Worth reading from Cyberbrethren

Still more wonderful things are available from CPH in the Kindle format.  Of course, as far as I'm concerned, that is the only format that counts.  It is completely Lisa-accessible.

Other formats, including paper-and-ink, are still available and popular.  That's OK.  I can delight in those, just not as much as things that I can actually reads.  I think that my favorite is "Portals of Prayer," the January-March issue.  Everything else will have to reside in my wish-list until I can afford it.

Take a look for yourself http://cyberbrethren.com/2012/12/21/now-available-in-kindle-format-new-kindle-releases-from-cph/

A Tale of Two Printers

We did it.  Mother and I finally realized that, no matter how much other people like that HP printer thingy, SOME others of us HAVE FOUND IT TO BE NOTHING BUT MISERY.  In fact, when we looked at reviews, there were a lot for the HP Office Jet 4500.  About 60 were 110% positive.  About 245 were absolutely negative.  There was nothing in between…

The only thing I can figure out is

1.  People only write reviews when they feel passionate.  Hating a printer is much more gut wrenching than loving a printer.

2.  Maybe this is sort of like being able to get a much higher price for a classic car if it was made on a Wednesday than if it was made on a Monday or a Friday.

At any rate, all the HP Software is removed from all our computers.  That printer is going to goodwill or someplace that might benefit from it.

We installed the Brother MFL-Pro 430.  It was way cheap, and…  So far, anyway…  A wonderful bit of technology.

A Tiny Home of My Own? Looking into "Granny Pods"…

Finding good care when you have a disability can be…  Interesting sometimes.  Yes, I currently have wonderful attendants.  And no, that hasn't always been true.

Living arrangements and another layer to the question.

Here is one possible solution…

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Source: medcottage.com via Lisa on Pinterest

NOT the reading weekend I planned

I intended to read a book this weekend.   In fact, I detailed these plans, centered around “Two Wars We Must Not Lose” by Mr. Bill Hecht, here  http://worthywomanpage.com/2012/11/29/reading-weekend-ahead/  Instead, This was one of those weekends that everyone has occasionally, the kind where nothing goes quite right.  Some things just best in the rearview mirror!

You see, I locked myself out of my computer. Not permanently, just long enough to thoroughly mess up my plans.

I am testing http://preyproject.com/    on my system.  Since my computer contains many things that I'm working on (writing, scripture study, Sunday School Planning, among other things), I sometimes describe it by saying, "My computer is my life."

Even though I know that that's not true, Even though I could recreate everything if I had to, facing a stolen laptop would simply be a minor disaster that I don't want to face.  I thought that having a way to track who has it and where it is might be useful.  Thus  testing http://preyproject.com/    on my system.

The thing is, it's important to read the instructions for the settings.  I toggled a switch that should only be toggled AFTER the laptop gets stolen.  An alarm went off, my keyboard locked up, and I couldn't fix it until I got to another computer.

I guess I needed a "Computer-free Weekend"…

I'm fixed now, though.

All you Facebook experts out there, I HAVE A QUESTION!

Sometimes, I have trouble making out what Facebook encourages, permits, discourages, and forbids.  The legalese it is virtually incomprehensible in places.  It makes me feel stupid, and I know that I'm not…  At least not most of the time.

So…  I'm hoping that some of you can help these sort this out.

If I have several affiliate stores, is it permissible to set up a Facebook page for them?

How do You Organize Yourself?

Happy Wednesday!  I am so behind today, that I don't know if I will ever catch up.  I'm going to Bible Study later, though.  Maybe if I didn't finish it, it wasn't worth doing.

;-) That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

It does have me wondering how to keep myself on track, though.  I am considering several options, some I've used off and on over the last few years.  For example:

• Pomodoro Technique  -  I like this.  Sometimes I have the attention span of a gerbil who drank too much caffeine.  Breaking a task into small, focused efforts helps me tackle those jobs that look overwhelming.  To do it right, though, took me a lot of paperwork.  I DO NOT NEED MORE PAPERWORK in my universe!
• Kanbanflow  -  I like this.  I think the idea is originally from Japan and was used by auto workers.  Minimal paperwork.  You can drag each item in your ToDo into different columns, depending on your level of the completion.  This is not particularly good for recurring jobs.
• Chains  -  I just started with this one today.  I think that this idea came from Jerry Seinfeld.  It takes 60 days (depending on who you talk to) to establish a habit.  He, apparently, would mark on a calendar each day that he did the desired behavior.  The goal was to create the chain of 60 days without forgetting.  This website lets you tackle several chains at once, and have built-in "skip days." This is perfect for the type of things that you want to do every Tuesday-Thursday, or whatever.  It looks good.

Criteria I used for choosing these techniques are: 1.  Not cell phone based.  I have to be able to use the computer.  2.  Free.  Maybe when I'm making 100,000 a year, I'll budget for this kind of thing.  Until then…  3.  Fairly simple and quick to do.

How do you organize yourself?

How did you choose this method?

How well does it work?

I HATE MY PRINTER!

Some people absolutely love the HP OfficeJet 4500.  One morning helper, for example.  My brother-in-law, for another example.  For these folks, it does what they want when they want it done.

On the other hand, there are people like me.  Every single time we want to use this pathetic example of technology, we have to have about three HOURS.  We wind up resetting the network…  Installing cartridges…  Unplugging the printer for about 30 seconds so it can have another lobotomy.

Again, I hate my printer.  It is possessed.  I would gladly pick it up and throw it through the window…  Except that I can't move my arms that well.  (OK, I can't move my arms at all.  Don't quibble when I'm angry at my printer.)

It makes me wonder whether Hewlett Packard is capable of doing anything decently.  Customer service is almost as horrid as this stupid printer.

Did I mention that I hate my computer?

You can read my rant about how much I hate the HP OfficeJet 4500 at my Amazon review… (most worthless printer since that dot matrix for the Apple ] [+…)

I guess it's just time to quote a Latin animal proverb…  From http://bestlatin.blogspot.com/

Dum fugans canis mingit, fugiens lepus evadit (English: When the dog in pursuit stops to pee, the fleeing rabbit gets away).  

UNICORN does exist!

No, I'm not talking about the mythological, single-horned horse.  I still want one of those, but…
I'm talking about a text editor and dictionary program.  It isn't your ordinary text editor, dictionary, spell checker.  It is for the student of ancient languages: Latin, classical Greek, Hebrew.

Unicorn is free.  Information on requirements can be found here.

While you are there, check out:
The Latin and Greek Study Groups    They are open, volunteer-run email lists dedicated to the study of (major shock, NOT) Latin and Greek.

I just joined the Vesuvius group.  It will get going in January.  The most important textbook will be Wheelock's Latin 7th Edition (The Wheelock's Latin Series)  They will spend two weeks on each chapter.

Group: Wheelock Beginners (Vesuvius)
Coordinator: Pete Caloger <pcaloger at ptd dot net>
First Assignment will be due January 6
If you want to join in, drop Pete an e-mail with "Vesuvius" as the subject.  He will give you the rest of the gory details…

The other text book is not in Kindle format, but I'm sure there is a way to work around that.