Opinion page by Duane Alan Hahn, a.k.a. Random Terrain.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Zip and unzip. I love right clicking on a .ZIP file and selecting "Extract Here."
No subscription (subscription-free) photo editing software that is supposedly as good as Adobe Photoshop. At the time of typing this (May 12, 2019), the program was only $49.99. I can't afford it right now, but I'll try to get it later in the year if I can. They also sell Affinity Designer for the same price, but I don't think I need vector graphic design software. Photo editing software is pretty much all I need at the moment.
Easily record video and sound from an emulator or an area of your PC screen. Bandicam is the best screen/emulator recording software for making YouTube videos that I have ever tried (I don't have a Mac and I don't use Linux). It really does seem to have less lag (as they claim on their main page). When I start recording video games in Stella with other programs, there is a noticeable, jarring slow down, but not with Bandicam. (When using Stella, remember to press Alt + P to enable the phosphor effect before recording.)
The program makes it very clear what you are going to record. There is no irritating flashing rectangle around the area you're recording and you can easily disable the FPS overlay (under the FPS Tab), so you can record a game you're playing without any irritating distractions.
Unlike some other programs, you won't have to spend time just trying to find the record button. There are no mysteries or weird, complicated problems. It just works.
Edit or create your own animated GIFs. There's a free trial version, but the pay version is affordable. I bought it back when they were selling Easy GIF Animator 4. I need to buy the latest one since they improved it over the years. I was thinking about becoming an affiliate since I like the program so much, but you don't get paid until you reach $100 and I doubt I'd ever sell enough to reach that amount.
Yahoo moved from FTP to FTPS, so I use FileZilla to upload my files since Dreamweaver CS6 can only do FTP.
Free open source data backup software which helps you compare and synchronize files and folders so you don't have to copy the same unchanged files every time you backup your files.
This now seems to be the best free internet browser.
The best free image viewer.
The most powerful free & open source office suite on the market.
Create animated GIFs directly from an emulator such as Stella. Using 33 FPS instead of 30 FPS seems to give a smoother result without increasing the file size by a huge amount. Program recommended by walaber. When using Stella, remember to press Alt + P to enable the phosphor effect before recording. You can also use a free online tool to resize your GIFs.
Adjustable calculator size and simulated paper tape history.
Much better than Notepad.
This is one of the best free image/photo editing programs for Windows computers. It's much easier to use than GIMP (that weird, unintuitive program so many people seem to be in love with).
One of the things I love about Paint.NET is that it lets me draw straight lines that can be quickly turned into curved lines. Just grab one of those dots (control nubs) along the line and drag it until you have the curve you're looking for.
You can also select anything in an image, click on the Move Selected Pixels icon, move the mouse pointer just outside of the selection until a double headed curved arrow appears, then left click and drag the cursor to rotate the selection. I also use that technique to rotate text in an image. So far every tool I've needed to use has been easy to find and easy to figure out. Paint.NET is virtually frustration free. Just remember that you need to hold down the Ctrl key if you want to zoom in and out with the scroll wheel on your mouse.
The best Atari 2600 VCS emulator.
Intuitive video editor for creating professional quality videos in minutes. I have the paid version.
The best free audio and video player.
Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security with Antivirus (#ad)
You have to pay for it, but it's affordable and it doesn't slow everything down. I got mine from Best Buy.
Compares two files and shows the differences. Get the xdocdiff WinMerge Plugin if you want to compare PDF files. Be sure to enable plugins (under Plugins/List) and select Automatic Unpacking.
English thesaurus and dictionary. I have the paid version.
Checks your web site for broken links.
Allows active content to run only from sites you trust.
Blocks annoying video ads on YouTube, Facebook ads, banners and much more.
Click on the miniGestures icon, select Options, put L next to "History Back" and R next to "History Forward," click the Save Configuration button, then close the tab. Those are the only mouse gestures that I use.
This is similar to Googlebar Lite on Firefox. I mostly use it for finding search terms on a web page.
Brings newly created tabs to the foreground.
Opens new tabs at the end (the right side).
This came with Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security with Antivirus, so it's not free. If you have Webroot, be sure to use it. Doesn't seem to slow down the browser one bit.
Did you know that Trump's rushed Operation Warp Speed rona jab has less than one percent overall benefit? Some people call it the depopulation jab and it has many possible horrible side effects (depending on the lot number, concentration, and if it was kept cold). Remember when many Democrats were against Trump's Operation Warp Speed depopulation jab, then they quickly changed their minds when Biden flip-flopped and started pushing it?
Some brainwashed rona jab cultists claim that there are no victims of the jab, but person after person will post what the jab did to them, a friend, or a family member on web sites such as Facebook and they'll be lucky if they don't get banned soon after. Posting the truth is “misinformation” don't you know. Awakened sheep might turn into lions, so powerful people will do just about anything to keep the sheep from waking up.
Check out these videos:
If You Got the COVID Shot and Aren't Injured, This May Be Why
Thought Experiment: What Happens After the Jab?
The Truth About Polio and Vaccines
What Is Causing the Mysterious Self-Assembling Non-Organic Clots and Sudden Deaths?
Take a look at my page about the famous demonized medicines called The H Word and Beyond. You might also want to look at my page called Zinc and Quercetin. My sister and I have been taking zinc and quercetin since the summer of 2020 in the hopes that they would scare away the flu and other viruses (or at least make them less severe). Here's one more page to check out: My Sister's Experiences With COVID-19.
Some people appear to have a mental illness because they have a vitamin B deficiency. For example, the wife of a guy I used to chat with online had severe mood swings which seemed to be caused by food allergies or intolerances. She would became irrational, obnoxious, throw tantrums, and generally act like she had a mental illness. The horrid behavior stopped after she started taking a vitamin B complex. I've been taking Jarrow B-Right (#ad) for many years. It makes me much easier to live with. I wonder how many people with schizophrenia and other mental mental illnesses could be helped by taking a B complex once or twice a day with meals (depending on their weight)?
Unfermented soy is bad! “When she stopped eating soy, the mental problems went away.” Fermented soy doesn't bother me, but the various versions of unfermented soy (soy flour, soybean oil, and so on) that are used in all kinds of products these days causes a negative mental health reaction in me that a vitamin B complex can't tame. The sinister encroachment of soy has made the careful reading of ingredients a necessity.
I started taking AyaLife (99% Pure CBD oil) as needed in April of 2020. So far it's the only thing that helps my mood when I've mistakenly eaten something that contains soy. AyaLife is THC-free (non-psychoactive) and is made in the USA. I also put a couple dropper fulls under my tongue before leaving the house or if I just need to calm down.
It's supposedly common knowledge that constantly angry Antifa-types basically live on soy products. What would happen if they stopped eating and drinking soy sludge and also took a B complex every day? Would a significant number of them become less angry? Would AyaLife CBD oil also help?
If you are overweight, have type II diabetes, or are worried about the condition of your heart, check out the videos by Ken D Berry, William Davis, and Ivor Cummins. It seems that most people should avoid wheat, not just those who have a wheat allergy or celiac disease. Check out these books: Undoctored (#ad), Wheat Belly (#ad), and Eat Rich, Live Long (#ad).
Negative ions are good for us. You might want to avoid positive ion generators and ozone generators. A plain old air cleaner is better than nothing, but one that produces negative ions makes the air in a room fresher and easier for me to breathe. It also helps to brighten my mood.
Never litter. Toss it in the trash or take it home. Do not throw it on the ground. Also remember that good people clean up after themselves at home, out in public, at a campsite and so on. Leave it better than you found it.
Climate Change Cash Grab = Bad
Seems like more people than ever finally care about water, land, and air pollution, but the climate change cash grab scam is designed to put more of your money into the bank accounts of greedy politicians. Those power-hungry schemers try to trick us with bad data and lies about overpopulation while pretending to be caring do-gooders. Trying to eliminate pollution is a good thing, but the carbon footprint of the average law-abiding human right now is actually making the planet greener instead of killing it.
Eliminating farms and ranches, eating bugs, getting locked down in 15-minute cities, owning nothing, using digital currency (with expiration dates) that is tied to your social credit score, and paying higher taxes will not make things better and “save the Earth.” All that stuff is part of an agenda that has nothing to do with making the world a better place for the average person. It's all about control, depopulation, and making things better for the ultra-rich. They just want enough peasants left alive to keep things running smoothly.
Watch these two videos for more information:
Charlie Robinson had some good advice about waking up normies (see the link to the video below). He said instead of verbally unloading or being nasty or acting like a bully, ask the person a question. Being nice and asking a question will help the person actually think about the subject.
Interesting videos:
Charlie Robinson Talks About the Best Way to Wake Up Normies
Disclaimer
View this page and any external web sites at your own risk. I am not responsible for any possible spiritual, emotional, physical, financial or any other damage to you, your friends, family, ancestors, or descendants in the past, present, or future, living or dead, in this dimension or any other.
Use these programs and extensions at your own risk. Always scan for viruses. Never download a program unless you know for sure it's from the real web site. Beware of look-alike web sites that Google puts at the top of the search results.