ShubE's Blog

Downloading and installing Picasa

2008-10-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

This post is for Mom - I'll make it crystal clear. First Download the new Picasa here.

Now Save the file - it doesn't matter where.

When Picasa is done downloading. Double click on Picasa3-setup.exe in the Downloads window.

After you hit the Next button a few times to install Picasa, it can be found under the Start button, All Programs, Picasa 3, Picasa 3.

Using Picasa to Upload Photos to a Photo Processing Service

2008-10-11T19:50:00.001-07:00

The newest version of Picasa (3.0) makes it simple to upload pictures for prints. Get Picasa 3.0 here.

First, pick out the pictures you want to upload. You can do this by holding down the ctrl button on your keyboard and clicking on each picture. The pictures you select show up in the picture tray in the bottom left.

Now, hit the Shop button.

Next, select a picture developing service from the list.

Finally, you will be asked to log in. If you don't have an account with the service, hit the Create an Account link and a web page will open for you to create an account with the service you picked.

After you have logged in, Picassa will start the upload. After its done, Picassa will open the services web page so you can order prints.

A joke for my Grandpa

2008-10-06T22:56:00.001-07:00

A teacher in Elmira, New York asked her 6th grade class how many of them were Obama fans. Not really knowing what an Obama fan is, but wanting to beliked by the teacher, all the kids raised their hands except for Little Johnny. The teacher asked Little Johnny why he has decided to be different. Little Johnny says, ‘Because I’m not an Obama fan.’ The teacher says, ‘Why aren’t you an Obama fan?’ Johnny says, ‘Because I’m a Republican. The teacher asks him why he’s a Republican. Little Johnny answered, ‘Well, my mom’s a Republican and my dad’s a Republican, so I’m a Republican. The teacher asks, ‘If your mom was a moron and your dad was an idiot, what would that make you? With a big smile, Little Johnny replies, ‘That would make me an Obama fan.

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NOTHINGS CHANGED

2008-07-18T05:22:00.001-07:00

One of the criticisms the Democrats made of Bush is that he wouldn't admit he was wrong on Iraq. Obama suffers the same leadership deficiency. This isn't a CHANGE, this is just another person that wont listen to reason in relation to failed policies.

Monkey

2008-06-22T15:24:00.001-07:00

Another good WSJ editorial on messed up Democrat economics

2008-05-06T06:59:00.001-07:00

In Indiana to Beijing May 6, 2008; Page A22, the Wall Street Journal editorial staff points out that Hillary and her staff have a poor understanding of macroeconomics due to a recent criticism of a Chinese business deal in Indiana (that Bill supported) that resulted in a closing of a factory in Indiana. The odd fact is that the district where the factory was located has seen a 307% increase in exports to China between 2000 and 2007. The City where the factory was located has actually seen a 311% increase in the same period and the city even has sections of its website in Chinese.

The confusing sentiment followed Hillary to Iowa early in the primary. There, workers at John Deere were protesting free trade. John Deere is making a killing in exports (I'll look for the definite number but Caterpillar's Q1 results demonstrates that the entire sector is reaping the rewards).

Free trade reallocates resources, that includes jobs. Countries that trade freely see a net increase in prosperity. However, workers loose their jobs in the areas where the foreign country competes more effectively. Countries end up specializing in certain sectors that they are the best at. What will Hillary say to the larger number workers that are reaping the benefits of free trade? Will Democrats work to close their factories?

Regarding the Fair Trade movement, trade is unfair when the benefits of free trade are made impossible to realize through a number of factors. Poor countries' economies should grow exponentially with free trade under what is known as the catch-up effect. However, sometimes foreign investment will not accompany open boarders. Government is a major factor, if investors fear confiscatory laws (Venezuala) they will not invest.

Solving Wall Street Journal's cookie bug

2008-04-28T17:13:00.001-07:00

The Wall Street Journal programming staff appears incapable of doing simple javascript error checking. Periodically a cookie will expire and you will be directed to "http://wsj.comnull/". I've notified their tech support people but was sent the standard lowest common denominator stock answer. This shouldn't be a problem for professional web developers. The solution means having to reenter your login and password, so hopefully you remember what it is. Here's how you fix their bug.
In Firefox, go to tools -> options. Then hit the Show Cookies button. Scroll through the list and find wsj.com, then hit the Remove Cookie button. Now you should be able to navigate to wsj.com.

Edit: I just noticed an Ars Technica thread about this very problem. For whatever reason they weren't able to fix it. The bug has existed for eight years.

In Order To Be A Good Democrat

2008-04-27T12:12:00.001-07:00

Another good forward from Grandpa Martin.

1. You have to be against capital punishment but support abortion on demand.

2. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.

3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans are more of a threat than US. Nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Chinese and North Korean communists.

4. You have to believe that there was no art before Federal funding.

5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical documented changes in the earth's climate and more affected by soccer moms driving SUV's.

6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial but being homosexual is natural.

7. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.

8. You have to believe that the same teacher who can't teach 4th-graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.

9. You have to believe that hunters don't care about nature, but loony activists who have never been outside of San Francisco do.

10. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.

11. You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make The Passion of the Christ for financial gain only.

12. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.

13. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.

14. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, Gen. Robert E. Lee and Thomas Edison & A.G. Bell.

15. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not.

16. You have to believe that Hillary Clinton is normal and is a very nice person.

17. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn't worked anywhere it's been tried is because the right people haven't been in charge.

18. You have to believe conservatives telling the truth belong in jail, but a liar and a sex offender belonged in the White House.

19. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag, transvestites, and bestiality should be constitutionally protected, and

manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.

20. You have to believe that illegal Democratic Party funding by the Chinese Government is somehow in the best interest of the United States.

21. You have to believe that this message is a part of a vast, right wing conspiracy.
22. You have to believe that it's okay to give Federal workers the day off on Christmas Day but it's not okay to say 'Merry Christmas.'

I've been having issues with some Republican inconsistencies lately though, like:
If you are a hard working religious person we want you in the party - unless you are Hispanic.
Telling Mexicans to get in the legal immigration line but then refuse to recognize there isn't a way for them to legally immigrate (there are only two paths to legal immigration, family based and highly skilled).
Being pro-life and pro-death penalty.

Why voting Democrat is a BAAAAD idea

2008-04-16T06:14:00.001-07:00

There is really only one viable presidential candidate this election season. Why? Protectionist trade policies will prolong a recession or throw this country into a depression.

The current economic situation has analysts predicting a rebound later this year. The dollar is falling but exports are increasing. Wall Street Journal, April 12, 2008; Page A7. The dollar is falling because the supply outstrips demand. There are a lot of dollars on the market because they are easy to get - interest rates are low and countries that we import from (China) are not spending the dollars fast enough. China is sitting on a huge pool of dollars.

The market is taking care of this imbalance. The falling dollar is stimulating foreign consumers to buy American. This correction should have occurred sooner. However, our trading partners prevented this market correction by implementing protectionist trade policies. For example, China doesn't allow foreign companies to operate without a domestic partner. Other countries use import quotas etc. If the market was allowed to work its course, the dollar would not have reached the lows we are seeing. Foreign consumers would have moderated the decline as soon as our goods and services were cheaper than their foreign counterparts.

Thus, if a protectionist Democrat is elected we can look forward to more artificial market restraints that simply prolong a long over due market correction. Such market meddling simply means that dollars will continue to pool in foreign coffers and make the inevitable correction that much more violent.

Note: a recent Wall Street Journal editorial claims the market analysis of monetary value is more complicated because the price of the Dollar is set by a cartel of central banks that influence exchange rates through monetary policy. Dollar Alarm April 14, 2008; Page A14. I believe I have addressed this by factoring interest rates etc. into the supply side of the equation.

Also Note: Lowering interest rates has the effect of increasing the money supply because it makes money easier to borrow (the Fed's control is indirect Wiki interest rates, the federal funds rate, and the discount rate). Increasing the supply of money causes inflation. There are many historical examples where governments solved their money shortages by simply printing more. This leads to a phenomenon called hyperinflation. When the Fed lowers rates it is essentially just printing more money. The money multiplier describes how "new" money is created through lending. Inflation is a tax in the sense that money in your pocket is "taken" through devaluation when the government increases the supply of money.

For a good article on increasing Chinese demand for American products see the Wall Street Journal, Demand for Pricier Cars Puts Pressure on
Chinese Makers By NORIHIKO SHIROUZU and ELLEN ZHUl, April 17, 2008.

See Economic Split Seen In Corporate Earnings By TOM LAURICELLA, Wall Street Journal, April 18, 2008; Page A1 - describing how exporters are forecasting good earnings while domestic bound retailers and banks are seeing the opposite.
See also, Overseas Growth Buoys Caterpillar Amid U.S. Economic Slowdown By DOUG CAMERON, Wall Street Journal, April 18, 2008 11:49 a.m. - Caterpiller's domestic sales rose 3% in the first quarter while European revenues increased 30% and Asian sales rose 37%. Amozon's first quarter profit increased 30%, with international sales nearing half of the company's business. Amazon's Profit Jumps 30% By MYLENE MANGALINDAN, Wall Street Journal, April 23, 2008 5:59 p.m.

Heres an article that questions my hypothesis - Dollar Spurs Misguided Optimism, by MARK GONGLOFF, Wall Street Journal, April 23, 2008; Page C1. The best quote is "If all a country needed to do was debase its currency, then Weimar Germany or Zimbabwe would be examples of a stellar economy. You can't print your way into prosperity." The point is that the falling currency is accompanied by rising prices. The reason the situation is distinguishable is because prices are rising because of the price of inputs (like oil) due to demand from the developing world not from devaluation. The author's claim neglects the fact that foreign demand for inputs is driven by American demand for outputs. Higher prices for Americans means less demand for outputs and, in turn, less foreign demand for inputs. The author also doesn't realize that the reason there is too much currency available is that it is pooling in foreign coffers that need to be drained.

Heres another take on protectionism - it is destroying freedom of speech and complicating global environmental solutions. Wall Street Journal, Rise of Nationalism Frays Global TiesTrade, Environment Face New Threats; Balkanized Internet By BOB DAVIS April 28, 2008; Page A1.

Good Joke from Grandpa Martin

2008-04-06T14:16:00.001-07:00

Like Bill, I dislike forwards, so this blog will be my spot for things I would otherwise pass on.
This is a good joke I got from my Grandpa:

The
seven dwarfs always left to go work
in the mine early each morning.
As always, Snow White stayed home
doing her domestic chores.

As
lunchtime approached, she would
prepare their lunch and carry it to the mine
One day as she arrived at the mine with the lunch,
she saw that there had been a terrible cave-in.

Tearfully, and fearing the worst, Snow White
began calling out, hoping against hope that
the dwarfs had somehow survived.

"Hello, hello!" she shouted. "Can anyone hear me?
Hello!"

For
a long while, there was no answer.
Losing hope, Snow White again shouted,
"Hello! Is anyone down there?"

Just as she was about to give up all hope,
there came a faint voice from deep within the mine.

"Vote for Hillary, Vote for Hillary."

Snow White fell to her knees, crossed herself,
and prayed, "Oh, thank you God!

At least Dopey is still alive.

Socialism = Third World

2008-04-05T06:55:00.001-07:00

I have been watching the economic development of India and China with interest because I feel it is proof positive of macroeconomic theory. In macroecon we read The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protectionism, which demonstrated that protectionism restrains economic, technological, and social advancement. The hypothetical town in the book was stuck in the '50s because complete isolation destroyed competition and development of industry (reminds me of Cuba except they at least trade in medical knowledge). Yesterday's Wall-Street Journal had an article (Modern Times:India Struggles To Cast Extras April 4, 2008; Page A1) about how India's film industry (Bollywood) is having a hard time shooting films about the present because the only members of the extras union are aging people that more effectively depict the "old" India, rather than the new India complete with mall rats (instead of real rats) etc. When Bollywood attempts to hire outside the union, unionized workers strike. Bollywood is attempting to expand globally, which requires it to meet the film quality of Hollywood. However, the union gets to dictate who the filmmakers shoot and what they shoot.

I think the article dramatically demonstrates the impact of protectionism (including unionization) on an economy. Indian films are essentially frozen in time, a time where Indian's slept on the floor with goats etc. Imagine if unions were so powerful in America that they could dictate what you could and couldn't buy?

Keep this in mind in analyzing presidential candidates - there's a certain party that would like to "freeze time" with protectionism.

Think of the starving kids in Africa

2008-04-02T09:36:00.001-07:00

Today I was complaining about how sandwich bread has an odd number of slices. I mean, isn't a sandwich by definition two pieces of bread? Chris reminded me of this quote from the movie Father of The Bride (sorry couldn't find it on YouTube) - Steve Martin is caught taking buns out of the package in the supermarket :

I'll tell you what I'm doing. I want to buy eight hot dogs and eight hot dog buns to go with them. But no one sells eight hot dog buns. They only sell twelve hot dog buns. So I end up paying for four buns I don't need. So I am removing the superfluous buns. Yeah. And you want to know why? Because some big-shot over at the wiener company got together with some big-shot over at the bun company and decided to rip off the American public. Because they think the American public is a bunch of trusting nit-wits who will pay for everything they don't need rather than make a stink. Well they're not ripping of this nitwit anymore because I'm not paying for one more thing I don't need. George Banks is saying NO!

I think he has a point. Consumers unite! - eliminate the superfluosity!

Using Greasemonkey to "fix" a webpage

2008-03-28T19:51:00.001-07:00

Do you use a webpage that doesn't quite get the job done? Is there just something missing? Greasmonkey to the rescue. Greasemonkey is an addon for Firefox that allows you to "fix/hack" web pages. You add different scripts to Greasemonkey that hack the page you are visiting. When the page loads, the Greasemonkey script that goes with that page is run. The script doesn't actually hack the web page on the server, it alters the way you see the web page on your computer. You can find Greasemonkey scripts here. These scripts do such varied things as adding a currency converter to eBay, a auto save for web text boxes, a bunch of stuff for Facebook (get rid of adds/spam all your friends/change page colors/make peoples profile pictures larger), etc. Heres a good run down of some good scripts.Lifehacker lists some good ones too.

Heidi likes the scripts that allow you to change the Facebook colors that you see. She really liked the Easter theme that changes the logo into an Easter basket.

I like the ability to create my own Greasemonkey scripts. One thing I've fixed with Greasmonkey is those stupid photographer's sites that don't allow you to right click (yeah like its a big deal that I grab a 360 by 240 picture of myself). Heres the code:

// ==UserScript==
// @name           RightClick
// @namespace      *
// @description    ReEnable Right Click
// @include        *
// ==/UserScript==
var eltHead=document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0];
var eltScript=document.createElement('script');
eltScript.setAttribute("type","text/javascript");
eltScript.innerHTML="document.oncontextmenu=null;"
eltHead.parentNode.insertBefore(eltScript, eltHead.nextSibling);

Testing ScribeFire

2008-03-17T13:25:00.001-07:00

I've been searching for a blog editor that is compatible with blogspot blogs for a while now. GoogleDocs has been the best but has some annoyances - especially with images. This post is a test of the ScribeFire plugin for Firefox. ScribeFire installs in the lower right hand of Firefox . Configuring ScribeFire was really easy. I simply added this blog into the tabs on the right of the program

The Toolbar

As you can see the toolbar has all the basics. One thing I would like to see is the ability to use styles - this would be complex because I embed my styles in my Blogger template, you could also post a css file somewhere on the web and use that.

Pictures

Uploading pictures was also really easy. ScribeFire gives you a choice of whether to upload via FTP (file transfer protocol) or Blogger's API (application programming interface). The API method is what Blogger uses natively so thats what I want to use.

The Blogger editor has a nice feature that lets you link to a bigger version of an image you uploaded. ScribeFire doesn't do this but I was able to by copying the URL of the image I uploaded in the HTML window (click the tab) and then clicking on the image and adding the URL as a link () - NOTE: I have an issue with this that I'll solve later.

Comparison with other blog editors

I've tried Blogger, Adobe Contribute, Word, and GoogleDocs as blog editors. Blogger is just clunky - for one - its in such a tiny window that it is infuriating. For another, inserting pictures always puts them at the top of the post - ScribeFire puts them where ever the cursor is. Contribute is just messy. Word wont do images. GoogleDocs has poor integration with Blogger (a Google product). GoogleDocs also substitutes its own context menu when the right mouse button is clicked - this interrupts the Firefox spellcheck feature which places suggested spellings in the context menu. ScribeFire solves all of these problems and only leaves a few items on my wish list.

Bugs
Biggest bug - ScribeFire returns an error when trying to embed YouTube video in Blogger and strips the video when editing posts with video embedded with Blogger's editor.

Ahead of the curve - Using Songbird to discover indie music

2008-03-17T13:17:00.001-07:00

Songbird is what might be known as a website mashup application. Songbird combines a web browser (based on the Mozilla core) with an itunes like music playing interface. When pointed at a website containing video and music, Songbird creates a list of available media and displays the files at the bottom of the screen. Songbird then allows users to demo the music and add it to playlists if its any good.

I use Songbird to cruise the indie music blogs and check out new music that artists have released for free in the hopes of obtaining some free publicity. Joel showed me SixEyes, which is where I've discovered cool artists like Basia Bulat and Hymns.

Songbird has the potential to far exceed iTunes in terms of innovative solutions because of its Mozilla based plugin model. There is a plugin that will look up artists on Wikipedia as well as the ability to search for other songs by the artist and for lyrics.

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Getting artistic ideas from GfxArtist.com

2008-03-16T18:39:00.000-07:00

I dabble in digital art a bit and as far as I'm concerned, there is only one site out there for digital art, GfxArtist. Its a really good place to get good ideas or just to see what people are doing. I mess with 3Ds Max/Photoshop/etc. but thats more about mastering techniques for me than art. With photography though, I use GfxArtist as a resource to study angles, lighting, etc. Photography that works always has that special something, a confluence of all the variables, that just clicks. GfxArtist is a place to find art that "clicks" and to try to find out why. I feel that, whether I can isolate the effective variables or not, by just studying the art, my eye becomes more attuned to capturing the right perspective. GfxArtist's photo section is found here
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Cutting out people and objects in Photoshop

2008-03-10T18:58:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this for Candy in the hopes that art can help her find some catharsis in self expression and because I didn't do a very good job of helping her when she was at my house.
One of the coolest techniques I've found for photo manipulation in photo shop is the pen tool. The pen tool allows me to accurately, isolate, outline, and cut objects out of photos.

Getting Started With The Pen Tool

There are two types of pen tools, the ordinary and the free form . The ordinary Pen Tool allows you to place points to create lines and curves, the Freeform allows you to just draw you lines and curves. The Freeform is more natural but unless you have a Wacom tablet and are proficient, the ordinary Pen Tool is far more precise. You can find these tools on the Tool Palette (pictured at right). You can switch between the different pen tools by holding down the left mouse button on the Pen Tool on the Tool Palette to bring up a Tool Flyout (pictured at left) or you can type Shift + P to switch between the tools.

First, lets open a picture. Go to the File menu and select Open (or hit Ctrl+O), then select a picture you would like to cut a person/ thing out of. Once your picture is open, select the ordinary Pen Tool. At the top of the Photoshop window, you will see these symbols For isolating objects in a photo, we want to create a Path, rather than a Shape Layer or Fill Pixels. Select Paths.

Creating Lines And Curves

Now we will trace the object we want to cut out by placing points with the pen tool. Place a point on the boundry of the object you want to cut out. You can continue to place points and straight lines will "connect the dots." However, if your object is curvy, straight lines wont do much good. You can create curves by holding down the left mouse button and dragging when you place another point. Don't worry about matching the contours of your object perfectly at this point. I'll cover precision next.

After you have gotten at least three points down we can start to attempt to perfect the curves. You can do this selecting the Direct Selection tool (get this from the Tool Palette or by holding down Ctrl), clicking on one of your points and

then manipulating the grabber lines that pop up (these are the lines sticking out of the point in the image above, they have a grabber point on each end). As you try this, note that the handles are attached to each other like a seesaw, move one side up and the other moves down. This can be corrected by grabbing the grabber point with the Convert Point Tool (get this from the Tool Palette or by holding down Alt while hovering over a grabber point) - see the example at right. The Convert Point tool can also be used to convert straight lines to curves. Just click and drag a point with the Convert Point tool. To get back to placing points, use the Direct Selection tool to click your last point (it will go from an empty circle to a filled in one).

When working with these points, it may be helpful to zoom in. Do this with the Zoom Tool (get it from the Tool Palette or type Z). Also it may be nice to move around the image quickly while placing points. Use the Hand Tool (get it from the Tool Palette or hold down the Space Bar while left clicking). If you need to add points in the middle of a line, use the Add Anchor Point tool

When you are ready to complete you path by connecting your first and last points, you can hover over the first point and the pen tool will display a circle symbol. My result is below:

Convert The Path Into A Selection

First open the Paths Palette by clicking on the Paths tab on the Layers Palette (see right - squared in red). At the bottom of the Paths Palette, there is a bar with six symbols on it Select Load Path As Selection (circled in red). Your object should now be selected.

Once selected, the object can be cut out and pasted somewhere else, or the background can be cut out. To cut out the background, the selection needs to be inverted. Go to the menu Select -> Inverse or type Shift+Ctrl+I. Next delete the background by hitting the delete button. The end result is shown below:

Add a Subscribe Drop Down to Blogger

2008-02-22T11:33:00.001-08:00

Under Layout->Page Elements I added a Html/JavaScript element with the following code in it:



<a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://techoflaw.blogspot.com"><img alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/tech-fav-1.png"/></a>

<style type="text/css">
/* http://simple Tricks.blogspot.com --- Dropdown Subscription Box
*/
.img0 { width: 83px; height: 17px; margin-left : 1.5em;margin-bottom : .6em;background: url("http://simpletricksblog.googlepages.com/rss.jpg");cursor:hand;cursor:pointer;}
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.img2 { width: 83px; height: 17px; margin-left : 1.5em;margin-bottom : .6em; background: url("http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/my/addtomyyahoo4.gif"); cursor:hand;cursor:pointer;}
.img3 { width: 83px; height: 17px; margin-left : 1.5em;margin-bottom : .6em; background: url("http://www.netvibes.com/img/add2netvibes.gif "); cursor:hand;cursor:pointer;}
.img4 { width: 83px; height: 17px; margin-left : 1.5em;margin-bottom : .6em; background: url("http://simpletricksblog.googlepages.com/rss-bloglines.gif "); cursor:hand;cursor:pointer;}
.img5 { width: 83px; height: 17px; margin-left : 1.5em;margin-bottom : .6em; background: url("http://www.newsgator.com/images/ngsub1.gif "); cursor:hand;cursor:pointer;}
.img6 { width: 83px; height: 17px; margin-left : 1.5em;margin-bottom : .6em; background: url("http://simpletricksblog.googlepages.com/addmymsn.gif "); cursor:hand;cursor:pointer;}
.img7 { width: 83px; height: 17px; margin-left : 1.5em;margin-bottom : .6em; background: url("http://simpletricksblog.googlepages.com/addrojo.gif "); cursor:hand;cursor:pointer;}
.img8 { width: 83px; height: 17px; margin-left : 1.5em;margin-bottom : .6em; background: url("http://simpletricksblog.googlepages.com/addmyaol.gif "); cursor:hand;cursor:pointer;}
.img9 { width: 83px; height: 17px; margin-left : 1.5em;margin-bottom : .6em; background: url("http://simpletricksblog.googlepages.com/addfeedlounge.gif "); cursor:hand;cursor:pointer;}
.img10 { width: 83px; height: 17px; margin-left : 1.5em;margin-bottom : .6em; background: url("http://simpletricksblog.googlepages.com/addnewsburst.gif "); cursor:hand;cursor:pointer;}
/* End Simple Tricks Coding */
</style>
<script type="text/javascript">
function doOpen(obj)
{
var itm=obj.selectedIndex;
var val=obj.options[itm].value;

if(itm>0)//don't want the "subscribe..."
{
obj.options[0].selected=true;//set it back to subscribe
window.open(val);
}
return false;
}
</script>
<div class="widget-content">
<br/><select onchange="return doOpen(this);"><option value=""/>Subscribe...
<option class="img0" value="http://techoflaw.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default"/>
<option class="img1" value="http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://techoflaw.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default"/>
 <option class="img2" value="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://techoflaw.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default"/> 
<option class="img3" value="http://www.netvibes.com/subscribe.php?url=http://techoflaw.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default"/>
<option class="img4" value="http://www.bloglines.com/sub/http://techoflaw.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default"/>
<option class="img5" value="http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/subext.aspx?url=http://techoflaw.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default"/>
<option class="img6" value="http://my.msn.com/addtomymsn.armx?id=http://techoflaw.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default&ut=feedurl&ru=http://simple-tricks.blogspot.com"/>
<option class="img7" value="http://www.rojo.com/add-subscription?resource=http://techoflaw.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default"/>
<option class="img8" value="http://feeds.my.aol.com/add.jsp?url=http://techoflaw.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default"/>
<option class="img9" value="http://my.feedlounge.com/external/subscribe?url=http://techoflaw.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default"/>
<option class="img10" value="http://www.newsburst.com/Source/?add=http://techoflaw.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default"/></select>
<br/><br/></div>

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Facebook Snake Tips for Erica

2008-02-15T06:54:00.000-08:00

Hey Erica, 155 is good but you can do better. Heres how:

The Quick Start
My goal at the start is to get as many apples as quick as possible. If you've noticed, apple points go down with time. However, your snake grows the same amount regardless of how many points the apple gives. The trick is to get them early, that way you get more points with less length.

A big part of the quick start strategy is getting to the apple the most efficient way possible. You play the screen wrap. The screen wrap is pretty confusing so it takes practice to get used to it. You have to estimate which is shorter, the wrap or going to the apple directly. On the upper right you can see an example where the apple is on the bottom. Obviously, its shorter to play the wrap here. The lower right shows a case where the apple is on the left. Again, shorter to play the wrap.

Tight Spots
Tight spots are easier when you realize that you are pretty good at doing quick wraps on your keyboard. Its pretty easy to turn your snake around right over itself with quick key presses. This is handy in tight spots. Say, for example, theres an apple right next to your tail. You can get yourself 1 space away and do a quick wrap to sneak in the opening. Its actually safer this way because it is easier to quick wrap then it is to estimate distance. At right is another example of using the quick wrap in tight spots.

Easy Goin
As you approach 200 it gets pretty confusing to try to keep track of your long tail. At this point you have to start doing some easy goin. Managing your tail can keep you alive. That means being calm, wrapping back and forth. No chasing apples, you'll get them when you get there.
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