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SideTrax is a bunch of mini, tid-bit articles and/or links that are important or fun and worthy of sharing.
Table of Contents
Paint Your Cat?
Tombstone Generator
Wheel of Food!
Catch Superman
TechTrax MSDN Winners
 Paint Your Cat?
So how many of you received the email that shows a pile of pictures of cats that have been painted? Some of the emails even explain that it costs hundreds or thousands of dollars to keep the cat's paint touched up as the fur grows.
Yes, the pictures are really cool looking!
Did you believe the email? Did you forward it on to all your friends?
Did you know it is a hoax?
Yup...they're photoshopped!
(Photoshopped = generic term meaning the photo has been manipulated by very talented graphic artists, using graphics software...Photoshop being one of the most popular versions of this type of software.)
If you're ever not sure if something is true or not...copy the subject of the email or some key sentence from the "story" and enter it into a search engine, such as Google.com. Be sure to put quotes around the term so it is searched out as a whole phrase, versus individual words.
Chances are you'll find a link to a page that provides details about whether it's true or not...like this page that provides details on the Painted Cats hoax: http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/a/256503.htm?nl=1
(Oh, and by the way...don't feel bad about this one, because I was suckered into it, too!<grin> Yup, I figured it was true and even forwarded it on to some of my friends!)
 Tombstone Generator
One thing we don't get to see is our own tombstone, because, well...it's finished after we're gone.
But now you can test drive your witty saying with Tombstone Generator!
Go here: http://www.jjchandler.com/tombstone/
Enter the content you want and then snap a shot of it and see if it does your life justice.
Granted, you need to be a bit morbid or have a really sick sense of humor to enjoy this, but I know there are some of you out there who qualify.
 Wheel of Food!
Having a hard time trying to decide where to go for lunch?
Maybe you have a group of people who like to go out to lunch on Friday, but no one can agree on where to go?
Or more useful, maybe you travel a lot and have a hard time finding a decent restaurant for a meal while you're on the road in an unfamiliar territory.
Not a problem. Just flip over to the Wheel of Food. You'll find it here: http://www.coverpop.com/wheeloffood/
Enter the zip code for your current location and give the wheel a spin. It'll not only tell you where you'll be munching today...as long as you don't hit skip lunch, that is...but you can click on the more... link under the name of the selected establishment, where you can read more about the joint, read reviews, view their web site if they have one and even get driving directions.
No need to drive around town...when you have the Wheel of Food!
(Thanks to fellow MVP, Steve Easton, who found this gem and passed it along.)
 Catch Superman
What's the Internet without some fun time wasters?
Yes, this is a promo for the new Superman Returns movie due out this summer. But it's also a fun game.
Go here: http://hk.promo.yahoo.com/movie/
superman/Stop_Press_Game/
Click Play. You'll be given a few photography assignments, just like you're Jimmy Olson. You'll travel from city to city. Your mission is to try to snap the perfect photo as Superman flies by in each city.
See if you can get the perfect photo that makes it on to the cover of the newspaper.
It's fun and a perfect time waster. Just be sure to turn down the sound if you're in the office!
(Thanks to SusieQ who passed this along.)
TechTrax MSDN Winners
In December, TechTrax held a drawing for our last three MSDN Microsoft Software licenses...a $10,000+ value!
Amazingly, one of the winners decided that the prize was too much software for him, so he declined the license and told me to choose a new winner. I know...many of you are shaking your heads! But I do applaud him for not wasting that incredible prize, courtesy of Microsoft. So we drew another name. We finally did get all three winners, who were thrilled with this prize.
One license prize was offered to all subscribers and members...a free subscriber won. The other two licenses were offered to members only. See below to learn more about our winners.
Special thanks to fellow MVP, John Marshall, Visio MVP, who donated his license allotment to TechTrax!
- Kent DeCook,
Minneapolis, MN...free TechTrax subscriber.
WOW. Thank you for the MSDN premium subscription. I NEVER win anything so this came as quite a shock. I am going out right now and buying a Powerball ticket…just in case. :-) This software will come in very handy to me in my professional and personal life. Many thanks to all involved. Thanks again and best wishes to you and yours in 2007. AWESOME! THANK YOU!!!
- Sherri Hodge, Atlanta, GA...TechTrax member.
Wow, this is unbelievable! I feel like a kid in a candy store!! (I hope your Momma is doing better. I enjoy reading your updates.)
- Jean Kaplansky, The Wilds of Upstate New York, NY...TechTrax member.
w00t! I got one of the MSDN subscriptions! Unfettered access to, well among other things, Access 2007. Why is this so exciting to me? Three letters: XML. Yes, I am an XML junky. I’ve been working as an XML consultant, analyst, or architect in content management workflows for 11 years now. If there’s one thing I have had access to, it’s information about XML, and tools with which to manipulate XML. I’ve written Schemas and stylesheets, and worked my way through understanding the fact that XML can be used to create functional languages in addition to static vocabularies. This is so cool! I finally get to take things apart and see how they work, without pestering the IT department! Oh The Power! The Power! Buwah-Ha-Ha-Ha!!! (Also see Jean's blog for more XML comments on her win: http://wildxml.blogspot.com/)
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