googic's Blog

There are many uses for GPS, ranging from the traditional role for hikers who don’t want to wander off the map to more technical issues like getting a rough location for new construction before the surveyors show up.

A growing use is Geocaching. A box of items is stowed somewhere and GPS coordinates are placed on the internet. Others will then seek out the cache and remove some of the items, replacing them with their own choices. There are more specialized subsets of the hobby. Items in a cache might include pictures, toys or trinkets of little actual value. A logbook will be present so the geocacher can record the date and time the cache is found.

Geocaching builds on traditions for Letterboxing, a 150 year old tradition in which the box is hidden with clues in a story. These contained a logbook and a stamp, and the Letterboxer would carry a stamp and logbook. When the letterbox was found, the stamp in the box would be used on the seeker’s logbook and the seeker’s stamp would be used on the logbook in the letterbox.

In 2000 the GPS Stash Hunt was created. The name was quickly changed to GPScaching or geocaching. One variation is the travel bug or Geocoin, which has its own logbook and is moved as people find it and its movement from cache to cache recorded. Some caches are short term, intended only for use during a specific event. Some caches are sequenced, so that finding the first cache reveals the location of the next, until the actual cache with the treasure is found. Some caches require solving a puzzle to determine the actual coordinates. Reverse caching involves seeking out some type of object or location, such as a schoolhouse, and sending back a picture and coordinates. There are even webcam caches, where you are required to find webcams in public locations and get your picture taken on the cam as proof.

There are many websites that provide locations, advice and rules on geocaching. Geocachers have to follow several rules for safety and convenience. For instance, when geocachers are too obvious in their activities, they occasionally get reported to the police. At least once geocache has been blown up by the bomb squad since it was in an old ammunition can. It is also common for poorly hidden caches to be found and cleaned out by those not taking part in the sport, a process called “muggling” from the Harry Potter books.

There are several sites recording geocaching information, and some of those are not fully cooperative with some of the others. The more specialized types of geocaching are controlled by bodies such as the Geological Society of America. There are many options for free access to geocache sites, but there are others which require paid memberships. These may be because of generally higher quality treasures or more interesting locations.

Practical Solutions provides complete GPS, mobile navigation/mapping and other hi-tech solutions! Check us out at: http://www.ps-gps.com

Holographic Projection Technologies of the Future are moving forward fast and as you can image there are many entrepreneurs who are dreaming up some 'Killer Applications' for this new science. In fact the one industry analyst from the Online Think Tank acknowledges that these technologies have a market value of 500 million to 1.5 Billion Dollars in the first 18 months to two years and that is just the Introduction.

In pops a new Chapter of technology as once again Science Fact catches up with Science Fiction. The Brief History of Holographic Tech is about to be written. Who dreamt up this new technology? Well believe it or not there are some Inventors of days gone by and some Historical Innovations leading up to modern day Holographic Imaging.

The Origins of Holographic Imaging in 2D are quite old and the thought of 3D on a two-dimensional plane we have all seen in pictures. 3D Movie theatres were also quite popular as the images appear to be all around you.

Today man is playing God with Holographic Imaging; 'Let There Be Light' and now we are about to see the Bending and Blurring of Reality with holograms. Where Are We Today? Well there have been several Major Breakthroughs in Holographic Tech, especially in the Entertainment Industry.

The Holographic Phones we saw in Star Wars now exist thru a technology called Spectral Imaging and perfected by IBM. It is most often used as a business marketing tool, but soon it will be used in education as a way to project or display holographic looking virtual images, avatars or people. The future commeth and Holographic Images are part of that future.

L. Winslow is an Economic Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entreprenuer. Currently he is planning a bicycle ride across the US to raise money for charity and is sponsored by http://www.Calling-Plans.com and all the proceeds will go to various charities who sign up.

Radio broadcasting has grown volumes in the almost 15 years that have passed since the Untied States Federal Communications Commission made the S band (the 2.3 GH frequency) available for Digital Audio Radio Service. With an ability to broadcast with static free, high quality sound over a distance surpassing 20,000 miles, satellite radio is one of the most significant developments in the world of broadcasting since the launch of FM itself. Sirius, XM and WorldSpace, satellite radio companies, have capitalized on this technology and have brought it to the masses on a worldwide scale. But how it does satellite radio really work?

All satellite radio services have three things in common: the actual satellites, the ground repeaters, and the radio receivers. These components are used to broadcast the radio signal a customer hears after subscribing to a service. But each of these service providers (Sirius, XM and WorldSpace) utilizes a unique broadcasting system to deliver sound (radio signals) to the subscriber. For example, Sirius utilizes satellites that orbit the Earth in an oblong pattern. While this may seem irrelevant to the average listener, it's significant because Sirius' model makes it possible for satellites to reach higher in the sky and, thus, lose their signal less often than other providers do. XM, on the other hand, operates geostationary satellites that orbit the Earth in a synchronized pattern consistent with the planet's customary movements. Radio reception is attained and, to make it clearer, XM then uses a network of antennas that re-transmit the signal to avoid interruptions that have been known to occur near tall buildings, bridges or hills.

So know that we know how the radio signal itself is transmitted, when does the music get added to the mix? At the digital broadcast centers, where radio programmers are responsible for picking what song will be played when. These centers maintain music in both digital format and a CD format and often also have studio space where performers can be recorded and their sound transmitted, live. The extremely high quality sound that subscribers hear is made possible by a process called digital compression, a procedure in which algorithms (a set of rules developed to break down a problem, or process, into smaller, simpler steps) are used to squeeze as much sound as possible into the bandwidth available. Satellite radios are the only types of radios sophisticated enough to decode these signals, which is why a subscription is required and why you won't be able to access the same content through your everyday AM/FM dial. The exclusivity, quality of sound, popularity and commercial free features of satellite radio have all been key factors in making it possible for companies to offer satellite service at a reasonable price.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about this as well as a iPod car accessories at www.caraccessoriesplus.com

How often have you heard someone start a speech with a joke? Too often probably. Speakers with limited experience tend to tell jokes just to get a laugh in the hope the audience will warm up to them. The jokes are often irrelevant to the topic of their speech.

Experienced speakers know there are better ways to add humor to a speech or presentation, including:.

Using funny stories and anecdotes--not jokes--in your speech

Everyone has had bad experiences that become funny with the passage of time. They make great stories Remember that today's tragedy is tomorrow's funny anecdote.

If you don't feel comfortable talking about yourself, borrow stories from other people. It's acceptable to as long as you credit the source.

Collecting Stories from your audience

'Jollytologist' Allen Klein tells how he'd often ask his audiences 'How do you spell relief?' 'L-A-U-G-H' was his answer. Then during one of his presentations, an audience member cried out, 'D-I-V-O-R-C-E.' It was hysterical. Klein now relates the story as part of many of his presentations.

Creating a fun atmosphere in the room before you speak

Since I'm a former news anchor and sportscaster, I sometimes arranged for the person introducing me to show some of my worst on-air bloopers in video clips (there was plenty of material to draw from). The bloopers always got people laughing, and also let them know I wasn't afraid to laugh at myself a little--a great way to connect with them right from the start.

Self-denigrating humor

In the 70's, President Gerald Ford was skewered regularly on Saturday Night Live about his lack of grace. Ford struck back by making fun of himself better than the SNL writers ever could.

He told his audiences about the night he met his wife Betty, and how he wanted to dance with her 'in the worst way.' Then he'd say, 'And Betty later told me I did just that--dance in the worst way.'

Ford also said he had to become the center on his college football team because center was the only position where he didn't have to move my feet.

If someone as important as a former president can poke fun at himself, the rest of us can too. Self-denigrating humor is a powerful tool.

Using interesting props in your speech

I'd sometimes bring along 'IFB' to use as a as a prop. An IFB (which stands for 'interruptible feedback) is an ear piece TV reporters use when they're doing live reports from the scene of a news story. The IFB allows them to hear what the people back in the studio are saying to them as they're being introduced, and also allows them to hear questions the anchors might ask.

I would sometimes show a blooper clip of what can happen when something goes wrong with an IFB. The clip showed a female reporter stuttering and stammering during a live report. She sounded absolutely smashed. She wasn't.

It turns out someone had unintentionally pressed the wrong button back in the control room, and the reporter was hearing her own words in her IFB about half a second after she spoke, which, take my word for it, is extremely distracting. For about 15 seconds, she battled and tried to be as professional as she could, but the harder she tried, the funnier she sounded. She finally ripped the IFB from her ear and continued her report.

The clip always got the audience howling.

Borrowing humor

The Internet is a great place to find one liners and funny quotes. Personally, I borrowed often from Yogi Berra ('When you come to a fork in the road, take it...'), Will Rogers ('when Democrats want to form a firing squad, they get into a circle...') and many others.

Buying humor from people who sell it

There are professionals who will write funny stuff for you, and they're generally not expensive. You can also check your local comedy club and hire someone who's probably pretty good at writing one liners. Or do a search for 'humor writers' or 'humorists' on the Internet.

Steve Allen once said, 'People would rather be entertained than educated.' But if you can entertain and educate at the same time, you have the makings of a great speech--without ever telling a single joke.

George McKenzie is a retired TV anchor, sportscaster and radio talk show host. He often contributes articles to The Speech Store.