My new favorite cooking site

Posted on 09. Jul, 2010 by kchristieh in art, food

What happens when artists from all over the world showcase their skills to clearly present their favorite recipes? You get “They Draw & Cook: Recipe Renderings by Artists, Illustrators & Designers.” This fabulous blog features mouth-watering recipes depicted in a variety of different artistic styles, but all within a one-frame picture. The recipes range from cake to salmon rillettes to salsa verde, and hail from countries as diverse as Japan to Italy to Poland.

I love seeing how people can take the same assignment and come up with something completely different. I’d love to make all the recipes, but I think I’ll start out with the Tatziky,

the Tilapia,

and the Pan-Fried Fish with Lemon Caper Sauce.

If I had the time, I’d depict my mom’s amazing lasagna recipe. Maybe someday…

Evernote keeps me sane

Posted on 04. Jan, 2010 by kchristieh in productivity tools

I hate chaos. I’m like a deer in the headlights if there’s too much chaos, and as a result my productivity plummets. Thank goodness for Evernote. It allows me to put the random information that formerly resided on Post-its and extra Firefox tabs into one program, thereby letting me juggle more balls without letting them all crash to the floor. I can type, paste, or scan notes, images, documents and screenshots into Evernote, and then categorize and tag them for future reference. Even though I don’t have a “smart” phone, I can send messages and images from my phone to Evernote. I can choose which of my “notebooks” are synchronized to the Evernote website, thereby allowing me to have backup and access when I’m not at my home computer. It’s free, but I choose to pay $45 per year for the premium service to have extra storage capacity.

Here’s a screenshot of what the Evernote software looks like on my computer. The note that’s showing in the screen on the right is a reminder to learn more about Google Wave when I get a chance. It includes a screenshot and a link to Google Wave.

Here are some things I’ve chosen to put on Evernote:

• Instructions to clients on how to use certain computer programs
• Meeting notes
• News for my next PTSA email and my next class notes column
• Recipes, tagged by ingredient
• A list of thank you notes my kids need to write
• Screenshots of websites I need to check out when I have a chance
• A list of programs to Tivo or add to my Netflix queue
• Topics I might blog about in the future
• Scans of cool business card designs in case I get around to creating a new business card
• The confirmation email from when I ordered a new vacuum filter, to remind me of which part number it was

Every week I think of more things I can use Evernote for. I’m so grateful that this program helps me manage my complicated life and stay sane.

Save a Tree: “Subscribe” to Lonny Magazine

Posted on 01. Dec, 2009 by kchristieh in cool websites

I love curling up with a good magazine or newspaper, but I hate that they use so much paper. On the other hand, I’m happy to support good writers and photographers, and am devoted to the free flow of information.

Perhaps the answer to this dilemma is more magazines like Lonny Magazine. This home decor / lifestyle magazine can only be found on the web, at lonnymag.com. Here’s their mission statement:

“In a time when shelter publications are turning their last pages…
Our mission is to reopen the doors to accessible design. By embracing an online platform we provide inspiration at the click of a finger, directly connecting our readers to their favorite products and resources. Our freedom from page limits means that we can share more content in each issue, delivering an intimate look into the way people really live.”

Because it didn’t have to be printed, Lonny Magazine was produced at a than a traditional magazine, but I don’t think anything was lost in the process. In fact, I had lots of fun flipping the pages and mousing over various pictures to see if they linked to another website. If you see something you like in the magazine, chances are you can click to a place to either purchase it or learn more about it.

I wish more magazines had an online edition this robust and interactive.

Links:

• Review of Lonny Magazine in Women’s Wear Daily

My Life is Average

Posted on 14. Sep, 2009 by kchristieh in parenting, quotes

Back in March, I blogged about FML. It’s a strangely effective way to feel better about your life, but I’ve decided that My Life is Average (MLIA) is much more uplifting. I learned about it from my kids, who like to share MLIA posts on Facebook walls. Here are a few of my current favorites:

• Today, I was talking with my mom, and she told me that when she was young, one of the reasons she wanted to come to the U.S. was because she wanted to see squirrels. if she hadn’t come to the US, she wouldn’t have married my dad. I owe my existence to Squirrels. MLIA
• Today I found out that what I assumed was a birthmark on my uncle’s head is actually a tiny tattoo of a stick man mowing his receding hairline. The artist thought it was so cool he did it for free, I love my uncle. MLIA
• For spirit week, one day was pajama day. All the girls wore something sexy and almost inappropriate, I wore my dinosaur pajamas. Guess who got more attention? Winner. MLIA.
• Today, I was talking with my friend. She was talking about how weird it would be to have pants with only one foot hole. We then realized that would be a skirt. MLIA
• Today, my roommate, who wants to be a lawyer, made me sign a contract that I would clean up more. I scribbled in a random place, ‘Not valid on days ending in y.’ Now I can tell him to read the fine print when I don’t clean up. MLIA
• Today in my dorm room the doorbell rang. Sitting outside the door was a box labeled “A present from your friends in room 201″. I opened it and a guy popped out, gave me a high five and ran off down the hallway. MLIA.
• Today, I received an email telling me that a package was waiting for me in my dorm’s common area. I picked it up, hoping that my mom sent me money. She sent me a bubble gum machine. She rocks. MLIA

I like My Life Is Average because it reminds me to appreciate the every day pleasures of life. It also gives me insights into what makes kids happy. I like the bubblegum machine idea.  ;)

Hahaha!! After I wrote this post, I saw this on MyLifeIsAverage:

• Today, we had to pick the website we visited the most for class and present it. The girl before me picked FML. No one laughed. I showed MLIA. Everyone laughed. I found some new recruiters. You’re welcome. MLIA

Perfect!

Why I’ve fallen in love with Netflix

Posted on 16. May, 2009 by kchristieh in movies

After listening to “The Story of Stuff” video, (which I’ll blog about when I have more time) I’ve decided not to have Etsy Fridays anymore. No need to promote using up our environment more. Not that I’m a saint in that regard, but I might as well not promote it.

To that end, today I’ll gush about my new Netflix membership. For $8.99 a month, we get unlimited movies streamed to our television, plus one DVD mailed to us each month. I don’t think we’ll bother with the DVD: the streaming is amazing.

Here’s how it works:

• After signing up with Netflix, I rated movies that I’ve seen by clicking on anywhere from 1 – 5 stars. I also told Netflix what genres I like. (e.g., I like drama, but not martial arts) So far I’ve rated nearly 400 movies.
• Netflix recommends movies that it thinks I’ll like in various categories. When I mouse over them, I see a description of the movie.
• I can click on the movie, and add it to my queue.
• When I turn on my tv and go to Tivo, the movies are there. When I click on it, it takes about 30 seconds to start.

It’s that simple. Tonight my husband and I watched “The Visitor.” I’d never heard of it until Netflix recommended it, and it was fantastic. I can’t wait to see more recommended movies!

Here are some that it’s currently recommending. There are many, many more.

My favorite online college search sites

Posted on 10. Apr, 2009 by kchristieh in cool websites, education, parenting

This week my family took tours of five colleges and drove through several more, all in the quest to find schools that would match our teenagers’ interests, talents and personalities.

Visiting the schools when classes were in session was invaluable. It was important for my kids to see what the students were like, and to see whether they could imagine themselves fitting in with them. My kids were also very concerned with school energy and spirit, so it was good for them to see which schools shined or failed in that department.

We did lots of research beforehand, also. We purchased several college guides, including one that included student reviews, and copied the relevant pages and brought them with us on our trip. I also looked up all the schools we considered visiting on our trip on the internet. I especially appreciated student review sites. I kept in mind that there will always be disgruntled people at any school, but I looked for trends in the comments.

We’ve only scratched the surface for visiting colleges, so I’ve started a College Resource page on this blog. You can either click here to visit it, or find it in the list of pages to the right. I’ll continue to update it as I find more useful college resource sites. It includes much of the same information that I’ve put on our high school PTSA website, www.lchs912.org.

Hope it helps!

Transform your pictures into stories by inserting them into templates

Posted on 08. Apr, 2009 by kchristieh in animals, cool websites, quotes

If a picture speaks 1,000 words, what do these have to tell? Many thanks to Photofunia and FunPhotoBox for their free photo insertion sites.

“If you can look at a dog and not feel vicarious excitement and affection, you must be a cat.”
~Author Unknown

“When a man’s best friend is his dog, that dog has a problem.”
~Edward Abbey

“You think dogs will not be in heaven?  I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.”
~Robert Louis Stevenson

“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.”
~Josh Billings

When life stinks, here’s a reminder that it could be worse

Posted on 17. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in cool websites, life lessons

Just as there’s always someone prettier, smarter and richer than us, there are also people who don’t have it as good as we do.

When you’re feeling low, visit F*** My Life: Your everyday life stories. People enter their tales of woe, and others vote on whether the person’s life stinks or whether they got what they deserved. Here are a few recent examples:

• Today, I decided to ask my friend to the school dance. It’s one where the girls ask the guys. I spent hours placing signs down his street so he would see them on his way home. As I’m waiting in his driveway with balloons I see his car reverse and go the other direction. FML
  #415998 (83) – 03/17/2009 at 4:44pm by SmileEveryday – misc – I agree, your life is f***ed (19782) – you deserved that one (3262
• Today, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I called all my family members to invite them over this evening because I had some very important news for them that could not wait. They all declined the invite. When I asked why, they said they were going to my cousins to watch his new TV. FML
  #406352 (106) – 03/17/2009 at 1:47am by Mikey – health – I agree, your life is f***ed (44821) – you deserved that one (1066)
• Today, I found an old dress in my house laying around. I decided to dye it green to wear it out on St. Patrick’s day. Turns out it was my grandmother’s wedding dress that my sister was planning to wear for her wedding. FML
  #379533 (106) – 03/16/2009 at 1:29pm by Noname – misc – I agree, your life is f***ed (8120) – you deserved that one (47295)

I don’t wish these things on anyone, but it can be therapeutic to read them. I learned about this from my teenagers, who promise they skip over the skankier ones. Though I have to admit, even the skankier ones mostly wind up warning people from doing those skanky things.

The easiest way to find a mutually agreeable meeting time: TimeBridge

Posted on 04. Oct, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites

Scheduling meetings can take just as long as attending meetings. I recently found a great website that makes scheduling easy: TimeBridge. This free website allows you to enter up to five potential meeting dates/times, and then email people to see which work for them. People click on the link in the email and enter whether each meeting time is Best, OK, or Bad. TimeBridge adds their responses to a grid that makes it easy for everyone to see which date will work best. It also includes a map to the event, can import from and export to Google Calendar and other programs if you wish, and allows people to comment.

I’ve used it for two meetings so far, and it’s saved me from near endless email exchanges. I highly recommend it!

Here’s a screenshot of an upcoming meeting I’m trying to schedule:

Thank goodness at least one date is looking good for everyone so far!

My favorite productivity tools

Posted on 13. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites, work

I hate to waste time. Maybe that’s why I studied Industrial Engineering. Here are some websites, programs and techniques that help me work and manage my life more efficiently.

I used Calendar Creator for our family calendar for about 12 years until it crashed last fall. I was crushed. Not only did I lose tons of valuable data, but I needed a new program that would allow me to print out our family’s calendar for the refrigerator. I was reluctant to use Google Calendar, but now I’m a convert. I’ve set up a different calendar for each member of our family, plus a calendar for events we all participate in, one for friends’ birthdays, and one for relatives’ birthdays. Each member of the family has access to all the calendars, and can choose which ones to see or not see. It prints out nicely and can be accessed from anywhere. Now to get certain family members to read it online. That’s why I continue to print it out occasionally.

I like to keep up with a fair number of blogs, but I don’t want to take too long to do so. I’ve tried several blog aggregators, but I’m sold on Google Reader. I’ve divided the blogs I read into groups (e.g., Design, People I Know, Technical, Local) and when I click on the shortcut on my toolbar I only see the subject lines of new posts to the blogs I follow. If I don’t want to read any of the posts, I can just click on “Mark All As Read” and they won’t be highlighted next time. If you click on the monkey in the right column of my blog, you can subscribe to my blog on Google Reader.

Freshbooks

My worst case freelancing scenario would be if all 90 or so of my clients decided they need their websites updated the same day. Eeek!! Even though that hasn’t happened yet, I’m constantly updating websites, and it can be hard to keep track of those 3 min. – 3 hour time charges. Freshbooks allows me to click a Start button that starts a clock running to the 1/100th of a minute. If the phone rings while I’m working, I just press Pause. Then Restart, then Log Hours when I’m done. I use it to send out email bills on a regular basis, and clients can even pay via PayPal.

CushyCMS

This website allows me to set up clients to update their own sites. It’s perfect for simple text changes, and I don’t miss being the middleman. I’d rather concentrate on more exciting stuff anyway. Note: It’s not very good at stylesheets, but if the formatting of something gets messed up, I have my clients email me and I fix it in about 30 seconds.

Daily Slurp

The coolest looking website three years ago probably looks outdated now. That’s why I check Daily Slurp each day. It highlights a collection of cool new websites, and allows me to keep up with new design and technical trends. I categorize the sites I like using NetVisualize, and sometimes use that to create thumbnail directories to show clients so that I can find out what they love and hate before I start designing their website. Unfortunately, NetVisualize doesn’t work with the new Google browser, so that’s why I’m mostly sticking with Firefox.

This simple program allows me to categorize my fonts however I want, and then to see what a line of text would look like in each font. It’s much better than plowing through the million or so fonts I have. Besides the usual serif, sans serif, my categories range from Art Deco to Fun to Girly & Curly.

Of course, there are times when I give myself a break. That’s when I turn to or Etsy. A girl’s gotta have friends and shop every once in awhile!  :)

How does Big Brother know so much?

Posted on 12. Sep, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites, things that bug me

I’m sure you’ve someone. Whether it’s a potential business partner or a new friend, you’ve probably been curious to find out more about a person before you get to know them better. Have you ever looked up someone on Zabasearch? That’s a great way to find out someone’s address.

Now there’s iSearch. Much like Zabasearch, it’ll tell you a person’s age and address at no cost. I have a friend who didn’t think people could find out anything about her. She’s wrong. See? I can tell that she’s 48 and I even know her husband’s name now. (I blocked all the names here to protect these innocent people…though if you know them, you can obviously look this up, too.)

I heard some teens being interviewed on NPR today that weren’t upset that their school had the right to search their backpacks and lockers. They figured that if they had nothing to hide, what’s the big deal? I think it’s because not only did these kids live through the war on terror, but they are accustomed to sharing intimate details about their lives on sites such as MySpace and Facebook.

iSearch even shows schools attended, relationship status and sexual orientation. Here’s an example:

It’s not limited to adults, either. Just type in a name and click on the Social Networks tab. You’ll find people who have social networking profiles. Here’s a young woman who’s 17. I saw some kids as young as 14, complete with pictures.

For a small extra fee, I could find out any of these peoples’ phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, and other background information.

What can you do to protect yourself?

• Set your social networking pages to PRIVATE or FRIENDS ONLY. There’s less information about me on here than there is about other people, and it’s probably because I have my Facebook privacy settings set as tight as they can be.
• If you don’t want your information on a site, see if you can remove it. iSearch says it’s determining how to implement a profile suppression service, but they don’t have that option yet.
• Know what information is out there about you. It’s no big comfort, but it’s a first step to knowing how to control it.
• And finally, my snarky answers: crawl in a hole and don’t get anyone angry with you.

Honestly, this train has left the station, and I don’t think it’s easy/possible to totally hide from someone looking for you.  :(

Who needs a time machine when you have Photoshop?

Posted on 18. Aug, 2008 by kchristieh in art, cool websites, history, my life

When my sister’s mother-in-law died five years ago, my sister assembled a slide show to show at her funeral. She scanned lots of old pictures, but one was problematic: it showed the unwelcome ex-husband of one of the relatives.

I was called in to help. I used either Photoshop or Fireworks to eliminate the man from the picture. It wasn’t a completely professional job, but it did the trick for a fast-moving slide show.

I did the opposite this year when I pasted a few girls into a team picture that they’d missed earlier in the season. We wanted to show the whole team for a schedule poster we distributed to local merchants.

Apparently I’m not the only one who does this. Yesterday’s NY Times article, “I Was There. Just Ask Photoshop.” notes that not only do people delete others from photos, but they create events that never happened by pasting people into photos.

After her father died several years ago, Theresa Newman Rolley, an accountant in Williamsport, Pa., hired Wayne Palmer, a photographic retoucher, to create a composite portrait of the two of them because she had no actual one of them together.

That photograph — of a moment that never happened — now hangs in her living room. It still brings tears to her eyes, she said.

“It’s the only picture of my dad and me together,” Ms. Rolley said, adding, “If the only reason I can get one is cropping it in, it still means the same to me.”

I read a story once about someone who does this for the families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. It gives them a lasting way to remember their loved one.

On a sillier note, you can do this to your own picture via Yearbook Yourself. Just upload a picture and see how you’d look in yearbooks every two years from 1950 – 2000.

My favorite is 1960. I think I look like my mom. (Hey, Mom, are you reading this??)

My latest addiction: Yahoo! Answers

Posted on 18. Jul, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites, social networking

Just as I was recovering from and Etsy, and avoiding the Tetris game on my new phone, along came . I innocently looked up how much gas my Prius holds, and found myself in a world where my vast reserves of wisdom would finally be valued.

Yahoo! Answers allows users to ask questions, answer questions, and vote on the best answer for each question. Answering and voting on questions gets you points, as does having your answer be voted the best. Asking a question costs a few points.

So far, I’ve only . They’ve ranged from parenting questions to website design questions. I think there’s something for everyone here. I’ve learned to be a little more skeptical and beware of “trolls” posting fake questions. (e.g., one day they’re a boy asking about video games and the next day they’re a girl saying they’re pregnant) The real questions are pretty easy to spot, however, and it’s nice to take a break to help someone out.

What would John Perry and Ken Taylor of Philosophy Talk say? Is this true altriusm, or am I looking for points? Or perhaps an ego boost? I prefer altriusm, but who knows? It’s fun, anyway, and productive.

Here’s a screenshot of some questions from this evening:

Google Maps includes videos & photos

Posted on 17. May, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites, travel

I continue to be amazed at how easy it is to discover more about people or destinations via the internet. Today I happened upon a new feature which shows photos and videos that people have taken near a destination. When you type in an address to Google Maps, here’s what you might see. I say “might” because some addresses I type in don’t have photos or videos show up near them. Either Google hasn’t mapped those, or people in those areas don’t take enough pictures or videos.

When you type in an address for a photo or video you upload, you should assume it’ll show up on a public map. I don’t think I’d do that for my daughter’s birthday party, but I don’t regret doing it for the in February:

The more videos and pictures people upload, the more we’ll be able to discover without ever leaving home. Here’s a map of the greater Pasadena area. The blue lines indicate where you can access another favorite feature, Google Street View. The small pictures indicate videos of those places. Notice how La Canada Flintridge is still underrepresented on Google Street View – why is that?

Mother’s Day fun: Postcards from Yo Momma highlights the best Mom emails

Posted on 11. May, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites, parenting

I think we laugh the most at what’s most familiar. That’s probably why I couldn’t stop laughing as I read the postings on the hilarious website, “Postcards from Yo Momma.” The site features some of the funniest emails that mothers have sent to their children. I would never expose my mother’s emails to the world, but according to Newsweek, the founders’ moms are totally proud of their daughters’ endeavor.

Here are a few of my faves:

• “You will too get married (if that is what you want). My daughter is a nice person…just let me at that person who called you a late 20’s bitter female.”
• “Just wanted to say hi. I know you’re probably busy getting caught up at work after last week. I hope you enjoyed the plays. Did you get the movie I sent you? Today is our 31st anniversary. We are eating leftovers for dinner, and I was bit by a dog this morning. I’m not foaming at the mouth, so far. The fun never ends. Love, Mom”
• “I love you. I will pray for you. Be sure and take some kind of i.d. so if your plane crashes and burns they will know who to call. Hope you do that on all your trips anyway. That way if I don’t get a dreadful call, I will know you are just fine and happy.”
• “Lazy boy, I was very surprised to hear your message last night. I already forgot I still have a son in Chicago.”

I added this site to my Happy Links for Sad People page.
Happy Mother’s Day!!

View map of recent school safety & security incidents

Posted on 03. May, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites, education

Here’s a unique Google Map mashup: School Safety & Security Incidents. It shows the location of recent incidents of school violence, natural disasters, intruders, accidents, etc. If you click on a symbol, it’ll give you a brief summary of the incident and a link to further information. You can choose how far back you want the map to include data for, and you can filter by type of incident. Of course, you can zoom in to see what’s happening in a specific area.

I was skeptical when I first saw this. I didn’t think I’d find anything applicable to my life. Wrong! I found that there’d been a bomb found in a school near my sister-in-law, and that the disaster plan at a local university didn’t work.

You might be surprised at what you discover in your neck of the woods.

Get in the Blue Zone and live longer

Posted on 26. Apr, 2008 by kchristieh in health

The Blue Zones Vitality Compass is the best web application I’ve ever seen for calculating life expectancy. Not only does it take into account basic body size/weight information, but it also accounts for whether you’ve ever been diagnosed with a disease and what your eating, exercising and social habits are. And it’s free.

Here are my results:

I can only hope it’s correct! (Kaynahora!!) Of course, it can’t take into account drunk drivers, natural disasters, undiagnosed diseases, terrorism, etc.

Unfortunately, to find out how I could add two years to my life I’d have to pay $9.99. But I can guess what they’d say: eat more nuts (but they don’t know I’m allergic), exercise more (I already exercise about 3x a week) and eat more than 9 servings of fish per month.

This site’s a good reminder to stick with or adopt healthy habits.

Design your own kaleidoscope picture

Posted on 18. Mar, 2008 by kchristieh in art, cool websites, my life

Here’s a cool site I Stumbled upon recently: Kaleidosketch. Whatever you draw in one section is repeated in the other sections. You can choose different colors, or go with a more random rainbow option. My latest sketch is featured to the right. I think it would actually make a nice kitchen tile.

This definitely appeals to my compulsive side. I crave order, and detest chaos. Had you noticed?

Addictive sites to discover this weekend

Posted on 29. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites, music

If you’re looking for a break, here are a few of my favorite websites to visit to waste time online:

Etsy: This craft/art site has a great section called Pounce. When you click on the Pounce button, it’ll show you a page with pictures of items that just sold on the site. If you like an item, you can see what else the seller is offering.

StumbleUpon: I have a Stumble button on my Firefox toolbar. When I click on it, it takes me to a new website it thinks I might be interested in. Then I click on thumbs-up if I like it and thumbs-down if I don’t, and Stumble uses those votes to refine what it thinks I might like. I’ll list the next five sites it takes me to:

1. “Toddler’s Elmo Doll Makes Death Threats” in Tampa Bay Online. What? Gotta be satire, but it looks legit. I’ll reserve judgment.
2. A Hong Kong art site. I gave it a thumbs-down. Too dizzying.
3. Shatner / Hasselhoff ‘08: At first I gave it a thumbs-down, but then I couldn’t resist the picture of Shatner with Kim Jong Il. I also like the slogan, “From Yesterday’s Tomorrow, For A Better Today.” Thumbs-up!
4. A political blog with a really long post in tiny white print on a black background. Boring. Thumbs-down.
5. “Trail of the Cougar,” a PBS special. Thumbs-up. There are cougars in our town.

Pandora is the musical version of StumbleUpon. You tell it what songs, artists or genres you like, and it’ll play music it thinks you’ll like. You can give them thumbs-up or down to refine the selections. I’ve discovered some great new musicians this way.

I probably don’t need to mention iTunes, but in case you don’t already have it on your computer, GET IT NOW!! My favorite section is the free podcasts. My faves include This American Life, Salon Explainer and NPR’s This I Believe and Driveway Moments. I’ll listen to them tomorrow when I do my taxes.

The biggest time-waster I’ve ever seen is BubbleWrap. Make sure your sound is turned on.

Please let me know if there are any non-game websites you find particularly addictive. I didn’t include game sites here, since I know I’d have a hard time stopping playing once I got started.

PS – If you’re a client reading this, don’t worry, I wouldn’t dare relax while I knew I had work for you. ;) Or, maybe the party line should be that relaxing makes me more effective. Yeah, that’s what I’ll say from now on. Now to make sure to relax!!

Sponsor a Bible verse translation for under $30

Posted on 10. Jan, 2008 by kchristieh in books, cool websites, religion

This morning I was looking at Design Meltdown’s list of notable religious websites when I happened upon OneVerse. I love innovative internet applications, and since it relates to last night’s “Bibles are born in China but can’t return home” post, I thought I’d share this with you.

OneVerse offers people the opportunity to sponsor Bible translations by the verse. According to its About page,

Through OneVerse, you can join with a team of prayer and financial partners to support local Bible translators. OneVerse empowers you to help translate one verse into one language for under $30. Because each language project of The Seed Company has different funding needs, the price breakdown will vary from project to project. Your donation will support local men and women who are sacrificing to see the Word of God in their heart language.

You can choose which People Group you want to sponsor the translation for, and then choose the exact verse(s) you want to sponsor. I chose to sponsor one of my faves, John 1:5, for the Irigwe in Nigeria. (“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”) Then I felt bad, like I’d taken the most perfect piece of cake at a birthday party, so I also sponsored the most boring verse I could find. (Matthew 1:10: “Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh. Manasseh was the father of Amon. Amon was the father of Josiah.”) I hope no one’s offended by the sponsorship comment I left for the second one. (“boring but important”)

This would be a great confirmation, Christmas or graduation gift. Or just do it because you think it’s cool.

Practice vocabulary and feed the world at the same time

Posted on 22. Dec, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, education, inspirational people, international, non-profits

Stop wasting your time on Solitaire, Guitar Hero, and Halo. Visit FreeRice.com and test your vocabulary skills. Each time you define a word correctly, 20 grains of rice will be donated to people in need. The rice is paid for by the ads at the bottom of the site.

If you’re competitive like me, you’ll be sucked into trying to increase your vocabulary level score. See if you can beat the 46 I got.

I heard about FreeRice on NPR. The developer, who already operated the website Poverty.com, said he was inspired to start the site by helping his son study for the vocabulary section of the SAT.

All those grains of rice add up. According to the NPR segment,

“FreeRice.com is up to more than 8.2 billion grains of rice, which is one heck of a lot of rice and more than enough to feed 325,000 people for the day,” Parmelee said.

New resource for parents to evaluate video games launches

Posted on 12. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in parenting, shopping

When I was at eToys, we got to meet the ESRB folks who were launching the new videogame rating system. Thank goodness for that system, as the E, T, and M ratings have proven to be a critical factor in whether I let my son buy certain videogames. Often it’s the only information we have to go on, as most videogame reviews sound more like sales pitches, designed to entice you to purchase the game.

Today a great new videogame review site launched: What They Play. According to the LA Times,

Its reviews are matter-of-fact, cutting straight to the potentially edgy portions of games. In “BioShock,” a post-apocalyptic science-fiction action game that some critics have called “amazing,” the site unflinchingly describes a scene where players can either save a possessed young girl or “harvest” her for more points, leaving her dead.

The San Francisco company has plans to start websites taking a similar approach to movies, music and books.

It sounds like a Screenit.com for videogames. BTW, you can also see excellent videogame reviews at CommonSenseMedia.

I can’t wait until they review books. You can’t judge a book by its cover, especially when it’s teen chick-lit.

Thanks, Sara, for making sure I saw this article!

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Screenit backs me up in forbidding R-rated movie

Posted on 11. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in movies, parenting

It’s a tough season for teen boys who want to go to the movies. Either you’re stuck with juvenile movies like Bee Movie, or stupid movies like Fred Claus. So it’s not surprising that you’d want to see an R-rated movie like American Gangster.

That’s what happened at our house last night. I didn’t want our 14-year-old to see American Gangster, but my husband wasn’t convinced, and was starting to give me grief for not being flexible. Thank goodness for Screenit.com. It’s backed me up many times before, and it came through again. All I had to do was log in, find American Gangster, and read the following details about the movie out loud to my husband:

• We see a bare-breasted woman serving up heroin to a man at Frank’s place
• We see various nude or scantily clad women sorting drugs at Frank’s place (we hear they are nude so that they can’t steal any of the product).

The site described many more scenes, but these two were enough for my husband to agree that this movie wasn’t appropriate for our son. Frankly, I don’t think it sounds appropriate for anyone.

There are many movie review sites for parents out there, but I’ve found Screenit.com to consistently cover more movies with more detailed reviews than any of the others. I’m a paid subscriber, and figure that I’m happy to pay to support their mission.

Here are some of the best parent movie review sites I’ve found. Many are free, and when I visited them to get their links for this post, I was impressed by how good many have become. Please let me know if you have any others to recommend!

• Screenit.com
• Kids-in-Mind
• Common Sense Media
• Plugged in Online
• Parent Previews
• Dove Foundation

Some of these sites review other media, such as video games, music or books. You can learn more by clicking here.

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Sleeping is legal once again

Posted on 31. Oct, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, non-profits, politics, startling statistics

Here’s a sad statistic: there are approximately 74,000 homeless people in Los Angeles County’s 4,060 square miles, but only 17,000 shelter beds for them. That means that only 23% of the homeless can sleep in a shelter bed on a given night.

As if that’s not bad enough, lately the LAPD has been cracking down on sleeping on the street. According to today’s NY Times story, Some Respite, if Little Cheer, for Skid Row Homeless,

Under pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union, Los Angeles agreed on Oct. 10 not to appeal a federal court order and will instead allow sleeping on the sidewalk, at least until the city provides 1,250 new beds in low-income housing.

The deal partly rolls back a zero-tolerance crackdown on petty offenses in the Skid Row area, including sleeping in public places, that was undertaken late last year by Police Chief William J. Bratton. The effort has reduced by about half the 8,000 homeless who frequented the area a year ago, according to police estimates.

Gee, wow. Another 1,250 beds will mean that 24.7% of the homeless will have access to a shelter bed. If you’ve got to be homeless, you might as well be in a warm place like L.A., but clearly something’s not working here.

By the way, check out this animated Cartifact map that the NY Times story refers to. It shows how fluid the downtown Los Angeles homeless population is.

One group that is working to help the people of Skid Row is the Inner City Law Center. They help “homeless and low-income clients obtain the housing, healthcare, and government benefits to which they are entitled under the law.”

I just finished re-designing their website. Hopefully it’ll raise their profile even more.

Trade books online at Bookins

Posted on 13. Sep, 2007 by kchristieh in books, shopping

I discovered Bookins yesterday, and I’m hooked. This book trading site allows you to trade your books with other people, and all you have to pay is the cost of shipping a book to you. It’s organized brilliantly:

1. You register. No cost, but you do enter your credit card so that you can be charged shipping when you receive a book. You start out with 15 points.
2. You enter the ISBNs of books you’re willing to part with. Each has an assigned point value. If someone wants one of your books, you get an email asking if you’re ready to ship it. If so, you print out a mailing label, tape it to the envelope with the book in it, and put it in a mailbox within 48 hours. You never need to enter a post office. Bookins tracks the shipment. Once it’s delivered, your points are credited to your account.
3. You enter the ISBNs of books you wish to receive. If someone has a book you want, they ship it to you and you pay $3.99 for the shipping cost. Your account is debited the number of points that book is worth.

Within hours of signing up, I’d already shipped out one book and had two on the way to me. It was so simple. Many years ago I sold a bunch of books/audiobooks on Half.com (before it folded into eBay) and it was such a pain in the neck to wait in the line at the post office. This was painless. I can’t wait until the book I shipped arrived and I get my points credited.

Now to find time to read all the books I have waiting for me!

Household hacks: home computer maintains family’s sanity

Posted on 22. Jul, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, my life, parenting, technical

I’m a nerd who hates chaos. So when it comes to organizing my life, my computer is my greatest ally.

In case you need a few tips for keeping your house / family / kids in order, here are some ways I use my computer to keep our family sane:

Address list: Of course, it’s on Microsoft Access. I use it to print labels and reports, and have fields such as “Send Christmas Card” and “Invite to Birthday Party.”

Allowances: I discovered early on that it was tough to remember to give my kids their allowances each week, and tougher to keep track of how much I owed them. So I opened Banco de Mama, which is actually an Excel spreadsheet that tracks debits, credits, and interest for each kid. Each kid has a worksheet within the file, and each worksheet has five columns: Description, Date, Credit, Debit, Balance. I’m a generous banker – they get 1% interest on their balance at the end of each month. When I’m in a nasty mood, I add all the credits and say something like, “Wow, did you realize you’d have $XXXX if you hadn’t spent your money on things like that Hello Kitty wallet in 1999?” Moms can be so evil.

Calendar: I’m probably the last techie parent on Earth without a Blackberry or Treo, but since I’m usually chained to my desk, I don’t need one. Instead, I find that keeping track of the family calendar on my computer with Calendar Creator works best. I just print it out each month and put it on the refrigerator. I also print it when something changes. Sometimes I make it into a PDF and email it to my husband.

What to bring on vacation: I’ve got a Microsoft Access database that lists each item we could possibly need to bring on a vacation, as well as a few “to-do’s” such as stop newspapers, etc. There’s a yes/no field for each vacation we might take. So when we go to church camp, for example, I just check the “bring to church camp” button next to each item we want to bring there. Then, I have a report for each trip. It’s amazing how many times this has saved me from forgetting something such as a cell phone charger.

Vacation planner: When we go on a road trip, I make up a binder with hotel confirmations, Google maps, phone lists, articles about tourist spots, etc. that I slip into plastic sleeves. We keep it in the front passenger seat.

Text messaging: I send text messages to the kids from my email to remind them of things such as doctor’s appointments. I try to do it when they’re on break.

To Do list: If I print out a list of what household tasks we need to get done and put it on the counter, the kids are far more enthusiastic about helping. I think it’s because they know what to expect, and aren’t caught by a surprise, “Oh, and can you also do this? And this? And this?” When my kids were younger, I had an Excel spreadsheet for each of them with a column for each day of the week and a row for each task they had to complete, such as “Brush teeth” and “Practice instrument.” We don’t need it anymore.

Cable TV channels: Our cable tv channels are different on our main tv than on other tv’s in the house. I’ve got a list of the “other” tv’s channels that I’ve printed out and put next to those tv’s. I think we have this situation because there’s a cable box on only one tv.

Reminders: Every day at 3 pm, AOL Reminders sends me an email that says “headgear.” I shout downstairs to my son, “Are you wearing your headgear?” Inevitably, the answer is “no,” so he scurries off and puts it on. I also use this service for birthday reminders, eBay reminders, and random reminders such as “find soppy college graduation article in such-and-such folder” set for years in the future.

Shopping list: I used to have a database with items I could purchase at the grocery store, sorted by aisle. I’d post it on the refrigerator and just check off what I needed each week. I don’t use it anymore because there are four different grocery stores I go to, and they’re all configured differently. Besides, I found some cute Snoopy and Westie magnetic notepads I keep on the fridge, along with a magnetic pen.

Magazine labels: I print labels that say, “Already read: ___ Mom, ___ Dad, etc.” and put them on each magazine (other than National Geographic!) that comes through the door. When all the relevant people have checked off their names, we pass the magazines on or toss them. (When I say “relevant people,” I mean that I don’t read Runner’s World or Sweet 16.)

Finances: Microsoft Money.

Labels: My Brother P-Touch labelmaker is great for individual labels for files, cameras, sports equipment and more.

These are only a few of my computer household / parenting hacks. Besides these, we also print out invitations, placecards at Thanksgiving, luggage tags, recipes, signs at parties that say “Go to backyard,” lists of what can/can’t be recycled, a spreadsheet with the number of hours my daughter has driven, etc. Be creative!

Please comment below to let me know if you have any great ideas I’ve missed here.

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Become a Simpsons character

Posted on 20. Jul, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, movies, my life

Visit SimpsonizeMe.com to create a Simpsons character in your likeness. Just upload a photo of yourself, choose a few characteristics, and voila! It’ll create a cartoon version of YOU!

That’s “me” to the right. Next time you see me (or, if you ever meet me), ask me to do my Marge Simpson imitation. It’s scary. I don’t think I’ll use that voice for “me” to the right, but it’s tempting.

I wonder what my family will look like as Simpsons? Perhaps we can use it for our Christmas card this year. At any rate, I’m sure we’ll see the movie within the first few days of it opening next Friday.

Many thanks to PhotoJojo for recommending the site.

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Stuck at home this summer? Visit the world via FlickrVision

Posted on 06. Jul, 2007 by kchristieh in art, cool websites, my life

Why wait at airports or drive long distances when you can sit at your trusty computer and visit the world?

Photojojo turned me on to FlickrVision today. It’s a mesmerizing rotation of pictures people have just posted, and it maps them to where the people are located. You can even make it a screensaver if you wish, or have the pictures show up larger on your monitor.

Personally, I’m sticking with my “My Pictures” folder as my screensaver. It provides a trip down memory lane. The strangest moments occur when peoples’ faces flash on my computer screen and I don’t have a clue who they are. That’s what I get for having my mother’s and sister’s pictures on my computer. But it’s ok – I get to re-live their lives, for the first time.

Here’s a sample of what FlickrVision looks like:

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8 x 8

Posted on 30. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, my life

OK, here’s the first and probably last time I ever do something like this. I’m paying it forward in a game of blogger tag. UltraJam tagged me, so it’s my turn to say 8 random things about myself and tell about 8 cool blogs that I like to visit.

8 Random Things You May Not Know About Me:

1. I met my husband in an elevator when we were grad students. I talked first.
2. I was a Boy Scout Computer Explorer in high school and an editor on my college newspaper. It’s not surprising that I design websites now.
3. I took French for 8 years but almost never speak it. When I do, I’m rusty. I don’t even know the French word for “rusty.”
4. I have parallel families: a stepmother and two stepsisters on my father’s side, and a stepfather and two stepbrothers on my mother’s side. My sister and I are in the middle.
5. I eat fruit, granola and Greek yogurt every morning for breakfast.
6. I can’t have a cat because my husband and brother-in-law are allergic to them. Besides, my terrier would never forgive me if we got one.
7. When I was in high school back in NJ, my drama teacher molested a freshman male cast member backstage and wound up in prison for seven years, my guidance counselor ran off with my English teacher’s husband, and my pastor told our congregation he’d been tempted to drive a car off a cliff. For as straight an arrow as I am, it’s hard to shock me.
8. I’ve never had a pedicure. After a week beyond the Orange Curtain, I’m beginning to think this is highly unusual. I’ve had two manicures, however: when I was a matron of honor for my sister and a bridesmaid for my stepsister.

8 Blogs I Never Miss, in No Particular Order:

1. MotherPie: She’s got great insights into life, blogging, and culture.
2. Dumb Little Man – Tips for Life: Actually, they’re pretty smart.
3. Freakonomics Blog – Just like the book, but every day.
4. Spanglish Gringo – One of our church’s mission partners in East LA
5. Design Meltdown – A roundup of great website designs, by category/look
6. Grammar Girl – Quick & dirty tips for better writing
7. Antique Mommy – Great writer
8. Domestic Disturbances – Judith Warner’s NYTimes blog

Does money really buy votes?

Posted on 25. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in articles, cool websites, politics, startling statistics, things that bug me

Why else would special interest groups give money to politicians unless they hoped they’d reward them by voting a certain way? Maplight.org shows the connection between the sources of money that members of the California Legislature and the U.S. Congress received and how they voted on specific issues.

David Pogue NYTimes wrote about it in a recent NY Times Circuits column:

Another mind-blowing example: from the home page, click “California.” Click “Legislators,” then click “Fabian Nunez.” The resulting page shows you how much this guy has collected from each special-interest group — $2.2 million so far — and there, in black-and-white type, how often he voted their way.

Construction unions: 94 percent of the time. Casinos: 95 percent of the time. Law firms: 78 percent of the time. Seems as though if you’re an industry lobbyist, giving this fellow money is a pretty good investment.

I’m sure the PACs and corporations would argue that they give to politicians who will be likely to vote their way anyway. Giving them money helps ensure that they win, and will be in office to vote. However, I think that’s optimistic, and that money does sway votes. Personally, I wish that special interest groups couldn’t give money to candidates or officeholders.

Now to get doctors to stop accepting free samples from pharmeceutical companies.

Below is a screenshot from the data about our former assemblywoman, Carol Liu:

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