Google Search Engine's Calculator

As Justin Pot writes in How To Use Google As A Calculator, the Google Search Calculator associated with the Google search engine is particularly helpful because that search page is often already up on most peoples' web browsers. This makes it easy to perform different calculations without having to bring up different, separate tools.

I include several screen snapshots in this post to illustrate different mathematical computations that can be performed using the calculator built into the Google search engine. The first examples show basic arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) and use of parentheses.

The calculator built into the Google search engine can do more than basic arithmetic. The next examples demonstrate use of exponents.

The next screen snapshots demonstrate Google search calculator's support of the keyword "Pi", square root functionality, and imaginary numbers.

The Google search calculator also supports trigonometric functions such as sine, cosine, tangent, and the inverse/arc versions of each of these. Radians are assumed unless degrees are explicitly specified. The following screen snapshots demonstrate these concepts.

The Google search engine's built-in calculation capabilities go beyond the simple mathematics shown above. The post Google Is Now a Graphing Calculator discusses this more and provides an example that can be pasted into the Google search engine.

Blue Willow (Tucson)

As I blogged on previously, I like to stay at the Westin La Paloma when I'm in Tucson. One of my favorite places to eat breakfast while in Tucson is Blue Willow.

The Blue Willow includes a gift shop that you walk through to enter and leave the restaurant, but it's the food and atmosphere of the restaurant that I truly enjoy. I especially enjoy breakfast (such as Fresh Fruit Crepe and Blue Willow Special) at the Blue Willow, but they also serve lunch and dinner.

There is both indoor and outdoor seating available at the Blue Willow. Even on warm days, the heavily shaded patio is comfortable. The Blue Willow is located at 2616 North Campbell Ave in Tucson and having breakfast at the Blue Willow is a great way to start off a day in Tucson.

Westin La Paloma (Tucson)

I don't travel to Tucson, Arizona, very often, but when I do, I like to stay at the Westin La Paloma. There are numerous accommodations closer to the Tucson International Airport, but I think it's worth the approximately 40 minute drive to stay at the Westin La Paloma.

My favorite thing about the Westin La Paloma in Tucson is the landscaping around the buildings. There are numerous species of cacti and other desert-friendly vegetation. These plants attract numerous birds and wildlife, making even a simple walk to one's room an opportunity to experience nature. This resort has numerous other activities as well, but my favorite part is the beauty of the landscaping and the surrounding area in that part of Tucson.

The rooms themselves are fairly basic but comfortable and clean. The resort has a long list of things on hand in case you forget small items and toiletries. The exterior, especially in the front, is also attractive and the very large swimming pool is nice. The main lobby area is very nice and is spacious. They also have conference rooms.

When I do get that rare opportunity to travel to Tucson, staying at the Westin La Paloma is one of the highlights of the trip that I look most forward to. I really enjoy seeing the the lush desert landscape and the associated wildlife that seems to like it as well as I.

Amazon.com and Discover Card Free 1-Day Shipping

Through 31 March 2012 ("or while promotional funds last"), Discover Card is offering free 1-day shipping on "select items" purchased at Amazon.com. Details are currently available online at http://amazon.com/discfreeship and that page lists the details and provides access to some of the items eligible for this promotion. The Promo Code to use is DSCVRSHP. The instructions to follow for taking advantage of this offer are all listed at the top of the page at http://amazon.com/discfreeship.

Jesse Stone Television Movies

I don't watch a lot of television, but I have seen one or two episodes of the made-for-television Jesse Stone movies on CBS. I recently started taking advantage of DVD rentals from NetFlix to watch these in order. When I say "in order," I mean generally in the order they were released with the exception of watching the later-released prequel first.

As far as I can tell, the order of when each movie's story is to have taken place is as follows:

Television Movie Title	Year Released	Order-Implying Plot Themes
Night Passage	2006	Recognized "prequel to Stone Cold" in which Jesse Stone leaves L.A. for the town of Paradise, Massachusetts.
Stone Cold	2005	Introduces Reggie and depicts later events related to Abby Taylor who met Jesse in the later-released "prequel" Night Passage.
Death in Paradise	2006	Events related to Luther 'Suitcase' Simpson in this episode tie it to preceding 'Sea Change'.
Sea Change	2007	Beginning ties to ending of 'Death in Paradise' and Molly Crane is away from the Paradise PD. This episode explains what happened to Hasty after his actions in 'Night Passage'.
Thin Ice	2009	Molly is not in this episode at all and Jesse's job in on "thin ice."
No Remorse	2010	Jesse is suspended from Paradise Police Department.
Innocents Lost	2011	Jesse has been involuntarily retired and the new Chief of the Paradise Police Department is related to one of the town's council.
Benefit of the Doubt	2012	Jesse becomes Paradise Police Chief again when the person who replaced him is killed in an explosion.
Lost in Paradise	2016	Jesse again moonlights on a Boston area case due to lack of criminal activity in Paradise, but deals with personal issues of loss and loneliness.

I have found the Jesse Stone movies to be well worth the time to watch. They are unlike most crime or mystery television shows and focus more on characters than many of these types of shows. These are characters that are easy to care about, but at the same time they can be frustrating in their human weaknesses. The length of the episodes is also a positive.

I won't spend more time now on why I like these movies because the Amazon.com reviews of the above movies do a thorough job of these movies' positive features. However, I will state that for a person who typically prefers movies over television, these made-for-television movies bring substance back to reality-era television.

The Growing Virtues of Amazon Prime

Amazon's recent unveiling of the Kindle Owners' Lending Library adds greater value to Amazon Prime. Although there are limitations such as the six biggest publishers not being involved and only Kindle devices supporting it, this is a nice benefit to add to Amazon Prime membership beyond previously available benefits such as free two-day shipping, discounted one-day shipping, and free streaming of select movies and television shows.

Discover Cash Over

One of the great (and I think often unappreciated or misunderstood or even feared) benefits of the Discover Card is the Discover Cash Over benefit (not to be confused with Discover Card's much better known Cashback Bonus benefit). As the web page focused on this benefit currently states, a card holder can "get cash over your purchases and save time and money." The page adds, "Take care of two errands at once. And pay no fee."

I find this benefit better than using an ATM. There are no fees and it can be used while shopping at one of numerous participating stores. The page advertises these benefits: "Avoid fees - No transaction fee. No ATM fee. No bank fee." The page also points out that the "cash over" counts as a normal purchase. Thus, if you request $20 cash over (amounts available are typically in $20 increments), it is as if you purchased an additional item at that store for $20.

Not every merchant that accepts Discover Card as payment participates in the Cash Over benefit. The list of participating merchants is available on the benefit's page. At the time of this writing, these participating merchants include Kroger (King Soopers and City Market in Colorado) and Wal-Mart.

There are no fees associated with this benefit, but it is important to keep in mind that carrying a balance (not paying it off each month) means paying interest on the cash over just as interest is paid on the purchase price of goods and services. If you do pay off your Discover Card balance each month, this service is totally free!

This is a very convenient benefit of the Discover Card. It is handy to be able to make purchases and access cash in a single stop without paying any banking fees. It is actually easier than using an ATM machine if you're going to purchase items at one of the participating merchants anyway. With some big banks starting to increase fees for debit card use, this benefit might look even more attractive.