The Skeptics Dictionary will help you distinguish truth from fakery

Have you ever wondered whether ear candling works? Check this part of the Skekpdic.com website: http://www.skepdic.com/coning.html
Check out a whole slate of alternative medicine topics here: http://www.skepdic.com/tialtmed.html

Are near-death experiences real? Learn more about Raymond Moody, a well-known authority on the topic: http://www.skepdic.com/moody.html
Other supernatural topics are discussed here: http://www.skepdic.com/tisuper.html

http://skepdic.com/ (home)

New RSS reader for Windows XP and Vista offers sophisticated features

Bookmarking news websites and checking them for updated material is a tedious undertaking. Monitoring Craigslist and eBay manually is a time-consuming task. The smart move is to automate the process by downloading an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) reader.

Feedbeast™, a new shareware RSS newsreader, offers features not found on typical free newsreaders. E-mail synchronization sends news updates directly to your in-box, using sorting tools which help organize news information. Word Watch allows users to input keywords to help focus the news search function. It’s easy to add new websites to this reader with the one-click subscription feature. The author of the site, A. Logan Murray, supports users with 100% free live video via Skype. Users may interact with the author and other users on the site’s forum, reporting on their experience, suggesting bug fixes, modifications and ideas for new features. Feedbeast™ is free for up to twenty subscribed feeds and may be upgraded to unlimited feeds for a nominal cost. Currently the program boasts 5-star user ratings from Download.com and Sofotex.com.

http://www.feedbeast.com/

Are allergies causing your children to misbehave?

Doris J. Rapp, M. D., is a board-certified environmental medical specialist and pediatric allergist. She believes that foods and various substances in the environment cause many of the behavior problems experienced by children. Mold allergy symptoms, for example, can look exactly like many serious physical and behavioral problems. Dr. Rapp has produced several DVDs featuring children displaying typical behaviors she has encountered in her clinical practice. Dramatic changes in behavior follow removal of food and environmental allergen agents. Your child may not need Ritalin or a psychologist after all.

Home page: http://www.drrapp.com/

An eye-opening video (8 minutes) showing children with troubling behavior and how they responded to removal of allergens: http://www.drrapp.com/Dont%20Drug%20Them%20First.htm

Testimonials from parents whose children have directly benefited from Dr. Rapp’s advice: http://www.drrapp.com/testimonials.htm

Tips on preventing environmental illness:
http://www.drrapp.com/29tips.htm

Tips about the dangers of mothballs, boric acid sprayed on new mattresses, and Teflon cookware. http://www.drrapp.com/htips.htm

Link between ADHD/bipolar behavior and common food ingredients: http://www.drrapp.com/adhd.htm

http://www.drrapp.com/about.htm (Dr. Rapp’s credentials)

Boost your personal development with Steve Pavlina’s advice

Steve Pavlina’s website is now the most popular source of personal development information on the Web, with over 1.8 million visitors every month. Major topics include time management, motivation, setting goals, choosing and building a career, generating wealth, habits of success, problem solving, and living a balanced, fulfilling, meaningful life.

His site features over 500 personal development articles, as well as podcasts on various self-help topics, and a newsletter filled with up-to-the minute information.

I was initially drawn to his website by his information on the topic of sleep patterns and insomnia in the article below:
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-become-an-early-riser/

Main site located here:
http://www.stevepavlina.com/

Listen to audio UFO reports in MP3 or CD format

Brian Vike’s HBCC UFO Research site features audio files in MP3 format (free) or CDs (for purchase) based on his extensive telephone interviews with UFO sighting witnesses. Brian gathers reports from around the world. There are plenty of sites with printed UFO reports, but this is the only one I’ve found with audio reports. Hearing the emotion in the voices of these witnesses adds another dimension to the reports. People who might normally be afraid to contact the media with their experiences may be inspired to contact Brian and relate their stories.

http://www.hbccufo.org/

Brian Vike’s blog: http://thevikereport.blogspot.com/

Brian’s radio show MP3 archives: http://jancikradionetwork.com/innerstreamsradio/show/vike_report/index.html

Direct link to 2008 MP3 archives: http://jancikradionetwork.com/innerstreamsradio/show/vike_report/2008/index.php
Click on a file to download it to your computer.

Is your dentist using the latest technology to detect oral cancer?

During my last visit to the dentist, I received a new test for oral cancer. A Vancouver-based company, LED Medical Diagnostics Inc. (LED-MD) has developed the VELscope System in partnership with the British Columbia Cancer Agency. The test involves shining a Velscope LED light into the mouth. Abnormal tissue is supposed to show up as a dark, irregular area. Fortunately, my test came up negative. The site link below explains the inadequacy of the standard white light checks made by your dentist and the danger of having undiscovered oral cancer. There are also details about the use of the Velscope device.

http://www.velscope.com/

The VELscope isn't the only oral cancer discovery tool available to dentists. Zila Pharmaceuticals in Phoenix, Ariz., sells the ViziLite Plus system, which can also detect abnormalities in the oral cavity. The patient rinses his or her mouth with a dilute acetic acid solution so that damaged tissue appears white when viewed under ViziLite's diffuse low-energy wavelength light.

http://www.vizilite.com/patient_site/

Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan resolves defective automobile disputes

Buyers of motor vehicles in the U.S. can rely on so-called “lemon laws” to help resolve disputes with dealers concerning problems with their cars. Few Canadians know about the Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan, established, and funded 14 years ago by major Canadian auto manufacturers.

Don Miller, a Kingston, Ontario resident, bought a new Ford Mustang in 2006. The car soon began to experience uncontrolled power surges which ultimately caused a minor accident. The dealer took the car in for tests which failed to detect the problem. Receiving no further support from the dealer, Miller contacted Canadian Motor Vehicle Plan officials. CAMVAP set up an arbitration tribunal hearing in Kingston for Miller and a representative from Ford. The tribunal immediately ordered Ford to buy back the Mustang, less depreciation for mileage registered on the car since the time of purchase. This process requires no lawyers and no fees. The arbitrator may, if appropriate, order a dealer to repair a vehicle, or dismiss the claim if it is unwarranted as determined by an independent mechanical inspection.

http://camvap.ca/

Track the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle, and other satellites

The Heavens-Above.com site provides all the information you need to observe satellites currently in orbit, including times of visibility for your area, and star charts tracking satellite paths. Data is given in real time and applies to your location and time zone. All they need is your location to generate custom data.
http://www.heavens-above.com/

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has a fascinating real-time, interactive application at the following link:

http://science.nasa.gov/realtime/

New Taser fired from shotgun will hit subjects 100 feet away

Taser International has developed a new version of their Taser electric-shock weapon which can be fired from a standard, 12-gauge shotgun. The device, named Taser XREP, is self contained, uses no wires, and is capable of reaching subjects from 100 feet away. The projectile is smaller than a sugar cube and is engineered to prevent a target person from attempting to dislodge the device from the body during its 20-second operation cycle.

The Taser XREP has many possibile uses:
Ø Aiding in the arrest of criminal suspects found fleeing the scene of a crime
Ø Incapacitating unruly persons during a riot at a prison or on the street
Ø Adding a new capability to unmanned spy drones being adopted by police services (See: http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/11/french-reveal-p.html )
Ø Stopping cars during a police pursuit by zapping the ignition circuit of the fleeing vehicle, using a projectile designed to attach to the target

Taser website for details:
http://www2.taser.com/products/law/Pages/XREP.aspx

Is there any evidence to suggest that humans are being abducted by aliens?

Barbara Lamb and Nadine Lalich believe this to be true in light of their clinical research involving persons who claim to have had alien abduction experiences. Barbara is a licensed marriage and family therapist, certified hypnotherapist and regression therapist in Claremont, California. Nadine has worked as a litigation assistant and project coordinator for large business and public entity clients. Together they have written a book, entitled Alien Experiences, which describes 50 cases of alien encounter, including transcripts from actual regression sessions. Placed in context with increasing UFO sightings around the world, the information in this book will raise disturbing questions.

http://www.alienexperiences.com/index2.html

Are your emotions making you ill?

A German physician, Dr. med. Ryke Geerd Hamer, believes he has clinical proof that unexpected emotional shocks trigger disease. He believes that conventional medicine treats the physical symptoms of disease, but does not address the underlying causes of illness. His medical paradigm, which he calls German New Medicine, offers an explanation for the onset of illness. When an individual receives an unexpected psychic shock, e.g. the death of a loved one, the brain registers a lesion which can be identified on a CT scan. The area of the brain thus affected in turn triggers a negative impact on the corresponding bodily organ. Check out the link below:

http://germannewmedicine.ca/documents/welcome.html

Assuming the validity of Dr. Hamer’s medical model, how do we handle tragic or upsetting events in our lives in order to avoid the onset of disease?
Take a look at Gary Craig’s EFT website. Gary is a Stanford engineering graduate and ordained minister who believes that “our unresolved negative emotions are major contributors to most physical pains and diseases."

http://www.emofree.com/

How much money do your favorite NHL players make?

Find out this information and more on HockeyZonePlus.com. The site lists the salaries of more than 2600 NHL players from 1989-2008. There’s even one section which reports on salaries from 1927-1989. If you click on the Red Square tab along the side, you’ll get lots of information on Russian hockey in articles written by Denis Neznanov, a Moscow-based sports writer. It’s a fascinating site packed with material you’d normally have to gather from dozens of other sites.

http://www.hockeyzoneplus.com/

UFOs depicted in classical art raise an important question

Are UFOs a new phenomenon or have they been a part of human history for ages? The author of this website has done extensive research to locate UFO images in classical art. He uses the Altavista babel fish translation engine to explore a French language website containing a wealth of fascinating images.

http://sanandaseagles.com/pages/spacecraft_in_art.html

Paltalk’s public and private Screening Rooms should be a big hit

Paltalk, established in 1998, is a rapidly-growing Internet chat service featuring text, voice and video chatting, open only to Microsoft Windows users at the present time. Screening Rooms allows members—up to 5000 in number—to watch videos (home-made or licensed) together and discuss them using text, voice, or video chat. Groups of fans can now congregate to comment on a particular music video. Video artists will have a venue to show off their creations and gather feedback. Parents and adult children will be able to meet in a private room and view videos of the grandchildren without having to travel long distances. Co-workers at various commercial sites will be able to view training videos and interact with experts at head office. The possibilities are endless.

http://www.paltalk.com/

Dr. Gifford-Jones launches his own web site

Dr. Gifford-Jones, an internationally-syndicated Canadian medical journalist, writes a popular newspaper column on current medical topics. He has just launched his own web site, enabling readers to access many of his previous columns. He writes about everything from the benefits of Vitamin C to instructions for avoiding “wrong-side” surgery. Dr. Gifford-Jones writes with a sense of humor that allows him to present serious topics in a lighter vein.

http://www.mydoctor.ca/user/index.asp?id=3520

Is Internet censorship obsolete?

Many people live in countries subject to Internet censorship, and are unable to access information available on blocked sites. The Psiphon project offers a solution to this problem. It requires the cooperation of Psiphon providers in censorship- free countries who facilitate the linking. Psiphon is a service of the CiviSec Project operated by the Citizen Lab at the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto. The CiviSec Project is funded by the Open Society Institute.

Web users contact the Psiphon site, and receive passwords and Web links. When the Psiphon search bar appears on their screens, they may begin surfing the Net free of blocking by government agencies. Net censors observe a nondescript IP address and have no idea which site the Psiphon user has accessed. The encrypted message appears to be one of the millions of encrypted financial transactions running through the Internet. Prospective users should visit the FAQ and Forum sections on the site to learn how the system works and how to minimize discovery by censors. Any system is vulnerable to government investigation and users should be aware of the risks involved in bypassing censorship protocols. Government investigators might even set up bogus "anonymous" proxy sites to lure and track censorship law violators. Be sure you know well the person who agrees to set up your Psiphon connection.

http://psiphon.civisec.org/

For a discussion about how certain countries attempt to defeat programs like Psiphon, go to: http://www.peacefire.org/circumventor/list-of-possible-weaknesses.html

Check out another program called Freegate, available at the Download.com site:
http://www.download.com/Freegate/3000-2085_4-10415391.html

The Journal of Hispanic Ufology reports strange, new UFO incidents

This is the official site of The Journal of Hispanic Ufology, (est. 1998), which features information re paranormal and UFO events which have occurred in Mexico, Spain, South America, and the Caribbean. Reports are filed by correspondents in over twelve Spanish-speaking countries.

There is a shocking report made by police officers in Argentina. On November 11, 2007, they encountered a strange craft on the road and four alien figures in the vicinity of Irene in the District of Coronel Dorrego. If you understand Spanish, you will find a more detailed report of the incident at the following link:

http://www.analuisacid.com/coronel_dorrego.htm

Another incident occurred at the Vizcaino power plant, located in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, on June 8, 2007. A senior engineer took a photo of a UFO over the facility on June 8, 2007, using a Sony DSC-P41 camera.

What amazes me is that reports of sightings in Hispanic countries rarely appear in North American media outlets. The Inexplicata blog attempts to fill this information gap.

http://www.inexplicata.blogspot.com/

Arizona school teaches survival skills for national emergencies

The Aboriginal Living Skills School, founded by Cody Lundin specializes in “wilderness skills, primitive living skills, and urban preparedness”. According to Lundin, fewer than 1 in 10 people in the U.S. have the skills necessary to survive a national emergency involving the loss of basic utilities, like electricity and water over an extended period. The 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster demonstrated how vulnerable an urban population is when a catastrophe strikes. Many people have to fend for themselves, dealing with the lack of potable drinking water, food shortages, loss of medical emergency facilities and the breakdown of law and order. Lundin’s website features details on the courses he offers and two books he has written on the topics of wilderness survival and urban disaster preparedness.

http://www.alssadventures.com/

Change a long URL to a short one

Sometimes when I sent an email containing a link with a long URL, like http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=OlgC4bWhVMw, it would be broken into two parts during transmission. That was inconvenient for the person receiving it, having to paste it back together. Now I use a free service called TinyURL.com to convert a long URL to a short one.
People who have one of those free websites with long URLs will also benefit from this service too. Now http://www.my-internet-isp.com/~myusername could look like http://tinyurl.com/3.

Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/

Entrepreneur makes transition from bricks and mortar to online storefront

Running a retail operation from a standard "bricks and mortar" storefront is a tough business. The overhead is often high, and includes items like rent, advertising, wages, utilities, and financing. The man in the video below had been importing and selling pottery products from Mexico at four outlets. When Walmart came to town, the competition was too much. He decided to start from scratch with an online travel business storefront and has never looked back. Click on the picture below to hear Kim’s story.

An onsite community for moms to gather and talk

Kaboose.com is a gathering place for moms to exchange ideas on a variety of topics, including parenting and school, pregnancy, general health, recipes and food, crafts, holidays and fun, and games. The many discussion boards offer threads on dozens of topics of interest to mothers. One special feature is Kaboose TV, which enables users to watch videos on a variety of topics, e.g. reducing your child’s temper tantrums, curbing your child’s bossiness streak, what to do when your child chooses bad friends, and protecting your child from “stranger danger”. http://www.kaboose.com/

Advice for keeping children safe in a dangerous world

John Walsh, the host of America’s Most Wanted, and Julie Clarke, creator of Baby Einstein, have teamed up to provide a wealth of child protection resources in TheSafeSide.com. Here you will be able to obtain DVDs titled “Internet Safety” and “Stranger Safety”. The site enables users to download resource material on those topics useful to both families and schools.

http://www.amw.com/ John Walsh’s original America’s Most Wanted site

http://www.thesafeside.com/ child safety site

http://www.familywatchdog.us/ track registered sex offenders in your neighborhood

Which is better, cable or DSL Internet service?

If you need to compare cable vs. DSL (telephone-based) Internet service, check out Webopedia.com at the following link:

http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2005/cable_vs_dsl.asp

This online encyclopedia of computer technology information will answer most of your questions relating to your computer. It’s a great source of information for students taking an introductory computer course and requiring definitions of various computer devices, e.g. “hub”, “router”, or “switch”. Puzzled about the term “Web 2.0”? Check it out here:

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/Web_2_point_0.html

Childproofing for school

It's not enough for parents to send their kids off to school with warm mittens and a healthy lunch. Now they have to make sure that they wear the latest in safety clothing. A UK company called Bladerunner offers a GPS Tracker Jacket for your child. When your son or daughter moves outside a pre-set range, you get an alert on your cell phone. You even have the ability to track your child's movements on your computer. Or, how about a knife-proof hoodie? Check out the site here: http://www.bladerunner.tv/index.php

Christmas is around the corner. What teen wouldn't love to find a bulletproof backpack under the tree? At $195.00, it's a bargain for parents. http://www.mychildspack.com/

Teachers rated by students and parents

Do sites that enable parents and students to rate teachers anonymously serve a useful purpose? Some teachers would benefit from comments about them on the site. If students consistently rate them as boring, then perhaps some teachers might take a look at their style of teaching. When parents and students heap praise on teachers for their work in the classroom or on the sports field, they encourage good teachers who often do not receive enough feedback about their performance from the public. The important thing here is that comments be made honestly and in the spirit of constructive criticism. The site moderators appear willing to delete pointless and hurtful comments.

http://www.ratemyteachers.com/ (United States)

http://www.ratemyteachers.ca/ (Canada)

Medical information written and edited by practicing physicians

Unlike many medical information sites on the Internet, eMedicineHealth.com contains articles written and edited by practicing physicians. The content of this website is not designed to sell health products. The site is designed primarily for use by qualified physicians and other medical professionals, although the general public will find it useful when researching diseases and disorders.

http://www.emedicine.com/

Should you buy an extended warranty for electronic appliances?

Shoppers shell out extra money to purchase “extended warranties”, but often have a difficult time getting the store to honor the warranty. Some customers may even have to take the store to small claims court to get satisfaction. Unless the appliance has complex electronics with high repair costs, don’t waste your money. Read the ConsumerAffairs.com articles below for some scary details.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/11/bestbuy_warranties.html

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/11/cr_warranties.html

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/extended_warranty.html

Professional musicians will record customized love songs just for you

Have you ever wanted to give your sweetheart the perfect gift, one that could never be found in a store? One that would really suit your lover? A new website will enable you to have professional musicians compose a personalized song for you to give to your loved one.

The process is easy. First, you choose a song from several available on the site. Listen to the songs by various artists in different genres until you find the one you like. There’s pop/rock, R &B, jazz, country and many more. Next, using the template of the lyrics provided, customize the song by substituting names and phrases of your choice. Then proceed to the checkout and pay for your song. Within a week or two, you download your song from your computer as an MP3 file or receive it in the mail on a CD. Prices range from $169 to $219. You may even hire a songwriter to write a whole song from scratch just for you.

Have fun with your customized song. Arrange with a local restaurant to play it during your meal. Play it on your stereo during a romantic candle lit dinner. Load it as an MP3 on your lover’s music player as a surprise.
http://www.tailoredmusic.com/

Avril Lavigne fights back after blogger attack

When Perez Hilton used his blog to take cheap shots at Avril Lavigne, Avril decided to do something about it. The result is her revenge blog, which may be more about publicity than revenge. Avril doesn't have a mean bone in her body.

http://www.perezlavigne.com/

Why are many working women trading 9-to-5 jobs for Internet home-based businesses?

The typical downtown office job involves a hectic daily routine combined with expensive and time-consuming commuting to and from work. For working women who are mothers, it means daycare expenses and the shuttle back and forth from the childcare centre. Now in the Internet age, women are going online and utilizing their expertise and work skills to earn significant income working from home. Home-based website businesses also qualify individuals for tax write-offs not available to employees in general. Women with online businesses like being their own bosses, and having the freedom to set their own hours. Most women report increased time with their families and a new flexibility in the planning of vacation time. Click on the picture below to hear Nicole’s story.