Webupon

For anyone whom writes articles for online publication and is worried about plagiaristic use of your intellectual property, you can check to see if your stuff is being hosted elsewhere. You enter your valid site’s URL and Copyscape will parse the web for exact or nearly-exact doppelganger of your copyrighted work being published. If anyone is doing ‘copy & paste’ to unauthorized blogs, etc., this will find the site(s)!

To stop those ‘copy & paste’ thefts of your work you first have to find them. This can help.

I might recommend this to several ‘publishing’ sites that I know and frequent.

Copyscape: find your content online.

Find IP Addresses and Your Download/Upload Speed

internetfrog IP-tracer and SpeedChecker

Mainly, InternetFrog is to trace IP-addresses to see where someone hails from. This site can be useful if you suspect e-mail fraud. If a request is coming from a country that is not what it appears, alert! Case in point, -I keep getting things in my ‘junk mail’ box informing me that I have won a ‘MSN/Yahoo/AOL lottery’ from someone called “William Ghates” and this is clearly, oh-so clearly SPAM.

This vain attempt to gain attention is laughably pathetic. It is as if absolutely no effort had gone into the creation of this Internet SPAM flotsam. Just slap some top-level domain names in the “Subject” line and feign an internationally recognized name with a bit of alphabetic obfuscation and voilà! Formula for success? -Not!

I almost feel sorry for the sap on the other end of this pathetic attempt to feign a workable confidence scam. Sad thing is, -it probably works about 1% of the time. A few dozen thousands of e-mails sent would equal a few hundred potential victims responding and, of course, getting ripped off.

Running the IP checker on InternetFrog showed me that this mail is coming from, well, -let’s just say its an Eastern European (formerly Communist) country… -Enough said…

Too bad the “spamsomeone” site has been taken down… That was a site that one could place such e-mail addresses and submit THEM, and hundreds of thousands of ‘junk mail replies’ would be sent to THEIR e-mail address instead! Clog THEIR e-mail boxes, lock-up THEIR account, etc. That site has disappeared because most likely it was also being used improperly (ex-boyfriends spamming ex-girlfriend, etc.) It had tremendous potential for being abused.

At InternetFrog, you can also test your computer’s Download & Upload speed (see image, above.) This is useful and fun and why I included this selection. The graphical diagram quite implicitly shows you what your computer is capable of doing.

Modern Web Pages for Modern Browsers

hotdesign TABLE-less web design. Why using TABLEs for Web Design is Stupid.

I build web pages, and I strive for cross-browser, W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) compliant builds. This means no proprietary (i.e., IE-only, Netscape-only, etc) code, and, use only semantic coding techniques. This means faster downloads, smaller bandwidth consumption, easier to maintain and update sites and the content works on all browsers. No more ‘Best Viewed with (insert browser name here)’ disclaimers on your site.

“hotdesign” is absolutely one of my favorite sites.

“…This Message Will Self-Destruct in 5 Seconds. -Good Luck Jim”

privatenote private notes that self-destruct once your sent message is read.

For the “Mission: Impossible” fan, here is a way to send a message to someone and the message is only viewable once, and it ‘disappears without a trace’ after being read. –Thinking about a secret rendezvous or you want to spill some dirt about ‘Evil Pointy-Hair Boss’ to someone in the office but not leave any trace of said message? (Humming “Mission: Impossible” theme music to self.)

A Rose By Any Other Name

Username check See if your chosen username is available, being used by yourself (or if already taken; being used by someone else.)

I write online articles, earning a few dollars per article. Submitting to ‘social sites’ is easier if you reuse the same ‘username’ and, if the data is not privileged or critical, the same ‘password’ as well. Private yes, critical or super-secure to re-use passwords? No, not really. But if it doesn’t require this level of security, it is a convenience.

Here is a utility to check if your username is taken, is presently being used, or available. Try it. -I was rather surprised. I did not realize how many sites I am a member of under the same (and other) username(s.) And, I found some sites that I am NOT a member of but someone else already has my chosen username. This happens too.

Why Was He Sad: Pop the Clouds

WhyWasHeSad -a Silly Pop-the-Clouds Game

I have got to waste time between clients, work and brainstorming sessions. Here is a super easy, somehow uplifting silly exercise. You are creating blue sky by popping the clouds. –Sort of like a Winnie the Pooh fantasy to chase all the clouds from the sky! But alas, -more clouds keep coming in from both sides!

Nobodyhere. Just Beary-Much Knockdown Fun for No Reason

nobodyhere teddy bear knock-down game

I don’t even know how to describe this. It has no purpose, no reason. I just think its fun to topple the pile of teddy bears and watch them spring right back into place, ready for another knockdown.

(All images taken as screenshots from my computer. By me, -thestickman)