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Showing posts from November 6, 2011

Back to Basics

Sometimes it is helpful to just learn a few tricks to make working with your computer just a little bit simpler. Watching my husband try and highlight a word to copy and paste can be a little frustrating (for a geek). Here is a little known secret: double click on the word, in a document, email or on the web it will highlight the word. You can now copy (CTR + c) or cut (CTR + x) and paste (CTR + v). You can enlarge the text on any web page. In Windows, press Ctrl and the plus or minus keys (for bigger or smaller fonts); on the Mac, it’s the Command key and plus or minus. What are your favorite basics that you thought everyone knew?  Post your comments below.

Great American Smoke Out

Seven years ago on 10/10/2004 at 8:00:00 PM , I had my last smoke, my last puff and a determination to, finally, break the habit after 27 years. I used lozenges, a quiet weekend and a great website called http://quitnet.com . QuitNet is a free online support group of current, and past smokers sharing and encouraging each other to celebrate being smoke free for just one more day.   I am proud of my stats:  2588 days, 43 minutes and 16 seconds smoke free. 51761 cigarettes not smoked.   $9,058.00 not spent on cigarettes. 13 months, 5 days, 9 hours of my life saved.  Thursday, November 17th is the 36th Annual Great American Smokeout . I encourage smokers to use the date to join QuitNet, and prepare a QUIT plan . There is an incredible amount of valuable information and encouragement at QuitNet.   Don't let cigarettes control your life but take control of yourself and your health. Do it for yourself and no one els

Welcome to the Holidays!

You might think this is premature but Black Friday is just around the corner!  $200 laptops and free photo paper from Staples, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and a $25 credit for Xbox Live from Amazon for $51.99, and special discounts from Sears, JC Penney and more are just waiting for bargain hunters. Happy Holidays! Most of my shopping is completed before the holidays but that doesn't mean I don't watch the great deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  Two years ago, my computer monitor quit working that Friday morning. Knowing the bargains, I was able to find a great replacement a few hours later! Every year, just in time for the sales, one website seems to collect an incredible amount of ads and hints of deals to come: http://bfads.net/ So, if it is toys, electronics or clothes, you can hit the stores on Black Friday or surf the internet on Cyber Monday. Either way, the discounts will be there for customers this year.

Google Docs

Don't have a word processing program? How about spreadsheets? Don't have time to download the free software OpenOffice ?  Well there is another option.  Google has this available online for free. http://docs.google.com/ You will need to create a free Google account.  It will give you access to word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and more.  There are even templates available for writing resumes, keeping budgets and calendars. Another feature is to collaborate with others.  For example, you and your husband create a budget online. Now both of you can access this information from home or the office, just be signing in.  Or if you want to send out a  fundraising letter, you can set share it with the public.  You can create flow charts, tables, forms (with the results going to a spreadsheet) and even create credit card payoff calculator. When you download the file, you can even create a PDF of the document, great for emailing, such as a resume.  This is one freeb

Tricksters, Charlatans and Deceivers.

A recent news article described how a concerned grandmother was scammed into wiring $4600 to Canada, believing she was helping her granddaughter. They had enough information to convince her but the reality is that they were savvy enough to gather facts from Facebook accounts. You can read the article here. Similar scams have been accomplished under the guise of a stranded traveler needing money to get back home or pay a hotel bill. We want to help and we don't want to appear hesitant or doubting.  Unfortunately, we can become pawns if we aren't just a little bit cynical. There are many emails that try and spoof you into giving out critical information by 'imitating' your bank, the IRS or eBay., Another 'phishing' fraud with a new twist is to call your home stating they are from your ISP (such as AT&T or Comcast for example) and inform you that your account has been compromised.  If you will verify your access password or username, they will fix the

Urban Legends, Hoaxes and Myths

A little boy needs surgery, sign an email petition and forward it around the world, urgent cell phone directories becoming public, outraged political news or urgent warnings about someone stealing your kidneys. We, in concern, pass these on to our friends and family perpetuating the tale from fiction to fact.  Sometimes these tales are just misinformation, rumors, fallacies and strange news. So how do we know if it is true or a hoax? Most urban legends are too general, don't give enough information for verification or just don't have the capability to be true. For example, the picture (right) was shared via facebook and email ( source ) The story goes on to insist it is absolutely true. This is a true story of Mother’s Sacrifice during the Japan Earthquake. After the Earthquake had subsided, when the rescuers reached the ruins of a young woman’s house, they saw her dead body through the cracks. But her pose was somehow strange that she knelt on her knees like a pe