Category: technology and computers

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No cups or cans of drinks near the PC

I know a lot of people like to sit in front of their computer for hours and gradually surround themselves with all kinds of creature comforts so they don’t have to constantly get up from their perch. I have seen empty pizza boxes, stacks of plates and bowls, boxes of tissues, all kinds of pill bottles, phone chargers, a fish bowl, hand sanitizer and all kinds of knick knacks.

But remember this one important rule: No cups or cans of drinks near the PC. I’m serious. Because, no matter how careful you are, one day something WILL happen that results in the liquid getting spilled. Best case, it just spills on the desk or table. Worst case, it pours directly into your hard drive or saturates your keyboard. Not only do have a sticky mess that is almost impossible to clean up, but you can short out the electronics and end up with no computer.

I got lucky tonight, the cat jumped up on my desk and knocked over a small can of Arnold Palmer’s Half and Half. The mix of iced tea and lemonade went everywhere, soaking a stack of papers, dripping into the carpet, and little splashes dotted my keyboard. Thank goodness I was able to clean it all up and not lose anything important. I think this must have been a gentle reminder from Mr. Murphy of Murphy’s Law to follow that rule I just mentioned: No cups or cans of drinks near the PC.

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Technology Changing So Quickly

Thinking back to when I was a young child, my parents had analog telephones scattered throughout the house. They started with one incoming telephone line, then when my sisters and I were teenagers and hogging the phone talking to all our friends, they got a second incoming line for us girls. Then we started getting online which tied up the phone line and no one could call us without getting a busy signal. So they got a third phone line – primarily for internet but also a backup line for us girls. After all, three teenage girls can do a whole lot of talking on the phone, between their girlfriends AND their boyfriends!

But now, we’ve grown and moved out, we all have cell phones and we get online using cable instead of the telephone line. So my parents decided to give up the home phone line and save $50 a month. I don’t blame them!

Another big technology change has been instant messaging and texting. What a great convenience that is! Especially when you just need to push a message to someone and not really talk to them or engage in a 2-way communication. I use texting all the time with my sisters and my parents, and I love the way they can get in touch with me any time, even if I am on the phone and on the internet, all through my cell phone.

I just love how technology is changing so quickly. Now if they will just start reducing the monthly charges. I don’t see how they can justify these high prices for phone service any longer – they are not spending money on expensive phone lines and cables – it’s all digital.

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Gaining Followers on Spotify

About a year ago I signed up for one of the very first American Spotify accounts. It was available in Europe for a couple of years, but for some reason – I’m sure it had to do with money and royalties – they did not bring it to America until 2012. I found a tekkie friend who shared one of his 5 allotted invitations to join up the first day and I’ve been hooked ever since.

I don’t know what the average user does about playlists, but I made up a BUNCH of playlists. I started out with a modern country playlist because it was easy to recognize the current stars and their current hit songs. Then I went to rock and roll from when I was in high school Those songs will always have tons of memories for me – they are what I grew up listening to. The third playlist was harder and took longer, but it is my favorite: adult contemporary. I like this music because it is fresh and easy on the ears. It is the kind of music that you hear on all the different genres of radio stations, but they appeal to everyone.

I had no idea that anyone cared about my personal playlists, but a few months ago I started getting email notifications from Spotify that people were subscribing to my adult contemporary playlist. I don’t know these people and don’t know how they found my playlist, but it is kinda flattering to find out that a lot of people share the same interest in music with you. I keep adding subscribers somehow – about 1 or 2 a week. Last time I checked, I had 64 subscribers to my playlist from all over the world – and I don’t personally know a single one of them!

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FB Friending Dilemma

I have a friending dilemma on my Facebook account. There is a girl who I do know in real life and I like her. But she is friends with my ex. I don’t like the idea of my ex possibly using this friend to stalk me on Facebook. So I don’t really want to friend her, but I don’t know if this is a real concern of just me being paranoid.

My other friends say that she is in touch with my ex and although no one has told me that she is dating him, I would not be surprised. So I have to figure out how to find out if she is really friends with him or dating him or what. And why this sudden interest in being Facebook friends?

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Be Careful What You Share

dont put it on FB

Sometimes it seems like Facebook has been around forever. I use it every day and I love to keep up with family and friends. Facebook makes me feel closer to the ones I love and I have met some new friends, too.

Smart people will use Facebook like the tool it was meant to be and should be careful about what they share. You never know who is reading what your share and what they will do with that information.

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Spam and Hackers – The Villains of Today

It seems every generation has their particular villains. I know that hackers and people who send all this awful spam are the villains of today. The hackers can strike any time and all you can do is install virus protection software and change your passwords. The spammers get filtered out and blocked now – thank goodness. So I have to wonder if the spamming actually produces anything for those awful people?

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Photos on the Internet

A friend of mine was talking about her photographer friend up in Illinois. He has been doing part time photo shoots for years and she says some of his work is really good. I asked where to find samples of his work and she says that he just puts a few up on Facebook. I think he should make a photoblog and put a new photo up at least once a week. He’ll get a good fan base and referrals that way.

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TV for Sale – Cheap

My girlfriend has a big screen TV that she needs to sell. It is an old one – it needs the digital converter. But it is a big, huge screen on a black cabinet. The picture is still really good. She needs the money, so if you want it, let me know and I will put you in touch with her.

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Brushing Up On My Spanish

Last night I hit a button on my remote control accidentally. It was not a bad thing – I discovered that I can watch movies with subtitles shown at the bottom of the screen. That is so cool! Now I can watch all my movies and display the entire dialogue on the screen in Spanish. This way I can brush up on my Spanish skills for free!

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Movies for One Buck

Last night I was getting gas at Thorntons and decided to walk over to the Redbox and see if there are any new movies out. I like the way Redbox has a large selection of current movies and some oldies but goodies, too. For only $1 a night, its a bargain for entertainment. I’m even thinking about canceling my cable – it costs too much and I don’t watch that many movies on it to make the monthly charges worth it anymore.