Tuesday, February 28, 2006

FACTS FOR COMPUTER DUMMIES

Owning a computer opens the door to a host of myths and tall tales about the care and feeding of your pricey info system. And because a computer can be an expensive, mysterious piece of equipment, many cautious people take some of this maintenance "advice" as fact. But rest assured, most of it isn't.

Here's a simple true-false quiz designed to help get to the bottom of common computer misconceptions. Finally, here's some information you can feel good about e-mailing to your friends.

True or false? My PC will start behaving worse than a tired toddler if I don't power it all the way down at night, every night.

False. Your PC doesn't need to be shut down fully every day to stay healthy. Many people hate to wait for Windows to shut all the way down. And they really hate to wait for it to boot all the way up again. The more programs and utilities you have running, the worse that boot time becomes. One answer: Use Windows XP's Hibernate option (look for it in your Control Panel under Power Options). This will make your PC go to sleep instead of shutting all the way down.

True or false? If I spill a drink on my keyboard, it's totaled.

False. A desktop computer's keyboard will usually survive a spill (though you Big Gulp types should be extra careful). Turn the keyboard upside down on top of a kitchen towel and leave it alone for a while. Then you can wipe the top of the keys down with a slightly damp cloth and be back in business.

Disclaimer alert: You can try the same drill with a laptop's keyboard, but it may not fare as well because critical parts live beneath the keyboard and some liquid may ooze down. And beware, spills typically void a laptop's warranty, so some owners may find it worth the money to buy an extended warranty or accidental damage coverage that specifically covers drops and spills. Get it from the manufacturer who sold your equipment to you.

True or false? If I stick a magnet near a floppy disk, it will erase the contents.

True. You've never seen James Bond do it, but it works. If you rush to the refrigerator, grab a magnet, and stick it on a floppy disk, you'll probably destroy the files.

True or false? My PC is running slow and I have strange icons in my system tray, therefore I probably have a virus.

False. If you are running antivirus software and keep it updated, you probably have spyware instead. These nasty little invaders run in the background, slow down your PC, change your Web browser settings, and leave weird stuff lying around that can be harder to remove than dishwasher gunk.

True or false? I can't have spyware, because I ran an anti-spyware program and it erased several items.

False: Anti-spyware programs vary greatly in effectiveness. In PC World's recent tests, these programs grabbed as much as 90 percent of spyware and as little as 66 percent. You may need to run a couple of programs to remove it all. (Fortunately, a few good spyware removers are free.) For the scoop on which products to consider and how to kill all the spies, see PCWorld.com.

True or false? There's no way for me to remember all my passwords, so I need to make crib notes on a piece of paper and hide it well.

False. Some people write passwords on Post-It notes and stick them someplace near the computer, but this is a really bad idea. Sure, you have to remember a ridiculous number of user names and passwords these days, for dozens of programs and sites. But there's a better solution to the problem. Check out Password Safe, a free utility that creates strong, unique passwords and saves all the info in an encrypted database. You don't have to remember all your passwords, just one.

True or false? If my PC breaks under warranty, my PC company will replace the parts good as new.

True. But the key phrase here is "good as new," not "new." Many PC owners are surprised the first time a part fails, and they learn this lesson. But most PC companies have language in the warranty that allows them to send you remanufactured parts as replacements. These parts are not strictly brand new, though they go through some reconditioning and testing.

True or false? My laptop's batteries will become less effective if I keep recharging them before they're empty.

False. That is, unless you have an ancient notebook PC with a nickel cadmium battery. Today's lithium ion batteries do not suffer from this problem. You don't have to run them down to empty all the time, but you should occasionally.

True or false? I don't need to pay for tech support because my cousin's kid works with computers and helps me out when I have questions.

False. Your little helper will never tell you, because he or she is too polite, but no one likes being the "computer kid" to the extended family or neighborhood. Here's the good news: Great tech-support services now exist where you pay a reasonable monthly fee, or buy a block of phone-support minutes, with a company that can use the Internet to remotely peek at, control, and fix your PC--or just quickly answer your PC-care questions. For a good option, try PlumChoice.

True or false? I'm ready to give away my old computer after I've deleted all the files.

False. Deleting files isn't good enough. You'd be amazed what people can pull from the hard drives of secondhand or donated computers if the hard drive hasn't been completely reformatted and Windows reinstalled. (And if you pass along the PC to a family member, you're probably not going to do this.)

PC World did a story where we found Social Security numbers, income tax returns, and other personal and important information on old, discarded hard drives. Once you pass along your old PC, you have no idea where it will travel down the line. To erase your info, try a free utility program, such as Eraser, to zap documents into oblivion. There's also Webroot's Window Washer for cleaning up the many little nuggets that lurk elsewhere.

O.K. your can pick your jaw up off the floor now, I didn't become and over night Tech Guru, I'm still a Computer Dummy.
Credit for this goes to:
Laurianne McLaughlin a freelance technology writer.

However I thought I would add this little bit of information for those of us that need all of the help we can get.

There is a wonderful place called TECH TUESDAY , If you venture to go there and scroll half way down the page you will find all kinds of information such as: Beginner's Guide, Tips and Techniques, Useful Downloads and more. Take a peek sometime.
Just seek and ye shall find, or maybe I should say, click, click, click and ye shall find.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

WHAT IS BEAUTY

What do you think of when you think of beauty?
For some men beauty is a gorgeous face with creamy smooth skin, shiny flowing Auburn hair and clear blue eye, or maybe it's a fiery red head with Alabaster skin and just a touch of freckles across her nose. Then again it could be the blonde with the dark tan and those long slender legs that go on forever.

What about the women? Is your dream man tall dark and handsome, slender and sleek, or perhaps for you it is the muscular and macho man that turns you on. Does he have a body like Adonis, eyes like Paul Newman and a face like -- hmmm what will his face look like?

In any case when we think of beauty, we think of the physical attraction. The perfect face the perfect hair, the perfect body. When a handsome man or a gorgeous woman walks by heads turn and envy surrounds them.

But what is beauty but a superficial thing and unless your name is 'Joan Rivers ' it won't last forever.
No matter how great the beauty if evil lurk within the beauty turns into ugliness. No matter how great the beauty, if the personality within is rude, controlling, selfish, conceded or arrogant, she ceases to be beautiful and becomes ugly to those around her. A nuisance . Someone that no one cares to be around, someone that is avoided, abonished, ignored at all cost .

True beauty is not a superficial thing, it comes from within. It is the friendliness, the kindness, the compassion, the humor the conversations without confrontation. It is someone who really listens when you talk and someone that you enjoy listening to. It is someone that makes you smile the minute you see them because their inner beauty shines through like the lantern in a lighthouse for all to see.

When I think of beauty I remember a lady much older then I at the time who was moderately tall and big boned and I might add with a good bit of weight around those bones . She had a face that most people would have called ugly, until you got to know her.
I think my husband knew her husband so she knew me by name. She chased me down in a store one day calling my name to catch my attention and shamefully I tried to avoid her, not because of her looks, but because I grew up in California and we're not as friendly with strangers as the people here in the south.
We don't care who lives in the apartment next door and care even less if pot is reeking out from around their closed door, so all I could think of was, oh lord what gossip does she want to inform me of, so I just kept scurrying up one isle and down the other.
Sadly my little short legs could not out run her big muscular legs and her age didn't seem to hold her up at all , she spun around that last isle like a deer on the run and I could no longer ignore the sound of my name being called so I turned and said hi how are you,with a big smile on my face.
She worked for the Cooperative Extension Service and wanted to tell me of a position they had open and thought I would be ideal for it. She wanted to help. I was busting my nuggies at night at the time waiting on tables for two dollars and fifty cents an hour and about two dollars worth of tips a night.
This was a part state part federally funded job. Good pay and good hours perfect for my school age children. A job that I could dress up to go to and use my brains instead of my feet.
I decided to go to that interview and got the job on the spot. I was in shock and happy as a lark.

Since she worked there too I was able to get to know her and occasionally we would have lunch together. The more I got to know her the more I liked her. Eventually we became good friends. She had a background I never would have guessed. She had been to college , taught school and had traveled some. There was no subject that she couldn't address. She was worldly, highly intelligent, extremely witty and loads of fun. She had a sense of humor you wouldn't believe,she kept me laughing over the worst things.

Funny isn't it, how you see people differently when you get to know them. When I got to know the person that she was, her looks disappeared and became beauty and I mean that with all of my heart.
I had the pleasure of being her co-worker for eleven years and her friend a few years longer after that. I looked foreword to seeing her warm and inviting smile. I looked foreword to hearing her voice and listening to her witty way of saying everything I looked foreword to our conversations. Sadly she passed away several years ago and I can't say that one month has gone by that I don't think of her. She was one of the most beautiful people I have ever met inside and out.
She truely left her mark with all who she met. Her light still shines in many hearts.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

DO YOU NEED HELP PICKING UP GIRLS

Since this was in the news in december and said printable view and you could e-mail to a friend, I didn't think they would mind me putting it on my blog. At least I hope not. Maybe he'll look at it this way, he's getting some free publicitly although I doubt that he needs it.


The Best Way to Pick Up a Girl at Starbucks?
Posted by Shawn Gold on Tue, Dec 27, 2005, 9:21 am PST
Provided by: The Guide to Laughing at Love
Because I have a lot of female friends, a guy friend at work who is a bit shy asked me, “What is the best way to pick up a girl at Starbucks?” Hmmmm, I thought, not sure. And why Starbucks? But I decided to put some thought into it. Please share your comments.

First of all, breaking the ice is a common dilemma. Humor is always the best approach, but not everyone is funny, and you run the biggest risk of sounding like a loser. If you try to be funny and you're really not, you are a loser. So I think the safest approach is to be real and be interested.

Say hello. If she is reading, ask her about it. Ask her if it's “acceptable to approach a woman in a coffee shop.” In truth, she may not be interested in talking to you, but as a general rule, she is more likely to forgive you for a forced opportunity than for missing the opportunity entirely.

Once you break the ice, the best way to pick up a girl is to try and meet the person, not the sex. Say hey, hello, how are you — with a warm smile. Ask her about herself and actually listen to what she has to say with her voice and with her eyes. If you do get that conversation going, don’t be wishy-washy and overly agreeable, especially if you’re not. Women (and people) like the confidence in a man who knows what he likes.

And as far as asking her out goes, one big mistake men make is waiting to the last minute, like walking her to her door before they ask a woman out. If things are going well and it seems like it would be enjoyable to continue the conversation at another time and place, and then ask her. Waiting to the last minute seems too contrived.

Friday, February 17, 2006

ABOUT THE WASABI

If you've never been to a Japanese restaurant, you need to experience it at least once.
Many years ago I went to a Japanese restaurant in California. You were seated with your party just like any other restaurant, but the restaurant in Louisiana was very different, there you are not seated until they have a certain number of people and you sit in a group of about thirteen other people. The first time we went there I thought I was not going to like being seated with a group of people that I didn't know. I came here to have dinner with my daughter, not a bunch of people that I didn't know, but it turn out to be a lot of fun so this trip we went back.

At this restaurant, each group of people has their own special Chef and he puts on quite a show as he prepares all of the food on a huge grill with people sitting all around three sides of it.
I ordered some Avocado Appetizers, the avocado is just a very small piece in the center wrapped with seaweed then tightly pressed rice around it, it is open so that you can see each layer. While I was eating it I noticed a small piece of what I thought was my avocado and I thought it had fallen out of the wrap so I scooped it up and put it in my mouth. It looked just like a piece of avocado, same color exactly. Little did I know that it was the dreaded Wasabi. Oh my God, don't make the same mistake that I did. Well what preceded to happen turned out to be quite hilarious, but when I decided to write this post I didn't know that my daughter had made a comment on my previous post where I mentioned the restaurant, AH LAUGHTER, IT'S A GOOD THING ! . She described it pretty well so I'm just going to post her comment , it's funnier then anything that I would have written.

TheBlondeBrunette said...
you guys should of seen her when she ate the wasabi.......hehehe haaahahaha it was so funny at first it scared the crap out of me.. I wasn't sure what was going on and she never ever tells me what exactly is bothering her it is always a guessing game..{when she has a pain she calls me for help and then won't tell me a thing when I get to her how on earth am I suppose to know how to treat her symptoms or illness if I don't know what the heck is going on}
any way her eyes were bugging out of her head and they were all watery gasping for air I thought at first she has something stuck in her throat she is still breathing this is good able to still talk this is good able to cough this is all good it is okay then she starts like gasping hyper ventilating......oh sh*t like WTF ....." I'm gonna I'm gonna she repeats" ...... I am looking at her intently your gonna what?......." I'm gonna pass out something took my breath away I'm gonna pass out" again she said franticly....ok this is a good thing when someone is hyperventilating if they would just go ahead and give in and pass out it will reset there body and they are ok.......but noooo does she no she gets over her fits and gets grips at me for not being more concerned ......lol I couldn't help it I was laughing when I found out what she put in her mouth all of us at the table where and the cook it was funny then she told me you would of done the same thing .......no I wouldn't I don't know about you guys but I have to smell my food before I eat it... and if it doesn't smell like it should It don't go in my mouth...lol......then I have to hear the lecture of I see how you are your going to let me die before you do anything....lol tell me to pass out.......hehehehe you people should of been there the whole thing was hilarious......

What she didn't mention was when I gained my composer I wanted to know why the EMT with me wasn't trying to save me, her reply was , you were alright, you were still breathing. My reply back to her was, you dummy when you stop breathing it's to late. We all laughed and laughed. I'm sure the people seated with us will never forget meeting us.

I couldn't tell you if the Wasabi was hot or not, in fact I exited it into the napkin immediately, something about it-- a sent, a flavor went down my throat and up my sinuses to such and extent that I could not catch my breath.

My curiosity was heightened. I needed to know more about the wasabi, so I went in search and this is what I found out.

Wasabi is a plant, an ugly little green plant that packs a wallop.



Chemistry:
Sinigrin (C10H16KNO9S2), a glucoside found in the seeds of black mustard and included in the rhizome of wasabi does not taste so much in itself even by nibbling, but after the destruction of cells by means of grating, it reacts with internal enzyme myrosinase and is hydrolyzed to produce volatile and pungent allyl mustard oils, giving the main characteristics of wasabi

Ah so this is the little culprit that almost did me in.
Wasabi should definetly come with a warning lable !!

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

AH SWEET

Ah, look at what Becky got me for Valentines Day, This has to be the sweetest thing that has ever happened to me in Blog Land. Thank you Becky. Not only are they beautiful but they will never spoil.

Happy Valentines Day Everybody
I hope and pray that you and Chris will see many, many 'Valentine Days' together .

Visit Becky You'll love her posts.

Monday, February 13, 2006

AH LAUGHTER, IT'S A GOOD THING !

As you know by now the other week was a booger for me. If it had been a booger bear it would have bitten me in the butt. In a way it did, to say the least it caught me by surprise.
Normally I can handle the setbacks in life without anyone knowing. That was my Mom that made everyone share her sadness, not me, I'm the one that smiles and laughs all the time, but this time , oh Lord I hope everyone can forgive me.

All of last month I had the blues the blahs and the boohoos. No one saw me cry I kept that well hidden, but I was mean and rude and took my feelings out on everyone around me, my daughter, my grandson and God. Oh yes God, we talk all of the time and when I'm mad at him I tell him. Sometimes I even slip up and say a curse word, oh not at him just in my complaining in general, then I feel bad and start to apologize to him and in mid-stream I stop and end up saying, oh you know I'm human, so stop trying to make me feel guilty.

But then something happened to help break the spell and once again I am fine.

A funny thing happened the weekend I was at my worst. The day before what would have been my wedding anniversary my daughter wanted to go shopping in Monroe, LA. Oh joy, I thought, but I knew if I would have said that I didn't want to go she would want to know why because I love to go there and at the time I just didn't feel like sharing. I wanted to brood alone, by myself, without an audience and without making everyone else as miserable as I felt.

Wouldn't you know my poor grandson not having any idea, out of the blue picked January to ask me when I had gotten married and I panicked and jumped down his throat with a snotty remark like, why what makes you ask and walked away.
I felt really badly that I had acted that way. I think he realized something was wrong and he didn't ask again. It haunted me so, days later I finally apologized to him and explained why I had acted that way.

So here we go our big outing. I waited tell the last minute to get ready trying to think of an excuse not to go. I finally realized that if I said, I think I'll just stay home, she'd want to know why? She's like a darn blood hound, that wouldn't be a good excuse and she would just keep on , why, whying me and then I would cry and it would be a mess, so I decided to keep my mouth shut and go.

We are in the car and on our way, O.K. it's not so bad maybe it will get my mind off of things. It's a beautiful day and what's that on the radio - a love song. Oh boy just what I need, well I'll get through it. But then there was another and another and another. Half way there and that radio is still pumping out one stinking love song after another. I wanted to rip it out of the dash and throw it out the window. But instead I would turn my head and look out the window so no one would notice that I had tears in my eyes.

We are just entering Bastrop and there is this little antique shop that we have always wanted to brows in, but it is always closed everytime we go there. This time there is a car in front and my daughter spots it and says someone is there so she turns around and goes back.
She parks in front of the door. I sit there in a deadly stare, as she jumps out and rushes for the door in her excitement. I stare at what is just outside the shop with the look of doom on my face as I open the door and slowly get out of the car, my grandson is doing the same. We are shoulder to shoulder and we turn and look at each other and he glances at the it and whispers to me, I know grandma and I whispered back, I know you do and all of a sudden I started to giggle. I threw my hands up in the air and broke out into hysterical laughter, he did the same, as I said, Oh that stinker he must be doing this to me, referring to my husband. We both just kept giggling.

Would you believe that right next to the front door was a freshly painted bench and across the back in big bold block letters was painted HUSBANDS BENCH.
It had never been there before, why today?
' HUSBANDS BENCH ', Now you tell me, what are the odds of that.
I've heard of grampas chair, and many other expressions, but never HUSBANDS BENCH. Was that a message to let me know that he is still always with us. Or maybe a 'Happy Anniversary'. It wouldn't surprise me or my grandson. You see he and I have heard from him before.

It turned out to be a great outing after all. When my daughter asked what was so funny we just said nothing really and we browsed the antique shop, then went on to Monroe and had a great time going to the Mall. Our favorite store there has the name of one of my favorite movies 'Romancing the Stone' , it has all kinds of strange and exotic things ( no not those kind of exotic things, shame on you, don't forget FWL was with us). We went to a very nice, very expensive Japanese restaurant and I choked on the Wasabi and made a fool of myself in front of everyone which just made for more good fun and conversation.

Ah but the night was not over yet, we ended the night by going to one of our favorite places. There is a huge book store there called 'Books a Million' which stays open I think a tell -- I don't know, I've never seen it closed it's always open even when we go by there in the middle of the night which we did.
It is complete with places to sit and a latte counter. We are all book lovers so we each went our separate ways because we each have different preferences in books. Well I tried to go my own way, but my daughter kept finding me and saying I can't find and where do you think? She seemed lost this time, hmm she never has before. FWL didn't have any trouble finding anything all of the isles are labeled at the top. Sometimes I wonder about her?? But that's O.K. , I just took my baby girl and tried to helped her find the books she wanted.

Ending the evening at the latte counter seemed appropriate and a perfect way to end the evening. Two of us sat at a table, but the third one, sat at the counter so as not to appear to be with us when the cute girls walked by. Guess who?

Thursday, February 09, 2006

THOUGHTS OF HIM

I always knew He died for me

Upon that dogwood cross

And wondered how He could withstand

The burdens we had lost.

But now I lay here in this house

With death beside my bed

And thoughts of Him keep flowing

Back and forth inside my head.

I'm coming up to meet you Lord

And kiss your tender hands

Where once laid all the burdens

That us humans should have had.


by EXSENO

Monday, February 06, 2006

I REMEMBER MR. AND MRS. STREETER

There was this old man and old lady that lived in our small town. Every year they grew fresh vegetables, beautiful vegetables and sold them off the back of their vehicle.
Sometimes you would see them on the side of main street at the edge of town, sometimes in a parking lot and sometimes they would park up town on the square. None of the stores seemed to mind even if they were parked by their store, it was their way of making a living and they did it proudly.
One thing everyone knew for sure whether selling vegetables or shopping or just going somewhere you would never, ever see one without the other. I can't remember one time in all those years that I ever saw one without seeing the other.

There is a bad curve on the Hwy just coming into town and one day someone told me they were in a terrible wreck, I wondered if that was where it happened. Of course I asked if they were alright and she hit me with the punch line no they died, both of them.

I thought and even said out loud. Oh my God, they did everything together and the Lord let them go to heaven together too. How befitting. I felt terrible, yet at the same time comforted in the thought that they were able to leave this world, and go on to another in the same way in which they had lived.

Always together.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

WHY

I often wonder -- when two people find a special kind of love, the kind that is so intense the kind that when you look at each other you both know no matter what, you will never leave each other.
No matter how bad the hurt, no matter how angry the argument, you will mend it together.
You are true soul mates. You have found something that most people only dream of. Something that gets even better as the years go by in spite of any problems that may evolve. Two soles entwining over the years to become like one and you both know that nothing but death will ever pull you apart.
Tell me how then, is one suppose to go on without the other?
I am but half a person without my significant other. My heart is incomplete, it is only half there he has taken the other half with him in his departure and there is nothing left to give to anyone else.

This kind of love is like a fairy tale, a love truly made in heaven a special gift from God. Yet when it ends it leaves the one left behind only half whole.
That is why I have often wondered -- why doesn't the Lord in his infinite wisdom let these kind of lovers leave this world together.

Wouldn't that be the merciful thing to do. Wouldn't that be the perfect ending? The merciful ending.
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