Uncensored & Alarm'd

I know I was not going to put up a post everyday, but it is my blog and I will do what I want!

Today I wanted to alert people to these two new websites I read off of the WebWare RSS (Again, read my last post about this great location for new web services). The first one can turn a couple heads. One issue we all run into when posting on the internet is copyright infringement. I know most might not consider it, but we all have to rethink our ideas on copyright…I’ll leave that conversation to the law makers! But, BAYIMG is taking the issue right out of the equation. Their angle is free uncensored image hosting (of any resolution). You read that correctly, free – uncensored - image – hosting! Can you believe this, a location on the web where you can put whatever you want up? The implications are far reaching…but don’t fear, there is a removal process. When you put the image up you need to remember the removal code, you set up at upload, because that is the only way the image is coming down.

“Bayimg.com is a place where you can host all your images. We do not censor them. We believe in freedom of speech, it's of utter importance to us…We will not remove any pictures that are just immoral or in any way legal to host under Swedish law.” ~ Bayimg.com

Right on… I may need to rethink my vacation plans and see what they are doing over there in Stockholm. I had friend when I was younger (Robin) from Sweden and I remember him telling me about how liberal they are over there. I wonder what he is up to these days…Robin if you read this blog, email me or comment below!

This image is hosted by BAYIMG, from my trip to Rio. I know the removal code now, but I will conveniently forget and see how long it stays up. Ah how beautiful this can be…A world where you express yourself freely, post images you can trust will be up FOREVER. You think china has blocked this website already?

The 2^nd one is for those who sleep with their computers on. How about making it into one giant alarm clock. Now you may already have a program that alarms for you…possibly wakes you to smooth sounds, a cd or some other noise of your choice. This website allows you to set an alarm (no installation required, just leave the page up) to sounds you prefer (I like the standard noise, will definitely wake me up), but now you can wake yourself up to a youtube video! Or Pandora (another great free music source) or last.fm! Basically, it gives you alternate option other than your standard clock. Then again with the invention of the computer you already had that figured out. Enjoy ALARMD!

Web 2.0

It had to come at one point…with my love of technology I have to highlight this interesting event. For those of you who have been living in a cave (or un-connected), the world is changing faster than you can get the information in. In this vein, Webware (by Cnet) is a website I frequent that tells me about all the cool apps on the internet that may not be that mainstream as yet. Recently they conducted a poll of over 450K votes for the top 100 Web 2.0 products (10 in each of the 10 categories) over a 20 day period. I remember when this was first begun, because they asked users to nominate websites then they held the poll on each category.

The categories range from Browsing (Firefox, Opera, Netvibes, etc.) and Communication (AIM, GTalk, GrandCentral, etc.) to Productive/Commerce (Blinksale, Paypal, Google Docs & Spreadsheets, etc.) and Reference (WebMD, Wikipedia, Geni, etc.). I could easily just list all these links on this page, but it is easier to list the host! If you notice, some of these sites now list this achievement on their front page. See how web 2.0 is changing our lives. Before someone might have had to hold a conference, take the poll, and then have an awards ceremony. Now, you go online, cast your vote and they publish the winner. Doesn’t take much away from the award because you still won! Just saves money on plane tickets I think…click the link below and learn a new product. Come out of the cave and join the population! As a side note, I picked at least one winner in every category…I’m so plugged in!

WebWare Best 100 Web 2.0

Now I do not want to leave anyone behind. Below you will find 2 embedded videos explaining Web 2.0. The first video is more informational. For those of you who are technical and like just knowing about things, you will probably enjoy both videos. Those of you who are just on the web to surf and not interested in all the delineation, just go to the 2^nd video. The 2^nd video runs more along the lines of a music video explaining web 2.0. Very cool, it has over 2.5 Million views…worth the 4:31!

*Neither video was edited by me. The 2 videos above are to be treated as links within my blog.

To Know True Beauty in Rio...

Not to kill you so softly, but I wanted to put these other videos I just compiled up! If you wondered why I am so enamored with Rio, this will help. The 2^nd to last night we were in Rio, I took video of the sunrise…absolutely gorgeous! Fortunately, while we were down there we were able to meet some really nice people. My friend’s apartment overlooked Copacabana beach, which allowed us to get such a marvelous view of the sun coming up over the mountains. The beginning of the video was taken before we went out for the night. Without knowing I was going to be up for the sunrise, I decided to take the same shot as the sun was rising. Great fortune I say! As we noticed the ridiculous view, we decided to go to the beach to get a closer look and enjoy the sunrise with the rest of Rio. There are some parts where the wind from the ocean causes the sounds to mess up, but the view, not me talking is what you are here to enjoy!

This video is from our trip to Christ Redeemer (Cristo Redentor). The beginning is the drive to the statue, through Ipanema and then up at the statue. There were these monkey’s that were hanging around our car because we had candy in it and I thought they smelled the food. I was not interested in finding out, monkey’s are no joke, neither is rabies. Anyway, when we were at the top it was extremely windy. May is winter time in Rio, so there aren’t many people visiting and as you can see most people are wearing winter jackets, while I was walking around in shorts. Trust me when I tell you, it was a hard lesson to learn but I will remember to bring at least sweat pants!

Rio De Janeiro...

The reason, if you haven’t figured it out as yet, why the posting just stopped short is because I just came back from a life changing trip to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Now, if you have any friends who have visited Rio, talk with them right now! I was warned by the person who we (Alejandro and I) rented an apartment from (best decision ever: Lounge Six) that this trip will change our lives. I didn’t believe him or better yet I couldn’t see how 1 trip would do so much. But I am here to proclaim that he was so right. Now I do not claim to be this extensive traveler of the world twice over, but I think I am ahead of the curve on most of those my age and Rio is the most beautiful place in the world for many reasons, my reasons!

I think I will just let the pictures speak for themselves, initially. Those who wish for me to go into greater detail, I will…but just try to catch a glimpse of what I saw through my lens. It doesn’t do it justice, but it will have to suffice for now or at least until you go!

In terms of the danger of Rio, it is true, but not as widespread as the media would have you believe. If you have traveled to a dangerous place before and take the same precautions you took while you were there, you will be fine. As an example, I took a lot of photos (700+, but you only see the ones I thought were the best), but I was sure to put the camera back into my pocket immediately so I wouldn’t be targeted. Nothing I wouldn’t do anywhere else I didn’t feel safe. If you are still worried, post a comment and I will see if I can refer you to a website on travel safety.

A couple tips for those who may be traveling in the near future:

1. Use Google Maps to know where you are going before you venture out. I did my due diligence and surfed the net for possible locations we may visit while down in Rio. I found their address online, saved them to my Google Maps and when we were going out I would draw a map of the cross streets if the location was a little out of the way. One time we were in a cab and told the driver to take us to Baronneti (a local night club), but he had no idea where it was. I showed him my drawing with the cross streets ( link ) and he took us to the cross street, not knowing if the club was there or not, but I trust Google Maps. Low and behold, the club was right there! Problem averted!

2. DO NOT TRAVEL WITH US CURRENCY! There are a couple of Citibank ATMs around that make taking money out so convenient and the rates are very good! There is also a branch location where you can deposit your left over Reais (Pronounced Hey-ice). One thing I wanted to do was get 100s, the ATMs would only give 50s. Another benefit to using Citibank ATMs was they gave the option of doing your transitions in ENGLISH! I went to this HSBC ATM before I knew about the Citibank ATMs and it did not give the option for English. Not good!

3. If there is nothing else you do, learn a little Portuguese. The more you know, the better your trip will be. Knowing Spanish definitely helps, whenever I didn’t know how to say something in Portuguese I would say the word in Spanish and most would get it. I definitely was doing a lot of hand motions, but I did 5 tracks from the Pimsleur Brazilian Portuguese CD ( Amazon Link ) and it made a difference. Its not extensive, but it helps. So learn something…

I could fill up this page with tips, but I want you to enjoy the experience. Trust me when I say a trip to Rio De Janeiro is never a bad decision. Just listen to my travel companion Alejandro on his thoughts about Rio. This video was taken on our 3^rd day, out of a 9 day trip!