| Avoiding Distractions on the Web - How to Block Websites Using Your Hosts File |
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Sunday, May 24th, 2009 03:12:36 GMT |
| Self-Help Productivity |
If you're trying to get useful things done while you're on the internet, but find yourself habitually wandering over to distracting websites like forums, YouTube, or web-based email, you might like to use the following instructions (or an adaptation of them, if you're not a Windows user) to block any sites you want from appearing in your web browser even if you try to go to them.
The location of the hosts file can vary, but, if you're a Windows XP user like me, you might find it in this folder:
If the hosts file isn't at that location, you can look in the Wikipedia article Hosts file for some other possible folders/file paths where it might be. (Alternatively, you can search the web for a different source of info which is more trustworthy than Wikipedia, the encyclopedia that can be edited by anyone).
In Windows, you can navigate to the above file path simply and easily by opening Internet Explorer, copying and pasting the above file path into the address bar, and pressing Enter on the keyboard.
If your hosts file is set to be read-only, you'll have to change that before you can edit it. In Windows, right-click on your hosts file and choose Properties, and then make sure there's no checkmark in the box that says "Read only".
(You can put either spaces or tabs between the 127.0.0.1 and the domain name).
Save the file, and restart your web browser. Now, you won't be able to reach YouTube, because all your web browser's requests for anything at youtube.com or www.youtube.com will be redirected to 127.0.0.1, the localhost IP address - your own computer.
Unless you're running web server software on your computer for some reason (such as to run Astroblahhh Desktop or the Astrosorting Music Organization Database (AMODB)), you'll only reach a blank page.
Then, if you ever want to block YouTube again, you can just delete those pound signs.
In not only Windows but other platforms, there's something called a hosts file which allows you to block sites. The way it does this is by making it so any attempts to access anything at certain domain names are redirected to some other IP address.
C:/WINDOWS/system32/drivers/etc
Make a duplicate of your hosts file, so you can put it back the way it was in case you mess anything up. (In Windows, this can be done by single-clicking the file, pressing Ctrl and C at the same time on your keyboard, then pressing Ctrl and V at the same time on your keyboard. A new file titled "Copy of hosts" should appear).
Next, open the hosts file with a plain text editor like Notepad. To block YouTube, add some lines like these.
127.0.0.1 youtube.com
127.0.0.1 www.youtube.com
If you want to stop blocking YouTube without deleting the above lines altogether, then, you can put some pound signs at the beginning of the above lines, like this:
#127.0.0.1 youtube.com
#127.0.0.1 www.youtube.com
Another tip - don't make it too easy for yourself to access and edit your hosts file. If you're using a particularly nice plain text editor like my favorite, NoteTab Light, you might be able to bookmark the hosts file. But, it's better not to, because that would make it too easy to unblock the sites you want to avoid.
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| Tapestry Analogy |
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Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 21:48:55 GMT |
| Self-Help Link |
At Donald Trump's blog, I found an encouraging analogy, comparing your life to a tapestry, in this blog post:
Why We Want You To Be Rich: Winners Take Control (5/15/2009)
I found it cheering, so, just thought I'd point it out.
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| Opalescent Skies of Amethera |
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Friday, May 15th, 2009 16:36:54 GMT |
| Wallpaper Entropia Universe |
Here are the most beautiful skies I've ever seen in Entropia Universe. I just discovered them two days ago, mostly thanks to a glitch which blocked my character from walking east - otherwise I wouldn't have ended up in the region where the skies look like this.
These are from somewhere south of Amethera 24497, 2562, 76, near the ocean. They were all taken May 13, 2009, around 6:14-6:16 PM EDT. The files below are all around 300-400 KB and in PNG format.
I can't decide which near-duplicates to arbitrarily exclude, so, I'll just include them all. Might as well, since some people might like some ocean in their wallpaper, while others might prefer just sky alone.
Five which are largely the same, with varying amounts of ocean visible:
Four which are largely the same, with varying amounts of ocean visible:
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| Astroblahhh Desktop v0.55 |
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Wednesday, May 13th, 2009 11:14:14 GMT |
| Site Update Software Release |
You can now get Astroblahhh Desktop v0.55. It has not only the Astroblahhh Links Organizer, but the new Astroblahhh Idea Organizer.
I last uploaded its zip file at 6:39 AM EDT. As usual, here's a copy-and-pasteable Astrolog 5.40 command line for any curious astrologers.
The time above this blog post is the time at which I announced Astroblahhh Desktop v0.55's release:
I might have released it days earlier if I hadn't gotten a cold.
The last thing I need to complete before Astroblahhh Desktop will be version 1.0 is the file organizer part of it. No idea how long that will take. I'm not even sure I'm going to focus primarily on that next.
In any case, I'd rather not talk about my future plans, because I don't want to feel obligated to carry them out, nor do I want to disappoint anyone by taking a wretchedly long time to get them done. I'd rather just surprise you all every so often.-qa May 13 2009 6:39 EDT 80:34W 41:09N
Location: Hubbard, OH.
-qa May 13 2009 7:14 EDT 80:34W 41:09N
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| Second Life shop moved |
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Monday, April 27th, 2009 03:04:01 GMT |
| Site Update |
I moved my tiny shop in Second Life today. The (free) MagnaMural, the Huge 32m x 24m Movie Screen (not free because it's more of a luxury than a useful tool), and the box people can pay to donate to me, can now be found at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Highflyer/74/229/761.
I didn't really want to move my shop, but, once I found out my neighbor really needed the land for something, I didn't want to inconvenience my neighbor for no really good reason by refusing to sell my land, so, I sold it. At least I got to move to a sim with a nicer name than Oddjob. :-) That name had bothered me for a while, actually, but that wasn't a good enough reason by itself to bother to move my shop.
Moments after I sold my old land, I bought the new land at exactly 15:11:06, according to my Second Life L$ transaction history. (That's in Second Life time, better known as Pacific time). No, I didn't attempt any electional astrology.
Here's an Astrolog 5.40 command line for any curious astrologers:
-qa Apr 26 2009 18:11:06 EDT 80:34W 41:09N
I'm almost ready to release an update of Astroblahhh Desktop. The organizer for ideas/goals/to-do list items/other random text scraps is almost done. Hopefully I'll release that sometime in the next couple weeks.
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| Susan Boyle's "Cry Me A River" |
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Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 20:11:39 GMT |
| Music |
Probably everyone has heard of Susan Boyle by now. The video of her on Britain's Got Talent is everywhere.
What fewer people might have heard of, yet, is a song she sung for a CD done for charity, released in 1999. It's a slow-paced jazz/blues tune called "Cry Me a River". You can hear it (and read about it) at The Daily Record: Exclusive: Susan Boyle's first ever song release revealed - listen to it here.
It's also available on YouTube: Susan Boyle - Cry Me A River - 1999 Recording (From The Scottish Daily Record Newspaper)
Heartbreakingly beautiful. It's astounding that the world took this long to discover her.
Here's the Wikipedia article on the song Cry Me A River. Also, here's a page with some lyrics.
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| Giant Rabbits |
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Sunday, April 12th, 2009 05:30:27 GMT |
| Pictures Found Pictures |
Here are some videos (and a picture) of giant rabbits. Yes, they exist. Happy Easter.
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| Lemon Demon |
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Friday, April 10th, 2009 01:10:11 GMT |
| Music Astrosorted Music List Update |
Here's another Astrosorted Music List update. Below are links to 16 fabulous legally free songs. All but one are by the band Lemon Demon; the one that isn't is by Trapezoid, the former band of Lemon Demon's Neil Cicierega.
Lemon Demon has albums and songs for sale for very reasonable prices at CDFreedom.com. You can even pay for them via PayPal.
Lemon Demon also has a Store page with other merchandise.
In no particular order:
Warning: The noise from about 3:56 onward is annoying.
Warning: The first 4 seconds are kind of loud and annoying.
Warning: A bit shrill and/or loud sometimes.
Comment: The hilarious video this song is based on can be watched on YouTube: Ben Bernanke There's also a music video version, but you should download the MP3 for the best audio quality.
Length: 4:06 File Size: 4.93 MB Vocals Grating
Lemon Demon
Length: 3:45 File Size: 4.52 MB Vocals Grating
Lemon Demon
Length: 1:03 File Size: 1.02 MB Vocals
Lemon Demon
Length: 4:14 File Size: 5.09 MB Vocals
Lemon Demon
Length: 0:29 File Size: 0.48 MB Vocals
Lemon Demon
Length: 2:35 File Size: 2.49 MB Vocals Volume Grating
Trapezoid
Length: 2:29 File Size: 3.00 MB Vocals
Lemon Demon
Length:0:45 File Size: 0.73 MB Vocals
Lemon Demon
Length: 3:33 File Size: 5.12 MB Vocals Profanity Grating
Lemon Demon
Length: 4:05 File Size: 4.90 MB Vocals Grating
Lemon Demon
Length: 1:00 File Size: 0.97 MB Vocals Grating
Lemon Demon
Length: 5:21 File Size: 5.14 MB Vocals Volume Grating
Lemon Demon
Length: 4:27 File Size: 5.35 MB Vocals Profanity
Lemon Demon
Length: 2:06 File Size: 2.53 MB Vocals
Lemon Demon
Length: 4:37 File Size: 5.55 MB Vocals
Lemon Demon
Length: 0:55 File Size: 0.89 MB Vocals Grating
Lemon Demon
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| http://prosperity.astroblahhh.com/ |
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Thursday, April 9th, 2009 01:46:56 GMT |
| Site Update |
At 2:55 PM on 4/7/2009, I finally put up a short, boring informational page at http://prosperity.astroblahhh.com/. (I didn't announce it until now because, due to technical difficulties, it wasn't working until today).
Originally I had that domain set up as a redirect to the former Donations & Microdonations for Individuals & Groups "pod" (the Gaia/Zaadz jargon for forum) on Gaia, since the pod itself contained pretty much all the news there even was that was related to the fate of the pod.
But, since the pod is under new management, is now known as the Microdonations pod, and will probably be undergoing significant changes in the future, it seemed like a good idea to finally put up a page of what little news there is that is related to the eventual, possible revival of the original group.
| Flower Basket |
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Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 23:22:34 GMT |
| Wallpaper Found Photo |
Here's a lovely picture I found recently, reminiscent of spring - a pretty flower basket (or some kind of container, anyway) with yellow, whitish, and pink flowers. To see the image at full size, click the link that says "4256×2832 pixels".
I found that picture at Matt Mullenweg's excellent and cleverly-named site, ma.tt.
It certainly brightens up this dreary day. Oddly enough, it's actually snowing a bit today, here in Hubbard, OH.