Facebook's New "Timeline" Design & Features

WHAT IS FACEBOOK’S NEW PRIVACY FEATURE CALLED “TIMELINE”..

If you don't have Facebook Timeline already, you will soon - during the next month or so, Facebook is introducing its updated “Timeline” design to all Facebook users.

Facebook Timeline is basically a cosmetic design change, but it will affect the layout of your profile and also has some functional changes intended to make it easier for others to see your Facebook history and parts of your profile and this is where you want to pay attention, because now others will be able to see those embarrassing photos, status updates when you didn’t know any better, and what your friends have posted on your wall since the day you joined Facebook.

Profile (Timeline) Review is a new privacy option that lets you approve or reject posts that you've been tagged in before they go on your profile (timeline). When you turn it on, posts may already be visible in other places on Facebook, but they won't appear on your profile (timeline) until you approve them. When you have a post to review, it will show up in the Pending Posts section of your profile or in your ACTIVITY LOG (if you you've upgraded to timeline).

• Note-Your ACTIVITY LOG is a list of your posts and activity, from today back to the very beginning. You’ll also see stories and photos you’ve been tagged in, as well as the connections you’ve made, like when you liked a Page or added someone as a friend.

Many articles and forums are saying the same thing – Facebook Timeline is a great new feature, but Everyone should take some time to review exactly what is available on our own profiles, especially reading those old, forgotten posts that we may have written a long time ago, because now they will be a lot more visible for people to read (same goes with pictures from those late night or weekend escapades!!).

You may want to start deleting what you don't want anyone to see and setting limits on "the audience" (such as friends, friends of friends, vs. everyone)  for the content you want only some people to see.

How to Use our Class Blog

We hope you find our “CLASS BLOG” helpful as you continue to learn your computer more effectively, because no doubt as soon as you learn something – it will change and there will be something new to learn. We hope our Class Blog helps with the ever changing technology… Feel free to become a follower, to comment, and to share this website with family and friends. And feel free to ask questions – your questions become the topics we cover on the blog and we continue to learn from each other.. ~ Cherie Houston - email me at: cherie_houston@hotmail.com

 

WHAT IS A BLOG AND HOW DO I USE IT?
All BLOGS are intended to be "informational" like any newsletter you might receive. But in addition to reading the "posts-otherwise called articles" that we publish on our BLOG, you can also copy any of the "post/articles" and save them to your word processing files so you can then print them and you can comment on what we've said in a specific "post/article" - The how to's are noted below..

 

TO COPY A POST/ARTICLE to save or print for yourself or to change the size and/or print: highlight any portion of the post/article - activate the paste command, now open or go to your word processing program and on a clean piece of paper - activate the paste command. What you highlighted is now on the page. Change the font size & style, and you may want to change the color of the entire post/article to BLACK because most blogs use a light gray print (even though it may look black)... To save it on your PC, go to File, Save As, Open or Create a folder you want it saved in - remember to give it a name that will make it easy for you to find in the future - Now print it...

 

TO COMMENT ON A "POST/ARTICLE" we’ve added, beneath each "post/article", left click on the word “comment” , which takes you to a dialog box, so you can type your comments about the "post" article that you have just read...

 

HOW & WHY TO FOLLOW A BLOG? For our blog or any blog you read often, become a follower, to easily keep track of the blogs via your Reading List on the Blogger dashboard - On our Blog, at the bottom of the right column, you will see a "Follow" button under the "Followers" widget, and when you left click on it, a popup window appears asking if you want to follow the blog publicly or privately

• EMAIL: Most blogs have an “email signup” so simply type in your email address and you will receive anemail whenever a new post is added
•  FOLLOWING PUBLICLY: Your profile image will appear in the blog's Followers widget. You will also be subscribed to updates for this blog which will appear in your Reading List on your Dashboard and following a blog creates a listing in your Google Reader account.
•  FOLLOWING PRIVATELY: Your profile image and will NOT be displayed in the blog's Followers widget, but you’ll be subscribed to updates for this blog which will appear in your Reading List on your Dashboard and following a blog creates a listing in your Google Reader account

Voice/Speech Recognition Software – Part 2 of 2

~ Following is continued from our post on Wednesday, January 25, 2012...

Voice recognition Software has come along way and with every new edition improvements are made, but remember that using Voice Recognition software is very different from speaking to real people, when they can usually understand you from the context and environment even if you whisper, shout, or talk quickly or slowly.

According to “How Stuff Works.com” website, Voice Recognition Software understands words better when you speak in a predictable manner and also recommends: 

• Speak in a consistent, level tone. If you speak too loudly or too softly, the computer may not recognize what you said
• Use a consistent rate without speeding up and slowing down
• Speak without pausing between words; a phrase is easier for the computer to interpret than just one word. For example, the computer has a hard time understanding phrases such as "This (pause) is (pause) another (pause) example (pause) sentence."
• Start by working in a quiet environment so that the computer hears you instead of the sounds around you, and use a good quality microphone. Keep the microphone in the same position; try not to move it around after it is adjusted
• Train your computer to recognize your voice by reading aloud the prepared training text in the Voice Training Wizard. Additional training increases speech recognition accuracy
• As you dictate, do not be concerned if you do not immediately see your words on the screen. Continue speaking and pause at the end of your thought. The computer displays the recognized text after it finishes processing your voice
• Pronounce words clearly, but don’t separate each syllable in a word. For example, if you sound out each syllable in "ex-am-ple” which will cause the computer to not recognize what you said 

Voice/Speech Recognition Software – Part 1 of 2

Voice recognition software, also called speech recognition software, has been around for quite sometime and used by many businesses. But it’s now becoming popular for home use as well. Before you run out and buy a Voice Recognition Software program, such as Dragon Naturally Speaking Premium Edition or Home Edition; Dragon MAC for Mac Users, or others like Talking Desktop, did you know that Windows, XP, Vista and 7 all have a built-in speech/voice recognition software programs?? You might want to try one of these free first to test the waters and then if you want to continue, then make a purchase if you feel you need more features..

Voice recognition software – whether it is built into your Windows Operating System, or a software program such as Dragon Naturally Speaking, you purchased, allows the user to convert spoken words to written text and can work with other software application programs such as Word Pad, Word, Word Perfect and others...


In addition to the software program, you will need two things:
1) a microphone or some other sound input device to receive the sound and I’d recommend a high quality microphone with noise filters built in – if not the recognition rate may be unacceptable and not work as well as you’d like… and
2) most importantly “patience”

First, whether you use the software program built into your Windows operating system, or a purchased software program, they all have a Voice Training Wizard that will guide you through the process, recommends the best position to place the microphone, and allows you to test it for optimal results.

Second, being patient is crucial. Once your microphone and software are ready, you have to “train the software for your speaking style” and the Wizard will walk you through doing this, so that it can recognize background noises such as a fan, air conditioning, or other sounds and most importantly, it needs to adapt to your accents, pronunciations phrases and other voice related patterns and phrases. And believe me that takes time and lots of patience.

~ This post will be continued on Saturday, January 28, 2012

Printing Tips – Extend your cartridge life

Printer Cartridges are expensive - so here are a few tips we've discussed in class to help you save money by conserving your ink and toner..

Print in draft mode – Draft Mode is what I typically use in all class handouts – which helps save money by using less ink. To do this you want to change the default printing mode in your printer’s “preferences” – Go to start, printer/faxes, and when you choose your printer – choose “preferences” and then find the option list for printing preferences which vary on every printer. Yours might say: “draft mode” , or “economde or “ink/toner-saving mode”.. Don’t use Grayscale-it uses colored ink.

Use a thin “sans-serif” font – Set your default font, to a clean style such as Arial, Calibri or Comic Sans, versus “serif” fonts, such as Times New Roman, Baskerville, Bookman


Use your color ink sparingly – I firmly believe that almost everything we print works just as well in black & white, vs. color…So be sure to set your default setting for black and white – vs. automatic which will print whatever color is on the page you are printing..


Send photos out – It is much less expensive (and quality is so much better) when you have your photos printed by a retailer and you can upload them from home for one hour or 3 day delivery, to hundreds of retailers such as Walgreens, CVS, Wal-Mart, Snapfish, Shutterlfy, AAA, AARP, etc…


InkJet or laser – No question for anyone who prints a lot – laser is less expensive in the long run…


Shake That Cartridge – When you think your ink is running low – take the cartridge out and give it a good shake, and do this until you can’t print… Remember most cartridges will warn you the ink is low when they are still 30-35% full, so don’t replace it until you have to!!

What are the ISO settings for in my digital camera?

ISO settings are the measurement of how sensitive your digital camera's sensor is to light. The speed or light-sensitivity of a digital camera's sensor is rated in ISO numbers -- the lower the number, the slower the response to light.

Generally, we get the best picture quality by using the lowest ISO setting (such as 100 or 200). Higher ISO settings, such as 800, enable us to shoot in lower light situations with faster shutter speeds..

Higher ISO setting numbers indicate a higher sensitivity to light, so less time is needed to expose a picture. Most digital cameras let us control the ISO setting to allow the use of higher shutter speeds and/or smaller apertures, according to circumstances

Memory cards are so inexpensive today, that it’s worth having an extra one so that you can get out and shoot as much as you can in as many different circumstances. Don't be afraid to try different exposure settings and use the different settings available on your specific camera model. The more you experiment taking lots of different photos, the more comfortable you will get understanding your camera and what works for the types of pictures you want to take. 

Check your manufacturer’s website for their video tutorial and also check YouTube for more help learning to use your specific camera model.

Windows 7 – tip to improve performance

Windows 7 Operating System has a lot of different visual effects which are totally cosmetic but serve no practical purpose. They simply enhance the “look and feel” of this operating system…

 

But all of these enhancements don’t add anything to the systems functionality and can in fact, slow the system impacting the systems resources… So you might want to change the default setting from the default “Adjust for best appearance” to “Adjust for best performance”.. It only takes a minute to make this change, simply:

• Go to Start, Control Panel, System, Advanced System setting
• Next choose the Setting button under Performance
• When the dialog box appears, choose the Tab – “Visual Effects” and you will see 4 choices lists

 Choose:

• “Adjust for best performance” (or you can disable them individually in the list noted below) Your choice… Disabling them all does have a significant impact on the way the Windows looks, but it will run much more effectively…so it’s a personal choice for sure…

Instead of any of the other 3
• Let Windows choose what’s best for my computer
• Adjust for best appearance (default setting)
• Custom

Should I upgrade to Windows 7, and if so which version/edition?

Q: Common question – should I upgrade to Windows 7, and if so which one of the versions/editions: Home Premium OR Professional OR Ultimate?

A: Windows 7 was introduced October 22, 2009 and personally I feel if you are happy with the way your computer is performing – then there's no reason to rush out and either upgrade your operating system or purchase a new computer which has Windows 7 on it… .

FYI - Windows XP was introduced in October 2001; Windows Vista was introduced January 20th, 2007 and there are already rumors that the next new Windows Operating System, most likely to be called Windows 8, may be out later this year (2012!!) 

If you choose to upgrade to Windows 7, your current computer may not be compatible or have enough memory to do so – so you want to confirm that first prior to purchasing the upgrade…
If you aren’t sure, visit this website at Microsoft and it will run a check on your computer and let you know if your computer is compatible and if not, what you might need to upgrade the hardware, memory etc..

www.windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/system-requirements

If you decide to purchase a new computer, laptop, notebook whatever – almost guaranteed it will have Windows 7 Operating System on it – and if it has the “Home Premium” which in standard at most retailers – it is fine – don’t let them talk you into upgrading to a more expensive version (which by the way will require more memory on the computer also)..

Most technicians I’ve spoken to seem to agree that “Windows 7 Home Premium” is the best option for most of us. They also seem to agree that you should go professional if you want remote desktop and you go ultimate if you want those language packs.

To compare the differences between operating systems – Windows XP, Vista or the new Windows 7 – visit the following link at Microsoft…

www.windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/compare?T1=tab04

January Computer Classes ~ Join Us

Happy New Year Everyone and we are hoping one of your resolutions this year is to continue to learn and grow. All of us at Mohave Community College are here to help you reach that goal, whether you want to master your computer, digital camera, cell phone or learn to paint, do yoga or kayacking, we are ready to help you do just that… and remember MCC offers a 25% discount to all senior AZ residents over 62, so be sure to ask for this if this applies to you!!


Based on your requests, we’ve added new computer classes and several of my classes have expanded to 12 hours instead of 8, such as our classes dealing with digital photos and creating books with your photos.. And if computers are not your thing, then MCC has many other wonderful credit and non-credit classes in a wide variety of subjects, including fitness, yoga, dance, ceramics, history, jewelry making, maintaining your motorcycle & much more...
Visit our website: www.mohave.edu ; or visit our campus at 1971 Acoma Blvd in Lake Havasu or call for more information.. Don’t forget to stop by and visit our Library at MCC and ask their staff to give you a tour and explain all the wonderful services available to you for free, including library books, using our computers to check your email or surf the web or accessing countless databases and much more..


I will be teaching the following computer/technology classes in January and we will have these and many more classes thru April.. We look forward to working with you so bring a friend along and just call Registration 928-855-7812 or 453-1139 and we’ll save you a seat...


Feel free to bring your laptop to any of my classes or use one of our computers, the choice is yours... We do require a minimum of six (6) participants in every classes, otherwise we will sadly have to postpone that class until the next scheduled class, but typically this time of the year – classes fill up quickly….


As always, if you have any questions or aren’t sure which class might be best for you – just email me… cherie_houston@hotmail.com


WORD-CREATE GREAT LOOKING DOCUMENTS LSC068-121: Friday & Monday afternoons, Jan 20 & 23 ~ 1pm-4:50pm, Two 4 hour classes-reviewing the basics to open, create, save documents; highlight; cut-copy-paste, set & change margins; create letters, envelopes, labels& use clip art, word art to enhance documents, create flyers & invitations & lots of printing tips


FIND & ORGANIZE WHAT’S ON YOUR PC LSC062-124: Tuesday & Wednesday mornings, Jan 24 & 25 ~ 8:30am-12:20pm, Two 4 hour classes-Learn to use Windows Explorer so that you can easily and quickly find & organize everything you’ve saved on your PC; organize your work, files & photo’s to find them quickly & easily. Learn to back up your pc, photo & documents with portable flash & hard drives, memory cards and memory card readers..


LIST AND DATA MANAGEMENT WITH EXCEL LSC 069-121: Wednesday & Thursday afternoons, Jan 25 & 26 ~ 1pm-4:50pm, Two 4 hour classes-Learn to work with numbers & text (budget, contact lists for mail merges) Workbook vs. worksheet; cells, columns, rows, auto-formats; margins, grid lines, sorting numbers & data & print basics - Bring an address book or contact list to class


*NEW : HOW TO SKYPE OR GOOGLE VOICE LSC100-123: Thursday morning, Jan 26th ~ 8:30am-12:20pm, This new one 4 hour workshop will help you learn to use Skype and/or Google voice to make free phone calls & web calls world wide from any pc or smartphone.. lots of tips


COMPUTERS FOR THE FUN OF IT LSC062- 121 : Friday & Monday mornings, Jan 27 & 30 ~ 8:30am-12:20pm, Two 4 Hour classes reviewing computer hardware, software (operating systems, application software, browsers and drivers), printing tips, keyboard shortcut tips, customizing desktop-changing backgrounds, create shortcuts, using quick launch bar, Start Menu, Task Bar, control panel & much more…


LAPTOP BASICS LSC100-121 Tuesday morning, January 31st ~ 8:30am-12:20pm, This one 4 Hour Fun Workshop during which we’ll review desktop/laptop-notebook-netbook differences, laptop tips, accessories needed, maneuvering around, Fn key, internet & Wi-Fi Basics, shortcuts, security & more – bring your laptop to class.


CREATE/PUBLISH YOUR OWN BOOK LSC100A-124: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, January 31 & February 1 & 2 ~ 1pm-4:50pm, 3/Three 4 hour classes showing you how to create & publish your own book, using free book publishing software from www.blurb.com known as personal book making & publishing-use your wp skills & digital photos and learn in quantities as small as just one. You decide: soft or hard cover, various sizes, all text, all photos or a combination of photos & text, story book or recipe book-we will also work with walgreens.com to create a book & greeting cards using your photos Bring photos to class (on camera or flash drive)


SOCIAL NETWORKING, FACEBOOK & BLOGGING BASICS LSC080-121 Wednesday & Monday mornings, February 1 & 6 ~ 8:20am-12:20pm, Two 4 hour classes learning all about social networking, which includes texting, “Facebook”, blogging, “Twittering” – smartphones vs cell phones and much more… We’ll review the importance of Facebook Privacy settings-how to send private messages and post comments & photos and how to create a blog for a family or organization newsletter, learn how, why & when to post and comment and use Photos, Slide Shows, Blog Tools & more..


INTERNET AND IT’S MANY USES LSC071-121: Thursday & Friday mornings, Feb 2 & 3 ~ 8:30am-12:20pm, Two 4 Hour classes designed to help you get totally comfortable with the internet, tips& lingo, such as ISP, browser, blogger; when/why to use F5 & F11; website basics, hyperlinks, email basics, “tabbed browsing for multi websites”, using “Google & Bing” to search web, images, news; translating to & from different languages; blogging and more

and lots more classes thru April.. so check back often or stop by MCC and get a complete listing of these and all classes offered at Mohave Community College 

Automatic Operating System Updates

For those of you with Microsoft Windows Operating Systems, you can keep your computer up to date automatically with the latest updates by turning on the Automatic Update setting to make life easier…
By doing this, instead of you having to search for critical updates or reacting to those announced to you, Microsoft/Windows will download them directly to your computer when you aren’t typically using your computer, such as the middle of the night...but remember your computer would have to be on for this to happen.. If your computer is not on, the next time you turn your computer or laptop on, the “call out notice” will appear in the bottom right hand corner of your monitor prompting you to do the update…
Microsoft/Windows recognizes when you are online and uses your Internet connection to search for downloads from the Windows Update Web site.
An icon appears in the notification area each time new updates are available.
How to Turn On Automatic Updates:
• Right-click on "My Computer".
• Left-click on "Properties".
• Left-click on the "Automatic Updates" tab.
• Select "Automatic (recommended)".
• Select "Every Day".
• Select a time when your computer will be on and online.
• Left-click on "OK".

Just set it and forget it – it’s so easy.

Periodically, Microsoft/Windows will ask you to restart your computer after an update. You can restart at your convenience -- just make sure to save any data you're working on – if you have the automatic updates set, then your computer will automatically restart whenever it is needed…

Invitation from the Library at Mohave Community College

Hi there!  My name is Wendi Birkhead and I am the Librarian for the Hodel Library on the Lake Havasu Campus of MCC - Mohave Community College. The Library is open to everyone and anyone can come in and get a free Library card.

We are also looking forward to offering classes during Spring Frenzy about how to use the Library’s electronic resources to search our catalog and find magazines and newspapers online. Please consult the schedule of Spring Frenzy classes which are being held February 6th thru 10th, if you are interested.

If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call at 928-453-5809 or stop by and visit with us in person at Mohave Community College 1977 Acoma Blvd. West (we’re located toward the back of the campus, not far from the 500 Computer Building that so many of you visit when you are taking comptuer classes).

We'd love to meet you, so give us a call or stop by and let us know how we can help.

Yes Size Matters - What are Bytes, KB’s, MB’s, GB’s, TB’s, PB’s or EB’s?

What do all these “measurements” mean that we see for both RAM (Random Access Memory) or the space on a hard drive, portable hard drive, flash drive or memory card/stick?
The smallest unit of memory storage is called a BIT. A bit either contains a ONE or a ZERO. That's it.
• Eight bits is one BYTE ("bite"). That's enough storage for about one letter of the alphabet.
• 1,024 bytes is one KILOBYTE (KB) or about one page of text.
• 1,024 kilobytes is one MEGABYTE (MB) or about 1,000 pages of text (short novel).
• 1,024 megabytes is one GIGABYTE (GB) or about 1,000,000 pages of text (pickup truck filled with books).
• 1,024 gigabytes is one TERABYTE (TB) – and that is equal to about 50,000 trees made into paper and printed
Today, the most popular form of measurement that we hear about is Terabytes (TB) but on the horizon and in some publications we are already hearing about PETABYTES (PB) and EXABYTES (EB) - we've come a long way baby since the Commodore 64's....and we wonder where it will end..

To give you an idea of how much data a TB is or how much it can hold based on a document: It is said that The U.S. Library of Congress Web Capture team claims that "As of April 2011, the Library has collected about “235 terabytes of data" and that it adds about 5 terabytes per month.

Happy New Year - 2012 - To All

On behalf of myself and everyone at Mohave Community College we want to wish you and yours a healthy, happy New Year full of happiness, wonderful health, great blessings, peace and joy ~ May this year "2012" be the best yet! Cherie Houston

One of my most favorite New Year Poems...

~ William Arthur Ward quotes (American dedicated scholar, author, editor, pastor and teacher)

ANOTHER NEW YEAR

“Another fresh new year is here . . .

Another year to live!

To banish worry, doubt, and fear,

To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me

To live each day with zest . . .

To daily grow and try to be

My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity once more

To right some wrongs,

To pray for peace,

To plant a tree,

And sing more joyful songs!”

History of New Years Resolutions….

At one time or another, most of us have created our list of New Years Resolutions – and most of us usually can't find or remember the list by the end of January – and very few of us can accomplish all or even some of those resolutions on the list when it’s time to think of creating our new list for the next year… Then why are resolutions so important and how and why did this tradition begin..

Personally, I think resolutions are a great idea – because setting goals is always a great idea and resolutions tend to give us hope.. Yes, HOPE that we can and will become a better person than who we see ourselves to be today – you know, we resolve and hope that we will become healthier, kinder, more successful, more financially responsible, spend more time with family and friends, become a better spouse and or parent and or child and or sibling; generally better to our friends and co-workers, and maybe – just maybe, finally at peace with and accepting ourselves, just the way we are…

But before you create your new list for 2012 - check out a few of the hundreds or maybe it was thousands of websites found when we were checking out this subject...  After all, you may want to do a little research on the history of resolutions and which are the most popular in years gone by – if so, enjoy some of these websites – and trust me – there are many thousands more if you don’t like these…

In the meantime, know that we like you, just the way you are… So from our families to yours, best wishes for happy, healthy and fabulous new year ahead… and enjoy and take advantage of all the hope and possibilities of having that fresh new slate in just a few days.

www.infoplease.com/spot/newyearcelebrations.html

www.ezinearticles.com/?The-History-of-New-Years-Resolutions&id=245213

www.goalsguy.com/events/n_facts.html

www.proactivechange.com/resolutions/statistics.htm

www.goal-setting-guide.com/statistics-facts-setting-years-resolutions

Listen to Christmas & Holiday Music Online

Thought you might enjoy listening to Christmas and Holiday Music Online - check out these free sites and enjoy the musical magic of the holidays... Remember you can minimize the website and continue to work or browse the Internet...

Enjoy and remember these are just a few of the hundreds of music and radio websites available world wide.....

www.Pandora.com/ChristmasMusic

www.christmasmusic247.com

www.xmasmelody.com


www.accuradio.com/more/accuholidays

How to easily enlarge what you are looking at in a document

If you zoom in and out of your documents quite a bit, you may get tired of using the pull-down zoom control on the toolbar or ribbon.

If you have a mouse that has the wheel between the two buttons, you can do a neat trick. All you need to do is hold down the Ctrl key as you turn the small wheel.

Each click of the wheel, up or down, increases or decreases the zoom factor by 10%.

Remember the zoom does not impact/change the actual font size - it simply changes the magnification of what you are zooming up and or down on...This is true anywhere in any application or browser software (word, excel, PowerPoint, etc) that you use on your computer...

How can I replace an "X" throughout my document with a "Check Mark"

Q: How can I replace an X throughout my document with a Check Mark?

A: It’s easier than you think to replace any word, number, phrase or character in a document without doing it one at a time.  You can do it quickly and easily by using your Find and Replace Dialog Box.  In this case you will be finding the capital X in your document and replacing it with a check mark character.

ü                     Note: you can find the check mark character " ü "   that I used in the Wingdings font.

There are several ways you can go about the task, but they all follow these general steps:

1. Press Ctrl+H to display the Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.
2. Click the More button, if it is available and  the Find and Replace dialog box will appear.
3. In the Find What box enter an uppercase X.
4. Make sure the Match Case check box is selected.
5. Place the insertion point in the Replace With box.
6. Click the Format button and then choose Font. Word displays the Font dialog box.
7. In the Font list, select the Wingdings font.
8. Click OK to close the Font dialog box. The insertion point should still be in the Replace With box, and the font specification you made should appear just under the box.
9. Type the character you want to use for your check mark. (More on this in a moment.)
10. Use the control buttons in the dialog box (Find Next, Replace, or Replace All) as desired to make your replacements.

The confusion sometimes occur in Step 9, so there are several ways you can specify the check mark character.

One way is to copy the check mark to the Clipboard before you start the steps. Just type the check mark into the document, as desired, and then use Ctrl+C to copy it to the Clipboard. Then, in step 9, you can either press Ctrl+V to paste it into the Replace With box or you can use the ^c characters to tell Word you want to use the contents of the Clipboard as your replacement.

Or remember that all characters, such as the check mark or any style bullet have specific "character codes" in Word, Word Perfect and other Word Processing programs..  If you can find out the character code for the check mark (it is available in the Symbol dialog box if you use that method of creating the check mark), then you can use the code in the Find and Replace dialog box. 

The character code for a check mark ü  is 252, which must be entered using four characters and a carat mark, like this ^0252 in the Replace With box. When you do the replacement, you'll see the check mark (which corresponds to the character code) appear in your document.

Think twice before rushing to buy a new computer

Before you rush out to buy a new computer you’ve seen advertised, because your PC might seem a little slow, you might want to consider a few things…

First of all, when you are on the Internet visiting various websites – are you one of those individuals who always clicks “install this toolbar” assuming it will be helpful when you visit the website again in the future..  Many experts say that more than 75% of the software that is on your computer – either pre-installed or installed by you is never used…  So be careful about what you install and why and consider removing software that you have never used - It is easy to do, but if you aren't sure how to do this, ask for help.. 

Second, organize what you have on your current computer.  Be sure that all document, photos etc. are neatly stored away in specific topic folders so that it is easy for you to find…   Once eveything is neatly organized, if that hasn't helped - consider storing all for your documents, photos, music and videos on a portable hard drive,  You can purchase a 1TB portable hard drive for under $100 – much less than a new computer will cost.  Once you have cleaned off unnecessary application software programs and documents you don’t want or need – you may be pleasantly surprised at how well your computer performs…  Also once you know where everything is it helps to control duplicates – and this especially applies to any of us who have been allowing our digital cameras or camcorders to download our digital media files…  we may have many more copies on our computers than we think, which will cause your computer to crawl…

Third, make sure your drivers are current.  Drivers are the software that allow peripheral equipment to work well with your computer, and those for your printer & scanner should be updated periodically..

Fourth, while we’re talking equipment, we also find it helpful (and healthful) to use the keyboard shortcuts as often as possible.  You want to protect your wrist, elbow & shoulder from tendinitis related issues, caused by the repetitive motion of going back & forth all day long from keyboard to mouse and vice versa… If you are hands are on the keyboard than use keyboard shortcuts to give commands and if they are on the mouse, use the menu or toolbar/ribbon icons… 

11th Annual Spring Frenzy ~ February 6-12, 2012 Join in the Fun!!

Spring Frenzy is a fun-filled week of activities and classes designed not only for fun, but for improving your quality of life as well. It is an annual event held the first week in Feburary, February 6-12, 2012...

This year Lake Havasu City Parks & Recreation is offering 192 classes featuring 14 special activities including fishing, golfing, field trip to the Bluewater Casino and to Stagecoach Trails. Happy Hour will be happening every day Monday-Thursday from 4 -  6 p.m. and on Friday there is a concert.

February 7, 8 & 9: Tuesday thru Thursday 9am-5pm, I will be offering 21 different one hour introductory computer related classes at MCC - Mohave Community College on a variety of subjects including using Skype to call worldwide no charge; how to Edit your Digital Photos with free Picasa Software; Basics of several different application software programs including Word, Excel, Power Point; How to master the Internet, Your Smart Phone; Your Digital Camera; How to Buy and Sell Online; How to Save Money by making travel arrangements online; Using your digital photos to create memory & scrapbooks & other great gift ideas; or to create a movie with digital photos and much much more…  

Call the Aquatic Center (which is located at 100 Park Avenue off Rt. 95 /south Side of town) 928-453-8686 x24 – Candie Carbone or email Candie at carbonic@lhcaz.gov

Price: $4 a class or $30 for the week

For more details on my classes or any of the hundred events being hosted throughout the city, pick up a brochure at the Aquatic Center on December 27th or go online to:

www.lhcaz.gov/aquaticCenter

Take advantage of this wonderful event - but remember space in limited and all classes and events are offered on a first come - first serve basis - so be sure to register early...

Look forward to seeing you...

And to keep current on what's happening in Lake Havasu City, be sure to visit our Tourism website often...

http://www.golakehavasu.com/

108 Stores with Senior Discounts ~ Part 2 of 2

Special thanks again to Nancy Donovan for sharing the following article with us – this is the 2nd part, continued from our posting on Wednesday this week…..

Since many senior discounts are not advertised to the public, our advice to men and women over 55 is to ALWAYS ask a sales associate if that store provides a senior discount. Most WILL NOT automatically give it to you so ASK! That way, you can be sure to get the most bang for your buck. And also remember that if you are a member of groups such as AAA, CAA & AARP in the United States and Canada you are also eligible for countless discounts, but the same applies, you have to ask.. (and yes-these groups have apps for your smartphones to help you find those discounts in specific locations).

And check out this website for more senior discount suggestions: http://www.sciddy.com/

The following list of a continuation of the senior savings we hope will help you keep more cash in your pocket. Whoever said getting older was a bad thing, obviously didn't know about these fantastic senior discounts!

Travel
· Alaska Airlines: 10% off (65+)
· Alamo: up to 25% off for AARP members
· American Airlines: various discounts for 65+(call prior to booking)
· Amtrak: 15% off (62+)
· Avis: up to 25% off for AARP members
· Best Western: 10% off (55+)
· Budget Rental Cars: 10% off; up to 20% off for AARP members (50+)
· Cambria Suites: 20%-30% off (60+)
· Clarion: 20%-30% off (60+)
· Comfort Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)
· Comfort Suites: 20%-30% off (60+)
· Continental Air: no initiation fee/Presidents Club & special fares
· Dollar Rent-A-Car: 10% off (50+)
· Econo Lodge: 20%-30% off (60+)
· Enterprise Rent-A-Car: 5% off for AARP members
· Greyhound: 5% off (62+)
· Hampton Inns & Suites: 10% off when booked 72 hours in advance
· Hertz: up t0 25% off for AARP members
· Holiday Inn: 10%-30% off depending on location (62+)
· Hyatt Hotels: 25%-50% off (62+)
· InterContinental Hotels Group: various discounts at all hotels (65+)
· Mainstay Suites: 10% off Mature Traveler's Discount (50+); 20%-30% off (60+)
· Marriott Hotels: 15% off (62+)
· Motel 6: 10% off (60+)
· Myrtle Beach Resort: 10% off (55+)
· National Rent-A-Car: up to 30% off for AARP members
· Quality Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)
· Rodeway Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)
· Sleep Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)
· Southwest Air: various discounts ages 65+ (call before booking)
· Trailways Transportation System: various discounts for ages 50 and up
· United Air: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking)
· U.S. Airways: various discounts for ages 65+(call before booking)

Activities & Entertainment
· AMC Theaters: up to 30% off (55+)
· Bally Total Fitness: up to $100 off memberships (62+)
· Busch Gardens Tampa: $3 off one-day tickets (50+)
· Carmike Cinemas: 35% off (65+)
· Cinemark/Century Theaters: up to 35% off
· US National Parks: $10 lifetime pass; 50% off addt’l services(62+)
· Regal Cinemas: 30% off
· Ripley's Believe it or Not: @ off one-day ticket (55+)
· SeaWorld Orlando: $3 off one-day tickets (50+)

Cell Phone Discounts
· AT&T: Special Senior Nation 200 Plan $29.99/month (65+)
· Jitterbug: $10/month cell phone service (50+)
· Verizon Wireless: Verizon Nationwide 65 Plus Plan $29.99/month (65+)

Miscellaneous
· Great Clips: $3 off hair cuts (60+)
· Super Cuts: $2 off haircuts (60+)

Since many senior discounts are not advertised to the public, our advice to everyone over 55 is to ALWAYS ASK a sales associate if that store provides a senior discount. That way, you can be sure to get the most bang for you buck.

108 Stores with Senior Discounts ~ Part 1 of 2

Special Thanks to Nancy Donovan for sharing the following article with us, which we are posting in 2 parts - today and Friday on our blog...

Since many senior discounts are not advertised to the public, our advice to men and women over 55 is to ALWAYS ask a sales associate if that store provides a senior discount. Most WILL NOT automatically give it to you so ASK! That way, you can be sure to get the most bang for your buck. And also remember that if you are a member of groups such as AAA, CAA & AARP in the United States and Canada you are also eligible for countless discounts, but the same applies, you have to ask.. (and yes-these groups have apps for your smartphones to help you find those discounts in specific locations).

And check out this website for more senior discount suggestions: www.sciddy.com

The following list of senior savings we hope will help you keep more cash in your pocket. Whoever said getting older was a bad thing, obviously didn't know about these fantastic senior discounts!

Retail and Apparel
· Banana Republic: 10% off (50+)
· Bealls: 20% off first Tuesday of each month (50+)
· Belk's: 15% off first Tuesday of every month (55+)
· Big Lots: 10% off
· Bon-Ton Department Stores: 15% off on senior discount days (55+)
· C.J. Banks: 10% off every Wednesday (60+)
· Clarks: 10% off (62+)
· Dress Barn: 10% off (55+)
· Goodwill: 10% off one day a week (date varies by location)
· Hallmark: 10% off one day a week (date varies by location)
· Kmart: 20% off (50+)
· Kohl's: 15% off (60+)
· Modell's Sporting Goods: 10% off
· Rite Aid: 10% off on Tuesdays & 10% off prescriptions
· Ross Stores: 10% off every Tuesday (55+)
· The Salvation Army Thrift Stores: up to 50% off (55+)
· Stein Mart: 20% off red dot/clearance items first Monday of every month (55+)

Restaurants
· Applebee's: 15% off with Golden Apple Card (60+)
· Arby's: 10% off (55+)
· Ben & Jerry's: 10% off (60+)
· Bennigan's: discount varies by location
· Bob's Big Boy: discount varies by location (60+)
· Boston Market: 10% off (65+)
· Burger King: 10% off (60+)
· Captain D's Seafood: discount varies on location (62+)
· Chick-Fil-A: 10% off or free small drink or coffee (55+)
· Chili's: 10% off (55+)
· CiCi's Pizza: 10% off (60+)
· Culver's: 10% off (60+)
· Denny's: 10% off, 20% off for AARP members (55+)
· Dunkin' Donuts: 10% off or free coffee (55+)
· Einstein's Bagels: 10% off baker's dozen of bagels (60+)
· Fuddrucker's: 10% off any senior platter (55+)
· Gatti's Pizza: 10% off (60+)
· Golden Corral: 10% off (60+)
· Hardee's: $0.33 beverages everyday (65+)
· Hard Rock Café: 10% off food, non-alcoholic beverages & merchandise with AAA
· IHOP: 10% off (55+)
· Jack in the Box: up to 20% off (55+)
· KFC: free small drink with any meal (55+)
· Krispy Kreme: 10% off (50+)
· Long John Silver's: various discounts at participating locations (55+)
· McDonald's: discounts on coffee everyday (55+)
· Mrs. Fields: 10% off at participating locations (60+)
· Shoney's: 10% off
· Sonic: 10% off or free beverage (60+)
· Steak 'n Shake: 10% off every Monday & Tuesday (50+)
· Subway: 10% off (60+)
· Sweet Tomatoes 10% off (62+)
· Taco Bell: 5% off; free beverages for seniors (65+)
· TCBY: 10% off (55+)
· Tea Room Cafe: 10% off (50+)
· Village Inn: 10% off (60+)
· Waffle House: 10% off every Monday (60+)
· Wendy's: 10% off (55+)
· White Castle: 10% off (62+)

Grocery
· Albertson's: 10% off first Wednesday of each month (55+)
· American Discount Stores: 10% off every Monday (50+)
· Compare Foods Supermarket: 10% off every Wednesday (60+)
· DeCicco Family Markets: 5% off every Wednesday (60+)
· Food Lion: 6% off every Monday (60+)
· Fry's Supermarket: free Fry's VIP Club Membership & 10% off every Monday (55+)
· Great Valu Food Store: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)
· Gristedes Supermarket: 10% off every Tuesday (60+)
· Harris Teeter: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)
· Hy-Vee: 5% off one day a week (date varies by location)
· Kroger: 10% off (date varies by location)
· Morton Williams Supermarket: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)
· The Plant Shed: 10% off every Tuesday (50+)
· Publix: 5% off every Wednesday (55+)
· Rogers Marketplace: 5% off every Thursday (60+)

Dealing With Error Messages

From time to time, we all have error messages appear on our monitor that we don’t know what they mean. Next time this happens this tip will help:

First:
I always save the error message in word for future reference. To do that easily:

· Use your CTRL Key – Print Screen Key together (this will take a copy of the error message & all that is on your monitor at the time)

· Now open your WP software (Word, Works, Word Pad) and use your PASTE command-now the error message is on a clean piece of paper-Now Save it so once you know what this means, you can type the answer on the same page for future reference

· And print the message so you can see it easily

Next:

· Type the error message into Google Search.

· You are not the first (and won’t be the last) to get this error message.

· Personally I read a few answers, to be sure I am getting an answer I understand and resolution I can work with

Last:
Once I have the explanation and resolution I need, I use my copy and paste skills:

· Highlight the information

· Activate your copy command

· Open the document that has the error message copy on it

· Put my cursor on that document and activate the paste command, which adds the answer and resolution

· And save it once again

Now in the future if the error message comes back up, I have my answer.

In Picasa - what’s the difference between Folders and Albums?

Q: In Picasa - what’s the difference between Folders and Albums?

A: Folders actually contain photos and they use space on your hard drive; whereas Albums, only exist within Picasa.

Lets say you name your folders by date & event, like I do. You might have a main folder for a specific year, then within that year you might have sub-folders by months or events - then within a specific event folder you might have additional sub-sub-folder... For example, you went to California for 2 weeks, so inside a California Trip folder, which is inside your 2011 Folder, you have 3 sub-folders for: 320 pictures in a San Diego sub-folder; 120 in a Hollywood sub-folder and another 280 in a San Francisco sub-folder. Your family and friends might love you, but showing that many pictures to anyone would probably not be a great idea, so we want to “choose some from each city sub-folder, to create a “synopsis” folder or album, to create a slideshow, a book, or other project..

That’s where your Picasa Albums can come in very handy - but it's important you understand albums versus folders....

Folders actually contain photos.
The folders you see in Picasa are the real folders you see when you are looking in your Picture drawer on Windows Explorer (what I call my vault).

• If you delete a photo from a folder in Picasa, the real photo in the real folder on your hard drive, will also be deleted.
• And, when you delete a photo from a folder in your Picture drawer on Windows Explorer (what I call my vault) it will no longer be in the Picasa view.

Albums, on the other hand, only exist within Picasa.
Albums "point to" photos in folders, they don’t actually have their own copies of photos.

• Albums let us create multiple ways to view and organize the photos in your folders.
• If you add a photo to an album, the photo remains in its original folder and Picasa adds a reference to that photo to the album.
• If you delete a photo from an album, the photo remains in its original folder and Picasa removes that album's reference to that photo.
• A photo exists in exactly one folder, but the photo can appear in (be referenced by) several albums.
• If you delete a photo from a folder, the photo will be removed from the folder AND any albums it appears in (because the albums no longer have a photo to reference).

Some of us organize our photos using Windows Explorer by creating a main Project folders in the Picture "vault" for our “copies”, but another way to do that is to create Albums in Picasa, to organize your photos.

Main difference is, if I put copies in a folder in the Main Picture drawer using Windows explorer they are truly copies; whereas albums are not true copies…

So when you use albums in Picasa, you are not using actual space on your hard drive

How to convert music to MP3 format?

How can I change my iTunes or other music, to MP3 format so that I can insert them when I am creating a photo video in Movie Maker or Picasa Movies?

This is very easy and a very common question - whether your are using a PC with windows software or a MAC. When we purchase and download music from various vendors or when we rip them CD's, they typically come over the “fullest” version.

However when we want to create a project, using software such as Picasa Movie and or Windows Movie Maker, many of these application programs will not allow us to use the “fullest” version of the music because it is too large.

So when we open the music files from these programs, although we know the songs are there, we don’t see them - the file appears to be empty; so we need to change/convert the music to MP3 format, which all these programs accept - follow these steps:

• Simply open your iTunes or media player
• Be sure on the left you have chosen music as the media folder you want to see, and then find the album or individual song you want to convert to “MP3 format”..
• Highlight the song/songs that you want to convert in the playlist
• Go to the menu bar: in Windows choose Edit and on a Mac/iTunes – Choose iTunes
• When the menu bar drops down, choose Preferences,
• When the Preferences Dialog Box Opens, be sure you are on the General tab
• Now Choose Import Settings (about the center of the dialog box-right side)
• When the Import Settings Dialog Box opens, Change AAC Encoder to MP3 Encoder
• Also be sure High Quality is chosen and then click OK

Now, be sure your songs are highlighted that you want to change

• Right Click on the songs and when the action menu list appears, choose MP3 Version
• You’ll see the songs being converted
• You are done..

Notes:

• Next time you open the music folder from Picasa or Movie Maker you will see the songs as MP3 format and be able to include them in your video..
• You will now have 2 versions of every song – the original “full” version and the more condensed MP3 version

Happy Thanksgiving everyone

When I was trying to decide what might be appropriate for our posting today for Thanksgiving, I found the following and thought it something you might enjoy.. From our families to yours, have a happy, healthy and very blessed Thanksgiving... Cherie Houston

Thanksgiving Quotes:

We are taught Thanksgiving is a day to celebrate the Pilgrims and the Native Americans who came together in peace, but this national holiday is actually a day of celebrating God's bounty. In 1789, George Washington, first President of the United States of America, proclaimed Thanksgiving as a national day of celebration to herald and celebrate God and the abundance He has given us.

The day Thanksgiving was assigned to is, and almost always has been, the fourth Thursday in November. The date was changed once, to lengthen the Christmas shopping season, but was changed back two years later.

Because of the formality that surrounds this holiday, it's only natural to think of quotes from noteworthy citizens to mark the occasion. Below are a few famous people who have offered quotes that might be included in a Thanksgiving celebration.

• On Thanksgiving let us gather in sanctuaries dedicated to worship and in our homes blessed by family affection to express our gratitude for the glorious gifts of God; and let us earnestly and humbly pray that He will continue to guide and sustain us in the great unfinished tasks of achieving peace, justice and understanding among all men and nations, and of ending misery and suffering wherever they exist. -- John F. Kennedy

• There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American. -- O. Henry

• Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then they discover once a year is way too often. --Johnny Carson

• Let us remember that as much as has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds. --Theodore Roosevelt

Use Word 2007 or 2010 to make Greeting Cards

Making greetings cards has never been easier than it is now if you have Word 2007 or 2010.

Whether you need a card for congratulations, new baby, get well or for any holiday imaginable, and both Word 2007 and 2010 have lots of templates to choose from – all of which you can modify for your very specific needs and occasion...

Reminder about Word 2007 & 2010: Office/Word 2007 uses an “OfficeButton” in the upper left corner; whereas Office/Word 2010 has gone back to the tab “File” the same phrase used in earlier versions of Word and other Office programs

• So in Word 2007, click on the Office Button – and in Word 2010, click on the File Tab
• Now Choose “New” and the New Document window will open.
• You will now see a vast variety of templates to choose from
• In Word 2007 it is a column list on the left side of the page
• In Word 2010 the bulk of the screen will show you various Templates
• Now choose Greeting Cards.
• You can choose the option you want from under the Greeting Cards section – check them all out and remember you can modify any of these to your liking for your specific needs
• You will be connected to the Microsoft Office Online site. You can select from hundreds of templates or you can go to this website in the browser and download the templates from there.
• You can preview every template in Word and then click the Download button
• The Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) validation dialog box will appear. (Once I’ve read this once, I click the check box in the bottom left corner asking that I not be shown the message again in the future) – I’ve heard, but it hasn’t happened to me, that you might have to download the updated version of OGA to be capable of downloading a template.
• You can customize the downloaded card by changing the colors, fonts etc or adding your message before printing it.
• Now you can print the card
• You can make your holiday and other greeting cards even more personal – just insert your own photos..

About the card stock: cards will always be more professional if when you use “greeting card paper stock” either 60 - 80lb. (versus standard 20lb. printer paper)

Many stores that carry computer supplies (such as Wal-Mart, Staples etc.) carry Card Stock paper and matching envelopes, and you can also find great deals online with companies such as:

www.desktopsupplies.com

www.thepapermillstore.com

How to Record Audio Narration in PowerPoint 2010?

Q: I've just prepared a power point slide show for Thanksgiving but want to add narration about our family on the slides, instead of having music - how can I do this - I'm using PowerPoint 2010.

A: This is much easier than you might think (just a little more time consuming but well worth it) and although it is something we've been able to do for many years in PowerPoint, it's so much easier now in Office 2007 & 2010.. Just follow the following steps:

First, be sure that your microphone is working and I always set my volume to the highest setting, because I know I can always slide it down when I'm actually doing the presentation - but if I record it too "low" I can't increase the volume. move it up... If your microphone isn't built into your computer or laptop, be sure that the plug is in securely.

Next:

• Open you PowerPoint Presentation (either one you've done that is completed or finish a new slide show).
• Go to “Slide show” tab, then choose “Record slide show” under the “set up” section.
• Choose 1) entire slide or 2) select the individual slide where you want Audio “Narration” to begin, from “Record Slide Show” options to add narration..
• Select “Narration and Laser Pointer” check box, when Record Slide Show Dialog box appears (versus Slide and Animation Timings)
• Whether you want slides to move forward automatically with a specific time that you have chosen and asset or move to the next slide manually, either of these simply select or deselect “Slide and Animation Timings”
• Now choose “Start Recording” button and speak clearly into your microphone – If you need to stop in between for any reason, click “Pause” and then when you are ready to continue, click “Resume”
• And if you are going to insert “narration” on individual slides, (versus across all) then you would simply to have repeat these steps on each and every slide...
• When you are done, right-click on the slide, and click “End Show” to end the slide show recording..

Now when you preview your presentation you will hear the “Audio Narration” you have added to your slide/slides - Success...

Microsoft Help And How To Links

Still not quite comfortable using your windows operating system to it’s full potential to do things like your system maintenance, or would like to know how to improve your computers performance, and other great tips, then take some time and visit Microsoft’s Help and How to for your specific Operating System – just click on the link below for your operating system & begin learning… nice part is you can continue t come back to this site as often as you'd like so you can learn in "small doses"...

Windows XP www.windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/help/windows-xp

Windows Vista www.windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/help

Windows 7 www.windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/help

Invitation from MCC Library

Hi All! My name is Wendi Birkhead and I am the campus librarian of the Hodel Library on the Lake Havasu Campus of Mohave Community College. I want to invite you to visit us and find out about all the wonderful books, DVDs, audiobooks, and electronic materials we have to offer.

Many people don’t realize that we are open to everyone in the community – students and non-students, alike – and anyone can get a library card for free. We carry bestsellers, fiction and nonfiction.

Through our website, Mohave.edu/library , you have access to fantastic databases such as Ancestry.com, Heritage Quest, Consumer Health Complete, the Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center and more.

You can also use our databases to look at articles from journals such as Consumer Reports, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, PC World, U.S. News and World Reports, etc.

So please come on by and visit with us in person at Mohave Community College 1977 Acoma Blvd. West (we’re located toward the back of the campus, not far from the 500 Building). Or give us a call at 928-453-5809 to ask for more information.

Let us know how we can help.

Wendi Birkhead, MLS

Campus Librarian, Hodel Library - Lake Havasu City Campus

Mohave Community College

1977 W. Acoma Blvd, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403

Tel 928-505-3311

Toll Free: 1.866.664.2832

Email: wbirkhead@mohave.edu

Library Website: www.mohave.edu/library

Veteran's Day Prayer

I want to thank Jan Amarda from Birmingham, Alabama for sending me the following prayer honoring all of our veterans...

VETERAN’S DAY PRAYER
By Joanna Fuchs

Dear Lord, Today we honor our veterans,
worthy men and women who gave their best
when they were called upon
to serve and protect their country.

We pray that you will bless them, Lord,
for their unselfish service in the continual struggle
to preserve our freedoms, our safety,
and our country’s heritage, for all of us.

Bless them abundantly for the hardships they faced,
for the sacrifices they made
for their many different contributions
to America’s victories over tyranny and oppression.

We respect them, we thank them,
we honor them, we are proud of them,
and we pray that you will watch over these special people
and bless them with peace and happiness.

Amen.

How to manage what photos are in Picasa

I DON’T WANT ALL MY PICTURES IN PICASA – I WANT TO CHOOSE WHEN AND WHICH PHOTOS ARE IN PICASA?

This can be done, but remember you cannot disable the initial scan for photos after installing Picasa – after you have downloaded Picasa to your computer, it will ask you to make one of 2 choices:

• Scan your My Documents, My Pictures drawer OR



• Scan your entire computer, which would mean all drive’s plugged in

But once this is done, you can use the Folder Manager to specify which folders on your computer Picasa should scan in the future.

• Once the initial scan begins in Picasa, click the Tools menu.



• Select Folder Manager



• In the Folder Manager, exclude all folders that you don't want to include in Picasa



• Once you have made your selections, click OK

So, for those of you who only want pictures or folders in Picasa when you want to edit those specific folders or pictures; simply remove all folders from Picasa. Now when you want to work on a specific photo or folder, simply drag the photo (s) or folder (s) to Picasa to the Picasa editing screen once you have opened your Picasa…

We don't change our clocks this weekend in Arizona

But for most of the country, this weekend, on Sunday at 2AM, Daylight Savings Time will end until March...

Just a reminder this weekend on Sunday morning, November 6TH at 2am, Daylight Savings Time will end and most states in the US will revert back to Standard Time. Before you go to bed Saturday evening, set all clocks, watches and other time pieces BACK 1 HOUR. Most computers, cell phones and cable boxes will make this change automatically without our help..

We will then move them ahead to begin Daylight Savings Time when we put the clocks ahead "1 hour" at 2am on the second Sunday in March, March 11th 2012..

Several states, including Arizona (except some Indian Reservations), Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have chosen not to observe Daylight Saving Time so they do not change their clocks at anytime during the year.

Next year… Daylight Saving Time begins on Sun, Mar 11, 2012 and ends on Sun, Nov 4, 2012

How to Scan Photos Using Picasa

In our last blog posting, we described how to scan photos and documents to your computer using Picasa. Picasa is Google’s Free photo editing software – if you don’t have this on your computer, you can go to www.picasa.com and download it)..

Scanning allows us to save our photos and/or documents onto our computers in “digital format”. Most all-in-one printers today have built in scanners, but we often hear they are confusing to use. So, for an easy option, Picasa might be the right choice for you…

Once you get going, you'll find that you can easily scan 50-60 or more photos in an hour (and this is true whether you use Picasa, your scanner's software or your operating system software such as Windows Photo Gallery, so it’s a great winter or rainy day project… And it’s wonderful to know that those old family photos won’t be lost.. Here's how:

• Be sure your computer and printer/scanner are on
• Open your “Picasa” application software program
• Always scan just one “1” photo or one “1” document at a time
• Put the photo on the glass of the scanner – face down
• In Picasa, click ‘Import’
• Click the arrow for the drop down list of devices. You'll see your scanner listed, select it
• Each scanner shows a different screen, but I beleive all have an option to "Preview"
• Click the "Preview" option and now you'll see your photo
• If you want to crop the photo you can do it now or save the entire photo & crop later
• Once you're happy with, Click the button to Scan
• When it’s done scanning, you’re back at the standard Picasa Import screen
• Click Import all
• Select or create a folder to put it in
• I usually name mine: "Scan & today's date - i.e. Scan 2011.11.2"
• Now my first and subsequent photos scanned today will go in that folder
• Tomorrow I would create a new folder & name it with the correct date
• This way I can either name each individual photo or number them 1, 2, 3 etc..
• Once the photos are in the folder you want, you can certainly export them to your 'My Picture/Picture drawer - in whatever folder you want them in"

Tip: Once you have completed your scanning for the day, some of the Picasa forums recommend that you use Picasa’s Batch Edit command, and choose “I’m Feeling Lucky” and “Sharpen” to all of the photos in the “Old Photos-Today’s Date” that you just created… you can always open this again later to do individual editing of each photo you’ve now saved on your computer..