I Just Discovered One Note!

Last week I just learned how to use One Note and love it!  It is like a digital notebook where you can take notes, draw, make to do lists, save links, save videos, pics or documents to and have them all handy in one place.  You can organize with as many different sections as you want (think tabs in a notebook).  It has instructions and a tutorial video that shows you how to use it.

It is sort of like having your own private instagram, but you can share your notebook or pages from it if you want. If you share pages, others can also add things to it which you can see as well.

Apparently, another bit benefit is that you can have it on your mobile device, but I don't have any.  The only drawback that I know of so far is that you can't print things from it.

My main use for it so far is to collect pickleball tips and videos in it.  It's pretty cool!

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Stupid Photobucket Really Got Me Mad--Boo on Photobucket!

I seldom used Photobucket but did open an account way back when.  I was just beginning my computer experience and was participating in some forums on My Space.  In order to include some pics, I used photobucket and that is the only reason I started on there.  I never liked it much, found the website very user unfriendly and pretty much ignored it after that for the most part.

Now I not only got an email about having to upgrade my account and PAY to do it but also had messages on this blog to upgrade my account!  (I came across this on someone else's blog as well.)  UGH!  NOT doing that. Unfortunately though, photobucket somehow was able to put their ad on my widgets!  I emailed photobucket asking them to remove them and was told they couldn't unless I pay to upgrade.  I closed my photobucket account.  I do not want anything to do with them!  This really gets me mad!

I also tried deleting the widget and starting over but the photobucket ad still showed up.  It is very annoying and frustrating.  If anyone has any suggestions as to how I can get this fixed other than paying for an upgrade on an account I do not want, I would love to hear them.

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4 Things I Learned Recently

This used to be a popular feature on this blog and I've missed doing it so decided to try starting it up again.  Feel free to comment on what I've learned or share something you learned recently.

(1)  Lobsters grow by becoming uncomfortable and growing a bigger shell. Watch this:
I saw this on Facebook and thought it was both true and interesting about how we need to handle stress.

(2)  When reading Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, I learned about the sinking of a German ship called the Wilhelm Gustloff that  had way more people than the Titanic.

(3)  I always thought that once I deleted an email from my deleted items, there was no way to retrieve it, but I was wrong.  One of my co-workers showed my a folder tab in Outlook that says "retrieve deleted items."

For some reason I do not know, it works at work but at home, that option is grayed out.  Any explanations?

(4)  Don't trust the protective netting at ballparks to protect fans--a Rays fan was struck in the face by foul ball that managed to get through the protective netting.  See video.


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Don't Buy This!

Internet Address and Password Logbook

Nothing like making your logins and passwords obvious and easy to find!  I can't believe anyone would but this item, but I saw it in the Fresh Finds catalog for $7.95!  This is NOT a good idea--save your money! The last thing you would want to do is make it easy for someone to find your logins and passwords.  Here are some alternatives to using a book like this with a title on it.

1.  Use a plain, ordinary notebook without a title.
2.  Better yet, use a sheet of paper and stick it in a book or a notebook.
3.  Put it away from your computer, not in the desk drawer near by.

If you do not think Internet Address and Password Logbook is a very bad idea, I encourage you to read Think Twice by Lisa Scottoline.  That should convince you!  (Click the link for our review.)


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Friday Fragments: Computer, Life, Books, Dog's Life

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. It's been quite a week so I have more than usual this week:

It's the Merry month of May and finally the snow has stopped. Now we are into rain almost every day this week.

Abby's Updates

Glad I do not need my jacket outside anymore.

I am really liking Wednesdays now that Gerard is off that day every week. Woo hoo! I like the extra petting and the extra walks. One night it stormed and woke me up--that loud thunder scares me but my mom was nice and pet me up until it stopped. I hid under the covers for part of the time--that makes me feel better. This week I was called beautiful, smart and a social butterfly. I am just friendly to people like when we walk by the ballgames at the park, I visited with all the spectators. When I walked by the high school, the door to the gym was open where the girls were having softball practice after school so naturally I started heading on in, but Gerard didn't let me enter. The girl near the door smiled and talked to me though.

Biggest Problem of the Week

Why when I plugged in my Kindle to my computer to charge it up, I did not see the Kindle listed in the "computer" section as the removable E drive like I do when I plug in other things to the USB port? It seemed to have charged up, but the Kindle screen was blank instead of showing it was charging.

Best Thing This Week

Got rid of some junk items by donating them to the Parma Heights Christian Academy's annual huge garage sale. Some of the things I donated were very good though, like my old computer speakers, computer monitor (although I never liked that AOL one) and my Indians clock. The second best thing was getting free ice cream at work with lots of toppings that was left over from the ice cream social we had last Friday for the support staff.

Current Projects

After switching over to a new computer, I'm still getting my photos organized back into my folders. For some reason unknown to me, they didn't get all transferred to my external hard drive so had to download a lot from from Picasa. I'm also still getting familiar with Windows 7 and trying to get my old movie maker program back that I had on the XP system. (Windows live movie stinks!) Gerard is faithfully cheering for the Bruins in the hockey playoffs, but the Canadians are giving them a hard time. Hope they start winning again!

Favorite Reads in April

We both loved THE WINTER HORSES by Philip Kerr and both read and liked DEAR KILLER by Katherine Ewell (a 17-yr.-old new author). Gerard liked it a lot more than I did though, see our reviews by clicking the links. We even did a video discussing THE WINTER HORSES. What was the best book you read lately?

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7 Friday Fragments (Computer, Money, Books, Sports)

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. It's been quite a week so I have more than usual this week:

Money Well Spent

As they say, "easy come, easy go." This week we got our tax refund and I got some money for Administrative Professionals Day which more than covered the expense of our new ACER computer (can't believe how fast this one works compared to our old one) and the 3 yr. service for 24/7 tech support from iYogi. Wednesday night, I spent five hours on the phone and chat with them to get my computer all loaded with stuff and cleaned up from some downloads I did that I changed my mind about. They do monthly tune-ups to keep it running like new and I love that. They can remotely come in with me permission and take care of everything for me! As I sit and watch, I also learn more too. If interested in looking into this service, please give me your email address so I can refer you.

Microsoft Office

I am so happy I now have Outlook 2013 and it works after the iYogi tech set up my email on it for my last night. I got it for just $10 through a work shopping program. I couldn't get it for my old XP because it wouldn't work on that. Now that I have the Windows 7 operating system, I could finally get it. It took a very long time to download (which is why I was up so late on Wednesday), but it is so worth it to me!

Football

I think it's early to talk NFL football, but the schedules came out this week. I'd be surprised if the Browns win 3 games this year. Another year of starting all over again. I can't even get excited about it. Think I'll be more into the Patriots this year along with my husband.

Books

The only thing that would make this book better is if it had cats.

This month for me, reading has been a bit slow. I finally read a very good historical fiction novel that I could give 5 stars-my favorite of the month so far. It is The Winter Horses by Philip Kerr. It is so touching and gut-wrenching that I cried three times when reading it. Click the link to read our review. This is one we both enjoyed very much about a nice old man who was the caretaker of a animal sanctuary in the Ukraine during WW II, an orphan girl who had a very special connection with the wild horses and the fantastic horses themselves and a brave, loyal smart wolfhound.

Wonderful Easter

We had a wonderful Easter this year, it was a "Perfect Day" for all of us!  Tennis anyone?  How about puppets or a walk in the woods?

Go Bruins

My husband is very excited about the Bruins again this year. So far in the first round of the playoffs, they are 3-1. I really meant to watch with him, but the computer issues took over my time and focus. It's been a wild two weeks but now I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Surprise Gifts

Last Saturday when visiting the nursing home with our dog, Abby, we were showered with gifts to show their appreciation for us volunteering by bringing Abby to visit the residents twice a month. We did a post about this, in case you missed it: It's Nice to be Appreciated. Share this:

Computer Saga-Part 2: It Works! We Did It! (Writer's Workshop)

We got a new all-in-one ACER computer that arrived Tuesday and we love it!  After a lot of delays and disappointments with the Dell I ordered (see previous post for details), I found one online at Best Buy.  It was between the ACER windows 7 all-in-one built in or an HP  windows 7 tower and monitor.  The salesman at Best Buy recommended the ACER because the tower and monitors are on the way out.

Best Buy had a on-line order area where they even ordered it for me.  (The guy (Andres) was amazing at multi-tasker who really impressed me.  While he handled my ordering, he was also talking on the phone with other customers and assisting another customer with a pick-up of a big TV.)  This time we had it shipped to my husband's place of employment so we would avoid the delivery problems we had with the Dell and wouldn't have to have it sitting on our porch until we got home from work if UPS just dropped it off.    

Although I was excited to get it set up, I was also a bit doubtful in my abilities so tried making an appointment for a Geek Squad agent to come and set it up for us.  Fortunately, I kept getting the run around with instructions to call different numbers.  When I tried the 800 number, there was a 20 minute hold time so I gave up and tried again later.  This time, there was a 40 minute hold time.  I couldn't resist taking a peek so I opened the box and looked it over.  Then I went to bed.

The next morning (Wednesday), Gerard assisted with getting the stand for the monitor pulled out and I started plugging in the cords.  I had to leave for work before trying to turn it on so yesterday evening, I tried it when I got home and it worked!  I went through the registration stuff and we came up with a password for it that we could both remember easily.  The first thing I did was get the Firefox browser downloaded to use.

It is so much faster than our old one and the screen is almost twice as wide!  This one has the USB port on the side of the monitor where it's easy to use (not in back like the Dell had).  I am so happy that we don't have to fuss with the brightness every time we turn it on like we had to do with our old AOC monitor and am glad we were able to get it to work without spending the $100 for the Geek Squad's assistance.  This morning I was able to get our printer connected but still have some more software to load for my pictures and word processing and must decide if I should keep using the McAffee anti-virus that came with it or switch to the AVG that I just renewed for another year.

Even though it was a stressful week without a computer, I was thankful I could use the library computers.  It was worth the wait!  Romans 8:28 comes to mind that applies to our computer saga which says:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.     

Linking up with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop using the prompt:  Something you bought this month that you love.

What anti-virus do you suggest I use?  Do you love your computer?  Has any scripture come to your mind lately?

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Computer Saga Continues

I was excited to finally get our new computer I ordered from Dell, after having to wait a day for me to authorize the purchase with my credit card company and then wait for Federal Express another day to deliver it to the local pickup place since I wasn’t home sign for it.  However, when I looked at the box, it saw windows 8.1—I ordered windows 7.  Thinking, maybe I could adjust to it or perhaps it really was windows 7 and just marked wrong on the box, I pulled it out and noticed the USB ports are on the back—none on the front!  I use these ports all the time when loading my pictures from my memory card.  What are they thinking?  My Dell at work has these USB ports on the front.

 

So I had already disconnected my old one and decided to hook it up again and use it for as long as I can since one of our Facebook friends informed me that my windows XP will still be fine as long as I use the Firefox browser instead of IE, which we’ve been doing anyway.  So, I reconnect everything and boom—the monitor says “no signal” and nothing else comes up.  I kept rechecking all my connections and it’s still not working.  I stayed up until 10 p.m. last night disconnecting it and reconnecting it several times (it worked just fine earlier before I left to bring home the new monitor).  I even tried going back to using our old surge protector battery instead of my new one.  I just don’t know what else to try.  Then I couldn’t get to sleep until 11:00 because I was so wound up about this.

 

I called to return the new computer and was told they would refund $100 for my inconvenience of the USB ports and getting Windows 8 instead of 7 if I would try it.  If I still want to return it (which I do), I have until May 3 to do so.  I am not satisfied with this.  I want my old one to work so that is the course of action I will pursue first.  Anyone have any suggestions?  Maybe I can get the new monitor work with it since I never liked my AOL monitor anyway, but I’m not getting my hopes up..  Somehow, I doubt if it will be compatible.

 

Spunky Doodle and Manny were the only ones happy with our new computer so far.  They got to play with a very long twisty that was wrapped around the computer cord.  I enjoyed watching them.  Cats are great stress relievers.  I even left one out for them after repacking the box.

 

I am so bummed, stressed out, frustrated and sad with this whole fiasco!  If it weren’t for my Lumosity subscription, I’d just go computer free for now.  Next step will be to contact the Geek Squad at Best Buy.  Times like this, I sure wish we had a computer geek in the family!

 

I am trying very hard not to let this fiasco steel my joy and this morning, I was encouraged when I watched a video I got from AWANA about a boy in Ecuador:  http://vzaar.com/videos/1568392.

 

(Posted at the library during my lunch hour.)

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Bummer--Time To Get a New Computer

Gerard is happy about this--he's been wanting a new one for probably three years now but the one we have works just fine.  It's an emachine with windows XP, the one I got for my dad back in July of 2006.  Yesterday I got a message that as of April 9, there will no longer be support for windows XP.  This means that not only will there be no technical support for it, but no automatic protection against viruses or updates.  I found some complicated instructions at  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=20 for doing an upgrade to windows 7 but I do not want to bother with that since my computer is almost 8 years old.

I have lots of pictures that I will miss.  I backed up some on cds but to reload them all into a new computer would be a nightmare.  Some I tried putting on a SanDisk 4GB portable drive (I think that's what it's called).  This takes a long time to do this too since my pictures are organized into 17 different folders.  I could probably delete a few though but it's still lots of pictures because I even have some subfolders in them.  This is really stressing me out.

I have AVG virus and malware protection which works very well and I just renewed it!  Fortunately, there is a number I can call to let them remotely come in to my new computer and transfer it over but I have to delete it from my old one first.  Then, my Epson printer may not be compatible.  I tried checking  to see if it is compatible with windows 7 or 8 and I couldn't even find the picture of mine on there!  This is a big headache for me.  Times like this, I wish I were a computer geek, I feel so ignorant about the actual workings and set up stuff when it comes to computers.  I sure wish they gave me more notice.

I am not one bit excited about this but plan to start the hunt tonight, Best Buy here I come, guess.  Have you gone through this process of transferring to a new computer?   

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Where's The Sound?

Sunday when I was looking at other Friday Fragment posts, I came across a video someone posted but when I tried to listen to it, there was no sound.  I went to a few other videos to see if the problem was with that particular video or on my end and could not hear any of them.

I jumped to the conclusion that I needed some new speakers and off to OfficeMax I went.  When we got back from Abby's visit to the nursing home, I hooked up the new speakers and guess what--STILL no sound!  Hmpf.  I went into settings, and saw the "mute" box was checked.  How in the world did that happen?  I know I didn't change it and the only other person who uses our home PC is my husband who wouldn't have a clue how to even get to that screen.  I know our pets are smart and sneaky sometimes, but I really don't think any of them could have done this.

Don't blame this on me, I didn't do it!

I have no idea how that setting mysteriously got changed. So anyhow, I unchecked the mute box and tried again.

Sure enough, I had sound once again.  I hooked my old speakers back up and they work just fine.  Yesterday after work, I returned the new speakers to OfficeMax and they gave me a credit without any problem. 

Lessons learned:
1.  Do not jump to conclusions.  Check out all the possibilities first even though it seems improbable.

Can anyone explain this mystery to me?

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Sunday Sharing: A Direct Line To God and a Password Tip

Happy Easter Everyone!

This week I have chosen two verses as my highlights of the week that both relate to prayer:

Stay joined to me and let my teachings become part of you.  Then you can pray for whatever you want, and your prayer will be answered.  (John 15:7 - Jesus speaking)

You will ask the Father in my name, and I won't have to ask Him for you.  (John 16:26 - Jesus speaking)

Isn't it wonderful that because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we can have a relationship with the God of the universe!  I don't know about you, but that just blows me away.  I love that I can talk to God in prayer anytime, anywhere and know that He will answer.  It's like having a direct line to God without being put on hold or dropped into voice mail.  He is always ready, willing and available to listen.

I would like to point out though, an important couple points that jump out at me in these verses.  The first is that Jesus tells me to "stay joined" (contemporary English version) to Him and let His teachings become a part of me.  The obvious question is, how exactly do I do that?  I think the key is to be willing to obey His Word and actually apply it in my life.  With the help of the Holy Spirit, praise the Lord, I can do that!  I have finally grown in my spiritual walk to actually get to the place where I look forward to reading the Bible some every day.  It does help me to jot down a verse that I especially find interesting and then choose a highlight for the week. By using different verses for my passwords, it helps me to keep them in my mind.  (see end of this post for example).

The second point from the next verse is to ask the Father in Jesus' name.  I know sometimes people pray, especially at public functions, when they do not do this.  There is power in the name of Jesus and we are told by Jesus himself to pray to God the Father in His name. 

Once again, it was difficult choosing just one highlight.  Other verses I considered choosing were John 17:3, John 18:4-6 and John 18:36.  I hope you read your Bible each day and develop a close personal relationship with God too.  Happy Easter as we all join together in celebrating Christ's death for us and His resurrection!

Password tip idea:

 Keeping in mind that a strong password is long but easy to remember, has numbers and letters, isn't a word found in the dictionary, here is an example of a strong password using a Bible verse:  ItbGcthateGen11 (Just use the first letter of the words, the first letter of the book where it's found or the abbreviation for the boo and the chapter and verse.  This example is Genesis 1:1 which says, In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.  To make it even stronger, substitute a special character for the comma and/or period. 

So, what is your scripture highlight of the week?  (I'd love to know what you think of my password tip too!  Don't worry, I am not using this one for any of my passwords.)

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10 Friday Fragments (pets, zoo, news, books, tips, computer)

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. Here we go:

Please Vote For Manny Boy and Me

It's time to vote in the Valentine's Day Contest on Facebook for our entry. It is a cropped picture of Manny laying on my legs while I pet his head while watching TV. He absolutely loves this and the idea of the contest is to choose a picture that shows our love for our cat.  Voting goes through Feb. 28.  (The winner gets a $100 PetSmart gift card!)

 

  Scratch Reflex

Oh yeah!

I read in "Have A Good Day, Feb. 2013" that if you scratch a special spot on a dog's belly or flank, that it sends his leg kicking like crazy. That response is called the "scratch reflex" which is similar to when someone hits that special spot on our knee that automatically sends our leg kicking.

Zoo Addition

In 2014, the Cleveland Metropark Zoo will be getting a wildlife carousel with 64 hand-carved wooden animals on it.

Warning

Don't get Anti-Skid Ice Melt. Read our What They Don't Tell You post to find out why.

Suicide

Don't worry, we are not committing suicide, but according to USA TODAY, there are 19,000 suicides in the USA every year! Gerard's book of the month, You Before Me by Jojo Moyes, deals with this issue. It's a fantastic read! Click on the link here to see his review.

Productivity

According to USA TODAY, 44% said they are more productive at work if they go out to lunch. Gerard always eats lunch in; maybe he should go out?

Second Opinion

I never knew our immune system could actually attack our brains until reading Brain On Fire--My Month of Madness by Susan Cahala. Now I see why it's wise to get a second opinion when being diagnosed. This is a non-fiction medical thriller that's really scary! Click the link for our review--we both read this one!  We are giving this away to the first U.S. citizen who states they would like it in a comment on our review.

 

Pillows

Over at The Modern Mom I learned that if you put a flat lumpy pillow into the dryer with a couple tennis balls and run it on low heat for 30 minutes, it will perk up.

Computer War

I've had some troubles this week with my Firefox browser. I updated it and chose a Boston Bruins persona which stayed about 3 days and then it was back to the generic gray. It took me awhile to find the selections again, but I went back to the solid yellow one. I just like something more cheerful than black on top and that I can easily read. I also had trouble with some of my pictures not loading in my header and in my Note Card Party Post. If I click on the black spot where the picture should be, it does come up in another viewer so I can see it. What's going on?

Captions

In my Note Card Party Post:  Wildlife in Winter (1), we got lots of good caption suggestions for the first one I didn't have one for. I think I like "Shouldn't I be hibernating right now?" best. Which do you like best for this bear pic for a note card?  Thanks for all the suggestions and comments!

• Shouldn't I be hibernating right now?
• Let's get together for lunch!
• I can't bear to be without you!
• Unbearable Day?
• Nobody can fill your paws!
• Something got you growling?
• It's so cold out here, I can't bear it?
• Thank you for visiting my cave!

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6 Tips For Making Your Passwords Strong

As part of information security at work we got an email about having to change our passwords every 120 days and tips for making strong passwords. (No, Beaded Tail, just because you can't remember it doesn't necessarily mean it is strong. A skilled hacker could figure it out!) When reviewing all my personal passwords, I was a bit surprised that out of 50, only 12 met these requirements! I thought my readers may find this information enlightening and helpful as well so am sharing it with you. It's definitely time for me to change my passwords even though it's a pain.

1. Do NOT use a dictionary word as your password. (If you must, string several together) 


2. Do NOT use standard number substitutions. Think "P455w0rd" is a good password? N0p3! Here I thought I was being so clever and that I had a very strong password by doing this but cracking tools now have those built in. 


3. Make it long. (The longer, the better!) Today's processing speeds mean that even a short weird password like "h6!r$q" is quickly crackable!


4. Use different passwords. If one is hacked, and you use it on all or many of your accounts, the hacker then has access to all of them! This would be very bad!


5. Give bogus answers to security questions but make your answers memorable. Think of them as a secondary password.


6. Use a mix of Alpha, Numeric, Capital letters and Special Characters.

Here's a couple things you can do to protect against hackers:

1. Use a unique, secure email address for password recoveries. If a hacker knows where your password reset goes, that's a line of attack. Create a special account you never use for communications and make sure to choose a username that isn't tied to your name so it can't be easily guessed.


2. Opt out of Spokeo and WhitePages.com. One of the easiest ways to hack into an account is through your email and billing address information.

Now, are you going to actually use this information to improve your security? Maybe it's time for you to replace your passwords with some new ones. Let the fun begin!

Source:  Tips from Wired magazine, December, "Kill The Password"

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8 Things We Learned This Week

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. Here we go:

Sisters

Dear Abby just died at age 94 and I heard for the first time that Ann Landers is her twin sister. When we used to get the paper, Dear Abby was one of my favorite columns. Did you know that?

Read it Twice!

Last Saturday when visiting at Legacy Place, I was thrilled to hear that the one lady read and liked My Funny Dad, Harry so much, that she read it twice! You made my day, Ginny!

SHAKA Sign

Do you know what a SHAKA sign is and what it means? I didn't until I read SHAKA, Hand Gesture I Golden Approve over at Sugar's blog. Sugar is a Golden Retriever who lives in Hawaii and is a blogging buddy of ours. It means to hang loose.

New Game

I love games and over at Comedy Plus this week, Sandy shared how to play "Quarters" which is a new game to me. I printed out the directions. All you need to play is dice and some coins--(wouldn't have to be quarters), could even use candy!

Embed Tweets

Attn cats!Sparkle is having a giveaway of Nekoflies (toys) Stop by if you live in US:tinyurl.com/a3k9bff #cats
— Karen Zemek (@kzemek) January 17, 2013

I just learned this week how to embed a tweet when entering Sparkle's contest: click on time of tweet, mouse over your tweet and it brings up an URL for just that tweet with an option to embed it or even email it. 

Passwords

Out of my 50 passwords, only 12 are very strong. I plan to do a post about this soon.

Work

My hubby learned to use a new bagging machine at work. He says it makes the task easier so that's good! I learn new things at work all the time too. It seems there is always something new to learn.

Snowmobile Accident

I always thought it would be great fun to snowmobile until I read about Tom Hedin's terrible snowmobile accident over at It's Just Life, "Reconfiguring? You Betcha!". He and his family could really use our prayers and even some financial support. He has a beautiful family but suffered serious injuries including a brain hemorrhage and many broken bones. He's only been at his new job for six months so does not qualify for FMLA. Please follow the link to learn more and see the family picture.

A Surprise

When I went to link up this post, I saw this Amazon ad for my book come up at the bottom of the screen:

(I wanted to just show the ad but didn't know how to get it so printed the whole screen into paint.)



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5 Friday Fragments (Klutzy, Tweets, resolutions, computer, book)

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. Here we go:

Ouch!

Sometimes I can't believe how klutzy I am. Last Sunday I even got hurt sitting in church! I bent over to get my coat on and boom! I banged my forehead hard on the pew in front of me and my glasses fell off. Fortunately, it was at the end of the service and I put some ice on it right after. Kathy at the Junk Drawer agreed with me that I should win the "Klutz of the Year" award. Can you beat this?

My Favorite Tweets of 2012

Favorites
21 Nov Thangluai Family Thangluai Family ‏@TheGodTweeter

Out of difficulties grow miracles! http://fb.me/1JvIjk6IN

14 Nov mamakatslosinit mamakatslosinit ‏@mamakatslosinit

I put another dog to the IQ test...see how Jack did: http://bit.ly/PTiaRe

15 Mar Joel Osteen Joel Osteen ‏@JoelOsteen

When things don’t go your way, don’t get bent out of shape. Just go with the flow and let God use you in the way He wants.

Resolutions

I am happy to report that I kept ALL 8 of my New Year's Resolutions for 2012!  Unfortunately, after memorizing the book of James by June 2012, I have forgotten it already.  I still remember the concepts but not word for word.  I will post ones for this year soon--I wrote them on my calendar.  Did you make any?

No Internet Connection

Yesterday and today when we opened Firefox, instead of our ATT email page we got a goofy message that we do not have an Internet connection. Then have to hit "connect" and then have to enter our modem access code that is on back of our DSL modem. (After this happening twice, I wrote it down.) Anyone else experiencing this? Anyone know what's going on? We never got this message before in the whole five years we've had the computer.

The Titanic

Before I read I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshish,I didn't realize how big it was! It was like a palace, 11 stories high and only 16 lifeboats. After this event, it became law for ships to have lifeboats enough for all crew and passengers.  If you like to read, be sure to look at Our Favorite Reads for December and 2012 for some great book recommendations--both fiction and non-fiction.  

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6 Things We Learned This Week 6 of 2012 (vet, computer, Tebow, funny, cats, feet)

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. We like to share what we've learned each week.

1. Vet Video of Abby

   Bartels Busack Pet Hospital that took care of our dog, Abby, after she was attacked posted a video about her miracle recovery on their Facebook Page! Abby was so pleased she did a post about it: My Vet Made a Video of Me.

2. Tim Tebow

   After reading Tim Tebow's book, Through My Eyes, I learned several things about him I didn't know before: (1) He was born in the Philippines; (2) his dad is a preacher; (3) he grew up on a farm so is "farm strong.  In case you don't know, Tim Tebow is the Denver Broncos Quarterback who is not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ and gives God the glory. (4) You can play on school sport teams even if you are homeschooled.

3. Moving Task Bar

   This week our task bar that has "start" on it on our computer somehow showed up on the right side of the screen vertically instead of across the bottom of the screen where it belongs. This was annoying and I immediately emailed a couple of my techie blogging buddies for help. All I had to do was hold down a left click somewhere in the middle of it and drag it back to where it belonged. To lock it in place, you can right click on it somewhere in the middle of it and it gives you an option to "lock the task bar" which I did. Thanks for your quick response, Kathy at the Junk Drawer and Rebecca at The Older Geek.

4. Laugh!

   Did you know it's good to laugh every day? Kids laugh 10x more than adults do in one day--they have the right idea! I found This Should Put a Smile On Your Heart Today this week over at Jodi's Journey that made me laugh out loud.

5. Spunky Doodle

   

   I'm Hungry, mom!

   I have to put my lunch in the refrigerator because if I leave it on the kitchen counter, my cat, Spunky Doodle tears the bag open and will eat my bread! (More about her latest escapades in a post this week--she is feeling a bit neglected because Abby is getting so many posts lately.)

6. Plantar Fascitis

   I never heard of Planter Fascitis until a couple days ago when one of the attorneys I work for came limping into work. It's a pain in the arch of a foot due to inflammation of a ligament that runs along the arch. The doctor said it may have been caused by not having enough support from the shoe.

(50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!) Share this:

8 Things We Learned This Week 17 of 2011 (computer, blogging, exercise, fun)

Walking

I joined Gerard and Abby on their 4-mile plus "Sunoco" walk last Saturday and found out I could do it just fine, but then, it was a very nice day! Here's the link to Abby's 4-mile Spring Walk video I made of our walk that we plan to post here May 1 with Abby's Walking Club Challenge participants.

Snapshot Meme

I just discovered a Saturday Snapshot meme hosted by At Home With Books.

Word Processing

I was able to install a free word processing program from www.openoffice.org but still can't open my other documents. Good thing I had the important ones backed up. It took an hour to install, but now I feel much better. Still don't have my picture editing Kodak software back though.

Stressed Cats

I learned that boredom is a cause for stress in cats and there are many signs of stress--some I knew, some I didn't. Check out Stress Awareness In Cats to learn all about this at The Conscious Cat.

Favorite Blog Header

Mrs. 4444 made my day when she left the following comment on our Friday Fragments post over at Grab A Book From Our Stack: Your header is my current favorite in Blogland--GORGEOUS! That made me feel good! Be sure to check it out. I posted a short "behind-the-scenes" video yesterday of how my cats help me with it.

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3 Things We Learned This Week 16 of 2011 (funny, computer, books)

Dinosaurs

Over at Jodi's Journey this week I learned what happened to the dinosaurs. It's funny--go see The First Senior Moment In History.

Computer

Now that my word processing program is gone after my computer hard drive had to be be wiped clean because of the "Blue Screen Of Death" I realize how important it is to save those software disks and operating disks.

Science Fiction

Okay, after reading The Hunger Games series, The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, and now this week Ender's Game, I learned that I do like science fiction after all! Each of these are teen fiction, but we love it!

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HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

Oh No! The Blue Screen Of Death!

First thing I said to Gerard on Friday morning, April 15, was “Happy Friday.”  His response was, there’s nothing happy about it (because the Bruins lost their first playoff game at home). 

 

He was right though.  I turned my computer on as usual when I got up and couldn’t get it to boot up.  I got what is referred to as the “blue screen of death” with this message: 

 

STOP:  C0000218 {Registry File Failure}

The registry cannot load the hive (file):

or its log or alternate.  It is corrupt, absent or not writable.

Beginning dump of physical memory

Physical memory dump complete.

Contact your system administrator or technical support group for further assistance.

 

This was not a good way to start my day, but after about 4 failed attempts, I gave up and joined Gerard and Abby on their morning walk, had a longer devotional time than usual, and played a little pool with Spunky to try to relax and get rid of my frustration.  It really didn’t work, but Spunky was cute and made me smile!

 

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Salvaging The Computer Keyboard

Our computer keyboard is four years old and some of the letters have worn off—it gets used every day. I don’t even notice this but Gerard does because he types with the hunt and peck method. He keeps saying we need a new keyboard, but I really don’t think so. All the keys work so I just stuck some masking tape on the worn keys and wrote the letters on it. I think it’s a great solution which extends the life of our keyboard!

Have you helped your husband lately? Got any tips on how to make something last longer?

Find best posts of the week at the Saturday Sampling link-up or add one of your own.