Do you feel pressured by Valentine's Day?

Above is a photo of a delicious Valentine's Day brownie topped with cheese cake

I was listening to a radio commercial today and it was for a jewelry store trying to pressure men into buying an expensive "Diamond" or face the wrath of their spoiled princess or even worse the wrath of your spoiled princess after she talks to the other ladies at the office (or wherever she works) and finds out what they got for "V-Day". That commercial bothered me, but I wasn't quite sure why, but then it dawned on me that the commercial was trying to make Valentine's Day into another deadline that men have to fear. Isn't Valentine's Day supposed to be about love not fear. I thought Valentine's day was supposed to be equally fun for both the boys and the girls. I want my boyfriend to give me something because he wants to, not because he is forced to. I would rather receive a homemade card from someone that I really love than the fanciest diamond ring from some guy I don't really love. But hey don't listen to me. I'm just an old fashioned girl. Maybe the jewelry store is right. Maybe all women care about is having the fanciest ring or necklace out of all her snobby friends.

Oh, and another thing about Valentines Day is that everyone seems to go out to a fancy restaurant on the same night. It always seems like Friday night is always busier than Saturday night. Friday night dinner dates are always so stressful. It seems something always causes a delay for either me or my date and I find myself speeding to get home, so I will have time to get ready. I have to admit it is nice to get all dressed up and go out to eat some nice food, but I would rather go on a night that is not so packed. I know making reservations is the way to go, but even then you sometimes still have to wait for your table. Whether you've got a boyfriend that cooks you a home-cooked meal or he takes you to the fanciest restaurant in town, I hope it goes well for both of you.

02.09.2008 - Coffee_Girl1979 - Fofat Contributor

Valentine's Day Photo

It's a bird... It's a plane... No, it's a hybrid

It looks more like an airplane than a car.

The new Aptera is a new vehicle that is based on motocycle technology, but has the aerodynamics of an airplane. The prototype got 230 MPG @ 55 MPH. With gas mileage like that, you won't have to worry about the high prices at the gas pump.

For more information see: aptera.com

READ IS A STUPID WORD

Can we get an update on the English Language?

I get free automatic updates for my operating system (Windows XP). Why can't we get free updates on the English language. Ok, here's my beef. There are certain words that need to be fixed. For example, the word "READ". You have look at the context to determine if the author means present tense "read" (pronounced reed) or past tense "read" (pronounced red). I think someone at the dictionary headquarters should come up with a different spelling for one of the tenses of "read". The funny thing is that I believe that most people don't even realize that "read" is a context sensitive word. For example, I have a friend who was reading an magazine article to me and he used the word tense, but then he quickly realized from the context his mistake and he went back and started the sentence over again. I made the comment about "read" being a stupid word and he was totally surprised that both tenses of the word had the same spelling. Then he agreed that it was a very stupid word. And the big irony is that the word that means "to comsume words" is the one that is impossible to digest all by itself.

Click here to read full version of this article


Ok, it's time for a quick language test.

1. Spell the word that starts with the letter "T" and means the salty liquid that flows from your eye balls when you cry.

2. Spell the word that starts with the letter "T" and is another word for "Rip".

Leave your answers in the "Comments Section" below

Can you say, Laptop Cooler?

Photo of laptop sitting on top of laptop cooler

WHAT IS A LAPTOP COOLER?
A laptop cooler or notebook cooler is a device external to a laptop computer or notebook computer that is designed to lower the overall temperature of the portable computer. A typical laptop cooler consists of a rectangular platform about the same size or larger than the laptop computer. A laptop cooler may have a fan to facilitate the cooling process, but they don't necessarily have to have a fan. The platform by itself helps the laptop run cooler due to the fact that it provides a nice smooth surface which allows air to flow underneath the laptop. Most fanned laptop coolers have 2 fans, but there is a 4 fan laptop cooler called the "QuadCooler" that claims its evenly spaced fans provide more balanced cooling for all the hot spots on the bottom of the laptop. The fans on most of the laptop coolers are powered by a special USB cable that plugs into any available USB port on the laptop computer. Tip: If you want to reduce the power drain on your laptop battery, you can simply power down or unplug your laptop cooler and the smooth surface will still help your laptop run cooler. In addition, it still provides a heat barrier or heat shield between your lap and the laptop.

LAPTOP MAINTENANCE

In addition to a laptop cooler, it is a good idea to perform periodic maintenance on the internal cooling system that's built into your laptop or notebook computer. All this requires is to blow out the internal fans and vents on the laptop using a Gas Duster (canned air). Keep in mind that if the fans, vents, or airways get clogged then your laptop will run extra hot or even overheat.

blog.quadcooler.com

QuadCooler Laptop Cooler

Brownies topped with cheese cake

New URL for Fofat Blog

THE FOFAT BLOG

The Fofat blog now has a new URL or web address. The old URL will automatically forward you to the new URL.

Old URL = http://fofat.blogspot.com

New URL = http://blog.fofat.com

Fofat website = http://www.fofat.com

If you are planning on moving your "blogspot" blog over to your own domain name and you have questions, please leave a comment in the comment section and I will try to answer your questions.

PC Based Home Entertainment Center

Above is a close up of the multimedia buttons on the new Rolee Polee trackball keyboard.

PC Based Home Entertainment or PCBHE

Modern computers have great audio and video capability and more and more people are attaching big screen monitors and surround sound speakers to their computers to create a PC based home entertainment center. Most computers come with plenty of audio capability, so all you have to do is upgrade the video card to a "TV tuner" type card. In addition, you will need a large screen of some type (the bigger the better and the higher the resolution the better) and you'll also want to updrade your sound system (you can upgrade the sound a little at a time. Even a cheap $50 PC speaker w/subwoofer will suffice until you can afford to upgrade to the latest surround sound system). And last but not least you'll need to upgrade your keyboard and computer mouse to long range wireless trackball keyboard. I recommend you select a keyboard with a small footprint and that it has a built-in optical trackball. Make sure the trackball is optical otherwise it won't be able to handle the grease from your buttery popcorn fingers. In addition, try to find a keyboard that has convenient "multimedia buttons" that, for example, allow the user to start and stop a video or music at at touch of a button. The great benefit of a PCBHE is that it allows the user to play all forms of multi-media (YouTube videos, home movies, rented DVDs, CD collection, iTunes, Windows Media Player, Sony Blu-Ray, etc) on the same system and in the confort of a nice sofa or recliner.

Check out the new Rolee Polee trackball keyboard at: http://www.roleepolee.com/

PC Based Home Entertainment Center

Penta Presentation Pointer - Penta Presentation Remote

Check out the new Fofat Blog at: http://blog.fofat.com/