most importantly most of our works does not consume much of our time. Now in this concern, the mobile phones can be taken into consideration. Earlier, before the invention of these gadgets, people used to form a society within a limited area. This is particularly because beyond this limited area, communication would be a big matter of concern. But yes, human brains need to be appreciated. In fact, geniuses are born and gone but their remarkable inventions make them immortal. As such, Alexander Graham Bell would be well remembered after hundreds of years too due to his worthy invention of a telephone. In fact, reasonably no means of communication have entirely rejuvenated the daily lives of normal people more than the telephone. Now, it was the turn of innovations. After the invention of the telephone, this gadget underwent various process of developments.
As a matter of fact, the mobile phones are akin of the age old telephones. Now with the introduction of the mobile phones, communication with people all over the world is not a big matter to ponder upon. Now these gadgets are enjoying the heights of popularity as they come enhanced with various high-end connectivity options such as GPRS, Bluetooth, Infra red, USB etc. It has been witnessed that with the inception of the Internet, the Internet activities of the people are on the rise. People during their spare time like to indulge in chatting and also in playing games. Now, a question may arise on your mind like ‘how to play online games on your mobile phone?’ For this purpose, internet connection is necessary which would permit you to participate in free online games. You can even select the game mode, stage and number of players from single, multi and even online competition. You can choose a player and then enjoy gaming against him or her. Most of the gaming portals such as Zapak offer online games. If you are using a Nokia S60 based mobile phone then you will be amazed to know that games along with applications and software are available at many websites including S60.com
You can easily enjoy free online games these days if you have a high speed Internet connection. As a matter of fact, once you log yourself online you would find that there are numerous online websites which would easily permit you to download mobile games without any hassles. You can play free mobile games anywhere and at any time with complete ease. This facility has been eagerly welcomed by the mobile phone users as playing such high-end games wipes out the dizzy mundane hours from your busy life schedule. It has been found that most of the people these days while returning home from office or while waiting for the bus tend to pass their time with their mobile phones. The most interesting feature that permits the users to pass their mundane moments at ease are the music tracks which can be played anywhere and any time, and the embedded mobile games. These high-end games are highly interactive and come associated with various features too. With the support of these games, you can even tame your naughty bones without any hassles.
Nisha Garg
http://www.articlesbase.com/computer-games-articles/how-to-play-online-games-on-your-mobile-phone-638884.html
My Company does "Fun Friday" Events once a month where we play games for an afternoon. We keep doing the same things over and over and we need some new ideas. We usually play Wii or some Board game. What are your ideas?
Frog Feet Relay!! Get swimming flippers and run
Ping Pong ball race—Get some ping pong balls. have everyone get in 2 – 3 separate lines. You have to get on your knees and blow the ball to the finish line. and you CAN'T TOUCH THE FLOOR WITH YOUR HANDS!! So, these people have their hands behind their back, the balls are going everywhere and it's hilarious!
Hula Hoop race. Run across the room and hula hoop 5 times and then run back.
Charades
Pictionary
Scene it? DVD game>>>>
powered by Yahoo Answers
Play is a state of mind that is safe, inquisitive and exists in the moment. It is also a bodily state of relaxation and an uplifting and engaged emotional state. Some say play is a spiritual state of profound connection and joy. Play can be something we do by ourselves or with others, but it is also something we can watch others do. Play is often described as a time when we feel most alive, yet we often take it for granted and may completely forget about it. Play can be entirely positive, or have a negative.
Most people believe that play is unproductive, and therefore inferior to productive activities. Perhaps this is because we equate play with feeling happy joyous feeling that traditionally is seen as less important than thinking. Many of us have lists, at home and at the office, prioritizing tasks by how productive they are. When we run out of time, we cut the fun stuff and do the productive stuff because we may feel guilty or bad if we play hooky or goof off by playing a game of golf or chess, taking a hike in the woods or daydreaming for an hour. New research on the brain contradicts this cultural dismissal of play, by emphasizing the importance of feelings and the necessity of feeling safe and relaxed in order to think clearly and productively. Play teaches us how to
manage and transform our negative emotions and experiences; it supercharges learning, and is a foundational factor in good mental and physical health. And, it can make work more pleasurable.
How can play trigger the flow state?
Psychiatrist and writer Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, (pronounced chicks send me high) studied play in Sidney, Australia and described it as a flow state that requires just the right balance of challenge and opportunity. If the game is too hard or too easy, it loses its sense of pleasure and fun. Maintaining a flow state in games with others requires all participants, regardless of age or ability, to feel challenged, but not overwhelmed. Csikszentmihalyis research has been undertaken and confirmed in several countries, and now reaches 250,000 surveys. In the flow state we feel:
Why is play an important part of our lives?
Humans are designed by nature to play, and have played throughout evolution. Playfulness is an inborn ability that is hardwired into our genetic code. Play is part of how humans have adapted and survived everywhere on Earth, from the tropics to the great deserts to the Arctic Circle. We want to play because it is instinctive and fundamental to our existence; it is one of the evolutionary mechanisms that enabled us to
develop as a species. Playing helps us survive by connecting us to other human beings and to sources of energy and excitement within ourselves. Play is simultaneously a source of calmness and relaxation, as well as a source of stimulation for the brain and body.
Play will be important to our future. Some futurists have said that we’ll need to be more inventive, creative, and flexible to handle the tasks, flow and rhythm of life in this century and beyond. A sure (and fun) way to develop these abilities is to play with your children and grandchildren, your officemates and friends.
Why is it important to play at work?
When researchers follow pre-teen childrens attitude about play, they discovered that some children called almost everything they did play while others called almost everything they did work. Reconnecting with the children at the end of adolescence, the children who thought of everything as play were more successful and happier in school and were more content socially than the people who saw everything as work.
Success at work does not depend on the amount of time you work. It depends upon the quality of work, and the quality of work depends on the level of well-being of the workers. The level of well-being depends significantly on the how often they replenish themselves through play in any of its forms. Work is where we spend much of our time. That is why it is especially important for us to play during work. Without some recreation, our work suffers. Most of us have been working faster, harder, and smarter, and with diminishing free time. We first thought that working faster, harder, and smarter would handle our increased workload, but that is not the case. We still got behind and became chronically overwhelmed. When the project you’re working on hits a serious glitch (as they frequently do), heading out to the basketball court with your colleagues to shoot some hoops and have a few laughs does a lot more than take your mind off the problem. If basketball isn’t your cup of tea, having a model airplane contest, telling stories, or flying kites in the parking lot will also allow your relationship to the problem to shift and enable you to approach it from a new perspective. Interjecting play into the work cycle: keeps you sane and functional during times of stress; refreshes your mind and body; renews hope; triggers creativity; and increases energy.
John Pawlett
http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/playing-creative-games-for-fun-a-great-way-to-relax-91895.html
If you know some please let me know the website
thank you
why use games wen u can use fun math tricks?
http://www.angelfire.com/me/marmalade/mathtips.html
but if ur still looking for a game try brain age for the ds or sumthin…
powered by Yahoo Answers
I already made the list of all the titles, now i want to select them all and order them alphabetically, how can i do that?
a couple of options
1. copy them into excel and sort then copy the sorted list back to word.
2. create a table in word and past the titles in the table rows, then sort the rows.
i prefer excel for this type of list because you can easily add information in additional columns
powered by Yahoo Answers
i would like a program where i can create poems with borders or anything like that.. thanks..
I always just use OpenOffice–don't know if you've used it or not from your question. You can add backgrounds, borders, frames, pictures…it works really well, you just have to play with it a bit to figure it out. I don't know of anything completely free (except OpenOffice–www.openoffice.org).
you can try this site:
http://www.self-pub.net/poetrybookcreatorv2.html
They make a poetry book creator you use in Word, but I think it's like $30 or $40.
powered by Yahoo Answers