Snippets:
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Computer: To change appearance of Windows XP and improve performance (e.g. turn off fading of menus): Right click 'My Computer' --> Properties --> Advanced tab --> Performance: Settings. Source.
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Marsch der Verdammten (Der Spiegel, 2/2004, p114; in German): Article about the 'Ross Sea Party', a group of men that had the objective to install supply depots for Ernest Shackleton's 'famous' Antarctis crossing in 1915/16. Starting from the opposite site of the continent toward the pole, three men lost their lives after a series of mishaps, including loosing their ship. In the end the party met their goal under harsh conditions, only to learn later that Shackleton's effort had failed. Interesting to see again, how poorly expeditions were prepare in those days.
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Book: History of Herodotus at the Gutenberg Project: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. There is a Gutenberg 'Best Of' CD with some great world literature!
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People of Ideas: Names, pictures and info on important people.
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Video: Mystic Seaport . Video Tours Great America Series. Eastman Kodak. ~27 min. 1989. Narrated by Walter Cronkite. Short overview of the seaport part of the museum in Mystic, CT. Mostly advertisment for the museum, with some history. Overall not very informative; there would be so much more to tell.
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Book on CD: John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men. Unabridged. 3 CDs. Original material 1937. Penguin HighBridge Audio 2002. Story of the mentally disabled Lenny and his friend George, who nurture a dream of independence. Until reality catches up... Must read. Sometimes depressing atmosphere.
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Books: Booksense: A family of independent booksellers. Lists with book recommendations.
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Books: Bookcrossing. Creative way of telling others about a good book, and emptying your bookshelf! Register a book at the web site, obtain a unique ID number, then release it into the wild. Whoever finds it should then go to the website again to acknowledge the receipt, read it, and potentially release it again. And so on ... sounds like fun!
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Music: Air. French duo (Jean-Benoit Dunckel, Nicolas Godin) that recorded the music to the movie 'The Virgin Suicides' (2000). Several albums. Easy listening music; gets boring after a while.
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Video: Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition: 1.) Star Wars (1977, 1997), 125 min. 2.) The Empire Strikes Back (1980, 1997), 127 min. 3.) The Return of the Jedi (1983, 1997), 135 min. w/ Mark Hamil (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), and Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia). Produced by George Lucas. Special Edition is refreshed and new scenes were added. Some scenes were enhanced. Action-packed science fiction movies without any big story, lots of bad acting and cheesy moments. Special effects are outstanding considering when the movies were filmed. Overall an important set to watch, but don't expect too much.
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Computer: McAfee AVERT Stinger: Free stand-alone utility used to detect and remove specific viruses.
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Book: Giacomo Casanova, Chevalier de Seingalt: History of My Life (written ~ 1797). 12 Volumes. Lengthy account of Casanova's life and the art of seduction. Simple style. Draws an interesting picture of 18th century life in France and Italy.
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