Wired Writer

Looky What I Found In My Pocket Protector Today

Ah, yes! Finally Friday!

I want to share a few blog/computer tools that I think are fun.

Thanks to an obsession Frederick Glasson developed over blog statistics, we now have TalkDigger. This nifty little program lets you find out who has mentioned or linked to you. You simply type in your URL at the top of the page under the yellow box that says "Who's talking about it?"(for example: my blog would be http://wiredwriter111.blogspot.com) and it will pull from 9 major sources any mention, link, or cached page of your blog/website. It's a kick for yourself, but it's also interesting to see the stats on other URL's. I did a search on bOINGbOING.net and got 28,065 hits on BlogPulse alone. Rest your cursor on each of the little symbols below the number and it will give the option of either opening the results in the same window or in a new one, or just show you a Cliff's Notes version of your newly found, slightly narcissistic data.

Google, my all time favorite uber Web engine, has a fascinating little program called Google Earth. This is so unbelievable, you really have to see it for yourself. Ever wonder about those satellite pictures you see in the movies where the spy is poring over them, looking for the evil dude? Well, guess what-- they got a picture of your house. And your mom's. And your cousin Mario over in Italy, too. Go to Google, click 'more' next to 'local' and scroll down the screen on the left hand side until you see 'Earth' under Google Tools. It's a short download that won't take up much space on your PC. Once you type in your address (or whatever you happen to be interested in) sit back and enjoy the ride! You smoothly yet quickly zoom in on the planet Earth, then onto your continent, then onto your state, etc. All with extraordinary graphics and topography and utterly pixelated views that are staggering.

Planet Earth a little too boring to schlep around on? Try this awesome slick trick also from Google: go up to your address bar, type in moon.google.com and hit the zoom in button on the lunar landscape pictures until the last setting. The last picture of the moonscape will surprise and make you laaauuuugh!

Last but not least: my absolute, would-die-without-it, keyboard shortcut trick. I save the most time with this combination: hold down your Windows key (if your keyboard has one, it will be located next to the Ctrl key on the lower left) and then hit the letter 'd' at the same time. Ta Daaaa! You are back to your desktop without having to minimize all your programs. You can also do Cntrl + Alt + D if you don't have a Windows key.

Alrighty, time to push the nerd back into the closet and become 'Working Writer' again. Unless Bill Nye happens to be around...

Thanks to Geek.com for the photo!

posted by A.M.Adams @ 10/14/2005 07:08:00 AM