**RESOURCES** Apps, Videos and Tutorials

Reviews are slow while I wait for approval of more products. In the meantime, I'm taking breaks from my fiction writing to share resources that some of you might be able to use. I'll jump right on in.

Want a 2nd cell number for free?

Sideline is an interesting sounding app. I say that it sounds interesting because, so far, I've not actually used it. I'm waiting for numbers to become available in my area code.

If you are lucky enough to find numbers with your area code - or if you don't mind your second number being prefixed with an area code different than your current number - check it a cnet overview here. The features are listed here on Sideline's page. If you like it lots, you can get paid versions. Because I haven't read all the docs and you might want to, check out the FAQs and other support info.


Want some explanatory stuff/Explain it like I'm 5?

Thanks to Reddit, I ran across these YouTube channels that can be helpful"
SciShow and SciShow Kids. (As always, be sure to check the page for leads to more content. Also, if you like the channels, show your support.)

Some other useful (and interesting) channels are Science and Technology 4U and Discovery TV's (especially the Learn Something New playlist).

I've long used the How Stuff Works site as a resource for info when writing on different subjects. Make sure to check out the channels they have on YouTube also.

As the saying goes, you can learn almost anything with with YouTube and Pinterest. As far as videos go, there's even a YouTube channel for Google developers. (Seriously though, if you learn how to search it well, Pinterest has some great resources for writers, students and just about anyone else.)

Want to mix learning with some entertainment?

Personally, I love watching documentaries. It's a guilt-free way to watch some TV, but it's also a great way to help my brain generate story ideas. If nothing else, you don't usually feel like you've just spent wasted time in front of the tube. Here are some of my fave places to pick up on interesting doc films:

• SundanceNow Doc Club is a streaming subscription service. Too rich for my blood right now, but...

... free alternatives are out there, including

• A lot on YouTube (this is a link to a query showing a bunch of choices), also
• Top Documentary Films is my long-time fave. If you get an expired/non-existent vid, do a Google search and you might find another source of it.
• Documentary Addict is a site I haven't yet used, but... it's there. Same goes for
• Documentary Heaven

With documentaries, it's all about what you're looking for. If you want a video about something really specific, YouTube is still the best bet, IMO.

Anything specific for students?

If you're a student, definitely check out TryIt. Most definitely. It's an "opportunity and inspiration site" that helps connect students to learning and career interests. Something like that anyway. Check the FAQs for better info than I can give you.

Any other good stuff?

Plenty and they are too good to leave out, but I was having trouble categorizing them so... you just have to go for it:

•  OER Commons (Open Educational Resources) has lots of resources, including full university courses. Yep. No excuse for ignorance.
• Khan Academy. I've linked to KA before. It seems heavily math focused, but there's other subjects covered & it's excellent for college prep work.
• Wolfram Alpha. I don't even know how to describe the site. Good thing there's an About Us page!

Of course, I can't leave out Wikiversity. 

If I missed anything, here's a list I've just run across that could help you out with finding more video tutorial sources. Wish I'd found it at the start of this post.


Good luck, good learning, and
Peace
--Free

A Mind Scrubbing

After binging on mindless television shows, I decided to do a mind scrub last night and try reading. Thankfully, I haven't seen any readily available books centered on reality TV.

Because I have dreams of being a published (and paid) author some day, I really hate myself for having to find freebie reads. But there are plenty out there. I use Amazon's Cloud Reader and the Kindle app (you can get a free one here) for my phone. When I can't buy or borrow books, I will go over and do a search for freebie reads on whatever subject I'm fixated on at the moment.

Kindle. Because this looks so uncomfortable.

The thing is, I download (and actually buy) lots of books. I love books. The problem here is that I don't always make time for reading. Because I felt bad about this, I did a quick search and found that I'm not the only one who isn't reading. The only thing I can say in my favor is that at least I don't lie about what I do or do not read.

Scrolling through this "List of 13 Books Nobody's Read", I was nodding like an uneducated maniac, thinking, "Haven't read that one, or that one, or... Nope haven't read that one either..." (Maybe I should sorta kinda be ashamed that I had never heard before of "Infinite Jest" by David Foster Wallace. Sadder still, I barely got through the first paragraph of the Wiki article about the book.)

I want to redeem myself so I'm looking at this list of 10 underrated books. Unfortunately, I stopped scrolling after the fifth book. I don't really even like the summary descriptions. Apparently, lots of people are starting certain books without bothering to finish them. Much the way I did with that list.

Best feeling ever

When the girls were young, they almost hated that I had a rule about learning. I required them to do a certain amount of reading every week. I made them watch the news and write me a little one-page report. In her adult life, one of them still refuses to read anything other than People or Us. She does read her Bible though (#shesays). The other one has never been without a book in her hand since the day she picked up her first one.

Take away the electronics. That's how.

Or an HOUR won't hurt

The problem with my slack reading habits of late just might not be all about me. Maybe publishers should stop being so picky and start getting some readable work out there on the market. I'm sorry but I will probably never pick up a copy of Stephen Hawking's  "A Brief History of Time" for any other reason than displaying it on my bookshelf. Or maybe not even then because I doubt I could find a good copy for free. Mr. Hawking is a physicist. If I ever met him, in order to have sparkling conversation, we'd probably have to trade gossip about the "Real Housewives". I imagine that people way more intelligent that I are intimidated by his book. Next time someone tries to act superior with me, I'm going to ask if they've read past the table of contents. I'll have to carry around some cheat notes just so I can make them prove it.

Another reason: books don't talk back.

What kinds of books would I like to see more (or less) of? You know I have a list, right?

• Anything by Stephen King. I don't even care about the stories, I just like so much the way he tells them. I think I have only ever hated a few of his books, but I was ready to lose a friend over the theft of my hardback "Under the Dome". (She's still on friendship probation, by the way.)
• More regional American fiction. I've lived in various places here in the U.S. and want to see more about the times, lives and pasts of other people as seen through their eyes. I want to know what they eat, how they talk with each other, and what they think of people from other parts of the world.
• More historical and AA fiction like "The Color Purple" and less about whorish men and women and their fall from church to the streets. (Not that there is anything wrong with the latter, but that 'genre' has turned boilerplate-ish and tiresome. And I never learn anything from it except how disgusted I am with negative stereotypes. The rest of the world should know more about racial groups other than what they see on BET and MTV.)
• More stories from fellow citizens of this great melting pot of a nation of ours. I want to know about their families: the mamas and daddies, the grands, aunties and uncles, and all the cousins - play and real. Because I feel like there is such a gulf between the Japanese American and African American peoples, I'd really like to see more fiction that might explain that divide.
• Mysteries, thrillers and chillers. Not sexy-dirty-nasty mysteries. Not celebration-of-the-amoral type thrillers. And I'm so very tired of even hearing about vampires, zombies and all that weird crap. Ann Rice did an amazing job with "Interview" and everyone else has taken the genre down in the gutter. Where are all the modern Sherlocks, Marples and Poirots?
• Though I like some spice, I don't get into mainstream porn. I prefer porn of the type couples order online in secret or slink into the local corner XXX store for. Why dress it up so that people can feel okay about walking around with it in their purse to read on the commute? It's porn. If you are into it, own it - in all it's nasty-but-occasionally-fun-way-to-spice-up-your-dried-out-relationship glory. Whatever.
• For Dummies books that don't come with that blazing yellow cover. Take a note from the porn marketers and dress up (or down) the covers better. I always feel like I'm advertising what a, well, dummy, I am when I reach for a tutorial. Not everyone in the library needs to know that I need help with my most basic math skills. Talk about wanting to hide something under a plain brown wrapper!
• I want more books that I can't wait to tell someone else about. I remember that after I first read "Catcher in the Rye" as a fourteen year old, I spent hours trying to explain it to my best friend. That had to be one of the first books I owned outside my Bible. I actually loaned it to that girl. (Unlike my thieving friend, this one returned my book.) 

Please sir...

Most of all, I'd like to see more books that aren't written as though the author was only thinking about the kind of movie it could be turned into.

Write the book
or write the screenplay
#YouChoose

To be honest, there are lots of these books already out there. I just wish I heard about them the way I hear about A Brief History or however many shades of grey there are.

There. #Rantoftheday is done.

Peace

--Free

I Challenge You All: To Do vs Done It

I am an app junkie. Time, weather, math, spelling, games... If there's an android app, I probably have had it on my phone.

It's dawned on me in the past few days that what I need is not a "To Do" app, but a "Done It" app. Until I find such an app (or learn to create one), I have been using pen and paper. Every couple hours or so, I make notes of what I have actually accomplished. Just before bed, I take a look and - well, I just started doing this so, right now, I mostly realize how little I do accomplish. What I am learning is that I waste a lot of time. Since I am forcing myself to be more aware of how I spend my time, I hope to start spending it better.

The Challenge:
If you want to try this, I suggest that you keep pen and paper nearby. Every couple hours, jot down what you have accomplished. (It can be a little cringe-worthy at first. If you don't think so, look at my first list below.) Don't try to change your usual routine for the first day if you want to get an honest idea of your time use. On Day Two, on one side of your paper, make a note of what you'd like to get done by day's end. On the other side of the paper, keep a log of what you actually did get done.

Wow, right?

So, yeah. That's my little challenge. But I'm not knocking the use of apps. Matter of fact, some apps are really necessary for me. I have one that tracks my blood pressure checks. This is because my doctor's like to monitor that sort of thing and I can rarely remember appointments, let alone a month's worth of pressure readings. Because I check my phone so much, I always notice the widget, which reminds me to check my pressure and log it.

I used one app when I was quitting smoking. It was (literally, I guess) a lifesaver. Whenever I wanted a smoke - which was about every 2 seconds, it seemed - I'd open Quit Smoking: Cessation Nation (*) and play a game or check my quit stats. It's kind of nice to be reminded of how your body is healing itself after years of nicotine abuse.

The apps I love though are the ones I just know I am going to use. I see them and think, "Wow, this is what I need to help solve every life problem I have." (Okay, not really, but I do get all hopeful like that.) I have so many apps on my phone that I forget about half of them unless I try to re-download them. Seriously.

One of the things I struggle with is keeping myself on track with goals. I am trying to get this book written, but I have trouble keeping plot and characters in line. Evernote has been my best friend for a minute now - though I don't like its widget. But the main kinds of apps I have been attracted to are the memo and list apps.

I actually use the Memo app (that came on my Samsung Infuse) several times a week. It's the only app of its kind that I do use on a regular basis. Not that it's the only good app of its kind, but there is something about how easy it is to use. Also, it never gets trashed up with updates. It's a good thing and they let it be. Bravo! (Watch what happens now that I mentioned it...)

Here are just some of the other apps I always intend to make use of:

• Assistant (a little bitchy & you need data or wi-fi open)
• Bother Me (needs work, but a great idea)
• Calendar (don't like the layout)
• Executive Assistant (I got tangled in options)
• Days Since (does "until" also. I like it a lot.)
• InNote (forgot I had it til this post!)

By the way, I hope my challenge works for you.

Peace

--Free

My 1st Day List 

Checked and answered email

Online

Blogged & Music

Set out stuff for dinner

TV

Online and email while eating

Exercised for about half an hour

Light cleaning

TV

Music and on phone

Visited family and took a nap

Early dinner

Ran errands

TV

Some editing

That's it. Like I said, cringe worthy. I am pretty embarrassed that I got nothing much done. And what in the hell did I do that warranted taking a nap? What am I - 2 years old?

Thankfully, I can say that this is one of my slower days, but I was up at around 8am and in bed by about 11pm. This is all I did with my precious life hours??? Yeah, so, my next step will be tracking start and finish times. 

(*) Thank you, Ron Horner, for an app that probably really did add some years to my life.

Peace
--Free

Speaking of Learning

Since I mentioned my hopes of getting into the field of coding, I thought I would pass along links to the different sites I've been seeing. Whether you are looking to learn something, or find (like me) a new career path, or are just interested in learning for its own sake, here are some resources:

For coding -

• Codeacademy (nicely set up for the beginner to track learning progress)
• W3Schools (self-described as "the world's largest development site)
• Udacity has an Intro to Computer Sciences that looks organized & practical.
• Hackety Hack is a downloadable program to teach you to... program. 

For app development & other -

• Coursera offers free courses of all kinds, including those in computer science. Check to see which courses are open for which dates. 
• General Assembly offers courses both online and in classroom. The Mobile Development and  Web Development courses look interesting.
• Sitepoint offers to show how to design apps without having programming skills. (Should I be worried?)
• Mozilla offers a tool to help you get creative while Google has a learning spot for developers interested in their products. (Now that Google has surpassed Apple as the most valuable company, it might be nice to jump in on the learning.)

There are tons of courses and classes and intructors to be found on the web for just about anything you want to learn. For this post, I listed sites that I have seen mentioned more than once in articles and reviews. I also tried to list only free courses, but some sites offer a choice of free and paid, so read the small print. Most of all, have fun learning something new. At 50-and-change, I am just trying to keep up with the kids.

Peace

--Free

When Apps Go Right

I am a horrible person. Not horrible in a mean-gal way, but horrible at learning new languages, and horrible about mimicking other people's accents!

While my sister is the champion of mimics, I am the ruling monarch of sucking at languages. When I'd meet someone who spoke something other than English, I used to at least try to learn how to say "hello," "please" and "thank you" in their tongue. Oh, that and a couple of naughty words or phrases!

A long time ago, in a place far away, I met a young Welsh woman, so I asked her to teach me how to say something impolite. For almost 25 years now, I've been telling folks I know how to tell someone in Welsh how to kiss my a**. I just used Google Translate. I don't know what I've been saying for all these years, but it doesn't seem to be anything like what Translate brought up.

For all the time that I have been in love with some of my celebrity crushes, I've planned that, upon them seeing me and falling instantly and deeply in love with me, I would say something charming in Spanish or French. At the rate I am learning, I won't be able to say "Hey handsome, what's up?" in English.

I bring up my horrible language skills because I found an app that just fascinates and amazes me. It's called the Rosetta Course series from, of course, Rosetta Stone.

Now, I have heard people complain that the Rosetta method is too expensive. Let me say this: the app that I checked out is just a taste of the Rosetta course and I managed to learn a Japanese word in about 20 seconds. Ask me, the Rosetta folks aren't charging enough!

With the app I am toying with, I attempted the Japanese before I almost sprang my tongue. I switched to Spanish. Nice.

This is surely an app to check out.

Raha*
--Free

(*Swahili. According to Google Translate: Raha = rest, joy, comfort, bliss, contentment, enjoyment.)