The History of Casual Gaming

A quick look at the casual gamer

Source: One More Level Flash Games

Tracking Down Grandma – How GPS Keeps Your Loved Ones in Check

The thought of grandma or grandpa driving can be nerve-racking for many families, and that is where devices like GPS vehicle tracking units can come in very handy. Especially engineered and designed, these vehicle tracking devices help to keep a watchful eye on the driving activities of seniors.

Live vehicle tracking systems provide families with eyes in the sky that helps to monitor the driving skills of their elderly parents, while allowing them to have their independence. If there is reason to believe that grandma or grandpa is a danger to themselves or others on the road, then GPS vehicle tracking allows the family to access the driving activity live from a distance. The information can then be converted into easily legible text reports that can be used to make further decisions. Since the tracking units can easily and permanently be installed in the car, there is no need to deal with replacement of batteries or worry about having the unit removed by the elderly driver.

Personal tracking systems are similar to GPS vehicle tracking and can help to keep track of loved ones who have memory issues. The devices have the ability to watch grandma or grandpa’s mobility and verify if they are present in a designated area. The information can be retrieved anytime since the systems operate nonstop. Such a tracking system alerts the family if the elderly person wanders off, is safe inside or around the house, or if they are making the scheduled doctor’s visits as required.

Tracking systems provide security and a peace of mind to everyone involved. As an added security measure, it is possible to set fundamental boundaries and if the boundary is breached, an alert is sent telling the family that the person has left the safe area. Since people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease tend to wander off and may end up placing themselves and at times others in potential danger, the use of a tracking device helps to limit this possibility. With the continuous improvements in technology, GPS tracking devices are getting smaller and easier to carry around. The wearable device is hardly noticeable because it is worn like a watch, but allows one to “see” that their loved one, be it an elderly parent or a child.

The GPS vehicle tracking systems and other private tracking devices do not need the purchase of expensive equipment to keep track of a loved one. Even cell phone companies make this option available. The only drawback with the cell phones is that the GPS data cannot be accessed directly. Precise location requires the use of wireless network technology and the data can only be made available if an emergency call is made.

While vehicle tracking systems may raise trust issues with teenagers and things like cell phone tracking might seem like an invasion of privacy, the fact remains that such safety devices also protect the family, should the need arise. Since a GPS vehicle tracking can potentially help to keep a teenager out of a life threatening accident or help to save the life of an elderly parent, the trust or invasion of privacy are small issues in comparison.

If vehicle tracking is not an option, then the latest software available can turn the typical Java-enabled mobile phone or a PDA mobile phone using Windows into a personal tracker. It allows the tracking of children, employees, or lone field workers and the best news is that it costs nothing. Certain services even provide RSS feeds which allow the data to be placed on a personal website so private collection of maps can be built and displayed with the service providers of one’s choice. Some of the features available include real time tracking, two way messaging, SMS or email alerts, storage of previous history tracks, daily reports and the distance traveled. This software that can be downloaded easily.

GPS receivers are being miniaturized to the point that now they are made up of just a few integrated circuits, hence, very economical. That makes the technology accessible to almost everyone. Now GPS is employed in everything from new cars to boats, planes, farm machinery, construction equipment, and even laptop computers. Keeping track of people and possessions has never been easier.

6 Animated Christmas Light Displays That Will Blow Your Stockings Off

I don’t know what it is about July; maybe it is the fact that its just past half way to Christmas or maybe it is the fact that there are so many Christmas in July sales in the mall, but I can’t help but think about Christmas every year around this time.

So today, I spent a good hour digging around Youtube, checking out some of the most amazing Christmas lights spectacles I could find. I was thinking I’d probably find a few houses that had 20,000 lights or so and power bills the size of most families monthly incomes, but to my surprise I was blown away by actual animated LED Christmas light shows.

Around here, the people with a billion static lights get all the attention, but on the Internet is where the real Christmas light freaks catch their fifteen minutes of fame. These people have not only completely drenched their houses with tens of thousands of LED Christmas lights, they’ve also used a computer to animate them so they dance in tune with music.

Some of these videos date back to 2007, so before you comment that some of these are old, not every single person walking the planet watched every video on youtube.

Here are six videos of animated Christmas lights made by some very talented people…. let the countdown to Christmas begin!

Frisco Christmas Lights – Wizards in Winter

Santa Clause is Coming to Town

You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch 2007 by Dearing Dazzle

42,000 Christmas LED Lights Dance to Coca Cola Holiday Song

Christmas Lights Synchronized to TSO Nutcracker

Christmas Light Show – Amazing Grace Techno

The 10 Largest Erections on the Planet

The planet Earth is an absolutely amazing place to live. We have amazing ancient engineering feats from the Great Pyramid of Giza to the Colosseum in Rome. Decade after decade humans continue to out do them selves and come up with bigger and better structures. Humans are obsessed with always improving upon or being better than what is already out there and as a result, absolutely outstanding structures that are progressively larger are appearing all over the world. Between gigantic sky scrapers and humongous steel buildings, we are slowly unleashing modern day engineering wonders upon the world.

Every body wants to own biggest erection, and by erection I mean the largest erected structure on the planet.

This article goes over the ten largest erected structures in the world, their size and the location you can go to see them for yourself.

10. Dimona Radar Facility

Building Type: Radar
Country: Israel
City: Dimona
Height: 1,312 Feet
Built: 2008

9. GRES-2 Power Station

Building Type: Chimney
Country: Kazakhstan
City: Ekibastusz
Height: 1,377 Feet
Built: 1987

8. Petronas Twin towers

Building Type: Twin Towers
Country: Malaysia
City: Kuala Lumpur
Height: 1,482 Feet
Built: 1998

7. BREN Tower

Building Type: Tower for scientific research
Country: United States
City: Nevada Test Site
Height: 1,516 Feet
Built: 1962

6. Shanghai World Financial Center

Building Type: Skyscraper
Country: People’s Republic of China
City: Shanghai
Height: 1,614 Feet
Built: 2008

5. Taipei 101

Building Type: Skyscraper
Country: Taiwan
City: Taipei
Height: 1,671 Feet
Built: 2004

4. Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower)

Building Type: Skyscraper
Country: United States
City: Chicago
Height: 1730 Feet
Built: 1973

3. CN Tower

Building Type: Concrete Tower
Country: Canada
City: Toronto
Height: 1815 Feet
Built: 1976

2. KVLY-TV mast

Building Type: Guyed Mast
Country: United States
City: Blanchard, N.D
Height: 2063 Feet
Built: 1963

1. Burj Dubai

Building Type: Skyscraper
Country: United Arab Emirates
City: Dubai
Height: 2684 Ft
Built: 2009

Kids Playing Vids

While the first couple of these videos are quite cute, I really only added the first three in to add a little extra variety to this post.  The highlight of this post is the last video; a baby playing Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix.  So for the real meat and potatoes of this post, proceed to the last video.  If you like kids, then you will probably like the rest of this post, little kids playing vids.

4. Dance Dance Revolution Baby

Clearly this kid is accomplishing absolutely nothing but burning some of their much needed overpriced pabulum calories.  This kid is  living proof that even white babies have no rhythm.  I’m sorry parents, you are going to want to invest in some dance lessons.

3. The Wii Tennis Player

You know as well as I do that the only reason this little Asian kid is playing a Tennis video game is because a Badminton game has yet to be released.

2. The Wii boxer

Unlike the parents of the kid in the first video, these parents are doing something useful with their child.  There is nothing quite as wholesome and American as teaching your kid how to throw a punch while they are a baby.

1. Street Fighter 2 Baby

Give me the adoption papers, I want this kid as my own.  I don’t think I ever successfully pulled off the Zangief Double Suplex in my entire life.  This kid is clearly a SF II prodigy; it is unfortunate he was born ten years past Street Fighter 2’s prime.

10 Robots You Could Take Home To Mom

Technology is changing faster than I can change my underwear (which is at least daily if you cared to know), and as a result we are getting closer and closer to officially landing ourselves in the future that the movie ‘The Terminator’ predicted.  Robots are getting very capable of doing many human functions and it is only a matter of time before they take over the world.  Once artificial intelligence can recreate emotions, which as far as I understand isn’t too far off, all it is going to take is one pissed off robot to turn on us and end the human race.

Robotics has come very far since Johnny 5 starred in Short Circuit; Robots like Johnny 5 are very close to existing, and better yet, very close to being ready for public purchase!

So, on that note, here are 10 robots that I wouldn’t hesitate to take home to mom.

10. Modular Snake Robot

9. BlackWidow Spider

8. Hexapod Phoenix

7. A-Pod Ant Robot

6. Oxyopus

5. Real Life Transformer Robot

4. RuBot II – Rubix cube solving robot

3. Toyota’s Humanoid Violin Playing Robot

2. Amphibious Robot Snake

1. Robot Fish