LIFE is tough these days and that means it’s essential to find simple, inexpensive ways to relax and unwind. Being a bit of a geek, most of my favorite ways to de-stress involve some sort of technology and I’d like to share them with you.
Music can lift the spirit and I need to have access to a large collection of tunes so that whatever my mood I can find something that sounds right. Engaging in ripping and digital piracy adds to my stress level, which isn’t a good thing. Personally, I’ve got to use legal means to get my music. Lately, in addition to jango.com, I’ve been turning to Songbeat (www.songbeatplayer.com). Germany-based Songbeat is not an illegal file-sharing interface, as it uses no P2P technology and does not bypass copyright protection mechanisms. Instead, it employs clever search and record functions for access to the music that is already out there.
Songbeat also offers a record function of the online radio service last.fm. By entering the name of a favorite artist, users can enjoy a stream of new music based on preferred genre. Utilizing Songbeat, this stream can be recorded live — the digital version of sitting by your old radio, waiting for your favorite show, armed with a blank cassette.
Songbeat is available for free download at www.songbeatplayer.com. In addition to its many other functions, signing up allows 25 free downloads. If these are used up, Songbeat still allows the user to search for songs, listen to them directly from the Internet, and discover new artists. For a one-time payment of $29.99, Songbeat can be upgraded for an unlimited number of downloads.
Listening to music is great when I need to do chores or other mundane tasks, but there’s a time for more aggressive recreational therapy. So every night I take out the day’s frustrations on a video game console. This month my Nintendo Wii has been receiving a lot of abuse. Rayman Raving Rabbids is a favorite and in February EA will ship NASCAR Kart Racing — the first NASCAR title available for the Wii.
NASCAR Kart Racing enables players to grab the steering wheel as a famed NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver and speed through treacherous landscapes, wind around rocky cliffs, jump rivers and dodge falling boulders. Up to four players can go head-to-head, via split screen, in a mad dash to the checkered flag. Players compete as either famous NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers or original animated characters. Each driver has personal attributes that will determine how the kart will perform on a course, so strategy is key when choosing a driver and a teammate. Teams that work together win championships!
The courses in NASCAR Kart Racing feature a vast range of terrain. Experience 24 entertaining race layouts that wrap through deserts, freeways, back roads, canyons, junkyards and more. Drivers will also push the pedal to the metal in areas surrounding four popular NASCAR tracks: Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Dover International Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway. Each track in NASCAR Kart Racing can be reversed to provide two unique racing experiences. It’s a great game and a great value.
But video games do ratchet up blood pressure and when I’m severely stressed that’s not a good idea. Serious anxiety requires intensive therapy in the form of jigsaw puzzles. Iminlikewithyou.com has released Jigsawce, which allows either one or an unlimited number of players simultaneously to compete and collaborate on assembling a wide range of jigsaw puzzles. These puzzles appear randomly within a selection that includes images ranging from deep sea ocean pictures to fuzzy hamsters. There’s also the occasional puzzle which is really an advertisement. Dump it if you don’t want to complete it. Access the game through iminlikewithyou.com.
Last, but not least, don’t miss the most out of this world way to chill. WorldWide Telescope (www.worldwidetelescope.org) enables your computer to function as a virtual telescope, bringing together imagery from the best ground and space-based telescopes in the world.
Experience narrated guided tours from astronomers and educators featuring interesting places in the sky. Connect your PC to your TV to enjoy an even larger view.
WorldWide Telescope, a free resource, is created with the Microsoft high performance Visual Experience Engine and allows seamless panning and zooming around the night sky, planets and image environments. View the sky from multiple wavelengths. Seamlessly pan and zoom from aerial views of the Moon and selected planets, as well as see their precise positions in the sky from any location on Earth and any time in the past or future.
Microsoft Research has dedicated WorldWide Telescope to the memory of Jim Gray. A researcher and manager of Microsoft Research’s eScience Group, Gray was lost at sea on Jan. 28, 2007. Microsoft is hoping that WorldWide Telescope will inspire and empower people to explore and understand the universe like never before.