Yes, You Can Still Call For The Time and Temperature. Try It Now!

If you're old enough to remember life before the internet, you probably remember calling the "Time Lady" to hear the current time and temperature. It was a phone number that just about everyone knew by heart, and many people called it every day.

Then came the internet, followed by smartphones and streaming technology. Suddenly, the time, weather, and just about everything else you needed was always right there on your screen. As a result, time-and-temperature phone numbers slowly faded into history, and most people forgot they even existed.

But here's the interesting part—they're still around.

If you're wondering whether you can still call to hear your local time and temperature, the answer is yes. The familiar voice you remember from years ago is gone, though. Today, the recording is most likely generated by artificial intelligence rather than spoken by a real person.

If you live outside of Ohio, you can still find a local time-and-temperature number for your area. Simply visit https://clearlyip.com/free-weather-call/, click Find Your Number, select your state, and choose the phone number closest to your location.

It's a fun little blast from the past—and a reminder that even in the age of smartphones, some old traditions are still hanging on. The great thing about calling these numbers today is that now you'll get a lot more information, more than the basic time and temp of yesteryear.

For us in the greater Akron/Cleveland area we’ll call 330-374-1212 and 216-931-1212.

These numbers give you more detailed weather, extended forecasts, wake up calls, sports schedules and scores, free horoscopes, US Lottery numbers and Free US headline news.

For time and temp only, in the greater akron area of north east ohio these numbers will do (330)762-0111 and (330) 869-8686.

So for fun, you can call one of these numbers like you did back in the old days and relive those moments and then some. Be sure to tuck away this number in the Rolodex of your own mind, because some people prefer to give out this number instead of their own when asked for their phone number, like when you’re in a bar or when you’re filling out useless random forms that are probably just collecting personal info/data. Comes in handy when you don’t wanna give out your real number!

Gov't Banned This Post! So, I'm Re-Posting!

Post Banned by the .gov
by u/Critical-Teacher-115 in GeminiAI

Post Banned! So, I'm Re-Posting! You should really read what this one is all about. 

Word of The Year in 2025

Here’s a brief run-down of the 2025 “Word(s) of the Year” from four major sources — Oxford, Cambridge, Dictionary.com, and Merriam-Webster  — Showing us the many different trends of the year.

Oxford University Press

Word of the Year

rage bait

(n.) Online content deliberately designed to stir anger, and or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive, typically posted in order to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media account.

Cambridge Dictionary

Word of the Year

Parasocial

(Adj.) Describes a connection that people feel with someone they don’t know – or even with artificial intelligence.

Distionary.com

Word of the Year

6,7

(Slang) “6,7" A slang phrase pronounced "six-seven".

It is used to express a range of meanings, often nonsensical like "so-so" or “I don’t know?”

Merriam-Webster

Word of the Year

slop

(n.) Merriam-Webster defines “slop” as digital content of low quality that is produced, usually in quantity with artificial intelligence.

Looking back on all of these together, the 2025 picks all point to life online — the way outrage gets clicks, AI floods the internet with junk, people form emotional bonds with media figures, and younger generations play with language in new, inside-joke ways. Go figure!

Happy New Year to All!

New Music 2025 You Might Have Missed?

Looking back on the year, these were some of the music highlights that really stuck with me. If you happened to miss any of them, all of these albums are easy to find in full on YouTube. Sure, there were plenty of other releases—especially the big sellers everyone already knows about. You can’t escape those. They’re everywhere, in every department store, in every format… blah.

If you’re in the mood to try something a little different, I’d recommend checking these out:

Pictoria Vark – Nothing Sticks
Dreamy, slightly off-kilter indie pop with sharp lyrics and a cool, understated delivery. Intimate but clever, and easy to get lost in.

Brian Eno & Beatie Wolfe – Luminal
Atmospheric and thoughtful, blending Eno’s ambient soundscapes with Wolfe’s experimental songwriting. It’s calm, immersive, and more about mood than hooks.

Aly & AJ – Silver Deliverer
A mature, roots-leaning pop record with strong melodies and a warm, almost Laurel Canyon vibe. Confident songwriting without trying too hard.

Laufey – A Matter of Time
Soft, jazzy, and romantic, mixing classic songwriting influences with a modern touch. Gentle, melodic, and perfect for late-night listening.

Wolf Alice – The Clearing
A bold, emotional mix of alternative rock and pop, shifting between loud and quiet with ease. Big choruses, strong moods, and plenty of attitude.

Alice Cooper – The Revenge of Alice Cooper
Classic shock rock energy with a modern edge. Theatrics, heavy riffs, and that unmistakable Alice Cooper snarl all intact.

Garbage – Let All That We Imagine Be the Light
Dark, polished alternative rock with sharp lyrics and a cinematic feel. Shirley Manson sounds as commanding as ever, blending menace and melody.

Here's hoping we'll find more gems in the new year ahead in 2026!

The World’s Top 5 Most-Visited Websites

The World’s Top 5 Most-Visited Websites

The top five most-visited websites in the world really haven’t changed in over a year. Month after month, the same names keep showing up at the top. What does change is everything after that—sites shuffle positions constantly as traffic rises and falls. I’ve been watching these rankings closely for a long time to see if any major changes might occur. So far...nay!

You might actually be surprised by which sites make up the top five—and by what regularly comes right behind them. As it stands now, the top five most-visited websites worldwide are:

• Google Search

  

• YouTube

• Facebook

• Instagram

• ChatGPT

Just outside that top group is a fairly familiar few of what we'll call the usual suspects. These sites usually sit somewhere in the top ten, though they move around a bit from month to month. This group includes Reddit, WhatsApp, Wikipedia, and sometimes Bing.

What fills out the rest of the top 50 doesn’t surprise me at all, as many of these sites are dedicated to online shopping. Leading that pack are Amazon, Temu, Samsung Consumer Electronics, eBay, and Walmart—in that order.

Yahoo News also ranks consistently high, along with a wide range of social media platforms. One thing that might catch people off guard is that five of the top 50 websites are pornographic. Beyond that, the list includes various news outlets, software-related sites, and even one gambling website based in Brazil.

When it comes to search engines, Google is still far and away the most widely used. Bing comes in a distant second, followed by several foreign search engines that rank highly each month, particularly from China and Russia.

All of this information comes from Wikipedia’s regularly updated list of the world’s most-visited websites:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-visited_websites

*Although Google is currently the most-visited website in the world, I think it’s only a matter of time before it gets knocked down a few spots. The way pages and news articles are overloaded with ads is already wearing people out, and that kind of oversaturation will eventually drive readers away. I wouldn’t be surprised if, before long, ChatGPT becomes the most visited and most widely used site—especially as more people learn how to use it effectively and discover just how many things it can do.

2025-26 College Football Bowl Game Schedule

Here's the 2025-26 College Football Bowl Game Schedule. With three games already played. In case you missed them, the following games are now in the books.The first one was this past Saturday Dec. 13th where we had the Celebration Bowl and South Carolina State beat Prairie View A&M 40-38. In the LA Bowl Washington beat Boise State 38-10. Yesterday Dec. 16th we had Salute to Veterns Bowl where Jax State beat Troy 17-3.

The rest of the games to be played are as follows...

Wednesday, Dec. 17

Cure Bowl
Old Dominion vs. South Florida
5 p.m. | ESPN
Camping World Stadium
Orlando, Fla.

68 Ventures Bowl
Louisiana vs. Delaware
8:30 p.m. | ESPN
Hancock Whitney Stadium
Mobile, Ala.

Thursday, Dec. 18

Xbox Bowl
Arkansas State vs. Missouri State
9 p.m. | ESPN2
Ford Center
Frisco, Texas

Friday, Dec. 19

Myrtle Beach Bowl
Kennesaw State vs. Western Michigan
11 a.m. | ESPN
Brooks Stadium
Conway, S.C.

Gasparilla Bowl
Memphis vs. NC State
2:30 p.m. | ESPN
Raymond James Stadium
Tampa, Fla.

College Football Playoff First Round Game
No. 8 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Alabama
8 p.m. | ESPN, ABC
Memorial Stadium
Norman, Okla.

Saturday, Dec. 20

College Football Playoff First Round Game
No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Miami
12 p.m. | ESPN, ABC
Kyle Field
College Station, Texas


College Football Playoff First Round Game
No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 20 Tulane
3:30 p.m. | TNT, HBO Max, truTV
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
Oxford, Miss.

College Football Playoff First Round Game
No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 24 James Madison
7:30 p.m. | TNT, HBO Max, truTV
Autzen Stadium
Eugene, Ore.

Monday, Dec. 22

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Washington State vs. Utah State
2 p.m. | ESPN
Albertsons Stadium
Boise, Idaho

Tuesday, Dec. 23

Boca Raton Bowl
Louisville vs. Toledo
2 p.m. | ESPN
Flagler Credit Union Stadium
Boca Raton, Fla.

New Orleans Bowl
Western Kentucky vs. Southern Miss
5:30 p.m. | ESPN
Caesars Superdome
New Orleans, La.

Frisco Bowl
UNLV vs. Ohio
9 p.m. | ESPN
Ford Center at The Star
Frisco, Texas

Wednesday, Dec. 24

Hawai'i Bowl
Cal vs. Hawai'i
8 p.m. | ESPN
Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex
Honolulu, Hawai'i
Friday, Dec. 26

GameAbove Sports Bowl
Central Michigan vs. Northwestern
1 p.m. | ESPN
Ford Field
Detroit, Mich.

Rate Bowl
New Mexico vs. Minnesota
4:30 p.m. | ESPN
Chase Field
Phoenix, Ariz.

First Responder Bowl
FIU vs. UTSA
8 p.m. | ESPN
Gerald J. Ford Stadium
Dallas, Texas

Saturday, Dec. 27

Military Bowl
Pitt vs. East Carolina
11 a.m. | ESPN
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Annapolis, Md.


Pinstripe Bowl
Clemson vs. Penn State
12 p.m. | ABC
Yankee Stadium
Bronx, N.Y.

Fenway Bowl
UConn vs. Army
2:15 p.m. | ESPN
Fenway Park
Boston, Mass.

Pop-Tarts Bowl
No. 12 BYU vs. No. 22 Georgia Tech
3:30 p.m. | ABC
Camping World Stadium
Orlando, Fla.

Arizona Bowl
Miami (Ohio) vs. Fresno State
4:30 p.m. | The CW Network
Arizona Stadium
Tucson, Ariz.

New Mexico Bowl
No. 25 North Texas vs. San Diego State
5:45 p.m. | ESPN
University Stadium
Albuquerque, N.M.

Gator Bowl
Missouri vs. No. 19 Virginia
7:30 p.m. | ABC
EverBank Stadium
Jacksonville, Fla.

Texas Bowl
LSU vs. No. 21 Houston
9:15 p.m. | ESPN
NRG Stadium
Houston, Texas

Monday, Dec. 29

Birmingham Bowl
Georgia Southern vs. App State
2 p.m. | ESPN
Protective Stadium
Birmingham, Ala.

Tuesday, Dec. 30

Independence Bowl
Coastal Carolina vs. Louisiana Tech
2 p.m. | ESPN
Independence Stadium
Shreveport, La.

Music City Bowl
Tennessee vs. Illinois
5:30 p.m. | ESPN
Nissan Stadium
Nashville, Tenn.

Alamo Bowl
No. 16 USC vs. TCU
9 p.m. | ESPN
Alamodome
San Antonio, Texas

Wednesday, Dec. 31

ReliaQuest Bowl
No. 23 Iowa vs. No. 14 Vanderbilt
12 p.m. | ESPN
Raymond James Stadium
Tampa, Fla.

Sun Bowl
Arizona State vs. Duke
2 p.m. | CBS
Sun Bowl
El Paso, Texas

Citrus Bowl
No. 13 Texas vs. No. 18 Michigan
3 p.m. | ABC
Camping World Stadium
Orlando, Fla.

Las Vegas Bowl
Nebraska vs. No. 15 Utah
3:30 p.m. | ESPN
Allegiant Stadium
Las Vegas, Nev.

College Football Playoff Quarterfinal
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Texas A&M/No. 10 Miami winner
7:30 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
AT&T Stadium (Cotton Bowl)
Arlington, Texas

Thursday, Jan. 1

College Football Playoff Quarterfinal
No. 4 Texas Tech vs. No. 5 Oregon/No. 24 James Madison winner
12 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
Hard Rock Stadium (Orange Bowl)
Miami Gardens, Fla.

College Football Playoff Quarterfinal
No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 8 Oklahoma/No. 9 Alabama winner
4 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
Rose Bowl (Rose Bowl)
Pasadena, Calif.

College Football Playoff Quarterfinal
No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 6 Ole Miss/No. 20 Tulane winner
8 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
Caesars Superdome (Sugar Bowl)
New Orleans, La.

Friday, Jan. 2

Armed Forces Bowl
Texas State vs. Rice
1 p.m. | ESPN
Amon G. Carter Stadium
Fort Worth, Texas

Liberty Bowl
Navy vs. Cincinnati
4:30 p.m. | ESPN
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium
Memphis, Tenn.


Duke's Mayo Bowl
Mississippi State vs. Wake Forest
8 p.m. | ESPN
Bank of America Stadium
Charlotte, N.C.

Holiday Bowl
No. 17 Arizona vs. SMU
8 p.m. | FOX
Snapdragon Stadium
San Diego, Calif.

Thursday, Jan. 8

College Football Playoff Semifinal
7:30 p.m. | ESPN
State Farm Stadium (Fiesta Bowl)
Glendale, Ariz.

Friday, Jan. 9

College Football Playoff Semifinal
7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Peach Bowl)
Atlanta, Ga.

Monday, Jan. 19

College Football Playoff National Championship Game
7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Hard Rock Stadium
Miami, Fla.

Big Lots! is Back

Big Lots announced it will reopen 132 stores in two phases from May 1 to May 15 as part of its revitalization strategy. Many of the stores had closed during a consolidation but have since been leased again under better terms.

"We're excited to bring 132 locations back this May," said Lisa Seigies, CEO of Variety Wholesalers, which acquired several stores during Big Lots' 2024 bankruptcy. She noted strong customer response to the expanded product selection.

They are still a close-out reseller, but the new stores will feature less furniture and more apparel.

The reopened stores will offer family apparel, home essentials, and popular brand-name items across 14 states.

Stores will begin re-opening in May!

Alabama:

Athens

Decatur

Dothan

Guntersville

Jasper

Mobile

Northport

Florida:

Crystal River

Jacksonville

Marianna

Ormond Beach

Panama City

Georgia:

Augusta

Brunswick

Buford

Cornelia

Dallas

Fort Oglethorpe

Marietta

Smyrna

Valdosta

Vidalia

Waycross

Indiana:

Jasper

Kentucky:

Campbellsville

Danville

Elizabethtown

Glasgow

Hazard

London

Middlesboro

Richmond

Somerset

Michigan:

Burton

Flint

Port Huron

Shelby Township

Southgate

Mississippi:

Southhaven

North Carolina:

Belmont

Burlington

Clemmons

Dunn

Elizabeth City

Elkin

Fayetteville

Gastonia

Greensboro

Greenville

Hickory

Kinston

Lexington

Lincolnton

Mocksville

Mooresville

Mount Airy

Newton

Roanoke Rapids

Rocky Mount

Selma

Shelby

Southport

Statesville

Wake Forest

Wilkesboro

Wilson

Ohio:

Alliance

Akron  

Barberton

Boardman

Bridgeport

Canton

Cuyahoga Falls

Columbus

Elyria

Fremont

Grove City

Kettering

Lancaster

New Philadelphia

Reynoldsburg

Toledo

Warren

Wintersville

Pennsylvania:

Bloomsburg

Camp Hill

Cleona

Du Bois

Dunmore

East Stroudsburg

Erie

Eynon

Franklin

Lehighton

Lewisburg

Meadville

New Castle

South Carolina:

Easley

Greenwood

Lexington

Rock Hill

Seneca

Simpsonville

Spartanburg

West Columbia

Tennessee:

Alcoa

Cleveland

Greeneville

Jefferson City

Johnson City

Knoxville

Morristown

Murfreesboro

Rogersville

Sevierville

Virginia:

Chesapeake

Chester

Fredericksburg

Front Royal

Martinsville

North Chesterfield

North Prince George

Waynesboro

Winchester

Yorktown

West Virginia:

Beckley

Bridgeport

Charleston

Elkins

Fairmont

Martinsburg

Oak Hill

Princeton


Grand opening celebrations will take place this fall in all Big Lots locations. The NEW Big Lots will operate 219 stores in 14 states across the Midwest, Southeast, and East Coast areas beginning this May.

How to get a FREE Carfax report

How to get a FREE Carfax report. It's very easy and I will tell

you right away. Just keep in mind and always remember that Carfax reports don't always tell you everything. They only tell you what has been reported. Many times though services are done to vehicles and they don't get reported. The same goes for minor fender bender accidents, they may get repaired without being reported.

Getting a real Carfax report will usually cost you $$. If you are shopping for a new car, you can get a real Carfax report simply by going to Cars.com. Almost every car listed on their website includes a Carfax report that you can look at now for free. Some other vehicles have a different kind of report attached.

There are Carfax alternatives that you can use as well and they are every bit as good. Most people are just unaware that these reporting sites exist. Below are two sites that you can access for free and get the same information that is on a Carfax report. 

vehiclehistory.com

carsforsale.com

Hope you find this brief article useful and bookmark or save the attached links for future reference.

Google's All Out Assault on Ad-Blockers begins June 3rd

        Google is phasing out Manifest V2 extensions in Chrome, starting in early June 2024, but not as fast as we thought. This change renders your ad blockers useless, and that is the intention despite their claims that Manifest V3 is designed to enhance the security, privacy, performance, and overall trustworthiness of Google Chrome extensions.

       From June 3, 2024, with Chrome version 127, users with active Manifest V2 extensions will see warnings in the Chrome Beta, Dev, and Canary channels. Extensions using Manifest V2 will also lose their "Featured" badge. Currently, my own system is at version 125, so the roll-out will take a little bit more time.

       The stable version of Chrome will gradually disable V2 extensions and suggest V3 alternatives, but users can temporarily re-enable their V2 extensions, but this option will eventually be removed.

       Google says that about 85% of Chrome extensions, including popular ad-blockers like AdBlock, Adblock Plus, uBlock Origin, and AdGuard, have migrated or released versions that support Manifest V3.

       So if you thought like many that June 3rd was going to be Doomsday for your web browsing it’s not. The full rollout should occur with Chrome version 127, and our extensions with have new Manifest V3 versions available. Not sure yet if the popular extensions we all use with automatically update to Manifest V3 or if we’ll have to add new ones from Playstore.

       I for one do not believe that Google or YouTube or any of its software products has a right to know what software you have on your system. I feel that it’s an invasion of privacy and an overreach by a greedy corporation whose motto was once “Don’t be evil”.

       It seems like all their efforts to get you to disable or not use ad-blockers is really turning into a game of whack-a-mole, and I don’t see any end in sight.

*For users of the ad-blocking extension Ublock there’s already a MV3 alternative uBO Lite (uBOL). You can find more information at the following link. You may need to customize it, and this link gives you the information needed to do that uBol Lite or uBol.

      Others are using different web browsers and enjoying all that YouTube has to offer without invasive annoying ads. You might consider Brave, Firefox, Opera, and or even DuckDuckGo. You can add ad-blockers to these as well and completely eliminate ads.

      I suppose there’ll always be workarounds to avoid annoying ads until ads become part of the actual content.

*Google's claims that MV3 will help improve overall security is a blatant lie. Read more here at https://bit.ly/4e5iSrG.

Ads Are Coming in Audible

     Audible is causing some big-time controversy by launching a new system to play audio advertisements within audiobooks, Audible Originals, and Podcasts. The advertisements will not be shown to subscribers who have access to one credit per month, which can be used to purchase audiobooks. However, non-paying members will have "ad-supported access to a limited set" of titles, with a maximum of eight ads playing within 24 hours. Audible did confirm that they are conducting the test in several countries but has not specified which ones.

     Although the providers were informed of the change and allowed to opt out of ads, the introduction of advertisements within audiobooks or podcasts will set a dangerous precedent, if they get their way, we'll be getting ads everywhere. If Audible does not receive backlash from the media and the public, then you can bet for sure that other companies to follow suit. For instance, Spotify, which owns Findaway, powers its audiobook catalog and could play audio ads within them to encourage paid adoption.

     Audible has stated that it is testing the new system to gain knowledge about the evolving needs of its customers and partners. Which of course is confusing English for what is really bullshit. The company's help page about the test reads, "Audible is dedicated to continuously optimizing how we deliver audio programming to listeners everywhere." The test is currently limited to non-paying members, and Audible has not specified which countries are part of the trial. However, the United States is the largest market where Audible operates.

     Everyone needs to really complain about this or we'll all be doomed to ads popping up everywhere interrupting our entertainment.

     If people don't take issue with this, every other entertainment platform will do the same.

Chinese Spying on US

The Chinese military has been spying and hacking US entities for many years. This is NOTHING new at all. They even brag about it on their CCTV newscasts. I just happened to be there when this story made the news. The Balloons are all that's new nowadays.

I'm certain that the US does the same things however, they just don't get on the news and brag about it like the Chinese do. I've included an article I saved from Chinese news years ago from a time that I spent there. It's a good read, and I recommend you copy and download this article.

There is an updated version of the article below at

https://www.theepochtimes.com/slip-up-in-chinese-military-tv-show-reveals-more-than-intended_1494740.html?ea_src=ai&ea_med=search&

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame News

           The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominating committee offers up the following for induction into the prestigious Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2023 nominees, and I really don’t know what to say about this list because I’m wondering just why these artists are nominated at all when there are many others more deserving still getting snubbed by the lame committees nominating and voting for these artists. It's an ordeal to endure year after year seeing more contemporary artists getting in while so many of the older ones are not getting the respect they deserve.

The Spinners

Iron Maiden

 Kate Bush

 Missy Elliott

 Cyndi Lauper

 The White Stripes

Willie Nelson

 A Tribe Called Quest

George Michael

Sheryl Crow

Rage Against the Machine

Soundgarden

Joy Division/New Order

Warren Zevon

Really? I would not vote for any of the above artists until respect is given to the more deserving artists that helped shape the music of our lives. The 15 I listed below are more worthy than the 14 the nominating committee put forth.

It looks as though it’s more politically selected with regards to whom they could get to perform so they could raise the advertising ceiling for licensing and broadcast rights.

We live not far from the great  Rock & Roll Hall of Fame but we’ve still never visited this museum. It’s too pricey and so many artists there really don’t belong there and so many others are disrespected and missing.

For more information on who exactly is voting our rock stars into immortality please visit this website - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominating Committee | Future Rock Legends

Harry Chapin

Jim Croce

Gordon Lightfoot

Blue Öyster Cult

Bad Company

Cher

The Guess Who

Steppenwolf

Three Dog Night

Tommy James & the Shondells

"Weird Al" Yankovic

Uriah Heep

Suzanne Vega

Tori Amos

Peter Frampton

Maybe someday these committee members will get it right, until then I probably won't get too excited about any news from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Even Ozzy Osbourne as a solo artist isn't in the Rock Hall, how lame is that?

United way FREE Tax Preparation 2023

    Get your Taxes done right, and get them done for FREE. The United Way has volunteers with more experience, training, and expertise than you’ll find trying to charge you a couple hundred dollars or more for the same service. You can call 211 and get answers to tax questions or you can go to their website at The United Way Tax Prep and enter your local zip code and find their tax prep locations nearest you.

    There’s the option of doing them yourself like Turbo Tax where you just enter all of your information and follow the easy steps, or you can choose to have your taxes prepared for you. Entering your zip code will give you options of where to go and take your W2s etc. This is a drop-off option, and as there are many people taking advantage of this FREE service you’ll probably have to drop off your files and wait a week or more for them to be completed and they’ll call you to pick up your paper versions. They’ll file electronically and give you a paper version, just remember to bring along a voided check with your banking information, routing number account number, and address.

    Filing electronically should get you your refund in about two weeks. Bonus perk, they will also do your city taxes for you as well.

    All in all, getting your taxes done right and also for FREE is more than a good deal even if it takes a couple weeks longer it’s worth it.

    If your family earns too much this FREE service will not be available so call the 211 number and see if you qualify.

What you need to remember to bring

1. Photo ID

2. Social Security Card

3. W2s

4. Voided Check with Banking info.

* If filing jointly and with dependants, you need their Cards and info as well.

Good Luck!

What enters the Public Domain in 2023

Public Domain Day was January 1st of this new year, and the list of notable works now free of copyright includes works from Hemingway, Wolff, Wharton, the complete Sherlock Holmes from Arthur Conan Doyle along with the children's classic Goodnight Moon. Also now in the Public Domain are some great old music like Puttin’ on the Ritz and some great films. Films of historical significance that are now in the public domain are Metropolis, and The Jazz Singer which was the first film with sound...it ushered in the new era of talkies and made silent films seem obsolete. All of the film studios had to adapt quickly and incorporate sound. Another great film that enters the public domain is Wings, and this film was the first to win the Acadamy Award for the film of the year.

Listed below are just a few selections of works to enter the public domain in 2023:

Books

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

The Tower Treasure (The Hardy Boys, #1) by Franklin W. Dixon

The House on the Cliff (The Hardy Boys, #2) by Franklin W. Dixon

The Secret of the Old Mill (The Hardy Boys, #3) by Franklin W. Dixon

The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder

Men Without Women by Ernest Hemingway

Aspects of the Novel by E.M. Forester

The Colour Out of Space by H.P. Lovecraft

Twilight Sleep by Edith Wharton

Mosquitoes by William Faulkner

The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes / But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes by Anita Loos

Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Wolff

The Big Four by Agatha Christie

Amerika by Franz Kafka

The Gangs of New York by Herbert Asbury

The Future of an Illusion by Sigmund Freud

Modern Chess Openings by Richard Clevin Griffith and John Herbet White

The Daughters of Time by Josephine Tey

Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather

The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes,” by Arthur Conan Doyle

Le Temps retrouvé by Marcel Proust (in French)

The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder

Films

The Jazz Singer

Chicago

When Boys Leave Home

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Wings

Tarzan and the Golden Lion

The King of Kings, directed by Cecil B. DeMille

The Battle of the Century, starring Laurel and Hardy

The Lodger, a film by Alfred Hitchcock

Metropolis, a film by Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou

Musical Compositions

“Back Water Blues,” “Preaching the Blues” and “Foolish Man Blues” (Bessie Smith)

“The Best Things in Life Are Free,” from the musical “Good News” (George Gard “Buddy” De Sylva, Lew Brown, Ray Henderson)

“Billy Goat Stomp,” “Hyena Stomp” and “Jungle Blues” (Ferdinand Joseph Morton)

“Black and Tan Fantasy” and “East St. Louis Toodle-O” (Bub Miley, Duke Ellington)

“Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” and “Ol’ Man River,” from the musical “Show Boat” (Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern)

“Diane” (Erno Rapee, Lew Pollack)

“Funny Face” and “’S Wonderful,” from the musical “Funny Face” (Ira and George Gershwin)

“(I Scream You Scream, We All Scream for) Ice Cream” (Howard Johnson, Billy Moll, Robert A. King)

“Mississippi Mud” (Harry Barris, James Cavanaugh)

“My Blue Heaven” (George Whiting, Walter Donaldson)

“Potato Head Blues” and Gully Low Blues” (Louis Armstrong)

“Puttin’ on the Ritz” (Irving Berlin)

“Rusty Pail Blues,” “Sloppy Water Blues” and “Soothin’ Syrup Stomp” (Thomas Waller)

There are more music and sound recordings in the public domain than I've listed and you can see more  at this link PD Info 

More information about works in the Public Domain can be found at this link  Center for the Study of the Public Domain. This link also has links to archived lists of works that entered the public domain in previous years.

Word of the Year from 2022

Already several weeks into the new year it is time to reflect on the year before and what was known as the word of the year from 2022.

The Oxford English Dictionary’s 2022 word of the year is - Goblin mode

‘Goblin mode’ – a slang term, often used in the expressions ‘in goblin mode’ or ‘to go goblin mode’ – is ‘a type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.’

Dictionary.com’s word of the year for 2022 is woman.

woman [ woom–uhn ]

noun

1. an adult female person.

Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2022 is a curious one in gaslighting. If you're curious as to what that exactly means their definition is as follows.

Gaslight​ing

1 of 2

noun

Gaslight​ing

1: psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one's emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator.

2: the act or practice of grossly misleading someone, especially for one's own advantage.

These words and phrases topped all related searches and were frequently used in media and print.

I’m a little surprised by these choices and they were not ones that I used more or out of the ordinary as compared with others. I would have thought that omicron would have topped someone’s list. 

Out of curiosity is there a word or phrase that you would have picked instead of these?

How to see and use the new Gmail

How to see and use the new Gmail.

   Many of us have been waiting for the new improved Gmail. It promises a new more streamlined user interface with a better integrated Chat, Spaces, and Meet. You’ll still have easy access to other Google Apps in the upper left corner right beside your circular profile icon where you can easily switch between accounts if you and your family share a computer.

   Well if you're still waiting to see the new Gmail and haven’t had the chance to try it out, because it has not been rolled out to everyone yet. You still can.

   It’s very simple to get the new Gmail right now, just follow these simple three steps.

1. With your Gmail open, go to your settings icon in the upper left corner.

2. Select the first thing you see. See all settings.

3. At the top to your far left under General, scroll down and select Experimental Access. Check this box and reload and you’ll now be able to use new Gmail features even before they are the default for everyone across the whole platform.

   

   That's all there is to it, check it out now. Gmail is still the best email service to use.

  How to stream NFL Football content for FREE

The links below are your best options for finding FREE NFL football games and shows. Live streams of Gameday View, Total Access, and NFL Now. During the regular season, you can even get Redzone with Scott Hansen. Oh, yea you can also watch GMFB in the morning by clicking on NFL Network. It starts every weekday at 7am and runs till 10, and then repeats itself until 1:00pm. Tune in at 1:00 PM and watch Andrew Siciliano and his NFL Now show.

1. https://reddit.nflstream.io/nfl-network-live/stream-2

2. https://www.viprow.nu/sports-american-football-online
   

3. https://www.vipboxtv.sk/nfl-stream
   

4. https://reddit.nflstream.io/
   

5. https://reddit.nflstream.io/nfl-network-live/stream-1
   

There are a few times when none of these sites will work, but that is rare. Bookmark all and check them out. Usually, when this occurs, it's just that the NFL Network doesn't have any live content available to show but that doesn't happen often.

You can also subscribe to NFL+

There's a lot more older content on this site including past regular season games along with past playoff games and older Super Bowl games. You can subscribe yearly or by the month. Previously the NFL network offered NFL Gamepass, but that has since changed and become NFL+. It still has the same content, but it is now offered at a lower price. You can subscribe monthly or yearly.

The other best way to get NFL Network and all of its content would be to subscribe to Sling TV.

My FREE links above do work, but when you first click on them they pop open new tabs with ads, usually ads that promote online gambling. just ignore those tabs and close them and click to launch your live stream. Sometimes your page will need to be refreshed and you’ll have to click through those annoying overlays to launch your content, but these links do work and they are FREE to access. They work well on the Brave Browser, but they do not work well on the Chrome browser and I have not tested them on others.

The other thing to remember about the links I give you above is that you'll also have access to all other live-streaming sporting events.

Hope this helps,

Good Luck!